Sec. 3. ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNCIL OF THE INSPECTORS GENERAL ON INTEGRITY AND EFFICIENCY

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## SEC. 3 ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNCIL OF THE INSPECTORS GENERAL ON INTEGRITY AND EFFICIENCY Section 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— ####

(1)in subsection (b)(3)(B), by amending clause

(viii)to read as follows: > > ###### “(viii) > > prepare and transmit an annual report on behalf of the Council on the activities of the Council to— > > > ###### “(I) > > the President; > > > ###### “(II) > > the appropriate committees of jurisdiction of the Senate and the House of Representatives; > > > ###### “(III) > > the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and > > > ###### “(IV) > > the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives.” > ; ####

(2)in subsection (c)(1)— #####

(A)in subparagraph (G), by striking “and” at the end; #####

(B)by redesignating subparagraph

(H)as subparagraph (I); and #####

(C)by inserting after subparagraph

(G)the following: > > ##### “(H) > > except for matters coordinated among Inspectors General under section 3033 of title 50, United States Code, receive, review, and mediate any disputes submitted in writing to the Council by an Office of Inspector General regarding an audit, investigation, inspection, evaluation, or project that involves the jurisdiction of more than one Office of Inspector General; and” > ; and ####

(3)in subsection (d)— #####

(A)in paragraph (2)— ######

(i)by striking subparagraph (C); ######

(ii)by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and

(D)as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly; ######

(iii)in the matter preceding clause (i), as so redesignated, by striking “ The Integrity ” and inserting the following: > > ##### “(A) In general > > The Integrity” > ; ######

(iv)in clause (i), as so redesignated, by striking “, who” and all that follows through “the Committee”; ######

(v)in clause (iii), as so redesignated, by inserting “or the designee of the Director” before the period at the end; and ######

(vi)by adding at the end the following: > > ##### “(B) Chairperson > > > ###### “(i) In general > > The Integrity Committee shall elect one of the Inspectors General referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) to act as Chairperson of the Integrity Committee. > > > ###### “(ii) Term > > The term of office of the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee shall be 2 years.” > ; #####

(B)by amending paragraph

(5)to read as follows: > > #### “(5) Review of allegations > > > ##### “(A) In general > > Not later than 7 days after the date on which the Integrity Committee receives an allegation of wrongdoing against an Inspector General or against a staff member of an Office of Inspector General described under paragraph (4)(C), the allegation of wrongdoing shall be reviewed and referred to the Department of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel for investigation, or to the Integrity Committee for review, as appropriate, by— > > > ###### “(i) > > a representative of the Department of Justice, as designated by the Attorney General; > > > ###### “(ii) > > a representative of the Office of Special Counsel, as designated by the Special Counsel; and > > > ###### “(iii) > > a representative of the Integrity Committee, as designated by the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee. > > > ##### “(B) Referral to the chairperson > > > ###### “(i) In general > > Except as provided in clause (ii), not later than 30 days after the date on which an allegation of wrongdoing is referred to the Integrity Committee under subparagraph (A), the Integrity Committee shall determine whether to refer the allegation of wrongdoing to the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee to initiate an investigation. > > > ###### “(ii) Extension > > The 30-day period described in clause

(i)may be extended for an additional period of 30 days if the Integrity Committee provides written notice to the congressional committees described in paragraph (8)(A)(iii) that includes a detailed, case-specific description of why the additional time is needed to evaluate the allegation of wrongdoing.” > ; #####

(C)in paragraph (6)— ######

(i)in subparagraph (A), by striking “paragraph (5)(C)” and inserting “paragraph (5)(B)”; and ######

(ii)in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking “may provide resources” and inserting “shall provide assistance”; #####

(D)in paragraph (7)— ######

(i)in subparagraph (B)— ######

(I)in clause (i)— ######

(aa)in subclause (III), by striking “and” at the end; ######

(bb)in subclause (IV), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and ######

(cc)by adding at the end the following: > > ###### “(V) > > except as provided in clause (ii), ensuring, to the extent possible, that investigations are conducted by Offices of Inspector General of similar size; > > > ###### “(VI) > > creating a process for rotation of Inspectors General assigned to investigate allegations through the Integrity Committee; and > > > ###### “(VII) > > creating procedures to avoid conflicts of interest for Integrity Committee investigations.” > ; ######

(II)by redesignating clause

(ii)as clause (iii); and ######

(III)by inserting after clause

(i)the following: > > ###### “(ii) Exception > > The requirement under clause (i)(V) shall not apply to any Office of Inspector General with less than 50 employees who are authorized to conduct audits or investigations.” > ; ######

(ii)by striking subparagraph (C); and ######

(iii)by inserting after subparagraph

(B)the following: > > ##### “(C) Completion of investigation > > If an allegation of wrongdoing is referred to the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee under paragraph (5)(B), the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee— > > > ###### “(i) > > shall complete the investigation not later than 150 days after the date on which the Integrity Committee made the referral; and > > > ###### “(ii) > > if the investigation cannot be completed within the 150-day period described in clause (i), shall— > > > ###### “(I) > > promptly notify the congressional committees described in paragraph (8)(A)(iii); and > > > ###### “(II) > > brief the congressional committees described in paragraph (8)(A)(iii) every 30 days regarding the status of the investigation and the general reasons for delay until the investigation is complete. > > > ##### “(D) Concurrent investigation > > If an allegation of wrongdoing against an Inspector General or a staff member of an Office of Inspector General described under paragraph (4)(C) is referred to the Department of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel under paragraph (5)(A), the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee may conduct any related investigation referred to the Chairperson under paragraph (5)(B) concurrently with the Department of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel, as applicable. > > > ##### “(E) Reports > > > ###### “(i) Integrity committee investigations > > For each investigation of an allegation of wrongdoing referred to the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee under paragraph (5)(B), the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee shall submit to members of the Integrity Committee and to the Chairperson of the Council a report containing the results of the investigation. > > > ###### “(ii) Other investigations > > For each allegation of wrongdoing referred to the Department of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel under paragraph (5)(A), the Attorney General or the Special Counsel, as applicable, shall submit to the Integrity Committee a report containing the results of the investigation. > > > ###### “(iii) Availability to congress > > > ###### “(I) In general > > The congressional committees described in paragraph (8)(A)(iii) shall have access to any report authored by the Integrity Committee. > > > ###### “(II) Members of congress > > Subject to any other provision of law that would otherwise prohibit disclosure of such information, the Integrity Committee may provide any report authored by the Integrity Committee to any Member of Congress.” > ; #####

(E)by striking paragraph (8)(A)(iii) and inserting the following: > > ###### “(iii) > > submit the report, with the recommendations of the Integrity Committee, to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, and other congressional committees of jurisdiction; and > > > ###### “(iv) > > following the submission of the report under clause

(iii)and upon request by any Member of Congress, submit the report, with the recommendations of the Integrity Committee, to that Member.” > ; #####

(F)in paragraph (9)(B), by striking “other agencies” and inserting “the Department of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel”; #####

(G)in paragraph (10), by striking “any of the following” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “any Member of Congress.”; and #####

(H)by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(12) Allegations of wrongdoing against special counsel or deputy special counsel > > > ##### “(A) Special counsel defined > > In this paragraph, the term ‘Special Counsel’ means the Special Counsel appointed under section 1211(b) of title 5, United States Code. > > > ##### “(B) Authority of integrity committee > > > ###### “(i) In general > > An allegation of wrongdoing against the Special Counsel or the Deputy Special Counsel may be received, reviewed, and referred for investigation to the same extent and in the same manner as in the case of an allegation against an Inspector General or against a staff member of an Office of Inspector General described under paragraph (4)(C), subject to the requirement that the representative designated by the Special Counsel under paragraph (5)(A)(ii) shall recuse himself or herself from the consideration of any allegation brought under this paragraph. > > > ###### “(ii) Coordination with existing provisions of law > > This paragraph shall not eliminate access to the Merit Systems Protection Board for review under section 7701 of title 5, United States Code. To the extent that an allegation brought under this paragraph involves section 2302(b)(8) of such title, a failure to obtain corrective action within 120 days after the date on which the allegation is received by the Integrity Committee shall, for purposes of section 1221 of such title, be considered to satisfy section 1214(a)(3)(B) of such title. > > > ##### “(C) Regulations > > The Integrity Committee may prescribe any rules or regulations necessary to carry out this paragraph, subject to such consultation or other requirements as may otherwise apply. > > > #### “(13) Committee records > > The Chairperson of the Council shall maintain the records of the Integrity Committee.” > .