[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2751 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2751
To provide new human capital flexibilities with respect to the GAO, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2003
Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of Virginia (for herself and Mr. Tom Davis of
Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide new human capital flexibilities with respect to the GAO, 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; AMENDMENT OF TITLE 31.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``GAO Human Capital
Reform Act of 2003''.
(b) Amendment of Title 31.--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.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO PUBLIC LAW 106-303.
Sections 1 and 2 of Public Law 106-303 (5 U.S.C. 8336 note and 5597
note) are amended by striking ``for purposes of the period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2003''
each place it appears and inserting ``October 13, 2000''.
SEC. 3. ANNUAL PAY ADJUSTMENTS.
(a) Officers and Employees Generally.--Paragraph (3) of section
732(c) is amended to read as follows:
``(3) except as provided under section 733(a)(3)(B) of this
title, basic pay rates of officers and employees of the Office
shall be adjusted annually to such extent as the Comptroller
General shall determine, taking into consideration--
``(A) the principle that there be equal pay for
substantially equal work within each local pay area;
``(B) the Consumer Price Index;
``(C) any existing pay disparities between officers
and employees of the Office and non-Federal employees
in each local pay area;
``(D) the pay rates for the same levels of work for
officers and employees of the Office and non-Federal
employees in each local pay area;
``(E) the appropriate distribution of agency funds
between annual adjustments under this section and
performance-based compensation; and
``(F) such other criteria as the Comptroller
General considers appropriate, including, but not
limited to, the funding level for the Office, amounts
allocated for performance-based compensation, and the
extent to which the Office is succeeding in fulfilling
its mission and accomplishing its strategic plan;
notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, an
adjustment under this paragraph shall not be applied in the
case of any officer or employee whose performance is not at a
satisfactory level, as determined by the Comptroller General
for purposes of such adjustment;''.
(b) Officers and Employees in the Office Senior Executive
Service.--Subparagraph (B) of section 733(a)(3) is amended to read as
follows:
``(B) adjusted annually by the Comptroller General
after taking into consideration the factors listed
under section 732(c)(3) of this title, except that an
adjustment under this subparagraph shall not be applied
in the case of any officer or employee whose
performance is not at a satisfactory level, as
determined by the Comptroller General for purposes of
such adjustment;''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 732(b)(6) is amended by striking
``title 5.'' and inserting ``title 5, except as provided under
subsection (c)(3) of this section and section 733(a)(3)(B) of this
title.''.
SEC. 4. PAY RETENTION.
Paragraph (5) of section 732(c) is amended to read as follows:
``(5) the Comptroller General shall prescribe regulations
under which an officer or employee of the Office shall be
entitled to pay retention if, as a result of any reduction-in-
force or other workforce adjustment procedure, position
reclassification, or other appropriate circumstances as
determined by the Comptroller General, such officer or employee
is placed in or holds a position in a lower grade or band with
a maximum rate of basic pay that is less than the rate of basic
pay payable to the officer or employee immediately before the
reduction in grade or band; such regulations--
``(A) shall provide that the officer or employee
shall be entitled to continue receiving the rate of
basic pay that was payable to the officer or employee
immediately before the reduction in grade or band until
such time as the retained rate becomes less than the
maximum rate for the grade or band of the position held
by such officer or employee; and
``(B) shall include provisions relating to the
minimum period of time for which an officer or employee
must have served or for which the position must have
been classified at the higher grade or band in order
for pay retention to apply, the events that terminate
the right to pay retention (apart from the one
described in subparagraph (A)), and exclusions based on
the nature of an appointment; in prescribing
regulations under this subparagraph, the Comptroller
General shall be guided by the provisions of sections
5362 and 5363 of title 5.''.
SEC. 5. RELOCATION BENEFITS.
Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection (e) the
following:
``(f) The Comptroller General shall prescribe regulations under
which officers and employees of the Office may, in appropriate
circumstances, be reimbursed for any relocation expenses under
subchapter II of chapter 57 of title 5 for which they would not
otherwise be eligible, but only if the Comptroller General determines
that the transfer giving rise to such relocation is of sufficient
benefit or value to the Office to justify such reimbursement.''.
SEC. 6. INCREASED ANNUAL LEAVE FOR UPPER-LEVEL EMPLOYEES.
Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection (f) (as added by
section 5) the following:
``(g) The Comptroller General shall prescribe regulations under
which officers and employees of the Office in high-grade, managerial,
or supervisory positions who have less than 3 years of service may, in
appropriate circumstances, accrue leave in accordance with section
6303(a)(2) of title 5. Such regulations shall define high-grade,
managerial, or supervisory positions and set forth the factors in
determining which officers and employees should be allowed to accrue
leave in accordance with this subsection.''.
SEC. 7. EXECUTIVE EXCHANGE PROGRAM.
Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection (g) (as added by
section 6) the following:
``(h) The Comptroller General may by regulation establish an
executive exchange program under which officers and employees of the
Office in high-grade, managerial, or supervisory positions may be
assigned to private sector organizations, and employees of private
sector organizations may be assigned to the Office, for work of mutual
concern and benefit. Regulations to carry out any such program--
``(1) shall include provisions which define high-grade,
managerial, or supervisory positions, and provisions
(consistent with sections 3702-3704 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 30, 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; and
``(3) shall provide for the inclusion, in all reports
submitted to the Congress under section 719(a) of this title,
of a review of the work being done by all individuals
participating in the program and an assessment of the
effectiveness and usefulness of the program.''.
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 the enactment of this Act
shall be considered to refer and apply to the Government Accountability
Office.
SEC. 9. 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 the
enactment of this Act.
(b) Pay Adjustments.--
(1) In general.--Section 3 and the amendments made by
section 3 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
Comptroller General for purposes of such adjustment;
and
(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 and
the amendments made by section 3 for groups of officers
and employees that the Comptroller General considers
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''.
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