IIB 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1162 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
APRIL 16, 2013 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend title 31, United States Code, to make 
improvements in the Government Accountability Office. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Government Account-
ability Office Improvement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IMPROVE-
MENT. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INFORMATION.— 
(1) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN RECORDS.—Section 
716 of title 31, United States Code, is amended in 
subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)’’; 
and 
(B) 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.’’. 
(2) COPIES.—Section 716(a) of title 31, United 
States Code, as amended by subsection (a), is fur-
ther amended in the second sentence of paragraph 
(2) by striking ‘‘inspect an agency record’’ and in-
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serting ‘‘inspect, and make and retain copies of, an 
agency record’’. 
(b) ADMINISTERING OATHS.—Section 711 of title 31, 
United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (4) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(4) administer oaths to witnesses when audit-
ing and settling accounts and, with the prior express 
approval of the Comptroller General, when inves-
tigating fraud or attempts to defraud the United 
States, or irregularity or misconduct of an employee 
or agent of the United States.’’. 
(c) ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 
(1) ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.—Sub-
chapter II of chapter 7 of title 31, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 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 or copy any record under section 716 of this 
title. 
‘‘(b) No provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act, including section 301(j) of that Act (21 
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U.S.C. 331(j)), shall be construed to limit, amend, or su-
persede the authority of the Comptroller General to obtain 
any information or to inspect or copy any record under 
section 716 of this title. 
‘‘(c)(1) The Comptroller General shall prescribe such 
policies and procedures as are necessary to protect from 
public disclosure proprietary or trade secret information 
obtained consistent with this section. 
‘‘(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to— 
‘‘(A) alter or amend the prohibitions against 
the disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive infor-
mation prohibited by section 1905 of title 18 and 
other applicable laws; or 
‘‘(B) affect the applicability of section 716(e) of 
this title, including the protections against unauthor-
ized disclosure contained in that section, to informa-
tion obtained consistent with this section. 
‘‘(d) Specific references to statutes in this section 
shall not be construed to affect access by the Government 
Accountability Office to information under statutes that 
are not so referenced.’’. 
(2) TECHNICAL
AND
CONFORMING
AMEND-
MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 7 of title 
31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 720 the following: 
‘‘721. Access to certain information.’’. 
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(d) 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’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives April 15, 2013. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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