114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6450 

AN ACT 

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to strengthen 

the independence of the Inspectors General, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2016’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Additional authority provisions for Inspectors General. 

Sec. 3. Additional responsibilities of the Council of the Inspectors General on 

Integrity and Efficiency. 

Sec. 4. Reports and additional information. 

Sec. 5. Full and prompt access to all documents. 

Sec. 6. Access to information for certain Inspectors General. 

Sec. 7. Technical and conforming amendments. 

Sec. 8. No additional funds authorized. 

6 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY PROVISIONS FOR INSPEC7 TORS GENERAL. 

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

9 U.S.C. App.), as amended by section 5 of this Act, is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(j)(1) In this subsection, the terms ‘agency’, ‘match12 ing program’, ‘record’, and ‘system of records’ have the 

13 meanings given those terms in section 552a(a) of title 5, 

14 United States Code. 

15 ‘‘(2) For purposes of section 552a of title 5, United 

16 States Code, or any other provision of law, a computerized 

17 comparison of two or more automated Federal systems of 

18 records, or a computerized comparison of a Federal sys19 tem of records with other records or non-Federal records, 

20 performed by an Inspector General or by an agency in co21 ordination with an Inspector General in conducting an 
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1 audit, investigation, inspection, evaluation, or other review 

2 authorized under this Act shall not be considered a match3 ing program. 

4 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 

5 impede the exercise by an Inspector General of any match6 ing program authority established under any other provi7 sion of law. 

8 ‘‘(k) Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United 

9 States Code, shall not apply to the collection of informa10 tion during the conduct of an audit, investigation, inspec11 tion, evaluation, or other review conducted by the Council 

12 of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency or 

13 any Office of Inspector General, including any Office of 

14 Special Inspector General.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNCIL 

16 OF THE INSPECTORS GENERAL ON INTEG17 RITY AND EFFICIENCY. 

18 Section 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

19 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b)(3)(B), by amending clause 

21 (viii) to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(viii) prepare and transmit an an23 nual report on behalf of the Council on the 

24 activities of the Council to— 

25 ‘‘(I) the President; 
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1 ‘‘(II) the appropriate committees 

2 of jurisdiction of the Senate and the 

3 House of Representatives; 

4 ‘‘(III) the Committee on Home5 land Security and Governmental Af6 fairs of the Senate; and 

7 ‘‘(IV) the Committee on Over8 sight and Government Reform of the 

9 House of Representatives.’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (c)(1)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

12 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as 

14 subparagraph (I); and 

15 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(H) except for matters coordinated 

18 among Inspectors General under section 3033 

19 of title 50, United States Code, receive, review, 

20 and mediate any disputes submitted in writing 

21 to the Council by an Office of Inspector General 

22 regarding an audit, investigation, inspection, 

23 evaluation, or project that involves the jurisdic24 tion of more than one Office of Inspector Gen25 eral; and’’; and 
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1 (3) in subsection (d)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

3 (i) by striking subparagraph (C); 

4 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

5 (A), (B), and (D) as clauses (i), (ii), and 

6 (iii), respectively, and adjusting the mar7 gins accordingly; 

8 (iii) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

9 as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘The Integ10 rity’’ and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Integrity’’; 

12 (iv) in clause (i), as so redesignated, 

13 by striking ‘‘, who’’ and all that follows 

14 through ‘‘the Committee’’; 

15 (v) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, 

16 by inserting ‘‘or the designee of the Direc17 tor’’ before the period at the end; and 

18 (vi) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(B) CHAIRPERSON.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Integrity 

22 Committee shall elect one of the Inspectors 

23 General referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) 

24 to act as Chairperson of the Integrity 

25 Committee. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) TERM.—The term of office of the 

2 Chairperson of the Integrity Committee 

3 shall be 2 years.’’; 

4 (B) by amending paragraph (5) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(5) REVIEW OF ALLEGATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days 

8 after the date on which the Integrity Committee 

9 receives an allegation of wrongdoing against an 

10 Inspector General or against a staff member of 

11 an Office of Inspector General described under 

12 paragraph (4)(C), the allegation of wrongdoing 

13 shall be reviewed and referred to the Depart14 ment of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel 

15 for investigation, or to the Integrity Committee 

16 for review, as appropriate, by— 

17 ‘‘(i) a representative of the Depart18 ment of Justice, as designated by the At19 torney General; 

20 ‘‘(ii) a representative of the Office of 

21 Special Counsel, as designated by the Spe22 cial Counsel; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) a representative of the Integrity 

24 Committee, as designated by the Chair25 person of the Integrity Committee. 
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1 ‘‘(B) REFERRAL TO THE CHAIRPERSON.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro3 vided in clause (ii), not later than 30 days 

4 after the date on which an allegation of 

5 wrongdoing is referred to the Integrity 

6 Committee under subparagraph (A), the 

7 Integrity Committee shall determine 

8 whether to refer the allegation of wrong9 doing to the Chairperson of the Integrity 

10 Committee to initiate an investigation. 

11 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION.—The 30-day period 

12 described in clause (i) may be extended for 

13 an additional period of 30 days if the In14 tegrity Committee provides written notice 

15 to the congressional committees described 

16 in paragraph (8)(A)(iii) that includes a de17 tailed, case-specific description of why the 

18 additional time is needed to evaluate the 

19 allegation of wrongdoing.’’; 

20 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘paragraph (5)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘para23 graph (5)(B)’’; and 
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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by strik2 ing ‘‘may provide resources’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘shall provide assistance’’; 

4 (D) in paragraph (7)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

6 (I) in clause (i)— 

7 (aa) in subclause (III), by 

8 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (bb) in subclause (IV), by 

10 striking the period at the end 

11 and inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (cc) by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(V) except as provided in clause 

15 (ii), ensuring, to the extent possible, 

16 that investigations are conducted by 

17 Offices of Inspector General of similar 

18 size; 

19 ‘‘(VI) creating a process for rota20 tion of Inspectors General assigned to 

21 investigate allegations through the In22 tegrity Committee; and 

23 ‘‘(VII) creating procedures to 

24 avoid conflicts of interest for Integrity 

25 Committee investigations.’’; 
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1 (II) by redesignating clause (ii) 

2 as clause (iii); and 

3 (III) by inserting after clause (i) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The requirement 

6 under clause (i)(V) shall not apply to any 

7 Office of Inspector General with less than 

8 50 employees who are authorized to con9 duct audits or investigations.’’; 

10 (ii) by striking subparagraph (C); and 

11 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

12 (B) the following: 

13 ‘‘(C) COMPLETION OF INVESTIGATION.—If 

14 an allegation of wrongdoing is referred to the 

15 Chairperson of the Integrity Committee under 

16 paragraph (5)(B), the Chairperson of the Integ17 rity Committee— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall complete the investigation 

19 not later than 150 days after the date on 

20 which the Integrity Committee made the 

21 referral; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) if the investigation cannot be 

23 completed within the 150-day period de24 scribed in clause (i), shall— 
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1 ‘‘(I) promptly notify the congres2 sional committees described in para3 graph (8)(A)(iii); and 

4 ‘‘(II) brief the congressional com5 mittees described in paragraph 

6 (8)(A)(iii) every 30 days regarding the 

7 status of the investigation and the 

8 general reasons for delay until the in9 vestigation is complete. 

10 ‘‘(D) CONCURRENT INVESTIGATION.—If an 

11 allegation of wrongdoing against an Inspector 

12 General or a staff member of an Office of In13 spector General described under paragraph 

14 (4)(C) is referred to the Department of Justice 

15 or the Office of Special Counsel under para16 graph (5)(A), the Chairperson of the Integrity 

17 Committee may conduct any related investiga18 tion referred to the Chairperson under para19 graph (5)(B) concurrently with the Department 

20 of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel, as 

21 applicable. 

22 ‘‘(E) REPORTS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) INTEGRITY COMMITTEE INVES24 TIGATIONS.—For each investigation of an 

25 allegation of wrongdoing referred to the 
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1 Chairperson of the Integrity Committee 

2 under paragraph (5)(B), the Chairperson 

3 of the Integrity Committee shall submit to 

4 members of the Integrity Committee and 

5 to the Chairperson of the Council a report 

6 containing the results of the investigation. 

7 ‘‘(ii) OTHER INVESTIGATIONS.—For 

8 each allegation of wrongdoing referred to 

9 the Department of Justice or the Office of 

10 Special Counsel under paragraph (5)(A), 

11 the Attorney General or the Special Coun12 sel, as applicable, shall submit to the In13 tegrity Committee a report containing the 

14 results of the investigation. 

15 ‘‘(iii) AVAILABILITY TO CONGRESS.— 

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The congres17 sional committees described in para18 graph (8)(A)(iii) shall have access to 

19 any report authored by the Integrity 

20 Committee. 

21 ‘‘(II) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

22 Subject to any other provision of law 

23 that would otherwise prohibit disclo24 sure of such information, the Integrity 

25 Committee may provide any report 
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1 authored by the Integrity Committee 

2 to any Member of Congress.’’; 

3 (E) by striking paragraph (8)(A)(iii) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(iii) submit the report, with the rec6 ommendations of the Integrity Committee, 

7 to the Committee on Homeland Security 

8 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, 

9 the Committee on Oversight and Govern10 ment Reform of the House of Representa11 tives, and other congressional committees 

12 of jurisdiction; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) following the submission of the 

14 report under clause (iii) and upon request 

15 by any Member of Congress, submit the re16 port, with the recommendations of the In17 tegrity Committee, to that Member.’’; 

18 (F) in paragraph (9)(B), by striking 

19 ‘‘other agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘the Depart20 ment of Justice or the Office of Special Coun21 sel’’; 

22 (G) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘any of 

23 the following’’ and all that follows through the 

24 period at the end and inserting ‘‘any Member of 

25 Congress.’’; and 
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1 (H) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(12) ALLEGATIONS OF WRONGDOING AGAINST

3 SPECIAL COUNSEL OR DEPUTY SPECIAL COUNSEL.— 

4 ‘‘(A) SPECIAL COUNSEL DEFINED.—In this 

5 paragraph, the term ‘Special Counsel’ means 

6 the Special Counsel appointed under section 

7 1211(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

8 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY OF INTEGRITY COM9 MITTEE.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An allegation of 

11 wrongdoing against the Special Counsel or 

12 the Deputy Special Counsel may be re13 ceived, reviewed, and referred for investiga14 tion to the same extent and in the same 

15 manner as in the case of an allegation 

16 against an Inspector General or against a 

17 staff member of an Office of Inspector 

18 General described under paragraph (4)(C), 

19 subject to the requirement that the rep20 resentative designated by the Special 

21 Counsel under paragraph (5)(A)(ii) shall 

22 recuse himself or herself from the consider23 ation of any allegation brought under this 

24 paragraph. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING

2 PROVISIONS OF LAW.—This paragraph 

3 shall not eliminate access to the Merit Sys4 tems Protection Board for review under 

5 section 7701 of title 5, United States 

6 Code. To the extent that an allegation 

7 brought under this paragraph involves sec8 tion 2302(b)(8) of such title, a failure to 

9 obtain corrective action within 120 days 

10 after the date on which the allegation is re11 ceived by the Integrity Committee shall, 

12 for purposes of section 1221 of such title, 

13 be considered to satisfy section 

14 1214(a)(3)(B) of such title. 

15 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—The Integrity Com16 mittee may prescribe any rules or regulations 

17 necessary to carry out this paragraph, subject 

18 to such consultation or other requirements as 

19 may otherwise apply. 

20 ‘‘(13) COMMITTEE RECORDS.—The Chairperson 

21 of the Council shall maintain the records of the In22 tegrity Committee.’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. REPORTS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. 

2 (a) REPORT ON VACANCIES IN THE OFFICES OF IN3 SPECTOR GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

4 United States shall— 

5 (1) conduct a study of prolonged vacancies in 

6 the Offices of Inspector General during which a tem7 porary appointee has served as the head of the office 

8 that includes— 

9 (A) the number and duration of Inspector 

10 General vacancies; 

11 (B) an examination of the extent to which 

12 the number and duration of such vacancies has 

13 changed over time; 

14 (C) an evaluation of the impact such va15 cancies have had on the ability of the relevant 

16 Office of Inspector General to effectively carry 

17 out statutory requirements; and 

18 (D) recommendations to minimize the du19 ration of such vacancies; 

20 (2) not later than 9 months after the date of 

21 enactment of this Act, present a briefing on the 

22 findings of the study conducted under paragraph (1) 

23 to— 

24 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

25 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 
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1 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Gov2 ernment Reform of the House of Representa3 tives; and 

4 (3) not later than 15 months after the date of 

5 enactment of this Act, submit a report on the find6 ings of the study conducted under paragraph (1) to 

7 the committees described in paragraph (2). 

8 (b) REPORT ON ISSUES INVOLVING MULTIPLE OF9 FICES OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The Council of the In10 spectors General on Integrity and Efficiency shall— 

11 (1) conduct an analysis of critical issues that 

12 involve the jurisdiction of more than one individual 

13 Federal agency or entity to identify— 

14 (A) each such issue that could be better 

15 addressed through greater coordination among, 

16 and cooperation between, individual Offices of 

17 Inspector General; 

18 (B) the best practices that can be em19 ployed by the Offices of Inspector General to in20 crease coordination and cooperation on each 

21 issue identified; and 

22 (C) any recommended statutory changes 

23 that would facilitate coordination and coopera24 tion among the Offices of Inspector General on 

25 critical issues; and 
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1 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of en2 actment of this Act, submit a report on the findings 

3 of the analysis described in paragraph (1) to— 

4 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

5 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

6 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Gov7 ernment Reform of the House of Representa8 tives. 

9 (c) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—Section 5 of the In10 spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (10)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘period for which’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘period— 

15 ‘‘(A) for which’’; and 

16 (ii) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(B) for which no establishment comment 

19 was returned within 60 days of providing the 

20 report to the establishment; and 

21 ‘‘(C) for which there are any outstanding 

22 unimplemented recommendations, including the 

23 aggregate potential cost savings of those rec24 ommendations.’’; 
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1 (B) in paragraph (15), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

2 at the end; 

3 (C) in paragraph (16), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

5 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(17) statistical tables showing— 

7 ‘‘(A) the total number of investigative re8 ports issued during the reporting period; 

9 ‘‘(B) the total number of persons referred 

10 to the Department of Justice for criminal pros11 ecution during the reporting period; 

12 ‘‘(C) the total number of persons referred 

13 to State and local prosecuting authorities for 

14 criminal prosecution during the reporting pe15 riod; and 

16 ‘‘(D) the total number of indictments and 

17 criminal informations during the reporting pe18 riod that resulted from any prior referral to 

19 prosecuting authorities; 

20 ‘‘(18) a description of the metrics used for de21 veloping the data for the statistical tables under 

22 paragraph (17); 

23 ‘‘(19) a report on each investigation conducted 

24 by the Office involving a senior Government em-
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1 ployee where allegations of misconduct were substan2 tiated, including a detailed description of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the facts and circumstances of the in4 vestigation; and 

5 ‘‘(B) the status and disposition of the mat6 ter, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) if the matter was referred to the 

8 Department of Justice, the date of the re9 ferral; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) if the Department of Justice de11 clined the referral, the date of the declina12 tion; 

13 ‘‘(20) a detailed description of any instance of 

14 whistleblower retaliation, including information 

15 about the official found to have engaged in retalia16 tion and what, if any, consequences the establish17 ment imposed to hold that official accountable; 

18 ‘‘(21) a detailed description of any attempt by 

19 the establishment to interfere with the independence 

20 of the Office, including— 

21 ‘‘(A) with budget constraints designed to 

22 limit the capabilities of the Office; and 

23 ‘‘(B) incidents where the establishment has 

24 resisted or objected to oversight activities of the 

25 Office or restricted or significantly delayed ac-
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1 cess to information, including the justification 

2 of the establishment for such action; and 

3 ‘‘(22) detailed descriptions of the particular cir4 cumstances of each— 

5 ‘‘(A) inspection, evaluation, and audit con6 ducted by the Office that is closed and was not 

7 disclosed to the public; and 

8 ‘‘(B) investigation conducted by the Office 

9 involving a senior Government employee that is 

10 closed and was not disclosed to the public.’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(4) Subject to any other provision of law that would 

14 otherwise prohibit disclosure of such information, the in15 formation described in paragraph (1) may be provided to 

16 any Member of Congress upon request. 

17 ‘‘(5) An Office may not provide to Congress or the 

18 public any information that reveals the personally identifi19 able information of a whistleblower under this section un20 less the Office first obtains the consent of the whistle21 blower.’’; and 

22 (3) in subsection (f)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

24 the end; 
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1 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking the pe2 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(7) the term ‘senior Government employee’ 

5 means— 

6 ‘‘(A) an officer or employee in the execu7 tive branch (including a special Government 

8 employee as defined in section 202 of title 18, 

9 United States Code) who occupies a position 

10 classified at or above GS–15 of the General 

11 Schedule or, in the case of positions not under 

12 the General Schedule, for which the rate of 

13 basic pay is equal to or greater than 120 per14 cent of the minimum rate of basic pay payable 

15 for GS–15 of the General Schedule; and 

16 ‘‘(B) any commissioned officer in the 

17 Armed Forces in pay grades O–6 and above.’’. 

18 (d) DUTY TO SUBMIT AND MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE

19 PUBLIC CERTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS.—Section 4 of the 

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

21 by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(e)(1) In carrying out the duties and responsibilities 

23 established under this Act, whenever an Inspector General 

24 issues a recommendation for corrective action to the agen25 cy, the Inspector General— 
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1 ‘‘(A) shall submit the document making a rec2 ommendation for corrective action to— 

3 ‘‘(i) the head of the establishment; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the congressional committees of juris5 diction; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) if the recommendation for corrective 

7 action was initiated upon request by an indi8 vidual or entity other than the Inspector Gen9 eral, that individual or entity; 

10 ‘‘(B) may submit the document making a rec11 ommendation for corrective action to any Member of 

12 Congress upon request; and 

13 ‘‘(C) not later than 3 days after the rec14 ommendation for corrective action is submitted in 

15 final form to the head of the establishment, post the 

16 document making a recommendation for corrective 

17 action on the website of the Office of Inspector Gen18 eral. 

19 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as 

20 authorizing an Inspector General to publicly disclose infor21 mation otherwise prohibited from disclosure by law.’’. 

22 (e) POSTING OF REPORTS ON WEBSITES OF OFFICES

23 OF INSPECTORS GENERAL.—Section 8M(b) of the Inspec24 tor General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 
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1 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘is made 

2 publicly available’’ and inserting ‘‘is submitted in 

3 final form to the head of the Federal agency or the 

4 head of the designated Federal entity, as applica5 ble’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

8 this subsection shall be construed as authorizing an 

9 Inspector General to publicly disclose information 

10 otherwise prohibited from disclosure by law.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. FULL AND PROMPT ACCESS TO ALL DOCUMENTS. 

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

13 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (1) 

15 and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(1)(A) to have timely access to all records, re17 ports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, rec18 ommendations, or other materials available to the 

19 applicable establishment which relate to the pro20 grams and operations with respect to which that In21 spector General has responsibilities under this Act; 

22 ‘‘(B) to have access under subparagraph (A) 

23 notwithstanding any other provision of law, except 

24 pursuant to any provision of law enacted by Con25 gress that expressly— 
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1 ‘‘(i) refers to the Inspector General; and 

2 ‘‘(ii) limits the right of access of the In3 spector General; and 

4 ‘‘(C) except as provided in subsection (i), with 

5 regard to Federal grand jury materials protected 

6 from disclosure pursuant to rule 6(e) of the Federal 

7 Rules of Criminal Procedure, to have timely access 

8 to such information if the Attorney General grants 

9 the request in accordance with subsection (h);’’; 

10 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (f) 

11 as subsections (c) through (g), respectively; 

12 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as au15 thorizing an Inspector General to publicly disclose infor16 mation otherwise prohibited from disclosure by law.’’; and 

17 (4) by inserting after subsection (g), as redesig18 nated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(h)(1) If the Inspector General of an establishment 

20 submits a request to the head of the establishment for 

21 Federal grand jury materials pursuant to subsection 

22 (a)(1), the head of the establishment shall immediately no23 tify the Attorney General of such request. 

24 ‘‘(2) Not later than 15 days after the date on which 

25 a request is submitted to the Attorney General under 
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1 paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall determine 

2 whether to grant or deny the request for Federal grand 

3 jury materials and shall immediately notify the head of 

4 the establishment of such determination. The Attorney 

5 General shall grant the request unless the Attorney Gen6 eral determines that granting access to the Federal grand 

7 jury materials would be likely to— 

8 ‘‘(A) interfere with an ongoing criminal inves9 tigation or prosecution; 

10 ‘‘(B) interfere with an undercover operation; 

11 ‘‘(C) result in disclosure of the identity of a 

12 confidential source, including a protected witness; 

13 ‘‘(D) pose a serious threat to national security; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(E) result in significant impairment of the 

16 trade or economic interests of the United States. 

17 ‘‘(3)(A) The head of the establishment shall inform 

18 the Inspector General of the establishment of the deter19 mination made by the Attorney General with respect to 

20 the request for Federal grand jury materials. 

21 ‘‘(B) The Inspector General of the establishment de22 scribed under subparagraph (A) may submit comments on 

23 the determination submitted pursuant to such subpara24 graph to the committees listed under paragraph (4) that 

25 the Inspector General considers appropriate. 
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1 ‘‘(4) Not later than 30 days after notifying the head 

2 of an establishment of a denial pursuant to paragraph (2), 

3 the Attorney General shall submit a statement that the 

4 request for Federal grand jury materials by the Inspector 

5 General was denied and the reason for the denial to each 

6 of the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) The Committee on Homeland Security and 

8 Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the Judici9 ary, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

10 Senate. 

11 ‘‘(B) The Committee on Oversight and Govern12 ment Reform, the Committee on the Judiciary, and 

13 the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of 

14 the House of Representatives. 

15 ‘‘(C) Other appropriate committees and sub16 committees of Congress. 

17 ‘‘(i) Subsections (a)(1)(C) and (h) shall not apply to 

18 requests from the Inspector General of the Department 

19 of Justice.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. ACCESS TO INFORMATION FOR CERTAIN INSPEC21 TORS GENERAL. 

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

23 as amended by this Act, is amended— 

24 (1) in section 8(b)(2)— 
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘from accessing informa2 tion described in paragraph (1),’’ after ‘‘com3 pleting any audit or investigation,’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘, access such informa5 tion,’’ after ‘‘complete such audit or investiga6 tion’’; 

7 (2) in section 8D(a)(2)— 

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘from accessing informa9 tion described in paragraph (1),’’ after ‘‘com10 pleting any audit or investigation,’’; and 

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘, access such informa12 tion,’’ after ‘‘complete such audit or investiga13 tion’’; 

14 (3) in section 8E(a)(2)— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘from accessing informa16 tion described in paragraph (1),’’ after ‘‘com17 pleting any audit or investigation,’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘, access such informa19 tion,’’ after ‘‘complete such audit or investiga20 tion’’; 

21 (4) in section 8G(d)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘, or 

22 from accessing information available to an element 

23 of the intelligence community specified in subpara24 graph (D),’’ after ‘‘investigation’’; 

25 (5) in section 8I(a)(2)— 
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘from accessing informa2 tion described in paragraph (1),’’ after ‘‘com3 pleting any audit or investigation,’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘, access such informa5 tion,’’ after ‘‘complete such audit or investiga6 tion’’; 

7 (6) in section 8J, by striking ‘‘or 8H’’ and in8 serting ‘‘8H, or 8N’’; and 

9 (7) by inserting after section 8M the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 8N. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE 

11 DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. 

12 ‘‘(a) The Secretary of Energy may prohibit the In13 spector General of the Department of Energy from access14 ing Restricted Data and nuclear safeguards information 

15 protected from disclosure under chapter 12 of the Atomic 

16 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2161 et seq.) and intel17 ligence or counterintelligence, as defined in section 3 of 

18 the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003), if 

19 the Secretary of Energy determines that the prohibition 

20 is necessary to protect the national security or prevent the 

21 significant impairment to the national security interests 

22 of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(b) Not later than 7 days after the date on which 

24 the Secretary of Energy exercises any power authorized 

25 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall notify the Inspec-
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1 tor General of the Department of Energy in writing the 

2 reasons for such exercise. Within 30 days after receipt of 

3 any such notice, the Inspector General of the Department 

4 of Energy shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

5 Congress a statement concerning such exercise.’’. 

6 SEC. 7. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

7 (a) REPEALS.— 

8 (1) INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 2008.—Sec9 tion 7(b) of the Inspector General Reform Act of 

10 2008 (Public Law 110–409; 122 Stat. 4312; 5 

11 U.S.C. 1211 note) is repealed. 

12 (2) FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOV13 ERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2009.—Section 744 

14 of the Financial Services and General Government 

15 Appropriations Act, 2009 (division D of Public Law 

16 111–8; 123 Stat. 693) is repealed. 

17 (b) AGENCY APPLICABILITY.— 

18 (1) AMENDMENTS.—The Inspector General Act 

19 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by this Act, 

20 is further amended— 

21 (A) in section 8M— 

22 (i) in subsection (a)(1)— 

23 (I) by striking ‘‘Each agency’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘Each Federal agency 

25 and designated Federal entity’’; and 
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1 (II) by striking ‘‘that agency’’ 

2 each place that term appears and in3 serting ‘‘that Federal agency or des4 ignated Federal entity’’; 

5 (ii) in subsection (b)— 

6 (I) in paragraph (1), by striking 

7 ‘‘agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal 

8 agency and designated Federal enti9 ty’’; and 

10 (II) in paragraph (2), by striking 

11 ‘‘agency’’ each place that term ap12 pears and inserting ‘‘Federal agency 

13 and designated Federal entity’’; and 

14 (iii) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘des17 ignated Federal entity’ and ‘head of the designated Fed18 eral entity’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

19 8G(a).’’; and 

20 (B) in section 11(c)(3)(A)(ii), by striking 

21 ‘‘department, agency, or entity of the executive 

22 branch’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal agency or des23 ignated Federal entity (as defined in section 

24 8G(a))’’. 
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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

2 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date that 

3 is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (c) REQUIREMENTS FOR INSPECTORS GENERAL

5 WEBSITES.—Section 8M(b)(1) of the Inspector General 

6 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by this Act, 

7 is further amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘report or 

9 audit (or portion of any report or audit)’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘audit report, inspection report, or evaluation 

11 report (or portion of any such report)’’; and 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘report or audit (or portion of 

13 that report or audit)’’ each place that term appears 

14 and inserting ‘‘report (or portion of that report)’’. 

15 (d) CORRECTIONS.— 

16 (1) EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER.—Section 

17 7(c)(2) of the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 

18 (Public Law 110–409; 122 Stat. 4313; 31 U.S.C. 

19 501 note) is amended by striking ‘‘12933’’ and in20 serting ‘‘12993’’. 

21 (2) PUNCTUATION AND CROSS-REFERENCES.— 

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

23 as amended by this Act, is further amended— 

24 (A) in section 4(b)(2)— 
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘8F(a)(2)’’ each place 

2 that term appears and inserting 

3 ‘‘8G(a)(2)’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘8F(a)(1)’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘8G(a)(1)’’; 

6 (B) in section 5(a)(5), by striking ‘‘section 

7 6(b)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 6(c)(2)’’; 

8 (C) in section 5(a)(13), by striking 

9 ‘‘05(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘804(b)’’; 

10 (D) in section 6(a)(4), by striking ‘‘infor11 mation, as well as any tangible thing)’’ and in12 serting ‘‘information), as well as any tangible 

13 thing’’; 

14 (E) in section 8A(d), by striking ‘‘section 

15 6(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 6(d)’’; 

16 (F) in section 8G(g)(3), by striking ‘‘8C’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘8D’’; and 

18 (G) in section 11(d)(8)(A), in the matter 

19 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

20 (7)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (7)(E)’’. 

21 (3) SPELLING.—The Inspector General Act of 

22 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by this Act, is 

23 further amended— 

24 (A) in section 3(a), by striking ‘‘subpena’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘subpoena’’; 
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1 (B) in section 6(a)(4), by striking ‘‘sub2 penas’’ and inserting ‘‘subpoenas’’; 

3 (C) in section 8D(a)— 

4 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub5 penas’’ and inserting ‘‘subpoenas’’; and 

6 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 

7 ‘‘subpena’’ each place that term appears 

8 and inserting ‘‘subpoena’’; 

9 (D) in section 8E(a)— 

10 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub11 penas’’ and inserting ‘‘subpoenas’’; and 

12 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 

13 ‘‘subpena’’ each place that term appears 

14 and inserting ‘‘subpoena’’; and 

15 (E) in section 8G(d)(1), by striking ‘‘sub16 pena’’ and inserting ‘‘subpoena’’. 

17 SEC. 8. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

18 No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 

19 requirements of this Act or the amendments made by this 

20 Act. The requirements of this Act and the amendments 
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1 made by this Act shall be carried out using amounts other2 wise authorized. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 8, 

2016. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6450 

AN ACT 

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to 

General, and for other purposes. strengthen the independence of the Inspectors