An original bill to amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) to establish police powers for certain Inspector General agents engaged in official duties and provide an oversight mechanism for the exercise of those powers

Summary: Empowers the Attorney General to authorize the exercise of such powers only upon an initial determination that: (1) the affected Office of Inspector General is significantly hampered in the performance of such responsibilities as a result of the lack of such powers; (2) available assistance from other law enforcement agencies is insufficient to meet the need for exercising such powers; and (3) adequate internal safeguards and management procedures exist to ensure proper exercise of those powers.
Exempts specified Offices of Inspector General from such an initial determination of eligibility. Directs such Offices to collectively enter into a memorandum of understanding to establish an external review process for ensuring that such safeguards and procedures continue to exist within each Office and any Office that receives such an authorization.

SECTION 1. LAW ENFORCEMENT POWERS OF INSPECTOR GENERAL AGENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e)(1) In addition to the authority otherwise provided by this 
Act, each Inspector General appointed under section 3, any Assistant 
Inspector General for Investigations under such an Inspector General, 
and any special agent supervised by such an Assistant Inspector General 
may be authorized by the Attorney General to--
            ``(A) carry a firearm while engaged in official duties 
        conducted under this Act or other statute, or as expressly 
        authorized by the Attorney General;
            ``(B) make an arrest without a warrant while engaged in 
        official duties conducted under this Act or other statute, or 
        as expressly authorized by the Attorney General, for any 
        offense against the United States committed in the presence of 
        such Inspector General, Assistant Inspector General, or agent, 
        or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United 
        States if such Inspector General, Assistant Inspector General, 
        or agent has reasonable grounds to believe that the person to 
        be arrested has committed or is committing such felony; and
            ``(C) seek and execute warrants for arrest, search of a 
        premises, or seizure of evidence issued under the authority of 
        the United States upon probable cause to believe that a 
        violation has been committed.
    ``(2) The Attorney General may authorize exercise of the powers 
under this subsection only upon an initial determination that--
            ``(A) the affected Office of Inspector General is 
        significantly hampered in the performance of responsibilities 
        established by this Act as a result of the lack of such powers;
            ``(B) available assistance from other law enforcement 
        agencies is insufficient to meet the need for such powers; and
            ``(C) adequate internal safeguards and management 
        procedures exist to ensure proper exercise of such powers.
    ``(3) The Inspector General offices of the Department of Commerce, 
Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Health and 
Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department 
of the Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department 
of State, Department of Transportation, Department of the Treasury, 
Department of Veterans Affairs, Agency for International Development, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, General Services Administration, 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Office of Personnel Management, Railroad Retirement Board, 
Small Business Administration, and Social Security Administration are 
exempt from the requirement of paragraph (2) of an initial 
determination of eligibility by the Attorney General.
    ``(4) The Attorney General shall promulgate, and revise as 
appropriate, guidelines which shall govern the exercise of the law 
enforcement powers established under paragraph (1).
    ``(5) Powers authorized for an Office of Inspector General under 
paragraph (1) shall be rescinded or suspended upon a determination by 
the Attorney General that any of the requirements under paragraph (2) 
is no longer satisfied or that the exercise of authorized powers by 
that Office of Inspector General has not complied with the guidelines 
promulgated by the Attorney General under paragraph (4).
    ``(6) A determination by the Attorney General under paragraph (2) 
or (5) shall not be reviewable in or by any court.
    ``(7) To ensure the proper exercise of the law enforcement powers 
authorized by this subsection, the Offices of Inspector General 
described under paragraph (3) shall, not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this subsection, collectively enter into a 
memorandum of understanding to establish an external review process for 
ensuring that adequate internal safeguards and management procedures 
continue to exist within each Office and within any Office that later 
receives an authorization under paragraph (2). The review process shall 
be established in consultation with the Attorney General, who shall be 
provided with a copy of the memorandum of understanding that 
establishes the review process. Under the review process, the exercise 
of the law enforcement powers by each Office of Inspector General shall 
be reviewed periodically by another Office of Inspector General or by a 
committee of Inspectors General. The results of each review shall be 
communicated in writing to the applicable Inspector General and to the 
Attorney General.
    ``(8) No provision of this subsection shall limit the exercise of 
law enforcement powers established under any other statutory authority, 
including United States Marshals Service special deputation.''.
    (b) Promulgation of Initial Guidelines.--
            (1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``memoranda 
        of understanding'' means the agreements between the Department 
        of Justice and the Inspector General offices described under 
        section 6(e)(3) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
        App) (as added by subsection (a) of this section) that--
                    (A) are in effect on the date of enactment of this 
                Act; and
                    (B) authorize such offices to exercise authority 
                that is the same or similar to the authority under 
                section 6(e)(1) of such Act.
            (2) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall promulgate 
        guidelines under section 6(e)(4) of the Inspector General Act 
        of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App) (as added by subsection (a) of this 
        section) applicable to the Inspector General offices described 
        under section 6(e)(3) of that Act.
            (3) Minimum requirements.--The guidelines promulgated under 
        this subsection shall include, at a minimum, the operational 
        and training requirements in the memoranda of understanding.
            (4) No lapse of authority.--The memoranda of understanding 
        in effect on the date of enactment of this Act shall remain in 
        effect until the guidelines promulgated under this subsection 
        take effect.
    (c) Effective Dates.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall take effect 180 days 
        after the date of enactment of this Act.
            (2) Initial guidelines.--Subsection (b) shall take effect 
        on the date of enactment of this Act.