H.R. 1686: No More D.C. Waste Act

The proposed bill, titled the No More D.C. Waste Act, aims to modify how federal funds allocated for tuition support for District of Columbia residents are managed and reported. Below are the main components of the bill:

Prohibition on Unobligated Funds

The bill stipulates that any federal payment made to the District of Columbia for a resident tuition support program that remains unused (unobligated) by the end of the fiscal year will no longer be available for use in future years. This means that if the funds are not spent within the designated fiscal year, they will lapse and cannot be carried over.

Amendments to Existing Programs

The legislation includes amendments to the District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999, affecting both public and private school tuition support programs:

• Public School Program: The bill proposes to change the existing provision which allows unused funds for the public school tuition program to remain available until spent, thus eliminating this carryover option.
• Private School Program: Similarly, the provision for the private school tuition program that allowed funds to remain available until expended will also be removed.

Annual Reporting Requirements

The bill mandates that within 60 days after the end of each fiscal year, starting from fiscal year 2026, the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia must submit a report to Congress detailing the use of federal payments provided for resident tuition support.

• The report must include:
• The number of payments made on behalf of students during the fiscal year.
• The average amount of financial assistance given with each payment.
• The amount of federal payment that remained unobligated at the end of the fiscal year.

Effective Date

The changes outlined in the bill will apply to funds appropriated starting from the fiscal year 2016 and for any succeeding years thereafter.

Relevant Companies

None found