[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2972 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 723
114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2972

  To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide transparency and 
require certain standards in the award of Federal grants, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 23, 2016

 Mr. Lankford introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

                            December 9, 2016

               Reported by Mr. Johnson, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide transparency and 
require certain standards in the award of Federal grants, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Grant 
Reform and New Transparency Act of 2016'' or the ``GRANT 
Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. GRANTS TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Subtitle V of title 31, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 73 the following:</DELETED>

   <DELETED>``CHAPTER 74--GRANTS TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS</DELETED>

<DELETED>``Sec.
<DELETED>``7401. Definitions.
<DELETED>``7402. Advance notification of grant opportunity.
<DELETED>``7403. Pre-award evaluation requirements.
<DELETED>``7404. Website relating to Federal grants.
<DELETED>``7405. Debriefing.
<DELETED>``7406. Inspector General review of peer review process.
<DELETED>``Sec. 7401. Definitions</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``In this chapter:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Applicant.--The term `applicant' means an 
        entity that submits a proposal or application for a 
        grant.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Competitive grant.--The term `competitive 
        grant' means a discretionary grant entered into through the use 
        of merit-based selection procedures for the purpose of 
        allocating funds authorized under a grant program of an 
        Executive agency.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Executive agency.--The term `Executive 
        agency' has the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 
        5, except the term does not include the Government 
        Accountability Office.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Grant.--The term `grant' means an award of 
        Federal financial assistance through a grant agreement or 
        cooperative agreement making payment in cash or in kind to a 
        recipient to carry out a public purpose authorized by 
        law.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Grant reviewer.--The term `grant reviewer', 
        with respect to a grant--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) means any individual who reviews, 
                evaluates, or participates in the decision to select a 
                grant applicant for award of the grant; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) includes--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) a peer reviewer;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) a merit reviewer; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) a member of a technical 
                        evaluation panel or board or a special emphasis 
                        panel.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) Proposal abstract.--The term `proposal 
        abstract', with respect to a grant proposal, means a summary 
        containing key elements of the grant proposal.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 7402. Advance notification of grant 
              opportunity</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``Not later than 30 days before the date on which an 
Executive agency plans to award a grant opportunity, the Executive 
agency shall post on the grants website maintained under section 7404--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) a clear statement of the purpose, duration 
        (including anticipated grant continuations), and eligibility 
        requirements of the grant; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) for merit-based grants, a description of the 
        manner in which applications or proposals for the grant will be 
        evaluated, ranked, and selected for award, including the 
        weighting of any evaluation factors or criteria that shall be 
        considered.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 7403. Pre-award evaluation requirements</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(a) Evaluation Required.--Before awarding a competitive 
grant, an Executive agency shall conduct an evaluation of the ability 
of the applicant to successfully carry out the grant.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Matters Covered.--The evaluation required under 
subsection (a) shall include a review of--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) the ability of the applicant to successfully 
        carry out the purposes of the grant, as provided in section 
        200.302 of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 
        successor thereto);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) the capability of the financial management 
        system of the applicant to appropriately manage and account for 
        funds according to accepted cost accounting principles 
        determined by the Office of Management and Budget, as provided 
        in section 200.302 of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
        any successor thereto);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) the internal financial and administrative 
        control systems of the applicant, as provided in section 
        200.303 of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 
        successor thereto);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) the capability of the applicant to comply 
        with Federal reporting requirements for recipients of Federal 
        funds, as provided in section 200.302 of title 2, Code of 
        Federal Regulations (or any successor thereto);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) the past performance and record of integrity 
        of the applicant, as provided in section 200.205 of title 2, 
        Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 
        thereto);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) whether the applicant has received other 
        Federal funds through a contract or other type of assistance 
        through a search of the Federal Assistance Award Data System, 
        as provided in section 200.302 of title 2, Code of Federal 
        Regulations (or any successor thereto); and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(7) any interagency duplication of efforts for 
        research grants, which may be completed through a text-
        similarity detection process.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 7404. Website relating to Federal grants</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(a) Requirement.--The Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall upgrade any existing or proposed public 
website for finding Federal grant opportunities and applying for such 
grants so that the website--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) may serve as a central point of information 
        and provide full access for applicants for competitive grants; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) shall capture in 1 site, or provide 
        electronic links to, other relevant databases.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Notice of Competitive Grant Funds Availability.--At 
the time an Executive agency issues a solicitation or otherwise 
announces the availability of funds for a competitive grant, the 
Executive agency shall post on the grants website maintained under this 
section, in a searchable electronic format, relevant information about 
the grant opportunity, including--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) the grant announcement and purpose of the 
        grant;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) the anticipated period of performance for 
        new awards and whether the Executive agency anticipates that 
        the grant will be continued;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) the estimated amount of funds available for 
        the grant;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) a statement of eligibility requirements of 
        the grant;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) contact information for the Executive 
        agency, including the name, telephone number, and electronic 
        mail address of a specific person or persons responsible for 
        answering questions about the grant and the application process 
        for the grant;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) a clear statement of the evaluation factors 
        or criteria that the Executive agency intends to use to 
        evaluate and rank grant applications or proposals submitted, 
        including the weight to be applied to each factor or 
        criterion;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(7) a description of the process and standards 
        to be used by the Executive agency to determine that each grant 
        reviewer does not have a prohibited conflict of interest, as 
        defined by applicable statute or regulation, with respect to 
        the evaluation or review of a grant application or proposal, or 
        the decision to award a grant; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(8) the anticipated deadline for submission of 
        grant applications or proposals.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Use by Applicants.--The grants website maintained 
under this section shall, to the greatest extent practicable, allow 
grant applicants to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) use the website with any widely used 
        computer platform;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) search the website for all competitive 
        grants by purpose, funding agency, program source, and other 
        relevant criteria;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) apply for a competitive grant using the 
        website; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) manage, track, and report on the use of 
        competitive grants using the website.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Grant Award Information.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--For each competitive grant 
        awarded by an Executive agency, the Executive agency shall--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) except as provided in paragraphs 
                (2)(A), (2)(B), and (3), post on the grants website 
                maintained under this section--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) the information described in 
                        paragraph (2)(A) not later than 14 days after 
                        the date on which the grant agreement is 
                        finalized; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) the information described 
                        in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2) 
                        not later than 30 days after the date on which 
                        the Executive agency notifies an applicant that 
                        the applicant has been selected to receive a 
                        grant award; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) update the information under 
                subparagraph (A) as necessary during performance of the 
                grant.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Information posted.--For purposes of 
        paragraph (1), the information described in this paragraph with 
        respect to each grant awarded by an Executive agency is--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) subject to paragraph (3)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) a copy of the final grant 
                        agreement, including the terms and conditions 
                        and the time period for performance of the 
                        grant; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) a copy of the proposal, 
                        application, or plan that resulted in the grant 
                        award, including any substantive amendment to 
                        the proposal, application, or plan (whether 
                        made before or after the award of the 
                        grant);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) documentation explaining the basis 
                for the selection decision for the grant, the number of 
                proposals received for the grant, and, with respect to 
                the proposal that resulted in the grant award, whether 
                the grant was awarded consistent with a numerical 
                ranking or other recommendations by grant reviewers; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) in any case in which the award of 
                the grant is not consistent with the numerical rankings 
                or any other recommendations made by grant reviewers, a 
                written justification explaining the rationale for the 
                decision not to follow the rankings or 
                recommendations.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Exceptions to posting requirement.--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding 
                paragraphs (1), (2)(A), and (2)(B), an Executive agency 
                may post a proposal abstract or executive summary if 
                the head of the Executive agency determines, with 
                respect to a particular grant award, that the proposal, 
                application, or plan contains matters that are--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) specifically authorized 
                        under criteria established by an Executive 
                        order to be kept secret in the interest of 
                        national defense or foreign policy and are in 
                        fact properly classified pursuant to such 
                        Executive order;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) trade secrets or commercial 
                        or financial information obtained from a person 
                        and privileged or confidential; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) personnel files, medical 
                        files, and any similar files the disclosure of 
                        which would constitute a clearly unwarranted 
                        invasion of personal privacy.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Research and development grants.--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) Definition.--In this 
                        subparagraph, the term `research and 
                        development grant' means a grant to conduct 
                        research and development activities.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Exception.--Notwithstanding 
                        paragraphs (1) and (2)(A), an Executive agency 
                        shall, with respect to a research and 
                        development grant, post on the grants website 
                        maintained under this section--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) a proposal abstract 
                                or executive summary at the time 
                                described in paragraph (1)(A)(i); 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) the complete 
                                proposal for the grant award not later 
                                than 1 year after the date on which the 
                                grant expires.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) Extension.--An Executive 
                        agency may post the complete proposal for a 
                        research and development grant award after the 
                        expiration of the 1-year period described in 
                        clause (ii)(II) if the recipient of the 
                        research and development grant award--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) petitions the 
                                Executive agency to post the complete 
                                proposal for the grant award after the 
                                expiration of that period; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) demonstrates that 
                                posting the complete proposal during 
                                the 1-year period would adversely 
                                affect the recipient.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Sensitive information.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) Personally identifiable 
                        information.--A recipient of a grant awarded by 
                        an Executive agency may request that the 
                        Executive agency redact any personally 
                        identifiable information from a post on the 
                        grants website maintained under this 
                        section.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Vulnerabilities in critical 
                        infrastructure.--An Executive agency may not 
                        post on the grants website maintained under 
                        this section any sensitive information related 
                        to vulnerabilities in critical 
                        infrastructure.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(e) Submission and Publication of Grant Solicitation 
Forecast on the Grants Website.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Requirement.--Not later than November 30 of 
        each year or not later than 60 days after the date on which 
        amounts are appropriated to an Executive agency for a fiscal 
        year, whichever is later, the head of the Executive agency 
        shall post a forecast, in accordance with paragraph (2), of all 
        non-emergency grant solicitations that the Executive agency 
        expects to issue for the following calendar year, which--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) shall be based on the best 
                information available; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) shall not be binding on the 
                Executive agency.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Matters included.--The forecast required 
        under paragraph (1) shall include, to the extent practicable, 
        for each expected grant solicitation in a machine-readable 
        format--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) a brief description of the subject 
                and purpose of the grant, organized by the 
                organizational unit of the Executive agency;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) contact information for the 
                organizational unit or individual responsible for the 
                grant, if known, including name, telephone number, and 
                electronic mail address;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) the expected or actual dates for the 
                issuance of the grant solicitation and application and 
                the grant application submission deadline;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) the estimated amount of the average 
                grant award, the estimated maximum and minimum amounts 
                of the grant award, if applicable, and the estimated 
                total number of grant awards to be made; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) a description of the total amount 
                available to be awarded.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(f) Publication of Information.--Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to require the publication of information otherwise 
exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5 (commonly referred 
to as the `Freedom of Information Act'), except for the application of 
subsection (b)(5) of such section to pre-decisional documents that are 
posted pursuant to the requirements under subsection (d).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(g) Transparency of Information.--To the extent 
practicable, the grants website maintained under this section shall--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) make the information described in this 
        section available in its original format;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) make the information described in this 
        section available without charge, license, or registration 
        requirement;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) permit the information described in this 
        section to be searched;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) permit the information described in this 
        section to be downloaded in bulk;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) permit the information described in this 
        section to be disseminated via automatic electronic 
        means;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) permit the information described in this 
        section to be freely shared by the public, such as by social 
        media;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(7) use permanent uniform resource locators for 
        the information described in this section; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(8) provide an opportunity for the public to 
        provide input about the usefulness of the site and 
        recommendations for improvements.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 7405. Debriefing</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``If requested by an applicant for a competitive grant, 
for each grant award made in an amount in excess of $100,000 pursuant 
to a merit-based selection procedure, an Executive agency shall provide 
the applicant with a timely debriefing explaining the basis for the 
award decision of the Executive agency, including, if applicable, the 
decision not to award a grant to the applicant.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 7406. Inspector General review of peer review 
              process</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 
the Grant Reform and New Transparency Act of 2016, the Inspector 
General of each Executive agency that awards competitive grants shall 
conduct a review of the effectiveness of the conflicts of interest 
policy of the Executive agency, including a review of a random 
selection of peer review processes, with respect to the peer review 
process for competitive grants in order to detect 
favoritism.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the 
beginning of subtitle V of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to chapter 73 the 
following:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``74. Grant Transparency Requirements..............    7401''.

<DELETED>SEC. 3. GRANTS WORKFORCE REPORT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive 
        agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 
        5, United States Code, except the term does not include the 
        Government Accountability Office.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Federal grants workforce.--The term ``Federal 
        grants workforce'', with respect to an Executive agency, means 
        all employees of the Executive agency who spend some or all of 
        their time engaged in--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) grant planning, including programmatic 
                activities;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) preparing grant solicitations, Notices 
                of Funding Opportunity, or other requests for grant 
                proposals;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) evaluating or reviewing grant 
                applications, including serving on a peer review 
                board;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) monitoring or administering grant 
                performance by grantees;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) preparing the Notice of Award and 
                negotiating terms and conditions; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) post-award closeout activities, 
                including final technical and financial 
                reports.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform of the House of Representatives a report on the Federal grants 
workforce, which shall address--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the size of the Federal grants workforce and 
        expected trends in Federal employment for the Federal grants 
        workforce;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the adequacy of training opportunities for the 
        Federal grants workforce;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) whether the Federal Acquisition Institute or 
        any other existing entity engaged in acquisition workforce 
        training should be made available for grant training;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) whether a warrant system similar to that used 
        in the Federal acquisition system should be established for 
        Federal officials authorized to award grants;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) the use by Executive agencies of suspension 
        and debarment actions taken against grantees during the 3-year 
        period preceding the date on which the report is submitted, and 
        the level of agency resources assigned to the suspension and 
        debarment functions; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) any recommendations for improving the Federal 
        grants workforce.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Grant Reform and 
New Transparency Act of 2016'' or the ``GRANT Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle V of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after chapter 73 the following:

             ``CHAPTER 74--GRANTS TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS

``Sec.
``7401. Definitions.
``7402. Pre-award evaluation requirements.
``7403. Website relating to Federal grants.
``7404. Postdecision explanation for failed applicants.
``7405. Inspector General review of peer review process.
``Sec. 7401. Definitions
    ``In this chapter:
            ``(1) Applicant.--The term `applicant' means an entity that 
        submits a proposal or application for a grant.
            ``(2) Competitive grant.--The term `competitive grant' 
        means a discretionary grant entered into through the use of 
        merit-based selection procedures for the purpose of allocating 
        funds authorized under a grant program of an Executive agency.
            ``(3) Executive agency.--The term `Executive agency' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 5, except 
        the term does not include the Government Accountability Office.
            ``(4) Grant.--The term `grant' means an award of Federal 
        financial assistance through a grant agreement or cooperative 
        agreement making payment in cash or in kind to a recipient to 
        carry out a public purpose authorized by law.
            ``(5) Grant reviewer.--The term `grant reviewer', with 
        respect to a grant--
                    ``(A) means any individual who reviews, evaluates, 
                or participates in the decision to select an applicant 
                for award of the grant; and
                    ``(B) includes--
                            ``(i) a peer reviewer;
                            ``(ii) a merit reviewer; and
                            ``(iii) a member of a technical evaluation 
                        panel or board or a special emphasis panel.
``Sec. 7402. Pre-award evaluation requirements
    ``(a) Evaluation Required.--
            ``(1) In general.--Before awarding a competitive grant and 
        after determining eligibility and conducting a merit-based 
        review, an Executive agency shall conduct an evaluation of the 
        risk posed by an applicant to successfully carry out the grant 
        in accordance with section 200.205 of title 2, Code of Federal 
        regulations (or any successor thereto).
            ``(2) Review of interagency duplication.--To the extent 
        practicable, each evaluation conducted under paragraph (1) 
        shall include a review of any interagency duplication of 
        efforts for research grants, which may be completed through a 
        text-similarity detection process.
    ``(b) Simplified Evaluation Procedure for Certain Applicants.--
            ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `covered 
        applicant' means an applicant that, based on a risk assessment 
        conducted by the Executive agency, is determined to pose a 
        relatively low risk of failing to execute the grant 
        successfully and properly.
            ``(2) Procedure.--In conducting the evaluation required 
        under subsection (a) with respect to a covered applicant, an 
        Executive agency shall--
                    ``(A) minimize the burden on the covered applicant; 
                and
                    ``(B) consider any existing findings with respect 
                to the covered applicant under the single audit process 
                under chapter 75 of this title related to the matters 
                described in subsection (b).
``Sec. 7403. Website relating to Federal grants
    ``(a) Requirement.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall consult with Executive agencies to upgrade grants.gov or 
any proposed successor public website for finding Federal grant 
opportunities and applying for those grants so that the website--
            ``(1) may serve as a central point of information and 
        provide full access for applicants for competitive grants; and
            ``(2) shall capture in 1 site, or provide electronic links 
        to, other relevant databases.
    ``(b) Notice of Competitive Grant Funds Availability.--At the time 
an Executive agency issues a solicitation or otherwise announces the 
availability of funds for a competitive grant, the Executive agency 
shall post on the grants website maintained under this section, in a 
searchable electronic format, relevant information about the grant 
opportunity, including--
            ``(1) the grant announcement and purpose of the grant;
            ``(2) the anticipated period of performance for new awards 
        and whether the Executive agency anticipates that the grant 
        will be continued;
            ``(3) in the case of an announcement with respect to which 
        a specific sum is reserved, the amount of funds available for 
        the grant;
            ``(4) a statement of eligibility requirements for the 
        grant;
            ``(5) contact information for the Executive agency, 
        including the name, telephone number, and electronic mail 
        address of a specific person or persons responsible for 
        answering questions about the grant and the application process 
        for the grant;
            ``(6) a clear statement of the evaluation factors or 
        criteria that the Executive agency intends to use to evaluate 
        and rank grant applications or proposals submitted, including 
        the weight to be applied to each factor or criterion;
            ``(7) a description of the process and standards to be used 
        by the Executive agency to determine that each grant reviewer 
        does not have a prohibited conflict of interest, as defined by 
        applicable statute or regulation, with respect to the 
        evaluation or review of a grant application or proposal, or the 
        decision to award a grant;
            ``(8) the anticipated deadline for submission of grant 
        applications or proposals; and
            ``(9) a set of sample winning grant proposals awarded under 
        the same or similar program within the last 3 years.
    ``(c) Use by Applicants.--The grants website maintained under this 
section shall, to the greatest extent practicable, allow applicants 
to--
            ``(1) use the website with any widely-used computer 
        platform;
            ``(2) search the website for all competitive grants by 
        purpose, funding agency, program source, and other relevant 
        criteria; and
            ``(3) apply for a competitive grant using the website.
    ``(d) Technical Assistance for Grantees.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each Executive agency shall make 
        available on the grants website maintained under this section 
        detailed grant guidance and written technical assistance for 
        applicants.
            ``(2) Grant award process information posted.--With respect 
        to each grant awarded by an Executive agency, the Executive 
        agency shall, not later than 30 days after the date on which 
        the grant is awarded, post on the grants website maintained 
        under this section--
                    ``(A) documentation explaining the basis for the 
                selection decision for the grant, the number of 
                proposals received for the grant, and, with respect to 
                the proposal that resulted in the grant award, whether 
                the grant was awarded consistent with a numerical 
                ranking or other recommendations by grant reviewers; 
                and
                    ``(B) in any case in which the award of the grant 
                is not consistent with the numerical rankings or any 
                other recommendations made by grant reviewers, a 
                written justification explaining the rationale for the 
                decision not to follow the rankings or recommendations.
            ``(3) Sensitive information.--
                    ``(A) Personally identifiable information.--Each 
                Executive agency may redact any personally identifiable 
                information from a post on the grants website 
                maintained under this section.
                    ``(B) Adverse information.--An Executive agency may 
                not post on the grants website maintained under this 
                section any sensitive information that the Executive 
                agency determines would adversely affect an applicant.
    ``(e) Submission and Publication of Grant Solicitation Forecast on 
the Grants Website.--
            ``(1) Requirement.--Not later than November 30 of each 
        fiscal year or not later than 60 days after the date on which 
        amounts are appropriated to an Executive agency for a fiscal 
        year, whichever is later, the head of the Executive agency 
        shall post a forecast, in accordance with paragraph (2), of all 
        nonemergency grant solicitations that the Executive agency 
        expects to issue for the following calendar year, which--
                    ``(A) shall be based on the best information 
                available; and
                    ``(B) shall not be binding on the Executive agency.
            ``(2) Matters included.--The forecast required under 
        paragraph (1) shall include, to the extent practicable, for 
        each expected grant solicitation in a machine-readable format--
                    ``(A) a brief description of the subject and 
                purpose of the grant, organized by the organizational 
                unit of the Executive agency;
                    ``(B) contact information for the organizational 
                unit or individual responsible for the grant, if known, 
                including name, telephone number, and electronic mail 
                address;
                    ``(C) the expected or actual dates for the issuance 
                of the grant solicitation and application and the grant 
                application submission deadline;
                    ``(D) the estimated amount of the average grant 
                award, the estimated maximum and minimum amounts of the 
                grant award, if applicable, and the estimated total 
                number of grant awards to be made; and
                    ``(E) a description of the total amount available 
                to be awarded.
    ``(f) Publication of Information.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        nothing in this section shall be construed to require the 
        publication of information otherwise exempt from disclosure 
        under section 552 of title 5 (commonly referred to as the 
        `Freedom of Information Act').
            ``(2) Limitation.--The exemption under section 552(b)(5) of 
        title 5 shall not exempt from publication predecisional 
        documents required to be posted pursuant to the requirements 
        under subsection (d)(2).
    ``(g) Transparency of Information.--To the extent practicable, the 
grants website maintained under this section shall--
            ``(1) make the information described in this section 
        available in its original format;
            ``(2) make the information described in this section 
        available without charge, license, or registration requirement;
            ``(3) permit the information described in this section to 
        be searched;
            ``(4) permit the information described in this section to 
        be downloaded in bulk;
            ``(5) permit the information described in this section to 
        be disseminated via automatic electronic means;
            ``(6) permit the information described in this section to 
        be freely shared by the public, such as by social media;
            ``(7) use permanent uniform resource locators for the 
        information described in this section; and
            ``(8) provide an opportunity for the public to provide 
        input about the usefulness of the site and recommendations for 
        improvements.
``Sec. 7404. Postdecision explanation for failed applicants
    ``If requested by an applicant for a competitive grant, for each 
grant award made in an amount in excess of $100,000 pursuant to a 
merit-based selection procedure, an Executive agency shall provide the 
applicant with a timely direct interaction describing the basis for the 
award decision of the Executive agency, including, if applicable, the 
decision not to award a grant to the applicant.
``Sec. 7405. Inspector General review of peer review process
    ``Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Grant 
Reform and New Transparency Act of 2016, the Inspector General of each 
Executive agency that awards competitive grants shall conduct a review 
of the effectiveness of the conflicts of interest policy of the 
Executive agency, including a review of a random selection of peer 
review processes, with respect to the peer review process for 
competitive grants in order to detect favoritism.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the beginning of 
subtitle V of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to chapter 73 the following:

``74. Grant transparency requirements.......................    7401''.

SEC. 3. GRANTS WORKFORCE REPORT.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 5, United 
        States Code, except the term does not include the Government 
        Accountability Office.
            (2) Federal grants workforce.--The term ``Federal grants 
        workforce'', with respect to an Executive agency, means all 
        employees of the Executive agency who spend some or all of 
        their time engaged in--
                    (A) grant planning, including programmatic 
                activities;
                    (B) preparing grant solicitations, Notices of 
                Funding Opportunity, Notices Inviting Applications, or 
                other requests for grant proposals;
                    (C) evaluating or reviewing grant applications, 
                including serving on a peer review board;
                    (D) monitoring or administering grant performance 
                by grantees;
                    (E) preparing the Notice of Award and negotiating 
                terms and conditions; or
                    (F) post-award closeout activities, including final 
                technical and financial reports.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 
House of Representatives a report on the Federal grants workforce, 
which shall address--
            (1) the size of the Federal grants workforce and expected 
        trends in Federal employment for the Federal grants workforce;
            (2) the adequacy of training opportunities for the Federal 
        grants workforce;
            (3) whether the Federal Acquisition Institute or any other 
        existing entity engaged in acquisition workforce training 
        should be made available for grant training;
            (4) whether a warrant system similar to that used in the 
        Federal acquisition system should be established for Federal 
        officials authorized to award grants;
            (5) the use by Executive agencies of suspension and 
        debarment actions taken against grantees during the 3-year 
        period preceding the date on which the report is submitted, and 
        the level of agency resources assigned to the suspension and 
        debarment functions; and
            (6) any recommendations for improving the Federal grants 
        workforce.
                                                       Calendar No. 723

114th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2972

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide transparency and 
require certain standards in the award of Federal grants, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            December 9, 2016

                       Reported with an amendment