[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 21, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 93574-93577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29976]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of Inspector General

7 CFR Part 2610


Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of Inspector 
General (OIG) amends its regulation relating to organization, 
functions, and delegations of authority. The amendments are necessary 
to reflect reorganizations within OIG.

DATES: Effective December 21, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christy Slamowitz, Counsel to the 
Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW., Room 441-E, Washington, DC 20250-2308, Telephone: (202) 
720-9110.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulation on USDA-OIG's organization, 
functions, and delegations of authority was last published in 1995 (60 
FR 52840). Since that time, OIG has had several internal 
reorganizations. In order to provide the public with current 
information regarding OIG's organization, functions, and delegations of 
authority, OIG is amending its regulations.

Administrative Procedure Act

    This rule relates to agency organization and internal agency 
management. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(A), such rules are not subject to 
the requirement to provide public notice of proposed rulemaking and 
opportunity for public comment. Therefore, notice and comment before 
the effective date are being waived.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

    OIG has reviewed this rule to ensure its consistency with the 
regulatory philosophy and principles set forth in Executive Orders 
12866 and 13563. OIG has determined that this rule is non-significant 
within the meaning of Executive Order 12866. Therefore, this rule is 
not required to be and has not been reviewed by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    These regulations will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. Therefore, a regulatory 
flexibility analysis as provided by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as 
amended, is not required.

Executive Order 12291

    This rule relates to internal agency organization and management. 
Therefore, it is exempt from the provisions of Executive Order 12291.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    These regulations impose no additional reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements. Therefore, clearance by OMB is not required.

Federalism (Executive Order 13132)

    This rule does not have Federalism implications, as set forth in 
Executive Order 13132. It will not have substantial direct effects on 
the States, on the relationship between the national government and the 
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 
various levels of government.

Congressional Review Act

    OIG has determined that this rule is not a major rule as defined by 
the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 804.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 2610

    Authority delegations (Government agencies), Organization and 
functions (Government agencies).


0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Office of Inspector 
General revises 7 CFR part 2610 to read as follows:

PART 2610--ORGANIZATION, FUNCTIONS, AND DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY

Sec.
2610.1 General statement.
2610.2 Headquarters organization.
2610.3 Regional organization.
2610.4 Requests for service.
2610.5 Delegations of authority.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 552; Inspector General Act of 1978, as 
amended, 5 U.S.C. app.; 7 U.S.C. 2270.


Sec.  2610.1  General statement.

    (a) The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, 5 U.S.C. app. 
(IG Act), established an Office of Inspector General (OIG) in the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) and transferred to it the functions, 
powers, and duties of offices referred to in the Department as the 
``Office of Investigation'' and the ``Office of Audit,'' previously 
assigned to the OIG created by the Secretary's Memoranda 1915 and 1727, 
dated March 23, 1977, and October 5, 1977, respectively. Under the IG 
Act, OIG was established as an independent and objective unit, headed 
by the Inspector General (IG), who is appointed by the President and 
reports to and is under the general supervision of the Secretary.
    (b) OIG conducts and supervises audits and investigations relating 
to Department programs and operations; provides leadership and 
coordination and recommends policies for activities designed to promote 
economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of, and to 
prevent and detect fraud and abuse in, such programs and operations; 
and provides a means for keeping the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
Congress fully and currently informed about problems and deficiencies 
relating to the administration of such programs and operations and the 
necessity for and progress of corrective action.
    (c) The IG has specific duties, responsibilities, and authorities 
pursuant to the IG Act, including to:
    (1) Provide policy direction for, and conduct, supervise, and 
coordinate

[[Page 93575]]

audits and investigations relating to USDA programs and operations.
    (2) Review existing and proposed legislation and regulations 
related to USDA programs and operations and make recommendations to the 
Secretary and the Congress on the impact such laws or regulations will 
have on the economy and efficiency of program administration or in the 
prevention and detection of fraud and abuse in USDA programs and 
operations.
    (3) Recommend policies for, and conduct, supervise, or coordinate 
other activities carried out or financed by USDA for the purpose of 
promoting economy and efficiency in the administration of, or 
preventing and detecting fraud and abuse, in USDA programs and 
operations.
    (4) Recommend policies for, and conduct, supervise, or coordinate 
relationships between, USDA and other Federal, State, and local 
governmental agencies and nongovernmental entities regarding the 
promotion of economy and efficiency, prevention of fraud and abuse, or 
the identification and prosecution of participants in fraud and abuse.
    (5) Keep the Secretary and the Congress fully and currently 
informed about problems, abuses, and deficiencies, and the necessity 
for and progress of corrective actions in the administration of USDA 
programs and operations.
    (6) Report expeditiously to the Attorney General any matter where 
there are reasonable grounds to believe there has been a violation of 
Federal criminal law.
    (7) Have access to all records, reports, audits, reviews, 
documents, papers, recommendations, or other material available to the 
Department which relate to programs and operations for which the IG has 
responsibility.
    (8) Make such investigations and reports relating to the 
administration of USDA programs and operations as are, in the judgment 
of the IG, necessary or desirable.
    (9) Request such information or assistance as may be necessary for 
carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the IG Act from any 
Federal, State, or local governmental agency or unit thereof.
    (10) Issue subpoenas for the production of information, documents, 
reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other data in any 
medium (including electronically stored information, as well as any 
tangible thing) and documentary evidence necessary in the performance 
of functions assigned by the IG Act, except that procedures other than 
subpoenas shall be used to obtain documents and information from 
Federal agencies.
    (11) Whenever necessary in the performance of functions assigned by 
the IG Act, administer to or take from any person an oath, affirmation, 
or affidavit, which shall have the same force and effect as if 
administered or taken by or before an officer having a seal.
    (12) Have direct and prompt access to the Secretary when necessary 
for any purpose pertaining to the performance of functions and 
responsibilities under the IG Act.
    (13) Select, appoint, and employ necessary officers and employees 
in OIG in accordance with laws and regulations governing the civil 
service, including an Assistant Inspector General for Audit (AIG/A) and 
an Assistant Inspector General for Investigations (AIG/I).
    (14) Obtain services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109.
    (15) Enter into contracts and other arrangements for audits, 
inspections, studies, analyses, and other services with public agencies 
and private persons, and make such payments as may be necessary to 
carry out the provisions of the IG Act, to the extent and in such 
amounts as may be provided in advance by an appropriation act.
    (16) Receive and investigate complaints or information from any 
Department employee concerning the possible existence of an activity 
constituting a violation of law, rules, or regulations, or 
mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a 
substantial and specific danger to the public health and safety.
    (17) Designate a Whistleblower Protection Ombudsman, who will 
educate Department employees about prohibitions on retaliation for 
protected disclosures; and who have made or are contemplating making a 
protected disclosure about the rights and remedies against retaliation 
for protected disclosures.
    (d) Pursuant to Sec.  2.33 of this title, the Secretary has made 
the following delegations of authority to the IG:
    (1) Advise the Secretary and General officers in the planning, 
development, and execution of Department policies and programs.
    (2) At the request of the Secretary's security office, determine 
the availability of OIG law enforcement personnel to assist the 
security office in providing for the personal security of the Secretary 
and Deputy Secretary.
    (3) Serve as liaison official for the Department for all audits of 
USDA performed by the Government Accountability Office.
    (e) The IG, under section 1337 of the Agriculture and Food Act of 
1981, Public Law 97-98, 7 U.S.C. 2270, and pursuant to rules issued by 
the Secretary in part 1a of this title, has the authority to:
    (1) Designate OIG employees who investigate alleged or suspected 
felony criminal violations of statutes administered by the Secretary of 
Agriculture or any agency of USDA, when engaged in the performance of 
official duties to:
    (i) Make an arrest without a warrant for any such criminal felony 
violation if such violation is committed, or if the employee has 
probable cause to believe that such violation is being committed, in 
his/her presence;
    (ii) Execute and serve a warrant for an arrest, for the search of 
premises, or the seizure of evidence when issued under authority of the 
United States upon probable cause to believe that such a violation has 
been committed; and
    (iii) Carry a firearm.
    (2) Issue directives and take the actions prescribed by the 
Secretary's rules.


Sec.  2610.2  Headquarters organization.

    (a) OIG has a headquarters office in Washington, DC, and regional 
offices throughout the United States. The headquarters office consists 
of the immediate office of the IG, which includes three component 
offices, and four operational units.
    (b) Immediate Office Components. (1) The Director of the Office of 
Compliance and Integrity (OCI) performs independent quality assurance 
and internal control reviews of OIG operations. OCI also investigates 
allegations of criminal and/or serious administrative misconduct by OIG 
employees.
    (2) Section 3(g) of the IG Act mandates that each IG shall obtain 
legal advice from a counsel either reporting directly to the IG or to 
another IG. Within USDA-OIG, such legal advice is provided by the 
Counsel to the Inspector General. The Office of Counsel (OC) provides 
legal advice and representation on issues arising during the course of 
audit, investigative, and Office of Data Sciences (ODS) activities or 
on internal administrative and management issues. OC also manages OIG's 
congressional, media relations, ethics, Freedom of Information Act, and 
Privacy Act programs; and reviews proposed legislation, regulations, 
and procedures.
    (3) The Director of the Office of Diversity and Conflict Resolution 
advises OIG leadership on applying the principles of civil rights, 
equal

[[Page 93576]]

employment opportunity, dispute resolution, diversity, and inclusion, 
on matters affecting the OIG workforce, program activities, and 
development of policy. This office also guides all OIG personnel 
through the use of the Federal sector employment discrimination 
complaints and dispute resolution processes, as needed.
    (c) Operational units. (1) The AIG/A carries out the OIG's domestic 
and foreign audit operations through a headquarters office and three 
regional offices shown in Sec.  2610.3(a). The staff provides for audit 
review of information technology (IT) security throughout USDA. 
Auditing officials conduct operational liaison on audit matters; 
schedule and conduct audits; release audit reports to management; 
monitor agency action to assure that audit reports have been properly 
acted upon through review of Department management follow up systems; 
monitor the quality of OIG audit reports; and coordinate activities 
with the AIG/I. The staff also provides an integrated approach to fraud 
prevention and detection and management improvement in USDA programs 
and operations; coordinates analyses and reports on vulnerability 
assessments; and recommends policies and provides technical assistance 
for audit operations. The Auditing headquarters office consists of the 
immediate office of the AIG/A and five staff divisions.
    (2) The Assistant Inspector General for Data Sciences carries out 
OIG's data sciences operations through a headquarters office. OIG 
officials within ODS perform predictive data analysis, statistical 
sampling, modeling, computer matching, data mining, and data 
warehousing of USDA programs and operations in support of OIG audits, 
investigations, and other activities.
    (3) The AIG/I carries out OIG's domestic and foreign investigative 
operations through a headquarters office and the five regional offices 
shown in Sec.  2610.3(b). Investigations officials conduct operational 
and intelligence liaison on investigative matters with the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service, 
Interpol, and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
organizations; determine the need for investigative action; conduct 
investigations; prepare factual reports of investigative findings; 
refer reports for appropriate administrative or legal action; follow up 
on agency actions to assure that OIG investigative reports have been 
properly acted upon; monitor the quality of investigative reports; and 
coordinate activities with the AIG/A. The staff also conducts special 
investigations of major programs, operations, and high level officials; 
can assist the Secretary's security office in providing for the 
protection of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary; and receives and 
processes employee complaints concerning possible violations of laws, 
rules, regulations or mismanagement. The OIG Whistleblower Protection 
Ombudsman described in Sec.  2610.1(c)(17) is located within the Office 
of Investigations.
    (4) The Assistant Inspector General for Management (AIG/M) manages 
formulation of OIG policies and procedures; develops, administers and 
directs comprehensive programs for the management, budget, financial, 
personnel, systems improvement, and information activities and 
operations of OIG; and is responsible for OIG IT and information 
management systems. The staff maintains OIG's directives system, and 
Departmental Regulations and Federal Register issuances. The immediate 
office of the AIG/M and four divisions carry out these functions.


Sec.  2610.3  Regional organization.

    (a) Each regional Audit Director is responsible to the IG and to 
the AIG/A for supervising the performance of all OIG auditing 
activities relating to the Department's domestic and foreign programs 
and operations within an assigned geographic area. The addresses and 
telephone numbers of the three Audit regional offices and the 
territories served are as follows:

Audit Region, Address, Telephone Number, and Territory

Eastern Region, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Suite 2-2230 (Mail Stop 
5300), Beltsville, Maryland 20705-5300, (301) 504-2100; Alabama, 
Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, 
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 
Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, 
Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, 
Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Midwestern Region, 8930 Ward Parkway, Suite 3016, Kansas City, 
Missouri 64114, (816) 926-7667; Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, 
Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and 
Wyoming.
Western Region, 1333 Broadway, Suite 400, Oakland, California 94612, 
(510) 208-6800; Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, 
Oregon, Territory of Guam, Trust Territories of the Pacific, and 
Washington.

    (b) Each regional Special Agent-in-Charge (SAC) is responsible to 
the IG and to the AIG/I for supervising the performance of all OIG 
investigative activities relating to the Department's domestic and 
foreign programs and operations within an assigned geographic area. The 
addresses and telephone numbers of the five Investigations regional 
offices and the territories served are as follows:

Investigations Region, Address, Telephone Number, and Territory

Midwest Region, 111 N. Canal Street, Suite 325, Chicago, Illinois 
60606-7296, (312) 353-1358; Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, 
Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Northeast Region, 26 Federal Plaza, Room 1409, New York, New York 
10278-0004, (212) 264-8400; Connecticut, Delaware, District of 
Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, 
New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West 
Virginia.
Southeast Region, 401 W. Peachtree Street NW., Room 2329, Atlanta, 
Georgia 30308, (404) 730-3274; Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, 
North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and the 
Virgin Islands.
Southwest Region, 101 South Main, Room 311, Temple, Texas 76501, 
(254) 743-6535; Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, 
Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Western Region, 1333 Broadway, Suite 400, Oakland, California 94612, 
(510) 208-6860; Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, 
Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Territory of Guam, Trust Territories 
of the Pacific, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.


Sec.  2610.4  Requests for service.

    (a) Heads of USDA agencies will direct requests for audit or 
investigative service to the AIG/A, AIG/I, Audit Director, SAC, or to 
other OIG audit or investigation officials responsible for providing 
service of the type desired in the geographical area where service is 
desired.
    (b) Agency officials or other employees may, at any time, direct to 
the personal attention of the IG any audit or investigation matter that 
warrants such attention.
    (c) Other persons (i.e., non-USDA personnel) may address their 
communications regarding audit or investigative matters to: The 
Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA Stop 2301, 
Washington, DC 20250.
    (d) OIG has established several channels for USDA employees and the 
general public to report fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in USDA 
programs, or misconduct by a USDA employee. These include a general OIG 
Hotline, a Bribery/Assault Line, and (for USDA employees) a 
Whistleblower Ombudsman.
    (1) General fraud, waste, and abuse hotline:

[[Page 93577]]

    (i) File complaint online: http://www.usda.gov/oig/hotline.htm 
(click on ``Submit a Complaint'' button);
    (ii) Telephone: (800) 424-9121, (202) 690-1622, or (202) 690-1202 
(Telecommunication Device for the Deaf);
    (iii) Facsimile: (202) 690-2474; or
    (iv) Write a letter to United States Department of Agriculture, 
Office of Inspector General, P.O. Box 23399, Washington, DC 20026.
    (2) Bribery/Assault Line: (202) 720-7257 (24 hours a day).
    (3) Whistleblower Protection Ombudsman. USDA employees may contact 
the Ombudsman via email at: [email protected]. Additional 
information about the Ombudsman is available online at https://www.usda.gov/oig/ombudsman.htm.


Sec.  2610.5  Delegations of authority.

    (a) AIGs, Directors, and Counsel listed in Sec.  2610.2, and Audit 
Directors and SACs listed in Sec.  2610.3, are authorized to take 
whatever actions are necessary to carry out their assigned functions. 
This authority may be re-delegated.
    (b) The IG reserves the right to establish audit and investigation 
policies, program, procedures, and standards; to allocate appropriated 
funds; to determine audit and investigative jurisdiction; and to 
exercise any of the powers or functions or perform any of the duties 
referenced in the above delegation.

    Dated: December 8, 2016.
Phyllis K. Fong,
Inspector General.
[FR Doc. 2016-29976 Filed 12-20-16; 8:45 am]
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