§ 9 : GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY

DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

1.

AWARDING ENTITIES.—The term awarding entities means the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Chief of the Office of Citizenship and New Americans, as designated by this Act, and the Director of the National Science Foundation.

2.

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term nonprofit organization means an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.

3.

UNRESOLVED AUDIT FINDING.—The term unresolved audit finding means a finding in a final audit report conducted by the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, or the Inspector General for the National Science Foundation for grants awarded by the Director of the National Science Foundation, that the audited grantee has utilized grant funds for an unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost that is not closed or resolved within 1 year from the date when the final audit report is issued.

ACCOUNTABILITY.—All grants awarded by awarding entities pursuant to this Act shall be subject to the following accountability provisions:

1.

AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—

A.

AUDITS.—Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this section, and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, or the Inspector General for the National Science Foundation for grants awarded by the Director of the National Science Foundation, shall conduct audits of recipients of grants under this Act to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds by grantees. The Inspector Generals shall determine the appropriate number of grantees to be audited each year.

B.

MANDATORY EXCLUSION.—A recipient of grant funds under this Act that is found to have an unresolved audit finding shall not be eligible to receive grant funds under this Act during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after the end of the 1-year period described in subsection (a)(3).

C.

PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this Act, the awarding entities shall give priority to eligible applicants that did not have an unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal years before submitting an application for a grant under this Act.

D.

REIMBURSEMENT.—If an entity is awarded grant funds under this Act during the 2-fiscal-year period during which the entity is barred from receiving grants under subparagraph (B), the awarding entity shall—

i.

deposit an amount equal to the amount of the grant funds that were improperly awarded to the grantee into the General Fund of the Treasury; and

ii.

seek to recoup the costs of the repayment to the fund from the grant recipient that was erroneously awarded grant funds.

2.

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION REQUIREMENTS.—

A.

PROHIBITION.—An awarding entity may not award a grant under this Act to a nonprofit organization that holds money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding paying the tax described in section 511(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

B.

DISCLOSURE.—Each nonprofit organization that is awarded a grant under this Act and uses the procedures prescribed in regulations to create a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness for the compensation of its officers, directors, trustees and key employees, shall disclose to the awarding entity, in the application for the grant, the process for determining such compensation, including the independent persons involved in reviewing and approving such compensation, the comparability data used, and contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and decision. Upon request, the awarding entity shall make the information disclosed under this subparagraph available for public inspection.

3.

CONFERENCE EXPENDITURES.—

A.

LIMITATION.—No amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Homeland Security or the National Science Foundation for grant programs under this Act may be used by an awarding entity or by any individual or entity awarded discretionary funds through a cooperative agreement under this Act to host or support any expenditure for conferences that uses more than $20,000 in funds made available by the Department of Homeland Security or the National Science Foundation unless the Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security, or the Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation, or their designee, provides prior written authorization that the funds may be expended to host the conference.

B.

WRITTEN APPROVAL.—Written approval under subparagraph (A) shall include a written estimate of all costs associated with the conference, including the cost of all food, beverages, audio-visual equipment, honoraria for speakers, and entertainment.

C.

REPORT.—The Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and the Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation shall submit an annual report to Congress on all conference expenditures approved under this paragraph.

4.

ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this subsection, each awarding entity shall submit to Congress a report—

A.

indicating whether—

i.

all audits issued by the Offices of the Inspector General under paragraph (1) have been completed and reviewed by the appropriate individuals;

ii.

all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph (1)(B) have been issued; and

iii.

all reimbursements required under paragraph (1)(D) have been made; and

B.

including a list of any grant recipients excluded under paragraph (1) from the previous year.