Sec. 1703. Additional authority provisions for Inspectors General
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The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— in section 5(a), as amended by section 1705(c) of this Act— in paragraph (19), by striking and at the end; in paragraph (20), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and by adding at the end the following: a description of the use of subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of certain witnesses under section 6A. ; by inserting after section 6 the following: In addition to the authority otherwise provided by this Act and in accordance with the requirements of this section, the Inspector General of each establishment (and each Special Inspector General of an establishment not established under this Act), in carrying out the provisions of this Act (or, in the case of a Special Inspector General, the provisions of the authorizing statute) and as necessary in the performance of the functions assigned by this Act, is authorized to require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of— a current or former contractor with the establishment; a current or former subcontractor (at any tier) of a contractor with the establishment; a current or former grantee of the establishment; a current or former subgrantee of a grantee of the establishment; a current or former employee of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee described in subparagraphs
(A)through (D), respectively; and any former Federal employee of the establishment (but not including any Federal employee who is otherwise obligated to provide testimony and cooperate with the Inspector General). A subpoena described in paragraph (1)— may only require the attendance and testimony of an individual for issues reasonably relevant to the current or former position of the individual under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or
(F)of paragraph (1), as applicable; may only be issued by the Inspector General with oversight responsibilities for the establishment for which the individual under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or
(F)of paragraph (1), as applicable, worked; and may not be used— to investigate an individual with respect to an action that is protected under paragraph
(8)or
(9)of section 2302(b) of title 5, United States Code; or to obstruct or otherwise undermine investigative activity for fact finding or corrective action under such paragraph
(8)or (9). A subpoena described in paragraph (1), in the case of contumacy or refusal to obey, shall be enforceable by order of any appropriate United States district court. Before the issuance of a subpoena described in subsection (a), an Inspector General shall submit a request for approval to issue a subpoena by a majority of a panel (in this section referred to as the Subpoena Panel ), which shall be comprised of— 3 members, of whom— 2 members shall be from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, as designated by the Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency; and 1 member shall be the Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel; or in the case of a request by an Inspector General from the Intelligence Community pursuant to the authority provided in subsection (a), 3 Inspectors General within the Intelligence Community. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), not later than 10 days after the date on which a request for approval to issue a subpoena is submitted under paragraph (1), the Subpoena Panel shall approve or deny the request. If the Subpoena Panel determines that additional information is necessary to approve or deny a request for approval to issue a subpoena under subparagraph (A), the Subpoena Panel shall, not later than 20 days after the date on which the request is submitted— request the additional information; and approve or deny the request. Before an Inspector General submits a request for approval to issue a subpoena under paragraph (1), the Inspector General shall— notify the Attorney General that the Inspector General intends to submit the request; and provide not less than 10 days for consultation with the Attorney General. If a majority of the members of the Subpoena Panel votes to deny a request for approval to issue a subpoena under subparagraph (B)(ii) or finds that the Inspector General did not comply with the requirement under subsection (a)(2), the subpoena may not be issued. If the Subpoena Panel approves a request for approval to issue a subpoena under subsection (b)(2), the Inspector General shall notify the Attorney General that the Inspector General intends to issue the subpoena. Not later than 10 days after the date on which the Attorney General is notified under paragraph (1), the Attorney General may— object to the issuance of the subpoena if the subpoena will interfere with an ongoing matter; or approve the issuance of the subpoena. If the Attorney General approves the issuance of the subpoena or does not object to the issuance of the subpoena during the 10-day period described in paragraph (2), the Inspector General may issue the subpoena. After the expiration of the 10-day period described in paragraph (2), the Attorney General may request that the Inspector General suspend the subpoena if the Attorney General determines that new circumstances would result in the subpoena interfering with an ongoing matter. The Inspector General shall consult with and consider the request of the Attorney General. Not later than 1 year after the effective date of this section, and every year thereafter, each Inspector General shall submit to the Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency the number of times the Inspector General issued a subpoena under this section, which shall be included by the Chairperson in the annual report required under section 11(b)(3)(B)(viii). The Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall prescribe policies and procedures to carry out the purposes of this section, which shall, at a minimum, include— allowing not less than 14 calendar days between the date on which a subpoena is served on the recipient or the counsel for the recipient and the interview date; notifying the recipient of a subpoena not less than 14 calendar days in advance of the interview date of the right of the recipient to have counsel present and the nature of the audit, evaluation, or investigation in furtherance of which the subpoena is being issued; and requiring the Inspector General who issued the subpoena to pay travel and lodging expenses associated with the subpoena if the interview occurs more than 25 miles from the residence of the recipient of the subpoena. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the exercise by an Inspector General of any testimonial subpoena authority established under any other provision of law. ; and in section 8G(g)(1), by inserting 6A, before and 7 . The amendments made by paragraph
(1)shall— take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act; and only apply to audits, evaluations, or investigations initiated on or after the date of enactment of this Act. Section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— by redesignating subsections
(b)through
(f)as subsections
(c)through (g), respectively; and by adding at the end the following: In this subsection, the terms agency , matching program , record , and system of records have the meanings given those terms in section 552a(a) of title 5, United States Code. For purposes of section 552a of title 5, United States Code, or any other provision of law, a computerized comparison of 2 or more automated Federal systems of records, or a computerized comparison of a Federal system of records with other records or non-Federal records, performed by an Inspector General or by an agency in coordination with an Inspector General in conducting an audit, investigation, inspection, evaluation, or other review authorized under this Act shall not be considered a matching program. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to impede the exercise by an Inspector General of any matching program authority established under any other provision of law. Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, shall not apply to the collection of information during the conduct of an audit, investigation, inspection, evaluation, or other review conducted by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency or any Office of Inspector General, including any Office of Special Inspector General. .