[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4733-S4734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2391. Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Ms. Sinema, and Mr. Coons) submitted 
an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. PILOT PROGRAM ON IDENTIFICATION, APPOINTMENT, OR 
                   REFERRAL OF VETERANS FOR POTENTIAL EMPLOYMENT 
                   WITH FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
     ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate;
       (B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
     of the Senate;
       (C) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
     Senate;
       (D) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (E) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (F) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the Office of Personnel Management.
       (3) Federal land management agency.--The term ``Federal 
     land management agency'' means--
       (A) the Forest Service;
       (B) the National Park Service;
       (C) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;

[[Page S4734]]

       (D) the Bureau of Land Management; or
       (E) the Bureau of Reclamation.
       (4) Noncompetitive.--The term ``noncompetitive'', when used 
     with respect to an appointment, means an appointment made 
     without regard to subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, 
     United States Code, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of that 
     title.
       (5) Pilot program.--The term ``pilot program'' means the 
     pilot program established by the Director under subsection 
     (b).
       (6) Recognized postsecondary credential.--The term 
     ``recognized postsecondary credential'' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 
     Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
        (7) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
       (b) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Director (in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior, 
     and the Secretary of Agriculture) shall establish a pilot 
     program to recruit veterans with relevant strengths and 
     abilities and refer the veterans to supervisory or 
     nonsupervisory positions in Federal land management agencies.
       (c) Publication of Information Application.--
       (1) Publication.--The Director shall publicize, and 
     disseminate information about, the pilot program on the 
     website of the Office of Personnel Management.
       (2) Application.--A veteran seeking to participate in the 
     pilot program shall submit to the Director an application in 
     such form, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Director may require.
       (d) Tests of Strengths and Abilities.--
       (1) Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Director (in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior, 
     and the Secretary of Agriculture) shall issue guidance on the 
     development of individual tests to be administered for the 
     purposes of the pilot program to determine the strengths and 
     abilities of veterans for positions in the following career 
     fields at Federal land management agencies:
       (A) Outdoor recreation management.
       (B) Management of volunteers.
       (C) Fire planning and fire analysis.
       (D) Firefighting.
       (E) Aviation.
       (F) Forest engineering.
       (G) Inventory monitoring of land under the management of a 
     Federal land management agency.
       (H) Landscape restoration.
       (I) Ecology.
       (J) Sustainability of ecosystems.
       (K) Archeology.
       (L) Range management.
       (M) Analysis of geospatial data.
       (N) Biology.
       (O) Geology.
       (P) Land use.
       (Q) Physical sciences.
       (R) Civil engineering.
       (S) Hydrology.
       (T) Land surveying.
       (U) Water reclamation.
       (V) Finance, budget, and administration.
       (2) Waiver.--For purposes of the pilot program, the 
     Director (in consultation with, as appropriate, the Secretary 
     of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior) may waive 
     any requirement for a recognized postsecondary credential for 
     a position in a career field described in paragraph (1), if 
     the Director determines that such a waiver is necessary.
       (3) Administration.--The head of a Federal land management 
     agency shall--
       (A) administer a test developed described in paragraph (1) 
     to each veteran who applies for participation in the pilot 
     program;
       (B) develop assessments to measure the relative capacity 
     and fitness of veterans described in subparagraph (A) of this 
     paragraph for positions in the career fields described in 
     paragraph (1); and
       (C) refer each veteran described in subparagraph (A) to the 
     official employment website of the Federal Government.
       (4) Management.--The Director (in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs) shall develop a method to 
     oversee and manage the employment of veterans within Federal 
     land management agencies in positions in the career fields 
     that are covered by the pilot program.
       (e) Appointment and Referral.--The head of a Federal land 
     management agency (in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs), with respect to a veteran who has taken a 
     test administered under subsection (d)(3)(A)--
       (1) if the veteran has demonstrated through the test the 
     necessary strengths and abilities for a vacant supervisory or 
     nonsupervisory position in a career field covered by the 
     pilot program in the Federal land management agency, as 
     determined by the head of the Federal land management agency, 
     may make a noncompetitive career-conditional appointment of 
     the veteran to that vacant position; or
       (2) if the veteran has not demonstrated through the test 
     the necessary strengths and abilities for a vacant 
     supervisory or nonsupervisory position in a career field 
     covered by the pilot program in the Federal land management 
     agency, as determined by the head of the Federal land 
     management agency--
       (A) shall refer the veteran to a recruiter of that Federal 
     land management agency for participation in a training 
     program that the agency shall establish for the purposes of 
     this section, which shall provide the veteran with the 
     strengths and abilities for a position in such a career 
     field;
       (B) shall, after the participation by the veteran in a 
     training program described in subparagraph (A), re-administer 
     that test, for the purpose of re-evaluation, to the veteran 
     as frequently as the head of the Federal land management 
     agency determines appropriate until the veteran demonstrates 
     through the test the necessary strengths and abilities; and
       (C) may, if the veteran has demonstrated through the test 
     the necessary strengths and abilities, make a noncompetitive 
     career-conditional appointment of the veteran to a position 
     in such a career field.
       (f) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the 
     termination of the pilot program, the Director (in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the 
     heads of the Federal land management agencies) shall submit 
     to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 
     pilot program.
       (g) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the 
     date that is 5 years after the date on which the Director 
     establishes the pilot program.
                                 ______