Inspectors General Independence Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6668 To enhance the independence of Inspectors General, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 1, 2020 Mr. COOPER (for himself and Mr. CORREA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To enhance the independence 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Inspectors General 4 Independence Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT 6 OF 1978. 7 (a) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—The Inspector General 8 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 9 (1) in section 3(b), by inserting after the first 10 sentence the following: ‘‘An Inspector General may 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:25 May 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6668.IH H6668 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6668 IH only be removed by the President before the expira- 1 tion of the term of the Inspector General for perma- 2 nent incapacity, inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfea- 3 sance, or conviction of a felony or conduct involving 4 moral turpitude.’’; and 5 (2) in section 8(G)(e), by adding at the end the 6 following: 7 ‘‘(3) An Inspector General may only be removed by 8 the head of a designated Federal entity before the expira- 9 tion of the term of the Inspector General for permanent 10 incapacity, inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, or 11 conviction of a felony or conduct involving moral turpi- 12 tude.’’. 13 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TERMS OF OFFICE.—The 14 Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amend- 15 ed— 16 (1) in section 3, by adding at the end the fol- 17 lowing: 18 ‘‘(h)(1) The term of office of each Inspector General 19 shall be 7 years. An individual may serve for more than 20 1 term in such office. Any individual appointed and con- 21 firmed to fill a vacancy in such position, occurring before 22 the expiration of the term for which his or her predecessor 23 was appointed, shall be appointed and confirmed for a full 24 7-year term. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:25 May 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6668.IH H6668 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6668 IH ‘‘(2) An individual may continue to serve as Inspector 1 General beyond the expiration of the term for which the 2 individual is appointed until a successor is appointed and 3 confirmed, except that such individual may not continue 4 to serve for more than 1 year after the date on which the 5 term would otherwise expire under paragraph (1).’’; and 6 (2) in section 8G(c)— 7 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; and 8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(2) The term of office of each Inspector General 10 shall be 7 years. An individual may serve for more than 11 1 term in such office. Any individual appointed to fill a 12 vacancy in such position, occurring before the expiration 13 of the term for which his or her predecessor was ap- 14 pointed, shall be appointed for a full 7-year term.’’. 15 (c) APPLICATION.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 17 this section shall apply to any Inspector General of 18 an establishment or a designated Federal entity, as 19 defined in sections 12 and 8G(a) of the Inspector 20 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), respectively, 21 appointed before, on, or after the date of enactment 22 of this Act. 23 (2) TERM.—The term of office of an Inspector 24 General described in paragraph (1) serving on the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:25 May 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6668.IH H6668 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6668 IH date of enactment of this Act is deemed to begin on 1 such date of enactment. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:25 May 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6668.IH H6668 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS