US Codex
Bill
Notes

Title IV — Miscellaneous provisions

S. 2999 · 113th Congress · Dec 11, 2014 · Lineage

IV Miscellaneous provisions

Sec. 401 Evaluation by Government Accountability Office

(a)
Evaluation— Not later than October 1, 2015, the Comptroller General of the United States shall—
(1)
conduct a comprehensive analysis and evaluation regarding the performance of the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention (referred to in this section as “the agency”), its functions, its programs, and its grants;
(2)
conduct a comprehensive audit and evaluation of a selected, statistically significant sample of grantees (as determined by the Comptroller General) that receive Federal funds under grant programs administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention including a review of internal controls to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of funds by grantees; and
(3)
submit a report in accordance with subsection (d).
(b)
Considerations for evaluation— In conducting the analysis and evaluation under subsection (a)(1), and in order to document the efficiency and public benefit of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.), excluding the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) and the Missing Children’s Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5771 et seq.), the Comptroller General shall take into consideration—
(1)
the extent to which the jurisdiction of, and the programs administered by, the agency duplicate or conflict with the jurisdiction and programs of other agencies;
(2)
the potential benefits of consolidating programs administered by the agency with similar or duplicative programs of other agencies, and the potential for consolidating those programs;
(3)
whether present functions or operations are impeded or enhanced by existing statutes, rules, and procedures;
(4)
the number and types of beneficiaries or persons served by programs carried out by the agency;
(5)
the manner with which the agency seeks public input and input from State and local governments on the performance of the functions of the agency;
(6)
the extent to which the agency complies with section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act);
(7)
whether greater oversight is needed of programs developed with grants made by the agency; and
(8)
the extent to which changes are necessary in the authorizing statutes of the agency in order for the functions of the agency to be performed in a more efficient and effective manner.
(c)
Considerations for audits— In conducting the audit and evaluation under subsection (a)(2), and in order to document the efficiency and public benefit of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.), excluding the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) and the Missing Children’s Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5771 et seq.), the Comptroller General shall take into consideration—
(1)
whether grantees timely file Financial Status Reports;
(2)
whether grantees have sufficient internal controls to ensure adequate oversight of grant fund received;
(3)
whether disbursements were accompanied with adequate supporting documentation (including invoices and receipts);
(4)
whether expenditures were authorized;
(5)
whether subrecipients of grant funds were complying with program requirements;
(6)
whether salaries and fringe benefits of personnel were adequately supported by documentation;
(7)
whether contracts were bid in accordance with program guidelines; and
(8)
whether grant funds were spent in accordance with program goals and guidelines.
(d)
Report—
(1)
In general— The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report regarding the evaluation conducted under subsection (a) and audit under subsection (b), together with supporting materials, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate, and be made available to the public, not later than October 1, 2011.
(2)
Contents— The report submitted in accordance with paragraph (1) shall include all audit findings determined by the selected, statistically significant sample of grantees as required by subsection (a)(2) and shall include the name and location of any selected grantee as well as any findings required by subsection (a)(2).

Sec. 402 Authorization of appropriations

(a)
In general— The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“VI Authorization of appropriations; accountability and oversight

“601. Authorization of appropriations

“(a) In general—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act—

“(1) $159,000,000 for fiscal year 2015;

“(2) $162,180,000 for fiscal year 2016;

“(3) $165,423,600 for fiscal year 2017;

“(4) $168,732,072 for fiscal year 2018; and

“(5) $172,106,713 for fiscal year 2019.

“(b) Mentoring programs—Not more than 20 percent of the amount authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year may be used for mentoring programs.”

(b)
Technical and conforming amendments— The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 is amended by striking—
(1)
section 299 (42 U.S.C. 5671);
(2)
section 388 (42 U.S.C. 5751);
(3)
section 408 (42 U.S.C. 5777); and
(4)
section 505 (42 U.S.C. 5784).

Sec. 403 Accountability and oversight

(a)
In general— Title VI of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as added by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“602. Accountability and oversight

“All grants awarded by the Attorney General under this Act shall be subject to the following accountability provisions:

“(1) Audit requirement

“(A) Definitions—In this paragraph—

“(i) the term Inspector General means the Inspector General of the Department of Justice; and

“(ii) the term unresolved audit finding means a finding in the final audit report of the Inspector General—

“(I) that the audited grantee has used grant funds for an unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost; and

“(II) that is not closed or resolved during the 12-month period beginning on the date on which the final audit report is issued.

“(B) Requirement—Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General shall conduct audits of recipients of grants under this Act to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds by grantees.

“(C) Number of grantees to be audited—The Inspector General shall determine the appropriate number of grantees to be audited under subparagraph (B) each fiscal year.

“(D) Mandatory exclusion—A recipient of grant funds under this Act that is found to have an unresolved audit finding shall not be eligible to receive grant funds under this Act during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after the 12-month period described in subparagraph (A)(ii)(II).

“(E) Priority—In awarding grants under this Act, the Attorney General shall give priority an eligible entity that did not have an unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal years prior to the date on which the eligible entity submits an application for a grant under this Act.

“(F) Reimbursement—If an entity is awarded grant funds under this Act during the 2-fiscal-year period in which the entity is barred from receiving grants under subparagraph (D), the Attorney General shall—

“(i) deposit an amount equal to the amount of the grant funds that were improperly awarded to the grantee into the General Fund of the Treasury; and

“(ii) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment to the General Fund under clause (i) from the grantee that was erroneously awarded grant funds.

“(2) Nonprofit organization requirements

“(A) Definition—For purposes of this paragraph and the grant programs described in this Act, the term nonprofit organization means an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.

“(B) Prohibition—The Attorney General may not award a grant under any grant program described in this Act to a nonprofit organization that holds money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding paying the tax described in section 511(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

“(C) Disclosure

“(i) In general—Each nonprofit organization that is awarded a grant under a grant program described in this Act and uses the procedures prescribed in regulations to create a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness for the compensation of its officers, directors, trustees, and key employees, shall disclose to the Attorney General, in the application for the grant, the process for determining such compensation, including—

“(I) the independent persons involved in reviewing and approving such compensation;

“(II) the comparability data used; and

“(III) contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and decision.

“(ii) Public inspection upon request—Upon request, the Attorney General shall make the information disclosed under clause (i) available for public inspection.

“(3) Conference expenditures

“(A) Limitation—No amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Justice under this Act may be used by the Attorney General, or by any individual or organization awarded discretionary funds through a cooperative agreement under this Act, to host or support any expenditure for conferences that uses more than $20,000 in funds made available to the Department of Justice, unless the Deputy Attorney General or such Assistant Attorney Generals, Directors, or principal deputies as the Deputy Attorney General may designate, provides prior written authorization that the funds may be expended to host a conference.

“(B) Written approval—Written approval under subparagraph (A) shall include a written estimate of all costs associated with the conference, including the cost of all food and beverages, audiovisual equipment, honoraria for speakers, and entertainment.

“(C) Report—The Deputy Attorney General shall submit an annual report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives on all conference expenditures approved under this paragraph.

“(4) Prohibition on lobbying activity

“(A) In general—Amounts authorized to be appropriated under this Act may not be utilized by any recipient of a grant made using such amounts to—

“(i) lobby any representative of the Department of Justice regarding the award of grant funding; or

“(ii) lobby any representative of a Federal, State, local, or tribal government regarding the award of grant funding.

“(B) Penalty—If the Attorney General determines that any recipient of a grant made using amounts authorized to be appropriated under this Act has violated subparagraph (A), the Attorney General shall—

“(i) require the grant recipient to repay the grant in full; and

“(ii) prohibit the grant recipient from receiving another grant under this Act for not less than 5 years.

“(5) Annual certification—Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2014, the Attorney General shall submit, to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, an annual certification that—

“(A) all audits issued by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice under paragraph (1) have been completed and reviewed by the appropriate Assistant Attorney General or Director;

“(B) all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph (1)(D) have been issued;

“(C) all reimbursements required under paragraph (1)(F)(i) have been made; and

“(D) includes a list of any grant recipients excluded under paragraph (1)(D) during the preceding fiscal year.”

(b)
Technical and conforming amendment—
(1)
In general— The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 is amended by striking section 407 (42 U.S.C. 5776a).
(2)
Effective date— The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act.
(3)
Savings clause— In the case of an entity that is barred from receiving grant funds under paragraph (2) or (7)(B)(ii) of section 407 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5776a), the amendment made by paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not affect the applicability to the entity, or to the Attorney General with respect to the entity, of paragraph (2), (3), or (7) of such section 407, as in effect on the day before the effective date under paragraph (2) of this subsection.