What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (the federal agency that manages government spending) to audit unobligated coronavirus-related funding (money that was set aside but not yet spent). Once the audit is complete, the bill automatically cancels all unspent coronavirus funding and sends that money to the general Treasury fund to reduce the federal deficit (the amount the government overspends each year).
Who It Affects
The Office of Management and Budget is directly affected and must conduct the audit. Any federal agency that received coronavirus-related funding is indirectly affected, as unspent money from their accounts will be rescinded (cancelled).
Key Provisions
* The Director of the Office of Management and Budget must complete an audit of unobligated coronavirus-related appropriations (money set aside by Congress) within 30 days of the bill becoming law and issue a report listing all unspent amounts (Sec. 2(a)(1))
* The audit must cover six specific laws passed to address the coronavirus pandemic, including the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Sec. 2(a)(2))
* All unobligated amounts identified in the audit report are automatically rescinded (cancelled) and deposited into the general Treasury fund exclusively for deficit reduction (Sec. 2(b))
What Changes
Any unspent coronavirus-related federal funding identified in the audit will be cancelled and redirected to reduce the federal deficit rather than remaining available for agencies to spend.
Important Definitions
Unobligated amounts: Money that Congress set aside for a specific purpose but was never committed to a contract or expense.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1011
To require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to conduct
an audit of any unobligated coronavirus-related funding and to rescind
all such funding, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Mr. FINSTAD (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. MANN, Mrs.
BOEBERT, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Mr. BURGESS, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr.
DONALDS, Ms. HAGEMAN, Ms. MACE, and Mr. WEBER of Texas) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Over-
sight and Accountability, and in addition to the Committee on Appropria-
tions, 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 Director of the Office of Management and
Budget to conduct an audit of any unobligated
coronavirus-related funding and to rescind all such fund-
ing, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Audit and Return It
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Act’’.
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•HR 1011 IH
SEC. 2. OMB AUDIT OF COVID FUNDING AND RESCISSION.
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(a) AUDIT.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after
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the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of
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the Office of Management and Budget shall conduct
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an audit of appropriations provided by provisions of
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law described in paragraph (2) and issue a report
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listing the unobligated amounts that remain avail-
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able under any such provision.
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(2) PROVISIONS
OF
LAW.—The provisions of
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law described in this paragraph are the following:
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(A) The Coronavirus Preparedness and
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Response Supplemental Appropriations Act,
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2020 (Public Law 116–123).
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(B) The Families First Coronavirus Re-
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sponse Act (Public Law 116–127).
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(C) The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Eco-
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nomic Security Act (Public Law 116–136).
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(D) The Paycheck Protection Program and
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Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law
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116–139).
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(E) Divisions M and N of the Consolidated
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Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–
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260).
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(F) The American Rescue Plan Act of
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2021 (Public Law 117–2).
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•HR 1011 IH
(b) RESCISSION.—On the date the report is issued
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under subsection (a)(1), all unobligated amounts listed in
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such report are hereby rescinded and shall be deposited
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into the general fund of the Treasury for the sole purpose
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of deficit reduction.
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Æ
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