§781 — Title 31 Money and Finance | U.S. Code

Summary

The Comptroller General has sole control of the building at 441 G Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., called the General Accounting Office Building. That means the Comptroller General is in charge of running it, keeping it in repair, protecting it, making changes, assigning space, and managing machines, equipment, spare parts, and tools. For getting approval of plans to alter the building, the Comptroller General must carry out the duties that section 3307 of title 40 assigns to the Administrator of General Services. If asked, the Administrator of General Services must, when resources allow, provide protection and security services (for example, special police, incident response, and perimeter monitoring), with or without payment as they agree. The Comptroller General may enter contracts to buy property or services without following sections 6101(b)–(d) of title 41, but may not buy real property unless a law specifically allows it. Contracts must be competitively awarded under the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984. Utility contracts may last up to 10 years if funds are available, and advance or progress payments may be made without regard to section 3324(a) and (b).

Title 31, §781

Money and Finance — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Comptroller General shall have exclusive custody and control over the building located at 441 G Street, N.W., in the District of Columbia, that is generally known as the General Accounting Office Building,11 See Change of Name note below. including operation, maintenance, protection, alteration, repair, and assignment of space therein. Such custody and control shall also extend to any machinery, equipment, spare parts and tools located in and usable for the operation and maintenance of the General Accounting Office Building.1 For the purposes of securing approval of any prospectus detailing proposed alterations of the General Accounting Office Building,1 as required by section 3307 of title 40, the Comptroller General shall perform the functions assigned to the Administrator of General Services by that section.

(b)Upon request of the Comptroller General, the Administrator of General Services shall provide, to the extent resources are available, any necessary services for the protection of the property and persons in the General Accounting Office Building,1 including the provision of special police, responding to and investigating incidents, and the monitoring of the perimeter security system. Such services may be provided with or without reimbursement as the Comptroller General and the Administrator may agree.

(c)(1)The Comptroller General is authorized to enter into agreements or contracts to acquire property or services on such terms and conditions and in such a manner as he deems necessary and without regard to section 6101(b) to (d) of title 41; except that the Comptroller General may not acquire real property unless specifically authorized by law. In exercising the authority granted by this section, the Comptroller General shall obtain full and open competition in accordance with the principles and purposes of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984.

(2)To the extent that funds are otherwise available for obligation, agreements or contracts for utility services may be made for periods not exceeding 10 years.

(3)The Comptroller General may make advance, progress, and other payments which relate to agreements or contracts entered into under authority of this section, without regard to the provisions of section 3324(a) and (b) of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is title VII of Pub. L. 98–369, div. B, July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1175. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

of 1984 Act note set out under section 101 of Title 41, Public Contracts, and Tables.

Amendments

2011—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 111–350 substituted “section 6101(b) to (d) of title 41” for “section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5)”. 2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–217 substituted “section 3307 of title 40” for “section 7 of the Public Buildings Act of 1959, as amended (40 U.S.C. 606)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

General Accounting Office redesignated Government Accountability Office. See section 8 of Pub. L. 108–271, set out as a note under section 702 of this title. Source of Funds Used for Payment of Salaries and Expenses of Tiny Findings Child Development Center Pub. L. 116–136, div. B, title IX, § 19009, Mar. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 579, as amended by Pub. L. 116–260, div. O, title XI, § 1101(b)(3), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2157, provided that: “(a) Reimbursements.—During the period beginning on the date of enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 [Dec. 27, 2020] and ending on the termination date of the public health emergency declared pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) resulting from the COVID–19 pandemic, the Government Accountability Office shall reimburse the Tiny Findings Child Development Center for expenses, due to measures taken in the Capitol complex to combat coronavirus, as calculated under subsection (b) and from amounts in the appropriations account ‘Government Accountability Office—Salaries and Expenses’. “(b) Amount.—The amount of the reimbursement under this section for each month of the period described in subsection (a) shall be equal to the difference between—“(1) the lesser of—“(A) the amount of the operating costs (including payroll, general, and administrative expenses) of the Center for such month; or “(B) $162,500; and “(2) the amount of tuition payments collected by the Center for such month.” [For definition of “coronavirus” as used in section 19009 of Pub. L. 116–136, set out above, see section 23005 of Pub. L. 116–136, set out as a note under section 162b of Title 2, The Congress.]

§781 Authority over the General Accounting Office Building