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104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1

AN ACT

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

5 Accountability Act of 1995’’.

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 this Act.
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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.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the

24 Board of Directors shall appoint, may establish

25 the compensation of, and may terminate, sub-
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1 ject to the approval of the Board of Directors,

2 an Executive Director (referred to in this Act

3 as the ‘‘executive director’’). The compensation

4 of the executive director may not exceed the

5 compensation for level V of the Executive

6 Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United

7 States Code. The executive director shall be an

8 individual with training or expertise in the ap9 plication of the laws referred to in section 3 to

10 employment. The appointment of the first exec11 utive director shall be completed no later than

12 120 days after the initial appointment of the

13 Board of Directors.

14 (B) OFFICE.—The executive director may

15 not be an individual who holds or may have

16 held the position of Member of the House of

17 Representatives or Senator. The executive direc18 tor may not be an individual who holds the po19 sition of employee of the House of Representa20 tives or the Senate but the executive director

21 may be an individual who held such a position

22 at least 4 years before appointment as executive

23 director. The term of office of the executive di24 rector shall be a single term of 5 years.

25 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS QUALIFICATIONS.—
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1 (1) SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS.—

2 (A) LOBBYING.—No individual who en3 gages in, or is otherwise employed in, lobbying

4 of the Congress and who is required under the

5 Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act to register

6 with the Clerk of the House of Representatives

7 or the Secretary of the Senate shall be consid8 ered eligible for appointment to, or service on,

9 the Board of Directors.

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

11 Directors appointed under subsection (b)(1)

12 may hold or may have held the position of

13 Member of the House of Representatives or

14 Senator, may hold the position of employee of

15 the House of Representatives or Senate, or may

16 have held such a position within 4 years of the

17 date of appointment.

18 (2) HOLDING OFFICE.—If during a term of of19 fice a member of the Board of Directors engages in

20 an activity described in paragraph (2)(A), such posi21 tion shall be declared vacant and a successor shall

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

23 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Board of

24 Directors shall be filled in the manner in which the

25 original appointment was made.
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1 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS TERM OF OFFICE.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), membership on the Board of Directors

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

5 for appointment for a single term of office.

6 (2) FIRST APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members

7 first appointed to the Board of Directors—

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

9 years,

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

11 years,

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

13 years, and

14 (D) 2 shall have a term of office of 5

15 years,

16 as designated at the time of appointment by the per17 sons specified in subsection (b)(1).

18 (3) REMOVAL.—Any member of the Board of

19 Directors may be removed from office by a majority

20 decision of the appointing authorities described in

21 subsection (b)(1) and only for—

22 (A) disability that substantially prevents

23 the member from carrying out the duties of the

24 member,

25 (B) incompetence,
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1 (C) neglect of duty,

2 (D) malfeasance, or

3 (E) a felony or conduct involving moral

4 turpitude.

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 the first executive director.

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;
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1 (3) may propose regulations with respect to

2 such application in accordance with subsection (c);

3 and

4 (4) may review the regulations in effect under

5 subsection (e)(1) and make such amendments as

6 may be appropriate in accordance with subsection

7 (c).

8 (c) REGULATIONS.—

9 (1) LAWS MADE APPLICABLE.—

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

11 days after the date of the completion of the

12 study under subsection (a), the Board of Direc13 tors shall, in accordance with section 553 of

14 title 5, United States Code, propose regulations

15 to implement the requirements of the laws

16 made applicable to the legislative branch of the

17 Federal Government under section 3(a). The

18 Board of Directors shall provide a period of at

19 least 30 days for comment on the proposed reg20 ulations.

21 (B) CONGRESSIONAL NOTICE.—In addition

22 to publishing a general notice of proposed rule23 making under section 553(b) of title 5, United

24 States Code, the Board of Directors shall con-
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1 currently submit such notice for publication in

2 the Congressional Record.

3 (C) AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS.—When

4 proposing regulations under subparagraph (A)

5 to implement the requirements of a law referred

6 to in section 3(a), the Board of Directors shall

7 recommend to the Congress changes in or re8 peals of existing law to accommodate the appli9 cation of such law to the legislative branch of

10 the Federal Government.

11 (D) FINAL REGULATIONS.—The Board of

12 Directors shall, in accordance with such section

13 553, issue final regulations not later than 60

14 days after the end of the comment period on

15 the proposed regulations.

16 (2) CONTINUING ACTION.—

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

18 days after the date of the completion of the

19 study or a determination under subsection (b),

20 the Board of Directors shall, in accordance with

21 section 553 of title 5, United States Code, pro22 pose regulations that specify which of the provi23 sions of Federal law considered in such study

24 shall apply to the legislative branch of the Fed25 eral Government. The Board of Directors shall
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1 provide a period of at least 30 days for com2 ment on the proposed regulations.

3 (B) CONGRESSIONAL NOTICE.—In addition

4 to publishing a general notice of proposed rule5 making under section 553(b) of title 5, United

6 States Code, the Board of Directors shall con7 currently submit such notice for publication in

8 the Congressional Record.

9 (C) AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS.—When

10 proposing regulations under subparagraph (A)

11 specifying which of the provisions of Federal

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

13 legislative branch of the Federal Government,

14 the Board of Directors shall recommend to the

15 Congress changes in or repeals of existing law

16 to accommodate the application of such law to

17 the legislative branch of the Federal Govern18 ment.

19 (D) FINAL REGULATIONS.—The Board of

20 Directors shall, in accordance with such section

21 553, issue final regulations not later than 60

22 days after the end of the comment period on

23 the proposed regulations.

24 (3) REGULATION REQUIREMENTS.—Regulations

25 under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be consistent
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1 with the regulations issued by an agency of the exec2 utive branch of the Federal Government under the

3 provision of law made applicable to the legislative

4 branch of the Federal Government, including por5 tions relating to remedies.

6 (4) ACTION IF DISAPPROVED.—If a regulation

7 is disapproved by a concurrent resolution considered

8 under subsection (e), not later than 60 days after

9 the date of the disapproval, the Board of Directors

10 shall propose a new regulation to replace the regula11 tion disapproved. The action of the Board of Direc12 tors under this paragraph shall be in accordance

13 with the applicable requirements of this subsection.

14 (d) TRANSMITTAL.—A final regulation issued under

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

16 consideration under subsection (e).

17 (e) TAKING EFFECT OF REGULATIONS.—

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

19 a final regulation which is issued under subsection

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

21 from the date the final regulation is issued unless

22 disapproved by the Congress by concurrent resolu23 tion.

24 (2) CONCURRENT RESOLUTION.—A concurrent

25 resolution referred to in paragraph (1) may be intro-
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1 duced in the House of Representatives or the Senate

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

3 Board of Directors issues the final regulation to

4 which the concurrent resolution applies. The matter

5 after the resolving clause of the resolution shall be

6 as follows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves the issuance

7 of final regulations of the Office of Compliance as is8 sued on llllll (the blank space being ap9 propriately filled in).’’.

10 (3) PROCEDURE.—A concurrent resolution re11 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall be referred to the

12 appropriate committee of the House involved. If no

13 concurrent resolution is reported within 15 days of

14 session after the Board of Directors issues final reg15 ulations under subsection (c)(1)(D) or (c)(2)(D), the

16 committee to which the concurrent resolution was

17 referred shall be discharged from further consider18 ation of the first such concurrent resolution intro19 duced and the concurrent resolution shall be placed

20 on the appropriate calendar of the House involved.

21 Any meeting of a committee on a concurrent resolu22 tion shall be open to the public. Within 5 days of

23 session after the concurrent resolution is reported or

24 discharged, it shall be in order as a matter of high25 est privilege to move to proceed to its consideration
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1 and such motion shall not be debatable. The concur2 rent resolution shall be debatable for not to exceed

3 4 hours equally divided between proponents and op4 ponents and it shall not be subject to amendment.

5 If, prior to the adoption of a concurrent resolution

6 by one House, that House receives a concurrent res7 olution of the other House with respect to the same

8 regulations, then the procedure in that House shall

9 be the same as if no concurrent resolution had been

10 received from the other House, but vote on final

11 adoption shall be on the concurrent resolution of the

12 other House. If a concurrent resolution is received

13 by a House in which no identical concurrent resolu14 tion has been introduced, it shall be referred to the

15 appropriate committee and the same procedures and

16 20-day period for action shall apply to the consider17 ation of the concurrent resolution by that House as

18 would apply to an introduced concurrent resolution.

19 (f) RULEMAKING POWER.—The provisions of sub20 section (e) of this section are enacted by the Congress—

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

22 the House of Representatives and the Senate, re23 spectively, and as such they shall be considered as

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

25 that House to which they specifically apply, and
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1 such rules shall supersede other rules only to the ex2 tent that they are inconsistent therewith; and

3 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

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

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

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

7 any other rule of such House.

8 (g) OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.—Any meeting of the

9 Board of Directors held in connection with a study under

10 subsection (a) or (b) shall be open to the public. Any meet11 ing of the Board of Directors in connection with a regula12 tion under subsection (c) shall be open to the public.

13 SEC. 6. OTHER FUNCTIONS.

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

15 shall adopt rules governing the procedures of the Office,

16 subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, includ17 ing the procedures of hearing boards, which shall be sub18 mitted for publication in the Congressional Record. The

19 rules may be amended in the same manner. The executive

20 director may consult with the Chairman of the Adminis21 trative Conference of the United States, the Legal Counsel

22 of the Senate, and the General Counsel of the House of

23 Representatives on the adoption of rules.

24 (b) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.—The executive di25 rector shall have authority to conduct such investigations
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1 as the executive director requires to implement sections

2 8 through 10 and section 12.

3 (c) DUTIES.—The Office shall—

4 (1) carry out a program of education for Mem5 bers of Congress and other employing authorities of

6 the legislative branch of the Federal Government re7 specting the laws made applicable to them and a

8 program to inform individuals of their rights under

9 laws applicable to the legislative branch of the Fed10 eral Government and under sections 7 through 12,

11 (2) in carrying out the program under para12 graph (1), distribute the telephone number and ad13 dress of the Office, procedures for action under sec14 tions 7 through 12, and any other information the

15 executive director deems appropriate for distribution,

16 distribute such information to Members of Congress

17 and other employing authorities of the legislative

18 branch of the Federal Government in a manner suit19 able for posting, provide such information to new

20 employees of the legislative branch of the Federal

21 Government, distribute such information to the resi22 dences of congressional employees, and conduct sem23 inars and other activities designed to educate em24 ployers and employees in such information,
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1 (3) compile and publish statistics on the use of

2 the Office by congressional employees, including the

3 number and type of contacts made with the Office,

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

5 employees who initiated proceedings with the Office

6 under sections 7 through 12 and the result of such

7 proceedings, and on the number of employees who

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

9 complaint, and the action taken on the complaint,

10 and

11 (4) within 180 days of the initial appointment

12 of the executive director and in conjunction with the

13 Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Sec14 retary of the Senate, develop a system for the collec15 tion of demographic data respecting the composition

16 of the congressional employees, including race, sex,

17 and wages, and a system for the collection of infor18 mation on employment practices, including family

19 leave and flexible work hours, in Congressional

20 offices.

21 (d) REPORT.—Within one year of the date the system

22 referred to in subsection (c)(4) is developed and annually

23 thereafter, the Board of Directors shall submit to Con24 gress a report on the information collected under such sys25 tem. Each report after the first report shall contain a com-
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1 parison and evaluation of data contained in the previous

2 report.

3 SEC. 7. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ALLEGED

4 VIOLATIONS.

5 The procedure for consideration of alleged violations

6 of laws made applicable to the legislative branch of the

7 Federal Government under this Act consists of 4 steps as

8 follows:

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

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

11 9.

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

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

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

15 employee is aggrieved by a dismissal of a claim

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

17 10(g), or an order under section 10(h) or if a head

18 of an employing office is aggrieved by a final deci19 sion under section 10(g) or would be subject to an

20 order issued under section 10(h).

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

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

23 States in accordance with section 12.

24 A congressional employee may elect the procedure de25 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 this Act may re5 quest counseling through the Office. The Office shall pro6 vide 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 this

20 Act 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 this

17 Act has occurred. Any decision of the hearing board shall

18 contain a written statement of the reasons for the hearing

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

20 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 this Act has occurred, it shall order

25 the remedies under such law as made applicable to the
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1 legislative branch of the Federal Government under this

2 Act, except that no Member of the House of Representa3 tives, Senator, any other head of an employing office, or

4 any agent of such a Member, Senator, or employing office,

5 shall be personally liable for the payment of compensation.

6 The hearing board shall have no authority to award puni7 tive damages. The entry of an order under this subsection

8 shall constitute a final decision for purposes of judicial re9 view under section 11.

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

11 of Representatives and in the Senate a fund from which

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

13 accordance with an order under subsection (h) or as a re14 sult of judicial review under section 11 or a civil action

15 under section 12. From the outset of any proceeding in

16 which compensation may be paid from a fund of the House

17 of Representatives, the General Counsel of the House of

18 Representatives may provide the respondent with rep19 resentation.

20 SEC. 11. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—

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

23 under section 10 on a complaint relating to a provi24 sion of law described in section 3, any congressional

25 employee aggrieved by a dismissal of a claim under
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1 section 10(c), a final decision under section 10(g), a

2 final order under section 10(h), or any head of an

3 employing office aggrieved by a final decision under

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

5 may petition for review by the United States Court

6 of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in accordance

7 with paragraph (2).

8 (2) PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO REVIEW.—The

9 following provisions apply to a review under para10 graph (1):

11 (A) LAW APPLICABLE.—Chapter 158 of

12 title 28, United States Code, shall apply—

13 (i) with respect to section 2344 of

14 title 28, United States Code, service of the

15 petition shall be on the House or Senate

16 Legal Counsel, or the appropriate entity of

17 an instrumentality, as the case may be,

18 rather than on the Attorney General;

19 (ii) the provisions of section 2348 of

20 title 28, United States Code, on the au21 thority of the Attorney General, shall not

22 apply;

23 (iii) the petition for review shall be

24 filed not later than 90 days after the entry

25 in the Office of a final decision under sec-
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1 tion 10(g), an order under section 10(h);

2 and

3 (iv) the Office shall be an ‘‘agency’’ as

4 that term is used in chapter 158 of title

5 28, United States Code.

6 (B) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—To the ex7 tent necessary for decision and when presented,

8 the court shall decide all relevant questions of

9 law and interpret constitutional and statutory

10 provisions. The court shall set aside a dismissal

11 under section 10(c), a final decision under sec12 tion 10(g), or an order under section 10(h) if

13 it is determined that the dismissal, decision, or

14 order was—

15 (i) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of

16 discretion, or otherwise not consistent with

17 law;

18 (ii) not made consistent with required

19 procedures; or

20 (iii) unsupported by substantial evi21 dence.

22 (C) RECORD.—In making determinations

23 under subparagraph (B), the court shall review

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

25 a party, and due account shall be taken of the
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1 rule of prejudicial error. The record on review

2 shall include the record before the hearing

3 board, the decision of the hearing board, and

4 the order of the hearing board.

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

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

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

8 by the court in accordance with the standards prescribed

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

10 U.S.C. 2000e–5(k)).

11 SEC. 12. CIVIL ACTION.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—

13 (1) CIVIL ACTION.—A congressional employee

14 may, within 30 days after receipt of notice from the

15 Office of the end of the mediation period under sec16 tion 9 for a violation of a law made applicable to the

17 legislative branch of the Federal Government, bring

18 a civil action in a district court of the United States

19 seeking relief from the alleged violation of law if

20 such a civil action may be brought by an employee

21 under such law. In any such civil action, any party

22 may demand a jury trial.

23 (2) EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT.—No civil ac24 tion may be filed under paragraph (1) unless the

25 employee has made a timely request for counseling
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1 and has completed the procedures set forth in sec2 tions 8 and 9.

3 (3) COURT ORDER.—If a court determines that

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

5 an order described in section 10(h).

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

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

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

9 with any standards prescribed under Federal law for the

10 award of such fees in the event of a violation of such provi11 sion.

12 SEC. 13. RESOLUTION OF COMPLAINT.

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

14 the employee and the head of the employing office resolve

15 the issues involved, the employee may withdraw the com16 plaint or the parties may enter into a written agreement,

17 subject to the approval of the executive director.

18 SEC. 14. PROHIBITION OF INTIMIDATION.

19 Any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any employee

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

21 or officer or employee of the House of Representatives or

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

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

24 of the legislative branch of the Federal Government be25 cause of the exercise of a right under this Act constitutes
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1 an unlawful employment practice, which may be remedied

2 in the same manner under this Act as is a violation of

3 a law made applicable to the legislative branch of the Fed4 eral Government under this Act.

5 SEC. 15. CONFIDENTIALITY.

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

7 confidential except that the Office and the employee may

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

9 allegations.

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

11 confidential.

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

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

14 board shall be confidential.

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

16 The records of hearing boards may be made public if re17 quired for the purpose of judicial action under section 9.

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

19 discretion of the executive director, the executive director

20 may provide to the Committee on Standards of Official

21 Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Select

22 Committee on Ethics of the Senate access to the records

23 of the hearings, including all written and oral testimony

24 in the possession of the hearing boards, concerning a deci25 sion under section 10(g). The executive director shall not
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1 provide such access until the executive director has con2 sulted with the individual filing the complaint at issue in

3 the hearing, and until the hearing board has issued the

4 decision.

5 (f) COORDINATION.—The executive director shall co6 ordinate the proceedings with the Committee on Stand7 ards and Official Conduct of the House of Representatives

8 and the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate to en9 sure effectiveness, to avoid duplication, and to prevent pe10 nalizing cooperation by respondents in the respective pro11 ceedings.

12 SEC. 16. POLITICAL AFFILIATION AND PLACE OF RESI13 DENCE.

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

15 made applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal

16 Government under this Act to consider the—

17 (1) party affiliation,

18 (2) domicile, or

19 (3) political compatibility with the employing

20 office,

21 of a congressional employee with respect to employment

22 decisions.

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

24 the term ‘‘employee’’ means—
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1 (1) an employee on the staff of the House of

2 Representatives or Senate leadership,

3 (2) an employee on the staff of a committee or

4 subcommittee,

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

6 the House of Representatives or Senate,

7 (4) an officer or employee of the House of Rep8 resentatives or Senate elected by the House of Rep9 resentatives or Senate or appointed by a Member of

10 the House of Representatives or Senate, other than

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

12 (5) an applicant for a position that is to be oc13 cupied by an individual described in paragraphs (1)

14 through (4).

15 SEC. 17. ENFORCEMENT; OTHER REVIEW PROHIBITED.

16 (a) ENFORCEMENT.—This Act shall not be construed

17 to authorize enforcement by the executive branch of any

18 of the laws made applicable to congressional employees

19 under this Act.

20 (b) REVIEW.—No congressional employee may com21 mence a judicial proceeding to redress practices prohibited

22 under section 5, except as provided in this Act.

23 SEC. 18. STUDY.

24 (a) STUDY.—The Office shall conduct a study—
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1 (1) of the ways that access by the public to in2 formation held by the Congress may be improved,

3 streamlined, and made consistent between the House

4 of Representatives and the Senate and of the appli5 cation of section 552 of title 5, United States Code

6 to the legislative branch of the Federal Government;

7 and

8 (2) of the application of the requirement of sec9 tion 552a of title 5, United States Code, to the legis10 lative branch of the Federal Government.

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

12 subsection (a) shall examine—

13 (1) information that is currently made available

14 under such section 552 by Federal agencies and not

15 by the legislative branch of the Federal Government;

16 (2) information held by the non-legislative of17 fices of the legislative branch of the Federal Govern18 ment, including—

19 (A) the instrumentalities,

20 (B) the Architect of the Capitol,

21 (C) the Chief Administrative Officer of the

22 House of Representatives,

23 (D) the Clerk of the House of Representa24 tives,

25 (E) the Secretary of the Senate,
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1 (F) the Inspector General of the House of

2 Representatives,

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

4 Representatives and the Sergeant at Arms of

5 the Senate,

6 (H) the United States Capitol Police, and

7 (I) the House Commission on Congres8 sional Mailing Standards;

9 (3) financial expenditure information of the leg10 islative branch of the Federal Government; and

11 (4) provisions for judicial review of denial of ac12 cess to information held by the legislative branch of

13 the Federal Government.

14 (c) TIME.—The Office shall conduct the study pre15 scribed by subsection (a) and report the results of the

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

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

Passed the House of Representatives January 5

(legislative day, January 4), 1995.

Attest:

Clerk.
104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1

AN ACT

To make certain laws applicable to the legislative

branch of the Federal Government.