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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4434 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4434
To amend title 5, United States Code, to modify the provisions of that
title relating to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 30, 2023
Ms. Porter (for herself, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr.
Smith of Washington, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Takano,
Mr. Grijalva, and Mr. Himes) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to modify the provisions of that
title relating to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, and for
other purposes.
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 ``Accountability for Acting Officials
Act''.
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL VACANCIES REFORM ACT OF 1998.
(a) Eligibility Requirements.--Section 3345 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended as follows:
(1) In subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end before
the semi-colon the following: ``, but, and except as
provided in subsection (e), only if the individual
serving in the position of first assistant has occupied
such position for a period of at least 30 days during
the 365-day period preceding the date of the death,
resignation, or beginning of inability to serve''; and
(B) by striking subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3)
and inserting the following:
``(A) the officer or employee served in a position
in such agency for a period of at least 1 year
preceding the date of death, resignation, or beginning
of inability to serve of the applicable officer; and''.
(2) By adding at the end the following:
``(d) For purposes of this section, a position shall be considered
to be the first assistant to the office with respect to which a vacancy
occurs only if such position has been designated, at least 30 days
before the date of the vacancy, by law, rule, or regulation as the
first assistant position. The previous sentence shall begin to apply on
the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of the
Accountability for Acting Officials Act.
``(e) The 30-day service requirement in subsection (a)(1) shall not
apply to any individual who is a first assistant if--
``(1)(A) the office of such first assistant is an office
for which appointment is required to be made by the President,
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and
``(B) the Senate has approved the appointment of such
individual to such office; or
``(2) the individual began serving in the position of first
assistant during the 180-day period beginning on a transitional
inauguration day (as that term is defined in section
3349a(a)).''.
(b) Qualifications.--Section 3345(b) of title 5, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Any individual directed to perform the functions and duties
of the vacant office temporarily in an acting capacity under subsection
(a)(2) or (f) shall possess the qualifications (if any) set forth in
law, rule, or regulation that are otherwise applicable to an individual
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, to occupy such office.''.
(c) Application to Individuals Removed From Office.--Paragraph (2)
of section 3345(c) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after ``the expiration of a term of office'' the following:
``or removal (voluntarily or involuntarily) from office''.
(d) Testimony of Acting Officials Before Congress.--Section 3345 of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(f)(1) Any individual serving as an acting officer due to a
vacancy to which this section applies, or any individual who has served
in such capacity and continues to perform the same or similar duties
beyond the time limits described in section 3346, shall appear, at
least once during any 60-day period that the individual is so serving,
before the appropriate committees of jurisdiction of the House of
Representatives and the Senate.
``(2) Paragraph (1) may be waived upon mutual agreement of the
chairs and ranking members of such committees.''.
(e) Time Limitation for Principal Offices.--Section 3346 of title
5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``or as provided in
subsection (d)'' after ``sickness''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) With respect to the vacancy of the position of head of any
agency listed in subsection (b) of section 901 of title 31, or any
other position that is within the President's cabinet and to which this
section applies, subsections (a) through (c) of this section and
sections 3348(c), 3349(b), and 3349a(b) shall be applied by
substituting `120' for `210' in each instance.''.
(f) Exclusivity.--Section 3347 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
``(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), any statutory provision
covered under paragraph (1) of such subsection that contains a non-
discretionary order or directive to designate an officer or employee to
perform the functions and duties of a specified office temporarily in
an acting capacity shall be the exclusive means for temporarily
authorizing an acting official to perform the functions and duties of
such office.''.
(g) Reporting of Vacancies.--
(1) In general.--Section 3349 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``immediately upon'' in
each instance and inserting ``not later than 7
days after'';
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and''
at the end;
(iii) in paragraph (4), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) notification of the end of the term of service of any
person serving in an acting capacity and the name of any
subsequent person serving in an acting capacity and the date
the service of such subsequent person began not later than 7
days after such date.''; and
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ``immediately''
and inserting ``not later than 14 days after the date
of such determination''.
(2) Technical corrections.--Paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subsection (b) of such section 3349 are amended to read as
follows:
``(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
``(2) the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of
Representatives;''.
(h) Vacancies During Presidential Inaugural Transitions.--
Subsection (b) of section 3349a of title 5, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
``(b) Notwithstanding section 3346 (except as provided in paragraph
(2) of this subsection) or 3348(c), with respect to any vacancy that
exists on a transitional inauguration day, or that arises during the
60-day period beginning on such day, the person serving as an acting
officer as described under section 3345 may serve in the office--
``(1) for no longer than 300 days beginning on such day; or
``(2) subject to subsection 3346(b), once a first or second
nomination for the office is submitted to the Senate, from the
date of such nomination for the period that the nomination is
pending in the Senate.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
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