10 U.S.C. § 1596b — Foreign language proficiency: National

Page 1523 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 1597 Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2004—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 108–375 struck out ‘‘dur- ing a contingency operation supported by the armed forces’’ after ‘‘foreign language’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2004 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title XI, § 1102(b), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 2072, provided that: ‘‘The amendment by this section [amending this section] shall take effect on the first day of the first month that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 28, 2004].’’ § 1596b. Foreign language proficiency: National Foreign Language Skills Registry (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary of De- fense may establish and maintain a registry of persons who— (A) have proficiency in one or more critical foreign languages; (B) are willing to provide linguistic services to the United States in the interests of na- tional security during war or a national emer- gency; and (C) meet the eligibility requirements of sub- section (b). (2) The registry shall be known as the ‘‘Na- tional Foreign Language Skills Registry’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Registry’’). (b) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—To be eligible for list- ing on the Registry, a person— (1) must be— (A) a national of the United States (as de- fined in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22))); or (B) an alien lawfully admitted for perma- nent residence (as defined in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and Nation- ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20))); (2) shall express willingness, in a form and manner prescribed by the Secretary— (A) to provide linguistic services for a for- eign language as described in subsection (a); and (B) to be listed on the Registry; and (3) shall meet such language proficiency and other selection criteria as may be prescribed by the Secretary. (c) REGISTERED INFORMATION.—The Registry shall consist of the following: (1) The names of eligible persons selected by the Secretary for listing on the Registry. (2) Such other information on such persons as the Secretary determines pertinent to the use of such persons to provide linguistic serv- ices as described in subsection (a). (d) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY.—The Secretary may withhold from public disclosure the infor- mation maintained in the Registry in accord- ance with section 552a of title 5. (e) DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL FOREIGN LAN- GUAGES.—The Secretary shall designate those languages that are critical foreign languages for the purposes of this section. The Secretary shall make such a designation for any foreign lan- guage for which there is a shortage of experts in translation or interpretation available to meet requirements of the Secretary or of the head of any other department or agency of the United States for translation or interpretation in the national security interests of the United States. (f) LINGUISTIC SERVICES DEFINED.—In this sec- tion, the term ‘‘linguistic services’’ means translation or interpretation of communication in a foreign language. (Added Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title X, § 1064(a)(1), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2653.) § 1596c. Programming language proficiency: spe- cial pay for proficiency beneficial for na- tional security interests (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Defense, under the sole and exclusive discretion of the Secretary, may pay special pay under this sec- tion to an employee of the Department of De- fense who— (1) has been certified by the Secretary to be proficient in a computer or digital program- ming language identified by the Secretary as being a language in which proficiency by civil- ian personnel of the Department is necessary because of national security interests; and (2) is assigned duties requiring proficiency in that programming language. (b) RATE.—The rate of special pay for an em- ployee under this section shall be prescribed by the Secretary, but may not exceed 20 percent of the employee’s rate of basic pay. (c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PAY AND ALLOW- ANCES.—Special pay under this section is in ad- dition to any other pay or allowances to which the employee is entitled. (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations to carry out this sec- tion. (Added Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title II, § 241(c)(1), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3487.) § 1597. Civilian positions: guidelines for reduc- tions (a) REQUIREMENT OF GUIDELINES FOR REDUC- TIONS IN CIVILIAN POSITIONS.—Reductions in the number of civilian positions of the Department of Defense during a fiscal year, if any, shall be carried out in accordance with the guidelines es- tablished pursuant to subsection (b). (b) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary of Defense shall establish guidelines for the manner in which reductions in the number of civilian posi- tions of the Department of Defense are made. In establishing the guidelines, the Secretary shall ensure that nothing in the guidelines conflicts with the requirements of section 129 of this title or the policies and procedures established under section 129a of this title. The guidelines shall in- clude procedures for reviewing civilian positions for reductions according to the following order: (1) Positions filled by foreign national em- ployees overseas. (2) All other positions filled by civilian em- ployees overseas. (3) Overhead, indirect, and administrative positions in headquarters or field operating agencies in the United States. (4) Direct operating or production positions in the United States.