Overview
Title
An Act To amend chapters 4, 10, and 131 of title 5, United States Code, as necessary to keep those chapters current and to correct related technical errors.
ELI5 AI
Imagine a big book of rules that help decide how the people in the government work. H.R. 7326 is like a clean-up project for this book to make sure all the rules are up-to-date and fix any tiny mistakes, like checking your homework to make sure it’s right.
Summary AI
The bill, H.R. 7326, aims to update chapters 4, 10, and 131 of title 5 in the United States Code. Its purpose is to ensure these chapters reflect all laws enacted after October 19, 2021, by incorporating amendments and correcting related technical errors. The updates are designed to keep the legal framework current without changing the meaning or effect of existing laws. This act was passed by the House of Representatives on December 3, 2024.
Published
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AnalysisAI
Summary of the Bill
The bill, known as H. R. 7326, aims to update and correct chapters 4, 10, and 131 of Title 5 in the United States Code, the legal document that consolidates the general and permanent laws of the United States. The primary purpose is to integrate laws enacted after October 19, 2021, into these chapters and rectify technical errors without altering the substance of existing legislation. A significant focus of the bill is to refine the roles and processes related to Inspectors General, who are responsible for auditing government activities to ensure transparency and accountability.
Significant Issues
One of the notable issues highlighted is the language around the removal or transfer of Inspectors General. While the bill mandates detailed reasons for such actions to be communicated to Congress, what constitutes "sufficient rationale" remains undefined. This ambiguity may lead to varied interpretations and potential misuse of power.
Another issue involves the notification and response mechanism for non-governmental organizations mentioned in Inspector General reports. This process might result in delays and extended timelines for report completion, which could impact the oversight function negatively.
The bill's language, particularly in sections detailing report requirements, is complex and may be challenging for those not well-versed in legal or governmental procedures. This lack of clarity could undermine the transparency and effectiveness of government oversight.
Additionally, the extensive conforming amendments across laws and titles may lead to confusion or errors, possibly affecting the efficiency and precision of legislative implementation.
Impact on the Public
For the general public, the bill seeks to ensure that existing laws stay current and reflect recent legislative changes, ultimately aiming for a more transparent and accountable government. However, the complexity in language and process may reduce the bill's accessibility to those who are not experts in legal matters.
Impact on Stakeholders
Government Agencies and Inspectors General: The amendments are expected to enhance transparency and accountability, requiring thorough documentation for personnel actions involving Inspectors General. Agencies might face increased administrative burdens due to detailed reporting requirements, which could divert resources from other essential tasks.
Non-Governmental Organizations and Business Entities: These stakeholders might experience prolonged engagement with the oversight process due to the bill's requirement that allows for responses to Inspector General reports, potentially increasing their obligation to provide explanations or clarifications.
Congress and Legal Experts: The reliance on precise legal and legislative terminology may require additional resources to ensure proper interpretation and implementation. Legal experts are likely to be called upon to facilitate understanding and address ambiguities arising from the bill.
Overall, while the bill's updates aim to keep government processes transparent and accountable, the lack of clear definitions and the potential for procedural delays could pose challenges in achieving these objectives. The public might benefit from a clearer understanding of governmental oversight, provided the language is accessible and consistent.
Financial Assessment
The bill H.R. 7326 primarily addresses the updating of chapters in the United States Code to reflect current laws and correct technical errors. While the bill is primarily focused on these updates and corrections, there are some financial references and allocations mentioned, which relate to oversight and reporting processes.
Financial References in Reporting
The bill outlines various financial elements that need to be included in the reports submitted by Inspectors General. These reports, according to Section 405, should include:
- Questions about costs: There is a requirement to list the total dollar value of questioned costs, including unsupported costs, which are costs questioned because they may not be fully justified or documented. This highlights a focus on financial accountability and transparency.
- Recommendations for better fund usage: The reports should also include the dollar value of recommendations that propose more effective uses of funds. This involves providing insights into potential cost savings or reallocations that could improve financial efficiency.
- Management decisions and financial outcomes: There is an emphasis on detailing decisions about questioned costs and funds suggested for better use. Any final actions taken, along with their financial impacts, such as recovered or written off costs, must be documented, showcasing a comprehensive tracking of financial management decisions.
Relation to Identified Issues
These financial references are directly tied to some of the identified issues in the bill.
Complex Language: The detailed and complex requirements for financial reporting and the management decision processes could be challenging for non-experts to understand (Issue 3), potentially obscuring transparency. There’s a need for these reports to be accessible and clear to ensure accountability is maintained.
Potential Delays in Reporting: The process described in Section 405(h)(6) allows non-governmental organizations time to review and respond to Inspector General reports. While this aims to ensure fairness, it could potentially delay the finalization of reports. These delays might impact the timeliness of financial oversight (Issue 2).
Summary
Overall, the financial references in H.R. 7326 underscore a commitment to rigorous oversight and accountability in governmental financial activities, aiming for transparency through detailed reporting. However, the complexity and potential delays inherent in the reporting process could pose challenges to achieving the intended oversight efficiency and clarity.
Issues
The provisions concerning the removal or transfer of Inspectors General by the President (Section 3, Section 403(b)(1)(A)) require detailed, case-specific reasons to be communicated to Congress, but lack clarity on what constitutes a sufficient rationale, which could lead to subjective interpretations and potential misuse of authority.
The process for notifying and allowing responses from non-governmental organizations identified in Inspector General reports (Section 3, Section 405(h)(6)) may introduce substantial delays and increase the timelines for finalizing reports, potentially detracting from the effectiveness of oversight.
The complex language used throughout Section 405 on reports may be difficult for non-experts to understand, potentially hindering transparency and accountability in government oversight activities.
The extensive nature of the conforming amendments in Section 4 could lead to oversight errors or misunderstandings and may impact the overall clarity and efficiency of the legislative process.
The lack of clarity regarding the 'technical errors' to be corrected in the transitional and savings provisions (Section 5) leaves room for interpretation and could impact legal precision.
Sections
Sections are presented as they are annotated in the original legislative text. Any missing headers, numbers, or non-consecutive order is due to the original text.
1. Table of contents Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The table of contents outlines the various sections of the Act, starting with the table of contents itself, followed by sections on the purpose of the Act and its impact on existing laws, amendments to specific chapters of the United States Code, conforming amendments, and provisions for transition and savings.
2. Purpose; EFFECT ON existing law Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The section outlines that the purpose of the Act is to update certain U.S. legal chapters by incorporating newer laws and correcting technical errors, ensuring those chapters remain up-to-date without altering their original meaning or effect.
3. Amendments to chapters 4, 10, and 131 of title 5, united states code Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The amendments modify various sections of Title 5 of the United States Code related to the procedures and powers of Inspectors General, defining their roles, reporting requirements, and the processes for their removal or transfer. They also address the oversight responsibilities of Inspectors General concerning different federal entities, ensure public access to certain reports, and enhance the transparency and accountability of their operations.
Money References
- The reports shall include, but need not be limited to— “(1) a description of significant problems, abuses, and deficiencies relating to the administration of programs and operations of the establishment and associated reports and recommendations for corrective action made by the Office; “(2) an identification of each recommendation made before the reporting period, for which corrective action has not been completed, including the potential costs savings associated with the recommendation; “(3) a summary of significant investigations closed during the reporting period; “(4) an identification of the total number of convictions during the reporting period resulting from investigations; “(5) information regarding each audit, inspection, or evaluation report issued during the reporting period, including— “(A) a listing of each audit, inspection, or evaluation; and “(B) if applicable, the total dollar value of questioned costs (including a separate category for the dollar value of unsupported costs) and the dollar value of recommendations that funds be put to better use, including whether a management decision had been made by the end of the reporting period; “(6) information regarding any management decision made during the reporting period with respect to any audit, inspection, or evaluation issued during a previous reporting period; “(7) the information described under section 804(b) of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–208, §101(f) [title VIII], 31 U.S.C. 3512 note); “(8)(A) an appendix containing the results of any peer review conducted by another Office of Inspector General during the reporting period; or “(B) if no peer review was conducted within that reporting period, a statement identifying the date of the last peer review conducted by another Office of Inspector General; “(9) a list of any outstanding recommendations from any peer review conducted by another Office of Inspector General that have not been fully implemented, including a statement describing the status of the implementation and why implementation is not complete; “(10) a list of any peer reviews conducted by the Inspector General of another Office of the Inspector General during the reporting period, including a list of any outstanding recommendations made from any previous peer review (including any peer review conducted before the reporting period) that remain outstanding or have not been fully implemented; “(11) statistical tables showing— “(A) the total number of investigative reports issued during the reporting period; “(B) the total number of persons referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution during the reporting period; “(C) the total number of persons referred to State and local prosecuting authorities for criminal prosecution during the reporting period; and “(D) the total number of indictments and criminal informations during the reporting period that resulted from any prior referral to prosecuting authorities; “(12) a description of the metrics used for developing the data for the statistical tables under paragraph (11); “(13) a report on each investigation conducted by the Office where allegations of misconduct were substantiated involving a senior Government employee or senior official (as defined by the Office) if the establishment does not have senior Government employees, which shall include— “(A) the name of the senior Government employee, if already made public by the Office; and “(B) a detailed description of— “(i) the facts and circumstances of the investigation; and “(ii) the status and disposition of the matter, including— “(I) if the matter was referred to the Department of Justice, the date of the referral; and “(II) if the Department of Justice declined the referral, the date of the declination; “(14)(A) a detailed description of any instance of whistleblower retaliation, including information about the official found to have engaged in retaliation; and “(B) what, if any, consequences the establishment actually imposed to hold the official described in subparagraph (A) accountable; “(15) information related to interference by the establishment, including— “(A) a detailed description of any attempt by the establishment to interfere with the independence of the Office, including— “(i) with budget constraints designed to limit the capabilities of the Office; and “(ii) incidents where the establishment has resisted or objected to oversight activities of the Office or restricted or significantly delayed access to information, including the justification of the establishment for such action; and “(B) a summary of each report made to the head of the establishment under section 406(c)(2) of this title during the reporting period; and “(16) detailed descriptions of the particular circumstances of each— “(A) inspection, evaluation, and audit conducted by the Office that is closed and was not disclosed to the public; and “(B) investigation conducted by the Office involving a senior Government employee that is closed and was not disclosed to the public.
- (c) Furnishing Semiannual Reports to Head of Establishment and Congress.—Semiannual reports of each Inspector General shall be furnished to the head of the establishment involved not later than April 30 and October 31 of each year and shall be transmitted by the head of the establishment to the appropriate congressional committees within 30 days after receipt of the report, together with a report by the head of the establishment containing— “(1) any comments the head of the establishment determines appropriate; “(2) where final action on audit, inspection, and evaluation reports had not been taken before the commencement of the reporting period, statistical tables showing— “(A) with respect to management decisions— “(i) for each report, whether a management decision was made during the reporting period; “(ii) if a management decision was made during the reporting period, the dollar value of disallowed costs and funds to be put to better use as agreed to in the management decision; and “(iii) the total number of reports where a management decision was made during the reporting period and the total corresponding dollar value of disallowed costs and funds to be put to better use as agreed to in the management decision; and “(B) with respect to final actions— “(i) whether, if a management decision was made before the end of the reporting period, final action was taken during the reporting period; “(ii) if final action was taken, the dollar value of— “(I) disallowed costs that were recovered by management through collection, offset, property in lieu of cash, or otherwise; “(II) disallowed costs that were written off by management; “(III) disallowed costs and funds to be put to better use not yet recovered or written off by management; “(IV) recommendations that were completed; and “(V) recommendations that management has subsequently concluded should not or could not be implemented or completed; and “(iii) the total number of reports where final action was not taken and the total number of reports where final action was taken, including the total corresponding dollar value of disallowed costs and funds to be put to better use as agreed to in the management decisions; “(3) whether the establishment entered into a settlement agreement with the official described in subsection (b)(14)(A), which shall be reported regardless of any confidentiality agreement relating to the settlement agreement; and “(4) a statement explaining why final action has not been taken with respect to each audit, inspection, and evaluation report in which a management decision has been made but final action has not yet been taken, except that such statement— “(A) may exclude reports if— “(i) a management decision was made within the preceding year; or “(ii) the report is under formal administrative or judicial appeal or management of the establishment has agreed to pursue a legislative solution; and “(B) shall identify the number of reports in each category so excluded. “
405. Reports Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The text outlines the requirements for semiannual reports to be prepared by each Inspector General, including definitions of key terms like "disallowed costs" and "questioned costs." It specifies what these reports should include, such as listings of significant problems or investigations, and details how these reports should be shared with both Congress and the public, while ensuring that certain sensitive information is kept confidential.
Money References
- The reports shall include, but need not be limited to— (1) a description of significant problems, abuses, and deficiencies relating to the administration of programs and operations of the establishment and associated reports and recommendations for corrective action made by the Office; (2) an identification of each recommendation made before the reporting period, for which corrective action has not been completed, including the potential costs savings associated with the recommendation; (3) a summary of significant investigations closed during the reporting period; (4) an identification of the total number of convictions during the reporting period resulting from investigations; (5) information regarding each audit, inspection, or evaluation report issued during the reporting period, including— (A) a listing of each audit, inspection, or evaluation; and (B) if applicable, the total dollar value of questioned costs (including a separate category for the dollar value of unsupported costs) and the dollar value of recommendations that funds be put to better use, including whether a management decision had been made by the end of the reporting period; (6) information regarding any management decision made during the reporting period with respect to any audit, inspection, or evaluation issued during a previous reporting period; (7) the information described under section 804(b) of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–208, §101(f) [title VIII], 31 U.S.C. 3512 note); (8)(A) an appendix containing the results of any peer review conducted by another Office of Inspector General during the reporting period; or (B) if no peer review was conducted within that reporting period, a statement identifying the date of the last peer review conducted by another Office of Inspector General; (9) a list of any outstanding recommendations from any peer review conducted by another Office of Inspector General that have not been fully implemented, including a statement describing the status of the implementation and why implementation is not complete; (10) a list of any peer reviews conducted by the Inspector General of another Office of the Inspector General during the reporting period, including a list of any outstanding recommendations made from any previous peer review (including any peer review conducted before the reporting period) that remain outstanding or have not been fully implemented; (11) statistical tables showing— (A) the total number of investigative reports issued during the reporting period; (B) the total number of persons referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution during the reporting period; (C) the total number of persons referred to State and local prosecuting authorities for criminal prosecution during the reporting period; and (D) the total number of indictments and criminal informations during the reporting period that resulted from any prior referral to prosecuting authorities; (12) a description of the metrics used for developing the data for the statistical tables under paragraph (11); (13) a report on each investigation conducted by the Office where allegations of misconduct were substantiated involving a senior Government employee or senior official (as defined by the Office) if the establishment does not have senior Government employees, which shall include— (A) the name of the senior Government employee, if already made public by the Office; and (B) a detailed description of— (i) the facts and circumstances of the investigation; and (ii) the status and disposition of the matter, including— (I) if the matter was referred to the Department of Justice, the date of the referral; and (II) if the Department of Justice declined the referral, the date of the declination; (14)(A) a detailed description of any instance of whistleblower retaliation, including information about the official found to have engaged in retaliation; and (B) what, if any, consequences the establishment actually imposed to hold the official described in subparagraph (A) accountable; (15) information related to interference by the establishment, including— (A) a detailed description of any attempt by the establishment to interfere with the independence of the Office, including— (i) with budget constraints designed to limit the capabilities of the Office; and (ii) incidents where the establishment has resisted or objected to oversight activities of the Office or restricted or significantly delayed access to information, including the justification of the establishment for such action; and (B) a summary of each report made to the head of the establishment under section 406(c)(2) of this title during the reporting period; and (16) detailed descriptions of the particular circumstances of each— (A) inspection, evaluation, and audit conducted by the Office that is closed and was not disclosed to the public; and (B) investigation conducted by the Office involving a senior Government employee that is closed and was not disclosed to the public. (c) Furnishing Semiannual Reports to Head of Establishment and Congress.—Semiannual reports of each Inspector General shall be furnished to the head of the establishment involved not later than April 30 and October 31 of each year and shall be transmitted by the head of the establishment to the appropriate congressional committees within 30 days after receipt of the report, together with a report by the head of the establishment containing— (1) any comments the head of the establishment determines appropriate; (2) where final action on audit, inspection, and evaluation reports had not been taken before the commencement of the reporting period, statistical tables showing— (A) with respect to management decisions— (i) for each report, whether a management decision was made during the reporting period; (ii) if a management decision was made during the reporting period, the dollar value of disallowed costs and funds to be put to better use as agreed to in the management decision; and (iii) the total number of reports where a management decision was made during the reporting period and the total corresponding dollar value of disallowed costs and funds to be put to better use as agreed to in the management decision; and (B) with respect to final actions— (i) whether, if a management decision was made before the end of the reporting period, final action was taken during the reporting period; (ii) if final action was taken, the dollar value of— (I) disallowed costs that were recovered by management through collection, offset, property in lieu of cash, or otherwise; (II) disallowed costs that were written off by management; (III) disallowed costs and funds to be put to better use not yet recovered or written off by management; (IV) recommendations that were completed; and (V) recommendations that management has subsequently concluded should not or could not be implemented or completed; and (iii) the total number of reports where final action was not taken and the total number of reports where final action was taken, including the total corresponding dollar value of disallowed costs and funds to be put to better use as agreed to in the management decisions; (3) whether the establishment entered into a settlement agreement with the official described in subsection (b)(14)(A), which shall be reported regardless of any confidentiality agreement relating to the settlement agreement; and (4) a statement explaining why final action has not been taken with respect to each audit, inspection, and evaluation report in which a management decision has been made but final action has not yet been taken, except that such statement— (A) may exclude reports if— (i) a management decision was made within the preceding year; or (ii) the report is under formal administrative or judicial appeal or management of the establishment has agreed to pursue a legislative solution; and (B) shall identify the number of reports in each category so excluded.
4. conforming amendments Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The section makes changes to various U.S. laws, updating references from older acts like the Inspector General Act, Federal Advisory Committee Act, and Ethics in Government Act to their current codified versions in the United States Code. Essentially, it ensures that the references in these laws are up-to-date and accurate with the latest legal standards.
5. Transitional and savings provisions Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The text defines key terms related to amendments made by a specific section of a law, stating that these amendments do not alter other laws beyond keeping certain chapters of the U.S. Code up-to-date and correcting technical mistakes. It clarifies that the amendments maintain the original enactment date and do not modify the original amendments or any laws not already affected by them.