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General Accounting Office Personnel Amendments Act of 1988

Public Law 100-426 · H.R. 4318 · 100th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Sep 9, 1988 · Congress

Sponsor: Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-CO-1)

Cosponsors: None

Passage votes

  • HouseVoice vote
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

General Accounting Office Personnel Amendments Act of 1988 - Title I: Personnel Appeals Board - Amends Federal law to repeal the requirement that an individual have three years full-time or part-time experience in adjudicating or arbitrating personnel matters before appointment to the General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board.

Requires the Comptroller General to consider candidates who are recommended for appointment to such Board by organizations composed primarily of individuals experienced in adjudicating or arbitrating personnel matters. (Currently, the Comptroller General must appoint a candidate recommended by such organizations.)

Changes the term of office of Board members from three years to five years.

Increases the rate of pay of the General Counsel of the Board.

Removes the entitlement to travel expenses and per diem allowances of non-Government Board members.

Allows judicial review of final Board decisions by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. (Currently, such final decisions may be reviewed by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit or by the court of appeals of the United States for the circuit in which the petitioner resides.)

Allows the payment of attorney fees if an officer, employee, or applicant for employment is the prevailing party in a proceeding where the decision is based on a finding of discrimination prohibited under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Title II: Retirement and Annuities - Provides that a Comptroller General or Deputy Comptroller General may retire after becoming 70 years of age and completing ten years of service as Comptroller General or Deputy Comptroller General (as the case may be). (Current provisions require the Comptroller General or Deputy Comptroller General to retire on becoming 70 years of age.)

Revises provisions regarding survivor annuities for service as a Comptroller General. Includes as a dependent child one who is between the age of 18 and 22 years and is pursuing a full-time course of study at a recognized educational institution. Decreases from two years to one year the length of time a surviving spouse must have been married to a Comptroller General to be eligible for an annuity. Includes as a limitation that such surviving spouse must not have remarried before age 55.

Requires a reduction in the annuity of a Comptroller General if the Comptroller General elects to provide survivor benefits. Reduces the interest payable on amounts required to be deposited in the Treasury.

Provides for the payment of a survivor annuity if a Comptroller General dies in office and has at least 18 months (currently, five years) of civilian service and had made deductions or deposits for the last 18 months (currently, five years) of civilian service.

Revises the method of computing survivor annuities.

Provides for making cost of living adjustments in the annuity of a Comptroller General in the same manner as those made for other civil service retirees.

Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Includes the General Accounting Office under the statute governing the pay of prevailing rate Federal employees.

Increases the number of positions in the General Accounting Office that may be at rates not more than the GS-18 basic pay rate of the General Schedule.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 18 actions.

  1. Sep 9, 1988Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 100-426.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Aug 30, 1988PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Aug 11, 1988FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  5. Aug 8, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  6. Jun 27, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  7. May 11, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  8. May 9, 1988FloorFloor · Passed House by Voice Vote.
  9. May 4, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  10. Apr 27, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  11. Apr 21, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Civil Service Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  12. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Civil Service Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  13. CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Civil Service Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  14. Apr 11, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  15. Apr 7, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Civil Service Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  16. Mar 30, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  17. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  18. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.