[国会记录：2008年7月29日（院）] [第H7192-H7194]的2008韦克斯曼政府问责局改进法案。议长先生，我动议暂停的规则和通过法案（H.R. 6388）向美国总审计长提供额外的机构，以及用于其他目的，如修正。秘书读该法案的标题。该法案的全文如下：H.R。6388是它由美利坚合众国国会代表的参议院和众议院颁布组装，第1节简短的标题。该法可引为``政府问责2008处改进法案“”。秒。2.监督处获取的记录。（一）监督处获取记录.--第31篇第716，美编，在第（a）条 - （1）通过触击``（一）'和插入``（2） '';（2）由标题下面的部分后插入：``（A）（1）总审计长有权获得这些机构的记录作为总审计长要求履行职务（包括审计，评估和调查的职责），包括通过民事诉讼的根据本条自备。在审查根据本条的民事诉讼，法院应当承认的持续力和在前面的句子授权的效果直到授权被废除依法为止。“”。 [[Page H7193]] (b) Interviews.--Section 716(a) of title 31, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a), is further amended in the second sentence of paragraph (2) by inserting ``and interview agency officers and employees'' after ``agency record''. SEC. 3. ADMINISTERING OATHS. Section 711 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following: ``(4) administer oaths to witnesses, except that, in matters other than auditing and settling accounts, the authority of an officer or employee to administer oaths to witnesses pursuant to a delegation under paragraph (2) shall not be available without the prior express approval of the Comptroller General (or a designee).''. SEC. 4. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION. (a) Access to Certain Information.--Subchapter II of chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Sec. 721. Access to certain information ``(a) No provision of the Social Security Act shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General to obtain any information, to inspect any record, or to interview any officer or employee under section 716 of this title, including with respect to any information disclosed to or obtained by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under part C or D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act. ``(b) No provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General to obtain any information, to inspect any record, or to interview any officer or employee under section 716 of this title, including with respect to any information concerning any method or process which as a trade secret is entitled to protection. ``(c) No provision of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and the amendments made by that Act shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General to obtain any information, to inspect any record, or to interview any officer or employee under section 716 of this title, including with respect to any information disclosed to the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission for purposes of pre-merger review under section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a). ``(d)(1) The Comptroller General shall prescribe such policies and procedures as are necessary to protect from public disclosure proprietary or trade secret information obtained consistent with this section. ``(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed-- ``(A) to alter or amend the prohibitions against the disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive information prohibited by section 1905 of title 18 and other applicable laws; or ``(B) to affect the applicability of section 716(e) of this title, including the protections against unauthorized disclosure contained in that section, to information obtained consistent with this section.''. (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 720 the following: ``721. Access to certain information.''. SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS. Section 719 of title 31, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ``and'' at the end; (2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; (3) by adding at the end of subsection (b)(1) the following: ``(D) for agencies subject to sections 901 to 903 and other agencies designated by the Comptroller General, an assessment of their overall degree of cooperation in making personnel available for interview, providing written answers to questions, submitting to an oath authorized by the Comptroller General under section 711, granting access to records, providing timely comments to draft reports, adopting recommendations in reports and responding to such other matters as the Comptroller General deems appropriate.''; (4) in subsection (c)(2)(B), by striking ``and'' at the end; (5) in subsection (c)(3), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and'', and (6) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the following: ``(4) as soon as practicable when an agency does not, within a reasonable time, respond to a request by the Comptroller General regarding any matter described in subsection (b)(1)(D).''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) will each control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California. General Leave Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days during which to revise and extend their remarks. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California? There was no objection. Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This bill, H.R. 6388, the Government Accountability Office Improvement Act, is crucial legislation for protecting the taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse, and it is a cornerstone of Congress' efforts to improve oversight of the executive branch. There are many details in this legislation, but the essence of this bill before us is about fighting waste, fraud, and abuse. It gives GAO access to the information it needs and helps Congress legislate effectively. One of our most important jobs as Members of Congress is to protect the interests of the Federal taxpayer. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to state at the outset that the most important issue in the country right now is the rising cost of fuels, and we can't have that debate because leadership on the other side refuses to allow us votes on domestic exploration. And I wish we were talking about that today, but let me say this. I'm going to speak for H.R. 6388, the Government Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2008. This bill does a number of things. First of all, one of the things it does is overturn the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia's decision in Walker v. Cheney where the court held the GAO lacked standing to sue the Vice President to compel the release of information pertaining to the Vice President's Energy Task Force. It was the first time in its then-81-year-old history that the GAO filed suit against an executive branch official regarding access to records. This is an important issue for congressional power and oversight, and the White House, for obvious reasons, is opposing the bill for that reason institutionally. The White House is protecting the ``institution,'' the executive branch, not the administration, which this bill doesn't affect. Our interests here should also be ``institutional'' as well making sure that this Congress and future Congresses have this type of oversight over future executives. Last July, the GAO submitted to Congress a legislative proposal to make a number of largely noncontroversial changes to their authorizing statute. The Government Oversight and Reform Committee addressed many of these reforms. The bill we're taking up today represents an effort by Congress to strengthen and clarify GAO's investigative authority. I had several concerns about this legislation as it was originally introduced. The bill would have included new language giving GAO specific access to Medicare Part D data held by the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as trade secrets held by the Food and Drug Administration. Congress has access to that information now. We didn't think new language would be necessary. The original bill also included broad language to expand GAO's authority to interview agency employees and administer oaths to witnesses in conjunction with investigations. But I would add we, the Committee, adopted the amendment offered by Chairman Waxman and myself to improve the original bill, and specifically section 4 of the bill now includes language to ensure GAO will protect the most sensitive data it obtains under this section. Now section 4 will clarify GAO's access to data specific to Medicare Part D held by the Department of Health and Human Services, trade secrets held by the Food and Drug Administration and proprietary commercial information held by the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. In its current form, these provisions are intended to remedy problems that GAO has encountered in getting agencies to voluntarily turn over such sensitive data. The amendment adopted by the committee attempts to ensure that this data containing valuable trade secrets and other confidential commercial information is not disclosed. While it's still not clear that we need this section, the amendment adopted by the committee gives me a sufficient [[Page H7194]] level of comfort that information containing trade secrets and other confidential commercial data to which GAO has access will be protected against improper disclosure. I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time and yield back the balance of our time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6388, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________