{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/senate-passes-grassley-bill-restoring-watchdogs%E2%80%99-authority-access-%E2%80%9Call-records%E2%80%9D", "Senate Passes Grassley Bill Restoring Watchdogs Authority to Access All Records", "2016-12-10", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "IA", "Charles Grassley", "G000386", "www.grassley.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "IG Empowerment Act Now Awaits President\u2019s Signature to become LawWASHINGTON \u2013 The U.S. Senate today passed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley\u2019s legislation to expand tools for inspectors general to identify and address fraud, waste and misconduct in government. \u00a0The Inspector General Empowerment Act restores Congress\u2019 intent to guarantee inspectors general access to \u201call records\u201d of the agencies they oversee, overturning a 2015 Obama administration legal memo roundly criticized by both Republicans and Democrats. \u00a0The House of Representatives passed identical legislation earlier this week. \u00a0The bill must now be signed by the President before becoming law.\u201cIf we\u2019ve learned one thing in the last year, it\u2019s that government needs more transparency and oversight, not less. \u00a0Inspectors general are our eyes and ears in government. \u00a0They are on the front lines in the fight against fraud, waste and misconduct, but they can\u2019t do their job if they can\u2019t access the necessary government documents. \u00a0This bill makes sure that they have the tools and access they need to safeguard our tax dollars, improve efficiency, and tackle misconduct. \u00a0It also reinforces Congress\u2019 intent to grant IGs access to all agency records in the course of their work, a longstanding authority that the bureaucracy has gone great lengths to resist,\u201d Grassley said.The Inspector General Act of 1978 authorizes each inspector general to access \u201call records\u201d in their agency\u2019s possession in the conduct of an oversight investigation or audit. However, on July 20, 2015, the Justice Department\u2019s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion arguing that other provisions generally restricting the \u201cdisclosure\u201d of certain kinds of information override the \u201call records\u201d provision of the Inspector General Act. \u00a0The Inspector General Empowerment Act reverses the flawed legal opinion, which several agencies have cited when withholding or delaying access to documents inspectors general needed to perform thorough and complete investigations.The key provision of the bill adds language explicitly requiring agencies to provide \u201ctimely\u201d access to all records \u201cnotwithstanding any other provision of law.\u201dThe Inspector General Empowerment Act contains additional provisions to improve the independence of inspectors general and to equip them with the tools to more effectively and efficiently identify and address waste, fraud and misconduct within the government. \u00a0For more information, see a bill summary.-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/senate-passes-grassley-bill-restoring-watchdogs%E2%80%99-authority-access-%E2%80%9Call-records%E2%80%9D"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9409228805452585, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}