[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5043-S5045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2792. Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr. Rubio) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle A of title XV, add the following:
SEC. 1510. 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
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``(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.
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``(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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