NASA Talent Exchange Program Act
Sponsored By: Representative Sykes
Introduced
Summary
Creates a public-private talent exchange at NASA that would let NASA employees do temporary assignments at private companies and let private-sector staff serve at NASA under strict conditions and limits. The program aims to share skills while protecting mission integrity and nonpublic information.
Show full summary
- NASA employees: Would be able to take temporary assignments to private firms for between 3 months and 2 years, with a total cap of 3 years. Agreements must require a return to NASA or another civil service job for twice the length of the assignment and can make the employee liable for assignment-related costs if they break the agreement.
- Private companies: Could place employees at NASA who would stay paid by their employer and gain certain federal protections. Those private staff may not access trade secrets or nonpublic commercial information and may not perform inherently governmental work or charge NASA for their pay.
- NASA operations and oversight: The Administrator must certify assignments do not hurt NASA missions, limit participation to no more than 2% of the civil service at once, create policies for conflicts of interest, and deliver annual reports plus a GAO review in 3 years.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Rules and reports for NASA exchange
The bill would require the NASA Administrator to set clear policies for the exchange, including conflict-of-interest and confidentiality rules, waiver criteria, and how costs are determined. NASA would have to report to Congress every year by April 30 on who participated, which companies were involved, the roles, durations, and pay grades, and how the program affects the workforce and budget. The Government Accountability Office would review the program within three years of enactment.
NASA worker exchange with private companies
This bill would create a worker exchange between NASA and private companies. Staff could be assigned for 3 to 24 months, with extensions up to 36 months total; at most 2% of NASA’s workforce could be out at once. A NASA employee who participates would agree to return to federal service for twice the assignment length, or could owe assignment costs unless the Administrator finds a good reason. A private-sector assignee would keep pay and benefits from their own employer, be treated as a NASA employee for ethics and liability rules, and could not access their company’s trade secrets or NASA’s sensitive predecisional information. Either side could end an assignment at any time, and assignees could not perform inherently governmental work; companies could not bill the government for salaries they keep paying.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Sykes
OH • D
Cosponsors
Miller (OH)
OH • R
Sponsored 9/3/2025
Fitzpatrick
PA • R
Sponsored 1/8/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.govTake It Personal
Get Your Personalized Policy View
Start a Free Government Policy Watch to see how policy affects your household, then upgrade to PRIA Full Coverage for year-round monitoring.
Already have an account? Sign in