	Responsibilities

The IGs' four principal responsibilities are (1) conducting and supervising audits and investigations relating to the programs and operations of the agency; (2) providing leadership and coordination and recommending policies to promote the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of these; (3) preventing and detecting waste, fraud, and abuse in these; and (4) keeping the agency head and Congress fully and currently informed about problems, deficiencies, and recommended corrective action. IGs, moreover, implement the cash incentive award program in their agencies for employee disclosures of waste, fraud, and abuse (5 U.S.C. Along with this, the Inspector General Act prohibits the transfer of "program operating responsibilities" to an IG. With but a few specified exceptions, neither the agency head nor the officer next in line "shall prevent or prohibit the Inspector General from initiating, carrying out, or completing any audit or investigation, or from issuing any subpoena...." Under the IG Act, the heads of only six agencies—the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and the Treasury, plus the U.S. When exercising this power, the head must explain such action within 30 days to the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and other appropriate panels. And the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is the only IG appointed by the President alone. 12805, issued in 1992, are the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) and a parallel Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency (ECIE). Establishment

Statutory offices of inspector general have been authorized in 67 current federal establishments and entities, including all 15 cabinet departments; major executive branch agencies; independent regulatory commissions; various government corporations and boards; and five legislative branch agencies. All but nine of the OIGs are directly and explicitly under the 1978 Inspector General Act. Separate recommendations have arisen in the recent past, such as consolidating DFE OIGs under presidentially appointed IGs or under a related establishment office (GAO-02-575). The Intelligence Authorization Act for FY2009 ( H.R. 5959 and S. 2996 ) would create an inspector general for the entire Intelligence Community, a provision opposed by the Bush Administration; and would grant statutory recognition to specified OIGs in the Defense Department. These proposals are designed to increase the IGs' independence and powers.
Statutory offices of inspector general (OIG) consolidate responsibility for audits and investigations within a federal agency. Established by public law as permanent, nonpartisan, independent offices, they now exist in more than 60 establishments and entities, including all departments and largest agencies, along with numerous boards and commissions. Under two major enactments—the Inspector General Act of 1978 and its amendments of 1988—inspectors general are granted substantial independence and powers to carry out their mandate to combat waste, fraud, and abuse. Recent initiatives have added offices in the Architect of the Capitol Office (AOC), Government Accountability Office (GAO), and for Afghanistan Reconstruction; funding and assignments for specific operations; and mechanisms to oversee the Gulf Recovery Program. Other proposals in the 110th Congress are designed to strengthen the IGs' independence, add to their reports, and create new posts in the Intelligence Community. [Note: 5 U.S.C. Appendix covers all but nine of the statutory OIGs. See CRS Report RL34176, Statutory Inspectors General: Legislative Developments and Legal Issues, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]; U.S. President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, A Strategic Framework, 2005-2010 http://www.ignet.gov; Frederick Kaiser, "The Watchers' Watchdog: The CIA Inspector General," International Journal of Intelligence (1989); Paul Light, Monitoring Government: Inspectors General and the Search for Accountability (1993); U.S. Government Accountability Office, Inspectors General: Office Consolidation and Related Issues, GAO-02-575, Highlights of the Comptroller General's Panel on Federal Oversight and the Inspectors General, GAO-06-931SP, and Inspectors General: Opportunities to Enhance Independence and Accountability, GAO-07-1089T; U.S. House Subcommittee on Government Management and Organization, Inspectors General: Independence and Accountability, hearing (2007); U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Strengthening the Unique Role of the Nation's Inspectors General, hearing (2007); Project on Government Oversight, Inspectors General: Many Lack Essential Tools for Independence (2008).]