Strengthening Oversight for Veterans Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5843 To provide the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs testimonial subpoena authority, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 11, 2020 Miss RICE of New York (for herself and Mrs. RADEWAGEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To provide the Inspector General of the Department of Vet- erans Affairs testimonial subpoena authority, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Over- 4 sight for Veterans Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5843.IH H5843 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5843 IH SEC. 2. TESTIMONIAL SUBPOENA AUTHORITY OF THE IN- 1 SPECTOR GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 2 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 312 of title 38, United 4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing new subsection: 6 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) In addition to the authority otherwise pro- 7 vided by the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 8 App.) and in accordance with the requirements of this sub- 9 section, the Inspector General, in carrying out the provi- 10 sions of this section, may require by subpoena the attend- 11 ance and testimony of witnesses as necessary in the per- 12 formance of the functions assigned to the Inspector Gen- 13 eral by the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 14 and this section, which in the case of contumacy or refusal 15 to obey, such subpoena shall be enforceable by order of 16 any appropriate district court of the United States. 17 ‘‘(B) An Inspector General may not require by sub- 18 poena the attendance and testimony of any current Fed- 19 eral employees, but may use other authorized procedures. 20 ‘‘(2) The authority to issue a subpoena under para- 21 graph (1) may not be delegated. 22 ‘‘(3)(A) If the Inspector General intends to issue a 23 subpoena, the Inspector General shall notify the Attorney 24 General of such intent. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5843.IH H5843 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5843 IH ‘‘(B) Not later than 10 days after the date on which 1 the Attorney General is notified pursuant to paragraph 2 (1), the Attorney General may object to the issuance of 3 the subpoena if the subpoena will interfere with an ongo- 4 ing investigation and, if the Attorney General makes such 5 an objection, the Inspector General may not issue the sub- 6 poena. 7 ‘‘(C) If the Attorney General does not object to the 8 issuance of the subpoena during the 10-day period de- 9 scribed in subparagraph (B), the Inspector General may 10 issue the subpoena. 11 ‘‘(4) Before requiring by subpoena under paragraph 12 (1) the attendance and testimony of a witness, the Inspec- 13 tor General shall, to the degree practicable— 14 ‘‘(A) notify the witness of the intent of the In- 15 spector General to issue the subpoena; and 16 ‘‘(B) provide the witness an opportunity to at- 17 tend and testify voluntarily. 18 ‘‘(5) Whenever requiring by subpoena under para- 19 graph (1) the attendance and testimony of a witness, the 20 Inspector General shall, to the greatest extent practicable, 21 travel to residence of the witness, the principal place of 22 business of the witness, or other similar location that is 23 in proximity to the residence of the witness. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5843.IH H5843 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5843 IH ‘‘(6)(A) Along with each semiannual report submitted 1 by the Inspector General pursuant to section 5(b) of the 2 Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 5(b)), the 3 Inspector General shall include a report on the exercise 4 of the authority provided by paragraph (1). 5 ‘‘(B) Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) 6 shall include, for the most recently completed six-month 7 period, the following: 8 ‘‘(i) The number of testimonial subpoenas 9 issued and the number of individuals interviewed 10 pursuant to such subpoenas. 11 ‘‘(ii) The number of proposed testimonial sub- 12 poenas with respect to which the Attorney General 13 objected under paragraph (3)(B). 14 ‘‘(iii) A discussion of any challenges or concerns 15 that the Inspector General has encountered exer- 16 cising the authority provided by paragraph (1). 17 ‘‘(iv) Such other matters as the Inspector Gen- 18 eral considers appropriate.’’. 19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 21 graph (2), subsection (c) of section 312 of title 38, 22 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 23 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 24 Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5843.IH H5843 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5843 IH (2) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.—Paragraph (4) of 1 subsection (c) of such section, as so added, shall 2 take effect on the date that is seven months after 3 the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after 4 the date of the enactment of this Act. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5843.IH H5843 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS