I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2283 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 2, 2017 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi (for himself, Ms. Jackson Lee , Mr. Langevin , Mr. Richmond , Mr. Keating , Mr. Payne , Mr. Vela , Mrs. Watson Coleman , Mr. Correa , Mrs. Demings , Ms. Barragán , and Miss Rice of New York ) 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. Short title This Act may be cited as the Department of Homeland Security Morale, Recognition, Learning and Engagement Act of 2017 or the DHS MORALE Act . 2. Chief Human Capital Officer responsibilities Section 704 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 344 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) by inserting , including with respect to leader development and employee engagement, after policies ; (ii) by striking and in line and inserting , in line ; and (iii) by inserting and informed by best practices within the Federal government and the private sector, after priorities, ; (B) in paragraph (2), by striking develop performance measures to provide a basis for monitoring and evaluating and inserting evaluate, on an ongoing basis, ; (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting that, to the extent practicable, are informed by employee feedback, after policies ; (D) in paragraph (4), by inserting including leader development and employee engagement programs, before in coordination ; (E) in paragraph (5), by inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: that is informed by an assessment, carried out by the Chief Human Capital Officer, of the learning and developmental needs of employees in supervisory and non-supervisory roles across the Department and appropriate workforce planning initiatives ; (F) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10) as paragraphs (11) and (12), respectively; and (G) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following new paragraphs: (9) maintain a catalogue of available employee development opportunities, including the Homeland Security Rotation Program pursuant to section 844, departmental leadership development programs, interagency development programs, and other rotational programs; and (10) ensure that employee discipline and adverse action programs comply with the requirements of all pertinent laws, rules, regulations, and Federal guidance, and ensure due process for employees; ; (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively; (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection: (d) Chief Learning and Engagement Officer The Chief Human Capital Officer may designate an employee of the Department to serve as a Chief Learning and Engagement Officer to assist the Chief Human Capital Officer in carrying out this section. ; and (4) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively; and (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraphs: (2) information on employee development opportunities catalogued pursuant to paragraph (9) of subsection (b) and any available data on participation rates, attrition rates, and impacts on retention and employee satisfaction; (3) information on the progress of Department-wide strategic workforce planning efforts as determined under paragraph (2) of subsection (b); and (4) information on the activities of the steering committee established pursuant to section 710(a), including the number of meeting, types of materials developed and distributed, and recommendations made to the Secretary; . 3. Employee engagement steering committee and action plan (a) In general Title VII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 710. Employee engagement (a) Steering committee Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish an employee engagement steering committee, including representatives from operational components and headquarters, including supervisory and non-supervisory personnel, and employee labor organizations that represent Department employees, and chaired by the Under Secretary for Management, to carry out the following activities: (1) Identify factors that have a negative impact on employee engagement, morale, and communications within the Department, such as perceptions about limitations on career progression, mobility, or development opportunities, collected through employee feedback platforms, including through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications, as appropriate. (2) Identify, develop, and distribute initiatives and best practices to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications within the Department, including through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications, as appropriate. (3) Monitor efforts of each component to address employee engagement, morale, and communications based on employee feedback provided through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications, as appropriate. (4) Advise the Secretary on efforts to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications within specific components and across the Department. (5) Conduct regular meetings and report, not less than once per quarter, to the Under Secretary for Management, the head of each component, and the Secretary on Department-wide efforts to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications. (b) Action plan; Reporting The Secretary, acting through the Chief Human Capital Officer, shall— (1) not later than 120 days after the date of the establishment of the steering committee under subsection (a), issue a Department-wide employee engagement action plan, reflecting input from the employee engagement steering committee established pursuant to subsection (a) and employee feedback provided through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications in accordance with paragraph (1) of such subsection, to execute strategies to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications within the Department; and (2) require the head of each component to— (A) identify and assign a senior executive to serve on the steering committee; (B) develop and implement a component-specific employee engagement plan to advance the action plan required under paragraph (1) that includes performance measures and objectives, is informed by employee feedback provided through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications, as appropriate, and sets forth how employees and, where applicable, their labor representatives are to be integrated in developing programs and initiatives; (C) monitor progress on implementation of such action plan; and (D) provide to the Chief Human Capital Officer and the steering committee monthly reports on actions planned and progress made under this paragraph. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 709 the following new item: Sec. 710. Employee engagement. . (c) Submissions to Congress (1) Department-wide employee engagement action plan The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the Department-wide employee engagement action plan required under subsection (b)(1) of section 710 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as added by subsection (a) of this section) not later than 30 days after the issuance of such plan under such subsection (b)(1). (2) Component-specific employee engagement plans Each head of a component of the Department of Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the component-specific employee engagement plan of each such component required under subsection (b)(2) of section 710 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as added by subsection (a) of this section) not later than 30 days after the issuance of each such plan under such subsection (b)(2). 4. Annual employee award program (a) In general Title VII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by section 3 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section: 711. Annual employee award program (a) In general The Secretary may establish an annual employee award program to recognize Department employees or groups of employees for significant contributions to the achievement of the Department’s goals and missions. If such a program is established, the Secretary shall— (1) establish within such program categories of awards, each with specific criteria, that emphasizes honoring employees who are at the non-supervisory level; (2) publicize within the Department how any employee or group of employees may be nominated for an award; (3) establish an internal review board comprised of representatives from Department components to submit to the Secretary award recommendations regarding specific employees or groups of employees; (4) select recipients from the pool of nominees submitted by the internal review board under paragraph (3) and convene a ceremony at which employees or groups of employees receive such awards from the Secretary; and (5) publicize such program within the Department. (b) Internal review board The internal review board described in subsection (a)(3) shall, when carrying out its function under such subsection, consult with representatives from operational components and headquarters, including supervisory and non-supervisory personnel, and employee labor organizations that represent Department employees. (c) Rule of construction Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize additional funds to carry out the requirements of this section or to require the Secretary to provide monetary bonuses to recipients of an award under this section. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended by section 3 of this Act, is further amended by inserting after the item relating to section 710 the following new item: Sec. 711. Annual employee award program. . 5. Independent audit (a) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of the issuance of any comprehensive report by the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security on the administration of the disciplinary and adverse action program within the Department but in no case later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall execute an agreement with an entity outside the Federal Government to conduct an independent audit of how disciplinary processes are administered throughout the Department. (b) Contents Not later than 180 days after the agreement described in subsection (a) is executed, the entity referred to in such subsection shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the audit required under such subsection, including findings regarding whether disciplinary processes of the Department of Homeland Security are administered in a consistent manner within components and across the Department, and recommendations for actions to promote greater uniformity and transparency in the administration of such disciplinary processes. The audit shall specifically review whether such disciplinary processes administered within each component of the Department result in the same or substantially similar disciplinary outcomes for misconduct by a non-supervisory or supervisory employee who engaged in same or substantially similar misconduct. In carrying out the audit, the entity shall consult with representatives of Federal employee labor organizations that represent Department employees. 6. Prohibition on new funding No funds are authorized to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act. This Act and such amendments shall be carried out using amounts otherwise made available.