42 U.S.C. § 12831 — Equal opportunity

Page 8480 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 12831 PART F—GENERAL PROVISIONS § 12831. Equal opportunity (a) Solicitation of contracts Each participating jurisdiction shall prescribe procedures acceptable to the Secretary to estab- lish and oversee a minority outreach program within each such jurisdiction to ensure the in- clusion, to the maximum extent possible, of mi- norities and women, and entities owned by mi- norities and women, including, without limita- tion, real estate firms, construction firms, ap- praisal firms, management firms, financial in- stitutions, investment banking firms, under- writers, accountants, and providers of legal services, in all contracts, entered into by the participating jurisdiction with such persons or entities, public and private, in order to facili- tate the activities of the participating jurisdic- tion to provide affordable housing authorized under this Act or any other Federal housing law applicable to such jurisdiction. (b) Report to Congress Before the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date the first allocation of funds is made under section 12747 of this title, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report containing a description of the actions taken by each par- ticipating jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (a) and such recommendations for administra- tive and legislative action as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate to carry out the purposes of such subsection. (Pub. L. 101–625, title II, § 281, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4125.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 101–625, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4079, known as the Cranston-Gon- zalez National Affordable Housing Act. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 12701 of this title and Tables. § 12832. Nondiscrimination No person in the United States shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex be excluded from participation in, be de- nied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimi- nation under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under this subchapter. Any prohibition against discrimination on the basis of age under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 [42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.] or with respect to an otherwise qualified handi- capped individual as provided in section 794 of title 29 shall also apply to any such program or activity. The Secretary may waive this section in connection with the use of funds made avail- able under this subchapter on lands set aside under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108). (Pub. L. 101–625, title II, § 282, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4125; Pub. L. 104–204, title II, § 213, Sept. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 2904.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, referred to in text, is title III of Pub. L. 94–135, Nov. 28, 1975, 89 Stat. 728, which is classified generally to chapter 76 (§ 6101 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under sec- tion 6101 of this title and Tables. The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, referred to in text, is act July 9, 1921, ch. 42, 42 Stat. 108, which was classified generally to sections 691 to 718 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions, and was omit- ted from the Code. AMENDMENTS 1996—Pub. L. 104–204 inserted at end ‘‘The Secretary may waive this section in connection with the use of funds made available under this subchapter on lands set aside under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108).’’ § 12833. Audits by Comptroller General (a) Audits of HOME Investment Partnerships program The Comptroller General, when the Comp- troller General deems it to be appropriate or when requested by the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate or the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Af- fairs of the House of Representatives, shall con- duct a full financial audit of the records of the HOME Investment Partnerships program for any fiscal year. The report of the Comptroller Gen- eral shall be submitted promptly to the Sec- retary and the Congress and shall be published. (b) Audits of recipients The financial transactions of participating ju- risdictions and of other recipients of funds pro- vided under this subchapter may, insofar as they relate to funds provided under this subchapter, be audited by the Government Accountability Office under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Comptroller General of the United States. The representatives of the Gov- ernment Accountability Office shall have access to all books, accounts, records, reports, files, and other papers, things, or property belonging to or in use by such recipients pertaining to such financial transactions and necessary to fa- cilitate the audit. (Pub. L. 101–625, title II, § 283, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4125; Pub. L. 103–233, title II, § 205, Apr. 11, 1994, 108 Stat. 364; Pub. L. 108–271, § 8(b), July 7, 2004, 118 Stat. 814.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2004—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 108–271 substituted ‘‘Govern- ment Accountability Office’’ for ‘‘General Accounting Office’’ in two places. 1994—Pub. L. 103–233, § 205(1), substituted ‘‘Audits by Comptroller General’’ for ‘‘Annual audits and account- ability’’ in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–233, § 205(4), struck out after first sentence ‘‘The initiation of an audit for a fiscal year under the previous sentence shall obviate the re- quirement for an audit by an independent accounting firm under paragraph (a) for that fiscal year.’’ Pub. L. 103–233, § 205(3)(B), (C), redesignated subsec. (b)(1) as (a) and realigned margins. Pub. L. 103–233, § 205(2), struck out heading and text of subsec. (a). Text read as follows: ‘‘The Secretary, ex-