H. R. 2751—4
employees of the Office. Regulations to carry out any such
program—
‘‘(1) shall include provisions (consistent with sections 3702
through 3704 of title 5) as to matters concerning—
‘‘(A) the duration and termination of assignments;
‘‘(B) reimbursements; and
‘‘(C) status, entitlements, benefits, and obligations 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 Office 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 nonpublic information which
is of commercial value to the private sector organization from
which such employee is assigned;
‘‘(4) shall require that, before approving the assignment
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 Office and the costs and benefits of alter-
native 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 period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this subsection.
‘‘(i) An employee of a private sector organization assigned to
the Office under the executive exchange program shall be considered
to be an employee of the Office for purposes 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 Procurement 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 Accounting
Office in any law, rule, regulation, certificate, directive, 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:
H. R. 2751—5
‘‘(1) for a system to appraise the performance of officers
and employees of the General Accounting Office that meets
the requirements of section 4302 of title 5 and in addition
includes—
‘‘(A) a link between the performance management
system and the agency’s strategic plan;
‘‘(B) adequate training and retraining for supervisors,
managers, and employees in the implementation and oper-
ation of the performance management system;
‘‘(C) a process for ensuring ongoing performance feed-
back and dialogue between supervisors, managers, and
employees throughout the appraisal period and setting
timetables for review;
‘‘(D) effective transparency and accountability meas-
ures to ensure that the management of the system is
fair, credible, and equitable, including appropriate inde-
pendent reasonableness, reviews, internal assessments, and
employee surveys; and
‘‘(E) a means to ensure that adequate agency resources
are allocated for the design, implementation, and adminis-
tration of the performance 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 during 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 section 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 pro-
gram and a review of the general nature of the work
performed by the individuals participating in such pro-
gram;
(B) a review of all actions taken to formulate the
appropriate methodologies to implement the pay adjust-
ments provided for under section 3 of this Act, except
that nothing under this subparagraph 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
H. R. 2751—6
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 methodologies applied
under section 3 of this Act and the manner in which
such methodologies were applied to determine the appro-
priate annual pay adjustments for officers and employees
of the Office;
(B) the amount of the annual pay adjustments afforded
to officers and employees of the Office under section 3
of this Act; and
(C) a description of any extraordinary economic condi-
tions or serious budget constraints which had a significant
impact on the determination of the annual pay adjustments
for officers 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 Accounting
Office Personnel Appeals Board or any interested groups or
associations representing officers and employees of the Office
for inclusion in such report.
(c) ADDITIONAL REPORTING.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of this section, the reporting requirement under subsection
(a)(2)(C) shall apply in the case any report 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 subsection (a)) or at any time thereafter.
SEC. 12. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.
Section 732(h)(3)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘reduction 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 applied in
the case of any officer or employee whose performance
is not at a satisfactory level, as determined by the Comp-
troller General for purposes of such adjustment; and
H. R. 2751—7
(B) provide that such adjustment be reduced if and
to the extent necessary because of extraordinary economic
conditions or serious budget constraints.
(3) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Comptroller General may by
regulation delay the effective date of section 3 of this Act
and the amendments made by that section for groups of
officers and employees that the Comptroller General con-
siders appropriate.
(B) INTERIM AUTHORITIES.—If the Comptroller 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’’.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.