110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5683
In the Senate of the United
States,
August 1, 2008.
Amendment:
That the bill from the House of Representatives
(H.R. 5683) entitled An Act to make certain reforms with respect to the
Government Accountability Office, and for other purposes.
, do pass with
the following
Strike all after
the enacting clause and insert the
following:
1.Short title; references;
table of contents
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Government Accountability Office Act of
2008
.
(b)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.
(c)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; references; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Provisions relating to future annual pay
adjustments.
Sec. 3. Pay adjustment relating to certain previous
years.
Sec. 4. Lump-sum payment for certain performance-based
compensation.
Sec. 5. Inspector General.
Sec. 6. Reimbursement of audit costs.
Sec. 7. Financial disclosure requirements.
Sec. 8. Highest basic pay rate.
Sec. 9. Additional authorities.
2.Provisions relating to
future annual pay adjustments
(a)Section 732 is
amended by adding at the end the following:
(j)(1)For purposes of this
subsection—
(A)the term pay increase, as used
with respect to an officer or employee in connection with a year, means the
total increase in the rate of basic pay (expressed as a percentage) of such
officer or employee, taking effect under section 731(b) and subsection (c)(3)
in such year;
(B)the term required minimum
percentage, as used with respect to an officer or employee in connection
with a year, means the percentage equal to the total increase in rates of basic
pay (expressed as a percentage) taking effect under sections 5303 and
5304–5304a of title 5 in such year with respect to General Schedule positions
within the pay locality (as defined by section 5302(5) of title 5) in which the
position of such officer or employee is located;
(C)the term covered officer or
employee, as used with respect to a pay increase, means any
individual—
(i)who is an officer or employee of the
Government Accountability Office, other than an officer or employee described
in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 4(c)(1) of the Government
Accountability Office Act of 2008, determined as of the effective date of such
pay increase; and
(ii)whose performance is at least at a
satisfactory level, as determined by the Comptroller General under the
provisions of subsection (c)(3) for purposes of the adjustment taking effect
under such provisions in such year; and
(D)the term nonpermanent merit
pay means any amount payable under section 731(b) which does not
constitute basic pay.
(2)(A)Notwithstanding any
other provision of this chapter, if (disregarding this subsection) the pay
increase that would otherwise take effect with respect to a covered officer or
employee in a year would be less than the required minimum percentage for such
officer or employee in such year, the Comptroller General shall provide for a
further increase in the rate of basic pay of such officer or employee.
(B)The further increase under this
subsection—
(i)shall be equal to the amount necessary
to make up for the shortfall described in subparagraph (A); and
(ii)shall take effect as of the same date
as the pay increase otherwise taking effect in such year.
(C)Nothing in this paragraph shall be
considered to permit or require that a rate of basic pay be increased to an
amount inconsistent with the limitation set forth in subsection (c)(2).
(D)If (disregarding this subsection) the
covered officer or employee would also have received any nonpermanent merit pay
in such year, such nonpermanent merit pay shall be decreased by an amount equal
to the portion of such officer’s or employee’s basic pay for such year which is
attributable to the further increase described in subparagraph (A) (as
determined by the Comptroller General), but to not less than zero.
(3)Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter, the effective date of any pay increase (within the meaning of
paragraph (1)(A)) taking effect with respect to a covered officer or employee
in any year shall be the same as the effective date of any adjustment taking
effect under section 5303 of title 5 with respect to statutory pay systems (as
defined by section 5302(1) of title 5) in such
year.
.
(b)The amendment made by this section shall apply with respect
to any pay increase (as defined by such amendment) taking effect on or after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
3.Pay adjustment
relating to certain previous years
(a)This section applies in the case of any
individual who, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, is an officer or
employee of the Government Accountability Office, excluding—
(1)an
officer or employee described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section
4(c)(1); and
(2)an
officer or employee who received both a 2.6 percent pay increase in January
2006 and a 2.4 percent pay increase in February 2007.
(b)For purposes
of this section, the term pay increase, as used with respect to an
officer or employee in connection with a year, means the total increase in the
rate of basic pay (expressed as a percentage) of such officer or employee,
taking effect under sections 731(b) and 732(c)(3) of title 31, United States
Code, in such year.
(c)Effective with respect
to pay for service performed in any pay period beginning after the end of the
6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act (or such
earlier date as the Comptroller General may specify), the rate of basic pay for
each individual to whom this section applies shall be determined as if such
individual had received both a 2.6 percent pay increase for 2006 and a 2.4
percent pay increase for 2007, subject to subsection (e).
(d)Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General shall, subject to the availability of
appropriations, pay to each individual to whom this section applies a lump-sum
payment. Subject to subsection (e), such lump-sum payment shall be equal
to—
(1)(A)the total amount of basic pay that would
have been paid to the individual, for service performed during the period
beginning on the effective date of the pay increase for 2006 and ending on the
day before the effective date of the pay adjustment under subsection (c) (or,
if earlier, the date on which the individual retires or otherwise ceases to be
employed by the Government Accountability Office), if such individual had
received both a 2.6 percent pay increase for 2006 and a 2.4 percent pay
increase for 2007, minus
(B)the total amount of basic pay that was
in fact paid to the individual for service performed during the period
described in subparagraph (A); and
(2)increased by 4
percent of the amount calculated under paragraph (1).
Eligibility for
a lump-sum payment under this subsection shall be determined solely on the
basis of whether an individual satisfies the requirements of subsection (a) (to
be considered an individual to whom this section applies), and without regard
to such individual’s employment status as of any date following the date of the
enactment of this Act or any other factor.(e)Nothing
in subsection (c) or (d) shall be considered to permit or require—
(1)the payment of any rate (or portion of the
lump-sum amount as calculated under subsection (d)(1) based on a rate) for any
pay period, to the extent that such rate would be (or would have been)
inconsistent with the limitation that applies (or that applied) with respect to
such pay period under section 732(c)(2) of title 31, United States Code;
or
(2)the payment of any rate or amount based on
the pay increase for 2006 or 2007 (as the case may be), if—
(A)the performance of the officer or employee
involved was not at a satisfactory level, as determined by the Comptroller
General under paragraph (3) of section 732(c) of such title 31 for purposes of
the adjustment under such paragraph for that year; or
(B)the individual
involved was not an officer or employee of the Government Accountability Office
on the date as of which that increase took effect.
As used in paragraph (2)(A), the
term satisfactory
includes a rating of meets
expectations
(within the meaning of the performance appraisal system
used for purposes of the adjustment under section 732(c)(3) of such title 31
for the year involved).(f)
(1)The portion of the
lump-sum payment paid under subsection (d) to an officer or employee as
calculated under subsection (d)(1) shall, for purposes of any determination of
the average pay (as defined by section 8331 or 8401 of title 5, United States
Code) which is used to compute an annuity under subchapter III of chapter 83 or
chapter 84 of such title—
(A)be
treated as basic pay (as defined by section 8331 or 8401 of such title);
and
(B)be
allocated to the biweekly pay periods covered by subsection (d).
(2)Contributions
to Civil Service Retirement and Disability Retirement Fund
(A)The Government Accountability Office shall deduct
and withhold from the lump-sum payment paid to each employee under subsection
(d) an amount equal to the difference between—
(i)employee
contributions that would have been deducted and withheld from pay under section
8334 or 8422 of title 5, United States Code, if the portion of the lump-sum
payment as calculated under subsection (d)(1) had been additionally paid as
basic pay during the period described under subsection (d)(1) of this section;
and
(ii)employee
contributions that were actually deducted and withheld from pay under section
8334 or 8422 of title 5, United States Code, during that period.
(B)Agency
contributions and payment to the FundNot later than 9 months
after the Government Accountability Office makes the lump-sum payments under
subsection (d), the Government Accountability Office shall pay into the Civil
Service Retirement and Disability Fund—
(i)the amount of
each deduction and withholding under subparagraph (A); and
(ii)an amount for
applicable agency contributions under section 8334 or 8423 of title 5, United
states Code, based on payments made under clause (i).
(g)This section constitutes the exclusive remedy that any
individuals to whom this section applies (as described in subsection (a)) have
for any claim that they are owed any monies denied to them in the form of a pay
increase for 2006 or 2007 under section 732(c)(3) of title 31, United States
Code, or any other law. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no court or
administrative body, including the Government Accountability Office Personnel
Appeals Board, shall have jurisdiction to entertain any civil action or other
civil proceeding based on the claim of such individuals that they were due
money in the form of a pay increase for 2006 or 2007 pursuant to such section
732(c)(3) or any other law.
4.
Lump-sum payment for certain performance-based compensation
(a)Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General shall, subject to the availability of
appropriations, pay to each qualified individual a lump-sum payment equal to
the amount of performance-based compensation such individual was denied for
2006, as determined under subsection (b).
(b)The
amount payable to a qualified individual under this section shall be equal
to—
(1)the total amount of performance-based
compensation such individual would have earned for 2006 (determined by applying
the Government Accountability Office’s performance-based compensation system
under GAO Orders 2540.3 and 2540.4, as in effect in 2006) if such individual
had not had a salary equal to or greater than the maximum for such individual’s
band (as further described in subsection (c)(2)), less
(2)the
total amount of performance-based compensation such individual was in fact
granted, in January 2006, for that year.
(c)For purposes of
this section, the term qualified individual means an individual
who—
(1)as of
the date of the enactment of this Act, is an officer or employee of the
Government Accountability Office, excluding—
(A)an
individual holding a position subject to section 732a or 733 of title 31,
United States Code (disregarding section 732a(b) and 733(c) of such
title);
(B)a
Federal Wage System employee; and
(C)an
individual participating in a development program under which such individual
receives performance appraisals, and is eligible to receive permanent merit pay
increases, more than once a year; and
(2)as of January 22, 2006, was a Band I staff
member with a salary above the Band I cap, a Band IIA staff member with a
salary above the Band IIA cap, or an administrative professional or support
staff member with a salary above the cap for that individual’s pay band
(determined in accordance with the orders cited in subsection (b)(1)).
(d)This section constitutes the exclusive remedy that any
officers and employees (as described in subsection (c)) have for any claim that
they are owed any monies denied to them in the form of merit pay for 2006 under
section 731(b) of title 31, United States Code, or any other law.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no court or administrative body in
the United States, including the Government Accountability Office Personnel
Appeals Board, shall have jurisdiction to entertain any civil action or other
civil proceeding based on the claim of such officers or employees that they
were due money in the form of merit pay for 2006 pursuant to such section
731(b) or any other law.
(e)For
purposes of this section—
(1)the term performance-based
compensation has the meaning given such term under the Government
Accountability Office’s performance-based compensation system under GAO Orders
2540.3 and 2540.4, as in effect in 2006; and
(2)the
term permanent merit pay increase means an increase under section
731(b) of title 31, United States Code, in a rate of basic pay.
5.
(a)Subchapter I of chapter 7 is amended by adding at the end
the following:
705.Inspector
General for the Government Accountability Office
(a)There is established an Office of the Inspector General in
the Government Accountability Office, to—
(1)conduct and
supervise audits consistent with generally accepted government auditing
standards and investigations relating to the Government Accountability
Office;
(2)provide leadership
and coordination and recommend policies, to promote economy, efficiency, and
effectiveness in the Government Accountability Office; and
(3)keep
the Comptroller General and Congress fully and currently informed concerning
fraud and other serious problems, abuses, and deficiencies relating to the
administration of programs and operations of the Government Accountability
Office.
(b)Appointment,
supervision, and removal
(1)The
Office of the Inspector General shall be headed by an Inspector General, who
shall be appointed by the Comptroller General without regard to political
affiliation and solely on the basis of integrity and demonstrated ability in
accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public
administration, or investigations. The Inspector General shall report to, and
be under the general supervision of, the Comptroller General.
(2)The
Inspector General may be removed from office by the Comptroller General. The
Comptroller General shall, promptly upon such removal, communicate in writing
the reasons for any such removal to each House of Congress.
(3)The
Inspector General shall be paid at an annual rate of pay equal to $5,000 less
than the annual rate of pay of the Comptroller General, and may not receive any
cash award or bonus, including any award under chapter 45 of title 5.
(c)Authority of
Inspector GeneralIn addition to the authority otherwise provided
by this section, the Inspector General, in carrying out the provisions of this
section, may—
(1)have access to all
records, reports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or other
material that relate to programs and operations of the Government
Accountability Office;
(2)make
such investigations and reports relating to the administration of the programs
and operations of the Government Accountability Office as are, in the judgment
of the Inspector General, necessary or desirable;
(3)request such
documents and information as may be necessary for carrying out the duties and
responsibilities provided by this section from any Federal agency;
(4)in the performance of the functions
assigned by this section, obtain all information, documents, reports, answers,
records, accounts, papers, and other data and documentary evidence from a
person not in the United States Government or from a Federal agency, to the
same extent and in the same manner as the Comptroller General under the
authority and procedures available to the Comptroller General in section 716 of
this title;
(5)administer to or
take from any person an oath, affirmation, or affidavit, whenever necessary in
the performance of the functions assigned by this section, which oath,
affirmation, or affidavit when administered or taken by or before an employee
of the Office of Inspector General designated by the Inspector General shall
have the same force and effect as if administered or taken by or before an
officer having a seal;
(6)have direct and
prompt access to the Comptroller General when necessary for any purpose
pertaining to the performance of functions and responsibilities under this
section;
(7)report
expeditiously to the Attorney General whenever the Inspector General has
reasonable grounds to believe there has been a violation of Federal criminal
law; and
(8)provide copies of
all reports to the Audit Advisory Committee of the Government Accountability
Office and provide such additional information in connection with such reports
as is requested by the Committee.
(d)
(1)The
Inspector General—
(A)subject to
subparagraph (B), may receive, review, and investigate, as the Inspector
General considers appropriate, complaints or information from an employee of
the Government Accountability Office concerning the possible existence of an
activity constituting a violation of any law, rule, or regulation,
mismanagement, or a gross waste of funds; and
(B)shall refer
complaints or information concerning violations of personnel law, rules, or
regulations to established investigative and adjudicative entities of the
Government Accountability Office.
(2)The
Inspector General shall not, after receipt of a complaint or information from
an employee, disclose the identity of the employee without the consent of the
employee, unless the Inspector General determines such disclosure is
unavoidable during the course of the investigation.
(3)Any
employee who has authority to take, direct others to take, recommend, or
approve any personnel action, shall not, with respect to such authority, take
or threaten to take any action against any employee as a reprisal for making a
complaint or disclosing information to the Inspector General, unless the
complaint was made or the information disclosed with the knowledge that it was
false or with willful disregard for its truth or falsity.
(e)(1)The Inspector General
shall submit semiannual reports summarizing the activities of the Office of the
Inspector General to the Comptroller General. Such reports shall include, but
need not be limited to—
(A)a summary of each significant report
made during the reporting period, including a description of significant
problems, abuses, and deficiencies disclosed by such report;
(B)a description of the recommendations
for corrective action made with respect to significant problems, abuses, or
deficiencies described pursuant to subparagraph (A);
(C)a summary of the progress made in
implementing such corrective action described pursuant to subparagraph (B);
and
(D)information concerning any
disagreement the Comptroller General has with a recommendation of the Inspector
General.
(2)The Comptroller General shall
transmit the semiannual reports of the Inspector General, together with any
comments the Comptroller General considers appropriate, to Congress within 30
days after receipt of such reports.
(f)Independence in
carrying out duties and responsibilitiesThe Comptroller General
may not prevent or prohibit the Inspector General from carrying out any of the
duties or responsibilities of the Inspector General under this section.
(g)
(1)The Inspector General shall select, appoint, and employ
(including fixing and adjusting the rates of pay of) such personnel as may be
necessary to carry out this section consistent with the provisions of this
title governing selections, appointments, and employment (including the fixing
and adjusting the rates of pay) in the Government Accountability Office. Such
personnel shall be appointed, promoted, and assigned only on the basis of merit
and fitness, but without regard to those provisions of title 5 governing
appointments and other personnel actions in the competitive service, except
that no personnel of the Office may be paid at an annual rate greater than
$1,000 less than the annual rate of pay of the Inspector General.
(2)The Inspector General may procure temporary and
intermittent services under section 3109 of title 5 at rates not to exceed the
daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive
Schedule under section 5315 of such title.
(3)Independence in
appointing staffNo individual may carry out any of the duties or
responsibilities of the Office of the Inspector General unless the individual
is appointed by the Inspector General, or provides services obtained by the
Inspector General, pursuant to this paragraph.
(4)Limitation on
program responsibilitiesThe Inspector General and any individual
carrying out any of the duties or responsibilities of the Office of the
Inspector General are prohibited from performing any program
responsibilities.
(h)The Comptroller General shall provide the Office of the
Inspector General—
(1)appropriate and
adequate office space;
(2)such equipment,
office supplies, and communications facilities and services as may be necessary
for the operation of the Office of the Inspector General;
(3)necessary
maintenance services for such office space, equipment, office supplies, and
communications facilities; and
(4)equipment and
facilities located in such office space.
(i)As
used in this section, the term Federal agency means a department,
agency, instrumentality, or unit thereof, of the Federal
Government.
.
(b)The
individual who serves in the position of Inspector General of the Government
Accountability Office on the date of the enactment of this Act shall continue
to serve in such position subject to removal in accordance with the amendments
made by this section.
(c)The table of sections for chapter 7 is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 704 the following:
705. Inspector General for the Government
Accountability
Office.
.
6.Reimbursement of audit
costs
(a)Section 3521 is
amended by adding at the end the following:
(i)(1)If the Government Accountability Office
audits any financial statement or related schedule which is prepared under
section 3515 by an executive agency (or component thereof) for a fiscal year
beginning on or after October 1, 2009, such executive agency (or component)
shall reimburse the Government Accountability Office for the cost of such
audit, if the Government Accountability Office audited the statement or
schedule of such executive agency (or component) for fiscal year 2007.
(2)Any executive agency (or component thereof)
that prepares a financial statement under section 3515 for a fiscal year
beginning on or after October 1, 2009, and that requests, with the concurrence
of the Inspector General of such agency, the Government Accountability Office
to conduct the audit of such statement or any related schedule required by
section 3521 may reimburse the Government Accountability Office for the cost of
such audit.
(3)For the audits conducted under paragraphs
(1) and (2), the Government Accountability Office shall consult prior to the
initiation of the audit with the relevant executive agency (or component) and
the Inspector General of such agency on the scope, terms, and cost of such
audit.
(4)Any reimbursement under paragraph (1) or
(2) shall be deposited to a special account in the Treasury and shall be
available to the Government Accountability Office for such purposes and in such
amounts as are specified in annual appropriations
Acts.
.
(b)Section 1401 of
title I of Public Law 108–83 (31 U.S.C. 3523 note) is repealed, effective
October 1, 2010.
7.Financial disclosure
requirementsSection
109(13)(B) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is
amended—
(1)in
clause (i), by inserting (except any officer or employee of the
Government Accountability Office)
after legislative
branch
, and by striking and
at the end;
(2)by
redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); and
(3)by
inserting after clause (i) the following:
(ii)each officer or employee of the Government
Accountability Office who, for at least 60 consecutive days, occupies a
position for which the rate of basic pay, minus the amount of locality pay that
would have been authorized under section 5304 of title 5, United States Code
(had the officer or employee been paid under the General Schedule) for the
locality within which the position of such officer or employee is located (as
determined by the Comptroller General), is equal to or greater than 120 percent
of the minimum rate of basic pay payable for GS–15 of the General Schedule;
and
.
8.Section 732(c)(2) is
amended by striking highest basic rate for GS–15;
and inserting
rate for level III of the Executive Level, except that the total amount
of cash compensation in any year shall be subject to the limitations provided
under section 5307(a)(1) of title 5;
.
9.
(a)Section 731 is amended—
(1)by
repealing subsection (d);
(2)in
subsection (e)—
(A)in
the matter before paragraph (1), by striking maximum daily rate for
GS–18 under section 5332 of such title
and inserting daily rate
for level IV of the Executive Schedule
; and
(B)by
striking more than—
and all that follows and inserting the
following: more than 20 experts and consultants may be procured for
terms of not more than 3 years, but which shall be renewable.
;
and
(3)by
adding at the end the following:
(j)Funds appropriated
to the Government Accountability Office for salaries and expenses are available
for meals and other related reasonable expenses incurred in connection with
recruitment.
.
(b)(1)Section 732a(b) is amended by striking
section 731(d), (e)(1), or (e)(2)
and inserting paragraph
(1) or (2) of section 731(e)
.
(2)Section 733(c) is amended by striking
(d),
.
(3)Section 735(a) is amended by striking
731(c)–(e),
and inserting 731(c) and (e),
.
Secretary