II 

Calendar No. 216 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2183 

[Report No. 116–113] 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 18, 2019 

Mr. PAUL (for himself, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. LANKFORD, and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with amendments and an amendment to the title 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Act of 2019’’. 

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

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

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(i)(1) In this subsection— 

8 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered bill or joint resolution’ 

9 means a bill or joint resolution of a public character 

10 reported by any committee of Congress (including 

11 the Committee on Appropriations and the Com12 mittee on the Budget of either House); 

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

14 the Congressional Budget Office; 

15 ‘‘(C) the term ‘existing duplicative or overlap16 ping feature’ means an element of the Federal Gov17 ernment previously identified as an area of duplica18 tion, overlap, or fragmentation in a GAO duplication 

19 and overlap report; 

20 ‘‘(D) the term ‘GAO duplication and overlap re21 port’ means each annual report prepared by the 

22 Comptroller General under section 21 of the Joint 

23 Resolution entitled ‘Joint Resolution increasing the 

24 statutory limit on the public debt’, approved Feb25 ruary 12, 2010 Public Law 111–139 (31 U.S.C. 712 

26 note); and 


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

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

3 initiative created under a covered bill or joint resolu4 tion that would duplicate or overlap with an existing 

5 duplicative or overlapping feature. 

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

7 ‘‘(A) the Comptroller General shall, to the extent 

8 practicable— 

9 ‘‘(i) prepare an assessment— 

10 ‘‘(I) to determine whether the covered 

11 bill or joint resolution creates a new dupli12 cative or overlapping feature; and 

13 ‘‘(II) if the covered bill or joint resolu14 tion creates a new duplicative or overlap15 ping feature, that includes— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the name of the new Fed17 eral program, office, or initiative; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) a reference to— 

19 ‘‘(AA) the section of the cov20 ered bill or joint resolution at 

21 which the new duplicative or 

22 overlapping feature is estab23 lished; and 

24 ‘‘(BB) the GAO duplication 

25 and overlap report in which the 


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1 existing duplicative or overlap2 ping feature is identified; 

3 ‘‘(ii) submit the assessment prepared 

4 under clause (i) to the Director; and 

5 ‘‘(i) determine the extent to which the cov6 ered bill or joint resolution creates a risk of a 

7 new duplicative or overlapping feature and, if 

8 the risk so warrants, identify— 

9 ‘‘(I) the name of the new Federal pro10 gram, office, or initiative; 

11 ‘‘(II) the section of the covered bill or 

12 joint resolution at which the new duplica13 tive or overlapping feature is established; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(III) the GAO duplication and over16 lap report in which the existing duplicative 

17 or overlapping feature is identified; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) submit the information described in 

19 clause (i) to the Director and the committee that 

20 reported the covered bill or joint resolution; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) publish the assessment information 

22 prepared under clause (i) on the website of the 

23 Government Accountability Office; and 

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

25 may include the assessment information submitted 


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1 by the Comptroller General under subparagraph 

2 (A)(ii) with as a supplement to the estimate for the 

3 covered bill or joint resolution to which the assess4 ment information pertains submitted by the Director 

5 under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act 

6 of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 653). 

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

8 to the Director an assessment the information for a cov9 ered bill or joint resolution under paragraph (2)(A)(ii) on 

10 the date on which the Director submits the estimate for 

11 the covered bill or joint resolution to which the assessment 

12 information pertains under section 402 of the Congres13 sional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 653), the Director 

14 may, on the date on which the Comptroller General sub15 mits the assessment information to the Director, prepare 

16 and submit to each applicable committee a version of the 

17 estimate for the covered bill or joint resolution that in18 cludes the assessment. the information as a supplement to 

19 the estimate for the covered bill or joint resolution.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

21 The amendment made by this Act shall take effect 

22 on the earlier of— 

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

24 which the Director of the Office of Management and 

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


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1 title 31, United States Code, updates the informa2 tion made available on the website required under 

3 that section; or 

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

5 after the date that is 1 year after the date of enact6 ment of this Act. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to require the 

Comptroller General of the United States to review certain legislation in order to identify potential risks of duplication of and overlap with existing Federal programs, 

offices, and initiatives.’’. 


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pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 216 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2183 

[Report No. 116–113] 

A BILL 

To require the Comptroller General of the United 

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

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 

Reported with amendments and an amendment to the 

title 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS