I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3848 

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to provide authority for Inspectors General to subpoena former agency employees, agency contractors, 

and employees of contractors for testimony, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 20, 2009 

Mr. CONYERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to provide 

authority for Inspectors General to subpoena former 

agency employees, agency contractors, and employees of 

contractors for testimony, 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 Au5 thority Improvement Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SUBPOENA AUTHORITY FOR INSPECTORS GENERAL 

2 TO REQUIRE TESTIMONY OF CERTAIN PER3 SONS. 

4 Section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) at the end of paragraph (8), by strik8 ing ‘‘and’’; 

9 (B) at the end of paragraph (9), by strik10 ing the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(10) to require by subpoena the testimony of 

14 certain persons, as provided in subsection (g).’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub16 section: 

17 ‘‘(g)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), each Inspector 

18 General of an establishment, in carrying out the provisions 

19 of this Act, is authorized to issue a subpoena to require 

20 any individual who is— 

21 ‘‘(A) a former employee of the establishment; 

22 ‘‘(B) a former employee of a contractor (or sub23 contractor at any tier under the contractor) of the 

24 establishment; or 

25 ‘‘(C) a former contractor (or subcontractor at 

26 any tier under the contractor) of the establishment; 


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1 to provide testimony by deposition that relates to matters 

2 occurring in connection with that individual’s employment 

3 with the establishment or status as a contractor or em4 ployee of a contractor (or subcontractor) of the establish5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(2)(A) A subpoena issued under paragraph (1) shall 

7 provide reasonable notice to the individual whose testi8 mony is sought and shall state the name of that individual 

9 and the place of taking the testimony. 

10 ‘‘(B) The testimony sought through a subpoena 

11 issued under paragraph (1) shall be taken under oath. The 

12 Inspector General shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, 

13 a transcript of the testimony taken. 

14 ‘‘(C) An individual whose testimony is taken pursu15 ant to a subpoena issued under paragraph (1) is entitled 

16 to the same fees and mileage paid for those services in 

17 the courts of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(3)(A) At least 7 days before issuing a subpoena 

19 under this subsection, an Inspector General shall notify 

20 the Attorney General of the subpoena and the nature of 

21 the testimony sought. 

22 ‘‘(B) The Inspector General may not issue the sub23 poena if the Attorney General informs the Inspector Gen24 eral, within 7 days after receipt of the notification under 

25 subparagraph (A), that the Attorney General objects to 


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1 the issuance of the subpoena on one or more of the 

2 grounds listed in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph 

3 (C). 

4 ‘‘(C) If the Attorney General objects to the issuance 

5 of the subpoena and informs the Inspector General as de6 scribed in subparagraph (B), the Attorney General shall, 

7 within 30 days after receipt of the notification under sub8 paragraph (A), find in writing that the taking of the testi9 mony— 

10 ‘‘(i) is likely to endanger the national security 

11 of the United States; 

12 ‘‘(ii) is likely to interfere with any Federal or 

13 State criminal investigation or prosecution; 

14 ‘‘(iii) is likely to interfere with any civil litiga15 tion to which the United States or any of its agen16 cies is or is likely to be a party; or 

17 ‘‘(iv) otherwise is not authorized by this Act. 

18 ‘‘(4)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any 

19 subpoena issued under this subsection may be enforceable 

20 in the district where the individual whose testimony is 

21 sought by subpoena resides, or, upon consent of the indi22 vidual and the Inspector General, in the District of Colum23 bia or in the district of the individual’s place of employ24 ment when working for the establishment, contractor, or 

25 subcontractor. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A proceeding to enforce a subpoena may be 

2 brought in the United States District Court for the Dis3 trict of Columbia if the individual whose testimony is 

4 sought by the subpoena resides within 25 miles of the Dis5 trict of Columbia and if the complaint seeking enforce6 ment alleges that a significant portion of the matters that 

7 are expected to be the subject of the investigation occurred 

8 in the District of Columbia. 

9 ‘‘(C) The Attorney General shall represent an Office 

10 of Inspector General in the enforcement of a subpoena 

11 under this subsection.’’. 

Æ 


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