I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9953 

To establish a Federal returnship program to strengthen the Federal workforce and to ease re-entry into the workforce for individuals who have 

taken time away from work, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2024 

Ms. WEXTON (for herself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. 

MCCLELLAN, Mr. RASKIN, and Mr. TRONE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

A BILL 

To establish a Federal returnship program to strengthen 

the Federal workforce and to ease re-entry into the workforce for individuals who have taken time away from 

work, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Return USA Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE; FINDINGS. 

6 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to estab7 lish a pilot returnship program for Federal civilian em8 ployment to expand opportunities in the Federal civilian 


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1 service for experienced, highly qualified mid-career profes2 sionals who are seeking to return to the workforce after 

3 a career break. 

4 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows: 

5 (1) To best represent and serve communities 

6 across the United States, it is critical that the Fed7 eral Government is able to attract and retain the 

8 best and brightest to its workforce. 

9 (2) According to the 2022 Federal Workforce 

10 Priorities Report, the Office of Personnel Manage11 ment has identified several key areas for workforce 

12 development to ensure the highly skilled and special13 ized Federal workforce can meet emerging needs. 

14 (3) Returnship programs, which help highly 

15 qualified, highly skilled mid-career professionals to 

16 re-enter the workforce after a career break, are uti17 lized at over one-third of Fortune 50 companies to 

18 help meet workforce needs, according to an analysis 

19 by iRelaunch as of 2023. 

20 (4) In April 2021, the State of Utah founded 

21 the first public returnship program in the United 

22 States (Return Utah) to meet workforce needs for 

23 mid-level State government positions. 

24 (5) Returnship programs are often used to 

25 strengthen opportunities for underrepresented popuVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Oct 24, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9953.IH H9953

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1 lations, including women who only represent 45 per2 cent of the Federal workforce at large and 40 per3 cent of senior executive positions, according to the 

4 Office of Personnel Management. 

5 (6) Many parents, primarily women, leave the 

6 workforce when they have young children or aging 

7 loved ones and struggle to re-enter. 

8 (7) According to data from the career platform 

9 LinkedIn, approximately 43 percent more women list 

10 a career break on their profile than men, and the 

11 most commonly cited reason for taking a career 

12 break was child care. 

13 (8) The ‘‘motherhood penalty’’, the loss of in14 come, difficulty re-entering the workforce, and slow15 er career progression faced by mothers in the work16 force, can have a devastating impact on women and 

17 the workforce and economy at large. 

18 (9) Following the birth of their first child, on 

19 average, nearly 25 percent of women will leave the 

20 workforce in the first year, and 17 percent will re21 main out of the workforce after 5 years. 

22 (10) Some experts estimate that the ‘‘mother23 hood penalty’’ is now the top driver of the gender 

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1 tion in earnings in the decade following the birth of 

2 their first child compared to fathers. 

3 SEC. 3. RETURN USA PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of Per5 sonnel Management shall establish a Federal returnship 

6 pilot program at one or more Federal agency. Such pro7 grams shall be known and designated as the ‘‘Return USA 

8 Program’’. The Program shall— 

9 (1) target Federal civilian workforce needs; and 

10 (2) assist professionals with at least 3 years of 

11 prior work experience to re-enter the workforce, in 

12 civil service positions that are above entry-level and 

13 commensurate with their skills and experience, after 

14 a career break of at least 1 year that was unrelated 

15 to work performance or solely for the pursuit of ad16 ditional educational degrees, including a break due 

17 to child or elder care, time after military service or 

18 while a spouse was serving in the military service, or 

19 personal health concerns. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Program shall— 

21 (1) draw upon best practices from existing 

22 State and private sector returnship programs to in23 form the structure, supports, and implementation of 

24 the Program; 


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1 (2) provide onboarding, training, mentorship, 

2 and professional and leadership development oppor3 tunities to support and foster a Federal leadership 

4 trajectory for participants; 

5 (3) create cohorts of current and former Pro6 gram participants to foster community and support 

7 systems; 

8 (4) last no less than one year in duration for 

9 each participant; and 

10 (5) prioritize providing opportunities for under11 represented populations and, to the extent available, 

12 provide wraparound supports, including child care. 

13 (c) RECRUITMENT.—The Director shall work with 

14 relevant public and private partners to recruit prospective 

15 applicants, including creating a unique Program hiring 

16 path on the website USAjobs.gov. 

17 (d) CONVERSION.—The Director may convert any 

18 participant who successfully completes the Program, as 

19 determined by the Director, to a permanent appointment 

20 in the competitive service without further competition. 

21 (e) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—At the end of each of 

22 fiscal years 2025 through 2029, the Director shall submit 

23 a report on the Program to the Committee on Oversight 

24 and Accountability of the House of Representatives, the 

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1 fairs of the Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations 

2 of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each 

3 such report shall include an overall description of the sta4 tus of the Program and key success metrics, including— 

5 (1) the number of Program participants and 

6 the aggregate demographic representation of Pro7 gram participants; 

8 (2) the number of Program participants re9 tained in permanent, full-time positions following 

10 completion of the Program, participant’s GS–level 

11 following completion, and agency assignment, and 

12 the aggregate demographic representation of Pro13 gram participants retained and not retained in per14 manent, full-time positions; 

15 (3) opportunities to expand the returnship Pro16 grams into additional Federal agencies or depart17 ments; and 

18 (4) impact of the Program on the strength and 

19 diversity of the Federal workforce. 

20 (f) DURATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall operate 

22 for a period of three years beginning on the date the 

23 Director established the Program under subsection 

24 (a). At the end of such period, the Director shall— 


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1 (A) determine whether the Program was 

2 successful in hiring and retaining qualified can3 didates; and 

4 (B) submit a report on such determination 

5 to the Committee on Oversight and Account6 ability of the House of Representatives and the 

7 Committee on Homeland Security and Govern8 mental Affairs of the Senate. 

9 (2) APPLICATION.—If the Director determines 

10 under paragraph (1)(A) that the Program was suc11 cessful, the Director shall continue to carry out the 

12 Program. The Program shall be terminated on the 

13 date of such determination if the Director deter14 mines that the Program was not successful. 

15 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act— 

16 (1) the term ‘‘civil service’’ has the meaning 

17 given that term in section 2101 of title 5, United 

18 States Code; 

19 (2) the term ‘‘competitive service’’ has the 

20 meaning given that term in section 2102 of such 

21 title 5; 

22 (3) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

23 the Office of Personnel Management; 

24 (4) the term ‘‘Program’’ means the Return 

25 USA Program established under this Act; and 


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1 (5) the term ‘‘underrepresented populations’’ 

2 means groups who have traditionally not had equal 

3 access to economic opportunities because of discrimi4 nation or other societal barriers and could include 

5 gender, race, ethnicity, disability, or low-income sta6 tus. 

7 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

8 authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each fiscal 

9 year, beginning with fiscal year 2025, the Program is car10 ried out consistent with the determination under sub11 section (f)(1). 

Æ 


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