§11296 Oversight and Accountability

Summary

All DOJ grants under this subchapter must follow strict oversight rules. The DOJ Inspector General must audit grant recipients in two fiscal years between 2014 and 2023 to check for waste, fraud, or abuse. If a final audit finds the grantee used money for unauthorized or unallowable costs and that finding is not fixed within 12 months after the final report, that grantee cannot get grant money under this subchapter for the two fiscal years that start after that 12-month period. If a grantee still improperly receives funds during that barred period, the Attorney General must deposit an equal amount into the U.S. Treasury’s General Fund and try to recover the money from the grantee. Nonprofits must be 501(c)(3) tax‑exempt organizations to get these grants. The Attorney General cannot award grants to nonprofits that keep money in offshore accounts to avoid the tax in 26 U.S.C. 511(a). If a nonprofit uses the rules in 26 C.F.R. §53.4958–6 to justify officer or key employee pay, it must tell the Attorney General how pay was set, who reviewed it, the comparability data used, and written records of the decision; the Attorney General will make that info public if asked. No grant funds may pay for a conference costing more than $20,000 unless the Deputy Attorney General (or a designated senior official) gives prior written approval with a full cost estimate. The Deputy Attorney General must report approved conference spending each year to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Grant funds cannot be used to lobby DOJ or any government official about getting a grant; violators must repay the grant and are barred from future grants for at least 5 years. Applying for a grant is not considered lobbying.