Title: SIGHT Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Seeking Inspector General's Honest Testimony Act or the SIGHT Act
This bill prohibits the President from blocking inspectors general from reporting to Congress regarding the implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and requires a report to Congress under specified circumstances involving denial of access to records under such act.
Specifically, if the Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, or the Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery determines that Treasury or the White House has not provided timely access or has impeded access to records regarding implementation of the CARES Act, then the office or committee shall report to Congress on the lack of access. If Treasury is responsible for the lack of access, then funding for the Office of the Secretary of the Treasury shall be rescinded until Treasury provides access to the records.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3766 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3766

    To prohibit the President from blocking Inspectors General from 
   reporting to Congress and to require a report to Congress if the 
 Department of the Treasury or the White House does not provide timely 
   access to records, documents, and other materials relating to the 
 implementation and execution of the CARES Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 19, 2020

  Mr. Tester introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit the President from blocking Inspectors General from 
   reporting to Congress and to require a report to Congress if the 
 Department of the Treasury or the White House does not provide timely 
   access to records, documents, and other materials relating to the 
 implementation and execution of the CARES Act, 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 ``Seeking Inspector General's Honest 
Testimony Act'' or the ``SIGHT Act''.

SEC. 2. COMPLIANCE WITH ACCESS TO RECORDS UNDER THE CARES ACT.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Committee'' means the Pandemic Response 
        Accountability Committee established under section 15010 of 
        division B of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 
        Security Act (Public Law 116-136);
            (2) the term ``covered records'' means all records, 
        documents, and other materials in the custody or possession of 
        the Department or the White House, as applicable, relating to 
        the implementation and execution of the Coronavirus Aid, 
        Relief, and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116-136);
            (3) the term ``Department'' means the Department of the 
        Treasury; and
            (4) the term ``Special Inspector General'' means the 
        Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery appointed under 
        section 4018 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 
        Security Act (Public Law 116-136).
    (b) Reporting Requirement.--If the Inspector General of the 
Department, the Committee, or the Special Inspector General determines 
that the Department or the White House has not complied with the 
requirement to provide timely access to covered records or has 
prevented or impeded the access of the Inspector General of the 
Department, the Committee, or the Special Inspector General to those 
covered records--
            (1) the Inspector General of the Department, the Committee, 
        or the Special Inspector General, as applicable, shall submit 
        to Congress a report on the noncompliance or lack of access not 
        later than 5 days after the date on which the Department or the 
        White House, as applicable, does not comply with the 
        requirement or prevents such access; and
            (2) if the Department has not complied with the requirement 
        or has prevented or impeded such access, there shall be 
        rescinded from the Office of the Secretary of the Department 
        any amounts appropriated to that Office for the fiscal year and 
        deposited into the general fund of the Treasury until the 
        Department complies with the requirement.

SEC. 3. REPORTING ON CARES ACT.

    (a) Definition of Inspector General.--In this section, the term 
``Inspector General'' means--
            (1) an Inspector General of an establishment or a 
        designated Federal entity (as defined in sections 12 and 8G of 
        the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)), 
        respectively; and
            (2) the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery 
        established under section 4018 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, 
        and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116-136).
    (b) Prohibition.--The President shall not block or otherwise 
prevent an Inspector General from reporting to Congress on issues 
related to the implementation of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136).
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