Pilot program on integration of United States tech force with skills-based hiring authorities

(a) Program required (1) In general The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a pilot program to integrate the United States Tech Force into the implementation of the hiring and promotion reforms authorized under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law 119–60). (2) Purpose The purpose of the pilot is to use the United States Tech Force to develop, validate, and deploy the skills-based assessments required to modernize the defense workforce. (b) Use of commercial technology for skills verification In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary of Defense shall use commercially available, interoperable technology platforms to— (1) create a Digital Skills Passport for members of the United States Tech Force and Department of Defense civilian employees, documenting verified competencies rather than solely degrees or tenure; (2) automatically map the skills possessed by United States Tech Force participants to gaps identified in the Department of Defense cyber and digital workforce; and (3) track the mobility of talent across the Department based on skills proficiency, consistent with the removal of time-in-grade restrictions. (c) Reporting Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the effectiveness of using commercial skills-based platforms to integrate the United States Tech Force with Department of Defense hiring authorities. (d) Sunset The authority to carry out the pilot program under this section shall expire on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act.