[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1354 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1354

  To elevate the Inspector General of certain Federal entities to an 
  Inspector General appointed pursuant to section 3 of the Inspector 
                          General Act of 1978.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 25, 2009

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To elevate the Inspector General of certain Federal entities to an 
  Inspector General appointed pursuant to section 3 of the Inspector 
                          General Act of 1978.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Improved Financial 
and Commodity Markets Oversight and Accountability Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Elevation of certain Inspectors General to appointment pursuant 
                            to section 3 of the Inspector General Act 
                            of 1978.
Sec. 3. Continuation of provisions relating to personnel.
Sec. 4. Subpoena authority of certain Inspectors General.
Sec. 5. Corrective responses by heads of certain establishments to 
                            deficiencies identified by Inspectors 
                            General.
Sec. 6. Effective date; transition rule.

SEC. 2. ELEVATION OF CERTAIN INSPECTORS GENERAL TO APPOINTMENT PURSUANT 
              TO SECTION 3 OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978.

    (a) Inclusion in Certain Definitions.--Section 12 of the Inspector 
General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or the Federal 
        Cochairpersons of the Commissions established under section 
        15301 of title 40, United States Code;'' and inserting ``the 
        Federal Cochairpersons of the Commissions established under 
        section 15301 of title 40, United States Code; the Chairman of 
        the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the 
        Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; the 
        Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration; the 
        Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; or the 
        Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission;''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or the Commissions 
        established under section 15301 of title 40, United States 
        Code,'' and inserting ``the Commissions established under 
        section 15301 of title 40, United States Code, the Board of 
        Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity Futures 
        Trading Commission, the National Credit Union Administration, 
        the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or the Securities and 
        Exchange Commission,''.
    (b) Exclusion From Definition of Designated Federal Entity.--
Section 8G(a)(2) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``the Board of Governors of the Federal 
        Reserve System,'';
            (2) by striking ``the Commodity Futures Trading 
        Commission,'';
            (3) by striking ``the National Credit Union 
        Administration,''; and
            (4) by striking ``the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 
        the Securities and Exchange Commission,''.

SEC. 3. CONTINUATION OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO PERSONNEL.

    (a) In General.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 
is amended by inserting after section 8L the following:

``SEC. 8M. SPECIAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING CERTAIN ESTABLISHMENTS.

    ``(a) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term `covered 
establishment' means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the National Credit 
Union Administration, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and the 
Securities and Exchange Commission.
    ``(b) Provisions Relating to All Covered Establishments.--
            ``(1) Provisions relating to inspectors general.--In the 
        case of the Inspector General of a covered establishment, 
        subsections (b) and (c) of section 4 of the Inspector General 
        Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-409) shall apply in the same 
        manner as if such covered establishment were a designated 
        Federal entity under section 8G. An Inspector General who is 
        subject to the preceding sentence shall not be subject to 
        section 3(e).
            ``(2) Provisions relating to other personnel.--
        Notwithstanding paragraphs (7) and (8) of section 6(a), the 
        Inspector General of a covered establishment may select, 
        appoint, and employ such officers and employees as may be 
        necessary for carrying out the functions, powers, and duties of 
        the Office of Inspector General of such establishment and to 
        obtain the temporary or intermittent services of experts or 
        consultants or an organization of experts or consultants, 
        subject to the applicable laws and regulations that govern such 
        selections, appointments, and employment, and the obtaining of 
        such services, within such establishment.
    ``(c) Provision Relating to the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System.--The provisions of subsection (a) of section 8D (other 
than the provisions of subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (E) of 
paragraph (1) of such subsection (a)) shall apply to the Inspector 
General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the 
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the 
same manner as such provisions apply to the Inspector General of the 
Department of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Treasury, 
respectively.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (3) of section 8G(g) of the 
Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is repealed.

SEC. 4. SUBPOENA AUTHORITY OF CERTAIN INSPECTORS GENERAL.

    The Inspector General of the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the National 
Credit Union Administration, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 
or the Securities and Exchange Commission, in carrying out the 
provisions of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), is 
authorized to require by subpoena, from any officer or employee of a 
contractor or grantee of the establishment, any officer or employee of 
a subcontractor or subgrantee of such a contractor or grantee, or any 
person or entity regulated by the establishment, any records and 
testimony necessary in the performance of functions assigned to the 
Inspector General under such Act. Any such subpoena, in the case of 
contumacy or refusal to obey, shall be enforceable by order of any 
appropriate United States district court.

SEC. 5. CORRECTIVE RESPONSES BY HEADS OF CERTAIN ESTABLISHMENTS TO 
              DEFICIENCIES IDENTIFIED BY INSPECTORS GENERAL.

    The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the 
Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, the Director of 
the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and the Chairman of the 
Securities and Exchange Commission shall each--
            (1) take action to address deficiencies identified by a 
        report or investigation of the Inspector General of the 
        establishment concerned; or
            (2) certify to both Houses of Congress that no action is 
        necessary or appropriate in connection with a deficiency 
        described in paragraph (1).

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION RULE.

    (a) Effective Date.--This Act and the amendments made by this Act 
shall take effect 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Transition Rule.--An individual serving as Inspector General of 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity 
Futures Trading Commission, the National Credit Union Administration, 
the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or the Securities and 
Exchange Commission on the effective date of this Act pursuant to an 
appointment made under section 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 
(5 U.S.C. App.)--
            (1) may continue so serving until the President makes an 
        appointment under section 3(a) of such Act with respect to the 
        Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity 
        Futures Trading Commission, the National Credit Union 
        Administration, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or 
        the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the case may be, 
        consistent with the amendments made by section 2; and
            (2) shall, while serving under paragraph (1), remain 
        subject to the provisions of section 8G of such Act which, 
        immediately before the effective date of this Act, applied with 
        respect to the Inspector General of the Board of Governors of 
        the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity Futures Trading 
        Commission, the National Credit Union Administration, the 
        Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or the Securities and 
        Exchange Commission, as the case may be, and suffer no 
        reduction in pay.
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