Title: GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2017
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2017
This bill authorizes the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to obtain federal agency records required to discharge the GAO's duties (including audit, evaluation, and investigative duties), including through bringing civil actions to require an agency to produce a record.
No provision of the Social Security Act shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the GAO's authority to: (1) obtain information or inspect records about an agency's duties, powers, activities, organization, or financial transactions; or (2) obtain other agency records that the GAO requires to discharge its duties.
Agency statements on actions taken or planned in response to GAO recommendations must be submitted to: (1) the congressional committees with jurisdiction over the pertinent agency program or activity, and (2) the GAO.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 72 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 72

 To ensure the Government Accountability Office has adequate access to 
                              information.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2017

Mr. Carter of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred 
          to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To ensure the Government Accountability Office has adequate access to 
                              information.

    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 ``GAO Access and Oversight Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.

    (a) Access to Certain Information.--Subchapter II of chapter 7 of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
``Sec. 721. Access to certain information
    ``(a) No provision of the Social Security Act, including 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 any record under section 716 of this 
title.
    ``(b) The specific reference to a statute in subsection (a) shall 
not be construed to affect access by the Government Accountability 
Office to information under statutes that are not so referenced.''.
    (b) 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''.
    (c) Authority To Obtain Records.--Section 716 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended in subsection (a)--
            (1) by striking ``(a)'' and inserting ``(2)''; and
            (2) by inserting after the section heading the following:
    ``(a)(1) The Comptroller General is authorized to obtain such 
agency records as the Comptroller General requires to discharge the 
duties of the Comptroller General (including audit, evaluation, and 
investigative duties), including through the bringing of civil actions 
under this section. In reviewing a civil action under this section, the 
court shall recognize the continuing force and effect of the 
authorization in the preceding sentence until such time as the 
authorization is repealed pursuant to law.''.
    (d) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--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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