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Union Calendar No. 223

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2751

[Report No. 108–380] 

To provide new human capital flexibilities with respect to the GAO, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 16, 2003

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia (for herself and Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Government Reform 

NOVEMBER 19, 2003

Additional sponsor: Mr. PUTNAM

NOVEMBER 19, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 16, 2003] 

A BILL

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 2003’’. 

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

5 expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is 

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

7 provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to 

8 a section or other provision of title 31, United States Code. 

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

10 (a) AUTHORITIES MADE PERMANENT.—Sections 1 

11 and 2 of Public Law 106–303 (5 U.S.C. 8336 note and 5597 

12 note) are amended by striking ‘‘for purposes of the period 

13 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and end14 ing on December 31, 2003’’ each place it appears and in15 serting ‘‘October 13, 2000’’. 

16 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—

17 (1) VOLUNTARY EARLY RETIREMENT AUTHOR18 ITY.—Section 1 of Public Law 106–303 is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

21 that the implementation of this section is intended to re22 shape the General Accounting Office workforce and not 

23 downsize the General Accounting Office workforce.’’. 

24 (2) VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAY25 MENTS.—Section 2 of Public Law 106–303 is amend26 ed by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(g) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

2 that the implementation of this section is intended to re3 shape the General Accounting Office workforce and not 

4 downsize the General Accounting Office workforce.’’. 

5 (c) ADDITIONAL LIMITATION RELATING TO VSIPS.—

6 Section 2(b) of Public Law 106–303 is amended by striking 

7 paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(2) subsection (a)(2)(G) of such section shall be 

9 applied—

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

11 be references to the appropriate authorities in 

12 connection with employees of the General Ac13 counting Office; and 

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

15 amended by striking ‘Code.’ and inserting ‘Code, 

16 or who, during the thirty-six month period pre17 ceding the date of separation, performed service 

18 for which a student loan repayment benefit was 

19 or is to be paid under section 5379 of title 5, 

20 United States Code.’;’’. 

21 SEC. 3. ANNUAL PAY ADJUSTMENTS. 

22 (a) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES GENERALLY.—Para23 graph (3) of section 732(c) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(3) except as provided under section 

25 733(a)(3)(B) of this title, basic rates of officers and 
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1 employees of the Office shall be adjusted annually to 

2 such extent as determined by the Comptroller General, 

3 and in making that determination the Comptroller 

4 General shall consider—

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

6 provided for work of equal value within each 

7 local pay area; 

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

9 power of officers and employees of the Office, tak10 ing into consideration the Consumer Price Index 

11 or other appropriate indices; 

12 ‘‘(C) any existing pay disparities between 

13 officers and employees of the Office and non-Fed14 eral employees in each local pay area; 

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

16 work for officers and employees of the Office and 

17 non-Federal employees in each local pay area; 

18 ‘‘(E) the appropriate distribution of agency 

19 funds between annual adjustments under this 

20 section and performance-based compensation; 

21 and 

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

23 General considers appropriate, including, but 

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

25 amounts allocated for performance-based com-
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1 pensation, and the extent to which the Office is 

2 succeeding in fulfilling its mission and accom3 plishing its strategic plan; 

4 notwithstanding any other provision of this para5 graph, an adjustment under this paragraph shall not 

6 be applied in the case of any officer or employee 

7 whose performance is not at a satisfactory level, as 

8 determined by the Comptroller General for purposes of 

9 such adjustment;’’. 

10 (b) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE OFFICE SEN11 IOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.—Subparagraph (B) of section 

12 733(a)(3) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(B) adjusted annually by the Comptroller 

14 General after taking into consideration the fac15 tors listed under section 732(c)(3) of this title, 

16 except that an adjustment under this subpara17 graph shall not be applied in the case of any of18 ficer or employee whose performance is not at a 

19 satisfactory level, as determined by the Comp20 troller General for purposes of such adjustment;’’. 

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 732(b)(6) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘title 5.’’ and inserting ‘‘title 5, except 

23 as provided under subsection (c)(3) of this section and sec24 tion 733(a)(3)(B) of this title.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. PAY RETENTION. 

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

3 as follows: 

4 ‘‘(5) the Comptroller General shall prescribe reg5 ulations under which an officer or employee of the Of6 fice shall be entitled to pay retention if, as a result 

7 of any reduction-in-force or other workforce adjust8 ment procedure, position reclassification, or other ap9 propriate circumstances as determined by the Comp10 troller General, such officer or employee is placed in 

11 or holds a position in a lower grade or band with a 

12 maximum rate of basic pay that is less than the rate 

13 of basic pay payable to the officer or employee imme14 diately before the reduction in grade or band; such 

15 regulations—

16 ‘‘(A) shall provide that the officer or em17 ployee shall be entitled to continue receiving the 

18 rate of basic pay that was payable to the officer 

19 or employee immediately before the reduction in 

20 grade or band until such time as the retained 

21 rate becomes less than the maximum rate for the 

22 grade or band of the position held by such officer 

23 or employee; and 

24 ‘‘(B) shall include provisions relating to the 

25 minimum period of time for which an officer or 

26 employee must have served or for which the posi-
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1 tion must have been classified at the higher 

2 grade or band in order for pay retention to 

3 apply, the events that terminate the right to pay 

4 retention (apart from the one described in sub5 paragraph (A)), and exclusions based on the na6 ture of an appointment; in prescribing regula7 tions under this subparagraph, the Comptroller 

8 General shall be guided by the provisions of sec9 tions 5362 and 5363 of title 5.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. RELOCATION BENEFITS. 

11 Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection (e) 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(f) The Comptroller General shall prescribe regula14 tions under which officers and employees of the Office may, 

15 in appropriate circumstances, be reimbursed for any reloca16 tion expenses under subchapter II of chapter 57 of title 5 

17 for which they would not otherwise be eligible, but only if 

18 the Comptroller General determines that the transfer giving 

19 rise to such relocation is of sufficient benefit or value to 

20 the Office to justify such reimbursement.’’. 

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

22 Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection (f) 

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

24 ‘‘(g) The Comptroller General shall prescribe regula25 tions under which key officers and employees of the Office 
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1 who have less than 3 years of service may accrue leave in 

2 accordance with section 6303(a)(2) of title 5, in those cir3 cumstances in which the Comptroller General has deter4 mined such increased annual leave is appropriate for the 

5 recruitment or retention of such officers and employees. 

6 Such regulations shall define key officers and employees and 

7 set forth the factors in determining which officers and em8 ployees should be allowed to accrue leave in accordance with 

9 this subsection.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. EXECUTIVE EXCHANGE PROGRAM. 

11 Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection (g) 

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

13 ‘‘(h) The Comptroller General may by regulation es14 tablish an executive exchange program under which officers 

15 and employees of the Office may be assigned to private sec16 tor organizations, and employees of private sector organiza17 tions may be assigned to the Office, to further the institu18 tional interests of the Office or Congress, including for the 

19 purpose of providing training to officers and employees of 

20 the Office. Regulations to carry out any such program—

21 ‘‘(1) shall include provisions (consistent with sec22 tions 3702 through 3704 of title 5) as to matters con23 cerning—

24 ‘‘(A) the duration and termination of as25 signments;
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1 ‘‘(B) reimbursements; and 

2 ‘‘(C) status, entitlements, benefits, and obli3 gations of program participants; 

4 ‘‘(2) shall limit— 

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

6 who are assigned to private sector organizations 

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

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

9 sector organizations who are assigned to the Of10 fice at any one time to not more than 30; 

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

12 sector organization assigned to the Office may not 

13 have access to any trade secrets or to any other non14 public information which is of commercial value to 

15 the private sector organization from which such em16 ployee is assigned; 

17 ‘‘(4) shall require that, before approving the as18 signment of an officer or employee to a private sector 

19 organization, the Comptroller General shall determine 

20 that the assignment is an effective use of the Office’s 

21 funds, taking into account the best interests of the Of22 fice and the costs and benefits of alternative methods 

23 of achieving the same results and objectives; and 

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

25 subsection to commence after the end of the 5-year pe-
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1 riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

2 subsection. 

3 ‘‘(i) An employee of a private sector organization as4 signed to the Office under the executive exchange program 

5 shall be considered to be an employee of the Office for pur6 poses of—

7 ‘‘(1) chapter 73 of title 5; 

8 ‘‘(2) sections 201, 203, 205, 207, 208, 209, 603, 

9 606, 607, 643, 654, 1905, and 1913 of title 18; 

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

11 title; 

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

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

14 Federal tort liability statute; 

15 ‘‘(5) the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

16 U.S.C. App.); 

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

18 of 1986; and 

19 ‘‘(7) section 27 of the Office of Federal Procure20 ment Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 423).’’. 

21 SEC. 8. REDESIGNATION. 

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

23 hereby redesignated the Government Accountability Office. 

24 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference to the General Ac25 counting Office in any law, rule, regulation, certificate, di-
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1 rective, instruction, or other official paper in force on the 

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

3 and apply to the Government Accountability Office. 

4 SEC. 9. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. 

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

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(1) for a system to appraise the performance of 

8 officers and employees of the General Accounting Of9 fice that meets the requirements of section 4302 of 

10 title 5 and in addition includes—

11 ‘‘(A) a link between the performance man12 agement system and the agency’s strategic plan; 

13 ‘‘(B) adequate training and retraining for 

14 supervisors, managers, and employees in the im15 plementation and operation of the performance 

16 management system; 

17 ‘‘(C) a process for ensuring ongoing per18 formance feedback and dialogue between super19 visors, managers, and employees throughout the 

20 appraisal period and setting timetables for re21 view; 

22 ‘‘(D) effective transparency and account23 ability measures to ensure that the management 

24 of the system is fair, credible, and equitable, in25 cluding appropriate independent reasonableness, 
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1 reviews, internal assessments, and employee sur2 veys; and 

3 ‘‘(E) a means to ensure that adequate agen4 cy resources are allocated for the design, imple5 mentation, and administration of the perform6 ance management system;’’. 

7 SEC. 10. CONSULTATION. 

8 Before the implementation of any changes authorized 

9 under this Act, the Comptroller General shall consult with 

10 any interested groups or associations representing officers 

11 and employees of the General Accounting Office. 

12 SEC. 11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

13 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Comptroller General 

14 shall include—

15 (1) in each report submitted to Congress under 

16 section 719(a) of title 31, United States Code, during 

17 the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, a summary review of all actions taken 

19 under sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of this Act dur20 ing the period covered by such report, including—

21 (A) the respective numbers of officers and 

22 employees—

23 (i) separating from the service under 

24 section 2 of this Act; 
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1 (ii) receiving pay retention under sec2 tion 4 of this Act; 

3 (iii) receiving increased annual leave 

4 under section 6 of this Act; and 

5 (iv) engaging in the executive exchange 

6 program under section 7 of this Act, as well 

7 as the number of private sector employees 

8 participating in such program and a re9 view of the general nature of the work per10 formed by the individuals participating in 

11 such program; 

12 (B) a review of all actions taken to formu13 late the appropriate methodologies to implement 

14 the pay adjustments provided for under section 

15 3 of this Act, except that nothing under this sub16 paragraph shall be required if no changes are 

17 made in any such methodology during the period 

18 covered by such report; and 

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

20 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of this Act in contributing 

21 to the General Accounting Office’s ability to 

22 carry out its mission, meet its performance 

23 goals, and fulfill its strategic plan; and 

24 (2) in each report submitted to Congress under 

25 such section 719(a) after the effective date of section
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1 3 of this Act and before the close of the 5-year period 

2 referred to in paragraph (1)—

3 (A) a detailed description of the methodolo4 gies applied under section 3 of this Act and the 

5 manner in which such methodologies were ap6 plied to determine the appropriate annual pay 

7 adjustments for officers and employees of the Of8 fice; 

9 (B) the amount of the annual pay adjust10 ments afforded to officers and employees of the 

11 Office under section 3 of this Act; and 

12 (C) a description of any extraordinary eco13 nomic conditions or serious budget constraints 

14 which had a significant impact on the deter15 mination of the annual pay adjustments for offi16 cers and employees of the Office. 

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

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

19 submit to Congress a report concerning the implementation 

20 of this Act. Such report shall include—

21 (1) a summary of the information included in 

22 the annual reports required under subsection (a); 

23 (2) recommendations for any legislative changes 

24 to section 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, or 10 of this Act; and 
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1 (3) any assessment furnished by the General Ac2 counting Office Personnel Appeals Board or any in3 terested groups or associations representing officers 

4 and employees of the Office for inclusion in such re5 port. 

6 (c) ADDITIONAL REPORTING.—Notwithstanding any 

7 other provision of this section, the reporting requirement 

8 under subsection (a)(2)(C) shall apply in the case any re9 port submitted under section 719(a) of title 31, United 

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

11 on the date of enactment of this Act (as required by sub12 section (a)) or at any time thereafter. 

13 SEC. 12. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT. 

14 Section 732(h)(3)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘reduc15 tion force’’ and inserting ‘‘reduction in force’’. 

16 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATES. 

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

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

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

20 (b) PAY ADJUSTMENTS.—

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

22 amendments made by that section shall take effect on 

23 October 1, 2005, and shall apply in the case of any 

24 annual pay adjustment taking effect on or after that 

25 date. 
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1 (2) INTERIM AUTHORITIES.—In connection with 

2 any pay adjustment taking effect under section 

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

4 Code, before October 1, 2005, the Comptroller General 

5 may by regulation—

6 (A) provide that such adjustment not be ap7 plied in the case of any officer or employee whose 

8 performance is not at a satisfactory level, as de9 termined by the Comptroller General for pur10 poses of such adjustment; and 

11 (B) provide that such adjustment be reduced 

12 if and to the extent necessary because of extraor13 dinary economic conditions or serious budget 

14 constraints. 

15 (3) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General 

17 may by regulation delay the effective date of sec18 tion 3 of this Act and the amendments made by 

19 that section for groups of officers and employees 

20 that the Comptroller General considers appro21 priate. 

22 (B) INTERIM AUTHORITIES.—If the Comp23 troller General provides for a delayed effective 

24 date under subparagraph (A) with respect to any 

25 group of officers or employees, paragraph (2) 
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1 shall, for purposes of such group, be applied by 

2 substituting such date for ‘‘October 1, 2005’’.
Union Calendar No. 223

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2751

[Report No. 108–380] 

A BILL

To provide new human capital flexibilities with 

respect to the GAO, and for other purposes. 

NOVEMBER 19, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

and ordered to be printed