[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 163 (Wednesday, October 11, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H7948-H7950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BONUSES FOR COST-CUTTERS ACT OF 2017
Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 378) to amend title 5, United States Code, to enhance the
authority under which Federal agencies may pay cash awards to employees
for making cost saving disclosures, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 378
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 ``Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act
of 2017''.
SEC. 2. COST SAVINGS ENHANCEMENTS.
(a) Definitions.--Section 4511 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``Definition'' and
inserting ``Definitions''; and
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``;
and'';
(B) by striking ``this subchapter, the term'' and inserting
the following: ``this subchapter--
``(1) the term''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) the term `wasteful expenses' means amounts made
available for salaries and expenses accounts, operations and
maintenance accounts, or other equivalent accounts--
``(A) that are identified by an employee of the agency
under section 4512(a) as wasteful; and
``(B) that the Chief Financial Officer of the agency
determines are not required for the purpose for which the
amounts were made available.''.
[[Page H7949]]
(b) Authority.--Section 4512 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by inserting ``The head of an agency may pay a cash
award to any employee of such agency whose identification of
wasteful expenses to the Chief Financial Officer of the
agency has resulted in cost savings for the agency.'' after
the first sentence;
(B) in paragraph (1) by striking ``$10,000'' and inserting
``$20,000'';
(C) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by inserting ``Chief Financial Officer,'' after
``Inspector General,'' ;
(ii) by striking ``employee designated under subsection
(b)'' and inserting ``designated employee''; and
(iii) by inserting ``or identification'' after
``disclosure''; and
(D) in the matter following paragraph (2)--
(i) by inserting ``, Chief Financial Officer,'' after
``Inspector General''; and
(ii) by inserting ``or identification'' after
``disclosure'';
(2) in subsection (b) by striking ``awards permitted under
this section'' and inserting ``awards for the disclosure of
fraud, waste, or mismanagement under this section''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(c)(1) If the Chief Financial Officer of the agency
determines that potential wasteful expenses identified by an
employee meet the requirements of section 4511(a)(2)(B), the
head of the agency shall notify the President for purposes of
proposing the expenses for rescission under title X of the
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2
U.S.C. 681 et seq.).
``(2) In the case of an agency for which there is no Chief
Financial Officer, the head of the agency shall designate an
agency employee who shall have the authority to make the
determinations for identification of wasteful expenses under
this section.
``(d) The head of each agency shall make available, along
with, and in the same manner and form as, the provision of
information required under section 1116 of title 31,
information on disclosures of wasteful expenses under this
section, including--
``(1) a description of each disclosure of possible wasteful
expenses identified by an employee and determined by the
agency to have merit; and
``(2) the number and amount of cash awards provided by the
agency under subsection (a).
``(e) An individual may not receive a cash award under this
subchapter if the individual is--
``(1) an officer or employee of the Office of the Inspector
General of an agency; or
``(2) ineligible for a cash award under section 4509.
``(f) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management
shall--
``(1) ensure that the cash award program of each agency
complies with this section; and
``(2) submit to Congress an annual certification indicating
whether the cash award program of each agency complies with
this section.
``(g) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of
the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2017, and every 3 years
thereafter for 6 years, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to Congress a report on the operation of
the cost savings and awards program under this section,
including any recommendations for legislative changes.''.
(c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections for subchapter II of chapter 45 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to
section 4511 and inserting the following:
``4511. Definitions and general provisions.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) and the gentlewoman from the District of
Columbia (Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.
{time} 1515
General Leave
Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Oklahoma?
There was no objection.
Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I speak in support of H.R. 378, introduced by the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann), the Bonuses for Cost-
Cutters Act of 2017.
The people in the best position to identify waste throughout the
Federal Government are the employees on the front lines at the Federal
agencies. They are the ones on the ground who know when agencies waste
money. It is in the taxpayers' best interest to encourage Federal
employees to report waste when they see it.
H.R. 378 increases the incentive for Federal employees to report
wasteful spending by authorizing a reward of up to $20,000 for blowing
the whistle on waste. This incentive is especially necessary at the end
of the fiscal year when too many agencies adopt a ``use it or lose it''
mentality regarding their budgets.
Some agencies fear that if they do not spend every last dollar in
their budget, that Congress will somehow decrease their future funding.
That dynamic leads to the most outrageous expenditures in the last week
before the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
Under the structure put in place by H.R. 378, agency leadership will
also be able to verify that spending identified by whistleblowers is
actually wasteful. This was a concern raised by our colleagues in the
minority. We are thankful for their constructive work in getting this
bill to a mutually agreeable compromise.
The bill also maintains Congress' constitutional role in the
appropriations process. As we know, Congress is responsible for
authorizing spending by the Federal Government, and this bill is
careful to respect that authority.
After the agency's chief financial officer affirms that the spending
in question is indeed wasteful, the agency must submit a report to the
President. The President may then submit a recommendation to Congress
to eliminate the wasteful spending in question.
H.R. 378 is the result of a bipartisan process, and I urge my
colleagues to support this bill as an example of what we can achieve
when both sides put their minds to reform and husband the taxpayers'
dollars.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 378, the Bonuses for Cost-
Cutters Act, as reported by the committee. This legislation enhances
the existing award program for Federal employees whose identification
of waste, fraud, and abuse results in cost savings to an agency.
Every day, Federal employees across the country provide vital
services to the American people. They ensure that our veterans receive
the benefits to which they are entitled. They work to keep our air safe
to breathe and our water safe to drink. They spend long hours and put
their lives at risk to safeguard our national and homeland security.
And Federal employees are on the front lines in ensuring that these
important missions are carried out as effectively and efficiently as
possible.
I think we can all agree that no one benefits when taxpayer dollars
are wasted. This bill aims to increase government efficiency and save
taxpayer dollars by providing incentives to Federal employees to
identify wasteful spending. The legislation allows an agency head to
award an employee a bonus for the identification of wasteful expenses
that result in agency cost savings.
The bill also doubles the amount that an inspector general may award
an employee for disclosures of waste, fraud, and abuse that result in
cost savings from $10,000 to $20,000.
In addition, the bill contains several accountability measures so
that Congress and the American people can determine whether the
legislation is working as intended. First, agencies must include
information on disclosures of wasteful spending and awards distributed
under this legislation in their annual, publicly available, performance
report.
The bill also includes a requirement that the director of the Office
of Management and Budget submit a report to Congress each year
certifying that each agency's cash award program complies with the
bill.
In addition, the bill requires a GAO report on the operation of
awards program within 3 years, including any recommendations for
legislative changes. Democratic members of the Oversight and Government
Reform Committee raised concerns about prior versions of this bill, and
I want to thank Chairman Gowdy for working with us to address those
concerns. The bill we have before us today reflects bipartisan
concerns.
We must support Federal employees who identify ways to increase
efficiency and reduce waste. I believe this bill does that, and I urge
my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann), the sponsor of this bill.
Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, the
Bonuses
[[Page H7950]]
for Cost-Cutters Act of 2017. I wish to thank the gentleman from
Oklahoma and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
Mr. Speaker, what we see today in my bill is what I think the
American people want, Republicans and Democrats working together with
good, commonsense legislation that makes sense and saves the American
taxpayer's money.
Let's face it: whether we are a family or a business, we have to
manage our money in the private sector; and the Federal Government, for
far too long, has been guilty of spending waste, fraud, and abuse.
There have been so many problems, and the American people know it.
When we go home and we talk with our constituents, they want us to be
very good stewards of their money, and they deserve that. That is
exactly what this bill does, and it does it in a way that does a lot of
different things that I think is great.
First of all, as my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have said,
it incentivizes Federal employees to detect waste. We all know that
government has a tendency, when they have a pool of money, to spend it,
whether they need it or not. So if a Federal employee can go in there,
find this problem out, tell the agency head, he or she now can get up
to $20,000 of incentive pay. So we have incentivized fiscal
responsibility in the Federal Government. That is great, and that is
just good government.
In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, we look at the United States
Constitution, and that is a document that our Founding Fathers gave us
and is so important. Why is that so important with this bill? Because
when that agency head goes to the President of the United States with
this recommendation, the President of the United States has to come
where? Back to the Congress, where he should have to come.
When Congress looks at that recommendation from the President,
Congress then can make the final determination. So we have fiscal
responsibility, we have constitutional sanctity, and we have good
government.
Most of all, I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle. We have Republicans and Democrats working together, the way the
American people want us to do, to be fiscally responsible.
Mr. Speaker, I urge colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass
this good government bill.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of the bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 378, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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