Inspector General Access Act of 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. COMER Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3154 introduced by Congressman Richmond of Louisiana.

Inspectors general perform a critical oversight function with regard to misconduct at their respective agencies. The Oversight and Government Reform Committee has long pushed for IGs to have timely and complete access to all the information they need to fulfill their oversight and investigative functions.

In continuance of that mission, H.R. 3154 removes an outdated statute that prevents the inspector general from investigating certain misconduct at the Justice Department.

Under current statute, the DOJ IG must refer allegations of misconduct by Department attorneys to the Office of Professional Responsibility, or OPR, rather than initiate an investigation himself.

The OPR existed prior to the creation of the DOJ IG in 1988, and OPR retained this specific authority when the DOJ IG was created.

H.R. 3154 seeks to harmonize the DOJ inspector general's investigative authority with that of the rest of the Federal inspectors general, who are not similarly restricted. The bill repeals the provision requiring the IG to refer allegations of attorney misconduct to OPR.

Congress and, in particular, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee have consistently supported the need for independent and transparent oversight of Federal agencies and programs.

The current division of investigative authority at DOJ is inconsistent with the committee's history of supporting the notion of an unburdened IG.

The IG is confirmed by the Senate, is accountable to the public, and only can be removed by the President after notification to Congress. Further, the IG has statutory reporting obligations to both agency leadership and Congress.

In contrast, the Director of OPR is selected and appointed by the Attorney General, answers to the Attorney General, and can be removed or disciplined by the Attorney General.

The IG's independence is critical to the value of their work.

The IG maintains transparency by publishing its reports on a public website. The website contains information about the reports, operations, and functions of the IG, including a full archive of its completed reports and its ongoing work. This standard of transparency does not apply to OPR.

Adverse findings by OPR against a DOJ lawyer are subject to review by the Department's leadership and can be overruled by the Department's leadership without any transparency.

It is important to note that this division of authority is a unique situation in the Federal IG community. For instance, the Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Inspector General is responsible for handling misconduct allegations against SEC lawyers, including those with prosecuting authority.

The need for this legislation has also been discussed in multiple hearings before our committee and in reports by watchdog groups. The DOJ IG, Michael Horowitz, testified before this committee most recently on November 15, 2017, about the importance of eliminating this discrepancy.

Congress' own watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, has issued reports with recommendations to empower the DOJ IG.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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