Both the House and Senate have passed HR-2835, which would create a new form of preference for hiring of veterans into Customs and Border Protection jobs.
The measure directs DoD and DHS to jointly identify military occupation codes that are most readily transferrable to the duties of CBP officers. It instructs DHS to establish a program to actively recruit members of the Armed Forces who are separating from military service into those jobs through a veterans recruitment appointment, a form of hiring preference that allows for noncompetitive conversion into permanent positions after two years of acceptable performance.
According to a congressional summary of the bill, the program also is to:
• include CBP officer opportunities in relevant job assistance efforts under the Transition Assistance Program;
• place CBP officials or other relevant DHS officials at recruiting events and jobs fairs involving separating members of the Armed Forces;
• provide opportunities for local CBP field offices to partner with military bases in the region;
• conduct outreach efforts to educate members of the armed forces with qualifications that are transferable to CBP officer requirements;
• require DoD and DHS to work cooperatively to identify shared activities and opportunities for reciprocity related to steps in hiring CBP officers with the goal of minimizing the time required to hire qualified applicants;
• require DoD and DHS to work cooperatively to ensure the streamlined interagency transfer of relevant background investigations and security clearances; and
• include other elements to ensure that separating members of the armed forces are aware of opportunities to fill vacant CBP officer positions.
The change builds on several initiatives of recent years aimed at increasing hiring of veterans by federal agencies, which together have resulted in rising percentages of veterans among newly hired employees annually and a more gradual increase in the percentage of the federal workforce with veterans status—both of which are significantly higher than those of the private sector. The MSPB has raised concerns several times, including recently in one of its publications, that the emphasis on special hiring authorities, including for veterans, puts at risk the general principle that federal hiring should be merit-based.