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Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990

Public Law 101-576 · H.R. 5687 · 101st Congress · began in the House

Signed by George H. W. Bush (R) on Nov 15, 1990 · Economics and Public Finance

Sponsor: Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-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.

Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 - Title I: General Provisions - Sets forth congressional findings with respect to the financial management systems of the Federal Government. Declares the purposes of this Act to be to improve such systems.

Title II: Establishment of Chief Financial Officers - Amends Federal law to create a Deputy Director for Management within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), appointed by the President. Requires the Deputy Director, under the general supervision of the Director of OMB, to coordinate and supervise OMB's general management functions.

Establishes in OMB an Office of Federal Financial Management, headed by a Controller who shall be appointed by the President. Places the Office under the direction and control of the Deputy Director for Management and requires it to carry out specified financial management functions.

Establishes within each specified agency a Chief Financial Officer. Sets forth the duties of such Officer regarding financial management matters. Establishes within each such agency an agency Deputy Chief Financial Officer to report directly to the agency Chief Financial Officer.

Requires the head of each such agency to submit to the Director of OMB a proposal for reorganizing the agency with respect to financial management functions. Requires implementation of such proposal upon the Director's approval.

Title III: Enhancement of Federal Financial Management Activities - Requires the Director of OMB to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a Government-wide financial management plan describing the activities the Director, the Controller, and the agency CFOs will conduct over the next five fiscal years to improve the financial management of the Government. Prescribes the contents of such plan. Requires the Director to report to the appropriate committees of the Congress annually with a revised plan to cover the succeeding five fiscal years.

Establishes a Chief Financial Officers Council consisting of the Deputy Director for Management of OMB, the Controller, the Fiscal Assistant Secretary of Treasury, and the agency CFOs to advise and coordinate financial management matters.

Requires each executive agency to prepare annual financial statements for submission to the Director.

Prescribes a procedure for congressional approval by joint resolution of the agencies designated by the President.

Requires the Director to report to the Congress on which executive agencies perform substantial commercial functions for which financial statements practicably can be prepared. Provides for audits of such statements.

Sets forth requirements for specified departments, agencies, and bureaus to report a financial statement to the Director of OMB and requires the Director to report an analysis of such statements to the Congress.

Requires an audit of each financial statement prepared under this Act.

Revises the mandate and general procedures for: (1) the audit of financial statements of Government corporations; and (2) the annual management reports of such corporations.

Declares that no capital accounting standard or principle, including any human capital standard or principle, shall be adopted for use in an executive department or agency until it has been reported to the Congress and 45 days of continuous congressional session have expired.

Committees

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

  • Oversight and Accountability Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee
  • Post Office and Civil Service Committee · House · discharged from, referred to
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. 25 actions.

  1. Nov 15, 1990Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 101-576.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Nov 6, 1990PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Oct 28, 1990Resolving differencesResolving differences · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  5. Resolving differencesResolving differences · On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendments Agreed to by voice vote.
  6. Resolving differencesResolving differences · Mr. Shays demanded a second on the motion to suspend the rules. Without objection a second was ordered.
  7. Resolving differencesResolving differences · Mr. Conyers moved that the House suspend the rules and agree to the Senate amendments.
  8. Oct 27, 1990FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment and an amendment to the Title by Voice Vote.
  9. FloorFloor · Amendment SP 3196 agreed to in Senate by Voice Vote.
  10. FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
  11. Oct 15, 1990FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  12. FloorFloor · The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
  13. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
  14. FloorFloor · On ordering a second Agreed to without objection.
  15. FloorFloor · Mr. Horton demanded a second on the motion to suspend the rules.
  16. FloorFloor · Mr. Conyers moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  17. Oct 11, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  18. Oct 7, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  19. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  20. Sep 26, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  21. Sep 25, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  22. CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  23. Sep 24, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  24. Sep 21, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  25. 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.