[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 50 (Monday, April 15, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H1999-H2001]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER VACANCY ACT
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1246) to amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to provide
that the District of Columbia Treasurer or one of the Deputy Chief
Financial Officers of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer of the
District of Columbia may perform the functions and duties of the Office
in an acting capacity if there is a vacancy in the Office.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1246
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``District of Columbia Chief
Financial Officer Vacancy Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZING DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TREASURER OR DEPUTY
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF OFFICE OF CHIEF
FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
TO SERVE AS ACTING CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER IN
EVENT OF VACANCY IN OFFICE.
(a) Authorizing Service in Acting Capacity in Event of
Vacancy in Office.--Section 424(b) of the District of
Columbia Home Rule Act (sec. 1-204.24(b), D.C. Official Code)
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Authorizing treasurer or deputy cfo to perform duties
in acting capacity in event of vacancy in office.--
``(A) Service as cfo.--
``(i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), if
there is a vacancy in the Office of Chief Financial Officer
because the Chief Financial Officer has died, resigned, or is
otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the
Office--
``(I) the District of Columbia Treasurer shall serve as the
Chief Financial Officer in an acting capacity, subject to the
time limitation of subparagraph (B); or
``(II) the Mayor may direct one of the Deputy Chief
Financial Officers of the Office referred to in subparagraphs
(A) through (D) of subsection (a)(3) to serve as the Chief
Financial Officer in an acting capacity, subject to the time
limitation of subparagraph (B).
[[Page H2000]]
``(ii) Exclusion of certain individuals.--Notwithstanding
clause (i), an individual may not serve as the Chief
Financial Officer under such clause if the individual did not
serve as the District of Columbia Treasurer or as one of such
Deputy Chief Financial Officers of the Office of the Chief
Financial Officer (as the case may be) for at least 90 days
during the 1-year period which ends on the date the vacancy
occurs.
``(B) Time limitation.--A vacancy in the Office of the
Chief Financial Officer may not be filled by the service of
any individual in an acting capacity under subparagraph (A)
after the expiration of the 210-day period which begins on
the date the vacancy occurs.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 424(b)(2)(D) of such Act
(sec. 1-204.24(b)(2)(D), D.C. Official Code) is amended by
striking ``Any vacancy'' and inserting ``Subject to paragraph
(3), any vacancy''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall
apply with respect to vacancies occurring on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Issa) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
As chairman of the committee with oversight and responsibility over
the District of Columbia, from time to time it comes to our attention
that the Home Rule Act and other legislation that has governed the
Federal City needs to be updated. In this case, because of the work of
Delegate Holmes Norton, we became aware of a potentially dangerous flaw
within existing law.
On February 1, Dr. Gandhi, the longstanding District of Columbia
chief financial officer, announced that he will retire on June 1.
Subsequently, Ms. Norton and the Mayor both began to realize that, if
they did not have a full-time and confirmed replacement by June 1, they
would be without the authority to write checks; they would be without a
requirement that makes the city physically work. This has been a flaw
for a very long time. No city, no State, no government should have a
single individual critical to the disbursement and consideration of
their just debts; but that is, in fact, the way the law was written.
This bill very narrowly but essentially--and, if I may say, it's long
overdue--recognizes that there has to be a succession plan, a
capability to fill vacancies. H.R. 1246 parallels the Federal Vacancies
Reform Act and simply reaffirms a logical sequence of who may be
considered to fill this vacancy for whatever period of time would be
reasonable. Under our legislation, we recognize that we also mirror the
Federal statute for what is, in fact, a temporary filling.
I want to just close by thanking Delegate Holmes Norton. She brought
this to us, realizing how critical it could be, and was the first to
realize that, if Dr. Gandhi had simply had a car accident and had
become infirmed, the same exact situation could have happened and could
have been a crisis during an August recess or some other period of time
in which Congress would have found itself unable to resolve it in a
timely fashion. So I want to thank her for recognizing the potential
before all others, and perhaps that's the best justification for having
a Delegate represent the District of Columbia as she has so well.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I begin by thanking the chairman, Chairman Issa and, of course,
Ranking Member Cummings for so quickly understanding the importance of
bringing this bill to the floor and for marking it up expeditiously. We
brought it to the chairman and the ranking member after they had
completed the list for the markup, and they immediately recognized how
important this bill was.
May I also take this moment to thank Chairman Issa for his continued
partnership on legislation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness
of the District of Columbia, including budget autonomy, which got a
boost this week when President Obama included a legislative provision--
that's the first time any President has ever included legislative
language--to grant D.C. budget autonomy in his budget.
This legislation is a whole lot more straightforward but is highly
technical and could have been overlooked. The District of Columbia
Chief Financial Officer Vacancy Act is, however, an important example
of Chairman Issa's commitment to assist the District of Columbia in
improving and safeguarding its vital operations.
The bill, based on the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, is
intended to clarify the authority of the Mayor of the District of
Columbia to fill a vacancy in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer
on an interim basis. Under the bill, if there is a vacancy in the
Office of the CFO because the CFO has died or resigned or has otherwise
become unable to perform the functions and duties of the office, under
this bill, patterned after Federal legislation, the D.C. treasurer
becomes the acting CFO unless the Mayor appoints a deputy CFO to serve
as the acting CFO. In either case, there may not be an acting CFO for
more than 210 days.
The CFO, an independent official created by Congress, oversees all of
the financial operations of the District of Columbia. The city may not
obligate or expend funds without the CFO's approval. Congress,
apparently unintentionally, created uncertainty regarding the Mayor's
authority to appoint an interim CFO in the fiscal 2001 District of
Columbia Appropriations Act, which added a 30-day congressional review
and comment period before the appointment of a CFO takes effect.
Now, when we passed the original bill, there was not that comment
period, and here is where we got the technical flaw and Congress
retained this congressional review and comment period in its rewrite of
the CFO statute in the 2005 District of Columbia Omnibus Authorization
Act. In the event of a vacancy, this review and comment period could
leave the District without a CFO for at least 30 days.
While it could be argued that the Mayor has the general authority to
execute the laws and to administer the affairs of the District of
Columbia, which may give the Mayor implicit authority to fill a vacancy
in the Office of the CFO on an interim basis, this office, after all,
was created by the Congress. It would not be prudent to leave doubt
about the Mayor's authority as to the only officer who can authorize
spending for the District of Columbia. The bill removes any possible
doubt.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would like to join with my colleague, Ms. Norton, in her comments
just a moment ago.
{time} 1720
The President recognizes that now is the time to work on a bipartisan
basis on budget autonomy for the District, recognizing that every year
contracts have to be let for teachers who will go to work in late
August and early September, but in fact they often do not know what
their budget is going to be on October 1. So this is another area where
I think Ms. Norton and I find ourselves prepared to bring legislation
in a timely fashion that deals with the need to make sure that the
taxes raised within the District of Columbia by the people of the
District of Columbia can in fact be put toward those essential,
important services that are paid for by the taxes of the people of the
District.
So although that isn't directly related to today's legislation, I
think it's critical that we as the ultimate stewards of the Federal
city recognize that we cannot run the Federal city, we cannot budget
the Federal city, we cannot in fact do what mayors and city councils do
as well as they do. So although I share with my colleagues that it is a
responsibility the Constitution gives us, I join with my colleague, Ms.
Norton, in saying that we will live up to the President's request in
the budget; we will offer legislation from our committee in the next
month or so, so that long before the passage of appropriations we once
again have a piece of
[[Page H2001]]
legislation before this committee that deals with a long overdue reform
to the Home Rule Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. May I thank the chairman for his remarks concerning
budget autonomy. Many in the District see budget autonomy as simply a
right because it is a local budget; and, of course, the Congress had
nothing to do with raising the funds in that budget.
The chairman had a hearing where he listened to the ramifications and
effects of bringing a local budget to a body that, even in the best of
times, is surrounded by great uncertainty; and he heard the experience
of the penalties that the District incurs in its bond rating which
otherwise would be perhaps the best in the country because the District
has such a large reserve, unusual in these times. And he heard about
our budget year, which is timed to begin with the congressional budget
year; whereas, every other jurisdiction in the United States begins its
fiscal year in July timed to their own children and the opening of
school. And he heard about the difficulties of running a large city
government and of the shutdown preparations we've had to make because
our budget is tied to the federal budget.
The District of Columbia did not lobby the chairman. He is an astute
observer, not only of the District of Columbia, but of how money is
managed, and he himself came forward with the notion that the local
budget ought to be with local residents. It seems to me to be a
particularly thoughtful proposal when you consider that Congress, in
bills and various provisions that have been offered, still would have
the final authority over the budget. Here we have a situation where
Congress would lose nothing, but the District would gain what we would
in the District would call almost everything.
With that, I'm pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), the ranking member who has been
so helpful to me on this and other matters.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I want to first of all say to Ms. Norton,
I want to thank you for your vigilance and thank you for staying on the
case. No matter how history will be written about the District of
Columbia, it must be said that you have, over and over again, stood up
for the District, trying to make sure that it has the autonomy that it
deserves, which is simply right, and we thank you very much for those
efforts.
As ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, I rise in strong support of this important legislation. The
District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer Vacancy Act would give the
D.C. Mayor the express authority to appoint an acting chief financial
officer in the event of a vacancy in the Office of the Chief Financial
Officer, an independent office created by Congress and responsible for
the financial operations of the District.
While the Mayor, as the official responsible for executing the laws
of the District, may have implied authority under current law to
appoint an acting chief financial officer, this bill erases any doubt
about the Mayor's authority to appoint an acting CFO.
That is so very important. The District's strong credit rating is
attributable in no small part to the Office of the Chief Financial
Officer, and it is important that there be no confusion about the
office's ability to expend funds.
Finally let me say this. I agree with the gentlelady, with her
comments, with regard to her comments with regard to the chairman of
the committee. He has shown strong support for this autonomy that she
is talking about, the autonomy that the residents of the District of
Columbia richly deserve; and hopefully we will be able to move this
ball forward so that when we look at the end of our tenure, if not
before, we will be able to say that we were able to accomplish it and
get it done.
So I applaud the chairman for his foresight. I definitely support him
in his efforts with regard to that issue. And to this issue, by the
way, because this issue here that we are dealing with today, clearly,
we had a situation where there was a hole that needed to be closed so
that there would be clarity. And through your foresight, Ms. Norton,
and certainly the foresight of the D.C. Government, we now are able to
close that so there is no ambiguity whatsoever.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill,
and thank the gentlelady for yielding to me.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, but I do want to
thank the ranking member for his very vigorous and important remarks on
this bill, and for his great assistance to me on this bill and on
budget autonomy and many other issues.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join with me in support
of H.R. 1246. This bill under consideration is critical and timely.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1246.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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