Inspectors General Independence Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 3687 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3687 To amend title 5, United States Code, to prohibit the appointment of political appointees as Inspectors General, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 15, 2026 Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Schiff, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend title 5, United States Code, to prohibit the appointment of political appointees as Inspectors General, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Inspectors General Independence Act''. SEC. 2. APPOINTMENTS. Section 403(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the first sentence the following: ``The President may not nominate an individual to serve as an Inspector General if the individual is serving as a political appointee, as defined in section 9803, as of the date of the nomination or if the individual has previously served as a political appointee under such President. The position of Inspector General shall not be considered a political appointee for purposes of this subsection.''. <all>