Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included legislative efforts championed by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, as well as other matters under the Oversight Committee’s jurisdiction.
Chairwoman Maloney’s Provisions Would Safeguard Inspectors General, Improve Access to Veterans’ Records, Enhance Transparency, and Advance Electric Vehicle Management
Safeguard and Empower Inspectors General (IG): The NDAA includes IG reforms that incorporate many key elements from Chairwoman Maloney’s IG Independence and Empowerment Act. These reforms would increase the independence of IGs, protect them from political retaliation, strengthen congressional oversight of IGs, and help ensure they have the information needed to perform thorough investigations.
Streamline Veterans’ Access to Records: Also included in the NDAA is the Access for Veterans to Records Act, a bill introduced by Chairwoman Maloney to help eliminate the backlog of veteran records requests at the National Personnel Records Center, an office within the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The legislation would require NARA to submit a plan for eliminating the backlog within 60 days and would authorize $60 million for NARA to digitize records and establish an effective records retrieval infrastructure.
Increase Transparency of the Executive Branch: The NDAA includes a provision based on the Periodically Listing Updates to Management Act (PLUM Act), a bill introduced by Chairwoman Maloney, which would require the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish and maintain a current, publicly available directory of senior government leaders online to increase transparency and accountability of senior leaders in the Executive Branch. By requiring OPM to develop and maintain a website with data on senior government leaders, the provision would provide timely and transparent information about senior government officials who are making decisions impacting the lives of millions of Americans.
Require Data for Commercial Items Pricing: Following the Oversight Committee’s investigation into the military contractor TransDigm for its price-gouging practices, this NDAA provision would address a longstanding loophole and add transparency into government contractor pricing. The provision would increase accountability in government contracts to protect taxpayers from their price-gouging. A separate provision would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess government contractors’ use of distributors when bidding on government contracts and the impact on the price of goods and pricing transparency.
Develop a Plan to Manage Federal Electric Vehicle Batteries: This provision would require the General Services Administration (GSA), in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, to develop a government-wide plan to manage federal electric vehicle batteries. The strategic plans required under this provision would be required to include cost and environmental efficiencies as well as guidelines for battery longevity, reuse, and recycling. GSA would be required to submit a report to Congress on the development of agency strategic plans no later than three years after enactment.
Additional Oversight Provisions Would Reduce Duplication, Enhance Performance and Transparency, and Expand Whistleblower Rights
Reduce Duplication and Costs for Certifying Cloud Technologies: This provision, authored by Rep. Gerry Connolly, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, codifies and standardizes the existing FedRAMP program, reducing duplication and unnecessary costs in certifying cloud technologies. The provision establishes a “presumption of adequacy” for which cloud technologies that achieve authorization at one agency should be presumed appropriate for use at agencies with identical security requirements. The bill also establishes a Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee as a forum for public and private sector collaboration to streamline the acquisition of effective cloud technologies.
Enhance IT Performance Measurement: This provision, authored by Chairman Connolly and based on the Performance Enhancement Reform Act, requires agencies to integrate information technology modernization and evidence metrics more effectively into their performance plans, leading to improved outcomes for American taxpayers. The provision also requires agencies’ top officials—including performance officials, chief information officers, chief human capital officers, and others—to work collaboratively to prepare annual agency performance plans to create a unified vision of success and how agencies measure performance improvement.
Improve Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports: This provision, authored by Rep. Mike Quigley, is based on the bipartisan Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act and would enhance government transparency by creating a single website where the public can access most reports submitted by agencies to Congress.
Expand Appeal Rights for FBI Whistleblowers: This provision, authored by Rep. Jackie Speier, would protect whistleblowers at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by allowing FBI employees to appeal claims of whistleblower retaliation to the Merit Systems Protection Board—which is already utilized by most federal agencies, including several other federal law enforcement agencies, to adjudicate claims.
Evaluate and Enhance Solutions on Illegal Drug Detection and Interdiction: This provision, authored by Rep. Abigail Spanberger, would require the Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop performance measures for supplemental drug control strategies, which may include evaluating interdiction efforts at ports of entry, intelligence-sharing, and diplomacy.
Require GAO Review on Federal Employee Paid Leave Act: The provision, authored by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, would require GAO to study the impact of the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, including the use of paid parental leave by federal employees, agencies’ practices to raise awareness about the program, and the law’s effect on hiring, recruitment, and retention of federal employees. The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, authored by Chairwoman Maloney and signed into law in 2019, granted 12 weeks of paid parental leave for all federal employees.
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