SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2016’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
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. 
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY PROVISIONS FOR INSPEC-
TORS GENERAL. 
Section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.), as amended by section 5 of this Act, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(j)(1) In this subsection, the terms ‘agency’, ‘match-
ing program’, ‘record’, and ‘system of records’ have the 
meanings given those terms in section 552a(a) of title 5, 
United States Code. 
‘‘(2) For purposes of section 552a of title 5, United 
States Code, or any other provision of law, a computerized 
comparison of two or more automated Federal systems of 
records, or a computerized comparison of a Federal sys-
tem of records with other records or non-Federal records, 
performed by an Inspector General or by an agency in co-
ordination with an Inspector General in conducting an
audit, investigation, inspection, evaluation, or other review 
authorized under this Act shall not be considered a match-
ing program. 
‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
impede the exercise by an Inspector General of any match-
ing program authority established under any other provi-
sion of law. 
‘‘(k) Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United 
States Code, shall not apply to the collection of informa-
tion during the conduct of an audit, investigation, inspec-
tion, evaluation, or other review conducted by the Council 
of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency or 
any Office of Inspector General, including any Office of 
Special Inspector General.’’. 
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNCIL 
OF THE INSPECTORS GENERAL ON INTEG-
RITY AND EFFICIENCY. 
Section 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(3)(B), by amending clause 
(viii) to read as follows: 
‘‘(viii) prepare and transmit an an-
nual report on behalf of the Council on the 
activities of the Council to— 
‘‘(I) the President;
‘‘(II) the appropriate committees 
of jurisdiction of the Senate and the 
House of Representatives; 
‘‘(III) the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate; and 
‘‘(IV) the Committee on Over-
sight and Government Reform of the 
House of Representatives.’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)(1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (G), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as 
subparagraph (I); and 
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 
the following: 
‘‘(H) 
except 
for 
matters 
coordinated 
among Inspectors General under section 3033 
of title 50, United States Code, receive, review, 
and mediate any disputes submitted in writing 
to the Council by an Office of Inspector General 
regarding an audit, investigation, inspection, 
evaluation, or project that involves the jurisdic-
tion of more than one Office of Inspector Gen-
eral; and’’; and
(3) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking subparagraph (C); 
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 
(A), (B), and (D) as clauses (i), (ii), and 
(iii), respectively, and adjusting the mar-
gins accordingly; 
(iii) in the matter preceding clause (i), 
as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘The Integ-
rity’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Integrity’’; 
(iv) in clause (i), as so redesignated, 
by striking ‘‘, who’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘the Committee’’; 
(v) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, 
by inserting ‘‘or the designee of the Direc-
tor’’ before the period at the end; and 
(vi) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) CHAIRPERSON.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Integrity 
Committee shall elect one of the Inspectors 
General referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) 
to act as Chairperson of the Integrity 
Committee.
‘‘(ii) TERM.—The term of office of the 
Chairperson of the Integrity Committee 
shall be 2 years.’’; 
(B) by amending paragraph (5) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(5) REVIEW OF ALLEGATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days 
after the date on which the Integrity Committee 
receives an allegation of wrongdoing against an 
Inspector General or against a staff member of 
an Office of Inspector General described under 
paragraph (4)(C), the allegation of wrongdoing 
shall be reviewed and referred to the Depart-
ment of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel 
for investigation, or to the Integrity Committee 
for review, as appropriate, by— 
‘‘(i) a representative of the Depart-
ment of Justice, as designated by the At-
torney General; 
‘‘(ii) a representative of the Office of 
Special Counsel, as designated by the Spe-
cial Counsel; and 
‘‘(iii) a representative of the Integrity 
Committee, as designated by the Chair-
person of the Integrity Committee.
‘‘(B) REFERRAL TO THE CHAIRPERSON.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Except as pro-
vided in clause (ii), not later than 30 days 
after the date on which an allegation of 
wrongdoing is referred to the Integrity 
Committee under subparagraph (A), the 
Integrity 
Committee 
shall 
determine 
whether to refer the allegation of wrong-
doing to the Chairperson of the Integrity 
Committee to initiate an investigation. 
‘‘(ii) EXTENSION.—The 30-day period 
described in clause (i) may be extended for 
an additional period of 30 days if the In-
tegrity Committee provides written notice 
to the congressional committees described 
in paragraph (8)(A)(iii) that includes a de-
tailed, case-specific description of why the 
additional time is needed to evaluate the 
allegation of wrongdoing.’’; 
(C) in paragraph (6)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘paragraph (5)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-
graph (5)(B)’’; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by strik-
ing ‘‘may provide resources’’ and inserting 
‘‘shall provide assistance’’; 
(D) in paragraph (7)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B)— 
(I) in clause (i)— 
(aa) in subclause (III), by 
striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(bb) in subclause (IV), by 
striking the period at the end 
and inserting a semicolon; and 
(cc) by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(V) except as provided in clause 
(ii), ensuring, to the extent possible, 
that investigations are conducted by 
Offices of Inspector General of similar 
size; 
‘‘(VI) creating a process for rota-
tion of Inspectors General assigned to 
investigate allegations through the In-
tegrity Committee; and 
‘‘(VII) creating procedures to 
avoid conflicts of interest for Integrity 
Committee investigations.’’;
(II) by redesignating clause (ii) 
as clause (iii); and 
(III) by inserting after clause (i) 
the following: 
‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The requirement 
under clause (i)(V) shall not apply to any 
Office of Inspector General with less than 
50 employees who are authorized to con-
duct audits or investigations.’’; 
(ii) by striking subparagraph (C); and 
(iii) by inserting after subparagraph 
(B) the following: 
‘‘(C) COMPLETION OF INVESTIGATION.—If 
an allegation of wrongdoing is referred to the 
Chairperson of the Integrity Committee under 
paragraph (5)(B), the Chairperson of the Integ-
rity Committee— 
‘‘(i) shall complete the investigation 
not later than 150 days after the date on 
which the Integrity Committee made the 
referral; and 
‘‘(ii) if the investigation cannot be 
completed within the 150-day period de-
scribed in clause (i), shall—
‘‘(I) promptly notify the congres-
sional committees described in para-
graph (8)(A)(iii); and 
‘‘(II) brief the congressional com-
mittees 
described 
in 
paragraph 
(8)(A)(iii) every 30 days regarding the 
status of the investigation and the 
general reasons for delay until the in-
vestigation is complete. 
‘‘(D) CONCURRENT INVESTIGATION.—If an 
allegation of wrongdoing against an Inspector 
General or a staff member of an Office of In-
spector General described under paragraph 
(4)(C) is referred to the Department of Justice 
or the Office of Special Counsel under para-
graph (5)(A), the Chairperson of the Integrity 
Committee may conduct any related investiga-
tion referred to the Chairperson under para-
graph (5)(B) concurrently with the Department 
of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel, as 
applicable. 
‘‘(E) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(i) INTEGRITY
COMMITTEE
INVES-
TIGATIONS.—For each investigation of an 
allegation of wrongdoing referred to the
Chairperson of the Integrity Committee 
under paragraph (5)(B), the Chairperson 
of the Integrity Committee shall submit to 
members of the Integrity Committee and 
to the Chairperson of the Council a report 
containing the results of the investigation. 
‘‘(ii) OTHER
INVESTIGATIONS.—For 
each allegation of wrongdoing referred to 
the Department of Justice or the Office of 
Special Counsel under paragraph (5)(A), 
the Attorney General or the Special Coun-
sel, as applicable, shall submit to the In-
tegrity Committee a report containing the 
results of the investigation. 
‘‘(iii) AVAILABILITY TO CONGRESS.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The congres-
sional committees described in para-
graph (8)(A)(iii) shall have access to 
any report authored by the Integrity 
Committee. 
‘‘(II) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 
Subject to any other provision of law 
that would otherwise prohibit disclo-
sure of such information, the Integrity 
Committee may provide any report
authored by the Integrity Committee 
to any Member of Congress.’’; 
(E) by striking paragraph (8)(A)(iii) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(iii) submit the report, with the rec-
ommendations of the Integrity Committee, 
to the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, 
the Committee on Oversight and Govern-
ment Reform of the House of Representa-
tives, and other congressional committees 
of jurisdiction; and 
‘‘(iv) following the submission of the 
report under clause (iii) and upon request 
by any Member of Congress, submit the re-
port, with the recommendations of the In-
tegrity Committee, to that Member.’’; 
(F) in paragraph (9)(B), by striking 
‘‘other agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘the Depart-
ment of Justice or the Office of Special Coun-
sel’’; 
(G) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘any of 
the following’’ and all that follows through the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘any Member of 
Congress.’’; and
(H) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(12) ALLEGATIONS OF WRONGDOING AGAINST 
SPECIAL COUNSEL OR DEPUTY SPECIAL COUNSEL.— 
‘‘(A) SPECIAL COUNSEL DEFINED.—In this 
paragraph, the term ‘Special Counsel’ means 
the Special Counsel appointed under section 
1211(b) of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(B) AUTHORITY
OF
INTEGRITY
COM-
MITTEE.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An allegation of 
wrongdoing against the Special Counsel or 
the Deputy Special Counsel may be re-
ceived, reviewed, and referred for investiga-
tion to the same extent and in the same 
manner as in the case of an allegation 
against an Inspector General or against a 
staff member of an Office of Inspector 
General described under paragraph (4)(C), 
subject to the requirement that the rep-
resentative designated by the Special 
Counsel under paragraph (5)(A)(ii) shall 
recuse himself or herself from the consider-
ation of any allegation brought under this 
paragraph.
‘‘(ii) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING 
PROVISIONS
OF
LAW.—This paragraph 
shall not eliminate access to the Merit Sys-
tems Protection Board for review under 
section 7701 of title 5, United States 
Code. To the extent that an allegation 
brought under this paragraph involves sec-
tion 2302(b)(8) of such title, a failure to 
obtain corrective action within 120 days 
after the date on which the allegation is re-
ceived by the Integrity Committee shall, 
for purposes of section 1221 of such title, 
be 
considered 
to 
satisfy 
section 
1214(a)(3)(B) of such title. 
‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—The Integrity Com-
mittee may prescribe any rules or regulations 
necessary to carry out this paragraph, subject 
to such consultation or other requirements as 
may otherwise apply. 
‘‘(13) COMMITTEE RECORDS.—The Chairperson 
of the Council shall maintain the records of the In-
tegrity Committee.’’.
SEC. 4. REPORTS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. 
(a) REPORT ON VACANCIES IN THE OFFICES OF IN-
SPECTOR GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall— 
(1) conduct a study of prolonged vacancies in 
the Offices of Inspector General during which a tem-
porary appointee has served as the head of the office 
that includes— 
(A) the number and duration of Inspector 
General vacancies; 
(B) an examination of the extent to which 
the number and duration of such vacancies has 
changed over time; 
(C) an evaluation of the impact such va-
cancies have had on the ability of the relevant 
Office of Inspector General to effectively carry 
out statutory requirements; and 
(D) recommendations to minimize the du-
ration of such vacancies; 
(2) not later than 9 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, present a briefing on the 
findings of the study conducted under paragraph (1) 
to— 
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and