[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3488 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3488

  To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for a NASA public-
            private talent program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 13, 2023

 Mr. Brown (for himself and Mr. Rubio) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for a NASA public-
            private talent program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``NASA Talent Exchange Program Act''.

SEC. 2. NASA PUBLIC-PRIVATE TALENT PROGRAM.

    Section 20113 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(n) Public-Private Talent Program.--
            ``(1) Assignment authority.--Under policies and procedures 
        prescribed by the Administration, the Administrator may, with 
        the agreement of a private sector entity and the consent of an 
        employee of the Administration or of such entity, arrange for 
        the temporary assignment of such employee of the Administration 
        to such private sector entity, or of such employee of such 
        entity to the Administration, as the case may be.
            ``(2) Agreements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall provide 
                for a written agreement among the Administration, the 
                private sector entity, and the employee concerned 
                regarding the terms and conditions of the employee's 
                assignment under this subsection. The agreement shall--
                            ``(i) require that the employee of the 
                        Administration, upon completion of the 
                        assignment, will serve in the Administration, 
                        or elsewhere in the civil service if approved 
                        by the Administrator, for a period equal to 
                        twice the length of the assignment;
                            ``(ii) provide that if the employee of the 
                        Administration or of the private sector entity 
                        (as the case may be) fails to carry out the 
                        agreement, such employee shall be liable to the 
                        United States for payment of all expenses of 
                        the assignment, unless such failure was for 
                        good and sufficient reason, as determined by 
                        the Administrator; and
                            ``(iii) contain language ensuring that such 
                        employee of the Administration or of the 
                        private sector entity (as the case may be) does 
                        not improperly use predecisional or draft 
                        deliberative information that such employee may 
                        be privy to or aware of related to 
                        Administration programing, budgeting, 
                        resourcing, acquisition, or procurement for the 
                        benefit or advantage of the private sector 
                        entity.
                    ``(B) Treatment.--An amount for which an employee 
                is liable under subparagraph (A) shall be treated as a 
                debt due the United States.
                    ``(C) Waiver.--The Administrator may waive, in 
                whole or in part, collection of a debt described in 
                subparagraph (B) based on a determination that the 
                collection would be against equity and good conscience 
                and not in the best interests of the United States, 
                after taking into account any indication of fraud, 
                misrepresentation, fault, or lack of good faith on the 
                part of the employee concerned.
            ``(3) Termination.--An assignment under this section may, 
        at any time and for any reason, be terminated by the 
        Administration or the private-sector entity concerned, as the 
        case may be.
            ``(4) Duration.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An assignment under this 
                subsection shall be for a period of not less than three 
                months and not more than two years, renewable up to a 
                total of three years. An employee of the Administration 
                may not be assigned under this subsection for more than 
                a total of three years inclusive of all such 
                assignments.
                    ``(B) Extension.--An assignment under this 
                subsection may be for a period in excess of two years, 
                but not more than three years, if the Administrator 
                determines that such assignment is necessary to meet 
                critical mission or program requirements.
            ``(5) Policies and procedures.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall 
                establish policies and procedures relating to 
                assignments under this subsection.
                    ``(B) Elements.--Policies and procedures 
                established pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall address 
                the following:
                            ``(i) The nature and elements of written 
                        agreements with participants in assignments 
                        under this subsection.
                            ``(ii) Criteria for making such 
                        assignments, including the needs of the 
                        Administration relating thereto.
                            ``(iii) How the Administration will oversee 
                        such assignments, in particular with respect to 
                        paragraphs (2)(A)(iii), (7)(C), and (7)(D).
                            ``(iv) Criteria for issuing waivers.
                            ``(v) How expenses under paragraph 
                        (2)(A)(ii) would be determined.
                            ``(vi) Guidance for participants in such 
                        assignments.
                            ``(vii) Mission Directorate, Office, and 
                        organizational structure to implement and 
                        manage such assignments.
                            ``(viii) Any other necessary policies, 
                        procedures, or guidelines to ensure such 
                        assignments comply with all relevant statutory 
                        authorities and ethics rules, and effectively 
                        contribute to one or more of the 
                        Administration's missions.
                    ``(C) Inherently governmental activities.--
                Assignments made under this subsection shall not have 
                responsibilities or perform duties or decision making 
                regarding Administration activities that are inherently 
                governmental, pursuant to subpart 7.500 of title 48, 
                Code of Federal Regulations, and Office of Management 
                and Budget review.
            ``(6) Status of federal employees assigned to private 
        sector entities.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An employee of the 
                Administration who is assigned to a private sector 
                entity under this subsection shall be considered, 
                during the period of such assignment, to be on detail 
                to a regular work assignment in the Administration for 
                all purposes. The written agreement established under 
                paragraph (2)(A) shall address the specific terms and 
                conditions related to such employee's continued status 
                as a Federal employee.
                    ``(B) Certification.--In establishing a temporary 
                assignment of an employee of the Administration to a 
                private sector entity, the Administrator shall certify 
                that such temporary assignment shall not have an 
                adverse or negative impact on the mission of the 
                Administration or organizational capabilities 
                associated with such assignment.
            ``(7) Terms and conditions for private sector employees.--
        An employee of a private sector entity who is assigned to the 
        Administration under this subsection--
                    ``(A) shall continue to receive pay and benefits 
                from the private sector entity from which such employee 
                is assigned and shall not receive pay or benefits from 
                the Administration, except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B);
                    ``(B) is deemed to be an employee of the 
                Administration for the purposes of--
                            ``(i) chapters 73 and 81 of title 5;
                            ``(ii) sections 201, 203, 205, 207, 208, 
                        209, 603, 606, 607, 643, 654, 1905, and 1913 of 
                        title 18, except that such section 209 does not 
                        apply to any salary, or contribution or 
                        supplementation of salary made pursuant to 
                        subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;
                            ``(iii) sections 1343, 1344, and 1349(b) of 
                        title 31;
                            ``(iv) the Federal Tort Claims Act and any 
                        other Federal tort liability statute;
                            ``(v) the Ethics in Government Act of 1978; 
                        and
                            ``(vi) chapter 21 of title 41;
                    ``(C) shall not have access to any trade secrets or 
                any other nonpublic information which is of commercial 
                value to the private sector entity from which such 
                employee is assigned;
                    ``(D) may not perform work that is considered 
                inherently governmental in nature, in accordance with 
                paragraph (5)(C); and
                    ``(E) may not be used to circumvent--
                            ``(i) section 1710 of title 41, United 
                        States Code; or
                            ``(ii) any limitation or restriction on the 
                        size of the Administration's civil servant 
                        workforce.
            ``(8) Additional requirements.--The Administrator shall 
        ensure that--
                    ``(A) the normal duties and functions of an 
                employee of the Administration who is assigned to a 
                private sector entity under this subsection can be 
                reasonably performed by other employees of the 
                Administration without the permanent transfer or 
                reassignment of other personnel of the Administration;
                    ``(B) normal duties and functions of such other 
                employees of the Administration are not, as a result of 
                and during the course of such temporary assignment, 
                performed or augmented by contractor personnel in 
                violation of section 1710 of title 41; and
                    ``(C) not more than two percent of the 
                Administration's civil servant workforce may 
                participate in an assignment under this subsection at 
                the same time.
            ``(9) Conflicts of interest.--The Administrator shall 
        implement a system to identify, mitigate, and manage any 
        conflicts of interests that may arise as a result of an 
        employee's assignment under this subsection.
            ``(10) Prohibition against charging certain costs to the 
        federal government.--A private-sector entity may not charge the 
        Administration or any other agency of the Federal Government, 
        as direct or indirect costs under a Federal contract, the costs 
        of pay or benefits paid by the entity to an employee assigned 
        to the Administration under this subsection for the period of 
        the assignment concerned.
            ``(11) Considerations.--In carrying out this subsection, 
        the Administrator shall take into consideration--
                    ``(A) the question of how assignments under this 
                subsection might best be used to help meet the needs of 
                the Administration with respect to the training of 
                employees; and
                    ``(B) where applicable, areas of particular private 
                sector expertise, such as cybersecurity.
            ``(12) NASA reporting.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than April 30 of each 
                year, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee 
                on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
                and Transportation of the Senate a report summarizing 
                the implementation of this subsection.
                    ``(B) Contents.--Each report under subparagraph (A) 
                shall include, with respect to the annual period to 
                which such report relates, the following:
                            ``(i) Information relating to the total 
                        number of employees of private sector entities 
                        assigned to the Administration, and the total 
                        number of employees of the Administration 
                        assigned to private sector entities.
                            ``(ii) A brief description and assessment 
                        of the talent management benefits evidenced 
                        from such assignments, as well as any 
                        identified strategic human capital and 
                        operational challenges, including the 
                        following:
                                    ``(I) An identification of the 
                                names of the private sector entities to 
                                and from which employees were assigned.
                                    ``(II) A complete listing of 
                                positions such employees were assigned 
                                to and from.
                                    ``(III) An identification of 
                                assigned roles and objectives of such 
                                assignments.
                                    ``(IV) Information relating to the 
                                durations of such assignments.
                                    ``(V) Information relating to 
                                associated pay grades and levels.
                            ``(iii) An assessment of impacts of such 
                        assignments on the Administration workforce and 
                        workforce culture.
                            ``(iv) An identification of the number of 
                        Administration staff and budgetary resources 
                        required to implement this subsection.
            ``(13) Federal ethics.--Nothing in this subsection shall 
        affect existing Federal ethics rules applicable to Federal 
        personnel.
            ``(14) GAO reporting.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than three years after 
                the date of the enactment of this subsection, the 
                Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
                to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
                the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
                Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
                report summarizing the implementation of this 
                subsection.
                    ``(B) Contents.--The report under subparagraph (A) 
                shall include the following:
                            ``(i) A review of the implementation of 
                        this subsection, according to law and the 
                        Administration policies and procedures 
                        established for assignments under this 
                        subsection.
                            ``(ii) Information relating to the extent 
                        to which such assignments adhere to best 
                        practices relating to public-private talent 
                        exchange programs.
                            ``(iii) A determination as to whether there 
                        should be limitations on the number of 
                        individuals participating in such assignments.
                            ``(iv) Information relating to the extent 
                        to which the Administration complies with 
                        statutory requirements and ethics rules, and 
                        appropriately handles potential conflicts of 
                        interest and access to nonpublic information 
                        with respect to such assignments.
                            ``(v) Information relating to the extent to 
                        which such assignments effectively contribute 
                        to one or more of the Administration's 
                        missions.
                            ``(vi) Information relating to 
                        Administration resources, including employee 
                        time, dedicated to administering such 
                        assignments, and whether such resources are 
                        sufficient for such administration.''.
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