The Act gave these inspectors general the authority to review the internal documents of their departments or offices.

3(a)): "There shall be at the head of each Office an Inspector General who shall be appointed by the President, without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of integrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations.

Congress must be informed by the president 30 days in advance notice before removing any inspector general and the "the substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons" for doing so.

It also limited on who may fill the role of Acting Inspector General in the event of a vacancy, required Acting IGs to report to Congress regarding ongoing OIG investigations, and required the President provide Congress with an explanation for failure to nominate an IG within a specified period of time.

Additionally, the act required that non-governmental organizations and business entities be notified and provided an opportunity to comment on non-investigative OIG reports in which they are specifically identified.