119-s2219

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2219 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2219

 To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to establish an Office of 
 Inspector General in the Executive Office of the President, and for 
 other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 July 9, 2025

 Mr. Schiff (for himself, Mr. Kelly, and Ms. Hirono) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to establish an Office of 
 Inspector General in the Executive Office of the President, and for 
 other purposes.

 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 ``Bringing Executive Accountability, 
Clarity, and Oversight Now Act'' or the ``BEACON Act''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL IN THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE 
 PRESIDENT.

    (a) Establishment.--

    (1) In general.--

Section 401 of title 5, United States Code 
 (commonly referred to as the ``Inspector General Act of 1978'') 
 is amended--
        (A) in paragraph

    (1) , by striking ``or the National 
 Reconnaissance Office'' and inserting ``the National 
 Reconnaissance Office, or the Executive Office of the 
 President''; and
        (B) in paragraph

    (3) , by striking ``or the Director 
 of the National Reconnaissance Office'' and inserting 
 ``the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office; 
 or the President (with respect to the Executive Office 
 of the President)''.

    (2) Appointment of inspector general.--Not later than 120 
 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President 
 shall appoint an individual as the Inspector General of the 
 Executive Office of the President in accordance with the 
 requirements of 

section 403

    (a) of title 5, United States Code.

    (b) Special Provisions.--Chapter 4 of title 5, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting after 

section 424 the following:

``

SEC. 425. SPECIAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE 
 PRESIDENT.

 ``

    (a) Audits, Investigations, and Issuance of Subpoenas.--
 ``

    (1) Authority, direction, and control.--Notwithstanding 
 the last 2 sentences of 

section 403

    (a) , the Inspector General 
 of the Executive Office of the President shall be under the 
 authority, direction, and control of the President with respect 
 to audits or investigations, or the issuance of subpoenas, that 
 require access to information concerning any of the following:
 ``
        (A) The identity of a confidential source, 
 including a protected witness.
 ``
        (B) An intelligence or counterintelligence 
 matter.
 ``
            (C) An undercover operation.
 ``

    (2) Prohibition in certain situations.--With respect to 
 the information described in paragraph

    (1) , the President may 
 prohibit the Inspector General of the Executive Office of the 
 President from initiating, carrying out, or completing any 
 audit or investigation, or from issuing any subpoena, after the 
 Inspector General has decided to initiate, carry out, or 
 complete such audit or investigation, or to issue such 
 subpoena, if the President determines that such prohibition is 
 necessary to prevent the disclosure of any information 
 described in paragraph

    (1) .
 ``

    (3) Notice after prohibition.--
 ``
        (A) To inspector general.--If the President 
 exercises any power under paragraph

    (2) , not later than 
 30 days after exercising any such power, the President 
 shall notify the Inspector General of the Executive 
 Office of the President in writing, stating the reasons 
 for exercising that power.
 ``
        (B) To congress.--Not later than 30 days after 
 receiving a notice under subparagraph
        (A) , the 
 Inspector General of the Executive Office of the 
 President shall transmit a copy of the notice to the 
 chair and ranking member of each of the following:
 ``
            (i) The Committee on Homeland Security 
 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
 ``
            (ii) The Committee on the Judiciary of 
 the Senate.
 ``
            (iii) The Committee on Oversight and 
 Government Reform of the House of 
 Representatives.
 ``
            (iv) The Committee on the Judiciary of 
 the House of Representatives.
 ``
            (v) Any other appropriate committee or 
 subcommittee of Congress.
 ``

    (b) Semiannual Reports.--
 ``

    (1) Additional information to be included.--Any 
 semiannual report prepared by the Inspector General of the 
 Executive Office of the President under 

section 405

    (b) shall 
 also include the following:
 ``
        (A) With respect to each significant 
 recommendation on which corrective action has been 
 completed, a description of the corrective action.
 ``
        (B) A certification of whether the Inspector 
 General of the Executive Office of the President has 
 had full and direct access to all information relevant 
 to the performance of the functions of the Inspector 
 General.
 ``
            (C) A description of any audit, inspection, or 
 evaluation occurring during the reporting period in 
 which the Inspector General of the Executive Office of 
 the President could not obtain relevant information due 
 to an exercise of power by the President under 
 subsection

    (a)

    (2) .
 ``
            (D) Such recommendations as the Inspector General 
 of the Executive Office of the President considers 
 appropriate with respect to efficiency in the 
 administration of programs and operations undertaken by 
 the President, and the detection and elimination of 
 fraud, waste, and abuse in such programs and 
 operations.
 ``

    (2) Submission to president.--Notwithstanding 

section 405
            (c) , the Inspector General of the Executive Office of the 
 President shall submit to the President the semiannual reports 
 prepared under 

section 405

    (b) , including the additional 
 information required under paragraph

    (1) , not later than April 
 30 and October 31 of each year.
 ``

    (3) Transmission to congress.--Not later than 30 days 
 after submitting the semiannual report to the President under 
 paragraph

    (2) , the Inspector General of the Executive Office of 
 the President shall transmit the semiannual report to the chair 
 and ranking member of each of the following:
 ``
        (A) The Committee on Homeland Security and 
 Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
 ``
        (B) The Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
 ``
            (C) The Committee on Oversight and Government 
 Reform of the House of Representatives.
 ``
            (D) The Committee on the Judiciary of the House 
 of Representatives.
 ``
            (c) Audit of the Office of the Inspector General of the Executive 
Office of the President.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the 
 President appoints an individual as the Inspector General of 
 the Executive Office of the President, and annually thereafter, 
 the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency 
 shall conduct an audit of the Office of the Inspector General 
 of the Executive Office of the President to ensure that the 
 office is able to effectively provide oversight of the 
 Executive Office of the President.
 ``

    (2) Report.--Not later than October 31 after the first 
 audit is completed under paragraph

    (1) , and annually 
 thereafter, the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and 
 Efficiency shall submit to Congress a report on the findings of 
 the audit.''.
            (c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--

    (1) In general.--Chapter 4 of title 5, United States Code, 
 is amended--
        (A) in 

section 415

    (a)

    (2) --
            (i) by striking subparagraph
            (C) ; and
            (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs
            (D) through
        (F) as subparagraphs
            (C) through
        (E) , 
 respectively; and
        (B) in 

section 418, by striking ``or 421'' and 
 inserting ``, 421, or 425''.

    (2) Table of sections.--The table of sections for chapter 4 
 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
 the following:

``425. Special provisions concerning the Executive Office of the 
 President.''.
            (d) Over-Classification Audit.--

    (1) Evaluations required.--The Inspector General of the 
 Executive Office of the President, in consultation with the 
 Information Security Oversight Office of the National Archives 
 and Records Administration, shall carry out 2 evaluations of 
 the Executive Office of the President--
        (A) to assess whether applicable classification 
 policies, procedures, rules, and regulations have been 
 adopted, followed, and effectively administered within 
 the Executive Office of the President; and
        (B) to identify policies, procedures, rules, 
 regulations, or management practices that may be 
 contributing to persistent misclassification of 
 material within the Executive Office of the President.

    (2) Deadlines for evaluations.--
        (A) Initial evaluation.--The first evaluation 
 required under paragraph

    (1) shall be completed not 
 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
 Act.
        (B) Second evaluation.--The second evaluation 
 required under paragraph

    (1) shall review progress made 
 pursuant to the results of the first evaluation and 
 shall be completed not later than 1 year after the date 
 on which the first evaluation is completed.

    (3) Coordination.--The Inspector General of the Executive 
 Office of the President shall coordinate with other Inspectors 
 General and the Information Security Oversight Office to ensure 
 that evaluations follow a consistent methodology, as 
 appropriate, that allows for cross-agency comparisons.

    (4) Reports required.--
        (A) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the 
 completion of an evaluation, the Inspector General of 
 the Executive Office of the President shall submit to 
 the appropriate entities a report on that evaluation.
        (B) Content.--Each report submitted under 
 subparagraph
        (A) shall include a description of--
            (i) the policies, procedures, rules, 
 regulations, or management practices, if any, 
 identified by the Inspector General under 
 paragraph

    (1)
        (B) ; and
            (ii) the recommendations, if any, of the 
 Inspector General to address any such 
 identified policies, procedures, rules, 
 regulations, or management practices.

    (5) Appropriate entities defined.--In this subsection, the 
 term ``appropriate entities'' means each of the following:
        (A) The Committee on Homeland Security and 
 Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
        (B) The Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
            (C) The Committee on Oversight and Government 
 Reform of the House of Representatives.
            (D) The Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
 Representatives.
        (E) Any other appropriate committee or subcommittee 
 of Congress.
        (F) The President.
        (G) The Director of the Information Security 
 Oversight Office.
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