I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3457

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) to enhance 

the independence of the Inspectors General, create a Council of the 

Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 6, 2003

Mr. COOPER (for himself and Mr. SHAYS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Government Reform 

A BILL

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

App.) to enhance the independence of the Inspectors 

General, create a Council of the Inspectors General on 

Integrity and Efficiency, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Government 

5 Accountability Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. ENHANCING INDEPENDENCE OF INSPECTORS GEN2 ERAL. 

3 (a) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—The Inspector General 

4 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—

5 (1) in section 3(b) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: ‘‘An Inspector General may be removed from 

7 office prior to the expiration of his term on the fol8 lowing grounds: 

9 ‘‘(1) permanent disability; 

10 ‘‘(2) inefficiency; 

11 ‘‘(3) neglect of duty; 

12 ‘‘(4) malfeasance; or 

13 ‘‘(5) conviction of a felony or conduct involving 

14 moral turpitude.’’; and 

15 (2) in section 8G(e) by adding at the end the 

16 following: ‘‘An Inspector General may be removed 

17 from office prior to the expiration of his term on the 

18 following grounds: 

19 ‘‘(1) permanent disability; 

20 ‘‘(2) inefficiency; 

21 ‘‘(3) neglect of duty; 

22 ‘‘(4) malfeasance; or 

23 ‘‘(5) conviction of a felony or conduct involving 

24 moral turpitude.’’. 
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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TERMS OF OFFICE.—The 

2 Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amend3 ed—

4 (1) in section 3 by adding after subsection (d) 

5 the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(e) The term of office of each Inspector General 

7 shall be seven years. Any individual appointed to fill a va8 cancy in such position, occurring before the expiration of 

9 the term for which his predecessor was appointed, shall 

10 be appointed for the remainder of that term.’’; and 

11 (2) in section 8G by adding to the end of sub12 section (c) the following: ‘‘The term of office of each 

13 Inspector General shall be seven years. Any indi14 vidual appointed to fill a vacancy in such position, 

15 occurring before the expiration of the term for which 

16 his predecessor was appointed, shall be appointed for 

17 the remainder of that term.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. DIRECT SUBMISSION OF BUDGET REQUESTS TO 

19 CONGRESS. 

20 The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 

21 is amended in section 6 by adding at the end the following 

22 new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(f) For each fiscal year, an Inspector General may 

24 transmit an appropriation estimate and request to the Of25 fice of Management and Budget and to the appropriate 
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1 committees or subcommittees of Congress, in addition to 

2 any appropriation estimate and request submitted to the 

3 head of the establishment involved. Each budget of the 

4 United States Government submitted by the President 

5 shall include a separate statement of the amount of appro6 priations requested by each Inspector General who has 

7 submitted an appropriation estimate and request to Con8 gress. Each such budget shall also include a statement 

9 providing a comparison of the appropriation estimate and 

10 request submitted by an Inspector General and the funds 

11 requested by the head of the establishment involved.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNCIL OF THE INSPECTORS 

13 GENERAL ON INTEGRITY AND EFFICIENCY. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Inspector General Act of 

15 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by redesignating sec16 tions 11 and 12 in order as sections 12 and 13, and by 

17 inserting after section 10 the following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 11. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE IN19 SPECTORS GENERAL ON INTEGRITY AND EF20 FICIENCY. 

21 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established as an 

22 independent entity within the executive branch the Council 

23 of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (in 

24 this Act referred to as the ‘Council’). The Council’s mis25 sion will be to increase the professionalism and effective-
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1 ness of personnel by developing policies, standards, and 

2 approaches to aid in the establishment of a well-trained 

3 and highly skilled workforce in the offices of the Inspec4 tors General. 

5 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall consist of 

7 the following members: 

8 ‘‘(A) All Inspectors General whose offices 

9 were established in the Inspector General Act of 

10 1978 and subsequent amendments. 

11 ‘‘(B) The Controller of the Office of Fed12 eral Financial Management. 

13 ‘‘(C) The Associate Deputy Director for 

14 Investigations of the Federal Bureau of Inves15 tigation. 

16 ‘‘(D) The Director of the Office of Govern17 ment Ethics. 

18 ‘‘(E) The Special Counsel of the Office of 

19 Special Counsel. 

20 ‘‘(F) The Deputy Director of the Office of 

21 Personnel Management. 

22 ‘‘(G) The Deputy Director for Manage23 ment of the Office of Management and Budget. 

24 ‘‘(c) CHAIR.—The chairman of the Council shall be 

25 chosen from among the Inspectors General by a majority
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1 of the Inspectors General and shall serve as chair of the 

2 Council for a three-year period. 

3 ‘‘(d) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at least 

4 semiannually, at the call of chair. 

5 ‘‘(e) FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES.—

6 ‘‘(1)(A) The Council shall continually identify, 

7 review, and discuss areas of weakness and vulner8 ability in Federal programs and operations to fraud, 

9 waste, and abuse, and shall develop plans for coordi10 nated, government-wide activities that address these 

11 problems and promote economy and efficiency in 

12 Federal programs and operations. These activities 

13 will include interagency and interentity audit and in14 vestigation programs and projects to deal efficiently 

15 and effectively with those problems concerning fraud 

16 and waste that exceed the capability of jurisdiction 

17 of an individual agency or entity. The Council shall 

18 recognize the preeminent role of the Department of 

19 Justice in law enforcement and litigation. 

20 ‘‘(B) The Council shall develop policies that will 

21 aid in the establishment of a corps of well-trained 

22 and highly skilled Office of Inspector General staff 

23 members. 

24 ‘‘(2) Individual members of the Council should, 

25 to the extent permitted under law, adhere to profes-
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1 sional standards developed by the Councils and par2 ticipate in the plans, programs, and projects of the 

3 Councils. 

4 ‘‘(3) The creation and operation of the Council 

5 shall neither interfere with existing authority and re6 sponsibilities in the relevant agencies and entities 

7 nor augment or diminish the statutory authority or 

8 responsibilities of individual members of the Council. 

9 ‘‘(f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CHAIR.—

10 ‘‘(1) The Chair may appoint a Vice Chair to as11 sist in carrying out the functions of the Council. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Chair shall, in consultation with the 

13 members of the Council, establish the agenda for 

14 Council activities. 

15 ‘‘(3) The Chair shall, on behalf of the Council, 

16 report to the President on the activities of the Coun17 cil. The Chair shall, as appropriate, advise the Coun18 cil with respect to the President’s consideration of 

19 the Council’s activities. 

20 ‘‘(4) The Chair shall provide agency and entity 

21 heads with summary reports of the activities of the 

22 Council. 

23 ‘‘(5) The Chair shall establish, in consultation 

24 with members of the Council, such committees as 
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1 deemed necessary and appropriate for the efficient 

2 conduct of Council functions.’’. 

3 (b) EXISTING EXECUTIVE ORDER.—Executive Order 

4 12805, dated May 14, 1992, shall have no force or effect. 

5 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Inspector 

6 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—

7 (1) in sections 2(1), 4(b)(2), and 8G(a)(1)(A) 

8 by striking ‘‘section 11(2)’’ each place it appears 

9 and inserting ‘‘section 12(2)’’; and 

10 (2) in section 8G(a), in the matter preceding 

11 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 11’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘section 12’’. 

13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $750,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009.

16 SEC. 5. PERSONNEL FLEXIBILITIES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General Act of 

18 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by inserting after sec19 tion 3 the following: 

20 ‘‘PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

21 ‘‘SEC. 3A. (a) The Office of Personnel Management 

22 shall maintain a personnel management system, which, ex23 cept as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, shall 

24 apply to the officers and employees of the various Offices 

25 of Inspector General. The Office of Personnel Manage26 ment may prescribe a regulation about the system only 
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1 after notice and opportunity for public comment. A re2 prisal or threat of reprisal may not be made against an 

3 officer or employee of an Office of Inspector General be4 cause of comments on a proposed regulation about the sys5 tem. 

6 ‘‘(b) The personnel management system shall—

7 ‘‘(1) include the principles of section 2301(b) of 

8 title 5; 

9 ‘‘(2) prohibit personnel practices prohibited 

10 under section 2302(b) of title 5; 

11 ‘‘(3) prohibit political activities prohibited under 

12 subchapter III of chapter 73 of title 5; 

13 ‘‘(4) ensure that officers and employees are ap14 pointed, promoted, and assigned only on the basis of 

15 merit and fitness, but without regard to those provi16 sions of title 5 governing appointments and other 

17 personnel actions in the competitive service; and 

18 ‘‘(5) provide that an Inspector General may, in 

19 his or her discretion, fix basic pay of officers and 

20 employees (apart from those whose basic pay is oth21 erwise fixed by law) in a manner consistent with sec22 tion 5301 of title 5. 

23 ‘‘(c) Under the personnel management system—
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1 ‘‘(1) the Office of Personnel Management shall 

2 publish a schedule of basic pay rates for positions to 

3 which such system applies; 

4 ‘‘(2) the highest basic pay rate under the pay 

5 schedule may not exceed the highest rate of basic 

6 pay for GS–15; 

7 ‘‘(3) except as provided under section 5349(a) 

8 of title 5, rates of basic pay of officers and employ9 ees who are subject to such system shall be adjusted 

10 at the same time and to the same extent as are rates 

11 of basic pay rates under the General Schedule; and 

12 ‘‘(4) officers and employees who are subject to 

13 such system shall be entitled to grade and basic pay 

14 retention consistent with subchapter VI of chapter 

15 53 of title 5. 

16 ‘‘(d) The personnel management system shall pro17 vide—

18 ‘‘(1) for a system of performance appraisals 

19 that meets the requirements of section 4302 of title 

20 5; 

21 ‘‘(2) for the reduction in grade or removal of an 

22 officer or employee because of unacceptable perform23 ance, consistent with section 4303 of title 5; 

24 ‘‘(3) for other personnel actions consistent with 

25 chapter 75 of title 5; and
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1 ‘‘(4) a procedure for processing complaints and 

2 grievances not otherwise provided for under para3 graphs (2) and (3) of this subsection or subsection 

4 (e)(1) of this section. 

5 ‘‘(e)(1) The personnel management system shall—

6 ‘‘(A) provide that all personnel actions affecting 

7 an officer, employee, or applicant for employment be 

8 taken without regard to race, color, religion, age, 

9 sex, national origin, political affiliation, marital sta10 tus, or handicapping condition; and 

11 ‘‘(B) include a minority recruitment program 

12 consistent with section 7201 of title 5. 

13 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this section shall affect—

14 ‘‘(A) a right or remedy of an officer, employee, 

15 or applicant for employment under a law prohibiting 

16 discrimination in employment in the Government on 

17 the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national 

18 origin, political affiliation, marital status, or handi19 capping condition; or 

20 ‘‘(B) a lawful effort to achieve equal employ21 ment opportunity through affirmative action. 

22 ‘‘(f)(1)(A) The Office of Personnel Management shall 

23 prescribe regulations, consistent with regulations issued 

24 under section 3502(a) of title 5, for the separation of offi-
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1 cers or employees of an Office during a reduction in force 

2 or other adjustment in force. 

3 ‘‘(B) The regulations shall, in descending order of 

4 priority, give effect to—

5 ‘‘(i) tenure of employment; 

6 ‘‘(ii) military preference, subject to section 

7 3501(a)(3) of title 5; 

8 ‘‘(iii) veterans’ preference, in accordance with 

9 subsections (b) and (c) of 3502 of title 5; 

10 ‘‘(iv) performance ratings; 

11 ‘‘(v) length of service, computed in accordance 

12 with the second sentence of section 3502(a) of title 

13 5; and 

14 ‘‘(vi) other objective factors, such as skills and 

15 knowledge, that the relevant Inspector General con16 siders necessary and appropriate to realign the Of17 fice’s workforce in order to meet current and future 

18 mission needs, to correct skill imbalances, or to re19 duce high-grade, managerial, or supervisory posi20 tions. 

21 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), the regula22 tions relating to removal from the Senior Executive Serv23 ice in a reduction in force or other adjustment in force 

24 shall be consistent with section 3595(a) of title 5. 
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1 ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an 

2 officer or employee may not be released, due to a reduction 

3 force, unless such officer or employee is given written no4 tice at least 60 days before such officer or employee is 

5 so released. Such notice shall include—

6 ‘‘(i) the personnel action to be taken with re7 spect to the officer or employee involved; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the effective date of the action; 

9 ‘‘(iii) a description of the procedures applicable 

10 in identifying officers or employees for release; 

11 ‘‘(iv) the officer’s or employee’s ranking relative 

12 to other competing officers and employees, and how 

13 that ranking was determined; and 

14 ‘‘(v) a description of any appeal or other rights 

15 which may be available. 

16 ‘‘(B) The Inspector General may, in writing, shorten 

17 the period of advance notice required under subparagraph 

18 (A) with respect to a particular reduction in force, if nec19 essary because of circumstances not reasonably foresee20 able, except that such period may not be less than 30 days. 

21 ‘‘(g) The regulations under subsection (g) shall in22 clude provisions under which, at the discretion of the In23 spector General, the opportunity to separate voluntarily 

24 (in order to permit the retention of an individual occu25 pying a similar position) shall, with respect to the Office, 
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1 be available to the same extent and in the same manner 

2 as described in subsection (f)(1)–(4) of section 3502 of 

3 title 5 (with respect to the Department of Defense or a 

4 military department). 

5 ‘‘(h) Nothing in this section shall be considered to 

6 supersede or to constitute authority for the Office of Per7 sonnel Management to supersede (by regulation or other8 wise) any provision of section 7, 8C(b), or 8F(a)(1), or 

9 of subsection (c), (f)(1), or (g)(2) of section 8G.’’. 

10 (b) SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.—In the applica11 tion of section 3133 of title 5, United States Code (and 

12 every other provision of such title 5 which relates to the 

13 Senior Executive Service, as identified by the Office of 

14 Personnel Management in regulations)—

15 (1) each Office of Inspector General shall be 

16 considered to be a separate agency; and 

17 (2) any reference to an agency head shall, with 

18 respect to an Office of Inspector General, be consid19 ered to refer to the Inspector General who is the 

20 head of such Office. 

21 (c) VOLUNTARY SEPARATION.—In the application of 

22 section 8336 and section 8414 of title 5, United States 

23 Code—

24 (1) each Office of Inspector General shall be 

25 considered to be a separate agency; and 
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1 (2) any Office of Inspector General shall, with 

2 respect to an Office of Inspector General, be consid3 ered to refer to the Inspector General who is the 

4 head of such Office. 

5 SEC. 6. SUBMISSION OF REPORTS TO CONGRESS; AMEND6 MENT TO REPORTING PERIOD. 

7 Section 5(b) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 

8 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking the language pre9 ceding paragraph (1) and inserting the following language: 

10 ‘‘Semiannual reports of each Inspector General shall be 

11 furnished to the head of the establishment involved and 

12 to the appropriate committees and subcommittees of Con13 gress not later than January 31 and July 31 of each year. 

14 Within 30 days after receipt of the report, the head of 

15 establishment involved may submit a report to the appro16 priate committees and subcommittees of Congress con17 taining—’’.

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