IB 

Union Calendar No. 12 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1433 

[Report No. 116–26] 

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 

MARCH 28, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Miss RICE of New York, Ms. NORTON, Ms. CLARKE of 

New York, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, and Ms. JACKSON LEE

MARCH 28, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 28, 2019] 


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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. 


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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 ‘‘Department of Home5 land Security Morale, Recognition, Learning and Engage6 ment Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘DHS MORALE Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER RESPONSIBIL8 ITIES. 

9 Section 704 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

10 U.S.C. 344) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (b)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) by inserting ‘‘, including with re14 spect to leader development and employee 

15 engagement,’’ after ‘‘policies’’; 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘and in line’’ and in17 serting ‘‘, in line’’; and 

18 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and informed by 

19 best practices within the Federal govern20 ment and the private sector,’’ after ‘‘prior21 ities,’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘develop 

23 performance measures to provide a basis for 

24 monitoring and evaluating’’ and inserting ‘‘use 


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1 performance measures to evaluate, on an ongoing 

2 basis,’’; 

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

4 the extent practicable, are informed by employee 

5 feedback’’ after ‘‘policies’’; 

6 (D) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘includ7 ing leader development and employee engagement 

8 programs,’’ before ‘‘in coordination’’; 

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

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

11 informed by an assessment, carried out by the 

12 Chief Human Capital Officer, of the learning 

13 and developmental needs of employees in super14 visory and non-supervisory roles across the De15 partment and appropriate workforce planning 

16 initiatives’’; 

17 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and 

18 (10) as paragraphs (12) and (13), respectively; 

19 and 

20 (G) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol21 lowing new paragraphs: 

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

23 development opportunities, including the Homeland 

24 Security Rotation Program pursuant to section 844, 

25 departmental leadership development programs, interVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:55 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1433.RH H1433

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1 agency development programs, and other rotational 

2 programs; 

3 ‘‘(10) ensure that employee discipline and ad4 verse action programs comply with the requirements 

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

6 guidance, and ensure due process for employees; 

7 ‘‘(11) analyze each Department or Government8 wide Federal workforce satisfaction or morale survey 

9 not later than 90 days after the date of the publica10 tion of each such survey and submit to the Secretary 

11 such analysis, including, as appropriate, rec12 ommendations to improve workforce satisfaction or 

13 morale within the Department;’’; 

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

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

16 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following 

17 new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(d) CHIEF LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT OFFICER.— 

19 The Chief Human Capital Officer may designate an em20 ployee of the Department to serve as a Chief Learning and 

21 Engagement Officer to assist the Chief Human Capital Of22 ficer in carrying out this section.’’; and 

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


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

2 and (4) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respec3 tively; and 

4 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol5 lowing new paragraphs: 

6 ‘‘(2) information on employee development op7 portunities catalogued pursuant to paragraph (9) of 

8 subsection (b) and any available data on participa9 tion rates, attrition rates, and impacts on retention 

10 and employee satisfaction; 

11 ‘‘(3) information on the progress of Department12 wide strategic workforce planning efforts as deter13 mined under paragraph (2) of subsection (b); 

14 ‘‘(4) information on the activities of the steering 

15 committee established pursuant to section 711(a), in16 cluding the number of meetings, types of materials de17 veloped and distributed, and recommendations made 

18 to the Secretary;’’. 

19 SEC. 3. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT STEERING COMMITTEE 

20 AND ACTION PLAN. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Security 

22 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by adding 

23 at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 711. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT. 

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

3 after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

4 shall establish an employee engagement steering committee, 

5 including representatives from operational components, 

6 headquarters, and field personnel, including supervisory 

7 and non-supervisory personnel, and employee labor organi8 zations that represent Department employees, and chaired 

9 by the Under Secretary for Management, to carry out the 

10 following activities: 

11 ‘‘(1) Identify factors that have a negative impact 

12 on employee engagement, morale, and communica13 tions within the Department, such as perceptions 

14 about limitations on career progression, mobility, or 

15 development opportunities, collected through employee 

16 feedback platforms, including through annual em17 ployee surveys, questionnaires, and other communica18 tions, as appropriate. 

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

20 and best practices to improve employee engagement, 

21 morale, and communications within the Department, 

22 including through annual employee surveys, question23 naires, and other communications, as appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(3) Monitor efforts of each component to address 

25 employee engagement, morale, and communications 

26 based on employee feedback provided through annual 


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1 employee surveys, questionnaires, and other commu2 nications, as appropriate. 

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

4 employee engagement, morale, and communications 

5 within specific components and across the Depart6 ment. 

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

8 less than once per quarter, to the Under Secretary for 

9 Management, the head of each component, and the 

10 Secretary on Department-wide efforts to improve em11 ployee engagement, morale, and communications. 

12 ‘‘(b) ACTION PLAN; REPORTING.—The Secretary, act13 ing through the Chief Human Capital Officer, shall— 

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

15 establishment of the employee engagement steering 

16 committee under subsection (a), issue a Department17 wide employee engagement action plan, reflecting 

18 input from the steering committee and employee feed19 back provided through annual employee surveys, ques20 tionnaires, and other communications in accordance 

21 with paragraph (1) of such subsection, to execute 

22 strategies to improve employee engagement, morale, 

23 and communications within the Department; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(A) develop and implement a component2 specific employee engagement plan to advance 

3 the action plan required under paragraph (1) 

4 that includes performance measures and objec5 tives, is informed by employee feedback provided 

6 through annual employee surveys, question7 naires, and other communications, as appro8 priate, and sets forth how employees and, where 

9 applicable, their labor representatives are to be 

10 integrated in developing programs and initia11 tives; 

12 ‘‘(B) monitor progress on implementation of 

13 such action plan; and 

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

15 Officer and the steering committee quarterly re16 ports on actions planned and progress made 

17 under this paragraph. 

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

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

20 of this section.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

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

23 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 710 

24 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 711. Employee engagement.’’. 

25 (c) SUBMISSIONS TO CONGRESS.— 


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1 (1) DEPARTMENT-WIDE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

2 ACTION PLAN.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, 

3 acting through the Chief Human Capital Officer of 

4 the Department of Homeland Security, shall submit 

5 to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 

6 of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 

7 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the 

8 Department-wide employee engagement action plan 

9 required under subsection (b)(1) of section 711 of the 

10 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as added by sub11 section (a) of this section) not later than 30 days 

12 after the issuance of such plan under such subsection 

13 (b)(1). 

14 (2) COMPONENT-SPECIFIC EMPLOYEE ENGAGE15 MENT PLANS.—Each head of a component of the De16 partment of Homeland Security shall submit to the 

17 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

18 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Se19 curity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the 

20 component-specific employee engagement plan of each 

21 such component required under subsection (b)(2) of 

22 section 711 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 not 

23 later than 30 days after the issuance of each such 

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


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1 SEC. 4. ANNUAL EMPLOYEE AWARD PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Security 

3 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by section 

4 3 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 

5 following new section: 

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

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

8 annual employee award program to recognize Department 

9 employees or groups of employees for significant contribu10 tions to the achievement of the Department’s goals and mis11 sions. If such a program is established, the Secretary 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) establish within such program categories of 

14 awards, each with specific criteria, that emphasizes 

15 honoring employees who are at the non-supervisory 

16 level; 

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

18 employee or group of employees may be nominated for 

19 an award; 

20 ‘‘(3) establish an internal review board com21 prised of representatives from Department compo22 nents, headquarters, and field personnel to submit to 

23 the Secretary award recommendations regarding spe24 cific employees or groups of employees; 

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

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1 graph (3) and convene a ceremony at which employ2 ees or groups of employees receive such awards from 

3 the Secretary; and 

4 ‘‘(5) publicize such program within the Depart5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(b) INTERNAL REVIEW BOARD.—The internal review 

7 board described in subsection (a)(3) shall, when carrying 

8 out its function under such subsection, consult with rep9 resentatives from operational components and headquarters, 

10 including supervisory and non-supervisory personnel, and 

11 employee labor organizations that represent Department 

12 employees. 

13 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec14 tion may be construed to authorize additional funds to 

15 carry out the requirements of this section or to require the 

16 Secretary to provide monetary bonuses to recipients of an 

17 award under this section.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

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

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

21 inserting after the item relating to section 711 the following 

22 new item: 

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


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1 SEC. 5. INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION AND IMPLEMENTA2 TION PLAN. 

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

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

5 of the United States shall investigate whether the applica6 tion in the Department of Homeland Security of discipline 

7 and adverse actions are administered in an equitable and 

8 consistent manner that results in the same or substantially 

9 similar disciplinary outcomes across the Department for 

10 misconduct by a non-supervisory or supervisor employee 

11 who engaged in the same or substantially similar mis12 conduct. 

13 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the investigation 

14 described in subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the 

15 United States shall consult with the Under Secretary for 

16 Management of the Department of Homeland Security and 

17 the employee engagement steering committee established 

18 pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of section 711 of the Home19 land Security Act of 2002 (as added by section 3(a) of this 

20 Act). 

21 (c) ACTION BY UNDER SECRETARY FOR MANAGE22 MENT.—Upon completion of the investigation described in 

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

24 Department of Homeland Security shall review the findings 

25 and recommendations of such investigation and implement 

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1 ing committee established pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of 

2 section 711 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, to correct 

3 any relevant deficiencies identified by the Comptroller Gen4 eral of the United States in such investigation. The Under 

5 Secretary for Management shall direct the employee engage6 ment steering committee to review such plan to inform com7 mittee activities and action plans authorized under such 

8 section 711. 

9 SEC. 6. IMPACTS OF SHUTDOWN. 

10 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall report 

12 to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

13 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

14 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate regarding the direct 

15 and indirect impacts of the lapse in appropriations between 

16 December 22, 2018, and January 25, 2019, on— 

17 (1) Department of Homeland Security human 

18 resources operations; 

19 (2) the Department’s ability to meet hiring 

20 benchmarks; and 

21 (3) retention, attrition, and morale of Depart22 ment personnel. 


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Union Calendar No. 12 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1433 

[Report No. 116–26] 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 

and for other purposes. thorizing an annual employee award program, ing committee, requiring action plans, and aucer, establishing an employee engagement steersponsibilities to the Chief Human Capital Offiland Security workforce by conferring new reimprove morale within the Department of HomeMARCH 28, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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