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FEDERAL CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE WORK ACT
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3533) to establish occupational series for Federal positions in software development, software engineering, data science, and data management, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3533
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. OCCUPATIONAL SERIES FOR DIGITAL CAREER FIELDS.
Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall, pursuant to chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code, establish or update existing occupational series covering Federal Government positions in the fields of software development, software engineering, data science, and data management.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
General Leave
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials on H.R. 3533.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
There was no objection.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3533, the Federal Career Opportunities in Computer Science Work Act. I commend my colleagues, Representative Obernolte and Representative Welch, for their bipartisan work on this measure.
This bill would require the Office of Personnel Management to update or establish occupational series for Federal civilian positions in software development, software engineering, data science, and data management within 270 days of enactment.
It would implement a recommendation that was included in the final report of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. In its report, the commission stated: ``The artificial intelligence competition will not be won by the side with the best technology. It will be won by the side with the best, most diverse and tech-savvy talent.''
To attract and retain digital talent, the commission recommended that the Federal Government create the civilian occupational series that are included in this bill. This bipartisan bill would help support recruitment of professionals with these specialized skills for Federal employment.
This is an important step in helping Federal agencies recruit, hire, and retain the talent that is needed to remain competitive in the digital domain.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill, I urge my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3533, the Federal Career Opportunities in Computer Science Work Act.
In a world that increasingly relies on digital technologies, the Federal Government needs to be able to hire and attract the right talent; therefore, the ability to recruit and retain qualified software and data professionals is important, particularly as our government and private sector must withstand more frequent and sophisticated cybersecurity threats.
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence released their final report earlier this year and found that ``Digitally talented people should be able to reasonably expect to spend a career performing meaningful work focused on their field of expertise in government.''
The report goes on to recommend that new Federal career fields in digital technologies be established by creating new civilian occupational series for software development, software engineering, knowledge management, and data science.
The bill under consideration requires the Office of Personnel Management to either update existing occupational series or create new ones in the fields of software development, software engineering, data management, and data science. This will ensure that the Federal workforce represents current specialized fields necessary to bringing America's Government into the 21st century.
The bill also enables the Federal Government to better target recruiting and retain qualified professionals in these essential fields.
I appreciate Congressman Obernolte's and Congressman Welch's leadership on this issue. I encourage my colleagues to support this smart government modernization bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1615
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte), the sponsor of this bill.
Mr. OBERNOLTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, the Federal Career Opportunities in Computer Sciences Work Act.
Mr. Speaker, I, along with most of the country, was recently horrified by the cyberattacks against critical parts of our national infrastructure, in particular, the cyberattack against Colonial Pipeline that shut down gasoline deliveries for much of the Eastern United States and the cyberattacks against JBS meat processing, which disrupted operations at one of the largest food processing facilities in our country.
It has become increasingly clear that dealing with these threats will require highly trained professionals in the computer sciences and the data sciences as part of not just our civilian workforce but also our Federal workforce.
Unfortunately, many people are surprised to learn that we do not currently have Federal career occupational series that are dedicated to the computer sciences. This bill, the Federal Career Opportunities in Computer Sciences Work Act, will establish those series in such fields as data management, artificial intelligence, and software engineering. This will enable our Federal Government to better attract and retain the highly qualified technical computer scientist talent that is needed to respond to these attacks in the future.
This is bipartisan legislation. It is an easy and commonsense solution to this problem, and I urge support for this bill.
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation that will help improve the technical skills of our Federal workforce and, ultimately, modernize our government.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 3533, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3533, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion are postponed.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 130
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