[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 409 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 409


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 25, 1999

  Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To improve the effectiveness and performance of Federal financial 
assistance programs, simplify Federal financial assistance application 
and reporting requirements, and improve the delivery of services to the 
                                public.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Financial Assistance 
Management Improvement Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) there are over 600 different Federal financial 
        assistance programs to implement domestic policy;
            (2) while the assistance described in paragraph (1) has 
        been directed at critical problems, some Federal administrative 
        requirements may be duplicative, burdensome, or conflicting, 
        thus impeding cost-effective delivery of services at the local 
        level;
            (3) the Nation's State, local, and tribal governments and 
        private, nonprofit organizations are dealing with increasingly 
        complex problems which require the delivery and coordination of 
        many kinds of services; and
            (4) streamlining and simplification of Federal financial 
        assistance administrative procedures and reporting requirements 
        will improve the delivery of services to the public.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) improve the effectiveness and performance of Federal 
        financial assistance programs;
            (2) simplify Federal financial assistance application and 
        reporting requirements;
            (3) improve the delivery of services to the public; and
            (4) facilitate greater coordination among those responsible 
        for delivering such services.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
            (2) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' means any 
        agency as defined under section 551(1) of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (3) Federal financial assistance.--The term ``Federal 
        financial assistance'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code, under which 
        Federal financial assistance is provided, directly or 
        indirectly, to a non-Federal entity.
            (4) Local government.--The term ``local government'' means 
        a political subdivision of a State that is a unit of general 
        local government (as defined under section 7501(a)(11) of title 
        31, United States Code);
            (5) Non-federal entity.--The term ``non-Federal entity'' 
        means a State, local government, or nonprofit organization.
            (6) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
        organization'' means any corporation, trust, association, 
        cooperative, or other organization that--
                    (A) is operated primarily for scientific, 
                educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes 
                in the public interest;
                    (B) is not organized primarily for profit; and
                    (C) uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or 
                expand the operations of the organization.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust 
        Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any instrumentality 
        thereof, any multi-State, regional, or interstate entity which 
        has governmental functions, and any Indian Tribal Government.
            (8) Tribal government.--The term ``tribal government'' 
        means an Indian tribe, as that term is defined in section 
        7501(a)(9) of title 31, United States Code.
            (9) Uniform administrative rule.--The term ``uniform 
        administrative rule'' means a government-wide uniform rule for 
        any generally applicable requirement established to achieve 
        national policy objectives that applies to multiple Federal 
        financial assistance programs across Federal agencies.

SEC. 5. DUTIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, each Federal agency shall develop and implement 
a plan that--
            (1) streamlines and simplifies the application, 
        administrative, and reporting procedures for Federal financial 
        assistance programs administered by the agency;
            (2) demonstrates active participation in the interagency 
        process under section 6(a)(2);
            (3) demonstrates appropriate agency use, or plans for use, 
        of the common application and reporting system developed under 
        section 6(a)(1);
            (4) designates a lead agency official for carrying out the 
        responsibilities of the agency under this Act;
            (5) allows applicants to electronically apply for, and 
        report on the use of, funds from the Federal financial 
        assistance program administered by the agency in a manner not 
        inconsistent with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act 
        (title XVII of Public Law 105-277);
            (6) ensures recipients of Federal financial assistance 
        provide timely, complete, and high quality information in 
        response to Federal reporting requirements; and
            (7) establishes specific annual goals and objectives to 
        further the purposes of this Act and measure annual performance 
        in achieving those goals and objectives, which may be done as 
        part of the agency's annual planning responsibilities under the 
        provisions enacted in the Government Performance and Results 
        Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-62).
    (b) Extension.--If one or more agencies are unable to comply with 
the requirements of subsection (a), the Director shall report to the 
Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Government Reform of the House of Representatives the reasons for 
noncompliance. After consultation with such committees, the Director 
may extend the period for plan development and implementation for each 
noncompliant agency for up to 12 months.
    (c) Comment and Consultation on Agency Plans.--
            (1) Comment.--Each agency shall publish the plan developed 
        under subsection (a) in the Federal Register and shall receive 
        public comment of the plan through the Federal Register and 
        other means (including electronic means). To the maximum extent 
        practicable, each Federal agency shall hold public forums on 
        the plan.
            (2) Consultation.--The lead official designated under 
        subsection (a)(4) shall consult with representatives of non-
        Federal entities during development and implementation of the 
        plan. Consultation with representatives of State, local, and 
        tribal governments shall be in accordance with section 204 of 
        the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4; 2 
        U.S.C. 1534).
    (d) Submission of Plan.--Each Federal agency shall submit the plan 
developed under subsection (a) to the Director and Congress and report 
annually thereafter on the implementation of the plan and performance 
of the agency in meeting the goals and objectives specified under 
subsection (a)(7). Such report may be included as part of any of the 
general management reports required under law.
    (e) Department of Housing and Urban Development.--(1) Not later 
than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development shall develop and implement 
a plan that establishes policies and procedures regarding an applicant 
who has submitted an application for Federal financial assistance to 
the agency that includes a technical deficiency under which--
            (A) the applicant shall be notified promptly of the 
        deficiency and permitted to submit the appropriate information 
        to correct the deficiency within 7 days of receipt of notice by 
        the applicant of the deficiency, notwithstanding that the 
        deadline for submission of an application has expired;
            (B) the application shall continue to be considered by the 
        agency during the period before the applicant is notified and 
        the 7-day period during which the applicant is permitted to 
        correct the deficiency; and
            (C) if the applicant corrects the deficiency within the 7-
        day period, the agency shall continue to consider the 
        application.
    (2) A deficiency (including, but not limited to, a misfiling, 
error, or omission) may be considered technical for purposes of this 
subsection notwithstanding a material impact on the eligibility of an 
applicant or proposed activity for requested funding. A technical 
deficiency for purposes of this subsection does not include the failure 
to submit a substantially complete application by a deadline published 
in the Federal Register.

SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR.

    (a) In General.--The Director, in consultation with agency heads, 
and representatives of non-Federal entities, shall direct, coordinate 
and assist Federal agencies in establishing:
            (1)(A) a common application or set of common applications, 
        wherein a non-Federal entity can apply for Federal financial 
        assistance from multiple Federal financial assistance programs 
        that serve similar purposes and are administered by different 
        Federal agencies;
            (B) a common system, including electronic processes, 
        wherein a non-Federal entity can apply for, manage, and report 
        on the use of funding from multiple Federal financial 
        assistance programs that serve similar purposes and are 
        administered by different Federal agencies; and
            (C) uniform administrative rules for Federal financial 
        assistance programs across different Federal agencies.
            (2) An interagency process for addressing--
                    (A) ways to streamline and simplify Federal 
                financial assistance administrative procedures and 
                reporting requirements for non-Federal entities;
                    (B) improved interagency and intergovernmental 
                coordination of information collection and sharing of 
                data pertaining to Federal financial assistance 
                programs, including appropriate information sharing 
                consistent with the provisions in the Privacy Act of 
                1974 (Public Law 93-579); and
                    (C) improvements in the timeliness, completeness, 
                and quality of information received by Federal agencies 
                from recipients of Federal financial assistance.
    (b) Lead Agency and Working Groups.--The Director may designate a 
lead agency to assist the Director in carrying out the responsibilities 
under this section. The Director may use interagency working groups to 
assist in carrying out such responsibilities.
    (c) Review of Plans and Reports.--Agencies shall submit to the 
Director, upon his request and for his review, information and other 
reporting regarding their implementation of this Act.
    (d) Exemptions.--The Director may exempt any Federal agency or 
Federal financial assistance program from the requirements of this Act 
if the Director determines that the Federal agency does not have a 
significant number of Federal financial assistance programs. The 
Director shall maintain a list of exempted agencies which will be 
available to the public through the Internet site of the Office of 
Management and Budget.
    (e) Report on Recommended Changes in Law.--Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit 
to Congress a report containing recommendations for changes in law to 
improve the effectiveness and performance of Federal financial 
assistance programs.

SEC. 7. EVALUATION.

    (a) In General.--The Director (or the lead agency designated under 
section 6(b)) shall contract with the National Academy of Public 
Administration to evaluate the effectiveness of this Act. Not later 
than 4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
evaluation shall be submitted to the lead agency, the Director, and 
Congress. The evaluation shall be performed with input from State, 
local, and tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations.
    (b) Contents.--The evaluation under subsection (a) shall--
            (1) assess the effectiveness of this Act in meeting the 
        purposes of this Act and make specific recommendations to 
        further the implementation of this Act;
            (2) evaluate actual performance of each agency in achieving 
        the goals and objectives stated in agency plans;
            (3) assess the level of coordination among the Director, 
        Federal agencies, State, local, and tribal governments, and 
        nonprofit organizations in implementing this Act.

SEC. 8. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent the Director or 
any Federal agency from gathering, or to exempt any recipient of 
Federal financial assistance from providing, information that is 
required for review of the financial integrity or quality of services 
of an activity assisted by a Federal financial assistance program.

SEC. 9. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    There shall be no judicial review of compliance or noncompliance 
with any of the provisions of this Act. No provision of this Act shall 
be construed to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
enforceable by any administrative or judicial action.

SEC. 10. STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed as a means to deviate from 
the statutory requirements relating to applicable Federal financial 
assistance programs.

SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE AND SUNSET.

    This Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act 
and shall cease to be effective five years after such date of 
enactment.

SEC. 12. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

    It is the sense of the Congress that Federal agencies, in providing 
Federal financial assistance for the purpose of economic development, 
should focus primarily on communities with high poverty and 
unemployment rates.

            Passed the House of Representatives February 24, 1999.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.