Interns and entry level executive branch employees design these programs, and then some consultants and lobbyists from the stakeholder industries haggle over hourly payments and retainers until they're happy with the text of the order.
Another question you might ask is, who decides to prioritize this program in the first place? How does the WH administration decide to add a program to its agenda?
Not really.
GS-13 and above are fairly competent, but the issue is it's government and you will get some pushback from Political Appointees.
The long tail was probably added in order to prevent headlines of abuse like what happened with the PPP program.
The lossage would be minimal, but the headlines would be a massive headache, so they were most likely forced to add rigorous validation.
> who decides to prioritize this program in the first place? How does the WH administration decide to add a program to its agenda
Recommendations from advisors, staffers, career civil servants, and industry partners.
Out of curiosity, how many "GS-13" employees actually write the technical documentation and legalese themselves, vs. asking their subordinates to produce the initial drafts and then fixing details but missing larger gaps?
You're in cybersecurity/IT which is sadly a massive shitshow in most agencies outside of the DoD and DoE.
All I can say is the grass ain't greener in similarly sized private sector organizations.
Edit: I actually upvoted you. That said, Cyber/IT is treated differently and the GS scheme is different.
Relatively junior Economists, Accountants, and Statisticians won't be given a GS-13 position out the door, but it's more likely for Cyber/IT roles due to the salary constraints.