[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1162 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1162
To amend title 31, United States Code, to make improvements in the
Government Accountability Office.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 14, 2013
Mr. Issa (for himself and Mr. Cummings) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 31, United States Code, to make improvements in the
Government Accountability Office.
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 ``Government Accountability Office
Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IMPROVEMENT.
(a) Authority To Obtain Information.--
(1) Authority to obtain records.--Section 716 of title 31,
United States Code, is amended in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``(a)'' and inserting ``(2)''; and
(B) by inserting after the section heading the
following:
``(a)(1) The Comptroller General is authorized to obtain such
agency records as the Comptroller General requires to discharge his
duties (including audit, evaluation, and investigative duties),
including through the bringing of civil actions under this section. In
reviewing a civil action under this section, the court shall recognize
the continuing force and effect of the authorization in the preceding
sentence until such time as the authorization is repealed pursuant to
law.''.
(2) Copies.--Section 716(a) of title 31, United States
Code, as amended by subsection (a), is further amended in the
second sentence of paragraph (2) by striking ``inspect an
agency record'' and inserting ``inspect, and make and retain
copies of, an agency record''.
(b) Administering Oaths.--Section 711 of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
``(4) administer oaths to witnesses when auditing and
settling accounts and, with the prior express approval of the
Comptroller General, when investigating fraud or attempts to
defraud the United States, or irregularity or misconduct of an
employee or agent of the United States.''.
(c) Access to Certain Information.--
(1) Access to certain information.--Subchapter II of
chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``Sec. 721. Access to certain information
``(a) No provision of the Social Security Act, including section
453(l) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 653(l)), shall be construed to limit,
amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General to obtain
any information or to inspect or copy any record under section 716 of
this title.
``(b) No provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
including section 301(j) of that Act (21 U.S.C. 331(j)), shall be
construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the
Comptroller General to obtain any information or to inspect or copy any
record under section 716 of this title.
``(c) No provision of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements
Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-435) and the amendments made by that Act
shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the
Comptroller General to obtain any information or to inspect or copy any
record under section 716 of this title, including with respect to any
information disclosed to the Assistant Attorney General of the
Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade
Commission for purposes of pre-merger review under section 7A of the
Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a).
``(d)(1) The Comptroller General shall prescribe such policies and
procedures as are necessary to protect from public disclosure
proprietary or trade secret information obtained consistent with this
section.
``(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to--
``(A) alter or amend the prohibitions against the
disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive information
prohibited by section 1905 of title 18 and other applicable
laws; or
``(B) affect the applicability of section 716(e) of this
title, including the protections against unauthorized
disclosure contained in that section, to information obtained
consistent with this section.
``(e) Specific references to statutes in this section shall not be
construed to affect access by the Government Accountability Office to
information under statutes that are not so referenced.''.
(2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 720 the
following:
``721. Access to certain information.''.
(d) Agency Reports.--Section 720(b) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting
``or planned'' after ``action taken''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
``(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the
congressional committees with jurisdiction over the agency
program or activity that is the subject of the recommendation,
and the Government Accountability Office before the 61st day
after the date of the report; and''.
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