Sec. 3. Additional authority provisions for Inspectors General
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The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by section 2, is further amended— in section 5(a)— in paragraph (15), by striking and at the end; in paragraph (16), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by inserting at the end the following: a description of the use of subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of certain witnesses under section 6A. ; and 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, each Inspector General, in carrying out the provisions of this Act, is authorized to require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of certain witnesses, including a contractor with the Federal Government and any former Federal employee (but not including any Federal employee, who is otherwise obligated to provide testimony and cooperate with the Inspector General), necessary in the performance of the functions assigned by this Act, which subpoena, 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 the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, as designated by the Executive Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. 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. 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), 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 investigation; 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. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 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).
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. . Section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended 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. .