I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2646 
To amend title 31, United States Code, to enhance the oversight authorities 
of the Comptroller General, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 2, 2009 
Mr. TOWNS 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 enhance the 
oversight authorities of the Comptroller General, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Government Account-
ability Office Improvement Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INFORMATION. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN RECORDS.—Section 716 
of title 31, United States Code, is amended in subsection 
(a)— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)’’; and 
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(2) by inserting after the section heading the 
following: 
‘‘(a)(1) The Comptroller General is authorized to ob-
tain such agency records as the Comptroller General re-
quires to discharge his duties (including audit, evaluation, 
and investigative duties), including through the bringing 
of civil actions under this section. In reviewing a civil ac-
tion under this section, the court shall recognize the con-
tinuing force and effect of the authorization in the pre-
ceding sentence until such time as the authorization is re-
pealed pursuant to law.’’. 
(b) COPIES AND INTERVIEWS.—Section 716(a) of 
title 31, United States Code, as amended by subsection 
(a), is further amended in the second sentence of para-
graph (2) by striking ‘‘inspect an agency record’’ and in-
serting ‘‘inspect, and make and retain copies of, an agency 
record and interview agency officers and employees’’. 
(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 716 of title 
31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) No provision of any law in existence on the date 
of the enactment of this section or enacted after such date 
shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the au-
thority of the Comptroller General to obtain any informa-
tion, to inspect any record, or to interview any officer or 
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employee under this section, except to the extent such pro-
vision expressly and specifically refers to this section and 
provides for such limitation, amendment, or superses-
sion.’’. 
SEC. 3. ADMINISTERING OATHS. 
Paragraph (4) of section 711 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(4) administer oaths to witnesses, except that, 
in matters other than auditing and settling accounts, 
the authority of an officer or employee to administer 
oaths to witnesses pursuant to a delegation under 
paragraph (2) shall not be available without the 
prior express approval of the Comptroller General 
(or a designee).’’. 
SEC. 4. AGENCY REPORTS. 
Section 720(b) of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
inserting ‘‘or planned’’ after ‘‘action taken’’; and 
(2) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee 
on Oversight and Government Operations of the 
House of Representatives, the congressional commit-
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tees with jurisdiction over the agency program or ac-
tivity that is the subject of the recommendation, and 
the Government Accountability Office before the 
61st day after the date of the report; and’’. 
Æ 
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