§ 2773a — Departmental Accountable Officials

(a) The Secretary of Defense may designate any civilian employee of the Department of Defense or member of the armed forces under the Secretary’s jurisdiction who is described in subsection (b) as an employee or member who, in addition to any other potential accountability, may be held accountable through personal monetary liability for an illegal, improper, or incorrect payment made by the Department of Defense described in subsection (c). Any such designation shall be in writing. Any employee or member who is so designated may be referred to as a “departmental accountable official”. (b) An employee or member of the armed forces described in this subsection is an employee or member who— (1) is responsible in the performance of the employee’s or member’s duties for providing to a certifying official of the Department of Defense information, data, or services that are directly relied upon by the certifying official in the certification of vouchers for payment; and (2) is not otherwise accountable under subtitle III of title 31 or any other provision of law for payments made on the basis of such vouchers. (1) The Secretary of Defense may subject a departmental accountable official to pecuniary liability for an illegal, improper, or incorrect payment made by the Department of Defense if the Secretary determines that such payment— (A) resulted from information, data, or services that that official provided to a certifying official and upon which that certifying official directly relies in certifying the voucher supporting that payment; and (B) was the result of fault or negligence on the part of that departmental accountable official. (2) Pecuniary liability under this subsection shall apply in the same manner and to the same extent as applies to an official accountable under subtitle III of title 31. (3) Any pecuniary liability of a departmental accountable official under this subsection for a loss to the United States resulting from an illegal, improper, or incorrect payment is joint and several with that of any other officer or employee of the United States or member of the uniformed services who is pecuniarily liable for such loss. (d) In this section, the term “certifying official” means an employee who has the responsibilities specified in section 3528(a) of title 31.