I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5683 

To make certain reforms with respect to the Government Accountability 

Office, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2008 

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Mr. WAXMAN, and Ms. NORTON) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 

Government Reform 

A BILL 

To make certain reforms with respect to the Government 

Accountability Office, 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; REFERENCES; TABLE OF CON4 TENTS. 

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

6 ‘‘Government Accountability Office Act of 2008’’. 

7 (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 

8 provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed 

9 in terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, 


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1 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section 

2 or other provision of title 31, United States Code. 

3 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

4 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; references; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Provisions relating to future annual pay adjustments. 

Sec. 3. Pay adjustment relating to certain previous years. 

Sec. 4. Lump-sum payment for certain merit pay. 

Sec. 5. Inspector General. 

Sec. 6. Administering oaths. 

Sec. 7. Comptroller General reports. 

Sec. 8. Reimbursement of audit costs. 

Sec. 9. Financial disclosure requirements. 

Sec. 10. Highest basic pay rate. 

Sec. 11. Additional authorities. 

Sec. 12. Voluntary separation incentive payments. 

5 SEC. 2. PROVISIONS RELATING TO FUTURE ANNUAL PAY 

6 ADJUSTMENTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 732 of title 31, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(j)(1) For purposes of this subsection— 

11 ‘‘(A) the term ‘pay increase’, as used with re12 spect to an officer or employee in connection with a 

13 year, means the total increase in the rate of basic 

14 pay (expressed as a percentage) of such officer or 

15 employee, taking effect under section 731(b) and 

16 subsection (c)(3) in such year; 

17 ‘‘(B) the term ‘required minimum percentage’, 

18 as used with respect to an officer or employee in 

19 connection with a year, means the percentage equal 

20 to the total increase in rates of basic pay (expressed 


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1 as a percentage) taking effect under sections 5303 

2 and 5304–5304a of title 5 in such year with respect 

3 to General Schedule positions within the pay locality 

4 (as defined by section 5302(5) of title 5) in which 

5 the position of such officer or employee is located; 

6 ‘‘(C) the term ‘covered officer or employee’, as 

7 used with respect to a pay increase, means any indi8 vidual— 

9 ‘‘(i) who is an officer or employee of the 

10 Government Accountability Office, other than 

11 an officer or employee described in subpara12 graph (A), (B), or (C) of section 4(c)(1) of the 

13 Government Accountability Office Act of 2008, 

14 determined as of the effective date of such pay 

15 increase; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) whose performance is at least at a 

17 satisfactory level, as determined by the Comp18 troller General under the provisions of sub19 section (c)(3) for purposes of the adjustment 

20 taking effect under such provisions in such 

21 year; and 

22 ‘‘(D) the term ‘merit pay’ means any amount 

23 payable under section 731(b) which does not con24 stitute basic pay. 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

2 chapter, if (disregarding this subsection) the pay increase 

3 that would otherwise take effect with respect to a covered 

4 officer or employee in a year would be less than the re5 quired minimum percentage for such officer or employee 

6 in such year, the Comptroller General shall provide for a 

7 further increase in the rate of basic pay of such officer 

8 or employee. 

9 ‘‘(B) The further increase under this subsection— 

10 ‘‘(i) shall be equal to the amount necessary to 

11 make up for the shortfall described in subparagraph 

12 (A); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) shall take effect as of the same date as the 

14 pay increase otherwise taking effect in such year. 

15 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be considered 

16 to permit or require that a rate of basic pay be increased 

17 to an amount inconsistent with the limitation set forth in 

18 subsection (c)(2). 

19 ‘‘(D) If (disregarding this subsection) the covered of20 ficer or employee would also have received any merit pay 

21 in such year, such merit pay shall be decreased by an 

22 amount equal to the portion of such officer’s or employee’s 

23 basic pay for such year which is attributable to the further 

24 increase described in subparagraph (A) (as determined by 

25 the Comptroller General), but to not less than zero. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

2 chapter, the effective date of any pay increase taking ef3 fect with respect to a covered officer or employee in any 

4 year shall be the same as the effective date of any adjust5 ment taking effect under section 5303 of title 5 with re6 spect to statutory pay systems (as defined by section 

7 5302(1) of title 5) in such year.’’. 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

9 this section shall apply with respect to any pay increase 

10 (as defined by such amendment) taking effect on or after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 3. PAY ADJUSTMENT RELATING TO CERTAIN PRE13 VIOUS YEARS. 

14 (a) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies in the case 

15 of any individual who, as of the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act, is an officer or employee of the Government 

17 Accountability Office, excluding— 

18 (1) an officer or employee described in subpara19 graph (A), (B), or (C) of section 4(c)(1); and 

20 (2) an officer or employee who received both a 

21 2.6 percent pay increase in January 2006 and a 2.4 

22 percent pay increase in February 2007. 

23 (b) PAY INCREASE DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

24 section, the term ‘‘pay increase’’, as used with respect to 

25 a year, means the total increase in rates of basic pay takVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:36 Apr 05, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5683.IH H5683

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1 ing effect under sections 731(b) and 732(c)(3) of title 31, 

2 United States Code, in such year. 

3 (c) PROSPECTIVE EFFECT.—Effective with respect to 

4 pay for service performed in any pay period beginning 

5 after the end of the 3-month period beginning on the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act (or such earlier date as the 

7 Comptroller General may specify), the rate of basic pay 

8 for each individual to whom this section applies shall be 

9 determined as if such individual had received both a 2.6 

10 percent pay increase for 2006 and a 2.4 percent pay in11 crease for 2007, subject to subsection (e). 

12 (d) PAYMENT FOR EARLIER PERIODS.—Not later 

13 than 4 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

14 the Comptroller General shall pay to each individual whose 

15 rate of basic pay is adjusted in accordance with subsection 

16 (c) a lump-sum payment. Subject to subsection (e), such 

17 lump-sum payment shall be equal to— 

18 (1) the total amount of basic pay that would 

19 have been paid to the individual, for service per20 formed during the period beginning on the effective 

21 date of the pay increase for 2006 and ending on the 

22 day before the effective date of the pay adjustment 

23 under subsection (c), if such individual had received 

24 both a 2.6 percent pay increase for 2006 and a 2.4 

25 percent pay increase for 2007, minus 


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1 (2) the total amount of basic pay that was in 

2 fact paid to the individual for service performed dur3 ing the period described in paragraph (1). 

4 (e) CONDITIONS.—Nothing in subsection (c) or (d) 

5 shall be considered to permit or require— 

6 (1) the payment of any rate (or lump-sum 

7 amount based on a rate) for any pay period, to the 

8 extent that that rate would be (or would have been) 

9 inconsistent with the limitation that applies (or that 

10 applied) with respect to such pay period under sec11 tion 732(c)(2) of title 31, United States Code; or 

12 (2) the payment of any rate or amount based 

13 on the pay increase for 2006 or 2007 (as the case 

14 may be), if the performance of the officer or em15 ployee involved was not at a satisfactory level, as de16 termined by the Comptroller General under para17 graph (3) of section 732(c) of such title 31 for pur18 poses of the adjustment under such paragraph for 

19 that year. 

20 (f) RETIREMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The lump-sum payment paid 

22 under subsection (d) to an officer or employee shall, 

23 for purposes of any determination of the average pay 

24 (as defined by section 8331 or 8401 of title 5, 

25 United States Code) which is used to compute an 


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1 annuity under subchapter III of chapter 83 or chap2 ter 84 of such title— 

3 (A) be treated as basic pay (as defined by 

4 section 8331 or 8401 of such title); and 

5 (B) be allocated to the biweekly pay peri6 ods covered by subsection (d). 

7 (2) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwithstanding section 

8 8334, 8422, 8423, or any other provision of title 5, 

9 United States Code, no employee or agency contribu10 tion shall be required for purposes of this subsection. 

11 (g) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding sec12 tion 1502 of title 31, United States Code, or any other 

13 provision of law limiting the availability of funds to a given 

14 fiscal year, the unobligated balances of expired ‘‘Salaries 

15 and Expenses’’ appropriations of the Government Ac16 countability Office are available to the Comptroller Gen17 eral for the purpose of making lump-sum payments under 

18 this section until such time as the expired appropriations 

19 accounts are closed and the appropriations are cancelled 

20 pursuant to section 1552 of such title. 

21 (h) EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—This section constitutes 

22 the exclusive remedy that any individuals to whom this 

23 section applies (as described in subsection (a)) have for 

24 any claim that they are owed any monies denied to them 

25 in the form of a pay increase for 2006 or 2007 under secVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:36 Apr 05, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5683.IH H5683

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1 tion 732(c)(3) of title 31, United States Code, or any 

2 other law. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 

3 court or administrative body, including the Government 

4 Accountability Office Personnel Appeals Board, shall have 

5 jurisdiction to entertain any civil action or other civil pro6 ceeding based on the claim of such individuals that they 

7 were due money in the form of a pay increase for 2006 

8 or 2007 pursuant to such section 732(c)(3) or any other 

9 law. 

10 SEC. 4. LUMP-SUM PAYMENT FOR CERTAIN MERIT PAY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 months after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

13 shall pay to each qualified individual a lump-sum payment 

14 equal to the amount of merit pay such individual was de15 nied for 2006, as determined under subsection (b). 

16 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount payable to a qualified in17 dividual under this section shall be equal to— 

18 (1) the total amount of merit pay such indi19 vidual would have earned for 2006 (determined by 

20 applying the Government Accountability Office’s per21 formance-based compensation system under GAO 

22 Orders 2540.3 and 2540.4, as in effect for increases 

23 effective in 2006) if such individual had not had a 

24 salary equal to or greater than the maximum for 


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1 such individual’s band (as further described in sub2 section (c)(2)), less 

3 (2) the total amount of merit pay such indi4 vidual in fact was paid in January 2006. 

5 (c) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 

6 section, the term ‘‘qualified individual’’ means an indi7 vidual who— 

8 (1) as of the date of the enactment of this Act, 

9 is an officer or employee of the Government Ac10 countability Office, excluding— 

11 (A) an individual holding a position subject 

12 to section 732a or 733 of title 31, United 

13 States Code (disregarding section 732a(b) and 

14 733(c) of such title); 

15 (B) a Federal Wage System employee; and 

16 (C) an individual participating in a devel17 opment program under which such individual 

18 receives performance appraisals, and is eligible 

19 to receive permanent merit pay increases, more 

20 than once a year; and 

21 (2) as of January 22, 2006, was a Band I staff 

22 member with a salary above the Band I cap, a Band 

23 IIA staff member with a salary above the Band IIA 

24 cap, or an administrative professional or support 

25 staff member with a salary above the cap for that 


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1 individual’s pay band (determined in accordance 

2 with the orders cited in subsection (b)(1)). 

3 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding sec4 tion 1502 of title 31, United States Code, or any other 

5 provision of law limiting the availability of funds to a given 

6 fiscal year, the unobligated balances of expired ‘‘Salaries 

7 and Expenses’’ appropriations of the Government Ac8 countability Office are available to the Comptroller Gen9 eral for the purpose of making lump-sum payments under 

10 this section until such time as the expired appropriations 

11 accounts are closed and the appropriations are cancelled 

12 pursuant to section 1552 of such title. 

13 (e) EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—This section constitutes 

14 the exclusive remedy that any officers and employees (as 

15 described in subsection (c)) have for any claim that they 

16 are owed any monies denied to them in the form of merit 

17 pay for 2006 under section 731(b) of title 31, United 

18 States Code, or any other law. Notwithstanding any other 

19 provision of law, no court or administrative body in the 

20 United States, including the Government Accountability 

21 Office Personnel Appeals Board, shall have jurisdiction to 

22 entertain any civil action or other civil proceeding based 

23 on the claim of such officers or employees that they were 

24 due money in the form of merit pay for 2006 pursuant 

25 to such section 731(b) or any other law. 


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1 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

2 (1) the term ‘‘merit pay’’ means any amount 

3 payable under section 731(b) of title 31, United 

4 States Code, which does not constitute basic pay; 

5 and 

6 (2) the term ‘‘permanent merit pay increase’’ 

7 means an increase under section 731(b) of title 31, 

8 United States Code, in a rate of basic pay. 

9 SEC. 5. INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘§ 705. Inspector General for the Government Ac13 countability Office 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab15 lished an Office of the Inspector General in the Govern16 ment Accountability Office, to— 

17 ‘‘(1) conduct and supervise audits consistent 

18 with generally accepted government auditing stand19 ards and investigations relating to the Government 

20 Accountability Office; 

21 ‘‘(2) provide leadership and coordination and 

22 recommend policies, to promote economy, efficiency, 

23 and effectiveness in the Government Accountability 

24 Office; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) keep the Comptroller General and Con2 gress fully and currently informed concerning fraud 

3 and other serious problems, abuses, and deficiencies 

4 relating to the administration of programs and oper5 ations of the Government Accountability Office. 

6 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT, SUPERVISION, AND REMOVAL.— 

7 ‘‘(1) The Office of the Inspector General shall 

8 be headed by an Inspector General, who shall be ap9 pointed by the Comptroller General without regard 

10 to political affiliation and solely on the basis of in11 tegrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, au12 diting, financial analysis, law, management analysis, 

13 public administration, or investigations. The Inspec14 tor General shall report to, and be under the general 

15 supervision of, the Comptroller General. 

16 ‘‘(2) The Inspector General may be removed 

17 from office by the Comptroller General. The Comp18 troller General shall, promptly upon such removal, 

19 communicate in writing the reasons for any such re20 moval to each House of Congress. 

21 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—In addi22 tion to the authority otherwise provided by this section, 

23 the Inspector General, in carrying out the provisions of 

24 this section, may— 


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1 ‘‘(1) have access to all records, reports, audits, 

2 reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or 

3 other material that relate to programs and oper4 ations of the Government Accountability Office; 

5 ‘‘(2) make such investigations and reports relat6 ing to the administration of the programs and oper7 ations of the Government Accountability Office as 

8 are, in the judgment of the Inspector General, nec9 essary or desirable; 

10 ‘‘(3) request such documents and information 

11 as may be necessary for carrying out the duties and 

12 responsibilities provided by this section from any 

13 Federal agency; 

14 ‘‘(4) in the performance of the functions as15 signed by this section, obtain all information, docu16 ments, reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, 

17 and other data and documentary evidence from a 

18 person not in the United States Government or from 

19 a Federal agency, to the same extent and in the 

20 same manner as the Comptroller General under the 

21 authority and procedures available to the Comp22 troller General in section 716 of this title; 

23 ‘‘(5) administer to or take from any person an 

24 oath, affirmation, or affidavit, whenever necessary in 

25 the performance of the functions assigned by this 


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1 section, which oath, affirmation, or affidavit when 

2 administered or taken by or before an employee of 

3 the Office of Inspector General designated by the In4 spector General shall have the same force and effect 

5 as if administered or taken by or before an officer 

6 having a seal; 

7 ‘‘(6) have direct and prompt access to the 

8 Comptroller General when necessary for any purpose 

9 pertaining to the performance of functions and re10 sponsibilities under this section; 

11 ‘‘(7) report expeditiously to the Attorney Gen12 eral whenever the Inspector General has reasonable 

13 grounds to believe there has been a violation of Fed14 eral criminal law; and 

15 ‘‘(8) provide copies of all reports to the Audit 

16 Advisory Committee of the Government Account17 ability Office and provide such additional informa18 tion in connection with such reports as is requested 

19 by the Committee. 

20 ‘‘(d) COMPLAINTS BY EMPLOYEES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) The Inspector General— 

22 ‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), may re23 ceive, review, and investigate, as the Inspector 

24 General considers appropriate, complaints or in25 formation from an employee of the Government 


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1 Accountability Office concerning the possible 

2 existence of an activity constituting a violation 

3 of any law, rule, or regulation, mismanagement, 

4 or a gross waste of funds; and 

5 ‘‘(B) shall refer complaints or information 

6 concerning violations of personnel law, rules, or 

7 regulations to established investigative and ad8 judicative entities of the Government Account9 ability Office. 

10 ‘‘(2) The Inspector General shall not, after re11 ceipt of a complaint or information from an em12 ployee, disclose the identity of the employee without 

13 the consent of the employee, unless the Inspector 

14 General determines such disclosure is unavoidable 

15 during the course of the investigation. 

16 ‘‘(3) Any employee who has authority to take, 

17 direct others to take, recommend, or approve any 

18 personnel action, shall not, with respect to such au19 thority, take or threaten to take any action against 

20 any employee as a reprisal for making a complaint 

21 or disclosing information to the Inspector General, 

22 unless the complaint was made or the information 

23 disclosed with the knowledge that it was false or 

24 with willful disregard for its truth or falsity. 


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1 ‘‘(e) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—(1) The Inspector 

2 General shall submit semiannual reports summarizing the 

3 activities of the Office of the Inspector General to the 

4 Comptroller General. Such reports shall include, but need 

5 not be limited to— 

6 ‘‘(A) a summary of each significant report 

7 made during the reporting period, including a de8 scription of significant problems, abuses, and defi9 ciencies disclosed by such report; 

10 ‘‘(B) a description of the recommendations for 

11 corrective action made with respect to significant 

12 problems, abuses, or deficiencies described pursuant 

13 to subparagraph (A); 

14 ‘‘(C) a summary of the progress made in imple15 menting such corrective action described pursuant to 

16 subparagraph (B); and 

17 ‘‘(D) information concerning any disagreement 

18 the Comptroller General has with a recommendation 

19 of the Inspector General. 

20 ‘‘(2) The Comptroller General shall transmit the 

21 semiannual reports of the Inspector General, together with 

22 any comments the Comptroller General considers appro23 priate, to Congress within 30 days after receipt of such 

24 reports. 


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1 ‘‘(f) INDEPENDENCE IN CARRYING OUT DUTIES AND

2 RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Comptroller General may not 

3 prevent or prohibit the Inspector General from carrying 

4 out any of the duties or responsibilities of the Inspector 

5 General under this section. 

6 ‘‘(g) AUTHORITY FOR STAFF.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General 

8 shall select, appoint, and employ such personnel as 

9 may be necessary to carry out this section consistent 

10 with the provisions of this title governing selections, 

11 appointments, and employment in the Government 

12 Accountability Office. Such personnel shall be ap13 pointed, promoted, and assigned only on the basis of 

14 merit and fitness, but without regard to those provi15 sions of title 5 governing appointments and other 

16 personnel actions in the competitive service, except 

17 that no personnel of the Office may be paid at an 

18 annual rate greater than $1,000 less than the an19 nual rate of pay of the Inspector General. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The In21 spector General may procure temporary and inter22 mittent services under section 3109 of title 5 at 

23 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual 

24 rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Sched25 ule under section 5315 of such title. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INDEPENDENCE IN APPOINTING STAFF.— 

2 No individual may carry out any of the duties or re3 sponsibilities of the Office of the Inspector General 

4 unless the individual is appointed by the Inspector 

5 General, or provides services obtained by the Inspec6 tor General, pursuant to this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON PROGRAM RESPONSIBIL8 ITIES.—The Inspector General and any individual 

9 carrying out any of the duties or responsibilities of 

10 the Office of the Inspector General are prohibited 

11 from performing any program responsibilities. 

12 ‘‘(h) OFFICE SPACE.—The Comptroller General shall 

13 provide the Office of the Inspector General— 

14 ‘‘(1) appropriate and adequate office space; 

15 ‘‘(2) such equipment, office supplies, and com16 munications facilities and services as may be nec17 essary for the operation of the Office of the Inspec18 tor General; 

19 ‘‘(3) necessary maintenance services for such 

20 office space, equipment, office supplies, and commu21 nications facilities; and 

22 ‘‘(4) equipment and facilities located in such of23 fice space. 


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1 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term 

2 ‘Federal agency’ means a department, agency, instrumen3 tality, or unit thereof, of the Federal Government.’’. 

4 (b) INCUMBENT.—The individual who serves in the 

5 position of Inspector General of the Government Account6 ability Office on the date of the enactment of this Act shall 

7 continue to serve in such position subject to removal in 

8 accordance with the amendments made by this section. 

9 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

10 for chapter 7 is amended by inserting after the item relat11 ing to section 704 the following: 

‘‘705. Inspector General for the Government Accountability Office.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. ADMINISTERING OATHS. 

13 Section 711(4) is amended by striking ‘‘when audit14 ing and settling accounts’’. 

15 SEC. 7. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS. 

16 Section 719 is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

18 at the end; 

19 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking the pe20 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

21 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (b)(1) 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(D) for agencies subject to sections 901 and 

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1 operation in making personnel available for inter2 view, providing written answers to questions, submit3 ting to an oath authorized by the Comptroller Gen4 eral under section 711, granting access to records, 

5 providing timely comments to draft reports, adopting 

6 recommendations in reports and responding to such 

7 other matters as the Comptroller General deems ap8 propriate in carrying out his duties under authority 

9 of sections 711–720 or any other provisions of law.’’; 

10 (4) in subsection (c)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

11 at the end; 

12 (5) in subsection (c)(3), by striking the period 

13 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (6) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(4) as soon as practicable when an agency 

17 does not, within a reasonable time of a request by 

18 the Comptroller General, make personnel available 

19 for interview, provide written answers to questions, 

20 grant access to records, or submit to an oath au21 thorized by the Comptroller General under sections 

22 711–720 or any other provisions of law.’’. 

23 SEC. 8. REIMBURSEMENT OF AUDIT COSTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3521 is amended by add25 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i)(1) Any executive agency or component thereof 

2 that prepares an audited financial statement under section 

3 3515 shall reimburse the Government Accountability Of4 fice the cost of any audit of the financial statements (or 

5 any part thereof) and related schedules of such agency or 

6 component performed by the Comptroller General. 

7 ‘‘(2) Reimbursements required by paragraph (1) shall 

8 be credited to the appropriation account ‘Salaries and Ex9 penses, Government Accountability Office’ current when 

10 the reimbursement is received and shall remain available 

11 until expended.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1401 of 

13 title I of Public Law 108–83 (31 U.S.C. 3521 note) is 

14 repealed. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend16 ments made by this section shall take effect on October 

17 1, 2009. 

18 SEC. 9. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. 

19 Section 109(13)(B) of the Ethics in Government Act 

20 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

21 (1) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘(except any offi22 cer or employee of the Government Accountability 

23 Office)’’ after ‘‘legislative branch’’, and by striking 

24 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (2) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 

2 and 

3 (3) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 

4 ‘‘(ii) each officer or employee of the Gov5 ernment Accountability Office who, for at least 

6 60 consecutive days, occupies a position for 

7 which the rate of basic pay, minus the amount 

8 of locality pay authorized under section 5304 of 

9 title 5, United States Code, for the locality 

10 within which the position of such officer or em11 ployee is located (as determined by the Comp12 troller General), is equal to or greater than 120 

13 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay pay14 able for GS–15 of the General Schedule; and’’. 

15 SEC. 10. HIGHEST BASIC PAY RATE. 

16 Section 732(c)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘highest 

17 basic rate for GS–15;’’ and inserting ‘‘rate for level III 

18 of the Executive Level, except that the total amount of 

19 cash compensation in any year shall be subject to the limi20 tations provided under section 5307(a)(1) of title 5;’’. 

21 SEC. 11. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 731 is amended— 

23 (1) by repealing subsection (d); 

24 (2) in subsection (e)— 


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1 (A) in the matter before paragraph (1), by 

2 striking ‘‘maximum daily rate for GS–18 under 

3 section 5332 of such title’’ and inserting ‘‘daily 

4 rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule’’; 

5 and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘more than—’’ and all that 

7 follows and inserting the following: ‘‘more than 

8 20 experts and consultants may be procured for 

9 terms of not more than 3 years, but which shall 

10 be renewable.’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(j) Funds appropriated to the Government Account13 ability Office for salaries and expenses are available for 

14 meals and other related reasonable expenses incurred in 

15 connection with recruitment.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 

17 732a(b) is amended by striking ‘‘section 731(d), (e)(1), 

18 or (e)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1) or (2) of section 

19 731(e)’’. 

20 (2) Section 733(c) is amended by striking ‘‘(d),’’. 

21 (3) Section 735(a) is amended by striking ‘‘731(c)– 

22 (e),’’ and inserting ‘‘731(c) and (e),’’. 

23 SEC. 12. VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS. 

24 Section 2 of Public Law 106–303 (5 U.S.C. 5597 

25 note) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘subsection 

2 (a)(2)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (a)(2)(D), 

3 (c)(2)(D), and (d)’’, 

4 (2) in subsection (b)(4), by inserting ‘‘and’’ at 

5 the end; 

6 (3) in subsection (b)(5), by striking the semi7 colon at the end and inserting a period; 

8 (4) by striking paragraphs (6) and (7) of sub9 section (b); 

10 (5) by repealing subsection (c); 

11 (6) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

13 ‘‘DEFINITIONS’’ and inserting ‘‘DEFINITION’’; 

14 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and the 

15 matter in paragraph (2) before ‘‘As used’’; and 

16 (C) by running in (after the em-dash in 

17 the subsection heading) the text of paragraph 

18 (2) (as amended by subparagraph (B)); and 

19 (7) in the first sentence of subsection (f), by 

20 striking ‘‘, excluding subsection (c)’’. 

Æ 


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