To permit the individuals currently serving as Executive Director, Deputy Executive Directors, and General Counsel of the Office of Compliance to serve one additional term.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on House Administration be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 3071) to permit the individuals currently serving as Executive Director, Deputy Executive Directors, and General Counsel of the Office of Compliance to serve one additional term, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman, our ranking member from California, for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3071, a resolution permitting the individuals currently serving as Executive Director, Deputy Executive Directors, and General Counsel of the Office of Compliance to serve one additional term. I support this initiative as

it was a recommendation contained in the February 2004 Government Accountability Office report on the Office of Compliance, which stated that allowing these individuals to serve for more time will increase the institutional continuity and therefore potentially the effectiveness of the organization.

I believe that this is a better serving of our institution and that the current executive staff who have the opportunity to serve an additional term so the Congress that way can evaluate and decide how best to move forward with the GAO's recommendation.

I appreciate the gentlewoman's work and her staff on this issue. Again, I think this will better serve us and the Office of Compliance and our constituents and the staff of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3071, a resolution permitting the individuals currently serving as Executive Director, Deputy Executive Directors, and General Counsel of the Office of Compliance to serve one additional term. A February 2004 Government Accountability Office report on the Office of Compliance, concluded that allowing these individuals to serve for longer than one term could increase the institutional continuity and potentially the effectiveness of the organization.

Though the statute originally limited staff to one term, the flexibility to have the executive staff serve for an additional term, may better serve the institution and we must have some way of evaluating the GAO's recommendation. Therefore the current executive staff will have the opportunity to serve one additional term. When their terms have expired the Congress can re-evaluate whether term limits serve the interests of the Office of Compliance and this institution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to object, and I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) for an explanation of his request.

Mr. Speaker, I further reserve my right to object and thank the chairman for his explanation.

I do now join the chairman in support of his request to permit the incumbent Executive Director, the two Deputy Executive Directors, and the General Counsel of the Office of Compliance to serve second 5-year terms.

The Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and created the Office of Compliance as a reform design to ensure that Congress must live under the same laws as everybody else. The Act limited the service of the office board of directors and of its senior staff to single 5-year terms. Last year, Congress unanimously passed legislation allowing the members of board to serve second 5-year terms.

This bill will allow the four incumbent senior staffers who must otherwise leave their posts later this year also for an additional 5 years. In a recent report requested by the House Committee on Appropriations, the Government Accountability Office concluded that this change would enhance the Compliance Office's business continuity. In recent testimony before the Senate appropriations legislative branch subcommittee, the board of directors requested such a change for that reason.

Mr. Speaker, I believe the changes make sense. I urge the House to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3071.