Integrity Committee Transparency Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.2681 | Sponsor: Rep. Connolly, Gerald E. (D-VA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Integrity Committee Transparency Act of 2021
This bill addresses issues regarding inspectors general (IGs) and the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Integrity Committee. The committee is charged with investigating allegations of wrongdoing against office of IG officials.
The committee must notify Congress when an allegation of wrongdoing made by a Member of Congress is closed without referral for investigation.
The bill requires CIGIE to report semiannually to Congress and the President on the activities of the committee.
The bill requires the appointment of a former IG to the committee.
An IG must refer to the committee any allegation of wrongdoing against that IG.

To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require the Integrity 
  Committee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and 
Efficiency to include additional information in requests and reports to 
Congress, to make information available to certain Members of Congress 
regarding certain allegations of wrongdoing closed without referral, to 
    require the Integrity Committee to submit semiannual reports to 
 Congress and the President, to expand the membership of the Integrity 
                   Committee, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Integrity Committee Transparency Act 
of 2021''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN REQUESTS AND REPORTS 
              TO CONGRESS.

    Section 11(d) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5)(B)(ii), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``, the length of time the Integrity 
        Committee has been evaluating the allegation of wrongdoing, and 
        a description of any previous written notice provided under 
        this clause with respect to the allegation of wrongdoing, 
        including the description provided for why additional time was 
        needed.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (8)(A)(ii), by inserting ``or corrective 
        action'' after ``disciplinary action''.

SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS REGARDING 
              CERTAIN ALLEGATIONS OF WRONGDOING CLOSED WITHOUT 
              REFERRAL.

    (a) Availability of Information to Members of Congress.--Section 
11(d)(5)(B) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) Availability of information to 
                        members of congress.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--With respect to 
                                an allegation of wrongdoing made by a 
                                member of Congress that is closed by 
                                the Integrity Committee without 
                                referral to the Chairperson of the 
                                Integrity Committee to initiate an 
                                investigation, the Chairperson of the 
                                Integrity Committee shall, not later 
                                than 60 days after closing such 
                                allegation, provide a written 
                                description of the nature of the 
                                allegation of wrongdoing and how the 
                                Integrity Committee evaluated the 
                                allegation of wrongdoing to--
                                            ``(aa) the Chair and 
                                        Ranking Member of the Committee 
                                        on Oversight and Reform of the 
                                        House of Representatives;
                                            ``(bb) the Chair and 
                                        Ranking Member of the Committee 
                                        on Homeland Security and 
                                        Governmental Affairs of the 
                                        Senate;
                                            ``(cc) a member of the 
                                        House of Representatives who 
                                        has the support of any seven 
                                        members of the Committee on 
                                        Oversight and Reform of the 
                                        House of Representatives; or
                                            ``(dd) a member of the 
                                        Senate who has the support of 
                                        any five members of the 
                                        Committee on Homeland Security 
                                        and Governmental Affairs of the 
                                        Senate.
                                    ``(II) Requirement to forward.--The 
                                Chairperson of the Integrity Committee 
                                shall forward any written description 
                                or update provided under this clause to 
                                the members of the Integrity Committee 
                                and to the Chairperson of the 
                                Council.''.

SEC. 4. SEMIANNUAL REPORT.

    Section 11(d)(9) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
App.) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(9) Semiannual report.--On or before May 31, 2022, and 
        every six months thereafter, the Council shall submit to 
        Congress and the President a report on the activities of the 
        Integrity Committee during the immediately preceding six-month 
        periods ending March 31 and September 30, which shall include 
        the following with respect to allegations of wrongdoing that 
        are made against Inspectors General and staff members of the 
        various Offices of Inspector General described under paragraph 
        (4)(C):
                    ``(A) An overview and analysis of the allegations 
                of wrongdoing disposed of by the Integrity Committee, 
                including--
                            ``(i) analysis of the positions held by 
                        individuals against whom allegations were made, 
                        including the duties affiliated with such 
                        positions;
                            ``(ii) analysis of the categories or types 
                        of the allegations of wrongdoing; and
                            ``(iii) a summary of disposition of all the 
                        allegations.
                    ``(B) The number of allegations referred to the 
                Department of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel, 
                including the number of allegations referred for 
                criminal investigation.
                    ``(C) The number of allegations referred to the 
                Chairperson of the Integrity Committee for 
                investigation, a general description of the status of 
                such investigations, and a summary of the findings of 
                investigations completed.
                    ``(D) An overview and analysis of allegations of 
                wrongdoing received by the Integrity Committee during 
                any previous reporting period, but remained pending 
                during some part of the six months covered by the 
                report, including--
                            ``(i) analysis of the positions held by 
                        individuals against whom allegations were made, 
                        including the duties affiliated with such 
                        positions;
                            ``(ii) analysis of the categories or types 
                        of the allegations of wrongdoing; and
                            ``(iii) a summary of disposition of all the 
                        allegations.
                    ``(E) The number and category or type of pending 
                investigations.
                    ``(F) For each allegation received--
                            ``(i) the date on which the investigation 
                        was opened;
                            ``(ii) the date on which the allegation was 
                        disposed of, as applicable; and
                            ``(iii) the case number associated with the 
                        allegation.
                    ``(G) The nature and number of allegations to the 
                Integrity Committee closed without referral, including 
                the justification for why each allegation was closed 
                without referral.
                    ``(H) A brief description of any difficulty 
                encountered by the Integrity Committee when receiving, 
                evaluating, investigating, or referring for 
                investigation an allegation received by the Integrity 
                Committee, including a brief description of--
                            ``(i) any attempt to prevent or hinder an 
                        investigation; or
                            ``(ii) concerns about the integrity or 
                        operations at an Office of Inspector 
                        General.''.

SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL REPORTS; RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Section 11(d) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(14) Additional reports.--
                    ``(A) Report to inspector general.--The Chairperson 
                of the Integrity Committee shall submit a report 
                immediately whenever the Chairperson of the Integrity 
                Committee becomes aware of particularly serious or 
                flagrant problems, abuses, or deficiencies relating to 
                the administration of programs and operations of such 
                Office of Inspector General. The report shall be sent 
                to the Inspector General who leads the Office of 
                Inspector General at which the serious or flagrant 
                problems, abuses, or deficiencies were alleged.
                    ``(B) Report to congress.--The Inspector General of 
                the Office identified by the Integrity Committee shall 
                submit any such report to the House Committee on 
                Oversight and Reform and the Senate Committee on 
                Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs within seven 
                calendar days from the time the agency head receives 
                the report together with a report by the Inspector 
                General at the Office identified by the Integrity 
                Committee containing any comments such Inspector 
                General deems appropriate.
            ``(15) Rule of construction.--
                    ``(A) Public disclosure of information.--Except as 
                provided in subparagraph (B), nothing in this 
                subsection shall be construed to authorize the public 
                disclosure of information which is--
                            ``(i) prohibited from disclosure by any 
                        other provision of law;
                            ``(ii) required by Executive order to be 
                        protected from disclosure in the interest of 
                        national defense or national security or in the 
                        conduct of foreign affairs; or
                            ``(iii) a part of an ongoing criminal 
                        investigation.
                    ``(B) Provision of report to requesting members of 
                congress.--Subject to any other provision of law that 
                would otherwise prohibit disclosure of such 
                information, the information described in subparagraph 
                (A) may be provided to any Member of Congress upon 
                request of the Member.
            ``(16) Prohibited disclosures.--The Integrity Committee may 
        not provide or otherwise disclose to Congress or the public any 
        information that reveals the personally identifiable 
        information of an individual who alleges wrongdoing to the 
        Integrity Committee under this subsection unless the Integrity 
        Committee first obtains the consent of the individual.''.

SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP OF INTEGRITY COMMITTEE.

    Section 11(d)(2) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
App.) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by adding at the end the 
        following:
                            ``(iv) The individual appointed under 
                        subparagraph (C).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Appointment of former inspector general to 
                committee.--
                            ``(i) Appointment.--The Chairperson of the 
                        Council shall appoint an individual who prior 
                        to the date of such appointment served as an 
                        Inspector General (as that position is 
                        described in section 3(a) and section 
                        8G(a)(6)), and who has upheld the highest 
                        standards of integrity and professionalism 
                        while serving and since leaving service as an 
                        Inspector General, as determined by the 
                        Chairperson, to serve as a member of the 
                        Committee unless no such individual is 
                        available or willing to serve as a member of 
                        the Committee at the time of the appointment.
                            ``(ii) Initial term.--The individual 
                        appointed under clause (i) shall serve at the 
                        pleasure of the Chairperson of the Council for 
                        a 2-year term.
                            ``(iii) Additional term.--The Chairperson 
                        of the Council may reappoint the individual 
                        appointed under clause (i) to serve at the 
                        pleasure of the Chairperson of the Council for 
                        an additional term not to exceed 2 years.
                            ``(iv) Compensation.--
                                    ``(I) Special government employee 
                                designation.--The individual appointed 
                                under clause (i) shall be considered a 
                                special government employee pursuant to 
                                section 202(a) of title 18, United 
                                States Code.
                                    ``(II) Compensation and travel 
                                expenses.--An individual appointed 
                                under clause (i) may not receive 
                                compensation at a rate in excess of the 
                                rate of basic pay for level IV of the 
                                executive schedule under section 5315 
                                of title 5, United States Code, and any 
                                such individual, while engaged in the 
                                performance of their duties away from 
                                their homes or regular places of 
                                business, may be allowed travel 
                                expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
                                subsistence, as authorized by section 
                                5703 of such title for persons employed 
                                intermittently in the Government 
                                service.
                                    ``(III) Acceptance of volunteer 
                                services.--The Chairperson of the 
                                Council may accept volunteer services 
                                from the individual appointed under 
                                this subparagraph without regard to 
                                section 1342 of title 31, United States 
                                Code.
                                    ``(IV) Provisions relating to 
                                reemployment.--
                                            ``(aa) The Chairperson of 
                                        the Council may reemploy 
                                        annuitants.
                                            ``(bb) The employment of 
                                        annuitants under this paragraph 
                                        shall be subject to the 
                                        provisions of section 9902(g) 
                                        of title 5, United States Code, 
                                        as if the Council was the 
                                        Department of Defense.''.

SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT TO REFER ALLEGATIONS OF WRONGDOING AGAINST 
              INSPECTOR GENERAL TO INTEGRITY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Requirement.--Section 11(d)(4) of the Inspector General Act of 
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), in the heading, by striking 
        ``Requirement'' and inserting ``Allegations against staff 
        members'';
            (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as 
        subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
                    ``(B) Allegations against inspectors general.--An 
                Inspector General shall refer to the Integrity 
                Committee any allegation of wrongdoing against that 
                Inspector General.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Section 11(d)(1) of the 
Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking 
``(4)(C)'' and inserting ``(4)(D)''.

SEC. 8. REQUIREMENT TO REPORT FINAL DISPOSITION TO CONGRESS.

     Section 11(d)(8)(B) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
App.) is amended by inserting ``, the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and 
Reform of the House of Representatives, and other congressional 
committees of jurisdiction,'' after ``Integrity Committee''.
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