“To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for a NASA public-private talent program, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a public-private talent program authorizing the NASA Administrator to arrange temporary assignments, with employee consent and private sector agreement, of NASA employees to private sector entities or private sector employees to NASA. Assignments last from three months to two years (renewable up to a total of three years per NASA employee), require written agreements specifying post-assignment service by NASA employees equal to twice the assignment length, repayment of expenses for noncompliance (waivable for equity), and prohibitions on improper use of predecisional information, and exclude inherently governmental activities. NASA employees on assignment to private entities remain federal employees on detail (with mission-impact certification), while private employees assigned to NASA continue private pay but are deemed federal employees for specified purposes (e.g., chapters 73 and 81 of title 5 for insurance and workers' compensation; certain title 18 criminal provisions). The Administrator must issue policies and procedures addressing agreements, criteria, oversight, waivers, and ethics compliance.