H.R. 5633 would require the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit to the Congress any reports substantiating violations of certain personnel policies and allegations of misconduct, fraud, or abuse within DHS involving members of the Senior Executive Service or political appointees. This requirement would apply to reports finalized on or after 30 days from the bill’s enactment, and reports would need to be published on the OIG website. The bill also would require the OIG to include information regarding ongoing audits, inspections, and evaluations in its semiannual reports and submit an additional report on compliance to the Congress within one year. Finally, H.R. 5633 would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate the OIG compliance report after one year.
Based on information from the OIG, CBO expects the office would need three additional employees to conduct investigations and compile reports and two additional employees to communicate with and collect information from other DHS offices. Assuming they are hired at the beginning of fiscal year 2023, CBO estimates the cost to the OIG for these employees would be about $5 million over the 2022-2026 period. Additionally, based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates the cost to GAO of producing its evaluation would be less than $500,000 over the 2022-2026 period. All such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
