2 U.S.C. § 185 — Inspector General of the Library of Congress

(a) Short title: This section can be called the "Library of Congress Inspector General Act of 2005." (b) Office of Inspector General: The Library of Congress has an independent Office of Inspector General. Its jobs are to: (1) audit and investigate matters related to the Library — except violent incidents or personal property, and except anything involving the Capitol Police; (2) recommend policies to make the Library run better, more efficiently, and more effectively; and (3) keep the Librarian and Congress informed about problems in how the Library is run. (c) Appointment, supervision, removal, pay, bonuses, counsel: (1) The Librarian of Congress appoints the Inspector General, based only on skill and integrity — not politics. The Inspector General reports to the Librarian, but the Librarian cannot stop the Inspector General from starting or finishing an audit or investigation, issuing a subpoena, or issuing a report. (2) The Librarian can remove or transfer the Inspector General, but must tell four congressional committees in writing why, at least 30 days before doing so. Other normal personnel actions (besides removal or transfer) are still allowed. (3) The Inspector General's job is graded above GS-15 pay level, and must be paid at least the average of what other above-GS-15 Library employees earn. The Librarian sets yearly pay raises to match the average raise given to those other employees. (4) The Inspector General can't get any cash bonus or award. (5) The Inspector General must get legal advice from a lawyer who reports directly to the Inspector General, or to another Inspector General. (d) Duties, responsibilities, authority, and reports: (1) Several sections of Title 5 (about inspectors general generally) apply here, with "Library of Congress" standing in for "establishment" and "Librarian of Congress" standing in for "head of the establishment." (2) The Inspector General can hire staff and consultants needed for the office's work, without needing anyone else's approval — but hires must still meet the Library's normal security and background-check rules, and consultants must follow federal Inspector General Act rules. (3) Law enforcement authority: Special agents supervised by the Inspector General can, while on official duty, make arrests without a warrant for crimes committed in their presence, or for felonies they have good reason to believe someone committed; get and carry out arrest, search, and seizure warrants; and carry firearms. To use these powers, an agent must certify they are a U.S. citizen, completed law enforcement training, and aren't barred from having a firearm (for example, due to a domestic-violence misdemeanor). The Inspector General can add more certification requirements after telling Congress. The Inspector General must keep firearms and use-of-force training in line with national inspector-general standards. The Inspector General decides who qualifies for these powers and can take that authority away if someone stops meeting the requirements — that decision usually can't be appealed, unless it counts as a broader "adverse action." Before using these powers for the first time, and twice a year after that, the Inspector General must certify to Congress that proper safeguards are in place. This authority can be suspended if the office doesn't meet its reporting duties. An outside peer-review process must check how these law-enforcement powers are used, and any misconduct claims can be reviewed by an oversight integrity committee. (4) The Librarian must submit the Inspector General's budget request to Congress without changing it. (e) Transfers: All the people, jobs, and money of the Library's old Office of Investigations move to the new Office of Inspector General. (f) Incumbent: Whoever was serving as Inspector General on August 2, 2005, keeps the job, but can still be removed under this section's rules. (g) References: Any other law, order, rule, or document that refers to the Library of Congress's Inspector General means the Inspector General described in this section. (h) Effective date: This section took effect on August 2, 2005.