2 U.S.C. § 1904: Certifying officers

Summary

The Chief Administrative Officer of the United States Capitol Police, or if there is no Chief Administrative Officer, the Chief of the Capitol Police, must appoint officers to approve payment requests from funds for the Capitol Police. Any person given written authority to approve payments must check that the facts are true, the calculations are correct, and the payment is allowed under the right fund. If a false or misleading approval causes an illegal or incorrect payment, the approver must repay the United States. The Comptroller General can release an approver from repaying if they relied on official records and could not have found the true facts with reasonable effort, or if the payment was made in good faith, was not clearly illegal, and the United States got value for it. These approvers follow the same enforcement rules as other accountable officers and may ask the Comptroller General for a legal decision about any payment they are asked to approve.

Title 2, §1904

The Congress, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Appointment of certifying officers of the Capitol Police

The Chief Administrative Officer of the United States Capitol Police, or when there is not a Chief Administrative Officer, the Chief of the Capitol Police, shall appoint certifying officers to certify all vouchers for payment from funds made available to the United States Capitol Police.

(b)Responsibility and accountability of certifying officers

(1)In general

Each officer or employee of the Capitol Police who has been duly authorized in writing by the Chief Administrative Officer, or the Chief of the Capitol Police if there is not a Chief Administrative Officer, to certify vouchers pursuant to subsection (a) shall—

(A)be held responsible for the existence and correctness of the facts recited in the certificate or otherwise stated on the voucher or its supporting papers and for the legality of the proposed payment under the appropriation or fund involved;

(B)be held responsible and accountable for the correctness of the computations of certified vouchers; and

(C)be held accountable for and required to make good to the United States the amount of any illegal, improper, or incorrect payment resulting from any false, inaccurate, or misleading certificate made by such officer or employee, as well as for any payment prohibited by law or which did not represent a legal obligation under the appropriation or fund involved.

(2)Relief by Comptroller General

The Comptroller General may, at the Comptroller General’s discretion, relieve such certifying officer or employee of liability for any payment otherwise proper if the Comptroller General finds—

(A)that the certification was based on official records and that the certifying officer or employee did not know, and by reasonable diligence and inquiry could not have ascertained, the actual facts; or

(B)that the obligation was incurred in good faith, that the payment was not contrary to any statutory provision specifically prohibiting payments of the character involved, and the United States has received value for such payment.

(c)Enforcement of liability

The liability of the certifying officers of the United States Capitol Police shall be enforced in the same manner and to the same extent as currently provided with respect to the enforcement of the liability of disbursing and other accountable officers, and such officers shall have the right to apply for and obtain a decision by the Comptroller General on any question of law involved in a payment on any vouchers presented to them for certification.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was classified to section 207d of former Title 40, prior to the enactment of Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works, by Pub. L. 107–217, § 1, Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1062.

Amendments

2010—Subsecs. (a), (b)(1). Pub. L. 111–145 substituted “the Chief of the Capitol Police” for “the Capitol Police Board”.

§1904 Certifying Officers

Summary

Title 2, §1904

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata