§10263 Oversight and Accountability

Summary

All Department of Justice grants under this Act must follow rules for audits, eligibility, spending, and reporting to make sure money is used properly. Starting in fiscal year 2016 and every year after, the DOJ Inspector General must audit grant recipients and decide how many to check each year. If an audit finds improper or unallowed spending and that problem is not fixed within a 12-month period after the final audit report, the grantee has an "unresolved audit finding" and cannot get grant money under this Act for the next 2 fiscal years that begin after that 12-month period. The Attorney General will give priority to applicants that have not had such unresolved findings in the 3 fiscal years before applying. If a barred grantee is mistakenly paid, the Attorney General must put the same amount into the General Fund of the Treasury and try to get the money back from the grantee. A "nonprofit organization" here means a 501(c)(3) group exempt under 501(a). Nonprofits that keep money in offshore accounts to avoid the tax in 511(a) of title 26 cannot get grants. Nonprofits that use special procedures to justify officer and key employee pay must explain their process, reviewers, comparability data, and records in the grant application; the Attorney General may make that information public on request. No more than 7.5 percent of authorized funds may be used for DOJ administrative salaries unless the law says otherwise. Conference spending using more than $20,000 of DOJ funds needs prior written approval with a full cost estimate and must be reported yearly to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Grant funds cannot be used to lobby for grant awards; violating this requires repayment and a 5-year ban. Before awarding grants, the Attorney General must check for duplicate funding and must report any duplicates and why they happened to the Judiciary Committees.