Description:
H.R. 2662 would amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 and would require the President and inspectors general (IGs) to report to the Congress on certain activities. The bill also would require that the Integrity Committee of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) have one member who is a former IG, would direct the council to establish minimum training standards and best practices for IGs, and would authorize the appropriation of whatever amounts are necessary for the council. In 2020, IGs working in more than 70 federal agencies spent $3.1 billion to detect and deter fraud, waste, and abuse and produced more than 3,000 audit, investigation, and evaluation reports. Under current law, each federal agency with an IG provides funds annually to operate CIGIE; those funds total about $10 million a year. H.R. 2662 would authorize appropriations for the CIGIE. Based on information from selected IGs and the CIGIE regarding their current operations and the new reporting and staffing requirements, and accounting for anticipated inflation, CBO estimates that implementing this provision would cost $52 million over the 2022-2026 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. CBO assumes the bill will be enacted near the end of fiscal year 2021. The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 800 (general government).
