1.This Act may be cited as the
Government Accountability Office
Improvement Act of 2011
.
2.Authority to
obtain information
(a)Authority To
obtain recordsSection 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until such time as the authorization is repealed pursuant to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)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 striking
inspect an agency record
and inserting inspect, and make
and retain copies of, an agency record
.
3.Section 711 of title 31,
United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the
following:
(4)administer oaths
to witnesses when auditing and settling accounts and, with the prior express
approval of the Comptroller General, when investigating fraud or attempts to
defraud the United States, or irregularity or misconduct of an employee or
agent of the United
States.
.
4.Access to
certain information
(a)Access to
certain informationSubchapter II of chapter 7 of title 31,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
721.Access to
certain information
(a)No provision of
the Social Security Act, including section 453(l) of that Act (42 U.S.C.
653(l)), shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the
Comptroller General to obtain any information or to inspect or copy any record
under section 716 of this title.
(b)No provision of
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, including section 301(j) of that Act
(21 U.S.C. 331(j)), shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the
authority of the Comptroller General to obtain any information or to inspect or
copy any record under section 716 of this title.
(c)No provision of
the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (Public Law 94–435)
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 or
to inspect or copy any record 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 to—
(A)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)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.
(e)Specific
references to statutes in this section shall not be construed to affect access
by the Government Accountability Office to information under statutes that are
not so
referenced.
.
(b)Technical and
conforming amendmentThe table of sections 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.
.
5.Notice to Congress if
agencies do not provide requested information
(a)Subchapter II of chapter 7 of title 31, United States
Code, (as amended by section 4 of this Act) is further amended by adding at the
end the following:
722.Notice to Congress if
agencies do not provide requested informationIf in the discharge of the official duties
of the Comptroller General (including any audit, evaluation, or investigative
duties) relating to any request from a committee of Congress or a Member of
Congress, the Comptroller General requests information from an agency and the
agency does not provide that information within 30 days after the date of
receiving the request, the Comptroller General shall submit notice that the
agency has not provided the information to the Comptroller General to—
(1)any committee of Congress that made the
related request to the Comptroller General; or
(2)any Member of Congress who made the related
request to the Comptroller
General.
.
(b)Technical and
conforming amendmentThe table of sections for chapter 7 of title
31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 721 (as added by section 4 of this Act) the following:
722. Notice to Congress if
agencies do not provide requested
information.
.
5.
6.Section 720(b) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended—
(1)in the matter
preceding paragraph (1), by inserting or planned
after
action taken
; and
(2)by striking
paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
(1)the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on
Oversight and Government Operations of the House of Representatives, the
congressional committees with jurisdiction over the agency program or activity
that is the subject of the recommendation, and the Government Accountability
Office before the 61st day after the date of the report;
and
.
April 24, 2012
Reported with amendments