,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cahg  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #d1  
#bjba,mr4 ,lujn 7for himself and ,mr4   
,heinrich7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,commerce1         
,science1 and ,transportation  ,a ,,bill
  ,to establish the ,office of          
,technologists within the ,federal      
,trade ,commission4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,federal 
,trade ,commission ,technologists ,act  
of #bjba4  #b4 ,establishment of the    
,office of ,technologists  7a7 ,office  
of ,technologists ,not later than #ahj  
days after the date of enactment of this
 section1 the ,commission shall         
establish within the ,commission the    
,office of ,technologists 7in this      
section referred to as the ,office7 to  
advise the ,commission on technology    
matters1 including the ,commission's use
 of technology1 technical aspects of law
 enforcement actions1 and technology    

policy recommendations4  7b7 ,personnel 
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,commission shall 
appoint to positions in the ,office--   
7,a7 not less than #be technologists2   
and  7,b7 other necessary employees4    
7#b7 ,direct hire authority ,the        
,commission may make appointments of    
technologists under paragraph 7#a7      
without regard to the provisions of     
subchapter ,i of chapter #cc of title   
#e1 ,united ,states ,code4  7#c7        
,calculation of number of technologists 
,for purposes of paragraph 7#a77;,a71   
the number of individuals appointed to a
 position as a technologist shall be    
determined on a full-time equivalent    
basis1 except that an appointment of an 
individual to a position as a           
technologist on a term or temporary     
basis shall be counted as an appointment
 to a full-time position1 without regard
 to the number of hours in the          
administrative workweek of the          
individual4  7#d7 ,compensation  7,a7   
,rate of pay ,subject to subparagraph   

7,b71 in order to recruit and retain    
qualified technologists1 the ,commission
 may fix the rate of pay1 including     
compensation for night and overtime work
 and other premium pay1 of any          
technologist appointed under paragraph  
7#a71 as the ,commission considers      
necessary for the interest of the       
,federal ,government and just to the    
individuals employed4  7,b7 ,maximum    
,the total amount payable to a          
technologist appointed under paragraph  
7#a71 including compensation for night  
and overtime work and other premium pay1
 during any pay period may not exceed   
the rate of basic pay payable for a     
position at level ,,ii of the ,executive
 ,schedule under section #ecac of title 
#e1 ,united ,states ,code4  7,c7 ,time  
off ,with respect to a technologist     
appointed under paragraph 7#a7 who is   
not eligible for overtime or other      
premium pay1 the ,commission may grant  
such technologist compensatory time off 
from duty for overtime work performed4  

7c7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 
,commission ,the term ,commission means 
the ,federal ,trade ,commission4  7#b7  
,technologist ,the term technologist    
means an individual with training and   
expertise regarding the state of the art
 in information technology1 including   
product development1 supply chain       
management1 data privacy and analytics1 
algorithms1 information security1       
network security1 the manufacturing of  
hardware1 software development1 computer
 science1 or other related fields4  7d7 
,authorization of appropriation ,there  
is authorized to be appropriated such   
sums as necessary to carry out the      
requirements of this section4