[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.
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