Title: Reining in Irresponsible Decorating Expenses Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Reining in Irresponsible Decorating Expenses Act
This bill requires certain federal employees to notify Congress at least 30 days before spending more than $5,000 to furnish or redecorate their offices. The bill applies to individuals who are (1) the head of a federal agency, or (2) occupy a position in the federal government that requires confirmation by the Senate.
The notice must include (1) a justification and explanation for the expenditure, and (2) an overview of the current state of agency affairs. Individuals who fail to comply with the notice requirement must repay the Treasury for the expenditures that exceed $5,000.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1181 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1181

 To require certain individuals employed by the Federal Government to 
give 30 days written notice to the Committees on Appropriations of the 
  House of Representatives and the Senate for certain obligations or 
 expenditures over $5,000 to furnish or redecorate the office of such 
                  individual, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 13, 2019

  Mrs. Bustos (for herself, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Rose of New 
York, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Harder of California, Ms. Sherrill, Mrs. Axne, 
    Ms. Wild, Ms. Haaland, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Casten of Illinois, Mr. 
Malinowski, Mrs. Lee of Nevada, Mr. Stanton, Ms. Davids of Kansas, Ms. 
  Hill of California, Ms. Torres Small of New Mexico, Mrs. Craig, Mr. 
  O'Halleran, and Mr. Crow) introduced the following bill; which was 
           referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require certain individuals employed by the Federal Government to 
give 30 days written notice to the Committees on Appropriations of the 
  House of Representatives and the Senate for certain obligations or 
 expenditures over $5,000 to furnish or redecorate the office of such 
                  individual, 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 ``Reining in Irresponsible Decorating 
Expenses Act''.

SEC. 2. NOTICE REQUIREMENT FOR OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES TO FURNISH 
              OR REDECORATE OFFICES IN EXCESS OF $5,000.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsections (d) and (e), 
during the period in which an individual is the head of an agency or 
occupies a position in the Federal Government that requires 
confirmation by the Senate, funds may not be obligated or expended in 
excess of $5,000 to furnish or redecorate the office of such 
individual, or to purchase furniture or make improvements for any such 
office, unless written notice of such furnishing or redecoration is 
transmitted to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate not later than 30 days before the date 
on which such obligation or expenditure occurs.
    (b) Notice Requirements.--The written notice required under 
subsection (a) shall include--
            (1) a statement containing--
                    (A) a justification for the obligation or expense 
                that relates to health, safety, or accessability; or
                    (B) an explanation of how the obligation or expense 
                aligns with and advances the mission of the agency; and
            (2) an overview of the current state of agency affairs, 
        including--
                    (A) whether a hiring freeze is in place at the 
                agency at the time of the notice;
                    (B) information on agency staffing levels, 
                including a list of positions that have been vacant for 
                longer than 120 days and an explanation for why such 
                positions have not been filled;
                    (C) a list of delays longer than 30 days in the 
                administration of grants with the potential to impact 
                public health or safety;
                    (D) the number of pending requests for information 
                under section 552 of title 5, United States Code 
                (commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act), 
                including the number of requests that the agency failed 
                to respond to within 20 days after the date on which 
                the initial request is received; and
                    (E) a list of any recommendation that has not been 
                implemented from the Government Accountability Office 
                that relates to the agency.
    (c) Repayment for Failure To Comply With Notice Requirement.--
            (1) Finding of a failure to comply.--If an inspector 
        general of an agency finds that the individual described in 
        subsection (a) for that agency has failed to comply with the 
        notice required under subsection (a), such individual shall 
        make a payment to the Treasury of the United States in an 
        amount equal to any obligation or expense in excess of the 
        $5,000 limitation under that subsection, increased by an 
        interest rate equal to the interest rate for a Federal Direct 
        PLUS Loan on the date on which the purchase was made.
            (2) Repayment timing.--Repayment, or an agreement on a 
        payment plan with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall occur 
        not later than 90 days after the date on which an inspector 
        general finds a violation of the notice requirement under 
        subsection (a).
    (d) Exception to Notice Rule.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) and 
except as provided in subsection (e), an individual may not exceed the 
$5,000 limitation under subsection (a) in the following circumstances:
            (1) The individual is in violation of section 1341 of title 
        31, United States Code, and, if applicable, the individual has 
        not taken remedial action pursuant to an agreement with the 
        Government Accountability Office.
            (2) The individual is under investigation by the inspector 
        general for an agency for corruption- or spending-related 
        misconduct.
            (3) The individual is under investigation by the Office of 
        Special Counsel for conduct including retaliation or harassment 
        in the workplace.
            (4) The individual has outstanding amounts due under 
        subsection (c) for previous furnishing or redecorating.
    (e) Exception for Accommodations for Disabilities and Health 
Risks.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (d) does not apply to expenses 
        related to--
                    (A) reasonable accommodations for individuals with 
                disabilities; and
                    (B) the elimination of health risks.
            (2) Notice timing.--The 30-day notice requirement under 
        subsection (a) does not apply to expenses related to reasonable 
        accommodations for individuals with disabilities or the 
        elimination of health risks, provided written notice is 
        transmitted in advance of an obligation or expense.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 105 of title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Inspector general.--The term ``inspector general'' 
        includes the head of the office that most closely resembles the 
        audit and investigation functions of an inspector general, in 
        the case that an agency does not have an inspector general.
            (3) Office.--The term ``office'' includes the entire suite 
        of Government offices assigned to the individual, as well as 
        any other space used primarily by the individual or the use of 
        which is directly controlled by the individual.
    (g) Effective Date.--This section shall apply to any obligation or 
expenditure occurring after the date that is 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
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