[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 24 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 24

 To reauthorize the independent counsel law for an additional 5 years, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 21 (legislative day, January 5), 1993

 Mr. Levin (for himself and Mr. Cohen) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To reauthorize the independent counsel law for an additional 5 years, 
                        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 ``Independent Counsel Reauthorization 
Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FIVE-YEAR REAUTHORIZATION.

    Section 599 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking 
``1987'' and inserting ``1993''.

SEC. 3. ADDED CONTROLS.

    (a) Cost Controls and Administrative Support.--Section 594 of title 
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(l) Cost Controls and Administrative Support.--
            ``(1) Cost controls.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An independent counsel shall--
                            ``(i) conduct all activities with due 
                        regard for expense;
                            ``(ii) authorize only reasonable and lawful 
                        expenditures; and
                            ``(iii) promptly, upon taking office, 
                        assign to a specific employee the duty of 
                        certifying that expenditures of the independent 
                        counsel are reasonable and made in accordance 
                        with law.
                    ``(B) Department of justice policies.--An 
                independent counsel shall comply with the established 
                policies of the Department of Justice respecting 
                expenditures of funds, except to the extent that 
                compliance would be inconsistent with the purposes of 
                this chapter.
            ``(2) Administrative support.--The Administrative Office of 
        the United States Courts shall provide administrative support 
        and guidance to each independent counsel. The Administrative 
        Office shall not disclose information related to an independent 
        counsel's expenditures, personnel, or administrative acts or 
        arrangements without the authorization of the independent 
        counsel.
            ``(3) Office space.--The General Services Administration, 
        in consultation with the Administrative Office, shall promptly 
        provide appropriate office space for each independent counsel. 
        Such office space shall be within a Federal building unless the 
        General Services Administration determines that other 
        arrangements would cost less.''.
    (b) Independent Counsel Per Diem Expenses.-- Section 594(b) of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``An independent counsel'' and inserting 
        ``(1) In general.--An independent counsel''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(2) Travel expenses.--Except as provided in paragraph 
        (3), an independent counsel and persons appointed under 
        subsection (c) shall be entitled to the payment of travel 
        expenses as provided by subchapter 1 of chapter 57 of title 5, 
        United States Code, including travel expenses and per diem in 
        lieu of subsistence in accordance with section 5703 of title 5.
            ``(3) Travel to primary office.--An independent counsel and 
        persons appointed under subsection (c) shall not be entitled to 
        the payment of travel and subsistence expenses under subchapter 
        1 of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, with respect to 
        duties performed in the city in which the primary office of 
        that independent counsel or person is located after 1 year of 
        service under this chapter unless the employee assigned duties 
        under subsection (l)(1)(A)(iii) certifies that the payment is 
        in the public interest to carry out the purposes of this 
        chapter.''.
    (c) Independent Counsel Employee Pay Comparability.--Section 594(c) 
of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking the last 
sentence and inserting: ``Such employees shall be compensated at levels 
not to exceed those payable for comparable positions in the Office of 
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia under sections 548 
and 550, but in no event shall any such employee be compensated at a 
rate greater than the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the 
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5.''.
    (d) Ethics Enforcement.--Section 594(j) of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Enforcement.--The Department of Justice and Office of 
        Government Ethics have authority to enforce compliance with 
        this subsection.''.
    (e) Compliance With Policies of the Department of Justice.--Section 
594(f) is amended by striking ``shall, except where not possible, 
comply'' and inserting ``shall, except to the extent that to do so 
would be inconsistent with the purposes of this chapter, comply''.
    (f) Publication of Reports.--Section 594(h) of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Publication of reports.--At the request of an 
        independent counsel, the Public Printer shall cause to be 
        printed any report previously released to the public under 
        paragraph (2). The independent counsel shall certify the number 
        of copies necessary for the public service, and the Public 
        Printer shall place the cost of the required number to the 
        debit of such independent counsel. Additional copies shall be 
        made available to the public through the depository library 
        program and Superintendent of Documents sales program pursuant 
        to sections 1702 and 1903 of title 44.''; and
            (2) in the first sentence of paragraph (2), by striking 
        ``appropriate'' the second place it appears and inserting ``in 
        the public interest, consistent with maximizing public 
        disclosure, ensuring a full explanation of independent counsel 
        activities and decisionmaking, and facilitating the release of 
        information and materials which the independent counsel has 
        determined should be disclosed''.
    (g) Annual Reports to Congress.--Section 595(a)(2) of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ``such statements'' and all 
that follows through ``appropriate'' and inserting ``annually a report 
on the activities of the independent counsel, including a description 
of the progress of any investigation or prosecution conducted by the 
independent counsel. Such report may omit any matter that in the 
judgment of the independent counsel should be kept confidential, but 
shall provide information adequate to justify the expenditures that the 
office of the independent counsel has made''.
    (h) Periodic Reappointment of Independent Counsel.--Section 
596(b)(2) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new sentence: ``If the Attorney General has not made 
a request under this paragraph, the division of the court shall 
determine on its own motion whether termination is appropriate under 
this paragraph no later than 3 years after the appointment of an 
independent counsel and at the end of each succeeding 3-year period.''.
    (i) Audits by the Comptroller General.--Section 596(c) of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Audits.--By December 31 of each year, an independent counsel 
shall prepare a statement of expenditures for the fiscal year that 
ended on the immediately preceding September 30. An independent counsel 
whose office is terminated prior to the end of the fiscal year shall 
prepare a statement of expenditures by the date that is 90 days after 
the date on which the office is terminated. The Comptroller General 
shall audit each such statement and report the results of each audit to 
the appropriate committees of the Congress not later than March 31 of 
the year following the submission of any such statement.''.

SEC. 4. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

    Section 591(c) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
            (2) by designating the text as paragraph (1) and inserting 
        at the beginning of the text the following: ``(1) In general.--
        ''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(2) Members of congress.--When the Attorney General 
        determines that it would be in the public interest, the 
        Attorney General may conduct a preliminary investigation in 
        accordance with section 592 if the Attorney General receives 
        information sufficient to constitute grounds to investigate 
        whether a Member of Congress may have violated any Federal 
        criminal law other than a violation classified as a Class B or 
        C misdemeanor or an infraction.''.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall become effective on the date 
of enactment of this Act.

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