PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

§291g Withholding of Payments; Noncompliance with Requirements

Title 42 › CHAPTER 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER IV — CONSTRUCTION AND MODERNIZATION OF HOSPITALS AND OTHER MEDICAL FACILITIES › Part A — Grants and Loans for Construction and Modernization of Hospitals and Other Medical Facilities › § 291g

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Surgeon General can stop federal payments to a State agency right away if, after giving the agency notice and a chance for a hearing, the agency is not following its required State plan, cannot keep promises made in its federal application, fails to carry out approved plans, or does not provide enough State money each year to run the plan. The Surgeon General may halt all payments, cut some payments from the State’s federal allotments, or stop payments for certain projects. Payments stay withheld until the problem is fixed or, if fixing it is impossible, until the State repays the federal money that was not owed. Approved projects not directly affected may still get funds.

Title 42, §291g

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whenever the Surgeon General, after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to the State agency designated as provided in section 291d(a)(1) of this title, finds—

(a)that the State agency is not complying substantially with the provisions required by section 291d of this title to be included in its State plan; or

(b)that any assurance required to be given in an application filed under section 291e of this title is not being or cannot be carried out; or

(c)that there is a substantial failure to carry out plans and specifications approved by the Surgeon General under section 291e of this title; or

(d)that adequate State funds are not being provided annually for the direct administration of the State plan,

the Surgeon General may forthwith notify the State agency that—

(e)no further payments will be made to the State under this part, or

(f)no further payments will be made from the allotments of such State from appropriations under any one or more subparagraphs or paragraphs of section 291a of this title, or for any project or projects, designated by the Surgeon General as being affected by the action or inaction referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c), or (d) of this section,

as the Surgeon General may determine to be appropriate under the circumstances; and, except with regard to any project for which the application has already been approved and which is not directly affected, further payments may be withheld, in whole or in part, until there is no longer any failure to comply (or carry out the assurance or plans and specifications or provide adequate State funds, as the case may be) or, if such compliance (or other action) is impossible, until the State repays or arranges for the repayment of Federal moneys to which the recipient was not entitled.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 291g, act

July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title VI, § 624, as added Aug. 13, 1946, ch. 958, § 2, 60 Stat. 1041; amended

June 29, 1948, ch. 728, § 1, 62 Stat. 1103; Oct. 25, 1949, ch. 722, §§ 3(b), 7, 63 Stat. 899, 901; Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 852, § 19(c), 70 Stat. 911; Sept. 25, 1962, Pub. L. 87–688, § 4(a)(3), 76 Stat. 587, authorized allotments to States for

Construction

, specified their amount, and provided for availability for unexpended funds, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 88–443. See section 291b of this title. Provisions similar to those comprising this section were contained in former section 291j(a), acts

July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title VI, § 632, as added Aug. 13, 1946, ch. 958, § 2, 60 Stat. 1041; amended Oct. 25, 1949, ch. 722, § 4, 63 Stat. 900;

July 12, 1954, ch. 471, § 4(g), 68 Stat. 466, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 88–443.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

“Secretary of Health and Human Services” substituted for “Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare” pursuant to section 509(b) of Pub. L. 96–88, which is classified to section 3508(b) of Title 20, Education.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

Office of Surgeon General abolished by section 3 of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1966, eff. June 25, 1966, 31 F.R. 8855, 80 Stat. 1610, and functions thereof transferred to Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare by section 1 of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1966, set out as a note under section 202 of this title. Office of Surgeon General reestablished within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, see Notice of Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Mar. 30, 1987, 52 F.R. 11754.