Gao Inspector General Parity Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1510) to amend provisions relating to the Office of the Inspector General of the Government Accountability Office, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: S. 1510

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``GAO Inspector General Parity Act''. SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.

Section 705 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in subsection (b)--

(A) in paragraph (2)--

(i) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``The Inspector General'';

(ii) in subparagraph (A), as so designated, by striking the second sentence; and

(iii) by adding at the end the following:

``(B) If the Inspector General is removed from office or is transferred to another position or location within the Government Accountability Office, the Comptroller General shall communicate in writing the substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons, for any such removal or transfer to both Houses of Congress (including to the appropriate congressional committees), not later than 30 days before the removal or transfer.

``(C) If there is an open or completed inquiry into the Inspector General that relates to the removal or transfer of the Inspector General under subparagraph (A), the written communication required under subparagraph (B) shall--

``(i) identify each entity that is conducting, or that conducted, the inquiry; and

``(ii) in the case of a completed inquiry, contain the findings made during the inquiry.

``(D) Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a personnel action otherwise authorized by law, other than transfer or removal.'';

(B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and

(C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:

``(3)(A) Subject to the other provisions of this paragraph, only the Comptroller General may place the Inspector General on non-duty status.

``(B) If the Comptroller General places the Inspector General on non-duty status, the Comptroller General shall communicate in writing the substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons, for the change in status to both Houses of Congress (including to the appropriate congressional committees) not later than 15 days before the date on which the change in status takes effect, except that the Comptroller General may submit that communication not later than the date on which the change in status takes effect if--

``(i) the Comptroller General has made a determination that the continued presence of the Inspector General in the workplace poses a specific threat; and

``(ii) in the communication, the Comptroller General includes a report on the determination described in clause (i), which shall include--

``(I) the substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons, for the determination made under clause (i);

``(II) an identification of each entity that is conducting, or that conducted, any inquiry upon which the determination under clause (i) was made; and

``(III) in the case of an inquiry described in subclause (II) that is completed, the findings made during that inquiry.

``(C) The Comptroller General may not place the Inspector General on non-duty status during the 30-day period preceding the date on which the Inspector General is removed or transferred under paragraph (2)(A) unless the Comptroller General--

``(i) has made a determination that the continued presence of the Inspector General in the workplace poses a specific threat; and

``(ii) not later than the date on which the change in status takes effect, submits to both Houses of Congress (including to the appropriate congressional committees) a written communication that contains the information required under subparagraph (B), including the report required under clause (ii) of that subparagraph.

``(D) Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to limit or otherwise modify any statutory protection that is afforded to the Inspector General or a personnel action that is otherwise authorized by law.'';

(2) in subsection (f)--

(A) by striking ``The Comptroller General'' and inserting the following:

``(1) Prohibition.--The Comptroller General''; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

``(2) Budget independence.--The Comptroller General shall include the annual budget request of the Inspector General in the budget of the Government Accountability Office without change.''; and

(3) in subsection (g)--

(A) in paragraph (1), in the second sentence, by striking ``, except that no personnel of the Office may be paid at an annual rate greater than $1,000 less than the annual rate of pay of the Inspector General''; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

``(5) Legal advice.--The Inspector General shall, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations governing selections, appointments, and employment at the Government Accountability Office, obtain legal advice from a counsel reporting directly to the Inspector General or another Inspector General.''.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1510, the GAO Inspector General Parity Act.

Two years ago, Congress passed sweeping bipartisan reforms for the inspector general community. Those reforms, passed in the fiscal year 2023 NDAA, provided critical reforms to enable both the independence of Federal agency inspectors general and proper congressional oversight over their activities.

As a legislative branch entity, the Government Accountability Office's inspector general was not included in those reforms. H.R. 5300 fixes that by providing the GAO inspector general the same resources and oversight now provided to other IGs across the government.

Those reforms include requiring the head of GAO to notify the Congress if the GAO inspector general is to be removed or transferred, providing Congress the knowledge it needs to weigh in on such decisions if necessary.

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

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Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on this bill, and I am prepared to close.

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Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my House colleagues to support this commonsense bill to support the GAO Inspector General in carrying out their oversight mission.

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