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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.
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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. |
