I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5815 

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to provide authority for Inspectors General to subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 22, 2010 

Mr. TOWNS (for himself and Mr. ISSA) 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 the attendance and testimony of witnesses, 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 2010’’. 


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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’’; and 

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

12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(10) to require by subpoena the attendance 

14 and testimony of witnesses necessary in the perform15 ance of the functions assigned to the Inspector Gen16 eral by this Act, except as provided for and subject 

17 to the provisions in subsection (g).’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(g)(1) An Inspector General shall use procedures 

21 other than subpoenas to obtain attendance and testimony 

22 from Federal employees. 

23 ‘‘(2)(A) A subpoena issued under subsection (a)(10) 

24 shall provide reasonable notice to the individual whose tes25 timony is sought and shall state the name of the individual 

26 and the place of taking the testimony. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a sub2 poena issued under subsection (a)(10), in the case of con3 tumacy or refusal to obey, shall be enforceable in the 

4 United States District Court in the district where the indi5 vidual whose testimony is sought by subpoena resides or 

6 in the district of the individual’s place of employment. 

7 ‘‘(C) A proceeding to enforce a subpoena may be 

8 brought in the United States District Court for the Dis9 trict of Columbia if the individual whose testimony is 

10 sought by the subpoena resides within 25 miles of the Dis11 trict of Columbia and if the complaint seeking enforce12 ment alleges that a significant portion of the matters that 

13 are expected to be the subject of the investigation, audit, 

14 inspection, evaluation, or review occurred in the District 

15 of Columbia. 

16 ‘‘(D) The Attorney General shall represent an Office 

17 of Inspector General in the enforcement of a subpoena 

18 under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(3)(A) An Inspector General may not issue a sub20 poena under subsection (a)(10) if the subpoena is being 

21 issued in connection with a matter in which the Inspector 

22 General has reasonable grounds to believe there has been 

23 a violation of Federal criminal law or section 3729 of title 

24 31, United States Code, unless the Inspector General noti25 fies the Attorney General of the intention of the Inspector 


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1 General to issue the subpoena, including the name of the 

2 individual whose testimony is sought and the nature of 

3 the testimony sought, at least 15 days before issuing the 

4 subpoena. 

5 ‘‘(B) The Inspector General may not issue the sub6 poena if the Attorney General informs the Inspector Gen7 eral, within 14 days after receipt of the notification under 

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

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

10 grounds listed in clauses (i) through (iii) of subparagraph 

11 (C). 

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

13 of the subpoena as described in subparagraph (B) and the 

14 Inspector General does not agree with the objection of the 

15 Attorney General, the Attorney General shall, within 30 

16 days after receipt of the notification under subparagraph 

17 (A), submit an explanation to the Inspector General that 

18 the taking of the testimony— 

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

20 of the United States; 

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

22 State criminal investigation or prosecution; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) is likely to interfere with any pending in24 vestigation under section 3729 of title 31, United 


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1 States Code, or any civil litigation to which the 

2 United States is or is likely to be a party.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. INVESTIGATIONS, AUDITS, INSPECTIONS, EVALUA4 TIONS, AND REVIEWS CONDUCTED BY IN5 SPECTORS GENERAL. 

6 Section 3518(c) of title 44, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

9 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; 

10 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para11 graph (3); and 

12 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol13 lowing new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), this sub15 chapter shall not apply to the collection of informa16 tion during the conduct of any investigation, audit, 

17 inspection, evaluation, or other review conducted 

18 by— 

19 ‘‘(A) any Federal office of Inspector Gen20 eral, including— 

21 ‘‘(i) any office of Inspector General of 

22 any establishment, Federal entity, or des23 ignated Federal entity as those terms are 

24 defined under sections 12(2), 8G(a)(1), 


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1 and 8G(a)(2) of the Inspector General Act 

2 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), respectively; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) any office of Special Inspector 

4 General established by statute; 

5 ‘‘(B) the Council of the Inspectors General 

6 on Integrity and Efficiency established under 

7 section 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 

8 (5 U.S.C. App.); or 

9 ‘‘(C) the Recovery Accountability and 

10 Transparency Board established under section 

11 1521 of division A of the American Recovery 

12 and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 

13 111–5; 123 Stat. 289).’’. 

14 SEC. 4. ENHANCED INSPECTORS GENERAL AUTHORITY FOR 

15 COMPUTER MATCHING. 

16 Section 6(a) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 

17 (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by section 2, is further 

18 amended— 

19 (1) at the end of paragraph (9), by striking 

20 ‘‘and’’; 

21 (2) at the end of paragraph (10), by striking 

22 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(11) notwithstanding subsections (o), (p), (q), 

2 (r), and (u) of section 552a of title 5, United States 

3 Code, to compare, through a matching program (as 

4 defined in such section), any Federal records with 

5 other Federal or non-Federal records while con6 ducting an audit, inspection, or investigation author7 ized under this Act to identify weaknesses that make 

8 a program vulnerable to fraud, waste, or abuse and 

9 to detect improper payments and fraud.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. REPORTS AND RESPONSES TO IDENTIFIED PROB11 LEMS, ABUSES, AND DEFICIENCIES. 

12 (a) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INSPEC13 TOR GENERAL REPORT.—Section 5(b) of the Inspector 

14 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and 

16 (4) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and 

17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol18 lowing new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(2) a description of any corrective action taken 

20 or proposed to be taken with respect to questioned 

21 costs, a recommendation that funds be put to better 

22 use, significant problems, abuses, and deficiencies 

23 identified by the Inspector General; 

24 ‘‘(3) any certification required under subsection 

25 (e)(2);’’. 


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1 (b) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—Section 5 of the Inspector 

2 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

3 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

4 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and 

5 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol6 lowing new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(e) CORRECTIVE ACTION BY THE HEAD OF THE ES8 TABLISHMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(1) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—Except as provided 

10 in subsection (b), the head of the establishment shall 

11 take corrective action in response to any questioned 

12 costs, a recommendation that funds be put to better 

13 use, significant problems, abuses, or deficiencies 

14 identified by the Inspector General of such establish15 ment. 

16 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—If the 

17 head of the establishment determines that no action 

18 is necessary or appropriate with respect to any ques19 tioned costs, a recommendation that funds be put to 

20 better use, significant problems, abuses, or defi21 ciencies identified by the Inspector General of such 

22 establishment, such head shall submit a certification 

23 to Congress that no such action is necessary or ap24 propriate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. CODIFICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE 

2 INSPECTOR GENERAL REFORM ACT OF 2008 

3 AND OTHER TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) INSPECTORS GENERAL OF DESIGNATED FED5 ERAL ENTITIES.— 

6 (1) AMENDMENT TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

7 ACT OF 1978.—Section 8G of the Inspector General 

8 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(i) INSPECTORS GENERAL OF DESIGNATED FED11 ERAL ENTITIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of law, the Inspector General of each des14 ignated Federal entity shall, for pay and all other 

15 purposes, be classified at a grade, level, or rank des16 ignation, as the case may be, at or above those of 

17 a majority of the senior level executives of that des18 ignated Federal entity (such as a General Counsel, 

19 Chief Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer, 

20 Chief Human Capital Officer, or Chief Acquisition 

21 Officer). The pay of an Inspector General of a des22 ignated Federal entity shall be not less than the av23 erage total compensation (including bonuses) of the 

24 senior level executives of that designated Federal en25 tity calculated on an annual basis. 

26 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON ADJUSTMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an In2 spector General of a designated Federal entity 

3 whose pay is adjusted under paragraph (1), the 

4 total increase in pay in any fiscal year resulting 

5 from that adjustment may not exceed 25 per6 cent of the average total compensation (includ7 ing bonuses) of the Inspector General of that 

8 entity for the preceding 3 fiscal years. 

9 ‘‘(B) SUNSET OF LIMITATION.—The limi10 tation under subparagraph (A) shall not apply 

11 to any adjustment made in fiscal year 2013 or 

12 each fiscal year thereafter.’’. 

13 (2) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 4(b) of the 

14 Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 

15 110–409; 122 Stat. 4304; 5 U.S.C. App. 3 note) is 

16 repealed. 

17 (b) PAY RETENTION.— 

18 (1) AMENDMENT TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

19 ACT OF 1978.—The Inspector General Act of 1978 

20 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding after section 

21 8L the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 8M. PAY RETENTION. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of section 

24 3392(c) of title 5, United States Code, other than the 

25 terms ‘performance awards’ and ‘awarding of ranks’ in 


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1 paragraph (1) of such section, shall apply to career ap2 pointees of the Senior Executive Service who are ap3 pointed to the position of Inspector General on or after 

4 October 14, 2008. 

5 ‘‘(b) NONREDUCTION IN PAY.—Notwithstanding any 

6 other provision of law, career Federal employees serving 

7 on an appointment made pursuant to statutory authority 

8 found other than in section 3392 of title 5, United States 

9 Code, shall not suffer a reduction in pay, not including 

10 any bonus or performance award, as a result of being ap11 pointed to the position of Inspector General.’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 4(c) of the 

13 Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 

14 110–409; 122 Stat. 4304; 5 U.S.C. App. 3 note) is 

15 repealed. 

16 (c) ALLEGATIONS OF WRONGDOING AGAINST SPE17 CIAL COUNSEL OR DEPUTY SPECIAL COUNSEL.— 

18 (1) AMENDMENT TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

19 ACT OF 1978.—Section 11(d) of the Inspector Gen20 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by 

21 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(12) ALLEGATIONS OF WRONGDOING AGAINST

23 SPECIAL COUNSEL OR DEPUTY SPECIAL COUNSEL.— 

24 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

25 term ‘Special Counsel’ refers to the Special 


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1 Counsel appointed under section 1211(b) of 

2 title 5, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY OF INTEGRITY COM4 MITTEE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An allegation of 

6 wrongdoing against the Special Counsel or 

7 the Deputy Special Counsel may be re8 ceived, reviewed, and referred for investiga9 tion by the Integrity Committee to the 

10 same extent and in the same manner as in 

11 the case of an allegation against an Inspec12 tor General (or a member of the staff of 

13 an Office of Inspector General), subject to 

14 the requirement that the Special Counsel 

15 recuse himself or herself from the consider16 ation of any allegation brought under this 

17 subparagraph. 

18 ‘‘(ii) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING

19 PROVISIONS OF LAW.—This paragraph 

20 does not eliminate access to the Merit Sys21 tems Protection Board for review under 

22 section 7701 of title 5, United States 

23 Code. To the extent that an allegation 

24 brought under this paragraph involves sec25 tion 2302(b)(8) of that title, a failure to 


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1 obtain corrective action within 120 days 

2 after the date on which that allegation is 

3 received by the Integrity Committee shall, 

4 for purposes of section 1221 of such title, 

5 be considered to satisfy section 

6 1214(a)(3)(B) of that title. 

7 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—The Integrity Com8 mittee may prescribe any rules or regulations 

9 necessary to carry out this paragraph, subject 

10 to such consultation or other requirements as 

11 might otherwise apply.’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 7(b) of the 

13 Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 

14 110–409; 122 Stat. 4312; 5 U.S.C. 1211 note) is re15 pealed. 

16 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (1) CORRECTION OF SPELLING.—The Inspector 

18 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

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

20 and inserting ‘‘subpoena’’; 

21 (B) in section 6(a)(4), by striking ‘‘sub22 pena’’ and ‘‘subpenas’’ and inserting ‘‘sub23 poena’’ and ‘‘subpoenas’’, respectively; 

24 (C) in section 8D(a)— 


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1 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub2 penas’’ and inserting ‘‘subpoenas’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘subpena’’ and inserting ‘‘subpoena’’, each 

5 place it appears; 

6 (D) in section 8E(a)— 

7 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub8 penas’’ and inserting ‘‘subpoenas’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘subpena’’ and inserting ‘‘subpoena’’ each 

11 place it appears; and 

12 (E) in section 8G(d), by striking ‘‘sub13 pena’’ and inserting ‘‘subpoena’’. 

14 (2) CORRECTION OF PUNCTUATION AND CROSS15 REFERENCES.— 

16 (A) The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

17 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

18 (i) in section 6(a)(4), by striking ‘‘in19 formation, as well as any tangible thing)’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘information), as well as any 

21 tangible thing’’; and 

22 (ii) in section 8G(g)(3), by striking 

23 ‘‘8C’’ and inserting ‘‘8D’’. 

24 (B) Section 7(c)(2) of the Inspector Gen25 eral Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–409; 


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1 122 Stat. 4313; 31 U.S.C. 501 note) is amend2 ed by striking ‘‘12933’’ and inserting ‘‘12993’’. 

3 (3) CLARIFICATION OF REFERENCE TO AGEN4 CY.— 

5 (A) The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

6 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

7 (i) in section 8L, by striking ‘‘agency’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘Federal agency, establish9 ment, or designated Federal entity’’ each 

10 place it appears; and 

11 (ii) in section 11(c)(3)(A)(ii), by strik12 ing ‘‘department, agency, or entity of the 

13 executive branch’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal 

14 agency, establishment, or designated Fed15 eral entity’’. 

16 (B) Not later than 180 days after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, the head of each Fed18 eral agency, establishment, and designated Fed19 eral entity and the Inspector General of each 

20 Federal agency, establishment, and designated 

21 Federal entity shall implement the amendments 

22 made by this paragraph. 

23 (4) OTHER AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (A) Section 8L(b)(1) of the Inspector Gen25 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘report or audit (or 

2 portion of any report or audit)’’ and in3 serting ‘‘audit report, inspection report, or 

4 evaluation report (or portion of any such 

5 report)’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘report or audit (or 

7 portion of that report or audit)’’ and in8 serting ‘‘report (or portion of that report)’’ 

9 each place it appears. 

10 (B) Section 744 of the Financial Services 

11 and General Government Appropriations Act, 

12 2009 (division D of Public Law 111–8; 123 

13 Stat. 693; 5 U.S.C. App. 8L) is repealed. 

Æ 


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