Sec. 103. Strengthening the NRC workforce
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The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 ( 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq. ) is amended by inserting after section 161A the following: Notwithstanding section 161 d. of this Act and section 2(b) of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1980 (94 Stat. 3585; 5 U.S.C. app.), and without regard to any provision of title 5 (except sections 3303 and 3328), United States Code, governing appointments in the civil service, if the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (in this section referred to as the Chairman ) issues or renews a certification that there is a severe shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need for covered positions to carry out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (in this section referred to as the Commission ) responsibilities and activities in a timely, efficient, and effective manner, the Chairman may, during any period when such a certification is in effect— recruit and directly appoint highly qualified individuals into the excepted service for covered positions; and establish in the excepted service term-limited covered positions and recruit and directly appoint highly qualified individuals into such term-limited covered positions, which may not exceed a term of 4 years.
To the maximum extent practicable, any action authorized pursuant to paragraph
(1)shall be consistent with the merit principles of section 2301 of title 5, United States Code. The number of highly qualified individuals serving in— covered positions pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) may not exceed 210 at any one time; and term-limited covered positions pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) may not exceed 80 at any one time. The Chairman may not use authority under paragraph (1)(A) or paragraph (1)(B) to compensate individuals recruited and directly appointed into a covered position or a term-limited covered position at an annual rate of basic pay higher than the annual salary payable for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code. The Chairman may not, under paragraph (1)(A) or paragraph (1)(B), appoint highly qualified individuals to any Senior Executive Service position, as defined in section 3132 of title 5, United States Code. The Chairman may renew a certification issued or renewed under this subsection if the Chairman determines there is still a severe shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need for covered positions to carry out the Commission’s responsibilities and activities in a timely, efficient, and effective manner. A certification issued or renewed under this subsection shall terminate on the earlier of— the date that is 10 years after the certification is renewed or issued; or the date on which the Chairman determines there is no longer a severe shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need for covered positions to carry out the Commission’s responsibilities and activities in a timely, efficient, and effective manner. To the extent practicable, in carrying out paragraph
(1)the Chairman shall recruit and directly appoint highly qualified individuals into the excepted service to entry, mid, and senior level covered positions, including term-limited covered positions. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Chairman issues or renews a certification that compensation for employees or other personnel of the Commission serving in a covered position is insufficient to retain or attract such employees and other personnel to allow the Commission to carry out the responsibilities and activities of the Commission in a timely, efficient, and effective manner, the Chairman may, during any period when such a certification is in effect, fix the compensation for such employees or other personnel serving in a covered position without regard to any provision of title 5, United States Code, governing General Schedule classification and pay rates. A certification issued or renewed under this subsection shall— apply to employees or other personnel who serve in covered positions; terminate on the earlier of— the date that is 10 years after the certification is issued or renewed; or the date on which the Chairman determines that the use of the authority of the Chairman under this subsection to fix compensation for employees or other personnel serving in a covered position is no longer necessary to retain or attract such employees and other personnel to allow the Commission to carry out the Commission’s responsibilities and activities in a timely, efficient, and effective manner; and be no broader than necessary to achieve the objective of retaining or attracting employees and other personnel serving in a covered position to allow the Commission to carry out the Commission’s responsibilities and activities in a timely, efficient, and effective manner. The Chairman may renew a certification issued or renewed under this subsection if the Chairman determines that use of the authority of the Chairman under this subsection to fix compensation for employees or other personnel serving in a covered position is still necessary to retain or attract such employees or other personnel to allow the Commission to carry out the Commission’s responsibilities and activities in a timely, efficient, and effective manner. The authority under this subsection to fix the compensation of employees or other personnel during any period when a certification issued or renewed under paragraph
(1)is in effect shall apply with respect to an employee or other personnel serving in a covered position regardless of when the employee or other personnel was hired. The termination of a certification issued or renewed under paragraph
(1)shall not affect the compensation of an employee or other personnel serving in a covered position whose compensation was fixed by the Chairman in accordance with paragraph (1). The Chairman may not use the authority under paragraph
(1)to fix the compensation of employees or other personnel at an annual rate of basic pay higher than the annual salary payable for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code. Subject to subparagraph (B), the Chairman may— obtain the services of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code; compensate those experts and consultants for each day (including travel time) at rates not in excess of the rate of pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of that title; and pay to the experts and consultants serving away from the homes or regular places of business of the experts and consultants travel expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence at rates authorized by sections 5702 and 5703 of that title for persons in Government service employed intermittently. The Chairman shall— to the maximum extent practicable, limit the use of experts and consultants pursuant to subparagraph (A); and ensure that the employment contract of each expert and consultant employed pursuant to subparagraph
(A)is subject to renewal not less frequently than annually. The Chairman may pay a person recruited and directly appointed under subsection
(a)a 1-time hiring bonus in an amount not to exceed $25,000. Subject to subparagraph (B), an employee or other personnel who the Chairman determines exhibited exceptional performance in a fiscal year may be paid a performance bonus in an amount not to exceed the least of— $25,000; and the amount of the limitation that is applicable for a calendar year under section 5307(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code. Any person who receives a performance bonus under subparagraph
(A)may not receive another performance bonus under that subparagraph for a period of 5 years thereafter. Any person who receives a 1-time hiring bonus under paragraph
(1)may not receive a performance bonus under subparagraph
(A)unless more than one year has elapsed since the payment of such 1-time hiring bonus. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Chairman shall develop and implement a plan to carry out this section. Before implementing such plan, the Chairman shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the Office of Personnel Management a report on the details of the plan. The report submitted under paragraph
(1)shall include— evidence and supporting documentation justifying the plan; and budgeting projections on costs and benefits resulting from the plan. The Chairman may consult with the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Comptroller General of the United States in developing the plan under paragraph (1). The Chairman shall delegate, subject to the direction and supervision of the Chairman, the authority provided by subsections (a), (b), and
(c)to the Executive Director for Operations of the Commission. The Commission shall include in its budget materials submitted in support of the budget of the President (submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code), for each fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this section, information relating to hiring, vacancies, and compensation at the Commission. The information described in paragraph
(1)shall include— an analysis of any trends with respect to hiring, vacancies, and compensation at the Commission; a description of the efforts to retain and attract employees or other personnel to serve in covered positions at the Commission; information that describes— if a certification under subsection
(a)was in effect at any point in the previous year, how the authority provided by that subsection is being used to address the hiring needs of the Commission; the total number of highly qualified individuals serving in— covered positions pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(A); and term-limited covered positions pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(B); if a certification under subsection
(b)was in effect at any point in the previous year, how the authority provided by that subsection is being used to address the hiring or retention needs of the Commission; the total number of employees or other personnel serving in a covered position that have their compensation fixed pursuant to subsection (b); if a certification under subsection
(a)or
(b)was terminated or was not in effect at any point in the previous year, why such a certification was terminated or was not in effect; the attrition levels with respect to term-limited covered positions appointed under subsection (a)(1)(B), including the number of individuals leaving a term-limited covered position before completion of the applicable term of service and the average length of service for such individuals as a percentage of the applicable term of service; and the number of experts and consultants retained under subsection (b)(7); and an assessment of— the current critical workforce needs of the Commission and any critical workforce needs that the Commission anticipates in the next five years; and additional skillsets that are or likely will be needed for the Commission to fulfill the licensing and oversight responsibilities of the Commission. In this section, the term covered position means a position in which an employee or other personnel is responsible for conducting work of a scientific, technical, engineering, mathematical, legal, managerial, or otherwise highly specialized or skilled nature. . The table of contents of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 161 the following: Sec. 161A. Use of firearms by security personnel. Sec. 161B. Commission workforce. . Not later than September 30, 2032, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report that— evaluates the extent to which the authorities provided under subsections (a), (b), and
(c)of section 161B of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as added by this Act) have been utilized; describes the role in which the highly qualified individuals recruited and directly appointed pursuant to section 161B(a) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as added by this Act) have been utilized to support the licensing of advanced nuclear reactors; assesses the effectiveness of the authorities provided under subsections (a), (b), and
(c)of section 161B of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as added by this Act) in helping the Nuclear Regulatory Commission fulfill its mission; makes recommendations to improve the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s strategic workforce management; and makes recommendations with respect to whether Congress should enhance, modify, or discontinue the authorities provided under subsections (a), (b), and
(c)of section 161B of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as added by this Act). The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, on an annual basis, shall solicit applications for the Nuclear Regulator Apprenticeship Network.
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- 94 Stat. 3585
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