[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5122 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5122
To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for a NASA public-
private talent program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 3, 2025
Mrs. Sykes (for herself and Mr. Miller of Ohio) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space,
and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
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:
``(o) 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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