34 U.S.C. § 20704 — Grant accountability

Page 495 TITLE 34—CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT § 20704 1 See References in Text note below. child human trafficking shall not be re- quired to collaborate with law enforcement officers to have access to any shelter or services provided with a grant under this section. (l) Grant accountability; specialized victims’ service requirement No grant funds under this section may be awarded or transferred to any entity unless such entity has demonstrated substantial experience providing services to victims of human traf- ficking or related populations (such as runaway and homeless youth), or employs staff special- ized in the treatment of human trafficking vic- tims. (Pub. L. 109–164, title II, § 203, Jan. 10, 2006, 119 Stat. 3570; Pub. L. 110–457, title III, § 302(4), Dec. 23, 2008, 122 Stat. 5087; Pub. L. 114–22, title I, § 103(a), May 29, 2015, 129 Stat. 231.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990, referred to in subsec. (k)(2), is Pub. L. 101–647, title II, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4792. Subtitle A of the Act was classified gen- erally to subchapter I (§ 13001 et seq.) of chapter 132 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to edi- torial reclassification as subchapter I (§ 20301 et seq.) of chapter 203 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1990 Act note set out under section 10101 of this title and Tables. CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified to section 14044b of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to edi- torial reclassification and renumbering as this section. AMENDMENTS 2015—Pub. L. 114–22 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to pilot program for protection of juvenile victims of trafficking in persons. 2008—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 110–457 substituted ‘‘2008 through 2011’’ for ‘‘2006 and 2007’’. § 20704. Grant accountability (a) Definition In this section, the term ‘‘covered grant’’ means a grant awarded by the Attorney General under section 20703 of this title, as amended by section 103. (b) Accountability All covered grants shall be subject to the fol- lowing accountability provisions: (1) Audit requirement (A) In general Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after May 29, 2015, and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of the De- partment of Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of a covered grant to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds by grantees. The Inspector General shall determine the appropriate number of grantees to be au- dited each year. (B) Definition In this paragraph, the term ‘‘unresolved audit finding’’ means a finding in the final audit report of the Inspector General that the audited grantee has utilized grant funds for an unauthorized expenditure or other- wise unallowable cost that is not closed or resolved within 12 months from the date when the final audit report is issued. (C) Mandatory exclusion A recipient of a covered grant that is found to have an unresolved audit finding shall not be eligible to receive a covered grant during the following 2 fiscal years. (D) Priority In awarding covered grants the Attorney General shall give priority to eligible enti- ties that did not have an unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal years prior to sub- mitting an application for a covered grant. (E) Reimbursement If an entity is awarded a covered grant during the 2-fiscal-year period in which the entity is barred from receiving grants under subparagraph (C), the Attorney General shall— (i) deposit an amount equal to 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 repay- ment to the fund from the grant recipient that was erroneously awarded grant funds. (2) Nonprofit organization requirements (A) Definition For purposes of this paragraph and covered grants, the term ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of title 26 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of title 26. (B) Prohibition The Attorney General may not award a covered grant to a nonprofit organization that holds money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding paying the tax de- scribed in section 511(a) of title 26. (C) Disclosure Each nonprofit organization that is award- ed a covered grant and uses the procedures prescribed in regulations to create a rebut- table presumption of reasonableness for the compensation of its officers, directors, trust- ees and key employees, shall disclose to the Attorney General, in the application for the grant, the process for determining such com- pensation, including the independent per- sons involved in reviewing and approving such compensation, the comparability data used, and contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and decision. Upon re- quest, the Attorney General shall make the information disclosed under this subsection available for public inspection. (3) Conference expenditures (A) Limitation No amounts transferred to the Department of Justice under this title,1 or the amend- ments made by this title,1 may be used by Page 496 TITLE 34—CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT § 20704 the Attorney General, or by any individual or organization awarded discretionary funds through a cooperative agreement under this title,1 or the amendments made by this title,1 to host or support any expenditure for conferences that uses more than $20,000 in Department funds, unless the Deputy Attor- ney General or such Assistant Attorney Gen- erals, Directors, or principal deputies as the Deputy Attorney General may designate, provides prior written authorization that the funds may be expended to host a con- ference. (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 and beverages, audio- visual equipment, honoraria for speakers, and any entertainment. (C) Report The Deputy Attorney General shall submit an annual report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa- tives on all approved conference expendi- tures referenced in this paragraph. (D) Annual certification Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after May 29, 2015, the Attorney General shall submit, to the Committee on the Judi- ciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on the Ju- diciary and the Committee on Appropria- tions of the House of Representatives, an an- nual certification that— (i) all audits issued by the Office of the Inspector General under paragraph (1) have been completed and reviewed by the appro- priate Assistant Attorney General or Di- rector; (ii) all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph (1)(C) have been issued; (iii) all reimbursements required under paragraph (1)(E) have been made; and (iv) includes a list of any grant recipi- ents excluded under paragraph (1) from the previous year. (4) Prohibition on lobbying activity (A) In general Amounts awarded under this title,1 or any amendments made by this title,1 may not be utilized by any grant recipient to— (i) lobby any representative of the De- partment of Justice regarding the award of grant funding; or (ii) lobby any representative of a Fed- eral, State, local, or tribal government re- garding the award of grant funding. (B) Penalty If the Attorney General determines that any recipient of a covered grant has violated subparagraph (A), the Attorney General shall— (i) require the grant recipient to repay the grant in full; and (ii) prohibit the grant recipient from re- ceiving another covered grant for not less than 5 years. (Pub. L. 114–22, title I, § 117, May 29, 2015, 129 Stat. 245.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 103, referred to in subsec. (a), means section 103 of Pub. L. 114–22. For classification of section 103 to the Code, see Tables. This title, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(A), (4)(A), is title I of Pub. L. 114–22, May 29, 2015, 129 Stat. 228. For complete classification of title I to the Code, see Ta- bles. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Justice for Vic- tims of Trafficking Act of 2015, and not as part of title II of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthoriza- tion Act of 2005 which comprises this chapter. Section was formerly classified to section 14044b–1 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to edi- torial reclassification and renumbering as this section. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY Pub. L. 115–392, § 22, Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5259, pro- vided that: ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered agency’ means an agency au- thorized to award grants under this Act [see section 1(a) of Pub. L. 115–392, set out as a Short Title of 2018 Amendment note set out under section 1 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure]; ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered grant’ means a grant author- ized to be awarded under this Act; and ‘‘(3) the term ‘covered official’ means the head of a covered agency. ‘‘(b) ACCOUNTABILITY.—All covered grants shall be subject to the following accountability provisions: ‘‘(1) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.— ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the term ‘un- resolved audit finding’ means a finding in the final audit report of the Inspector General of a covered agency that the audited grantee has utilized funds under a covered grant for an unauthorized expendi- ture or otherwise unallowable cost that is not closed or resolved within 12 months from the date when the final audit report is issued. ‘‘(B) AUDITS.—Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 21, 2018], and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of a covered agency shall conduct audits of recipients of covered grants to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds by grant- ees. The Inspector General shall determine the ap- propriate number of grantees to be audited each year. ‘‘(C) MANDATORY EXCLUSION.—A recipient of funds under a covered grant that is found to have an un- resolved audit finding shall not be eligible to re- ceive funds under a covered grant during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after the end of the 12-month period described in subparagraph (A). ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—In awarding covered grants, a covered official shall give priority to eligible appli- cants that did not have an unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal years before submitting an appli- cation for the covered grant. ‘‘(E) REIMBURSEMENT.—If an entity is awarded funds under a covered grant during the 2-fiscal-year period during which the entity is barred from re- ceiving covered grants under subparagraph (C), a covered official 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 Treas- ury; and Page 497 TITLE 34—CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT § 20705 1 See References in Text note below. ‘‘(ii) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment to the fund from the recipient of the covered grant that was erroneously awarded grant funds. ‘‘(2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION REQUIREMENTS.— ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this paragraph and each covered grant program, the term ‘non- profit organization’ means an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev- enue Code of 1986 [26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)] and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code. ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—A covered grant may not be awarded 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 [26 U.S.C. 511(a)]. ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE.—Each nonprofit organization that is awarded a covered grant and uses the proce- dures prescribed in regulations to create a rebut- table presumption of reasonableness for the com- pensation of its officers, directors, trustees, and key employees, shall disclose to the applicable cov- ered official, in the application for the covered grant, the process for determining such compensa- tion, including the independent persons involved in reviewing and approving such compensation, the comparability data used, and contemporaneous sub- stantiation of the deliberation and decision. Upon request, a covered official shall make the informa- tion disclosed under this subparagraph available for public inspection. ‘‘(3) CONFERENCE EXPENDITURES.— ‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—No amounts made available to a covered agency to carry out a covered grant pro- gram may be used by a covered official, or by any individual or entity awarded discretionary funds through a cooperative agreement under a covered grant program, to host or support any expenditure for conferences that uses more than $20,000 in funds made available by the covered agency, unless the covered official provides prior written authoriza- tion 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, includ- ing the cost of all food, beverages, audio-visual equipment, honoraria for speakers, and entertain- ment. ‘‘(C) REPORT.— ‘‘(i) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—The Deputy At- torney General shall submit an annual report to the appropriate committees of Congress on all conference expenditures approved under this paragraph. ‘‘(ii) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV- ICES.—The Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress an annual report on all conference expenditures approved under this paragraph. ‘‘(iii) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—The Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress an annual report 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 Act, each covered official shall submit to the ap- propriate committees of Congress an annual certifi- cation— ‘‘(A) indicating whether— ‘‘(i) all audits issued by the Office of the Inspec- tor General of the applicable covered agency under paragraph (1) have been completed and re- viewed by the appropriate official; ‘‘(ii) all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph (1)(C) have been issued; and ‘‘(iii) all reimbursements required under para- graph (1)(E) have been made; and ‘‘(B) that includes a list of any recipients of a covered grant excluded under paragraph (1) from the previous year. ‘‘(c) PREVENTING DUPLICATIVE GRANTS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before a covered official awards a covered grant, the covered official shall compare po- tential awards under the covered grant program with other covered grants awarded to determine if dupli- cate grant awards are awarded for the same purpose. ‘‘(2) REPORT.—If a covered official awards duplicate covered grants to the same applicant for the same purpose the covered official shall submit to the ap- propriate committees of Congress a report that in- cludes— ‘‘(A) a list of all duplicate covered grants award- ed, including the total dollar amount of any dupli- cate covered grants awarded; and ‘‘(B) the reason the covered official awarded the duplicate covered grants.’’ § 20705. Enhancing State and local efforts to com- bat trafficking in persons (a) Establishment of grant program for law en- forcement (1) In general The Attorney General may make grants to States and local law enforcement agencies to establish, develop, expand, or strengthen pro- grams— (A) to investigate and prosecute acts of se- vere forms of trafficking in persons, and re- lated offenses that occur, in whole or in part, within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States; (B) to train law enforcement personnel how to identify victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons and related offenses; (C) to investigate and prosecute persons who engage in the purchase of commercial sex acts and prioritize the investigations and prosecutions of those cases involving minor victims; (D) to educate persons charged with, or convicted of, purchasing or attempting to purchase commercial sex acts; (E) to educate and train law enforcement personnel in how to establish trust of per- sons subjected to trafficking and encourage cooperation with prosecution efforts; and (F) as appropriate, to designate at least 1 prosecutor for cases of severe forms of traf- ficking in persons (as such term is defined in section 7102(9) 1 of title 22). (2) Definition In this subsection, the term ‘‘related of- fenses’’ includes violations of tax laws, transacting in illegally derived proceeds, money laundering, racketeering, and other violations of criminal laws committed in con- nection with an act of sex trafficking or a se- vere form of trafficking in persons. (b) Multi-disciplinary approach required Grants under subsection (a) may be made only for programs in which the State or local law en- forcement agency works collaboratively with so- cial service providers and relevant nongovern- mental organizations, including organizations with experience in the delivery of services to persons who are the subject of trafficking in per- sons.