THRIFT Act of 2015

To provide for incentives for agencies and the judiciary to increase operating efficiency. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the To Help Reduce Inefficient Federal Tendencies Act of 2015 THRIFT Act of 2015 2. Agency incentive and savings program (a) Purpose In order to provide an incentive for agencies and the judicial branch to re-engineer business processes and otherwise increase operating efficiency, it is the intent of the Congress to allow agencies and the judicial branch to retain a portion of the savings produced by internally generated agency or judicial branch program efficiencies and cost reductions. (b) Retention of funds To be eligible to retain funds, an agency or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court must submit a plan and an associated request to amend its approved operating budget to the committees of Congress having jurisdiction over appropriations specifying— (1) the modifications to approved programs resulting in efficiencies and cost savings; (2) the amount and source of the funds and positions saved; (3) the specific positions, rate, amounts, and sources of funds the agency or the judicial branch wishes to include in its incentive expenditures; (4) how the agency or the judicial branch will meet the goals and objectives established in its strategic plans; (5) how the agency or the judicial branch will meet performance standards, including those in its performance plans; and (6) any other incentive expenditures which the agency or the judicial branch believes will enhance its performance. (c) Submission to Congress All plans and budget amendments submitted to the committees of Congress having jurisdiction over appropriations pursuant to this section shall be delivered at least 30 days prior to the date of the committee meetings at which the request will be considered. (d) Determination In determining the amount the agency or the judicial branch will be allowed to retain, the committees shall consider the actual savings projected for the current budget year and the annualized savings. (e) Amount of funding retained The amount to be retained by the agency or the judicial branch shall be no less than 5 percent and no more than 25 percent of the annual savings and may be used by the agency or the judicial branch for salary increases, including awards authorized in section 4512 of title 5, United States Code, or other expenditures specified in the agency’s or the judicial branch’s plan if the salary increases or other expenditures do not create a recurring cost to the Treasury in excess of the recurring savings achieved by the agency or the judicial branch in the plan. (f) Submission of budget request Each agency or judicial branch allowed to retain funds pursuant to this section shall submit in its next budget request a schedule showing how it used such funds.

Summary: To Help Reduce Inefficient Federal Tendencies Act of 2015 or the THRIFT Act of 2015 Allows federal agencies, including judicial branch agencies, to: (1) retain up to 25% of annual savings from the implementation of plans developed by such agencies to create efficiencies and cost savings in agency operations; and (2) use such savings for specified purposes, including salary increases and employee awards for cost savings disclosures. Requires an agency to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a plan and an associated request to amend its approved operating budget specifying how such savings will be achieved and the amount and source of such savings.