Cyber Talent Development and Recruitment Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Cyber Talent Development and Recruitment Act amends the Defense Department cyber excepted-service authority in 10 U.S.C. 1599f. It expands covered positions to include roles in combatant commands, defense agencies, and field activities supporting U.S. Cyber Command, and it authorizes up to 500 additional hard-to-fill, highly skilled positions that the Secretary determines are critical to cyberspace planning and operations in defense of U.S. national interests with domestic and international partners. It also lets the Secretary prescribe basic pay up to 150 percent of Executive Schedule level I for covered employees, changes the sunset to three years after enactment of this bill, and requires annual reporting on position counts, titles, duties, locations, agency or command assignment, establishment and salary costs, and the effect of the pay authority on recruitment and retention.
Who Benefits and How
Highly skilled cyber workers benefit from expanded eligibility for Defense Department cyber jobs and potentially higher pay for hard-to-fill positions. U.S. Cyber Command support organizations, combatant commands, defense agencies, and field activities benefit from broader authority to hire technical personnel for cyberspace planning and operations. The Department may benefit from better recruitment and retention if the pay authority lets it compete for scarce cyber talent.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Defense Department officials bear implementation and oversight burdens because they must identify covered positions, justify up to 500 additional critical roles, set pay consistently with statutory limits, track salary costs, and report detailed position and recruitment data. Congressional oversight committees may need to evaluate whether the higher pay authority improves recruitment and retention before the shortened sunset expires.
Key Provisions
- Expands cyber excepted-service hiring to U.S. Cyber Command support roles and up to 500 hard-to-fill positions critical to cyberspace operations.
- Authorizes basic pay up to 150 percent of Executive Schedule level I for certain covered cyber employees.
- Requires annual reports on position titles, duties, locations, assigned commands, establishment costs, salary costs, and recruitment-retention effects.
- Shortens the sunset to three years after enactment of the Cyber Talent Development and Recruitment Act.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Expands Defense Department cyber excepted-service hiring authority, raises possible pay for covered cyber hires, narrows the sunset period, and requires more detailed annual reporting.
Key Policy Areas
Defense, Labor, Cybersecurity, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Expands Defense Department cyber excepted-service hiring authority, raises possible pay for covered cyber hires, narrows the sunset period, and requires more detailed annual reporting.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Cyber workers
- U.S. Cyber Command
- Defense agencies
Identified Costs
- Department of Defense officials
- Congressional oversight committees
- Federal personnel managers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Neguse introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "Secretary"
- → Secretary of Defense
- "Cyber Excepted Service"
- → Defense Department personnel system for certain cyber positions under 10 U.S.C. 1599f
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology