scribed in subsection (c)) have for any claim that they are 
owed any monies denied to them in the form of merit pay 
for 2006 under section 731(b) of title 31, United States 
Code, or any other law. Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, no court or administrative body in the United 
States, including the Government Accountability Office 
Personnel Appeals Board, shall have jurisdiction to enter-
tain any civil action or other civil proceeding based on the 
claim of such officers or employees that they were due 
money in the form of merit pay for 2006 pursuant to such 
section 731(b) or any other law. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘performance-based compensation’’ 
has the meaning given such term under the Govern-
ment Accountability Office’s performance-based com-
pensation system under GAO Orders 2540.3 and 
2540.4, as in effect in 2006; and 
(2) the term ‘‘permanent merit pay increase’’ 
means an increase under section 731(b) of title 31, 
United States Code, in a rate of basic pay. 
SEC. 5. INSPECTOR GENERAL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘§ 705. Inspector General for the Government Account-
ability Office 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab-
lished an Office of the Inspector General in the Government 
Accountability Office, to— 
‘‘(1) conduct and supervise audits consistent 
with generally accepted government auditing stand-
ards and investigations relating to the Government 
Accountability Office; 
‘‘(2) provide leadership and coordination and 
recommend policies, to promote economy, efficiency, 
and effectiveness in the Government Accountability 
Office; and 
‘‘(3) keep the Comptroller General and Congress 
fully and currently informed concerning fraud and 
other serious problems, abuses, and deficiencies relat-
ing to the administration of programs and operations 
of the Government Accountability Office. 
‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT, SUPERVISION, AND REMOVAL.— 
‘‘(1) The Office of the Inspector General shall be 
headed by an Inspector General, who shall be ap-
pointed by the Comptroller General without regard to 
political affiliation and solely on the basis of integ-
rity and demonstrated ability in accounting, audit-
ing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, 
public administration, or investigations. The Inspec-
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tor General shall report to, and be under the general 
supervision of, the Comptroller General. 
‘‘(2) The Inspector General may be removed from 
office by the Comptroller General. The Comptroller 
General shall, promptly upon such removal, commu-
nicate in writing the reasons for any such removal to 
each House of Congress. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—In addi-
tion to the authority otherwise provided by this section, the 
Inspector General, in carrying out the provisions of this 
section, may— 
‘‘(1) have access to all records, reports, audits, 
reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or 
other material that relate to programs and operations 
of the Government Accountability Office; 
‘‘(2) make such investigations and reports relat-
ing to the administration of the programs and oper-
ations of the Government Accountability Office as are, 
in the judgment of the Inspector General, necessary or 
desirable; 
‘‘(3) request such documents and information as 
may be necessary for carrying out the duties and re-
sponsibilities provided by this section from any Fed-
eral agency; 
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‘‘(4) in the performance of the functions assigned 
by this section, obtain all information, documents, re-
ports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other 
data and documentary evidence from a person not in 
the United States Government or from a Federal 
agency, to the same extent and in the same manner 
as the Comptroller General under the authority and 
procedures available to the Comptroller General in 
section 716 of this title; 
‘‘(5) administer to or take from any person an 
oath, affirmation, or affidavit, whenever necessary in 
the performance of the functions assigned by this sec-
tion, which oath, affirmation, or affidavit when ad-
ministered or taken by or before an employee of the 
Office of Inspector General designated by the Inspec-
tor General shall have the same force and effect as if 
administered or taken by or before an officer having 
a seal; 
‘‘(6) have direct and prompt access to the Comp-
troller General when necessary for any purpose per-
taining to the performance of functions and respon-
sibilities under this section; 
‘‘(7) report expeditiously to the Attorney General 
whenever the Inspector General has reasonable 
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grounds to believe there has been a violation of Fed-
eral criminal law; and 
‘‘(8) provide copies of all reports to the Audit 
Advisory Committee of the Government Account-
ability Office and provide such additional informa-
tion in connection with such reports as is requested 
by the Committee. 
‘‘(d) COMPLAINTS BY EMPLOYEES.— 
‘‘(1) The Inspector General— 
‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), may re-
ceive, review, and investigate, as the Inspector 
General considers appropriate, complaints or in-
formation from an employee of the Government 
Accountability Office concerning the possible ex-
istence of an activity constituting a violation of 
any law, rule, or regulation, mismanagement, or 
a gross waste of funds; and 
‘‘(B) shall refer complaints or information 
concerning violations of personnel law, rules, or 
regulations to established investigative and adju-
dicative entities of the Government Account-
ability Office. 
‘‘(2) The Inspector General shall not, after re-
ceipt of a complaint or information from an em-
ployee, disclose the identity of the employee without 
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the consent of the employee, unless the Inspector Gen-
eral determines such disclosure is unavoidable during 
the course of the investigation. 
‘‘(3) Any employee who has authority to take, di-
rect others to take, recommend, or approve any per-
sonnel action, shall not, with respect to such author-
ity, take or threaten to take any action against any 
employee as a reprisal for making a complaint or dis-
closing information to the Inspector General, unless 
the complaint was made or the information disclosed 
with the knowledge that it was false or with willful 
disregard for its truth or falsity. 
‘‘(e) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—(1) The Inspector Gen-
eral shall submit semiannual reports summarizing the ac-
tivities of the Office of the Inspector General to the Comp-
troller General. Such reports shall include, but need not be 
limited to— 
‘‘(A) a summary of each significant report made 
during the reporting period, including a description 
of significant problems, abuses, and deficiencies dis-
closed by such report; 
‘‘(B) a description of the recommendations for 
corrective action made with respect to significant 
problems, abuses, or deficiencies described pursuant to 
subparagraph (A); 
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‘‘(C) a summary of the progress made in imple-
menting such corrective action described pursuant to 
subparagraph (B); and 
‘‘(D) information concerning any disagreement 
the Comptroller General has with a recommendation 
of the Inspector General. 
‘‘(2) The Comptroller General shall transmit the semi-
annual reports of the Inspector General, together with any 
comments the Comptroller General considers appropriate, 
to Congress within 30 days after receipt of such reports. 
‘‘(f) INDEPENDENCE IN CARRYING OUT DUTIES AND 
RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Comptroller General may not 
prevent or prohibit the Inspector General from carrying out 
any of the duties or responsibilities of the Inspector General 
under this section. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORITY FOR STAFF.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General shall 
select, appoint, and employ such personnel as may be 
necessary to carry out this section consistent with the 
provisions of this title governing selections, appoint-
ments, and employment in the Government Account-
ability Office. Such personnel shall be appointed, pro-
moted, and assigned only on the basis of merit and 
fitness, but without regard to those provisions of title 
5 governing appointments and other personnel actions 
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in the competitive service, except that no personnel of 
the Office may be paid at an annual rate greater 
than $1,000 less than the annual rate of pay of the 
Inspector General. 
‘‘(2) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Inspec-
tor General may procure temporary and intermittent 
services under section 3109 of title 5 at rates not to 
exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic 
pay for level V of the Executive Schedule under sec-
tion 5315 of such title. 
‘‘(3) INDEPENDENCE IN APPOINTING STAFF.—No 
individual may carry out any of the duties or respon-
sibilities of the Office of the Inspector General unless 
the individual is appointed by the Inspector General, 
or provides services obtained by the Inspector General, 
pursuant to this paragraph. 
‘‘(4) LIMITATION
ON
PROGRAM
RESPONSIBIL-
ITIES.—The Inspector General and any individual 
carrying out any of the duties or responsibilities of 
the Office of the Inspector General are prohibited from 
performing any program responsibilities. 
‘‘(h) OFFICE SPACE.—The Comptroller General shall 
provide the Office of the Inspector General— 
‘‘(1) appropriate and adequate office space; 
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‘‘(2) such equipment, office supplies, and com-
munications facilities and services as may be nec-
essary for the operation of the Office of the Inspector 
General; 
‘‘(3) necessary maintenance services for such of-
fice space, equipment, office supplies, and commu-
nications facilities; and 
‘‘(4) equipment and facilities located in such of-
fice space. 
‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term 
‘Federal agency’ means a department, agency, instrumen-
tality, or unit thereof, of the Federal Government.’’. 
(b) INCUMBENT.—The individual who serves in the po-
sition of Inspector General of the Government Account-
ability Office on the date of the enactment of this Act shall 
continue to serve in such position subject to removal in ac-
cordance with the amendments made by this section. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for 
chapter 7 is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 704 the following: 
‘‘705. Inspector General for the Government Accountability Office.’’. 
SEC. 6. ADMINISTERING OATHS. 
Section 711 is amended by striking paragraph (4) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(4) administer oaths to witnesses, except that, 
in matters other than auditing and settling accounts, 
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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 des-
ignee).’’. 
SEC. 7. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS. 
Section 719 is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 
(3) by adding at the end of subsection (b)(1) the 
following: 
‘‘(D) for agencies subject to sections 901–903 and 
other agencies designated by the Comptroller General, 
an assessment of their overall degree of cooperation in 
making personnel available for interview, providing 
written answers to questions, submitting to an oath 
authorized by the Comptroller General under section 
711, granting access to records, providing timely com-
ments to draft reports, adopting recommendations in 
reports and responding to such other matters as the 
Comptroller General deems appropriate in carrying 
out his duties under authority of sections 711–720 or 
any other provisions of law.’’; 
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(4) in subsection (c)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(5) in subsection (c)(3), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and 
(6) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(4) as soon as practicable when an agency does 
not, within a reasonable time of a request by the 
Comptroller General, make personnel available for 
interview, provide written answers to questions, grant 
access to records, or submit to an oath authorized by 
the Comptroller General under sections 711–720 or 
any other provisions of law.’’. 
SEC. 8. REIMBURSEMENT OF AUDIT COSTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3521 is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(i)(1) Any executive agency or component thereof that 
prepares an audited financial statement under section 3515 
shall reimburse the Government Accountability Office the 
cost of any audit of the financial statements (or any part 
thereof) and related schedules of such agency or component 
performed by the Comptroller General. 
‘‘(2) Reimbursements required by paragraph (1) shall 
be credited to the appropriation account ‘Salaries and Ex-
penses, Government Accountability Office’ current when the 
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