A Senate committee is urging that chamber to join the House in passing a bill to establish an acquisition career development program within DHS., saying that problems identified by GAO in 2015 “continue to this day” and noting that the issue was raised in the GAO’s most recent “high-risk” report.
HR-367 would “would better enable DHS to recruit and train individuals to fill these positions,” said a report in support of the bill from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which recently approved it.
The developmental program under the bill would designate the relevant occupational series, grades, and number of positions eligible for the program; provide specialized training to participants; and seek to recruit candidates with military service, diverse work experience outside the federal government, or from institutions of higher education with established acquisition specialties and courses of study, historically Black colleges and universities, and Hispanic-serving institutions.
The bill also would require DHS annually to report to Congress on acquisition professional retention rates and other aspects of the program.
