AUDITS.

SEC. 566. AUDITS. Section 5 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d), as amended by the preceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by inserting after subsection (g) the following new subsection: “(h) Audits.— “(1) By secretary and comptroller general.— Each contract for contributions for any assistance under this Act to a public housing agency shall provide that the Secretary, the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, shall, for the purpose of audit and examination, have access to any books, documents, papers, and records of the public housing agency that are pertinent to this Act and to its operations with respect to financial assistance under the this Act. “(2) Withholding of amounts for audits under single audit act.— The Secretary may, in the sole discretion of the Secretary, arrange for and pay the costs of an audit required under chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code. In such circumstances, the Secretary may withhold, from assistance otherwise payable to the agency under this Act, amounts sufficient to pay for the reasonable costs of conducting an acceptable audit, including, when appropriate, the reasonable costs of accounting services necessary to place the agency’s books and records in auditable condition. As agreed to by the Secretary and the Inspector General, the Inspector General may arrange for an audit under this paragraph.”.