I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5460

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to increase the efficiency

and accountability of Offices of Inspector General within Federal departments, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 12, 2000

Mrs. BIGGERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Government Reform

A BILL

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to increase

the efficiency and accountability of Offices of Inspector

General within Federal departments, 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 ‘‘Inspector General Act

5 Amendments of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF CASH BONUS OR AWARDS.

2 Section 3 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5

3 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘(e) An Inspector General (as defined under section

6 8G(a)(6) or 11(3)) may not receive any cash award or

7 cash bonus, including any cash award under chapter 45

8 of title 5, United States Code.’’.

9 SEC. 3. EXTERNAL REVIEWS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Inspector General

11 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the

12 end the following:

13 ‘‘(e)(1)(A) Not less than every 3 years an external

14 review shall be conducted of each Office (as defined under

15 section 8G(a)(5) or 11(4)).

16 ‘‘(B) The Inspector General of each Office as defined

17 under section 8G(a)(5) or 11(4) shall arrange with the

18 General Accounting Office or an appropriate private entity

19 for the conduct of the review.

20 ‘‘(C) If an Inspector General contracts with a private

21 entity for a review under this subsection, the private entity

22 shall be contracted in accordance with section 303 of the

23 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949

24 (41 U.S.C. 253).
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1 ‘‘(2) At a minimum, an external review under this

2 subsection shall evaluate whether the Office properly man3 ages and controls—

4 ‘‘(A) contracts awarded by the Office, including

5 a determination of whether—

6 ‘‘(i) procedures used to procure contracts

7 are in accordance with applicable laws and reg8 ulations; and

9 ‘‘(ii) costs incurred are reasonable and al10 lowable under the terms of each contract;

11 ‘‘(B) appropriated funds, including a deter12 mination of whether training and travel funds are

13 expended in accordance with applicable laws and

14 regulations; and

15 ‘‘(C) personnel actions, including a determina16 tion of whether hiring and promotion practices used

17 and performance awards issued are in accordance

18 with applicable laws and regulations.

19 ‘‘(3) Not later than 30 calendar days after the com20 pletion of an external review, a report of the results shall

21 be submitted to the head of the establishment and simulta22 neously to the appropriate committees or subcommittees

23 of the Congress.’’.
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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

2 The section heading for section 4 of the Inspector General

3 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES; REPORT OF CRIMINAL

5 VIOLATIONS TO ATTORNEY GENERAL; EXTERNAL RE6 VIEWS’’.

7 SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORTS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(a) of the Inspector Gen9 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—

10 (1) by striking the first sentence and inserting

11 ‘‘Each Inspector General shall, not later than Octo12 ber 31 of each year, prepare an annual report sum13 marizing the activities and accomplishments of the

14 Office during the immediately preceding 12-month

15 period ending September 30.’’;

16 (2) by striking paragraphs (1) through (12)

17 and inserting the following:

18 ‘‘(1) a summary of the program areas within

19 the establishment identified by the Inspector General

20 as high risk because of vulnerabilities to waste,

21 fraud, abuse, and mismanagement;

22 ‘‘(2) a description of the most significant au23 dits, investigations (administrative, civil, and crimi24 nal), and evaluations and inspections completed dur25 ing the reporting period;
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1 ‘‘(3) a summary of each report made to the

2 head of the establishment under section 6(b)(2) dur3 ing the reporting period;

4 ‘‘(4) a table showing—

5 ‘‘(A)(i) the total number of final audit re6 ports issued by the Office of Inspector General;

7 and

8 ‘‘(ii) the financial benefits associated with

9 the reports segregated by category, such as

10 budget reductions, costs avoided, questioned

11 costs, and revenue enhancements; and

12 ‘‘(B) corrective actions taken and program

13 improvements made during the reporting period

14 in response to either an Office of Inspector

15 General audit finding or recommendation (ex16 cluding any recommendation included under

17 subparagraph (A) with respect to such correc18 tive actions);

19 ‘‘(5) a table showing—

20 ‘‘(A) the judicial and administrative ac21 tions associated with investigations conducted

22 by the Office of Inspector General;

23 ‘‘(B) the number of—
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1 ‘‘(i) cases referred for criminal pros2 ecution, civil remedies, or administrative

3 actions;

4 ‘‘(ii) cases presented but declined for

5 prosecution, segregated by criminal and

6 civil;

7 ‘‘(iii) cases accepted for prosecution

8 (both Federal and State), segregated by

9 criminal and civil;

10 ‘‘(iv) defendants indicted;

11 ‘‘(v) defendants convicted;

12 ‘‘(vi) defendants acquitted or charges

13 dismissed after indictment;

14 ‘‘(vii) defendants sentenced to terms

15 of imprisonment;

16 ‘‘(viii) defendants sentenced to terms

17 of probation; and

18 ‘‘(ix) suspensions, disbarments, exclu19 sions, sanctions, or some other similar ad20 ministrative action; and

21 ‘‘(C) the total amount of fines, restitu22 tions, and recoveries;

23 ‘‘(6) a description of the organization and man24 agement structure of the Office of Inspector Gen25 eral, including—
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1 ‘‘(A) an organization chart showing the

2 major components of the Office;

3 ‘‘(B) a statistical table showing the num4 ber of authorized full-time equivalent positions

5 segregated by component and by headquarters

6 and field office; and

7 ‘‘(C) the amount of funding received in

8 prior and current fiscal years;

9 ‘‘(7) a table showing—

10 ‘‘(A) the number of contracts, and associ11 ated dollar value, awarded on a noncompetitive

12 basis by the Office of Inspector General; and

13 ‘‘(B) with respect to any individual con14 tract valued over $100,000, awarded on a non15 competitive basis—

16 ‘‘(i) the name of the contractor;

17 ‘‘(ii) statement of work;

18 ‘‘(iii) the time period of the contract;

19 and

20 ‘‘(iv) the dollar amount of the con21 tract;

22 ‘‘(8)(A) a summary of each audit report issued

23 in previous reporting periods for which no manage24 ment decision has been made by the end of the re-
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1 porting period (including the date and title of each

2 such report);

3 ‘‘(B) an explanation of the reasons such man4 agement decision has not been made; and

5 ‘‘(C) a statement concerning the desired time6 table for achieving a management decision on each

7 such report;’’;

8 (3) by redesignating paragraph (13) as para9 graph (9);

10 (4) in paragraph (9) (as redesignated by para11 graph (3) of this subsection)—

12 (A) by striking ‘‘section 05(b)’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘section 804(b)’’; and

14 (B) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘;

15 and’’; and

16 (5) by adding at the end the following new

17 paragraph:

18 ‘‘(10) any other information that the Inspector

19 General determines appropriate to include in the an20 nual report.’’.

21 (b) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 5 of the Inspec22 tor General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—

23 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub24 section (g); and
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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(f)(1) Subject to paragraph (4), in addition to any

4 annual report required to be furnished and transmitted

5 under subsection (b), an Inspector General shall prepare

6 and submit a report described under paragraph (2) to—

7 ‘‘(A) the applicable congressional committee, if

8 the chairman or ranking member of a congressional

9 committee with appropriate jurisdiction submits a

10 written request to such Inspector General; or

11 ‘‘(B) to the Comptroller General of the United

12 States if the Comptroller General submits a written

13 request to such Inspector General.

14 ‘‘(2) A report referred to under paragraph (1) shall—

15 ‘‘(A) contain the information required for an

16 annual report under subsection (a); and

17 ‘‘(B) summarize the activities of the Office dur18 ing the 6-month period ending on March 31 of the

19 calendar year following the date on which the re20 quest is made.

21 ‘‘(3) A report under this subsection shall be sub22 mitted on April 30 of the calendar year following the date

23 on which the request is made.

24 ‘‘(4) An Inspector General shall not be required to

25 submit a report under this subsection if the written re-
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1 quest for such report is submitted to the Inspector General

2 after November 30 of the calendar year preceding the date

3 on which the report is otherwise required to be submitted

4 to a congressional committee or the Comptroller Gen5 eral.’’.

6 (c) SUBMISSION OF OTHER REPORTS.—Nothing in

7 the amendments made by this section shall be construed

8 to limit an Inspector General from submitting any report

9 containing in whole or part information required in an an10 nual or semiannual report furnished and transmitted

11 under section 5 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5

12 U.S.C. App.) to the Congress more frequently than on an

13 annual or semiannual basis.

14 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

15 (1) Section 4(a)(2) of the Inspector General Act

16 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking

17 ‘‘semiannual’’ and inserting ‘‘annual’’.

18 (2) Section 5 of the Inspector General Act of

19 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—

20 (A) in subsection (b)—

21 (i) by striking ‘‘Semiannual’’ and in22 serting ‘‘Annual’’; and

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘April 30 and’’; and

24 (B) in subsection (c)—
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1 (i) in the first sentence by striking

2 ‘‘semiannual’’ and inserting ‘‘annual’’; and

3 (ii) in the second sentence by striking

4 ‘‘semiannual’’ and inserting ‘‘annual’’.

5 (3) Section 8(f) of the Inspector General Act of

6 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking ‘‘semi7 annual’’ and inserting ‘‘annual’’.

8 SEC. 5. INSPECTORS GENERAL AT LEVEL III OF EXECUTIVE

9 SCHEDULE.

10 (a) LEVEL IV POSITIONS.—Section 5315 of title 5,

11 United States Code, is amended by striking each item re12 lating to the following positions:

13 (1) Inspector General, Department of Edu14 cation.

15 (2) Inspector General, Department of Energy.

16 (3) Inspector General, Department of Health

17 and Human Services.

18 (4) Inspector General, Department of Agri19 culture.

20 (5) Inspector General, Department of Housing

21 and Urban Development.

22 (6) Inspector General, Department of Labor.

23 (7) Inspector General, Department of Trans24 portation.
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1 (8) Inspector General, Department of Veterans

2 Affairs.

3 (9) Inspector General, Department of Defense.

4 (10) Inspector General, United States Informa5 tion Agency.

6 (11) Inspector General, Department of State.

7 (12) Inspector General, Department of Com8 merce.

9 (13) Inspector General, Department of the In10 terior.

11 (14) Inspector General, Department of Justice.

12 (15) Inspector General, Department of the

13 Treasury.

14 (16) Inspector General, Agency for Inter15 national Development.

16 (17) Inspector General, Environmental Protec17 tion Agency.

18 (18) Inspector General, Federal Emergency

19 Management Agency.

20 (19) Inspector General, General Services Ad21 ministration.

22 (20) Inspector General, National Aeronautics

23 and Space Administration.

24 (21) Inspector General, Nuclear Regulatory

25 Commission.
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1 (22) Inspector General, Office of Personnel

2 Management.

3 (23) Inspector General, Railroad Retirement

4 Board.

5 (24) Inspector General, Small Business Admin6 istration.

7 (25) Inspector General, Federal Deposit Insur8 ance Corporation.

9 (26) Inspector General, Resolution Trust Cor10 poration.

11 (27) Inspector General, Central Intelligence

12 Agency.

13 (28) Inspector General, Social Security Admin14 istration.

15 (29) Inspector General, United States Postal

16 Service.

17 (b) LEVEL III POSITIONS.—Section 5314 of title 5,

18 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

19 following:

20 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Education.

21 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Energy.

22 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Health and

23 Human Services.

24 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Agriculture.
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1 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Housing

2 and Urban Development.

3 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Labor.

4 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Transpor5 tation.

6 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Veterans

7 Affairs.

8 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Defense.

9 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of State.

10 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Commerce.

11 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of the Interior.

12 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Justice.

13 ‘‘Inspector General, Department of the Treas14 ury.

15 ‘‘Inspector General, Agency for International

16 Development.

17 ‘‘Inspector General, Corporation for Community

18 and National Service.

19 ‘‘Inspector General, Environmental Protection

20 Agency.

21 ‘‘Inspector General, Federal Emergency Man22 agement Agency.

23 ‘‘Inspector General, General Services Adminis24 tration.
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1 ‘‘Inspector General, National Aeronautics and

2 Space Administration.

3 ‘‘Inspector General, Nuclear Regulatory Com4 mission.

5 ‘‘Inspector General, Office of Personnel Man6 agement.

7 ‘‘Inspector General, Railroad Retirement

8 Board.

9 ‘‘Inspector General, Small Business Administra10 tion.

11 ‘‘Inspector General, Federal Deposit Insurance

12 Corporation.

13 ‘‘Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agen14 cy.

15 ‘‘Inspector General, Social Security Administra16 tion.

17 ‘‘Inspector General, United States Postal Serv18 ice.’’.

19 (c) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section

20 shall have the effect of reducing the rate of pay of any

21 individual serving as an Inspector General on the effective

22 date of this section.
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1 SEC. 6. STUDY AND REPORT ON CONSOLIDATION OF IN2 SPECTOR GENERAL OFFICES.

3 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United

4 States shall—

5 (1) develop criteria for determining whether the

6 consolidation of Federal Inspector General offices

7 would be cost-efficient and in the public interest;

8 and

9 (2) conduct a study of Federal Inspector Gen10 eral offices using the criteria developed under para11 graph (1) to determine whether any such offices

12 should be consolidated.

13 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller

15 General shall submit a report to the Congress containing

16 recommendations for any legislative action, based on the

17 study conducted under subsection (a).

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