119-hr1242

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1242 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1242

 To require the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to 
establish a pilot program to identify and refer veterans for potential 
 employment with Federal land management agencies, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 12, 2025

 Mr. Crane (for himself and Mr. Levin) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
 and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, and 
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
 jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to 
establish a pilot program to identify and refer veterans for potential 
 employment with Federal land management agencies, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Hire Veterans Act''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON IDENTIFICATION, APPOINTMENT, OR REFERRAL OF 
 VETERANS FOR POTENTIAL EMPLOYMENT WITH FEDERAL LAND 
 MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
 ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
        (A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the 
 Senate;
        (B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
 Forestry of the Senate;
            (C) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
 of the Senate;
            (D) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House 
 of Representatives;
        (E) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
 Representatives; and
        (F) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
 of Representatives.

    (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
 the Office of Personnel Management.

    (3) Federal land management agency.--The term ``Federal 
 land management agency'' means--
        (A) the Forest Service;
        (B) the National Park Service;
            (C) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
            (D) the Bureau of Land Management; or
        (E) the Bureau of Reclamation.

    (4) Noncompetitive.--The term ``noncompetitive'', when used 
 with respect to an appointment, means an appointment made 
 without regard to subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United 
 States Code, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of that title.

    (5) Pilot program.--The term ``pilot program'' means the 
 pilot program established by the Director under subsection

    (b) .

    (6) Recognized postsecondary credential.--The term 
 ``recognized postsecondary credential'' has the meaning given 
 the term in 

section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 
 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).

    (7) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given 
 the term in 

section 101 of title 38, United States Code.

    (b) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director (in consultation with the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary 
of Agriculture) shall establish a pilot program to recruit veterans 
with relevant strengths and abilities and refer the veterans to 
supervisory or nonsupervisory positions in Federal land management 
agencies.
            (c) Publication of Information Application.--

    (1) Publication.--The Director shall publicize, and 
 disseminate information about, the pilot program on the website 
 of the Office of Personnel Management.

    (2) Application.--A veteran seeking to participate in the 
 pilot program shall submit to the Director an application in 
 such form, in such manner, and containing such information as 
 the Director may require.
            (d) Tests of Strengths and Abilities.--

    (1) Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
 enactment of this Act, the Director (in consultation with the 
 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior, 
 and the Secretary of Agriculture) shall issue guidance on the 
 development of individual tests to be administered for the 
 purposes of the pilot program to determine the strengths and 
 abilities of veterans for positions in the following career 
 fields at Federal land management agencies:
        (A) Outdoor recreation management.
        (B) Management of volunteers.
            (C) Fire planning and fire analysis.
            (D) Firefighting.
        (E) Aviation.
        (F) Forest engineering.
        (G) Inventory monitoring of land under the 
 management of a Federal land management agency.
        (H) Landscape restoration.
            (I) Ecology.
        (J) Sustainability of ecosystems.
        (K) Archeology.
            (L) Range management.
            (M) Analysis of geospatial data.
        (N) Biology.
        (O) Geology.
        (P) Land use.
        (Q) Physical sciences.
        (R) Civil Engineering.
        (S) Hydrology.
        (T) Land surveying.
        (U) Water reclamation.
            (V) Finance, budget, and administration.

    (2) Waiver.--For purposes of the pilot program, the 
 Director (in consultation with, as appropriate, the Secretary 
 of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior) may waive any 
 requirement for a recognized postsecondary credential for a 
 position in a career field described in paragraph

    (1) , if the 
 Director determines that such a waiver is necessary.

    (3) Administration.--The head of a Federal land management 
 agency shall--
        (A) administer a test developed described in 
 paragraph

    (1) to each veteran who applies for 
 participation in the pilot program;
        (B) develop assessments to measure the relative 
 capacity and fitness of veterans described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) of this paragraph for positions in the 
 career fields described in paragraph

    (1) ; and
            (C) refer each veteran described in subparagraph
        (A) to the official employment website of the Federal 
 Government.

    (4) Management.--The Director (in consultation with the 
 Secretary of Veterans Affairs) shall develop a method to 
 oversee and manage the employment of veterans within Federal 
 land management agencies in positions in the career fields that 
 are covered by the pilot program.

    (e) Appointment and Referral.--The head of a Federal land 
management agency (in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs), with respect to a veteran who has taken a test administered 
under subsection
            (d) (3)
        (A) --

    (1) if the veteran has demonstrated through the test the 
 necessary strengths and abilities for a vacant supervisory or 
 nonsupervisory position in a career field covered by the pilot 
 program in the Federal land management agency, as determined by 
 the head of the Federal land management agency, may make a 
 noncompetitive career-conditional appointment of the veteran to 
 that vacant position; or

    (2) if the veteran has not demonstrated through the test 
 the necessary strengths and abilities for a vacant supervisory 
 or nonsupervisory position in a career field covered by the 
 pilot program in the Federal land management agency, as 
 determined by the head of the Federal land management agency--
        (A) shall refer the veteran to a recruiter of that 
 Federal land management agency for participation in a 
 training program that the agency shall establish for 
 the purposes of this section, which shall provide the 
 veteran with the strengths and abilities for a position 
 in such a career field;
        (B) shall, after the participation by the veteran 
 in a training program described in subparagraph
        (A) , 
 re-administer that test, for the purpose of re-
 evaluation, to the veteran as frequently as the head of 
 the Federal land management agency determines 
 appropriate until the veteran demonstrates through the 
 test the necessary strengths and abilities; and
            (C) may, if the veteran has demonstrated through 
 the test the necessary strengths and abilities, make a 
 noncompetitive career-conditional appointment of the 
 veteran to a position in such a career field.

    (f) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter until the termination of the pilot 
program, the Director (in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs and the heads of the Federal land management agencies) shall 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the pilot 
program.

    (g) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the date 
that is 5 years after the date on which the Director establishes the 
pilot program.
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