I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2681 

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require the Integrity Committee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to include additional information in requests and reports to Congress, to make information available to certain Members of Congress 

regarding certain allegations of wrongdoing closed without referral, to 

require the Integrity Committee to submit semiannual reports to Congress and the President, to expand the membership of the Integrity 

Committee, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 20, 2021 

Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 

PORTER, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. KHANNA, and 

Mr. SARBANES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Reform 

A BILL 

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require 

the Integrity Committee of the Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency to include additional 

information in requests and reports to Congress, to make 

information available to certain Members of Congress 

regarding certain allegations of wrongdoing closed without referral, to require the Integrity Committee to submit 

semiannual reports to Congress and the President, to 

expand the membership of the Integrity Committee, 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 ‘‘Integrity Committee 

5 Transparency Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN 

7 REQUESTS AND REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

8 Section 11(d) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 

9 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (5)(B)(ii), by striking the pe11 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, the length of time 

12 the Integrity Committee has been evaluating the al13 legation of wrongdoing, and a description of any pre14 vious written notice provided under this clause with 

15 respect to the allegation of wrongdoing, including 

16 the description provided for why additional time was 

17 needed.’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (8)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘or 

19 corrective action’’ after ‘‘disciplinary action’’. 

20 SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO MEMBERS OF 

21 CONGRESS REGARDING CERTAIN ALLEGA22 TIONS OF WRONGDOING CLOSED WITHOUT 

23 REFERRAL. 

24 (a) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO MEMBERS OF

25 CONGRESS.—Section 11(d)(5)(B) of the Inspector GenVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681

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

2 at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(iii) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION

4 TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—With respect 

6 to an allegation of wrongdoing made 

7 by a member of Congress that is 

8 closed by the Integrity Committee 

9 without referral to the Chairperson of 

10 the Integrity Committee to initiate an 

11 investigation, the Chairperson of the 

12 Integrity Committee shall, not later 

13 than 60 days after closing such alle14 gation, provide a written description 

15 of the nature of the allegation of 

16 wrongdoing and how the Integrity 

17 Committee evaluated the allegation of 

18 wrongdoing to— 

19 ‘‘(aa) the Chair and Rank20 ing Member of the Committee on 

21 Oversight and Reform of the 

22 House of Representatives; 

23 ‘‘(bb) the Chair and Rank24 ing Member of the Committee on 


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1 Homeland Security and Govern2 mental Affairs of the Senate; 

3 ‘‘(cc) a member of the 

4 House of Representatives who 

5 has the support of any seven 

6 members of the Committee on 

7 Oversight and Reform of the 

8 House of Representatives; or 

9 ‘‘(dd) a member of the Sen10 ate who has the support of any 

11 five members of the Committee 

12 on Homeland Security and Gov13 ernmental Affairs of the Senate. 

14 ‘‘(II) REQUIREMENT TO FOR15 WARD.—The Chairperson of the In16 tegrity Committee shall forward any 

17 written description or update provided 

18 under this clause to the members of 

19 the Integrity Committee and to the 

20 Chairperson of the Council.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. SEMIANNUAL REPORT. 

22 Section 11(d)(9) of the Inspector General Act of 

23 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(9) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.—On or before May 

25 31, 2022, and every six months thereafter, the 


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1 Council shall submit to Congress and the President 

2 a report on the activities of the Integrity Committee 

3 during the immediately preceding six-month periods 

4 ending March 31 and September 30, which shall in5 clude the following with respect to allegations of 

6 wrongdoing that are made against Inspectors Gen7 eral and staff members of the various Offices of In8 spector General described under paragraph (4)(C): 

9 ‘‘(A) An overview and analysis of the alle10 gations of wrongdoing disposed of by the Integ11 rity Committee, including— 

12 ‘‘(i) analysis of the positions held by 

13 individuals against whom allegations were 

14 made, including the duties affiliated with 

15 such positions; 

16 ‘‘(ii) analysis of the categories or 

17 types of the allegations of wrongdoing; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) a summary of disposition of all 

19 the allegations. 

20 ‘‘(B) The number of allegations referred to 

21 the Department of Justice or the Office of Spe22 cial Counsel, including the number of allega23 tions referred for criminal investigation. 

24 ‘‘(C) The number of allegations referred to 

25 the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee for 


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1 investigation, a general description of the status 

2 of such investigations, and a summary of the 

3 findings of investigations completed. 

4 ‘‘(D) An overview and analysis of allega5 tions of wrongdoing received by the Integrity 

6 Committee during any previous reporting pe7 riod, but remained pending during some part of 

8 the six months covered by the report, includ9 ing— 

10 ‘‘(i) analysis of the positions held by 

11 individuals against whom allegations were 

12 made, including the duties affiliated with 

13 such positions; 

14 ‘‘(ii) analysis of the categories or 

15 types of the allegations of wrongdoing; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) a summary of disposition of all 

17 the allegations. 

18 ‘‘(E) The number and category or type of 

19 pending investigations. 

20 ‘‘(F) For each allegation received— 

21 ‘‘(i) the date on which the investiga22 tion was opened; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the allegation 

24 was disposed of, as applicable; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the case number associated with 

2 the allegation. 

3 ‘‘(G) The nature and number of allegations 

4 to the Integrity Committee closed without refer5 ral, including the justification for why each alle6 gation was closed without referral. 

7 ‘‘(H) A brief description of any difficulty 

8 encountered by the Integrity Committee when 

9 receiving, evaluating, investigating, or referring 

10 for investigation an allegation received by the 

11 Integrity Committee, including a brief descrip12 tion of— 

13 ‘‘(i) any attempt to prevent or hinder 

14 an investigation; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) concerns about the integrity or 

16 operations at an Office of Inspector Gen17 eral.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL REPORTS; RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

19 Section 11(d) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 

20 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(14) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) REPORT TO INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

24 The Chairperson of the Integrity Committee 

25 shall submit a report immediately whenever the 


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1 Chairperson of the Integrity Committee be2 comes aware of particularly serious or flagrant 

3 problems, abuses, or deficiencies relating to the 

4 administration of programs and operations of 

5 such Office of Inspector General. The report 

6 shall be sent to the Inspector General who leads 

7 the Office of Inspector General at which the se8 rious or flagrant problems, abuses, or defi9 ciencies were alleged. 

10 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Inspec11 tor General of the Office identified by the In12 tegrity Committee shall submit any such report 

13 to the House Committee on Oversight and Re14 form and the Senate Committee on Homeland 

15 Security and Governmental Affairs within seven 

16 calendar days from the time the agency head 

17 receives the report together with a report by the 

18 Inspector General at the Office identified by the 

19 Integrity Committee containing any comments 

20 such Inspector General deems appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(15) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF INFORMA23 TION.—Except as provided in subparagraph 

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1 strued to authorize the public disclosure of in2 formation which is— 

3 ‘‘(i) prohibited from disclosure by any 

4 other provision of law; 

5 ‘‘(ii) required by Executive order to be 

6 protected from disclosure in the interest of 

7 national defense or national security or in 

8 the conduct of foreign affairs; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) a part of an ongoing criminal in10 vestigation. 

11 ‘‘(B) PROVISION OF REPORT TO REQUEST12 ING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Subject to any 

13 other provision of law that would otherwise pro14 hibit disclosure of such information, the infor15 mation described in subparagraph (A) may be 

16 provided to any Member of Congress upon re17 quest of the Member. 

18 ‘‘(16) PROHIBITED DISCLOSURES.—The Integ19 rity Committee may not provide or otherwise disclose 

20 to Congress or the public any information that re21 veals the personally identifiable information of an in22 dividual who alleges wrongdoing to the Integrity 

23 Committee under this subsection unless the Integrity 

24 Committee first obtains the consent of the indi25 vidual.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP OF INTEGRITY COMMITTEE. 

2 Section 11(d)(2) of the Inspector General Act of 

3 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (A), by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(iv) The individual appointed under 

7 subparagraph (C).’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(C) APPOINTMENT OF FORMER INSPEC10 TOR GENERAL TO COMMITTEE.— 

11 ‘‘(i) APPOINTMENT.—The Chair12 person of the Council shall appoint an indi13 vidual who prior to the date of such ap14 pointment served as an Inspector General 

15 (as that position is described in section 

16 3(a) and section 8G(a)(6)), and who has 

17 upheld the highest standards of integrity 

18 and professionalism while serving and since 

19 leaving service as an Inspector General, as 

20 determined by the Chairperson, to serve as 

21 a member of the Committee unless no such 

22 individual is available or willing to serve as 

23 a member of the Committee at the time of 

24 the appointment. 

25 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL TERM.—The individual 

26 appointed under clause (i) shall serve at 


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1 the pleasure of the Chairperson of the 

2 Council for a 2-year term. 

3 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL TERM.—The Chair4 person of the Council may reappoint the 

5 individual appointed under clause (i) to 

6 serve at the pleasure of the Chairperson of 

7 the Council for an additional term not to 

8 exceed 2 years. 

9 ‘‘(iv) COMPENSATION.— 

10 ‘‘(I) SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EM11 PLOYEE DESIGNATION.—The indi12 vidual appointed under clause (i) shall 

13 be considered a special government 

14 employee pursuant to section 202(a) 

15 of title 18, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(II) COMPENSATION AND TRAV17 EL EXPENSES.—An individual ap18 pointed under clause (i) may not re19 ceive compensation at a rate in excess 

20 of the rate of basic pay for level IV of 

21 the executive schedule under section 

22 5315 of title 5, United States Code, 

23 and any such individual, while en24 gaged in the performance of their du25 ties away from their homes or regular 


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1 places of business, may be allowed 

2 travel expenses, including per diem in 

3 lieu of subsistence, as authorized by 

4 section 5703 of such title for persons 

5 employed intermittently in the Gov6 ernment service. 

7 ‘‘(III) ACCEPTANCE OF VOLUN8 TEER SERVICES.—The Chairperson of 

9 the Council may accept volunteer serv10 ices from the individual appointed 

11 under this subparagraph without re12 gard to section 1342 of title 31, 

13 United States Code. 

14 ‘‘(IV) PROVISIONS RELATING TO

15 REEMPLOYMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(aa) The Chairperson of 

17 the Council may reemploy annu18 itants. 

19 ‘‘(bb) The employment of 

20 annuitants under this paragraph 

21 shall be subject to the provisions 

22 of section 9902(g) of title 5, 

23 United States Code, as if the 

24 Council was the Department of 

25 Defense.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT TO REFER ALLEGATIONS OF 

2 WRONGDOING AGAINST INSPECTOR GEN3 ERAL TO INTEGRITY COMMITTEE. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 11(d)(4) of the Inspec5 tor General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (A), in the heading, by 

7 striking ‘‘REQUIREMENT’’ and inserting ‘‘ALLEGA8 TIONS AGAINST STAFF MEMBERS’’; 

9 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 

10 (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and 

11 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(B) ALLEGATIONS AGAINST INSPECTORS

14 GENERAL.—An Inspector General shall refer to 

15 the Integrity Committee any allegation of 

16 wrongdoing against that Inspector General.’’. 

17 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

18 Section 11(d)(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

19 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking ‘‘(4)(C)’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘(4)(D)’’. 

21 SEC. 8. REQUIREMENT TO REPORT FINAL DISPOSITION TO 

22 CONGRESS. 

23 Section 11(d)(8)(B) of the Inspector General Act of 

24 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by inserting ‘‘, the Com25 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

26 of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and Reform 


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1 of the House of Representatives, and other congressional 

2 committees of jurisdiction,’’ after ‘‘Integrity Committee’’. 

Æ 


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