II
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3187
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 4, 2021
Mr. Luján (for himself and Mr. Heinrich) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To establish the Office of Technologists within the Federal Trade Commission.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Federal Trade Commission Technologists Act of 2021
.
Establishment of the Office of Technologists
Office of Technologists
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Commission shall establish within the Commission the Office of Technologists (in this section referred to as the Office
) to advise the Commission on technology matters, including the Commission’s use of technology, technical aspects of law enforcement actions, and technology policy recommendations.
Personnel
In general
The Commission shall appoint to positions in the Office—
not less than 25 technologists; and
other necessary employees.
Direct hire authority
The Commission may make appointments of technologists under paragraph (1) without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code.
Calculation of number of technologists
For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the number of individuals appointed to a position as a technologist shall be determined on a full-time equivalent basis, except that an appointment of an individual to a position as a technologist on a term or temporary basis shall be counted as an appointment to a full-time position, without regard to the number of hours in the administrative workweek of the individual.
Compensation
Rate of pay
Subject to subparagraph (B), in order to recruit and retain qualified technologists, the Commission may fix the rate of pay, including compensation for night and overtime work and other premium pay, of any technologist appointed under paragraph (1), as the Commission considers necessary for the interest of the Federal Government and just to the individuals employed.
Maximum
The total amount payable to a technologist appointed under paragraph (1), including compensation for night and overtime work and other premium pay, during any pay period may not exceed the rate of basic pay payable for a position at level II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United States Code.
Time off
With respect to a technologist appointed under paragraph (1) who is not eligible for overtime or other premium pay, the Commission may grant such technologist compensatory time off from duty for overtime work performed.
Definitions
In this section:
Commission
The term Commission means the Federal Trade Commission.
Technologist
The term technologist means an individual with training and expertise regarding the state of the art in information technology, including product development, supply chain management, data privacy and analytics, algorithms, information security, network security, the manufacturing of hardware, software development, computer science, or other related fields.
Authorization of appropriation
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary to carry out the requirements of this section.
