National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2406 To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commis- sioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 to make certain changes to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s commissioned officer corps, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 30, 2019 Mr. CASE (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, Armed Services, and Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- tration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 to make certain changes to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s commissioned officer corps, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2406.IH H2406 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2406 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Com- 3 missioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2019’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 5 this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. References to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Com- missioned Officer Corps Act of 2002. TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 101. Strength and distribution in grade. Sec. 102. Recalled officers. Sec. 103. Obligated service requirement. Sec. 104. Training and physical fitness. Sec. 105. Recruiting materials. Sec. 106. Technical correction. TITLE II—PARITY AND RECRUITMENT Sec. 201. Education loans. Sec. 202. Interest payments. Sec. 203. Student pre-commissioning program. Sec. 204. Limitation on educational assistance. Sec. 205. Applicability of certain provisions of title 10, United States Code, and extension of certain authorities applicable to members of the Armed Forces to commissioned officer corps. Sec. 206. Applicability of certain provisions of title 37, United States Code. Sec. 207. Prohibition on retaliatory personnel actions. Sec. 208. Application of certain provisions of competitive service law. Sec. 209. Employment and reemployment rights. Sec. 210. Treatment of commission in commissioned officer corps for purposes of certain hiring decisions. TITLE III—APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTION OF OFFICERS Sec. 301. Appointments. Sec. 302. Personnel boards. Sec. 303. Assistant Administrator of the Office of Marine and Aviation Oper- ations. Sec. 304. Temporary appointments. Sec. 305. Officer candidates. Sec. 306. Procurement of personnel. TITLE IV—SEPARATION AND RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS Sec. 401. Involuntary retirement or separation. Sec. 402. Separation pay. VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2406.IH H2406 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2406 IH SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS- 1 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONED 2 OFFICER CORPS ACT OF 2002. 3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, any place in 4 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 5 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi- 6 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 7 section or other provision of the National Oceanic and At- 8 mospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps 9 Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.). 10 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 11 SEC. 101. STRENGTH AND DISTRIBUTION IN GRADE. 12 Section 214 (33 U.S.C. 3004) is amended to read as 13 follows: 14 ‘‘SEC. 214. STRENGTH AND DISTRIBUTION IN GRADE. 15 ‘‘(a) GRADES.—The commissioned grades in the com- 16 missioned officer corps of the Administration are the fol- 17 lowing, in relative rank with officers of the Navy: 18 ‘‘(1) Vice admiral. 19 ‘‘(2) Rear admiral. 20 ‘‘(3) Rear admiral (lower half). 21 ‘‘(4) Captain. 22 ‘‘(5) Commander. 23 ‘‘(6) Lieutenant commander. 24 ‘‘(7) Lieutenant. 25 ‘‘(8) Lieutenant (junior grade). 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2406.IH H2406 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2406 IH ‘‘(9) Ensign. 1 ‘‘(b) GRADE DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall 2 prescribe, with respect to the distribution on the lineal list 3 in grade, the percentages applicable to the grades set forth 4 in subsection (a). 5 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL COMPUTATION OF NUMBER IN 6 GRADE.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 8 once each year, the Secretary shall determine the 9 number of officers on the lineal list authorized to be 10 serving in each grade. 11 ‘‘(2) METHOD OF DETERMINATION.—The num- 12 ber in each grade shall be determined by applying 13 the applicable percentage to the total number of 14 such officers serving on active duty on the date the 15 computation is made. 16 ‘‘(3) FRACTIONS.—If a final fraction occurs in 17 computing the authorized number of officers in a 18 grade, the nearest whole number shall be taken. If 19 the fraction is 1⁄2, the next higher whole number 20 shall be taken. 21 ‘‘(d) TEMPORARY INCREASE IN NUMBERS.—The 22 total number of officers authorized by law to be on the 23 lineal list during a fiscal year may be temporarily exceeded 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2406.IH H2406 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2406 IH if the average number on that list during that fiscal year 1 does not exceed the authorized number. 2 ‘‘(e) POSITIONS OF IMPORTANCE AND RESPONSI- 3 BILITY.—Officers serving in positions designated under 4 section 228(a) and officers recalled from retired status 5 shall not be counted when computing authorized strengths 6 under subsection (c) and shall not count against those 7 strengths. 8 ‘‘(f) PRESERVATION OF GRADE AND PAY.—No offi- 9 cer may be reduced in grade or pay or separated from 10 the commissioned officer corps of the Administration as 11 the result of a computation made to determine the author- 12 ized number of officers in the various grades.’’. 13 SEC. 102. RECALLED OFFICERS. 14 Section 215 (33 U.S.C. 3005) is amended— 15 (1) by striking ‘‘Effective October 1, 2009, the’’ 16 and inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The’’; 17 (2) by striking ‘‘be increased from 321 to 379 18 if—’’ and all that follows through ‘‘fiscal year.’’ and 19 inserting ‘‘not to exceed 500.’’; and 20 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub- 21 section: 22 ‘‘(b) POSITIONS OF IMPORTANCE AND RESPONSI- 23 BILITY.—Officers serving in positions designated under 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2406.IH H2406 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2406 IH section 228 and officers recalled from retired status or de- 1 tailed to an agency other than the Administration— 2 ‘‘(1) may not be counted in determining the 3 total number of authorized officers on the lineal list 4 under this section; and 5 ‘‘(2) may not count against such number.’’. 6 SEC. 103. OBLIGATED SERVICE REQUIREMENT. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et 8 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘SEC. 216. OBLIGATED SERVICE REQUIREMENT. 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 11 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pre- 12 scribe the obligated service requirements for appoint- 13 ments, training, promotions, separations, continu- 14 ations, and retirement of officers not otherwise cov- 15 ered by law. 16 ‘‘(2) WRITTEN AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 17 and officers shall enter into written agreements that 18 describe the officers’ obligated service requirements 19 prescribed under paragraph (1) in return for such 20 appointments, training, promotions, separations, and 21 retirements as the Secretary considers appropriate. 22 ‘‘(b) REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO SATISFY RE- 23 QUIREMENTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2406.IH H2406 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2406 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 1 an officer who fails to meet the service requirements 2 prescribed under subsection (a)(1) to reimburse the 3 Secretary in an amount that bears the same ratio to 4 the total costs of the training provided to that offi- 5 cer by the Secretary as the unserved portion of ac- 6 tive duty bears to the total period of active duty the 7 officer agreed to serve. 8 ‘‘(2) OBLIGATION AS DEBT TO UNITED 9 STATES.—An obligation to reimburse the Secretary 10 under paragraph (1) shall be considered for all pur- 11 poses as a debt owed to the United States. 12 ‘‘(3) DISCHARGE IN BANKRUPTCY.—A dis- 13 charge in bankruptcy under title 11 that is entered 14 less than 5 years after the termination of a written 15 agreement entered into under subsection (a)(2) does 16 not discharge the individual signing the agreement 17 from a debt arising under such agreement. 18 ‘‘(c) WAIVER OR SUSPENSION OF COMPLIANCE.— 19 The Secretary may waive the service obligation of an offi- 20 cer who— 21 ‘‘(1) becomes unqualified to serve on active 22 duty in the commissioned officer corps of the Ad- 23 ministration because of a circumstance not within 24 the control of such officer; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2406.IH H2406 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2406 IH ‘‘(2) is— 1 ‘‘(A) not physically qualified for appoint- 2 ment; and 3 ‘‘(B) determined to be unqualified for serv- 4 ice in the commissioned officer corps of the Ad- 5 ministration because of a physical or medical 6 condition that was not the result of the officer’s 7 own misconduct or grossly negligent conduct.’’. 8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 9 in section 1 of the Hydrographic Services Improvement 10 Act Amendments of 2002 (Public Law 107–372) is 11 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 12 215 the following: 13 ‘‘Sec. 216. Obligated service requirement.’’. SEC. 104. TRAINING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et 15 seq.), as amended by section 103 of this Act, is further 16 amended by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘SEC. 217. TRAINING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS. 18 ‘‘(a) TRAINING.—The Secretary may take such meas- 19 ures as may be necessary to ensure that officers are pre- 20 pared to carry out their duties in the commissioned officer 21 corps of the Administration and proficient in the skills 22 necessary to carry out such duties. Such measures may 23 include the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2406.IH H2406 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2406 IH ‘‘(1) Carrying out training programs and cor- 1 respondence courses, including establishing and op- 2 erating a basic officer training program to provide 3 initial indoctrination and maritime vocational train- 4 ing for officer candidates as well as refresher train- 5 ing, mid-career training, aviation training, and such 6 other training as the Secretary considers necessary 7 for officer development and proficiency. 8 ‘‘(2) Providing officers and officer candidates 9 with educational materials and school supplies. 10 ‘‘(3) Acquiring such equipment as may be nec- 11 essary for training and instructional purposes. 12 ‘‘(b) PHYSICAL FITNESS.—The Secretary shall en- 13 sure that officers maintain a high physical state of readi- 14 ness by establishing standards of physical fitness for offi- 15 cers that are substantially equivalent to those prescribed 16 for officers of the Coast Guard.’’. 17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 18 in section 1 of the Hydrographic Services Improvement 19 Act Amendments of 2002 (Public Law 107–372), as 20 amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting after 21 the item relating to section 216 the following: 22 ‘‘Sec. 217. Training and physical fitness.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2406.IH H2406 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2406 IH SEC. 105. RECRUITING MATERIALS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et 2 seq.), as amended by section 104 of this Act, is further 3 amended by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘SEC. 218. USE OF RECRUITING MATERIALS FOR PUBLIC 5 RELATIONS. 6 ‘‘The Secretary may use for public relations purposes 7 of the Department of Commerce any advertising materials 8 developed for use for recruitment and retention of per- 9 sonnel for the commissioned officer corps of the Adminis- 10 tration.’’. 11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 12 in section 1 of the Hydrographic Services Improvement 13 Act Amendments of 2002 (Public Law 107–372), as 14 amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting after 15 the item relating to section 217 the following: 16 ‘‘Sec. 218. Use of recruiting materials for public relations.’’. SEC. 106. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 17 Section 101(21)(C) of title 38, United States Code, 18 is amended by inserting ‘‘in the commissioned officer 19 corps’’ before ‘‘of the National’’. 20 TITLE II—PARITY AND 21 RECRUITMENT 22 SEC. 201. EDUCATION LOANS. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et 24 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2406.IH H2406 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2406 IH ‘‘SEC. 267. EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 1 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO REPAY EDUCATION LOANS.— 2 For the purpose of maintaining an adequate number of 3 officers on active duty possessing the skills required by 4 the commissioned officer corps, the Secretary may repay, 5 in the case of a person described in subsection (b), a loan 6 that— 7 ‘‘(1) was used by the person to finance edu- 8 cation; and 9 ‘‘(2) was obtained from a governmental entity, 10 private financial institution, educational institution, 11 or other authorized entity. 12 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—To be eligible to obtain 13 a loan repayment under this section, a person must— 14 ‘‘(1) satisfy one of the requirements specified in 15 subsection (c); 16 ‘‘(2) be fully qualified for, or hold, an appoint- 17 ment as a commissioned officer in the commissioned 18 officer corps of the Administration; and 19 ‘‘(3) sign a written agreement to serve on active 20 duty, or, if on active duty, to remain on active duty [Text truncated for display. 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