[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5300 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5300

To amend provisions relating to the Office of the Inspector General of 
     the Government Accountability Office, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 29, 2023

 Mr. Robert Garcia of California introduced the following bill; which 
     was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend provisions relating to the Office of the Inspector General of 
     the Government Accountability Office, 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 ``GAO Inspector General Parity Act''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE GOVERNMENT 
              ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.

    Section 705 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``The 
                        Inspector General'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (A), as so designated, 
                        by striking the second sentence; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(B) If the Inspector General is removed from office or is 
        transferred to another position or location within the 
        Government Accountability Office, the Comptroller General shall 
        communicate in writing the substantive rationale, including 
        detailed and case-specific reasons, for any such removal or 
        transfer to both Houses of Congress (including to the 
        appropriate congressional committees), not later than 30 days 
        before the removal or transfer.
            ``(C) If there is an open or completed inquiry into the 
        Inspector General that relates to the removal or transfer of 
        the Inspector General under subparagraph (A), the written 
        communication required under subparagraph (B) shall--
                    ``(i) identify each entity that is conducting, or 
                that conducted, the inquiry; and
                    ``(ii) in the case of a completed inquiry, contain 
                the findings made during the inquiry.
            ``(D) Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a personnel 
        action otherwise authorized by law, other than transfer or 
        removal.'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
                (4);
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3)(A) Subject to the other provisions of this paragraph, 
        only the Comptroller General may place the Inspector General on 
        non-duty status.
            ``(B) If the Comptroller General places the Inspector 
        General on non-duty status, the Comptroller General shall 
        communicate in writing the substantive rationale, including 
        detailed and case-specific reasons, for the change in status to 
        both Houses of Congress (including to the appropriate 
        congressional committees) not later than 15 days before the 
        date on which the change in status takes effect, except that 
        the Comptroller General may submit that communication not later 
        than the date on which the change in status takes effect if--
                    ``(i) the Comptroller General has made a 
                determination that the continued presence of the 
                Inspector General in the workplace poses a specific 
                threat; and
                    ``(ii) in the communication, the Comptroller 
                General includes a report on the determination 
                described in clause (i), which shall include--
                            ``(I) the substantive rationale, including 
                        detailed and case-specific reasons, for the 
                        determination made under clause (i);
                            ``(II) an identification of each entity 
                        that is conducting, or that conducted, any 
                        inquiry upon which the determination under 
                        clause (i) was made; and
                            ``(III) in the case of an inquiry described 
                        in subclause (II) that is completed, the 
                        findings made during that inquiry.
            ``(C) The Comptroller General may not place the Inspector 
        General on non-duty status during the 30-day period preceding 
        the date on which the Inspector General is removed or 
        transferred under paragraph (2)(A) unless the Comptroller 
        General--
                    ``(i) has made a determination that the continued 
                presence of the Inspector General in the workplace 
                poses a specific threat; and
                    ``(ii) not later than the date on which the change 
                in status takes effect, submits to both Houses of 
                Congress (including to the appropriate congressional 
                committees) a written communication that contains the 
                information required under subparagraph (B), including 
                the report required under clause (ii) of that 
                subparagraph.
            ``(D) Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to limit 
        or otherwise modify any statutory protection that is afforded 
        to the Inspector General or a personnel action that is 
        otherwise authorized by law.''; and
                    (D) in paragraph (4), as so designated--
                            (i) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``The 
                        Inspector General'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (A), as so designated, 
                        by striking ``be paid at an annual rate of pay 
                        equal to $5,000 less than the annual rate of 
                        pay of the Comptroller General'' and inserting 
                        ``have a rate of basic pay that is not less 
                        than the average rate of basic pay of all other 
                        employees of the Government Accountability 
                        Office in positions established under section 
                        732a or 733 of this title''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(B) The Comptroller General shall establish the amount of 
        the annual adjustment of the rate of basic pay for the 
        Inspector General in an amount equal to the average of the 
        annual adjustments in the rate of basic pay provided pursuant 
        to section 733(a)(3)(b) of this title to all other employees in 
        positions established under section 732a or 733 of this 
        title.'';
            (2) in subsection (f)--
                    (A) by striking ``The Comptroller General'' and 
                inserting the following:
            ``(1) Prohibition.--The Comptroller General''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Budget independence.--The Comptroller General shall 
        include the annual budget request of the Inspector General in 
        the budget of the Government Accountability Office without 
        change.''; and
            (3) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), in the second sentence, by 
                striking ``, except that no personnel of the Office may 
                be paid at an annual rate greater than $1,000 less than 
                the annual rate of pay of the Inspector General''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Legal advice.--The Inspector General shall, in 
        accordance with applicable laws and regulations governing 
        selections, appointments, and employment at the Government 
        Accountability Office, obtain legal advice from a counsel 
        reporting directly to the Inspector General or another 
        Inspector General.''.
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