(b) Status and Compensation.— Officers and employees of the corporation
(1) shall not be considered employees of the United States Government;
(2) shall be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service; and
(3) may be paid without regard to chapter
51 and subchapter III of chapter
53 of title
5, except that an officer or employee may not be paid more than 15 percent above the annual rate of basic pay for level GS15 of the General Schedule under section
5107 of title
5.