31 U.S.C. § 716

Availability of information and inspection of records

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(a)(1) The Comptroller General is authorized to obtain such agency records as the Comptroller General requires to discharge the duties of the Comptroller General (including audit, evaluation, and investigative duties), including through the bringing of civil actions under this section. In reviewing a civil action under this section, the court shall recognize the continuing force and effect of the authorization in the preceding sentence until such time as the authorization is repealed pursuant to law.(2) Each agency shall give the Comptroller General information the Comptroller General requires about the duties, powers, activities, organization, and financial transactions of the agency. The Comptroller General may inspect an agency record to get the information. This subsection does not apply to expenditures made under section 3524 or 3526(e) of this title.(b)(1) When an agency record is not made available to the Comptroller General within a reasonable time, the Comptroller General may make a written request to the head of the agency. The request shall state the authority for inspecting the records and the reason for the inspection. The head of the agency has 20 days after receiving the request to respond. The response shall describe the record withheld and the reason the record is being withheld. If the Comptroller General is not given an opportunity to inspect the record within the 20-day period, the Comptroller General may file a report with the President, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Attorney General, the head of the agency, and Congress.(2) Through an attorney the Comptroller General designates in writing, the Comptroller General may bring a civil action in the district court of the United States for the District of Columbia to require the head of the agency to produce a record—(A) after 20 days after a report is filed under paragraph (1) of this subsection; and(B) subject to subsection (d) of this section.(3) The Attorney General may represent the head of the agency. The court may punish a failure to obey an order of the court under this subsection as a contempt of court.(c)(1) Subject to subsection (d) of this section, the Comptroller General may subpena a record of a person not in the United States Government when the record is not made available to the Comptroller General to which the Comptroller General has access by law or by agreement of that person from whom access is sought. A subpena shall identify the record and the authority for the inspection and may be issued by the Comptroller General. The Comptroller General may have an individual serve a subpena under this subsection by delivering a copy to the person named in the subpena or by mailing a copy of the subpena by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to the residence or principal place of business of the person. Proof of service is shown by a verified return by the individual serving the subpena that states how the subpena was served or by the return receipt signed by the person served.(2) If a person residing, found, or doing business in a judicial district refuses to comply with a subpena issued under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Comptroller General, through an attorney the Comptroller General designates in writing, may bring a civil action in that district court to require the person to produce the record. The court has jurisdiction of the action and may punish a failure to obey an order of the court under this subsection as a contempt of court.(d)(1) The Comptroller General may not bring a civil action for a record withheld under subsection (b) of this section or issue a subpena under subsection (c) of this section if—(A) the record related to activities the President designates as foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities;(B) the record is specifically exempted from disclosure to the Comptroller General by a statute that—(i) without discretion requires that the record be withheld from the Comptroller General;(ii) establishes particular criteria for withholding the record from the Comptroller General; or(iii) refers to particular types of records to be withheld from the Comptroller General; or(C) by the 20th day after a report is filed under subsection (b)(1) of this section, the President or the Director certifies to the Comptroller General and Congress that a record could be withheld under section 552(b)(5) or (7) of title 5 and disclosure reasonably could be expected to impair substantially the operations of the Government.(2) The President or the Director may not delegate certification under paragraph (1)(C) of this subsection. A certification shall include a complete explanation of the reasons for the certification.(e)(1) The Comptroller General shall maintain the same level of confidentiality for a record made available under this section as is required of the head of the agency from which it is obtained. Officers and employees of the Government Accountability Office are subject to the same statutory penalties for unauthorized disclosure or use as officers or employees of the agency.(2) The Comptroller General shall keep information described in section 552(b)(6) of title 5 that the Comptroller General obtains in a way that prevents unwarranted invasions of personal privacy.(3) This section does not authorize information to be withheld from Congress.(Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 892; Pub. L. 108–271, § 8(b), July 7, 2004, 118 Stat. 814; Pub. L. 115–3, § 2(c), Jan. 31, 2017, 131 Stat. 7.)

Historical and Revision Notes
Revised Section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
716(a)	31:54(a).	June 10, 1921, ch. 18, § 313(a), 42 Stat. 26; Apr. 3, 1980, Pub. L. 96–226, § 102, 94 Stat. 312.
716(b)	31:54(b).	June 10, 1921, ch. 18, 42 Stat. 20, § 313(b)–(f); added Apr. 3, 1980, Pub. L. 96–226, § 102, 94 Stat. 312.
716(c)	31:54(c).
716(d)	31:54(d).
716(e)	31:54(e), (f).

In the section, the word “records” is substituted for “books, documents, papers, or records”, “books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents”, and “written information, books, documents, papers, or records” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. The word “Congress” is substituted for “Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate” for consistency in the revised title.

In subsections (a) and (b), the word “agency” is substituted for “departments and establishments” because of section 701 of the revised title.

In subsection (a), the words “methods of business” are omitted as surplus. The words “or any of his assistants or employees, when duly authorized by him” are omitted because of sections 702(b) and 711 of the revised title. The word “inspect” is substituted for “shall . . . have access to and the right to examine” for consistency. The cross reference to section 3524 is added for clarity.

In subsection (b)(1), the words “to the Comptroller General” are substituted for “access to” for clarity and consistency. The words “in his discretion”, “in addition to subsection (a)”, “a period of”, and “to the written request of the Comptroller General” are omitted as surplus. The words “or any of his designated assistants or employees” are omitted because of sections 702(b) and 711 of the revised title.

In subsection (b)(2), before clause (A), the words “bring a civil action” are substituted for “apply” to conform to rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (28 App. U.S.C.). In clause (A), the words “calendar” and “written” are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (b)(3), the words “head of the agency” are substituted for “defendant official” for consistency.

In subsection (c)(1), the words “require by . . . the production of” are omitted as surplus. The words “person not in the United States Government” are substituted for “contractors, subcontractors, or other non-Federal persons” for consistency and to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “from whom access is sought”, “in the case of service by certified or registered mail”, and “post office” are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (c)(2), the words “judicial district” are substituted for “jurisdiction of any district court of the United States” for consistency and to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “contumacy or” are omitted as surplus. The words “may bring a civil action” are substituted for “upon application made by” to conform to rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (28 App. U.S.C.).

In subsection (d)(1), before clause (A), the words “requiring the production of material” are omitted as surplus. In clause (C), the words “in writing”, “consists of matters which . . . from disclosure”, “United States Code”, “of such material to the Comptroller General”, and “Federal” are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (e)(1), the words “the head of” are added for consistency. The words “from which such material was obtained” are omitted as surplus.

Editorial NotesAmendments

2017—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–3 added par. (1) and redesignated existing provisions as par. (2).

2004—Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 108–271 substituted “Government Accountability Office” for “General Accounting Office”.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 13 cases, 1984–2015 · leading case: McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. The United States, 754 F.2d 365 (Fed. Cir. 1985).

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McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. The United States, 754 F.2d 365 (Fed. Cir. 1985). · cites it 2× “§ 716 (c) (1982)), 1 which grants subpoena power to the Comptroller General with further authority to seek enforcement in the district court, is unconstitutional in that it violates the doctrine of separation of powers.”

Walker v. Cheney, 230 F. Supp. 2d 51 (D.D.C. 2002). · cites it 2× “The Comptroller General then filed a report on August 17, 2001, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 716 (b) with the President, the Vice President, leaders of the Senate and the House, the Director of OMB, and the Attorney General, informing them of the dispute concerning access to the…”

Synar v. United States, 626 F. Supp. 1374 (D.D.C. 1986). “§ 712 (5) (1982) (Comptroller General shall give assistance and information to appropriate congressional committees); 31 U.S.C. § 716 (1982) (Comptroller General may sue heads of agencies to obtain audit information); 31 U.”

United States of Am. & Charles A. Bowsher, Comptroller Gen. of the United States of Am. v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 751 F.2d 220 (8th Cir. 1984). “IV 1980) (recodified at 31 U.S.C. § 716 (c) (1982)), which grants the CG a narrow subpoena power and the right to seek enforcement of that power in district court, violates the constitutional doctrine of Separation of Powers.”

Triax Co. v. United States, 11 Cl. Ct. 130 (Ct. Cl. 1986). “See 31 U.S.C. § 716 (e)(1) (1982) (GAO must maintain same level of confidence as required of agency from which information obtained).”

Diebold v. United States, 947 F.2d 787 (6th Cir. 1991). “See 31 U.S.C. § 716 . In providing this system of review, Congress made clear that this remedy was not to exclude the ability of the parties to bring actions in United States district courts or the United States Claims Court: “This subchapter does not give the Comptroller…”

GAO Access to Nat'l Directory of New Hires (OLC 2011). · cites it 8× “Code prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from providing the Government Accountability Office access to personally identifiable information from the National Directory of New Hires, notwithstanding GAO’s general access provision, 31 U.S.C. § 716 (a). August 23,…”

Whether the Dep't of Health & Human Servs. May Provide the Gov't Acct. Off. Access to Info. in the Nat'l Directory of New Hires (OLC 2011). · cites it 7× “August 23, 2011 MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE ACTING GENERAL COUNSEL DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES You have asked whether the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) may provide the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) access to the National Directory of New…”

GAO Access to Trade Secret Info. (OLC 1988). · cites it 4× “You also raised in your request the question of whether 31 U.S.C. § 716 (a) au thorizes the GAO to gain access to the trade secret information covered by sec tion 301(j).”

The Dep't of Just. Inspector Gen.'s Access to Info. Protected by the Fed. Wiretap Act, Rule 6(e) of the Fed. Rules of Crim. Procedure, & Section 626 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (OLC 2015). “In our GAO Access opinion, for instance, we determined that a statute prohibiting the Food and Drug Administration from disclosing trade secrets except to certain specified individuals and entities took precedence over 31 U.S.C. § 716 (a), a statute providing that “[e]ach agency…”

Census Confidentiality & the PATRIOT Act (OLC 2010). “(quoting 31 U.S.C. § 716 (a) (1982)). A separate statute, however, barred the FDA from “revealing, other than to the Secretary [of Health and Human Services] or officers or employees of [the Department of Health and Human Services], or to the courts when relevant in any judicial…”

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— 31 U.S.C. § 716(d)(1)(C) — 1 case

Investigative Auth. of the Gen. Acct. Off. (OLC 1988).

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