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

Subtitle D--Acquisition Workforce Matters

P. L. 111-

House Conference Report 111-288

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 1705(h) of title 10, United States Code, is amended--

    (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``acquisition positions within the Department of Defense as shortage category positions'' and inserting ``acquisition workforce positions as positions for which there exists a shortage of candidates or there is a critical hiring need''; and

    (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``highly''.

    (b) Extension.--Paragraph (2) of such section is amended by striking ``September 30, 2012'' and inserting ``September 30, 2015''.

    (c) Technical Amendment.--Paragraph (1) of such section is further amended by striking ``United States Code,'' in the matter preceding subparagraph (A).

   The House bill contained a provision (sec. 821) that would clarify the expedited hiring authority for the defense acquisition workforce in section 1705 of title 10, United States Code.

   The Senate amendment contained a similar provision (sec. 813) that would also extend the authority to cover the period of the acquisition workforce build-up announced by the Secretary of Defense.

   The House recedes with an amendment combining the two provisions.

   The conferees acknowledge that there is intense competition for skilled workers and that the current hiring process is too lengthy and complicated to attract quality candidates to the acquisition workforce. Rather than continually relying on temporary authorities such as the expedited hiring authorities provided by this section, the conferees agree that the Department should undertake a comprehensive effort to redesign its hiring procedures to meet its mission needs and promote competitive job offers, including improvements in recruitment, better assessment of candidates, and timely, merit-based hiring decisions.

House Report 111-166 - NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010

SECTION 821--ENHANCED EXPEDITED HIRING AUTHORITY FOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION WORKFORCE POSITIONS

This section would amend section 1705(h) of title 10, United States Code, to add the term `critical need' as a basis for using the expedited hiring authority allowed under section 1705, and deletes the word `highly' to ensure full application of the expedited hiring authority from entry through expert levels. This section would improve the ability of the Secretary of Defense to increase the size of the Department of Defense acquisition workforce. The committee notes that the Department, in its fiscal year 2010 budget request, has indicated that it will increase the size of the defense acquisition workforce by converting 11,000 contractors and hiring an additional 9,000 government acquisition professionals through 2015, beginning with 4,080 in 2010. The committee believes that the focus on the acquisition workforce is particularly critical, since the acquisition workforce is at the heart of the Department's acquisition system.

Senate Report 111-035 - NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010

The committee recommends a provision that would: (1) clarify the expedited hiring authority for defense acquisition workforce positions enacted in section 833 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110-417), as requested by the Department of Defense; and (2) extend the expedited hiring authority through 2015, to help meet the goal announced by the Secretary of Defense to increase the size of the acquisition workforce by 20,000 government acquisition professionals by 2015.