,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dhab  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #bj   
7legislative day1 ,october #ai71        
#bjbj,mr4 ,braun introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,homeland
 ,security and ,governmental ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to provide the ,secretary of
 ,defense and the ,secretary of ,state  
with temporary direct hire authority for
 certain positions1 and for other       
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,hire ,to ,secure   
our ,nation ,act of #bjbj4  #b4 ,direct 
hire authority for certain positions in 
the ,department of ,defense and the     
,department of ,state  7a7 ,definition  
,in this section1 the term covered      
position-- 7#a7 means-- 7,a7 a position 
requiring expertise with respect to the 
,islamic ,republic of ,iran1 the        
,people's ,republic of ,china1 or the   
,russian ,federation2 or  7,b7 a        
position as a linguist with respect to--

 7i7 ,farsi 7or another language that is
 the primary language spoken in a       
,middle ,eastern country72  7ii7        
,mandarin1 ,cantonese1 or another       
language that is primarily spoken in the
 ,people's ,republic of ,china2 or      
7iii7 ,russian2 and  7#b7 does not      
include a position in the ,foreign      
,service4  7b7 ,authority  7#a7         
,department of ,defense ,the ,secretary 
of ,defense may use the authority       
provided under section #iije of title   
#e1 ,united ,states ,code1 to appoint   
qualified candidates to covered         
positions in the competitive service in 
the ,department of ,defense4  7#b7      
,department of ,state ,the ,secretary of
 ,state may appoint1 without regard to  
the provisions of subchapter ,i of      
chapter #cc of title #e1 ,united ,states
 ,code 7other than sections #ccjc and   
#ccbh of that title71 qualified         
candidates to covered positions in the  
competitive service in the ,department  
of ,state4  7c7 ,citizenship requirement

 ,a candidate appointed to a covered    
position under subsection 7b7 shall be a
 citizen of the ,united ,states4  7d7   
,expiration2 extensions  7#a7           
,expiration ,subject to paragraph 7#b7  
of this subsection1 the authority       
provided to the ,secretary of ,defense  
and the ,secretary of ,state under      
paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 of subsection  
7b71 respectively1 shall expire on the  
date that is #c years after the date of 
enactment of this ,act4  7#b7           
,extensions  7,a7 ,in general ,the      
authority provided to the ,secretary of 
,defense or the ,secretary of ,state    
under paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 of         
subsection 7b71 respectively1 shall be  
extended for an additional #c-year      
period that begins on date on which that
 authority expires under paragraph 7#a7 
of this subsection if1 before that      
expiration date1 the applicable         
,secretary submits to ,congress a       
notification describing the ways in     
which the ,islamic ,republic of ,iran1  

the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 and  
the ,russian ,federation continue to    
threaten the national security of the   
,united ,states4  7,b7 ,additional      
extensions ,if the ,secretary of        
,defense or the ,secretary of ,state has
 received an extension under            
subparagraph 7,a71 the authority of the 
,secretary under paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 
of subsection 7b71 as applicable1 shall 
be extended for an additional #c-year   
period that begins on the date on which 
the extension expires if1 before the    
date on which the extension expires1 the
 ,secretary submits to ,congress the    
notification required under subparagraph
 7,a74  7,c7 ,rule of construction      
,nothing in this paragraph may be       
construed to limit the number of        
extensions of authority that the        
,secretary of ,defense or the ,secretary
 of ,state may receive under this       
paragraph4  #c4 ,national ,security and 
,foreign ,language ,professionals       
,fellowship ,program  7a7 ,in general   

7#a7 ,establishment ,there is           
established in the ,department of       
,defense and the ,department of ,state  
the ,national ,security and ,foreign    
,language ,professionals ,fellowship    
,program 7referred to in this section as
 the ,program74  7#b7 ,rotations ,under 
the ,program-- 7,a7 the applicable      
agency that appoints an individual to a 
position under the ,program shall       
provide the individual with-- 7i7       
developmental or professional           
experiences relating to the national    
security of the ,united ,states2 and    
7ii7 training for the position that     
relates to the national security of the 
,united ,states2 and  7,b7 the          
,secretary of ,defense and the          
,secretary of ,state 7referred to       
collectively in this section as the     
,secretaries7 shall seek to recruit     
experienced practitioners and academics 
to apply for senior-level positions     
within the applicable agency4  7b7      
,eligibility  7#a7 ,in general ,in order

 to apply for a position under the      
,program1 an individual-- 7,a7 shall    
have-- 7i7 a professional or graduate   
degree in an area that is relevant to   
the national security of the ,united    
,states2 or  7ii7 significant           
professional experience in a position or
 a subject area relating to the national
 security of the ,united ,states2  7,b7 
may be a student in a graduate or       
professional school if the individual   
expects to obtain the degree described  
in paragraph 7,a77i7 not later than     
,august #ca of the academic year in     
which the individual is applying2 and   
7,c7 shall have not less than #aj years 
of professional experience1 which may   
include time spent towards obtaining the
 degree described in subparagraph       
7,a77i74  7#b7 ,preference ,in making   
appointments under the ,program1 the    
applicable ,secretary shall give        
preference to-- 7,a7 individuals with   
language proficiency that the ,secretary
 of ,defense determines is critical to  

the national security of the ,united    
,states2 and  7,b7 cyber security       
professionals4  7c7 ,announcement2      
selection of finalists ,the ,director of
 the ,office of ,personnel ,management  
shall-- 7#a7 announce the opportunity to
 apply for a position under the         
,program2  7#b7 select finalists for the
 ,program2 and  7#c7 publish1 and       
provide to the ,secretaries1 a list of  
the finalists selected under paragraph  
7#b7 for consideration by the           
,secretaries with respect to            
appointments under the ,program4  7d7   
,length of appointment ,an appointment  
made under the ,program shall be for a  
period that is not less than #b years   
and not more than #d years4  7e7        
,movement between agencies  7#a7 ,in    
general ,at any time during an          
appointment of an individual under the  
,program1 the individual may move to the
 other agency participating in the      
,program if-- 7,a7 the individual       
separates from the original agency2 and 

7,b7 the new employing agency appoints  
the individual without a break in       
service4  7#b7 ,reimbursement ,if a move
 described in paragraph 7#a7 occurs     
during the #ahj-;day period beginning on
 the date on which an individual is     
appointed by the original employing     
agency1 the original employing agency   
may request reimbursement of #a_/d of   
the placement fee with respect to the   
individual from the new appointing      
agency4  7f7 ,termination ,the head of  
the applicable agency may terminate an  
individual serving in an appointment    
under the ,program-- 7#a7 for reasons   
relating to misconduct1 poor            
performance1 or suitability2 and  7#b7  
if the agency head submits to the       
,director of the ,office of ,personnel  
,management written notification        
regarding the termination4  7g7         
,conversion to the competitive service  
7#a7 ,in general ,not earlier than #b   
years after the date on which an        
individual is appointed under the       

,program1 the applicable agency may     
noncompetitively convert the individual1
 without a break in service1 to a       
position in the competitive service4    
7#b7 ,number of positions available ,the
 ,chief ,human ,capital ,officers       
,council1 in consultation with the      
,secretary of ,defense and the          
,secretary of ,state1 shall determine   
the number of individuals who may be    
converted under paragraph 7#a74  7#c7   
,rule of construction ,nothing in this  
subsection may be construed as granting 
any individual appointed under the      
,program a right to a noncompetitive    
conversion to a position in the         
competitive service4  7h7 ,rule of      
construction ,nothing in this section   
may be construed to replace-- 7#a7 the  
,presidential ,management ,fellows      
,program established under subpart ,d of
 part #cfb of title #e1 ,code of        
,federal ,regulations1 or any successor 
regulation2 or  7#b7 any provision of   
title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1        

regarding appointive positions in the   
civil service4