The Hire Veterans Act would create a time-limited pilot program led by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to identify and refer military veterans for potential employment with federal land management agencies (Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Reclamation). The program aims to recruit veterans with relevant strengths for supervisory or non-supervisory roles in specified career fields, using standardized tests to gauge fitness for these positions. If a veteran demonstrates suitable strengths, they could receive a noncompetitive, career-conditional appointment; if not, the veteran would be referred to agency recruiters for targeted training and re-testing, with potential future appointment if subsequent testing shows qualification. The act sets up the framework for tests, credential waivers, oversight, reporting to Congress, and a five-year duration for the pilot. Introduced by Members of Congress, the bill assigns duties to OPM in consultation with Veterans Affairs, Interior, and Agriculture, and to the heads of the land management agencies. It also requires publicizing the program, establishing application processes for veterans, and annual Congress reporting until termination of the pilot. The overall goal is to expand veteran recruitment into federal land-management roles while providing a structured path through testing, training, and noncompetitive hiring.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a pilot program within the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to be set up within one year, to recruit veterans and refer them for positions in federal land management agencies (Forest Service, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation).
- 2Creates a framework for tests of strengths and abilities in a wide range of career fields relevant to land management (e.g., firefighting, ecology, geospatial analysis, civil engineering, hydrology, landscape restoration, budget and administration, and more); allows waivers of certain postsecondary credential requirements if needed.
- 3Requires agency heads to administer the tests to applying veterans, assess their capacity for the relevant fields, and refer eligible veterans to the government’s official employment website as part of the hiring process.
- 4Establishes a noncompetitive, career-conditional appointment path for veterans who demonstrate the necessary strengths and abilities for a vacant position; if a veteran does not initially qualify, the agency must offer a training program and re-test, with potential for future noncompetitive appointment upon demonstrating qualifications.
- 5Mandates annual reports to Congress (through appropriate committees) about the pilot, starting within one year of enactment and continuing until the pilot ends; the pilot runs for five years after it is established.