I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1162 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to make improvements in the 

Government Accountability Office. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2013 

Mr. ISSA (for himself and Mr. CUMMINGS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to make 

improvements in the Government Accountability Office. 

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 ‘‘Government Account5 ability Office Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IMPROVE7 MENT. 

8 (a) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INFORMATION.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN RECORDS.—Section 

2 716 of title 31, United States Code, is amended in 

3 subsection (a)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)’’; 

5 and 

6 (B) by inserting after the section heading 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(a)(1) The Comptroller General is authorized to ob9 tain such agency records as the Comptroller General re10 quires to discharge his duties (including audit, evaluation, 

11 and investigative duties), including through the bringing 

12 of civil actions under this section. In reviewing a civil ac13 tion under this section, the court shall recognize the con14 tinuing force and effect of the authorization in the pre15 ceding sentence until such time as the authorization is re16 pealed pursuant to law.’’. 

17 (2) COPIES.—Section 716(a) of title 31, United 

18 States Code, as amended by subsection (a), is fur19 ther amended in the second sentence of paragraph 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘inspect an agency record’’ and in21 serting ‘‘inspect, and make and retain copies of, an 

22 agency record’’. 

23 (b) ADMINISTERING OATHS.—Section 711 of title 31, 

24 United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (4) 

25 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) administer oaths to witnesses when audit2 ing and settling accounts and, with the prior express 

3 approval of the Comptroller General, when inves4 tigating fraud or attempts to defraud the United 

5 States, or irregularity or misconduct of an employee 

6 or agent of the United States.’’. 

7 (c) ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 

8 (1) ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.—Sub9 chapter II of chapter 7 of title 31, United States 

10 Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘§ 721. Access to certain information 

13 ‘‘(a) No provision of the Social Security Act, includ14 ing section 453(l) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 653(l)), shall 

15 be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority 

16 of the Comptroller General to obtain any information or 

17 to inspect or copy any record under section 716 of this 

18 title. 

19 ‘‘(b) No provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

20 Cosmetic Act, including section 301(j) of that Act (21 

21 U.S.C. 331(j)), shall be construed to limit, amend, or su22 persede the authority of the Comptroller General to obtain 

23 any information or to inspect or copy any record under 

24 section 716 of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(c) No provision of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust 

2 Improvements Act of 1976 (Public Law 94–435) and the 

3 amendments made by that Act shall be construed to limit, 

4 amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller Gen5 eral to obtain any information or to inspect or copy any 

6 record under section 716 of this title, including with re7 spect to any information disclosed to the Assistant Attor8 ney General of the Antitrust Division of the Department 

9 of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission for purposes 

10 of pre-merger review under section 7A of the Clayton Act 

11 (15 U.S.C. 18a). 

12 ‘‘(d)(1) The Comptroller General shall prescribe such 

13 policies and procedures as are necessary to protect from 

14 public disclosure proprietary or trade secret information 

15 obtained consistent with this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to— 

17 ‘‘(A) alter or amend the prohibitions against 

18 the disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive infor19 mation prohibited by section 1905 of title 18 and 

20 other applicable laws; or 

21 ‘‘(B) affect the applicability of section 716(e) of 

22 this title, including the protections against unauthor23 ized disclosure contained in that section, to informa24 tion obtained consistent with this section. 


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1 ‘‘(e) Specific references to statutes in this section 

2 shall not be construed to affect access by the Government 

3 Accountability Office to information under statutes that 

4 are not so referenced.’’. 

5 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND6 MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 7 of title 

7 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

8 after the item relating to section 720 the following: 

‘‘721. Access to certain information.’’. 

9 (d) AGENCY REPORTS.—Section 720(b) of title 31, 

10 United States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

12 inserting ‘‘or planned’’ after ‘‘action taken’’; and 

13 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

16 Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee 

17 on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 

18 of Representatives, the congressional committees 

19 with jurisdiction over the agency program or activity 

20 that is the subject of the recommendation, and the 

21 Government Accountability Office before the 61st 

22 day after the date of the report; and’’. 

Æ 


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