[House Report 114-163]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114TH Congress        }                              {       Report  
                         HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   
 1st Session          }                              {        114-163
======================================================================
 
        DHS PAID ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2015

                                _______
                                

  June 17 2015.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. McCaul, from the Committee on Homeland Security, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1633]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1633) to provide for certain improvements 
relating to the tracking and reporting of employees of the 
Department of Homeland Security placed on administrative leave, 
or any other type of paid non-duty status without charge to 
leave, for personnel matters, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     3
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     3
Hearings.........................................................     4
Committee Consideration..........................................     4
Committee Votes..................................................     5
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     5
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     5
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     6
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     6
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     6
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     7
Preemption Clarification.........................................     7
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................     7
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     7
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     7
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     7
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     9

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``DHS Paid Administrative Leave 
Accountability Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY IMPROVED INTERNAL TRACKING AND 
                    REPORTING OF ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE FOR PERSONNEL 
                    MATTERS.

  (a) In General.--Title I of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public 
Law 107-296; 6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 104. INTERNAL TRACKING AND REPORTING OF ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE FOR 
                    PERSONNEL MATTERS.

  ``(a) Internal Reporting.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of the DHS Paid Administrative Leave Accountability Act 
of 2015, and quarterly thereafter, the head of each component of the 
Department shall submit to the Chief Human Capital Officer of the 
Department--
          ``(1) the number of employees of the component who had been 
        on administrative leave, or any other type of paid non-duty 
        status without charge to leave, for personnel matters for a 
        period of six consecutive months or longer as of the last day 
        of the period covered by the report;
          ``(2) the total cost to the component associated with such 
        administrative leave and such paid non-duty status (including 
        salary and benefits) for the period covered by the report; and
          ``(3) the average duration that employees are placed on 
        administrative leave, or any other type of paid non-duty status 
        without charge to leave, for personnel matters for a period of 
        six consecutive months or longer, as of the last day of the 
        period covered by the report for the component.
  ``(b) CHCO Tracking.--The Chief Human Capital Officer shall--
          ``(1) maintain records of the number of employees of the 
        Department who are placed on administrative leave or paid non-
        duty status without charge to leave for personnel matters and 
        the costs (including salary and benefits) associated with such 
        leave or non-duty status; and
          ``(2) in consultation with the head of each of the components 
        of the Department, determine any appropriate actions to be 
        taken by the Department to resolve any personnel matter 
        objectively, appropriately, and expeditiously or to reduce the 
        use of administrative leave and paid non-duty status without 
        charge to leave in addressing any personnel matter.
  ``(c) Personnel Matters Defined.--In this section, the term 
`personnel matters' means, with respect to an employee, any personnel 
investigation (including any investigation into misconduct and any 
national security or suitability investigation), any criminal matter, 
or any adverse action proposed or taken by the Department, including 
any action under chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code.
  ``(d) Leverage of Existing Systems.--In carrying out this section, 
the Secretary is encouraged to leverage systems and operations in use 
on the date of enactment of the DHS Paid Administrative Leave 
Accountability Act of 2015 to implement the requirements of this 
section.''.
  (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 103 
the following new item:

``Sec. 104. Internal tracking and reporting of administrative leave for 
personnel matters.''.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY POLICY RELATING TO EMPLOYEES ON 
                    ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE.

  By not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland 
Security shall develop and implement a Department-wide policy in 
accordance with existing Federal guidance specifically related to the 
use of administrative leave, or any other type of paid non-duty status 
without charge to leave, for personnel matters. Such policy shall 
include the responsibilities of the components of the Department for 
reporting information relating to such administrative leave and such 
paid non-duty status to the Chief Human Capital Officer, as required 
under section 104(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 
107-296), as added by section 2. Such policy shall provide guidance on 
expediting the resolution of a personnel matter for which an employee 
has been on administrative leave or any other type of paid non-duty 
status without charge to leave for a period of six consecutive months 
or longer in an objective and appropriate manner.

SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 
                    EMPLOYEES ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE FOR PERSONNEL 
                    MATTERS.

  (a) Quarterly Reports.--Not later than 30 days after the last day of 
each calendar quarter of 2016, 2017, and 2018, the Chief Human Capital 
Officer of the Department of Homeland Security shall submit to the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a 
report on the number of Department employees on administrative leave, 
and any other type of paid non-duty status without charge to leave, for 
personnel matters for a period of six consecutive months or longer as 
of the last day of the quarter covered by the report. Each such report 
shall include--
          (1) the costs to the Department associated with the placement 
        of such employees on administrative leave or such paid non-duty 
        status (including salary and benefits) for the period covered 
        by the report; and
          (2) a description of any actions taken by the Department to 
        resolve any personnel matter for which an employee has been 
        placed on administrative leave or paid non-duty status without 
        charge to leave.
  (b) Personnel Matters.--In this section, the term ``personnel 
matters'' has the meaning given such term in section 104(c) of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296), as added by section 
2.

                          Purpose and Summary

    The purpose of H.R. 1633 is to provide for certain 
improvements relating to the tracking and reporting of 
employees of the Department of Homeland Security placed on 
administrative leave, or any other type of paid non-duty status 
without charge to leave, for personnel matters, and for other 
purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Federal agencies have the discretion to authorize paid 
administrative leave, which is an excused absence without loss 
of pay or charge to leave. However, if it is used for extended 
periods of time, such as when an employee is placed on paid 
administrative leave for several months pending a conduct-
related investigation, the cost to taxpayers could be 
substantial.
    Existing guidance from the Office of Personnel Management 
(OPM) sets forth that, in rare circumstances, an employee may 
be placed in a paid, non-duty status for a period when a 
Federal agency determines that the employee's continued 
presence on the job during the period may: (1) pose a threat to 
the employee or others; (2) result in a loss or damage to 
Government property; or (3) jeopardize legitimate Government 
interests. According to the Government Accountability Office 
(GAO), Federal agencies expended $3.1 billion between Fiscal 
Year 2011 and Fiscal Year 2014 on salaries for employees on 
administrative leave, including for employees who were awaiting 
the resolution of a conduct-related investigation. (Federal 
Paid Administrative Leave: Additional Guidance Needed to 
Improve OPM Data, [GAO-15-79], Oct. 20, 2014). GAO found that 
during this three-year period, within the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS), over $380 million was expended on 1.5 
million days of paid administrative leave for excused absences, 
a subset of which are attributable to conduct-related 
investigations. In part, DHS' paid leave expenditure is 
attributable to about 200 DHS employees who had been placed on 
paid administrative leave, pending a conduct-related 
investigation, for periods totaling six or more months.
    Given the cost to taxpayers, the Department should have 
policies and procedures in place to ensure proper management of 
paid administrative leave, particularly administrative leave 
provided when an employee undergoes investigation for 
misconduct or criminal matters. However, DHS does not have such 
a policy and, consequently, does not have assurance of 
consistent administration of this category of leave throughout 
the Department.
    The Department should track the number of employees placed 
on paid administrative leave for personnel matters for six 
months or longer and the costs associated with such periods of 
leave to ensure that it is providing effective oversight of 
both DHS' employees and taxpayer dollars. Additionally, the 
Department's Chief Human Capital Officer should provide 
sufficient oversight to better safeguard taxpayer resources. 
Such action is in line with the memorandum issued by OPM on May 
29, 2015 that announced a Government-wide effort to improve the 
quality and accuracy of data maintained by Federal agencies 
pertaining to administrative leave. The Committee would 
emphasize that the focus of this legislation is oversight of 
employees paid salaries and benefits for long periods of time 
when under investigation for personnel matters, such as 
misconduct issues and criminal matters. This measure does not 
seek to address the Department's use of paid administrative 
leave for other purposes, such as for civic-related duties 
(e.g. voting and blood donation) or severe weather events that 
prohibit safe operations.

                                Hearings

    No hearings were held on H.R. 1633.

                        Committee Consideration

    The Committee met on May 20, 2015, to consider H.R. 1633, 
and ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a 
favorable recommendation, amended, by voice vote. The Committee 
took the following actions:
    The following amendments were offered:

 An Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute offered by Mr. 
Loudermilk (#1); was AGREED TO, as amended, by voice vote.

 An Amendment by Mrs. Torres to the Amendment in the Nature of 
a Substitute (#1A); was AGREED TO by voice vote.

     Page 2, line 8, strike ``and''.
     Page 2, line 12, strike the period and insert ``; and'.
     Page 2, after line 12, insert the following: ``(3) the average 
duration that employees are placed on administrative leave, or any 
other type of paid non-duty status without charge to leave, for 
personnel matters for a period of six consecutive months or longer, as 
of the last day of the period covered by the report for the 
component.''.

 An Amendment by Mrs. Watson Coleman to the Amendment in the 
Nature of a Substitute (#1B); was AGREED TO by voice vote.

     Page 3, after line 11, insert a new subsection entitled ``(d) 
Leverage of Existing Systems''.

 An Amendment by Mrs. Watson Coleman to the Amendment in the 
Nature of a Substitute (#1C); was WITHDRAWN by unanimous 
consent.

     Page 5, after line 17, insert a new section entitled ``Sec. 5. 
Additional Resources.''

    The Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency met 
on May 13, 2015, to consider H.R. 1633, and ordered the measure 
forwarded to the Full Committee with a favorable 
recommendation, amended, by voice vote. The Subcommittee took 
the following actions:
    The following amendment was offered:

 An amendment offered by Mrs. Watson Coleman (#1); was AGREED 
TO by voice vote.

     Page 3, line 3, strike ``monitor'' and insert ``maintain records 
of''.
     Page 3, line 12, insert ``objectively, appropriately, and'' before 
``expeditiously''.
     Page 3, line 13, strike ``eliminate or''.
     Page 4, line 19, after the period insert the following:
     ``Such policy shall provide guidance on expediting the resolution 
of a personnel matter for which an employee has been on administrative 
leave or any other type of paid non-duty status without charge to leave 
for a period of six consecutive months or longer in an objective and 
appropriate manner.''

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded 
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments 
thereto.
    No recorded votes were requested during consideration of 
H.R. 1633.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee has held oversight 
hearings and made findings that are reflected in this report.

   New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H.R. 
1633, the DHS Paid Administrative Leave Accountability Act of 
2015, would result in no new or increased budget authority, 
entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or revenues.

                  Congressional Budget Office Estimate

    The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared 
by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to 
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 15, 2015.
Hon. Michael McCaul,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1633, the DHS Paid 
Administrative Leave Accountability Act of 2015.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1633--DHS Paid Administrative Leave Accountability Act of 2015

    H.R. 1633 would require the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) to develop and implement a policy for the use of certain 
types of administrative leave and paid non-duty status for 
instances where DHS employees are paid and not charged for such 
leave; the department would also have to maintain records on 
the use of such leave or non-duty status. Finally, the bill 
would require the department to submit quarterly reports over 
the 2016-2018 period on the number of DHS employees who have 
spent at least six consecutive months on certain types of paid 
non-duty status.
    Based on information from DHS, CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 1633 would cost less than $500,000 annually 
over the 2016-2018 period; any spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds. Much of the data needed for 
the required reports and records is currently collected by the 
department. Because enacting the legislation would not affect 
direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not 
apply.
    H.R. 1633 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. 
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 1633 contains the following 
general performance goals and objectives, including outcome 
related goals and objectives authorized.
    The performance goals and objectives of H.R. 1633 include 
the development and implementation of a Department-wide policy 
regarding paid administrative leave for personnel matters. The 
Department shall also improve the internal tracking and 
reporting of the number of employees placed on administrative 
leave for personnel matters for longer than a period of six 
months and the total costs associated with such leave. The 
Department shall report to Congress on these issues to increase 
transparency and accountability.

                      Duplicative Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 1633 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

   Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
                                Benefits

    In compliance with rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the rule 
XXI.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                        Preemption Clarification

    In compliance with section 423 of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, requiring the report of any Committee on a bill or 
joint resolution to include a statement on the extent to which 
the bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt State, 
local, or Tribal law, the Committee finds that H.R. 1633 does 
not preempt any State, local, or Tribal law.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    The Committee estimates that H.R. 1633 would require no 
directed rule makings.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Section 1. Short title

    This section provides that bill may be cited as the ``DHS 
Paid Administrative Leave Accountability Act of 2015''.

Section 2. Improved internal tracking and reporting

    This section amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(Public Law 107-296; 6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) to require heads of 
DHS components to provide the Department's Chief Human Capital 
Officer data related to paid administrative leave within 90 
days of the Act's enactment. DHS components are required to 
provide each quarter the (1) number of employees placed on 
administrative leave for personnel matters for longer than a 
period of 6 months; (2) total cost to the component associated 
with paying administrative leave for such employees, including 
salaries and benefits; and (3) the average length of time that 
employees (those placed on paid administrative leave for 
personnel matters for longer than 6 months) have been on such 
leave. To determine the actual costs associated with these 
employees, DHS should include the cost of both employees' 
salaries and the benefits provided while on paid administrative 
leave for longer than six months to the extent that the 
information is available. In the event that calculating the 
cost of benefits provided to these employees is prohibitively 
burdensome, the Department may use generally accepted 
estimates, provided that there is a sufficient, detailed 
explanation of the methodology used. If this approach is taken, 
the Committee encourages the Department to receive prior input 
from the Government Accountability Office on the methodology. 
Section 2 also requires the Department's Chief Human Capital 
Officer to maintain records on this data and work with 
components to determine the appropriate actions to take to 
resolve these personnel matters objectively, appropriately, and 
expeditiously. Section 2 defines personnel matters as relating 
to ``any personnel investigation (including any investigation 
into misconduct and any national security or suitability 
investigation), any criminal matter, or any adverse action 
proposed or taken by the Department.'' Section 2 encourages the 
Secretary to leverage existing systems and operations to 
fulfill the requirements of this section of the Act.
    The Committee notes that the Department's Office of the 
Chief Human Capital Officer received almost $22 million in 
fiscal year 2014 to carry out its duties for providing overall 
management and administration for the human capital policies, 
programs, and practices for its workforce. The Committee did 
not authorize additional appropriations for the Chief Human 
Capital Officer to provide greater Departmental oversight of 
the approximately 200 employees within the Department's 
workforce of 240,000 employees that have been placed on 
administrative leave pending resolution of personnel matters 
for six or more months. The Committee expects the Department to 
integrate this activity into what the Department identified in 
its fiscal year 2016 budget justification as one of its key 
human capital priority areas-developing human capital policies 
and guidance in order to ensure alignment of priorities with 
compliance with laws and regulations. This section directs the 
Department to use existing systems and resources to better 
track and monitor costs associated with administrative leave 
for personnel matters extending longer than six months.
    In the event that, after enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary determines that implementation of this law will 
require reallocation of existing resources or new resources, 
the Committee expects the Secretary or designee, to provide 
timely notification and a detailed explanation for such a 
determination to the Committee.

Section 3. Development and implementation of policy

    This section requires DHS's Chief Human Capital Officer to 
develop and implement a Department-wide policy specifically 
related to the use of paid administrative leave for personnel 
matters, completing implementation within 90 days of the Act's 
enactment. The policy should include the responsibilities of 
components for reporting information on paid administrative 
leave to the Chief Human Capital Officer. Section 3 requires 
that the policy provide guidance on how to expedite the 
resolution of matters involving employees on paid 
administrative leave for personnel matters for a period of six 
consecutive months or longer.

Section 4. Reports to Congress on Department of Homeland Security 
        employees on administrative leave for personnel matters

    This section requires DHS's Chief Human Capital Officer to 
submit to the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees a 
report each quarter on the number of employees placed on 
administrative leave for personnel matters for a period of six 
consecutive months or longer. The reports should include (1) 
the costs associated with employees placed on administrative 
leave and (2) actions taken by DHS to resolve personnel matters 
for such employees.
    Section 4 requires that the policy should provide guidance 
on how to objectively and appropriately expedite the resolution 
of personnel matters resulting in the placement of an employee 
on paid administrative leave for a period longer than 6 months.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                     HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

  (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Homeland 
Security Act of 2002''.
  (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is 
as follows:
     * * * * * * *

                TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

     * * * * * * *
Sec. 104. Internal tracking and reporting of administrative leave for 
          personnel matters.
     * * * * * * *



                TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY



     * * * * * * *

SEC. 104. INTERNAL TRACKING AND REPORTING OF ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE FOR 
                    PERSONNEL MATTERS.

  (a) Internal Reporting.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of the DHS Paid Administrative Leave 
Accountability Act of 2015, and quarterly thereafter, the head 
of each component of the Department shall submit to the Chief 
Human Capital Officer of the Department--
          (1) the number of employees of the component who had 
        been on administrative leave, or any other type of paid 
        non-duty status without charge to leave, for personnel 
        matters for a period of six consecutive months or 
        longer as of the last day of the period covered by the 
        report;
          (2) the total cost to the component associated with 
        such administrative leave and such paid non-duty status 
        (including salary and benefits) for the period covered 
        by the report; and
          (3) the average duration that employees are placed on 
        administrative leave, or any other type of paid non-
        duty status without charge to leave, for personnel 
        matters for a period of six consecutive months or 
        longer, as of the last day of the period covered by the 
        report for the component.
  (b) CHCO Tracking.--The Chief Human Capital Officer shall--
          (1) maintain records of the number of employees of 
        the Department who are placed on administrative leave 
        or paid non-duty status without charge to leave for 
        personnel matters and the costs (including salary and 
        benefits) associated with such leave or non-duty 
        status; and
          (2) in consultation with the head of each of the 
        components of the Department, determine any appropriate 
        actions to be taken by the Department to resolve any 
        personnel matter objectively, appropriately, and 
        expeditiously or to reduce the use of administrative 
        leave and paid non-duty status without charge to leave 
        in addressing any personnel matter.
  (c) Personnel Matters Defined.--In this section, the term 
``personnel matters'' means, with respect to an employee, any 
personnel investigation (including any investigation into 
misconduct and any national security or suitability 
investigation), any criminal matter, or any adverse action 
proposed or taken by the Department, including any action under 
chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code.
  (d) Leverage of Existing Systems.--In carrying out this 
section, the Secretary is encouraged to leverage systems and 
operations in use on the date of enactment of the DHS Paid 
Administrative Leave Accountability Act of 2015 to implement 
the requirements of this section.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *