II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3488 

To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for a NASA publicprivate 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. 

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 ‘‘NASA Talent Ex5 change Program Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NASA PUBLIC-PRIVATE TALENT PROGRAM. 

7 Section 20113 of title 51, United States Code, is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following new sub9 section: 

10 ‘‘(n) PUBLIC-PRIVATE TALENT PROGRAM.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) ASSIGNMENT AUTHORITY.—Under policies 

2 and procedures prescribed by the Administration, 

3 the Administrator may, with the agreement of a pri4 vate sector entity and the consent of an employee of 

5 the Administration or of such entity, arrange for the 

6 temporary assignment of such employee of the Ad7 ministration to such private sector entity, or of such 

8 employee of such entity to the Administration, as 

9 the case may be. 

10 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

12 shall provide for a written agreement among 

13 the Administration, the private sector entity, 

14 and the employee concerned regarding the 

15 terms and conditions of the employee’s assign16 ment under this subsection. The agreement 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) require that the employee of the 

19 Administration, upon completion of the as20 signment, will serve in the Administration, 

21 or elsewhere in the civil service if approved 

22 by the Administrator, for a period equal to 

23 twice the length of the assignment; 

24 ‘‘(ii) provide that if the employee of 

25 the Administration or of the private sector 

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1 entity (as the case may be) fails to carry 

2 out the agreement, such employee shall be 

3 liable to the United States for payment of 

4 all expenses of the assignment, unless such 

5 failure was for good and sufficient reason, 

6 as determined by the Administrator; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) contain language ensuring that 

8 such employee of the Administration or of 

9 the private sector entity (as the case may 

10 be) does not improperly use predecisional 

11 or draft deliberative information that such 

12 employee may be privy to or aware of re13 lated to Administration programing, budg14 eting, resourcing, acquisition, or procure15 ment for the benefit or advantage of the 

16 private sector entity. 

17 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT.—An amount for which 

18 an employee is liable under subparagraph (A) 

19 shall be treated as a debt due the United 

20 States. 

21 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—The Administrator may 

22 waive, in whole or in part, collection of a debt 

23 described in subparagraph (B) based on a de24 termination that the collection would be against 

25 equity and good conscience and not in the best 

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1 interests of the United States, after taking into 

2 account any indication of fraud, misrepresenta3 tion, fault, or lack of good faith on the part of 

4 the employee concerned. 

5 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION.—An assignment under this 

6 section may, at any time and for any reason, be ter7 minated by the Administration or the private-sector 

8 entity concerned, as the case may be. 

9 ‘‘(4) DURATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An assignment under 

11 this subsection shall be for a period of not less 

12 than three months and not more than two 

13 years, renewable up to a total of three years. 

14 An employee of the Administration may not be 

15 assigned under this subsection for more than a 

16 total of three years inclusive of all such assign17 ments. 

18 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—An assignment under 

19 this subsection may be for a period in excess of 

20 two years, but not more than three years, if the 

21 Administrator determines that such assignment 

22 is necessary to meet critical mission or program 

23 requirements. 

24 ‘‘(5) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

2 shall establish policies and procedures relating 

3 to assignments under this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—Policies and procedures 

5 established pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 

6 address the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) The nature and elements of writ8 ten agreements with participants in assign9 ments under this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Criteria for making such assign11 ments, including the needs of the Adminis12 tration relating thereto. 

13 ‘‘(iii) How the Administration will 

14 oversee such assignments, in particular 

15 with respect to paragraphs (2)(A)(iii), 

16 (7)(C), and (7)(D). 

17 ‘‘(iv) Criteria for issuing waivers. 

18 ‘‘(v) How expenses under paragraph 

19 (2)(A)(ii) would be determined. 

20 ‘‘(vi) Guidance for participants in 

21 such assignments. 

22 ‘‘(vii) Mission Directorate, Office, and 

23 organizational structure to implement and 

24 manage such assignments. 

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1 ‘‘(viii) Any other necessary policies, 

2 procedures, or guidelines to ensure such 

3 assignments comply with all relevant statu4 tory authorities and ethics rules, and effec5 tively contribute to one or more of the Ad6 ministration’s missions. 

7 ‘‘(C) INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL AC8 TIVITIES.—Assignments made under this sub9 section shall not have responsibilities or per10 form duties or decision making regarding Ad11 ministration activities that are inherently gov12 ernmental, pursuant to subpart 7.500 of title 

13 48, Code of Federal Regulations, and Office of 

14 Management and Budget review. 

15 ‘‘(6) STATUS OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AS16 SIGNED TO PRIVATE SECTOR ENTITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the 

18 Administration who is assigned to a private sec19 tor entity under this subsection shall be consid20 ered, during the period of such assignment, to 

21 be on detail to a regular work assignment in 

22 the Administration for all purposes. The written 

23 agreement established under paragraph (2)(A) 

24 shall address the specific terms and conditions 

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1 related to such employee’s continued status as 

2 a Federal employee. 

3 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION.—In establishing a 

4 temporary assignment of an employee of the 

5 Administration to a private sector entity, the 

6 Administrator shall certify that such temporary 

7 assignment shall not have an adverse or nega8 tive impact on the mission of the Administra9 tion or organizational capabilities associated 

10 with such assignment. 

11 ‘‘(7) TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR PRIVATE

12 SECTOR EMPLOYEES.—An employee of a private sec13 tor entity who is assigned to the Administration 

14 under this subsection— 

15 ‘‘(A) shall continue to receive pay and ben16 efits from the private sector entity from which 

17 such employee is assigned and shall not receive 

18 pay or benefits from the Administration, except 

19 as provided in subparagraph (B); 

20 ‘‘(B) is deemed to be an employee of the 

21 Administration for the purposes of— 

22 ‘‘(i) chapters 73 and 81 of title 5; 

23 ‘‘(ii) sections 201, 203, 205, 207, 

24 208, 209, 603, 606, 607, 643, 654, 1905, 

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1 tion 209 does not apply to any salary, or 

2 contribution or supplementation of salary 

3 made pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this 

4 paragraph; 

5 ‘‘(iii) sections 1343, 1344, and 

6 1349(b) of title 31; 

7 ‘‘(iv) the Federal Tort Claims Act and 

8 any other Federal tort liability statute; 

9 ‘‘(v) the Ethics in Government Act of 

10 1978; and 

11 ‘‘(vi) chapter 21 of title 41; 

12 ‘‘(C) shall not have access to any trade se13 crets or any other nonpublic information which 

14 is of commercial value to the private sector en15 tity from which such employee is assigned; 

16 ‘‘(D) may not perform work that is consid17 ered inherently governmental in nature, in ac18 cordance with paragraph (5)(C); and 

19 ‘‘(E) may not be used to circumvent— 

20 ‘‘(i) section 1710 of title 41, United 

21 States Code; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) any limitation or restriction on 

23 the size of the Administration’s civil serv24 ant workforce. 

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1 ‘‘(8) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Ad2 ministrator shall ensure that— 

3 ‘‘(A) the normal duties and functions of an 

4 employee of the Administration who is assigned 

5 to a private sector entity under this subsection 

6 can be reasonably performed by other employ7 ees of the Administration without the perma8 nent transfer or reassignment of other per9 sonnel of the Administration; 

10 ‘‘(B) normal duties and functions of such 

11 other employees of the Administration are not, 

12 as a result of and during the course of such 

13 temporary assignment, performed or augmented 

14 by contractor personnel in violation of section 

15 1710 of title 41; and 

16 ‘‘(C) not more than two percent of the Ad17 ministration’s civil servant workforce may par18 ticipate in an assignment under this subsection 

19 at the same time. 

20 ‘‘(9) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—The Adminis21 trator shall implement a system to identify, mitigate, 

22 and manage any conflicts of interests that may arise 

23 as a result of an employee’s assignment under this 

24 subsection. 

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1 ‘‘(10) PROHIBITION AGAINST CHARGING CER2 TAIN COSTS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—A 

3 private-sector entity may not charge the Administra4 tion or any other agency of the Federal Government, 

5 as direct or indirect costs under a Federal contract, 

6 the costs of pay or benefits paid by the entity to an 

7 employee assigned to the Administration under this 

8 subsection for the period of the assignment con9 cerned. 

10 ‘‘(11) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out this 

11 subsection, the Administrator shall take into consid12 eration— 

13 ‘‘(A) the question of how assignments 

14 under this subsection might best be used to 

15 help meet the needs of the Administration with 

16 respect to the training of employees; and 

17 ‘‘(B) where applicable, areas of particular 

18 private sector expertise, such as cybersecurity. 

19 ‘‘(12) NASA REPORTING.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 

21 30 of each year, the Administrator shall submit 

22 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech23 nology of the House of Representatives and the 

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1 portation of the Senate a report summarizing 

2 the implementation of this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report under sub4 paragraph (A) shall include, with respect to the 

5 annual period to which such report relates, the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(i) Information relating to the total 

8 number of employees of private sector enti9 ties assigned to the Administration, and 

10 the total number of employees of the Ad11 ministration assigned to private sector en12 tities. 

13 ‘‘(ii) A brief description and assess14 ment of the talent management benefits 

15 evidenced from such assignments, as well 

16 as any identified strategic human capital 

17 and operational challenges, including the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(I) An identification of the 

20 names of the private sector entities to 

21 and from which employees were as22 signed. 

23 ‘‘(II) A complete listing of posi24 tions such employees were assigned to 

25 and from. 

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1 ‘‘(III) An identification of as2 signed roles and objectives of such as3 signments. 

4 ‘‘(IV) Information relating to the 

5 durations of such assignments. 

6 ‘‘(V) Information relating to as7 sociated pay grades and levels. 

8 ‘‘(iii) An assessment of impacts of 

9 such assignments on the Administration 

10 workforce and workforce culture. 

11 ‘‘(iv) An identification of the number 

12 of Administration staff and budgetary re13 sources required to implement this sub14 section. 

15 ‘‘(13) FEDERAL ETHICS.—Nothing in this sub16 section shall affect existing Federal ethics rules ap17 plicable to Federal personnel. 

18 ‘‘(14) GAO REPORTING.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than three 

20 years after the date of the enactment of this 

21 subsection, the Comptroller General of the 

22 United States shall submit to the Committee on 

23 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

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1 ate a report summarizing the implementation of 

2 this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report under sub4 paragraph (A) shall include the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) A review of the implementation of 

6 this subsection, according to law and the 

7 Administration policies and procedures es8 tablished for assignments under this sub9 section. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Information relating to the ex11 tent to which such assignments adhere to 

12 best practices relating to public-private tal13 ent exchange programs. 

14 ‘‘(iii) A determination as to whether 

15 there should be limitations on the number 

16 of individuals participating in such assign17 ments. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Information relating to the ex19 tent to which the Administration complies 

20 with statutory requirements and ethics 

21 rules, and appropriately handles potential 

22 conflicts of interest and access to non23 public information with respect to such as24 signments. 

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1 ‘‘(v) Information relating to the extent 

2 to which such assignments effectively con3 tribute to one or more of the Administra4 tion’s missions. 

5 ‘‘(vi) Information relating to Adminis6 tration resources, including employee time, 

7 dedicated to administering such assign8 ments, and whether such resources are suf9 ficient for such administration.’’. 

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