Mike Levin: “as a cosponsor of the Single Audit Act amendments, I am pleased that the Senate is considering this legislation today.…”

“as a cosponsor of the Single Audit Act amendments, I am pleased that the Senate is considering this legislation today. S. 1579 would improve accountability over Federal assistance provided to State and local governments. The Single Audit Act of 1984 created a uniform requirement for Federal audits of individual State and local programs which received Federal assistance. It also provided a comprehensive, organizationwide approach to single audits. While the act has been a key factor in the improvement of government financial management practices, we have learned alot since the enactment of the act and the passage of time has revealed the need for changes. This bill amends the 1984 act to further reduce unnecessary audit burdens on State and local governments and nonprofit organizations while ensuring accountability and oversight of the use of Federal funds. The bill would place State and local governments, colleges and universities, and other nonprofit grantees under the same single audit process. This would allow the Office of Management and Budget to develop uniform guidelines and auditing requirements. Second, the bill increases the dollar threshold that triggers the requirement for a single audit, from $100,000 to $300,000. This change would reduce audit costs while only minimally reducing audit coverage of Federal program expenditures. We would be able to still achieve the goal of 95 percent audit coverage, which was originally included in the 1984 act.”