II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4036 

To establish a Government Spending Oversight Committee within the Council 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 21, 2024 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. ROMNEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a Government Spending Oversight Committee 

within the 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 ‘‘Government Spending 

5 Oversight Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GOVERNMENT SPENDING OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 424 of title 5, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4036 IS

1 ‘‘(f) GOVERNMENT SPENDING OVERSIGHT COM2 MITTEE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

4 ‘‘(A) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 551 of this 

6 title. 

7 ‘‘(B) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COM8 MITTEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional 

9 committees’ means— 

10 ‘‘(i) the Committees on Appropria11 tions of the Senate and the House of Rep12 resentatives; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Homeland Se14 curity and Governmental Affairs of the 

15 Senate; 

16 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on Oversight and 

17 Accountability of the House of Representa18 tives; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) any other relevant congressional 

20 committee of jurisdiction. 

21 ‘‘(C) CHAIRPERSON.—The term ‘Chair22 person’ means the Chairperson of the Com23 mittee. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4036 IS

1 ‘‘(D) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Committee’ 

2 means the Government Spending Oversight 

3 Committee established under paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(E) COVERED FUNDS.—The term ‘cov5 ered funds’ means any funds, including loans, 

6 that are made available in any form to any non7 Federal entity or individual, under— 

8 ‘‘(i) division A or B of the CARES 

9 Act (Public Law 116–136); 

10 ‘‘(ii) the Coronavirus Preparedness 

11 and Response Supplemental Appropria12 tions Act, 2020 (Public Law 116–123); 

13 ‘‘(iii) the Families First Coronavirus 

14 Response Act (Public Law 116–127); 

15 ‘‘(iv) the Paycheck Protection Pro16 gram and Health Care Enhancement Act 

17 (Public Law 116–139); 

18 ‘‘(v) division M or N of the Consoli19 dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public 

20 Law 116–260); 

21 ‘‘(vi) the American Rescue Plan Act 

22 of 2021 (Public Law 117–2); 

23 ‘‘(vii) any loan guaranteed or made by 

24 the Small Business Administration, includ25 ing any direct loan or guarantee of a trust 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4036 IS

1 certificate, under the Small Business Act 

2 (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.), the Small Busi3 ness Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 

4 661 et seq.), or any other provision of law; 

5 ‘‘(viii) unemployment compensation, 

6 as defined in section 85 of the Internal 

7 Revenue Code of 1986; 

8 ‘‘(ix) the Infrastructure Investment 

9 and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58); 

10 ‘‘(x) the Inflation Reduction Act 

11 (Public Law 117–169); 

12 ‘‘(xi) the Honoring our PACT Act of 

13 2022 (Public Law 117–168); or 

14 ‘‘(xii) the CHIPS Act of 2022 (divi15 sion A of Public Law 117–167) (commonly 

16 known as the ‘CHIPS and Science Act of 

17 2022’). 

18 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

19 within the Council the Government Spending Over20 sight Committee to promote transparency and con21 duct and support oversight of covered funds to— 

22 ‘‘(A) prevent and detect fraud, waste, 

23 abuse, and mismanagement; and 

24 ‘‘(B) mitigate major risks that cut across 

25 program and agency boundaries. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4036 IS

1 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

2 Committee— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall be selected by the Chairperson 

4 of the Council from among Inspectors General 

5 appointed by the President and confirmed by 

6 the Senate; and 

7 ‘‘(B) should have with experience man8 aging oversight of large organizations and ex9 penditures. 

10 ‘‘(4) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Com11 mittee shall include— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Chairperson; 

13 ‘‘(B) the Inspector General of the Depart14 ment of the Labor; 

15 ‘‘(C) the Inspector General of the Depart16 ment of Health and Human Services; 

17 ‘‘(D) the Inspector General of the Small 

18 Business Administration; 

19 ‘‘(E) the Inspector General of the Depart20 ment of the Treasury; 

21 ‘‘(F) the Inspector General of the Depart22 ment of Transportation; 

23 ‘‘(G) the Treasury Inspector General for 

24 Tax Administration; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4036 IS

1 ‘‘(H) the Inspector General of the Depart2 ment of Veterans Affairs; 

3 ‘‘(I) the Inspector General of the Depart4 ment of Commerce; 

5 ‘‘(J) the Inspector General of the Depart6 ment of Justice; 

7 ‘‘(K) the Inspector General of the Depart8 ment of Defense; 

9 ‘‘(L) the Inspector General of the Depart10 ment of Education; 

11 ‘‘(M) the Inspector General of the Depart12 ment of Homeland Security; and 

13 ‘‘(N) any other Inspector General, as des14 ignated by the Chairperson, from any agency 

15 that expends or obligates covered funds. 

16 ‘‘(5) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be an Ex18 ecutive Director of the Committee. 

19 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT; QUALIFICATIONS.— 

20 The Executive Director of the Committee 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) be appointed by the Chairperson 

23 of the Committee, in consultation with the 

24 majority leader of the Senate, the Speaker 

25 of the House of Representatives, the miVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Apr 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4036.IS S4036

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4036 IS

1 nority leader of the Senate, and the minor2 ity leader of the House of Representatives; 

3 ‘‘(ii) have demonstrated ability in ac4 counting, auditing, financial analysis, law, 

5 management analysis, public administra6 tion, or investigations; 

7 ‘‘(iii) have experience managing over8 sight of large organizations and expendi9 tures; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) be full-time employees of the 

11 Committee. 

12 ‘‘(C) DUTIES.—The Executive Director of 

13 the Committee shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) report directly to the Chair15 person; 

16 ‘‘(ii) appoint staff of the Committee, 

17 subject to the approval of the Chairperson, 

18 consistent with this subsection; 

19 ‘‘(iii) supervise and coordinate Com20 mittee functions and staff; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) perform any other duties as22 signed to the Executive Director by the 

23 Committee. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4036 IS

1 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITION ON ADDITIONAL COMPENSA2 TION.—Members of the Committee may not receive 

3 additional compensation for services performed. 

4 ‘‘(7) DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

6 conduct oversight of covered funds and support 

7 Inspectors General in the oversight of covered 

8 funds in order to— 

9 ‘‘(i) detect and prevent fraud, waste, 

10 abuse, and mismanagement; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) identify major risks that cut 

12 across programs and agency boundaries. 

13 ‘‘(B) GENERAL FUNCTIONS.—The Com14 mittee, in coordination with relevant Inspectors 

15 General, may— 

16 ‘‘(i) provide support to, and collabo17 rate with, relevant Inspectors General in 

18 conducting investigations, audits, and re19 views relating to covered funds, including 

20 through— 

21 ‘‘(I) data analytics; 

22 ‘‘(II) the sharing of data, tools, 

23 and services; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 4036 IS

1 ‘‘(III) the development and en2 hancement of data practices, analysis, 

3 and visualization; and 

4 ‘‘(IV) any other appropriate 

5 means as determined by the Com6 mittee; 

7 ‘‘(ii) provide analytical products to 

8 agencies, in coordination with Inspectors 

9 General, to promote program integrity, 

10 prevent improper payments, and facilitate 

11 verification efforts to ensure proper ex12 penditure and utilization of covered funds; 

13 ‘‘(iii) review the economy, efficiency, 

14 and effectiveness in the administration of, 

15 and the detection of fraud, waste, abuse, 

16 and mismanagement in, programs and op17 erations using covered funds; 

18 ‘‘(iv) review whether there are appro19 priate mechanisms for interagency collabo20 ration relating to the oversight of covered 

21 funds, including coordinating and collabo22 rating to the extent practicable with State 

23 and local government entities; and 

24 ‘‘(v) expeditiously report to the Attor25 ney General any instance in which the 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 4036 IS

1 Committee has reasonable grounds to be2 lieve there has been a violation of Federal 

3 criminal law. 

4 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—The Com5 mittee may provide investigative support to 

6 prosecutive and enforcement authorities to pro7 tect program integrity and prevent, detect, and 

8 prosecute fraud of covered funds. 

9 ‘‘(D) REPORTING.— 

10 ‘‘(i) ALERTS.—The Committee shall 

11 submit to the President and Congress, in12 cluding the appropriate congressional com13 mittees, management alerts on potential 

14 management, risk, and funding problems 

15 that require immediate attention. 

16 ‘‘(ii) REPORTS AND UPDATES.—The 

17 Committee shall submit to Congress such 

18 other reports or provide such periodic up19 dates on the work of the Committee as the 

20 Committee considers appropriate on the 

21 use of covered funds. 

22 ‘‘(iii) BIANNUAL REPORTS.—The 

23 Committee shall submit biannual reports 

24 to the President and Congress, including 

25 the appropriate congressional committees, 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 4036 IS

1 and may submit additional reports as ap2 propriate summarizing the findings of the 

3 Committee and any recommended changes 

4 to the scope of covered funds. 

5 ‘‘(iv) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—All re6 ports submitted under this subparagraph 

7 shall be made publicly available and posted 

8 on the website established under paragraph 

9 (16). 

10 ‘‘(v) REDACTIONS.—Any portion of a 

11 report submitted under this paragraph 

12 may be redacted when made publicly avail13 able, if that portion would disclose infor14 mation that is not subject to disclosure 

15 under sections 552 and 552a of this title, 

16 or is otherwise prohibited from disclosure 

17 by law. 

18 ‘‘(E) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Committee 

20 shall make recommendations to agencies 

21 on measures to prevent or address fraud, 

22 waste, abuse and mismanagement, and to 

23 mitigate risks that cut across programs 

24 and agency boundaries, relating to covered 

25 funds. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 4036 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—Not later than 30 

2 days after receipt of a recommendation 

3 under clause (i), an agency shall submit a 

4 report to the President and the appro5 priate congressional committees on— 

6 ‘‘(I) whether the agency agrees 

7 or disagrees with the recommenda8 tions; and 

9 ‘‘(II) any actions the agency will 

10 take to implement the recommenda11 tions, which shall also be included in 

12 the report required under section 2(b) 

13 of the GAO–IG Act (31 U.S.C. 1105 

14 note; Public Law 115–414). 

15 ‘‘(8) AUTHORITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

17 duties and functions under this subsection with 

18 respect to the oversight of covered funds, the 

19 Committee shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) carry out those duties and func21 tions in accordance with section 404(b)(1) 

22 of this title; 

23 ‘‘(ii) in coordination with relevant In24 spectors General, have the authorities pro25 vided under and be subject to paragraphs 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 4036 IS

1 (1) through (4) of subsection (a) and sub2 sections (h), (j), and (k) of section 406; 

3 ‘‘(iii) be considered to be conducting 

4 civil or criminal law enforcement activity 

5 for the purposes of section 552a(b)(7) of 

6 this title; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) for the purposes of sections 552 

8 and 552a of this title, be considered to be 

9 a component which performs as its prin10 cipal function an activity pertaining to the 

11 enforcement of criminal laws, and its 

12 records may constitute investigatory mate13 rial compiled for law enforcement pur14 poses. 

15 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON SUBPOENA AUTHOR16 ITY.—When carrying out subpoena authority 

17 under section 406(a)(4) of this title, the fol18 lowing limitations shall apply to the Committee: 

19 ‘‘(i) Any subpoena issued under this 

20 subsection shall be signed by the Chair21 person of the Committee, and this power is 

22 non-delegable. 

23 ‘‘(ii) On a quarterly basis, the Com24 mittee shall notify the Committee on 

25 Homeland Security and Governmental AfVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Apr 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4036.IS S4036

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 4036 IS

1 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

2 Oversight and Accountability of the House 

3 of Representatives of any subpoenas issued 

4 during the preceding quarter. 

5 ‘‘(iii) The authority to issue a sub6 poena under this subsection shall termi7 nate on the date that is 5 years after the 

8 date of enactment of this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(9) REFUSAL OF INFORMATION OR ASSIST10 ANCE.—Whenever information or assistance re11 quested by the Committee or an Inspector General 

12 is unreasonably refused or not provided, the Com13 mittee shall immediately report the circumstances to 

14 the appropriate congressional committees. 

15 ‘‘(10) USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES.—The 

16 Committee shall leverage existing information tech17 nology resources within the Council, such as over18 sight.gov and those developed by the Pandemic Re19 sponse Accountability Committee established under 

20 section 15010 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116– 

21 136; 135 Stat. 533), to carry out the duties of the 

22 Committee. 

23 ‘‘(11) CONTRACTS.—The Committee may enter 

24 into contracts to enable the Committee to discharge 

25 its duties, including contracts and other arrangeVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Apr 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4036.IS S4036

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 4036 IS

1 ments for audits, studies, analyses, and other serv2 ices with public agencies and with private persons, 

3 and make such payments as may be necessary to 

4 carry out the duties of the Committee. 

5 ‘‘(12) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Committee may 

6 establish subcommittees to facilitate the ability of 

7 the Committee to discharge its duties. 

8 ‘‘(13) TRANSFER OF FUNDS, ASSETS, AND OB9 LIGATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) FUNDS.—The Committee may trans11 fer funds appropriated to the Committee— 

12 ‘‘(i) for expenses to support adminis13 trative support services and audits, re14 views, or other activities related to over15 sight by the Committee of covered funds to 

16 any Office of the Inspector General or the 

17 General Services Administration; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) to reimburse for services pro19 vided by the Council. 

20 ‘‘(B) ASSETS AND OBLIGATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) ASSETS DEFINED.—In this sub22 paragraph, the term ‘assets’ includes con23 tracts, agreements, facilities, property, 

24 data, records, unobligated or unexpended 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 4036 IS

1 balances of appropriations, and other 

2 funds or resources (other than personnel). 

3 ‘‘(ii) TRANSFER.—Upon the effective 

4 date of this subsection, the assets and obli5 gations held by or available in connection 

6 with the Pandemic Response Account7 ability Committee established under 15010 

8 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136; 

9 135 Stat. 540) shall be transferred to the 

10 Committee. 

11 ‘‘(14) ADDITIONAL STAFF.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (B), the Committee may exercise the au14 thorities of subsections (b) through (i) of sec15 tion 3161 of this title (without regard to sub16 section (a) of that section) to meet temporary 

17 or urgent needs of the Committee under this 

18 subsection, as certified by the Chairperson to 

19 the appropriate congressional committees that 

20 such temporary or urgent needs exist, as if the 

21 Committee were a temporary organization. 

22 ‘‘(B) HEAD OF ORGANIZATION.—For pur23 poses of exercising the authorities described in 

24 subparagraph (A), the term ‘Chairperson’ shall 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 4036 IS

1 be substituted for the term ‘head of a tem2 porary organization’. 

3 ‘‘(C) CONSULTATION.—In exercising the 

4 authorities described in subparagraph (A), the 

5 Chairperson shall consult with members of the 

6 Committee. 

7 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL DETAILEES.—In addi8 tion to the authority provided by section 

9 3161(c) of this title, upon the request of an In10 spector General, the Committee may detail, on 

11 a nonreimbursable basis, any personnel of the 

12 Committee to that Inspector General to assist 

13 in carrying out any audit, review, or investiga14 tion pertaining to the oversight of covered 

15 funds. 

16 ‘‘(E) LIMITATIONS.—In exercising the em17 ployment authorities under section 3161(b) of 

18 this title, as provided under subparagraph (A) 

19 of this paragraph— 

20 ‘‘(i) section 3161(b)(2) of this title 

21 (relating to periods of appointments) shall 

22 not apply; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) no period of appointment may 

24 exceed the date on which the Committee 

25 terminates. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 4036 IS

1 ‘‘(F) COMPETITIVE SERVICE.—A person 

2 employed by the Committee shall acquire com3 petitive status and conditional tenure for ap4 pointment to any position in the competitive 

5 service for which the employee possesses the re6 quired qualifications upon the completion of 2 

7 years of continuous service as an employee 

8 under this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(G) ANNUITANTS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Committee 

11 may employ annuitants covered by section 

12 9902(g) of this title for purposes of the 

13 oversight of covered funds. 

14 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF ANNUITANTS.— 

15 The employment of annuitants under this 

16 paragraph shall be subject to the provi17 sions of section 9902(g) of this title, as if 

18 the Committee was the Department of De19 fense. 

20 ‘‘(15) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) REQUESTS.—Upon request of the 

22 Committee for information or assistance from 

23 any agency or other entity of the Federal Gov24 ernment, the head of such entity shall, insofar 

25 as is practicable and not in contravention of 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 4036 IS

1 any existing law, and consistent with section 

2 406 of this title, furnish such information or as3 sistance to the Committee, or an authorized 

4 designee, including an Inspector General des5 ignated by the Chairperson. 

6 ‘‘(B) INSPECTORS GENERAL.—Any Inspec7 tor General responsible for conducting oversight 

8 related to covered funds may, consistent with 

9 the duties, responsibilities, policies, and proce10 dures of the Inspector General, provide infor11 mation requested by the Committee or an In12 spector General on the Committee relating to 

13 the responsibilities of the Committee. 

14 ‘‘(16) WEBSITE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

16 days after the date of enactment of this sub17 section, the Committee shall establish and 

18 maintain a user-friendly, public-facing 

19 website— 

20 ‘‘(i) to foster greater accountability 

21 and transparency in the use of covered 

22 funds, which shall have a uniform resource 

23 locator that is descriptive and memorable; 

24 and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 4036 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) that shall be a portal or gateway 

2 to key information relating to the oversight 

3 of covered funds and provide connections 

4 to other Government websites with related 

5 information. 

6 ‘‘(17) COORDINATION.—The Committee shall 

7 coordinate its oversight activities with the Comp8 troller General of the United States and State audi9 tors. 

10 ‘‘(18) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

11 this subsection shall be construed to— 

12 ‘‘(A) affect the independent authority of an 

13 Inspector General to determine whether to con14 duct an audit or investigation of covered funds; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(B) require the Council or any Inspector 

17 General to provide funding to support the ac18 tivities of the Committee. 

19 ‘‘(19) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 For the purposes of carrying out the mission of the 

21 Committee under this subsection, there are author22 ized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec23 essary to carry out the duties and functions of the 

24 Committee.’’. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 4036 IS

1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act and the amend2 ments made by this Act shall take effect on September 

3 30, 2025. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS