I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4892

To make certain laws applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal

Government.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 3, 1994

Mr. MOAKLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on House Administration, Education and Labor, Government

Operations, Rules, and the Judiciary

A BILL

To make certain laws applicable to the legislative branch

of the Federal Government.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional Ac5 countability Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 As used in this Act:

8 (1) CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEE.—The term

9 ‘‘congressional employee’’ means—
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1 (A) an individual on the payroll of an em2 ploying office of the House of Representatives;

3 (B) an individual on the payroll of an em4 ploying office of the Senate;

5 (C) an individual on the payroll of an em6 ploying office of the Architect of the Capitol;

7 and

8 (D) an individual on the payroll of an em9 ploying office of an instrumentality.

10 (2) EMPLOYEE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT11 ATIVES.—The term ‘‘individual on the payroll of an

12 employing office in the House of Representatives’’

13 means—

14 (A) an individual who is covered under rule

15 LI of the House of Representatives, as in effect

16 on the day before the date of enactment of this

17 Act;

18 (B) any applicant for a position that is to

19 be occupied by an individual described in sub20 paragraph (A); or

21 (C) any individual who was formerly an

22 employee described in subparagraph (A) and

23 whose claim of a violation arises out of the indi24 vidual’s employment.
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1 (3) EMPLOYEE IN THE SENATE.—The term

2 ‘‘individual on the payroll of an employing office in

3 the Senate’’ means—

4 (A) any employee whose pay is disbursed

5 by the Secretary of the Senate;

6 (B) any applicant for a position that is to

7 be occupied by an individual described in sub8 paragraph (A)); or

9 (C) any individual who was formerly an

10 employee described in subparagraph (A) and

11 whose claim of a violation arises out of the indi12 vidual’s employment.

13 (4) EMPLOYEE OF THE ARCHITECT OF THE

14 CAPITOL.—The term ‘‘individual on the payroll of an

15 employing office of the Architect of the Capitol’’

16 means—

17 (A) an employee of the Architect of the

18 Capitol or an individual within the administra19 tive jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol

20 if such employee or individual is paid from

21 funds under a law providing appropriations for

22 the legislative branch;

23 (B) any applicant for a position that is to

24 be occupied by an employee or individual de25 scribed in subparagraph (A); or
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1 (C) any individual who was formerly an

2 employee or individual described in subpara3 graph (A) and whose claim of a violation arises

4 out of the individual’s employment.

5 (5) EMPLOYEE OF AN INSTRUMENTALITY.—

6 The term ‘‘individual on the payroll of an employing

7 office of an instrumentality’’ means—

8 (A) any individual on the payroll of an in9 strumentality of the legislative branch of the

10 Federal Government;

11 (B) any applicant for a position that is to

12 be occupied by an individual described in sub13 paragraph (A); or

14 (C) any individual who was formerly an

15 employee described in subparagraph (A) and

16 whose claim of a violation arises out of the indi17 vidual’s instrumentality employment.

18 (6) HEAD OF AN EMPLOYING OFFICE.—The

19 term ‘‘head of an employing office’’ means the indi20 vidual who has final authority to appoint, hire, dis21 charge, and set the terms, conditions, or privileges

22 of the Congressional employment of an employee.
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1 SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF LAWS.

2 (a) LAWS WHICH WILL APPLY.—The following laws

3 shall apply, as prescribed by this subsection, to the legisla4 tive branch of the Federal Government:

5 (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29

6 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), effective on the earlier of the ef7 fective date of applicable regulations of the Office of

8 Compliance under section 5 or 1 year after the date

9 of the enactment of this Act.

10 (2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

11 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), effective on the earlier of

12 the effective date of applicable regulations of the Of13 fice of Compliance under section 5 or 1 year after

14 the date of the enactment of this Act.

15 (3) The Americans With Disabilities Act of

16 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), effective on the ear17 lier of the effective date of applicable regulations of

18 the Office of Compliance under section 5 or 1 year

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

20 (4) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act

21 of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) (including remedies

22 available to private employees), effective on the ear23 lier of the effective date of applicable regulations of

24 the Office of Compliance under section 5 or 1 year

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 (5) Titles I and V of the Family and Medical

2 Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.), effec3 tive on the earlier of the effective date of applicable

4 regulations of the Office of Compliance under sec5 tion 5 or 1 year after the date of the enactment of

6 this Act.

7 (6) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of

8 1970 (other than section 19) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.)

9 (subject to subsection (c)), effective on the earlier of

10 the effective date of applicable regulations of the Of11 fice of Compliance under section 5 or 2 years after

12 the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 (7) Chapter 71 (relating to Federal labor man14 agement relations) of title 5, United States Code, ef15 fective on the earlier of the effective date of applica16 ble regulations of the Office of Compliance under

17 section 5 or 2 years after the date of the enactment

18 of this Act.

19 (8) The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of

20 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.), effective on the ear21 lier of the effective date of applicable regulations of

22 the Office of Compliance under section 5 or 1 year

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, except

24 that this Act shall not apply to the United States

25 Capitol Police.
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1 (9) The Worker Adjustment and Retraining

2 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.), effective

3 on the earlier of the effective date of applicable regu4 lations of the Office of Compliance under section 5

5 or 1 year after the date of the enactment of this

6 Act.

7 (10) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.

8 791), effective on the earlier of the effective date of

9 applicable regulations of the Office of Compliance

10 under section 5 or 1 year after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act.

12 The laws referred to in this subsection which apply now

13 to congressional employees shall continue to apply to such

14 employees until the effective date such laws are made ap15 plicable in accordance with this subsection.

16 (b) LAWS WHICH MAY BE MADE APPLICABLE.—Any

17 provision of Federal law shall, to the extent that it relates

18 to the terms and conditions of employment (including hir19 ing, promotion or demotion, salary and wages, overtime

20 compensation, benefits, work assignments or

21 reassignments, termination, protection from discrimina22 tion in personnel actions, health and safety of employees,

23 and family and medical leave) of employees apply to the

24 legislative branch of the Federal Government in accord25 ance with section 5.
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1 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH OSHA.—The legislative

2 branch of the Federal Government shall comply with the

3 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 as follows:

4 If a citation of a violation of such Act is received, action

5 to abate the violation shall take place as soon as possible,

6 but no later than the fiscal year following the fiscal year

7 in which the citation is issued.

8 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE.

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

10 legislative branch an Office of Compliance (hereinafter in

11 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Office’’).

12 (b) COMPOSITION.—

13 (1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The Office shall

14 have a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors

15 shall consist of 8 individuals appointed jointly by the

16 Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Major17 ity Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leaders

18 of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Ap19 pointments of the first 8 members of the Board of

20 Directors shall be completed not later than 120 days

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

22 (2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Chairperson

23 of the Board of Directors shall—

24 (A) appoint,

25 (B) establish the compensation of, and
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1 (C) terminate,

2 an executive director (referred to in this Act as the

3 ‘‘executive director’’), subject to the approval of the

4 Board of Directors. The compensation of the execu5 tive director may not exceed the annual rate of basic

6 pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule

7 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.

8 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS QUALIFICATIONS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The members of the Board

10 of Directors shall be individuals with training or ex11 pertise in—

12 (A) the application of the laws referred to

13 in section 3 to employment, and

14 (B) employment in the Congress.

15 (2) SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS.—

16 (A) LOBBYING.—No individual who en17 gages in, or is otherwise employed in, lobbying

18 of the Congress and who is required under the

19 Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act to register

20 with the Clerk of the House of Representatives

21 or the Secretary of the Senate shall be consid22 ered eligible for appointment to, or service on,

23 the Board of Directors.

24 (B) OFFICE.—No member of the Board of

25 Directors appointed under subsection (b)(1)
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1 may hold or may have held the position of

2 Member of the House of Representatives, Sen3 ator, or employee of the House of Representa4 tives or the Senate.

5 (3) HOLDING OFFICE.—If during a term of of6 fice a member of the Board of Directors engages in

7 an activity described in paragraph (2)(A), such posi8 tion shall be declared vacant and a successor shall

9 be selected in accordance with subsection (b)(1).

10 (4) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Board of

11 Directors shall be filled in the manner in which the

12 original appointment was made.

13 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS TERM OF OFFICE.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), membership on the Board of Directors

16 shall be for 5 years. A member shall only be eligible

17 for appointment for a single term of office.

18 (2) FIRST APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members

19 first appointed to the Board of Directors—

20 (A) 2 shall have a term of office of 2

21 years,

22 (B) 2 shall have a term of office of 3

23 years,

24 (C) 2 shall have a term of office of 4

25 years, and
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1 (D) 2 shall have a term of office of 5

2 years,

3 as designated at the time of appointment by the per4 sons specified in subsection (b)(1).

5 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Board of

6 Directors shall be appointed from the members of the

7 Board of Directors by the members of the Board.

8 (f) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—

9 (1) PER DIEM.—Each member of the Board of

10 Directors shall be compensated at a rate equal to

11 the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay

12 prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule

13 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code,

14 for each day (including travel time) during which

15 such member is engaged in the performance of the

16 duties of the Board.

17 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the

18 Board of Directors shall receive travel expenses, in19 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates au20 thorized for employees of agencies under subchapter

21 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, for

22 each day the member is engaged in the performance

23 of duties away from the home or regular place of

24 business of the member.
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1 (g) OFFICE STAFF.—The executive director may ap2 point and fix the compensation of such staff, including

3 hearing officers, as are necessary to carry out this Act.

4 (h) DETAILEES.—The executive director may, with

5 the prior consent of the Government department or agency

6 concerned, use the services of any such department or

7 agency, including the services of members or personnel of

8 the General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board.

9 (i) CONSULTANTS.—In carrying out this Act, the ex10 ecutive director may procure the temporary (not to exceed

11 1 year) or intermittent services of individual consultants

12 or organizations thereof.

13 SEC. 5. STUDY AND REGULATIONS.

14 (a) INITIAL ACTION.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Directors shall

16 conduct a study of the manner in which the laws

17 made applicable to the legislative branch of the Fed18 eral Government under section 3(a) should apply.

19 The Board of Directors shall complete such study

20 and report the results to Congress not later than

21 180 days after the date of the first appointment of

22 all the members of the Board of Directors.

23 (2) INSTRUMENTALITIES.—The Board of Direc24 tors shall include in its study under paragraph (1)

25 an examination of the procedures used by the instru-
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1 mentalities to enforce the application of laws appli2 cable to the legislative branch of the Federal Gov3 ernment and a determination as to whether to direct

4 the instrumentality to make improvements in its reg5 ulations and procedures so as to assure that proce6 dures as effective as the procedures set forth in sec7 tions 7 through 12 will apply. If the instrumentality

8 has no such regulations and procedures, the Board

9 may direct the instrumentality to adopt the requisite

10 regulations and procedures, or, if deemed necessary,

11 in lieu thereof may itself adopt regulations pursuant

12 to this section or authorize use of the procedures

13 pursuant to sections 7 through 12.

14 (b) CONTINUING ACTION.—On an ongoing basis the

15 Board of Directors—

16 (1) shall determine which of the laws referred

17 to in section 3(b) should apply to the legislative

18 branch of the Federal Government and if it should,

19 the manner in which it should be made applicable;

20 (2) shall study the application to the legislative

21 branch of the Federal Government of provisions of

22 Federal law referred to in section 3 that are enacted

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act; and

24 (3) may propose regulations with respect to

25 such application in accordance with subsection (c).
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1 (c) REGULATIONS.—

2 (1) LAWS MADE APPLICABLE.—

3 (A) GENERAL RULE.—Not later than 180

4 days after the date of the completion of the

5 study under subsection (a), the Board of Direc6 tors shall, in accordance with section 553 of

7 title 5, United States Code, propose regulations

8 that specify the manner in which the laws made

9 applicable to the legislative branch of the Fed10 eral Government under section 3(a) shall apply.

11 The Board of Directors shall provide a period

12 of at least 30 days for comment on the pro13 posed regulations.

14 (B) CONGRESSIONAL NOTICE.— In addi15 tion to publishing a general notice of proposed

16 rulemaking under section 553(b) of title 5,

17 United States Code, the Board of Directors

18 shall concurrently submit such notice for publi19 cation in the Congressional Record.

20 (C) AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS.—When

21 proposing regulations under subparagraph (A)

22 specifying the manner in which a law referred

23 to in section 3(a) shall apply to the legislative

24 branch of the Federal Government, the Board

25 of Directors shall recommend to the Congress
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1 changes in or repeals of existing law to accom2 modate the application of such law to the legis3 lative branch of the Federal Government.

4 (D) FINAL REGULATIONS.—The Board of

5 Directors shall, in accordance with such section

6 553, issue final regulations not later than 60

7 days after the end of the comment period on

8 the proposed regulations.

9 (2) CONTINUING ACTION.—

10 (A) GENERAL RULE.—Not later than 180

11 days after the date of the completion of the

12 study or a determination under subsection (b),

13 the Board of Directors shall, in accordance with

14 section 553 of title 5, United States Code, pro15 pose regulations that specify which of the provi16 sions of Federal law considered in such study

17 shall apply to the legislative branch of the Fed18 eral Government. The Board of Directors shall

19 provide a period of at least 30 days for com20 ment on the proposed regulations.

21 (B) CONGRESSIONAL NOTICE.— In addi22 tion to publishing a general notice of proposed

23 rulemaking under section 553(b) of title 5,

24 United States Code, the Board of Directors
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1 shall concurrently submit such notice for publi2 cation in the Congressional Record.

3 (C) AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS.—When

4 proposing regulations under subparagraph (A)

5 specifying which of the provisions of Federal

6 law referred to in section 3(b) shall apply to the

7 legislative branch of the Federal Government,

8 the Board of Directors shall recommend to the

9 Congress changes in or repeals of existing law

10 to accommodate the application of such law to

11 the legislative branch of the Federal Govern12 ment.

13 (D) FINAL REGULATIONS.— The Board of

14 Directors shall, in accordance with such section

15 553, issue final regulations not later than 60

16 days after the end of the comment period on

17 the proposed regulations.

18 (3) REGULATION REQUIREMENTS.—Regulations

19 under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be consistent

20 with the regulations issued by an agency of the exec21 utive branch of the Federal Government under the

22 provision of law made applicable to the legislative

23 branch of the Federal Government, including por24 tions relating to remedies.
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1 (d) TRANSMITTAL.—A final regulation issued under

2 subsection (c) shall be transmitted to the Congress for

3 consideration under subsection (e).

4 (e) TAKING EFFECT OF REGULATIONS.—

5 (1) GENERAL RULE.—Subject to subsection (f),

6 a final regulation which is issued under subsection

7 (c) shall take effect upon the expiration of 60 days

8 from the date the final regulation is issued unless

9 disapproved by the Congress by concurrent resolu10 tion.

11 (2) CONCURRENT RESOLUTION.—A concurrent

12 resolution referred to in paragraph (1) may be intro13 duced in the House of Representatives or the Senate

14 within 5 days of session after the date on which the

15 Board of Directors issues the final regulation to

16 which the concurrent resolution applies. The matter

17 after the resolving clause of the resolution shall be

18 as follows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves the issuance

19 of final regulations of the Office of Compliance as is20 sued on llllll (the blank space being ap21 propriately filled in).’’.

22 (3) PROCEDURE.—A concurrent resolution re23 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall be referred to the

24 appropriate committee of the House involved. If no

25 concurrent resolution is reported within 15 days of
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1 session after the Board of Directors issues final reg2 ulations under subsection (c)(1)(D) or (c)(2)(D), the

3 committee to which the concurrent resolution was

4 referred shall be discharged from further consider5 ation of the first such concurrent resolution intro6 duced and the concurrent resolution shall be placed

7 on the appropriate calendar of the House involved.

8 Within 5 days of session after the concurrent resolu9 tion is reported or discharged, it shall be in order as

10 a matter of highest privilege to move to proceed to

11 its consideration and such motion shall not be debat12 able. The concurrent resolution shall be debatable

13 for not to exceed 4 hours equally divided between

14 proponents and opponents and it shall not be subject

15 to amendment. If, prior to the adoption of a concur16 rent resolution by one House, that House receives a

17 concurrent resolution of the other House with re18 spect to the same regulations, then the procedure in

19 that House shall be the same as if no concurrent

20 resolution had been received from the other House,

21 but vote on final adoption shall be on the concurrent

22 resolution of the other House. If a concurrent reso23 lution is received by a House in which no identical

24 concurrent resolution has been introduced, it shall

25 be referred to the appropriate committee and the
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1 same procedures and 20-day period for action shall

2 apply to the consideration of the concurrent resolu3 tion by that House as would apply to an introduced

4 concurrent resolution.

5 (f) RULEMAKING POWER.—The provisions of sub6 section (e) of this section are enacted by the Congress—

7 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

8 the House of Representatives and the Senate, re9 spectively, and as such they shall be considered as

10 part of the rules of each House, respectively, or of

11 that House to which they specifically apply, and

12 such rules shall supersede other rules only to the ex13 tent that they are inconsistent therewith; and

14 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

15 right of either House to change such rules (so far

16 as relating to such House) at any time, in the same

17 manner, and to the same extent as in the case of

18 any other rule of such House.

19 SEC. 6. OTHER FUNCTIONS.

20 (a) RULES OF THE OFFICE.—The executive director

21 shall adopt rules governing the procedures of the Office,

22 including the procedures of hearing boards, which shall be

23 submitted for publication in the Congressional Record.

24 The rules may be amended in the same manner. The exec25 utive director may consult with the Chairman of the Ad-
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1 ministrative Conference of the United States, the Legal

2 Counsel of the Senate, and the General Counsel of the

3 House of Representatives on the adoption of rules.

4 (b) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.—The executive di5 rector shall have authority to conduct such investigations

6 as the executive director requires to implement sections

7 8 through 10 and section 12.

8 (c) DUTIES.—The Office shall—

9 (1) carry out a program of education for Mem10 bers of Congress and other employing authorities of

11 the legislative branch of the Federal Government re12 specting the laws made applicable to them and a

13 program to inform individuals of their rights under

14 laws applicable to the legislative branch of the Fed15 eral Government and under sections 7 through 12,

16 (2) in carrying out the program under para17 graph (1), distribute the telephone number and ad18 dress of the Office, procedures for action under sec19 tions 7 through 12, and any other information the

20 executive director deems appropriate for distribution,

21 distribute such information to Members of Congress

22 and other employing authorities of the legislative

23 branch of the Federal Government in a manner suit24 able for posting, provide such information to new

25 employees of the legislative branch of the Federal
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1 Government, distribute such information to the resi2 dences of congressional employees, and conduct sem3 inars and other activities designed to educate em4 ployers and employees in such information,

5 (3) compile and publish statistics on the use of

6 the Office by congressional employees, including the

7 number and type of contacts made with the Office,

8 on the reason for such contacts, on the number of

9 employees who initiated proceedings with the Office

10 under sections 7 through 12 and the result of such

11 proceedings, and on the number of employees who

12 filed a complaint under section 10, the basis for the

13 complaint, and the action taken on the complaint,

14 and

15 (4) within 180 days of the initial appointment

16 of the executive director and in conjunction with the

17 Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Sec18 retary of the Senate, develop a system for the collec19 tion of demographic data respecting the composition

20 of the congressional employees, including race, sex,

21 and wages, and a system for the collection of infor22 mation on employment practices, including family

23 leave and flexible work hours, in Congressional

24 offices.
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1 SEC. 7. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ALLEGED

2 VIOLATIONS.

3 The procedure for consideration of alleged violations

4 of laws made applicable to the legislative branch of the

5 Federal Government under the regulation promulgated

6 under section 5(b) applicable to such laws consists of 4

7 steps as follows:

8 (1) Step I, counseling, as set forth in section 8.

9 (2) Step II, mediation, as set forth in section

10 9.

11 (3) Step III, formal complaint and hearing by

12 a hearing board, as set forth in section 10.

13 (4) Step IV, judicial review if a congressional

14 employee is aggrieved by a dismissal of a claim

15 under section 10(c), a final decision under section

16 10(g), or an order under section 10(h) or if a head

17 of an employing office is aggrieved by a final deci18 sion under section 10(g) or would be subject to an

19 order issued under section 10(h).

20 (5) Step V, as an alternative to steps III and

21 IV, a civil action in a district court of the United

22 States in accordance with section 12.

23 A congressional employee may elect the procedure de24 scribed in paragraph (3) or (5) but not both procedures.
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1 SEC. 8. STEP I: COUNSELING.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—A congressional employee alleging

3 a violation of a law made applicable to the legislative

4 branch of the Federal Government under section 5 may

5 request counseling through the Office. The Office shall

6 provide the employee with all relevant information with re7 spect to the rights of the employee. A request for counsel8 ing shall be made not later than 180 days after the alleged

9 violation forming the basis of the request for counseling

10 occurred.

11 (b) PERIOD OF COUNSELING.—The period for coun12 seling shall be 30 days unless the employee and the Office

13 agree to reduce the period. The period shall begin on the

14 date the request for counseling is received.

15 SEC. 9. STEP II: MEDIATION.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after the

17 end of the counseling period under section 8, the employee

18 who alleged a violation of a law made applicable to the

19 legislative branch of the Federal Government under sec20 tion 5 may file a request for mediation with the Office.

21 Mediation—

22 (1) may include the Office, the employee, the

23 employing office, and individuals who are rec24 ommended by organizations composed primarily of

25 individuals experienced in adjudicating or arbitrating

26 personnel matters, and
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1 (2) shall be a process involving meetings with

2 the parties separately or jointly for the purpose of

3 resolving the dispute between the employee and the

4 employing office.

5 (b) MEDIATION PERIOD.—The mediation period shall

6 be 30 days beginning on the date the request for mediation

7 is received and may be extended for an additional 30 days

8 at the discretion of the Office. The Office shall notify the

9 employee and the head of the employing office when the

10 mediation period has ended.

11 SEC. 10. STEP III: FORMAL COMPLAINT AND HEARING.

12 (a) FORMAL COMPLAINT AND REQUEST FOR HEAR13 ING.—Not later than 30 days after receipt by the congres14 sional employee of notice from the Office of the end of

15 the mediation period under section 9, the congressional

16 employee may file a formal complaint with the Office

17 against the head of the employing office involved. No com18 plaint may be filed unless the employee has made a timely

19 request for counseling and has completed the procedures

20 set forth in sections 8 and 9.

21 (b) HEARING BOARD.—A board of 3 independent

22 hearing officers (hereinafter in this Act referred to as a

23 ‘‘hearing board’’), who are not Members of the House of

24 Representatives, Senators, or officers or employees of the

25 House of Representatives or Senate, chosen by the execu-
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1 tive director (one of whom shall be designated by the exec2 utive director as the presiding hearing officer) shall be as3 signed to consider each complaint filed under subsection

4 (a). The executive director shall appoint hearing officers

5 from candidates who are recommended by the Federal Me6 diation and Conciliation Service or the Administrative

7 Conference of the United States. A hearing board shall

8 act by majority vote.

9 (c) DISMISSAL OF FRIVOLOUS CLAIMS.—Prior to a

10 hearing under subsection (d), a hearing board may dismiss

11 any claim that it finds to be frivolous.

12 (d) HEARING.—A hearing shall be conducted—

13 (1) in closed session on the record by a hearing

14 board; and

15 (2) no later than 30 days after filing of the

16 complaint under subsection (a), except that the Of17 fice may, for good cause, extend up to an additional

18 60 days the time for conducting a hearing.

19 (e) DISCOVERY.—Reasonable prehearing discovery

20 may be permitted at the discretion of the hearing board.

21 (f) SUBPOENA POWER.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—A hearing board may au23 thorize subpoenas, which shall be issued by the pre24 siding hearing officer on behalf of the hearing board

25 for the attendance of witnesses at proceedings of the
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1 hearing board and for the production of correspond2 ence, books, papers, documents, and other records.

3 The attendance of witnesses and the production of

4 evidence may be required from any place within the

5 United States.

6 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per7 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para8 graph (1), the hearing board may apply to a United

9 States district court for an order requiring that per10 son to appear before the hearing board to give testi11 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the

12 matter under investigation. The application may be

13 made within the judicial district where the hearing

14 is conducted or where that person is found, resides,

15 or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order

16 of the court may be punished by the court as civil

17 contempt.

18 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas

19 of the hearing board shall be served in the manner

20 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States

21 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro22 cedure for the United States district courts.

23 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any

24 court to which application is to be made under para25 graph (2) may be served in the judicial district in
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1 which the person required to be served resides or

2 may be found.

3 (5) IMMUNITY.—The hearing board is an agen4 cy of the United States for the purpose of part V

5 of title 18, United States Code (relating to immunity

6 of witnesses).

7 (g) HEARING BOARD DECISION.—As expeditiously as

8 possible, but in no case more than 45 days after the con9 clusion of the hearing, the hearing board shall make a de10 cision in the matter for which the hearing was held. The

11 decision of the hearing board shall be transmitted by the

12 Office to the employee and the employing office. The deci13 sion shall state the issues raised by the complaint, describe

14 the evidence in the record, and contain a determination

15 as to whether a violation of a law made applicable to the

16 legislative branch of the Federal Government under sec17 tion 5 has occurred. Any decision of the hearing board

18 shall contain a written statement of the reasons for the

19 hearing board’s decision. A final decision of the hearing

20 board shall be made available to the public by the Office.

21 (h) REMEDY ORDER.—If the decision of the hearing

22 board under subsection (g) is that a violation of a law

23 made applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal

24 Government under section 5, it shall order the remedies

25 under such law as made applicable to the legislative
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1 branch of the Federal Government under section 5, except

2 that no Member of the House of Representatives, Senator,

3 any other head of an employing office, or agent of such

4 a Member or Senator, shall be personally liable for the

5 payment of compensation. The hearing board shall have

6 no authority to award punitive damages. The entry of an

7 order under subsection shall constitute a final decision for

8 purposes of judicial review under section 11.

9 (i) FUNDS.—There shall be established in the House

10 of Representatives and in the Senate a fund from which

11 compensation (including attorney’s fees) may be paid in

12 accordance with an order under subsection (h) or as a re13 sult of judicial review under section 11. From the outset

14 of any proceeding in which compensation may be paid

15 from a fund of the House of Representatives, the General

16 Counsel of the House of Representatives may provide the

17 respondent with representation.

18 SEC. 11. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—

20 (1) TYPES OF REVIEW.—Following any hearing

21 under section 10 on a complaint relating to a provi22 sion of law described in section 3, any congressional

23 employee aggrieved by a dismissal of a claim under

24 section 10(c), a final decision under section 10(g), a

25 final order under section 10(h), or any head of an
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1 employing office aggrieved by a final decision under

2 section 10(g) or a final order under section 10(h),

3 may petition for review by the United States Court

4 of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in accordance

5 with paragraph (2).

6 (2) PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO REVIEW.—The

7 following provisions apply to a review under para8 graph (1):

9 (A) LAW APPLICABLE.—Chapter 158 of

10 title 28, United States Code, shall apply—

11 (i) with respect to section 2344 of

12 title 28, United States Code, service of the

13 petition shall be on the House or Senate

14 Legal Counsel, or the appropriate entity of

15 an instrumentality, as the case may be,

16 rather than on the Attorney General;

17 (ii) the provisions of section 2348 of

18 title 28, United States Code, on the au19 thority of the Attorney General, shall not

20 apply;

21 (iii) the petition for review shall be

22 filed not later than 90 days after the entry

23 in the Office of a final decision under sec24 tion 10(g), an order under section 10(h);

25 and
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1 (iv) the Office shall be an ‘‘agency’’ as

2 that term is used in chapter 158 of title

3 28, United States Code.

4 (B) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—To the ex5 tent necessary for decision and when presented,

6 the court shall decide all relevant questions of

7 law and interpret constitutional and statutory

8 provisions. The court shall set aside a dismissal

9 under section 10(c), a final decision under sec10 tion 10(g), or an order under section 10(h) if

11 it is determined that the dismissal, decision, or

12 order was—

13 (i) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of

14 discretion, or otherwise not consistent with

15 law;

16 (ii) not made consistent with required

17 procedures; or

18 (iii) unsupported by substantial evi19 dence.

20 (C) RECORD.—In making determinations

21 under subparagraph (B), the court shall review

22 the whole record, or those parts of it cited by

23 a party, and due account shall be taken of the

24 rule of prejudicial error. The record on review

25 shall include the record before the hearing
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1 board, the decision of the hearing board, and

2 the order of the hearing board.

3 (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—If a congressional employee

4 is the prevailing party in a proceeding under this section,

5 attorney’s fees for the judicial proceeding may be allowed

6 by the court in accordance with the standards prescribed

7 under section 706(k) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

8 U.S.C. 2000e–5(k)).

9 SEC. 12. CIVIL ACTION.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—

11 (1) CIVIL ACTION.—An employee may within 30

12 days after receipt of notice from the Office of the

13 end of the mediation period under section 9 for a

14 violation of a law made applicable to the legislative

15 branch of the Federal Government bring a civil ac16 tion in a district court of the United States seeking

17 relief from the alleged violation of law if such a civil

18 action is available under such law. In any such civil

19 action, any party may demand a jury trial.

20 (2) EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT.—No civil ac21 tion may be filed under paragraph (1) unless the

22 employee has made a timely request for counseling

23 and has completed the procedures set forth in sec24 tions 8 and 9.
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1 (3) COURT ORDER.—If a court determines that

2 a violation of law occurred, the court may only enter

3 an order described in section 10(h).

4 (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—If a congressional employee

5 is the prevailing party in a proceeding under this section,

6 attorney’s fees may be allowed by the court in accordance

7 with any standards prescribed under Federal law for the

8 award of such fees in the event of a violation of such provi9 sion.

10 SEC. 13. RESOLUTION OF COMPLAINT.

11 If, after a formal complaint is filed under section 10,

12 the employee and the head of the employing office resolve

13 the issues involved, the employee may withdraw the com14 plaint or the parties may enter into a written agreement,

15 subject to the approval of the executive director.

16 SEC. 14. PROHIBITION OF INTIMIDATION.

17 Any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any employee

18 by any Member of the House of Representatives, Senator,

19 or officer or employee of the House of Representatives or

20 Senate, by the Architect of the Capitol or anyone employed

21 by the Architect of the Capitol, or by an instrumentality

22 of the legislative branch of the Federal Government be23 cause of the exercise of a right under this Act constitutes

24 an unlawful employment practice, which may be remedied

25 in the same manner under this Act as is a violation of
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1 a law made applicable to the legislative branch of the Fed2 eral Government under section 5.

3 SEC. 15. CONFIDENTIALITY.

4 (a) COUNSELING.—All counseling shall be strictly

5 confidential except that the Office and the employee may

6 agree to notify the head of the employing office of the

7 allegations.

8 (b) MEDIATION.—All mediation shall be strictly

9 confidential.

10 (c) HEARINGS.—Except as provided in subsections

11 (d) and (e), the hearings and deliberations of the hearing

12 board shall be confidential.

13 (d) RELEASE OF RECORDS FOR JUDICIAL ACTION.—

14 The records of hearing boards may be made public if re15 quired for the purpose of judicial action under section 9.

16 (e) ACCESS BY COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.—At the

17 discretion of the executive director, the executive director

18 may provide to the Committee on Standards of Official

19 Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Select

20 Committee on Ethics of the Senate access to the records

21 of the hearings and decisions of the hearing boards, in22 cluding all written and oral testimony in the possession

23 of the hearing boards, concerning a decision under section

24 10(g). The executive director shall not provide such access

25 until the executive director has consulted with the individ-
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1 ual filing the complaint at issue in the hearing, and until

2 the hearing board has issued the decision.

3 (f) COORDINATION.—The executive director shall co4 ordinate the proceedings with the Committee on Stand5 ards and Official Conduct of the House of Representatives

6 and the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate to en7 sure effectiveness, to avoid duplication, and to prevent pe8 nalizing cooperation by respondents in the respective pro9 ceedings.

10 SEC. 16. POLITICAL AFFILIATION AND PLACE OF RESI11 DENCE.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be a violation of a law

13 made applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal

14 Government under section 5 to consider the—

15 (1) party affiliation,

16 (2) domicile, or

17 (3) political compatibility with the employing

18 office,

19 of a congressional employee with respect to employment

20 decisions.

21 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of subsection (a),

22 the term ‘‘employee’’ means—

23 (1) an employee on the staff of the House of

24 Representatives or Senate leadership,
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1 (2) an employee on the staff of a committee or

2 subcommittee,

3 (3) an employee on the staff of a Member of

4 the House of Representatives or Senate,

5 (4) an officer or employee of the House of Rep6 resentatives or Senate elected by the House of Rep7 resentatives or Senate or appointed by a Member of

8 the House of Representatives or Senate, other than

9 those described in paragraphs (1) through (3), or

10 (5) an applicant for a position that is to be oc11 cupied by an individual described in paragraphs (1)

12 through (4).

13 SEC. 17. OTHER REVIEW PROHIBITED.

14 No congressional employee may commence a judicial

15 proceeding to redress practices prohibited under section

16 5, except as provided in this Act.

17 SEC. 18. STUDY.

18 (a) STUDY.—The Office shall conduct a study—

19 (1) of the ways that access by the public to in20 formation held by the Congress may be improved,

21 streamlined, and made consistent between the House

22 of Representatives and the Senate and of the appli23 cation of section 552 of title 5, United States Code

24 to the legislative branch of the Federal Government;

25 and
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1 (2) of the application of the requirement of sec2 tion 552a of title 5, United States Code, to the legis3 lative branch of the Federal Government.

4 (b) STUDY CONTENT.—The study conducted under

5 subsection (a) shall examine—

6 (1) information that is currently made available

7 under such section 552 by Federal agencies and not

8 by the legislative branch of the Federal Government;

9 (2) information held by the non-legislative of10 fices of the legislative branch of the Federal Govern11 ment, including—

12 (A) the instrumentalities,

13 (B) the Architect of the Capitol,

14 (C) the Director of Non-Legislative and

15 Financial Services of the House of Representa16 tives,

17 (D) the Clerk of the House of Representa18 tives,

19 (E) the Secretary of the Senate,

20 (F) the Inspector General of the House of

21 Representatives,

22 (G) the Sergeant at Arms of the House of

23 Representatives,

24 (H) the Doorkeeper of the House of Rep25 resentatives,
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1 (I) the United States Capitol Police, and

2 (J) the House Commission on Congres3 sional Mailing Standards;

4 (3) financial expenditure information of the leg5 islative branch of the Federal Government; and

6 (4) provisions for judicial review of denial of ac7 cess to information held by the legislative branch of

8 the Federal Government.

9 (c) TIME.—The Office shall conduct the study pre10 scribed by subsection (a) and report the results of the

11 study to the Congress not later than one year after the

12 date of the initial appointment of the Board of Directors.

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