[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 651 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 651

  To establish the Office of the Inspector General within the General 
Accounting Office, modify the procedure for congressional work requests 
 for the General Accounting Office, establish a Peer Review Committee, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 30 (legislative day, March 27), 1995

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish the Office of the Inspector General within the General 
Accounting Office, modify the procedure for congressional work requests 
 for the General Accounting Office, establish a Peer Review 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 ``General Accounting Office Oversight 
and Improvement Act of 1995''.

      TITLE I--INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE

SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 704 as section 705; and
            (2) by inserting after section 703 the following new 
        section:
``Sec. 704. Inspector general
    ``(a) There is established the Office of Inspector General within 
the General Accounting Office.
    ``(b) The Inspector General shall be appointed and perform his 
duties in accordance with the provisions of section 8F of the Inspector 
General Act of 1978.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out 
the item relating to section 704 and inserting in lieu thereof the 
following:

``704. Inspector General.
``705. Relationship to other laws.''.

SEC. 102. SPECIAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.

    The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 8E and 8F as sections 8F and 
        8G, respectively;
            (2) in section 8G (as redesignated by paragraph (1) of this 
        section)--
                    (A) by striking out ``8C, or 8D'' and inserting in 
                lieu thereof ``8C, 8D, or 8E''; and
                    (B) by striking out ``section 8E(a)'' and inserting 
                in lieu thereof ``section 8F(a)'';
            (3) by inserting after section 8D the following new 
        section:

     ``special provisions concerning the general accounting office

    ``Sec. 8E. (a)(1) For purposes of this section the term `Inspector 
General' means the Inspector General of the Office of the Inspector 
General for the General Accounting Office established under section 704 
of title 31, United States Code.
    ``(2) To the extent provided under section 705 of title 31, United 
States Code--
            ``(A) the General Accounting Office shall be an 
        establishment under this Act; and
            ``(B) the Comptroller General of the United States shall be 
        the head of such establishment under this Act.
    ``(b)(1) Notwithstanding section 3 of this Act, the Inspector 
General--
            ``(A) shall be appointed jointly by--
                    ``(i) the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of 
                the Senate; and
                    ``(ii) the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
                and the Minority Leader of the House of 
                Representatives; and
            ``(B) may only be removed from office by a joint resolution 
        of Congress, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, 
        only for--
                    ``(i) permanent disability;
                    ``(ii) inefficiency;
                    ``(iii) neglect of duty;
                    ``(iv) malfeasance; or
                    ``(v) a felony or conduct involving moral 
                turpitude.
    ``(2) An Inspector General removed from office under paragraph 
(1)(B) may not be reappointed to the office.''; and
            (4) in section 11--
                    (A) in paragraph (1) by inserting ``, and the 
                Comptroller General of the United States'' before ``; 
                as the case may be;'' and
                    (B) in paragraph (2) by inserting ``, and the 
                General Accounting Office'' before ``; as the case may 
                be''.

SEC. 103. COMPENSATION.

    Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end thereof the following:
    ``Inspector General, General Accounting Office.''.

SEC. 104. REORGANIZATION WITHIN THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.

    The Comptroller General may reorganize, consolidate, or terminate 
the Office of Special Investigations and transfer or terminate any 
function of such Office consistent with the provisions and amendments 
made by this title to--
            (1) eliminate the performance of any function by the Office 
        of Special Counsel, which shall be performed by the Inspector 
        General of the General Accounting Office after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act; and
            (2) provide for greater efficiency by the General 
        Accounting Office.

  TITLE II--GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE FINAL REPORTS AND CONGRESSIONAL 
                          REQUESTS FOR REPORTS

SEC. 201. FINAL REPORTS AND CONGRESSIONAL REQUESTS FOR REPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 720 the following new sections:
``Sec. 721. Final reports
    ``(a) For purposes of this section, the term `agency' means a 
department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government 
(except a mixed-ownership Government corporation) or the District of 
Columbia government.
    ``(b)(1) In addition to actions taken under section 718(b)(1), the 
Comptroller General shall provide an agency that is relevant to a 
report, an opportunity to review any finding of the General Accounting 
Office in such report before such report is final and released.
    ``(2) After providing the review made available under paragraph 
(1), the Comptroller General shall include a summary of the agency 
response as a part of the final report.
    ``(c) To the greatest extent practicable consistent with applicable 
law, the Comptroller General shall include a list of all organizational 
contacts and sources of information used in each final report.
    ``(d) If a Member of Congress requests the Comptroller General to 
withhold the release of a final report to any person, the Comptroller 
General may release such report no earlier than 7 days after the date 
on which such request is received.
    ``(e) A final report may not be released, unless the Comptroller 
General makes a written determination included in such report that the 
General Accounting Office has complied with all internal quality 
control procedures.
``Sec. 722. Congressional requests for reports
    ``(a) No later than 3 days after receiving a request for a report--
            ``(1) from the chairman of a committee of the Congress, the 
        Comptroller General shall notify the ranking member of such 
        committee that such request was received; and
            ``(2) from the ranking minority member of a committee of 
        the Congress, the Comptroller General shall notify the chairman 
        of such committee that such request was received.
    ``(b)(1) No later than 3 days after approving a request to prepare 
a report for a Member of the Congress the Comptroller General shall--
            ``(A) notify the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of 
        the Senate of such approval if the requester is a Senator; and
            ``(B) notify the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
        and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives of such 
        approval if the requester is a Member of the House of 
        Representatives.
    ``(2) The Comptroller General shall provide appropriate 
notification for publication in the Congressional Record of all 
approvals of requests from Members of Congress to prepare reports. All 
such approvals shall be published in the Congressional Record.
    ``(c) The Comptroller General shall treat all requests from 
chairmen and ranking members of committees of the Congress on an equal 
basis.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 720 the following:

``721. Final reports.
``722. Congressional requests for reports.''.

       TITLE III--GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE

SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE PEER REVIEW 
              COMMITTEE.

    There is established the General Accounting Office Peer Review 
Committee (hereafter in this title referred to as the ``Committee'').

SEC. 302. MEMBERSHIP.

    (a) Appointment.--(1) The members of the Committee shall be 
appointed by the Comptroller General of the United States from a list 
of individuals jointly nominated by the Majority Leader and the 
Minority Leader of the Senate, and a list of individuals jointly 
nominated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
    (2) The Comptroller General shall designate one of the members 
appointed under paragraph (1) to serve as Chairman of the Committee.
    (3) The Comptroller General shall appoint an appropriate individual 
to fill any vacancy which may occur on the Committee.
    (b) Members.--The Committee shall be composed of no more than 15 
members of whom--
            (1) 2 members shall be Senators, who shall not be members 
        of the same political party;
            (2) 2 members shall be Members of the House of 
        Representatives who shall not be members of the same political 
        party;
            (3) 2 members shall be Inspectors General of executive 
        agencies;
            (4) 2 members shall be individuals who are not Federal 
        officers or employees; and
            (5) 7 members shall have experience or expertise in Federal 
        administrative policymaking, procedure, and processes.
    (c) Ex Officio Member.--The Comptroller General shall serve as a 
nonvoting ex officio member of the Committee.
    (d) Compensation.--(1) No member of the Committee who is a Federal 
officer or employee shall receive compensation for service to the 
Committee.
    (2) Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, 
no member of the Committee who is not a Federal officer or employee 
shall receive compensation for service to the Committee.
    (e) Travel Expenses.--The members of the Committee who are not 
Federal officers and employees shall be allowed travel expenses, 
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for 
employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 
United States Code, while away from their homes or regular places of 
business in the performance of services for the Committee.

SEC. 303. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE.

    The Committee shall--
            (1) recommend a formal process and standards for review 
        under which agencies, and affected parties may appeal to the 
        General Accounting Office to correct factual errors, and to 
        reconsider findings contained in General Accounting Office 
        studies, audits, investigations, and reports which are based on 
        or substantially influenced by erroneous information, or 
        previously unconsidered information;
            (2) recommend procedures to notify the Congress, the 
        public, and the media of modifications or retractions to 
        studies, audits, investigations, and reports following a review 
        described under paragraph (1);
            (3) review policies and guidelines, and recommend 
        improvements to eliminate inappropriate advocacy of policy or 
        the expression of unsubstantiated conclusions within General 
        Accounting Office reports and testimony;
            (4) recommend improvements to ensure that General 
        Accounting Office work product is fair, factual, unbiased, 
        professional and consistent with the purposes for which the 
        General Accounting Office was established;
            (5) review the General Accounting Office's internal quality 
        control procedures, including--
                    (A) Government Auditing Standards;
                    (B) the General Accounting Office's Communications 
                Manual;
                    (C) the General Accounting Office Policy Procedures 
                Manual; and
                    (D) the Post-Assignment Quality Review System;
            (6) recommend procedures for making the requester of any 
        service by the General Accounting Office to remain anonymous to 
        the General Accounting Office team members conducting and 
        overseeing the relevant investigation and reporting activities;
            (7) review the General Accounting Office's policies and 
        procedures, and make recommendations to eliminate duplicative 
        or superfluous auditing and investigative activities;
            (8)(A) provide an estimate to the Congress on the number of 
        annual man-hours and costs incurred by respondents to General 
        Accounting Office audits; and
            (B) recommend policies, guidelines or procedures to reduce 
        compliance costs without adversely affecting the necessary 
        activities of General Accounting Office auditors or the quality 
        of work product; and
            (9) make recommendations to the Comptroller General and the 
        Congress on measures to--
                    (A) improve professionalism, impartiality, 
                independence, and excellence within the General 
                Accounting Office;
                    (B) improve hiring practices, employee training and 
                morale, administrative structure and policies; and
                    (C) further the purposes for which the General 
                Accounting Office was established.

SEC. 304. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) In General.--To the greatest extent practicable consistent with 
applicable law, the Comptroller General shall implement the 
recommendations of the Committee (including the establishment or 
modification of procedures, guidelines, and standards).
            (1) Upon the termination of the Committee the Comptroller 
        shall submit to Congress a report on the recommendations made 
        pursuant to this Act.
    (b) Notification to the Congress.--No later than 90 days after the 
date of the termination of the Committee, the Comptroller General shall 
notify the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the Senate, and 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Minority Leader of 
the House of Representatives of any Committee recommendation that the 
Comptroller General is unable to implement and the specific reason for 
such inability.

SEC. 305. SUPPORT SERVICES.

    The General Accounting Office shall provide administrative and 
support services for the Committee.

SEC. 306. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.

    The provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 
App.) shall not apply to the Committee.

SEC. 307. TERMINATION OF COMMITTEE.

    The Committee shall terminate 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>