	Overview

The Inspector General Act, as amended, will reach its 30 th anniversary in 2008, and today there are more than 60 offices of inspectors general (OIGs). The bills' specific proposals and considerations set up additional protections for IGs, including "for cause" removal and terms of office; consolidation and codification of two existing councils established by executive order into a single Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency; the reporting of the IG's initial budget and appropriations estimates to the Office of Management and Budget, the agency head, and congressional committees; program evaluation in IG semi-annual reports; and the grant of law enforcement authority to IGs in designated federal entities. The Bush Administration has taken exception to several provisions in H.R. 928 âremoval for cause, transmittal of budget requests to Congress, and an independent IG Councilâand, on October 1, 2007, threatened a veto of the legislation. In the face of this threat, the House passed H.R. 928 by a veto-proof margin on October 3, 2007. . . at least 30 days before such removal or transfer." In H.R. . . may submit to Congress or a committee of Congress an appropriations estimate or request . 928 . 928 and S. 1723 âare designed to provide broad-based, across-the-board initiatives to enhance the independence and accountability of the inspectors general operating under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended. This would occur through changes in the removal of IGs, notification of the OIG budget requests to Congress, fixing a term of office for the IGs, and establishing a Council on Integrity and Efficiency as well as an Integrity Committee, replacing counterparts created by executive order. In the 110 th Congress, the House has passed H.R.
Congress has long taken a leadership role in establishing and sustaining offices of inspector general (OIGs), which now exist in more than 60 federal departments and agencies. This effort began with Congress's initiation of the first contemporary statutory inspectors general (IGs) in 1976; it has continued with passage of the broadly encompassing 1978 Inspector General (IG) Act and 1988 Amendments as well as with additions and modifications in the meantime.
In the 110 th Congress, two bills designed to increase the IGs' independence and accountability or otherwise modify specific provisions have been introducedâ H.R. 928 and S. 1723 . These bills are similar, and their major provisions include a fixed term of office for IGs; removal for cause only; apprisal of the intention to remove or transfer an IG given to Congress 15 or 30 days in advance; notification of the annual IG budget request to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) when the IG submits it to agency administration; establishment of a Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, replacing the two current councils operating under executive order; and creation of an Integrity Committee composed of Council members to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by an inspector general or officials in the office. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee reported H.R. 928 with some changes on September 27, 2007. The Bush Administration has taken exception to several provisions in H.R. 928 âremoval for cause, transmittal of budget requests to Congress, and an independent IG Councilâand, on October 1, 2007, threatened a veto of the legislation. The House passed H.R. 928 , with amendments, by a vote of 404-11 on October 3, 2007.
This report, which will be updated as developments dictate, covers the main provisions of the proposals.