[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;

[[Page H245]]

       (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

[[Page H246]]

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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