Statutory Offices of Inspector General: Establishment and Evolution Page: 3 of 6
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CRS-3
By means of these reports and "otherwise," IGs are to keep the agency head and
Congress fully and currently informed. Other informing activities include testifying at
congressional hearings; meeting with legislators, officials, and staff; and responding to
congressional requests for information and reports.
Independence
In addition to having their own powers (e.g., to hire staff and issue subpoenas), the
IGs' independent status is reinforced in a number of other ways: protection of their
budgets, qualifications on their appointment and removal, prohibitions on interference
with their activities and operations, and a proscription on being assigned any program
operating responsibilities.
Appropriations. Presidentially appointed IGs in the larger federal agencies have
a separate appropriations account (a separate budget account in the case of the CIA) for
their offices. This situation prevents agency administrators from limiting, transferring,
or otherwise reducing IG funding once it has been specified in law.
Appointment and Removal. Under the Inspector General Act, as amended, IGs
are to be selected without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of integrity
and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial and management analysis, law,
public administration, or investigations. The CIA IG, who operates under a different
statute, is to be selected under these criteria as well as prior experience in the field of
foreign intelligence and in compliance with the security standards of the agency.
Presidentially appointed IGs in the larger federal establishments who are confirmed
by the Senate can be removed only by the President. When so doing, the President must
communicate the reasons to Congress. However, IGs in the (usually) smaller, designated
federal entities can be removed by the agency head, who must notify Congress in writing
when exercising this power. In the U.S. Postal Service, by comparison, the governors
appoint the inspector general-the only statutory IG with a set term (7 years). The IG can
be removed with the written concurrence of at least seven of the nine governors, but only
for cause-again, the only statutory IG having such a qualification governing removal.
Supervision. IGs serve under the "general supervision" of the agency head,
reporting exclusively to the head or to the officer next in rank if such authority is
delegated. With only 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 during the course
of any audit or investigation."
Under the IG Act, as amended, the heads of only five agencies-the Departments of
Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and Treasury, plus the U.S. Postal Service-may
prevent the IG from initiating, carrying out, or completing an audit or investigation, or
issuing a subpoena, in order to preserve national security interests or to protect on-going
criminal investigations, among other specified reasons. When exercising this power, the
department head must transmit an explanatory statement for such action to the House
Government Reform Committee, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and other
appropriate congressional committees and subcommittees within 30 days. Under the CIA
IG Act, the Director of Central Intelligence may similarly prohibit the CIA IG from
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Statutory Offices of Inspector General: Establishment and Evolution, report, March 5, 2003; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806293/m1/3/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.