(a) Pilot program
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall establish a pilot program that expedites and scales the sourcing and placement of early-career talent across the Department of Defense in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math and functional areas of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotechnology, materials and manufacturing, and business process innovation. In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary of Defense shall—
use the authorities under section 213.3102(r) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, to appoint individuals in support of establishing fellowships;
develop and implement a process for identifying, sourcing, and training a pool of qualified candidates;
establish a professional development structure for pilot program participants; and
partner with a nonprofit intermediary organization that have a proven track record in delivering efficient recruitment and screening processes and have demonstrated expertise in navigating the Federal security clearance procedures to support the development of qualified talent pools with the necessary skills and expertise.
(b) Assessment required
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter until the pilot program sunsets, the Secretary of Defense shall provide an assessment to the congressional defense committees on the effectiveness of the pilot program. Each such assessment shall include—
an evaluation of the efficacy in matching the pre-vetted pools of candidates to the requirements of the Department of Defense; and
the effectiveness of partnering with intermediary organizations for the purposes of carrying out activities in support of developing qualified pools of talent with the skills and expertise necessary to meet the purposes of the pilot program.
(c) Program administration
For the purposes of carrying out this section, the Secretary of Defense may—
waive any requirement for a permanent billet to be required to support hiring of talent;
make selections based on needs and available budget; and
direct legal counsel of the Department to provide guidance that—
enables post-employment opportunities by avoiding government assignments that preclude hiring outside the Federal Government following the term appointment; and
requires ethics officials to provide guidance that aligns with the temporary nature of the appointment and design protocols to minimize post-employment restrictions.
(d) Sunset
The pilot program shall terminate on the date that is 3 years after the date such program is established.
(e) Intermediary organization defined
In this section, the term intermediary organization means—
a nonprofit registered under section 501(c)(3) of title 26, United States Code; and
an organization having demonstrated expertise in—
streamlining recruitment and pre-screening for early-career tech talent;
carrying out public-private talent exchanges through a proven track record, including managing rotations between private and public sector entities and reducing governmental administrative burden in the process;
skills development and mentorship programming that ensures program participants remain on the cutting edge of their technical and management skills; and