S.Amdt. 1801

SA 1801. Mr. JOHNSON submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table, as follows:

At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1085. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE
FEDERAL VACANCIES REFORM ACT OF 1998 WITH
RESPECT TO INSPECTORS GENERAL.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) There are 4 Presidentially-appointed Inspector General
vacancies for which a nomination is not pending before the
Senate.
(2) Sections 3345 through 3349d of title 5, United States
Code, (in this section referred to as the ``Federal Vacancies
Reform Act of 1998'') prohibit an acting officer from serving
in that position for longer than 210 days.
(3) Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, the
actions of an acting officer serving beyond the 210-day
period ``shall have no force or effect'', but this does not
apply to an acting Inspector General.
(4) The Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 provides an
exception to the enforcement clause for acting Inspectors
General to ensure a President cannot leave a watchdog in
place who has no power or authority and therefore provides no
mechanism to enforce the 210-day limit for acting Inspectors
General.
(5) For 6 of the 7 Presidentially-appointed Inspector
General vacancies, the individual serving in the office in an
acting capacity has been serving for more than 210 days, in
violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) the President should comply with the Federal Vacancies
Reform Act of 1998 and fill vacancies of Presidentially-
appointed positions, including Inspectors General, within 210
days of the position becoming vacant; and
(2) the President cannot avoid this requirement merely by
changing the title of an acting officer if that officer still
retains the same or substantially similar duties as an acting
officer in that office.
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