IB 
Union Calendar No. 223
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2751
[Report No. 108–380] 
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 
NOVEMBER 19, 2003
Additional sponsor: Mr. PUTNAM 
NOVEMBER 19, 2003
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 16, 2003] 
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. 
(a) AUTHORITIES MADE PERMANENT.—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 enactment of this Act and end-
ing on December 31, 2003’’ each place it appears and in-
serting ‘‘October 13, 2000’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—
(1) VOLUNTARY
EARLY
RETIREMENT
AUTHOR-
ITY.—Section 1 of Public Law 106–303 is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 
that the implementation of this section is intended to re-
shape the General Accounting Office workforce and not 
downsize the General Accounting Office workforce.’’. 
(2) VOLUNTARY
SEPARATION
INCENTIVE
PAY-
MENTS.—Section 2 of Public Law 106–303 is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 
that the implementation of this section is intended to re-
shape the General Accounting Office workforce and not 
downsize the General Accounting Office workforce.’’. 
(c) ADDITIONAL LIMITATION RELATING TO VSIPS.—
Section 2(b) of Public Law 106–303 is amended by striking 
paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) subsection (a)(2)(G) of such section shall be 
applied—
‘‘(A) by construing the citations therein to 
be references to the appropriate authorities in 
connection with employees of the General Ac-
counting Office; and 
‘‘(B) by deeming such subsection to be 
amended by striking ‘Code.’ and inserting ‘Code, 
or who, during the thirty-six month period pre-
ceding the date of separation, performed service 
for which a student loan repayment benefit was 
or is to be paid under section 5379 of title 5, 
United States Code.’;’’. 
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 rates of officers and
employees of the Office shall be adjusted annually to 
such extent as determined by the Comptroller General, 
and in making that determination the Comptroller 
General shall consider—
‘‘(A) the principle that equal pay should be 
provided for work of equal value within each 
local pay area; 
‘‘(B) the need to protect the purchasing 
power of officers and employees of the Office, tak-
ing into consideration the Consumer Price Index 
or other appropriate indices; 
‘‘(C) any existing pay disparities between 
officers and employees of the Office and non-Fed-
eral 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 adjustment;’’. 
(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 sec-
tion 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 reg-
ulations under which an officer or employee of the Of-
fice shall be entitled to pay retention if, as a result 
of any reduction-in-force or other workforce adjust-
ment procedure, position reclassification, or other ap-
propriate circumstances as determined by the Comp-
troller 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 imme-
diately 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 officer or 
employee must have served or for which the posi-
tion 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 sub-
paragraph (A)), and exclusions based on the na-
ture of an appointment; in prescribing regula-
tions under this subparagraph, the Comptroller 
General shall be guided by the provisions of sec-
tions 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 reloca-
tion 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 transfer giving 
rise to such relocation is of sufficient benefit or value to 
the Office to justify such reimbursement.’’. 
SEC. 6. INCREASED ANNUAL LEAVE FOR KEY EMPLOYEES. 
Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection (f) 
(as added by section 5 of this Act) the following: 
‘‘(g) The Comptroller General shall prescribe regula-
tions under which key officers and employees of the Office
who have less than 3 years of service may accrue leave in 
accordance with section 6303(a)(2) of title 5, in those cir-
cumstances in which the Comptroller General has deter-
mined such increased annual leave is appropriate for the 
recruitment or retention of such officers and employees. 
Such regulations shall define key officers and employees and 
set forth the factors in determining which officers and em-
ployees 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 of this Act) the following: 
‘‘(h) The Comptroller General may by regulation es-
tablish an executive exchange program under which officers 
and employees of the Office may be assigned to private sec-
tor organizations, and employees of private sector organiza-
tions may be assigned to the Office, to further the institu-
tional interests of the Office or Congress, including for the 
purpose of providing training to officers and employees of 
the Office. Regulations to carry out any such program—
‘‘(1) shall include provisions (consistent with sec-
tions 3702 through 3704 of title 5) as to matters con-
cerning—
‘‘(A) the duration and termination of as-
signments;
‘‘(B) reimbursements; and 
‘‘(C) status, entitlements, benefits, and obli-
gations of program participants; 
‘‘(2) shall limit— 
‘‘(A) the number of officers and employees 
who are assigned to private sector organizations 
at any one time to not more than 15; and 
‘‘(B) the number of employees from private 
sector organizations who are assigned to the Of-
fice at any one time to not more than 30; 
‘‘(3) shall require that an employee of a private 
sector organization assigned to the Office may not 
have access to any trade secrets or to any other non-
public information which is of commercial value to 
the private sector organization from which such em-
ployee is assigned; 
‘‘(4) shall require that, before approving the as-
signment of an officer or employee to a private sector 
organization, the Comptroller General shall determine 
that the assignment is an effective use of the Office’s 
funds, taking into account the best interests of the Of-
fice and the costs and benefits of alternative methods 
of achieving the same results and objectives; and 
‘‘(5) shall not allow any assignment under this 
subsection to commence after the end of the 5-year pe-
riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(i) An employee of a private sector organization as-
signed to the Office under the executive exchange program 
shall be considered to be an employee of the Office for pur-
poses of—
‘‘(1) chapter 73 of title 5; 
‘‘(2) sections 201, 203, 205, 207, 208, 209, 603, 
606, 607, 643, 654, 1905, and 1913 of title 18; 
‘‘(3) sections 1343, 1344, and 1349(b) of this 
title; 
‘‘(4) chapter 171 of title 28 (commonly referred 
to as the ‘Federal Tort Claims Act’) and any other 
Federal tort liability statute; 
‘‘(5) the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.); 
‘‘(6) section 1043 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986; and 
‘‘(7) section 27 of the Office of Federal Procure-
ment Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 423).’’. 
SEC. 8. REDESIGNATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The General Accounting Office is 
hereby redesignated the Government Accountability Office. 
(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 enactment of this Act shall be considered to refer 
and apply to the Government Accountability Office. 
SEC. 9. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. 
Paragraph (1) of section 732(d) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(1) for a system to appraise the performance of 
officers and employees of the General Accounting Of-
fice that meets the requirements of section 4302 of 
title 5 and in addition includes—
‘‘(A) a link between the performance man-
agement system and the agency’s strategic plan; 
‘‘(B) adequate training and retraining for 
supervisors, managers, and employees in the im-
plementation and operation of the performance 
management system; 
‘‘(C) a process for ensuring ongoing per-
formance feedback and dialogue between super-
visors, managers, and employees throughout the 
appraisal period and setting timetables for re-
view; 
‘‘(D) effective transparency and account-
ability measures to ensure that the management 
of the system is fair, credible, and equitable, in-
cluding appropriate independent reasonableness,
reviews, internal assessments, and employee sur-
veys; and 
‘‘(E) a means to ensure that adequate agen-
cy resources are allocated for the design, imple-
mentation, and administration of the perform-
ance management system;’’. 
SEC. 10. CONSULTATION. 
Before the implementation of any changes authorized 
under this Act, the Comptroller General shall consult with 
any interested groups or associations representing officers 
and employees of the General Accounting Office. 
SEC. 11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Comptroller General 
shall include—
(1) in each report submitted to Congress under 
section 719(a) of title 31, United States Code, during 
the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment 
of this Act, a summary review of all actions taken 
under sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of this Act dur-
ing the period covered by such report, including—
(A) the respective numbers of officers and 
employees—
(i) separating from the service under 
section 2 of this Act;
(ii) receiving pay retention under sec-
tion 4 of this Act; 
(iii) receiving increased annual leave 
under section 6 of this Act; and 
(iv) engaging in the executive exchange 
program under section 7 of this Act, as well 
as the number of private sector employees 
participating in such program and a re-
view of the general nature of the work per-
formed by the individuals participating in 
such program; 
(B) a review of all actions taken to formu-
late the appropriate methodologies to implement 
the pay adjustments provided for under section 
3 of this Act, except that nothing under this sub-
paragraph shall be required if no changes are 
made in any such methodology during the period 
covered by such report; and 
(C) an assessment of the role of sections 2, 
3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of this Act in contributing 
to the General Accounting Office’s ability to 
carry out its mission, meet its performance 
goals, and fulfill its strategic plan; and 
(2) in each report submitted to Congress under 
such section 719(a) after the effective date of section
3 of this Act and before the close of the 5-year period 
referred to in paragraph (1)—
(A) a detailed description of the methodolo-
gies applied under section 3 of this Act and the 
manner in which such methodologies were ap-
plied to determine the appropriate annual pay 
adjustments for officers and employees of the Of-
fice; 
(B) the amount of the annual pay adjust-
ments afforded to officers and employees of the 
Office under section 3 of this Act; and 
(C) a description of any extraordinary eco-
nomic conditions or serious budget constraints 
which had a significant impact on the deter-
mination of the annual pay adjustments for offi-
cers and employees of the Office. 
(b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit to Congress a report concerning the implementation 
of this Act. Such report shall include—
(1) a summary of the information included in 
the annual reports required under subsection (a); 
(2) recommendations for any legislative changes 
to section 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, or 10 of this Act; and
(3) any assessment furnished by the General Ac-
counting Office Personnel Appeals Board or any in-
terested groups or associations representing officers 
and employees of the Office for inclusion in such re-
port. 
(c) ADDITIONAL REPORTING.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of this section, the reporting requirement 
under subsection (a)(2)(C) shall apply in the case any re-
port submitted under section 719(a) of title 31, United 
States Code, whether during the 5-year period beginning 
on the date of enactment of this Act (as required by sub-
section (a)) or at any time thereafter. 
SEC. 12. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT. 
Section 732(h)(3)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘reduc-
tion force’’ and inserting ‘‘reduction in force’’. 
SEC. 13. 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 enactment of this Act. 
(b) PAY ADJUSTMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of this Act and the 
amendments made by that section 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 General 
may by regulation—
(A) provide that such adjustment not be ap-
plied in the case of any officer or employee whose 
performance is not at a satisfactory level, as de-
termined by the Comptroller General for pur-
poses of such adjustment; and 
(B) provide that such adjustment be reduced 
if and to the extent necessary because of extraor-
dinary economic conditions or serious budget 
constraints. 
(3) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General 
may by regulation delay the effective date of sec-
tion 3 of this Act and the amendments made by 
that section for groups of officers and employees 
that the Comptroller General considers appro-
priate. 
(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’’.
Union Calendar No. 223
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 2751
[Report No. 108–380] 
A BILL 
To provide new human capital flexibilities with 
respect to the GAO, and for other purposes. 
NOVEMBER 19, 2003
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed