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[Senate Report 112-159]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

112th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     112-159
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                       Calendar No. 363

 
        GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2011

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                 S. 237

    TO AMEND TITLE 31, UNITED STATES CODE, TO ENHANCE THE OVERSIGHT 
     AUTHORITIES OF THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

   April 24 (legislative day, April 23), 2012.--Ordered to be printed
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

               JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman

CARL LEVIN, Michigan                 SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii              TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas              JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana          RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
JON TESTER, Montana                  RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MARK BEGICH, Alaska                  JERRY MORAN, Kansas

                  Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
       Beth M. Grossman, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel
                      Jonathan M. Kraden, Counsel
               Nickolas A. Rossi, Minority Staff Director
                Mark B. LeDuc, Minority General Counsel
           Clyde E. Hicks, Minority Professional Staff Member
                  Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk

                                                       Calendar No. 363
112th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     112-159

======================================================================

        GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2011

                                _______
                                

   April 24 (legislative day, April 23, 2012).--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 237]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 237) to amend title 
31, United States Code, to enhance the oversight authorities of 
the Comptroller General, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments 
and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................5
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................6
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................7
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................7
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............8

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 237, the Government Accountability Office Improvement 
Act of 2011, responds to efforts by the executive branch to 
restrict the ability of the Government Accountability Office 
(GAO) to aid Congress in performing its oversight functions. 
GAO is a legislative branch agency that helps Congress by, 
among other things, investigating Federal agencies' 
implementation of Federal programs. The bill both confirms and 
enhances GAO's investigative powers by putting a statutory stop 
to several steps taken by the executive branch to curtail GAO's 
authority. Specifically, it makes clear that the Comptroller 
General (the head of GAO) has standing to pursue litigation to 
compel access to Federal agency information; GAO has the right 
to make and retain copies of agency records; GAO can administer 
oaths to witnesses when conducting certain types of 
investigations; and GAO has the authority to access specific 
categories of records that have been denied to GAO by the 
Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug 
Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, and the 
Department of Justice. S. 237 also confirms GAO's 
responsibility to protect sensitive information and requires 
GAO to prescribe the policies necessary to protect proprietary 
or trade secret information from public disclosure.

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    In order to carry out its constitutional responsibilities, 
the Congress must have information about the need for future 
Federal legislation, as well as how current Federal programs 
are working. Congress often relies on GAO to help seek, process 
and analyze that information. GAO evaluates Federal programs 
and activities, and it informs Congress, executive agencies, 
and the public whether the government and those involved in 
implementing Federal programs are doing their jobs well, or are 
instead running Federal programs in a manner that makes them 
vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. GAO's 
audits, evaluations and reports provide reliable assessments as 
to whether the taxpayers are receiving full value from 
important government programs.
    To carry out this role, Congress long ago gave GAO a 
statutory right of access to information and records in the 
possession of Federal agencies. Although GAO has faced sporadic 
executive branch resistance throughout its history, several 
efforts by the executive branch have more significantly 
jeopardized GAO's ability to give Congress the information it 
needs to legislate effectively, conduct meaningful oversight, 
and audit the use of appropriated funds. Since existing law is 
sufficient authorization for GAO to obtain executive branch 
information, this denial of information is unjustified. S. 237 
is intended to increase the effectiveness of GAO by ensuring 
that GAO is not unreasonably restricted in its efforts to 
secure necessary information in the course of performing its 
auditing and investigative functions for the Congress.

    STANDING TO BRING CIVIL ACTION TO COMPEL PRODUCTION OF MATERIAL

    To begin with, S. 237 responds to a judicial decision that 
threw into doubt GAO's authority to compel production of 
material from the executive branch.\1\ In 1980, Congress passed 
legislation authorizing the Comptroller General to ``bring a 
civil action in the district court of the United States for the 
District of Columbia to require the head of the agency to 
produce a record[.]''\2\ In February, 2002, GAO sought to use 
that authority after then-Vice President Cheney's energy task 
force refused to give GAO records it requested. The U.S. 
District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed GAO's 
suit.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Walker v. Cheney, 230 F. Supp. 2d 51 (D.D.C. 2002).
    \2\Pub. L. No. 96-226, codified at 31 U.S.C. Sec. 716(b)(2).
    \3\Walker v. Cheney, 230 F. Supp. 2d 51 (D.D.C. 2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In dismissing GAO's lawsuit, the Court did not rule on the 
merits of GAO's basic statutory authority to conduct this 
particular audit or to obtain access to the records in 
question. Rather, the Court held that the Comptroller General 
did not have standing to file the lawsuit, finding that the 
Comptroller General did not suffer an ``injury in fact.'' The 
Court found that the Comptroller General suffered no 
institutional injury because the Comptroller General, acting as 
an agent of Congress, could suffer only the same injury as 
Congress and that Congress' injury was too ``vague and 
amorphous'' to confer standing.
    The decision in Walker v. Cheney is inconsistent with the 
Comptroller General's role and responsibility as set forth in 
GAO's statute and the Congress' intent when enacting it. The 
decision undermines GAO's ability to successfully carry out the 
investigative responsibilities delegated to it by Congress as 
well as Congress' constitutional prerogatives to determine how 
best to carry out its oversight responsibilities. Both GAO and 
Congress face cognizable injury when the Comptroller General is 
denied access to agency records sought to fulfill his statutory 
mission to inform Congress. This ``informational'' injury is 
sufficient to satisfy the constitutional requirement of a 
justiciable ``case or controversy'' to enable the Comptroller 
General to pursue a civil action to enforce GAO's statutory 
right to access agency records to fulfill its reporting 
responsibilities to Congress. S. 237 reaffirms and makes 
explicit the authorization that Congress gave to the 
Comptroller General to redress the injury-in-fact sustained 
when agencies improperly withhold material from GAO, by 
initiating a lawsuit, without the need for additional approval.
    It is this Committee's expectation that before pursuing 
such litigation the Comptroller General will, as he did prior 
to filing Walker v. Cheney, first exhaust other avenues that 
are available to obtain the necessary information. Should such 
attempts fail, however, it is the intention of Congress to 
allow the Comptroller General to seek a judicial remedy to 
enforce GAO's right to information under the law.

      STATUTORY RIGHT TO MAKE AND RETAIN COPIES OF AGENCY RECORDS

    S. 237 also reaffirms that GAO has the statutory right not 
only to inspect agency records,\4\ but also to make and retain 
copies of agency records. A number of court precedents have 
established that the statutory right to inspect a record 
implies the right to inspect them in an effective manner, which 
would include the copying of documents.\5\ In order for GAO to 
effectively carry out its statutory responsibilities, it is 
necessary for GAO to make and retain copies of such records. At 
times, however, GAO has found its audit, evaluation, and 
investigative efforts frustrated and delayed by agencies that 
insist that GAO review records only on site, without making 
copies, even in situations that do not involve sensitive 
information or any other practical justifications for denying 
GAO the ability to copy necessary records. Accordingly, S. 237 
specifies that GAO has a right to make and retain copies of 
records.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\31 U.S.C. Sec. 716(a).
    \5\See Westside Ford, Inc. v. United States, 206 F.2d 627, 634 (9th 
Cir. 1953); Riley v. McGarry, 248 F. Supp. 545 (D. Mass. 1966).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

             EXPANDING GAO'S AUTHORITY TO ADMINISTER OATHS

    S. 237 further strengthens GAO's investigative powers by 
expanding the Comptroller General's authority to administer 
oaths. Presently, the Comptroller General may administer oaths 
only ``when auditing and settling accounts.''\6\ When GAO was 
established in 1921 as the General Accounting Office, its 
principal focus was auditing accounts, but that is no longer 
the case. Congress has since called upon the Comptroller 
General to perform many other audit, investigative, and 
evaluative roles. These roles periodically entail situations 
involving potential fraud or attempts to defraud the United 
States or irregularities or misconduct of an employee or agent 
of the United States. The government has a critical interest in 
obtaining truthful and complete testimony from those with whom 
GAO speaks in the course of such investigations. Authorizing 
GAO to administer oaths in such cases will ensure that those 
talking to GAO fully understand the importance of truthful 
testimony as well as the potential consequences to themselves 
if they do not truthfully testify. When investigating such 
matters, the ability to administer oaths can be an important 
tool for the Comptroller General to accomplish GAO's work for 
the Congress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\31 U.S.C. Sec. 711(4).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                 GAO ACCESS TO SPECIFIC AGENCY RECORDS

    Finally, S. 237 addresses longstanding problems GAO has 
faced with certain Federal agencies that have resisted GAO 
scrutiny. Four Federal agencies in particular have asserted 
that the failure of their authorizing statutes specifically to 
identify GAO as an approved recipient of documents acts as an 
implicit exception to the broad authorization GAO's governing 
statute gives it to obtain agency material. The bill makes 
clear that GAO's governing statute trumps the agency-specific 
ones, affirming GAO's existing right to access information at 
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Food and 
Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 
and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
    For example, HHS has construed the Social Security Act as 
precluding GAO access to the National Directory of New Hires, a 
database of employment information critical to investigations 
of fraud in certain Social Security Act programs, because GAO 
is not expressly listed as an authorized recipient of the data. 
The new 31 U.S.C. Sec. 721(a) would prohibit HHS from denying 
or limiting GAO's access to any material merely because 
governing statutes do not expressly identify GAO as a recipient 
of information or provide for its access to information, 
thereby confirming GAO's existing statutory right of access in 
these types of cases.
    Similarly, the FDA has construed a provision of the Federal 
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to authorize it to disclose trade 
secrets information to GAO only for studies requested by a 
chair of a committee or subcommittee of jurisdiction, and only 
when the requests specifically refer to GAO's need for trade 
secrets information. FDA does not separate trade secrets 
information from other information on regulated entities that 
is needed for audits and investigations and, thus, according to 
GAO, FDA's view has adversely affected GAO's access to a wide 
range of information beyond trade secrets. Gaining access to 
needed information has involved time-consuming procedural 
steps, including the redaction of trade secrets information, 
and substantial delays in GAO's work. The new section 721(b) 
would remove any doubt as to GAO's authority to obtain trade 
secrets information from the FDA, regardless of who initiated 
the project for which GAO seeks the information.
    The FTC and the DOJ have denied GAO information based on 
their reading of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, which requires 
companies to file information with the FTC and DOJ before 
mergers and other transactions can be consummated. The FTC and 
DOJ have routinely denied GAO access to pre-merger information 
and argue that the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and related case law 
permit them to provide such information only to a Congressional 
Committee or Subcommittee Chair. The Committee believes that 
GAO already should have access to these pre-merger filings 
under GAO's basic access authority, but the bill, by adding new 
section 31 U.S.C. Sec. 721(c), makes GAO's authority to obtain 
this information from the FTC and the DOJ indisputably clear.
    The Committee recognizes GAO's exemplary record of 
protecting the most sensitive information it routinely obtains 
from agencies across government--ranging from highly classified 
national security documents to taxpayer return information--and 
the Committee is confident that GAO will rigorously maintain 
the confidentiality of information obtained under these new 
sections.

           APPLICATION OF GAO AUTHORITIES TO JUDICIAL BRANCH

    S. 237 responds primarily to long-standing problems GAO has 
faced in its efforts to obtain information and material from 
executive branch agencies. During the Committee's consideration 
of the bill, the Judicial Conference of the United States 
expressed concerns about how these authorities would apply to 
it. It shared its view that the judicial branch has a unique 
role, structure, operations, and mission different from that of 
the executive branch. It believes that questions remain 
regarding the appropriate process and procedures under which 
GAO accesses and obtains certain information from the judicial 
branch. Those questions are outside the immediate scope of this 
bill. The Committee expects GAO, in consultation with the 
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) and other 
appropriate entities, to develop GAO protocols outlining the 
procedures it will follow in future reviews relating to the 
judicial branch. GAO and the AOUSC should inform this and other 
relevant Committees when they have completed this effort and 
whether they believe additional legislative action is 
warranted.

                        III. Legislative History

    Senators McCaskill and Collins introduced S. 237 on, 
January 31, 2011. The bill was read twice and referred to the 
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 
Chairman Lieberman cosponsored the bill. As introduced, S. 237 
was identical to S. 2991, as favorably reported by the 
Committee in the 111th Congress.
    The Committee considered S. 237 on October 19, 2011. The 
Committee first adopted by voice vote an amendment to the bill 
offered by Senator Coburn and then by voice vote ordered the 
bill favorably reported as amended. Members present for both 
votes were Senators Lieberman, Akaka, Carper, Pryor, McCaskill, 
Begich, Collins, Brown, Johnson and Moran.
    The amendment offered by Senator Coburn added a new section 
to the bill requiring GAO to notify Congress if an agency does 
not comply with a GAO request for information within 30 days 
after receipt of the request.

               IV. Section-by-Section Summary of the Bill

Section 1: Short title

    The short title of the bill is the ``Government 
Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2011.''

Section 2: Authority to obtain records

    Section 2(a) amends 31 U.S.C. Sec. 716(a) to explicitly 
reaffirm that Congress has authorized GAO to pursue civil 
actions if Federal agencies withhold records from GAO.
    Section 2(b) also amends 31 U.S.C. Sec. 716(a) to make 
clear that the Comptroller General has the right not only to 
inspect agency records, but also to make and retain copies of 
such records.

Section 3: Administering oaths

    Section 3 amends 31 U.S.C. Sec. 711 to modernize the 
Comptroller General's authority, subject to appropriate 
safeguards, to administer oaths to witnesses in specific types 
of GAO investigations. Section 3 amends GAO's existing 
authority to allow the Comptroller General to administer oaths 
to witnesses when investigating fraud, attempts to defraud the 
United States, or irregularities or misconduct by a Federal 
employee or agent.

Section 4: Access to certain information

    Section 4(a) adds a new statutory section, 31 U.S.C. 
Sec. 721, which makes clear that the Social Security Act, the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the Hart-Scott-Rodino 
Act do not limit GAO's right of access to information.
    New Section 721(a) confirms GAO's existing authority to 
review information at the Department of Health and Human 
Services, including the National Directory of New Hires.
    New Section 721(b) confirms GAO's existing authority to 
review trade secret information held by the Food and Drug 
Administration.
    New Section 721(c) confirms that GAO has the authority to 
access pre-merger filing information with the Federal Trade 
Commission and the Department of Justice.
    New Section 721(d), in recognition of the sensitivity of 
the information that agencies may provide to GAO, requires GAO 
to prescribe policies and procedures necessary to protect 
proprietary or trade secrets information from public 
disclosure. It also states that it does not modify 18 U.S.C. 
Sec. 1905, which prohibits the disclosure of trade secrets and 
other sensitive information, or affect the applicability of 31 
U.S.C. Sec. 716(e), which requires GAO to safeguard the 
confidentiality of information and also protects against 
unauthorized disclosure.
    New Section 721(e) makes clear that the references to 
specific statutory provisions in this section are not intended 
to affect GAO's access to information under existing statutes 
that are not specifically identified in the new section 721. 
The Committee expects that agencies will treat situations 
covered by the new section 721 and analogous situations not 
expressly addressed in a similar manner, thus giving full 
effect to GAO's existing right of access and facilitating 
rather than impeding congressional oversight.

Section 5: Notice to Congress if agencies do not provide requested 
        information

    This section adds a new statutory section, 31 U.S.C. 
Sec. 722, which requires GAO to notify Congress if an agency 
fails to respond within 30 days to a GAO request for 
information. The new section requires that any notice of an 
agency's failure to respond to a request for information should 
be provided to any Committee(s) or Member(s) of Congress who 
made a request to GAO that is relevant to the information 
requested from the agency. The Committee anticipates that this 
new notice requirement will provide an incentive for agencies 
to provide requested information to GAO in a timely manner.

Section 6: Agency reports

    This section amends 31 U.S.C. Sec. 720(b) to give agencies 
more flexibility in reporting to Congress on their responses to 
GAO recommendations. Currently, agencies must report two months 
after issuance of a GAO report on ``action taken.'' This 
provision allows the agency to report on actions ``planned'' or 
taken in response to a GAO recommendation. In addition, the 
section expands the list of recipients of an agency report to 
include GAO and the congressional committees of jurisdiction 
over the agency program or activity that is the subject of the 
recommendation.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. The Committee 
agrees with the Congressional Budget Office that the bill 
contains no intergovernmental or private sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not 
affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. The 
enactment of this legislation will not have significant 
regulatory impact.

             VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, October 27, 2011.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 237, the Government 
Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2011.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

S. 237--Government Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2011

    S. 237 would provide additional authorities to the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO), including the ability 
to obtain certain records and information, and to administer 
oaths. The legislation also would require GAO to establish 
procedures to protect certain proprietary information that it 
collects when carrying out its responsibilities and report on 
agencies that do not provide information requested by GAO.
    CBO expects that complying with the bill's provisions would 
increase the administrative costs of the GAO. We estimate, 
however, that implementing S. 237 would cost less than $500,000 
annually, assuming the availability of appropriated funds. 
Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    S. 237 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      VII. Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the following changes in existing 
law made by S. 237, as reported, are shown as follows (existing 
law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman).

                      TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE

                          Subtitle I--General

              CHAPTER 7--GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

Subchapter I--Definitions and General Organization

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Section
701. Definitions

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

721. Access to certain information.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SEC. 711. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

    The Comptroller General may--
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          [(4) administer oaths to witnesses when auditing and 
        settling accounts.]
          (4) administer oaths to witnesses when auditing and 
        settling accounts and, with the prior express approval 
        of the Comptroller General, when investigating fraud or 
        attempts to defraud the United States, or irregularity 
        or misconduct of an employee or agent of the United 
        States. 

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                      TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE

                          Subtitle I--General

              CHAPTER 7--GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

Subchapter II--General Duties and Powers

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SEC. 716. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION AND INSPECTION OF RECORDS.

    (a)(1) The Comptroller General is authorized to obtain such 
agency records as the Comptroller General requires to discharge 
his duties (including audit, evaluation, and investigative 
duties), including through the bringing of civil actions under 
this section. In reviewing a civil action in this section, the 
court shall recognize the continuing force and effect of the 
authorization in the preceding sentence until such time as the 
authorization is repealed pursuant to law.
    [(a)](2) Each agency shall give the Comptroller General 
information the Comptroller General requires about the duties, 
powers, activities, organization, and financial transactions of 
the agency. The Comptroller General may [inspect an agency 
record] inspect, and make and retain copies of, an agency 
record to get the information. This subsection does not apply 
to expenditures made under section 3524 or 3526(e) of this 
title.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SEC. 720. AGENCY REPORTS.

    (a) * * *
    (b) When the Comptroller General makes a report that 
includes a recommendation to the head of an agency, the head of 
the agency shall submit a written statement on action taken or 
planned on the recommendation by the head of the agency. The 
statement shall be submitted to--
          [(1) the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Government Operations of 
        the House of Representatives before the 61st day after 
        the date of the report; and]
          (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on 
        Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
        Representatives, the congressional committees with 
        jurisdiction over the agency program or activity that 
        is the subject of the recommendation, and the 
        Government Accountability Office before the 61st day 
        after the date of the report; and
          (2) the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses 
        of Congress in the first request for appropriations 
        submitted more than 60 days after the date of the 
        report.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SEC. 721. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.

    (a) No provision of the Social Security Act, including 
section 453(1) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 653(1)), shall be 
construed to limit, amend or supersede the authority of the 
Comptroller General to obtain any information or to inspect or 
copy any record under section 716 of this title.
    (b) No provision of the Federal, Food, Drug and Cosmetic 
Act, including section 301(j) of that Act (21 U.S.C. 331(j)), 
shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority 
of the Comptroller General to obtain any information or to 
inspect or copy any record under section 716 of this title.
    (c) No provision of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust 
Improvements Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-435) and the amendments 
made by that Act shall be construed to limit, amend, or 
supersede the authority of the Comptroller General to obtain 
any information or to inspect or copy any record under section 
716 of this title, including with respect to any information 
disclosed to the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust 
Division of the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade 
Commission for purposes of pre-merger review under section 7A 
of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a).
    (d)(1) The Comptroller General shall prescribe such 
policies and procedures as are necessary to protect from public 
disclosure proprietary or trade secret information obtained 
consistent with this section.
    (2) Nothing in this section shall be construed--
          (A) to alter or amend the prohibitions against the 
        disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive 
        information prohibited by section 1905 of title 18 and 
        other applicable laws; or
          (B) to affect the applicability of section 716(e) of 
        this title, including the protections against 
        unauthorized disclosure contained in that section, to 
        information obtained consistent with this section.
    (e) Specific references to statutes in this section shall 
not be construed to affect access by the Government 
Accountability Office to information under statutes that are 
not so referenced.

SEC. 722. NOTICE TO CONGRESS IF AGENCIES DO NOT PROVIDE REQUESTED 
                    INFORMATION.

    If in the discharge of the official duties of the 
Comptroller General (including any audit, evaluation, or 
investigative duties) relating to any request from a committee 
of Congress or a Member of Congress, the Comptroller General 
requests information from an agency and the agency does not 
provide that information within 30 days after the date of 
receiving the request, the Comptroller General shall submit 
notice that the agency has not provided the information to the 
Comptroller General to--
          (1) any committee of Congress that made the related 
        request to the Comptroller General; or
          (2) any Member of Congress who made the related 
        request to the Comptroller General.

                                  
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