For United States federal law, the GAO Human Capital Reform Act of 2004 (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 108–271 (text) (PDF), 118 Stat. 811, enacted July 7, 2004) provides new human capital flexibilities with respect to the Government Accountability Office, and for other purposes. The most visible provision of the law was to change the name of the organization from the General Accounting Office, which it had been known as since its founding in 1921, to the Government Accountability Office. Besides the name change, the law:

• Decouples GAO from the federal employee pay system,
• Establishes a compensation system that places greater emphasis on job performance while protecting the purchasing power of employees who are performing acceptably,
• Gives GAO permanent authority to offer voluntary early retirement opportunities and voluntary separation payments (buy-outs),
• Provides greater flexibility for reimbursing employees for relocation benefits,
• Allows certain employees and officers with less than three years of federal service to earn increased amounts of annual leave, and
• Authorizes an exchange program with private sector organizations.