Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act of 2021

II Calendar No. 343 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3599 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 Received APRIL 6, 2022 Read twice and placed on the calendar AN ACT To establish a Federal rotational cyber workforce program for the Federal cyber workforce, 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 ‘‘Federal Rotational 4 Cyber Workforce Program Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 8 meaning given the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ in sec- 9 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code, except that 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 3599 PCS the term does not include the Government Account- 1 ability Office. 2 (2) COMPETITIVE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘com- 3 petitive service’’ has the meaning given that term in 4 section 2102 of title 5, United States Code. 5 (3) COUNCILS.—The term ‘‘Councils’’ means— 6 (A) the Chief Human Capital Officers 7 Council established under section 1303 of the 8 Chief Human Capital Officers Act of 2002 (5 9 U.S.C. 1401 note); and 10 (B) the Chief Information Officers Council 11 established under section 3603 of title 44, 12 United States Code. 13 (4) CYBER WORKFORCE POSITION.—The term 14 ‘‘cyber workforce position’’ means a position identi- 15 fied as having information technology, cybersecurity, 16 or other cyber-related functions under section 303 of 17 the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment 18 Act of 2015 (5 U.S.C. 301 note). 19 (5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 20 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. 21 (6) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ has the 22 meaning given the term in section 2105 of title 5, 23 United States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 3599 PCS (7) EMPLOYING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘employ- 1 ing agency’’ means the agency from which an em- 2 ployee is detailed to a rotational cyber workforce po- 3 sition. 4 (8) EXCEPTED SERVICE.—The term ‘‘excepted 5 service’’ has the meaning given that term in section 6 2103 of title 5, United States Code. 7 (9) ROTATIONAL CYBER WORKFORCE POSI- 8 TION.—The term ‘‘rotational cyber workforce posi- 9 tion’’ means a cyber workforce position with respect 10 to which a determination has been made under sec- 11 tion 3(a)(1). 12 (10) ROTATIONAL CYBER WORKFORCE PRO- 13 GRAM.—The term ‘‘rotational cyber workforce pro- 14 gram’’ means the program for the detail of employ- 15 ees among rotational cyber workforce positions at 16 agencies. 17 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 18 means the Secretary of Homeland Security. 19 SEC. 3. ROTATIONAL CYBER WORKFORCE POSITIONS. 20 (a) DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO ROTA- 21 TIONAL SERVICE.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each agency 23 may determine that a cyber workforce position in 24 that agency is eligible for the rotational cyber work- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 3599 PCS force program, which shall not be construed to mod- 1 ify the requirement under section 4(b)(3) that par- 2 ticipation in the rotational cyber workforce program 3 by an employee shall be voluntary. 4 (2) NOTICE PROVIDED.—The head of an agency 5 shall submit to the Director— 6 (A) notice regarding any determination 7 made by the head of the agency under para- 8 graph (1); and 9 (B) for each position with respect to which 10 the head of the agency makes a determination 11 under paragraph (1), the information required 12 under subsection (b)(1). 13 (b) PREPARATION OF LIST.—The Director, with as- 14 sistance from the Councils and the Secretary, shall develop 15 a list of rotational cyber workforce positions that— 16 (1) with respect to each such position, to the 17 extent that the information does not disclose sen- 18 sitive national security information, includes— 19 (A) the title of the position; 20 (B) the occupational series with respect to 21 the position; 22 (C) the grade level or work level with re- 23 spect to the position; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 3599 PCS (D) the agency in which the position is lo- 1 cated; 2 (E) the duty location with respect to the 3 position; and 4 (F) the major duties and functions of the 5 position; and 6 (2) shall be used to support the rotational cyber 7 workforce program. 8 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF LIST.—Not less frequently 9 than annually, the Director shall distribute an updated list 10 developed under subsection (b) to the head of each agency 11 and other appropriate entities. 12 SEC. 4. ROTATIONAL CYBER WORKFORCE PROGRAM. 13 (a) OPERATION PLAN.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 15 after the date of enactment of this Act, and in con- 16 sultation with the Councils, the Secretary, represent- 17 atives of other agencies, and any other entity as the 18 Director determines appropriate, the Director shall 19 develop and issue a Federal Rotational Cyber Work- 20 force Program operation plan providing policies, 21 processes, and procedures for a program for the de- 22 tailing of employees among rotational cyber work- 23 force positions at agencies, which may be incor- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 3599 PCS porated into and implemented through mechanisms 1 in existence on the date of enactment of this Act. 2 (2) UPDATING.—The Director may, in consulta- 3 tion with the Councils, the Secretary, and other enti- 4 ties as the Director determines appropriate, periodi- 5 cally update the operation plan developed and issued 6 under paragraph (1). 7 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The operation plan developed 8 and issued under subsection (a) shall, at a minimum— 9 (1) identify agencies for participation in the ro- 10 tational cyber workforce program; 11 (2) establish procedures for the rotational cyber 12 workforce program, including— 13 (A) any training, education, or career de- 14 velopment requirements associated with partici- 15 pation in the rotational cyber workforce pro- 16 gram; 17 (B) any prerequisites or requirements for 18 participation in the rotational cyber workforce 19 program; and 20 (C) appropriate rotational cyber workforce 21 program performance measures, reporting re- 22 quirements, employee exit surveys, and other 23 accountability devices for the evaluation of the 24 program; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 3599 PCS (3) provide that participation in the rotational 1 cyber workforce program by an employee shall be 2 voluntary; 3 (4) provide that an employee shall be eligible to 4 participate in the rotational cyber workforce pro- 5 gram if the head of the employing agency of the em- 6 ployee, or a designee of the head of the employing 7 agency of the employee, approves of the participation 8 of the employee; 9 (5) provide that the detail of an employee to a 10 rotational cyber workforce position under the rota- 11 tional cyber workforce program shall be on a nonre- 12 imbursable basis; 13 (6) provide that agencies may agree to partner 14 to ensure that the employing agency of an employee 15 that participates in the rotational cyber workforce 16 program is able to fill the position vacated by the 17 employee; 18 (7) require that an employee detailed to a rota- 19 tional cyber workforce position under the rotational 20 cyber workforce program, upon the end of the period 21 of service with respect to the detail, shall be entitled 22 to return to the position held by the employee, or an 23 equivalent position, in the employing agency of the 24 employee without loss of pay, seniority, or other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 3599 PCS rights or benefits to which the employee would have 1 been entitled had the employee not been detailed; 2 (8) provide that discretion with respect to the 3 assignment of an employee under the rotational 4 cyber workforce program shall remain with the em- 5 ploying agency of the employee; 6 (9) require that an employee detailed to a rota- 7 tional cyber workforce position under the rotational 8 cyber workforce program in an agency that is not 9 the employing agency of the employee shall have all 10 the rights that would be available to the employee if 11 the employee were detailed under a provision of law 12 other than this Act from the employing agency to 13 the agency in which the rotational cyber workforce 14 position is located; 15 (10) provide that participation by an employee 16 in the rotational cyber workforce program shall not 17 constitute a change in the conditions of the employ- 18 ment of the employee; and 19 (11) provide that an employee participating in 20 the rotational cyber workforce program shall receive 21 performance evaluations relating to service in the ro- 22 tational cyber workforce program in a participating 23 agency that are— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 3599 PCS (A) prepared by an appropriate officer, su- 1 pervisor, or management official of the employ- 2 ing agency, acting in coordination with the su- 3 pervisor at the agency in which the employee is 4 performing service in the rotational cyber work- 5 force position; 6 (B) based on objectives identified in the 7 operation plan with respect to the employee; 8 and 9 (C) based in whole or in part on the con- 10 tribution of the employee to the agency in which 11 the employee performed such service, as com- 12 municated from that agency to the employing 13 agency of the employee. 14 (c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR ROTATIONAL 15 SERVICE.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee serving in a 17 cyber workforce position in an agency may, with the 18 approval of the head of the agency, submit an appli- 19 cation for detail to a rotational cyber workforce posi- 20 tion that appears on the list developed under section 21 3(b). 22 (2) OPM APPROVAL FOR CERTAIN POSITIONS.— 23 An employee serving in a position in the excepted 24 service may only be selected for a rotational cyber 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 3599 PCS workforce position that is in the competitive service 1 with the prior approval of the Office of Personnel 2 Management, in accordance with section 300.301 of 3 title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc- 4 cessor thereto. 5 (3) SELECTION AND TERM.— 6 (A) SELECTION.—The head of an agency 7 shall select an employee for a rotational cyber 8 workforce position under the rotational cyber 9 workforce program in a manner that is con- 10 sistent with the merit system principles under 11 section 2301(b) of title 5, United States Code. 12 (B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub- 13 paragraph (C), and notwithstanding section 14 3341(b) of title 5, United States Code, a detail 15 to a rotational cyber workforce position shall be 16 for a period of not less than 180 days and not 17 more than 1 year. 18 (C) EXTENSION.—The Chief Human Cap- 19 ital Officer of the agency to which an employee 20 is detailed under the rotational cyber workforce 21 program may extend the period of a detail de- 22 scribed in subparagraph (B) for a period of 60 23 days unless the Chief Human Capital Officer of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 3599 PCS the employing agency of the employee objects to 1 that extension. 2 (4) WRITTEN SERVICE AGREEMENTS.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The detail of an em- 4 ployee to a rotational cyber workforce position 5 shall be contingent upon the employee entering 6 into a written service agreement with the em- 7 ploying agency under which the employee is re- 8 quired to complete a period of employment with 9 the employing agency following the conclusion 10 of the detail that is equal in length to the pe- 11 riod of the detail. 12 (B) OTHER AGREEMENTS AND OBLIGA- 13 TIONS.—A written service agreement under 14 subparagraph (A) shall not supersede or modify 15 the terms or conditions of any other service 16 agreement entered into by the employee under 17 any other authority or relieve the obligations 18 between the employee and the employing agency 19 under such a service agreement. Nothing in this 20 subparagraph prevents an employing agency 21 from terminating a service agreement entered 22 into under any other authority under the terms 23 of such agreement or as required by law or reg- 24 ulation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.PCS H3599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 3599 PCS SEC. 5. REPORTING BY GAO. 1 Not later than the end of the third fiscal year after 2 the fiscal year in which the operation plan under section 3 4(a) is issued, the Comptroller General of the United 4 States shall submit to Congress a report assessing the op- 5 eration and effectiveness of the rotational cyber workforce 6 program, which shall address, at a minimum— 7 (1) the extent to which agencies have partici- 8 pated in the rotational cyber workforce program, in- 9 cluding whether the head of each such participating 10 agency has— 11 (A) identified positions within the agency 12 that are rotational cyber workforce positions; 13 (B) had employees from other partici- 14 pating agencies serve in positions described in 15 subparagraph (A); and 16 (C) had employees of the agency request to 17 serve in rotational cyber workforce positions 18 under the rotational cyber workforce program 19 in participating agencies, including a descrip- 20 tion of how many such requests were approved; 21 and 22 (2) the experiences of employees serving in ro- 23 tational cyber workforce positions under the rota- 24 tional cyber workforce program, including an assess- 25 ment of— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 [Text truncated for display. 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