I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3864
To reform the management practices of the General Accounting Office, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 22, 1996
Mr. LATOURETTE (for himself, Mr. CLINGER, Mr. HORN, and Mr. FLANA-
GAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Government Reform and Oversight
A BILL
To reform the management practices of the General
Accounting Office, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘General Accounting
Office Management Reform Act of 1996’’.
TITLE I—GENERAL ACCOUNTING
OFFICE MANAGEMENT REFORM
SEC. 101. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE OVERSIGHT
BOARD.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS OF BOARD.—
Section 702 of title 31, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(d)(1) The activities of the General Accounting Of-
fice and the Comptroller General of the United States
shall be overseen by a board to be known as the General
Accounting Office Oversight Board.
‘‘(2) The Board shall be composed of—
‘‘(A) the Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives, or a designee of the Speaker;
‘‘(B) the President pro tempore of the Senate,
or a designee of the President pro tempore;
‘‘(C) the majority leader and minority leader of
the House of Representatives and the Senate, or
their designees; and
‘‘(D) the chairmen and ranking minority mem-
bers of the Committee on Governmental Affairs of
the Senate and the Committee on Government Re-
form and Oversight of the House of Representatives.
‘‘(3) The functions of the Board shall be to—
‘‘(A) recommend names to the President of the
United States for the position of Comptroller Gen-
eral of the United States;
‘‘(B) reinforce the role of the General Account-
ing Office as an objective source of audit, evaluation,
and analysis;
‘‘(C) consult with the Comptroller General on
the use of financial and personnel resources; and
‘‘(D) perform other duties as instructed by the
Congress.’’.
(b) RECOMMENDATION
OF APPOINTEES.—Section
703(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by
striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting the follow-
ing:
‘‘(2) When a vacancy occurs in the Office of Comp-
troller General, the General Accounting Office Oversight
Board shall recommend at least 3 individuals to the Presi-
dent for appointment to the vacant office, and such addi-
tional individuals as may be requested by the President.’’.
SEC. 102. APPOINTMENT OF THE DEPUTY COMPTROLLER
GENERAL; COMPENSATION OF THE COMP-
TROLLER 
GENERAL 
AND 
DEPUTY 
COMP-
TROLLER GENERAL.
(a) APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY COMPTROLLER GEN-
ERAL.—Section 703 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘and Dep-
uty Comptroller General are’’ and inserting ‘‘is’’;
(2) in subsection (a)(2)—
(A) by striking ‘‘or Deputy Comptroller
General’’ in the first sentence;
(B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ following the semi-
colon at the end of subparagraph (C);
(C) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a pe-
riod at the end of subparagraph (D); and
(D) by striking subparagraph (E); and
(3) in subsection (c), by renumbering para-
graphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs (2) and (3), re-
spectively, and by amending paragraph (1) to read
as follows:
‘‘(1) is appointed by the Comptroller General,
in consultation with the General Accounting Office
Oversight Control Board;’’.
(b) COMPENSATION
OF
THE COMPTROLLER GEN-
ERAL AND DEPUTY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Section
703(f) of title 31, United States Code, is amended in para-
graph (1) by striking ‘‘II’’ and inserting ‘‘I’’, and in para-
graph (2) by striking ‘‘III’’ and inserting ‘‘II’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect
on the first date of the occurrence of a vacancy in the
office of Comptroller General of the United States after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 103. ANNUITY OF THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.
(a) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section
772(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended
by striking ‘‘equal to the pay’’ and inserting ‘‘equal
to 50 percent of the pay’’.
(2) REDUCTION BASED ON AGE.—The second
sentence of such section 772(a) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘.25 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘.125 percent’’.
(3) TECHNICAL
AND
CONFORMING
AMEND-
MENTS.—
(A) ELIMINATION OF REDUNDANT CONDI-
TION.—The first sentence of such section
772(a) (as amended by paragraph (1)) is fur-
ther amended—
(i) by striking ‘‘or who retires
under section 703(e)(1) of this title’’;
and
(ii) by striking ‘‘term or at the
time of retirement.’’ and inserting
‘‘term.’’.
(B) REPEAL.—Section 703(e)(1) of such
title is amended—
(i) by striking the first sentence; and
(ii) in the second sentence by striking
‘‘Either’’ and inserting ‘‘A Comptroller
General or Deputy Comptroller General’’.
(b) DISABILITY ANNUITY.—Section 772(b) of such
title is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘50 percent
of’’ before ‘‘the pay’’, and by striking ‘‘10 years’’
and inserting ‘‘5 years’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘50 percent’’
and inserting ‘‘25 percent’’, and by striking ‘‘10
years’’ and inserting ‘‘5 years’’.
(c) DEADLINE FOR ELECTING TO CHANGE FROM
CSRS OR FERS.—Section 772(c) of such title is amended
in the second sentence by striking ‘‘10 years’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘5 years’’.
(d) CONTRIBUTIONS AND DEDUCTIONS.—
(1) AMENDMENTS
TO
SECTION
772.—Section
772(d) of such title is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘3 percent’’ each place it
appears and inserting ‘‘1.5 percent’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘3.5 percent’’ each place it
appears and inserting ‘‘1.75 percent’’; and
(C) by striking ‘‘8 percent’’ each place it
appears and inserting ‘‘4 percent’’.
(2) AMENDMENTS
TO
SECTION
773.—Section
773(b) of such title is amended—
(A) in paragraph (2)(C) by striking ‘‘3
percent’’ and inserting ‘‘1.5 percent’’, and by
striking ‘‘4 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘2 percent’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘4.5 percent’’ each place it
appears and inserting ‘‘2.25 percent’’; and
(C) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘5 per-
cent’’ and inserting ‘‘2.5 percent’’.
(3) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 772(d)
of such title (as amended by paragraph (1)) is fur-
ther amended by inserting, in the matter before
paragraph (1) thereof, ‘‘or chapter 84’’ after ‘‘chap-
ter 83’’.
(e) INTEREST ON REFUNDS.—Section 775 of such
title is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘3 percent’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘1.5 percent’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘4 percent’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘2 percent’’.
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE AND SAVINGS PROVISION.—
This section shall take effect on the first date of the occur-
rence of a vacancy in the office of Comptroller General
of the United States after the date of the enactment of
this Act. However, the amendments made by this section
shall not apply in the case of individuals retired or other-
wise separated before the effective date of this section, and
the rights of such individuals and their survivors shall con-
tinue in the same manner and to the same extent as if
this section had not been enacted.
SEC. 104. AUTHORITY TO ADMINISTER OATHS.
Section 711 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by striking ‘‘when auditing and settling ac-
counts’’ and inserting ‘‘as necessary to carry out the du-
ties and powers of the Comptroller General’’.
SEC. 105. PUBLICATION OF COSTS OF GAO REPORTS.
Section 712 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ after
the semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (5) by striking the period and
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(6) publish the cost of each project carried out
by the General Accounting Office.’’.
SEC. 106. REIMBURSEMENT FOR DETAILS TO CONGRESS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 734 of title 31, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) by amending the heading to read as follows:
‘‘§ 734. Details to Congress’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘assign or’’;
(3) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘The Comptroller
General’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(b) A committee shall reimburse the Comptroller
General for the pay of each officer or employee of the Gen-
eral Accounting Office for the time the officer or employee
is detailed to the committee under this section .’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Chapter 7 of title 31,
United States Code, is amended in the table of sections
at the beginning of the chapter by striking the item relat-
ing to section 734 and inserting the following:
‘‘734. Details to Congress.’’.
SEC. 107. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GEN-
ERAL IN GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Chapter 7 of title
31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—OFFICE OF INSPECTOR
GENERAL
‘‘§ 791. Establishment and purpose of Office of In-
spector General
‘‘There is hereby established an Office of Inspector
General in the General Accounting Office. The purpose of
the Office is to create an independent and objective of-
fice—
‘‘(1) to conduct and supervise audits and inves-
tigations relating to the operations of the General
Accounting Office;
‘‘(2) to provide leadership and coordination and
recommend policies to promote economy, efficiency,
and effectiveness; and
‘‘(3) to provide a means of keeping the Comp-
troller General of the United States and the Con-
gress fully and currently informed about problems
and deficiencies relating the administration and op-
erations of the General Accounting Office;
‘‘§ 792. Appointment of Inspector General; super-
vision; removal
‘‘(a) There shall be at the head of the Office of In-
spector General of the General Accounting Office, an In-
spector General who shall be appointed by the Comptroller
General of the United States, in accordance with the laws
and regulations governing appointments in the General
Accounting Office, without regard to political affiliation
and solely on the basis of integrity and demonstrated abil-
ity in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, man-
agement analysis, public administration, or investigations.
The Inspector General shall report to, and be under the
general supervision of, the Comptroller General of the
United States and the General Accounting Office Over-
sight Board. The Comptroller General of the United
States shall have no authority to prevent or prohibit the
Inspector General from initiating, carrying out, or com-
pleting any audit or investigation, or from issuing any sub-
poena during the course of any audit or investigation.
‘‘(b) The Inspector General may be removed from of-
fice by the Comptroller General of the United States. The
Comptroller General of the United States shall, promptly
upon such removal, communicate in writing the reasons
for any such removal to the General Accounting Office
Oversight Board.
‘‘§ 793. Duties and responsibilities
‘‘(a) It shall be the duty and responsibility of the In-
spector General, with respect to the General Accounting
Office—
‘‘(1) to provide policy direction for and to con-
duct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investiga-
tions relating to the operations of the General Ac-
counting Office;
‘‘(2) to review existing and proposed legislation
and regulations relating to operations of the General
Accounting Office and to make recommendations in
the semiannual reports required by section 794(a)
concerning the impact of such legislation or regula-
tions on the economy and efficiency in the adminis-
tration of the General Accounting Office or the pre-
vention and detection of fraud and abuse in such op-
erations;
‘‘(3) to recommend policies for, and to conduct,
supervise, or coordinate other activities carried out
or financed by the General Accounting Office for the
purpose of promoting economy and efficiency in the
administration of, or preventing and detecting fraud
and abuse in, its operations; and
‘‘(4) to keep the Comptroller General of the
United States and the Congress fully and currently
informed, by means of the reports required by sec-
tion 794 and otherwise, concerning fraud and other
serious problems, abuses, and deficiencies relating to
the administration of the General Accounting Office,
to recommend corrective action concerning such
problems, abuses, and deficiencies, and to report on
the progress made in implementing such corrective
action.
‘‘(b) In carrying out the responsibilities specified in
subsection (a)(1), the Inspector General of the General
Accounting Office shall comply with standards established
by the Comptroller General of the United States for audits
of Federal establishments, organizations, programs, activi-
ties, and functions.
‘‘(c) In carrying out the duties and responsibilities
established under this subchapter, the Inspector General
shall report expeditiously to the Attorney General and the
General Accounting Office Oversight Board whenever the
Inspector General has reasonable grounds to believe there
has been a violation of Federal criminal law.
‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter, the Inspector General of the General Accounting
Office may not—
‘‘(1) review the methodology used by the Gen-
eral Accounting Office in preparing any report or
testimony; or