§2517 Authority for Certain Personnel

Summary

The Commandant can directly hire qualified people into certain Coast Guard jobs without using most normal federal competitive-hiring rules (but must still follow sections 3303 and 3328 of chapter 33, title 5). The jobs covered include medical and health professionals, childcare workers, housing-office supervisors for Coast Guard housing, nonclinical prevention specialists for harmful behaviors (like suicide, sexual assault, harassment, domestic abuse, and child abuse), special agents in the Coast Guard Investigative Service, and certain Coast Guard Academy civilian faculty or staff who work on cadet health or well‑being. The Commandant may only use this when there is a shortage of qualified candidates or a critical hiring need. Within 1 year after the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 is enacted, and each year for the next 5 years, the Commandant must send a written briefing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The briefing must show how many people were hired under this authority that year; the jobs and grades filled; why those jobs met the shortage or critical-need test; how many of those hires left the Coast Guard; and what steps were taken to work with the Office of Personnel Management under subpart B of part 337 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations. This hiring authority ends on September 30, 2030.