I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5985 
To establish the Office of the Special Inspector General for State Spending 
and Waste, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 16, 2021 
Ms. MALLIOTAKIS (for herself and Mr. DONALDS) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
A BILL 
To establish the Office of the Special Inspector General 
for State Spending and Waste, 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 ‘‘SIGSSAW Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR STATE SPEND-
ING AND WASTE. 
(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are as 
follows: 
(1) To provide for the independent and objec-
tive conduct and supervision of audits and investiga-
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tions relating to the programs and operations funded 
with amounts appropriated or otherwise made avail-
able for use by States. 
(2) To provide for the independent and objec-
tive leadership and coordination of, and rec-
ommendations on, policies designed to— 
(A) promote economy efficiency, and effec-
tiveness in the administration of the programs 
and operations described in paragraph (1); and 
(B) prevent and detect waste, fraud, and 
abuse in such programs and operations. 
(b) OFFICE
OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—There is 
hereby established the Office of the Special Inspector Gen-
eral for State Spending and Waste to carry out the pur-
poses of subsection (a). 
(c) APPOINTMENT
OF INSPECTOR GENERAL; RE-
MOVAL.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The head of the Office is 
the Special Inspector General for State Spending 
and Waste, who shall be appointed by the President. 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The appointment of the 
Inspector General shall be made solely on the basis 
of integrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, 
auditing, financial analysis, law, management anal-
ysis, public administration, or investigations. 
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(3) DEADLINE
FOR
APPOINTMENT.—The ap-
pointment of an individual as Inspector General 
shall be made not later than 30 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
(4) COMPENSATION.—The annual rate of basic 
pay of the Inspector General shall be the annual rate 
of basic pay provided for positions at level IV of the 
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(5) PROHIBITION ON POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.— 
For purposes of section 7324 of title 5, United 
States Code, the Inspector General shall not be con-
sidered an employee who determines policies to be 
pursued by the United States in the nationwide ad-
ministration of Federal law. 
(6) REMOVAL.—The Inspector General shall be 
removable from office in accordance with the provi-
sions of section 3(b) of the Inspector General Act of 
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 
(d) SUPERVISION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the Inspector General shall report directly 
to, and be under the general supervision of the Sec-
retary of Housing and Urban Development. 
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(2) INDEPENDENCE TO CONDUCT INVESTIGA-
TIONS AND AUDITS.—No officer of the Department 
of Housing and Urban Development shall prevent or 
prohibit the Inspector General from initiating, car-
rying out, or completing any audit or investigation 
related to amounts appropriated or otherwise made 
available for use by States with or from issuing any 
subpoena during the course of any such audit or in-
vestigation. 
(e) DUTIES.— 
(1) OVERSIGHT OF SPENDING BY STATES.—It 
shall be the duty of the Inspector General to con-
duct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investiga-
tions of the treatment, handling, and expenditure of 
amounts appropriated or otherwise made available 
for use by States (and of the programs, operations, 
and contracts carried out using such funds) includ-
ing— 
(A) audits and investigations with respect 
to— 
(i) the oversight and accounting of the 
obligation and expenditure of such funds; 
(ii) the monitoring and review of— 
(I) activities funded by such 
funds; 
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(II) contracts funded by such 
funds; and 
(III) the transfer of such funds 
from States to other entities, includ-
ing businesses and nongovernmental 
entities; 
(iii) the maintenance of records by 
States on the use of such funds to facili-
tate future audits and investigations; 
(iv) overpayments, such as duplicate 
payments or duplicate billing; and 
(v) any potential unethical or illegal 
actions of Federal employees or employees 
of States, contractors, or nongovernmental 
entities related to the treatment, handling, 
obligation, or expenditure of such funds; 
and 
(B) the referral of findings of such audits 
and investigations (as necessary) to the Depart-
ment of Justice to ensure further investigations, 
prosecutions, recovery of funds, or other rem-
edies. 
(2) OTHER DUTIES RELATED TO OVERSIGHT.— 
The Inspector General shall establish, maintain, and 
oversee such systems, procedures, and controls as 
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the Inspector General considers appropriate to dis-
charge the duties specified under paragraph (1). 
(3) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER IN-
SPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978.—In addition to the 
duties specified in paragraphs (1) and (2), the In-
spector General shall also have the duties and re-
sponsibilities of Inspectors General under the In-
spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 
(4) AUDIT STANDARDS.—The Inspector General 
shall carry out the duties specified in paragraph (1) 
in accordance with section 4(b)(1) of the Inspector 
General Act of 1978. 
(f) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.—In carrying out the 
duties specified in subsection (e), the Inspector General 
shall have the authorities provided in section 6 of the In-
spector General Act of 1978, including the authorities 
under section 6(e). 
(g) PERSONNEL, FACILITIES, AND
OTHER
RE-
SOURCES.— 
(1) PERSONNEL.—The Inspector General may 
select, appoint, and employ such officers and em-
ployees as may be necessary for carrying out the du-
ties of the Inspector General, subject to the provi-
sions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap-
pointments in the competitive service, and the provi-
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sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 
of such title, relating to classification and General 
Schedule pay rates. 
(2) EMPLOYMENT OF EXPERTS AND CONSULT-
ANTS.—The Inspector General may obtain services 
as authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United 
States Code, at daily rates not to exceed the equiva-
lent rate prescribed for grade GS–15 of the General 
Schedule by section 5332 of such title. 
(3) CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.—To the extent 
and in such amounts as may be provided in advance 
by appropriations Acts, the Inspector General may 
enter into contracts and other arrangements for au-
dits, studies, analyses, and other services with public 
agencies and with private persons, and make such 
payments as may be necessary to carry out the du-
ties of the Inspector General. 
(4) RESOURCES.—The Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development, as appropriate, shall pro-
vide the Inspector General with appropriate and ade-
quate office space at appropriate locations of the De-
partment of Housing and Urban Development, to-
gether with such equipment, office supplies, and 
communications facilities and services as may be 
necessary for the operation of such offices, and shall 
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provide necessary maintenance services for such of-
fices and the equipment and facilities located there-
in. 
(5) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the In-
spector General for information or assistance 
from any department, agency, or other entity of 
a State or the Federal Government, the head of 
such entity shall, insofar as is practicable and 
not in contravention of any existing law, furnish 
such information or assistance to the Inspector 
General, or a designee of the Inspector General. 
(B) REPORTING
OF
REFUSED
ASSIST-
ANCE.—Whenever information or assistance re-
quested by the Inspector General is, in the 
judgment of the Inspector General, unreason-
ably refused or not provided, the Inspector Gen-
eral shall report the circumstances to the De-
partment of Justice, as appropriate, and to the 
appropriate congressional committees without 
delay. 
(h) REPORTS.— 
(1) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Not later than 30 
days after the end of each fiscal-year quarter, the 
Inspector General shall submit to the appropriate 
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congressional committees a report summarizing, for 
the period of that quarter and, to the extent pos-
sible, the period from the end of such quarter to the 
time of the submission of the report, the activities 
during such period of the Inspector General and the 
activities under programs and operations funded 
with amounts appropriated or otherwise made avail-
able for use by States. Each report shall include, for 
the period covered by such report, a detailed state-
ment of all obligations, expenditures, and revenues 
associated with such funds, including the following: 
(A) Obligations and expenditures of such 
funds. 
(B) Detailed operating expenses of States 
that are related to the use of such funds. 
(C) In the case of any contract, grant, 
agreement, or other funding mechanism de-
scribed in paragraph (2)— 
(i) the amount of the contract, grant, 
agreement, or other funding mechanism; 
(ii) a brief discussion of the scope of 
the contract, grant, agreement, or other 
funding mechanism; 
(iii) a discussion of how the State in-
volved in the contract, grant, agreement, 
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or other funding mechanism identified, and 
solicited offers or applications from, poten-
tial individuals or entities to perform the 
contract or activities under the grant, 
agreement, or other funding mechanism; 
(iv) a list of the potential individuals 
or entities that were issued solicitations for 
the offers or applications; and 
(v) the justification and approval doc-
uments on which was based any determina-
tion to use procedures other than proce-
dures that provide for full and open com-
petition with respect to the contract, grant, 
agreement, or other funding mechanism. 
(2) COVERED
CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AGREE-
MENTS, AND FUNDING MECHANISMS.—A contract, 
grant, agreement, or other funding mechanism de-
scribed in this paragraph is any major contract, 
grant, agreement, or other funding mechanism with 
any public or private entity that— 
(A) is entered into by a State— 
(i) to build or rebuild physical infra-
structure of such State; or 
(ii) to provide products or services to 
the people of such State; and 
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(B) involves the use of amounts appro-
priated or otherwise made available for use by 
such State. 
(3) 
PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY.—The 
Inspector 
General shall publish on a publicly available website 
each report required under this subsection. 
(4) FORM.—Each report required under this 
subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form, 
but may include a classified annex if the Inspector 
General considers it necessary. 
(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
subsection shall be construed to authorize the public 
disclosure of information that is— 
(A) specifically prohibited from disclosure 
by any other provision of law; 
(B) specifically required by Executive order 
to be protected from disclosure in the interest 
of national defense or national security or in 
the conduct of foreign affairs; or 
(C) a part of an ongoing criminal inves-
tigation. 
(i) REPORT COORDINATION.— 
(1) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY OF HOUSING 
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.—The Inspector General 
shall also submit each report required under sub-
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section (h) to the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development. 
(2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 
after receipt of a report under paragraph (1), 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment may submit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees any comments on the matters 
covered by the report the Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development deems appropriate. 
(B) CLASSIFIED ANNEX.—Any comments 
on the matters covered by the report shall be 
submitted in unclassified form, but may include 
a classified annex if the Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development, as the case may be, 
considers it necessary. 
(j) TRANSPARENCY.— 
(1) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 
submission to the appropriate congressional commit-
tees of a report under subsection (i), the Secretary 
of Housing and Urban Development shall make cop-
ies of the report available to the public upon request, 
and at a reasonable cost. 
(2) COMMENTS ON MATTERS COVERED BY RE-
PORT.—Not later than 180 days after submission to 
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the appropriate congressional committees under sub-
section (i)(2) of comments on a report under sub-
section (h), the Secretary of Housing and Urban De-
velopment shall make copies of the comments avail-
able to the public upon request, and at a reasonable 
cost. 
(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 
2022 to carry out this section. 
(l) TERMINATION.—The Office of the Special Inspec-
tor General shall terminate on the date 5 years after the 
enactment of this Act. 
(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) AMOUNTS
APPROPRIATED
OR
OTHERWISE 
MADE AVAILABLE FOR USE BY STATES.—The term 
‘‘amounts appropriated or otherwise made available 
for use by States’’ means amounts appropriated or 
otherwise made available for any fiscal year by an 
entity of the Federal Government for use by a State, 
including amounts appropriated or otherwise made 
available for use by a State under the following: 
(A) The Coronavirus State and Local Fis-
cal Recovery Fund. 
(B) The Emergency Rental Assistance 
Program. 
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(C) The Coronavirus Relief Fund. 
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committees on Appropriations and 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate; 
(B) the Committees on Appropriations and 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
of Representatives; and 
(C) the Committees of Congress with juris-
diction over the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development. 
(3) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Inspec-
tor General’’ means the Special Inspector General 
for State Spending and Waste. 
(4) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of-
fice of the Special Inspector General for State 
Spending and Waste. 
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 
States of the United States of America and the Dis-
trict of Columbia. 
Æ 
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