H.R. 2283: Department of Homeland Security Morale, Recognition, Learning and Engagement Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-05-02 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

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Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-05-02 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Department of Homeland Security Morale, Recognition, Learning and Engagement Act of 2017

Plain summary

Department of Homeland Security Morale, Recognition, Learning and Engagement Act of 2017 or the DHS MORALE Act (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (the chief) to: develop and implement strategic workforce planning policies with respect to leader development and employee engagement; develop and implement policies that are informed by employee feedback; require that the career path framework and leader development opportunities are informed by an assessment of the learning and developmental needs of employees across DHS and appropriate workforce planning initiatives; maintain a catalogue of available employee development opportunities, departmental leadership development programs, interagency development programs, and other rotational programs; and ensure that employee discipline and adverse action programs comply with all pertinent laws, regulations, and federal guidance and ensure due process. The chief may designate a DHS employee to serve as Chief Learning and Engagement Officer. DHS's report to Congress on fulfilling its workforce strategies shall include information on: (1) employee development opportunities, participation and attrition rates, and impacts on retention and employee satisfaction; (2) progress of strategic workforce planning efforts; and (3) activities of the employee engagement steering committee. (Sec. 3) The bill establishes an employee engagement steering committee, including representatives from operational components, headquarters, field personnel, and employee labor organizations, to: identify factors that have a negative impact on employee engagement, morale, and communications within DHS; identify, develop, and distribute initiatives and best practices to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications within DHS; monitor efforts of each DHS component to address employee engagement, morale, and communications based on employee feedback provided through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications; advise DHS on efforts to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications within specific DHS components and across DHS; and conduct regular meetings and report, at least quarterly, to the Under Secretary for Management, the head of each component, and the DHS Secretary on DHS-wide efforts to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications. The chief shall: (1) issue a DHS-wide employee engagement action plan to execute strategies to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications within DHS; and (2) require each component to develop and implement a component-specific plan to advance such action plan, monitor progress, and provide quarterly reports on progress. The preceding provisions terminate five years after enactment. (Sec. 4) DHS may establish an annual employee award program to recognize DHS employees for significant contributions to the achievement of its goals and missions. (Sec. 5) The Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall utilize a report by the Inspector General General of DHS, if available, and investigate whether the application of discipline and adverse actions are administered in an equitable and consistent manner that results in the same or substantially similar disciplinary outcomes across DHS for misconduct by a non-supervisory or a supervisor employee. DHS's Under Secretary for Management shall: (1) review the findings and recommendations of such investigation and implement a plan to correct any relevant deficiencies identified by the GAO, and (2) direct the steering committee to review such plan to inform committee activities and action plans authorized under this bill.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Department of Homeland Security Morale, Recognition, Learning and Engagement Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] · 11 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 2283, DHS MORALE Act (2017-06-13)

Cosponsors on this site

William R. Keating (D-MA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), J. Luis Correa (D-CA), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] reported raising $928,245 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

Agencies named in this bill

Department of Homeland Security: its federal spending and other bills that name it

Found automatically: the agency's full official name appears in the bill title. A bill can affect agencies it does not name, so this list may be incomplete.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (6)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Ballot initiative: A proposed law or constitutional amendment that citizens place on the ballot by gathering enough voter signatures, so voters decide it directly. About half the states allow some form of it.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115hr2283.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/hr>

Record fed-us-cong115-hr2283 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115