[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3522-S3523]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2055. Mr. PAUL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 1502 proposed by Mr. Schumer to the bill S. 1260, to 
establish a new Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the 
National Science Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub 
program, to require a strategy and report on economic security, 
science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to 
establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of title V of division B, add the following:

     SEC. 2528. GAO STUDY ON OVERSIGHT OF FEDERAL SCIENCE AND 
                   TECHNOLOGY GRANT MAKING AND INVESTMENTS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) in instances such as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, 
     the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Iraq, and 
     Afghanistan, Congress has created special inspectors general 
     and other oversight entities focused on particular program 
     areas who have performed in outstanding ways;
       (2) the oversight entities described in paragraph (1) have 
     helped to strengthen oversight in cross-agency activities and 
     where component inspectors general may have otherwise faced 
     significant challenges;
       (3) because of the cross-agency nature of Federal science 
     and technology activities, Congress created the Office of 
     Science and Technology Policy to coordinate and harmonize 
     among science functions at agencies;
       (4) the United States innovation ecosystem, which uses 
     multiple science agencies to invest in research and 
     development, can make it more difficult to identify and 
     remove scientists who violate research integrity principles;
       (5) the single agency jurisdiction of an agency inspector 
     general can be a disadvantage with respect to their oversight 
     roles, and opportunities to strengthen the system may exist;
       (6) single agency jurisdiction of inspectors general may 
     also make it difficult to harmonize principles and standards 
     for oversight of waste, fraud, and abuse among agencies; and
       (7) certain issues of fraud, waste, and abuse in Federal 
     science and technology activities span multiple agencies and 
     are more apparent through cross-agency oversight.
       (b) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall conduct a study and submit to Congress a report 
     that--

[[Page S3523]]

       (1) evaluates the frequency of cases of waste, fraud, or 
     abuse perpetrated across multiple Federal science agencies by 
     an awardee or group of awardees;
       (2) evaluates the effectiveness of existing mechanisms to 
     detect waste, fraud, and abuse perpetrated across multiple 
     Federal science agencies by an awardee or group of awardees; 
     and
       (3) evaluates options for strengthening detection of waste, 
     fraud, and abuse perpetrated across multiple Federal science 
     agencies by an awardee or group of awardees, including by 
     examining the benefits and drawbacks of--
       (A) providing additional support to agency inspectors 
     general with regard to coordinated oversight of Federal and 
     technology grant making investments; and
       (B) alternative mechanisms for strengthening prevention and 
     detection of waste, fraud, and abuse across Federal science 
     agencies perpetrated across multiple Federal science agencies 
     by an awardee or group of awardees, such as the establishment 
     of a special inspector general or other mechanisms as the 
     Comptroller General sees fit.
                                 ______