Duplication determinations by the Congressional Budget Office

(a) Definition In this section— (1) 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); (2) the term Director means the Director of the Congressional Budget Office; (3) 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; (4) 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 (5) 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. (b) Duplication determinations For each covered bill or joint resolution— (1) the Comptroller General of the United States shall, to the extent practicable— (A) 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; and (B) submit the information described in subparagraph (A) to the Director and the committee that reported the covered bill or joint resolution; and (C) publish the information prepared under subparagraph (A) on the website of the Government Accountability Office; and (2) subject to subsection (c), the Director may include the information submitted by the Comptroller General under paragraph (1)(B) 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). (c) Estimate by Director If the Comptroller General of the United States has not submitted to the Director the information for a covered bill or joint resolution under subsection (b)(1)(B) 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.