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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS

Subtitle D—Provisions Relating to Acquisition Workforce

P. L. 115-

House Conference Report. 115-404

SEC. 841. ENHANCEMENTS TO THE CIVILIAN PROGRAM MANAGEMENT WORKFORCE.

(a) Establishment Of Program Manager Development Program.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall implement a program manager development program to provide for the professional development of high-potential, experienced civilian personnel. Personnel shall be competitively selected for the program based on their potential to become a program manager of a major defense acquisition program, as defined in section 2430 of title 10, United States Code. The program shall be administered and overseen by the Secretary of each military department, acting through the service acquisition executive for the department concerned.

(2) PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a comprehensive plan to implement the program established under paragraph (1). In developing the plan, the Secretary of Defense shall seek the input of relevant external parties, including professional associations, other government entities, and industry. The plan shall include the following elements:

(A) An assessment of the minimum level of subject matter experience, education, years of experience, certifications, and other qualifications required to be selected into the program, set forth separately for current Department of Defense employees and for personnel hired into the program from outside the Department of Defense.

(B) A description of hiring flexibilities to be used to recruit qualified personnel from outside the Department of Defense.

(C) A description of the extent to which mobility agreements will be required to be signed by personnel selected for the program during their participation in the program and after their completion of the program. The use of mobility agreements shall be applied to help maximize the flexibility of the Department of Defense in assigning personnel, while not inhibiting the participation of the most capable candidates.

(D) A description of the tenure obligation required of personnel selected for the program.

(E) A plan for training during the course of the program, including training in leadership, program management, engineering, finance and budgeting, market research, business acumen, contracting, supplier management, requirement setting and tradeoffs, intellectual property matters, and software.

(F) A description of career paths to be followed by personnel in the program in order to ensure that personnel in the program gain expertise in the program management functional career field competencies identified by the Department in existing guidance and the topics listed in subparagraph (E), including—

(i) a determination of the types of advanced educational degrees that enhance program management skills and the mechanisms available to the Department of Defense to facilitate the attainment of those degrees by personnel in the program;

(ii) a determination of required assignments to positions within acquisition programs, including position type and acquisition category of the program office;

(iii) a determination of required or encouraged rotations to career broadening positions outside of acquisition programs; and

(iv) a determination of how the program will ensure the opportunity for a required rotation to industry of at least six months to develop an understanding of industry motivation and business acumen, such as by developing an industry exchange program for civilian program managers, similar to the Corporate Fellows Program of the Secretary of Defense.

(G) A general description of the number of personnel anticipated to be selected into the program, how frequently selections will occur, how long personnel selected into the program will participate in the program, and how personnel will be placed into an assignment at the completion of the program.

(H) A description of benefits that will be offered under the program using existing human capital flexibilities to retain qualified employees, such as student loan repayments, bonuses, or pay banding.

(I) An assessment of personnel flexibilities needed to allow the military departments and the Defense Agencies to reassign or remove program managers that do not perform effectively.

(J) A description of how the program will be administered and overseen by the Secretaries of each military department, acting through the service acquisition executive for the department concerned.

(K) A description of how the program will be integrated with existing program manager development efforts at each military department.

(3) USE OF DEFENSE ACQUISITION WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FUND.—Amounts in the Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund (established under section 1705 of title 10, United States Code) may be used to pay the base salary of personnel in the program established under paragraph (1) during the period of time such personnel are temporarily assigned to a developmental rotation or training program anticipated to last at least six months.

(4) IMPLEMENTATION.—The program established under paragraph (1) shall be implemented not later than September 30, 2019.

(b) Independent Study Of Incentives For Program Managers.—

(1) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall enter into a contract with an independent research entity described in paragraph (2) to carry out a comprehensive study of incentives for Department of Defense civilian and military program managers for major defense acquisition programs, including—

(A) additional pay options for program managers to provide incentives to senior civilian employees and military officers to accept and remain in program manager roles;

(B) a financial incentive structure to reward program managers for delivering capabilities on budget and on time; and

(C) a comparison between financial and non-financial incentive structures for program managers in the Department of Defense and an appropriate comparison group of private industry companies.

(2) INDEPENDENT RESEARCH ENTITY.—The entity described in this subsection is an independent research entity that is a not-for-profit entity or a federally funded research and development center with appropriate expertise and analytical capability.

(3) REPORTS.—

(A) TO SECRETARY.—Not later than nine months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the independent research entity shall provide to the Secretary a report containing—

(i) the results of the study required by paragraph (1); and

(ii) such recommendations to improve the financial incentive structure of program managers for major defense acquisition programs as the independent research entity considers to be appropriate.

(B) TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 days after receipt of the report under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Defense shall submit such report, together with any additional views or recommendations of the Secretary, to the congressional defense committees.

Enhancements to the civilian program management workforce (sec. 841)

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 821) that would require the Secretary of Defense to implement a new career development program for highly qualified, competitively selected civilian employees to increase the pool of experienced civilian employees qualified to serve as program managers for major defense acquisition programs (MDAPs). The Secretary would be required to provide a design for the program to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives within one year after the date of the enactment of this Act. This provision would also require an independent study of personnel policies and incentives needed to attract, retain, and hold accountable civilian and military program managers for the largest and most complex acquisition programs in the Department. The study would be required to be completed within nine months after the date of the enactment of this Act, and the Secretary would be required to provide the study to the congressional defense committees within 30 days thereafter.

The Senate contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would add to the analysis on benefits an overview of any pay banding and bonuses offered to qualified civilian employees.

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