[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3529-S3530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2070. Mr. BENNET submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 1260, to establish a new Directorate for Technology 
and Innovation in the National Science Foundation, to establish a 
regional technology hub program, to require a strategy and report on 
economic security, science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and 
job creation, to establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, 
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL RESERVE DIGITAL CORPS.

       (a) In General.--Subpart I of part III of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

             ``CHAPTER 103--NATIONAL RESERVE DIGITAL CORPS

``Sec.
``10301. Establishment.
``10302. Definitions.
``10303. Organization.
``10304. Work on behalf of Executive agencies.
``10305. Digital Corps Scholarship Program.
``10306. Duration of pilot program.

     ``Sec. 10301. Establishment

       `` For the purposes of attracting, recruiting, and training 
     a corps of world-class digital talent to serve the national 
     interest and enable the Federal Government to become a 
     digitally proficient enterprise, there is established within 
     the Office of Management and Budget a pilot program for a 
     civilian National Reserve Digital Corps, the members of whom 
     shall serve as special Government employees, working not 
     fewer than 30 days per year as short-term advisors, 
     instructors, or developers in the Federal Government.

     ``Sec. 10302. Definitions

       ``In this chapter:
       ``(1) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
     the Office of Management and Budget.
       ``(2) Node.--The term `node' means a group of persons, or a 
     team, organized under the direction of a node leader to 
     provide digital service to not less than 1 Executive agency 
     pursuant to an agreement between the Director and the 
     Executive agency.
       ``(3) Node leader.--The term `node leader' means a full-
     time employee who--
       ``(A) is selected under this chapter to lead not less than 
     1 node; and
       ``(B) reports to the Director or the designee of the 
     Director.
       ``(4) Node member.--The term `node member' means a special 
     Government employee, as that term is defined in section 202 
     of title 18, who is selected under this division to work not 
     fewer than 38 days per fiscal year and report to a node 
     leader in furtherance of the mission of a node.

     ``Sec. 10303. Organization

       ``(a) Nodes and Node Leaders.--The National Reserve Digital 
     Corps shall be organized into nodes, each of which shall be 
     under the supervision of a node leader.
       ``(b) Administrative Support.--The National Reserve Digital 
     Corps shall receive funding and administrative support from 
     the Director, who shall be responsible for selecting node 
     leaders, establishing standards, ensuring that nodes meet 
     Executive agency client requirements, maintaining security 
     clearances, establishing access to an agile development 
     environment and appropriate tools, and facilitating 
     appropriate technical exchange meetings.
       ``(c) Appointment Authority.--
       ``(1) Direct appointment authority of node members.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Director, on the recommendation of a 
     node leader, may appoint, without regard to the provisions of 
     subchapter I of chapter 33 (other than sections 3303 and 3328 
     of such chapter), a qualified candidate to a position in the 
     competitive service in the Office of Management and Budget to 
     serve as a node member.
       ``(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in subparagraph (A) 
     may be construed to preclude the Director from appointing 
     additional employees, including full-time employees for the 
     purposes described in that subparagraph.
       ``(2) Term and temporary appointments of node members.--The 
     Director, on the recommendation of a node leader, may make a 
     noncompetitive temporary appointment or term appointment, for 
     a period of not more than 18 months, of a qualified candidate 
     to serve as a node member in a position in the competitive 
     service for which a critical hiring need exists, as 
     determined under section 3304, without regard to sections 
     3327 and 3330.

     ``Sec. 10304. Work on behalf of Executive agencies

       ``(a) Purpose.--Each node shall undertake projects to 
     assist Executive agencies by--
       ``(1) providing digital education and training;
       ``(2) performing data triage and providing acquisition 
     assistance;
       ``(3) helping to guide digital projects and frame technical 
     solutions;
       ``(4) helping to build bridges between public needs and 
     private sector capabilities; and
       ``(5) performing related tasks.
       ``(b) Authorities.--A node may undertake a project--
       ``(1) on behalf of an Executive agency--
       ``(A) by direct agreement between the Director and the 
     Executive agency; or
       ``(B) at the direction of the Director at the request of 
     the Executive agency; or
       ``(2) to address a digital service need encompassing more 
     than 1 Executive agency--
       ``(A) at the direction of the Director; or
       ``(B) on the initiative of a node leader.

[[Page S3530]]

  


     ``Sec. 10305. Digital Corps Scholarship Program

       ``(a) In General.--The Director shall establish a National 
     Reserve Digital Corps scholarship program to provide full 
     scholarships to competitively selected students who commit to 
     study specific disciplines relating to national security 
     digital technology.
       ``(b) Service Obligation.--Each student, before commencing 
     the program established under subsection (a), shall sign an 
     agreement with respect to the student's commitment to the 
     United States, which shall provide that the student agree to 
     the following:
       ``(1) A commitment to serve as an intern at an Executive 
     agency for not less than 6 weeks during each of the summers 
     before the junior and senior years of the undergraduate 
     studies of the student.
       ``(2) A commitment to serve in the National Reserve Digital 
     Corps for 6 years after graduation.
       ``(c) Program Elements.--In establishing the program under 
     subsection (a), the Director shall determine the following:
       ``(1) Eligibility standards for program participation.
       ``(2) Criteria for establishing the dollar amount of a 
     scholarship, including tuition, room, and board.
       ``(3) Repayment requirements for students who fail to 
     complete their service obligation.
       ``(4) An approach to ensuring that qualified graduates of 
     the program are promptly hired and assigned to node leaders.
       ``(5) Resources required for the implementation of the 
     program.
       ``(d) Continuing Education.--The Director shall establish a 
     training and continuing education program to fund educational 
     opportunities for members of the National Digital Reserve 
     Corps, including conferences, seminars, degree and 
     certificate granting programs, and other training 
     opportunities that are expected to increase the digital 
     competencies of the participants.
       ``(e) Implementation.--In carrying out this chapter, the 
     Director shall have the following responsibilities:
       ``(1) Establishing the administrative support function and 
     issuing guidance for the National Reserve Digital Corps, 
     which shall include the identification of points of contact 
     for node leaders at Executive agencies.
       ``(2) Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
     of this chapter, appointing not fewer than 5 node leaders 
     under the National Reserve Digital Corps program and 
     authorizing those node leaders to begin recruiting reservists 
     and undertaking projects for Executive agencies.
       ``(3) Beginning 2 years after the date of enactment of this 
     chapter, reporting annually to Congress on the progress of 
     the National Reserve Digital Corps, each of which shall 
     address, at a minimum, the following measures of success:
       ``(A) The number of technologists who participate in the 
     National Reserve Digital Corps.
       ``(B) Identification of the Executive agencies that 
     submitted work requests, the nature of the work requests, 
     which work requests were assigned a node, and which work 
     requests were completed or remain in progress.
       ``(C) Evaluations of results of National Reserve Digital 
     Corps projects by Executive agencies.
       ``(D) Evaluations of results of National Reserve Digital 
     Corps projects by reservists.

     ``Sec. 10306. Duration of pilot program

       ``The pilot program under this chapter shall terminate not 
     earlier than 6 years after the date of enactment of this 
     chapter.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     chapters for subpart I of part III of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

            ``CHAPTER 103--NATIONAL RESERVE DIGITAL CORPS''.

       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget $16,000,000, to remain available 
     through fiscal year 2023, to carry out chapter 103 of title 
     5, United States Code, as added by this section.
                                 ______