Pursuant to Section 5274 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, Pub. L. No. 117-263 (Section 5274), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is required to notify non-governmental organizations or business entities when they are specifically identified in a published audit, evaluation, inspection, or other non-investigative report. The purpose of the notification is to afford the specifically identified NGO or business entity an opportunity to submit a written response to USDA OIG about each such reference to the NGO or business entity in the published report. Any such non-governmental organization or business entity has 30 days from the date of publication to provide its written response.
USDA OIG directly notifies non-governmental organizations or business entities specifically identified in a published audit, evaluation, inspection, or other non-investigative report prepared by or on behalf of USDA OIG, whenever such direct notice can be accomplished through reasonable due diligence. Any non-governmental organization or business entity that was not provided direct notice may provide a written response pursuant to Section 5274 and submit it to USDA OIG using the webform or mail to USDA OIG Office of Audit, 1400 Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250.
USDA OIG does not apply Section 5274 in cases where a non-governmental organization or business entity is only specifically identified in an attachment to a published USDA OIG report and the attachment was not prepared by or on behalf of the OIG.