Homeland Security Acquisition Professional Career Program Act

II Calendar No. 386 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 367 [Report No. 117–118] IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 22, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs MAY 24, 2022 Reported by Mr. PETERS, without amendment AN ACT To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an acquisition professional career program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homeland Security 4 Acquisition Professional Career Program Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H367.RS H367 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 367 RS SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF THE ACQUISITION PROFES- 1 SIONAL CAREER PROGRAM. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu- 3 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by 4 adding at the end the following new section: 5 ‘‘SEC. 711. ACQUISITION PROFESSIONAL CAREER PRO- 6 GRAM. 7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 8 Department an acquisition professional career program to 9 develop a cadre of acquisition professionals within the De- 10 partment. 11 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Under Secretary for 12 Management shall administer the acquisition professional 13 career program established pursuant to subsection (a). 14 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The Under Sec- 15 retary for Management shall carry out the following with 16 respect to the acquisition professional career program. 17 ‘‘(1) Designate the occupational series, grades, 18 and number of acquisition positions throughout the 19 Department to be included in the program and man- 20 age centrally such positions. 21 ‘‘(2) Establish and publish on the Department’s 22 website eligibility criteria for candidates to partici- 23 pate in the program. 24 ‘‘(3) Carry out recruitment efforts to attract 25 candidates— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H367.RS H367 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 367 RS ‘‘(A) from institutions of higher education, 1 including such institutions with established ac- 2 quisition specialties and courses of study, his- 3 torically Black colleges and universities, and 4 Hispanic-serving institutions; 5 ‘‘(B) with diverse work experience outside 6 of the Federal Government; or 7 ‘‘(C) with military service. 8 ‘‘(4) Hire eligible candidates for designated po- 9 sitions under the program. 10 ‘‘(5) Develop a structured program comprised 11 of acquisition training, on-the-job experience, De- 12 partment-wide rotations, mentorship, shadowing, 13 and other career development opportunities for pro- 14 gram participants. 15 ‘‘(6) Provide, beyond required training estab- 16 lished for program participants, additional special- 17 ized acquisition training, including small business 18 contracting and innovative acquisition techniques 19 training. 20 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—Not later than December 31, 2021, 21 and annually thereafter through 2027, the Secretary shall 22 submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Home- 24 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H367.RS H367 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 367 RS report on the acquisition professional career program. 1 Each such report shall include the following information: 2 ‘‘(1) The number of candidates approved for 3 the program. 4 ‘‘(2) The number of candidates who commenced 5 participation in the program, including generalized 6 information on such candidates’ backgrounds with 7 respect to education and prior work experience, but 8 not including personally identifiable information. 9 ‘‘(3) A breakdown of the number of partici- 10 pants hired under the program by type of acquisition 11 position. 12 ‘‘(4) A list of Department components and of- 13 fices that participated in the program and informa- 14 tion regarding length of time of each program par- 15 ticipant in each rotation at such components or of- 16 fices. 17 ‘‘(5) Program attrition rates and post-program 18 graduation retention data, including information on 19 how such data compare to the prior year’s data, as 20 available. 21 ‘‘(6) The Department’s recruiting efforts for 22 the program. 23 ‘‘(7) The Department’s efforts to promote re- 24 tention of program participants. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H367.RS H367 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 367 RS ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 ‘‘(1) HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 2 term ‘Hispanic-serving institution’ has the meaning 3 given such term in section 502 of the Higher Edu- 4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a). 5 ‘‘(2) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND 6 UNIVERSITIES.—The term ‘historically Black col- 7 leges and universities’ has the meaning given the 8 term ‘part B institution’ in section 322(2) of Higher 9 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)). 10 ‘‘(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 11 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 12 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High- 13 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).’’. 14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 15 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 16 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 17 710 the following new item: 18 ‘‘Sec. 711. Acquisition professional career program.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H367.RS H367 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB Calendar No. 386 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 367 [Report No. 117–118] AN ACT To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an acquisition professional career pro- gram, and for other purposes. MAY 24, 2022 Reported without amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H367.RS H367 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB