What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Armed Forces to build systems to identify, train and manage military members with skills in computer programming, coding and artificial intelligence. It also requires the military to track and use these skills from reserve members who developed them in their civilian jobs.
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Who It Affects
- Active duty military members with computer programming and artificial intelligence skills
- Reserve component members (part-time military personnel) who work in technology jobs
- National Guard members with technology skills
- Military department leadership responsible for workforce management
- The Department of Defense
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Key Provisions
- The Armed Forces must create a human capital infrastructure (policies and computer systems) to identify, assess, track and manage military members with computer programming, coding and artificial intelligence skills. (Sec. 3(b))
- Military departments must develop occupational codes or special skills designators for computer programming jobs that align with specific work roles in the Department of Defense Cyber Workforce Framework. (Sec. 3(b))
- Each military department must submit an implementation plan to Congress within 180 days of the bill becoming law, showing how it will carry out these requirements. (Sec. 3(e))
- Military departments must create a process allowing reserve members to qualify for computer programming positions based on skills and training from their civilian jobs. (Sec. 4(d))
- Each military department and the National Guard must submit implementation plans within 180 days showing how they will track and use reserve members' computer programming skills from their civilian work. (Sec. 4(e))
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the military will be required to formally recognize and track computer programming skills among its members. Military departments must create official job codes and qualifications for these positions. For the first time, there will be a process for reserve members to be credited with computer programming skills learned in their civilian jobs. Military departments must provide Congress with plans for how they will implement these changes and report on progress annually in budget documents.
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Important Definitions
- **Computer programming occupational area**: Technical or nontechnical jobs supporting computer programming, coding and artificial intelligence work, including positions like data scientists, software developers, machine learning engineers and program managers. (Sec. 2(1))
- **Digital platform or application**: An online personnel management system or human resources solution. (Sec. 2(2))
- **Human capital infrastructure**: Policies and processes that support training, developing and tracking military members with specific job skills and experiences, including career management strategies and personnel software databases. (Sec. 2(3))
- **Qualification process**: The training and verification process for military members to receive job codes for computer programming work, which may include military training, education, fellowships and civilian work experience for reserve members. (Sec. 2(4))
- **Qualified and known standard**: A defined, reviewed and published standard for job positions that provides a measurable way to assess whether military members can meet operational needs. (Sec. 2(5))
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 1123
To ensure computer programming, coding, and artificial intelligence
capabilities in the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 30, 2023
Ms. DUCKWORTH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
A BILL
To ensure computer programming, coding, and artificial in-
telligence capabilities in the Armed Forces, 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 ‘‘Managing Active and
4
Reserve Tech Talent Effectively Act of 2023’’ or the
5
‘‘MARTTE Act of 2023’’.
6
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
7
In this Act:
8
(1) COMPUTER
PROGRAMMING
OCCUPATIONAL
9
AREA.—The term ‘‘computer programming occupa-
10
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•S 1123 IS
tional area’’ means a technical or nontechnical occu-
1
pational position that supports computer program-
2
ming, coding, and artificial intelligence operations
3
and development, including the following positions:
4
(A) Data scientists.
5
(B) Data engineers.
6
(C) Data analysts.
7
(D) Software developers.
8
(E) Machine learning engineers.
9
(F) Program managers.
10
(G) Acquisition professionals.
11
(2) DIGITAL PLATFORM OR APPLICATION.—The
12
term ‘‘digital platform or application’’ means an on-
13
line integrated personnel management system or
14
human capital solution.
15
(3) HUMAN
CAPITAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.—The
16
term ‘‘human capital infrastructure’’ means the poli-
17
cies and processes that support development, train-
18
ing, evaluating, and tracking of personnel with spe-
19
cific occupational skills, experiences, and positions,
20
including—
21
(A) career and talent management strategy
22
and policies; and
23
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(B) personnel software and databases for
1
tracking and identifying members of the Armed
2
Forces with specific capabilities.
3
(4)
QUALIFICATION
PROCESS.—The
term
4
‘‘qualification process’’—
5
(A) means the process, modeled on a
6
streamlined version of the process for obtaining
7
joint qualifications, for training and verifying
8
members of the Armed Forces to receive career
9
field or occupational codes associated with com-
10
puter programming occupational areas; and
11
(B) may include—
12
(i) experiences, education, and train-
13
ing received as a part of military service,
14
including fellowships, talent exchanges, po-
15
sitions within government, and educational
16
courses; and
17
(ii) in the case of members of the re-
18
serve components, experiences, education,
19
and training received in their civilian occu-
20
pations.
21
(5) QUALIFIED AND KNOWN STANDARD.—The
22
term ‘‘qualified and known standard’’ means the de-
23
fined, reviewed, and published standard for occupa-
24
tional series or career fields that provides a measur-
25
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able standard by which the military departments and
1
combatant commands can assess the ability to meet
2
their operational planning and steady-state force
3
presentation requirements during the global force
4
management process.
5
SEC. 3. INFRASTRUCTURE FOR COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
6
SKILLS.
7
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
8
ings:
9
(1) To ensure a competitive edge over adver-
10
saries of the United States, the United States
11
Armed Forces must attract, build, and maintain a
12
military force capable of rapidly bringing advanced
13
technology and innovation to the battlefields.
14
(2) Congress has supported the Department of
15
Defense across various programs to attract talent in
16
key computer programming occupational areas.
17
(3) The Department of Defense and the mili-
18
tary departments have issued multiple strategy docu-
19
ments regarding workforce development for artificial
20
intelligence, but have yet, as of the date of the en-
21
actment of this Act, to establish policies for military
22
occupational specialties or career field development.
23
(4) Absent strategy implementation and invest-
24
ment, the Department of Defense and each of the
25
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military departments currently lack the human cap-
1
ital infrastructure to quickly leverage critical capa-
2
bilities relating to computer programming main-
3
tained by members of the Armed Forces in conflict.
4
It is imperative to build out such an infrastructure
5
to leverage such capabilities.
6
(5) While the Department of Defense has estab-
7
lished new work roles related to computer program-
8
ming, artificial intelligence and machine learning
9
competency, and software engineering under the De-
10
partment of Defense Cyber Workforce Framework,
11
there is no requirement for the military departments
12
to review, modify, and expand their occupational
13
fields, military occupational specialties, and skills
14
designators to align with these work roles. Addition-
15
ally, there is no unified mechanism to evaluate the
16
utility of capabilities of members of the Armed
17
Forces in computer programming occupational areas
18
and to identify gaps or surpluses in such capabilities
19
across the military departments.
20
(b) POLICY.—
21
(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be a policy of the
22
Armed Forces to establish a robust human capital
23
infrastructure that allows for the military depart-
24
ments to present a qualified and known standard to
25
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•S 1123 IS
the combatant commands with respect to computer
1
programming skills, which include technical and
2
nontechnical skills related to artificial intelligence
3
and coding.
4
(2) ELEMENTS.—The policy set forth in para-
5
graph (1) shall be achieved by—
6
(A) the development, funding, and execu-
7
tion of a coherent approach and transparent
8
strategy across digital platforms and applica-
9
tions that enable development and presentation
10
of forces with appropriate programmatic over-
11
sight;
12
(B) the development and management of
13
career field occupational codes aligned with the
14
work roles related to computer programming,
15
artificial intelligence and machine learning com-
16
petency, and software engineering under the
17
Department
of
Defense
Cyber
Workforce
18
Framework to allow for the military depart-
19
ments to identify, assess, track, manage, and
20
assign personnel with computer programming,
21
coding, and artificial intelligence skills through
22
established mechanisms, under the policies of
23
the military departments with respect to formal
24
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•S 1123 IS
military occupational specialties and career field
1
management, including—
2
(i) development of a career field or
3
separate occupational code for computer
4
programming occupational areas aligned
5
with such work roles; and
6
(ii) development of a unique special
7
skills or experience designator or qualifica-
8
tions, tracked independently of a career
9
field, for computer programming occupa-
10
tional areas aligned with such work roles;
11
(C) conducting an assessment of members
12
of the Armed Forces who have completed the
13
qualification process of the military department
14
concerned or who qualify based on existing
15
skills and training across computer program-
16
ming occupational areas; and
17
(D) maintaining continued awareness of
18
members of the Armed Forces described in sub-
19
paragraph (C).
20
(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary of each mili-
21
tary department, in consultation with the Assistant Sec-
22
retary of the military department for Manpower and Re-
23
serve Affairs and the Chief Digital and Artificial Intel-
24
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•S 1123 IS
ligence Officer of the Office of the Secretary of Defense,
1
shall—
2
(1) be responsible for development and dis-
3
charge of the policy set forth in subsection (b); and
4
(2) carry out that responsibility through an of-
5
ficer or employee of the military department as-
6
signed by the Secretary for that purpose.
7
(d) DUTIES.—In developing and providing for the
8
discharge of the policy set forth in subsection (b), the Sec-
9
retary of each military department, in consultation with
10
the Assistant Secretary of the military department for
11
Manpower and Reserve Affairs, the Chief Information Of-
12
ficer of the military department, the Chief Information Of-
13
ficer of the Department of Defense, and the Chief Digital
14
and Artificial Intelligence Officer of the Office of the Sec-
15
retary of Defense, shall establish a robust human capital
16
infrastructure to provide the combatant commands force
17
capability associated with computer programming, coding,
18
and artificial intelligence skills, including by meeting re-
19
lated manning, systems, training, and other related fund-
20
ing requirements.
21
(e) IMPLEMENTATION PLANS.—
22
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days
23
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
24
retary of each military department shall submit to
25
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•S 1123 IS
the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate
1
and the House of Representatives a plan for imple-
2
menting the policy set forth in subsection (b).
3
(2) INCLUSION IN BUDGET JUSTIFICATION MA-
4
TERIALS.—The Secretary of each military depart-
5
ment shall include an update on implementation of
6
the policy set forth in subsection (b) in the budget
7
justification materials submitted in support of the
8
Department of Defense’s budget (as submitted with
9
the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of
10
title 31, United States Code) for fiscal year 2025
11
and each fiscal thereafter until all milestones set
12
forth in the plan submitted under paragraph (1) by
13
the Secretary have been met.
14
SEC. 4. RESERVE COMPONENT COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
15
SKILLS.
16
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
17
ings:
18
(1) The reserve components provide critical ca-
19
pabilities to the Department of Defense to augment
20
and enhance the active components. Those capabili-
21
ties include experiences and skills associated with
22
both the members’ military career fields and their ci-
23
vilian occupations and positions.
24
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(2) The Reserve Force Policy Board identified
1
in August 2020 the inability of the Department of
2
Defense to leverage the civilian skills of members of
3
the reserve components when needed.
4
(3) The Department of Defense no longer main-
5
tains the Civilian Employment Information Pro-
6
gram, which provided a database of the civilian em-
7
ployment information and skills associated with
8
members of the reserve components.
9
(4) There is no mechanism to evaluate quali-
10
fication status and present the surge and augmenta-
11
tion capabilities of the reserve components in pro-
12
viding computer programming occupational capabili-
13
ties, experiences, and skills.
14
(b) POLICY.—
15
(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be a policy of the
16
Armed Forces to utilize a robust human capital in-
17
frastructure to bolster the capacity of the reserve
18
components to evaluate, track, and present a quali-
19
fied and known standard to the military depart-
20
ments with respect to computer programming occu-
21
pational areas.
22
(2) ELEMENTS.—The policy set forth in para-
23
graph (1) shall be achieved through—
24
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•S 1123 IS
(A) a process by which members of a re-
1
serve component are able to gain occupational
2
or career field designation based on policies es-
3
tablished under section 3 using experiences,
4
training, or skills developed as a result of their
5
civilian occupations;
6
(B) awareness, based on policies estab-
7
lished under section 3, of the existing skills of
8
members of the reserve components, developed
9
as a result of their civilian occupations, based
10
on an initial baseline and ongoing tracking; and
11
(C) policies that allow the military depart-
12
ments and the combatant commands to effec-
13
tively leverage reserve component members who
14
meet the career field requirements established
15
pursuant to section 3 to support current oper-
16
ations fully during reserve periods.
17
(c) RESPONSIBILITY.—The Secretary of each military
18
department, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary
19
of the military department for Manpower and Reserve Af-
20
fairs, the Chief of the Reserve Command of the military
21
department, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau,
22
shall—
23
(1) be responsible for development and dis-
24
charge of the policy set forth in subsection (b); and
25
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(2) carry out that responsibility through an of-
1
ficer or employee of that military department as-
2
signed by the Secretary for that purpose.
3
(d) DUTIES.—In developing and providing for the
4
discharge of the policy set forth in subsection (b), the Sec-
5
retary of each military department, in consultation with
6
the Assistant Secretary of the military department for
7
Manpower and Reserve Affairs, the Chief of the Reserve
8
Command of the military department, and the Chief of
9
the National Guard Bureau, shall—
10
(1) establish a process and procedures by which
11
members of the reserve component of the military
12
department are able to satisfy qualification stand-
13
ards for occupational policies established under sec-
14
tion 3 based on experiences, training, or skills
15
achi
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]