I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 470 

To improve the efficiency of Federal Executive Boards to enhance the coordination, economy, and effectiveness of Federal agency activities, including 

emergency preparedness and continuity of operations, in geographic areas 

outside the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2013 

Mr. CONNOLLY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To improve the efficiency of Federal Executive Boards to 

enhance the coordination, economy, and effectiveness of 

Federal agency activities, including emergency preparedness and continuity of operations, in geographic areas 

outside the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Executive 

5 Board Efficiency Act’’. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 470 IH

1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BOARDS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 5, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘§ 1106. Federal executive boards 

6 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are 

7 to— 

8 ‘‘(1) strengthen the coordination of Government 

9 activities; 

10 ‘‘(2) facilitate interagency collaboration to im11 prove the efficiency and effectiveness of Federal pro12 grams; 

13 ‘‘(3) facilitate communication and collaboration 

14 on Federal emergency preparedness and continuity 

15 of operations for the Federal workforce in applicable 

16 geographic areas; and 

17 ‘‘(4) provide stable funding for Federal Execu18 tive Boards. 

19 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’— 

21 ‘‘(A) means an Executive agency as de22 fined under section 105; and 

23 ‘‘(B) shall not include the Government Ac24 countability Office. 

25 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

26 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 470 IH

1 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD.—The term 

2 ‘Federal Executive Board’ means an interagency en3 tity established by the Director, in consultation with 

4 the headquarters of appropriate agencies, in a geo5 graphic area with a high concentration of Federal 

6 employees outside the Washington, DC, metropolitan 

7 area to strengthen the management and administra8 tion of agency activities and coordination among 

9 local Federal officers to implement national initia10 tives in that geographic area. 

11 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 

13 Federal Executive Boards in geographic areas out14 side the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Before 

15 establishing Federal Executive Boards that are not 

16 in existence on the date of enactment of this section, 

17 the Director shall consult with the headquarters of 

18 appropriate agencies to determine the number and 

19 location of the Federal Executive Boards. 

20 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Each Federal Executive 

21 Board for a geographic area shall consist of an ap22 propriate senior officer for each agency in that geo23 graphic area. The appropriate senior officer may 

24 designate, by title of office, an alternate representa25 tive who shall attend meetings and otherwise repVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:59 Feb 09, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H470.IH H470

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 470 IH

1 resent the agency on the Federal Executive Board in 

2 the absence of the appropriate senior officer. An al3 ternate representative shall be a senior officer in the 

4 agency. 

5 ‘‘(3) LOCATION OF FEDERAL EXECUTIVE

6 BOARDS.—In determining the location for the estab7 lishment of Federal Executive Boards, the Director 

8 shall consider— 

9 ‘‘(A) whether a Federal Executive Board 

10 exists in a geographic area on the date of enact11 ment of this section; 

12 ‘‘(B) whether a geographic area has a 

13 strong, viable, and active Federal Executive As14 sociation; 

15 ‘‘(C) whether the Federal Executive Asso16 ciation of a geographic area petitions the Direc17 tor to become a Federal Executive Board; and 

18 ‘‘(D) such other factors as the Director 

19 and the headquarters of appropriate agencies 

20 consider relevant. 

21 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION AND OVERSIGHT.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide 

23 for the administration and oversight of Federal Ex24 ecutive Boards, including— 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 470 IH

1 ‘‘(A) establishing staffing policies in con2 sultation with the headquarters of agencies par3 ticipating in Federal Executive Boards; 

4 ‘‘(B) designating an agency to staff each 

5 Federal Executive Board based on rec6 ommendations from that Federal Executive 

7 Board; 

8 ‘‘(C) establishing communications policies 

9 for the dissemination of information to agen10 cies; 

11 ‘‘(D) in consultation with the headquarters 

12 of appropriate agencies, establishing perform13 ance standards for the Federal Executive Board 

14 staff; 

15 ‘‘(E) developing accountability initiatives 

16 to ensure Federal Executive Boards are meet17 ing performance standards; and 

18 ‘‘(F) administering Federal Executive 

19 Board funding through the fund established in 

20 subsection (f). 

21 ‘‘(2) STAFFING.—In making designations under 

22 paragraph (1)(B), the Director shall give preference 

23 to agencies staffing Federal Executive Boards. 

24 ‘‘(e) GOVERNANCE AND ACTIVITIES.— 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 470 IH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal Executive 

2 Board shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) subject to the approval of the Direc4 tor, adopt by-laws or other rules for the inter5 nal governance of the Federal Executive Board; 

6 ‘‘(B) elect a Chairperson from among the 

7 members of the Federal Executive Board, who 

8 shall serve for a set term; 

9 ‘‘(C) serve as an instrument of outreach 

10 for the national headquarters of agencies relat11 ing to agency activities in the geographic area; 

12 ‘‘(D) provide a forum for the exchange of 

13 information relating to programs and manage14 ment methods and problems— 

15 ‘‘(i) between the national head16 quarters of agencies and the field; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) among field elements in the geo18 graphic area; 

19 ‘‘(E) develop local coordinated approaches 

20 to the development and operation of programs 

21 that have common characteristics; 

22 ‘‘(F) communicate management initiatives 

23 and other concerns from Federal officers and 

24 employees in the Washington, DC, area to Fed25 eral officers and employees in the geographic 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 470 IH

1 area to achieve better mutual understanding 

2 and support; 

3 ‘‘(G) develop relationships with State and 

4 local governments and nongovernmental organi5 zations to help fulfill the roles and responsibil6 ities of that Board; 

7 ‘‘(H) in coordination with appropriate 

8 agencies and consistent with any relevant 

9 memoranda of understanding between the Of10 fice of Personnel Management and such agen11 cies, facilitate communication, collaboration, 

12 and training to prepare the Federal workforce 

13 for emergencies and continuity of operations; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(I) take other actions as agreed to by the 

16 Federal Executive Board and the Director. 

17 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.— 

18 The facilitation of communication, collaboration, and 

19 training described under paragraph (1)(H) shall, 

20 when appropriate, be coordinated and defined 

21 through memoranda of understanding entered into 

22 between the Director and headquarters of appro23 priate agencies. 

24 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.— 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 470 IH

1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—The Director 

2 shall establish a fund within the Office of Personnel 

3 Management for financing essential Federal Execu4 tive Board functions— 

5 ‘‘(A) including basic staffing and operating 

6 expenses; and 

7 ‘‘(B) excluding the costs of the Office of 

8 Personnel Management relating to administra9 tive and oversight activities conducted under 

10 subsection (d). 

11 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—There shall be deposited in 

12 the fund established under paragraph (1) contribu13 tions from the headquarters of each agency partici14 pating in Federal Executive Boards, in an amount 

15 determined by a formula established by the Director, 

16 in consultation with the headquarters of such agen17 cies and the Office of Management and Budget. 

18 ‘‘(3) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) FORMULA.—The formula for con20 tributions established by the Director shall con21 sider the number of employees in each agency 

22 in all geographic areas served by Federal Exec23 utive Boards. The contribution of the head24 quarters of each agency to the fund shall be re25 calculated at least every 2 years. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 470 IH

1 ‘‘(B) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—At the 

2 sole discretion of the Director, the headquarters 

3 of an agency may provide in-kind contributions 

4 instead of providing monetary contributions to 

5 the fund. 

6 ‘‘(4) USE OF EXCESS AMOUNTS.—Any unobli7 gated and unexpended balances in the fund which 

8 the Director determines to be in excess of amounts 

9 needed for essential Federal Executive Board func10 tions shall be allocated by the Director, in consulta11 tion with the headquarters of agencies participating 

12 in Federal Executive Boards, among the Federal 

13 Executive Boards for the activities under subsection 

14 (e) and other priorities, such as conducting training. 

15 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE AND OVERSIGHT

16 COSTS.—The Office of Personnel Management shall 

17 pay for costs relating to administrative and oversight 

18 activities conducted under subsection (d) from ap19 propriations made available to the Office of Per20 sonnel Management. 

21 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.—The Director shall submit annual 

22 reports to Congress and agencies on Federal Executive 

23 Board program outcomes and budget matters. 

24 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—The Director shall prescribe 

25 regulations necessary to carry out this section.’’. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 470 IH

1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Per3 sonnel Management shall submit a report to the Com4 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

5 of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Gov6 ernment Reform of the House of Representatives that in7 cludes— 

8 (1) a description of essential Federal Executive 

9 Board functions; 

10 (2) details of basic staffing requirements for 

11 each Federal Executive Board; 

12 (3) estimates of basic staffing and operating ex13 penses for each Federal Executive Board; and 

14 (4) a comparison of basic staffing and oper15 ating expenses for Federal Executive Boards oper16 ating before the date of enactment of this Act and 

17 such expenses for Federal Executive Boards after 

18 the implementation of this Act. 

19 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

20 The table of sections for chapter 11 of title 5, United 

21 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat22 ing to section 1105 the following: 

‘‘1106. Federal Executive Boards.’’. 

Æ 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS