[Senate Report 114-171]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 305
 114th Congress          }                      {             Report
  1st Session            }         SENATE       {              114-171
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

 .                                                     
            INSPECTOR GENERAL MANDATES REPORTING ACT OF 2015

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 2128

            TO REQUIRE THE COUNCIL OF INSPECTORS GENERAL ON
 INTEGRITY AND EFFICIENCY TO SUBMIT TO CONGRESS A REPORT ON INSPECTOR 
                            GENERAL MANDATES




               November 30, 2015.--Ordered to be printed
                   
                               _______
	       	                             
	       	 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
	       	       
	       	          WASHINGTON : 2015
	          
               
               
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona                 THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  JON TESTER, Montana
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire          CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
JONI ERNST, Iowa                     GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
BEN SASSE, Nebraska

                    Keith B. Ashdown, Staff Director
                  Christopher R. Hixon, Chief Counsel
       Patrick J. Bailey, Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Deputy Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
              Gabrielle A. Batkin, Minority Staff Director
           John P. Kilvington, Minority Deputy Staff Director
               Mary Beth Schultz, Minority Chief Counsel
             Katherine C. Sybenga, Minority Senior Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk




                                                      Calendar No. 305
 114th Congress          }                      {             Report
  1st Session            }         SENATE       {              114-171

======================================================================



 
                 INSPECTOR GENERAL MANDATES REPORTING 
                              ACT OF 2015

                                _______
                                

               November 30, 2015.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2128]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 2128), to require 
the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency 
to submit to Congress a report on Inspector General mandates, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    The purpose of S. 2128, the Inspector General Mandates 
Reporting Act of 2015, is to require a one-time report to 
Congress on the mandatory reporting requirements imposed by 
Congress upon individual Offices of Inspectors General (OIG). 
The Committee anticipates using this report to inform its 
future lawmaking and determine whether any of those 
requirements can be reduced, modified, or eliminated. This will 
help ensure that OIGs have sufficient time and resources to 
perform the discretionary work they deem necessary.

              II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    OIGs were created to ``promote economy, efficiency, and 
effectiveness'' of the government's operations and ``prevent 
and detect fraud and abuse'' within those programs.\1\ While 
their work is varied and often-times performed at the 
discretion of the inspector general, a significant portion of 
the OIG workload is dictated by Congress through directives for 
the OIG to perform particular audits. Some of these mandates 
are contained in the Inspector General Act of 1978, while 
others have been added over time through various laws passed by 
Congress.
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    \1\5 U.S.C. App. Sec. 2 (Pub. L. No. 95-452).
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    According to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) 
OIG, [t]he average OIG has approximately thirty percent of its 
workload mandated.''\2\ The DHS OIG reported to the Committee 
last year that it had a Congressionally-mandated workload that 
is more than double that amount.\3\
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    \2\S. Rep. No. 113-261 (2014).
    \3\Id.
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    This Committee has long been concerned with ensuring that 
Congressionally-mandated reports are not outdated, unnecessary, 
or duplicative. In 2014, Congress passed two bills to reduce 
the mandatory reporting burden on government agencies and 
inspectors general after those bills were reported favorably by 
the Committee. The DHS OIG Mandates Revision Act of 2014, 
introduced by then-Ranking Member Tom Coburn and cosponsored by 
then-Chairman Tom Carper, reduced the mandatory reporting 
requirements for the DHS OIG.\4\ The Government Reports 
Elimination Act of 2014, building on similar laws passed in 
1995\5\ and 1998,\6\ eliminated outdated and unnecessary 
reporting requirements across federal agencies.\7\
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    \4\Pub. L. No. 113-284.
    \5\Pub. L. No. 104-66.
    \6\Pub. L. No. 105-362.
    \7\Pub. L. No. 113-188. Additionally, the Committee in 2015 
unanimously passed S. 579, the Inspector General Empowerment Act of 
2015, indicating its desire to ensure inspectors general have all the 
tools necessary to efficiently and effectively perform their work. The 
substitute amendment approved by the cosponsors of the bill further 
streamlines the reporting requirements of the Inspector General Act
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While existing law requires agencies to annually report to 
OMB on any outdated or duplicative reporting requirements that 
they believe should be eliminated,\8\ the Committee is not 
aware of any comprehensive list of OIG reporting mandates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010, 
Pub. L. No. 111-352.
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    The work OIGs perform is essential to keep the Federal 
government accountable. OIGs perform a wide range of 
responsibilities, including reviewing whistleblower 
allegations, helping to ensure the effectiveness of federal 
cybersecurity programs, and investigating fraud and abuse. In 
the past few years, for example, inspectors general have 
uncovered significant weaknesses in airport security,\9\ 
inappropriate review of tax-exempt applications and ineffective 
management within the Internal Revenue Service,\10\ waste and 
fraud associated with operations during the Iraq and 
Afghanistan wars,\11\ as well as improper payments within many 
federal agencies, including the Department of Defense\12\ and 
the Social Security Administration.\13\ In fiscal year 2014, 
the work of the 72 federal OIGs identified $13.8 billion in 
potential savings from audit recommendations and another $32.7 
billion that the government could potentially recover (for 
example, through settlements, civil monetary penalties, or 
criminal restitution).\14\ Given how valuable their work is to 
Congress, the Committee wants to ensure inspectors general have 
adequate time and resources, and are not bogged down by 
unnecessary, dated, or duplicative Congressionally-mandated 
requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\DHS OIG Highlights, Covert Testing of the Transportation 
Security Administrations Passenger Screening Technologies and Processes 
at Airport Security Checkpoints (Sept. 22, 2015), available at https://
www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2015/OIG-15-150-Sep15.pdf.
    \10\Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, 
Inappropriate Criteria Were Used to Identify Tax-Exempt Applications 
for Review (May 14, 2013), available at https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/
auditreports/2013reports/201310053fr.pdf. 
    \11\Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, 
Quarterly Report (Oct. 30, 2015), available at https://www.sigar.mil/
pdf/quarterlyreports/2015-10-30qr.pdf. 
    \12\DOD Inspector General, DOD Methodologies to Identify Improper 
Payments in the Military Health Benefits and Commercial Pay Programs 
Need Improvement (Jan. 14, 2015), available at http://www.dodig.mil/
pubs/documents/DODIG-2015-068.pdf. 
    \13\Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, 
Overpayments in the Social Security Administration's Disability 
Programs--A 10-Year Study (June 2015), available at http://oig.ssa.gov/
sites/default/files/audit/full/pdf/A-01-14-24114.pdf. 
    \14\Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, 
Progress Report to the President, Fiscal Year 2014, available at 
https://www.ignet.gov/sites/default/files/files/FY14-Progress-Report-
to-the-President.pdf.
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    S. 2128 would enable Congress to make a comprehensive 
review of Congressionally-mandated OIG work. The bill would 
require OIGs to provide Congress with a comprehensive list of 
their required work, and, if the OIG so chooses, recommending 
those audits and investigations that should be modified or 
eliminated. Each OIG would provide its report to the Council of 
the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), and 
CIGIE would then provide the aggregated information to 
Congress. Congress can use this information to examine the 
requirements and determine whether reduction, modification, or 
elimination of any requirement is warranted.

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Ben Sasse introduced S. 2128 with Senator Claire 
McCaskill on October 5, 2015. The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 2128 at a business meeting on 
October 7, 2015. The Committee ordered the bill reported 
favorably by voice vote en bloc. Senators present for the vote 
on the bill were Senators Johnson, Portman, Lankford, Enzi, 
Ernst, Sasse, Carper, McCaskill, Baldwin, Heitkamp, and Booker.
    Consistent with the Committee's unanimous consent agreement 
on technical and conforming changes at the business meeting, 
the Committee reports the bill with a technical amendment by 
mutual agreement of the full Committee majority and minority 
staff.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides the bill's short title, the 
``Inspector General Mandates Reporting Act of 2015.''

Section 2. Reporting requirements of Inspectors General

    This section requires each OIG, within 60 days of enactment 
of the bill, to submit to CIGIE a report with a list of each 
report that the OIG is required to complete under the Inspector 
General Act of 1978 or any other provision of law. The report 
may also include the OIG's recommendations of any reporting 
requirements that the office believes should be modified or 
repealed.
    Sixty days after receiving the required reports from each 
OIG, CIGIE is required to aggregate the reports and then report 
to Congress on what requirements were common to more than one 
OIG and what requirements were unique to each OIG. CIGIE's 
report to Congress may also include recommendations for 
requirements that should be modified or repealed.
    The section also clarifies that the reports to Congress 
shall be in unclassified form, but may include a classified 
annex.

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                                  November 4, 2015.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
        Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2128, the Inspector 
General Mandates Reporting Act of 2015.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.
    Enclosure.

S. 2128--Inspector General Mandates Reporting Act of 2015

    S. 2128 would amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to 
require that inspectors general (IG) create lists of reports 
that they are required to give the Congress along with any 
recommendations for eliminating or modifying reports. Each IG 
would have 60 days to identify all reports they are required to 
produce. The bill also would require the Council of Inspectors 
General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) to review all the 
lists for common and unique reports and to provide 
recommendations to the Congress on eliminating or modifying 
reports.
    There are more than 70 IGs who spend about $2.5 billion a 
year to detect and deter fraud, waste, and abuse. On average, 
IGs produce more than 7,500 audits, inspections, and evaluation 
reports annually. CIGIE expects that some larger IGs would need 
60 days to comply with the bill's requirements. Based on that 
information, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would 
cost about $1 million in 2016, less than $14,000 per IG. Any 
such spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    Enacting S. 2128 could affect direct spending by some 
agencies (such as the Tennessee Valley Authority) because they 
are authorized to use receipts from the sale of goods, fees, 
and other collections to cover their operating costs. 
Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Because most of 
those agencies can make adjustments to the amounts collected as 
operating costs change, CBO estimates that any net changes in 
direct spending by those agencies would not be significant. 
Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
    CBO estimates that enacting S. 2128 would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion 
in any four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2026.
    S. 2128 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any 
provision of current law, it would make no changes in existing 
law within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 
of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.