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 Com-
mittee 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 duplica-
tion of and overlap with existing Federal programs, of-
fices, and initiatives. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Duplication Scoring 
Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. ASSESSMENTS OF REPORTED BILLS BY GAO. 
Section 719 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(i)(1) In this subsection— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘covered bill or resolution’ means 
a bill or joint resolution of a public character re-
ported by any committee of Congress (including the 
Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
the Budget of either House); 
‘‘(B) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office; 
‘‘(C) the term ‘existing duplicative or overlap-
ping feature’ means an element of the Federal Gov-
ernment previously identified in a GAO duplication 
and overlap report; 
‘‘(D) the term ‘GAO duplication and overlap re-
port’ means each annual report prepared by the 
Comptroller General under section 21 of the Joint 
Resolution entitled ‘Joint Resolution increasing the 
statutory limit on the public debt’, approved Feb-
ruary 12, 2010 (31 U.S.C. 712 note); and 
‘‘(E) the term ‘new duplicative or overlapping 
feature’ means a new Federal program, office, or 
initiative created under a covered bill or joint resolu-
tion that would duplicate or overlap with an existing 
duplicative or overlapping feature. 
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‘‘(2) For each covered bill or joint resolution— 
‘‘(A) the Comptroller General shall— 
‘‘(i) prepare an assessment— 
‘‘(I) to determine whether the covered 
bill or joint resolution creates a new dupli-
cative or overlapping feature; and 
‘‘(II) if the covered bill or joint resolu-
tion creates a new duplicative or overlap-
ping feature, that includes— 
‘‘(aa) the name of the new Fed-
eral program, office, or initiative; and 
‘‘(bb) a reference to— 
‘‘(AA) the section of the cov-
ered bill or joint resolution at 
which the new duplicative or 
overlapping 
feature 
is 
estab-
lished; and 
‘‘(BB) the GAO duplication 
and overlap report in which the 
existing duplicative or overlap-
ping feature is identified; 
‘‘(ii) submit the assessment prepared 
under clause (i) to the Director; and 
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‘‘(iii) publish the assessment prepared 
under clause (i) on the website of the Govern-
ment Accountability Office; and 
‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (3), the Director 
may include the assessment submitted by the Comp-
troller General under subparagraph (A)(ii) with the 
estimate for the covered bill or joint resolution to 
which the assessment pertains submitted by the Di-
rector under section 402 of the Congressional Budg-
et Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 653). 
‘‘(3) If the Comptroller General has not submitted 
to the Director an assessment for a covered bill or joint 
resolution under paragraph (2)(A)(ii) on the date on 
which the Director submits the estimate for the covered 
bill or joint resolution to which the assessment pertains 
under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 (2 U.S.C. 653), the Director may, on the date on 
which the Comptroller General submits the assessment to 
the Director, prepare and submit to each applicable com-
mittee a version of the estimate for the covered bill or joint 
resolution that includes the assessment.’’. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendment made by this Act shall take effect 
on the earlier of— 
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(1) the date that is 60 days after the date on 
which the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget next, in accordance with section 1122(a) of 
title 31, United States Code, updates the informa-
tion made available on the website required under 
that section; or 
(2) the date on which a new Congress begins 
after the date that is 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
Æ 
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