Federal Executive Accountability Act of 2017

Summary: Federal Executive Accountability Act of 2017 This bill requires the President to appoint an Inspector General of the Executive Office of the President. Such Inspector General shall be under the authority, direction, and control of the President with respect to audits, investigations, or the issuance of subpoenas that require access to information concerning the identity of a confidential source, an intelligence or counterintelligence matter, and an undercover operation. The President may prohibit such Inspector General from carrying out any audit or investigation or issuing any subpoena upon determining that such prohibition is necessary to prevent the disclosure of any such information. The bill amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require the Inspector General established by this bill to include the following additional information in its required semiannual report to the head of its establishment:  a description of corrective action completed on each significant recommendation; a certification of whether such Inspector General has had full and direct access to all information relevant to the performance of its functions; a description of any audit, inspection, or evaluation occurring during the reporting period in which such Inspector General could not obtain relevant information due to an exercise of presidential power; and any recommendations regarding efficiency in the administration of programs and operations undertaken by the President and the detection and elimination of fraud, waste, and abuse.  Such Inspector General shall carry out two evaluations of the Executive Office of the President to: (1) assess whether applicable classification procedures have been followed within such office; and (2) identify policies and procedures that may be contributing to persistent misclassification of material within such office. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Executive Accountability Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL IN THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE 
              PRESIDENT.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--Section 12 of the Inspector General Act of 
        1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or the Director 
                of the National Reconnaissance Office'' and inserting 
                ``the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office; 
                or the President (with respect to the Executive Office 
                of the President)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or the National 
                Reconnaissance Office'' and inserting ``the National 
                Reconnaissance Office, or the Executive Office of the 
                President''.
            (2) Appointment of inspector general.--Not later than 120 
        days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 
        shall appoint an individual as the Inspector General of the 
        Executive Office of the President in accordance with the 
        requirements of section 3(a) of the Inspector General Act of 
        1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
    (b) Special Provisions.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.) is amended by inserting after section 8M the following:

``SEC. 8N. SPECIAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE 
              PRESIDENT.

    ``(a) Audits, Investigations, and Issuance of Subpoenas.--
            ``(1) Authority, direction, and control.--Notwithstanding 
        the last two sentences of section 3(a), the Inspector General 
        of the Executive Office of the President shall be under the 
        authority, direction, and control of the President with respect 
        to audits or investigations, or the issuance of subpoenas, that 
        require access to information concerning any of the following:
                    ``(A) The identity of a confidential source, 
                including a protected witness.
                    ``(B) An intelligence or counterintelligence 
                matter.
                    ``(C) An undercover operation.
            ``(2) Prohibition in certain situations.--With respect to 
        the information described in paragraph (1), the President may 
        prohibit the Inspector General of the Executive Office of the 
        President from initiating, carrying out, or completing any 
        audit or investigation, or from issuing any subpoena, after the 
        Inspector General has decided to initiate, carry out, or 
        complete such audit or investigation, or to issue such 
        subpoena, if the President determines that such prohibition is 
        necessary to prevent the disclosure of any information 
        described in paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Notice after prohibition.--
                    ``(A) To inspector general.--If the President 
                exercises any power under paragraph (2), not later than 
                30 days after exercising any such power, the President 
                shall notify the Inspector General of the Executive 
                Office of the President in writing, stating the reasons 
                for exercising that power.
                    ``(B) To congress.--Not later than 30 days after 
                receiving a notice under subparagraph (A), the 
                Inspector General of the Executive Office of the 
                President shall transmit a copy of the notice to the 
                chair and ranking member of each of the following:
                            ``(i) The Committee on Oversight and 
                        Government Reform of the House of 
                        Representatives.
                            ``(ii) The Committee on the Judiciary of 
                        the House of Representatives.
                            ``(iii) The Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
                            ``(iv) The Committee on the Judiciary of 
                        the Senate.
                            ``(v) Any other appropriate committee or 
                        subcommittee of Congress.
    ``(b) Semiannual Reports.--
            ``(1) Additional information to be included.--Any 
        semiannual report prepared by the Inspector General of the 
        Executive Office of the President under section 5(a) shall also 
        include the following:
                    ``(A) With respect to each significant 
                recommendation on which corrective action has been 
                completed, a description of the corrective action.
                    ``(B) A certification of whether the Inspector 
                General of the Executive Office of the President has 
                had full and direct access to all information relevant 
                to the performance of the functions of the Inspector 
                General.
                    ``(C) A description of any audit, inspection, or 
                evaluation occurring during the reporting period in 
                which the Inspector General of the Executive Office of 
                the President could not obtain relevant information due 
                to an exercise of power by the President under 
                subsection (a)(2).
                    ``(D) Such recommendations as the Inspector General 
                of the Executive Office of the President considers 
                appropriate with respect to efficiency in the 
                administration of programs and operations undertaken by 
                the President, and the detection and elimination of 
                fraud, waste, and abuse in such programs and 
                operations.
            ``(2) Submission to president.--Notwithstanding section 
        5(b), the Inspector General of the Executive Office of the 
        President shall submit to the President the semiannual reports 
        prepared under section 5(a), including the additional 
        information required under paragraph (1), not later than April 
        30 and October 31 of each year.
            ``(3) Transmission to congress.--Not later than 30 days 
        after receiving a semiannual report under paragraph (2), the 
        President shall transmit the semiannual report, including any 
        comments the President considers appropriate, to the chair and 
        ranking member of each of the following:
                    ``(A) The Committee on Oversight and Government 
                Reform of the House of Representatives.
                    ``(B) The Committee on the Judiciary of the House 
                of Representatives.
                    ``(C) The Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
                    ``(D) The Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                Senate.''.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--The Inspector General Act 
of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``subpena'' each place the term appears and 
        inserting ``subpoena'';
            (2) by striking ``subpenas'' each place the term appears 
        and inserting ``subpoenas'';
            (3) in section 8G(a)(1)--
                    (A) by striking subparagraph (C); and
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) through (F) 
                as subparagraphs (C) through (E), respectively; and
            (4) in section 8J, by striking ``8E'' and all that follows 
        through ``this Act'' and inserting ``8E, 8F, 8H, or 8N of this 
        Act''.
    (d) Over-Classification Audit.--
            (1) Evaluations required.--The Inspector General of the 
        Executive Office of the President, in consultation with the 
        Information Security Oversight Office of the National Archives 
        and Records Administration, shall carry out two evaluations of 
        the Executive Office of the President--
                    (A) to assess whether applicable classification 
                policies, procedures, rules, and regulations have been 
                adopted, followed, and effectively administered within 
                the Executive Office of the President; and
                    (B) to identify policies, procedures, rules, 
                regulations, or management practices that may be 
                contributing to persistent misclassification of 
                material within the Executive Office of the President.
            (2) Deadlines for evaluations.--
                    (A) Initial evaluation.--The first evaluation 
                required under paragraph (1) shall be completed not 
                later than one year after the date of the enactment of 
                this Act.
                    (B) Second evaluation.--The second evaluation 
                required under paragraph (1) shall review progress made 
                pursuant to the results of the first evaluation and 
                shall be completed not later than one year after the 
                date on which the first evaluation is completed.
            (3) Coordination.--The Inspector General of the Executive 
        Office of the President shall coordinate with other Inspector 
        Generals and the Information Security Oversight Office to 
        ensure that evaluations follow a consistent methodology, as 
        appropriate, that allows for cross-agency comparisons.
            (4) Reports required.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the 
                completion of an evaluation, the Inspector General of 
                the Executive Office of the President shall submit to 
                the appropriate entities a report on that evaluation.
                    (B) Content.--Each report submitted under 
                subparagraph (A) shall include a description of--
                            (i) the policies, procedures, rules, 
                        regulations, or management practices, if any, 
                        identified by the Inspector General under 
                        paragraph (1)(b); and
                            (ii) the recommendations, if any, of the 
                        Inspector General to address any such 
                        identified policies, procedures, rules, 
                        regulations, or management practices.
            (5) Appropriate entities defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term ``appropriate entities'' means each of the following:
                    (A) The Committee on Oversight and Government 
                Reform of the House of Representatives.
                    (B) The Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives.
                    (C) The Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
                    (D) The Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
                    (E) Any other appropriate committee or subcommittee 
                of Congress.
                    (F) The President.
                    (G) The Director of the Information Security 
                Oversight Office.