The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would create a program meant to allow senior cyber professionals from the private sector to serve for a specific time period in the government and provide an opportunity for government personnel to rotate among federal agencies, FedScoop reported.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act in May and the measure was sent to the House floor in late June for consideration. Khanna said he is proud to see the bill pass the lower chamber with bipartisan support.
“To maintain our nation’s leadership & security in the 21st century we need an integrated federal workforce, particularly one that possesses the knowledge, skills, and competencies to counter increasingly sophisticated threats from foreign actors,” he added.
The bill would direct the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to come up with an operation plan for the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program. The plan should establish procedures for the program, identify agencies that should participate in the initiative and indicate that an employee’s participation in the program should be voluntary, among other requirements.
An employee detailed to a cyber workforce position under the program should serve for a term of not less than 180 days and not more than 12 months. The detail of employees among rotational cyber roles at agencies could be extended for a period of 60 days.
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