October 1, 2003–March 31, 2004
Office of the Inspector General

The IG Act directs the OIG to review proposed legislation and regulations relating to the programs and operations of the Department. Although the Department's Office of Legislative Affairs reviews all proposed or enacted legislation that could affect the Department's activities, the OIG independently reviews proposed legislation that affects it and legislation that relates to waste, fraud, or abuse in the Department's programs or operations.

During this reporting period, the OIG reviewed a variety of legislation, including a bill that would provide federal grants to eliminate the backlog of DNA samples collected from crime scenes and convicted offenders and provide federal grants to states to improve the quality of death penalty prosecution and representation. The OIG also reviewed legislation to reauthorize the Department that contained a provision that would increase the penalty for sexual abuse of a ward from a misdemeanor to a felony and clarify that federal prohibitions against sexual abuse and contraband apply to nonfederal facilities housing federal inmates.