[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4036 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 431
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4036
[Report No. 118-186]
To establish a Government Spending Oversight Committee within the
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 21, 2024
Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Romney, Mr. Lankford, and Ms. Rosen)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
July 8, 2024
Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Government Spending Oversight Committee within the
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Government Spending
Oversight Act of 2024''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. GOVERNMENT SPENDING OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) In General.--Section 424 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(f) Government Spending Oversight Committee.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) Agency.--The term `agency' has the
meaning given the term in section 551 of this
title.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Appropriate congressional
committees.--The term `appropriate congressional
committees' means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) the Committees on
Appropriations of the Senate and the House of
Representatives;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the
Senate;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) the Committee on Oversight
and Accountability of the House of
Representatives; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) any other relevant
congressional committee of
jurisdiction.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) Chairperson.--The term `Chairperson'
means the Chairperson of the Committee.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) Committee.--The term `Committee'
means the Government Spending Oversight Committee
established under paragraph (2).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(E) Covered funds.--The term `covered
funds' means any funds, including loans, that are made
available in any form to any non-Federal entity or
individual, under--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) division A or B of the CARES
Act (Public Law 116-136);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) the Coronavirus
Preparedness and Response Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116-
123);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) the Families First
Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 116-
127);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) the Paycheck Protection
Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (Public
Law 116-139);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(v) division M or N of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public
Law 116-260);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(vi) the American Rescue Plan
Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(vii) any loan guaranteed or
made by the Small Business Administration,
including any direct loan or guarantee of a
trust certificate, under the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.), the Small Business
Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 661 et seq.),
or any other provision of law;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(viii) unemployment
compensation, as defined in section 85 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ix) the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-
58);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(x) the Inflation Reduction Act
(Public Law 117-169);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(xi) the Honoring our PACT Act
of 2022 (Public Law 117-168); or</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(xii) the CHIPS Act of 2022
(division A of Public Law 117-167) (commonly
known as the `CHIPS and Science Act of
2022').</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Establishment.--There is established within
the Council the Government Spending Oversight Committee to
promote transparency and conduct and support oversight of
covered funds to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) prevent and detect fraud, waste,
abuse, and mismanagement; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) mitigate major risks that cut across
program and agency boundaries.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) Chairperson.--The Chairperson of the
Committee--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) shall be selected by the Chairperson
of the Council from among Inspectors General appointed
by the President and confirmed by the Senate;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) should have with experience managing
oversight of large organizations and
expenditures.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) Membership.--The members of the Committee
shall include--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) the Chairperson;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) the Inspector General of the
Department of the Labor;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) the Inspector General of the
Department of Health and Human Services;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) the Inspector General of the Small
Business Administration;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(E) the Inspector General of the
Department of the Treasury;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(F) the Inspector General of the
Department of Transportation;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(G) the Treasury Inspector General for
Tax Administration;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(H) the Inspector General of the
Department of Veterans Affairs;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(I) the Inspector General of the
Department of Commerce;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(J) the Inspector General of the
Department of Justice;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(K) the Inspector General of the
Department of Defense;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(L) the Inspector General of the
Department of Education;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(M) the Inspector General of the
Department of Homeland Security; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(N) any other Inspector General, as
designated by the Chairperson, from any agency that
expends or obligates covered funds.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(5) Executive director.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In general.--There shall be an
Executive Director of the Committee.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Appointment; qualifications.--The
Executive Director of the Committee shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) be appointed by the
Chairperson of the Committee, in consultation
with the majority leader of the Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
minority leader of the Senate, and the minority
leader of the House of
Representatives;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) have demonstrated ability
in accounting, auditing, financial analysis,
law, management analysis, public
administration, or investigations;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) have experience managing
oversight of large organizations and
expenditures; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) be full-time employees of
the Committee.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) Duties.--The Executive Director of
the Committee shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) report directly to the
Chairperson;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) appoint staff of the
Committee, subject to the approval of the
Chairperson, consistent with this
subsection;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) supervise and coordinate
Committee functions and staff; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) perform any other duties
assigned to the Executive Director by the
Committee.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(6) Prohibition on additional compensation.--
Members of the Committee may not receive additional
compensation for services performed.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(7) Duties of the committee.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In general.--The Committee shall
conduct oversight of covered funds and support
Inspectors General in the oversight of covered funds in
order to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) detect and prevent fraud,
waste, abuse, and mismanagement; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) identify major risks that
cut across programs and agency
boundaries.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) General functions.--The Committee,
in coordination with relevant Inspectors General, may--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) provide support to, and
collaborate with, relevant Inspectors General
in conducting investigations, audits, and
reviews relating to covered funds, including
through--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(I) data
analytics;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(II) the sharing of
data, tools, and services;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(III) the development
and enhancement of data practices,
analysis, and visualization;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(IV) any other
appropriate means as determined by the
Committee;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) provide analytical products
to agencies, in coordination with Inspectors
General, to promote program integrity, prevent
improper payments, and facilitate verification
efforts to ensure proper expenditure and
utilization of covered funds;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) review the economy,
efficiency, and effectiveness in the
administration of, and the detection of fraud,
waste, abuse, and mismanagement in, programs
and operations using covered funds;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) review whether there are
appropriate mechanisms for interagency
collaboration relating to the oversight of
covered funds, including coordinating and
collaborating to the extent practicable with
State and local government entities;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(v) expeditiously report to the
Attorney General any instance in which the
Committee has reasonable grounds to believe
there has been a violation of Federal criminal
law.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) Additional functions.--The Committee
may provide investigative support to prosecutive and
enforcement authorities to protect program integrity
and prevent, detect, and prosecute fraud of covered
funds.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) Reporting.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) Alerts.--The Committee shall
submit to the President and Congress, including
the appropriate congressional committees,
management alerts on potential management,
risk, and funding problems that require
immediate attention.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) Reports and updates.--The
Committee shall submit to Congress such other
reports or provide such periodic updates on the
work of the Committee as the Committee
considers appropriate on the use of covered
funds.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) Biannual reports.--The
Committee shall submit biannual reports to the
President and Congress, including the
appropriate congressional committees, and may
submit additional reports as appropriate
summarizing the findings of the Committee and
any recommended changes to the scope of covered
funds.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) Public availability.--All
reports submitted under this subparagraph shall
be made publicly available and posted on the
website established under paragraph
(16).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(v) Redactions.--Any portion of
a report submitted under this paragraph may be
redacted when made publicly available, if that
portion would disclose information that is not
subject to disclosure under sections 552 and
552a of this title, or is otherwise prohibited
from disclosure by law.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(E) Recommendations.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) In general.--The Committee
shall make recommendations to agencies on
measures to prevent or address fraud, waste,
abuse and mismanagement, and to mitigate risks
that cut across programs and agency boundaries,
relating to covered funds.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) Report.--Not later than 30
days after receipt of a recommendation under
clause (i), an agency shall submit a report to
the President and the appropriate congressional
committees on--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(I) whether the agency
agrees or disagrees with the
recommendations; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(II) any actions the
agency will take to implement the
recommendations, which shall also be
included in the report required under
section 2(b) of the GAO-IG Act (31
U.S.C. 1105 note; Public Law 115-
414).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(8) Authorities.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In general.--In carrying out the
duties and functions under this subsection with respect
to the oversight of covered funds, the Committee
shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) carry out those duties and
functions in accordance with section 404(b)(1)