110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5683 

AN ACT 

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 

6 provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed 

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

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

9 or other 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. Reimbursement of audit costs. 

Sec. 7. Financial disclosure requirements. 

Sec. 8. Highest basic pay rate. 

Sec. 9. Additional authorities. 

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 

20 pay (expressed as a percentage) of such officer or 
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1 employee, taking effect under section 731(b) and 

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

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

4 as used with respect to an officer or employee in 

5 connection with a year, means the percentage equal 

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

7 as a percentage) taking effect under sections 5303 

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

9 to General Schedule positions within the pay locality 

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

11 the position 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 

17 an officer or employee described in subpara18 graph (A), (B), or (C) of section 4(c)(1) of the 

19 Government Accountability Office Act of 2008, 

20 determined as of the effective date of such pay 

21 increase; and 

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

23 satisfactory level, as determined by the Comp24 troller General under the provisions of sub25 section (c)(3) for purposes of the adjustment 
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1 taking effect under such provisions in such 

2 year; and 

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

4 any amount payable under section 731(b) which 

5 does 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 re10 quired minimum percentage for such officer or employee 

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

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

13 or employee. 

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

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

16 make up for the shortfall described in subparagraph 

17 (A); and 

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

19 pay increase otherwise taking effect in such year. 

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

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

22 to an amount inconsistent with the limitation set forth in 

23 subsection (c)(2). 

24 ‘‘(D) If (disregarding this subsection) the covered of25 ficer or employee would also have received any nonperma-
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1 nent merit pay in such year, such nonpermanent merit pay 

2 shall be decreased by an amount equal to the portion of 

3 such officer’s or employee’s basic pay for such year which 

4 is attributable to the further increase described in sub5 paragraph (A) (as determined by the Comptroller Gen6 eral), but to not less than zero. 

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

8 chapter, the effective date of any pay increase (within the 

9 meaning of paragraph (1)(A)) taking effect with respect 

10 to a covered officer or employee in any year shall be the 

11 same as the effective date of any adjustment taking effect 

12 under section 5303 of title 5 with respect to statutory pay 

13 systems (as defined by section 5302(1) of title 5) in such 

14 year.’’. 

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

16 this section shall apply with respect to any pay increase 

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

18 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 3. PAY ADJUSTMENT RELATING TO CERTAIN PRE20 VIOUS YEARS. 

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

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

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

24 Accountability Office, excluding— 
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1 (1) an officer or employee described in subpara2 graph (A), (B), or (C) of section 4(c)(1); and 

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

4 2.6 percent pay increase in January 2006 and a 2.4 

5 percent pay increase in February 2007. 

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

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

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

9 the total increase in the rate of basic pay (expressed as 

10 a percentage) of such officer or employee, taking effect 

11 under sections 731(b) and 732(c)(3) of title 31, United 

12 States Code, in such year. 

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

14 pay for service performed in any pay period beginning 

15 after the end of the 6-month period beginning on the date 

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

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

18 for each individual to whom this section applies shall be 

19 determined as if such individual had received both a 2.6 

20 percent pay increase for 2006 and a 2.4 percent pay in21 crease for 2007, subject to subsection (e). 

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

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp24 troller General shall, subject to the availability of appro25 priations, pay to each individual to whom this section ap-
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1 plies a lump-sum payment. Subject to subsection (e), such 

2 lump-sum payment shall be equal to— 

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

4 have been paid to the individual, for service per5 formed during the period beginning on the effective 

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

7 day before the effective date of the pay adjustment 

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

9 the individual retires or otherwise ceases to be em10 ployed by the Government Accountability Office), if 

11 such individual had received both a 2.6 percent pay 

12 increase for 2006 and a 2.4 percent pay increase for 

13 2007, minus 

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

15 fact paid to the individual for service performed dur16 ing the period described in paragraph (1). 

17 Eligibility for a lump-sum payment under this subsection 

18 shall be determined solely on the basis of whether an indi19 vidual satisfies the requirements of subsection (a) (to be 

20 considered an individual to whom this section applies), and 

21 without regard to such individual’s employment status as 

22 of any date following the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act or any other factor. 

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

25 shall be considered to permit or require— 
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1 (1) the payment of any rate (or lump-sum 

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

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

4 inconsistent with the limitation that applies (or that 

5 applied) with respect to such pay period under sec6 tion 732(c)(2) of title 31, United States Code; or 

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

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

9 may be), if— 

10 (A) the performance of the officer or em11 ployee involved was not at a satisfactory level, 

12 as determined by the Comptroller General 

13 under paragraph (3) of section 732(c) of such 

14 title 31 for purposes of the adjustment under 

15 such paragraph for that year; or 

16 (B) the individual involved was not an offi17 cer or employee of the Government Account18 ability Office on the date as of which that in19 crease took effect. 

20 As used in paragraph (2)(A), the term ‘‘satisfactory’’ in21 cludes a rating of ‘‘meets expectations’’ (within the mean22 ing of the performance appraisal system used for purposes 

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

24 for the year involved). 

25 (f) RETIREMENT.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The lump-sum payment paid 

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

3 for purposes of any determination of the average pay 

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

5 United States Code) which is used to compute an 

6 annuity under subchapter III of chapter 83 or chap7 ter 84 of such title— 

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

9 section 8331 or 8401 of such title); and 

10 (B) be allocated to the biweekly pay peri11 ods covered by subsection (d). 

12 (2) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwithstanding section 

13 8334, 8422, 8423, or any other provision of title 5, 

14 United States Code, no employee or agency contribu15 tion shall be required for purposes of this subsection. 

16 (g) EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—This section constitutes 

17 the exclusive remedy that any individuals to whom this 

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

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

20 in the form of a pay increase for 2006 or 2007 under sec21 tion 732(c)(3) of title 31, United States Code, or any 

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

23 court or administrative body, including the Government 

24 Accountability Office Personnel Appeals Board, shall have 

25 jurisdiction to entertain any civil action or other civil pro-
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1 ceeding based on the claim of such individuals that they 

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

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

4 law. 

5 SEC. 4. LUMP-SUM PAYMENT FOR CERTAIN PERFORMANCE6 BASED COMPENSATION. 

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

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

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

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

11 amount of performance-based compensation such indi12 vidual was denied for 2006, as determined under sub13 section (b). 

14 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount payable to a qualified in15 dividual under this section shall be equal to— 

16 (1) the total amount of performance-based com17 pensation such individual would have earned for 

18 2006 (determined by applying the Government Ac19 countability Office’s performance-based compensa20 tion system under GAO Orders 2540.3 and 2540.4, 

21 as in effect in 2006) if such individual had not had 

22 a salary equal to or greater than the maximum for 

23 such individual’s band (as further described in sub24 section (c)(2)), less 
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1 (2) the total amount of performance-based com2 pensation such individual was in fact granted, in 

3 January 2006, for that year. 

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

5 section, the term ‘‘qualified individual’’ means an indi6 vidual who— 

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

8 is an officer or employee of the Government Ac9 countability Office, excluding— 

10 (A) an individual holding a position subject 

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

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

13 733(c) of such title); 

14 (B) a Federal Wage System employee; and 

15 (C) an individual participating in a devel16 opment program under which such individual 

17 receives performance appraisals, and is eligible 

18 to receive permanent merit pay increases, more 

19 than once a year; and 

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

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

22 IIA staff member with a salary above the Band IIA 

23 cap, or an administrative professional or support 

24 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) EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—This section constitutes 

4 the exclusive remedy that any officers and employees (as 

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

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

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

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

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

10 United States, including the Government Accountability 

11 Office Personnel Appeals Board, shall have jurisdiction to 

12 entertain any civil action or other civil proceeding based 

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

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

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

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

17 (1) the term ‘‘performance-based compensa18 tion’’ has the meaning given such term under the 

19 Government Accountability Office’s performance20 based compensation system under GAO Orders 

21 2540.3 and 2540.4, as in effect in 2006; and 

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

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

24 United States Code, in a rate of basic pay. 
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1 SEC. 5. INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

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

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘§ 705. Inspector General for the Government Ac5 countability Office 

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab7 lished an Office of the Inspector General in the Govern8 ment Accountability Office, to— 

9 ‘‘(1) conduct and supervise audits consistent 

10 with generally accepted government auditing stand11 ards and investigations relating to the Government 

12 Accountability Office; 

13 ‘‘(2) provide leadership and coordination and 

14 recommend policies, to promote economy, efficiency, 

15 and effectiveness in the Government Accountability 

16 Office; and 

17 ‘‘(3) keep the Comptroller General and Con18 gress fully and currently informed concerning fraud 

19 and other serious problems, abuses, and deficiencies 

20 relating to the administration of programs and oper21 ations of the Government Accountability Office. 

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

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

24 be headed by an Inspector General, who shall be ap25 pointed by the Comptroller General without regard 

26 to political affiliation and solely on the basis of in-
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1 tegrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, au2 diting, financial analysis, law, management analysis, 

3 public administration, or investigations. The Inspec4 tor General shall report to, and be under the general 

5 supervision of, the Comptroller General. 

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

7 from office by the Comptroller General. The Comp8 troller General shall, promptly upon such removal, 

9 communicate in writing the reasons for any such re10 moval to each House of Congress. 

11 ‘‘(3) The Inspector General shall be paid at an 

12 annual rate of pay equal to $5,000 less than the an13 nual rate of pay of the Comptroller General, and 

14 may not receive any cash award or bonus, including 

15 any award under chapter 45 of title 5. 

16 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—In addi17 tion to the authority otherwise provided by this section, 

18 the Inspector General, in carrying out the provisions of 

19 this section, may— 

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

21 reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or 

22 other material that relate to programs and oper23 ations of the Government Accountability Office; 

24 ‘‘(2) make such investigations and reports relat25 ing to the administration of the programs and oper-
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1 ations of the Government Accountability Office as 

2 are, in the judgment of the Inspector General, nec3 essary or desirable; 

4 ‘‘(3) request such documents and information 

5 as may be necessary for carrying out the duties and 

6 responsibilities provided by this section from any 

7 Federal agency; 

8 ‘‘(4) in the performance of the functions as9 signed by this section, obtain all information, docu10 ments, reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, 

11 and other data and documentary evidence from a 

12 person not in the United States Government or from 

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

14 same manner as the Comptroller General under the 

15 authority and procedures available to the Comp16 troller General in section 716 of this title; 

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

18 oath, affirmation, or affidavit, whenever necessary in 

19 the performance of the functions assigned by this 

20 section, which oath, affirmation, or affidavit when 

21 administered or taken by or before an employee of 

22 the Office of Inspector General designated by the In23 spector General shall have the same force and effect 

24 as if administered or taken by or before an officer 

25 having a seal; 
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1 ‘‘(6) have direct and prompt access to the 

2 Comptroller General when necessary for any purpose 

3 pertaining to the performance of functions and re4 sponsibilities under this section; 

5 ‘‘(7) report expeditiously to the Attorney Gen6 eral whenever the Inspector General has reasonable 

7 grounds to believe there has been a violation of Fed8 eral criminal law; and 

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

10 Advisory Committee of the Government Account11 ability Office and provide such additional informa12 tion in connection with such reports as is requested 

13 by the Committee. 

14 ‘‘(d) COMPLAINTS BY EMPLOYEES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) The Inspector General— 

16 ‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), may re17 ceive, review, and investigate, as the Inspector 

18 General considers appropriate, complaints or in19 formation from an employee of the Government 

20 Accountability Office concerning the possible 

21 existence of an activity constituting a violation 

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

23 or a gross waste of funds; and 

24 ‘‘(B) shall refer complaints or information 

25 concerning violations of personnel law, rules, or 
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1 regulations to established investigative and ad2 judicative entities of the Government Account3 ability Office. 

4 ‘‘(2) The Inspector General shall not, after re5 ceipt of a complaint or information from an em6 ployee, disclose the identity of the employee without 

7 the consent of the employee, unless the Inspector 

8 General determines such disclosure is unavoidable 

9 during the course of the investigation. 

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

11 direct others to take, recommend, or approve any 

12 personnel action, shall not, with respect to such au13 thority, take or threaten to take any action against 

14 any employee as a reprisal for making a complaint 

15 or disclosing information to the Inspector General, 

16 unless the complaint was made or the information 

17 disclosed with the knowledge that it was false or 

18 with willful disregard for its truth or falsity. 

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

20 General shall submit semiannual reports summarizing the 

21 activities of the Office of the Inspector General to the 

22 Comptroller General. Such reports shall include, but need 

23 not be limited to— 

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

25 made during the reporting period, including a de-
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1 scription of significant problems, abuses, and defi2 ciencies disclosed by such report; 

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

4 corrective action made with respect to significant 

5 problems, abuses, or deficiencies described pursuant 

6 to subparagraph (A); 

7 ‘‘(C) a summary of the progress made in imple8 menting such corrective action described pursuant to 

9 subparagraph (B); and 

10 ‘‘(D) information concerning any disagreement 

11 the Comptroller General has with a recommendation 

12 of the Inspector General. 

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

14 semiannual reports of the Inspector General, together with 

15 any comments the Comptroller General considers appro16 priate, to Congress within 30 days after receipt of such 

17 reports. 

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

19 RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Comptroller General may not 

20 prevent or prohibit the Inspector General from carrying 

21 out any of the duties or responsibilities of the Inspector 

22 General under this section. 

23 ‘‘(g) AUTHORITY FOR STAFF.— 

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

25 shall select, appoint, and employ such personnel as 
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1 may be necessary to carry out this section consistent 

2 with the provisions of this title governing selections, 

3 appointments, and employment in the Government 

4 Accountability Office. Such personnel shall be ap5 pointed, promoted, and assigned only on the basis of 

6 merit and fitness, but without regard to those provi7 sions of title 5 governing appointments and other 

8 personnel actions in the competitive service, except 

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

10 annual rate greater than $1,000 less than the an11 nual rate of pay of the Inspector General. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The In13 spector General may procure temporary and inter14 mittent services under section 3109 of title 5 at 

15 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual 

16 rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Sched17 ule under section 5315 of such title. 

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

19 No individual may carry out any of the duties or re20 sponsibilities of the Office of the Inspector General 

21 unless the individual is appointed by the Inspector 

22 General, or provides services obtained by the Inspec23 tor General, pursuant to this paragraph. 

24 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON PROGRAM RESPONSIBIL25 ITIES.—The Inspector General and any individual 
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1 carrying out any of the duties or responsibilities of 

2 the Office of the Inspector General are prohibited 

3 from performing any program responsibilities. 

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

5 provide the Office of the Inspector General— 

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

7 ‘‘(2) such equipment, office supplies, and com8 munications facilities and services as may be nec9 essary for the operation of the Office of the Inspec10 tor General; 

11 ‘‘(3) necessary maintenance services for such 

12 office space, equipment, office supplies, and commu13 nications facilities; and 

14 ‘‘(4) equipment and facilities located in such of15 fice space. 

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

17 ‘Federal agency’ means a department, agency, instrumen18 tality, or unit thereof, of the Federal Government.’’. 

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

20 position of Inspector General of the Government Account21 ability Office on the date of the enactment of this Act shall 

22 continue to serve in such position subject to removal in 

23 accordance with the amendments made by this section. 
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1 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 for chapter 7 is amended by inserting after the item relat3 ing to section 704 the following: 

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

4 SEC. 6. REIMBURSEMENT OF AUDIT COSTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3521 is amended by add6 ing at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(i)(1) If the Government Accountability Office au8 dits any financial statement or related schedule which is 

9 prepared under section 3515 by an executive agency (or 

10 component thereof) for a fiscal year beginning on or after 

11 October 1, 2009, such executive agency (or component) 

12 shall reimburse the Government Accountability Office for 

13 the cost of such audit if— 

14 ‘‘(A) the statement or schedule audited is that 

15 of an executive agency (or component) which sub16 mitted a financial statement or related schedule 

17 under section 3515 for fiscal year 2007 which was 

18 audited by the Government Accountability Office; or 

19 ‘‘(B) the reason for the audit (described in the 

20 matter before subparagraph (A)) is because of the 

21 Comptroller General’s determination of materiality 

22 to the statements required under section 331(e). 

23 ‘‘(2) Any executive agency (or component thereof) 

24 that prepares a financial statement under section 3515 for 

25 a fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2009, and 
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1 that requests the Government Accountability Office to 

2 audit such statement or any related schedule may reim3 burse the Government Accountability Office for the cost 

4 of such audit. 

5 ‘‘(3) Any reimbursement under paragraph (1) or (2) 

6 shall be deposited to a special account in the Treasury 

7 and shall be available to the Government Accountability 

8 Office for such purposes and in such amounts as are speci9 fied in annual appropriations Acts.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1401 of 

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

12 repealed, effective October 1, 2010. 

13 SEC. 7. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. 

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

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

16 (1) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘(except any offi17 cer or employee of the Government Accountability 

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

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

21 and 

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

23 ‘‘(ii) each officer or employee of the Gov24 ernment Accountability Office who, for at least 

25 60 consecutive days, occupies a position for 
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1 which the rate of basic pay, minus the amount 

2 of locality pay that would have been authorized 

3 under section 5304 of title 5, United States 

4 Code (had the officer or employee been paid 

5 under the General Schedule) for the locality 

6 within which the position of such officer or em7 ployee is located (as determined by the Comp8 troller General), is equal to or greater than 120 

9 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay pay10 able for GS–15 of the General Schedule; and’’. 

11 SEC. 8. HIGHEST BASIC PAY RATE. 

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

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

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

15 cash compensation in any year shall be subject to the limi16 tations provided under section 5307(a)(1) of title 5;’’. 

17 SEC. 9. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES. 

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

19 (1) by repealing subsection (d); 

20 (2) in subsection (e)— 

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

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

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

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

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

2 follows and inserting the following: ‘‘more than 

3 20 experts and consultants may be procured for 

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

5 be renewable.’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(j) Funds appropriated to the Government Account8 ability Office for salaries and expenses are available for 

9 meals and other related reasonable expenses incurred in 

10 connection with recruitment.’’. 

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

12 732a(b) is amended by striking ‘‘section 731(d), (e)(1), 

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

14 731(e)’’. 

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

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

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

Passed the House of Representatives June 9, 2008. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5683 

AN ACT 

To make certain reforms with respect to the Govposes. ernment Accountability Office, and for other pur-