[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5633 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5633
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance transparency
regarding reports conducted by the Inspector General of the Department
of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 19, 2021
Mr. Thompson of Mississippi introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance transparency
regarding reports conducted by the Inspector General of the Department
of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.
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 ``Department of Homeland Security
Inspector General Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY.
(a) In General.--Subtitle B of title VIII of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 is amended by inserting before section 812 the following
new section:
``SEC. 811. OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.
``(a) Publication of Reports.--
``(1) In general.--Beginning not later than 30 days after
the date of the enactment of this section, the Inspector
General of the Department shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees any report finalized on and after such
date that substantiates--
``(A) a violation of paragraph (8) or (9) of
section 2302(b) of title 5, United States Code, section
1034 of title 10, United States Code, or Presidential
Personnel Directive-19; or
``(B) an allegation of misconduct, waste, fraud,
abuse, or violation of policy within the Department
involving a member of the Senior Executive Service or
politically appointed official of the Department.
``(2) Public availability.--
``(A) In general.--Concurrent with the submission
to the appropriate congressional committees of reports
pursuant to paragraph (1), the Inspector General shall,
consistent with privacy, civil rights, and civil
liberties protections, publish on a publicly available
website of the Inspector General each such report.
``(B) Exception.--The requirement pursuant to
subparagraph (A) to publish reports does not apply if
section (5)(e)(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978
applies to any such report.
``(3) Requirement.--
``(A) In general.--The Inspector General of the
Department may not redact any portion of a report
submitted pursuant to paragraph (1).
``(B) Exception.--The requirement under
subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect to the
name or any other identifying information of a
whistleblower complainant who does not consent to the
inclusion of such in a report of the Inspector General.
``(b) Semiannual Reporting.--Beginning with the first semiannual
report transmitted to the appropriate committees or subcommittees of
the Congress pursuant to section 5(b) of the Inspector General Act of
1978 that is transmitted after the date of the enactment of this such,
each such report shall be accompanied by a list of ongoing audits,
inspections, and evaluations of the Department, together with a
narrative description relating to each such audit, inspection, or
evaluation that identifies the scope of such audit, inspection, or
evaluation, as the case may be, as well as the subject office,
component, or directorate of the Department. For each such ongoing
audit, inspection, or evaluation such narrative description shall
include the following:
``(1) Information relating to the source of each such
audit, inspection, or evaluation.
``(2) Information regarding whether each such audit,
inspection, or evaluation is being conducted independently,
jointly, concurrently, or in some other manner.
``(3) In the event each such audit, inspection, or
evaluation was initiated due to a referral, the date on which
the Inspector General notified the originator of a referral of
the Inspector General's intention to carry out such audit,
inspection, or evaluation.
``(4) Information relating to the dates on which--
``(A) each such audit, inspection, or evaluation
was initiated;
``(B) a draft report relating to each such audit,
inspection, or evaluation is scheduled to be submitted
to the Secretary for review; and
``(C) a final report relating to each such audit,
inspection, or evaluation is scheduled to be submitted
to the appropriate congressional committees and
published on the website of the Inspector General in
accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively,
of subsection (a).
``(5) An explanation for--
``(A) any significant changes to the narrative
description of each such audit, inspection, or
evaluation, including the identification of the subject
office, component, or directorate of the Department; or
``(B) a delay of more than 30 days in the scheduled
date for submitting to the Secretary a draft report for
review or publishing on the website of the Inspector
General of the Department the final report relating to
each such audit, inspection, or evaluation.
``(c) Definition.--In this section, the term `appropriate
congressional committees' means the Committee on Homeland Security of
the House of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and any committee of the House of
Representatives or the Senate, respectively, having legislative or
oversight jurisdiction under the Rules of the House of Representatives
or the Senate, respectively, over the matter concerned.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting before the
item relating to section 812 the following new item:
``Sec. 811. Office of Inspector General.''.
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