§ 11. Establishment of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency

(a) Establishment and Mission.—

(1) Establishment.— There is established as an independent entity within the executive branch the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (in this section referred to as the “Council”).

(2) Mission.— The mission of the Council shall be to—

(A) address integrity, economy, and effectiveness issues that transcend individual Government agencies; and

(B) increase the professionalism and effectiveness of personnel by developing policies, standards, and approaches to aid in the establishment of a well-trained and highly skilled workforce in the offices of the Inspectors General.

(b) Membership.—

(1) In general.— The Council shall consist of the following members:

(A) All Inspectors General whose offices are established under—

(i) section 2; or

(ii) section 8G.

(B) The Inspectors General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency.

(C) The Controller of the Office of Federal Financial Management.

(D) A senior level official of the Federal Bureau of Investigation designated by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(E) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics.

(F) The Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel.

(G) The Deputy Director of the Office of Personnel Management.

(H) The Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget.

(I) The Inspectors General of the Library of Congress, Capitol Police, Government Printing Office, Government Accountability Office, and the Architect of the Capitol.

(2) Chairperson and executive chairperson.—

(A) Executive chairperson.— The Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget shall be the Executive Chairperson of the Council.

(B) Chairperson.— The Council shall elect 1 of the Inspectors General referred to in paragraph (1)(A) or (B) to act as Chairperson of the Council. The term of office of the Chairperson shall be 2 years.

(3) Functions of chairperson and executive chairperson.—

(A) Executive chairperson.— The Executive Chairperson shall—

(i) preside over meetings of the Council;

(ii) provide to the heads of agencies and entities represented on the Council summary reports of the activities of the Council; and

(iii) provide to the Council such information relating to the agencies and entities represented on the Council as assists the Council in performing its functions.

(B) Chairperson.— The Chairperson shall—

(i) convene meetings of the Council—

(I) at least 6 times each year;

(II) monthly to the extent possible; and

(III) more frequently at the discretion of the Chairperson;

(ii) carry out the functions and duties of the Council under subsection (c);

(iii) appoint a Vice Chairperson to assist in carrying out the functions of the Council and act in the absence of the Chairperson, from a category of Inspectors General described in subparagraph (A)(i), (A)(ii), or (B) of paragraph (1), other than the category from which the Chairperson was elected;

(iv) make such payments from funds otherwise available to the Council as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Council;

(v) select, appoint, and employ personnel as needed to carry out the functions of the Council 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;

(vi) to the extent and in such amounts as may be provided in advance by appropriations Acts, made available from the revolving fund established under subsection (c)(3)(B), or as otherwise provided by law, enter into contracts and other arrangements with public agencies and private persons to carry out the functions and duties of the Council;

(vii) establish, in consultation with the members of the Council, such committees as determined by the Chairperson to be necessary and appropriate for the efficient conduct of Council functions; and

(viii) prepare and transmit a report annually on behalf of the Council to the President on the activities of the Council.

(c) Functions and Duties of Council.—

(1) In general.— The Council shall—

(A) continually identify, review, and discuss areas of weakness and vulnerability in Federal programs and operations with respect to fraud, waste, and abuse;

(B) develop plans for coordinated, Governmentwide activities that address these problems and promote economy and efficiency in Federal programs and operations, including interagency and interentity audit, investigation, inspection, and evaluation programs and projects to deal efficiently and effectively with those problems concerning fraud and waste that exceed the capability or jurisdiction of an individual agency or entity;

(C) develop policies that will aid in the maintenance of a corps of well-trained and highly skilled Office of Inspector General personnel;

(D) maintain an Internet website and other electronic systems for the benefit of all Inspectors General, as the Council determines are necessary or desirable;

(E) maintain 1 or more academies as the Council considers desirable for the professional training of auditors, investigators, inspectors, evaluators, and other personnel of the various offices of Inspector General;

(F) submit recommendations of individuals to the appropriate appointing authority for any appointment to an office of Inspector General described under subsection (b)(1)(A) or (B);

(G) make such reports to Congress as the Chairperson determines are necessary or appropriate; and

(H) perform other duties within the authority and jurisdiction of the Council, as appropriate.

(2) Adherence and participation by members.— To the extent permitted under law, and to the extent not inconsistent with standards established by the Comptroller General of the United States for audits of Federal establishments, organizations, programs, activities, and functions, each member of the Council, as appropriate, shall—

(A) adhere to professional standards developed by the Council; and

(B) participate in the plans, programs, and projects of the Council, except that in the case of a member described under subsection (b)(1)(I), the member shall participate only to the extent requested by the member and approved by the Executive Chairperson and Chairperson.

(3) Additional administrative authorities.—

(A) Interagency funding.— Notwithstanding section 1532 of title 31, United States Code, or any other provision of law prohibiting the interagency funding of activities described under subclause (I), (II), or (III) of clause (i), in the performance of the responsibilities, authorities, and duties of the Council—

(i) the Executive Chairperson may authorize the use of interagency funding for—

(I) Governmentwide training of employees of the Offices of the Inspectors General;

(II) the functions of the Integrity Committee of the Council; and

(III) any other authorized purpose determined by the Council; and

(ii) upon the authorization of the Executive Chairperson, any department, agency, or entity of the executive branch which has a member on the Council shall fund or participate in the funding of such activities.

(B) Revolving fund.—

(i) In general.— The Council may—

(I) establish in the Treasury of the United States a revolving fund to be called the Inspectors General Council Fund; or

(II) enter into an arrangement with a department or agency to use an existing revolving fund.

(ii) Amounts in revolving fund.—

(I) In general.— Amounts transferred to the Council under this subsection shall be deposited in the revolving fund described under clause (i)(I) or (II).

(II) Training.— Any remaining unexpended balances appropriated for or otherwise available to the Inspectors General Criminal Investigator Academy and the Inspectors General Auditor Training Institute shall be transferred to the revolving fund described under clause (i)(I) or (II).

(iii) Use of revolving fund.—

(I) In general.— Except as provided under subclause (II), amounts in the revolving fund described under clause (i)(I) or (II) may be used to carry out the functions and duties of the Council under this subsection.

(II) Training.— Amounts transferred into the revolving fund described under clause (i)(I) or (II) may be used for the purpose of maintaining any training academy as determined by the Council.

(iv) Availability of funds.— Amounts in the revolving fund described under clause (i)(I) or (II) shall remain available to the Council without fiscal year limitation.

(C) Superseding provisions.— No provision of law enacted after the date of enactment of this subsection shall be construed to limit or supersede any authority under subparagraph (A) or (B), unless such provision makes specific reference to the authority in that paragraph. of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and other congressional committees of jurisdiction an executive summary of such report and recommendations within 30 days after the submission of such report to the Executive Chairperson under clause (ii).

(B) Disposition.— The Executive Chairperson of the Council shall report to the Integrity Committee the final disposition of the matter, including what action was taken by the President or agency head.

(9) Annual report.— The Council shall submit to Congress and the President by December 31 of each year a report on the activities of the Integrity Committee during the preceding fiscal year, which shall include the following:

(A) The number of allegations received.

(B) The number of allegations referred to other agencies, including the number of allegations referred for criminal investigation.

(C) The number of allegations referred to the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee for investigation.

(D) The number of allegations closed without referral.

(E) The date each allegation was received and the date each allegation was finally disposed of.

(F) In the case of allegations referred to the Chairperson of the Integrity Committee, a summary of the status of the investigation of the allegations and, in the case of investigations completed during the preceding fiscal year, a summary of the findings of the investigations.

(G) Other matters that the Council considers appropriate.

(10) Requests for more information.— With respect to paragraphs (8) and (9), the Council shall provide more detailed information about specific allegations upon request from any of the following:

(A) The chairperson or ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.

(B) The chairperson or ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives.

(C) The chairperson or ranking member of the congressional committees of jurisdiction.

(11) No right or benefit.— This subsection is not intended to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a person against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.

(Pub. L. 95–452, § 11, as added Pub. L. 110–409, § 7(a), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4305.)

References In Text

References in Text

The date of enactment of this subsection, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(C), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–409, which was approved Oct. 14, 2008.

Prior Provisions

Prior Provisions

A prior section 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 was renumbered section 12.

Effective Date

Effective Date; Existing Executive Orders

Pub. L. 110–409, § 7(c), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4313, provided that:

“(1) Council.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 14, 2008], the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency established under this section [enacting this section, renumbering former sections 11 and 12 of Pub. L. 95–452, set out in this Appendix, as 12 and 13, respectively, amending sections 2, 4, and 8G of Pub. L. 95–452, set out in this Appendix, and section 1105 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 1211 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees] shall become effective and operational.

“(2) Executive orders.—Executive Order No. 12805, dated May 11, 1992 [formerly set out under section 501 of Title 31], and Executive Order No. 12933 [probably means Executive Order No. 12993, formerly set out under section 3 of Pub. L. 95–452, set out in this Appendix], dated March 21, 1996 (as in effect before the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 14, 2008]) shall have no force or effect on and after the earlier of—

“(A) the date on which the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency becomes effective and operational as determined by the Executive Chairperson of the Council; or

“(B) the last day of the 180-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.”

Miscellaneous

Additional Oversight of Financial Regulatory System

Pub. L. 111–203, title IX, § 989E, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1946, provided that:

“(a) Council of Inspectors General on Financial Oversight.—

“(1) Establishment and membership.—There is established a Council of Inspectors General on Financial Oversight (in this section referred to as the ‘Council of Inspectors General’) chaired by the Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury and composed of the inspectors general of the following:

“(A) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

“(B) The Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“(C) The Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“(D) The Department of the Treasury.

“(E) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

“(F) The Federal Housing Finance Agency.

“(G) The National Credit Union Administration.

“(H) The Securities and Exchange Commission.

“(I) The Troubled Asset Relief Program (until the termination of the authority of the Special Inspector General for such program under section 121(k) of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5231(k))).

“(2) Duties.—

“(A) Meetings.—The Council of Inspectors General shall meet not less than once each quarter, or more frequently if the chair considers it appropriate, to facilitate the sharing of information among inspectors general and to discuss the ongoing work of each inspector general who is a member of the Council of Inspectors General, with a focus on concerns that may apply to the broader financial sector and ways to improve financial oversight.

“(B) Annual report.—Each year the Council of Inspectors General shall submit to the Council and to Congress a report including—

“(i) for each inspector general who is a member of the Council of Inspectors General, a section within the exclusive editorial control of such inspector general that highlights the concerns and recommendations of such inspector general in such inspector general’s ongoing and completed work, with a focus on issues that may apply to the broader financial sector; and

“(ii) a summary of the general observations of the Council of Inspectors General based on the views expressed by each inspector general as required by clause (i), with a focus on measures that should be taken to improve financial oversight.

“(3) Working groups to evaluate council.—

“(A) Convening a working group.—The Council of Inspectors General may, by majority vote, convene a Council of Inspectors General Working Group to evaluate the effectiveness and internal operations of the Council.

“(B) Personnel and resources.—The inspectors general who are members of the Council of Inspectors General may detail staff and resources to a Council of Inspectors General Working Group established under this paragraph to enable it to carry out its duties.

“(C) Reports.—A Council of Inspectors General Working Group established under this paragraph shall submit regular reports to the Council and to Congress on its evaluations pursuant to this paragraph.

“(b) Response to Report by Council.—The Council shall respond to the concerns raised in the report of the Council of Inspectors General under subsection (a)(2)(B) for such year.”

Special Inspectors General for Iraq and Afghanistan Reconstruction

Pub. L. 111–15, § 7, Apr. 24, 2009, 123 Stat. 1605, provided that: “The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction shall be a [sic] members of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency established under section 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) until the date of termination of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, respectively.”