As one of its last actions of the 112th Congress, the House passed a bill that would place members of the senior executive service that come under investigation because of alleged misappropriation of funds, misconduct, neglect of duty, or malfeasance to be placed on unpaid administrative leave for up to 180 days pending the investigation’s outcome. However, the Senate did not act, leaving sponsors to start over again in the new Congress convening tomorrow.
The Government Employee Accountability Act, HR-6016, is sponsored by Rep. Mike Kelly, PA and passed 402 – 2, and reflects the GSA conference scandal that resulted in a house cleaning at that agency including numerous terminations. While some individuals were under investigation they continued to be paid.
However, the Congressional Budget Office said the bill is unlikely to affect many individuals, indicating that it is a largely symbolic measure. "Since administrative leave for misconduct is not tracked separately it is difficult to quantify the number of instances that it has occurred, but according to [OPM] and other federal agencies, it is very uncommon," CBO wrote, adding that "citations for such misconduct will continue to be uncommon and therefore only a few SES employees would be subject to unpaid leave over the 2013-2022 period."
