122 
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, concur-
rently with its delivery to any other Committee or office. 
(b) REPORTS ON INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—If 
the United States becomes a signatory to an international 
agreement concerning outer space activities, the Adminis-
trator shall provide 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 containing a copy of such agreement. 
SEC. 810. CONTRACT FLEXIBILITY. 
Congress finds that NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 
1852.242-72, Denied Access to NASA Facilities instructs 
that for the period that NASA facilities were not accessible 
to contractor employees, the contracting officer may adjust 
the contract performance or delivery schedule, forego the 
work, reschedule the work, or consider requests for equitable 
adjustment to the contract. 
SEC. 811. GAO REPORT. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
a review of fire and emergency services at NASA launch 
and reentry facilities that assesses the following: 
(1) Current capabilities and projected demands 
for NASA-provided fire and emergency services. 
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(2) How demand for NASA-provided fire and 
emergency services have been impacted by the fol-
lowing: 
(A) An increased rate of launch and reentry 
operations. 
(B) An increased number of leases with 
commercial launch and reentry service providers 
for use of NASA property. 
(3) Current fire and emergency services provided 
by commercial providers to support launch and re-
entry operations that are conducted— 
(A) to fulfill a contractual obligation with 
NASA; or 
(B) for non-NASA purposes using NASA- 
leased property. 
(4) Whether NASA-provided and commercially- 
provided fire and emergency services are able to meet 
current and projected demands and support all fire 
response areas on NASA property. 
SEC. 812. 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 
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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 tem-
porary assignment of such employee of the Adminis-
tration to such private sector entity, or of such em-
ployee 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 as-
signment, 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 enti-
ty (as the case may be) fails to carry out 
the agreement, such employee shall be liable 
to the United States for payment of all ex-
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penses of the assignment, unless such failure 
was for good and sufficient reason, as deter-
mined 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 em-
ployee 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 deter-
mination that the collection would be against eq-
uity and good conscience and not in the best in-
terests of the United States, after taking into ac-
count any indication of fraud, misrepresenta-
tion, fault, or lack of good faith on the part of 
the employee concerned. 
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‘‘(3) TERMINATION.—An assignment under this 
section may, at any time and for any reason, be ter-
minated 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 em-
ployee of the Administration may not be as-
signed under this subsection for more than a 
total of three years inclusive of all such assign-
ments. 
‘‘(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. 
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‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—Policies and procedures 
established pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 
address the following: 
‘‘(i) The nature and elements of writ-
ten agreements with participants in assign-
ments under this subsection. 
‘‘(ii) Criteria for making such assign-
ments, including the needs of the Adminis-
tration 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 as-
signments comply with all relevant statu-
tory authorities and ethics rules, and effec-
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tively contribute to one or more of the Ad-
ministration’s missions. 
‘‘(C) INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL ACTIVI-
TIES.—Assignments made under this subsection 
shall not have responsibilities or perform duties 
or decision making regarding Administration 
activities that are inherently governmental, pur-
suant to subpart 7.500 of title 48, Code of Fed-
eral 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 Ad-
ministration 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 Ad-
ministration for all purposes. The written agree-
ment 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 Ad-
ministration to a private sector entity, the Ad-
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ministrator shall certify that such temporary as-
signment 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 SEC-
TOR EMPLOYEES.—An employee of a private sector 
entity who is assigned to the Administration under 
this subsection— 
‘‘(A) shall continue to receive pay and bene-
fits 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 Ad-
ministration 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 contribu-
tion or supplementation of salary made 
pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this para-
graph; 
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‘‘(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 se-
crets or any other nonpublic information which 
is of commercial value to the private sector enti-
ty from which such employee is assigned; 
‘‘(D) may not perform work that is consid-
ered inherently governmental in nature, in ac-
cordance 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 Admin-
istrator 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 
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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 tem-
porary assignment, performed or augmented by 
contractor personnel in violation of section 1710 
of title 41; and 
‘‘(C) not more than two percent of the Ad-
ministration’s civil servant workforce may par-
ticipate in an assignment under this subsection 
at the same time. 
‘‘(9) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—The Adminis-
trator 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 
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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 consider-
ation— 
‘‘(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 Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate a report summarizing the 
implementation of this subsection. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report under sub-
paragraph (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 enti-
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ties assigned to the Administration, and the 
total number of employees of the Adminis-
tration assigned to private sector entities. 
‘‘(ii) A brief description and assess-
ment of the talent management benefits evi-
denced from such assignments, as well as 
any identified strategic human capital and 
operational challenges, including the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(I) An identification of the 
names of the private sector entities to 
and from which employees were as-
signed. 
‘‘(II) A complete listing of posi-
tions such employees were assigned to 
and from. 
‘‘(III) An identification of as-
signed roles and objectives of such as-
signments. 
‘‘(IV) Information relating to the 
durations of such assignments. 
‘‘(V) Information relating to asso-
ciated pay grades and levels. 
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‘‘(iii) An assessment of impacts of such 
assignments on the Administration work-
force and workforce culture. 
‘‘(iv) An identification of the number 
of Administration staff and budgetary re-
sources required to implement this sub-
section. 
‘‘(13) FEDERAL ETHICS.—Nothing in this sub-
section shall affect existing Federal ethics rules appli-
cable to Federal personnel. 
‘‘(14) GAO REPORTING.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than three 
years after the date of the enactment of this sub-
section, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a re-
port summarizing the implementation of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report under sub-
paragraph (A) shall include the following: 
‘‘(i) A review of the implementation of 
this subsection, according to law and the 
Administration policies and procedures es-
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tablished for assignments under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(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 assign-
ments. 
‘‘(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 informa-
tion with respect to such assignments. 
‘‘(v) Information relating to the extent 
to which such assignments effectively con-
tribute to one or more of the Administra-
tion’s missions. 
‘‘(vi) Information relating to Adminis-
tration resources, including employee time, 
dedicated to administering such assign-
ments, and whether such resources are suffi-
cient for such administration.’’. 
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SEC. 813. REPORT ON SPACE ACT AGREEMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
describing the following: 
(1) Intellectual property considerations in Space 
Act agreements. 
(2) Feedback shared by industry groups regard-
ing intellectual property considerations in Space Act 
agreements. 
(3) Differences between NASA policies regarding 
intellectual property in Space Act agreements and 
policies utilized in similar situations by other Federal 
agencies. 
(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Space Act 
agreements’’ means agreements entered into by NASA pur-
suant to its authorities under the National Aeronautics and 
Space Act of 1958 (Public Law 85–568). 
SEC. 814. MENTORING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 
a comprehensive NASA-wide mentoring program for early- 
career, mid-level, and senior-level employees at all NASA 
Centers and NASA Headquarters to ensure a robust pipe-
line for NASA’s civil servant workforce and support the 
preparation of employees, including those from populations 
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that are historically underrepresented in STEM, for pro-
motion and leadership roles. 
(b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief 
the appropriate committees of Congress on the implementa-
tion of the subsection (a). 
SEC. 815. DRINKING WATER WELL REPLACEMENT FOR 
CHINCOTEAGUE, VIRGINIA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Administrator may enter into an agree-
ment, as appropriate, with the Town of Chincoteague, Vir-
ginia, for a period of up to five years, for reimbursement 
of the Town of Chincoteague’s costs directly associated with 
the development of a plan for removal of drinking water 
wells currently situated on NASA-administered property 
and the establishment of alternative drinking water wells 
which are located on property under the administrative 
control, either through lease, ownership, or easement, of the 
Town of Chincoteague. Such agreement shall, to the extent 
practicable, include the three remaining wells to be removed 
and relocated, the location of the site to which such wells 
would be relocated or are planned to be relocated, and a 
current estimated cost of the relocation, including for the 
purchase, lease, or use of additional property, engineering, 
design, permitting, and construction. 
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(b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad-
ministrator, in coordination with the heads or other appro-
priate representatives of relevant entities, shall submit to 
the appropriate committees of Congress the agreement under 
subsection (a). 
SEC. 816. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the abil-
ity of a NASA employee to discuss scientific research per-
formed by such employee in accordance with NASA’s sci-
entific integrity policies. 
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Union Calendar No. 595 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8958 
[Report No. 118–701] 
A BILL 
To reauthorize the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, and for other purposes. 
SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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