S. 3896 would require the Office of Personnel Management to maintain a website for United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, a directory of certain government positions and government policies often referred to as the Plum Book. The volume is now published every four years, alternately by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The Government Publishing Office currently maintains the online version of the Plum Book. The bill would also discontinue the print version of the Plum Book in 2024. Finally, the bill would require the volume to be updated every two years and would direct the Government Accountability Office to report on the accuracy of information on the website.
CBO estimates that simply transferring management of the website to the Office of Personnel Management would not have a significant cost. Discontinuing the print version of the Plum Book would reduce costs by an insignificant amount. The cost of updating the Plum book every two years would be insignificant for any one agency, but CBO estimates that across the government those costs would cost about $2 million over the 2021-2025 period. All spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
