NeighborWorks Accountability Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The NeighborWorks Accountability Act strengthens oversight of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, also known as NeighborWorks America. It amends title 5 to include the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation among entities with an Inspector General. It amends the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act to authorize whatever appropriations are necessary for the corporation Office of Inspector General to carry out the Act. At the same time, it bars transferring program operating responsibilities to the OIG, including organizational assessments work and grantee oversight functions, preserving those duties within corporation management. It also replaces the current audit provision with an annual independent external audit requirement. Those audits must be conducted under generally accepted auditing standards by independent certified public accountants certified by the relevant jurisdiction, even if the OIG performs other audit work.
Who Benefits and How
The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Office of Inspector General benefits from statutory recognition and appropriations authority. Congressional overseers and taxpayers benefit from annual independent audits and clearer separation between OIG oversight and program operations. Housing counseling grantees benefit indirectly from clearer accountability rules at the corporation that funds and oversees community development and housing programs. Independent certified public accountants benefit from a recurring external audit requirement.
Who Bears the Burden and How
NeighborWorks management and program staff must operate under stronger OIG and annual audit oversight while retaining organizational assessments and grantee oversight responsibilities. The OIG must avoid taking over program operations even as it gains oversight authority. Corporation finance staff must support annual independent audits. Federal appropriators and taxpayers must fund the OIG as necessary.
Key Provisions
- Adds the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation to the title 5 Inspector General entity list.
- Authorizes appropriations as necessary for the corporation Office of Inspector General.
- Prohibits transfer of corporation program operating responsibilities to the Office of Inspector General.
- Requires annual independent external audits under generally accepted auditing standards.
- Requires independent certified public accountants to conduct those annual audits.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Adds the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation to the Inspector General Act framework, authorizes appropriations for its Office of Inspector General, protects program operating functions from transfer to that office, and requires annual independent external audits.
Key Policy Areas
Housing, Government Oversight, Financial Accountability
Primary Purpose
Adds the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation to the Inspector General Act framework, authorizes appropriations for its Office of Inspector General, protects program operating functions from transfer to that office, and requires annual independent external audits.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation OIG
- Congressional overseers
- Taxpayers
- Housing counseling grantees
- Independent certified public accountants
Identified Costs
- NeighborWorks management
- NeighborWorks program staff
- Corporation finance staff
- Federal appropriators
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Walkinshaw introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition …
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Congressional overseers, NeighborWorks management, NeighborWorks program staff
Positive-direction: Congressional overseers, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation OIG
Negative-direction: NeighborWorks management, NeighborWorks program staff
Independent certified public accountants
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology