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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3672 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3672
To amend title 51, United States Code, to authorize the Administrator
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to conduct a
public-private talent program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 15, 2026
Mr. Kim (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Padilla, and Mr. Cornyn)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 51, United States Code, to authorize the Administrator
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to conduct a
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. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 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.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
Administrator may arrange for the temporary assignment
of--
``(i) an employee of the Administration to
a private sector entity; or
``(ii) an employee of a private sector
entity to the Administration.
``(B) Agreement and consent.--The Administrator may
only arrange for an assignment under subparagraph (A)
if the Administrator has obtained--
``(i) the agreement of the private sector
entity concerned; and
``(ii) the consent of the employee
concerned.
``(2) Agreements.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall provide
for a written agreement among the Administrator, the
private sector entity concerned, and the employee
concerned regarding the terms and conditions of the
assignment of an employee under this subsection.
``(B) Elements.--An agreement under subparagraph
(A) shall--
``(i) in the case of an employee of the
Administration--
``(I) require the employee, upon
completion of the assignment, to serve
in the Administration (or elsewhere in
the civil service of the Federal
Government if approved by the
Administrator) for a period equal to
twice the length of the period during
which the employee was assigned to the
private sector entity; and
``(II) contain language prohibiting
the employee from improperly using
predecisional or draft deliberative
information that the employee may be
privy to or aware of with respect to
Administration programing, budgeting,
resourcing, acquisition, or procurement
for the benefit or advantage of the
private sector entity to which the
employee is assigned; and
``(ii) provide that if the employee of the
Administration or of the private sector entity,
as applicable, fails to comply with the terms
of the agreement, such employee shall be liable
to the United States for payment of all
expenses of the assignment, unless such failure
is for good and sufficient reason, as
determined by the Administrator.
``(C) Treatment of liability for expenses.--
``(i) In general.--Any amount for which an
employee is liable under subparagraph (B)(ii)
shall be treated as a debt due the United
States.
``(ii) Waiver.--The Administrator may
waive, in whole or in part, collection of a
debt described in clause (i) based on a
determination that collection of the debt 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 subsection
may, at any time and for any reason, be terminated by the
Administration or the private sector entity concerned, as
applicable.
``(4) Duration.--
``(A) In general.--An assignment under this
subsection shall be--
``(i) for a period not less than 90 days
and not more than 2 years; and
``(ii) subject to subparagraph (B),
renewable for a period not more than 2 years.
``(B) Extension.--A renewal of an assignment under
this subsection may be for a period more than 2 years,
but not more than 4 years total, if the Administrator
determines that the assignment is necessary to meet
critical mission or program requirements.
``(5) 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 within the Administration
for all purposes. The written agreement under paragraph
(2) with respect to such employee shall address the
specific terms and conditions related to the continued
status of the employee as a Federal employee.
``(B) Certification.--In establishing a temporary
assignment of an employee of the Administration to a
private sector entity under this subsection, the
Administrator shall--
``(i) certify that such assignment shall
not have an adverse or negative impact on
mission attainment or organizational
capabilities associated with such assignment;
and
``(ii) ensure that the normal duties and
functions of such employee--
``(I) can be reasonably performed
by other employees of the
Administration without the permanent
transfer or reassignment of other
personnel of the Administration; and
``(II) 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.
``(6) 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;
``(B) except as provided in subparagraph (C), shall
not receive pay or benefits from the Administration;
``(C) shall be considered to be an employee of the
Administration for 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 shall
not apply to any salary, or contribution or
supplementation of salary, made under
subparagraph (A);
``(iii) sections 1343, 1344, and 1349(b) of
title 31;
``(iv) chapter 171 of title 28, United
States Code (commonly known as the `Federal
Tort Claims Act') and any other Federal tort
liability law; and
``(v) chapter 21 of title 41;
``(D) shall not have access to any trade secrets or
any other nonpublic information that is of commercial
value to the private sector entity from which such
employee is assigned;
``(E) may not perform work that is considered
inherently governmental in nature; and
``(F) may not be used to circumvent any limitation
or restriction on the size of the workforce of the
Administration.
``(7) Conflicts of interest.--The Administrator shall
implement a system to identify, mitigate, and manage any
conflict of interests that may arise as a result of the
assignment of an employee under this subsection.
``(8) 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.
``(9) Considerations.--In carrying out this subsection, the
Administrator shall take into consideration--
``(A) the manner in which assignments under this
subsection may best meet the needs of the
Administration with respect to the training of
employees; and
``(B) as applicable, areas of particular private
sector expertise, such as cybersecurity.
``(10) Annual report.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this subsection, and not
later than April 30 each year thereafter, the
Administrator shall submit to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the
House of Representatives a report summarizing the
implementation of this subsection.
``(B) Elements.--Each report required by
subparagraph (A) shall include, for the preceding
fiscal year, the following:
``(i) The total number of employees of
private sector entities assigned to the
Administration.
``(ii) The total number of employees of the
Administration assigned to private sector
entities.
``(iii) A brief description and assessment
of the talent management benefits as a result
of such assignments, including--
``(I) an identification of the
private sector entities to and from
which employees were assigned;
``(II) a complete listing of the
positions such employees were assigned
to and from;
``(III) an identification of
assigned roles and objectives of such
assignments;
``(IV) the duration of each such
assignment;
``(V) the pay grades and levels of
each such assignment; and
``(VI) a description of any
identified strategic human capital or
operational challenge of such
assignments.
``(11) Regulations.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall
promulgate regulations to carry out this subsection.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
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