I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5690 
To ensure the Government Accountability Office has adequate access to 
information. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 8, 2016 
Mr. CARTER of Georgia (for himself and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform 
A BILL 
To ensure the Government Accountability Office has 
adequate access to information. 
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 ‘‘GAO Access and Over-
sight Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION. 
(a) ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.—Subchapter 
II of chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘§ 721. Access to certain information 
‘‘(a) No provision of the Social Security Act, includ-
ing section 453(l) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 653(l)), shall 
be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority 
of the Comptroller General to obtain any information or 
to inspect any record under section 716 of this title. 
‘‘(b) The specific reference to a statute in subsection 
(a) shall not be construed to affect access by the Govern-
ment Accountability Office to information under statutes 
that are not so referenced.’’. 
(b) 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 striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee 
on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
of Representatives, the congressional committees 
with jurisdiction over the agency program or activity 
that is the subject of the recommendation, and the 
Government Accountability Office before the 61st 
day after the date of the report; and’’. 
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(c) 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 
(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 the duties of the Comptroller General 
(including audit, evaluation, and investigative duties), in-
cluding through the bringing of civil actions under this 
section. In reviewing a civil action under this section, the 
court shall recognize the continuing force and effect of the 
authorization in the preceding sentence until such time as 
the authorization is repealed pursuant to law.’’. 
(d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections for chapter 7 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 720 the following: 
‘‘721. Access to certain information.’’. 
Æ 
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