The Senate has passed legislation authored by United States Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), the Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act, S. 589, to strengthen the federal government's recruitment and retention efforts in the areas of science, mathematics, engineering, and foreign language where there is a growing absence of qualified personnel. This landmark legislation would help eliminate the government's shortfall in these critical areas.
The Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act proposes several steps to ensure that government preserves its expertise in matters of national security. It creates a targeted student loan repayment program for those who work in positions of national security and offers fellowships to future and existing federal employees who possess these critical language and scientific skills and commit to serve in national security positions. It also creates a rotational assignment program to provide training and professional development opportunities for mid-level federal employees in the national security workforce.
"Following General Accounting Office warnings of a human capital crisis in the federal government and the events of September 11, 2001, we became increasingly aware of the current and future shortfalls in science and foreign language skills," Akaka said. "Before 9/11, the FBI had only 40 Arabic and 25 Farsi speakers to listen to national-security intercepts. As a result, millions of hours of surveillance tapes of suspected terrorists--including 35 percent of all Arabic-language national-security wiretaps by the FBI--had gone untranslated. As our foreign language needs have grown significantly over the past decade due to increasing globalization and a changing security environment, we need to develop new ways to recruit and retain employees possessing these critical skills."
The federal government also lacks personnel with scientific and engineering skills. On a panel on federal service earlier this year, William Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering, noted that the supply of talented engineers in government is not keeping pace with growing demand. In addition, the Hart-Rudman Commission cautioned that the nation's need for the highest quality employees in science, mathematics, and engineering is not being met. "These shortfalls have real consequences that hamper our ability to monitor exports of military-sensitive technology, prepare defenses to biological and chemical agents, and prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Akaka said.
"Enactment of this legislation would encourage more people to enter national security positions by easing the financial burdens often associated with government service."
