CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

SEC. 1404. CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (a) Establishment and Authority of Position.—Section 1515 (24 U.S.C. 415) is amended to read as follows: “SEC. 1515. CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER. “(a) Appointment.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall appoint the Chief Operating Officer of the Retirement Home. “(2) The Chief Operating Officer shall serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of Defense. “(3) The Secretary of Defense shall evaluate the performance of the Chief Operating Officer at least once each year. “(b) Qualifications.—To qualify for appointment as the Chief Operating Officer, a person shall— “(1) be a continuing care retirement community professional; “(2) have appropriate leadership and management skills; and “(3) have experience and expertise in the operation and management of retirement homes and in the provision of longterm medical care for older persons. “(c) Responsibilities.—(1) The Chief Operating Officer shall be responsible to the Secretary of Defense for the overall direction, operation, and management of the Retirement Home and shall report to the Secretary on those matters. “(2) The Chief Operating Officer shall supervise the operation and administration of the Armed Forces Retirement Home—Washington and the Armed Forces Retirement Home—Gulfport, including the Local Boards of those facilities. “(3) The Chief Operating Officer shall perform the following duties: “(A) Issue, and ensure compliance with, appropriate rules for the operation of the Retirement Home. “(B) Periodically visit, and inspect the operation of, the facilities of the Retirement Home. “(C) Periodically examine and audit the accounts of the Retirement Home. “(D) Establish any advisory body or bodies that the Chief Operating Officer considers to be necessary. “(d) Compensation.—(1) The Secretary of Defense may prescribe the pay of the Chief Operating Officer, except that the annual rate of basic pay, including locality pay, of the Chief Operating Officer may not exceed the annual rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code. “(2) In addition to basic pay and any locality pay prescribed for the Chief Operating Officer, the Secretary may award the Chief Operating Officer, not more than once each year, a bonus based on the performance of the Chief Operating Officer for the year. The Secretary shall prescribe the amount of any such bonus. 115 STAT. 1260 “(3) The total amount of the basic pay and bonus paid the Chief Operating Officer for a year under this section may not exceed the annual rate of basic pay payable for level I of the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of title 5, United States Code. “(e) Administrative Staff.—(1) The Chief Operating Officer may, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense, appoint a staff to assist in the performance of the Chief Operating Officer’s duties in the overall administration of the Retirement Home. “(2) The Chief Operating Officer shall prescribe the rates of pay applicable to the members of the staff appointed under paragraph (1), except that— “(A) a staff member who is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty or who is a full-time officer or employee of the United States may not receive additional pay by reason of service on the administrative staff; and “(B) the limitations in section 5373 of title 5, United States Code, relating to pay set by administrative action, shall apply to the rates of pay prescribed under this paragraph. “(f) Acceptance of Gifts.—(1) The Chief Operating Officer may accept gifts of money, property, and facilities on behalf of the Retirement Home. “(2) Monies received as gifts, or realized from the disposition of property and facilities received as gifts, shall be deposited in the Armed Forces Retirement Home Trust Fund.”. (b) Transfer of Authorities.—(1) The following provisions are amended by striking “Retirement Home Board” each place it appears and inserting “Chief Operating Officer”; (A) Section 1512 (24 U.S.C. 412), relating to eligibility and acceptance for residence in the Armed Forces Retirement Home. (B) Section 1513(a) (24 U.S.C. 412(a)), relating to services provided to residents of the Armed Forces Retirement Home. (C) Section 1518(c) (24 U.S.C. 418(c)), relating to inspection of the Armed Forces Retirement Home. (2) Section 1519(c) (24 U.S.C. 419(c)), relating to authority to invest funds in the Armed Forces Retirement Home Trust Fund, is amended by striking “Director” and inserting “Chief Operating Officer”. (3) Section 1521(a) (24 U.S.C. 421(a)), relating to payment of residents for services, is amended by striking “Chairman of the Armed Forces Retirement Board” and inserting “Chief Operating Officer”. (4) Section 1522 (24 U.S.C. 422), relating to authority to accept certain uncompensated services, is amended— (A) in subsection (a)— (i) by striking “Chairman of the Retirement Home Board or the Director of each establishment” and inserting “Chief Operating Officer or the Director of a facility”; and (ii) by striking “unless” and all that follows through “Retirement Home Board”; (B) in subsection (b)(1)— (i) by striking “Chairman of the Retirement Home Board or the Director of the establishment” and inserting “Chief Operating Officer or the Director of a facility”; and (ii) by inserting “offering the services” after “notify the person”; 115 STAT. 1261 (C) in subsection (b)(2), by striking “Chairman” and inserting “Chief Operating Officer”; (D) in subsection (c), by striking “Chairman of the Retirement Home Board or the Director of an establishment” and inserting “Chief Operating Officer or the Director of a facility”; and (E) in subsection (e)— (i) by striking “Chairman of the Retirement Board or the Director of the establishment” in the first sentence and inserting “Chief Operating Officer or the Director of a facility”; and (ii) by striking “Chairman” in the second sentence and inserting “Chief Operating Officer”. (5) Section 1523(b) (24 U.S.C. 423(b)), relating to preservation of historic buildings and grounds at the Armed Forces Retirement Home—Washington, is amended by striking “Chairman of the Retirement Home Board” and inserting “Chief Operating Officer”.