I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1433 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to improve morale within 

the Department of Homeland Security workforce by conferring new responsibilities to the Chief Human Capital Officer, establishing an employee engagement steering committee, requiring action plans, and authorizing an annual employee award program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to improve 

morale within the Department of Homeland Security 

workforce by conferring new responsibilities to the Chief 

Human Capital Officer, establishing an employee engagement steering committee, requiring action plans, and authorizing an annual employee award 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Home3 land Security Morale, Recognition, Learning and Engage4 ment Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘DHS MORALE Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER RESPONSIBIL6 ITIES. 

7 Section 704 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

8 (6 U.S.C. 344) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (i) by inserting ‘‘, including with re12 spect to leader development and employee 

13 engagement,’’ after ‘‘policies’’; 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘and in line’’ and in15 serting ‘‘, in line’’; and 

16 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and informed by 

17 best practices within the Federal govern18 ment and the private sector,’’ after ‘‘prior19 ities,’’; 

20 ø(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘de21 velop performance measures to provide a basis 

22 for monitoring and evaluating’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘use performance measures to evaluate, on an 

24 ongoing basis,’’;¿ 


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1 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘that, 

2 to the extent practicable, are informed by em3 ployee feedback’’ after ‘‘policies’’; 

4 (D) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘includ5 ing leader development and employee engage6 ment programs,’’ before ‘‘in coordination’’; 

7 (E) in paragraph (5), by inserting before 

8 the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘that is 

9 informed by an assessment, carried out by the 

10 Chief Human Capital Officer, of the learning 

11 and developmental needs of employees in super12 visory and non-supervisory roles across the De13 partment and appropriate workforce planning 

14 initiatives’’; 

15 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and 

16 (10) as paragraphs (11) and (12), respectively; 

17 and 

18 (G) by inserting after paragraph (8) the 

19 following new paragraphs: 

20 ‘‘(9) maintain a catalogue of available employee 

21 development opportunities, including the Homeland 

22 Security Rotation Program pursuant to section 844, 

23 departmental leadership development programs, 

24 interagency development programs, and other rota25 tional programs; 


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1 ‘‘(10) ensure that employee discipline and ad2 verse action programs comply with the requirements 

3 of all pertinent laws, rules, regulations, and Federal 

4 guidance, and ensure due process for employees;’’; 

5 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

6 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; 

7 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol8 lowing new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(d) CHIEF LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT OFFI10 CER.—The Chief Human Capital Officer may designate 

11 an employee of the Department to serve as a Chief Learn12 ing and Engagement Officer to assist the Chief Human 

13 Capital Officer in carrying out this section.’’; and 

14 (4) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— 

15 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), 

16 and (4) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respec17 tively; and 

18 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

19 following new paragraphs: 

20 ‘‘(2) information on employee development op21 portunities catalogued pursuant to paragraph (9) of 

22 subsection (b) and any available data on participa23 tion rates, attrition rates, and impacts on retention 

24 and employee satisfaction; 


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1 ‘‘(3) information on the progress of Depart2 ment-wide strategic workforce planning efforts as 

3 determined under paragraph (2) of subsection (b); 

4 ‘‘(4) information on the activities of the steer5 ing committee established pursuant to section 

6 711(a), including the number of meetings, types of 

7 materials developed and distributed, and rec8 ommendations made to the Secretary;’’. 

9 SEC. 3. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT STEERING COMMITTEE 

10 AND ACTION PLAN. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu12 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 711. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT. 

15 ‘‘(a) STEERING COMMITTEE.—Not later than 120 

16 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

17 Secretary shall establish an employee engagement steering 

18 committee, including representatives from operational 

19 components, headquarters, and field personnel, including 

20 supervisory and non-supervisory personnel, and employee 

21 labor organizations that represent Department employees, 

22 and chaired by the Under Secretary for Management, to 

23 carry out the following activities: 

24 ‘‘(1) Identify factors that have a negative im25 pact on employee engagement, morale, and commuVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1433.IH H1433

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1 nications within the Department, such as percep2 tions about limitations on career progression, mobil3 ity, or development opportunities, collected through 

4 employee feedback platforms, including through an5 nual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other 

6 communications, as appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(2) Identify, develop, and distribute initiatives 

8 and best practices to improve employee engagement, 

9 morale, and communications within the Department, 

10 including through annual employee surveys, ques11 tionnaires, and other communications, as appro12 priate. 

13 ‘‘(3) Monitor efforts of each component to ad14 dress employee engagement, morale, and commu15 nications based on employee feedback provided 

16 through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, 

17 and other communications, as appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(4) Advise the Secretary on efforts to improve 

19 employee engagement, morale, and communications 

20 within specific components and across the Depart21 ment. 

22 ‘‘(5) Conduct regular meetings and report, not 

23 less than once per quarter, to the Under Secretary 

24 for Management, the head of each component, and 


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1 the Secretary on Department-wide efforts to improve 

2 employee engagement, morale, and communications. 

3 ‘‘(b) ACTION PLAN; REPORTING.—The Secretary, 

4 acting through the Chief Human Capital Officer, shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) not later than 120 days after the date of 

6 the establishment of the employee engagement steer7 ing committee under subsection (a), issue a Depart8 ment-wide employee engagement action plan, reflect9 ing input from the steering committee and employee 

10 feedback provided through annual employee surveys, 

11 questionnaires, and other communications in accord12 ance with paragraph (1) of such subsection, to exe13 cute strategies to improve employee engagement, 

14 morale, and communications within the Department; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(2) require the head of each component to— 

17 ‘‘(A) develop and implement a component18 specific employee engagement plan to advance 

19 the action plan required under paragraph (1) 

20 that includes performance measures and objec21 tives, is informed by employee feedback pro22 vided through annual employee surveys, ques23 tionnaires, and other communications, as appro24 priate, and sets forth how employees and, where 

25 applicable, their labor representatives are to be 


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1 integrated in developing programs and initia2 tives; 

3 ‘‘(B) monitor progress on implementation 

4 of such action plan; and 

5 ‘‘(C) provide to the Chief Human Capital 

6 Officer and the steering committee quarterly re7 ports on actions planned and progress made 

8 under this paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(c) TERMINATION.—This section shall terminate on 

10 the date that is five years after the date of the enactment 

11 of this section.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

13 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 

14 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

15 710 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 711. Employee engagement.’’. 

16 (c) SUBMISSIONS TO CONGRESS.— 

17 (1) DEPARTMENT-WIDE EMPLOYEE ENGAGE18 MENT ACTION PLAN.—The Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security, acting through the Chief Human Capital 

20 Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, 

21 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Secu22 rity of the House of Representatives and the Com23 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af24 fairs of the Senate the Department-wide employee 

25 engagement action plan required under subsection 


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1 (b)(1) of section 711 of the Homeland Security Act 

2 of 2002 (as added by subsection (a) of this section) 

3 not later than 30 days after the issuance of such 

4 plan under such subsection (b)(1). 

5 (2) COMPONENT-SPECIFIC EMPLOYEE ENGAGE6 MENT PLANS.—Each head of a component of the 

7 Department of Homeland Security shall submit to 

8 the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 

9 of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 

10 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the 

11 component-specific employee engagement plan of 

12 each such component required under subsection 

13 (b)(2) of section 711 of the Homeland Security Act 

14 of 2002 (as added by subsection (a) of this section) 

15 not later than 30 days after the issuance of each 

16 such plan under such subsection (b)(2). 

17 SEC. 4. ANNUAL EMPLOYEE AWARD PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu19 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by 

20 section 3 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

21 end the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 712. ANNUAL EMPLOYEE AWARD PROGRAM. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may establish an 

24 annual employee award program to recognize Department 

25 employees or groups of employees for significant contribuVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1433.IH H1433

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1 tions to the achievement of the Department’s goals and 

2 missions. If such a program is established, the Secretary 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) establish within such program categories 

5 of awards, each with specific criteria, that empha6 sizes honoring employees who are at the non-super7 visory level; 

8 ‘‘(2) publicize within the Department how any 

9 employee or group of employees may be nominated 

10 for an award; 

11 ‘‘(3) establish an internal review board com12 prised of representatives from Department compo13 nents, headquarters, and field personnel to submit to 

14 the Secretary award recommendations regarding 

15 specific employees or groups of employees; 

16 ‘‘(4) select recipients from the pool of nominees 

17 submitted by the internal review board under para18 graph (3) and convene a ceremony at which employ19 ees or groups of employees receive such awards from 

20 the Secretary; and 

21 ‘‘(5) publicize such program within the Depart22 ment. 

23 ‘‘(b) INTERNAL REVIEW BOARD.—The internal re24 view board described in subsection (a)(3) shall, when car25 rying out its function under such subsection, consult with 


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1 representatives from operational components and head2 quarters, including supervisory and non-supervisory per3 sonnel, and employee labor organizations that represent 

4 Department employees. 

5 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec6 tion may be construed to authorize additional funds to 

7 carry out the requirements of this section or to require 

8 the Secretary to provide monetary bonuses to recipients 

9 of an award under this section.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

11 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as 

12 amended by section 3 of this Act, is further amended by 

13 inserting after the item relating to section 711 the fol14 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 712. Annual employee award program.’’. 

15 SEC. 5. INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION AND IMPLEMENTA16 TION PLAN. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

19 of the United States shall investigate whether the applica20 tion in the Department of Homeland Security of discipline 

21 and adverse actions are administered in an equitable and 

22 consistent manner that results in the same or substantially 

23 similar disciplinary outcomes across the Department for 

24 misconduct by a non-supervisory or supervisor employee 


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1 who engaged in the same or substantially similar mis2 conduct. 

3 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the investiga4 tion described in subsection (a), the Comptroller General 

5 of the United States shall consult with the Under Sec6 retary for Management of the Department of Homeland 

7 Security and the employee engagement steering committee 

8 established pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of section 711 

9 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as added by sec10 tion 3(a) of this Act). 

11 (c) ACTION BY UNDER SECRETARY FOR MANAGE12 MENT.—Upon completion of the investigation described in 

13 subsection (a), the Under Secretary for Management of 

14 the Department of Homeland Security shall review the 

15 findings and recommendations of such investigation and 

16 implement a plan, in consultation with the employee en17 gagement steering committee established pursuant to sub18 section (b)(1) of section 711 of the Homeland Security 

19 Act of 2002, to correct any relevant deficiencies identified 

20 by the Comptroller General of the United States in such 

21 investigation. The Under Secretary for Management shall 

22 direct the employee engagement steering committee to re23 view such plan to inform committee activities and action 

24 plans authorized under such section 711. 

Æ 


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