[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3848 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3848

  To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to provide authority for 
    Inspectors General to subpoena former agency employees, agency 
contractors, and employees of contractors for testimony, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 20, 2009

 Mr. Conyers introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to provide authority for 
    Inspectors General to subpoena former agency employees, agency 
contractors, and employees of contractors for testimony, 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 ``Inspector General Authority 
Improvement Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. SUBPOENA AUTHORITY FOR INSPECTORS GENERAL TO REQUIRE TESTIMONY 
              OF CERTAIN PERSONS.

    Section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) at the end of paragraph (8), by striking 
                ``and'';
                    (B) at the end of paragraph (9), by striking the 
                period and inserting ``; and'';
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(10) to require by subpoena the testimony of certain 
        persons, as provided in subsection (g).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), each Inspector General of an 
establishment, in carrying out the provisions of this Act, is 
authorized to issue a subpoena to require any individual who is--
            ``(A) a former employee of the establishment;
            ``(B) a former employee of a contractor (or subcontractor 
        at any tier under the contractor) of the establishment; or
            ``(C) a former contractor (or subcontractor at any tier 
        under the contractor) of the establishment;
to provide testimony by deposition that relates to matters occurring in 
connection with that individual's employment with the establishment or 
status as a contractor or employee of a contractor (or subcontractor) 
of the establishment.
    ``(2)(A) A subpoena issued under paragraph (1) shall provide 
reasonable notice to the individual whose testimony is sought and shall 
state the name of that individual and the place of taking the 
testimony.
    ``(B) The testimony sought through a subpoena issued under 
paragraph (1) shall be taken under oath. The Inspector General shall 
prepare, or cause to be prepared, a transcript of the testimony taken.
    ``(C) An individual whose testimony is taken pursuant to a subpoena 
issued under paragraph (1) is entitled to the same fees and mileage 
paid for those services in the courts of the United States.
    ``(3)(A) At least 7 days before issuing a subpoena under this 
subsection, an Inspector General shall notify the Attorney General of 
the subpoena and the nature of the testimony sought.
    ``(B) The Inspector General may not issue the subpoena if the 
Attorney General informs the Inspector General, within 7 days after 
receipt of the notification under subparagraph (A), that the Attorney 
General objects to the issuance of the subpoena on one or more of the 
grounds listed in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (C).
    ``(C) If the Attorney General objects to the issuance of the 
subpoena and informs the Inspector General as described in subparagraph 
(B), the Attorney General shall, within 30 days after receipt of the 
notification under subparagraph (A), find in writing that the taking of 
the testimony--
            ``(i) is likely to endanger the national security of the 
        United States;
            ``(ii) is likely to interfere with any Federal or State 
        criminal investigation or prosecution;
            ``(iii) is likely to interfere with any civil litigation to 
        which the United States or any of its agencies is or is likely 
        to be a party; or
            ``(iv) otherwise is not authorized by this Act.
    ``(4)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any subpoena 
issued under this subsection may be enforceable in the district where 
the individual whose testimony is sought by subpoena resides, or, upon 
consent of the individual and the Inspector General, in the District of 
Columbia or in the district of the individual's place of employment 
when working for the establishment, contractor, or subcontractor.
    ``(B) A proceeding to enforce a subpoena may be brought in the 
United States District Court for the District of Columbia if the 
individual whose testimony is sought by the subpoena resides within 25 
miles of the District of Columbia and if the complaint seeking 
enforcement alleges that a significant portion of the matters that are 
expected to be the subject of the investigation occurred in the 
District of Columbia.
    ``(C) The Attorney General shall represent an Office of Inspector 
General in the enforcement of a subpoena under this subsection.''.
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