IB 

Union Calendar No. 363 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5815 

[Report No. 111–623] 

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 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 


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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. 


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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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SUBPOENA AUTHORITY FOR INSPECTORS GENERAL 

7 TO REQUIRE TESTIMONY OF CERTAIN PER8 SONS. 

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

10 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) at the end of paragraph (8), by strik13 ing ‘‘and’’; 

14 (B) at the end of paragraph (9), by strik15 ing the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

17 paragraph: 

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

19 and testimony of witnesses necessary in the perform20 ance of the functions assigned to the Inspector Gen21 eral by this Act, except as provided for and subject 

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

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 


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

2 other than subpoenas to obtain attendance and testimony 

3 from Federal employees. 

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

5 shall provide reasonable notice to the individual whose tes6 timony is sought and shall state the name of the individual 

7 and the place of taking the testimony. 

8 ‘‘(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a sub9 poena issued under subsection (a)(10), in the case of con10 tumacy or refusal to obey, shall be enforceable in the 

11 United States District Court in the district where the indi12 vidual whose testimony is sought by subpoena resides or 

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

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

15 brought in the United States District Court for the Dis16 trict of Columbia if the individual whose testimony is 

17 sought by the subpoena resides within 25 miles of the Dis18 trict of Columbia and if the complaint seeking enforce19 ment alleges that a significant portion of the matters that 

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

21 inspection, evaluation, or review occurred in the District 

22 of Columbia. 

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

24 of Inspector General in the enforcement of a subpoena 

25 under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(3)(A) An Inspector General may not issue a sub2 poena under subsection (a)(10) if the subpoena is being 

3 issued in connection with a matter in which the Inspector 

4 General has reasonable grounds to believe there has been 

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

6 31, United States Code, unless the Inspector General noti7 fies the Attorney General of the intention of the Inspector 

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

9 individual whose testimony is sought and the nature of 

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

11 subpoena. 

12 ‘‘(B) The Inspector General may not issue the sub13 poena if the Attorney General informs the Inspector Gen14 eral, within 14 days after receipt of the notification under 

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

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

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

18 (C). 

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

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

21 Inspector General does not agree with the objection of the 

22 Attorney General, the Attorney General shall, within 30 

23 days after receipt of the notification under subparagraph 

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

25 the taking of the testimony— 


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

2 of the United States; 

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

4 State criminal investigation or prosecution; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) is likely to interfere with any pending in6 vestigation under section 3729 of title 31, United 

7 States Code, or any civil litigation to which the 

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

9 SEC. 3. INVESTIGATIONS, AUDITS, INSPECTIONS, EVALUA10 TIONS, AND REVIEWS CONDUCTED BY IN11 SPECTORS GENERAL. 

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

13 amended— 

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

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

16 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para17 graph (3); and 

18 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol19 lowing new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), this subchapter 

21 shall not apply to the collection of information during the 

22 conduct of any investigation, audit, inspection, evaluation, 

23 or other review conducted by— 

24 ‘‘(A) any Federal office of Inspector General, 

25 including— 


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

2 establishment, Federal entity, or designated 

3 Federal entity as those terms are defined under 

4 sections 12(2), 8G(a)(1), and 8G(a)(2) of the 

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

6 respectively; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) any office of Special Inspector Gen8 eral established by statute; 

9 ‘‘(B) the Council of the Inspectors General on 

10 Integrity and Efficiency established under section 11 

11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

12 App.); or 

13 ‘‘(C) the Recovery Accountability and Trans14 parency Board established under section 1521 of di15 vision A of the American Recovery and Reinvest16 ment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 

17 289).’’. 

18 SEC. 4. ENHANCED INSPECTORS GENERAL AUTHORITY FOR 

19 COMPUTER MATCHING. 

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

21 (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by section 2, is further 

22 amended— 

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

24 ‘‘and’’; 


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

2 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 paragraph: 

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

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

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

8 defined in such section), any Federal records with 

9 other Federal or non-Federal records while con10 ducting an audit, inspection, or investigation author11 ized under this Act to identify weaknesses that make 

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

13 to detect improper payments and fraud.’’. 

14 SEC. 5. REPORTS AND RESPONSES TO IDENTIFIED PROB15 LEMS, ABUSES, AND DEFICIENCIES. 

16 (a) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INSPEC17 TOR GENERAL REPORT.—Section 5(b) of the Inspector 

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

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

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

21 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol22 lowing new paragraph: 

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

24 or proposed to be taken with respect to questioned 

25 costs, a recommendation that funds be put to better 


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1 use, significant problems, abuses, and deficiencies 

2 identified by the Inspector General; 

3 ‘‘(3) any certification required under subsection 

4 (e)(2);’’. 

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

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

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

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

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol10 lowing new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(e) CORRECTIVE ACTION BY THE HEAD OF THE ES12 TABLISHMENT.— 

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

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

15 take corrective action in response to any questioned 

16 costs, a recommendation that funds be put to better 

17 use, significant problems, abuses, or deficiencies 

18 identified by the Inspector General of such establish19 ment. 

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

21 head of the establishment determines that no action 

22 is necessary or appropriate with respect to any ques23 tioned costs, a recommendation that funds be put to 

24 better use, significant problems, abuses, or defi25 ciencies identified by the Inspector General of such 


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1 establishment, such head shall submit a certification 

2 to Congress that no such action is necessary or ap3 propriate.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. REPORTS AND RESPONSES TO IDENTIFIED PROB5 LEMS, ABUSES, AND DEFICIENCIES. 

6 (a) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INSPECTOR

7 GENERAL REPORT.—Section 5(b) of the Inspector General 

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

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) 

10 as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively; and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing new paragraphs: 

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

14 or proposed to be taken with respect to questioned 

15 costs, a recommendation that funds be put to better 

16 use, or any significant problems, abuses, and defi17 ciencies identified by the Inspector General; 

18 ‘‘(3) a description of any potential cost savings 

19 generated by any corrective action taken pursuant to 

20 subsection (e)(1); 

21 ‘‘(4) any certification required under subsection 

22 (e)(2);’’. 

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

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


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

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

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following 

4 new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(e) CORRECTIVE ACTION BY THE HEAD OF THE ES6 TABLISHMENT.— 

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

8 in paragraph (2), the head of the establishment shall 

9 take corrective action in response to any questioned 

10 costs, a recommendation that funds be put to better 

11 use, or any significant problems, abuses, or defi12 ciencies identified by the Inspector General of such es13 tablishment. 

14 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—If the head 

15 of the establishment determines that no action is nec16 essary or appropriate with respect to any questioned 

17 costs, a recommendation that funds be put to better 

18 use, or any significant problems, abuses, or defi19 ciencies identified by the Inspector General of such es20 tablishment, such head shall submit a certification to 

21 Congress that no such action is necessary or appro22 priate, with a detailed explanation why no such ac23 tion is necessary or appropriate.’’. 


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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) 5 U.S.C. 

2 App. 11 note) is amended by striking ‘‘12933’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘12993’’. 

4 (3) CLARIFICATION OF REFERENCE TO AGEN5 CY.— 

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

7 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

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

9 and inserting ‘‘Federal agency, establish10 ment, or designated Federal entity’’ each 

11 place it appears; and 

12 (ii) in section 11(c)(3)(A)(ii), by strik13 ing ‘‘department, agency, or entity of the 

14 executive branch’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal 

15 agency, establishment, or designated Fed16 eral entity’’. 

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

18 of enactment of this Act, the head of each Fed19 eral agency, establishment, and designated Fed20 eral entity and the Inspector General of each 

21 Federal agency, establishment, and designated 

22 Federal entity shall implement the amendments 

23 made by this paragraph. 

24 (4) OTHER AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (A) Section 8L(b)(1) of the Inspector Gen2 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

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

4 portion of any report or audit)’’ and in5 serting ‘‘audit report, inspection report, or 

6 evaluation report (or portion of any such 

7 report)’’; and 

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

9 portion of that report or audit)’’ and in10 serting ‘‘report (or portion of that report)’’ 

11 each place it appears. 

12 (B) Section 744 of the Financial Services 

13 and General Government Appropriations Act, 

14 2009 (division D of Public Law 111–8; 123 

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


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Union Calendar No. 363 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5815 

[Report No. 111–623] 

A BILL 

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to 

and for other purposes. poena the attendance and testimony of witnesses, provide authority for Inspectors General to subSEPTEMBER 23, 2010 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and orVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:54 Sep 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H5815.RH H5815

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