A bill introduced on Tuesday would create a scholarship program to fund education in mission-critical fields in exchange for a federal service commitment. The bill (S.2789), introduced by Sens. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., would create a civilian counterpart to the military's Reserve Officer Training Corps by offering scholarships in mission-critical fields like information technology, science, engineering, public health and law, in exchange for a commitment to work for the government.
The bill would provide scholarships up to $60,000 per year, for a maximum of five years, to students who complete a degree in high-skill, high-need fields. In return, the students would commit to three to five years of service in a federal agency.
The House companion bill was introduced in July by Reps. David Price, D-N.C., and Michael Castle, R-Del. The idea for the program was originally touted by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service in 2007 as a means to fill hundreds of thousands of mission-critical jobs that will be left vacant in large part because of looming federal retirements.
"The federal government needs to fill 273,000 mission-critical jobs through 2012, yet college graduates face staggering levels of educational debt, effectively pricing them out of public service," said Max Stier, president of the Partnership. "The only way our nation can fill these jobs with top talent is to raise our game in recruiting and investing in our federal workforce."
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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