119-hr3561

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3561 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3561

 To establish a National Defense Executive Reserve, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 May 21, 2025

 Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself and Mr. Himes) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To establish a National Defense Executive Reserve, 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 ``Federal Overhaul of Reserve Command 
Executive Modernization Act'' or the ``FORCE Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL DEFENSE EXECUTIVE RESERVE.

    (a) In General.--Title VII of the Defense Production Act of 1950 
(50 U.S.C. 4551 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

section 711 the 
following:

``

SEC. 712. NATIONAL DEFENSE EXECUTIVE RESERVE.

 ``

    (a) Establishment.--The President shall establish a National 
Defense Executive Reserve (in this section referred to as the 
`Reserve').
 ``

    (b) 

=== Purpose ===
-The purpose of the Reserve shall be to--
 ``

    (1) improve the preparedness of the Federal Government 
 for national defense emergencies by allowing private persons 
 with unique expertise to volunteer, be trained for and 
 temporarily employed in Federal positions within any of the 
 Federal agencies that has established a Reserve unit under 
 subsection
            (c) that may be necessary during an national defense 
 emergency;
 ``

    (2) efficiently augment the capabilities of the Federal 
 Government with these private persons as required during 
 periods of national defense emergency when activated by the 
 President;
 ``

    (3) provide a cost-efficient way of expanding Federal 
 Government capacity for the management of future national 
 defense emergencies without needing to dramatically expand the 
 number of full-time Federal employees; and
 ``

    (4) enable the appropriate controls and oversight to be 
 established by the Federal Government in advance of the 
 activation of the Reserve to avoid real or perceived conflicts 
 of interest or other harms created by the temporary employment 
 of private persons who volunteer to be temporarily employed by 
 the Reserve.
 ``
            (c) Reserve Units.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--The President shall require the heads of 
 each of the following agencies to establish a unit of the 
 Reserve within the applicable agency:
 ``
        (A) The Department of Commerce.
 ``
        (B) The Department of Defense.
 ``
            (C) The Department of Homeland Security.
 ``
            (D) Such other agencies as the President 
 determines appropriate.
 ``

    (2) Deadline.--The units of the Reserve within the 
 agencies described under subparagraphs
        (A) ,
        (B) , and
            (C) shall 
 be established not later than 180 days after the issuance of 
 the final rules required under subsection

    (f) .
 ``
            (d) Activation.--The President may only activate a unit of the 
Reserve--
 ``

    (1) on non-delegable basis;
 ``

    (2) during a national emergency declared by the President 
 under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 
 with respect to which the President has specified, as described 
 under 

section 301 of such Act, that the President may activate 
 the Reserve pursuant to the authorities under this section; and
 ``

    (3) upon a public determination by the President that the 
 activation is necessary to support the national defense.
 ``

    (e) Training.--The President may, without activating the Reserve, 
allow for periodic training and exercises to prepare the Reserve for 
duty during an activation.
 ``

    (f) Rulemaking.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the 
Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall 
issue rules, in accordance with 

section 553 of title 5, United States 
Code, to provide--
 ``

    (1) instruction on--
 ``
        (A) criteria for determining the number of 
 positions in and organization of Reserve units;
 ``
        (B) criteria for determining the appropriate 
 level of seniority and job classifications of Reserve 
 positions;
 ``
            (C) the advertisement of the Reserve to the 
 public to generate interest in volunteers;
 ``
            (D) the selection of individuals for the Reserve 
 and the job assignment process;
 ``
        (E) the appointment authorities to be used by the 
 head of an agency during an activation of the 
 applicable Reserve unit;
 ``
        (F) the appropriate levels of compensation for 
 private individuals for service in the Reserve, 
 dependent on the qualifications and expected roles of 
 the individuals;
 ``
        (G) the appropriate levels of compensation for 
 private individuals for service in the Reserve for 
 additional expenses, such as travel and accommodation, 
 to fulfill the responsibilities in the Reserve, 
 including during training and exercise;
 ``
        (H) additional incentives to be provided to 
 private individuals to encourage participation in the 
 Reserve;
 ``
            (I) whether and how to issue security clearances 
 to individuals selected to serve in the Reserve, both 
 prior to and during activation;
 ``
        (J) the frequency and content of training and 
 exercises for the Reserve;
 ``
        (K) the appropriate interaction between permanent 
 Government employees and individuals in the Reserve 
 during training, exercises, and activations of the 
 Reserve;
 ``
            (L) the appointment of permanent Government 
 employees to manage the Reserve for each agency with a 
 Reserve unit, both prior to and during activation;
 ``
            (M) all other matters necessary to effectively 
 manage the Reserve, as determined by the Director of 
 the Office of Personnel Management; and
 ``

    (2) recommendations and considerations for the President 
 on selective activation of the Reserve.
 ``

    (g) Additional Guidance.--The Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management may issue any additional internal guidance as the Director 
of the Office of Personnel determines is necessary to supplement the 
rules issued under subsection

    (f) .
 ``

    (h) Employment Protection.--For purposes of chapter 43 of title 
38, United States Code, an individual absent from a position of 
employment due to an appointment into service in the Reserve shall be 
subject to the same employment and reemployment protections as are 
provided under such chapter for an individual absent from a position of 
employment due to an appointment into service in the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency as intermittent personnel under 

section 306

    (b)

    (1) of 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.''.

    (b) Funding.--

Section 304
            (c) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 
(50 U.S.C. 4534
            (c) ) is amended by inserting ``and 

section 712'' after 
``this title''.
            (c) Conforming Amendment.--

Section 710 of the Defense Production 
Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4560) is amended--

    (1) by striking subsection

    (e) ; and

    (2) by redesignating subsections

    (f) and

    (g) as subsections

    (e) and

    (f) , respectively.

SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE USE OF VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--

Section 708 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 
(50 U.S.C. 4558) is amended--

    (1) by striking subsection
            (c) (2) and inserting the 
 following: ``The authority granted to the President in 
 paragraph

    (1) and subsection
            (d) may be delegated by him to the 
 head of any Federal agency to which the President has delegated 
 authority under this Act.'';

    (2) by striking subsection
            (c) (3) ;

    (3) in subsection
            (d) (2) , by striking ``and the Federal 
 Trade Commission.'';

    (4) by striking subsection

    (e) and inserting the following:
 ``

    (e) Rulemaking Relating to Voluntary Agreements.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce issue rules, 
 after approval of the Attorney General, in accordance with 
 

section 553 of title 5, United States Code, that incorporate 
 standards and procedures by which voluntary agreements and 
 plans of action may be developed and carried out.
 ``

    (2) Publication requirement.--Notwithstanding 

section 553 
 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary of Commerce shall 
 publish any rule issued under paragraph

    (1) in the Federal 
 Register not less than 30 days before the effective date of 
 such rule.''.

    (5) in subsection

    (f) --
        (A) in paragraph

    (1)
        (B) --
            (i) striking by ``(after consultation with 
 the Chairman of the Federal Trade 
 Commission)''; and
            (ii) striking by ``and publishes such a 
 finding in the Federal Register''; and
        (B) in paragraph

    (2) , by striking ``(after 
 consultation with the Chairman of the Federal Trade 
 Commission)'';

    (6) in subsection

    (g) , by striking ``and the Chairman of 
 the Federal Trade Commission'' and inserting ``and the 
 Secretary of Commerce'';

    (7) in subsection

    (h) --
        (A) in subparagraph

    (2) , by striking ``and the 
 Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission'';
        (B) in subparagraph

    (3) , by striking ``, or the 
 Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission'' in both 
 places it appears;
            (C) in subparagraph

    (4) , by striking ``and the 
 Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission'';
            (D) by striking paragraphs

    (6) ,

    (7) ,

    (8) ,

    (10) , and

    (11) and redesignating paragraph

    (9) as paragraph

    (6) ;
        (E) in subparagraph

    (6)
        (A) , as so redesignated, by 
 striking ``the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission 
 and''; and
        (F) in subparagraph

    (6)
        (B) , as so redesignated, by 
 striking ``and the Chairman of the Federal Trade 
 Commission''.

    (8) by striking subsection
            (i) and inserting the following:
 ``
            (i) Rules.--The Attorney General shall, not later than 270 days 
after the date of the enactment of this subsection, issue a rule, in 
accordance with 

section 553 of title 5, United States Code, that 
establishes how the Attorney General shall carry out the 
responsibilities of the Attorney General under this section in a manner 
that maintains a proper balance between providing for the national 
defense and protecting competition and preventing anticompetitive 
practices and effects from the creation and implementation of voluntary 
agreements and their plans of action.''; and

    (9) in subsection

    (k) --
        (A) by striking ``and the Federal Trade 
 Commission''; and
        (B) by striking ``(after consultation with the 
 Federal Trade Commission)''; and

    (10) in subsection
            (m) --
        (A) by striking ``
            (d) (2) ,''; and
        (B) by striking ``

    (7) , and

    (8) ,''.

    (b) Required Development of Voluntary Agreement.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than the later of the date that 
 is 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
 the date on which the Attorney General issues a rule under 
 

Section 708
            (i) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, the 
 President shall develop a voluntary agreement under 

section 708 
 of the Defense Production Act.

    (2) Requirements.--The voluntary agreement entered by the 
 President under paragraph

    (1) shall--
        (A) address a current critical national defense 
 issue, such as--
            (i) the need for a plan of action to 
 respond to a catastrophic cyber attack on a 
 sector of critical infrastructure, as defined 
 in 

section 5195c

    (e) of title 42, United States 
 Code, including how to restore that sector as 
 quickly as possible from the attack through 
 public and private cooperation; or
            (ii) another issue pertinent to national 
 defense as determined by the President and 
 notified to Congress within 270 days of 
 enactment of this Act; and
        (B) use 1 or more of the units of the National 
 Defense Executive Reserve established under 

section 712 
 of the of the Defense Production Act of 1950.
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