S. 2128 would amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require that inspectors general (IG) create lists of reports that they are required to give the Congress along with any recommendations for eliminating or modifying reports. Each IG would have 60 days to identify all reports they are required to produce. The bill also would require the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) to review all the lists for common and unique reports and to provide recommendations to the Congress on eliminating or modifying reports.
There are more than 70 IGs who spend about $2.5 billion a year to detect and deter fraud, waste, and abuse. On average, IGs produce more than 7,500 audits, inspections, and evaluation reports annually. CIGIE expects that some larger IGs would need 60 days to comply with the bill’s requirements. Based on that information, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost about $1 million in 2016, less than $14,000 per IG. Any such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting S. 2128 could affect direct spending by some agencies (such as the Tennessee Valley Authority) because they are authorized to use receipts from the sale of goods, fees, and other collections to cover their operating costs. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Because most of those agencies can make adjustments to the amounts collected as operating costs change, CBO estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those agencies would not be significant. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 2128 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2026.
S. 2128 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
