[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6388 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 6388


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 30, 2008

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To provide additional authorities to the Comptroller General of the 
                 United States, 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 ``Government Accountability Office 
Improvement Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN RECORDS.

    (a) 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 his 
duties (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sentence until such time as the authorization is repealed pursuant to 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.''.
    (b) Interviews.--Section 716(a) of title 31, United States Code, as 
amended by subsection (a), is further amended in the second sentence of 
paragraph (2) by inserting ``and interview agency officers and 
employees'' after ``agency record''.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTERING OATHS.

    Section 711 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking 
paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
            ``(4) administer oaths to witnesses, except that, in 
        matters other than auditing and settling accounts, the 
        authority of an officer or employee to administer oaths to 
        witnesses pursuant to a delegation under paragraph (2) shall 
        not be available without the prior express approval of the 
        Comptroller General (or a designee).''.

SEC. 4. 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 shall be construed to 
limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General to 
obtain any information, to inspect any record, or to interview any 
officer or employee under section 716 of this title, including with 
respect to any information disclosed to or obtained by the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services under part C or D of title XVIII of the 
Social Security Act.
    ``(b) No provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 
shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the 
Comptroller General to obtain any information, to inspect any record, 
or to interview any officer or employee under section 716 of this 
title, including with respect to any information concerning any method 
or process which as a trade secret is entitled to protection.
    ``(c) No provision of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements 
Act of 1976 and the amendments made by that Act shall be construed to 
limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General to 
obtain any information, to inspect any record, or to interview any 
officer or employee under section 716 of this title, including with 
respect to any information disclosed to the Assistant Attorney General 
of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice or the Federal 
Trade Commission for purposes of pre-merger review under section 7A of 
the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a).
    ``(d)(1) The Comptroller General shall prescribe such policies and 
procedures as are necessary to protect from public disclosure 
proprietary or trade secret information obtained consistent with this 
section.
    ``(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed--
            ``(A) to alter or amend the prohibitions against the 
        disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive information 
        prohibited by section 1905 of title 18 and other applicable 
        laws; or
            ``(B) to affect the applicability of section 716(e) of this 
        title, including the protections against unauthorized 
        disclosure contained in that section, to information obtained 
        consistent with this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis 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.''.

SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS.

    Section 719 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ``and'' at the 
        end;
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``; and'';
            (3) by adding at the end of subsection (b)(1) the 
        following:
            ``(D) for agencies subject to sections 901 to 903 and other 
        agencies designated by the Comptroller General, an assessment 
        of their overall degree of cooperation in making personnel 
        available for interview, providing written answers to 
        questions, submitting to an oath authorized by the Comptroller 
        General under section 711, granting access to records, 
        providing timely comments to draft reports, adopting 
        recommendations in reports and responding to such other matters 
        as the Comptroller General deems appropriate.'';
            (4) in subsection (c)(2)(B), by striking ``and'' at the 
        end;
            (5) in subsection (c)(3), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and'', and
            (6) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the following:
            ``(4) as soon as practicable when an agency does not, 
        within a reasonable time, respond to a request by the 
        Comptroller General regarding any matter described in 
        subsection (b)(1)(D).''.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 29, 2008.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.