50 U.S.C. § 4553: Civilian personnel

Any officer or agency head may—(1) appoint civilian personnel without regard to section 5331(b) of title 5 and without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service; and (2) fix the rate of basic pay for such personnel without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5 relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that no individual so appointed may receive pay in excess of the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS–18 of the General Schedule, as the President deems appropriate to carry out this chapter.