§7113 Accountability

Summary

Grants the Attorney General awards from fiscal year 2013 onward must follow new accountability rules. The Justice Department’s Inspector General will audit grant recipients each year starting with the first fiscal year that begins after March 7, 2013, to check for waste, fraud, and abuse. If a final audit says a grantee used money improperly and the problem is not fixed within 12 months, that grantee cannot get grants under these programs for the first 2 fiscal years that start after that 12-month period ends. The Attorney General must give priority to applicants who have had no such unresolved audit finding in the 3 fiscal years before applying. If a barred grantee is paid by mistake during that 2-year ban, the Department must put an equal amount into the U.S. Treasury’s General Fund and try to recover the repayment costs from the grantee. Charities that are tax-exempt under IRS rules may not receive these grants if they keep money in offshore accounts to avoid paying a federal tax. If a charity uses a formal process to justify pay for officers and key employees, it must describe that process, who reviewed it, the comparison data used, and records of the decision in its grant application; the Attorney General must make that information public on request. No Justice Department grant money under these programs may pay more than $20,000 for a conference without prior written approval from the Deputy Attorney General or a designated senior official; that approval must include a full cost estimate (food, audio-visual, speakers, entertainment, etc.), and the Deputy Attorney General must send an annual report on approved conference spending to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. Starting with the first fiscal year after March 7, 2013, the Attorney General must annually certify to the Senate and House Judiciary and Appropriations Committees that audits were completed and reviewed, exclusions and required reimbursements were made, and list any grantees excluded the prior year. For fiscal year 2018 and after, these rules also apply to two additional grant programs listed elsewhere in federal law.