§10706 Grant Accountability

Summary

Grants given by the Attorney General under this program must follow rules to prevent waste, fraud, and misuse of money. Applicable committees are the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. The Justice Department Inspector General must start yearly audits in the first fiscal year beginning after July 22, 2016, and each year after. An “unresolved audit finding” means the IG found improper or unallowable spending in a final audit that is not fixed within 12 months after that report. If a grantee has an unresolved audit finding, it cannot get grants under this program for the first 2 fiscal years after that 12‑month period ends. The Attorney General must favor applicants with no unresolved findings in the 3 fiscal years before they apply. If a barred grantee still gets money, the Attorney General must put an equal amount into the General Fund of the Treasury and try to recover that repayment from the grantee. A “nonprofit organization” here means a 501(c)(3) tax‑exempt group. A nonprofit that keeps money offshore to avoid the tax in section 511(a) of title 26 cannot be a party to a contract or receive a subaward under section 10701(b). Nonprofits that use certain procedures to justify executive pay must explain how pay was set and provide supporting data in their application; the Attorney General will make that information public on request. No funds may be used for a conference that costs more than $20,000 without prior written approval from the agency head, which must include a full cost estimate; the Deputy Attorney General must report approved conference costs each year to the applicable committees. Starting in the first fiscal year after July 22, 2016, the Attorney General must annually certify to the applicable committees that IG audits were completed and reviewed, required exclusions were issued, reimbursements were made, and list any excluded recipients. Before awarding grants, the Attorney General must check for duplicate awards; if duplicate grants are given for the same purpose, the Attorney General must report the duplicates, their total dollar amounts, and the reasons to the applicable committees.