White House Inspector General Act of 1996

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``White House Inspector General Act of 
1996''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE 
              PRESIDENT.

    (a) Establishment of Office.--Section 11 of the Inspector General 
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ``the President (with 
        respect only to the Executive Office of the President),'' after 
        ``means''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ``the Executive Office of 
        the President,'' after ``means''.
    (b) Appointment of Inspector General.--Not later than 120 days 
after the effective date of this Act, the President shall nominate an 
individual as the Inspector General of the Executive Office of the 
President pursuant to the amendments made by subsection (a).

SEC. 3. SPECIAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE 
              EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT.

    The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second section 8G (regarding a 
        rule of construction) as section 8I; and
            (2) by inserting after the first section 8G (regarding 
        requirements for Federal entities and designated Federal 
        entities) the following:

``SEC. 8H. SPECIAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE 
              EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT.

    ``(a) Authority, Direction, and Control of President.--
Notwithstanding the last 2 sentences of section 3(a), the Inspector 
General of the Executive Office of the President shall be under the 
authority, direction, and control of the President with respect to 
audits or investigations, or the issuance of subpoenas, which require 
access to information concerning--
            ``(1) ongoing criminal investigations or proceedings;
            ``(2) undercover operations;
            ``(3) the identity of confidential sources, including 
        protected witnesses;
            ``(4) deliberations and decisions on policy matters, 
        including documented information used as a basis for making 
        policy decisions;
            ``(5) intelligence or counterintelligence matters; or
            ``(6) other matters the disclosure of which would 
        constitute a serious threat to the national security, or would 
        cause significant impairment to the national interests 
        (including interests in foreign trade negotiations), of the 
        United States.
    ``(b) Prohibiting Activities of Inspector General.--With respect to 
information described in subsection (a), the President may prohibit the 
Inspector General of the Executive Office of the President from 
carrying out or completing any audit or investigation, or issuing any 
subpoena, after the Inspector General has decided to initiate, carry 
out, or complete such audit or investigation or to issue such subpoena, 
if the President determines that--
            ``(1) the disclosure of that information would interfere 
        with the core functions of the constitutional responsibilities 
        of the President; and
            ``(2) the prohibition is necessary to prevent the 
        disclosure of that information.
    ``(c) Notice.--
            ``(1) Notice to inspector general.--If the President makes 
        a determination referred to in subsection (b)(1) or (2), the 
        President shall within 30 days notify the Inspector General in 
        writing stating the reasons for that determination.
            ``(2) Notice to congress.--Within 30 days after receiving a 
        notice under paragraph (1), the Inspector General shall 
        transmit a copy of the notice to each of the Chairman and the 
        ranking minority party member of the Committee on Government 
        Reform and Oversight of the House of Representatives, the 
        Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and other 
        appropriate committees or subcommittees of the Congress.
    ``(d) Semiannual Reports.--
            ``(1) Information to be included.--The Inspector General of 
        the Executive Office of the President shall include in each 
        semiannual report to the President under section 5, at a 
        minimum--
                    ``(A) a list of the title or subject of each 
                inspection, investigation, or audit conducted during 
                the reporting period;
                    ``(B) a statement of whether corrective action has 
                been completed on each significant recommendation 
                described in previous semiannual reports, and, in a 
                case where corrective action has been completed, a 
                description of such corrective action;
                    ``(C) a certification that the Inspector General 
                has had full and direct access to all information 
                relevant to the performance of functions of the 
                Inspector General;
                    ``(D) a description of all cases occurring during 
                the reporting period in which the Inspector General 
                could not obtain documentary evidence relevant to any 
                inspection, audit, or investigation due to a 
                determination of the President under subsection (b); 
                and
                    ``(E) such recommendations as the Inspector General 
                considers appropriate concerning legislation to promote 
                economy and efficiency in the administration of 
                programs and operations undertaken by the Executive 
                Office of the President, and to detect and eliminate 
                fraud, waste, and abuse in such programs and 
                operations.
            ``(2) Transmission to congress.--Within 30 days after 
        receiving a semiannual report under section 5 from the 
        Inspector General of the Executive Office of the President, the 
        President shall transmit the report to each of the Chairman and 
        the ranking minority party member of the Committee on 
        Government Reform and Oversight of the House of Representatives 
        and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate with 
        any comments the President considers appropriate.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on January 21, 1997.

Summary: White House Inspector General Act of 1996 - Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to:  (1) establish an Office of Inspector General (IG) in the Executive Office of the President; (2) require the IG to serve under the President's authority, direction, and control with respect to matters concerning ongoing criminal investigations, policy making, and national security (unless the President notifies the IG that disclosure of pertinent information would interfere with the core functions of the President's constitutional responsibilities); and (3) require the IG to comply with the same semiannual reporting requirements that all other IGs are subject to and, at a minimum, supply additional specified information as well.