This bill lets the NASA Administrator set up a public-private talent exchange program. The program would allow temporary assignments (also called details) of NASA employees to private companies and private-sector employees to NASA. Assignments need the agreement of the private company and the consent of the employee. Written agreements must describe terms, including a requirement that a NASA employee who goes to the private sector must return to serve in the Federal civil service for a period equal to twice the length of the assignment. The agreement must also bar improper use of predecisional or draft deliberative information for the private party's benefit.
Assignments can be ended at any time by either side. Each assignment must be at least 90 days and generally not more than 2 years. Assignments may be renewed, and can total up to 4 years if the Administrator finds it necessary for critical mission needs. A NASA employee on assignment to a private entity remains a Federal employee for purposes of their Federal work assignment, and the Administrator must certify the assignment will not harm mission attainment or require prohibited contractor work.
Private-sector employees assigned to NASA keep pay and benefits from their private employer and generally do not receive pay from NASA. The bill makes such private employees subject to a set of federal employment, ethics, tort, and procurement laws listed in the bill. Private employees may not access trade secrets or other nonpublic commercial information from their employer while assigned, may not perform inherently governmental work, and may not be used to get around workforce size limits. The Administrator must set up a system to identify and manage conflicts of interest, and private employers may not charge the federal government for the costs of the private employee's pay or benefits under federal contracts.
The Administrator must consider training needs and private-sector expertise areas (for example, cybersecurity) when running the program. The bill requires an annual report to Congress with counts and details of assignments and a description of talent management benefits. The Administrator must issue regulations to implement the program within 30 days after enactment.
No publicly available information on overall costs or required appropriations is included in the bill text or metadata. The bill does, however, prohibit private entities from charging the federal government for the pay or benefits they provide to employees assigned to NASA under this program.
The bill text states the program should be carried out with attention to meeting NASA's training needs and leveraging private-sector expertise, such as cybersecurity. The bill also builds in written agreements, conflict-of-interest management, and annual reporting as program controls.
No publicly available information on opponents' views is included in the bill text or metadata.