S.Amdt. 3212

SA 3212. Mr. BROWN 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 end of subtitle H of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1095. ATTRACTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED EXPERTS TO BUREAU OF
INDUSTRY AND SECURITY.

Part III of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50
U.S.C. 4851 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:

``SEC. 1783. ATTRACTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED EXPERTS TO BUREAU OF
INDUSTRY AND SECURITY.

``(a) In General.--The Under Secretary of Commerce for
Industry and Security (in this section referred to as the
`Under Secretary') may carry out a program using the
authority provided in subsection (b) in order to attract to
the Bureau of Industry and Security highly qualified experts
in needed occupations, as determined by the Under Secretary.
``(b) Authority.--Under the program under this section, the
Under Secretary may--
``(1) appoint personnel from outside the civil service (as
defined in section 2101 of title 5, United States Code) to
positions in the Bureau of Industry and Security without
regard to any provision of title 5, United States Code,
governing the appointment of employees to positions in the
Bureau; and
``(2) prescribe the rates of basic pay for positions to
which employees are appointed under paragraph (1) at rates
not in excess of the maximum rate of basic pay authorized for
senior-level positions under section 5376 of title 5, United
States Code, as increased by locality-based comparability
payments under section 5304 of that title, notwithstanding
any provision of that title governing the rates of pay or
classification of employees in the executive branch.
``(c) Limitation on Term of Appointment.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
service of an employee under an appointment made pursuant to
this section may not exceed 5 years.
``(2) Extensions.--The Under Secretary may, in the case of
a particular employee, extend the period to which service is
limited under paragraph (1) by up to 1 additional year if the
Under Secretary determines that such action is necessary to
promote the national security, foreign policy, and economic
objectives of the United States.
``(d) Limitation on Total Annual Compensation.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection or of
section 5307 of title 5, United States Code, no additional
payments may be paid to an employee under this section in any
calendar year if, or to the extent that, the employee's total
annual compensation will exceed the maximum amount of total
annual compensation payable at the salary set in accordance
with section 104 of title 3, United States Code.
``(e) Limitation on Number of Highly Qualified Experts.--
The number of highly qualified experts appointed and retained
by the Under Secretary under subsection (b)(1) shall not
exceed 25 at any time.
``(f) Report Required.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter,
the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security
shall submit to the committees specified in paragraph (2) a
report that includes--
``(A) the number of individuals appointed to the Bureau of
Industry and Security under the authority provided by this
section during the period specified in paragraph (3);
``(B) a description of the qualifications of such
individuals and their responsibilities during that period;
and
``(C) a description of the impact of such individuals on
carrying out the mission of the Bureau of Industry and
Security.
``(2) Committees specified.--The committees specified in
this paragraph are--

[[Page S5712]]

``(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate; and
``(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of
Representatives.
``(3) Period specified.--The period specified in this
paragraph is--
``(A) in the case of the first report required by paragraph
(1), the 180-day period preceding submission of the report;
and
``(B) in the case of any subsequent report required by
paragraph (1), the one-year period preceding submission of
the report.
``(g) Savings Provisions.--In the event that the Under
Secretary terminates the program under this section, in the
case of an employee who, on the day before the termination of
the program, is serving in a position pursuant to an
appointment under this section--
``(1) the termination of the program does not terminate the
employee's employment in that position before the expiration
of the lesser of--
``(A) the period for which the employee was appointed; or
``(B) the period to which the employee's service is limited
under subsection (c), including any extension made under this
section before the termination of the program; and
``(2) the rate of basic pay prescribed for the position
under this section may not be reduced as long as the employee
continues to serve in the position without a break in
service.
``(h) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed to waive any requirements regarding background
checks or qualifications of applicants to positions with the
Bureau of Industry and Security.
``(i) Termination.--The authority provided by this section
shall cease to be effective on the date that is 5 years after
the date of the enactment of this section.''.
______