September 27, 2008

Congress Sends McCaskill Inspector General Reform Bill to the President

Senator's first major piece of legislation would strengthen government oversight offices

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress today sent the first piece of legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill to the President to be signed into law. The bill, which will improve efficiency and accountability within the federal government by strengthening the inspector general system, received unanimous approval in the Senate late Wednesday night and quick passage in the House of Representatives today, leaving only one final step before becoming law: the president’s signature.

After arriving in Washington, McCaskill decided to make her focus as a senator improving government accountability and protecting tax dollars, so it was fitting that the goal of her first bill was to strengthen the role of IGs who serve as taxpayer watchdogs. The legislation passed this week would work to guarantee that qualified individuals are appointed to inspector general positions, IGs remain independent from inappropriate influence or pressure from the government agencies they oversee, and that IG reports are easily accessible to the public.

“I came to Washington promising to make government more accountable to the taxpayer and when I got here this is the first piece of legislation I introduced,” said McCaskill. “Inspectors General are the eyes and ears inside the federal government that keep Washington in line. If we don’t ensure that IGs are qualified and independent then we are going to continue to see the kind of waste, fraud, and abuse that is costing the taxpayers billions every year.”

This measure will provide greater independence for the IGs from the administration and agency officials, ensure that their oversight of government agencies is transparent and available to the public, and establish a council to share best practices, enhance training, develop inter-agency information-sharing policies, and generally strengthen the IG community.

Because of differing House and Senate versions of the bill, a bipartisan group of legislators from both the House and Senate spent the last several months working together to negotiate a compromise and agree on identical language. The revised language was filed in the Senate this week, and received quick passage Wednesday. Following Senate passage, the House gave their approval today.

Specifically, the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 requires that:

Congress is notified 30 days in advance of a proposed removal of an IG, along with the reasons for the removal.
All IGs have access to independent legal counsel, avoiding potential conflicts of interest with agency counsels.
A Council on Integrity and Efficiency for Inspectors General is established. The mission of the Council is to address integrity, economy, and effectiveness issues that transcend individual government agencies and to increase the professionalism and effectiveness of IG personnel by helping to establish well-trained and highly skilled IG office workforces. Within the Council, an Integrity Committee must be created to investigate allegations of wrongdoing that are made against inspectors general or certain other staff members.
Budget requests for each IG’s office must specifically identify how much money is being requested for training and how much is requested for the IG Council, helping to improve IG funding through greater visibility.
All IG websites be directly accessible from the home page of agency web sites. All public IG reports must also be posted on agency websites within 3 working days of release.
In the event of an IG vacancy, the Council for Integrity and Efficiency will recommend possible replacements.
The president’s budget must delineate how much money is requested for each IG office, as well as the funding level the IG requested for their office, allowing Congress to identify whether agencies are interfering with the work of an IG office through funding cuts.
No IG may accept a bonus or a pay raise from their agency to discourage agencies from using monetary incentives to pressure IGs
All IGs be appointed without regard to political affiliation and on the basis of integrity, and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations.
Pay is increased for presidentially appointed IGs to ensure enhanced independence. Other IG’s pay must be set at a level comparable to other senior agency officials, in order to compensate for the prohibition on bonuses.