[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5775 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5775

  To require the establishment of a commission on earmark reform, to 
   consolidate and streamline the grants management structure of the 
              Federal Government, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 19, 2010

  Mr. Sestak introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the 
  Committees on the Budget and Rules, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the establishment of a commission on earmark reform, to 
   consolidate and streamline the grants management structure of the 
              Federal Government, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Grant Accessibility and Transparency 
Enhancement Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON EARMARK REFORM.

    (a) Establishment.--The President shall establish a commission to 
be known as the ``National Commission on Earmark Reform'' (in this 
section referred to as the ``Commission''.
    (b) Duties of Commission.--The duties of the Commission are--
            (1) to study the laws and practices related to replacing 
        earmarks with a full grant-making process; and
            (2) to develop a proposed plan that includes objectives, 
        priorities, policies, and long-term plans to transition from 
        congressional member-directed earmarks to a grant-making 
        process.
    (c) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of--
            (1) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
        who shall be the chairman of the Commission; and
            (2) such other members as the President may appoint, after 
        consultation with the majority and minority leadership of the 
        Senate and the House of Representatives.
    (d) Expert Grant Award Panels.--In carrying out its duties, the 
Commission shall propose legislative or regulatory changes to implement 
a grant-making application and review process modeled after the 
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, under which a panel of subject area experts 
(including representatives of the Federal agency with appropriate 
jurisdiction) receives, reviews, and awards grant funding on a merit-
based system. At a minimum, the Commission shall propose changes that 
establish rules for--
            (1) the review and reporting of grant applications and 
        awards;
            (2) hardship exemptions from specific reporting or 
        application requirements; and
            (3) recommended changes in law to support the 
        implementation of expert grant award panels.
    (e) Consolidation and Streamlining of Grants Management 
Structure.--In carrying out its duties, the Commission shall propose 
legislative or regulatory changes to implement a specific governance 
structure for all grant functions, including grants management, within 
the Federal Government. At a minimum, the Commission shall propose 
changes for ensuring that the activities at Grants.gov and the policy 
recommendations of the Grants Policy Committee (of the Chief Financial 
Officers Council) are connected, by proposing the establishment of an 
Office of Grant Making within the Office of Management and Budget to 
cover all grants activity of the Federal Government, including the 
management of Grants.gov. The Commission shall include, at a minimum, 
in its recommendations regarding the Office of Grant Making, the 
following:
            (1) The Office should have an advisory committee that 
        includes representation from elected local, State, Federal and 
        tribal governments, institutions of higher education, vendors, 
        and non-profits.
            (2) The meetings of the advisory committee should be 
        conducted in an open and transparent way.
            (3) The Office should review all grant programs, including 
        the implementation of the expert grant award panels, and ensure 
        the consistency of audits of grant programs.
    (f) Involvement of Stakeholders.--In carrying out its duties, the 
Commission shall propose legislative or regulatory changes to involve 
non-Federal participants in the grant-making process, including 
involvement through--
            (1) consultation with representatives of elected local, 
        State, and tribal governments, institutions of higher 
        education, vendors, non-profits, and other non-Federal 
        participants as early as possible to get their input on any 
        effort by the Federal Government to change or improve proposed 
        grant products, including new forms and formats, and or to 
        change or improve the tracking and reporting of Federal fund 
        data; and
            (2) participation and collaboration in the development of a 
        training and certification program for grants management 
        professionals.
    (g) Operations of Commission.--In carrying out its duties, the 
Commission shall--
            (1) operate a publicly accessible Web site and make 
        available information about the Commission, including its 
        membership and the report required under subsection (h);
            (2) hold 8 public hearings before publication of the report 
        required under subsection (h); and
            (3) provide for a period of 45 days immediately before 
        publication of the report required under subsection (h) for 
        submission of comments and recommendations from private and 
        public groups and individuals.
    (h) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall--
            (1) submit to Congress a report containing the plan 
        developed under subsection (b) and its findings and 
        recommendations; and
            (2) publish the report on the Commission's publicly 
        accessible Web site.
    (i) Appropriations.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
$1,000,000 for the Commission to carry out this section.

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF GRANT MAKING.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the publication of 
the Commission report under section 2(h), the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall establish an office within the Office of 
Management and Budget to be known as the ``Office of Grant Making'' (in 
this section referred to as the ``Office'').
    (b) Director.--The Office shall be overseen by a Director, who 
shall be designated from among Federal officers and employees by the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
    (c) Functions.--
            (1) In general.--The Office and Director shall--
                    (A) in consultation with agency heads, 
                representatives of local, State and Federal Government, 
                and other non-Federal entities, direct and coordinate 
                the development of the expert grant award panels 
                (referred to in section 2) and the specific 
                recommendations of the National Commission on Earmark 
                Reform; and
                    (B) be responsible for maintaining Grants.gov, in 
                accordance with section 5.
            (2) Additional responsibilities.--The Director shall also 
        support Federal agencies in establishing--
                    (A) a common grant application and reporting 
                system; and
                    (B) an interagency process for addressing the 
                following:
                            (i) Ways to streamline and simplify Federal 
                        grant administrative procedures and reporting 
                        requirements for non-Federal entities.
                            (ii) Improved interagency and 
                        intergovernmental coordination of information 
                        collection and sharing of data pertaining to 
                        Federal grants.
                            (iii) Improvements in the timeliness, 
                        completeness, and quality of information 
                        received by Federal agencies from recipients of 
                        Federal grants.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $30,000,000 for fiscal years 2011 through 2013 for 
purposes of establishing and operating the Office.

SEC. 4. STREAMLINING OF ROLE OF FEDERAL AGENCIES IN GRANT MAKING 
              PROCESS.

    (a) Requirement for Plan.--Not later than 180 days 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 grants 
        administered by the agency;
            (2) demonstrates a process to actively participate in the 
        expert grants awards panels referred to in section 2;
            (3) demonstrates appropriate agency use, or plans for use, 
        of a common grant application and reporting system;
            (4) designates a lead agency official for carrying out the 
        responsibilities of the agency under this Act;
            (5) allows grant applicants to electronically apply for, 
        and report on the use of funds from, the Federal grants 
        administered by the agency;
            (6) ensures recipients of Federal grants provide timely, 
        complete, and high-quality information in response to Federal 
        reporting requirements; and
            (7) in cooperation with recipients of Federal grants, 
        establishes specific annual goals and objectives to further the 
        purposes of this Act and measures annual performance in 
        achieving those goals and objectives.
    (b) Extension.--If a Federal agency is unable to comply with 
subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may 
extend for up to 30 days the period for the agency to develop and 
implement a plan.
    (c) Comment and Consultation on Agency Plans.--
            (1) Comment.--Each agency shall publish the plan developed 
        under this section in the Federal Register and receive public 
        comment on 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 by each 
        Agency shall consult with representatives of State, local, and 
        tribal governments, and other non-Federal entities, during 
        development and implementation of the plan.
    (d) Submission of Plan.--Each Federal agency shall submit the plan 
developed under this section to the Director of the Office of Grant 
Making and Congress and report annually thereafter on the 
implementation of the plan and performance of the agency in meeting the 
requirements for the plan specified in subsection (a).

SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF THE USE AND FUNCTIONALITY OF GRANTS.GOV.

    (a) Transfer to Office of Grant Making.--The Director of the Office 
of Grant Making shall be responsible for maintaining Grants.gov.
    (b) Requirement To Post All Grants.--All Federal grants, both 
formula and discretionary, from all grant-making agencies shall be 
posted on Grants.gov.
    (c) Duplicative Hard Copy Applications Not Required.--Grant 
applications in hard copy that are duplicative of applications 
submitted electronically shall not be required from grant applicants.
    (d) Expansion of Functionality.--The Director of the Office of 
Grant Making shall ensure that Grants.gov is able to handle the 
following functions:
            (1) Finding grants.
            (2) Applying for grants.
            (3) Submitting and receiving grant applications.
            (4) Sending grant award notifications and other documents.
            (5) Submitting and receiving post-grant-award management 
        reports.
            (6) Closeout tools related to grants.
            (7) Grant award tracking.
            (8) Training and technical assistance, as described in 
        subsection (f).
    (e) Avoidance of Duplication With USASpending.gov.--The Director of 
the Office of Grant Making shall ensure that duplication of effort and 
dual systems related to online Federal grant activity are no longer in 
effect by merging USASpending.gov into Grants.gov. Other Federal 
agencies shall cooperate to the extent necessary to assist the Director 
in carrying out this subsection.
    (f) Training and Other Technical Assistance.--The Director shall 
ensure that Grants.gov includes technical assistance information and 
resources, including--
            (1) online or recorded training sessions conducted by other 
        Federal agencies;
            (2) online or recorded training sessions on how to use 
        Grants.gov; and
            (3) such other technical assistance as the Director 
        considers appropriate.

SEC. 6. ENDING CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND 
              LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS.

    (a) In General.--Section 312 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) Prohibition on Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, 
and Limited Tariff Benefits.--(1) It shall not be in order in the House 
of Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill or joint 
resolution, or amendment thereto or conference report thereon, if it or 
any accompanying report contains any congressional earmark, limited tax 
benefit, or limited tariff benefit.
    ``(2) As used in this subsection, the terms `congressional 
earmark', `limited tax benefit', and `limited tariff benefit' have the 
meanings given to such terms in clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.''.
    (b) Super Majority in the Senate.--Subsections (c)(1) and (d)(2) of 
section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 are each amended by 
inserting ``312(g),'' after ``310(d)(2),''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) 
shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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