1.This Act may be cited as the
HHS Employee Compensation Reform Act of
2012
.
2.Employment of
special consultants and fellows for the Public Health Service
(a)Section 207 of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 209) is amended—
(1)by redesignating
subsections (h) and (i) as subsections (i) and (j); and
(2)by inserting after
subsection (h) the following:
(i)(1)Subsections (f) and (g) do not authorize
the designation, appointment, or employment of any special consultant, fellow,
or other employee by an agency outside of the Department of Health and Human
Services.
(2)Not more than 5 percent of the total
number of employees of the Department of Health and Human Services may be
individuals serving pursuant to subsection (f) or (g).
(3)(A)Subject to subparagraph (B), the total
Federal compensation payable to a covered individual may not, for any 12-month
period, exceed—
(i)if such individual is a covered
individual for the entirety of such period, the dollar amount equal to 150
percent of the annual rate of pay which, as of the last day of such period, is
payable for level I of the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of title 5,
United States Code; or
(ii)if such individual is a covered
individual for less than the entirety of such period, the pro rata equivalent
of the dollar amount which would apply under clause (i) if such individual were
a covered individual for the entirety of such period.
(B)At any time, up to 50 individuals
serving pursuant to subsection (f) or (g) may be paid without regard to the
limitation on compensation established by subparagraph (A) if the Secretary
finds that each such individual’s service is vital to support the activities of
the Department of Health and Human Services.
(C)For purposes of subparagraph
(A)—
(i)the term compensation
means basic pay and any allowance, differential, bonus, award, or other similar
cash payment;
(ii)the term covered individual
means an individual serving pursuant to subsection (f) or (g); and
(iii)the term Federal compensation
means compensation for service performed pursuant to subsection (f) or (g) or
both; and
(4)Not later than 6 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and not later than each December 31
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report—
(A)specifying the number of individuals
serving during the preceding 12-month period pursuant to subsection (f) or
(g);
(B)specifying the number of such
individuals at each agency of the Department of Health and Human Services;
and
(C)including each finding made by the
Secretary under paragraph (3)(B) to authorize, with respect to service during
such 12-month period, the payment of an individual without regard to the
limitation on compensation established by paragraph
(3)(A).
.
(b)Subsection (i) of section 207 of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 209), as redesignated by subsection (a), is
amended—
(1)by striking
subsection (f)
and inserting subsection (g)
;
and
(2)by striking
subsection (e)
and inserting subsection (f)
.
(c)
(1)Paragraphs (1) and
(3) of section 207(i) of the Public Health Service Act, as added by subsection
(a), apply—
(A)beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act with respect to special consultants, fellows,
and other employees appointed on or after the date of the enactment of this
Act; and
(B)beginning on the
date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act with respect
to special consultants, fellows, and other employees appointed before the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(2)Paragraph (2) of section 207(i) of the
Public Health Service Act, as added by subsection (a), applies beginning on the
date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.