Grants Oversight And New Efficiency Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation under consideration, H.R. 3089, the Grant Oversight and New Efficiency Act, was introduced by my friend Mr. Walberg of Michigan in July of this year; and it was reported out of the House Oversight Committee with the support of Mrs. Brenda Lawrence, also of Michigan, this month. This bill would require one-time reports from Federal agencies on expired grants.

As noted earlier by Mr. Walberg, in a report by the Government Accountability Office, Federal agencies do not always close out expired grants properly. In fact, GAO has found that in 2011, nearly $800 million in undisbursed balances remained in expired grant accounts. That money could be returned to the Treasury and spent on any number of pressing priorities here in the House and Senate.

In particular, Mr. Walberg's bill, H.R. 3089, would require agencies to report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and Congress on grants that have expired and whether they have undisbursed balances. The bill would also require agencies to make recommendations on which grants should be closed out immediately as well as explain why certain grants were not properly closed out to begin with.

I commend the Representatives from Michigan, both Mr. Walberg, our lead sponsor on this bill, and Mrs. Lawrence, for their work on this bipartisan bill. This is a commonsense, good government measure that every Member should support.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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