New BIS STRENGTH Act Allows Commerce Dept. to Pay Top Tech Experts VP-Level Salaries to Fill Critical Gaps

The new BIS STRENGTH Act establishes a temporary, five-year mechanism allowing the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to hire up to 25 highly qualified experts from the private sector to fill critical technological expertise gaps. The bill specifically grants the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security the authority to bypass standard competitive civil service hiring rules (sections 3304 and 3309–3318 of title 5, U.S. Code) for these roles. The goal is to quickly bring in specialized talent needed to manage national security issues related to technology handling.

The Need for Speed: Bypassing Bureaucracy

Think of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) as the gatekeeper for sensitive U.S. technology exports—they decide what can be sold overseas and what needs to stay put to protect national security. Right now, the tech world moves at warp speed, but federal hiring often moves at a snail’s pace. This bill is a direct response to that mismatch. It acknowledges that BIS needs experts in cutting-edge fields like AI, quantum computing, or advanced microchips, and they need them yesterday.

Under this new authority, BIS can skip the usual application, examination, and ranking process that federal jobs require, allowing them to directly appoint personnel for up to five years (with a potential one-year extension). This is a huge shift, designed to make the government competitive with the private sector for people who usually wouldn't consider a federal career due to the slow hiring process or lower pay.

Competing for Talent with Private Sector Paychecks

One of the most eye-catching provisions is the pay scale. The bill allows BIS to set the salaries for these 25 experts up to the maximum rate for senior-level positions, plus locality pay adjustments—and the total annual compensation can even reach the Vice President's salary (3 U.S.C. 104). For a mid-career engineer or data scientist who might make a high six-figure salary in Silicon Valley, this is the government’s attempt to level the playing field. It creates a temporary, elite class of federal workers who are paid significantly more than their career civil service colleagues, a necessary move to attract top-tier talent but one that could create internal friction.

What This Means for Accountability and Oversight

While the bill grants significant hiring flexibility, it doesn't do so without guardrails. The Under Secretary is required to conduct an annual study to identify specific expertise gaps that are hard to fill through normal means. Furthermore, BIS must submit detailed reports annually to Congress, specifically the Senate Banking Committee and the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Foreign Affairs. These reports must list the identified gaps, the steps taken to fill them internally, and the qualifications and impact of every expert hired under this authority. This reporting requirement is critical; it ensures that the power to bypass standard hiring is used only for genuinely critical, hard-to-fill roles, rather than becoming a loophole for general hiring.

For the taxpayer and the career federal employee, the key tension here is between efficiency and fairness. The bill promises greater efficiency and better national security outcomes by injecting specialized knowledge, but it does so by creating an exception to the competitive hiring process designed to ensure merit and transparency. If the authority is terminated after five years, the bill ensures that the experts currently serving can finish their appointments without a pay cut, providing stability for those who accept these high-stakes, temporary government roles.