[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 125 (Wednesday, October 6, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H8330-H8331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  AMENDING CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT TO PERMIT SECOND TERM FOR 
               BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE

  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 5122) to amend the Congressional 
Accountability Act of 1995 to permit members of the Board of Directors 
of the Office of Compliance to serve for 2 terms, with a Senate 
amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The Clerk read the Senate amendment, as follows:

       Senate amendment:
       Page 2, line 11, strike out ``the date of the enactment of 
     this Act'' and insert ``September 30, 2004''.

                              {time}  0045

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Reserving the right to object, Mr. 
Speaker, I want to thank the chairman for his expeditious handling of 
this matter.
  Mr. Speaker, as I indicated during earlier debate on this bill, I 
believe that the Members of the Board of Directors of the Office of 
Compliance should be eligible for a second term of service. The current 
Board has constructively served Legislative Branch employees, the 
Members of this body, and the public, by applying the same workplace 
laws to the Legislative Branch, and to the Congress, that are applied 
to the private sector. The Board has promoted educational opportunities 
for both employees and managers, and has undertaken outreach efforts to 
promote life-safety awareness, and to raise workplace consciousness.

[[Page H8331]]

The Board should be congratulated for taking a positive approach to the 
tasks of education and enforcement. A Government Accountability Office 
audit has confirmed that the Board, and the Office of Compliance, are 
operating efficiently and consistent with their statutory mandate.
  However, the GAO audit also found that the efficiency of the Office 
would be greatly impaired by the loss of institutional memory and 
operational continuity. To remedy this situation, the GAO recommended 
that both the board, and the four statutory executive officers of the 
Office, each of whom is appointed by the Board, be eligible for an 
additional term of service. By allowing the Board an additional term, 
but denying the Board the opportunity to reappoint their executive 
staff, much of the efficiency and continuity recognized by the GAO may 
be lost.
  It is my continued hope that a way can be found allow the Board to 
reappoint their management team to a second term of service. I do not 
know what concerns led the drafters of the Congressional Accountability 
Act to limit the Compliance Office's executives to a single 5 year term 
of service, but it now appears that dropping that limit will make for a 
better and more efficient Office. So I hope that we will consider 
implementing the GAO's full recommendation, and lift the term limit on 
the executive officers, as we are lifting the term limit on the Members 
of the Board.
  Again, I want to recognize my chairman, and thank him for his 
cooperation in taking this first step to maintaining the efficiency and 
continuity of the Office of Compliance.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the initial request of 
the gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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