The head of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery shall be the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (referred to in this section as the “Special Inspector General”), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The nomination of the Special Inspector General shall be made on the basis of integrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations. The nomination of an individual as Special Inspector General shall be made as soon as practicable after any loan, loan guarantee, or other investment is made under section 9042 of this title.

The Special Inspector General shall be removable from office in accordance with the provisions of section 3(b) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).^[1]

For purposes of section 7324 of title 5, the Special Inspector General shall not be considered an employee who determines policies to be pursued by the United States in the nationwide administration of Federal law.

The annual rate of basic pay of the Special Inspector General shall be the annual rate of basic pay for an Inspector General under section 3(e) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).¹