[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 13, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H65-H67]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2009
Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2646) to amend title 31, United States Code, to enhance the
oversight authorities of the Comptroller General, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2646
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 2009''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INFORMATION.
(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:
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``(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sentence until such time as the authorization is repealed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) Copies and 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 striking
``inspect an agency record'' and inserting ``inspect, and
make and retain copies of, an agency record and interview
agency officers and employees''.
(c) Rules of Construction.--Section 716 of title 31, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
``(f) No provision of any law in existence on the date of
the enactment of this section or enacted after such date
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 this section, except to the extent
such provision expressly and specifically refers to this
section and provides for such limitation, amendment, or
supersession.''.
SEC. 3. ADMINISTERING OATHS.
Paragraph (4) of section 711 of title 31, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(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. AGENCY REPORTS.
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 amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(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''.
Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise to claim time in opposition.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the motion?
Mr. KUCINICH. As it is presently.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman from Missouri opposed to
the motion?
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. No, I am not.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Ohio will control the
time in opposition.
Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch)
and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) each will control 20
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.
General Leave
Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and add any extraneous materials.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Massachusetts?
There was no objection.
Mr. LYNCH. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2646, the Government
Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2009. This legislation,
introduced by the chairman of the Oversight Committee, Representative
Ed Towns of Brooklyn, will increase the effectiveness of the GAO by
clarifying and strengthening the GAO's authority in several critical
areas, including its access to records.
Congress relies heavily on the GAO as a force multiplier in carrying
out the investigative and oversight functions vested in the legislative
branch. The GAO helps inform the Congress and executive agencies and
the public about areas and programs within the Federal Government that
are performing well and those that need to be improved or are
vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse. General Accounting Office audits
provide reliable assessments as to whether the taxpayers are receiving
full value from important government programs. This legislation is
necessary to ensure that GAO can successfully carry out all of these
important functions for the Congress.
{time} 1245
Specifically, the GAO Improvement Act addresses a 2002 Federal court
decision that limited the GAO's ability to question agency access
determinations in court. The bill explicitly provides the Comptroller
General with standing to pursue litigation if the Comptroller General
determines that the performance of her official duties has been harmed
by an agency improperly withholding information.
The bill also clarifies the GAO's access to information in two
important areas. First, it confirms the GAO's right to make and retain
copies of records, which has been denied by Federal agencies in some
cases. And it provides the GAO with the right to interview agency
officers and employees. The bill also says that the GAO's access to
agency information should be limited only if an act passed by the
Congress expressly and specifically extends to limit such access.
Additionally, the bill clarifies GAO's authority to administer oaths,
an important tool in conducting audits and taking statements. Lastly,
it provides agencies more flexibility in reporting to Congress in their
responses to GAO recommendations. The Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform reported H.R. 2646 favorably on a voice vote on June
4, 2009.
At the committee markup, a bipartisan amendment was added to the bill
that would have allowed the GAO to conduct reviews of certain actions
taken by the Federal Reserve that previously have been exempt from GAO
review. However, similar language was included in the Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act which passed the House before the
holiday recess.
Therefore, the legislation that we are considering today is the bill
introduced by Representative Towns on June 4 and is without the
committee's amendment related to the Federal Reserve.
Madam Speaker, the Congress and the American people need the GAO to
help us remain informed about what's being done well and what needs to
be improved within the Federal Government. The GAO can only do this
effectively if it has access to all the information it needs. This bill
strengthens the GAO in this manner. It is an important good-government
initiative that will improve the effectiveness of government
operations.
I urge all Members to support the legislation, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. KUCINICH. As has been recounted by my friend from Massachusetts,
the amendment which was in the bill that would have given the GAO the
ability to audit the Fed was taken out of the bill; and the bill, as it
was introduced originally, is before this Congress. I question the
wisdom of moving on this bill, absent a provision to audit the Fed
prior to the Senate acting because suppose the Senate, which has the
ability to go any direction on this, suppose the Senate strips out the
provision that I did support, the Ron Paul provision, the Senate strips
that out, and then we have stripped out a provision in our bill. It
just sends a signal to the Fed that it's business as usual.
That's the reason I am raising this question right now, because it
hasn't passed the Senate. If it passed the Senate, I would not be on
the floor challenging this legislation. Because if it had been passed,
it went through conference, then finally at last the Fed is going to be
held accountable; but we aren't that far along yet.
So I bring on the first day of legislative action in this second
session of the 111th Congress a bill to the floor that essentially
gives the Fed what they want, which is they don't want any oversight at
all. And why was this brought forward in the first place? Because
Congress and our committee, particularly, depend on the Government
Accountability Office and the audits and the reviews they perform to
assist us in helping us justify our oversight responsibilities.
But GAO currently, unless the law changes, cannot perform audits or
conduct reviews of the various credit facilities that the Federal
Reserve created. And due to an express prohibition on auditing monetary
activities of the Fed containing section 714 of title 31, GAO isn't
allowed to assist Congress in conducting oversight on the Fed's role.
[[Page H67]]
Now, this Congress voted for the financial reforms. A majority of
Members of Congress signed on to Mr. Paul's very strong proposal to
audit the Fed. I was one of those signatories. So this isn't a question
of whether we want to audit the Fed or not. A majority of the Members
of Congress agree on that. Well, why start off this new year with a
bill that strips that provision out long before the Senate acts? Let's
see what the Senate is going to do. That's why I didn't want to see
this bill brought to the floor at a time when the Senate hasn't acted
on the Fed language; and if we go ahead and take that language out of
our bill, some could read it in the Senate as a green light to strip
out the Paul provision, which is a much stronger provision than what I
brought forward in my amendment.
So those are the concerns that I wanted to bring forward and air them
publicly, and just ask Members--a cautionary note here about what's
happening with respect to the Fed. Since a majority of Members of
Congress already want to audit the Fed, why should we go and weaken our
position by passing a bill that strips out audit provisions before the
Senate has acted on the bill that contains the Paul amendment?
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Luetkemeyer).
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. As noted all year, oversight and accountability are
critically important. This bill provides GAO additional process
authorities regarding access to information and enhances GAO's ability
to carry out its mission. The GAO has done a long-standing right-of-
access to agency records. On occasion, its efforts have been frustrated
and delayed by agencies refusing to provide GAO with copies of
necessary records or by a lack of willingness on the part of agency
officers and employees to discuss the content of records or provide
background information relevant to programs under review.
This bill augments the GAO's existing access authority by confirming
GAO's right to make and retain copies of records and by providing GAO
with the right to interview agency officers and employees. In addition,
the bill requires agencies to interpret statutes as requiring
disclosure of information to GAO unless the statute expressly prohibits
disclosure to GAO. Finally, the bill makes some commonsense changes to
the Comptroller General's ability to administer oaths as well as agency
reporting requirements.
Madam Speaker, Congress looks to the GAO to assist with the
investigative and oversight functions vested in the legislative branch.
This bill is intended to increase the effectiveness of GAO by ensuring
that the agency is not unnecessarily restricted in its efforts to
secure necessary information when performing these necessary and
important functions.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I thank the
gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding his time.
Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, in closing, before I yield back, I just
want to say that I understand the spirit in which the gentleman from
Ohio has brought this issue forward. I do understand the central role
that oversight and investigation have in this Congress. It is the only
way that we can make sure that the executive follows the legislative
mandate of Congress and that the resources provided by the taxpayer are
properly used to limit fraud, waste and abuse. So I understand the
spirit in which he acts.
I think his desire for transparency is spot on, and I agree with it.
I think the position of the chairman, Mr. Towns of New York, is that we
have included a provision in another bill recently passed that would
provide for all of that. I understand, however, that the belt-and-
suspenders approach that the gentleman would like to see, which is,
let's put it in every bill that we send over there, is germane. And I
respect that urgency.
However, I do in this case agree with the chairman that we have
addressed those concerns in the other bill, and we will need to be
diligent in making sure that the effect of that language is carried
into law.
Mr. KUCINICH. I want to say to my friend from Massachusetts, you and
I both support our Chair. We support the oversight function of our
committee and of the Congress, and that is the spirit in which I rise.
Also, I think it's critical that we track this financial reform
legislation as it moves through the Senate to make sure that the
provisions that were put in by Representative Paul are not going to be
stripped. I would not want the Senate to misinterpret the stripping of
a Federal audit provision from a government oversight bill as being an
indication of the weakening of the intention of Congress to hold the
Fed accountable.
So it's for that reason that I raise that issue, and I appreciate the
gentleman's remarks.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2646.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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