Sec. 573. Establishment of Special Inspector General for Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Armed Forces; amendments to Inspector General Act
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The purposes of this section are the following: To provide for the independent and objective conduct and supervision of audits and investigations relating to racial and ethnic disparities in military personnel and military justice systems, and white supremacy among military personnel. To provide recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and to Congress on actions necessary to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in military personnel and military justice systems. To carry out the purposes of paragraph (1), there is hereby established, in the Department of Defense, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Armed Forces.
The head of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Racial and Ethnic Disparities is the Special Inspector General for Racial and Ethnic Disparities (in this section referred to as the Inspector General ), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The appointment of the Inspector General shall be made solely on the basis of integrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations.
The nomination of an individual as Inspector General shall be made not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. The annual rate of basic pay of the Inspector General shall be the annual rate of basic pay provided for positions at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. For purposes of section 7324 of title 5, United States Code, the Inspector General shall not be considered an employee who determines policies to be pursued by the United States in the nationwide administration of Federal law.
The Inspector General shall be removable from office in accordance with the provisions of section 3(b) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). The Inspector General shall, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations governing the civil service, appoint an Assistant Inspector General for Military Justice who shall have the responsibility for auditing and investigation activities relating to racial and ethnic disparities within the military justice system. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Inspector General shall report directly to, and be under the general supervision of the Secretary of Defense.
No officer of the Department of Defense shall prevent or prohibit the Inspector General from initiating, carrying out, or completing any audit or investigation related to racial and ethnic disparities or from issuing any subpoena during the course of any such audit or investigation. It shall be the duty of the Inspector General to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations of— the effect of military justice policies and practices on racial and ethnic disparities, including overrepresentation of minorities in actions related to investigations, courts-martial, nonjudicial punishments, and other military justice actions as determined by the Inspector General; the effect of military personnel policies and practices, including recruiting, accessions, and promotions, on racial and ethnic disparities, including underrepresentation of minorities among members of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of a military department in grades above E–7; the scope and efficacy of existing diversity and inclusion offices and programs within the Department of Defense; and white supremacist activities among military personnel and any other issues, determined by the Inspector General, necessary to address racial and ethnic disparities within the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of a military department.
The Inspector General shall establish, maintain, and oversee such systems, procedures, and controls as the Inspector General considers appropriate to discharge the duties under subparagraph (A). In addition to the duties specified in subparagraphs
(A)and (B), the Inspector General shall also have the duties and responsibilities of inspectors general under the Inspector General Act of 1978. In carrying out the duties, responsibilities, and authorities of the Inspector General under this section, the Inspector General shall coordinate with, and receive the cooperation of each of the following: The Inspector General of the Department of Defense. The Inspector General of the Army. The Inspector General of the Navy. The Inspector General of the Air Force. In carrying out the duties specified in paragraph (6), the Inspector General shall have the authorities provided in section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978. The Inspector General shall carry out the duties specified in paragraph (6)(A) in accordance with section 4(b)(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978. The Inspector General may select, appoint, and employ such officers and employees as may be necessary for carrying out the duties of the Inspector General, subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates. The Inspector General may obtain services as authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, at daily rates not to exceed the equivalent rate prescribed for grade GS–15 of the General Schedule by section 5332 of such title. To the extent and in such amounts as may be provided in advance by appropriations Acts, the Inspector General may enter into contracts and other arrangements for audits, studies, analyses, and other services with public agencies and with private persons, and make such payments as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Inspector General. The Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, shall provide the Inspector General with appropriate and adequate office space at appropriate locations of the Department of Defense, together with such equipment, office supplies, and communications facilities and services as may be necessary for the operation of such offices, and shall provide necessary maintenance services for such offices and the equipment and facilities located therein. Upon request of the Inspector General for information or assistance from any department, agency, or other entity of the Federal Government, the head of such entity shall, insofar as is practicable and not in contravention of any existing law, furnish such information or assistance to the Inspector General, or an authorized designee. Whenever information or assistance requested by the Inspector General is, in the judgment of the Inspector General, unreasonably refused or not provided, the Inspector General shall report the circumstances to the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, and to the appropriate congressional committees without delay. Not later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal-year quarter, the Inspector General shall submit quarterly reports to the Secretary of Defense and the congressional defense committees summarizing the activities of the Inspector General for the previous quarter. The Inspector General shall submit annual reports to the Secretary of Defense and the congressional defense committees presenting recommendations for changes to policy, practice, regulation, and statute to eliminate disparities within the military personnel and military justice systems and to eliminate white supremacist activities among military personnel. The Inspector General shall, from time to time, submit additional reports containing findings and recommendations at the discretion of the Inspector General. The Inspector General shall publish each report under this paragraph on a publicly available website not later than seven days after submission to the Secretary of Defense and the congressional defense committees. This section shall be carried out using not more than $10,000,000 of funds authorized to be appropriated in this Act for Operation and Maintenance, Defense-wide, and no additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section. The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— in section 3(b)— by inserting before
(1)An Inspector General ; by inserting after the first sentence the following: An Inspector General may only be removed by the President before the expiration of the term of the Inspector General for permanent incapacity, neglect of duty, malfeasance, conviction of a felony or conduct involving moral turpitude, knowing violation of a law, gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, or abuse of authority. ; and by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: If an Inspector General is removed by the President under paragraph
(1)fewer than 30 days after the President has communicated in writing the reasons for such removal pursuant to paragraph (1), the Inspector General shall submit to the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency a report that includes the following information: A description of the facts and circumstances of each investigation involving a senior government employee (as defined in section 5 of this Act) being conducted by that Inspector General at the time of such removal. Any other matter that the Inspector General determines to include. Any individual serving as the head of an Office of Inspector General, after the removal of an Inspector General under paragraph (1), shall issue to the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency a report identifying any instances in which an investigation or matter described in paragraph
(2)is closed prior to its completion, with a description of the reasons for closing the investigation or matter. ; and in section 8G(e), by adding at the end the following new paragraph: In the event of the removal of an Inspector General, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency shall— investigate the reasons for removal provided by the President; publish a report including the determination of the Council whether the reasons described in subparagraph
(A)are in accordance with the relevant provisions relating to for cause removal; review any investigation that was being conducted by the Inspector General at the time of such removal; and submit, to the congressional committees the Council determine to be relevant, a report that includes the determination of the Council whether an investigation described in subparagraph
(C)motivated such removal. .