PIPELINE Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7198 To establish a scholarship program to diversify the national security workforce through partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority institutions, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2020 Mr. BROWN of Maryland (for himself and Mr. TURNER) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a scholarship program to diversify the national security workforce through partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority insti- tutions, 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 ‘‘Pathway for Inclusive 4 Participation of Emerging Leaders and Institutions in the 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7198.IH H7198 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7198 IH NatSec Enterprise Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘PIPELINE Act 1 of 2020’’. 2 SEC. 2. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in co- 4 ordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel 5 Management, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary 6 of Homeland Security, shall establish a Federal scholar- 7 ship-for-service program known as the ‘‘Ronald V. Del- 8 lums Federal National Security Pipeline Program’’ to re- 9 cruit, train, and diversify the next generation of national 10 security professionals to meet the needs of the national 11 security mission for Federal, State, local, and Tribal gov- 12 ernments. 13 (b) PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND COMPONENTS.— 14 The program under subsection (a) shall— 15 (1) provide scholarships to students who are en- 16 rolled in programs of study at covered institutions 17 leading to degrees or specialized program certifi- 18 cations relating to national security; 19 (2) provide the scholarship recipients with sum- 20 mer internship opportunities or other meaningful 21 temporary appointments in the Federal national se- 22 curity workforce; and 23 (3) prioritize the employment placement of 24 scholarship recipients in the Federal Government. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7198.IH H7198 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7198 IH (c) SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNTS.—Each scholarship 1 under subsection (b) shall be in an amount that covers 2 the student’s tuition and fees at the institution under sub- 3 section (b)(1) for not more than three years and provides 4 the student with an additional stipend. 5 (d) POST-AWARD EMPLOYMENT OBLIGATIONS.— 6 (1) CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT.—Each scholarship 7 recipient, as a condition of receiving a scholarship 8 under the program, shall enter into an agreement 9 under which the recipient agrees to work in a posi- 10 tion related to national security at a Federal, State, 11 local, or Tribal agency for a period equal to the 12 length of the scholarship following receipt of the stu- 13 dent’s degree. 14 (2) MILITARY SERVICE.—Pursuant to regula- 15 tions prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for 16 such purpose, a scholarship recipient may fulfill the 17 condition described in paragraph (1) by serving in 18 the Armed Forces. 19 (e) HIRING AUTHORITY.— 20 (1) APPOINTMENT IN EXCEPTED SERVICE.— 21 Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 33 of title 22 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 23 the competitive service, an agency shall appoint in 24 the excepted service an individual who has completed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7198.IH H7198 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7198 IH the eligible degree program for which a scholarship 1 was awarded. 2 (2) NONCOMPETITIVE CONVERSION.—Except as 3 provided in paragraph (4), upon fulfillment of the 4 service term, an employee appointed under para- 5 graph (1) may be converted noncompetitively to 6 term, career-conditional, or career appointment. 7 (3) TIMING OF CONVERSION.—An agency may 8 noncompetitively convert a term employee appointed 9 under paragraph (2) to a career-conditional or ca- 10 reer appointment before the term appointment ex- 11 pires. 12 (4) AUTHORITY TO DECLINE CONVERSION.—An 13 agency may decline to make the noncompetitive con- 14 version or appointment under paragraph (2) for 15 cause. 16 (f) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a scholar- 17 ship under this section, an individual shall— 18 (1) be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of 19 the United States; 20 (2) demonstrate a commitment to a career in 21 national security; 22 (3) have demonstrated a high level of pro- 23 ficiency in a field related to national security; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7198.IH H7198 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7198 IH (4) be a full-time student in an eligible degree 1 program at a covered institution; and 2 (5) accept the terms of a scholarship under this 3 section. 4 (g) CONDITIONS OF SUPPORT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving a 6 scholarship under this section, a scholarship recipi- 7 ent shall agree to provide the qualified institution of 8 higher education with annual verifiable documenta- 9 tion of post-award employment and up-to-date con- 10 tact information. 11 (2) TERMS.—A scholarship recipient under this 12 section shall be liable to the United States as pro- 13 vided in subsection (i) if the individual— 14 (A) fails to maintain an acceptable level of 15 academic standing at the applicable covered in- 16 stitution, as determined by the Secretary of De- 17 fense; 18 (B) is dismissed from the applicable cov- 19 ered institution for disciplinary reasons; 20 (C) withdraws from the eligible degree pro- 21 gram before completing the program; 22 (D) declares that the individual does not 23 intend to fulfill the post-award employment ob- 24 ligation under this section; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7198.IH H7198 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7198 IH (E) fails to fulfill the post-award employ- 1 ment obligation of the individual under this sec- 2 tion. 3 (h) MONITORING COMPLIANCE.—As a condition of 4 participating in the program, a covered institution shall— 5 (1) enter into an agreement with the Secretary 6 of Defense, to monitor the compliance of scholarship 7 recipients with respect to their post-award employ- 8 ment obligations; and 9 (2) provide to the Secretary of Defense, on an 10 annual basis, the post-award employment docu- 11 mentation required under subsection (g)(1) for 12 scholarship recipients through the completion of 13 their post-award employment obligations. 14 (i) AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT.— 15 (1) LESS THAN ONE YEAR OF SERVICE.—If a 16 circumstance described in subsection (g)(2) occurs 17 before the completion of one year of a post-award 18 employment obligation under this section, the total 19 amount of scholarship awards received by the indi- 20 vidual under this section shall— 21 (A) be repaid; or 22 (B) be treated as a loan to be repaid in ac- 23 cordance with subsection (j). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7198.IH H7198 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7198 IH (2) ONE OR MORE YEARS OF SERVICE.—If a 1 circumstance described in subparagraph (D) or (E) 2 of subsection (g)(2) occurs after the completion of 3 one or more years of a post-award employment obli- 4 gation under this section, the total amount of schol- 5 arship awards received by the individual under this 6 section, reduced by the ratio of the number of years 7 of service completed divided by the number of years 8 of service required, shall— 9 (A) be repaid; or 10 (B) be treated as a loan to be repaid in ac- 11 cordance with subsection (j). 12 (j) REPAYMENTS.—A loan described in subsection (i) 13 shall— 14 (1) be treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized 15 Stafford Loan under part D of title IV of the High- 16 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.); 17 and 18 (2) be subject to repayment, together with in- 19 terest thereon accruing from the date of the scholar- 20 ship award, in accordance with terms and conditions 21 specified by the Secretary of Defense (in consulta- 22 tion with the Secretary of Education, Secretary of 23 State, and Secretary of Homeland Security) in regu- 24 lations promulgated to carry out this subsection. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7198.IH H7198 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7198 IH (k) COLLECTION OF REPAYMENT.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the event that a scholar- 2 ship recipient is required to repay the scholarship 3 award under this section, the covered institution pro- 4 viding the scholarship shall— 5 (A) determine the repayment amounts and 6 notify the recipient and the Secretary of De- 7 fense of the amounts owed; and 8 (B) collect the repayment amounts within 9 a period of time as determined by the Secretary 10 of Defense, or the repayment amounts shall be 11 treated as a loan in accordance with subsection 12 (j). 13 (2) RETURNED TO TREASURY.—Except as pro- 14 vided in paragraph (3), any repayment under this 15 subsection shall be returned to the Treasury of the 16 United States. 17 (3) RETAIN PERCENTAGE.—A covered institu- 18 tion may retain a percentage of any repayment the 19 institution collects under this subsection to defray 20 administrative costs associated with the collection. 21 The Secretary of Defense shall establish a single, 22 fixed percentage that will apply to all eligible enti- 23 ties. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7198.IH H7198 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7198 IH (l) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary of Defense may 1 provide for the partial or total waiver or suspension of any 2 service or payment obligation by an individual under this 3 section whenever compliance by the individual with the ob- 4 ligation is impossible or would involve extreme hardship 5 to the individual, or if enforcement of such obligation with 6 respect to the individual would be unconscionable. 7 (m) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—The Secretary of 8 Defense shall evaluate and report periodically to Congress 9 on the success of recruiting individuals for scholarships 10 under this section and on hiring and retaining those indi- 11 viduals in the public sector workforce. 12 (n) COVERED INSTITUTION DEFINED.—In this sec- 13 tion, the term ‘‘covered institution’’ has the meaning given 14 that term in section 262(g)(2) of the National Defense 15 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116– 16 92). 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7198.IH H7198 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS