Title: Duplication Scoring Act of 2019
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Duplication Scoring Act of 2019
This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to analyze legislation reported by a congressional committee in order to prevent duplication of and overlap with existing federal programs, offices, and initiatives.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4365 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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.

    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 2019''.

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 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 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 the Joint Resolution entitled `Joint Resolution 
        increasing the statutory limit on the public debt', approved 
        February 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 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--
                    ``(i) prepare an assessment--
                            ``(I) to determine whether the covered bill 
                        or joint resolution creates a new duplicative 
                        or overlapping feature; and
                            ``(II) if the covered bill or joint 
                        resolution creates a new duplicative or 
                        overlapping feature, that includes--
                                    ``(aa) the name of the new Federal 
                                program, office, or initiative; and
                                    ``(bb) a reference to--
                                            ``(AA) the section of the 
                                        covered bill or joint 
                                        resolution at which the new 
                                        duplicative or overlapping 
                                        feature is established; and
                                            ``(BB) the GAO duplication 
                                        and overlap report in which the 
                                        existing duplicative or 
                                        overlapping feature is 
                                        identified;
                    ``(ii) submit the assessment prepared under clause 
                (i) to the Director; and
                    ``(iii) publish the assessment prepared under 
                clause (i) on the website of the Government 
                Accountability Office; and
            ``(B) subject to paragraph (3), the Director may include 
        the assessment submitted by the Comptroller General under 
        subparagraph (A)(ii) with the estimate for the covered bill or 
        joint resolution to which the assessment 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 
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 committee 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--
            (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.
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