II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5133 

To establish a tracker for Senate-confirmed executive branch positions. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. LANKFORD) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a tracker for Senate-confirmed executive branch 

positions. 

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 ‘‘Improving Senate Con5 firmation and Vacancy Oversight Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF TRACKER FOR SENATE-CON7 FIRMED EXECUTIVE BRANCH POSITIONS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 5133 IS

1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

5 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

6 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Ac7 countability of the House of Representatives. 

8 (2) COVERED PAS POSITION.—The term ‘‘cov9 ered PAS position’’ means a policy and supporting 

10 position (as defined in section 3330f of title 5, 

11 United States Code) in an executive branch agency 

12 for which appointment is made by the President, by 

13 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

14 (3) DIRECTOR OF OPM.—The term ‘‘Director of 

15 OPM’’ means the Director of the Office of Personnel 

16 Management. 

17 (4) EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCY.—The term 

18 ‘‘executive branch agency’’ means an agency de19 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (C) of section 

20 3330f(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code. 

21 (5) PAS TRACKER.—The term ‘‘PAS Tracker’’ 

22 means the Senate Confirmed Position Tracker estab23 lished under subsection (b)(1). 

24 (6) PLUM REPORTING WEBSITE.—The term 

25 ‘‘PLUM reporting website’’ means the website estabVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Sep 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5133.IS S5133

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 5133 IS

1 lished and maintained under section 3330f(b) of title 

2 5, United States Code. 

3 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRACKER.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

6 General of the United States, in consultation with 

7 the Librarian of Congress, the Director of OPM, 

8 and the Director of the Congressional Research 

9 Service, shall publish on the public-facing website of 

10 the Government Accountability Office a new inter11 face or webpage, to be known as the ‘‘Senate Con12 firmed Position Tracker’’, that displays data, which 

13 shall be updated on not less than a weekly basis, 

14 tracking covered PAS positions, including the indi15 viduals occupying covered PAS positions and the 

16 status, within the Senate advice and consent process, 

17 of individuals nominated for covered PAS positions. 

18 (2) DESIGN.—The Comptroller General shall 

19 ensure that the PAS Tracker, in addition to track20 ing each covered PAS position throughout the Sen21 ate advice and consent process, publishes informa22 tion, and displays the information through graphics 

23 and charts, on trends and analyses of all covered 

24 PAS positions, including— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 5133 IS

1 (A) data and trends broken down by posi2 tions with the same title, including the percent3 age of covered PAS positions that— 

4 (i) are occupied by an official con5 firmed by the Senate; 

6 (ii) are occupied by an acting official; 

7 or 

8 (iii) are not occupied by any official; 

9 (B) data and trends broken down by Sen10 ate committees of jurisdiction, including the 

11 percentage of covered PAS positions that— 

12 (i) are occupied by an official con13 firmed by the Senate; 

14 (ii) are occupied by an acting official; 

15 or 

16 (iii) are not occupied by any official; 

17 (C) data and trends broken down by execu18 tive branch agency and components thereof, in19 cluding the percentage of covered PAS positions 

20 that— 

21 (i) are occupied by an official con22 firmed by the Senate; 

23 (ii) are occupied by an acting official; 

24 or 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 5133 IS

1 (iii) are not occupied by any official; 

2 and 

3 (D) the percentage of all covered PAS po4 sitions that— 

5 (i) are occupied by an official con6 firmed by the Senate; 

7 (ii) are occupied by an acting official; 

8 or 

9 (iii) are not occupied by any official. 

10 (3) CONSISTENT INFORMATION.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—In establishing and 

12 maintaining the PAS tracker, the Comptroller 

13 General shall— 

14 (i) collect data from all executive 

15 branch agencies and components thereof; 

16 and 

17 (ii) assess and utilize data available to 

18 the Comptroller General on covered PAS 

19 positions, including information provided 

20 by the Library of Congress and the Office 

21 of Personnel Management. 

22 (B) RELATION TO PLUM REPORTING

23 WEBSITE.—The Comptroller General and the 

24 Director of OPM shall work in coordination to 

25 ensure that— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 5133 IS

1 (i) all relevant information displayed 

2 on both the PLUM reporting website and 

3 the PAS Tracker is consistent and accu4 rate; and 

5 (ii) there is a process to both regu6 larly review data across the 2 sources de7 scribed in clause (i) and address any dis8 crepancies in a timely fashion. 

9 (4) DATA COLLECTED AND PUBLISHED.— 

10 (A) COORDINATION; DATA AGREEMENTS.— 

11 To the maximum extent practicable, the Comp12 troller General shall coordinate with the Librar13 ian of Congress, the Director of OPM, and the 

14 Secretary of the Senate, and enter into relevant 

15 data agreements with the Librarian of Congress 

16 and the Director of OPM, to enable the Comp17 troller General to carry out paragraph (3) and 

18 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph and to fa19 cilitate the Secretary’s implementation of sub20 paragraph (B)(ii) of this paragraph. 

21 (B) INFORMATION ON NEW PAS POSI22 TIONS.— 

23 (i) REPORTING BY COMMITTEES.— 

24 Each committee of the Senate or the 

25 House of Representatives shall report to 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 5133 IS

1 the Secretary of the Senate the titles and 

2 number of new covered PAS positions that 

3 would be created under— 

4 (I) any legislation that is ordered 

5 reported by the committee, not later 

6 than 30 days after the legislation is 

7 ordered reported; or 

8 (II) any amendment on the floor 

9 of the Senate or the House of Rep10 resentatives, respectively, to legisla11 tion that is within the jurisdiction of 

12 the committee, not later than 30 days 

13 after the amendment is agreed to. 

14 (ii) REPORTING BY SECRETARY OF

15 THE SENATE.—Annually, the Secretary of 

16 the Senate shall issue a report to Congress 

17 and the Comptroller General containing 

18 the titles and number of covered PAS posi19 tions that were created under legislation 

20 that was enacted into law during the year 

21 covered by the report. 

22 (C) DATA.—The Comptroller General shall 

23 collect, and publish through the PAS Tracker 

24 in a searchable, sortable, downloadable, ma25 chine-readable format, the following data: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 5133 IS

1 (i) Each covered PAS position, includ2 ing— 

3 (I) any covered PAS position 

4 that has never been occupied or is not 

5 occupied as of the date of publication 

6 by an official confirmed by the Sen7 ate, including a covered PAS position 

8 identified under subparagraph (B)(ii); 

9 and 

10 (II) any covered PAS position on 

11 a board or commission that is admin12 istratively inactive, as indicated in the 

13 Federal Advisory Committee Act data14 base. 

15 (ii) For each covered PAS position, 

16 the following information: 

17 (I) All the information for the 

18 covered PAS position that is included 

19 on the PLUM reporting website pur20 suant to subsections (b) and (c) of 

21 section 3330f of title 5, United States 

22 Code. 

23 (II) For any covered PAS posi24 tion that is not occupied by an official 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 5133 IS

1 confirmed by the Senate or an acting 

2 official— 

3 (aa) the dates on which the 

4 acting official who most recently 

5 served in the covered PAS posi6 tion, if any, began serving and 

7 ceased serving, respectively, in 

8 the covered PAS position; 

9 (bb) the date on which an 

10 individual was most recently ap11 pointed to the covered PAS posi12 tion; 

13 (cc) the date on which a 

14 nomination for the covered PAS 

15 position was most recently sub16 mitted to the Senate; and 

17 (dd) whether any statute 

18 specific to the executive branch 

19 agency governs the filling of the 

20 position. 

21 (III) Each key Senate advice and 

22 consent process milestone collected on 

23 congress.gov, including the date of the 

24 nomination for the covered PAS posi25 tion, the date of the nomination hearVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Sep 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5133.IS S5133

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 5133 IS

1 ing, the date of the committee vote, 

2 the date of each vote of the Senate, 

3 and the date of final confirmation. 

4 (IV) The dates on which the offi5 cial who most recently served in the 

6 covered PAS position began serving 

7 and ceased serving, respectively, in 

8 the covered PAS position, including in 

9 an acting capacity. 

10 (V) In the case of an acting offi11 cial currently serving in the covered 

12 PAS position, if no nomination has 

13 extended the time limit under section 

14 3346 of title 5, United States Code, 

15 and to the maximum extent prac16 ticable, the number of days for which 

17 the official may continue to serve in 

18 an acting capacity before violating 

19 such section 3346. 

20 (D) FACILITATION OF COLLECTION AND

21 PUBLICATION OF DATA.— 

22 (i) FACA DATA.—In order to assist 

23 the Comptroller General in carrying out 

24 subparagraph (C)(i)(II), the Committee 

25 Management Secretariat of the General 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 5133 IS

1 Services Administration shall provide infor2 mation regarding any board or commission 

3 that is administratively inactive to the 

4 Comptroller General, the Director of OPM, 

5 and Congress not less than twice each 

6 year. 

7 (ii) AGENCY-SPECIFIC STATUTES GOV8 ERNING FILLING VACANT POSITIONS.—The 

9 Comptroller General shall carry out sub10 paragraph (C)(ii)(II)(dd) in coordination 

11 with the applicable executive branch agen12 cy and the Office of Legal Counsel of the 

13 Department of Justice. 

14 (5) COORDINATION WITH OPM REGARDING ACT15 ING OFFICIALS.—In the case of an individual serving 

16 in a covered PAS position in an acting capacity, the 

17 Comptroller General shall coordinate with the Direc18 tor of OPM to align, and resolve any discrepancies 

19 between— 

20 (A) information reported to the Office of 

21 Personnel Management about the individual; 

22 and 

23 (B) the information posted on the PAS 

24 Tracker about the individual under paragraph 

25 (4)(C)(ii)(V). 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 5133 IS

1 (6) AGENCY REPORTS REGARDING POSITIONS

2 WITHOUT SENATE-CONFIRMED OFFICIALS.—For 

3 purposes of paragraph (4)(C)(ii)(V), in the case of 

4 any covered PAS position that is not occupied by an 

5 official confirmed by the Senate, the executive 

6 branch agency shall report to the Comptroller Gen7 eral not later than 5 days after the date on which 

8 an individual is designated to serve in the position 

9 in an acting capacity. 

10 (7) AGENCY REPORTS REGARDING START AND

11 END DATES.—Not later than 10 days after the date 

12 on which an official begins serving or ceases serving 

13 in a covered PAS position, including in an acting ca14 pacity, the executive branch agency shall report that 

15 start date or end date, respectively, to the Comp16 troller General and the Director of OPM. 

17 (c) POSITION UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS.— 

18 (1) PLAN AND PROCESS FOR IMPLEMENTA19 TION.—Not later than 1 year after the date of en20 actment of this Act, the Comptroller General, in co21 ordination with the Director of OPM, the Librarian 

22 of Congress, and the Secretary of the Senate, shall 

23 establish a plan and process for implementation of 

24 a unique identifier for each covered PAS position 

25 that enables public-facing resources, including the 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 5133 IS

1 PAS Tracker, the PLUM reporting website, and 

2 congress.gov, to have consistent and accurate infor3 mation on covered PAS positions. 

4 (2) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING.—No later than 

5 30 days after establishing the plan and process for 

6 implementation under paragraph (1), the Comp7 troller General, the Director of OPM, the Librarian 

8 of Congress, and the Secretary of the Senate shall 

9 brief the appropriate congressional committees on 

10 the plan and process for implementation. 

11 (d) REPORTS.— 

12 (1) AGENCY REPORTS OF SENATE-CONFIRMED

13 POSITIONS.—In addition to updating the PAS 

14 Tracker, each year, on a date determined by the 

15 Comptroller General in coordination with the Direc16 tor of OPM and taking into consideration the Direc17 tor’s schedule for collecting data for the PLUM re18 porting website, the head of each executive branch 

19 agency shall submit to the Comptroller General and 

20 the Director of OPM the following information: 

21 (A) A list of each covered PAS position in 

22 the executive branch agency, including identi23 fication of any change to the title of any such 

24 covered PAS position, along with the total numVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Sep 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5133.IS S5133

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 5133 IS

1 ber of covered PAS positions in the executive 

2 branch agency. 

3 (B) Each covered PAS position newly es4 tablished in the executive branch agency by 

5 statute since the previous submission of infor6 mation under this paragraph. 

7 (C) The number of covered PAS positions 

8 that each covered PAS position in the executive 

9 branch agency reports to. 

10 (2) GAO REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON NON11 COMPLIANT AGENCIES.—Annually, the Comptroller 

12 General shall submit to the appropriate congres13 sional committees a report that indicates any execu14 tive branch agency that has not provided informa15 tion, or has provided incomplete information, under 

16 paragraph (1). 

17 (3) BIENNIAL GAO REPORTS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

19 than once every 2 years for 10 years, the 

20 Comptroller General shall review the implemen21 tation of this section and publish and submit to 

22 Congress a report containing the findings of the 

23 review. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 5133 IS

1 (B) CONTENTS.—The Comptroller General 

2 shall include in each review under subparagraph 

3 (A)— 

4 (i) a review of the accuracy and time5 liness of information provided in the PAS 

6 Tracker; 

7 (ii) an analysis of all covered PAS po8 sitions, including— 

9 (I) an indication of any covered 

10 PAS position that is on an inactive 

11 board or commission within an execu12 tive branch agency or for which an in13 dividual has not been nominated or 

14 confirmed for a period of more than 8 

15 years, which may be a good candidate 

16 for elimination or for removal of the 

17 Senate advice and consent require18 ment; 

19 (II) an analysis of any impact va20 cancies in covered PAS positions have 

21 had on the performance and operation 

22 of executive branch agencies; and 

23 (III) recommendations for addi24 tional data needed to understand the 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 5133 IS

1 impacts of vacancies in covered PAS 

2 positions; 

3 (iii) a review of any challenges experi4 enced by, and best practices used by, the 

5 Comptroller General, the Director of OPM, 

6 or executive branch agencies in quickly ob7 taining accurate information required to 

8 implement this section; and 

9 (iv) a determination of— 

10 (I) each covered PAS position 

11 that was not occupied by an official 

12 confirmed by the Senate for any pe13 riod of more than 365 days during the 

14 preceding 2-year period; 

15 (II) each covered PAS position 

16 that was not occupied by an official 

17 confirmed by the Senate or an acting 

18 official, and for which no individual 

19 had been nominated, for any period of 

20 more than 365 days during the pre21 ceding 2-year period; and 

22 (III) any covered PAS position 

23 that may not need or benefit from the 

24 advice and consent of the Senate. 

25 (4) COMMITTEE BRIEFINGS.— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 5133 IS

1 (A) INITIAL BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 

2 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Comptroller General shall brief the appropriate 

4 congressional committees on the status of the 

5 development of the PAS Tracker, including a 

6 review of— 

7 (i) any difficulties the Comptroller 

8 General is experiencing in acquiring data 

9 needed to complete the PAS Tracker in ac10 cordance with this section; and 

11 (ii) any challenges executive branch 

12 agencies have reported experiencing in pro13 viding the information required under this 

14 section. 

15 (B) SECOND BRIEFING.—Not later than 

16 180 days after the date on which the Comp17 troller General establishes the PAS Tracker, 

18 the Comptroller General shall brief the appro19 priate congressional committees on the status of 

20 the PAS Tracker, including an assessment of— 

21 (i) the implementation of the PAS 

22 Tracker; and 

23 (ii) the key challenges and successes 

24 in implementing the PAS Tracker. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 5133 IS

1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

3 necessary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS