H.R. 5122

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5122 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5122

To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for a NASA public-
private talent program, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 3, 2025

Mrs. Sykes (for herself and Mr. Miller of Ohio) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 
and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for a NASA public-
private talent program, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``NASA Talent Exchange Program Act''.

SEC. 2. 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 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 temporary assignment of such employee of the Administration 
to such private sector entity, or of such employee 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 
assignment, 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 entity 
(as the case may be) fails to carry out the 
agreement, such employee shall be liable to the 
United States for payment of all expenses of 
the assignment, unless such failure was for 
good and sufficient reason, as determined 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 employee 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 determination that the 
collection would be against equity and good conscience 
and not in the best interests of the United States, 
after taking into account any indication of fraud, 
misrepresentation, fault, or lack of good faith on the 
part of the employee concerned.
``(3) Termination.--An assignment under this section may, 
at any time and for any reason, be terminated 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 employee of the Administration 
may not be assigned under this subsection for more than 
a total of three years inclusive of all such 
assignments.
``(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.
``(B) Elements.--Policies and procedures 
established pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall address 
the following:
``(i) The nature and elements of written 
agreements with participants in assignments 
under this subsection.
``(ii) Criteria for making such 
assignments, including the needs of the 
Administration 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 
assignments comply with all relevant statutory 
authorities and ethics rules, and effectively 
contribute to one or more of the 
Administration's missions.
``(C) Inherently governmental activities.--
Assignments made under this subsection shall not have 
responsibilities or perform duties or decision making 
regarding Administration activities that are inherently 
governmental, pursuant to subpart 7.500 of title 48, 
Code of Federal 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 
Administration 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 Administration for 
all purposes. The written agreement 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 Administration to a 
private sector entity, the Administrator shall certify 
that such temporary assignment 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 sector employees.--
An employee of a private sector entity who is assigned to the 
Administration under this subsection--
``(A) shall continue to receive pay and benefits 
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 
Administration 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 contribution or 
supplementation of salary made pursuant to 
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;
``(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 secrets or 
any other nonpublic information which is of commercial 
value to the private sector entity from which such 
employee is assigned;
``(D) may not perform work that is considered 
inherently governmental in nature, in accordance 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 Administrator 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 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 temporary assignment, 
performed or augmented by contractor personnel in 
violation of section 1710 of title 41; and
``(C) not more than two percent of the 
Administration's civil servant workforce may 
participate in an assignment under this subsection at 
the same time.
``(9) Conflicts of interest.--The Administrator 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 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 consideration--
``(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 Technology of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate a report summarizing 
the implementation of this subsection.
``(B) Contents.--Each report under subparagraph (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 entities 
assigned to the Administration, and the total 
number of employees of the Administration 
assigned to private sector entities.
``(ii) A brief description and assessment 
of the talent management benefits evidenced 
from such assignments, as well as any 
identified strategic human capital and 
operational challenges, including the 
following:
``(I) An identification of the 
names of the private sector entities to 
and from which employees were assigned.
``(II) A complete listing of 
positions such employees were assigned 
to and from.
``(III) An identification of 
assigned roles and objectives of such 
assignments.
``(IV) Information relating to the 
durations of such assignments.
``(V) Information relating to 
associated pay grades and levels.
``(iii) An assessment of impacts of such 
assignments on the Administration workforce and 
workforce culture.
``(iv) An identification of the number of 
Administration staff and budgetary resources 
required to implement this subsection.
``(13) Federal ethics.--Nothing in this subsection shall 
affect existing Federal ethics rules applicable to Federal 
personnel.
``(14) GAO reporting.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than three years after 
the date of the enactment of this subsection, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
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 summarizing the implementation of this 
subsection.
``(B) Contents.--The report under subparagraph (A) 
shall include the following:
``(i) A review of the implementation of 
this subsection, according to law and the 
Administration policies and procedures 
established for assignments under this 
subsection.
``(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 assignments.
``(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 information 
with respect to such assignments.
``(v) Information relating to the extent to 
which such assignments effectively contribute 
to one or more of the Administration's 
missions.
``(vi) Information relating to 
Administration resources, including employee 
time, dedicated to administering such 
assignments, and whether such resources are 
sufficient for such administration.''.
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