IB 

Union Calendar No. 422 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5683 

[Report No. 110–671] 

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 

MAY 22, 2008 

Additional sponsors: Mr. FATTAH, Mr. WYNN, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. 

HASTINGS of Florida, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, and Mr. FILNER

MAY 22, 2008 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 2, 2008] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES; TABLE OF CON2 TENTS. 

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

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

5 (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly pro6 vided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in 

7 terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, the 

8 reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other 

9 provision of title 31, United States Code. 

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

11 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 performance-based compensation. 

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. Basic pay for retirement. 

12 SEC. 2. PROVISIONS RELATING TO FUTURE ANNUAL PAY 

13 ADJUSTMENTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 732 is amended by adding 

15 at the end the following: 

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

17 ‘‘(A) the term ‘pay increase’, as used with re18 spect to an officer or employee in connection with a 

19 year, means the total increase in the rate of basic pay 

20 (expressed as a percentage) of such officer or emVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:35 May 23, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5683.RH H5683

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1 ployee, taking effect under section 731(b) and sub2 section (c)(3) in such year; 

3 ‘‘(B) the term ‘required minimum percentage’, as 

4 used with respect to an officer or employee in connec5 tion with a year, means the percentage equal to the 

6 total increase in rates of basic pay (expressed as a 

7 percentage) taking effect under sections 5303 and 

8 5304–5304a of title 5 in such year with respect to 

9 General Schedule positions within the pay locality (as 

10 defined by section 5302(5) of title 5) in which the po11 sition of such officer or employee is located; 

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

13 used with respect to a pay increase, means any indi14 vidual— 

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

16 Government Accountability Office, other than an 

17 officer or employee described in subparagraph 

18 (A), (B), or (C) of section 4(c)(1) of the Govern19 ment Accountability Office Act of 2008, deter20 mined as of the effective date of such pay in21 crease; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) whose performance is at least at a sat23 isfactory level, as determined by the Comptroller 

24 General under the provisions of subsection (c)(3) 


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1 for purposes of the adjustment taking effect 

2 under such provisions in such year; and 

3 ‘‘(D) the term ‘nonpermanent merit pay’ means 

4 any amount payable under section 731(b) which does 

5 not constitute basic pay. 

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

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

8 that would otherwise take effect with respect to a covered 

9 officer or employee in a year would be less than the required 

10 minimum percentage for such officer or employee in such 

11 year, the Comptroller General shall provide for a further 

12 increase in the rate of basic pay of such officer or employee. 

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

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

15 make up for the shortfall described in subparagraph 

16 (A); and 

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

18 pay increase otherwise taking effect in such year. 

19 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be considered to 

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

21 an amount inconsistent with the limitation set forth in sub22 section (c)(2). 

23 ‘‘(D) If (disregarding this subsection) the covered offi24 cer or employee would also have received any nonpermanent 

25 merit pay in such year, such nonpermanent merit pay shall 


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1 be decreased by an amount equal to the portion of such offi2 cer’s or employee’s basic pay for such year which is attrib3 utable to the further increase described in subparagraph (A) 

4 (as determined by the Comptroller General), but to not less 

5 than zero. 

6 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chap7 ter, the effective date of any pay increase (within the mean8 ing of paragraph (1)(A)) taking effect with respect to a cov9 ered officer or employee in any year shall be the same as 

10 the effective date of any adjustment taking effect under sec11 tion 5303 of title 5 with respect to statutory pay systems 

12 (as defined by section 5302(1) of title 5) in such year.’’. 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this 

14 section shall apply with respect to any pay increase (as 

15 defined by such amendment) taking effect on or after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 3. PAY ADJUSTMENT RELATING TO CERTAIN PRE18 VIOUS YEARS. 

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

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

21 this Act, is an officer or employee of the Government Ac22 countability Office, excluding— 

23 (1) an officer or employee described in subpara24 graph (A), (B), or (C) of section 4(c)(1); and 


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

2 2.6 percent pay increase in January 2006 and a 2.4 

3 percent pay increase in February 2007. 

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

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

6 an officer or employee in connection with a year, means 

7 the total increase in the rate of basic pay (expressed as a 

8 percentage) of such officer or employee, taking effect under 

9 sections 731(b) and 732(c)(3) of title 31, United States 

10 Code, in such year. 

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

12 pay for service performed in any pay period beginning after 

13 the end of the 3-month period beginning on the date of the 

14 enactment of this Act (or such earlier date as the Comp15 troller General may specify), the rate of basic pay for each 

16 individual to whom this section applies shall be determined 

17 as if such individual had received both a 2.6 percent pay 

18 increase for 2006 and a 2.4 percent pay increase for 2007, 

19 subject to subsection (e). 

20 (d) LUMP-SUM PAYMENT.—Not later than 6 months 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

22 General shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, 

23 pay to each individual to whom this section applies a lump24 sum payment. Subject to subsection (e), such lump-sum 

25 payment shall be equal to— 


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

2 have been paid to the individual, for service per3 formed during the period beginning on the effective 

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

5 day before the effective date of the pay adjustment 

6 under subsection (c) (or, if earlier, the date on which 

7 the individual retires or otherwise ceases to be em8 ployed by the Government Accountability Office), if 

9 such individual had received both a 2.6 percent pay 

10 increase for 2006 and a 2.4 percent pay increase for 

11 2007, minus 

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

13 fact paid to the individual for service performed dur14 ing the period described in paragraph (1). 

15 Eligibility for a lump-sum payment under this subsection 

16 shall be determined solely on the basis of whether an indi17 vidual satisfies the requirements of subsection (a) (to be con18 sidered an individual to whom this section applies), and 

19 without regard to such individual’s employment status as 

20 of any date following the date of the enactment of this Act 

21 or any other factor. 

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

23 shall be considered to permit or require— 

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

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


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1 extent that such rate would be (or would have been) 

2 inconsistent with the limitation that applies (or that 

3 applied) with respect to such pay period under sec4 tion 732(c)(2) of title 31, United States Code; or 

5 (2) the payment of any rate or amount based on 

6 the pay increase for 2006 or 2007 (as the case may 

7 be), if— 

8 (A) the performance of the officer or em9 ployee involved was not at a satisfactory level, as 

10 determined by the Comptroller General under 

11 paragraph (3) of section 732(c) of such title 31 

12 for purposes of the adjustment under such para13 graph for that year; or 

14 (B) the individual involved was not an offi15 cer or employee of the Government Account16 ability Office on the date as of which that in17 crease took effect. 

18 As used in paragraph (2)(A), the term ‘‘satisfactory’’ in19 cludes a rating of ‘‘meets expectations’’ (within the meaning 

20 of the performance appraisal system used for purposes of 

21 the adjustment under section 732(c)(3) of such title 31 for 

22 the year involved). 

23 (f) RETIREMENT.— 

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

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


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1 for purposes of any determination of the average pay 

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

3 States Code) which is used to compute an annuity 

4 under subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of 

5 such title— 

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

7 section 8331 or 8401 of such title); and 

8 (B) be allocated to the biweekly pay periods 

9 covered by subsection (d). 

10 (2) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwithstanding section 

11 8334, 8422, 8423, or any other provision of title 5, 

12 United States Code, no employee or agency contribu13 tion shall be required for purposes of this subsection. 

14 (g) EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—This section constitutes the 

15 exclusive remedy that any individuals to whom this section 

16 applies (as described in subsection (a)) have for any claim 

17 that they are owed any monies denied to them in the form 

18 of a pay increase for 2006 or 2007 under section 732(c)(3) 

19 of title 31, United States Code, or any other law. Notwith20 standing any other provision of law, no court or adminis21 trative body, including the Government Accountability Of22 fice Personnel Appeals Board, shall have jurisdiction to en23 tertain any civil action or other civil proceeding based on 

24 the claim of such individuals that they were due money in 


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1 the form of a pay increase for 2006 or 2007 pursuant to 

2 such section 732(c)(3) or any other law. 

3 SEC. 4. LUMP-SUM PAYMENT FOR CERTAIN PERFORMANCE4 BASED COMPENSATION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

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

7 shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, pay to 

8 each qualified individual a lump-sum payment equal to the 

9 amount of performance-based compensation such individual 

10 was denied for 2006, as determined under subsection (b). 

11 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount payable to a qualified in12 dividual under this section shall be equal to— 

13 (1) the total amount of performance-based com14 pensation such individual would have earned for 

15 2006 (determined by applying the Government Ac16 countability Office’s performance-based compensation 

17 system under GAO Orders 2540.3 and 2540.4, as in 

18 effect in 2006) if such individual had not had a sal19 ary equal to or greater than the maximum for such 

20 individual’s band (as further described in subsection 

21 (c)(2)), less 

22 (2) the total amount of performance-based com23 pensation such individual was in fact granted, in 

24 January 2006, for that year. 


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1 (c) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, the term ‘‘qualified individual’’ means an individual 

3 who— 

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

5 is an officer or employee of the Government Account6 ability Office, excluding— 

7 (A) an individual holding a position subject 

8 to section 732a or 733 of title 31, United States 

9 Code (disregarding section 732a(b) and 733(c) of 

10 such title); 

11 (B) a Federal Wage System employee; and 

12 (C) an individual participating in a devel13 opment program under which such individual 

14 receives performance appraisals, and is eligible 

15 to receive permanent merit pay increases, more 

16 than once a year; and 

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

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

19 IIA staff member with a salary above the Band IIA 

20 cap, or an administrative professional or support 

21 staff member with a salary above the cap for that in22 dividual’s pay band (determined in accordance with 

23 the orders cited in subsection (b)(1)). 

24 (d) EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—This section constitutes the 

25 exclusive remedy that any officers and employees (as deVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:35 May 23, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5683.RH H5683

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1 scribed in subsection (c)) have for any claim that they are 

2 owed any monies denied to them in the form of merit pay 

3 for 2006 under section 731(b) of title 31, United States 

4 Code, or any other law. Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, no court or administrative body in the United 

6 States, including the Government Accountability Office 

7 Personnel Appeals Board, shall have jurisdiction to enter8 tain any civil action or other civil proceeding based on the 

9 claim of such officers or employees that they were due 

10 money in the form of merit pay for 2006 pursuant to such 

11 section 731(b) or any other law. 

12 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

13 (1) the term ‘‘performance-based compensation’’ 

14 has the meaning given such term under the Govern15 ment Accountability Office’s performance-based com16 pensation system under GAO Orders 2540.3 and 

17 2540.4, as in effect in 2006; and 

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

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

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

21 SEC. 5. INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

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

23 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 705. Inspector General for the Government Account2 ability Office 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab4 lished an Office of the Inspector General in the Government 

5 Accountability Office, to— 

6 ‘‘(1) conduct and supervise audits consistent 

7 with generally accepted government auditing stand8 ards and investigations relating to the Government 

9 Accountability Office; 

10 ‘‘(2) provide leadership and coordination and 

11 recommend policies, to promote economy, efficiency, 

12 and effectiveness in the Government Accountability 

13 Office; and 

14 ‘‘(3) keep the Comptroller General and Congress 

15 fully and currently informed concerning fraud and 

16 other serious problems, abuses, and deficiencies relat17 ing to the administration of programs and operations 

18 of the Government Accountability Office. 

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

20 ‘‘(1) The Office of the Inspector General shall be 

21 headed by an Inspector General, who shall be ap22 pointed by the Comptroller General without regard to 

23 political affiliation and solely on the basis of integ24 rity and demonstrated ability in accounting, audit25 ing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, 

26 public administration, or investigations. The InspecVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:35 May 23, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5683.RH H5683

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1 tor General shall report to, and be under the general 

2 supervision of, the Comptroller General. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Inspector General may be removed from 

4 office by the Comptroller General. The Comptroller 

5 General shall, promptly upon such removal, commu6 nicate in writing the reasons for any such removal to 

7 each House of Congress. 

8 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—In addi9 tion to the authority otherwise provided by this section, the 

10 Inspector General, in carrying out the provisions of this 

11 section, may— 

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

13 reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or 

14 other material that relate to programs and operations 

15 of the Government Accountability Office; 

16 ‘‘(2) make such investigations and reports relat17 ing to the administration of the programs and oper18 ations of the Government Accountability Office as are, 

19 in the judgment of the Inspector General, necessary or 

20 desirable; 

21 ‘‘(3) request such documents and information as 

22 may be necessary for carrying out the duties and re23 sponsibilities provided by this section from any Fed24 eral agency; 


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1 ‘‘(4) in the performance of the functions assigned 

2 by this section, obtain all information, documents, re3 ports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other 

4 data and documentary evidence from a person not in 

5 the United States Government or from a Federal 

6 agency, to the same extent and in the same manner 

7 as the Comptroller General under the authority and 

8 procedures available to the Comptroller General in 

9 section 716 of this title; 

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

11 oath, affirmation, or affidavit, whenever necessary in 

12 the performance of the functions assigned by this sec13 tion, which oath, affirmation, or affidavit when ad14 ministered or taken by or before an employee of the 

15 Office of Inspector General designated by the Inspec16 tor General shall have the same force and effect as if 

17 administered or taken by or before an officer having 

18 a seal; 

19 ‘‘(6) have direct and prompt access to the Comp20 troller General when necessary for any purpose per21 taining to the performance of functions and respon22 sibilities under this section; 

23 ‘‘(7) report expeditiously to the Attorney General 

24 whenever the Inspector General has reasonable 


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1 grounds to believe there has been a violation of Fed2 eral criminal law; and 

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

4 Advisory Committee of the Government Account5 ability Office and provide such additional informa6 tion in connection with such reports as is requested 

7 by the Committee. 

8 ‘‘(d) COMPLAINTS BY EMPLOYEES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) The Inspector General— 

10 ‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), may re11 ceive, review, and investigate, as the Inspector 

12 General considers appropriate, complaints or in13 formation from an employee of the Government 

14 Accountability Office concerning the possible ex15 istence of an activity constituting a violation of 

16 any law, rule, or regulation, mismanagement, or 

17 a gross waste of funds; and 

18 ‘‘(B) shall refer complaints or information 

19 concerning violations of personnel law, rules, or 

20 regulations to established investigative and adju21 dicative entities of the Government Account22 ability Office. 

23 ‘‘(2) The Inspector General shall not, after re24 ceipt of a complaint or information from an em25 ployee, disclose the identity of the employee without 


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1 the consent of the employee, unless the Inspector Gen2 eral determines such disclosure is unavoidable during 

3 the course of the investigation. 

4 ‘‘(3) Any employee who has authority to take, di5 rect others to take, recommend, or approve any per6 sonnel action, shall not, with respect to such author7 ity, take or threaten to take any action against any 

8 employee as a reprisal for making a complaint or dis9 closing information to the Inspector General, unless 

10 the complaint was made or the information disclosed 

11 with the knowledge that it was false or with willful 

12 disregard for its truth or falsity. 

13 ‘‘(e) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—(1) The Inspector Gen14 eral shall submit semiannual reports summarizing the ac15 tivities of the Office of the Inspector General to the Comp16 troller General. Such reports shall include, but need not be 

17 limited to— 

18 ‘‘(A) a summary of each significant report made 

19 during the reporting period, including a description 

20 of significant problems, abuses, and deficiencies dis21 closed by such report; 

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

23 corrective action made with respect to significant 

24 problems, abuses, or deficiencies described pursuant to 

25 subparagraph (A); 


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1 ‘‘(C) a summary of the progress made in imple2 menting such corrective action described pursuant to 

3 subparagraph (B); and 

4 ‘‘(D) information concerning any disagreement 

5 the Comptroller General has with a recommendation 

6 of the Inspector General. 

7 ‘‘(2) The Comptroller General shall transmit the semi8 annual reports of the Inspector General, together with any 

9 comments the Comptroller General considers appropriate, 

10 to Congress within 30 days after receipt of such reports. 

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

12 RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Comptroller General may not 

13 prevent or prohibit the Inspector General from carrying out 

14 any of the duties or responsibilities of the Inspector General 

15 under this section. 

16 ‘‘(g) AUTHORITY FOR STAFF.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General shall 

18 select, appoint, and employ such personnel as may be 

19 necessary to carry out this section consistent with the 

20 provisions of this title governing selections, appoint21 ments, and employment in the Government Account22 ability Office. Such personnel shall be appointed, pro23 moted, and assigned only on the basis of merit and 

24 fitness, but without regard to those provisions of title 

25 5 governing appointments and other personnel actions 


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1 in the competitive service, except that no personnel of 

2 the Office may be paid at an annual rate greater 

3 than $1,000 less than the annual rate of pay of the 

4 Inspector General. 

5 ‘‘(2) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Inspec6 tor General may procure temporary and intermittent 

7 services under section 3109 of title 5 at rates not to 

8 exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic 

9 pay for level V of the Executive Schedule under sec10 tion 5315 of such title. 

11 ‘‘(3) INDEPENDENCE IN APPOINTING STAFF.—No 

12 individual may carry out any of the duties or respon13 sibilities of the Office of the Inspector General unless 

14 the individual is appointed by the Inspector General, 

15 or provides services obtained by the Inspector General, 

16 pursuant to this paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON PROGRAM RESPONSIBIL18 ITIES.—The Inspector General and any individual 

19 carrying out any of the duties or responsibilities of 

20 the Office of the Inspector General are prohibited from 

21 performing any program responsibilities. 

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

23 provide the Office of the Inspector General— 

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


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1 ‘‘(2) such equipment, office supplies, and com2 munications facilities and services as may be nec3 essary for the operation of the Office of the Inspector 

4 General; 

5 ‘‘(3) necessary maintenance services for such of6 fice space, equipment, office supplies, and commu7 nications facilities; and 

8 ‘‘(4) equipment and facilities located in such of9 fice space. 

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

11 ‘Federal agency’ means a department, agency, instrumen12 tality, or unit thereof, of the Federal Government.’’. 

13 (b) INCUMBENT.—The individual who serves in the po14 sition of Inspector General of the Government Account15 ability Office on the date of the enactment of this Act shall 

16 continue to serve in such position subject to removal in ac17 cordance with the amendments made by this section. 

18 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for 

19 chapter 7 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

20 to section 704 the following: 

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

21 SEC. 6. ADMINISTERING OATHS. 

22 Section 711 is amended by striking paragraph (4) and 

23 inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(4) administer oaths to witnesses, except that, 

25 in matters other than auditing and settling accounts, 


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1 the authority of an officer or employee to administer 

2 oaths to witnesses pursuant to a delegation under 

3 paragraph (2) shall not be available without the prior 

4 express approval of the Comptroller General (or a des5 ignee).’’. 

6 SEC. 7. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS. 

7 Section 719 is amended— 

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

9 the end; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking the period 

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

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

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(D) for agencies subject to sections 901–903 and 

15 other agencies designated by the Comptroller General, 

16 an assessment of their overall degree of cooperation in 

17 making personnel available for interview, providing 

18 written answers to questions, submitting to an oath 

19 authorized by the Comptroller General under section 

20 711, granting access to records, providing timely com21 ments to draft reports, adopting recommendations in 

22 reports and responding to such other matters as the 

23 Comptroller General deems appropriate in carrying 

24 out his duties under authority of sections 711–720 or 

25 any other provisions of law.’’; 


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

2 the end; 

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

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and 

5 (6) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(4) as soon as practicable when an agency does 

8 not, within a reasonable time of a request by the 

9 Comptroller General, make personnel available for 

10 interview, provide written answers to questions, grant 

11 access to records, or submit to an oath authorized by 

12 the Comptroller General under sections 711–720 or 

13 any other provisions of law.’’. 

14 SEC. 8. REIMBURSEMENT OF AUDIT COSTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3521 is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

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

18 prepares an audited financial statement under section 3515 

19 shall reimburse the Government Accountability Office the 

20 cost of any audit of the financial statements (or any part 

21 thereof) and related schedules of such agency or component 

22 performed by the Comptroller General. 

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

24 be credited to the appropriation account ‘Salaries and Ex25 penses, Government Accountability Office’ current when the 


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1 reimbursement is received and shall remain available until 

2 expended.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1401 of title 

4 I of Public Law 108–83 (31 U.S.C. 3523 note) is repealed. 

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend6 ments made by this section shall take effect on October 1, 

7 2009. 

8 SEC. 9. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. 

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

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

11 (1) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘(except any offi12 cer or employee of the Government Accountability Of13 fice)’’ after ‘‘legislative branch’’, and by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

16 and 

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

18 ‘‘(ii) each officer or employee of the Govern19 ment Accountability Office who, for at least 60 

20 consecutive days, occupies a position for which 

21 the rate of basic pay, minus the amount of local22 ity pay that would have been authorized under 

23 section 5304 of title 5, United States Code (had 

24 the officer or employee been paid under the Gen25 eral Schedule) for the locality within which the 


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1 position of such officer or employee is located (as 

2 determined by the Comptroller General), is equal 

3 to or greater than 120 percent of the minimum 

4 rate of basic pay payable for GS–15 of the Gen5 eral Schedule; and’’. 

6 SEC. 10. HIGHEST BASIC PAY RATE. 

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

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

9 the Executive Level, except that the total amount of cash 

10 compensation in any year shall be subject to the limitations 

11 provided under section 5307(a)(1) of title 5;’’. 

12 SEC. 11. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Section 731 is amended— 

14 (A) by repealing subsection (d); 

15 (B) in subsection (e)— 

16 (i) in the matter before paragraph (1), 

17 by striking ‘‘maximum daily rate for GS– 

18 18 under section 5332 of such title’’ and in19 serting ‘‘daily rate for level IV of the Execu20 tive Schedule’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘more than—’’ and all 

22 that follows and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘more than 20 experts and consultants may 

24 be procured for terms of not more than 3 

25 years, but which shall be renewable.’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(j) Funds appropriated to the Government Account3 ability Office for salaries and expenses are available for 

4 meals and other related reasonable expenses incurred in 

5 connection with recruitment.’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section 732a(b) 

7 is amended by striking ‘‘section 731(d), (e)(1), or (e)(2)’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1) or (2) of section 731(e)’’. 

9 (B) Section 733(c) is amended by striking ‘‘(d),’’. 

10 (C) Section 735(a) is amended by striking ‘‘731(c)– 

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

12 (b) ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 7 is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘§ 721. Access to certain information 

16 ‘‘(a) No provision of the Social Security Act shall be 

17 construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the 

18 Comptroller General to obtain any information, to inspect 

19 any record, or to interview any officer, employee, or con20 tractor under section 716 of this title, including with re21 spect to any information disclosed to or obtained by the 

22 Secretary of Health and Human Services under part C or 

23 D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act. 

24 ‘‘(b) No provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos25 metic Act shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede 


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1 the authority of the Comptroller General to obtain any in2 formation, to inspect any record, or to interview any officer, 

3 employee, or contractor under section 716 of this title, in4 cluding with respect to any information concerning any 

5 method or process which as a trade secret is entitled to pro6 tection.’’. 

7 (2) INTERVIEWS.—Section 716(a) is amended in 

8 the second sentence by inserting ‘‘and interview agen9 cy officers and employees’’ after ‘‘agency record’’. 

10 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

11 chapter 7 is amended by inserting after the item re12 lating to section 720 the following: 

‘‘721. Access to certain information.’’. 

13 SEC. 12. BASIC PAY FOR RETIREMENT. 

14 Section 8331(3) of title 5, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

17 the end; 

18 (2) in subparagraph (H), by inserting ‘‘and’’ at 

19 the end; 

20 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (H) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(I) the nonpermanent amount of a perform23 ance-based pay increase received by an employee of 

24 the Government Accountability Office, to the extent 

25 that such increase does not cause the basic pay of 


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1 such employee to exceed the limitation specified in 

2 section 732(c)(2) of title 31;’’; and 

3 (4) in the matter following subparagraph (I) (as 

4 added by this section), by striking ‘‘(B) through (H)’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘(B) through (I)’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 422 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5683 

[Report No. 110

–671] 

A BILL 

To make certain reforms with respect to the Govposes. ernment Accountability Office, and for other purMAY 22, 2008 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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