Title: Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2017
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2017
The bill authorizes the head of a federal agency to pay a cash award to any agency employee whose identification of unnecessary expenses has resulted in cost savings for the agency. The maximum dollar amount of such award is increased from $10,000 to $20,000.
If the Chief Financial Officer of the agency determines that potential unnecessary expenses identified by the employee meet applicable requirements, the head of the agency shall transfer the amount of the unnecessary expenses or unnecessary budget authority from the applicable appropriations account to the general fund of the Treasury. Any amount so transferred shall be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction or to reduce the federal debt, if there is no current budget deficit.
An agency head may retain not more than 10% of amounts transferred to the general fund of the Treasury.
The bill expands the list of federal officers and employees ineligible to receive a cash award.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 378 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 378

 To amend title 5, United States Code, to enhance the authority under 
which Federal agencies may pay cash awards to employees for making cost 
              saving disclosures, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2017

 Mr. Fleischmann (for himself and Mr. Cooper) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government 
                                 Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 5, United States Code, to enhance the authority under 
which Federal agencies may pay cash awards to employees for making cost 
              saving disclosures, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. COST SAVINGS ENHANCEMENTS.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 4511 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``Definition'' and 
        inserting ``Definitions''; and
            (2) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                ``; and'';
                    (B) by striking ``this subchapter, the term'' and 
                inserting the following: ``this subchapter--
            ``(1) the term''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) the term `unnecessary expenses' means amounts made 
        available for salaries and expenses accounts, operations and 
        maintenance accounts, or other equivalent accounts--
                    ``(A) that are identified by an employee of the 
                agency under section 4512(a) as unnecessary;
                    ``(B) that the Chief Financial Officer of the 
                agency determines are not required for the purpose for 
                which the amounts were made available; and
                    ``(C) the rescission of which would not be 
                detrimental to the full execution of the purposes for 
                which the amounts were made available.''.
    (b) Authority.--Section 4512 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``The head of an agency may pay a 
                cash award to any employee of such agency whose 
                identification of unnecessary expenses to the Chief 
                Financial Officer of the agency has resulted in cost 
                savings for the agency.'' after the first sentence;
                    (B) in paragraph (1) by striking ``$10,000'' and 
                inserting ``$20,000'';
                    (C) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by inserting ``Chief Financial 
                        Officer,'' after ``Inspector General,'';
                            (ii) by striking ``employee designated 
                        under subsection (b)'' and inserting 
                        ``designated employee''; and
                            (iii) by inserting ``or identification'' 
                        after ``disclosure''; and
                    (D) in the matter following paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by inserting ``, Chief Financial 
                        Officer,'' after ``Inspector General''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``or identification'' 
                        after ``disclosure'';
            (2) in subsection (b) by striking ``awards permitted under 
        this section'' and inserting ``awards for the disclosure of 
        fraud, waste, or mismanagement under this section''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c)(1) If the Chief Financial Officer of the agency determines 
that potential unnecessary expenses identified by an employee meet the 
requirements of subparagraphs (C) and (D) of section 4511(a)(2), except 
as provided in subsection (d), the head of the agency shall transfer 
the amount of the unnecessary expenses or unnecessary budget authority 
from the applicable appropriations account to the general fund of the 
Treasury.
    ``(2) Any amounts transferred under paragraph (1) shall be 
deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction, except that 
in the case of a fiscal year for which there is no Federal budget 
deficit, such amounts shall be used to reduce the Federal debt (in such 
manner as the Secretary of the Treasury considers appropriate).
    ``(3) In the case of an agency for which there is no Chief 
Financial Officer, the head of the agency shall designate an agency 
employee who shall have the authority to make the determinations for 
identification of unnecessary expenses under this section.
    ``(d)(1) The head of an agency may retain not more than 10 percent 
of amounts to be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury under 
subsection (c)(1).
    ``(2) Amounts retained by the head of an agency under paragraph (1) 
may be--
            ``(A) used for the purpose of paying a cash award under 
        subsection (a) to one or more employees who identified the 
        unnecessary expenses; and
            ``(B) to the extent amounts remain after paying cash awards 
        under subsection (a), transferred or reprogrammed for use by 
        the agency, in accordance with any limitation on such a 
        transfer or reprogramming under any other provision of law.
    ``(e)(1) Not later than October 1 of each fiscal year, the head of 
each agency shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury a report 
identifying the total savings achieved during the previous fiscal year 
through disclosures of possible fraud, waste, or mismanagement and 
identifications of unnecessary expenses by an employee.
    ``(2) Not later than September 30 of each fiscal year, the head of 
each agency shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury a report 
that, for the previous fiscal year--
            ``(A) describes each disclosure of possible fraud, waste, 
        or mismanagement or identification of potentially unnecessary 
        expenses by an employee of the agency determined by the agency 
        to have merit; and
            ``(B) provides the number and amount of cash awards by the 
        agency under subsection (a).
    ``(3) The head of each agency shall include the information 
described in paragraphs (1) and (2) in each budget request of the 
agency submitted to the Office of Management and Budget as part of the 
preparation of the budget of the President submitted to Congress under 
section 1105(a) of title 31.
    ``(4) The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the Committee 
on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives, and the Government Accountability Office an 
annual report on Federal cost saving and awards based on the reports 
submitted under paragraphs (1) and (2).
    ``(f) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall--
            ``(1) ensure that the cash award program of each agency 
        complies with this section; and
            ``(2) submit to Congress an annual certification indicating 
        whether the cash award program of each agency complies with 
        this section.
    ``(g) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of the 
Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2017, and every 3 years thereafter, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 
report on the operation of the cost savings and awards program under 
this section, including any recommendations for legislative changes.''.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
subchapter II of chapter 45 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by striking the item relating to section 4511 and inserting the 
following:

``4511. Definitions and general provisions.''.

SEC. 3. OFFICERS ELIGIBLE FOR CASH AWARDS.

    (a) In General.--Section 4509 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 4509. Prohibition of cash award to certain officers and 
              employees
    ``An individual may not receive a cash award under this subchapter 
if the individual--
            ``(1) is an officer serving in a position at level I of the 
        Executive Schedule;
            ``(2) is the head of an agency;
            ``(3) is an officer or employee of the Office of the 
        Inspector General of an agency; or
            ``(4) is a commissioner, board member, or other voting 
        member of an independent establishment.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 45 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking the 
item relating to section 4509 and inserting the following:

``4509. Prohibition of cash award to certain officers and employees.''.
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