[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 6 (Monday, January 11, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H244-H246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GRANTS OVERSIGHT AND NEW EFFICIENCY ACT
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 1115) to close out expired grants.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 1115
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Grants Oversight and New
Efficiency Act'' or the ``GONE Act''.
SEC. 2. IDENTIFYING AND CLOSING OUT EXPIRED FEDERAL GRANT
AWARDS.
(a) Expired Federal Grant Award Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall instruct the head of each agency,
in coordination with the Secretary, to submit to Congress and
the Secretary a report, not later than December 31 of the
first calendar year beginning after the date of the enactment
of this Act, that--
(A) lists each Federal grant award held by such agency;
(B) provides the total number of Federal grant awards,
including the number of grants--
(i) by time period of expiration;
(ii) with zero dollar balances; and
(iii) with undisbursed balances;
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(C) for an agency with Federal grant awards, describes the
challenges leading to delays in grant closeout; and
(D) for the 30 oldest Federal grant awards of an agency,
explains why each Federal grant award has not been closed
out.
(2) Use of data systems.--An agency may use existing
multiagency data systems in order to submit the report
required under paragraph (1).
(3) Explanation of missing information.--If the head of an
agency is unable to submit all of the information required to
be included in the report under paragraph (1), the report
shall include an explanation of why the information was not
available, including any shortcomings with and plans to
improve existing grant systems, including data systems.
(b) Notice From Agencies.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the head of an agency submits the report required under
subsection (a), the head of such agency shall provide notice
to the Secretary specifying whether the head of the agency
has closed out grant awards associated with all of the
Federal grant awards in the report and which Federal grant
awards in the report have not been closed out.
(2) Notice to congress.--Not later than 90 days after the
date on which all of the notices required pursuant to
paragraph (1) have been provided or March 31 of the calendar
year following the calendar year described in subsection
(a)(1), whichever is sooner, the Secretary shall compile the
notices submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) and submit to
Congress a report on such notices.
(c) Inspector General Review.--Not later than 1 year after
the date on which the head of an agency provides notice to
Congress under subsection (b)(2), the Inspector General of an
agency with more than $500,000,000 in annual grant funding
shall conduct a risk assessment to determine if an audit or
review of the agency's grant closeout process is warranted.
(d) Report on Accountability and Oversight.--Not later than
6 months after the date on which the second report is
submitted pursuant to subsection (b)(2), the Director of
Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the
Secretary, shall submit to Congress a report on
recommendations, if any, for legislation to improve
accountability and oversight in grants management, including
the timely closeout of a Federal grant award.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given that
term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Closeout.--The term ``closeout'' means a closeout of a
Federal grant award conducted in accordance with part 200 of
title 2, Code of Federal Regulations, including sections
200.16 and 200.343 of such title, or any successor thereto.
(3) Federal grant award.--The term ``Federal grant award''
means a Federal grant award (as defined in section
200.38(a)(1) of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations, or any
successor thereto), including a cooperative agreement, in an
agency cash payment management system held by the United
States Government for which--
(A) the grant award period of performance, including any
extensions, has been expired for more than 2 years; and
(B) closeout has not yet occurred in accordance with
section 200.343 of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations, or
any successor thereto.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.
General Leave
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I really want to, first, thank Senator Fischer for the
great work done in a bipartisan way in order to move this bill forward.
That combination, working with a Member who serves on our committee,
Mr. Walberg, and the relentless work on this piece of legislation, it
is often referred to as the GONE Act, Grants Oversight and New
Efficiency Act. It is a good piece of bipartisan, bicameral legislative
effort.
I believe the bill will be effective in bringing about greater
reforms for the grants closeout process, allowing agencies to save
dollars and make better use of constrained resources. We cannot afford
to allow grants to remain open year after year of their expiration
date. The GONE Act is an important step in addressing this issue.
Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan for championing
this bill and working through this through his work on H.R. 3089, as
well as working with the Senate in order to bring it to this point this
day.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the bill before us, the Grants Oversight and New
Efficiency Act, or GONE Act--and I like that name, it is a very catchy
name, and you will see why in a moment--it seeks to improve the grant
management process by requiring Federal agencies to report on expired
grants. The Government Accountability Office has found that expired
grants are not always closed out properly. In fact, GAO found that
nearly $1 billion in undisbursed balances remained in expired and
dormant grant accounts; therefore, the GONE Act's name.
But, Mr. Speaker, I would call this found money, not gone money. It
is still there. Improving the grant closeout process will help protect
taxpayer dollars and ensure that those dollars can be redirected to
better uses.
This act may also incline agencies and localities to use funds they
have asked for. This legislation would require agencies to report to
the Secretary of Health and Human Services and to Congress on the
number of expired grants and those with undisbursed balances. For the
oldest expired grants, agencies will need to explain why those grants
have not been closed.
The bill would also require agencies to report a year after the
initial report on progress made on grant closure. Hopefully, this
increased accountability will bring improvement to grant management.
I commend Representatives Walberg and Lawrence for their work on this
bipartisan, commonsense legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1700
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Walberg), who is the lead person sponsoring this piece of
legislation here in the House companion.
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1115, the Grants Oversight
and New Efficiency Act, or as we call it, the GONE Act. As the lead
House sponsor of this bill, I am proud of the bipartisan, bicameral
effort that has gone into this legislation.
I especially want to thank the Senate champion of this bill, my
colleague in the Senate, Senator Deb Fischer, and also my Michigan
colleague, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, along with the staff who have
worked so hard to bring this bill to the floor today.
Last year, we marked up this legislation in the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee and passed it on to the House floor. After
some additional fine-tuning made by our colleagues in the Senate, I am
pleased to have the opportunity to see the GONE Act take the final step
toward becoming law.
Even as we debate this bill today, the Federal Government is racking
up service fees to administer thousands of expired empty grant
accounts--costing taxpayers millions of dollars per year. I introduced
the GONE Act to bring some common sense to the grant management process
and require Federal agencies to finally take action to identify these
accounts with a zero balance which should be closed out.
Specifically, the GONE Act will direct agencies to work with the
Department of Health and Human Services to identify the total number of
grant awards that remain open but have been expired for 2 years or
more. HHS was chosen for this role because of the work it has done in
closing out expired accounts--good work--and for its role as the agency
which houses the Payment Management System.
In addition to the total number of expired grants, the bill requires
each agency to explain to Congress why the 30 oldest grants that remain
open have not been closed. The bill also directs inspectors general for
certain larger grant-making agencies to conduct a risk assessment to
determine if a further review of that agency's grant
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closeout process is necessary. All of this information will give
agencies and Congress valuable insight into issues that agencies face
when it comes to a timely closeout of grants.
It is my hope that this information will inform future efforts to
streamline the grant's lifecycle, specifically the closeout process. In
fact, S. 1115 requires OMB and HHS to submit a report to Congress on
potential legislative reforms that are necessary to improve the grants
lifecycle. I look forward to hearing from OMB and HHS on this topic,
and I thank those agencies for the feedback they have offered on this
bill.
For months, Members of the House and Senate on both sides of the
aisle have worked to develop this bill into one that will serve to
advance the efficiency of the grants process. OMB, HHS, and the
inspector general community have all provided helpful comments as we
worked to finalize this legislation, and I am grateful for their
assistance.
Mr. Speaker, spending taxpayer dollars on expired and empty grant
accounts is the definition of government waste. I urge my colleagues to
support this bill today and send the GONE Act to the President's desk.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, it is a good bipartisan bill. I urge its
passage.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, S. 1115.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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