[Senate Report 108-119]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 240
108th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    108-119
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

 
                       HOMELAND SECURITY FEDERAL

                             WORKFORCE ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                 S. 589

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

    TO STRENGTHEN AND IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL SECURITY, 
 ENCOURAGE GOVERNMENT SERVICE IN AREAS OF CRITICAL NATIONAL SECURITY, 
    AND TO ASSIST GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN ADDRESSING DEFICIENCIES IN 
PERSONNEL POSSESSING SPECIALIZED SKILLS IMPORTANT TO NATIONAL SECURITY 
    AND INCORPORATING THE GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR RECRUITMENT AND 
RETENTION FOR SUCH SKILLED PERSONNEL INTO THE STRATEGIC AND PERFORMANCE 
                 MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS OF FEDERAL AGENCIES




    July 31 (legislative day, July 21), 2003.--Ordered to be printed


                                 ______


                     U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
  19-010                    WASHINGTON : 2003




                   COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine, Chairman
TED STEVENS, Alaska                  JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut
GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio            CARL LEVIN, Michigan
NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota              DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania          RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois
ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah              THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
PETER G. FITZGERALD, Illinois        MARK DAYTON, Minnesota
JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire        FRANK LAUTENBERG, New Jersey
RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama           MARK PRYOR, Arkansas

           Michael D. Bopp, Staff Director and Chief Counsel
            Jennifer A. Hemingway, Professional Staff Member
      Joyce A. Rechtschaffen, Minority Staff Director and Counsel
    Jennifer L. Tyree, Minority Counsel, Subcommittee on Financial 
                              Management,
                 the Budget, and International Security
                      Amy B. Newhouse, Chief Clerk


                                                       Calendar No. 240
108th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    108-119
======================================================================




                HOMELAND SECURITY FEDERAL WORKFORCE ACT

                                _______
                                

    July 31 (legislative day, July 21), 2003.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Ms. Collins, from the Committee on Governmental Afairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                         [To accompany S. 589]

    The Committee on Governmental Affairs, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 589) to amend chapter 53 of title 5, 
United States Code, to strengthen and improve the management of 
national security, encourage Government service in areas of 
critical national security, and to assist government agencies 
in addressing deficiencies in personnel possessing specialized 
skills important to national security and incorporating the 
goals and strategies for recruitment and retention for such 
skilled personnel into the strategic and performance management 
systems of Federal agencies, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 
the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................2
 II. Background.......................................................2
III. Legislative History..............................................9
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis.....................................10
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................14
 VI. CBO Cost Estimate...............................................14
VII. Additional Views................................................18
VIII.Changes to Existing Law.........................................21


                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 589, the Homeland Security Workforce Act, is a bill to 
strengthen and improve the management of national security, 
encourage government service in the areas of critical national 
security, and to assist government agencies in addressing 
deficiencies in personnel possessing specialized skills 
important to national security and incorporating the goals and 
strategies for recruitment and retention for such skilled 
personnel into the strategic and performance management systems 
of Federal agencies.
    S. 589 would establish a pilot program repaying student 
loans for individuals who agree to serve in national security 
positions for a minimum of three years. The legislation 
authorizes funds for key national security agencies to operate 
such a program. The pilot program established under the 
legislation would differ from the existing loan repayment 
program for federal employees in that it authorizes separate 
funding for the program and increases to $10,000 the amount of 
loan debt repayment an employee may receive per year. The 
maximum amount ofloan repayment an employee would be eligible 
to receive under this program would be $80,000.
    S. 589 would establish a National Security Fellowship 
Program for graduate students pursuing advanced degrees in 
mathematics, science, engineering, a foreign language, or other 
international fields that are critical areas of national 
security. Students who receive a fellowship would be required 
to work for the federal government in a position of national 
security for a minimum of three years. Fellowships would cover 
tuition costs plus a stipend equivalent to that which graduate 
fellows receive from the National Science Foundation. Twenty 
percent of the fellowship slots would be set aside for current 
federal employees to pursue an advanced degree or for continued 
academic training in national security positions. The 
legislation authorizes $100 million to support the National 
Security Fellowship Program.
    The Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act would establish 
a rotational assignment program to provide mid-level federal 
employees in national security positions at the Departments of 
State, Defense, Homeland Security, Treasury, Energy, Justice, 
and the National Security Agency the opportunity to broaden 
their knowledge through exposure to other agencies. The purpose 
of the program would be to provide training and incentives in 
addition to the building of professional relationships and 
contacts among the employees and agencies of the national 
security community.
    S. 589 would require federal agencies to include in their 
strategic and performance plans the extent to which specific 
skills in the agency's human capital are needed to achieve the 
mission, goals and objectives of the agency, particularly those 
goals and objectives that are critical to national security.

                             II. Background

    In 2001 the Hart-Rudman Commission on National Security in 
the 21st Century issued a sobering report on our national 
security needs \1\ and highlighted the federal government's 
need to recruit and retain a highly skilled workforce.
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    \1\ The United States Commission on National Security/ 21st 
Century, Road Map for National Security: Imperative for Change (2001).
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    As it enters the 21st century, the United States finds 
itself on the brink of an unprecedented crisis of competence in 
government. The declining orientation toward government service 
as a prestigious career is deeply troubling. Both civilian and 
military institutions face growing challenges, albeit of 
different forms and degrees, in recruiting and retaining 
America's most promising talent. This problem derives from 
multiple sources. * * * These factors are adversely affecting 
recruitment and retention in the Civil and Foreign Services and 
particularly throughout the military, where deficiencies are 
both widening the gap between those who serve and the rest of 
American society and putting in jeopardy the leadership and 
professionalism necessary for an effective military. If we 
allow the human resources of government to continue to decay, 
none of the reforms proposed by this or any other national 
security commission will produce their intended results.\2\
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    \2\ Id. at xx.
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    On September 11, 2001, the need for skilled personnel to 
meet our national security needs became even more obvious. On 
that day, two airliners crashed into the World Trade Center in 
New York City, one crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, 
Virginia, and another crashed into the fields of Pennsylvania 
signaling a coordinated terrorist attack on the United States. 
Shortly after the attacks, Robert Mueller, Director of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made a public plea for 
speakers of Arabic and Farsi to help the FBI and national 
security agencies investigate the attacks and translate 
documents that were in U.S. possession but which were left 
untranslated due to a shortage of employees with proficiency in 
those languages.\3\ In addition, the General Accounting Office 
(GAO) reports that federal agencies have shortages in 
translators and interpreters and an overall shortfall in the 
language proficiency levels needed to carry out agency 
missions.\4\ These reports demonstrate that action is needed to 
help federal agencies more effectively recruit and retain 
highly skilled individuals for national security positions. In 
an effort to address the critical needs in this area, the 
Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act was introduced.\5\
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    \3\ Richard Lee Colvin and Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, FBI Issues Call 
for Translators to Assist Probe, L.A. Times, September 18, 2001. See 
also Findings of the Final Report of the Senate Select Committee on 
Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 
Joint Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, 
December 10, 2002, (Finding 6: Prior to September 11, the Intelligence 
Community was not prepared to handle the challenge it faced in 
translating the volumes of foreign language counterterrorism 
intelligence it collected. Agencies within the Intelligence Community 
experienced backlogs in material awaiting translation, a shortage of 
language specialists and language-qualified field officers, and a 
readiness level of only 30 percent in the most critical terrorism-
related languages.).
    \4\ Foreign Languages: Human Capital Needed to Correct Staffing and 
Proficiency Shortfalls, General Accounting Office, GAO-02-375, January 
2002.
    \5\ 149 Cong. Rec. S. 3512 (daily ed. March 11, 2003) (statement of 
Senator Daniel K. Akaka on the introduction of S. 589, the Homeland 
Security Federal Workforce Act). See also 147 Cong. Rec. S. 12859-12861 
(daily ed. December 11, 2001) (statements of Senators Richard Durbin 
and Daniel Akaka on the introduction of S. 1800, the Homeland Security 
Federal Workforce Act).
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    The Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act consists of 
several provisions to address some of the country's current 
national security workforce needs and to help the government 
better prepare for future personnel needs.

Pilot program for student loan repayment for federal employees in areas 
        of critical importance

    According to the Hart-Rudman Commission, there are still 
major problems in turning interest in government positions into 
actual service. The Commission report notes that many young 
adults have completed or are enrolled in graduate school, and 
thus carry a much heavier student loan burden than their 
predecessors.\6\ This is important as high educational debt 
makes a huge difference in the federal government's ability to 
recruit talented employees. On June 4, 2003, Dr. Paul Light, 
Director of the Brookings Institution Center for Public 
Service, testified before the Committee on Governmental Affairs 
and stated that while the nature of the job remains the most 
important consideration in making a decision about where to 
work, college debt makes a difference in job choice for the 
class of 2003.\7\
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    \6\ Supra note 1, page 114.
    \7\ Transforming the Department of Defense Personnel System: 
Finding the Right Approach, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, 
108th Cong. (June 4, 2003) (statement of Paul Light).
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    However, the current federal student loan repayment program 
is not being used as intended. According to the Office of 
Personnel Management (OPM), agencies said that the barrier to 
using the loan repayment program is a lack of funding.\8\ With 
college debt playing such a large factor in where recent 
graduates decide to work, funding student loan repayment 
programs is essential to recruit skilled individuals.
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    \8\ Federal Student Loan Repayment Program, Fiscal Year 2002, 
Report to Congress, Office of Personnel Management, June 2003. In 
contrast, see Pub. L. No. 107-68, the FY2002 Legislative Branch 
Appropriations Act, which authorized Senate employing offices to 
establish a program for Senate employees, and also authorized specific 
appropriations to fund the program.
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    In addition, the current student loan repayment program is 
not targeted to meet national security needs. In 2002 the 
Department of Defense and the Justice Department, key agencies 
with national security responsibilities, have together awarded 
student loan repayment to only seven employees. Moreover, the 
repayments were not on the basis of their utility to national 
security.\9\
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    \9\ Id.
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    To address this need, S. 589 would establish an eight year 
pilot program to recruit and retain qualified personnel for 
positions critical to national security through the repayment 
of student loans. Payments under this program may not exceed 
$10,000 per year or $80,000 total. This pilot program would not 
affect any existing student loan repayment programs, revoke or 
rescind any existing law, or be used as a basis for removing 
employees from collective bargaining units.
    Similar to the loan repayment program for employees of the 
United States Senate, participating agencies would not have to 
finance the program out of existing funds. Instead, a separate 
account would be established at OPM and specific funds 
authorized to pay for the pilot program. Unlike current law, 
the pilot program under S. 589 would be limited to agencies 
with the greatest need--those agencies with national security 
responsibilities. S. 589 would also increase the amount of the 
repayment authority and provide the funding necessary to use 
this important tool. After the fourth year of the program, OPM 
would report on the status of the program including whether it 
has met objectives of increasing the use of student loan 
repayment as a recruitment and retention tool for employees in 
national security positions. OPM would also provide 
recommendations for extending this program to other agencies 
and employee positions.

Fellowships for graduate students to enter federal service

    The Hart-Rudman Commission cautioned that the nation's need 
for the highest quality employees in science, mathematics, and 
engineering is not being met.\10\ For example, there will not 
be enough qualified American citizens to perform the new jobs 
being created today--including technical jobs crucial to the 
maintenance of national security.\11\ As our nation's security 
depends on the quality of the people, both civilian and 
military, serving within the ranks of government, our national 
security is put at risk by a lack of qualified personnel with 
science and math skills.
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    \10\ Supra note 1 at 30.
    \11\ Id. at 39.
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    The issue of math and science shortages in the federal 
government and its national security implication is well known 
at the highest levels in government. In fact, President Bush's 
science advisor, Dr. John H. Marburger, has expressed concern 
about the shortage of American scientists and engineers. He 
also noted that the National Academies of the United States and 
the nation's universities would have to help evaluate 
scientific proposals for how to address terrorism because `` * 
* * there is not enough expertise in agencies to deal with them 
in a timely fashion.'' \12\ The fact that the federal 
government is scrambling to fill this science gap from outside 
sources raises concerns over how these ideas can be evaluated 
by government officials if there is a lack of expertise in the 
agencies where these ideas will be used.
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    \12\ William J. Broad, Government Reviving Ties to Scientists, New 
York Times, November 20, 2001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On February 25, 2003, William Wulf, president of the 
National Academy of Engineering,noted that the supply of 
talented engineers in government is not keeping pace with growing 
demand.\13\ A new poll at that time found that a mere 24 percent of job 
seekers believe that the best engineering job opportunities are in the 
federal government compared to 52 percent for the private sector.\14\ 
In another example, a 1999 report of the National Research Council 
found significant science and technology weaknesses throughout the 
Department of State.\15\ These shortfalls have real consequences that 
hamper our ability to monitor exports of military-sensitive technology 
and preventing proliferation of biological warfare expertise from the 
former Soviet Union.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\ Public, Private Leaders and NASA Head Cite Need for Government 
Engineers, Partnership for Public Service, February 25, 2003, 
.
    \14\ Id.
    \15\ National Research Council, The Pervasive Role of Science, 
Technology, and Health in Foreign Policy: Imperatives for the 
Department of State (1999).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The same problem exists for personnel with foreign language 
skills. There is a growing need for higher levels of language 
competency among a broader cross-section of professionals, 
particularly for those who will join the federal workforce. 
Professional proficiency is considered to be at least a Level 
III proficiency in listening, reading, and speaking where an 
individual is capable of speaking with sufficient structural 
accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most 
formal and informal conversations on practical, social, and 
professional topics.\16\
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    \16\ Supra note 4 at 5.
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    However, current foreign language programs in the United 
States, both federal and academic, at best, aim toward limited 
working proficiency which is defined as Level II. This skill 
level includes the ability to satisfy routine social demands 
and limited work requirements and handle routine work-related 
interactions that are limited in scope.\17\ Level II 
proficiency is generally insufficient for more complex and 
sophisticated work-related national security tasks.
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    \17\ Id.
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    In 1991 the National Security Education Act \18\ which 
created the National Security Education Program (NSEP), sought 
to address this long-standing problem by providing limited 
undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships for 
students to study certain subjects, including foreign language 
and foreign area studies. The Act also allows the use of funds 
at institutions of higher learning to develop faculty expertise 
in the languages and cultures of less commonly studied 
countries. Student recipients of these funds incur an 
obligation either to work for an office or agency of the 
federal government, preferably in national security affairs, or 
to pursue careers as educators for a period equal to the time 
covered by the scholarship.
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    \18\ National Security Education Act 1991, Pub. L. No. 102-183.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Despite the success of the program over the past twelve 
years, the General Accounting Office has reported that agencies 
still have shortages in translators and interpreters and an 
overall shortfall in the language proficiency levels needed to 
carry out their missions.\19\ According to the 2002 report, 
agency officials stated that these shortfalls have adversely 
affected agency operations and hindered U.S. military, law 
enforcement, intelligence, counterterrorism, and diplomatic 
efforts. Many shortages were in hard-to-learn languages from 
the Middle East and Asia, although shortages varied greatly 
depending on the agency, occupation, and language. GAO also 
found that foreign language shortages are, in part, caused by 
technology advances that allow the collection of growing 
amounts of information and thus require greater numbers of 
staff proficient in foreign languages; by rising language 
proficiency requirements in the face of changing and more 
complex agency missions; and by a competitive job market that 
has made attracting and retaining staff more difficult.\20\
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    \19\ Supra note 4.
    \20\ Id. at 2.
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    To address the lack of scientific and language expertise in 
critical national security positions, S. 589 creates a separate 
and distinct program from NSEP designed to focus on the overall 
critical national security needs of the federal government. The 
program established under S. 589 provides tuition and stipend 
for students pursuing graduate study not only in foreign 
languages, but also in science, mathematics, engineering, or 
non-proliferation studies. In exchange for tuition and a 
stipend, fellowship recipients are to work in a national 
security position for a period of at least three years.
    The fellowship program is separate from NSEP because NSEP 
lacks the capacity to handle math and science education and 
combining the two would dilute NSEP's focus on foreign language 
education. In addition, the program under S. 589 is broader 
than NSEP in that it specifically applies to current federal 
employees. S. 589 invests in the government's human capital by 
requiring that 20 percent of all fellowships awarded go to 
current federal workers to enhance their training and skills in 
areas key to national security.
    Both the fellowship program under S. 589, as well as the 
National Security Service Corps program, would be under the 
National Security Service Board headed by the Director of the 
Office of Personnel Management. Since the program will be 
overseen by OPM, S. 589 emphasizes placement and opportunities 
for individuals in federal agencies. On average, 65 percent of 
NSEP graduate fellows fulfill their service requirement in a 
national security position with the federal government.\21\ It 
is important to recruit individuals with critical national 
security skills and place them where they are needed most.
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    \21\ National Security Education Program, 2000 Annual Report.
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National Security Service Corps

    According to the Hart-Rudman Commission, the national 
security component of the civil service is faced with an 
additional problem: the need to develop professionals with 
breadth of experience in the interagency process and with depth 
of knowledge about substantive policy issues.\22\ Both elements 
are crucial to ensuring the highest quality policy formulation 
and analysis, and are key to maintaining a robust national 
security workforce.
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    \22\ Supra note 1 at 102.
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    Traditional national security agencies need to work 
together. Better integration of these agencies in policy 
development and execution requires a human resource strategy 
that achieves the following objectives: expanded opportunities 
to gain expertise and to experience the culture of more than 
one department or agency; an assignment and promotion system 
that rewards those who seek broad-based, integrative approaches 
to problem solving instead of those focused on departmental 
turf protection; and the erasure of artificial barriers among 
departments.\23\
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    \23\ Id.
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    The current federal civil service personnel system does not 
achieve these objectives because career civilians in the 
national security field rarely serve outside their parent 
department.\24\ While employees can be detailed to other 
agencies, \25\ there is no formal rotational program for 
federal workers or a government body supporting and promoting 
rotational assignments. Because of this problem, the Hart-
Rudman Commission recommend the creation of a National Security 
Service Corps. S. 589 follows this advice and ensures that 
there is a formal rotation program between agencies with 
national security responsibilities.
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    \24\ A recent OPM survey of SES personnel indicates that only nine 
percent of those surveyed have changed jobs to work in another agency 
since becoming an SES member, despite the fact that 45 percent said 
that mobility would improve job performance. See U.S. Office of 
Personnel Management and Senior Executives Association, pp. 27-8.
    \25\ See 5 U.S.C. Sec. 3341.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Pursuant to the Commission's recommendations, the National 
Security Service Corps (NSSC) would broaden the experience base 
of senior departmental managers and develop leaders skilled at 
producing integrative solutions to U.S. national security 
policy problems. The program would be characterized by a 
rotational system and robust professional education programs. 
In designating positions for Corps members, departments would 
identify basic requirements in education and experience. 
Rotations to other departments and interagency professional 
education could be required in order to hold certain positions 
or to be promoted to certain levels.\26\
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    \26\ Supra note 1 at 103.
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    S. 589 would also establish the National Security Service 
Board to govern the program and ensure that promotion rates for 
those within the NSSC were at least comparable to those 
elsewhere in the civil service. It would help establish the 
guidelines for rotational assignments needed for a Corps member 
to hold a given position and for the means of meeting the 
members' educational requirements. Such guidance and oversight 
will help ensure that there are compelling incentives for 
professionals to join the NSSC.

Miscellaneous provisions

    The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) 
\27\ requires that federally funded agencies develop and 
implement an accountability system based on performance 
measurement, including setting goals and objectives and 
measuring progress toward achieving them. The legislation was 
enacted after finding that federal managers are seriously 
disadvantaged in their efforts to improve program efficiency 
and effectiveness, because of insufficient articulation of 
program goals and inadequate information on program 
performance; and because congressional policymaking, spending 
decisions and program oversight are seriously handicapped by 
insufficient attention to program performance and results.\28\
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    \27\ Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 
103-62.
    \28\ Id.
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    To fully comply with GPRA, agencies must focus on whether 
their workforce includes all of the necessary skills to achieve 
agency goals and objectives. To address this issue, the 
Homeland Security Act (HSA) required agencies to include human 
capital strategic planning in their performance plans and 
program performance reports.\29\ However, many agencies have 
important national security missions and objectives that need 
to be fulfilled and may lack appropriate personnel to fulfill 
these missions and objectives. In addition, these agencies may 
not fully reflect their human capital strategic planning for 
national security mission in their GPRA reporting. As such, S. 
589 requires an additional discussion of the extent to which 
specific skills in the agency's workforce are needed to achieve 
missions critical to national security.
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    \29\ The Homeland Security Act, Pub. L. No. 107-296, Sec. 1311.
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    One of the lessons learned after September 11th was that 
every agency has a role in preserving the security of our 
nation. According to Mr. Donald Winstead, Assistant Director 
for Compensation Administration at the Office of Personnel 
Management, September 11th ``foreverchanged the federal 
government's personnel requirements. Every agency must now consider its 
work and mission in a new context, one that was nearly unimaginable 
before. The skills needed by agencies to fulfill their expanded 
homeland security missions are diverse and in many cases unique to the 
particular mission of the agency.'' \30\
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    \30\ Critical Skills for National Security and the Homeland 
Security Federal Workforce Act: Hearing on S. 1800 before the Subcomm. 
on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services of the 
Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, 107th Cong. 468 (March 12, 
2002) (testimony of Donald Winstead, Assistant Director for 
Compensation Administration at the Office of Personnel Management).
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    For example, the Department of Education has a role in 
ensuring an educated citizenry. The security, stability, and 
economic vitality of the United States depend on American 
citizens being knowledgeable about the world. To become so, we 
need to encourage knowledge of foreign languages and cultures. 
The lack of ongoing support for language and cultural programs 
from both the Administration and Congress contributed to the 
lack of skilled personnel translating key intelligence 
documents.
    This requirement is intended to highlight an agency's role 
in preserving national security and ensure that well-rounded 
national security workforce planning is part of an agency's 
strategic plan. As a result, Congress will be better informed 
about the national security role of each agency and can make 
better informed funding decisions.

                        III. Legislative History

    During the 107th Congress, Senator Richard Durbin, Senator 
Fred Thompson, and Senator Daniel Akaka introduced the 
predecessor to this legislation, S. 1800. Senator George Allen, 
Senator Thad Cochran, Senator Susan Collins, and Senator George 
Voinovich cosponsored the bill. On March 12, 2002, the 
Committee on Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on International 
Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services held a hearing 
chaired by Senator Akaka, entitled, ``Critical Skills for 
National Security and the Homeland Security Federal Workforce 
Act.'' \31\
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    \31\ Supra note 30.
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    In his opening statement, Senator Akaka spoke of the ``lack 
of critical personnel and needed skills in our national 
security agencies.'' He emphasized that it had ``taken years of 
neglect to reach this deficit in trained workers, and it will 
take sustained efforts to hire, retain and retrain employees 
with critical skills.'' \32\ Senator Voinovich, a cosponsor of 
the legislation, stated that the bill includes ``important 
flexibilities and innovative programs designed to make the 
federal government a more attractive employer for applicants 
with academic and professional background in areas critical to 
national security.'' \33\
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    \32\ Id. (opening statement of Senator Akaka).
    \33\ Id. (opening statement of Senator Voinovich).
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    Former Representative Lee Hamilton noted that the U.S. 
Commission on National Security/21st Century, on which he 
served, made recommendations on student loan repayment that 
were similar to those included in S. 1800. He expressed his 
strong support for S. 1800 and stated that the bill ``would 
encourage more people to enter national security positions by 
easing the financial sacrifices often associated with graduate 
study and with government service.'' \34\ In his testimony, 
Rep. Hamilton stressed the urgent need to attract and retain 
talented and committed individuals to government service and, 
in particular, civilian and military personnel in key positions 
in national security departments and agencies.
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    \34\ Id. (testimony of Representative Lee Hamilton).
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    S. 589, the Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act, was 
introduced by Senator Daniel Akaka, Senator George Allen, 
Senator Richard Durbin, and Senator George Voinovich on March 
11, 2003, and referred to the Governmental Affairs Committee. 
The bill is cosponsored by Senator John Warner, Senator Sam 
Brownback, Senator Saxby Chambliss, Senator Jay Rockefeller, 
and Senator Susan Collins.
    On June 17, 2003, the Committee met in open session to 
consider S. 589. The Committee ordered the bill favorably 
reported by voice vote, with no members present dissenting. 
Senators present were as follows: Collins, Lieberman, 
Voinovich, Coleman, Levin, Akaka, Carper, Lautenberg, and 
Pryor.

                    IV. Section-by-Section Analysis

    This section would provide that the bill may be cited as 
the ``Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act.''

Section 2. Findings, purpose, and effect of law

    This section contains findings of Congress, including the 
finding that the United States must strengthen federal civilian 
and military personnel systems in order to improve recruitment, 
retention, and effectiveness at all levels. The section states 
that the federal government has an interest in ensuring that 
the employees of its departments and agencies with national 
security responsibilities are prepared to meet the challenges 
of the changing international environment.
    Subsection (b) states that the purpose of the Homeland 
Security Federal Workforce Act is to provide attractive 
incentives to recruit capable individuals for government and 
military service, and to provide the necessary resources, 
accountability, and flexibility to meet the national security 
educational needs of the Untied States, especially as such 
needs change over time.
    Subsection (c) clarifies that nothing in the Homeland 
Security Federal Workforce Act shall be construed to affect the 
collective bargaining unit status or rights of any federal 
employee.

TITLE I--PILOT PROGRAM FOR STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES 
                    IN AREAS OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE

    This section would amend subchapter VII of chapter 53 of 
title 5 to establish a pilot program for student loan repayment 
for Federal employees in areas of critical importance to 
national security.
    Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) would establish a new 
section 5379A that would limit the pilot program to the 
Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, State, Energy, 
Treasury, and Justice, the National Security Agency, and the 
Central Intelligence Agency. Paragraph (2) would limit the 
pilot to employees in positions critical to national security, 
as determined by the Office of Personnel Management in 
consultation with the employing agency. Paragraph (3) would 
state only federal loans are eligible for repayment under the 
pilot program.
    Subsection (b) would direct the Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management to establish a pilot program to recruit 
and retain qualified personnel for positions critical to 
national security through the repayment of student loans. 
Paragraph (3) of subsection (b) would limit payments under the 
pilot program to no more than $10,000 per year or $80,000 
total. Paragraph (4) would prohibit agencies from reimbursing 
any employee for payments previously made on the loan prior to 
any agreement established by the pilot program. Paragraph (5) 
would clarify that the pilot program is not to affect any 
existing student loan repayment programs, revoke or rescind any 
existing law, or be used as a basis for removing employees from 
collective bargaining units. Paragraph (6) would establish a 
fund at the Office of Personnel Management to be used by 
agencies to provide the repayments authorized under the 
program.
    Subsection (c) would establish reporting requirements to 
assist Congress in reviewing the status of the program and its 
success in recruiting and retaining employees for national 
security positions, including an assessment as to whether the 
program should be expanded to other agencies or to non-national 
security positions to improve overall federal workforce 
recruitment and retention.
    Subsection (d) would declare that employees who are in 
positions in the excepted service because of the confidential, 
policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating 
character of the position are not eligible.
    Subsection (e) would require that employees selected to 
receive benefits under the section agree in writing to remain 
in the federal government for at least three years. If the 
employee voluntarily leaves service or is separated 
involuntarily due to misconduct, the employee must repay the 
amount received. This section also discusses recovery of 
benefits.
    Subsection (f) would clarify that an employee who fails to 
maintain an acceptable level of performance shall be declared 
ineligible for continued benefits under this section.
    Subsection (g) would require agencies to take into 
consideration the need to maintain a balanced workforce when 
selecting individuals for this benefit.
    Subsection (h) would state that the benefit under the pilot 
program will be in addition to basic pay or other form of 
compensation.
    Subsection (i) would authorize appropriations as necessary 
to carry out this pilot program established under this title.
    Subsection (j) would establish the length of the pilot 
program to be eight years. The subsection states that employees 
recruited under the pilot program would continue to receive 
benefits regardless of the length of the pilot program.
    Subsection (k) would require the Office of Personnel 
Management to propose regulations within two months after the 
date of enactment, with final regulations promulgated no later 
than six months after the date on which the initial comment 
period for the proposed regulations expires.

  TITLE II--FELLOWSHIPS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS TO ENTER FEDERAL SERVICE

    Sec. 201 would amend subchapter VII of chapter 53 of title 
5, as amended by section 101, to create section 5379B to 
establish fellowships for graduate students to enter federal 
service.
    Subsection (a) would limit agencies eligible to participate 
in the fellowship program to the Departments of Defense, 
Homeland Security, Justice, State, Energy, and Treasury, the 
National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and 
other federal government agencies as determined by the National 
Security Service Board.
    Subsection (b) would require the Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management to establish and implement a program for 
the awarding of fellowships to graduate students who, in 
exchange for receipt of the fellowship, agree to employment 
with the federal government in a national security position.
    Subsection (c) states that in order to be eligible to 
participate in the fellowship program, applicants must be 
accepted to graduate school and pursuing the disciplines of 
foreign language, science, mathematics, engineering, non-
proliferation education, or other international fields that are 
critical areas of national security; be a U.S. citizen, U.S. 
national, permanent legal resident, or citizen of the Freely 
Associated States; and agree to employment with an agency of 
the federal government in a national security position.
    Subsection (d) would require fellows to agree to maintain 
satisfactory academic progress, provide regular updates on 
progress to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, 
andagree to be employed by the government for at least three 
years. Paragraph (3) of subsection (d) would require fellows who fail 
to meet the requirements of the program to repay the amount of the 
award with interest, but not higher than the rate generally applied in 
connection with other federal education loans.
    Subsection (e) would permit a fellow who is unable to 
obtain a national security position due to the inability to 
obtain the requisite clearance to work in a non-national 
security position for the federal government, or teach or 
perform research at an institution of higher education. The 
Director of the Office of Personnel Management would be 
required to approve such a request.
    Subsection (f) would require the Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management to consult and cooperate with the National 
Security Service Board to administer the fellowship program, 
including the establishment of guidelines and requirements for 
qualifications for students desiring fellowships under the 
program. Paragraph (2) of subsection (f) would establish the 
National Security Service Board.
    Subsection (g) would require that twenty percent of all 
fellowships awarded be set aside for federal employees working 
in national security positions to enhance the education and 
training of employees in areas important to national security. 
Paragraph (2) of subsection (g) would allow federal employees 
who receive the fellowships to obtain the advanced education on 
a part-time or full-time basis.
    Subsection (h) would allow individuals who are fellows 
under the program to count their service to the federal 
government under the program as time used to repay student 
loans under Title I of this bill.
    Subsection (i) would allow fellows to receive funding under 
the program for up to three years. Paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
subsection (i) would limit the amount of the fellowships to no 
more than the amount of tuition paid by the fellow and a 
stipend equal to that awarded to National Security Foundation 
fellows under section 10 of the National Science Foundation Act 
of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1869).
    Subsection (j) would authorize $100,000,000 for fiscal year 
2004 to enable the Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management to recruit and retain highly qualified employees in 
national security positions for the program.
    Subsection (k) would clarify that selection for a 
fellowship position would have no impact on the employee's 
rights under chapter 71 of title 5, relating to collective 
bargaining rights.

               TITLE III--NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE CORPS

    Section 301 would establish a National Security Service 
Corps to enhance civilian career paths, and to provide a corps 
experts with broad-based experience throughout the Executive 
Branch.
    Paragraph (2) of subsection (a) would clarify that the 
intent of Congress in establishing the section would be to 
provide mid-level employees in national security positions 
within agencies the opportunity to broaden their knowledge 
through exposure to other agencies and to expand the knowledge 
base of national security agencies by providing for rotational 
assignments of their employees at other agencies.
    Subsection (b) would limit the application of section 301 
to the Departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, 
State, Energy, and Treasury, and the National Security Agency. 
Paragraph (4) of subsection (b) would define Corps positions as 
positions that are at or above GS-12 of the General Schedule or 
are in the Senior Executive Service; have duties that do not 
relate to intelligence support for policy; and are designated 
by the head of an agency as a Corps position.
    Subsection (c) would require the National Security Service 
Board established under section 5379B(f)(2) of title 5 to 
review civil service rules and regulations to facilitate the 
Corps program, develop incentives for rotation, and establish 
interagency agreements relating to the rotation of employees. 
Paragraph (6) of subsection (c) would require the National 
Security Service Board to report to the Office of Personnel 
Management on their findings and relevant information on the 
establishment of the National Security Service Corps within 180 
days after the date of enactment.
    Subsection (d) would require the Office of Personnel 
Management to issue regulations no later than 180 days after 
receiving the National Security Service Board report required 
under subsection (c) providing for the establishment and 
operation of the National Security Service Corps program. 
Paragraph (4) of subsection (d) would require agencies to 
designate National Security Service Corps positions and begin 
active participation in the operation of the Corps no later 
than 180 days after the promulgation of final regulations under 
paragraph (3) of subsection (d).
    Subsection (e) would clarify that Corps participants 
serving in another agency will retain their rights and benefits 
and be considered to be employees of the original employing 
agency.
    Subsection (f) would authorize such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out section 301.

                   TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

    Section 401 would amend section 306(a)(3) of title 5 to 
require agencies to include a discussion of the specific skills 
needed to achieve the mission, goals and objectives of the 
agency in the content of their strategic plans, especially to 
the extent the agency's missions, goals, and objectives are 
critical to ensuring national security.
    Section 402 would amend section 1115(a) of title 31 to 
require agencies to pay particular attention in their 
performance plans to the extent to which specific skills are 
needed to accomplish the performance goals and indicators that 
are critical to ensuring the national security.
    Section 403 would amend section 1116 of title 31 to require 
agencies to specify which performance goals and indicators are 
critical to enuring national security and whether human capital 
deficiencies contributed to the failure of the agency to 
achieve that goal in their respective program performance 
reports.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    S. 589 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, 
local, or tribal governments.

                         VI. CBO Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, July 1, 2003.
Hon. Susan M. Collins,
Chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Madam Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed estimate for S. 589, the Homeland 
Security Federal Workforce Act
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                       Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

S. 589--Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act

    Summary: S. 589 would authorize new programs to recruit and 
retain federal employees who have skills important to national 
security. Agencies participating in the new programs would 
include the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, State, 
Energy, Treasury, and Justice, as well as the National Security 
Administration (NSA, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 
The bill would create a pilot program to repay student loans 
for federal employees involved in national security, a national 
security fellowship program, and a National Security Service 
Corps.
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 589 would cost about 
$600 million over the 2004-2008 period, assuming appropriation 
of the necessary amounts. Enacting S. 589 would not affect 
direct spending or revenues. The bill contains no 
intergovernment or private-sector mandates as defined by the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the 
budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of S. 589 is shown in the following table. The 
costs of this legislation fall within budget function 800 
(general government).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
                                                                       2004     2005     2006     2007     2008
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Proposed Changes:
    National Security Fellowship Program:
        Authorization Level........................................      100      102      104      106      108
        Estimated Outlays..........................................       10      102      104      106      108
    National Security Student Loan Repayment:
        Estimated Authorization Level..............................       20       63       66       18        8
        Estimated Outlays..........................................       19       61       66       20        9
Total Changes:
    Estimated Authorization Level..................................      120      165      170      124      116
    Estimated Outlays..............................................       29      163      170      126      117
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
bill will be enacted near the end of fiscal year 2003, that the 
necessary amounts will be provided each year, and that spending 
will follow historical patterns for similar programs.
    National Security Fellowship Program. The bill would 
authorize the appropriation of $100 million in fiscal year 2004 
and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent year for 
the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish and 
implement a National Security Fellowship program. This program 
would provide graduate study fellowship awards (for up to three 
years) to graduate students who agree to subsequent employment 
with the federal government in national security positions. Up 
to 20 percent of the fellowships would be set aside for current 
federal employees working in national security positions. All 
recipients of the fellowships would be required to be employed 
in national security positions for at least three years 
following their education. The legislation would also establish 
a National Security Service Board made up of 13 members of the 
national seucrity agencies to select and place all eligible 
fellows. CBO estimates that implementing those programs over 
the 2004-2008 period would cost $430 million, assuming that the 
amount authorized to be appropriated for the first year of the 
program would be increased to account for anticipated 
inflation.
    National Security Student Loan Repayment. Section 101 would 
authorize appropriations for OPM to establish a pilot program 
that would repay student loans for current and future national 
security employees. The pilot program would be available to 
help agencies retain and recruit federal employees working in 
areas of critical importance. The eight-year program would 
allow agencies to offer eligible employees up to $10,000 
annually ($80,000 per person) to repay federal student loans. 
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates 
that implementing this provision would cost around $20 million 
in 2004 and $175 million over the 2004-2008 period. That 
estimate excludes costs for the CIA and NSA because the number 
of potential beneficiaries of this program working for those 
agencies is classified.
    Loan Repayment Benefit for Current Employees. Currently, 
there are 191,000 professional, white collar positions within 
the Departments of Defense, Justice, Energy, State, and 
Treasury. (That figure excludes positions at NSA and CIA 
because their personnel data are classified.) CBO expects that 
only a few job classifications would be deemed critical to 
national security--such as nuclear engineering, physics, 
chemistry, and foreign affairs. OPM does not currently track 
employment in the federal government based on any definition or 
classification of ``national security.'' The cost of 
implementing this legislation would depend on OPM's 
interpretation of how many ``national security'' positions 
exist in the federal government.
    For this estimate, CBO assumes that relatively few job 
classifications would be determined by OPM to be national 
security positions--resulting in about 20,000 possible 
participants. We expect that the program would mainly be used 
by younger workers with outstanding student loans, and we used 
information on the age of federal employees to estimate that 
the fund would be used by about 6,000 employees to pay off the 
average amount of outstanding student loan balance--$25,000--at 
a total cost of $150 million over the 2004-2008 period.
    Loan Repayment Benefit for Future Employees. The new 
program could also be used to recruit and retain new hires for 
national security positions beginning in 2005. CBO assumes that 
the positions determined to be national security positions 
would have a lower-than-average-turnover rate, resulting in an 
average of 300 new employees a year who would be eligible for 
the student loan repayment benefit. We expect that agencies 
would use the new authority to actively recruit new ``national 
security'' employees and that the fund would make student loan 
repayments at the $10,000 maximum until the student loans of 
new hires are paid off over two to three years on average. 
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates 
that the loan repayment benefit for future employees woiuld 
cost about $25 million over the 2004-2008 period.
    National Security Service Corps. Section 301 would 
authorize the appropriation of funds for OPM to establish a 
National Security Service Corps. Under the direction of the 
National Security Board, the National Security Corps would 
allow mid-level federal employees in national security 
positions to take up to two-year employment rotations within 
most other national security agencies. CBO estimates that 
implementing this provision would cost less than $500,000 for 
OPM and the National Security Board to issue regulations and 
implement the program.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 589 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not 
affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Matthew Pickford; 
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa 
Merrell; and Impact on the Private Sector: Paige Piper/Bach.
    Estimate approved by: Paul R. Cullinan, Chief for Human 
Resources Cost Estimates Unit, Budget Analysis Division.

               VII. ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF SENATOR VOINOVICH

    Overall, S. 589, the Homeland Security Federal Workforce 
Act, contains a number of creative concepts that are worth 
further consideration. Although I am a cosponsor of this 
legislation, I have concerns with several of its provisions. 
During the 1st Session of the 107th Congress, in the wake of 
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I cosponsored S. 
1800, \1\ a bill Senator Durbin introduced to address some of 
the federal workforce challenges on which we had been working 
together to develop solutions. While I was not in complete 
accord with the programs envisaged by S. 1800, I was pleased to 
support the efforts of Senators Durbin, Akaka, and others in 
crafting legislation on an issue of great importance to our 
Nation--reforming the federal government's strategic human 
capital management. S. 589 is a similar measure to S. 1800, and 
through my cosponsorship I sought to continue our dialogue on 
improving the government's educational and personnel programs 
to attract top quality talent to public service. Nevertheless, 
I am concerned that the modifications to current law proposed 
in S. 589, as reported by the Committee, could have the 
unintended consequence of further complicating the already 
tangled federal civil service code with additional layers of 
initiatives similar to existing programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act, S. 1800, 107th 
Congress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    First, the bill would establish a duplicative student loan 
repayment program for federal employees serving in national 
security positions. The current governmentwide loan repayment 
program was first authorized in 1990. \2\ However, for over a 
decade no regulations were promulgated to implement the law, 
and in 2000, Congress again authorized a student loan repayment 
program for federal employees, \3\ for which the Office of 
Personnel Management (OPM) ultimately issued regulations in 
July 2001. \4\ As a result, this program, although authorized 
13 years ago, is currently entering its third year of use and 
only recently beginning to demonstrate its utility as a 
recruitment and retention tool. According to a recent OPM 
report to Congress, \5\ in Fiscal Year 2001 only one agency 
authorized a student loan repayment; however, in Fiscal Year 
2002, there was marked improvement as 16 federal agencies 
provided more than $3.1 million in student loan repayments for 
690 federal employees. While this is a heartening trend, it 
will take additional time to evaluate whether the program needs 
to be modified or supplemented with other loan repayment 
initiatives, such as the one proposed in S. 589. As Senator 
Akaka observed in his supplemental views on S. 926, the Federal 
Employee Student Loan Assistance Act, which the Committee 
recently reported, \6\ adequate funding should be provided to 
help ensure the success of the existing federal student loan 
repayment program. I agree with this assessment and encourage 
federal agencies to make business cases for the annual funding 
of this important authority.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991, Pub. 
L. No. 101-510.
    \3\ Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2001, Pub. L. No. 106-398.
    \4\ 5 C.F.R. Part 537.
    \5\ Federal Student Loan Repayment Program, Fiscal Year 2002, 
Report to the Congress, Office of Personnel Management, June 2003.
    \6\ Report to Accompany S. 926, Federal Employee Student Loan 
Assistance Act, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, July 21, 
2003.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Second, the bill would establish a fellowship program 
similar to the National Security Education Program (NSEP), 
which was created by Congress in 1991. \7\ NSEP has been 
successfully employed to provide students opportunities for 
overseas study of foreign cultures and languages in return for 
subsequent employment in the federal government. To strengthen 
that program, I authored provisions that became law as part of 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to allow NSEP graduates to 
avail themselves of a broader array of employment opportunities 
in the federal government and higher education. This action was 
taken to address the challenge many NSEP graduates faced in 
being hired for national security positions in federal 
agencies. S. 589 would create a separate, similar program to 
NSEP, when the national security community and American college 
and graduate students could be better served by further 
strengthening NSEP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ David L. Boren National Security Education Act of 1991, Pub. L. 
No. 102-183.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Third, the bill would establish a rotational assignment 
program for rising federal employees and managers. One of the 
key elements of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, \8\ was 
the creation of a Senior Executive Service (SES), featuring 
mobility of the federal government's senior career managers 
among federal agencies with the goal of cross-pollinating best 
practices and fostering professional development. 
Unfortunately, this element of the SES has not been widely 
implemented, due in part to the fact that agencies are 
reluctant to lose top managers to other agencies, even for 
short periods of time. S. 589 would create a National Security 
Service Corps (NSSC), which would allow mid-level federal 
employees (GS-12 and higher, as well as SES members) in 
national security positions to serve on detail assignments of 
up to two years within other national security agencies. As 
with the other proposals contained in S. 589, the NSSC is 
similar to existing authorities, such as the successful 
Presidential Management Intern Program, which offers 
opportunities for rotational assignments including but not 
limited to national security positions. In addition, under 
existing authority an employee may participate in a 
reimbursable detail, which is a temporary assignment to perform 
the duties of a different position for a specified period of 
time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-454.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, the bill would require an additional reporting 
requirement under the Government Performance and Results Act of 
1993 (GRPA). \9\ GPRA requires federal agencies to file 
strategic plans every three years and annual performance 
reports and performance plans that serve as intermediate 
measures of progress on the strategic plans. This law is a 
general management tool that allows agencies the flexibility to 
report to Congress on areas that are important to their 
missions as well as areas in which they are facing management 
challenges, such as human capital and financial accountability. 
S. 589 would amend GPRA by requiring agencies to report on the 
impact of their human capital on any national security goals 
they might have. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 included 
provisions I authored to require all agencies to report on all 
human capital needs, a requirement that is more harmonious with 
GPRA's original intent and the current management challenges 
requirement. \10\ The establishment of an additional reporting 
requirement on a specific aspect (national security) of a 
specific management area (human capital) could set a precedent 
to encourage further Congressional micromanagement of agencies, 
thus unraveling the GPRA reporting process, which after a 
decade is becoming a useful management and budgeting tool.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 
103-62.
    \10\ Homeland Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-296.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In a March 2002 hearing on S. 1800, the predecessor 
legislation to S. 589, I stated that the bill includes 
``programs designed to make the federal government a more 
attractive employer for applicants with academic and 
professional backgrounds in areas critical to national 
security.'' \11\ Despite its design and intent, however, I 
believe the bill in its current form would establish an array 
of programs similar to several that already exist, either as 
historically successful initiatives, such as the National 
Security Education Program, or more recent authorities that 
simply require time to prove their effectiveness, such as the 
federal student loan repayment program. The federal 
government--and the men and women who do the important work of 
public service for the American taxpayer each day--would be 
better served through a careful examination of how to 
strengthen such current incentives and professional development 
programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\ Critical Skills for National Security and the Homeland 
Security Federal Workforce Act: Hearing on S. 1800 before the 
Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal 
Services of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, 107th 
Congress (March 12, 2002) (opening statement of Senator Voinovich).

                                               George V. Voinovich.

                     VIII. Changes to Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing laws made by 
S. 589 as reported are shown as follows (existing law proposed 
to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed 
is shown in roman):

             TITLE 5. GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES

                     PART I--THE AGENCIES GENERALLY

                           CHAPTER 3--POWERS

Sec. 306. Strategic plans

    (a) No later than September 30, 1997, the head of each 
agency shall submit to the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget and to the Congress a strategic plan for program 
activities. Such plan shall contain--
          (1) a comprehensive mission statement covering the 
        major functions and operations of the agency;
          (2) general goals and objectives, including outcome-
        related goals and objectives, for the major functions 
        and operations of the agency;
          (3) a description of how the goals and objectives are 
        to be achieved, including a description of the 
        operational processes, skills and technology, and the 
        human, capital, information, and other resources 
        required to meet those goals and objectives, a 
        discussion of the extent to which specific skills in 
        the agency's human capital are needed to achieve the 
        mission, goals and objectives of the agency, especially 
        to the extent the agency's mission, goals and 
        objectives are critical to ensuring the national 
        security;
          (4) a description of how the performance goals 
        included in the plan required by section 1115(a) of 
        title 31 shall be related to the general goals and 
        objectives in the strategic plan;
          (5) an identification of those key factors external 
        to the agency and beyond its control that could 
        significantly affect the achievement of the general 
        goals and objectives; and
          (6) a description of the program evaluations used in 
        establishing or revising general goals and objectives, 
        with a schedule for future program evaluations.

                          PART III. EMPLOYEES

                     Subpart D--Pay and Allowances

                   CHAPTER 53--PAY RATES AND SYSTEMS

                Subchapter VII--Miscellaneous Provisions

SEC. 5379. STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS.

    (a) * * *

SEC. 5379A. PILOT PROGRAM FOR STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT FOR FEDERAL 
                    EMPLOYEES IN AREAS OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means an agency of 
        the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland 
        Security, the Department of State, the Department of 
        Energy, the Department of the Treasury, the Department 
        of Justice, the National Security Agency, and the 
        Central Intelligence Agency.
          (2) National security position.--The term ``national 
        security position'' means an employment position 
        determined by the Director of the Office of Personnel 
        Management, in consultation with an agency, for the 
        purposes of the Pilot Program for Student Loan 
        Forgiveness in Areas of Critical Importance established 
        under this section, to involve important homeland 
        security applications.
          (3) Student loan.--The term ``student loan'' means--
                  (A) a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under 
                part B of title IV of the Higher Education Act 
                of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.);
                  (B) a loan made under part D or E of title IV 
                of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                1087a et seq., 1087aa et seq.); and
                  (C) a health education assistance loan made 
                or insured under part A of title VII of the 
                Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292 et 
                seq.) or under part E of title VIII of such Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 297a et seq.).
    (b) Establishment and Operation.--
          (1) In general.--The Director of the Office of 
        Personnel Management shall, in order to recruit or 
        retain highly qualified professional personnel, 
        establish a pilot program under which the head of an 
        agency may agree to repay (by direct payments on behalf 
        of the employee) any student loan previously taken out 
        by such employee if the employee is employed by the 
        agency in a national security position.
          (2) Terms and conditions of payment.--Payments under 
        this section shall be made subject to such terms, 
        limitations, or conditions as may be mutually agreed to 
        by the agency and employee concerned.
          (3) Payments.--The amount paid by the agency on 
        behalf of an employee under this section may not exceed 
        $10,000 towards the remaining balance of the student 
        loan for each year that the employee remains in service 
        in the position, except that the employee must remain 
        in such position for at least 3 years. The maximum 
        amount that may be paid on behalf of an employee under 
        this paragraph shall be $80,000.
          (4) Limitation.--Nothing in this section shall be 
        considered to authorize an agency to pay any amount to 
        reimburse an employee for any repayments made by such 
        employee prior to the agency's entering into an 
        agreement under this section with such employee.
          (5) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section 
        shall be construed--
                  (A) to affect student loan repayment programs 
                existing on the date of enactment of this 
                section;
                  (B) to revoke or rescind any existing law, 
                collective bargaining agreement, or recognition 
                of a labor organization;
                  (C) to authorize the Office of Personnel 
                Management to determine national security 
                positions for any other purpose other than to 
                make such determinations as are required by 
                this section in order to carry out the purposes 
                of this section; or
                  (D) as a basis for determining the exemption 
                of any position from inclusion in a bargaining 
                unit pursuant to chapter 71 of title 5, United 
                States Code, or from the right of any incumbent 
                of a national security position determined by 
                the Office of Personnel Management pursuant to 
                this section, from entitlement to all rights 
                and benefits under such chapter.
          (6) Fund.--As part of the program established under 
        paragraph (1), the Director shall establish a fund 
        within the Office of Personnel Management to be used by 
        agencies to provide the repayments authorized under the 
        program.
  (c) General Provisions.--
          (1) Coordination.--The Director of the Office of 
        Personnel Management shall coordinate the program 
        established under this section with the heads of 
        agencies to recruit employees to serve in national 
        security positions.
          (2) Reports.--
                  (A) Allocation and implementation.--Not later 
                than 6 months after the date of enactment of 
                this section, the Director of the Office of 
                Personnel Management shall report to the 
                appropriate committees of Congress on the 
                manner in which the Director will allocate 
                funds and implement the program under this 
                section.
                  (B) Status and success.--Not later than 4 
                years after the date of enactment of this 
                section, the Director of the Office of 
                Personnel Management shall report to the 
                appropriate Committees on Congress on the 
                status of the program and its success in 
                recruiting and retaining employees for national 
                security positions, including an assessment as 
                to whether the program should be expanded to 
                other agencies or to non-national security 
                positions to improve overall Federal workforce 
                recruitment and retention.
    (d) Ineligible Employees.--An employee shall not be 
eligible for benefits under this section if such employee--
          (1) occupies a position that is excepted from the 
        competitive service because of its confidential, 
        policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating 
        character; or
          (2) does not occupy a national security position.
    (e) Terms of Agreement.--
          (1) In general.--An employee selected to receive 
        benefits under this section shall agree in writing, 
        before receiving any such benefit, that the employee 
        will--
                  (A) remain in the service of the agency in a 
                national security position for a period to be 
                specified in the agreement, but not less than 3 
                years, unless involuntarily separated; and
                  (B) if separated involuntarily on account of 
                misconduct, or voluntarily, before the end of 
                the period specified in the agreement, repay to 
                the Government the amount of any benefits 
                received by such employee from that agency 
                under this section.
          (2) Service with other agency.--The repayment 
        provided for under paragraph (1)(B) may not be required 
        of an employee who leaves the service of such 
        employee's agency voluntarily to enter into the service 
        of any other agency unless the head of the agency that 
        authorized the benefits notifies the employee before 
        the effective date of such employee's entrance into the 
        service of the other agency that repayment will be 
        required under this subsection.
          (3) Recovery of amounts.--If an employee who is 
        involuntarily separated on account of misconduct or who 
        (excluding any employee relieved of liability under 
        paragraph (2)) is voluntarily separated before 
        completing the required period of service fails to 
        repay the amount provided for under paragraph (1)(B), a 
        sum equal to the amount outstanding is recoverable by 
        the Government from the employee (or such employee's 
        estate, if applicable) by--
                  (A) setoff against accrued pay, compensation, 
                amount of retirement credit, or other amount 
                due the employee from the Government; and
                  (B) such other method as is provided for by 
                law for the recovery of amounts owing to the 
                Government.
          (4) Waiver.--The head of the agency concerned may 
        waive, in whole or in part, a right of recovery under 
        this subsection if it is shown that recovery would be 
        against equity and good conscience or against the 
        public interest.
          (5) Crediting of account.--Any amount repaid by, or 
        recovered from, an individual (or an estate) under this 
        subsection shall be credited to the fund under 
        subsection (b)(6). Any amount so credited shall be 
        merged with other sums in such fund and shall be 
        available for the same purposes and period, and subject 
        to the same limitations (if any), as the sums with 
        which merged.
    (f) Termination of Repayment.--An employee receiving 
benefits under this section from an agency shall be ineligible 
for continued benefits under this section from such agency if 
the employee--
          (1) separates from such agency; or
          (2) does not maintain an acceptable level of 
        performance, as determined under standards and 
        procedures which the agency head shall by regulation 
        prescribe.
    (g) Equal Employment.--In selecting employees to receive 
benefits under this section, an agency shall, consistent with 
the merit system principles set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) 
of section 2301(b) of this title, take into consideration the 
need to maintain a balanced workforce in which women and 
members of racial and ethnic minority groups are appropriately 
represented in Government service.
    (h) Additional Benefit.--Any benefit under this section 
shall be in addition to basic pay and any other form of 
compensation otherwise payable to the employee involved.
    (i) Appropriations Authorized.--For the purpose of enabling 
the Federal Government to recruit and retain employees critical 
to our national security pursuant to this section, there are 
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to 
carry out this section for each fiscal year.
    (j) Length of Program.--The program under this section 
shall remain in effect for the 8-year period beginning on the 
date of enactment of this section. The program shall continue 
to pay employees recruited under this program who are in 
compliance with this section their benefits through their 
commitment period regardless of the preceding sentence.
    (k) Regulations.--Not later than 2 months after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management shall propose regulations to carry out 
this section. Not later than 6 months after the date on which 
the comment period for the regulations proposed under the 
preceding sentence ends, the Secretary shall promulgate final 
regulations to carry out this section.

SEC. 5379B. FELLOWSHIPS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS TO ENTER FEDERAL SERVICE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means an agency of 
        the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland 
        Security, the Department of State, the Department of 
        Energy, the Department of the Treasury, the Department 
        of Justice, the National Security Agency, and the 
        Central Intelligence Agency, and other Federal 
        Government agencies as determined by the National 
        Security Service Board under subsection (f).
          (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the 
        Director of the Office of Personnel Management.
          (3) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning 
        given to such term in section 101 of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
          (4) National security position.--The term ``national 
        security position'' means an employment position 
        determined by the Director of the Office of Personnel 
        Management, in consultation with an agency, for the 
        purposes of a program established for Fellowships for 
        Graduate Students to Enter Federal Services as 
        established under this section, to involve important 
        homeland security applications.
          (5) Science.--The term ``science'' means any of the 
        natural and physical sciences including chemistry, 
        biology, physics, and computer science. Such term does 
        not include any of the social sciences.
    (b) In General.--The Director shall establish and implement 
a program for the awarding of fellowships (to be known as 
``National Security Fellowships'') to graduate students who, in 
exchange for receipt of the fellowship, agree to employment 
with the Federal Government in a national security position.
    (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to participate in the 
program established under subsection (b), a student shall--
          (1) have been accepted into a graduate school program 
        at an accredited institution of higher education within 
        the United States and be pursuing or intend to pursue 
        graduate education in the United States in the 
        disciplines of foreign languages, science, mathematics, 
        engineering, nonproliferation education, or other 
        international fields that are critical areas of 
        national security (as determined by the Director);
          (2) be a United States citizen, United States 
        national, permanent legal resident, or citizen of the 
        Freely Associated States; and
          (3) agree to employment with an agency or office of 
        the Federal Government in a national security position.
    (d) Service Agreement.--In awarding a fellowship under the 
program under this section, the Director shall require the 
recipient to enter into an agreement under which, in 
exchangefor such assistance, the recipient--
          (1) will maintain satisfactory academic progress (as 
        determined in accordance with regulations issued by the 
        Director) and provide regularly scheduled updates to 
        the Director on the progress of their education and how 
        their employment continues to relate to a national 
        security objective of the Federal Government;
          (2) will, upon completion of such education, be 
        employed by the agency for which the fellowship was 
        awarded for a period of at least 3 years as specified 
        by the Director; and
          (3) agrees that if the recipient is unable to meet 
        either of the requirements described in paragraph (1) 
        or (2), the recipient will reimburse the United States 
        for the amount of the assistance provided to the 
        recipient under the fellowship, together with interest 
        at a rate determined in accordance with regulations 
        issued by the Director, but not higher than the rate 
        generally applied in connection with other Federal 
        education loans.
    (e) Federal Employment Eligibility.--If a recipient of a 
fellowship under this section demonstrates to the satisfaction 
of the Director that, after completing their education, the 
recipient is unable to obtain a national security position in 
the Federal Government because such recipient is not eligible 
for a security clearance or other applicable clearance 
necessary for such position, the Director may permit the 
recipient to fulfill the service obligation under the agreement 
under subsection (d) by working in another office or agency in 
the Federal Government for which their skills are appropriate, 
by teaching math, science, or foreign languages, or by 
performing research, at an institution of higher education, for 
a period of not less than 3 years, in the area of study for 
which the fellowship was awarded.
    (f) Fellowship Selection.--
          (1) In general.--The Director shall consult and 
        cooperate with the National Security Service Board 
        established under paragraph (2) in the selection and 
        placement of national security fellows under this 
        section.
          (2) National security service board.--
                  (A) Establishment of board.--There is 
                established the National Security Service 
                Board.
                  (B) Membership.--The Board shall be composed 
                of--
                          (i) the Director of the Office of 
                        Personnel Management, who shall serve 
                        as the chairperson of the Board;
                          (ii) the Secretary of Defense;
                          (iii) the Secretary of Homeland 
                        Security;
                          (iv) the Secretary of State;
                          (v) the Secretary of the Treasury;
                          (vi) the Attorney General;
                          (vii) the Director of the Central 
                        Intelligence Agency;
                          (viii) the Director of the Federal 
                        Bureau of Investigation;
                          (ix) the Director of the National 
                        Security Agency;
                          (x) the Secretary of Energy;
                          (xi) the Director of the Office of 
                        Science and Technology Policy; and
                          (xii) 2 employees, to be appointed by 
                        each of the officials described in 
                        clauses (ii) through (ix), of each 
                        Department for which such officials 
                        have responsibility for administering, 
                        of whom--
                                  (I) 1 shall perform senior 
                                level policy functions; and
                                  (II) 1 shall perform human 
                                resources functions.
                  (C) Functions.--The Board shall carry out the 
                following functions:
                          (i) Develop criteria for awarding 
                        fellowships under this section.
                          (ii) Provide for the wide 
                        dissemination of information regarding 
                        the activities assisted under this 
                        section.
                          (iii) Establish qualifications for 
                        students desiring fellowships under 
                        this section, including a requirement 
                        that the student have a demonstrated 
                        commitment to the study of the 
                        discipline for which the fellowship is 
                        to be awarded.
                          (iv) Provide the Director semi-
                        annually with a list of fellowship 
                        recipients, including an identification 
                        of their skills, who are available to 
                        work in a national security position.
                          (v) Not later than 30 days after a 
                        fellowship recipient completes the 
                        study or education for which assistance 
                        was provided under this section, work 
                        in conjunction with the Director to 
                        make reasonable efforts to hire and 
                        place the fellow in an appropriate 
                        national security position.
                          (vi) Review the administration of the 
                        program established under this section.
                          (vii) Develop and provide to Congress 
                        a strategic plan that identifies the 
                        skills needed by the Federal national 
                        security workforce and how the 
                        provisions of this Act, and related 
                        laws, regulations, and policies will be 
                        used to address such needs.
                          (viii) Carry out additional functions 
                        under section 301 of the Homeland 
                        Security Federal Workforce Act.
    (g) Special Consideration for Current Federal Employees.--
          (1) Set aside of fellowships.--Twenty percent of the 
        fellowships awarded under this section shall be set 
        aside for Federal employees who are working innational 
security positions on the date of enactment of this section to enhance 
the education and training of such employees in areas important to 
national security.
          (2) Full- or part-time education.--Federal employees 
        who are awarded fellowships under paragraph (1) shall 
        be permitted to obtain advanced education under the 
        fellowship on a full-time or part-time basis.
          (3) Part-time education.--A Federal employee who 
        pursues education or training under a fellowship under 
        paragraph (1) on a part-time basis shall be eligible 
        for a stipend in an amount which, when added to the 
        employee's part-time compensation, does not exceed the 
        amount described in subsection (i)(2).
    (h) Fellowship Service.--Any individual under this section 
who is employed by the Federal Government in a national 
security position shall be able to count the time that the 
individual spent in the fellowship program towards the time 
requirement for a reduction in student loans as described in 
section 5379A.
    (i) Amount of Award.--A National Security Fellow who 
complies with the requirements of this section may receive 
funding under the fellowship for up to 3 years at an amount 
determined appropriate by the Director, but not to exceed the 
sum of--
          (1) the amount of tuition paid by the fellow; and
          (2) a stipend in an amount equal to the maximum 
        stipend available to recipients of fellowships under 
        section 10 of the National Science Foundation Act of 
        1950 (42 U.S.C. 1869) for the year involved.
    (j) Appropriations Authorized.--For the purpose of enabling 
the Director to recruit and retain highly qualified employees 
in national security positions, there are authorized to be 
appropriated $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such sums 
as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year.
    (k) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed--
          (1) to authorize the Office of Personnel Management 
        to determine national security positions for any other 
        purpose other than to make such determinations as are 
        required by this section in order to carry out the 
        purposes of this section; and
          (2) as a basis for determining the exemption of any 
        position from inclusion in a bargaining unit pursuant 
        to chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, or from 
        the right of any incumbent of a national security 
        position determined by the Office of Personnel 
        Management pursuant to this section, from entitlement 
        to all rights and benefits under such chapter.

                      TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE

                    Subtitle II--The Budget Process

   CHAPTER 11--THE BUDGET AND FISCAL, BUDGET, AND PROGRAM INFORMATION


SEC. 1115. PERFORMANCE PLANS.

    (a) In carrying out the provisions of section 1105(a)(29), 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
require each agency to prepare an annual performance plan 
covering each program activity set forth in the budget of such 
agency. Such plan shall--
          (1) establish performance goals to define the level 
        of performance to be achieved by a program activity;
          (2) express such goals in an objective, quantifiable, 
        and measurable form unless authorized to be in an 
        alternative form under subsection (b);
          (3) provide a description of how the performance 
        goals and objectives are to be achieved, including the 
        operation processes, training, skills and technology, 
        and the human, capital, information, and other 
        resources and strategies required to meet those 
        performance goals and objectives;
          (4) pursuant to paragraph (3), give special attention 
        to the extent to which specific skills are needed to 
        accomplish the performance goals and indicators that 
        are critical to ensuring the national security;
          [(4)] (5) establish performance indicators to be used 
        in measuring or assessing the relevant outputs, service 
        levels, and outcomes of each program activity;
          [(5)] (6) provide a basis for comparing actual 
        program results with the established performance goals; 
        and
          [(6)] (7) describe the means to be used to verify and 
        validate measured values.

SEC. 1116. PROGRAM PERFORMANCE REPORTS.

    (a) Not later than 150 days after the end of an agency's 
fiscal year, the head of each agency shall prepare and submit 
to the President and the Congress, a report on program 
performance for the previous fiscal year.
    (b) * * *
          (1) Each program performance report shall set forth 
        the performance indicators established in the agency 
        performance plan under section 1115, along with the 
        actual program performance achieved compared with the 
        performance goals expressed in the plan for that fiscal 
        year, and shall specify which performance goals and 
        indicators are critical to ensuring the national 
        security.
          (2) If performance goals are specified in an 
        alternative form under section 1115(b), the results of 
        such program shall be described in relation to such 
        specifications, including whether the performance 
        failed to meet the criteria of a minimally effective or 
        successful program.
    (c) The report for fiscal year 2000 shall include actual 
results for the preceding fiscal year, the report for fiscal 
year 2001 shall include actual results for the two preceding 
fiscal years, and the report for fiscal year 2002 and all 
subsequent reports shall include actual results for the three 
preceding fiscal years.
    (d) Each report shall--
          (1) review the success of achieving the performance 
        goals of the fiscal year;
          (2) evaluate the performance plan for the current 
        fiscal year relative to the performance achieved toward 
        the performance goals in the fiscal year covered by the 
        report;
          (3) explain and describe, where a performance goal 
        has not been met (including when a program activity's 
        performance is determined not to have met the criteria 
        of a successful program activity under section 
        1115(b)(1)(A)(ii) or a corresponding level of 
        achievement if another alternative form is used)--
                  (A) why the goal was not met;
                  (B) those plans and schedules for achieving 
                the established performance goal; [and]
                  (C) if the performance goal is impractical or 
                infeasible, why that is the case and what 
                action is recommended; and
                  (D) whether human capital deficiencies in any 
                way contributed to the failure of the agency to 
                achieve the goal;
          (4) describe the use and assess the effectiveness in 
        achieving performance goals of any waiver under section 
        9703 of this title;
          (5) include a review of the performance goals and 
        evaluation of the performance plan relative to the 
        agency's strategic human capital management; and
          (6) include the summary findings of those program 
        evaluations completed during the fiscal year covered by 
        the report.
    (e)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each program 
performance report shall contain an assessment by the agency 
head of the completeness and reliability of the performance 
data included in the report. The assessment shall describe any 
material inadequacies in the completeness and reliability of 
the performance data, and the actions the agency can take and 
is taking to resolve such inadequacies.
    (2) If a program performance report is incorporated into a 
report submitted under section 3516, the requirements of 
section 3516(e) shall apply in lieu of paragraph (1).
    (f) The functions and activities of this section shall be 
considered to be inherently Governmental functions. The 
drafting of program performance reports under this section 
shall be performed only by Federal employees.

                                
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