H.R.5843

            I 

116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION H. R. 5843 

To provide the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
testimonial subpoena authority, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2020 
Miss RICE of New York (for herself and Mrs. RADEWAGEN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 
To provide the Inspector General of the Department of Vet-

erans Affairs testimonial subpoena authority, and for 
other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1

tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Over-4

sight for Veterans Act of 2020’’. 5

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5843.IH H5843pb
in

ns
 o

n 
D

S
K

JL
V

W
7X

2P
R

O
D

 w
ith

 B
IL

LS



2 

•HR 5843 IH

SEC. 2. TESTIMONIAL SUBPOENA AUTHORITY OF THE IN-1

SPECTOR GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 2

VETERANS AFFAIRS. 3

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 312 of title 38, United 4

States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-5

lowing new subsection: 6

‘‘(c)(1)(A) In addition to the authority otherwise pro-7

vided by the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 8

App.) and in accordance with the requirements of this sub-9

section, the Inspector General, in carrying out the provi-10

sions of this section, may require by subpoena the attend-11

ance and testimony of witnesses as necessary in the per-12

formance of the functions assigned to the Inspector Gen-13

eral by the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 14

and this section, which in the case of contumacy or refusal 15

to obey, such subpoena shall be enforceable by order of 16

any appropriate district court of the United States. 17

‘‘(B) An Inspector General may not require by sub-18

poena the attendance and testimony of any current Fed-19

eral employees, but may use other authorized procedures. 20

‘‘(2) The authority to issue a subpoena under para-21

graph (1) may not be delegated. 22

‘‘(3)(A) If the Inspector General intends to issue a 23

subpoena, the Inspector General shall notify the Attorney 24

General of such intent. 25

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5843.IH H5843pb
in

ns
 o

n 
D

S
K

JL
V

W
7X

2P
R

O
D

 w
ith

 B
IL

LS



3 

•HR 5843 IH

‘‘(B) Not later than 10 days after the date on which 1

the Attorney General is notified pursuant to paragraph 2

(1), the Attorney General may object to the issuance of 3

the subpoena if the subpoena will interfere with an ongo-4

ing investigation and, if the Attorney General makes such 5

an objection, the Inspector General may not issue the sub-6

poena. 7

‘‘(C) If the Attorney General does not object to the 8

issuance of the subpoena during the 10-day period de-9

scribed in subparagraph (B), the Inspector General may 10

issue the subpoena. 11

‘‘(4) Before requiring by subpoena under paragraph 12

(1) the attendance and testimony of a witness, the Inspec-13

tor General shall, to the degree practicable— 14

‘‘(A) notify the witness of the intent of the In-15

spector General to issue the subpoena; and 16

‘‘(B) provide the witness an opportunity to at-17

tend and testify voluntarily. 18

‘‘(5) Whenever requiring by subpoena under para-19

graph (1) the attendance and testimony of a witness, the 20

Inspector General shall, to the greatest extent practicable, 21

travel to residence of the witness, the principal place of 22

business of the witness, or other similar location that is 23

in proximity to the residence of the witness. 24

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5843.IH H5843pb
in

ns
 o

n 
D

S
K

JL
V

W
7X

2P
R

O
D

 w
ith

 B
IL

LS



4 

•HR 5843 IH

‘‘(6)(A) Along with each semiannual report submitted 1

by the Inspector General pursuant to section 5(b) of the 2

Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 5(b)), the 3

Inspector General shall include a report on the exercise 4

of the authority provided by paragraph (1). 5

‘‘(B) Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) 6

shall include, for the most recently completed six-month 7

period, the following: 8

‘‘(i) The number of testimonial subpoenas 9

issued and the number of individuals interviewed 10

pursuant to such subpoenas. 11

‘‘(ii) The number of proposed testimonial sub-12

poenas with respect to which the Attorney General 13

objected under paragraph (3)(B). 14

‘‘(iii) A discussion of any challenges or concerns 15

that the Inspector General has encountered exer-16

cising the authority provided by paragraph (1). 17

‘‘(iv) Such other matters as the Inspector Gen-18

eral considers appropriate.’’. 19

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 20

(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-21

graph (2), subsection (c) of section 312 of title 38, 22

United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 23

shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 24

Act. 25

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5843.IH H5843pb
in

ns
 o

n 
D

S
K

JL
V

W
7X

2P
R

O
D

 w
ith

 B
IL

LS



5 

•HR 5843 IH

(2) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.—Paragraph (4) of 1

subsection (c) of such section, as so added, shall 2

take effect on the date that is seven months after 3

the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after 4

the date of the enactment of this Act. 5

Æ 

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5843.IH H5843pb
in

ns
 o

n 
D

S
K

JL
V

W
7X

2P
R

O
D

 w
ith

 B
IL

LS


<<
  /ASCII85EncodePages false
  /AllowTransparency false
  /AutoPositionEPSFiles true
  /AutoRotatePages /None
  /Binding /Left
  /CalGrayProfile (Dot Gain 20%)
  /CalRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1)
  /CalCMYKProfile (U.S. Web Coated \050SWOP\051 v2)
  /sRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1)
  /CannotEmbedFontPolicy /Error
  /CompatibilityLevel 1.4
  /CompressObjects /Off
  /CompressPages true
  /ConvertImagesToIndexed true
  /PassThroughJPEGImages true
  /CreateJobTicket false
  /DefaultRenderingIntent /Default
  /DetectBlends true
  /DetectCurves 0.0000
  /ColorConversionStrategy /LeaveColorUnchanged
  /DoThumbnails false
  /EmbedAllFonts true
  /EmbedOpenType false
  /ParseICCProfilesInComments true
  /EmbedJobOptions true
  /DSCReportingLevel 0
  /EmitDSCWarnings false
  /EndPage -1
  /ImageMemory 1048576
  /LockDistillerParams true
  /MaxSubsetPct 100
  /Optimize false
  /OPM 1
  /ParseDSCComments true
  /ParseDSCCommentsForDocInfo true
  /PreserveCopyPage true
  /PreserveDICMYKValues true
  /PreserveEPSInfo true
  /PreserveFlatness true
  /PreserveHalftoneInfo false
  /PreserveOPIComments true
  /PreserveOverprintSettings true
  /StartPage 1
  /SubsetFonts false
  /TransferFunctionInfo /Preserve
  /UCRandBGInfo /Preserve
  /UsePrologue true
  /ColorSettingsFile ()
  /AlwaysEmbed [ true
  ]
  /NeverEmbed [ true
  ]
  /AntiAliasColorImages false
  /CropColorImages true
  /ColorImageMinResolution 300
  /ColorImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK
  /DownsampleColorImages false
  /ColorImageDownsampleType /Bicubic
  /ColorImageResolution 300
  /ColorImageDepth 8
  /ColorImageMinDownsampleDepth 1
  /ColorImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000
  /EncodeColorImages true
  /ColorImageFilter /FlateEncode
  /AutoFilterColorImages false
  /ColorImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG
  /ColorACSImageDict <<
    /QFactor 0.15
    /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1]
  >>
  /ColorImageDict <<
    /QFactor 0.15
    /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1]
  >>
  /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict <<
    /TileWidth 256
    /TileHeight 256
    /Quality 30
  >>
  /JPEG2000ColorImageDict <<
    /TileWidth 256
    /TileHeight 256
    /Quality 30
  >>
  /AntiAliasGrayImages false
  /CropGrayImages true
  /GrayImageMinResolution 300
  /GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK
  /DownsampleGrayImages false
  /GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic
  /GrayImageResolution 300
  /GrayImageDepth 8
  /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2
  /GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000
  /EncodeGrayImages true
  /GrayImageFilter /FlateEncode
  /AutoFilterGrayImages false
  /GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG
  /GrayACSImageDict <<
    /QFactor 0.15
    /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1]
  >>
  /GrayImageDict <<
    /QFactor 0.15
    /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1]
  >>
  /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict <<
    /TileWidth 256
    /TileHeight 256
    /Quality 30
  >>
  /JPEG2000GrayImageDict <<
    /TileWidth 256
    /TileHeight 256
    /Quality 30
  >>
  /AntiAliasMonoImages false
  /CropMonoImages true
  /MonoImageMinResolution 1200
  /MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK
  /DownsampleMonoImages false
  /MonoImageDownsampleType /Bicubic
  /MonoImageResolution 1200
  /MonoImageDepth -1
  /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000
  /EncodeMonoImages true
  /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode
  /MonoImageDict <<
    /K -1
  >>
  /AllowPSXObjects false
  /CheckCompliance [
    /None
  ]
  /PDFX1aCheck true
  /PDFX3Check false
  /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly true
  /PDFXNoTrimBoxError false
  /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [
    0.00000
    0.00000
    0.00000
    0.00000
  ]
  /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true
  /PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [
    0.00000
    0.00000
    0.00000
    0.00000
  ]
  /PDFXOutputIntentProfile (U.S. Web Coated \050SWOP\051 v2)
  /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier (CGATS TR 001)
  /PDFXOutputCondition ()
  /PDFXRegistryName (http://www.color.org)
  /PDFXTrapped /False

  /CreateJDFFile false
  /Description <<
    /ARA 
    /BGR 
    /CHS 
    /CHT 
    /CZE 
    /DAN 
    /DEU 
    /ESP 
    /ETI 
    /FRA 
    /GRE 
    /HEB 
    /HRV 
    /HUN 
    /ITA (Utilizzare queste impostazioni per creare documenti Adobe PDF che devono essere conformi o verificati in base a PDF/X-1a:2001, uno standard ISO per lo scambio di contenuto grafico. Per ulteriori informazioni sulla creazione di documenti PDF compatibili con PDF/X-1a, consultare la Guida dell'utente di Acrobat. I documenti PDF creati possono essere aperti con Acrobat e Adobe Reader 4.0 e versioni successive.)
    /JPN 
    /KOR 
    /LTH 
    /LVI 
    /NLD (Gebruik deze instellingen om Adobe PDF-documenten te maken die moeten worden gecontroleerd of moeten voldoen aan PDF/X-1a:2001, een ISO-standaard voor het uitwisselen van grafische gegevens. Raadpleeg de gebruikershandleiding van Acrobat voor meer informatie over het maken van PDF-documenten die compatibel zijn met PDF/X-1a. De gemaakte PDF-documenten kunnen worden geopend met Acrobat en Adobe Reader 4.0 en hoger.)
    /NOR 
    /POL 
    /PTB 
    /RUM 
    /RUS 
    /SKY 
    /SLV 
    /SUO 
    /SVE 
    /TUR 
    /UKR 
    /ENU (Use these settings to create Adobe PDF documents that are to be checked or must conform to PDF/X-1a:2001, an ISO standard for graphic content exchange.  For more information on creating PDF/X-1a compliant PDF documents, please refer to the Acrobat User Guide.  Created PDF documents can be opened with Acrobat and Adobe Reader 4.0 and later.)
  >>
  /Namespace [
    (Adobe)
    (Common)
    (1.0)
  ]
  /OtherNamespaces [
    <<
      /AsReaderSpreads false
      /CropImagesToFrames true
      /ErrorControl /WarnAndContinue
      /FlattenerIgnoreSpreadOverrides false
      /IncludeGuidesGrids false
      /IncludeNonPrinting false
      /IncludeSlug false
      /Namespace [
        (Adobe)
        (InDesign)
        (4.0)
      ]
      /OmitPlacedBitmaps false
      /OmitPlacedEPS false
      /OmitPlacedPDF false
      /SimulateOverprint /Legacy
    >>
    <<
      /AddBleedMarks false
      /AddColorBars false
      /AddCropMarks false
      /AddPageInfo false
      /AddRegMarks false
      /ConvertColors /ConvertToCMYK
      /DestinationProfileName ()
      /DestinationProfileSelector /DocumentCMYK
      /Downsample16BitImages true
      /FlattenerPreset <<
        /PresetSelector /HighResolution
      >>
      /FormElements false
      /GenerateStructure false
      /IncludeBookmarks false
      /IncludeHyperlinks false
      /IncludeInteractive false
      /IncludeLayers false
      /IncludeProfiles false
      /MultimediaHandling /UseObjectSettings
      /Namespace [
        (Adobe)
        (CreativeSuite)
        (2.0)
      ]
      /PDFXOutputIntentProfileSelector /DocumentCMYK
      /PreserveEditing true
      /UntaggedCMYKHandling /LeaveUntagged
      /UntaggedRGBHandling /UseDocumentProfile
      /UseDocumentBleed false
    >>
  ]
>> setdistillerparams
<<
  /HWResolution [2400 2400]
  /PageSize [612.000 792.000]
>> setpagedevice



		Superintendent of Documents
	2020-02-19T05:22:12-0500
	US GPO, Washington, DC 20401
	Superintendent of Documents
	GPO attests that this document has not been altered since it was disseminated by GPO