Senator Carper (Delaware) | Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

S. 1508 implements a number of transparency and compliance rules related to improper payments that occur as a result of the federal agency paying too much for a product or service, pays an ineligible recipient, or when a payment is made for a good or service not received. 

Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery:

The bill requires each federal agency to review all programs and identify those that may be susceptible to improper payments.  Such reviews would be required during the year in which this measure is enacted, and every three years thereafter.

The bill defines significant improper payments as those activities that exceed $10 million, if those payments represent 2.5 percent of all outlays in a fiscal year, or improper payments of $100 million or more regardless of the percent of outlays for a given agency. 

The bill directs federal agencies to conduct reviews as to what risk factors may contribute to improper payments such as a new agency; complexity of a program; the volume of payments made through the program or activity reviewed; whether payment decisions are made outside the agency; recent major changes in the way the program is funded; and the level of training of personnel responsible for making payment determinations.

Compliance:

The bill directs each agency to produce an estimate of the improper payments made by each program or activity in the agency.  

S. 1508 would require agencies whose programs or activities have provided improper payments to report on actions taken to recover improper payments, including a discussion of the methods used, amounts recovered, and amount still outstanding or determined not to be collected.

The bill directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), no later than six months after the bills enactment, to issue guidance for agencies to implement the requirements of this bill. 

The bill directs the head of each agency to conduct recovery audits with respect to each program or activity that expends $1 million or more annually, if conducting such audits would be cost-effective. 

If the recovery audits are performed by a contractor, the agency could authorize the contractor to notify entities of overpayments, but the contractor could make the final determinations relating to whether an overpayment occurred.  The agency would be required to report to OMB and Congress no later than November 1 of each year on actions taken to mitigate conditions leading to overpayments.

S. 1508 would direct the amount recovered through recovery audits, not more than 25 percent would be used to carry out a financial management improvement program, another 25 percent would be used for the original purpose, and 5 percent would used for inspector general activities.  Any remaining amount would be deposited in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

The bill directs the Chief Financial Officers Council, in consultation with the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency and recovery audit experts, to conduct a study on recovery auditing within two years of the bill’s enactment. 

The bill requires any agency determined not to be in compliance to submit a plan to Congress describing the actions it will take to become compliant.  If an agency is determine to be non-compliant for two consecutive fiscal years for the same program or activity and OMB determines additional funding would help, the agency would be required to spend additional funding on compliance.

The bill directs agencies that have been non-compliant for three or more consecutive fiscal years for the same program or activity, to submit reauthorization proposals to congress.

S. 1508 would permit OMB to establish one or more pilot programs to test potential accountability mechanisms tied to eliminating proper payments.

Source:S. 1508: Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act

Rep. Crowley, Joseph | Committee on Ways and Means

H.J.Res. 83 would extend through July 2011 the import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act (P.L. 108-61), which prohibits the importation of any article that is a product of Myanmar, the country formerly named Burma.

Source:H.J.Res. 83: Approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003

Rep. Sarbanes, John P. | Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

H.R. 1722, the Telework Improvement Act of 2010, improves teleworking in executive agencies by implementing a telework program that enables employees to telework at least 20 percent of the hours worked in every 2 administrative workweeks. 

The bill requires the head of each agency to establish a policy under which employees shall be permitted to telework to the maximum extent possible without diminishing employee performance or the operations of each agency. 

This measure exempts teleworking for employees whose duties and responsibilities include:

• required daily access to classified information;
• required daily in-person contact with members of the public or the use of equipment at the employee’s regular place of employment; or
• performance is otherwise infeasible away from employee’s regular place of employment.

In addition, it prevents the temporary denial of permission for an employee to telework if, in the judgment of the agency head:

• the employee is needed to respond to an emergency;
• the employee requires additional training;
• denial is necessary to achieve goals and objectives of programs administered by the agency.

The bill requires, in the event that denial of permission for an employee to telework is considered necessary, the Telework Managing Officer of the agency shall log and report such denial to:

• the Chief Human Capital Officer of such agency; or
• absent a Chief Human Capital Officer, the head of such agency;
• the Office of Personnel Management.

H.R. 1722 requires agencies to provide training to teleworkers and to ensure that no distinction is made between teleworkers and non-teleworkers for performance appraisal, training, and other specific purposes.

This measure also directs the Office of Personnel Management to determine telework regulations, provide teleworking assistance and guidance to agencies, and to maintain a telework database and establish various research and reporting requirements.

The General Services Administration, in coordination with OMB and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall prescribe regulations, 120 days after this legislation is enacted, to ensure adequate information and security protections for information and information systems affected by teleworking.  Such regulations should be consistent with information security policies.

This bill requires the Office of Personnel Management to maintain a central, publicly available telework website that includes regulations relating to teleworking and a confidential hotline to contact the Office of Personnel Management to report any abuse.

H.R. 1722 requests that each agency designate an officer to function in the capacity as a Teleworking Managing Officer to serve as a resource for supervisors, managers, and employees to ensure that all employees are notified of grievance procedures for telework disputes.  It also requires GAO to establish procedures for evaluating each agency’s telework policy and employee participation, evaluate agency compliance, and report annually to specific congressional committees on agency telework policies, participation and practices. 

Source:H.R. 1722: Telework Improvement Act of 2010

Rep. Tiberi, Patrick J. | Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

H.R. 4840 would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1979 Cleveland Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, as the “Clarence D. Lumpkin Post Office”.

Source:H.R. 4840: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1979 Cleveland Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, as the "Clarence D. Lumpkin Post Office"

Rep. Watson, Diane E. | Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

H.R. 5450 would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, as the “Tom Bradley Post Office Building.”

Source:H.R. 5450: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, as the "Tom Bradley Post Office Building"

Rep. Kucinich, Dennis J. | Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

H.R. 5390 would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13301 Smith Road in Cleveland, Ohio, as the “David John Donafee Post Office Building”.

Source:H.R. 5390: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13301 Smith Road in Cleveland, Ohio, as the "David John Donafee Post Office Building"

Rep. Herger, Wally | Committee on Natural Resources

H.R. 689 would transfer administrative jurisdiction of certain land within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California between the U.S. Forest Service to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  BLM would assume control of 12,000 acres of Forest Service land while the Forest Service would take control of 5,000 acres of land currently administered by the BLM.

In addition, the bill would require the Secretaries to identify any known sites on the lands to be transferred that contain a hazardous substance.

Source:H.R. 689: Shasta-Trinity National Forest Administrative Jurisdiction Transfer Act

Rep. Rodriguez, Ciro D. | Committee on Natural Resources

H.R. 4438 would require the Secretary of Interior to conduct a study to identify lands within Bexar and Wilson Counties, Texas, for inclusion in the boundaries of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. The Secretary would be required to report the findings of the study within three years of funding being made available.

In addition, the legislation would authorize the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with the City of San Antonio or its designee, for operation of a facility outside the boundary of the park to provide office space for the park headquarters, and a center for research and education. Under the legislation, the Secretary would be authorized to plan design, construct, and install these facilities.

Finally, the legislation would expand the boundaries of the park by an additional 151 acres.

Source:H.R. 4438: San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Leasing and Boundary Expansion Act of 2010

Rep. Kratovil, FrankJr. | Committee on Natural Resources

H.R. 4973 would authorize $3 million annually for the Secretary of Interior to carry-out the volunteer, community partnership, and education programs under the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956.   The bill authorizes the funding from FY 2011 through FY 2014.

H.R. 4973 would also authorize a new National Volunteer Coordination Program within the National Wildlife Refuge System.  The purpose of the program would be to recruit and maintain volunteers to support resource management and conservation activities within the National Wildlife Refuge System.  Within on year of enactment, the Director of the National Wildlife Refuge System must publish a national strategy for the coordination and utilization of volunteers within the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Additionally, the bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to issue a full report on the accomplishments of the volunteer program, the community partnerships program, and the refuge education programs authorized under this legislation. 

Source:H.R. 4973: National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Improvement Act of 2010

Rep. Young, Don | Committee on Natural Resources

H.R. 2864 would authorize two new hydrographic data collection programs and authorize funding to carry them out.  Specifically, the bill would direct $10 million in FY 2011 and FY 2012 to acquire hydrographic data, provide hydrographic services, and conduct coastal change analyses in the Arctic.  The legislation would also direct additional $5 million in FY 2011 and FY 2012 to “acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services in the Arctic necessary to delineate the U.S. extended continental shelf.”

Source:H.R. 2864: To amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 to authorize funds to acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services specific to the Arctic for safe navigation, delineating the United States extended continental shelf,