I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2751
To provide new human capital flexibilities with respect to the GAO, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 16, 2003
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia (for herself and Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Government Reform 
A BILL 
To provide new human capital flexibilities with respect to 
the GAO, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF TITLE 31. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘GAO Human Capital Reform Act of 2003’’. 
(b) AMENDMENT OF TITLE 31.—Except as otherwise 
expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment 
is expressed in terms of an amendment to a section or 
other provision, the reference shall be considered to be
made to a section or other provision of title 31, United 
States Code. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO PUBLIC LAW 106–303. 
Sections 1 and 2 of Public Law 106–303 (5 U.S.C. 
8336 note and 5597 note) are amended by striking ‘‘for 
purposes of the period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2003’’ each 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘October 13, 2000’’. 
SEC. 3. ANNUAL PAY ADJUSTMENTS. 
(a) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES GENERALLY.—Para-
graph (3) of section 732(c) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) 
except 
as 
provided 
under 
section 
733(a)(3)(B) of this title, basic pay rates of officers 
and employees of the Office shall be adjusted annu-
ally to such extent as the Comptroller General shall 
determine, taking into consideration—
‘‘(A) the principle that there be equal pay 
for substantially equal work within each local 
pay area; 
‘‘(B) the Consumer Price Index; 
‘‘(C) any existing pay disparities between 
officers and employees of the Office and non-
Federal employees in each local pay area; 
‘‘(D) the pay rates for the same levels of 
work for officers and employees of the Office
and non-Federal employees in each local pay 
area; 
‘‘(E) the appropriate distribution of agency 
funds between annual adjustments under this 
section and performance-based compensation; 
and 
‘‘(F) such other criteria as the Comptroller 
General considers appropriate, including, but 
not limited to, the funding level for the Office, 
amounts allocated for performance-based com-
pensation, and the extent to which the Office is 
succeeding in fulfilling its mission and accom-
plishing its strategic plan; 
notwithstanding any other provision of this para-
graph, an adjustment under this paragraph shall not 
be applied in the case of any officer or employee 
whose performance is not at a satisfactory level, as 
determined by the Comptroller General for purposes 
of such adjustment;’’. 
(b) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE OFFICE SEN-
IOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.—Subparagraph (B) of section 
733(a)(3) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(B) adjusted annually by the Comptroller 
General after taking into consideration the fac-
tors listed under section 732(c)(3) of this title,
except that an adjustment under this subpara-
graph shall not be applied in the case of any of-
ficer or employee whose performance is not at 
a satisfactory level, as determined by the Comp-
troller General for purposes of such adjust-
ment;’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 732(b)(6) 
is amended by striking ‘‘title 5.’’ and inserting ‘‘title 5, 
except as provided under subsection (c)(3) of this section 
and section 733(a)(3)(B) of this title.’’. 
SEC. 4. PAY RETENTION. 
Paragraph (5) of section 732(c) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(5) the Comptroller General shall prescribe 
regulations under which an officer or employee of 
the Office shall be entitled to pay retention if, as a 
result of any reduction-in-force or other workforce 
adjustment procedure, position reclassification, or 
other appropriate circumstances as determined by 
the Comptroller General, such officer or employee is 
placed in or holds a position in a lower grade or 
band with a maximum rate of basic pay that is less 
than the rate of basic pay payable to the officer or 
employee immediately before the reduction in grade 
or band; such regulations—
‘‘(A) shall provide that the officer or em-
ployee shall be entitled to continue receiving the 
rate of basic pay that was payable to the officer 
or employee immediately before the reduction in 
grade or band until such time as the retained 
rate becomes less than the maximum rate for 
the grade or band of the position held by such 
officer or employee; and 
‘‘(B) shall include provisions relating to 
the minimum period of time for which an offi-
cer or employee must have served or for which 
the position must have been classified at the 
higher grade or band in order for pay retention 
to apply, the events that terminate the right to 
pay retention (apart from the one described in 
subparagraph (A)), and exclusions based on the 
nature of an appointment; in prescribing regu-
lations under this subparagraph, the Comp-
troller General shall be guided by the provisions 
of sections 5362 and 5363 of title 5.’’. 
SEC. 5. RELOCATION BENEFITS. 
Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection 
(e) the following: 
‘‘(f) The Comptroller General shall prescribe regula-
tions under which officers and employees of the Office
may, in appropriate circumstances, be reimbursed for any 
relocation expenses under subchapter II of chapter 57 of 
title 5 for which they would not otherwise be eligible, but 
only if the Comptroller General determines that the trans-
fer giving rise to such relocation is of sufficient benefit 
or value to the Office to justify such reimbursement.’’. 
SEC. 6. INCREASED ANNUAL LEAVE FOR UPPER-LEVEL EM-
PLOYEES. 
Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection 
(f) (as added by section 5) the following: 
‘‘(g) The Comptroller General shall prescribe regula-
tions under which officers and employees of the Office in 
high-grade, managerial, or supervisory positions who have 
less than 3 years of service may, in appropriate cir-
cumstances, accrue leave in accordance with section 
6303(a)(2) of title 5. Such regulations shall define high-
grade, managerial, or supervisory positions and set forth 
the factors in determining which officers and employees 
should be allowed to accrue leave in accordance with this 
subsection.’’. 
SEC. 7. EXECUTIVE EXCHANGE PROGRAM. 
Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection 
(g) (as added by section 6) the following: 
‘‘(h) The Comptroller General may by regulation es-
tablish an executive exchange program under which offi-
SEC. 8. REDESIGNATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The General Accounting Office is 
hereby redesignated the Government Accountability Of-
fice. 
(b) REFERENCES.—Any reference to the General Ac-
counting Office in any law, rule, regulation, certificate, di-
rective, instruction, or other official paper in force on the 
date of the enactment of this Act shall be considered to 
refer and apply to the Government Accountability Office. 
SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) PAY ADJUSTMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 and the amend-
ments made by section 3 shall take effect on October 
1, 2005, and shall apply in the case of any annual 
pay adjustment taking effect on or after that date. 
(2) INTERIM AUTHORITIES.—In connection with 
any pay adjustment taking effect under section 
732(c)(3) or 733(a)(3)(B) of title 31, United States 
Code, before October 1, 2005, the Comptroller Gen-
eral may by regulation—
(A) provide that such adjustment not be 
applied in the case of any officer or employee 
whose performance is not at a satisfactory level,
as determined by the Comptroller General for 
purposes of such adjustment; and 
(B) provide that such adjustment be re-
duced if and to the extent necessary because of 
extraordinary economic conditions or serious 
budget constraints. 
(3) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen-
eral may by regulation delay the effective date 
of section 3 and the amendments made by sec-
tion 3 for groups of officers and employees that 
the Comptroller General considers appropriate. 
(B) INTERIM AUTHORITIES.—If the Comp-
troller General provides for a delayed effective 
date under subparagraph (A) with respect to 
any group of officers or employees, paragraph 
(2) shall, for purposes of such group, be applied 
by substituting such date for ‘‘October 1, 
2005’’.
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