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B-331536 1 (2020-09-15)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaebvc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAOU.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 B-331536 September 15, 2020 The President The White House Subject: Violation of the Time Limit Imposed by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998: Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Department of Defense Dear Mr. President: Pursuant to section 3349(b) of title 5 of the United States Code, we are reporting a violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (herein the Vacancies Reform Act or Act) at the Department of Defense (DOD) with respect to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for International Security Affairs position. Pub. L. No. 105-277, div. C, title 1, 112 Stat. 2681-611 (Oct. 21, 1998), as amended, 5 U.S.C. §§ 3345-3349d. Specifically, we are reporting that the service of Kathryn L. Wheelbarger, who used the title of Acting ASD for International Security Affairs beyond the permissible timeframe from June 4, 2019, until on or about June 19, 2019, was in violation of the Act. However, because Ms. Wheelbarger is no longer using the acting title, there is no continuing violation. The Vacancies Reform Act establishes requirements for temporarily authorizing an acting official to perform the functions and duties of certain vacant positions that require presidential appointment and Senate confirmation (PAS). The Act generally limits the period of time that such a position may be filled with an acting official to 210 days beginning on the date the vacancy occurs. 5 U.S.C. § 3346(a)(1). Under the provisions of section 3349(b), the Comptroller General is required, upon a determination that an acting official has served longer than the allowable period of service, to report such findings to Congress, the President, and the Office of Personnel Management. Agencies are required to report to our Office when a vacancy occurs in a PAS position, when an acting official has been designated, when a nomination to the PAS position occurs, or when a nomination has been rejected, withdrawn, or returned. 5 U.S.C. § 3349(a). DOD has reported to us that the position of ASD for International Security Affairs was vacant on November 3, 2018, and that Ms. Wheelbarger became the Acting ASD for International Security Affairs on that date.1 When we inquired about a potential violation of the permissible period of acting service based on the information reported, DOD reported that Ms. Wheelbarger's service as 1 Department of Defense's report to GAO's Executive Vacancy System. The position became vacant when the former ASD for International Security Affairs, Robert Story Karem, resigned in November 2018.

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