IG Subpoena Authority Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4917) to amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to provide testimonial subpoena authority, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4917

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Mr. Speaker, I urge support of my bill, H.R. 4917, the IG Subpoena Authority Act. H.R. 4917 would provide inspectors general the authority to subpoena contractors, grant recipients, and former Federal employees for testimony necessary for their investigations.

Inspectors general perform a critical role in the performance of the Federal Government by rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. In fiscal year 2016 alone, Federal inspectors general identified potential savings of over $45 billion. Nearly half of those savings were identified in the course of the IG's investigative work.

Congress, the American people, and the agencies themselves rely on inspectors general reviews to find areas for improved efficiency and effectiveness, but those reviews are limited by the IG's inability to compel contractors and former employees to cooperate. The IG Subpoena Authority Act gives inspectors general a much-needed tool to fulfill their investigative function under the Inspector General Act.

To effectively identify waste, fraud, and abuse, IGs should be able to conduct a thorough and complete investigation. To conduct a thorough and complete investigation, however, IGs need to be able to talk to the people involved.

Unfortunately, inspectors general haven't always been able to obtain testimony from those key individuals. They collect testimony from Federal employees, but sometimes the employees resign or retire before the inspectors general can review them. In fact, the IG community has informed us of many cases that went cold when witnesses left the agencies or refused to testify voluntarily.

This bill seeks to address these gaps in the evidentiary record by permitting IGs to subpoena the testimony of witnesses during the course of an audit or investigation. The bill establishes procedures to ensure the authority is not abused.

To prevent abuse, inspectors general must get approval from a subpoena review panel that will be made up of three other inspectors general. The review panel must approve or deny the subpoena request within 10 days of the request being filed.

Further, if a subpoena request is approved by the panel, the requesting IG must notify the Attorney General of the pending subpoena. The Attorney General is then able to review the subpoena and may object to its issuance if it will interfere with an ongoing Department of Justice investigation. An IG must complete all of these steps prior to issuing the subpoena.

A version of this bill already passed the House once before. Last Congress, the committee worked on a bipartisan, bicameral basis to enact the Inspector General Empowerment Act. When it first passed the House, the Inspector General Empowerment Act included testimonial subpoena authority for IGs. Although the provision did not make it into law, I hope that changes this year.

I would like to thank the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, especially the Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who chairs the Council, and Peace Corps Inspector General Kathy Buller, who chairs its Legislation Committee, for their work in support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from Ms. Buller supporting the legislation.

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Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, lastly, I would like to thank my Democratic colleagues for their support and thoughtful dialogue, particularly the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright), who sponsored this bill with me.

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

Mr. Speaker, one of the chief complaints of the American people is that we can't hold our government accountable. This bill goes a long way to correct that.

In the future, no longer will people be able to simply walk away from agencies and duties in government without any accounting. We have built in the safeguards, and we have worked in a bipartisan way, so that we can achieve that aim.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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