II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 857 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to require the Director of the Office 

of Personnel Management to establish and maintain a public directory 

of the individuals occupying Government policy and supporting positions, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 18, 2021 

Mr. CARPER (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to require the Director 

of the Office of Personnel Management to establish and 

maintain a public directory of the individuals occupying 

Government policy and supporting positions, 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; PURPOSES. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Periodically Listing Updates to Management Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘PLUM Act’’. 

7 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 


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1 (1) modernize the practice of publishing the 

2 ‘‘Plum Book,’’ which has occurred nearly every 4 

3 years since 1952, and contains data on more than 

4 9,000 Federal civil service leadership and support 

5 positions in the legislative and executive branches of 

6 the Government that may be subject to noncompeti7 tive appointment; 

8 (2) enhance transparency by reporting who is 

9 serving in the Government and making policy deci10 sions; and 

11 (3) improve the frequency, accuracy, and acces12 sibility of data on the individuals filling Government 

13 policy and supporting positions. 

14 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC WEBSITE ON GOVERN15 MENT POLICY AND SUPPORTING POSITIONS. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 33 

18 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘§ 3330f. Government policy and supporting position 

21 data 

22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) any Executive agency, including the 

2 United States Postal Service and the Postal 

3 Regulatory Commission; 

4 ‘‘(B) the Architect of the Capitol, the Gov5 ernment Accountability Office, the Government 

6 Publishing Office, and the Library of Congress; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C) the Executive Office of the President 

9 and any component within that Office (includ10 ing any successor component), including— 

11 ‘‘(i) the Council of Economic Advi12 sors; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the Council on Environmental 

14 Quality; 

15 ‘‘(iii) the National Security Council; 

16 ‘‘(iv) the Office of the Vice President; 

17 ‘‘(v) the Office of Policy Development; 

18 ‘‘(vi) the Office of Administration; 

19 ‘‘(vii) the Office of Management and 

20 Budget; 

21 ‘‘(viii) the Office of the United States 

22 Trade Representative; 

23 ‘‘(ix) the Office of Science and Tech24 nology Policy; 


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1 ‘‘(x) the Office of National Drug Con2 trol Policy; and 

3 ‘‘(xi) the White House Office. 

4 ‘‘(2) APPOINTEE.—The term ‘appointee’— 

5 ‘‘(A) means an individual serving in a pol6 icy and supporting position; and 

7 ‘‘(B) includes an individual serving in a 

8 policy and supporting position temporarily in an 

9 acting capacity in accordance with— 

10 ‘‘(i) sections 3345 through 3349d 

11 (commonly referred to as the ‘Federal Va12 cancies Reform Act of 1998’); 

13 ‘‘(ii) any other statutory provision de14 scribed in section 3347(a)(1); or 

15 ‘‘(iii) a Presidential appointment de16 scribed in section 3347(a)(2). 

17 ‘‘(3) COVERED WEBSITE.—The term ‘covered 

18 website’ means the website established and main19 tained by the Director under subsection (b). 

20 ‘‘(4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

21 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. 

22 ‘‘(5) POLICY AND SUPPORTING POSITION.—The 

23 term ‘policy and supporting position’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a position that requires appointment 

2 by the President, by and with the advice and 

3 consent of the Senate; 

4 ‘‘(B) a position that requires or permits 

5 appointment by the President or Vice Presi6 dent, without the advice and consent of the 

7 Senate; 

8 ‘‘(C) a position occupied by a limited term 

9 appointee, limited emergency appointee, or non10 career appointee in the Senior Executive Serv11 ice, as defined under paragraphs (5), (6), and 

12 (7), respectively, of section 3132(a); 

13 ‘‘(D) a position of a confidential or policy14 determining character under schedule C of sub15 part C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal 

16 Regulations, or any successor regulation; 

17 ‘‘(E) a position in the Senior Foreign Serv18 ice; 

19 ‘‘(F) any career position at an agency that, 

20 but for this section and section 2(b)(4) of the 

21 PLUM Act, would be included in the publica22 tion entitled ‘United States Government Policy 

23 and Supporting Positions’ (commonly referred 

24 to as the ‘Plum Book’); and 


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1 ‘‘(G) any other position classified at or 

2 above level GS–14 of the General Schedule (or 

3 equivalent) that is excepted from the competi4 tive service by law because of the confidential or 

5 policy-determining nature of the position duties. 

6 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF WEBSITE.—The Director 

7 shall establish and maintain a public website containing 

8 the following information: 

9 ‘‘(1) Each policy and supporting position in the 

10 Federal Government, including any such position 

11 that is vacant. 

12 ‘‘(2) Each individual who— 

13 ‘‘(A) is serving in a position described in 

14 paragraph (1); or 

15 ‘‘(B) previously served in a position de16 scribed in paragraph (1) under the President 

17 then in office. 

18 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—With respect to any policy and 

19 supporting position listed on the covered website, the Di20 rector shall include— 

21 ‘‘(1) the agency and agency component (includ22 ing the agency and bureau code used by the Office 

23 of Management and Budget) in which the position 

24 is located; 

25 ‘‘(2) the name of the position; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the name of the individual occupying the 

2 position (if any); 

3 ‘‘(4) the geographic location of the position, in4 cluding the city, State or province, and country; 

5 ‘‘(5) the pay system for the position; 

6 ‘‘(6) the level, grade, or rate of pay; 

7 ‘‘(7) the term or duration of the appointment 

8 (if any); 

9 ‘‘(8) the expiration date, in the case of a time10 limited appointment; 

11 ‘‘(9) a unique identifier for each appointee to 

12 enable tracking the appointee across positions; and 

13 ‘‘(10) whether the position is vacant. 

14 ‘‘(d) FORMAT.—The Director shall make the data on 

15 the covered website available to the public at no cost over 

16 the internet in a searchable, sortable, downloadable, and 

17 machine-readable format so that the data qualifies as an 

18 open Government data asset, as defined in section 3502 

19 of title 44. 

20 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY OF DIRECTOR.— 

21 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—Each agency 

22 shall provide to the Director any information that 

23 the Director determines necessary to establish and 

24 maintain the covered website, including the informa25 tion uploaded under paragraph (4). 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR AGENCIES.—Not 

2 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the 

3 PLUM Act, the Director shall issue instructions to 

4 agencies with specific requirements for the provision 

5 or uploading of information required under para6 graph (1), including— 

7 ‘‘(A) specific data standards that an agen8 cy shall follow to ensure that the information is 

9 complete, accurate, and reliable; 

10 ‘‘(B) data quality assurance methods; and 

11 ‘‘(C) the timeframe during which an agen12 cy shall provide or upload the information, in13 cluding the timeframe described under para14 graph (4). 

15 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Director 

16 shall identify on the covered website any agency that 

17 has failed to provide— 

18 ‘‘(A) the information required by the Di19 rector; 

20 ‘‘(B) complete, accurate, and reliable infor21 mation; or 

22 ‘‘(C) the information during the timeframe 

23 specified by the Director. 

24 ‘‘(4) MONTHLY UPDATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

2 days after the date on which the covered 

3 website is established, and not less than once 

4 during each 30-day period thereafter, the head 

5 of each agency shall upload to the covered 

6 website updated information (if any) on— 

7 ‘‘(i) the policy and supporting posi8 tions in the agency; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the appointees occupying those 

10 positions in the agency; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the former appointees who 

12 served in policy and supporting positions in 

13 the agency under the President then in of14 fice. 

15 ‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—In16 formation provided under subparagraph (A) 

17 shall supplement, not supplant, data previously 

18 provided under that subparagraph. 

19 ‘‘(5) OPM HELP DESK.—The Director shall es20 tablish a central help desk, to be operated by not 

21 more than 1 full-time employee, to assist any agency 

22 with implementing this section. 

23 ‘‘(6) COORDINATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) 18F OFFICE.—The Director shall 

25 consult with the 18F office (or any successor 


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1 office) within the General Services Administra2 tion for purposes of the development, establish3 ment, operation, and support of the covered 

4 website. 

5 ‘‘(B) DESIGNATION OF AGENCIES.—The 

6 Director— 

7 ‘‘(i) may designate 1 or more agencies 

8 to participate in the development, estab9 lishment, operation, and support of the 

10 covered website; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) with respect to any such designa12 tion, may specify the scope of the respon13 sibilities of the agency so designated. 

14 ‘‘(f) RESPONSIBILITY OF AGENCIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Each agen16 cy shall comply with the instructions and guidance 

17 issued by the Director to carry out this section, and, 

18 upon request of the Director, shall provide appro19 priate assistance to the Director to ensure the suc20 cessful operation of the covered website in the man21 ner and within the timeframe specified by the Direc22 tor under subsection (e)(2). 

23 ‘‘(2) ENSURING COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY, 

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1 clude with any submission of information described 

2 in paragraph (1)— 

3 ‘‘(A) an explanation of how the agency en4 sured the information is complete, accurate, 

5 and reliable; and 

6 ‘‘(B) a certification that the information is 

7 complete, accurate, and reliable. 

8 ‘‘(g) INFORMATION VERIFICATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) SEMIANNUAL CONFIRMATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

11 than semiannually, the Director, in coordination 

12 with the White House Office of Presidential 

13 Personnel, shall confirm that the information 

14 on the covered website is complete, accurate, re15 liable, and up-to-date. 

16 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION.—On the date on 

17 which the Director makes a confirmation under 

18 subparagraph (A), the Director shall publish on 

19 the covered website a certification that the con20 firmation has been made. 

21 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF DIRECTOR.—In carrying 

22 out paragraph (1), the Director may— 

23 ‘‘(A) request additional information from 

24 an agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) use any additional information pro2 vided to the Director or the White House Office 

3 of Presidential Personnel for the purposes of 

4 verification. 

5 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Director shall es6 tablish a process under which members of the public 

7 may provide feedback regarding the accuracy of the 

8 information on the covered website. 

9 ‘‘(h) DATA ARCHIVING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable 

11 after a transitional inauguration day (as defined in 

12 section 3349a), the Director, in consultation with 

13 the Archivist of the United States, shall archive the 

14 data that was compiled on the covered website for 

15 the preceding presidential administration. 

16 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Director 

17 shall make the data described in paragraph (1) pub18 licly available over the internet— 

19 ‘‘(A) on, or through a link on, the covered 

20 website; 

21 ‘‘(B) at no cost; and 

22 ‘‘(C) in a searchable, sortable, 

23 downloadable, and machine-readable format.’’. 

24 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec25 tions for subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, 


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1 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following: 

‘‘3330f. Government policy and supporting position data.’’. 

3 (3) DEADLINE.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

5 the Office of Personnel Management shall establish 

6 the website required under section 3330f(b) of title 

7 5, United States Code, as added by subsection 

8 (a)(1). 

9 (b) OTHER MATTERS.— 

10 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

11 terms ‘‘agency’’, ‘‘covered website’’, and ‘‘policy and 

12 supporting position’’ have the meanings given those 

13 terms in section 3330f of title 5, United States 

14 Code, as added by subsection (a)(1). 

15 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000, 

17 to remain available until expended, for developing 

18 the covered website under section 3330f(b) of title 5, 

19 United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1). 

20 (3) GAO REVIEW AND REPORT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

22 after the date on which the covered website is 

23 established, the Comptroller General of the 

24 United States shall conduct a review of, and 

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1 tion of this Act and the amendments made by 

2 this Act. 

3 (B) CONTENTS.—The review conducted 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

5 (i) the quality of data collected and 

6 whether the data is complete, accurate, 

7 timely, and reliable; 

8 (ii) any challenges experienced by 

9 agencies in implementing this Act and the 

10 amendments made by this Act; and 

11 (iii) any suggestions or modifications 

12 to enhance compliance with this Act and 

13 the amendments made by this Act, includ14 ing best practices for agencies to follow. 

15 (4) SUNSET OF PLUM BOOK.—Beginning on 

16 January 1, 2024— 

17 (A) the covered website shall serve as the 

18 public directory for policy and supporting posi19 tions in the Government; and 

20 (B) the publication entitled ‘‘United States 

21 Government Policy and Supporting Positions’’, 

22 commonly referred to as the ‘‘Plum Book’’, 

23 shall no longer be issued or published. 

Æ 


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