[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 119 (Monday, June 29, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3965-S3967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2318. Ms. HARRIS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2301 proposed by Mr. Inhofe to the bill S. 4049, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle A of title IX, add the following:
SEC. 906. SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC
DISPARITIES IN THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) Special Inspector General for Racial and Ethnic
Disparities in the Armed Forces.--
(1) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are the
following:
(A) To provide for the independent and objective conduct
and supervision of audits and investigations relating to
racial and ethnic disparities in military personnel and
military justice systems, and white supremacy among military
personnel.
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(B) To provide recommendations to the Secretary of Defense
and to Congress on actions necessary to eliminate racial and
ethnic disparities in military personnel and military justice
systems.
(2) Office of inspector general.--To carry out the purposes
of paragraph (1), there is hereby established, in the
Department of Defense, the Office of the Special Inspector
General for Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Armed
Forces.
(3) Appointment of inspector general.--
(A) Appointment.--The head of the Office of the Special
Inspector General for Racial and Ethnic Disparities is the
Special Inspector General for Racial and Ethnic Disparities
in the Armed Forces (in this section referred to as the
``Inspector General''), who shall be appointed by the
President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(B) Qualifications.--The appointment of the Inspector
General shall be made solely on the basis of integrity and
demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial
analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or
investigations.
(C) Deadline for first nomination.--The nomination of an
individual to be the first Inspector General to be appointed
after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be made not
later than 90 days after that date.
(D) Compensation.--The annual rate of basic pay of the
Inspector General shall be the annual rate of basic pay
provided for positions at level IV of the Executive Schedule
under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
(E) Prohibition on political activities.--For purposes of
section 7324 of title 5, United States Code, the Inspector
General shall not be considered an employee who determines
policies to be pursued by the United States in the nationwide
administration of Federal law.
(F) Removal.--The Inspector General shall be removable from
office in accordance with the provisions of section 3(b) of
the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
(4) Assistant inspectors general.--The Inspector General
shall, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations
governing the civil service, appoint an Assistant Inspector
General for Military Justice who shall have the
responsibility for auditing and investigation activities
relating to racial and ethnic disparities within the military
justice system.
(5) Supervision.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
the Inspector General shall report directly to, and be under
the general supervision of the Secretary of Defense.
(B) Independence to conduct investigations and audits.--No
officer of the Department of Defense shall prevent or
prohibit the Inspector General from initiating, carrying out,
or completing any audit or investigation related to racial
and ethnic disparities or from issuing any subpoena during
the course of any such audit or investigation.
(6) Duties.--
(A) Oversight.--It shall be the duty of the Inspector
General to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and
investigations of--
(i) the effect of military justice policies and practices
on racial and ethnic disparities, including
overrepresentation of minorities in actions related to
investigations, courts-martial, nonjudicial punishments, and
other military justice actions as determined by the Inspector
General;
(ii) the effect of military personnel policies and
practices, including recruiting, accessions, and promotions,
on racial and ethnic disparities, including
underrepresentation of minorities among members of the Armed
Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of a military
department in grades above E-7;
(iii) the scope and efficacy of existing diversity and
inclusion offices and programs within the Department of
Defense; and
(iv) white supremacist activities among military personnel
and any other issues, determined by the Inspector General,
necessary to address racial and ethnic disparities within the
Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of a
military department.
(B) Other duties related to oversight.--The Inspector
General shall establish, maintain, and oversee such systems,
procedures, and controls as the Inspector General considers
appropriate to discharge the duties under subparagraph (A).
(C) Duties and responsibilities under inspector general act
of 1978.--In addition to the duties specified in
subparagraphs (A) and (B), the Inspector General shall also
have the duties and responsibilities of inspectors general
under the Inspector General Act of 1978.
(D) Coordination of efforts.--In carrying out the duties,
responsibilities, and authorities of the Inspector General
under this section, the Inspector General shall coordinate
with, and receive the cooperation of each of the following:
(i) The Inspector General of the Department of Defense.
(ii) The Inspector General of the Army.
(iii) The Inspector General of the Navy.
(iv) The Inspector General of the Air Force.
(7) Powers and authorities.--
(A) Authorities under inspector general act of 1978.--In
carrying out the duties specified in paragraph (6), the
Inspector General shall have the authorities provided in
section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978.
(B) Audit standards.--The Inspector General shall carry out
the duties specified in paragraph (6)(A) in accordance with
section 4(b)(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978.
(8) Personnel, facilities, and other resources.--
(A) Personnel.--The Inspector General may select, appoint,
and employ such officers and employees as may be necessary
for carrying out the duties of the Inspector General, subject
to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing
appointments in the competitive service, and the provisions
of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title,
relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates.
(B) Employment of experts and consultants.--The Inspector
General may obtain services as authorized by section 3109 of
title 5, United States Code, at daily rates not to exceed the
equivalent rate prescribed for grade GS-15 of the General
Schedule by section 5332 of such title.
(C) Contracting authority.--To the extent and in such
amounts as may be provided in advance by appropriations Acts,
the Inspector General may enter into contracts and other
arrangements for audits, studies, analyses, and other
services with public agencies and with private persons, and
make such payments as may be necessary to carry out the
duties of the Inspector General.
(D) Resources.--The Secretary of Defense, as appropriate,
shall provide the Inspector General with appropriate and
adequate office space at appropriate locations of the
Department of Defense, together with such equipment, office
supplies, and communications facilities and services as may
be necessary for the operation of such offices, and shall
provide necessary maintenance services for such offices and
the equipment and facilities located therein.
(E) Assistance from federal agencies.--
(i) In general.--Upon request of the Inspector General for
information or assistance from any department, agency, or
other entity of the Federal Government, the head of such
entity shall, insofar as is practicable and not in
contravention of any existing law, furnish such information
or assistance to the Inspector General, or an authorized
designee.
(ii) Reporting of refused assistance.--Whenever information
or assistance requested by the Inspector General is, in the
judgment of the Inspector General, unreasonably refused or
not provided, the Inspector General shall report the
circumstances to the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate,
and to the appropriate congressional committees without
delay.
(9) Reports.--
(A) Quarterly reports.--Not later than 30 days after the
end of each fiscal-year quarter, the Inspector General shall
submit quarterly reports to the Secretary of Defense and the
congressional defense committees summarizing the activities
of the Inspector General for the previous quarter.
(B) Annual reports.--The Inspector General shall submit
annual reports to the Secretary of Defense and the
congressional defense committees presenting recommendations
for changes to policy, practice, regulation, and statute to
eliminate disparities within the military personnel and
military justice systems and to eliminate white supremacist
activities among military personnel.
(C) Occasional reports.--The Inspector General shall, from
time to time, submit additional reports containing findings
and recommendations at the discretion of the Inspector
General.
(D) Online publication.--The Inspector General shall
publish each report under this paragraph on a publicly
available website not later than seven days after submission
to the Secretary of Defense and the congressional defense
committees.
(10) Funding.--This section shall be carried out using not
more than $10,000,000 of funds otherwise appropriated for
Operation and Maintenance, Defense-wide, and no additional
amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section.
(b) Amendments to the Inspector General Act.--The Inspector
General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
(1) in section 3(b)--
(A) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``An Inspector General'';
(B) by inserting after the first sentence the following:
``An Inspector General may only be removed by the President
before the expiration of the term of the Inspector General
for permanent incapacity, neglect of duty, malfeasance,
conviction of a felony or conduct involving moral turpitude,
knowing violation of a law, gross mismanagement, gross waste
of funds, or abuse of authority.''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(2) If an Inspector General is removed by the President
under paragraph (1) fewer than 30 days after the President
has communicated in writing the reasons for such removal
pursuant to paragraph (1), the Inspector General shall submit
to the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and
Efficiency a report that includes the following information:
``(A) A description of the facts and circumstances of each
investigation involving a senior government employee (as
defined in section 5 of this Act) being conducted by that
Inspector General at the time of such removal.
``(B) Any other matter that the Inspector General
determines to include.
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``(3) Any individual serving as the head of an Office of
Inspector General, after the removal of an Inspector General
under paragraph (1), shall issue to the Council of the
Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency a report
identifying any instances in which an investigation or matter
described in paragraph (2) is closed prior to its completion,
with a description of the reasons for closing the
investigation or matter.''; and
(2) in section 8G(e), by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(3) In the event of the removal of an Inspector General,
the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and
Efficiency shall--
``(A) investigate the reasons for removal provided by the
President;
``(B) publish a report including the determination of the
Council whether the reasons described in subparagraph (A) are
in accordance with the relevant provisions relating to for
cause removal;
``(C) review any investigation that was being conducted by
the Inspector General at the time of such removal; and
``(D) submit, to the congressional committees the Council
determine to be relevant, a report that includes the
determination of the Council whether an investigation
described in subparagraph (C) motivated such removal.''.
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