IIB 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 928 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
OCTOBER 4, 2007 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to enhance 
the independence of the Inspectors General, to create 
a Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and 
Efficiency, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
HR 928 RFS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Improving Government Accountability Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Enhancing independence of Inspectors General. 
Sec. 3. Direct submission of budget requests to Congress. 
Sec. 4. Establishment of Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Ef-
ficiency. 
Sec. 5. Pay and bonuses of Inspectors General. 
Sec. 6. Miscellaneous enhancements. 
Sec. 7. Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act. 
Sec. 8. Application of semiannual reporting requirements with respect to in-
spection reports and evaluation reports. 
Sec. 9. Information on websites of Offices of Inspectors General. 
Sec. 10. Amendments to special provisions concerning the Department of Jus-
tice. 
Sec. 11. Annual Inspector General performance reviews of Federal programs 
and agencies. 
SEC. 2. ENHANCING INDEPENDENCE OF INSPECTORS GEN-
ERAL. 
(a) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—The Inspector General 
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 
(1) in section 3(b) by striking ‘‘the reasons for 
any such removal to both Houses of Congress.’’ and 
inserting the following: ‘‘in writing the reasons for 
any such removal to both Houses of Congress and 
to the Inspector General of the establishment at 
least 30 days before such removal. An Inspector 
General may be removed from office prior to the ex-
piration of his or her term only on any of the fol-
lowing grounds: 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
HR 928 RFS
‘‘(1) Permanent incapacity. 
‘‘(2) Inefficiency. 
‘‘(3) Neglect of duty. 
‘‘(4) Malfeasance. 
‘‘(5) Conviction of a felony or conduct involving 
moral turpitude. 
‘‘(6) Knowing violation of a law, rule, or regula-
tion. 
‘‘(7) Gross mismanagement. 
‘‘(8) Gross waste of funds. 
‘‘(9) Abuse of authority.’’; and 
(2) in section 8G(e) by striking ‘‘an Inspector 
General’’ and all that follows through the period at 
the end and inserting the following: ‘‘the head of a 
designated Federal entity intends to remove an In-
spector General from office or transfer an Inspector 
General to another position or location within such 
designated Federal entity, the head of such entity 
shall communicate in writing the reasons for any 
such removal or transfer to both Houses of Congress 
and to the Inspector General of the entity at least 
30 days before such removal or transfer.’’. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TERMS OF OFFICE.—The 
Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amend-
ed— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
HR 928 RFS
(1) in section 3 by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e)(1) The term of office of each Inspector General 
shall be seven years. An individual may serve for more 
than one term in such office. Any individual appointed and 
confirmed to fill a vacancy in such position, occurring be-
fore the expiration of the term for which his or her prede-
cessor was appointed, shall be appointed and confirmed 
for a full seven-year term. 
‘‘(2) An individual may continue to serve as Inspector 
General beyond the expiration of the term for which the 
individual is appointed until a successor is appointed and 
confirmed, except that such individual may not continue 
to serve for more than 1 year after the date on which the 
term would otherwise expire under paragraph (1).’’; and 
(2) in section 8G(c) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after 
‘‘(c)’’, and by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) The term of office of each Inspector General 
shall be seven years. An individual may serve for more 
than one term in such office. Any individual appointed to 
fill a vacancy in such position, occurring before the expira-
tion of the term for which his or her predecessor was ap-
pointed, shall be appointed for a full 7-year term.’’. 
(3) in section 3(a), by inserting after the first 
sentence the following: ‘‘A committee of Inspectors 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
HR 928 RFS
General of the Inspectors General Council estab-
lished under section 11 shall review nominations in 
light of these requirements, and the results of the 
committee’s review shall be provided to the Senate 
prior to the confirmation process.’’. 
(4) in section 8G(c), by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘The head of the designated Federal enti-
ty shall ask the committee of Inspectors General re-
ferred to in section 3(a) for a report on the quali-
fications of each final candidate for Inspector Gen-
eral and shall not appoint an Inspector General be-
fore reviewing such report.’’. 
(c) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 
section shall apply to any Inspector General appointed on 
or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 3. DIRECT SUBMISSION OF BUDGET REQUESTS TO 
CONGRESS. 
Section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(f)(1) For each fiscal year, an Inspector General 
shall inform the appropriate committees or subcommittees 
of the Congress if the budget request submitted by the 
head of the establishment would substantially inhibit the 
Inspector General from performing the duties of the office. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
HR 928 RFS
‘‘(2) The President shall include in each budget of 
the United States Government submitted to the Congress 
a separate statement of the amount of appropriations re-
quested by each Inspector General.’’. 
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNCIL OF THE INSPECTORS 
GENERAL ON INTEGRITY AND EFFICIENCY. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Inspector General Act of 
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by redesignating sec-
tions 11 and 12 in order as sections 12 and 13, and by 
inserting after section 10 the following new section: 
‘‘ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE INSPECTORS 
GENERAL ON INTEGRITY AND EFFICIENCY 
‘‘SEC. 11. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab-
lished as an independent entity within the executive 
branch the Inspectors General Council (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘Council’). The Council’s mission shall be 
to coordinate and enhance governmental efforts to pro-
mote integrity and efficiency and to detect and prevent 
fraud, waste, and abuse in Federal programs. 
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall consist of 
the following members: 
‘‘(A) All Inspectors General whose offices 
are established under— 
‘‘(i) section 2; or 
‘‘(ii) section 8G. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
HR 928 RFS
‘‘(B) The Inspectors General of the Cen-
tral Intelligence Agency and the Government 
Printing Office. 
‘‘(C) The Controller of the Office of Fed-
eral Financial Management. 
‘‘(D) A senior level official of the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation designated by the Di-
rector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 
‘‘(E) The Director of the Office of Govern-
ment Ethics. 
‘‘(F) The Special Counsel of the Office of 
Special Counsel. 
‘‘(G) The Deputy Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management. 
‘‘(H) The Deputy Director for Manage-
ment of the Office of Management and Budget. 
‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON
AND
EXECUTIVE
CHAIR-
PERSON.— 
‘‘(A) 
EXECUTIVE
CHAIRPERSON.—The 
Deputy Director for Management of the Office 
of Management and Budget shall be the Execu-
tive Chairperson of the Council. 
‘‘(B) CHAIRPERSON.—The Council shall 
elect one of the Inspectors General referred to 
in paragraph (1)(A) or (B) to act as Chair-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
HR 928 RFS
person of the Council. The term of office of the 
Chairperson shall be two years. 
‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS OF CHAIRPERSON AND EXECU-
TIVE CHAIRPERSON.— 
‘‘(A) EXECUTIVE CHAIRPERSON.—The Ex-
ecutive Chairperson shall— 
‘‘(i) preside over meetings of the 
Council; 
‘‘(ii) provide to the heads of agencies 
and entities represented on the Council 
with summary reports of the activities of 
the Council; and 
‘‘(iii) provide to the Council such in-
formation relating to the agencies and en-
tities represented on the Council as will as-
sist the Council in performing its func-
tions. 
‘‘(B) 
CHAIRPERSON.—The 
Chairperson 
shall— 
‘‘(i) convene meetings of the Coun-
cil— 
‘‘(I) at least six times each year; 
‘‘(II) monthly to the extent pos-
sible; and 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
HR 928 RFS
‘‘(III) more frequently at his or 
her discretion; 
‘‘(ii) exercise the functions and duties 
of the Council under subsection (c); 
‘‘(iii) appoint a Vice Chairperson to 
assist in carrying out the functions of the 
Council and act in the absence of the 
Chairperson, from a category of Inspectors 
General described in subparagraph (A)(i), 
(A)(ii), or (B) of subsection (b)(1), other 
than the category from which the Chair-
person was elected; 
‘‘(iv) make such payments from funds 
otherwise available to the Council as may 
be necessary to carry out the functions of 
the Council; 
‘‘(v) select, appoint, and employ per-
sonnel as needed to carry out the functions 
of the Council subject to the availability of 
appropriations and the provisions of title 5, 
United States Code, governing appoint-
ments in the competitive service, and the 
provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 
III of chapter 53 of such title, relating to 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
HR 928 RFS
classification and General Schedule pay 
rates; 
‘‘(vi) to the extent and in such 
amounts as may be provided in advance by 
appropriations Acts, enter into contracts 
and other arrangements with public agen-
cies and private persons to carry out the 
functions and duties of the Council; 
‘‘(vii) establish, in consultation with 
the members of the Council, such commit-
tees as determined by the Chairperson to 
be necessary and appropriate for the effi-
cient conduct of Council functions; and 
‘‘(viii) prepare and transmit a report 
annually on behalf of the Council to the 
President on the activities of the Council. 
‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF COUNCIL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall— 
‘‘(A) continually identify, review, and dis-
cuss areas of weakness and vulnerability in 
Federal programs and operations with respect 
to fraud, waste, and abuse; 
‘‘(B) develop plans for coordinated, Gov-
ernment-wide activities that address these prob-
lems and promote economy and efficiency in 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
HR 928 RFS
‘‘(2) For purposes of applying section 4507(b) of title 
5, United States Code, paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall be ap-
plied by substituting ‘the Council of the Inspectors Gen-
eral on Integrity and Efficiency (established by section 11 
of the Inspector General Act) shall’ for ‘the Inspector Gen-
eral who is the head of an office referred to in clause (i) 
shall, with respect to such office,’.’’. 
(b) SUBPOENA POWER.—Section 6(a)(4) of the In-
spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), is amend-
ed— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘in any medium (including 
electronically stored information, as well as any tan-
gible thing)’’ after ‘‘other data’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘subpena’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-
poena’’. 
(c) LAW
ENFORCEMENT
AUTHORITY
FOR
DES-
IGNATED FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Section 6(e) of the In-
spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘appointed 
under section 3’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) In this subsection the term ‘Inspector General’ 
means an Inspector General appointed under section 3 or 
an Inspector General appointed under section 8G.’’. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:03 Oct 05, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H928.RFS
H928
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS