H.R. 6517 — To modify the appointment process for the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, and the Director of the Government Publishing Office, and for other purposes.

This section establishes a commission—consisting of the Speaker and minority leader of the House, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and one Republican and one Democrat from the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library—to recommend an individual for appointment as Librarian of Congress by congressional concurrent resolution. The section further sets a 10-year term of service for the Librarian, allows removal at any time by an affirmative three-fifths vote of Members duly chosen and sworn in both the Senate and House of Representatives, and repeals the Librarian of Congress Succession Modernization Act of 2015 (2 U.S.C. 136 et seq.).

This section revises the appointment, commission recommendation, and removal processes for the Comptroller General—who heads the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the nonpartisan agency that audits federal spending and operations—and the Deputy Comptroller General. Specifically, the section (1) requires Congress to appoint the Comptroller General by concurrent resolution, selecting the individual recommended by the commission (previously, the President appointed the Comptroller General with Senate advice and consent); (2) provides that the Deputy Comptroller General is appointed by the President with Senate advice and consent (previously, both positions); (3) directs the commission to recommend individuals to Congress for Comptroller General vacancies and to the President for Deputy Comptroller General vacancies; (4) limits commission recommendations for Comptroller General vacancies to one individual (from at least three), with Congress able to request additional individuals; and (5) specifies removal of the Comptroller General by concurrent resolution of Congress and the Deputy Comptroller General by joint resolution of Congress (previously, both by joint resolution). (Thus, the changes shift primary appointment and removal authority for the Comptroller General from the executive to the legislative branch.) The section also makes a conforming cross-reference update in another provision of title 31, United States Code.

This section revises the appointment of the Director of the Government Publishing Office by eliminating presidential nomination and Senate confirmation and instead requiring appointment through adoption of a congressional concurrent resolution selecting an individual recommended by a new commission. The commission consists of (1) the Speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives, (2) the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and (3) one Republican Member and one Democratic Member of the Joint Committee of Congress on Printing. This section also eliminates the 10-year term of service and reappointment process and establishes removal by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members duly chosen and sworn in the Senate and the House of Representatives.