“To amend chapter 4 of title 5, United States Code, to require cooperation with Inspector General requests, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section adds a new section 425 to chapter 4 of title 5, United States Code (Inspector General Act of 1978), requiring any officer or employee of a covered agency (including agency heads and political appointees), grant recipient (or subgrantee), or contractor (or subcontractor) to comply with a covered Inspector General request (i.e., for information, access, or assistance under section 406, excluding certain statutorily limited items) within 60 days of receipt. Noncompliance may result in appropriate administrative discipline (e.g., removal, suspension without pay, or adverse contract action), at the discretion of the agency head (or President, for agency heads). If an Inspector General determines noncompliance, the IG must notify the appropriate congressional committees (i.e., Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, House Oversight and Accountability Committee, and other committees of jurisdiction) and agency head within 30 days, including details on the noncompliant party, request date, and subject matter (in unclassified form, with classified annex option). Covered agencies include establishments (i.e., specified executive departments and agencies such as Agriculture, Defense, and Justice; independent agencies such as EPA and SBA; and certain others such as NSA) and designated federal entities (i.e., entities with statutorily established IGs, such as the Smithsonian Institution). (Thus, the provision strengthens Inspector General independence and oversight by mandating timely compliance and enabling congressional scrutiny of obstructions.) The section further directs each covered agency head to issue written directives to personnel within 30 days of enactment specifying the 60-day compliance requirement and potential discipline; and makes conforming amendments, including adding the new section to the chapter table of contents and to section 401 definitions (inserting and redesignating paragraphs, including a new paragraph (1) defining "appropriate congressional committees" and redesignating "establishment" from paragraph (1) to (6)).