; and . (b) Veterans’ preference as a tiebreaker among equally qualified candidates (1) Registers of eligibles Section 3313 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 3313. Competitive service; registers of eligibles The names of applicants who have qualified in examinations for the competitive service shall be entered on appropriate registers or lists of eligibles in the order of their ratings, including points added under section 3309 of this title. The names of preference eligibles shall be entered ahead of others having the same rating. . (2) Alternative ranking and selection procedures Section 3319(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking the second sentence. (c) Veterans recruitment appointment improvements (1) Definition of recently separated veteran Section 4211(6) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking three-year and inserting 10-year . (2) Definition of qualified covered veteran Section 4214(a)(2)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: (B) The term qualified covered veteran means a veteran described in section 4212(a)(3) of this title, but does not include a retired member of the Armed Forces unless the individual qualifies for retirement under chapter 61 of title 10. . 344. Noncompetitive eligibility for high-performing civilian employees (a) Definition In this section, the term competitive service has the meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 5, United States Code. (b) Regulations Under such regulations as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall issue, an Executive agency may noncompetitively appoint, for other than temporary employment, to a position in the competitive service any individual who— (1) is certified by the Director as having been a high-performing employee in a former position in the competitive service; (2) has been separated from the former position described in paragraph (1) for less than 6 years