I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1203 

To strengthen and enhance the authority to discipline officers and employees 

of the Federal Government for violating the Anti-Deficiency Act, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2019 

Mr. MITCHELL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Reform 

A BILL 

To strengthen and enhance the authority to discipline officers 

and employees of the Federal Government for violating 

the Anti-Deficiency Act, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Anti-Deficiency Re5 form and Enforcement Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADVERSE ACTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE ANTI7 DEFICIENCY ACT. 

8 (a) EXPENDING OR OBLIGATING AMOUNTS; VOL9 UNTARY SERVICES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1349 of title 31, 

2 United States Code, is amended— 

3 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘An offi4 cer’’ and inserting ‘‘Consistent with the require5 ments of subsections (b) and (c), an officer’’; 

6 and 

7 (B) by striking subsection (b) and insert8 ing the following: 

9 ‘‘(b)(1) The head of an agency shall remove, or in 

10 the case of a temporary or probationary employee, termi11 nate the employment of, an officer or employee of the 

12 United States Government if the head determines that 

13 such officer or employee knowingly violated section 

14 1341(a) or 1342, as described under paragraph (2). 

15 ‘‘(2) An officer or employee of the United States Gov16 ernment who committed an act in violation of section 

17 1341(a) or 1342 did so knowingly if such officer or em18 ployee— 

19 ‘‘(A) acted with actual knowledge that his or 

20 her actions would violate section 1341(a) or 1342; or 

21 ‘‘(B) acted in reckless disregard of whether his 

22 or her actions would violate section 1341(a) or 1342. 

23 ‘‘(c)(1) The head of an agency shall take an appro24 priate adverse action against an officer or employee of the 

25 United States Government for a violation of section 


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1 1341(a) or 1342 if the head determines that the failure 

2 of such officer or employee to exercise reasonable care in 

3 carrying out his or her duties led to such violation. 

4 ‘‘(2) An appropriate adverse action under this sub5 section shall be removal (or termination in the case of a 

6 temporary or probationary employee), demotion, or sus7 pension. 

8 ‘‘(d) An officer or employee who willfully uses or au9 thorizes the use of a passenger motor vehicle or aircraft 

10 owned or leased by the United States Government (except 

11 for an official purpose authorized by section 1344) or oth12 erwise violates section 1344 shall be suspended without 

13 pay by the head of the agency. The officer or employee 

14 shall be suspended for at least one month, and when cir15 cumstances warrant, for a longer period or removed from 

16 office.’’. 

17 (2) REPORTS.—Section 1351 of title 31, United 

18 States Code, is amended— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘If an officer’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘(a) If an officer’’; 

21 (B) by inserting after ‘‘actions taken’’ the 

22 following: ‘‘, including, with respect to an offi23 cer or employee of the United States Govern24 ment, whether the violation was committed 

25 knowingly (as described in section 1349(b)) or 


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1 whether a failure to exercise reasonable care in 

2 carrying out duties led to the violation’’; 

3 (C) by striking ‘‘Congress’’ each place it 

4 appears and inserting ‘‘the appropriate congres5 sional committees’’; and 

6 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(b) In this section, the term ‘appropriate congres8 sional committees’ means the Committee on Oversight and 

9 Reform of the House of Representatives and the Com10 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

11 of the Senate.’’. 

12 (b) APPORTIONMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1518 of title 31, 

14 United States Code, is amended— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘An officer’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘(a) Consistent with the requirements of sub17 sections (b) and (c), an officer’’; and 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(b)(1) The head of an agency shall remove, or in 

20 the case of a temporary or probationary employee, termi21 nate the employment of, an officer or employee of the 

22 United States Government if the head determines that 

23 such officer or employee knowingly made, authorized, or 

24 involved the Government in a contract, obligation, or exVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1203.IH H1203

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1 penditure in violation of section 1517(a), as described 

2 under paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(2) An officer or employee of the United States Gov4 ernment who committed an act in violation of section 

5 1517(a) did so knowingly if such officer or employee— 

6 ‘‘(A) acted with actual knowledge that his or 

7 her actions would violate section 1517(a); or 

8 ‘‘(B) acted in reckless disregard of whether his 

9 or her actions would violate section 1517(a). 

10 ‘‘(c)(1) The head of an agency shall take an appro11 priate adverse action against an officer or employee of the 

12 United States Government for a violation of section 

13 1517(a) if the head determines that the failure of such 

14 officer or employee to exercise reasonable care in carrying 

15 out his or her duties led to such violation. 

16 ‘‘(2) An appropriate adverse action under this sub17 section shall be removal (or termination in the case of a 

18 temporary or probationary employee), demotion, or sus19 pension.’’. 

20 (2) REPORTS.—Section 1517(b) of title 31, 

21 United States Code, is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘(b) If an officer’’ and in23 serting ‘‘(b)(1) If an officer’’; 

24 (B) by inserting after ‘‘actions taken’’ the 

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1 cer or employee of the United States Govern2 ment, whether the violation was committed 

3 knowingly (as described in section 1518(b)) or 

4 whether a failure to exercise reasonable care in 

5 carrying out duties led to the violation’’; 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘Congress’’ each place it 

7 appears and inserting ‘‘the appropriate congres8 sional committees’’; and 

9 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘appropriate con11 gressional committees’ means the Committee on Oversight 

12 and Reform of the House of Representatives and the Com13 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

14 of the Senate.’’. 

15 (c) CLARIFICATION OF APPEAL RIGHTS.—Nothing in 

16 this section or the amendments made by this section shall 

17 be construed to— 

18 (1) waive, modify, or otherwise affect the right 

19 of an officer or employee of the United States Gov20 ernment to appeal an adverse action taken against 

21 such an officer or employee for a violation of section 

22 1349 or 1518 of title 31, United States Code (as 

23 amended by subsections (a)(1) and (b)(1), respec24 tively), including an appeal to the Merit Systems 


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1 Protection Board, if such a right is afforded by any 

2 other provision of law, rule, or regulation; or 

3 (2) extend or otherwise grant any appeal right 

4 with respect to such an adverse action to an officer 

5 or employee of the United States Government who 

6 is not otherwise afforded such a right under any 

7 other provision of law, rule, or regulation. 

8 SEC. 3. LEGAL OPINIONS RELATING TO POTENTIAL VIOLA9 TIONS OF THE ANTI-DEFICIENCY ACT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 7 of sub11 title I of title 31, United States Code, is amended by add12 ing at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘§ 722. Legal opinions relating to potential violations 

14 of the Anti-Deficiency Act 

15 ‘‘(a)(1) Not later than 100 days after the date on 

16 which the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 

17 House of Representatives or the Committee on Homeland 

18 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate requests 

19 a legal opinion from the Comptroller General relating to 

20 a potential violation of section 1341, 1342, or 1517 by 

21 an officer or employee of the United States Government, 

22 the Comptroller General shall submit such opinion to— 

23 ‘‘(A) each Committee; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the employing entity of such officer or em25 ployee. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The legal opinion required under paragraph (1) 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) address whether the alleged violation of 

4 section 1341, 1342, or 1517 occurred; 

5 ‘‘(B) include recommendations to the employing 

6 entity, including whether the entity should submit a 

7 report under section 1351 or 1517(b); and 

8 ‘‘(C) take into consideration any report sub9 mitted by the employing entity of such officer or em10 ployee under subsection (b). 

11 ‘‘(b) Before submitting a legal opinion under sub12 section (a)(1), the Comptroller General shall notify the ap13 plicable employing entity of the request for a legal opinion, 

14 and such entity shall submit to the Comptroller General 

15 a report, including any relevant documents, on such re16 quest— 

17 ‘‘(1) not later than 45 days after the date on 

18 which the entity receives the notice; or 

19 ‘‘(2) if the Comptroller General determines that 

20 a shorter or longer period is appropriate based on 

21 the specific circumstances of the request, within 

22 such shorter or longer period. 

23 ‘‘(c) With respect to any case in which the Comp24 troller General determines under subsection (b)(2) that a 

25 longer period for the submission of a complete report is 


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1 appropriate, such period may not extend the deadline for 

2 the submission of a legal opinion by the Comptroller Gen3 eral under subsection (a)(1). 

4 ‘‘(d) Not later than 60 days after receiving a legal 

5 opinion under subsection (a), the employing entity shall 

6 submit a report on actions taken or planned to be taken 

7 on any recommendation in the opinion, in accordance with 

8 section 720(b). 

9 ‘‘(e) With respect to the computation of any period 

10 of time under this section, the following rules apply: 

11 ‘‘(1) The period does not include the date on 

12 which the request is submitted under subsection 

13 (a)(1), notice is provided under subsection (b), or a 

14 legal opinion is received under subsection (d), as the 

15 case may be. 

16 ‘‘(2) In the case of a period with respect to 

17 which the last day is a Saturday, Sunday, legal holi18 day, or a day on which weather or other conditions 

19 cause the closing of the Government Accountability 

20 Office, the next day that is not any such day is the 

21 last day of that period.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

23 of subchapter II of chapter 7 of title 31, United States 

24 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

25 section 721 the following: 

‘‘722. Legal opinions relating to potential violations of the Anti-Deficiency Act.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. AWARDS FOR ANTI-DEFICIENCY ACT DISCLOSURES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 45 of 

3 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding after 

4 section 4513 the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 4514. Agency awards for disclosures of Anti-Defi6 ciency Act violations 

7 ‘‘(a) The Inspector General of an agency, or any 

8 other agency employee designated under subsection (b), 

9 may award a cash payment to any employee of such agen10 cy whose disclosure of a potential Anti-Deficiency Act vio11 lation to the Inspector General, or to such other des12 ignated agency employee, resulted in a report of an Anti13 Deficiency Act violation under section 1351 or 1517(b) of 

14 title 31. An award under this section shall be derived from 

15 the appropriations account of the agency used for em16 ployee awards or bonuses, subject to the availability of ap17 propriations. The amount of an award under this section 

18 may not exceed the lesser of— 

19 ‘‘(1) $1,000; or 

20 ‘‘(2) an amount equal to 1 percent of the 

21 amount of such violation. 

22 ‘‘(b) In the case of an agency for which there is no 

23 Inspector General, the head of the agency shall designate 

24 an agency employee who shall have the authority to make 

25 the determinations and grant the awards permitted under 

26 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(c) In making cash awards under this chapter, the 

2 President or the head of an agency may take into account 

3 an employee’s— 

4 ‘‘(1) disclosure of a potential Anti-Deficiency 

5 Act violation; or 

6 ‘‘(2) recommendations to mitigate or prevent 

7 any Anti-Deficiency Act violation. 

8 ‘‘(d) In this section, the term ‘Anti-Deficiency Act 

9 violation’ means a violation of section 1341(a), 1342, or 

10 1517(a) of title 31.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (1) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 

13 for subchapter II of chapter 45 of title 5, United 

14 States Code, is amended— 

15 (A) by striking the item relating to sub16 chapter II and inserting the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—AWARDS FOR DISCLOSURES’’; 

17 and 

18 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

19 section 4513 the following: 

‘‘4514. Agency awards for disclosures of Anti-Deficiency Act violations.’’. 

20 (2) SUBCHAPTER HEADING.—The heading for 

21 such subchapter is amended by striking ‘‘COST 

22 SAVINGS’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEWS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than November 30, 

3 2019, and every two years thereafter, the Inspector Gen4 eral of each agency shall, to the extent practicable, con5 duct an assessment of the applicable agency— 

6 (1) assessing whether an Anti-Deficiency Act 

7 violation occurred in the preceding two fiscal years 

8 that was not reported under section 1351 or 1517(b) 

9 of title 31, United States Code; and 

10 (2) identifying internal controls, policies, proce11 dures, rules, regulations, or management practices 

12 that may be contributing to any such violation, or 

13 could contribute to such violations. 

14 (b) REPORT.—The Inspector General shall include 

15 the results of the assessment under subsection (a) as part 

16 of the appropriate semiannual report submitted pursuant 

17 to section 5 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

18 U.S.C. App.) and shall include in such report rec19 ommendations to reduce Anti-Deficiency Act violations. 

20 (c) COORDINATION.—The Inspectors General shall 

21 coordinate with each other to share best practices and 

22 methodologies for conducting the assessment required 

23 under subsection (a). 

24 (d) DEFINITION OF ANTI-DEFICIENCY ACT VIOLA25 TION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Anti-Deficiency Act vioVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1203.IH H1203

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1 lation’’ means a violation of section 1341(a), 1342, or 

2 1517(a) of title 31, United States Code. 

Æ 


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