Duplication Scoring Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.4742 | Sponsor: Rep. Bourdeaux, Carolyn (D-GA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Duplication Scoring Act of 2021
This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to analyze legislation reported by a congressional committee and report on whether the legislation would create a risk of a new duplicative or overlapping program, office, or initiative in an area previously identified as an area of duplication, overlap, or fragmentation.

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Duplication Scoring Act of 2021''.

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 joint resolution' means a 
        bill or joint resolution of a public character reported 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 overlapping 
        feature' means an element of the Federal Government previously 
        identified as an area of duplication, overlap, or fragmentation 
        in a GAO duplication and overlap report;
            ``(D) the term `GAO duplication and overlap report' means 
        each annual report prepared by the Comptroller General under 
        section 21 of Public Law 111-139 (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 resolution that would duplicate 
        or overlap with an existing duplicative or overlapping feature.
    ``(2) For each covered bill or joint resolution--
            ``(A) the Comptroller General shall, to the extent 
        practicable--
                    ``(i) determine the extent to which the covered 
                bill or joint resolution creates a risk of a new 
                duplicative or overlapping feature and, if the risk so 
                warrants, identify--
                            ``(I) the name of the new Federal program, 
                        office, or initiative;
                            ``(II) the section of the covered bill or 
                        joint resolution at which the new duplicative 
                        or overlapping feature is established; and
                            ``(III) the GAO duplication and overlap 
                        report in which the existing duplicative or 
                        overlapping feature is identified;
                    ``(ii) submit the information described in clause 
                (i) to the Director and the committee that reported the 
                covered bill or joint resolution; and
                    ``(iii) publish the information prepared under 
                clause (i) on the website of the Government 
                Accountability Office; and
            ``(B) subject to paragraph (3), the Director may include 
        the information submitted by the Comptroller General under 
        subparagraph (A)(ii) as a supplement to the estimate for the 
        covered bill or joint resolution to which the information 
        pertains submitted by the Director under section 402 of the 
        Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 653).
    ``(3) If the Comptroller General has not submitted to the Director 
the information 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 information 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 information to the Director, prepare and submit to each 
applicable committee the information as a supplement to the estimate 
for the covered bill or joint resolution.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendment made by this Act shall take effect on the earlier 
of--
            (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 information 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 enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>