,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ahhg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #bh1 #bjag ,mr4 ,lankford introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to grant expedited hiring authority to the head of an agency to appoint college graduates and post-secondary students4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,direct ,hire of ,students and ,recent ,graduates ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,expedited hiring authority for college graduates and post-secondary students 7a7 ,in ,general ,subchapter ,i of chapter #ca of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #caae4 ,expedited hiring authority for college graduates2 competitive service 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,director of the ,office of ,personnel ,management4 7#b7 ,institution of higher education ,the term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section #aja7;a7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja7;a774 7b7 ,appointment 7#a7 ,in general ,the head of an agency may appoint1 without regard to any provision of sections #ccji through #ccai and #cccj1 a qualified individual to a position in the competitive service classified in a professional or administrative occupational category at the ,,gs-#aa level1 or an equivalent level1 or below4 7#b7 ,restrictions ,an appointment under paragraph 7#a7 shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the ,director4 7c7 ,qualifications for appointment ,the head of an agency may make an appointment under subsection 7b7 only if the individual being appointed-- 7#a7 has received a baccalaureate or graduate degree from an institution of higher education2 7#b7 applies for the position-- 7,a7 not later than #b years after the date on which the individual being appointed received the degree described in paragraph 7#a72 or 7,b7 in the case of an individual who has completed a period of not less than #d years of obligated service in a uniformed service1 not later than #b years after the date of the discharge or release of the individual from that service2 and 7#c7 meets each minimum qualification standard prescribed by the ,director for the position to which the individual is being appointed4 7d7 ,public notice and advertising 7#a7 ,in general ,the head of an agency making an appointment under subsection 7b7 shall publicly advertise positions under this section4 7#b7 ,requirements ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the head of an agency shall-- 7,a7 adhere to merit system principles2 7,b7 advertise positions in a manner that provides for diverse and qualified applicants2 and 7,c7 ensure potential applicants have appropriate information relevant to the positions available4 7e7 ,limitation on appointments 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 the total number of employees that the head of an agency may appoint under this section during a fiscal year may not exceed the number equal to #ae percent of the number of individuals that the agency head appointed during the previous fiscal year to a position in the competitive service classified in a professional or administrative occupational category1 at the ,,gs-#aa level1 or an equivalent level1 or below1 under a competitive examining procedure4 7#b7 ,exceptions ,under a regulation prescribed under subsection 7f71 the ,director may establish a lower limit on the number of individuals that may be appointed under paragraph 7#a7 of this subsection during a fiscal year based on any factor the ,director considers appropriate4 7f7 ,regulations ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of the ,direct ,hire of ,students and ,recent ,graduates ,act of #bjag1 the ,director shall issue interim regulations1 with an opportunity for comment1 for the administration of this section4 7g7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than ,september #cj of each of the first #c fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of the ,direct ,hire of ,students and ,recent ,graduates ,act of #bjag1 the head of an agency that makes an appointment under this section shall submit to ,congress a report assessing the impact of the use of the authority provided under this section during the fiscal year in which the report is submitted4 7#b7 ,content ,the head of an agency shall include in each report under paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 the total number of individuals appointed by the agency under this section1 as well as the number of such individuals who are-- 7i7 minorities or members of other underrepresented groups2 or 7ii7 veterans2 7,b7 recruitment sources2 7,c7 the total number of individuals appointed by the agency during the applicable fiscal year to a position in the competitive service classified in a professional or administrative occupational category at the ,,gs-#aa level1 or an equivalent level1 or below2 and 7,d7 any additional data specified by the ,director of the ,office of ,personnel ,management4 7#c7 ,submission to ,office of ,personnel ,management ,upon request of the ,director of the ,office of ,personnel ,management1 the head of an agency that submits a report to ,congress under paragraph 7#a7 shall submit a copy of the report to the ,director4 7h7 ,special provision regarding the ,department of ,defense 7#a7 ,authority ,nothing in this section shall preclude the ,secretary of ,defense from exercising any authority to appoint a recent graduate under section #aajf of the ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjag 7#aj ,u4,s4,c4 note prec4 #aehj71 or any applicable successor statute4 7#b7 ,regulations ,any regulations prescribed by the ,director for the administration of this section shall not apply to the ,department of ,defense during the period ending on the date on which the appointment authority of the ,secretary of ,defense under section #aajf of the ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjag 7#aj ,u4,s4,c4 note prec4 #aehj71 or any applicable successor statute1 terminates4 #caaf4 ,expedited hiring authority for post-secondary students2 competitive service 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,director of the ,office of ,personnel ,management4 7#b7 ,institution of higher education ,the term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section #aja7;a7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja7;a774 7#c7 ,student ,the term student means an individual enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an institution of higher education who is pursuing a baccalaureate or graduate degree on at least a part-time basis as determined by the institution of higher education4 7b7 ,appointment 7#a7 ,in general ,the head of an agency may make a time-limited appointment of a student1 without regard to any provision of sections #ccji through #ccai and #cccj1 to a position in the competitive service at the ,,gs-#aa level1 or an equivalent level1 or below for which the student is qualified4 7#b7 ,restrictions ,an appointment under paragraph 7#a7 shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the ,director4 7c7 ,public notice 7#a7 ,in general ,the head of an agency making an appointment under subsection 7b7 shall publicly advertise positions available under this section4 7#b7 ,requirements ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the head of an agency shall-- 7,a7 adhere to merit system principles2 7,b7 advertise positions in a manner that provides for diverse and qualified applicants2 and 7,c7 ensure potential applicants have appropriate information relevant to the positions available4 7d7 ,limitation on appointments 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 the total number of students that the head of an agency may appoint under this section during a fiscal year may not exceed the number equal to #ae percent of the number of students that the agency head appointed during the previous fiscal year to a position in the competitive service at the ,,gs-#aa level1 or an equivalent level1 or below4 7#b7 ,exceptions ,under a regulation prescribed under subsection 7g71 the ,director may establish a lower limit on the number of students that may be appointed under paragraph 7#a7 of this subsection during a fiscal year based on any factor the ,director considers appropriate4 7e7 ,conversion ,the head of an agency may1 without regard to any provision of chapter #cc or any other provision of law relating to the examination1 certification1 and appointment of individuals in the competitive service1 convert a student serving in an appointment under subsection 7b7 to a permanent appointment in the competitive service within the agency without further competition if the student-- 7#a7 has completed the course of study leading to the baccalaureate or graduate degree2 7#b7 has completed not less than #fdj hours of current continuous employment under subsection 7b72 and 7#c7 meets the qualification standards for the position to which the student will be converted4 7f7 ,termination ,the head of an agency shall1 without regard to any provision of chapter #ce or #ge1 terminate the appointment of a student appointed under subsection 7b7 upon completion of the designated academic course of study unless the student is selected for conversion under subsection 7e74 7g7 ,regulations ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of the ,direct ,hire of ,students and ,recent ,graduates ,act of #bjag1 the ,director shall issue interim regulations1 with an opportunity for comment1 for the administration of this section4 7h7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than ,september #cj of each of the first #c fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of the ,direct ,hire of ,students and ,recent ,graduates ,act of #bjag1 the head of an agency that makes an appointment under this section shall submit to ,congress a report assessing the impact of the use of the authority provided under this section during the fiscal year in which the report is submitted4 7#b7 ,content ,the head of an agency shall include in each report under paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 the total number of individuals appointed by the agency under this section1 as well as the number of such individuals who are-- 7i7 minorities or members of other underrepresented groups2 or 7ii7 veterans2 7,b7 recruitment sources2 7,c7 the total number of individuals appointed by the agency during the applicable fiscal year to a position in the competitive service at the ,,gs-#aa level1 or an equivalent level1 or below2 and 7,d7 any additional data specified by the ,director of the ,office of ,personnel ,management4 7#c7 ,submission to ,office of ,personnel ,management ,upon request of the ,director of the ,office of ,personnel ,management1 the head of an agency that submits a report to ,congress under paragraph 7#a7 shall submit a copy of the report to the ,director4 7i7 ,special provision regarding the ,department of ,defense 7#a7 ,authority ,nothing in this section shall preclude the ,secretary of ,defense from exercising any authority to appoint a post-secondary student under section #aajf of the ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjag 7#aj ,u4,s4,c4 note prec4 #aehj71 or any applicable successor statute4 7#b7 ,regulations ,any regulations prescribed by the ,director for the administration of this section shall not apply to the ,department of ,defense during the period ending on the date on which the appointment authority of the ,secretary of ,defense under section #aajf of the ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjag 7#aj ,u4,s4,c4 note prec4 #aehj71 or any applicable successor statute1 terminates4 4 7b7 ,table of sections amendments ,the table of sections for subchapter ,i of chapter #ca of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #caae4 ,expedited hiring authority for college graduates2 competitive service4#caaf4 ,expedited hiring authority for post-secondary students2 competitive service4 4