Inspector General Protection Act

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 23 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 6, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs AN ACT To require congressional notification for certain changes in status of inspectors general, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Jan 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H23.RFS H23 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 23 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Inspector General Pro- 2 tection Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE IN 4 STATUS OF INSPECTOR GENERAL. 5 (a) CHANGE IN STATUS OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OF 6 OFFICES.—Section 3(b) of the Inspector General Act of 7 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 8 (1) by inserting ‘‘, is placed on paid or unpaid 9 non-duty status,’’ after ‘‘is removed from office’’; 10 (2) by inserting ‘‘, change in status,’’ after 11 ‘‘any such removal’’; and 12 (3) by inserting ‘‘, change in status,’’ after ‘‘be- 13 fore the removal’’. 14 (b) CHANGE IN STATUS OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OF 15 DESIGNATED FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Section 8G(e)(2) of 16 the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 17 amended— 18 (1) by inserting ‘‘, is placed on paid or unpaid 19 non-duty status,’’ after ‘‘office’’; 20 (2) by inserting ‘‘, change in status,’’ after 21 ‘‘any such removal’’; and 22 (3) by inserting ‘‘, change in status,’’ after ‘‘be- 23 fore the removal’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Jan 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H23.RFS H23 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 23 RFS (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 1 this section shall take effect 30 days after the date of the 2 enactment of this Act. 3 SEC. 3. PRESIDENTIAL EXPLANATION OF FAILURE TO 4 NOMINATE AN INSPECTOR GENERAL. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 33 of 6 title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 7 section 3349d the following new section: 8 ‘‘§ 3349e. Presidential explanation of failure to nomi- 9 nate an Inspector General 10 ‘‘If the President fails to make a formal nomination 11 for a vacant Inspector General position that requires a for- 12 mal nomination by the President to be filled within the 13 period beginning on the date on which the vacancy oc- 14 curred and ending on the day that is 210 days after that 15 date, the President shall communicate, within 30 days 16 after the end of such period, to Congress in writing— 17 ‘‘(1) the reasons why the President has not yet 18 made a formal nomination; and 19 ‘‘(2) a target date for making a formal nomina- 20 tion.’’. 21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 22 for chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 23 by inserting after the item relating to 3349d the following 24 new item: 25 ‘‘3349e. Presidential explanation of failure to nominate an Inspector General.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Jan 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H23.RFS H23 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 23 RFS (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 1 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact- 2 ment of this Act and shall apply to any vacancy first oc- 3 curring on or after that date. 4 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 5 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 6 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 7 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 8 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 9 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 10 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro- 11 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 12 vote on passage. 13 Passed the House of Representatives January 5, 2021. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Jan 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H23.RFS H23 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS