a year. The Comptroller General shall designate one of his assistants to act as Comptroller General during the absence or incapacity of the Comptroller General. SEC. 303. Section 303 of the Act (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, sec. 43) is repealed.

SEC. 304. Section 304 of the Act (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, secs. 44, 45) is amended by designating the present two paragraphs thereof as subsections (a) and (b), respectively, and by adding after such subsections the following new subsections:

"(c) The functions of settling and adjusting accounts and claims vested in and imposed upon the General Accounting Office by this Act shall include the power to determine the availability of appropriations, but such functions of the General Accounting Office shall not include the power to revise the action of other officers of the Government under statutes vesting in and imposing upon them power to make findings of fact or decisions in matters arising in their departments or establishments.

"(d) In addition to all other functions vested in and imposed upon him by law, the Attorney General of the United States shall render opinions as to the jurisdiction and authority of the General Accounting Office in connection with the settlement and adjustment of any account or claim, upon request of the Comptroller General or the head of the executive department or independent establishment concerned not later than sixty days after receipt of notice of the settlement and adjustment of any such account or claim, and such opinions of the Attorney General shall be final and conclusive as to the question of such jurisdiction and authority upon the Comptroller General and all departments and establishments of the Government."

SEC. 305. Section 309 of the Act (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, sec. 49) is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 309. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury shall supervise, and prescribe the forms, systems, and procedures for, administrative appropriation and fund accounting in the several departments and establishments, and the administrative examination of fiscal officers' accounts and claims against the United States in the District of Columbia and elsewhere; and shall prescribe the titles and symbols by which appropriations shall be designated on vouchers and other papers pertaining to accounts and claims.

"(b) The Comptroller General shall prescribe the form and manner in which accounts shall be submitted to the General Accounting Office for settlement and adjustment."

SEC. 306. The following new title is added at the end of section 318 of the Act:

"TITLE IV

"THE OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL

"SEC. 401. (a) There shall be in the General Accounting Office an officer to be known as the Auditor General of the United States (hereinafter referred to as the 'Auditor General'), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall receive a salary of $10,000 a year. The Auditor General shall be the head of the Audit Division of the General Accounting Office, which division shall hereafter be known as the 'Office of the Auditor General'. The Auditor General shall be an agent of Congress and all functions vested in and imposed upon him by law shall be exercised by him without direction from any other officer.

"(b) The Auditor General shall designate one of his assistants to act as Auditor General during the absence or incapacity of the Auditor General.

"SEC. 402. Except as hereinafter provided in this section, the Auditor General shall hold office for fifteen years and shall not be eligible for reappointment. The Auditor General may be removed at any time by joint resolution of Congress after notice and hearing when, in the judgment of Congress, he has become permanently incapacitated or has been inefficient, or guilty of neglect of duty, or of malfeasance in office, or of any felony or conduct involving moral turpitude, and for no other cause and in no other manner except by impeachment. Any Auditor General removed in the manner herein provided shall be ineligible for reappointment to that office. When an Auditor Ĝeneral attains the age of seventy years, he shall be retired from his office.

"SEC. 403. (a) The accountable officers of the Government shall daily transmit their accounts of disbursements, together with all supporting documents, to the Auditor General.

H. Repts., 75-3, vol. 2- 6

"(b) The Auditor General shall promptly make an audit of all expenditures of the Government after payment and prior to settlement and adjustment by the General Accounting Office of the accountable officers' accounts containing such expenditures, which audit shall be conducted as nearly as practicable in the vicinity of disbursing offices of the United States located in the District of Columbia and elsewhere. The Auditor General shall promptly transmit to the accountable officer and the head of the executive department or independent establishment concerned and the Comptroller General the findings made by him in such audit. "(c) The findings of the Auditor General in the audit required by subsection (b) of this section shall be final and conclusive upon the General Accounting Office in the settlement and adjustment of accounts and claims, except that such findings shall not be final and conclusive (1) in the case of a review of such findings by the General Accounting Office under subsection (d) of this section, or (2) to the extent that any such findings are not in accord with an advance decision rendered by the Comptroller General under section 8 of the Act of July 31, 1894, as amended (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, sec. 74).

"(d) The accountable officer or the head of the executive department or independent establishment concerned may within sixty days after the receipt of the findings of the Auditor General under subsection (b) of this section, request the General Accounting Office to review such findings. When such a request is made or, in the absence of such a request, whenever the Comptroller General in his discretion deems it necessary in the public interest, the General Accounting Office shall review such findings of the Auditor General in the settlement and adjustment of the accounts containing the expenditures involved in such findings.

"SEC. 404. (a) The Comptroller General shall promptly furnish to the Auditor General copies of all certificates issued by the General Accounting Office in the settlement and adjustment of accounts and claims, and copies of all advance decisions rendered by the Comptroller General under section 8 of the Act of July 31, 1894, as amended (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, sec. 74).

"(b) The Auditor General shall examine all copies of the certificates of settlement furnished to him by the Comptroller General under subsection (a) of this section, and the Auditor General shall promptly notify the Comptroller General of, and report to Congress, all accounts and claims deemed by the Auditor General to have been improperly settled and adjusted by the General Accounting Office: Provided, That no report shall be made to Congress with respect to any such disagreement between the Auditor General and the General Accounting Office until thirty days after the Comptroller General has been notified of such disagreement: Provided further, That no report of any such disagreement shall be made to Congress if the General Accounting Office revises its settlement and adjustment to accord with the views of the Auditor General: Provided further, That no report of any such disagreement need be made if the Auditor General deems that the question involved therein has previously been reported by him to Congress.

"(c) The Auditor General shall examine all copies of the advance decisions furnished to him by the Comptroller General under subsection (a) of this section, and the Auditor General shall notify the Comptroller General of, and report to Congress, all advance decisions authorizing the expenditure of public funds deemed by the Auditor General to be not in accordance with law. Expenditures made in conformity with advance decisions reported to Congress under this subsection need not be reported to Congress under subsection (b) of this section if otherwise

correct.

"SEC. 405. (a) The Auditor General shall investigate in the District of Columbia and elsewhere matters relating to the receipt, disbursement, and application of public funds and the acquisition, transfer, sale, disposition, or use of property of the United States. The Auditor General shall promptly report to Congress all cases in which he deems there has been failure to collect, deposit, or account for, or there has been misapplication or improvident use of, public funds, or there has been unauthorized or improvident acquisition, transfer, sale, disposition, or use of property of the United States. In such reports the Auditor General shall make recommendations looking to greater efficiency or economy in the administration of the Government.

"(b) The Auditor General shall render to Congress from time to time such reports as he may deem advisable, and an annual report not later than March 1 of each year in which he shall report fully with respect to his audit of the receipts and expenditures of the Government. Such annual report shall be made as nearly as practicable in accordance with the accepted principles of auditing followed in auditing the fiscal transactions of large private corporations, and shall contain all necessary memoranda and tables, together with an appropriate certificate of

audit and such comments as may be pertinent to the subject matter of the audit. "(c) The Auditor General shall make such investigations and reports as shall be requested by either House of Congress, or by any committee of either House having jurisdiction over expenditures, appropriations, or revenue; and the Auditor General shall, at the request of any such committee, direct any of his assistants to furnish the committee such aid and information as it may request.

"SEC. 406. The reports of the Auditor General shall be referred by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the appropriate committees of the Senate and House having jurisdiction over the subject matter of such reports. To aid the committees in their examination and study of the reports of the Auditor General, such committees are authorized (1) to request the Auditor General or such of his assistants as may be designated by him to sit with such committees in an advisory capacity at public hearings or in executive sessions; (2) to request any officer or employee of any department or establishment of the Government to attend any such hearings or sessions and to produce any books, documents, papers, or records relative to the subject matter of any such reports, and to testify with respect thereto; and (3) to require, by subpena issued under the signature of the chairmen of such committees, the attendance of any other witnesses and the production of any other books, documents, papers, or records. "SEC. 407. The Auditor General, or any of his assistants or employees when duly authorized by him, shall, to the extent necessary to perform the functions vested in and imposed upon him, have access to and the right to examine any books, documents, papers, or records of any department or establishment of the Government. The authority contained in this section shall not be applicable to expenditures made under the provisions of section 291 of the Revised Statutes (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, sec. 107), or any other provisions of law prohibiting or limiting review by the accounting officers of the Government of expenditures made by the President, the heads of executive departments or independent establishments, or other officers of the Government.

"SEC. 408. (a) The Auditor General is authorized, subject to the civil-service laws and regulations, to appoint such officers and employees as he deems necessary to enable him to exercise the functions vested in and imposed upon him by law; and the compensation of all such officers and employees shall be fixed in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923, as amended.

"(b) The Auditor General is authorized to delegate to any officer or employee of the Office of the Auditor General any functions vested in and imposed upon him by law.

"(c) The Auditor General is authorized to adopt an official seal for the Office of the Auditor General and judicial notice shall be taken of such seal.

"(d) The Auditor General is authorized to prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to enable him to exercise the functions vested in and imposed upon him by this title.

"SEC. 409. The Auditor General and the Office of the Auditor General shall exercise no functions other than those vested in and imposed upon the Auditor General by this title or by any subsequent law, and nothing contained in this title shall be construed as authorizing the Auditor General to revise the settlements and adjustments of accounts and claims made by the General Accounting Office or the advance decisions rendered by the Comptroller General under section 8 of the Act of July 31, 1894 (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, sec. 74), or, except as provided in section 403 (c), to direct the manner in which the General Accounting Office or the Comptroller General shall exercise the functions vested in and imposed upon them by law.

"SEC. 410. Such of the personnel of the General Accounting Office employed in connection with the functions exercised by the General Accounting Office through the Audit Division of that Office, and such of the unexpended balances of appropriations available to the General Accounting Office for the exercise of such functions, as the President shall deem to be necessary to enable the Auditor General to exercise the functions vested in and imposed upon him by this title, are transferred to the Office of the Auditor General, and any unexpended balances of appropriations so transferred shall hereafter be available to the Auditor General for the purpose of exercising the functions of his Office and for otherwise carrying out the provisions of this title: Provided, That the transfer of personnel under this section shall be without change in classification or compensation, except that this requirement shall not operate after the end of the fiscal year during which the transfer becomes effective to prevent the adjustment of classification or compensation to conform to the duties to which such transferred personnel may be assigned: Provided further, That such of the personnel so transferred who do not already possess a classified civil-service status shall not acquire such status

by reason of such transfer except (a) upon recommendation by the Auditor General to the Civil Service Administrator, and certification by him to such Administrator, within one year after such personnel have been so transferred, that such personnel have served with merit for not less than six months prior to the transfer of such personnel; and (b) upon passing such suitable noncompetitive examinations as the Civil Service Administrator may prescribe."

SEC. 307. There is authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this title.

SEC. 308. The provisions of this title shall become effective sixty days after its enactment.

TITLE IV-CIVIL SERVICE AND CLASSIFICATION

PART 1.-THE CIVIL SERVICE ADMINISTRATION

SEC. 401. (a) There is established in the executive branch of the Government an organization to be known as the Civil Service Administration (hereinafter referred to as the "Administration"), at the head of which shall be a Civil Service Administrator (hereinafter referred to as the "Administrator"), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall receive a salary at the rate of $10,000 per annum. The Administrator shall be selected without regard to any political qualifications and shall be a person specially qualified for the office of Administrator by reason of his executive and administrative qualifications, with particular reference to his actual experience in, or his knowledge of, accepted practices in respect to the functions vested in and imposed upon that office by law. He shall be subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Retirement Act of May 22, 1920, as amended, but he shall not by virtue of his appointment as Administrator acquire an eligibility status for appointment, transfer, promotion, or reinstatement to a position in the classified civil service.

(b) There shall be in the Administration a Deputy Civil Service Administrator who shall be appointed by the Administrator, subject to the civil-service laws, and his salary shall be fixed in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923, as amended. The Deputy Civil Service Administrator shall perform such functions as the Administrator may prescribe, and shall act as Administrator in the absence of the Administrator or in the event of a vacancy in that office.

SEC. 402. (a) The United States Civil Service Commission, the three offices of Civil Service Commissioners, and all other offices of such Commission are abolished, and all functions vested in and imposed upon such Commission or such offices or officers by law are conferred and imposed upon the Administrator. (b) The provisions of this Act shall be construed as supplementing, and not superseding, the laws relating to the civil service of the United States, by or under which functions are vested in and imposed upon the President, except as such provisions may be directly in conflict with any such laws: Provided, That the President shall not be authorized to cover into the classified civil service any office, position, or incumbent thereof, or to remove any office or position from such service, except as hereinafter provided.

SEC. 403. In addition to the functions vested in and imposed upon the Administrator by section 402 of this title

(a) The Administrator shall prepare and effect plans for the development and maintenance of a career service in the Federal Government.

(b) The Administrator is authorized to

(i) Cooperate with or assist the agencies of the Government in the planning, establishment, or coordination of employee-training programs, and plan and establish, but not require attendance at, central employee-training programs;

(ii) Obtain information, through the Administration or in cooperation with other agencies, organizations, or groups, concerning personnel standards, practices, or policies in other governmental jurisdictions (whether a foreign country, State, Territory, or possession of the United States, including the Philippine Islands, or any political subdivision thereof, or the District of Columbia), or in private industry, and make such information available to the agencies of the United States;

(iii) Cooperate generally with the public personnel agencies of States, Territories, or possessions of the United States (including the Philippine Islands), or political subdivisions thereof, or the District of Columbia, in

the adoption, development, or extension of the merit system in their respective jurisdictions, and upon the request of any such agency render advisory or consultative personnel service or establish eligible registers for such agency or establish or assist in the establishment of joint eligible registers;

(iv) At the direction of the President or upon the request of the head of any agency of the Government, cooperate or assist in the installation or development of personnel standards, practices, or policies for any agency of the Government, or review and investigate personnel standards, practices, or policies of such agency, and report thereon to the President or the officer making the request. Cooperation or assistance by the Administrator under paragraphs (iii) and (iv) of subsection (b) of this section shall be made on the condition that the agencies for the benefit of which such cooperation or assistance is rendered shall reimburse the Administration for all necessary expenses incurred in connection therewith, and the payments representing such reimbursements shall be deposited as refunds to the appropriations from which such expenses were originally paid, instead of being covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts;

(v) Request persons not in the service of the Federal Government who are experts in some aspect of personnel administration to attend conferences with representatives of the Administration or to consult or advise with them, in the District of Columbia or elsewhere, and reimburse such experts for their subsistence and other expenses at a rate not to exceed $25 per day for time spent in attending and traveling to and from such conferences, or in consulting or advising with such representatives, plus the actual cost of transportation; and

(vi) Purchase manuscripts from, or meet the costs of special studies made by, private persons, corporations, or other organizations, at the request of, or in cooperation with, the Administration.

SEC. 404. (a) The Administrator is authorized to delegate to any officer or employee of the Administration any functions vested in and imposed upon the Administrator or the Administration by law.

(b) The Administrator shall supervise such clerical and other work of the Civil Service Board, established by section 405 of this Act, as the Board may request and shall provide the Board with such clerical and other services as it may require by assignment from the Administration, and furnish the Board with stationery and other necessary articles.

(c) The Administrator shall cause a seal of office to be made for the Administration, of such device as the President shall approve, and judicial notice shall be taken of such seal.

PART 2-THE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD

SEC. 405. There is established in the Administration a Board to consist of seven members and to be known as the Civil Service Board (hereinafter referred to as the "Board").

SEC. 406. The members of the Board shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. One of the members of the Board shall be designated by the President as Chairman, and one shall be designated by the President as Vice Chairman and shall act as Chairman in the absence of the Chairman or in the event of a vacancy in that office.

SEC. 407. The terms of office of the members of the Board first taking office shall expire, as designated by the President at the time of nomination, one at the end of the first year, one at the end of the second year, and one at the end of each succeeding year up to and including the seventh year, after the enactment of this Act. A successor shall have a term of office expiring seven years from the date of expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed except that a person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of such term shall be appointed for the remainder of such term.

SEC. 408. (a) The members of the Board shall be reimbursed for their subsistence and other expenses at the rate of $50 per day for time spent in attending and traveling to and from meetings, or in otherwise exercising the functions of the Board, plus the actual cost of transportation: Provided, That no member shall be so reimbursed in an amount to exceed $1,500 per annum, exclusive of transportation.

(b) The Board shall meet not less than four times a year. Meetings may be called by the President or the Chairman and shall be called by the Chairman upon the petition of any four members of the Board.