108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2751

AN ACT

To provide new human capital flexibilities with

respect to the GAO, and for other purposes.

108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2751

AN ACT

To provide new human capital flexibilities with respect to

the GAO, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF TITLE 31.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘GAO Human Capital Reform Act of 2004’’.

4 (b) AMENDMENT OF TITLE 31.—Except as otherwise

5 expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment

6 is expressed in terms of an amendment to a section or

7 other provision, the reference shall be considered to be

8 made to a section or other provision of title 31, United

9 States Code.

10 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO PUBLIC LAW 106–303.

11 (a) AUTHORITIES MADE PERMANENT.—Sections 1

12 and 2 of Public Law 106–303 (5 U.S.C. 8336 note and

13 5597 note) are amended by striking ‘‘for purposes of the

14 period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act

15 and ending on December 31, 2003’’ each place it appears

16 and inserting ‘‘October 13, 2000’’.

17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—

18 (1) VOLUNTARY EARLY RETIREMENT AUTHOR19 ITY.—Section 1 of Public Law 106–303 is amended

20 by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(e) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that the implementation of this section is intended

23 to reshape the General Accounting Office workforce and

24 not downsize the General Accounting Office workforce.’’.
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1 (2) VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAY2 MENTS.—Section 2 of Public Law 106–303 is

3 amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(g) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the implementation of this section is intended

6 to reshape the General Accounting Office workforce and

7 not downsize the General Accounting Office workforce.’’.

8 (c) ADDITIONAL LIMITATION RELATING TO

9 VSIPS.—Section 2(b) of Public Law 106–303 is amended

10 by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(2) subsection (a)(2)(G) of such section shall

12 be applied—

13 ‘‘(A) by construing the citations therein to

14 be references to the appropriate authorities in

15 connection with employees of the General Ac16 counting Office; and

17 ‘‘(B) by deeming such subsection to be

18 amended by striking ‘Code.’ and inserting

19 ‘Code, or who, during the thirty-six month pe20 riod preceding the date of separation, per21 formed service for which a student loan repay22 ment benefit was or is to be paid under section

23 5379 of title 5, United States Code.’;’’.
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1 SEC. 3. ANNUAL PAY ADJUSTMENTS.

2 (a) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES GENERALLY.—Para3 graph (3) of section 732(c) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(3) except as provided under section

5 733(a)(3)(B) of this title, basic rates of officers and

6 employees of the Office shall be adjusted annually to

7 such extent as determined by the Comptroller Gen8 eral, and in making that determination the Comp9 troller General shall consider—

10 ‘‘(A) the principle that equal pay should be

11 provided for work of equal value within each

12 local pay area;

13 ‘‘(B) the need to protect the purchasing

14 power of officers and employees of the Office,

15 taking into consideration the Consumer Price

16 Index or other appropriate indices;

17 ‘‘(C) any existing pay disparities between

18 officers and employees of the Office and non19 Federal employees in each local pay area;

20 ‘‘(D) the pay rates for the same levels of

21 work for officers and employees of the Office

22 and non-Federal employees in each local pay

23 area;

24 ‘‘(E) the appropriate distribution of agency

25 funds between annual adjustments under this
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1 section and performance-based compensation;

2 and

3 ‘‘(F) such other criteria as the Comptroller

4 General considers appropriate, including, but

5 not limited to, the funding level for the Office,

6 amounts allocated for performance-based com7 pensation, and the extent to which the Office is

8 succeeding in fulfilling its mission and accom9 plishing its strategic plan;

10 notwithstanding any other provision of this para11 graph, an adjustment under this paragraph shall not

12 be applied in the case of any officer or employee

13 whose performance is not at a satisfactory level, as

14 determined by the Comptroller General for purposes

15 of such adjustment;’’.

16 (b) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE OFFICE SEN17 IOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.—Subparagraph (B) of section

18 733(a)(3) is amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(B) adjusted annually by the Comptroller

20 General after taking into consideration the fac21 tors listed under section 732(c)(3) of this title,

22 except that an adjustment under this subpara23 graph shall not be applied in the case of any of24 ficer or employee whose performance is not at

25 a satisfactory level, as determined by the Comp-
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1 troller General for purposes of such adjust2 ment;’’.

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 732(b)(6)

4 is amended by striking ‘‘title 5.’’ and inserting ‘‘title 5,

5 except as provided under subsection (c)(3) of this section

6 and section 733(a)(3)(B) of this title.’’.

7 SEC. 4. PAY RETENTION.

8 Paragraph (5) of section 732(c) is amended to read

9 as follows:

10 ‘‘(5) the Comptroller General shall prescribe

11 regulations under which an officer or employee of

12 the Office shall be entitled to pay retention if, as a

13 result of any reduction-in-force or other workforce

14 adjustment procedure, position reclassification, or

15 other appropriate circumstances as determined by

16 the Comptroller General, such officer or employee is

17 placed in or holds a position in a lower grade or

18 band with a maximum rate of basic pay that is less

19 than the rate of basic pay payable to the officer or

20 employee immediately before the reduction in grade

21 or band; such regulations—

22 ‘‘(A) shall provide that the officer or em23 ployee shall be entitled to continue receiving the

24 rate of basic pay that was payable to the officer

25 or employee immediately before the reduction in
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1 grade or band until such time as the retained

2 rate becomes less than the maximum rate for

3 the grade or band of the position held by such

4 officer or employee; and

5 ‘‘(B) shall include provisions relating to

6 the minimum period of time for which an offi7 cer or employee must have served or for which

8 the position must have been classified at the

9 higher grade or band in order for pay retention

10 to apply, the events that terminate the right to

11 pay retention (apart from the one described in

12 subparagraph (A)), and exclusions based on the

13 nature of an appointment; in prescribing regu14 lations under this subparagraph, the Comp15 troller General shall be guided by the provisions

16 of sections 5362 and 5363 of title 5.’’.

17 SEC. 5. RELOCATION BENEFITS.

18 Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection

19 (e) the following:

20 ‘‘(f) The Comptroller General shall prescribe regula21 tions under which officers and employees of the Office

22 may, in appropriate circumstances, be reimbursed for any

23 relocation expenses under subchapter II of chapter 57 of

24 title 5 for which they would not otherwise be eligible, but

25 only if the Comptroller General determines that the trans-
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1 fer giving rise to such relocation is of sufficient benefit

2 or value to the Office to justify such reimbursement.’’.

3 SEC. 6. INCREASED ANNUAL LEAVE FOR KEY EMPLOYEES.

4 Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection

5 (f) (as added by section 5 of this Act) the following:

6 ‘‘(g) The Comptroller General shall prescribe regula7 tions under which key officers and employees of the Office

8 who have less than 3 years of service may accrue leave

9 in accordance with section 6303(a)(2) of title 5, in those

10 circumstances in which the Comptroller General has deter11 mined such increased annual leave is appropriate for the

12 recruitment or retention of such officers and employees.

13 Such regulations shall define key officers and employees

14 and set forth the factors in determining which officers and

15 employees should be allowed to accrue leave in accordance

16 with this subsection.’’.

17 SEC. 7. EXECUTIVE EXCHANGE PROGRAM.

18 Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection

19 (g) (as added by section 6 of this Act) the following:

20 ‘‘(h) The Comptroller General may by regulation es21 tablish an executive exchange program under which offi22 cers and employees of the Office may be assigned to pri23 vate sector organizations, and employees of private sector

24 organizations may be assigned to the Office, to further

25 the institutional interests of the Office or Congress, in-
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1 cluding for the purpose of providing training to officers

2 and employees of the Office. Regulations to carry out any

3 such program—

4 ‘‘(1) shall include provisions (consistent with

5 sections 3702 through 3704 of title 5) as to matters

6 concerning—

7 ‘‘(A) the duration and termination of as8 signments;

9 ‘‘(B) reimbursements; and

10 ‘‘(C) status, entitlements, benefits, and ob11 ligations of program participants;

12 ‘‘(2) shall limit—

13 ‘‘(A) the number of officers and employees

14 who are assigned to private sector organizations

15 at any one time to not more than 15; and

16 ‘‘(B) the number of employees from private

17 sector organizations who are assigned to the Of18 fice at any one time to not more than 30;

19 ‘‘(3) shall require that an employee of a private

20 sector organization assigned to the Office may not

21 have access to any trade secrets or to any other non22 public information which is of commercial value to

23 the private sector organization from which such em24 ployee is assigned;
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1 ‘‘(4) shall require that, before approving the as2 signment of an officer or employee to a private sec3 tor organization, the Comptroller General shall de4 termine that the assignment is an effective use of

5 the Office’s funds, taking into account the best in6 terests of the Office and the costs and benefits of al7 ternative methods of achieving the same results and

8 objectives; and

9 ‘‘(5) shall not allow any assignment under this

10 subsection to commence after the end of the 5-year

11 period beginning on the date of the enactment of

12 this subsection.

13 ‘‘(i) An employee of a private sector organization as14 signed to the Office under the executive exchange program

15 shall be considered to be an employee of the Office for

16 purposes of—

17 ‘‘(1) chapter 73 of title 5;

18 ‘‘(2) sections 201, 203, 205, 207, 208, 209,

19 603, 606, 607, 643, 654, 1905, and 1913 of title 18;

20 ‘‘(3) sections 1343, 1344, and 1349(b) of this

21 title;

22 ‘‘(4) chapter 171 of title 28 (commonly referred

23 to as the ‘Federal Tort Claims Act’) and any other

24 Federal tort liability statute;
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1 ‘‘(5) the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5

2 U.S.C. App.);

3 ‘‘(6) section 1043 of the Internal Revenue Code

4 of 1986; and

5 ‘‘(7) section 27 of the Office of Federal Pro6 curement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 423).’’.

7 SEC. 8. REDESIGNATION.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The General Accounting Office is

9 hereby redesignated the Government Accountability Of10 fice.

11 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference to the General Ac12 counting Office in any law, rule, regulation, certificate, di13 rective, instruction, or other official paper in force on the

14 date of enactment of this Act shall be considered to refer

15 and apply to the Government Accountability Office.

16 SEC. 9. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

17 Paragraph (1) of section 732(d) is amended to read

18 as follows:

19 ‘‘(1) for a system to appraise the performance

20 of officers and employees of the General Accounting

21 Office that meets the requirements of section 4302

22 of title 5 and in addition includes—

23 ‘‘(A) a link between the performance man24 agement system and the agency’s strategic

25 plan;
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1 ‘‘(B) adequate training and retraining for

2 supervisors, managers, and employees in the

3 implementation and operation of the perform4 ance management system;

5 ‘‘(C) a process for ensuring ongoing per6 formance feedback and dialogue between super7 visors, managers, and employees throughout the

8 appraisal period and setting timetables for re9 view;

10 ‘‘(D) effective transparency and account11 ability measures to ensure that the management

12 of the system is fair, credible, and equitable, in13 cluding appropriate independent reasonableness,

14 reviews, internal assessments, and employee

15 surveys; and

16 ‘‘(E) a means to ensure that adequate

17 agency resources are allocated for the design,

18 implementation, and administration of the per19 formance management system;’’.

20 SEC. 10. CONSULTATION.

21 Before the implementation of any changes authorized

22 under this Act, the Comptroller General shall consult with

23 any interested groups or associations representing officers

24 and employees of the General Accounting Office.
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1 SEC. 11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

2 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Comptroller General

3 shall include—

4 (1) in each report submitted to Congress under

5 section 719(a) of title 31, United States Code, dur6 ing the 5-year period beginning on the date of enact7 ment of this Act, a summary review of all actions

8 taken under sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of this

9 Act during the period covered by such report,

10 including—

11 (A) the respective numbers of officers and

12 employees—

13 (i) separating from the service under

14 section 2 of this Act;

15 (ii) receiving pay retention under sec16 tion 4 of this Act;

17 (iii) receiving increased annual leave

18 under section 6 of this Act; and

19 (iv) engaging in the executive ex20 change program under section 7 of this

21 Act, as well as the number of private sec22 tor employees participating in such pro23 gram and a review of the general nature of

24 the work performed by the individuals par25 ticipating in such program;
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1 (B) a review of all actions taken to formu2 late the appropriate methodologies to implement

3 the pay adjustments provided for under section

4 3 of this Act, except that nothing under this

5 subparagraph shall be required if no changes

6 are made in any such methodology during the

7 period covered by such report; and

8 (C) an assessment of the role of sections 2,

9 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of this Act in contributing

10 to the General Accounting Office’s ability to

11 carry out its mission, meet its performance

12 goals, and fulfill its strategic plan; and

13 (2) in each report submitted to Congress under

14 such section 719(a) after the effective date of sec15 tion 3 of this Act and before the close of the 5-year

16 period referred to in paragraph (1)—

17 (A) a detailed description of the meth18 odologies applied under section 3 of this Act

19 and the manner in which such methodologies

20 were applied to determine the appropriate an21 nual pay adjustments for officers and employees

22 of the Office;

23 (B) the amount of the annual pay adjust24 ments afforded to officers and employees of the

25 Office under section 3 of this Act; and
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1 (C) a description of any extraordinary eco2 nomic conditions or serious budget constraints

3 which had a significant impact on the deter4 mination of the annual pay adjustments for of5 ficers and employees of the Office.

6 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 years after the

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

8 shall submit to Congress a report concerning the imple9 mentation of this Act. Such report shall include—

10 (1) a summary of the information included in

11 the annual reports required under subsection (a);

12 (2) recommendations for any legislative changes

13 to section 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, or 10 of this Act; and

14 (3) any assessment furnished by the General

15 Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board or any

16 interested groups or associations representing offi17 cers and employees of the Office for inclusion in

18 such report.

19 (c) ADDITIONAL REPORTING.—Notwithstanding any

20 other provision of this section, the reporting requirement

21 under subsection (a)(2)(C) shall apply in the case any re22 port submitted under section 719(a) of title 31, United

23 States Code, whether during the 5-year period beginning

24 on the date of enactment of this Act (as required by sub25 section (a)) or at any time thereafter.
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1 SEC. 12. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.

2 Section 732(h)(3)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘reduc3 tion force’’ and inserting ‘‘reduction in force’’.

4 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

6 (b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

7 take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

8 (b) PAY ADJUSTMENTS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of this Act and

10 the amendments made by that section shall take ef11 fect on October 1, 2005, and shall apply in the case

12 of any annual pay adjustment taking effect on or

13 after that date.

14 (2) INTERIM AUTHORITIES.—In connection with

15 any pay adjustment taking effect under section

16 732(c)(3) or 733(a)(3)(B) of title 31, United States

17 Code, before October 1, 2005, the Comptroller Gen18 eral may by regulation—

19 (A) provide that such adjustment not be

20 applied in the case of any officer or employee

21 whose performance is not at a satisfactory level,

22 as determined by the Comptroller General for

23 purposes of such adjustment; and

24 (B) provide that such adjustment be re25 duced if and to the extent necessary because of
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1 extraordinary economic conditions or serious

2 budget constraints.

3 (3) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen5 eral may by regulation delay the effective date

6 of section 3 of this Act and the amendments

7 made by that section for groups of officers and

8 employees that the Comptroller General con9 siders appropriate.

10 (B) INTERIM AUTHORITIES.—If the Comp11 troller General provides for a delayed effective

12 date under subparagraph (A) with respect to

13 any group of officers or employees, paragraph

14 (2) shall, for purposes of such group, be applied

15 by substituting such date for ‘‘October 1,

16 2005’’.

Passed the House of Representatives February 25,

2004.

Attest:

Clerk.