6 U.S.C. § 612 — Accountability

Page 313 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 612 case may be, shall be a representative group of individuals from the counties, cities, towns, and Indian tribes within the State or high-risk urban area, including, as appro- priate, representatives of rural, high-popu- lation, and high-threat jurisdictions. (3) Existing planning committees Nothing in this subsection may be construed to require that any State or high-risk urban area create a State planning committee or urban area working group, as the case may be, if that State or high-risk urban area has es- tablished and uses a multijurisdictional plan- ning committee or commission that meets the requirements of this subsection. (c) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that, in order to en- sure that the Nation is most effectively able to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and re- spond to all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disas- ters— (1) the Department should administer a co- herent and coordinated system of both ter- rorism-focused and all-hazards grants; (2) there should be a continuing and appro- priate balance between funding for terrorism- focused and all-hazards preparedness, as re- flected in the authorizations of appropriations for grants under the amendments made by ti- tles I and II, as applicable, of the Imple- menting Recommendations of the 9/11 Com- mission Act of 2007; and (3) with respect to terrorism-focused grants, it is necessary to ensure both that the target capabilities of the highest risk areas are achieved quickly and that basic levels of pre- paredness, as measured by the attainment of target capabilities, are achieved nationwide. (Pub. L. 107–296, title XX, § 2021, as added Pub. L. 110–53, title I, § 101, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 285; amended Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title XIX, § 1911, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2682; Pub. L. 115–278, § 2(g)(7)(C), Nov. 16, 2018, 132 Stat. 4180.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- gency Assistance Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 93–288, May 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 143. Section 203 of the Act is classified to section 5133 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. Titles IV and V of the Act are clas- sified generally to subchapters IV (§ 5170 et seq.) and IV–A (§ 5191 et seq.), respectively, of chapter 68 of Title 42. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 5121 of Title 42 and Tables. The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Com- mission Act of 2007, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is Pub. L. 110–53, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 266. Title I of the Act enacted this subchapter and amended sections 318, 321a, 594, 596, and 752 of this title. Title II of the Act amended section 762 of this title and section 5196c of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classi- fication of titles I and II to the Code, see Tables. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 115–278 redesignated subsec. (d) as (c) and struck out former subsec. (c). Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) related to interagency coordination. 2016—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 114–328 amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) related to planning committees to assist in preparation and revi- sion of State, regional, or local homeland security plans, and to assist in determining effective funding priorities for grants under sections 604 and 605 of this title. § 612. Accountability (a) Audits of grant programs (1) Compliance requirements (A) Audit requirement Each recipient of a grant administered by the Department that expends not less than $500,000 in Federal funds during its fiscal year shall submit to the Administrator a copy of the organization-wide financial and compliance audit report required under chapter 75 of title 31. (B) Access to information The Department and each recipient of a grant administered by the Department shall provide the Comptroller General and any of- ficer or employee of the Government Ac- countability Office with full access to infor- mation regarding the activities carried out related to any grant administered by the De- partment. (C) Improper payments Consistent with subchapter IV of chapter 33 of title 31, for each of the grant programs under sections 604 and 605 of this title and section 762 of this title, the Administrator shall specify policies and procedures for— (i) identifying activities funded under any such grant program that are suscep- tible to significant improper payments; and (ii) reporting any improper payments to the Department. (2) Agency program review (A) In general Not less than once every 2 years, the Ad- ministrator shall conduct, for each State and high-risk urban area receiving a grant administered by the Department, a pro- grammatic and financial review of all grants awarded by the Department to prevent, pre- pare for, protect against, or respond to nat- ural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters, excluding assistance provided under section 203, title IV, or title V of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133, 5170 et seq., and 5191 et seq.). (B) Contents Each review under subparagraph (A) shall, at a minimum, examine— (i) whether the funds awarded were used in accordance with the law, program guid- ance, and State homeland security plans or other applicable plans; and (ii) the extent to which funds awarded enhanced the ability of a grantee to pre- vent, prepare for, protect against, and re- spond to natural disasters, acts of ter- rorism, and other man-made disasters. Page 314 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 612 (C) Authorization of appropriations In addition to any other amounts author- ized to be appropriated to the Adminis- trator, there are authorized to be appro- priated to the Administrator for reviews under this paragraph— (i) $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010; and (ii) such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2011, and each fiscal year thereafter. (3) Performance assessment In order to ensure that States and high-risk urban areas are using grants administered by the Department appropriately to meet target capabilities and preparedness priorities, the Administrator shall— (A) ensure that any such State or high- risk urban area conducts or participates in exercises under section 748(b) of this title; (B) use performance metrics in accordance with the comprehensive assessment system under section 749 of this title and ensure that any such State or high-risk urban area regularly tests its progress against such metrics through the exercises required under subparagraph (A); (C) use the remedial action management program under section 750 of this title; and (D) ensure that each State receiving a grant administered by the Department sub- mits a report to the Administrator on its level of preparedness, as required by section 752(c) of this title. (4) Consideration of assessments In conducting program reviews and perform- ance audits under paragraph (2), the Adminis- trator and the Inspector General of the De- partment shall take into account the perform- ance assessment elements required under paragraph (3). (5) Recovery audits The Administrator shall conduct a recovery audit under section 3352(i) of title 31 for any grant administered by the Department with a total value of not less than $1,000,000, if the Administrator finds that— (A) a financial audit has identified im- proper payments that can be recouped; and (B) it is cost effective to conduct a recov- ery audit to recapture the targeted funds. (6) Remedies for noncompliance (A) In general If, as a result of a review or audit under this subsection or otherwise, the Adminis- trator finds that a recipient of a grant under this subchapter has failed to substantially comply with any provision of law or with any regulations or guidelines of the Depart- ment regarding eligible expenditures, the Administrator shall— (i) reduce the amount of payment of grant funds to the recipient by an amount equal to the amount of grants funds that were not properly expended by the recipi- ent; (ii) limit the use of grant funds to pro- grams, projects, or activities not affected by the failure to comply; (iii) refer the matter to the Inspector General of the Department for further in- vestigation; (iv) terminate any payment of grant funds to be made to the recipient; or (v) take such other action as the Admin- istrator determines appropriate. (B) Duration of penalty The Administrator shall apply an appro- priate penalty under subparagraph (A) until such time as the Administrator determines that the grant recipient is in full compliance with the law and with applicable guidelines or regulations of the Department. (b) Reports by grant recipients (1) Quarterly reports on homeland security spending (A) In general As a condition of receiving a grant under section 604 or 605 of this title, a State, high- risk urban area, or directly eligible tribe shall, not later than 30 days after the end of each Federal fiscal quarter, submit to the Administrator a report on activities per- formed using grant funds during that fiscal quarter. (B) Contents Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall at a minimum include, for the ap- plicable State, high-risk urban area, or di- rectly eligible tribe, and each subgrantee thereof— (i) the amount obligated to that recipi- ent under section 604 or 605 of this title in that quarter; (ii) the amount of funds received and ex- pended under section 604 or 605 of this title by that recipient in that quarter; and (iii) a summary description of expendi- tures made by that recipient using such funds, and the purposes for which such ex- penditures were made. (C) End-of-year report The report submitted under subparagraph (A) by a State, high-risk urban area, or di- rectly eligible tribe relating to the last quarter of any fiscal year shall include— (i) the amount and date of receipt of all funds received under the grant during that fiscal year; (ii) the identity of, and amount provided to, any subgrantee for that grant during that fiscal year; (iii) the amount and the dates of dis- bursements of all such funds expended in compliance with section 611(a)(1) of this title or under mutual aid agreements or other sharing arrangements that apply within the State, high-risk urban area, or directly eligible tribe, as applicable, dur- ing that fiscal year; and (iv) how the funds were used by each re- cipient or subgrantee during that fiscal year. (2) Annual report Any State applying for a grant under section 605 of this title shall submit to the Adminis- Page 315 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 613 trator annually a State preparedness report, as required by section 752(c) of this title. (c) Reports by the Administrator (1) Federal Preparedness Report The Administrator shall submit to the ap- propriate committees of Congress annually the Federal Preparedness Report required under section 752(a) of this title. (2) Risk assessment (A) In general For each fiscal year, the Administrator shall provide to the appropriate committees of Congress a detailed and comprehensive ex- planation of the methodologies used to cal- culate risk and compute the allocation of funds for grants administered by the Depart- ment, including— (i) all variables included in the risk as- sessment and the weights assigned to each such variable; (ii) an explanation of how each such variable, as weighted, correlates to risk, and the basis for concluding there is such a correlation; and (iii) any change in the methodologies from the previous fiscal year, including changes in variables considered, weighting of those variables, and computational methods. (B) Classified annex The information required under subpara- graph (A) shall be provided in unclassified form to the greatest extent possible, and may include a classified annex if necessary. (C) Deadline For each fiscal year, the information re- quired under subparagraph (A) shall be pro- vided on the earlier of— (i) October 31; or (ii) 30 days before the issuance of any program guidance for grants administered by the Department. (3) Tribal funding report At the end of each fiscal year, the Adminis- trator shall submit to the appropriate com- mittees of Congress a report setting forth the amount of funding provided during that fiscal year to Indian tribes under any grant program administered by the Department, whether pro- vided directly or through a subgrant from a State or high-risk urban area. (Pub. L. 107–296, title XX, § 2022, as added Pub. L. 110–53, title I, § 101, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 287; amended Pub. L. 111–204, § 2(h)(6)(B)(iii), July 22, 2010, 124 Stat. 2231; Pub. L. 113–284, § 2(c)(1), (2), Dec. 18, 2014, 128 Stat. 3089; Pub. L. 116–117, § 3(b)(2), Mar. 2, 2020, 134 Stat. 133.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- gency Assistance Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(2)(A), is Pub. L. 93–288, May 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 143. Section 203 of the Act is classified to section 5133 of Title 42, The Pub- lic Health and Welfare. Titles IV and V of the Act are classified generally to subchapters IV (§ 5170 et seq.) and IV–A (§ 5191 et seq.), respectively, of chapter 68 of Title 42. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 5121 of Title 42 and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2020—Subsec. (a)(1)(C). Pub. L. 116–117, § 3(b)(2)(A), substituted ‘‘Consistent with subchapter IV of chapter 33 of title 31’’ for ‘‘Consistent with the Improper Pay- ments Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note)’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 116–117, § 3(b)(2)(B), substituted ‘‘section 3352(i) of title 31’’ for ‘‘section 2(h) of the Im- proper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note)’’ in introductory provisions. 2014—Subsec. (a)(3) to (7). Pub. L. 113–284 redesignated pars. (4) to (7) as (3) to (6), respectively, substituted, in par. (4), ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ for ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3)’’ and ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (4)’’, and struck out former par. (3) which related to Office of Inspector Gen- eral performance audits. 2010—Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 111–204 substituted ‘‘under section 2(h) of the Improper Payments Elimi- nation and Recovery Act of 2010 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note)’’ for ‘‘(as that term is defined by the Director of the Of- fice of Management and Budget under section 3561 of title 31)’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2014 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 113–284, § 2(c)(3), Dec. 18, 2014, 128 Stat. 3090, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this sub- section [amending this section] shall take effect on January 1, 2015.’’ § 613. Identification of reporting redundancies and development of performance metrics (a) Definition In this section, the term ‘‘covered grants’’ means grants awarded under section 604 of this title, grants awarded under section 605 of this title, and any other grants specified by the Ad- ministrator. (b) Initial report Not later than 90 days after October 12, 2010, the Administrator shall submit to the appro- priate committees of Congress a report that in- cludes— (1) an assessment of redundant reporting re- quirements imposed by the Administrator on State, local, and tribal governments in con- nection with the awarding of grants, includ- ing— (A) a list of each discrete item of data re- quested by the Administrator from grant re- cipients as part of the process of admin- istering covered grants; (B) identification of the items of data from the list described in subparagraph (A) that are required to be submitted by grant recipi- ents on multiple occasions or to multiple systems; and (C) identification of the items of data from the list described in subparagraph (A) that are not necessary to be collected in order for the Administrator to effectively and effi- ciently administer the programs under which covered grants are awarded; (2) a plan, including a specific timetable, for eliminating any redundant and unnecessary reporting requirements identified under para- graph (1); and