[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1522 Introduced in Senate (IS)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1522

To provide new human capital flexibilities with respect to the GAO, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 31 (legislative day, July 21), 2003

 Mr. Voinovich (for himself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following 
      bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                          Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 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 KEY EMPLOYEES.

    Section 731 is amended by adding after subsection (f) (as added by 
section 5 of this Act) the following:
    ``(g) The Comptroller General shall prescribe regulations under 
which key officers and employees of the Office who have less than 3 
years of service may accrue leave in accordance with section 6303(a)(2) 
of title 5, in those circumstances in which the Comptroller General has 
determined such increased annual leave is appropriate for the 
recruitment or retention of such officers and employees. Such 
regulations shall define key officers and employees 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 of this Act) 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 through 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; and
            ``(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.''.

 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 enactment of this Act 
shall be considered to refer and apply to the Government Accountability 
Office.

SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Annual Reports.--The Comptroller General shall include--
            (1) in each report submitted to Congress under section 
        719(a) of title 31, United States Code, during the 5-year 
        period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, a 
        summary review of all actions taken under sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 
        and 7 of this Act during the period covered by such report, 
        including--
                    (A) the respective numbers of officers and 
                employees--
                            (i) separating from the service under 
                        section 2 of this Act;
                            (ii) receiving pay retention under section 
                        4 of this Act;
                            (iii) receiving increased annual leave 
                        under section 6 of this Act; and
                            (iv) engaging in the executive exchange 
                        program under section 7 of this Act, as well as 
                        the number of private sector employees 
                        participating in such program and a review of 
                        the general nature of the work performed by the 
                        individuals participating in such program;
                    (B) a review of all actions taken to formulate the 
                appropriate methodologies to implement the pay 
                adjustments provided for under section 3 of this Act, 
                except that nothing under this subparagraph shall be 
                required if no changes are made in any such methodology 
                during the period covered by such report; and
                    (C) an assessment of the role of sections 2, 3, 4, 
                6, and 7 of this Act in contributing to the Office's 
                ability to carry out its mission, meet its performance 
                goals, and fulfill its strategic plan; and
            (2) in each report submitted to Congress under such section 
        719(a) after the effective date of section 3 of this Act and 
        before the close of the 5 year period referred to in paragraph 
        (1)--
                    (A) a detailed description of the methodologies 
                applied under section 3 of this Act and the manner in 
                which such methodologies were applied to determine the 
                appropriate annual pay adjustments for officers and 
                employees of the Office;
                    (B) the amount of the annual pay adjustments 
                afforded to officers and employees of the Office under 
                section 3 of this Act; and
                    (C) a description of any extraordinary economic 
                conditions or serious budget constraints which had a 
                significant impact on the determination of the annual 
                pay adjustments for officers and employees of the 
                Office.
    (b) Final Report.--Not later than 6 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress 
a report concerning the implementation of this Act. Such report shall 
include--
            (1) a summary of the information included in the annual 
        reports required under subsection (a);
            (2) recommendations for any legislative changes to section 
        2, 3, 4, 6, or 7 of this Act; and
            (3) any assessment furnished by the General Accounting 
        Office Personnel Appeals Board or any interested groups or 
        associations representing officers and employees of the Office 
        for inclusion in such report.
    (c) Additional Reporting.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
this section, the reporting requirement under subsection (a)(2)(C) 
shall apply in the case any report submitted under section 719(a) of 
title 31, United States Code, whether during the 5-year period 
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act (as required by 
subsection (a)) or at any time thereafter.

 SEC. 10. 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 
enactment of this Act.
    (b) Pay Adjustments.--
            (1) In general.--Section 3 of this Act and the amendments 
        made by that section 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 of 
                this Act and the amendments made by that section 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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