I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4272 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 10, 2009 Mr. Hodes introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform A BILL To require the public tracking of undisbursed balances in expired grant accounts.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Government Grants Accountability Act.

2.

Reports on use of grant funds

(a)

Recipient reports

Not later than 10 days after the end of a fiscal year, each recipient that received grant funds during that fiscal year from an agency shall submit a report to that agency that contains, with respect to that fiscal year— (1)the total amount of grant funds received from that agency; (2)the amount of grant funds received that were expended or obligated to projects or activities; and (3)a detailed list of all projects or activities for which grant funds were expended or obligated, including— (A)the name of the project or activity; (B)a description of the project or activity; (C)an evaluation of the completion status of the project or activity; (D)an estimate of the number of jobs created and the number of jobs retained by the project or activity; and (E)for infrastructure investments made by State and local governments, the purpose, total cost, and rationale of the agency for funding the infrastructure investment with grant funds. (b)

Agency reports

Not later than 30 days after the end of a fiscal year, each agency that made grant funds available to any recipient during that fiscal year shall make the information in reports submitted under subsection (a) publicly available by posting the information on a website. The agency shall include with such information the name of the person to contact at the agency if there are concerns with the grant funds. (c)

Other reports

The Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office shall comment on the information described in subsection (a)(3)(D) for any reports submitted under subsection (a). Such comments shall be due to Congress within 45 days after the end of the fiscal year for which such reports are submitted and made publicly available by posting the comments on the websites of such Offices. (d)

Guidance

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall issue guidance for agencies on compliance with this section. The Director also shall require each agency to create a standard form for use within the agency for the reports required under subsection (a). (e)

Definitions

In this section: (1)

Grant funds

The term grant funds means any funds available for a grant from the Federal Government if the period of availability of such funds for the grant is not greater than one fiscal year. (2)

Agency

The term agency has the meaning given under section 551 of title 5, United States Code. (f)

Effective date

This section shall apply to the first fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act and each fiscal year thereafter.

3.

Identification and return of undisbursed balances in expired grant accounts

(a)

Treatment of undisbursed balances in expired grant accounts

Notwithstanding section 1554 of title 31, United States Code, during the first quarter of each fiscal year, each agency with grant accounts shall identify any undisbursed balances in the grant accounts as of the end of the preceding fiscal year. The agency shall return such undisbursed balances to the Treasury of the United States by the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year. (b)

Applicability to one-year grant funds

Subsection (a) applies to grant accounts whose period of availability is not greater than one fiscal year. (c)

Agency

In this section, the term agency has the meaning given under section 551 of title 5, United States Code.