I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4365 

To require the Comptroller General of the United States to analyze certain 

legislation in order to prevent duplication of and overlap with existing 

Federal programs, offices, and initiatives. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 

Mr. MEADOWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committees on 

Rules, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Comptroller General of the United States 

to analyze certain legislation in order to prevent duplication of and overlap with existing Federal programs, offices, and initiatives. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Duplication Scoring 

5 Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ASSESSMENTS OF REPORTED BILLS BY GAO. 

2 Section 719 of title 31, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(i)(1) In this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered bill or resolution’ means 

6 a bill or joint resolution of a public character re7 ported by any committee of Congress (including the 

8 Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 

9 the Budget of either House); 

10 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 

11 the Congressional Budget Office; 

12 ‘‘(C) the term ‘existing duplicative or overlap13 ping feature’ means an element of the Federal Gov14 ernment previously identified in a GAO duplication 

15 and overlap report; 

16 ‘‘(D) the term ‘GAO duplication and overlap re17 port’ means each annual report prepared by the 

18 Comptroller General under section 21 of the Joint 

19 Resolution entitled ‘Joint Resolution increasing the 

20 statutory limit on the public debt’, approved Feb21 ruary 12, 2010 (31 U.S.C. 712 note); and 

22 ‘‘(E) the term ‘new duplicative or overlapping 

23 feature’ means a new Federal program, office, or 

24 initiative created under a covered bill or joint resolu25 tion that would duplicate or overlap with an existing 

26 duplicative or overlapping feature. 


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1 ‘‘(2) For each covered bill or joint resolution— 

2 ‘‘(A) the Comptroller General shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) prepare an assessment— 

4 ‘‘(I) to determine whether the covered 

5 bill or joint resolution creates a new dupli6 cative or overlapping feature; and 

7 ‘‘(II) if the covered bill or joint resolu8 tion creates a new duplicative or overlap9 ping feature, that includes— 

10 ‘‘(aa) the name of the new Fed11 eral program, office, or initiative; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) a reference to— 

13 ‘‘(AA) the section of the cov14 ered bill or joint resolution at 

15 which the new duplicative or 

16 overlapping feature is estab17 lished; and 

18 ‘‘(BB) the GAO duplication 

19 and overlap report in which the 

20 existing duplicative or overlap21 ping feature is identified; 

22 ‘‘(ii) submit the assessment prepared 

23 under clause (i) to the Director; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) publish the assessment prepared 

2 under clause (i) on the website of the Govern3 ment Accountability Office; and 

4 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (3), the Director 

5 may include the assessment submitted by the Comp6 troller General under subparagraph (A)(ii) with the 

7 estimate for the covered bill or joint resolution to 

8 which the assessment pertains submitted by the Di9 rector under section 402 of the Congressional Budg10 et Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 653). 

11 ‘‘(3) If the Comptroller General has not submitted 

12 to the Director an assessment for a covered bill or joint 

13 resolution under paragraph (2)(A)(ii) on the date on 

14 which the Director submits the estimate for the covered 

15 bill or joint resolution to which the assessment pertains 

16 under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

17 1974 (2 U.S.C. 653), the Director may, on the date on 

18 which the Comptroller General submits the assessment to 

19 the Director, prepare and submit to each applicable com20 mittee a version of the estimate for the covered bill or joint 

21 resolution that includes the assessment.’’. 

22 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 The amendment made by this Act shall take effect 

24 on the earlier of— 


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1 (1) the date that is 60 days after the date on 

2 which the Director of the Office of Management and 

3 Budget next, in accordance with section 1122(a) of 

4 title 31, United States Code, updates the informa5 tion made available on the website required under 

6 that section; or 

7 (2) the date on which a new Congress begins 

8 after the date that is 1 year after the date of enact9 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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