[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 31, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5711-S5712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3212. Mr. BROWN 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 end of subtitle H of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1095. ATTRACTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED EXPERTS TO BUREAU OF 
                   INDUSTRY AND SECURITY.

       Part III of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 
     U.S.C. 4851 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 1783. ATTRACTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED EXPERTS TO BUREAU OF 
                   INDUSTRY AND SECURITY.

       ``(a) In General.--The Under Secretary of Commerce for 
     Industry and Security (in this section referred to as the 
     `Under Secretary') may carry out a program using the 
     authority provided in subsection (b) in order to attract to 
     the Bureau of Industry and Security highly qualified experts 
     in needed occupations, as determined by the Under Secretary.
       ``(b) Authority.--Under the program under this section, the 
     Under Secretary may--
       ``(1) appoint personnel from outside the civil service (as 
     defined in section 2101 of title 5, United States Code) to 
     positions in the Bureau of Industry and Security without 
     regard to any provision of title 5, United States Code, 
     governing the appointment of employees to positions in the 
     Bureau; and
       ``(2) prescribe the rates of basic pay for positions to 
     which employees are appointed under paragraph (1) at rates 
     not in excess of the maximum rate of basic pay authorized for 
     senior-level positions under section 5376 of title 5, United 
     States Code, as increased by locality-based comparability 
     payments under section 5304 of that title, notwithstanding 
     any provision of that title governing the rates of pay or 
     classification of employees in the executive branch.
       ``(c) Limitation on Term of Appointment.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
     service of an employee under an appointment made pursuant to 
     this section may not exceed 5 years.
       ``(2) Extensions.--The Under Secretary may, in the case of 
     a particular employee, extend the period to which service is 
     limited under paragraph (1) by up to 1 additional year if the 
     Under Secretary determines that such action is necessary to 
     promote the national security, foreign policy, and economic 
     objectives of the United States.
       ``(d) Limitation on Total Annual Compensation.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection or of 
     section 5307 of title 5, United States Code, no additional 
     payments may be paid to an employee under this section in any 
     calendar year if, or to the extent that, the employee's total 
     annual compensation will exceed the maximum amount of total 
     annual compensation payable at the salary set in accordance 
     with section 104 of title 3, United States Code.
       ``(e) Limitation on Number of Highly Qualified Experts.--
     The number of highly qualified experts appointed and retained 
     by the Under Secretary under subsection (b)(1) shall not 
     exceed 25 at any time.
       ``(f) Report Required.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, 
     the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security 
     shall submit to the committees specified in paragraph (2) a 
     report that includes--
       ``(A) the number of individuals appointed to the Bureau of 
     Industry and Security under the authority provided by this 
     section during the period specified in paragraph (3);
       ``(B) a description of the qualifications of such 
     individuals and their responsibilities during that period; 
     and
       ``(C) a description of the impact of such individuals on 
     carrying out the mission of the Bureau of Industry and 
     Security.
       ``(2) Committees specified.--The committees specified in 
     this paragraph are--

[[Page S5712]]

       ``(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 
     and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs of the Senate; and
       ``(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of 
     Representatives.
       ``(3) Period specified.--The period specified in this 
     paragraph is--
       ``(A) in the case of the first report required by paragraph 
     (1), the 180-day period preceding submission of the report; 
     and
       ``(B) in the case of any subsequent report required by 
     paragraph (1), the one-year period preceding submission of 
     the report.
       ``(g) Savings Provisions.--In the event that the Under 
     Secretary terminates the program under this section, in the 
     case of an employee who, on the day before the termination of 
     the program, is serving in a position pursuant to an 
     appointment under this section--
       ``(1) the termination of the program does not terminate the 
     employee's employment in that position before the expiration 
     of the lesser of--
       ``(A) the period for which the employee was appointed; or
       ``(B) the period to which the employee's service is limited 
     under subsection (c), including any extension made under this 
     section before the termination of the program; and
       ``(2) the rate of basic pay prescribed for the position 
     under this section may not be reduced as long as the employee 
     continues to serve in the position without a break in 
     service.
       ``(h) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed to waive any requirements regarding background 
     checks or qualifications of applicants to positions with the 
     Bureau of Industry and Security.
       ``(i) Termination.--The authority provided by this section 
     shall cease to be effective on the date that is 5 years after 
     the date of the enactment of this section.''.
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