I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3637

To amend chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, and title 31, United

States Code, to provide employees who transfer in the interest of the

Government more effective and efficient delivery of relocation allowances

by reducing administrative costs and improving services, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 13, 1996

Mr. HORN (for himself and Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform and

Oversight

A BILL

To amend chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, and

title 31, United States Code, to provide employees who

transfer in the interest of the Government more effective

and efficient delivery of relocation allowances by reducing

administrative costs and improving services, 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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Travel Reform and

5 Savings Act of 1996’’.
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1 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.

TITLE I—RELOCATION BENEFITS

Sec. 101. Modification of allowance for seeking permanent residence quarters.

Sec. 102. Modification of temporary quarters subsistence expenses allowance.

Sec. 103. Modification of residence transaction expenses allowance.

Sec. 104. Authority to pay for property management services.

Sec. 105. Authority to provide employment assistance services to the spouse of

a transferring employee.

Sec. 106. Authority to transport a privately owned motor vehicle within the

continental United States.

Sec. 107. Authority to pay limited relocation allowances to an employee who is

performing an extended assignment.

Sec. 108. Authority to pay a home marketing incentive.

Sec. 109. Conforming amendments.

TITLE II—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 201. Repeal of the long-distance telephone call certification requirement.

Sec. 202. Transfer of authority to issue regulations.

3 TITLE I—RELOCATION BENEFITS

4 SEC. 101. MODIFICATION OF ALLOWANCE FOR SEEKING

5 PERMANENT RESIDENCE QUARTERS.

6 Section 5724a of title 5, United States Code, is

7 amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘§ 5724a. Relocation expenses of employees trans9 ferred or reemployed

10 ‘‘(a) An agency shall pay to or on behalf of an em11 ployee who transfers in the interest of the Government,

12 a per diem allowance or the actual subsistence expenses,

13 or a combination thereof, of the immediate family of the

14 employee for en route travel of the immediate family be15 tween the employee’s old and new official stations.
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1 ‘‘(b)(1) An agency may pay to or on behalf of an em2 ployee who transfers in the interest of the Government be3 tween official stations located within the United States—

4 ‘‘(A) the expenses of transportation, and either

5 a per diem allowance or the actual subsistence ex6 penses, or a combination thereof, of the employee

7 and the employee’s spouse for travel to seek perma8 nent residence quarters at a new official station; or

9 ‘‘(B) the expenses of transportation, and an

10 amount for subsistence expenses in lieu of a per

11 diem allowance or the actual subsistence expenses or

12 a combination thereof, authorized in subparagraph

13 (A) of this paragraph.

14 ‘‘(2) Expenses authorized under this subsection may

15 be allowed only for one round trip in connection with each

16 change of station of the employee.’’.

17 SEC. 102. MODIFICATION OF TEMPORARY QUARTERS SUB18 SISTENCE EXPENSES ALLOWANCE.

19 Section 5724a of title 5, United States Code, is fur20 ther amended by adding at the end the following new sub21 section:

22 ‘‘(c)(1) An agency may pay to or on behalf of an em23 ployee who transfers in the interest of the Government—

24 ‘‘(A) actual subsistence expenses of the em25 ployee and the employee’s immediate family for a pe-
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1 riod of 60 days while occupying temporary quarters

2 when the new official station is located within the

3 United States as defined in subsection (d) of this

4 section; or

5 ‘‘(B) an amount for subsistence expenses in6 stead of the actual subsistence expenses authorized

7 in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.

8 ‘‘(2) The period authorized in paragraph (1) of this

9 subsection for payment of expenses for residence in tem10 porary quarters may be extended up to an additional 60

11 days if the head of the agency concerned or his or her

12 designee determines that there are compelling reasons for

13 the continued occupancy of temporary quarters.

14 ‘‘(3) The regulations implementing paragraph (1)(A)

15 shall prescribe daily rates and amounts for subsistence ex16 penses per individual.’’.

17 SEC. 103. MODIFICATION OF RESIDENCE TRANSACTION EX18 PENSES ALLOWANCE.

19 (a) EXPENSES OF SALE.—Section 5724a of title 5,

20 United States Code, is further amended by adding at the

21 end the following new subsection:

22 ‘‘(d)(1) If an employee of an agency transfers in the

23 interest of the Government between official stations that

24 are both located within the United States, the agency shall

25 pay to or on behalf of the employee—
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1 ‘‘(A) expenses of the sale of the residence (or

2 the settlement of an unexpired lease) of the em3 ployee at the old official station; and

4 ‘‘(B) expenses of purchase of a home at the new

5 official station that are required to be paid by the

6 employee.

7 ‘‘(2) If an employee of an agency transfers in the in8 terest of the Government from a post of duty located out9 side the United States to an official station within the

10 United States (other than the official station within the

11 United States from which the employee was transferred

12 when assigned to the foreign tour of duty), the agency

13 shall pay to or on behalf of the employee—

14 ‘‘(A) expenses required to be paid by the em15 ployee for the sale of the residence (or the settle16 ment of an unexpired lease) of the employee at the

17 old official station from which the employee was

18 transferred when he or she was assigned to the post

19 of duty located outside the United States; and

20 ‘‘(B) expenses required to be paid by the em21 ployee for the purchase of a residence at the new of22 ficial station within the United States.

23 ‘‘(d)(1) An agency shall pay to or on behalf of an

24 employee who transfers in the interest of the Government,

25 expenses of the sale of the residence (or the settlement
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1 of an unexpired lease) of the employee at the old official

2 station and purchase of a home at the new official station

3 that are required to be paid by the employee, when the

4 old and new official stations are located within the United

5 States.

6 ‘‘(2) An agency shall pay to or on behalf of an em7 ployee who transfers in the interest of the Government

8 from a post of duty located outside the United States to

9 an official station within the United States (other than

10 the official station within the United States from which

11 the employee was transferred when assigned to the foreign

12 tour of duty)—

13 ‘‘(A) expenses required to be paid by the em14 ployee for the sale of the residence (or the settle15 ment of an unexpired lease) of the employee at the

16 old official station from which the employee was

17 transferred when he or she was assigned to the post

18 of duty located outside the United States; and

19 ‘‘(B) expenses required to be paid by the em20 ployee for the purchase of a residence at the new of21 ficial station within the United States.

22 ‘‘(3) Reimbursement of expenses under paragraph (2)

23 of this subsection shall not be allowed for any sale (or set24 tlement of an unexpired lease) or purchase transaction

25 that occurs prior to official notification that the employ-
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1 ee’s return to the United States would be to an official

2 station other than the official station from which the em3 ployee was transferred when assigned to the post of duty

4 outside the United States.

5 ‘‘(4) Reimbursement for brokerage fees on the sale

6 of the residence and other expenses under this subsection

7 may not exceed those customarily charged in the locality

8 where the residence is located.

9 ‘‘(5) Reimbursement may not be made under this

10 subsection for losses incurred by the employee on the sale

11 of the residence.

12 ‘‘(6) This subsection applies regardless of whether

13 title to the residence or the unexpired lease is in the name

14 of the employee alone, in the joint names of the employee

15 and a member of the employee’s immediate family, or in

16 the name of a member of the employee’s immediate family

17 alone.

18 ‘‘(7)(A) In connection with the sale of the residence

19 at the old official station, reimbursement under this sub20 section shall not exceed 10 percent of the sale price.

21 ‘‘(B) In connection with the purchase of a residence

22 at the new official station, reimbursement under this sub23 section shall not exceed 5 percent of the purchase price.

24 ‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘Unit25 ed States’ means the several States of the United States,
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1 the District of Columbia, the territories and possessions

2 of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

3 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and

4 the areas and installations in the Republic of Panama

5 made available to the United States pursuant to the Pan6 ama Canal Treaty of 1977 and related agreements (as de7 scribed in section 3(a) of the Panama Canal Act of

8 1979).’’.

9 (b) RELOCATION SERVICES.—Section 5724c of title

10 5, United State Code, is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘§ 5724c. Relocation services

12 ‘‘Under regulations prescribed under section 5737,

13 each agency may enter into contracts to provide relocation

14 services to agencies and employees for the purpose of car15 rying out this subchapter. An agency may pay a fee for

16 such services. Such services include, but need not be lim17 ited to, arranging for the purchase of a transferred em18 ployee’s residence.’’.

19 SEC. 104. AUTHORITY TO PAY FOR PROPERTY MANAGE20 MENT SERVICES.

21 Section 5724a of title 5, United States Code, is fur22 ther amended—

23 (1) in subsection (d) (as added by section 103),

24 by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (9),
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1 and by inserting after paragraph (7) the following

2 new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(8) An agency may pay to or on behalf of an em4 ployee who transfers in the interest of the Government,

5 expenses of property management services, instead of ex6 penses under paragraph (2) or (3) of this subsection, for

7 sale of the employee’s residence.’’; and

8 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub9 section:

10 ‘‘(e) An agency may pay to or on behalf of an em11 ployee who transfers in the interest of the Government,

12 the expenses of property management services when the

13 employee transfers to a post of duty outside the United

14 States as defined in subsection (d) of this section. Such

15 payment shall terminate upon return of the employee to

16 an official station within the United States as defined in

17 subsection (d) of this section.’’.

18 SEC. 105. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT ASSIST19 ANCE SERVICES TO THE SPOUSE OF A TRANS20 FERRING EMPLOYEE.

21 Section 5724a of title 5, United States Code, as

22 amended by section 104, is further amended by adding

23 at the end the following new subsection:

24 ‘‘(f) An agency may pay, to or on behalf of an em25 ployee who transfers in the interest of the Government,
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1 the expenses of employment assistance services for the em2 ployee’s spouse.’’.

3 SEC. 106. AUTHORITY TO TRANSPORT A PRIVATELY OWNED

4 MOTOR VEHICLE WITHIN THE CONTINENTAL

5 UNITED STATES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5727 of title 5, United

7 States Code, is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e)

9 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively;

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow11 ing new subsection:

12 ‘‘(c) Under regulations prescribed under section

13 5737, the privately owned motor vehicle or vehicles of an

14 employee, including a new appointee or a student trainee

15 for whom travel and transportation expenses are author16 ized under section 5723, may be transported at Govern17 ment expense to a new official station of the employee

18 when the agency determines that it is advantageous and

19 cost effective to the Government.’’; and

20 (3) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), by

21 striking ‘‘subsection (b) of this section’’ and by in22 serting ‘‘subsection (b) or (c) of this section’’.

23 (b) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

24 (1) NEW APPOINTEES.—Section 5722(a) of title

25 5, United States Code, is amended—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para2 graph (1);

3 (B) by striking the period at the end of

4 paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(3) the expenses of transporting a privately

7 owned motor vehicle to the extent authorized under

8 section 5727.’’.

9 (2) NEW APPOINTEES AND STUDENT TRAIN10 EES.—Section 5723(a) of title 5, United States

11 Code, is amended—

12 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para13 graph (1);

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon

15 at the end of paragraph (2); and

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

17 ‘‘(3) the expenses of transporting a privately

18 owned motor vehicle to the extent authorized under

19 section 5727(c);’’.

20 SEC. 107. AUTHORITY TO PAY LIMITED RELOCATION AL21 LOWANCES TO AN EMPLOYEE WHO IS PER22 FORMING AN EXTENDED ASSIGNMENT.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 57 of

24 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

25 end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 5736. Relocation expenses of an employee who is

2 performing an extended assignment

3 ‘‘(a) Under regulations prescribed under section

4 5737, an agency may pay to or on behalf of an employee

5 assigned from his or her official station to a duty station

6 for an extended period of time, the following expenses in

7 lieu of payment of expenses authorized under subchapter

8 I of this chapter:

9 ‘‘(1) Travel expenses to and from the assign10 ment location in accordance with section 5724.

11 ‘‘(2) Transportation expenses of the immediate

12 family and household goods and personal effects to

13 and from the assignment location in accordance with

14 section 5724.

15 ‘‘(3) A per diem allowance for the employee’s

16 immediate family to and from the assignment loca17 tion in accordance with section 5724a(a).

18 ‘‘(4) Travel and transportation expenses of the

19 employee and spouse to seek residence quarters at

20 the assignment location in accordance with section

21 5724a(b).

22 ‘‘(5) Subsistence expenses of the employee and

23 the employee’s immediate family while occupying

24 temporary quarters upon commencement and termi25 nation of the assignment in accordance with section

26 5724a(c).
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1 ‘‘(6) An amount, in accordance with section

2 5724a(g), to be used by the employee for miscellane3 ous expenses related to change of station where

4 movement or storage of household goods is involved.

5 ‘‘(7) The expenses of transporting a privately

6 owned motor vehicle or vehicles to the assignment lo7 cation in accordance with section 5727.

8 ‘‘(8) An allowance as authorized under section

9 5724b of this title for Federal, State, and local in10 come taxes incurred on reimbursement of expenses

11 paid under this section or on services provided in

12 kind under this section.

13 ‘‘(9) Expenses of nontemporary storage of

14 household goods and personal effects as defined in

15 section 5726(a). The weight of the household goods

16 and personal effects stored under this subsection, to17 gether with the weight of property transported under

18 section 5724(a), may not exceed the total maximum

19 weight which could be transported in accordance

20 with section 5724(a).

21 ‘‘(10) Expenses of property management serv22 ices.

23 ‘‘(b) An agency shall not make payment under this

24 section to or on behalf of the employee for expenses in25 curred after termination of the temporary assignment.
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1 ‘‘(c) When an employee is paid travel and transpor2 tation expenses under this section, the duty station shall

3 be considered the employee’s official station.’’.

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

5 for chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is amended

6 by inserting after the item relating to section 5735 the

7 following new item:

‘‘5736. Relocation expenses of an employee who is performing an extended assignment.’’.

8 SEC. 108. AUTHORITY TO PAY A HOME MARKETING INCEN9 TIVE.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 57 of

11 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

12 end the following new section:

13 ‘‘§ 5756. Home marketing incentive payment

14 ‘‘(a) Under such regulations as the Administrator of

15 General Services may prescribe, an agency may pay to an

16 employee who transfers in the interest of the Government

17 an amount, not to exceed a maximum payment amount

18 established by the Administrator in consultation with the

19 Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to en20 courage the employee to aggressively market his or her

21 residence at the old official station when—

22 ‘‘(1) the residence is entered into a program es23 tablished under a contract in accordance with sec-
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1 tion 5724c of this chapter, to arrange for the pur2 chase of the residence;

3 ‘‘(2) the employee finds a buyer who completes

4 the purchase of the residence through the program;

5 and

6 ‘‘(3) the sale of the residence to the individual

7 results in a reduced cost to the Government.

8 ‘‘(b) For fiscal years 1997 and 1998, the Adminis9 trator shall establish a maximum payment amount of 5

10 percent of the sales price of the home.’’.

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

12 for chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is amended

13 by inserting at the end the following:

‘‘5756. Home marketing incentive payment.’’.

14 SEC. 109. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

15 (a) Section 5724a of title 5, United States Code, is

16 further amended by adding at the end the following new

17 subsections:

18 ‘‘(g) An employee who is reimbursed under sub19 sections (a) through (f) of this section or section 5724(a)

20 of this title is entitled to an amount for miscellaneous ex21 penses—

22 ‘‘(1) not to exceed 2 weeks’ basic pay, if he or

23 she has an immediate family; or

24 ‘‘(2) not to exceed 1 week’s basic pay, if he or

25 she does not have an immediate family.
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1 However, the amounts may not exceed amounts deter2 mined from the maximum rate for GS–13.

3 ‘‘(h) A former employee separated by reason of reduc4 tion in force or transfer of function who within 1 year

5 after the separation is reemployed by a nontemporary ap6 pointment at a different geographical location from that

7 where the separation occurred may be allowed and paid

8 the expenses authorized by sections 5724, 5725, 5726(b),

9 and 5727 of this title, and may receive the benefits author10 ized by subsections (a) through (g) of this section, in the

11 same manner as though he or she had been transferred

12 in the interest of the Government without a break in serv13 ice to the location of reemployment from the location

14 where separated.

15 ‘‘(i) Payments for subsistence expenses, including

16 amounts in lieu of per diem or actual subsistence expenses

17 or a combination thereof, authorized under this section

18 shall not exceed the maximum payment allowed under reg19 ulations which implement section 5702 of this title.

20 ‘‘(j) Subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall be imple21 mented under regulations issued under section 5737.’’.

22 (b) Section 3375 of title 5, United States Code, is

23 amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘section

2 5724a(a)(1) of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘section

3 5724a(a) of this title’’;

4 (2) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ‘‘section

5 5724a(a)(3) of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘section

6 5724a(c) of this title’’; and

7 (3) in subsection (a)(5), by striking ‘‘section

8 5724a(b) of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘section

9 5724a(g) of this title’’.

10 (c) Section 5724(e) of title 5, United States Code,

11 is amended by striking ‘‘section 5724a(a), (b) of this title’’

12 and inserting ‘‘section 5724a(a) through (g) of this title’’.

13 (d) Section 707 of title 38, United States Code, is

14 amended—

15 (1) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ‘‘Section

16 5724a(a)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘Section 5724a(c)’’; and

17 (2) in subsection (a)(7), by striking ‘‘Section

18 5724a(a)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 5724a(d)’’.

19 (e) Section 501 of the Public Health Service Act (42

20 U.S.C. 290aa) is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (g)(2)(A), by striking

22 ‘‘5724a(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘5724a(a)’’; and

23 (2) in subsection (g)(2)(A), by striking

24 ‘‘5724a(a)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘5724a(c)’’.
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1 (f) Section 925 of the Public Health Service Act (42

2 U.S.C. 299c–4) is amended—

3 (1) in subsection (f)(2)(A), by striking

4 ‘‘5724a(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘5724a(a)’’; and

5 (2) in subsection (f)(2)(A), by striking

6 ‘‘5724a(a)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘5724a(c)’’.

7 SEC. 110. GENERAL DEFINITION OF UNITED STATES.

8 Section 5721 of title 5, United States Code, is

9 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end

10 of paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the

12 end the following new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(6) except for purposes of subsections (c), (d),

14 and (e) of section 5724a of this title, ‘United States’

15 means the several States and the District of Colum16 bia.’’.

17 TITLE II—MISCELLANEOUS

18 PROVISIONS

19 SEC. 201. REPEAL OF THE LONG-DISTANCE TELEPHONE

20 CALL CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.

21 Section 1348 of title 31, United States Code, is

22 amended—

23 (1) by striking the last sentence of subsection

24 (a)(2);

25 (2) by striking subsection (b); and
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1 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as

2 subsections (b) and (c), respectively.

3 SEC. 202. AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE USE OF THE TRAVEL

4 CHARGE CARD.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of General

6 Services may require that Federal employees use the travel

7 charge card established pursuant to the United States

8 Travel and Transportation Payment and Expense Control

9 System or any Federal contractor-issued travel charge

10 card issued for all payments of expenses of official Govern11 ment travel. The Administrator may exempt payments

12 from any requirement established under the preceding

13 sentence in any case in which—

14 (1) it is in the best interest of the United

15 States to do so; or

16 (2) payment through a travel charge card is im17 practical or imposes unreasonable burdens or costs

18 on Federal employees or their agencies.

19 (b) LIMITATION ON RESTRICTION ON DISCLO20 SURE.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1113 of the Right to

22 Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3413) is

23 amended by adding at the end the following new

24 subsection:
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1 ‘‘(q) Nothing in this title shall apply to the disclosure

2 of any financial record or information to a Government

3 authority in conjunction with a Federal contractor-issued

4 travel charge card issued for official Government travel.’’.

5 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

6 by paragraph (1) is effective as of October 1, 1983,

7 and applies to any records created pursuant to the

8 United States Travel and Transportation Payment

9 and Expense Control System or any Federal con10 tractor-issued travel charge issued for official Gov11 ernment travel.

12 SEC. 203. PREPAYMENT AUDITS OF TRANSPORTATION EX13 PENSES.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Section 3322 of title 31, Unit15 ed States Code, is amended in subsection (c) by inserting

16 after ‘‘classifications’’ the following: ‘‘if the Administrator

17 of General Services has determined that verification by

18 prepayment audit conducted pursuant to section 3726(c)

19 of this title will not adequately protect the interests of the

20 Government’’.

21 (2) Section 3528 of title 31, United States Code, is

22 amended—

23 (A) in subsection (a)(3) by striking ‘‘and’’ after

24 the semicolon at the end, in subsection (a)(4)(C) by

25 striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’,
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1 and by adding at the end of subsection (a) the fol2 lowing new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(5) verifying transportation rates, freight clas4 sifications, and other information provided on a Gov5 ernment bill of lading or transportation request, un6 less the Administrator of General Services has deter7 mined that verification by a prepayment audit con8 ducted pursuant to section 3726(a) of this title will

9 not adequately protect the interests of the Govern10 ment.’’;

11 (B) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting after ‘‘de12 ductions’’ the following: ‘‘and the Administrator of

13 General Services has determined that verification by

14 a prepayment audit conducted pursuant to section

15 3726(a) of this title will not adequately protect the

16 interests of the Government’’; and

17 (C) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting after

18 ‘‘agreement’’ the following: ‘‘and the Administrator

19 of General Services has determined that verification

20 by prepayment audit will not adequately protect the

21 interests of the Government’’.

22 (3) Section 3726 of title 31, United States Code, is

23 amended—

24 (A) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol25 lows:
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1 ‘‘(a) Each agency which receives a bill from a carrier

2 or freight forwarder for transporting an individual or

3 property for the United States Government shall verify its

4 correctness (to include transportation rates, freight classi5 fications, or proper combinations thereof), using prepay6 ment audit or other means suitable to the circumstances,

7 prior to payment in accordance with the requirements of

8 this section and regulations prescribed by the Adminis9 trator of General Services. The Administrator of General

10 Services may exempt bills from an audit or review, and

11 determine that bills are exempt from a prepayment audit

12 or verification based on cost-effectiveness, public interest,

13 or other factors the Administrator deems appropriate. Ex14 penses for prepayment audits shall be funded by the agen15 cy’s appropriations used for the transportation services.

16 The audit authority provided to agencies by this section

17 is subject to oversight by the Administrator.’’;

18 (B) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), (d),

19 (e), (f), and (g) in order as subsections (d), (e), (f),

20 (g), (h), and (i), respectively;

21 (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow22 ing new subsections:

23 ‘‘(b) The Administrator may conduct pre- or

24 postpayment audits of transportation bills from any Fed-
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1 eral agency. The number and types of bills audited shall

2 be based on the Administrator’s judgment.

3 ‘‘(c) The Administrator shall adjudicate transpor4 tation claims which cannot be resolved by the agency pro5 curing the transportation services, or the carrier or

6 freight-forwarder presenting the bill. A claim under this

7 section shall be allowed only if it is received by the Admin8 istrator not later than 3 years (excluding time of war)

9 after the later of the following dates:

10 ‘‘(1) The date of accrual of the claim.

11 ‘‘(2) The date payment for the transportation is

12 made.

13 ‘‘(3) The date a refund for an overpayment for

14 the transportation is made.

15 ‘‘(4) The date a deduction under subsection (d)

16 of this section is made.’’;

17 (D) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by

18 striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

19 (e)’’, and by adding at the end the following new

20 sentence: ‘‘This reporting requirement expires De21 cember 31, 1998.’’; and

22 (E) in subsection (i)(1), as so redesignated, by

23 striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

24 (c)’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall become effective 18 months after the

3 date of enactment of this Act.

4 SEC. 204. REIMBURSEMENT FOR TAXES ON MONEY RE5 CEIVED FOR TRAVEL EXPENSES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 5, United States Code, is

7 amended by inserting after section 5706b the following

8 new section:

9 ‘‘§ 5706c. Reimbursement for taxes incurred on

10 money received for travel expenses

11 ‘‘(a) Under regulations prescribed pursuant to section

12 5707 of this title, the head of an agency or department,

13 or his or her designee, may use appropriations or other

14 funds available to an agency for administrative expenses,

15 for the reimbursement of Federal, State, and local income

16 taxes incurred by an employee or by an employee and such

17 employee’s spouse (if filing jointly), for any travel trans18 portation reimbursement made to an employee for which

19 reimbursement or an allowance is provided.

20 ‘‘(b) Reimbursements as used under this subsection

21 shall also include an amount equal to all income taxes for

22 which the employee and spouse, as the case may be, would

23 be liable due to the reimbursement for the taxes referred

24 to in the first sentence of this subsection. In addition, re25 imbursements as used under this subsection shall also in-
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1 clude penalties and interest, for the tax years 1993 and

2 1994 only, as a result of agencies failing to withhold the

3 appropriate amounts for tax liabilities of employees af4 fected by the change in the deductibility of travel expenses

5 made by Public Law 102–486.’’.

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

7 at the beginning of chapter 57 of title 5, United States

8 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to

9 section 5706b the following new item:

‘‘5706c. Reimbursement for taxes incurred on money received for travel expenses.’’.

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall be effective

11 as of January 1, 1993.

12 SEC. 205. TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY TO ISSUE REGULA13 TIONS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 57 of

15 title 5, United States Code, is further amended by adding

16 at the end the following new section:

17 ‘‘§ 5737. Regulations

18 ‘‘(a) Except as specifically provided in this sub19 chapter, the Administrator of General Services shall pre20 scribe regulations necessary for the administration of this

21 subchapter.

22 ‘‘(b) The Administrator of General Services shall pre23 scribe regulations necessary for the implementation of sec-
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1 tion 5724b of this subchapter in consultation with the Sec2 retary of the Treasury.

3 ‘‘(c) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regula4 tions necessary for the implementation of section 5735 of

5 this subchapter.’’.

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

7 for chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is further

8 amended by inserting after the item relating to section

9 5736 the following new item:

‘‘5737. Regulations.’’.

10 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 5722

11 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking

12 ‘‘Under such regulations as the President may prescribe’’,

13 and inserting ‘‘Under regulations prescribed under section

14 5737 of this title’’.

15 (2) Section 5723 of title 5, United States Code, is

16 amended by striking ‘‘Under such regulations as the

17 President may prescribe’’, and inserting ‘‘Under regula18 tions prescribed under section 5737 of this title’’.

19 (3) Section 5724 of title 5, United States Code, is

20 amended—

21 (A) in subsections (a) through (c), by striking

22 ‘‘Under such regulations as the President may pre23 scribe’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Under

24 regulations prescribed under section 5737 of this

25 title’’;
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1 (B) in subsections (c) and (e), by striking

2 ‘‘under regulations prescribed by the President’’ and

3 inserting ‘‘under regulations prescribed under sec4 tion 5737 of this title’’; and

5 (C) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘under the

6 regulations of the President’’ and inserting ‘‘under

7 regulations prescribed under section 5737 of this

8 title’’.

9 (4) Section 5724b of title 5, United States Code, is

10 amended by striking ‘‘Under such regulations as the

11 President may prescribe’’ and inserting ‘‘Under regula12 tions prescribed under section 5737 of this title’’.

13 (5) Section 5726 of title 5, United States Code, is

14 amended—

15 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘as the Presi16 dent may by regulation authorize’’ and inserting ‘‘as

17 authorized under regulations prescribed under sec18 tion 5737 of this title’’; and

19 (B) in subsections (b) and (c), by striking

20 ‘‘Under such regulations as the President may pre21 scribe’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘under

22 regulations prescribed under section 5737 of this

23 title’’.

24 (6) Section 5727(b) of title 5, United States Code,

25 is amended by striking ‘‘Under such regulations as the
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1 President may prescribe’’ and inserting ‘‘Under regula2 tions prescribed under section 5737 of this title’’.

3 (7) Section 5728 of title 5, United States Code, is

4 amended in subsections (a), (b), and (c)(1), by striking

5 ‘‘Under such regulations as the President may prescribe’’

6 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Under regulations

7 prescribed under section 5737 of this title’’.

8 (8) Section 5729 of title 5, United States Code, is

9 amended in subsections (a) and (b), by striking ‘‘Under

10 such regulations as the President may prescribe’’ each

11 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Under regulations pre12 scribed under section 5737 of this title’’.

13 (9) Section 5731 of title 5, United States Code, is

14 amended by striking ‘‘in accordance with regulations pre15 scribed by the President’’ and inserting ‘‘in accordance

16 with regulations prescribed pursuant to section 5737 of

17 this title’’.

18 SEC. 206. EFFECTIVE DATE; ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.

19 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

20 this Act shall take effect upon the expiration of the 180-

21 day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this

22 Act.

23 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator of General

24 Services shall issue regulations implementing the amend-
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1 ments made by this Act by not later than the expiration

2 of the period referred to in subsection (a).

Æ