112 STAT. 1608 PUBLIC LAW 105-244—OCT. 7, 1998 Deadline. Public information. "(1) APPOINTMENT. —The management of the PBO shall be vested in a Chief Operating Officer who shall be appointed by the Secretary to a term of not less than 3 and not more than 5 years, and compensated without regard to chapters 33, 51, and 53 of title 5, United States Code. The Secretary shall appoint the Chief Operating Officer within 6 months after the date of enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. The appointment shall be made on the basis of demonstrated management ability and expertise in information technology, including experience with financial systems, and without regard to political affiliation or activity. "(2) REAPPOINTMENT. — The Secretary may reappoint the Chief Operating Officer to subsequent terms of not less than 3 and not more than 5 years, so long as the performance of the Chief Operating Officer, as set forth in the perform£ince agreement described in paragraph (4), is satisfactory. "(3) REMOVAL.—The Chief Operating Officer may be removed by— "(A) the President; or "(B) the Secretary, for misconduct or failure to meet performance goals set forth in the performance agreement in paragraph (4). The President or Secretary shall communicate the reasons for any such removal to the appropriate committees of Congress. "(4) PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.— "(A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Secretary and the Chief Operating Officer shall enter into an annual performance agreement, that shall set forth measurable organization and individual goals for the Chief Operating Officer. "(B) TRANSMITTAL. —The final agreement, and any revision to the final agreement, shall be transmitted to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate, and made publicly available. "(5) COMPENSATION.— "(A) IN GENERAL. —The Chief Operating Officer is authorized to be paid at an annual rate of basic pay not to exceed the maximum rate of basic pay for the Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, United States Code, including any applicable locality-based comparability payment that may be authorized under section 5304(h)(2)(B) of such title. The compensation of the Chief Operating Officer shall be considered for purposes of section 207(c)(2)(A) of title 18, United States Code, to be the equivalent of that described under clause (ii) of section 207(c)(2)(A) of such title. "(B) BONUS. —In addition, the Chief Operating Officer may receive a bonus in an amount that does not exceed 50 percent of such annual rate of basic pay, based upon the Secretary's evaluation of the Chief Operating Officer's performance in relation to the goals set forth in the performance sigreement described in paragraph (2). "(C) PAYMENT.—Payment of a bonus under this subparagraph (B) may be made to the Chief Operating Officer only to the extent that such payment does not
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