S.Amdt. 2973

SA 2973. Mr. MULLIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. NATIONAL DIGITAL RESERVE CORPS.

(a) In General.--Subpart I of part III of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``CHAPTER 104--NATIONAL DIGITAL RESERVE CORPS

``10401. Definitions.
``10402. Establishment.
``10403. Organization.
``10404. Assignments.
``10405. Reservist continuing education.
``10406. Congressional reports.
``10407. Construction.

``Sec. 10401. Definitions

``In this chapter:
``(1) Active reservist.--The term `active reservist' means
a reservist holding a position to which the reservist has
been appointed under section 10403(c)(2).
``(2) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the
Administrator of General Services.
``(3) Covered executive agency.--The term `covered
Executive agency' means an Executive agency, except that such
term includes the United States Postal Service, the Postal
Regulatory Commission, and the Executive Office of the
President.
``(4) Program.--The term `Program' means the program
established under section 10402(a).
``(5) Reservist.--The term `reservist' means an individual
who is a member of the National Digital Reserve Corps.

``Sec. 10402. Establishment

``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the General
Services Administration a program to establish, recruit,
manage, and assign a reserve of individuals with relevant
skills and credentials, to be known as the `National Digital
Reserve Corps', to help address the digital and cybersecurity
needs of covered Executive agencies.
``(b) Implementation.--
``(1) Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this section, the Administrator, in consultation
with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management,
shall issue guidance for the National Digital Reserve Corps,
which shall include procedures for coordinating with covered
Executive agencies to--
``(A) identify digital and cybersecurity needs that may be
addressed by the National Digital Reserve Corps; and
``(B) assign active reservists to address the needs
described in subparagraph (A).
``(2) Recruitment and initial assignments.--Not later than
1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the
Administrator shall begin recruiting reservists and assigning
active reservists under the Program.

``Sec. 10403. Organization

``(a) Administration.--
``(1) In general.--The National Digital Reserve Corps shall
be administered by the Administrator.
``(2) Responsibilities.--In carrying out the Program, the
Administrator shall--
``(A) establish standards for serving as a reservist,
including educational attainment, professional
qualifications, and background checks in accordance with
existing Federal guidance;
``(B) ensure the standards established under subparagraph
(A) are met;
``(C) recruit individuals to the National Digital Reserve
Corps;
``(D) activate and deactivate reservists as necessary;
``(E) coordinate with covered Executive agencies to--
``(i) determine the digital and cybersecurity needs that
reservists shall be assigned to address;

[[Page S5244]]

``(ii) ensure active reservists have the access, resources,
and equipment required to address the digital and
cybersecurity needs that the reservists are assigned to
address; and
``(iii) analyze potential assignments for reservists to
determine outcomes, develop anticipated assignment timelines,
and identify covered Executive agency partners;
``(F) ensure that reservists acquire and maintain
appropriate security clearances; and
``(G) determine what additional resources, if any, are
required to successfully implement the Program.
``(b) National Digital Reserve Corps Participation.--
``(1) Service obligation agreement.--
``(A) In general.--An individual may become a reservist
only if that individual enters into a written agreement with
the Administrator to become a reservist.
``(B) Contests.--An agreement described in subparagraph (A)
shall--
``(i) require the individual seeking to become a reservist
to serve as a reservist for a 3-year period, during which
that individual shall serve not less than 30 days per year as
an active reservist; and
``(ii) set forth all other the rights and obligations of
the individual and the General Services Administration.
``(2) Compensation.--The Administrator shall determine the
appropriate compensation for service as a reservist, except
that the annual pay for that service shall not exceed
$10,000.
``(3) Employment protections.--The Secretary of Labor shall
prescribe such regulations as necessary to ensure the
reemployment, continuation of benefits, and nondiscrimination
in reemployment of active reservists, provided that those
regulations shall include, at a minimum, the rights and
obligations set forth under chapter 43 of title 38.
``(4) Penalties.--
``(A) In general.--A reservist that fails to accept an
appointment under subsection (c)(2), or fails to carry out
the duties assigned to a reservist under such an appointment,
shall, after notice and an opportunity to be heard--
``(i) cease to be a reservist; and
``(ii) be fined an amount equal to the sum of--

``(I) an amount equal to the amounts, if any, paid under
section 10405 with respect to that reservist; and
``(II) the difference between the amount of compensation
that reservist would have received if the reservist completed
the entire term of service as a reservist agreed to in the
agreement described in paragraph (1) and the amount of
compensation that reservist has received under that
agreement.

``(B) Exception.--
``(i) In general.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with
respect to a failure of a reservist to accept an appointment
under subsection (c)(2), or to carry out the duties assigned
to the reservist under such an appointment, if--

``(I) the failure was due to the death or disability of
that reservist; or
``(II) the Administrator, in consultation with the head of
the relevant covered Executive agency, determines that
subparagraph (A) should not apply with respect to the
failure.

``(ii) Relevant covered executive agency defined.--In this
subparagraph, the term `relevant covered Executive agency'
means--

``(I) in the case of a reservist failing to accept an
appointment under subsection (c)(2), the covered Executive
agency to which that reservist would have been appointed; and
``(II) in the case of a reservist failing to carry out the
duties assigned to that reservist under such an appointment,
the covered Executive agency to which that reservist was
appointed.

``(c) Appointment Authority.--
``(1) Corps leadership.--The Administrator may appoint
qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service
in the General Service Administration for which the primary
duties are related to the management or administration of the
National Digital Reserve Corps, as determined by the
Administrator.
``(2) Corps reservists.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator may appoint qualified
reservists to temporary positions in the competitive service
for the purpose of assigning those reservists under section
10404 and to otherwise carry out the National Digital Reserve
Corps.
``(B) Appointment limits.--
``(i) In general.--The Administrator may not appoint an
individual under this paragraph if, during the 365-day period
ending on the date of that appointment, that individual has
been an officer or employee of the executive or legislative
branch of the United States Government, of any independent
agency of the United States, or of the District of Columbia
for not less than 130 days.
``(ii) Automatic appointment termination.--The appointment
of an individual under this paragraph shall terminate upon
that individual being employed as an officer or employee of
the executive or legislative branch of the United States
Government, of any independent agency of the United States,
or of the District of Columbia for 130 days during the
previous 365 days.
``(C) Employee status.--An individual appointed under this
paragraph shall be considered a special Government employee
(as that term is defined in section 202(a) of title 18).
``(D) Conflict of interest.--An individual appointed under
this section shall not, as an active reservist, have access
to proprietary or confidential information that is of
commercial value to any private entity or individual
employing that appointee.
``(E) Additional employees.--An individual appointed under
this paragraph shall be in addition to any employees of the
General Services Administration, the duties of whom relate to
the digital or cybersecurity needs of the General Services
Administration.

``Sec. 10404. Assignments

``(a) In General.--The Administrator may assign active
reservists to address the digital and cybersecurity needs of
covered Executive agencies, including cybersecurity services,
digital education and training, data triage, acquisition
assistance, guidance on digital projects, development of
technical solutions, and bridging public needs and private
sector capabilities.
``(b) Assignment-Specific Access, Resources, Supplies, or
Equipment.--The head of a covered Executive agency shall, to
the extent practicable, provide each active reservist
assigned to address a digital or cybersecurity need of that
covered Executive agency under subsection (a) with any
specialized access, resources, supplies, or equipment
required to address that digital or cybersecurity need.
``(c) Duration.--The assignment of an individual under
subsection (a) shall terminate on the earliest of the
following:
``(1) A date determined by the Administrator.
``(2) The date on which the Administrator receives
notification of the decision of the head of the covered
Executive agency, the digital or cybersecurity needs of which
that individual is assigned to address under subsection (a),
that the assignment should terminate.
``(3) The date on which the assigned individual ceases to
be an active reservist.

``Sec. 10405. Reservist continuing education

``(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Administrator may pay for reservists to
acquire training and receive continuing education related to
the duties assigned to those reservists pursuant to
appointments under section 10403(c)(2), including attending
conferences and seminars and obtaining certifications, that
will enable reservists to more effectively meet the digital
and cybersecurity needs of covered Executive agencies.
``(b) Application.--The Administrator shall establish a
process for reservists to apply for the payment of reasonable
expenses relating to the training or continuing education
described in subsection (a).
``(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the
Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the
expenditures under this section.

``Sec. 10406. Congressional reports

``Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this section, and annually thereafter, the Administrator
shall submit to Congress a report on the Program, including--
``(1) the number of reservists;
``(2) a list of covered Executive agencies that have
submitted requests for support from the National Digital
Reserve Corps;
``(3) the nature and status of the requests described in
paragraph (2); and
``(4) with respect to each request described in paragraph
for which active reservists have been assigned, and for which
work by the National Digital Reserve Corps has concluded, an
evaluation of that work and the results of that work by--
``(A) the covered Executive agency that submitted the
request; and
``(B) the reservists assigned to that request.

``Sec. 10407. Construction

``Nothing in this chapter may be construed to abrogate or
otherwise affect the authorities or the responsibilities of
the head of any other Executive agency.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters for part III
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after
the item related to chapter 103 the following:

``104. National Digital Reserve Corps.........................10401....
''.

(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated $30,000,000, to remain available until
fiscal year 2026, to carry out the program established under
section 10402(a) of title 5, United States Code, as added by
this section.
(d) Transition Assistance Program.--Section 1142(b)(3) of
title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``and
the National Digital Reserve Corps'' after ``Selected
Reserve''.
(e) Offset.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amounts authorized to be
appropriated in section 301 for operation and maintenance,
Defense-wide, for administration and service-wide activities,
Office of the Secretary of Defense, Line 470, as specified in
the corresponding funding table in section 4301, is hereby
reduced by $30,000,000.
______