[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 130 (Monday, July 26, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3874-H3875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       FEDERAL CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE WORK ACT

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3533) to establish occupational series for Federal positions 
in software development, software engineering, data science, and data 
management, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3533

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. OCCUPATIONAL SERIES FOR DIGITAL CAREER FIELDS.

       Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, 
     shall, pursuant to chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code, 
     establish or update existing occupational series covering 
     Federal Government positions in the fields of software 
     development, software engineering, data science, and data 
     management.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.


                             General Leave

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous materials on H.R. 3533.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3533, the Federal Career 
Opportunities in Computer Science Work Act. I commend my colleagues, 
Representative Obernolte and Representative Welch, for their bipartisan 
work on this measure.
  This bill would require the Office of Personnel Management to update 
or establish occupational series for Federal civilian positions in 
software development, software engineering, data science, and data 
management within 270 days of enactment.
  It would implement a recommendation that was included in the final 
report of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. 
In its report, the commission stated: ``The artificial intelligence 
competition will not be won by the side with the best technology. It 
will be won by the side with the best, most diverse and tech-savvy 
talent.''
  To attract and retain digital talent, the commission recommended that 
the Federal Government create the civilian occupational series that are 
included in this bill. This bipartisan bill would help support 
recruitment of professionals with these specialized skills for Federal 
employment.
  This is an important step in helping Federal agencies recruit, hire, 
and retain the talent that is needed to remain competitive in the 
digital domain.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill, I urge my colleagues to do 
the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3533, the Federal Career 
Opportunities in Computer Science Work Act.
  In a world that increasingly relies on digital technologies, the 
Federal Government needs to be able to hire and attract the right 
talent; therefore, the ability to recruit and retain qualified software 
and data professionals is important, particularly as our government and 
private sector must withstand more frequent and sophisticated 
cybersecurity threats.
  The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence released 
their final report earlier this year and found that ``Digitally 
talented people should be able to reasonably expect to spend a career 
performing meaningful work focused on their field of expertise in 
government.''
  The report goes on to recommend that new Federal career fields in 
digital technologies be established by creating new civilian 
occupational series for software development, software engineering, 
knowledge management, and data science.
  The bill under consideration requires the Office of Personnel 
Management to either update existing occupational series or create new 
ones in the fields of software development, software engineering, data 
management, and data science. This will ensure that the Federal 
workforce represents current specialized fields necessary to bringing 
America's Government into the 21st century.
  The bill also enables the Federal Government to better target 
recruiting and retain qualified professionals in these essential 
fields.
  I appreciate Congressman Obernolte's and Congressman Welch's 
leadership on this issue. I encourage my colleagues to support this 
smart government modernization bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1615

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte), the sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. OBERNOLTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, the Federal 
Career Opportunities in Computer Sciences Work Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I, along with most of the country, was recently 
horrified by the cyberattacks against critical parts of our national 
infrastructure, in particular, the cyberattack against Colonial 
Pipeline that shut down gasoline deliveries for much of the Eastern 
United States and the cyberattacks against JBS meat processing, which 
disrupted operations at one of the largest food processing facilities 
in our country.
  It has become increasingly clear that dealing with these threats will 
require highly trained professionals in the computer sciences and the 
data sciences as part of not just our civilian workforce but also our 
Federal workforce.
  Unfortunately, many people are surprised to learn that we do not 
currently have Federal career occupational series that are dedicated to 
the computer sciences. This bill, the Federal Career Opportunities in 
Computer Sciences Work Act, will establish those series in such fields 
as data management, artificial intelligence, and software engineering. 
This will enable our Federal Government to better attract and retain 
the highly qualified technical computer scientist talent that is needed 
to respond to these attacks in the future.
  This is bipartisan legislation. It is an easy and commonsense 
solution to this problem, and I urge support for this bill.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am 
prepared to close.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan 
legislation that will help improve the technical skills of our Federal 
workforce and, ultimately, modernize our government.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 3533, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.

[[Page H3875]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3533, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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