II 

Calendar No. 720 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1378 

To strengthen employee cost savings suggestions programs within the Federal 

Government. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19, 2015 

Mr. PAUL (for himself, Mr. WARNER, Mr. ENZI, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. TOOMEY, 

Mr. BENNET, Mr. DAINES, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. AYOTTE, 

Mrs. ERNST, Mr. LANKFORD, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. LEE, 

and Mr. PERDUE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 9, 2016 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To strengthen employee cost savings suggestions programs 

within 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 ‘‘Bonuses for Cost-Cut5 ters Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COST SAVINGS ENHANCEMENTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4512 of title 5, United 

3 States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

6 by inserting ‘‘or identification of surplus funds 

7 or unnecessary budget authority’’ after ‘‘mis8 management’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or 

10 identification’’ after ‘‘disclosure’’; and 

11 (C) in the matter following paragraph (2), 

12 by inserting ‘‘or identification’’ after ‘‘disclo13 sure’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(c) The Inspector General of an agency or other 

16 agency employee designated under subsection (b) shall 

17 refer to the Chief Financial Officer of the agency any po18 tential surplus funds or unnecessary budget authority 

19 identified by an employee, along with any recommenda20 tions of the Inspector General or other agency employee. 

21 ‘‘(d)(1) If the Chief Financial Officer of an agency 

22 determines that rescission of potential surplus funds or 

23 unnecessary budget authority identified by an employee 

24 would not hinder the effectiveness of the agency, except 

25 as provided in subsection (e), the head of the agency shall 

26 transfer the amount of the surplus funds or unnecessary 


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1 budget authority from the applicable appropriations ac2 count to the general fund of the Treasury. 

3 ‘‘(2) Title X of the Congressional Budget and Im4 poundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 681 et seq.) 

5 shall not apply to transfers under paragraph (1). 

6 ‘‘(3) Any amounts transferred under paragraph (1) 

7 shall be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit re8 duction, except that in the case of a fiscal year for which 

9 there is no Federal budget deficit, such amounts shall be 

10 used to reduce the Federal debt (in such manner as the 

11 Secretary of the Treasury considers appropriate). 

12 ‘‘(e)(1) The head of an agency may retain not more 

13 than 10 percent of amounts to be transferred to the gen14 eral fund of the Treasury under subsection (d). 

15 ‘‘(2) Amounts retained by the head of an agency 

16 under paragraph (1) may be— 

17 ‘‘(A) used for the purpose of paying a cash 

18 award under subsection (a) to 1 or more employees 

19 who identified the surplus funds or unnecessary 

20 budget authority; and 

21 ‘‘(B) to the extent amounts remain after paying 

22 cash awards under subsection (a), transferred or re23 programmed for use by the agency, in accordance 

24 with any limitation on such a transfer or reprogram25 ming under any other provision of law. 


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1 ‘‘(f)(1) The head of each agency shall submit to the 

2 Director of the Office of Personnel Management an annual 

3 report regarding— 

4 ‘‘(A) each disclosure of possible fraud, waste, or 

5 mismanagement or identification of potentially sur6 plus funds or unnecessary budget authority by an 

7 employee of the agency determined by the agency to 

8 have merit; 

9 ‘‘(B) the total savings achieved through disclo10 sures and identifications described in subparagraph 

11 (A); and 

12 ‘‘(C) the number and amount of cash awards by 

13 the agency under subsection (a). 

14 ‘‘(2)(A) The head of each agency shall include the 

15 information described in paragraph (1) in each budget re16 quest of the agency submitted to the Office of Manage17 ment and Budget as part of the preparation of the budget 

18 of the President submitted to Congress under section 

19 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code. 

20 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage21 ment shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations of 

22 the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

23 of Representatives, and the Government Accountability 

24 Office an annual report on Federal cost saving and awards 

25 based on the reports submitted under subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(g) The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage2 ment shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) ensure that the cash award program of 

4 each agency complies with this section; and 

5 ‘‘(2) submit to Congress an annual certification 

6 indicating whether the cash award program of each 

7 agency complies with this section. 

8 ‘‘(h) Not later than 3 years after the date of enact9 ment of the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2015, and 

10 every 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of the 

11 United States shall submit to Congress a report on the 

12 operation of the cost savings and awards program under 

13 this section, including any recommendations for legislative 

14 changes.’’. 

15 (b) OFFICERS ELIGIBLE FOR CASH AWARDS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4509 of title 5, 

17 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘§ 4509. Prohibition of cash award to certain officers 

19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘agen20 cy’— 

21 ‘‘(1) has the meaning given that term under 

22 section 551(1); and 

23 ‘‘(2) includes an entity described in section 

24 4501(1). 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—An officer may not receive a 

2 cash award under this subchapter if the officer— 

3 ‘‘(1) serves in a position at level I of the Execu4 tive Schedule; 

5 ‘‘(2) is the head of an agency; or 

6 ‘‘(3) is a commissioner, board member, or other 

7 voting member of an independent establishment.’’. 

8 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND9 MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 45 of title 

10 5, United States Code, is amended by striking the 

11 item relating to section 4509 and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

‘‘4509. Prohibition of cash award to certain officers.’’. 

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bonuses for Cost-Cutters 

15 Act of 2016’’. 

16 SEC. 2. COST SAVINGS ENHANCEMENTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) DEFINITIONS.—Section 4511 of title 5, 

19 United States Code, is amended— 

20 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

21 ‘‘Definition’’ and inserting ‘‘Definitions’’; 

22 and 

23 (B) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘this subchapter, the 

2 term’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘this 

3 subchapter— 

4 ‘‘(1) the term’’; 

5 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

6 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (iii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(2) the term ‘surplus salaries and expenses 

10 funds’ means amounts made available for the salaries 

11 and expenses account, or equivalent account, of an 

12 agency— 

13 ‘‘(A) that are identified by an employee of 

14 the agency under section 4512(a) as unnecessary; 

15 ‘‘(B) that the Inspector General of the agen16 cy or other agency employee designated under 

17 section 4512(b) determines are not required for 

18 the purpose for which the amounts were made 

19 available; 

20 ‘‘(C) that the Chief Financial Officer of the 

21 agency determines are not required for the pur22 pose for which the amounts were made available; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the rescission of which would not be 

2 detrimental to the full execution of the purposes 

3 for which the amounts were made available.’’. 

4 (2) AUTHORITY.—Section 4512 of title 5, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (A) in subsection (a)— 

7 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

8 (1), by inserting ‘‘or identification of sur9 plus salaries and expenses funds’’ after 

10 ‘‘mismanagement’’; 

11 (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or 

12 identification’’ after ‘‘disclosure’’; and 

13 (iii) in the matter following paragraph 

14 (2), by inserting ‘‘or identification’’ after 

15 ‘‘disclosure’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(c)(1) The Inspector General of an agency or other 

18 agency employee designated under subsection (b) shall refer 

19 to the Chief Financial Officer of the agency any potential 

20 surplus salaries and expenses funds identified by an em21 ployee that the Inspector General or other agency employee 

22 determines meets the requirements under subparagraphs 

23 (B) and (D) of section 4511(a)(2), along with any rec24 ommendations of the Inspector General or other agency em25 ployee. 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) If the Chief Financial Officer of the agency 

2 determines that potential surplus salaries and expenses 

3 funds referred under paragraph (1) meet the requirements 

4 under section 4511(a)(2), except as provided in subsection 

5 (d), the head of the agency shall transfer the amount of the 

6 surplus funds or unnecessary budget authority from the ap7 plicable appropriations account to the general fund of the 

8 Treasury. 

9 ‘‘(B) Any amounts transferred under subparagraph 

10 (A) shall be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit 

11 reduction, except that in the case of a fiscal year for which 

12 there is no Federal budget deficit, such amounts shall be 

13 used to reduce the Federal debt (in such manner as the Sec14 retary of the Treasury considers appropriate). 

15 ‘‘(3) The Inspector General or other agency employee 

16 designated under subsection (b) for each agency and the 

17 Chief Financial Officer for each agency shall issue stand18 ards and definitions for purposes of making determinations 

19 relating to potential surplus salaries and expenses funds 

20 identified by an employee under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(d)(1) The head of an agency may retain not more 

22 than 10 percent of amounts to be transferred to the general 

23 fund of the Treasury under subsection (c)(2). 

24 ‘‘(2) Amounts retained by the head of an agency under 

25 paragraph (1) may be— 


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1 ‘‘(A) used for the purpose of paying a cash 

2 award under subsection (a) to 1 or more employees 

3 who identified the surplus salaries and expenses 

4 funds; and 

5 ‘‘(B) to the extent amounts remain after paying 

6 cash awards under subsection (a), transferred or re7 programmed for use by the agency, in accordance 

8 with any limitation on such a transfer or reprogram9 ming under any other provision of law. 

10 ‘‘(e)(1) Not later than October 1 of each fiscal year, 

11 the head of each agency shall submit to the Secretary of 

12 the Treasury a report identifying the total savings achieved 

13 during the previous fiscal year through disclosures of pos14 sible fraud, waste, or mismanagement and identifications 

15 of surplus salaries and expenses funds by an employee. 

16 ‘‘(2) Not later than September 30 of each fiscal year, 

17 the head of each agency shall submit to the Secretary of 

18 the Treasury a report that, for the previous fiscal year— 

19 ‘‘(A) describes each disclosure of possible fraud, 

20 waste, or mismanagement or identification of poten21 tially surplus salaries and expenses funds by an em22 ployee of the agency determined by the agency to have 

23 merit; and 

24 ‘‘(B) provides the number and amount of cash 

25 awards by the agency under subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(3) The head of each agency shall include the infor2 mation described in paragraphs (1) and (2) in each budget 

3 request of the agency submitted to the Office of Management 

4 and Budget as part of the preparation of the budget of the 

5 President submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of 

6 title 31. 

7 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the 

8 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee 

9 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and the 

10 Government Accountability Office an annual report on Fed11 eral cost saving and awards based on the reports submitted 

12 under paragraphs (1) and (2). 

13 ‘‘(f) The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage14 ment shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) ensure that the cash award program of each 

16 agency complies with this section; and 

17 ‘‘(2) submit to Congress an annual certification 

18 indicating whether the cash award program of each 

19 agency complies with this section. 

20 ‘‘(g) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

21 of this subsection, and every 3 years thereafter, the Comp22 troller General of the United States shall submit to Congress 

23 a report on the operation of the cost savings and awards 

24 program under this section, including any recommenda25 tions for legislative changes.’’. 


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1 (3) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND2 MENT.—The table of sections for subchapter II of 

3 chapter 45 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

4 by striking the item relating to section 4511 and in5 serting the following: 

‘‘4511. Definitions and general provisions.’’. 

6 (4) SUNSET.—Effective 6 years after the date of 

7 enactment of this Act— 

8 (A) section 4511 of title 5, United States 

9 Code, is amended— 

10 (i) in the section heading, by striking 

11 ‘‘Definitions’’ and inserting ‘‘Defini12 tion’’; 

13 (ii) in subsection (a)— 

14 (I) in paragraph (1), by striking 

15 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; 

16 (II) by striking ‘‘this sub17 chapter—’’ and all that follows 

18 through ‘‘the term ‘agency’ means’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘this subchapter, the term 

20 ‘agency’ means’’; and 

21 (III) by striking paragraph (2); 

22 (B) section 4512 of title 5, United States 

23 Code, is amended— 

24 (i) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (I) in the matter preceding para2 graph (1), by striking ‘‘or identifica3 tion of surplus salaries and expenses 

4 funds’’; 

5 (II) in paragraph (2), by striking 

6 ‘‘or identification’’; and 

7 (III) in the matter following 

8 paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or identi9 fication’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking subsections (c) through 

11 (g); and 

12 (C) the table of sections for subchapter II of 

13 chapter 45 of title 5, United States Code, is 

14 amended by striking the item relating to section 

15 4511 and inserting the following: 

‘‘4511. Definition and general provisions.’’. 

16 (b) OFFICERS ELIGIBLE FOR CASH AWARDS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4509 of title 5, 

18 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘§ 4509. Prohibition of cash award to certain officers 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘agen21 cy’— 

22 ‘‘(1) has the meaning given that term under sec23 tion 551(1); and 

24 ‘‘(2) includes an entity described in section 

25 4501(1). 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—An officer may not receive a cash 

2 award under this subchapter if the officer— 

3 ‘‘(1) serves in a position at level I of the Execu4 tive Schedule; 

5 ‘‘(2) is the head of an agency; or 

6 ‘‘(3) is a commissioner, board member, or other 

7 voting member of an independent establishment.’’. 

8 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND9 MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 45 of title 5, 

10 United States Code, is amended by striking the item 

11 relating to section 4509 and inserting the following: 

‘‘4509. Prohibition of cash award to certain officers.’’. 


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Calendar No. 720 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1378 

A BILL 

To strengthen employee cost savings suggestions 

programs within the Federal Government. 

DECEMBER 9, 2016 

Reported with an amendment 


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