I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5300 
To amend provisions relating to the Office of the Inspector General of the 
Government Accountability Office, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 29, 2023 
Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
A BILL 
To amend provisions relating to the Office of the Inspector 
General of the Government Accountability Office, 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 ‘‘GAO Inspector Gen-
eral Parity Act’’. 
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE GOV-
ERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE. 
Section 705 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
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(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘The In-
spector General’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (A), as so des-
ignated, by striking the second sentence; 
and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) If the Inspector General is removed from 
office or is transferred to another position or loca-
tion within the Government Accountability Office, 
the Comptroller General shall communicate in writ-
ing the substantive rationale, including detailed and 
case-specific reasons, for any such removal or trans-
fer to both Houses of Congress (including to the ap-
propriate congressional committees), not later than 
30 days before the removal or transfer. 
‘‘(C) If there is an open or completed inquiry 
into the Inspector General that relates to the re-
moval or transfer of the Inspector General under 
subparagraph (A), the written communication re-
quired under subparagraph (B) shall— 
‘‘(i) identify each entity that is conducting, 
or that conducted, the inquiry; and 
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‘‘(ii) in the case of a completed inquiry, 
contain the findings made during the inquiry. 
‘‘(D) Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a 
personnel action otherwise authorized by law, other 
than transfer or removal.’’; 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
paragraph (4); 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
following: 
‘‘(3)(A) Subject to the other provisions of this 
paragraph, only the Comptroller General may place 
the Inspector General on non-duty status. 
‘‘(B) If the Comptroller General places the In-
spector General on non-duty status, the Comptroller 
General shall communicate in writing the sub-
stantive rationale, including detailed and case-spe-
cific reasons, for the change in status to both 
Houses of Congress (including to the appropriate 
congressional committees) not later than 15 days be-
fore the date on which the change in status takes ef-
fect, except that the Comptroller General may sub-
mit that communication not later than the date on 
which the change in status takes effect if— 
‘‘(i) the Comptroller General has made a 
determination that the continued presence of 
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the Inspector General in the workplace poses a 
specific threat; and 
‘‘(ii) in the communication, the Comp-
troller General includes a report on the deter-
mination described in clause (i), which shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(I) the substantive rationale, includ-
ing detailed and case-specific reasons, for 
the determination made under clause (i); 
‘‘(II) an identification of each entity 
that is conducting, or that conducted, any 
inquiry upon which the determination 
under clause (i) was made; and 
‘‘(III) in the case of an inquiry de-
scribed in subclause (II) that is completed, 
the findings made during that inquiry. 
‘‘(C) The Comptroller General may not place 
the Inspector General on non-duty status during the 
30-day period preceding the date on which the In-
spector General is removed or transferred under 
paragraph (2)(A) unless the Comptroller General— 
‘‘(i) has made a determination that the 
continued presence of the Inspector General in 
the workplace poses a specific threat; and 
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‘‘(ii) not later than the date on which the 
change in status takes effect, submits to both 
Houses of Congress (including to the appro-
priate congressional committees) a written com-
munication that contains the information re-
quired under subparagraph (B), including the 
report required under clause (ii) of that sub-
paragraph. 
‘‘(D) Nothing in this paragraph may be con-
strued to limit or otherwise modify any statutory 
protection that is afforded to the Inspector General 
or a personnel action that is otherwise authorized by 
law.’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (4), as so designated— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘The In-
spector General’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (A), as so des-
ignated, by striking ‘‘be paid at an annual 
rate of pay equal to $5,000 less than the 
annual rate of pay of the Comptroller Gen-
eral’’ and inserting ‘‘have a rate of basic 
pay that is not less than the average rate 
of basic pay of all other employees of the 
Government Accountability Office in posi-
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tions established under section 732a or 
733 of this title’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) The Comptroller General shall establish 
the amount of the annual adjustment of the rate of 
basic pay for the Inspector General in an amount 
equal to the average of the annual adjustments in 
the rate of basic pay provided pursuant to section 
733(a)(3)(b) of this title to all other employees in 
positions established under section 732a or 733 of 
this title.’’; 
(2) in subsection (f)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘The Comptroller General’’ 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—The Comptroller General’’; 
and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) BUDGET
INDEPENDENCE.—The Comp-
troller General shall include the annual budget re-
quest of the Inspector General in the budget of the 
Government Accountability Office without change.’’; 
and 
(3) in subsection (g)— 
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(A) in paragraph (1), in the second sen-
tence, by striking ‘‘, except that no personnel of 
the Office may be paid at an annual rate great-
er than $1,000 less than the annual rate of pay 
of the Inspector General’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) LEGAL
ADVICE.—The Inspector General 
shall, in accordance with applicable laws and regula-
tions governing selections, appointments, and em-
ployment at the Government Accountability Office, 
obtain legal advice from a counsel reporting directly 
to the Inspector General or another Inspector Gen-
eral.’’. 
Æ 
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