I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4446 
To establish a uniform appointment process and term of service for the 
Architect of the Capitol, the Comptroller General, and the Librarian 
of Congress, to prohibit the annual amount of payment of compensation 
to such officers to exceed the annual salary of a Member of Congress, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 6, 2005 
Mr. LAHOOD (for himself, Mr. NEY, and Mr. LEWIS of California) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Admin-
istration, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a uniform appointment process and term of 
service for the Architect of the Capitol, the Comptroller 
General, and the Librarian of Congress, to prohibit the 
annual amount of payment of compensation to such offi-
cers to exceed the annual salary of a Member of Con-
gress, 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 ‘‘Legislative Branch Of-
ficer Appointment Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL. 
(a) APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF SERVICE.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Architect of the Cap-
itol shall be appointed jointly by the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of 
the Senate, and the Minority Leaders of the House 
of Representatives and Senate. 
(2) TERM OF SERVICE.—The Architect of the 
Capitol shall be appointed for a term of 10 years, 
and may be reappointed for additional terms. 
(3) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 319 
of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1990 
(2 U.S.C. 1801) is repealed. 
(4) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—This subsection shall 
apply with respect to appointments made on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) LIMIT ON TOTAL ANNUAL AMOUNT OF COM-
PENSATION.— 
(1) LIMIT.—Section 1(1) of Public Law 96–146 
(2 U.S.C. 1802) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) the compensation of the Architect of the 
Capitol shall be at an annual rate which is equal to 
the higher of the annual salary for the Sergeant at
Arms of the House of Representatives or the annual 
salary for the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, and 
the total amount of compensation paid to the Archi-
tect of the Capitol in any year, including salary and 
any other payments (but excluding the value of any 
retirement, health, or other benefits), may not ex-
ceed the annual rate of pay for a Member of Con-
gress for the year, and’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to com-
pensation paid for any period beginning on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 
(a) APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF SERVICE.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—Section 703(a) of title 31, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) The Comptroller General shall be appointed 
jointly by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
the Majority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Lead-
ers of the House of Representatives and Senate.’’. 
(2) TERM OF SERVICE.—Section 703(b) of such 
title is amended by striking ‘‘15 years’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘10 years’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply with respect to ap-
pointments made, and to individuals first appointed, 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) LIMIT ON TOTAL ANNUAL AMOUNT OF COM-
PENSATION.— 
(1) LIMIT.—Section 703(f) of such title is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(f) The annual rate’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(f)(1) The annual rate’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and ‘‘(2)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(A)’’ and ‘‘(B)’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, the total amount of compensation paid to the 
Comptroller General in any year, including salary 
and any other payments (but excluding the value of 
any retirement, health, or other benefits), may not 
exceed the annual rate of pay for a Member of Con-
gress for the year.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to com-
pensation paid for any period beginning on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) EQUALIZATION OF RETIREMENT ANNUITY.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 772 of title 31, 
United States Code, is repealed. 
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—Title 31, 
United States Code, is amended as follows: 
(A) In section 735(a), by striking ‘‘772, 
775(a) and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘or 775(b)’’. 
(B) In the second sentence of section 
773(a), by striking ‘‘or if an election is made’’ 
and all that follows and inserting a period. 
(C) In section 774(b)(2), by striking ‘‘or 
while receiving an annuity under section 772 of 
this title’’. 
(D) In section 775— 
(i) by striking subsections (a) and (b) 
and redesignating subsections (c) through 
(f) as subsections (a) through (d); 
(ii) in subsection (a) (as so redesig-
nated)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘sections 772 and 
773’’ and inserting ‘‘section 773’’, 
and 
(II) by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’;
(iii) in subsection (c) (as so redesig-
nated), by striking ‘‘subsection (c) or (d)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subsection (a) or (b)’’; and 
(iv) in subsection (d) (as so redesig-
nated)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘sections 772 and 
773’’ and inserting ‘‘section 773’’, 
and 
(II) by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’. 
(E) In section 776(d)(1), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 775(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 775(b)’’. 
(F) In section 777(b), by striking the first 
sentence. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for subchapter V of chapter 7 of subtitle I of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking 
the item relating to section 772. 
SEC. 4. LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS. 
(a) APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF SERVICE.— 
(1) 
APPOINTMENT; 
RULES
AND
REGULA-
TIONS.—The Librarian of Congress shall be ap-
pointed jointly by the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and 
the Minority Leaders of the House of Representa-
tives and Senate. The Librarian shall make rules 
and regulations for the government of the Library of 
Congress. 
(2) TERM OF SERVICE.—The Librarian of Con-
gress shall be appointed for a term of 10 years, and 
may be reappointed for additional terms. 
(3) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—The 
first 
paragraph under the heading ‘‘Library of Congress’’ 
in the first section of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act mak-
ing appropriations for the legislative, executive, and 
judicial expenses of the Government for fiscal year 
ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety- 
eight, and for other purposes’’, approved February 
19, 1897 (29 Stat. 546; 2 U.S.C. 136), is repealed. 
(4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection and the 
amendments made by this subsection shall apply 
with respect to appointments made on or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) LIMIT ON TOTAL ANNUAL AMOUNT OF COM-
PENSATION.— 
(1) LIMIT.—Section 904 of the Supplemental 
Appropriations Act, 1983 (2 U.S.C. 136a–2) is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (1);
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(3) the total amount of compensation paid to 
the Librarian of Congress in any year, including sal-
ary and any other payments (but excluding the value 
of any retirement, health, or other benefits), may 
not exceed the annual rate of pay for a Member of 
Congress for the year.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to com-
pensation paid for any period beginning on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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