Integrity Committee Transparency Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2681 To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require the Integrity Com- mittee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Effi- ciency to include additional information in requests and reports to Con- gress, to make information available to certain Members of Congress regarding certain allegations of wrongdoing closed without referral, to require the Integrity Committee to submit semiannual reports to Con- gress and the President, to expand the membership of the Integrity Committee, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 20, 2021 Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALO- NEY of New York, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PORTER, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. KHANNA, and Mr. SARBANES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require the Integrity Committee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to include additional information in requests and reports to Congress, to make information available to certain Members of Congress regarding certain allegations of wrongdoing closed with- out referral, to require the Integrity Committee to submit semiannual reports to Congress and the President, to expand the membership of the Integrity Committee, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2681 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Integrity Committee 4 Transparency Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN 6 REQUESTS AND REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 7 Section 11(d) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 8 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 9 (1) in paragraph (5)(B)(ii), by striking the pe- 10 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, the length of time 11 the Integrity Committee has been evaluating the al- 12 legation of wrongdoing, and a description of any pre- 13 vious written notice provided under this clause with 14 respect to the allegation of wrongdoing, including 15 the description provided for why additional time was 16 needed.’’; and 17 (2) in paragraph (8)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘or 18 corrective action’’ after ‘‘disciplinary action’’. 19 SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO MEMBERS OF 20 CONGRESS REGARDING CERTAIN ALLEGA- 21 TIONS OF WRONGDOING CLOSED WITHOUT 22 REFERRAL. 23 (a) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO MEMBERS OF 24 CONGRESS.—Section 11(d)(5)(B) of the Inspector Gen- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2681 IH eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding 1 at the end the following: 2 ‘‘(iii) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION 3 TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 4 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—With respect 5 to an allegation of wrongdoing made 6 by a member of Congress that is 7 closed by the Integrity Committee 8 without referral to the Chairperson of 9 the Integrity Committee to initiate an 10 investigation, the Chairperson of the 11 Integrity Committee shall, not later 12 than 60 days after closing such alle- 13 gation, provide a written description 14 of the nature of the allegation of 15 wrongdoing and how the Integrity 16 Committee evaluated the allegation of 17 wrongdoing to— 18 ‘‘(aa) the Chair and Rank- 19 ing Member of the Committee on 20 Oversight and Reform of the 21 House of Representatives; 22 ‘‘(bb) the Chair and Rank- 23 ing Member of the Committee on 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2681 IH Homeland Security and Govern- 1 mental Affairs of the Senate; 2 ‘‘(cc) a member of the 3 House of Representatives who 4 has the support of any seven 5 members of the Committee on 6 Oversight and Reform of the 7 House of Representatives; or 8 ‘‘(dd) a member of the Sen- 9 ate who has the support of any 10 five members of the Committee 11 on Homeland Security and Gov- 12 ernmental Affairs of the Senate. 13 ‘‘(II) REQUIREMENT TO FOR- 14 WARD.—The Chairperson of the In- 15 tegrity Committee shall forward any 16 written description or update provided 17 under this clause to the members of 18 the Integrity Committee and to the 19 Chairperson of the Council.’’. 20 SEC. 4. SEMIANNUAL REPORT. 21 Section 11(d)(9) of the Inspector General Act of 22 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended to read as follows: 23 ‘‘(9) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.—On or before May 24 31, 2022, and every six months thereafter, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2681 IH Council shall submit to Congress and the President 1 a report on the activities of the Integrity Committee 2 during the immediately preceding six-month periods 3 ending March 31 and September 30, which shall in- 4 clude the following with respect to allegations of 5 wrongdoing that are made against Inspectors Gen- 6 eral and staff members of the various Offices of In- 7 spector General described under paragraph (4)(C): 8 ‘‘(A) An overview and analysis of the alle- 9 gations of wrongdoing disposed of by the Integ- 10 rity Committee, including— 11 ‘‘(i) analysis of the positions held by 12 individuals against whom allegations were 13 made, including the duties affiliated with 14 such positions; 15 ‘‘(ii) analysis of the categories or 16 types of the allegations of wrongdoing; and 17 ‘‘(iii) a summary of disposition of all 18 the allegations. 19 ‘‘(B) The number of allegations referred to 20 the Department of Justice or the Office of Spe- 21 cial Counsel, including the number of allega- 22 tions referred for criminal investigation. 23 ‘‘(C) The number of allegations referred to 24 the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2681 IH investigation, a general description of the status 1 of such investigations, and a summary of the 2 findings of investigations completed. 3 ‘‘(D) An overview and analysis of allega- 4 tions of wrongdoing received by the Integrity 5 Committee during any previous reporting pe- 6 riod, but remained pending during some part of 7 the six months covered by the report, includ- 8 ing— 9 ‘‘(i) analysis of the positions held by 10 individuals against whom allegations were 11 made, including the duties affiliated with 12 such positions; 13 ‘‘(ii) analysis of the categories or 14 types of the allegations of wrongdoing; and 15 ‘‘(iii) a summary of disposition of all 16 the allegations. 17 ‘‘(E) The number and category or type of 18 pending investigations. 19 ‘‘(F) For each allegation received— 20 ‘‘(i) the date on which the investiga- 21 tion was opened; 22 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the allegation 23 was disposed of, as applicable; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2681 IH ‘‘(iii) the case number associated with 1 the allegation. 2 ‘‘(G) The nature and number of allegations 3 to the Integrity Committee closed without refer- 4 ral, including the justification for why each alle- 5 gation was closed without referral. 6 ‘‘(H) A brief description of any difficulty 7 encountered by the Integrity Committee when 8 receiving, evaluating, investigating, or referring 9 for investigation an allegation received by the 10 Integrity Committee, including a brief descrip- 11 tion of— 12 ‘‘(i) any attempt to prevent or hinder 13 an investigation; or 14 ‘‘(ii) concerns about the integrity or 15 operations at an Office of Inspector Gen- 16 eral.’’. 17 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL REPORTS; RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 18 Section 11(d) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 19 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 20 lowing: 21 ‘‘(14) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.— 22 ‘‘(A) REPORT TO INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 23 The Chairperson of the Integrity Committee 24 shall submit a report immediately whenever the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2681 IH Chairperson of the Integrity Committee be- 1 comes aware of particularly serious or flagrant 2 problems, abuses, or deficiencies relating to the 3 administration of programs and operations of 4 such Office of Inspector General. The report 5 shall be sent to the Inspector General who leads 6 the Office of Inspector General at which the se- 7 rious or flagrant problems, abuses, or defi- 8 ciencies were alleged. 9 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Inspec- 10 tor General of the Office identified by the In- 11 tegrity Committee shall submit any such report 12 to the House Committee on Oversight and Re- 13 form and the Senate Committee on Homeland 14 Security and Governmental Affairs within seven 15 calendar days from the time the agency head 16 receives the report together with a report by the 17 Inspector General at the Office identified by the 18 Integrity Committee containing any comments 19 such Inspector General deems appropriate. 20 ‘‘(15) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 21 ‘‘(A) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF INFORMA- 22 TION.—Except as provided in subparagraph 23 (B), nothing in this subsection shall be con- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2681 IH strued to authorize the public disclosure of in- 1 formation which is— 2 ‘‘(i) prohibited from disclosure by any 3 other provision of law; 4 ‘‘(ii) required by Executive order to be 5 protected from disclosure in the interest of 6 national defense or national security or in 7 the conduct of foreign affairs; or 8 ‘‘(iii) a part of an ongoing criminal in- 9 vestigation. 10 ‘‘(B) PROVISION OF REPORT TO REQUEST- 11 ING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Subject to any 12 other provision of law that would otherwise pro- 13 hibit disclosure of such information, the infor- 14 mation described in subparagraph (A) may be 15 provided to any Member of Congress upon re- 16 quest of the Member. 17 ‘‘(16) PROHIBITED DISCLOSURES.—The Integ- 18 rity Committee may not provide or otherwise disclose 19 to Congress or the public any information that re- 20 veals the personally identifiable information of an in- 21 dividual who alleges wrongdoing to the Integrity 22 Committee under this subsection unless the Integrity 23 Committee first obtains the consent of the indi- 24 vidual.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2681 IH SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP OF INTEGRITY COMMITTEE. 1 Section 11(d)(2) of the Inspector General Act of 2 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 3 (1) in subparagraph (A), by adding at the end 4 the following: 5 ‘‘(iv) The individual appointed under 6 subparagraph (C).’’; and 7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(C) APPOINTMENT OF FORMER INSPEC- 9 TOR GENERAL TO COMMITTEE.— 10 ‘‘(i) APPOINTMENT.—The Chair- 11 person of the Council shall appoint an indi- 12 vidual who prior to the date of such ap- 13 pointment served as an Inspector General 14 (as that position is described in section 15 3(a) and section 8G(a)(6)), and who has 16 upheld the highest standards of integrity 17 and professionalism while serving and since 18 leaving service as an Inspector General, as 19 determined by the Chairperson, to serve as 20 a member of the Committee unless no such 21 individual is available or willing to serve as 22 a member of the Committee at the time of 23 the appointment. 24 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL TERM.—The individual 25 appointed under clause (i) shall serve at 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2681 IH the pleasure of the Chairperson of the 1 Council for a 2-year term. 2 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL TERM.—The Chair- 3 person of the Council may reappoint the 4 individual appointed under clause (i) to 5 serve at the pleasure of the Chairperson of 6 the Council for an additional term not to 7 exceed 2 years. 8 ‘‘(iv) COMPENSATION.— 9 ‘‘(I) SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EM- 10 PLOYEE DESIGNATION.—The indi- 11 vidual appointed under clause (i) shall 12 be considered a special government 13 employee pursuant to section 202(a) 14 of title 18, United States Code. 15 ‘‘(II) COMPENSATION AND TRAV- 16 EL EXPENSES.—An individual ap- 17 pointed under clause (i) may not re- 18 ceive compensation at a rate in excess 19 of the rate of basic pay for level IV of 20 the executive schedule under section 21 5315 of title 5, United States Code, 22 and any such individual, while en- 23 gaged in the performance of their du- 24 ties away from their homes or regular 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2681 IH places of business, may be allowed 1 travel expenses, including per diem in 2 lieu of subsistence, as authorized by 3 section 5703 of such title for persons 4 employed intermittently in the Gov- 5 ernment service. 6 ‘‘(III) ACCEPTANCE OF VOLUN- 7 TEER SERVICES.—The Chairperson of 8 the Council may accept volunteer serv- 9 ices from the individual appointed 10 under this subparagraph without re- 11 gard to section 1342 of title 31, 12 United States Code. 13 ‘‘(IV) PROVISIONS RELATING TO 14 REEMPLOYMENT.— 15 ‘‘(aa) The Chairperson of 16 the Council may reemploy annu- 17 itants. 18 ‘‘(bb) The employment of 19 annuitants under this paragraph 20 shall be subject to the provisions 21 of section 9902(g) of title 5, 22 United States Code, as if the 23 Council was the Department of 24 Defense.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2681.IH H2681 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2681 IH SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT TO REFER ALLEGATIONS OF 1 WRONGDOING AGAINST INSPECTOR GEN- 2 ERAL TO INTEGRITY COMMITTEE. 3 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 11(d)(4) of the Inspec- 4 tor General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 5 (1) in subparagraph (A), in the heading, by 6 striking ‘‘REQUIREMENT’’ and inserting ‘‘ALLEGA- 7 TIONS AGAINST [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]