[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 150 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.150

                     One Hundred Sixteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
           the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen


                                 An Act


 
      To modernize Federal grant reporting, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Grant Reporting 
Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act of 2019'' or the ``GREAT 
Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Data standards for grant reporting.
Sec. 5. Single Audit Act.
Sec. 6. Consolidation of assistance-related information; publication of 
          public information as open data.
Sec. 7. Evaluation of nonproprietary identifiers.
Sec. 8. Rule of construction.
Sec. 9. No additional funds authorized.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
    The purposes of this Act are to--
        (1) modernize reporting by recipients of Federal grants and 
    cooperative agreements by creating and imposing data standards for 
    the information that those recipients are required by law to report 
    to the Federal Government;
        (2) implement the recommendation by the Director of the Office 
    of Management and Budget contained in the report submitted under 
    section 5(b)(6) of the Federal Funding Accountability and 
    Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) relating to the 
    development of a ``comprehensive taxonomy of standard definitions 
    for core data elements required for managing Federal financial 
    assistance awards'';
        (3) reduce burden and compliance costs of recipients of Federal 
    grants and cooperative agreements by enabling technology solutions, 
    existing or yet to be developed, for use in both the public and 
    private sectors to better manage the data that recipients already 
    provide to the Federal Government; and
        (4) strengthen oversight and management of Federal grants and 
    cooperative agreements by agencies by consolidating the collection 
    and display of and access to open data that has been standardized 
    and, where appropriate, increasing transparency to the public.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
    In this Act, the terms ``agency'', ``Director'', ``Federal award'', 
and ``Secretary'' have the meanings given those terms in section 6401 
of title 31, United States Code, as added by section 4(a) of this Act.
SEC. 4. DATA STANDARDS FOR GRANT REPORTING.
    (a) Amendment.--Subtitle V of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after chapter 63 the following:

            ``CHAPTER 64--DATA STANDARDS FOR GRANT REPORTING

``Sec.
``6401. Definitions.
``6402. Data standards for grant reporting.
``6403. Guidance applying data standards for grant reporting.
``6404. Agency requirements.

``Sec. 6401. Definitions
    ``In this chapter:
        ``(1) Agency.--The term `agency' has the meaning given the term 
    in section 552(f) of title 5.
        ``(2) Core data elements.--The term `core data elements' means 
    data elements relating to financial management, administration, or 
    management that--
            ``(A) are not program-specific in nature or program-
        specific outcome measures, as defined in section 1115(h) of 
        this title; and
            ``(B) are required by agencies for all or the vast majority 
        of recipients of Federal awards for purposes of reporting.
        ``(3) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of the 
    Office of Management and Budget.
        ``(4) Executive department.--The term `Executive department' 
    has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 5.
        ``(5) Federal award.--The term `Federal award'--
            ``(A) means the transfer of anything of value for a public 
        purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the 
        United States, including financial assistance and Government 
        facilities, services, and property;
            ``(B) includes a grant, a subgrant, a cooperative 
        agreement, or any other transaction; and
            ``(C) does not include a transaction or agreement--
                ``(i) that provides for conventional public information 
            services or procurement of property or services for the 
            direct benefit or use of the Government; or
                ``(ii) that provides only--

                    ``(I) direct Government cash assistance to an 
                individual;
                    ``(II) a subsidy;
                    ``(III) a loan;
                    ``(IV) a loan guarantee; or
                    ``(V) insurance.

        ``(6) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the head of the 
    standard-setting agency.
        ``(7) Standard-setting agency.--The term `standard-setting 
    agency' means the Executive department designated under section 
    6402(a)(1).
        ``(8) State.--The term `State' means each State of the United 
    States, the District of Columbia, each commonwealth, territory, or 
    possession of the United States, and each federally recognized 
    Indian Tribe.
``Sec. 6402. Data standards for grant reporting
    ``(a) In General.--
        ``(1) Designation of standard-setting agency.--The Director 
    shall designate the Executive department that administers the 
    greatest number of programs under which Federal awards are issued 
    in a calendar year as the standard-setting agency.
        ``(2) Establishment of standards.--Not later than 2 years after 
    the date of enactment of this chapter, the Secretary and the 
    Director shall establish Governmentwide data standards for 
    information reported by recipients of Federal awards.
        ``(3) Data elements.--The data standards established under 
    paragraph (2) shall include, at a minimum--
            ``(A) standard definitions for data elements required for 
        managing Federal awards; and
            ``(B) unique identifiers for Federal awards and recipients 
        of Federal awards that can be consistently applied 
        Governmentwide.
    ``(b) Scope.--The data standards established under subsection (a)--
        ``(1) shall include core data elements;
        ``(2) may cover information required by law to be reported to 
    any agency by recipients of Federal awards, including audit-related 
    information reported under chapter 75 of this title; and
        ``(3) may not be used by the Director or any agency to require 
    the collection of any data not otherwise required under Federal 
    law.
    ``(c) Requirements.--The data standards established under 
subsection (a) shall, to the extent reasonable and practicable--
        ``(1) render information reported by recipients of Federal 
    awards fully searchable and machine-readable;
        ``(2) be nonproprietary;
        ``(3) incorporate standards developed and maintained by 
    voluntary consensus standards bodies;
        ``(4) be consistent with and implement applicable accounting 
    and reporting principles; and
        ``(5) incorporate the data standards established under the 
    Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 
    U.S.C. 6101 note).
    ``(d) Consultation.--In establishing the data standards under 
subsection (a), the Secretary and the Director shall consult with--
        ``(1) the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure that the data 
    standards established under subsection (a) incorporate the data 
    standards established under the Federal Funding Accountability and 
    Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note);
        ``(2) the head of each agency that issues Federal awards;
        ``(3) recipients of Federal awards and organizations 
    representing recipients of Federal awards;
        ``(4) private sector experts;
        ``(5) members of the public, including privacy experts, privacy 
    advocates, auditors, and industry stakeholders; and
        ``(6) State and local governments.
``Sec. 6403. Guidance applying data standards for grant reporting
    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
enactment of this chapter--
        ``(1) the Secretary and the Director shall jointly issue 
    guidance to all agencies directing the agencies to apply the data 
    standards established under section 6402(a) to all applicable 
    reporting by recipients of Federal awards; and
        ``(2) the Director shall prescribe guidance applying the data 
    standards established under section 6402(a) to audit-related 
    information reported under chapter 75 of this title.
    ``(b) Guidance.--The guidance issued under subsection (a) shall--
        ``(1) to the extent reasonable and practicable--
            ``(A) minimize the disruption of existing reporting 
        practices of, and not increase the reporting burden on, 
        agencies or recipients of Federal awards; and
            ``(B) explore opportunities to implement modern 
        technologies in reporting relating to Federal awards;
        ``(2) allow the Director to permit exceptions for classes of 
    Federal awards, including exceptions for Federal awards granted to 
    Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations consistent with the Indian 
    Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et 
    seq.), if the Director publishes a list of those exceptions and 
    submits the list to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
    Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight 
    and Reform of the House of Representatives; and
        ``(3) take into consideration the consultation required under 
    section 6402(d).
    ``(c) Updating Guidance.--
        ``(1) In general.--Not less frequently than once every 10 
    years, the Director shall update the guidance issued under 
    subsection (a).
        ``(2) Procedures.--In updating guidance under paragraph (1), 
    the Director shall, to the maximum extent practicable, follow the 
    procedures for the development of the data standards and guidance 
    prescribed under this section and section 6402.
``Sec. 6404. Agency requirements
    ``Not later than 1 year after the date on which guidance is issued 
or updated under subsection (b) or (c), respectively, of section 6403, 
the head of each agency shall--
        ``(1) ensure that all of the Federal awards that the agency 
    issues use data standards for all future information collection 
    requests; and
        ``(2) amend existing information collection requests under 
    chapter 35 of title 44 (commonly known as the `Paperwork Reduction 
    Act') to comply with the data standards established under section 
    6402 of this chapter, in accordance with the guidance issued by the 
    Secretary and the Director under section 6403 of this chapter.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for 
subtitle V of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to chapter 63 the following:

``64. Data standards for grant reporting.........................6401''.

SEC. 5. SINGLE AUDIT ACT.
    (a) Amendments.--
        (1) Audit requirements.--Section 7502(h) of title 31, United 
    States Code, is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
    inserting ``in an electronic form in accordance with the data 
    standards established under chapter 64 and'' after ``the reporting 
    package,''.
        (2) Regulations.--Section 7505 of title 31, United States Code, 
    is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Such guidance shall require audit-related information 
reported under this chapter to be reported in an electronic form in 
accordance with the data standards established under chapter 64.''.
    (b) Guidance.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Director shall issue guidance requiring audit-related 
information reported under chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code, 
to be reported in an electronic form consistent with the data standards 
established under chapter 64 of that title, as added by section 4(a) of 
this Act.
SEC. 6. CONSOLIDATION OF ASSISTANCE-RELATED INFORMATION; PUBLICATION OF 
PUBLIC INFORMATION AS OPEN DATA.
    (a) Collection of Information.--Not later than 5 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Director shall, 
using the data standards established under chapter 64 of title 31, 
United States Code, as added by section 4(a) of this Act, enable the 
collection, public display, and maintenance of Federal award 
information as a Governmentwide data set, subject to reasonable 
restrictions established by the Director to ensure protection of 
personally identifiable information and otherwise sensitive 
information.
    (b) Publication of Information.--The Secretary and the Director 
shall require the publication of data reported by recipients of Federal 
awards that is collected from all agencies on a single public portal, 
which may be an existing Governmentwide website, as determined 
appropriate by the Director.
    (c) FOIA.--Nothing in this section shall require the disclosure to 
the public of information that would be exempt from disclosure under 
section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the 
``Freedom of Information Act'').
SEC. 7. EVALUATION OF NONPROPRIETARY IDENTIFIERS.
    (a) Determination Required.--The Director and the Secretary shall 
determine whether to use nonproprietary identifiers described in 
section 6402(a)(3)(B) of title 31, United States Code, as added by 
section 4(a) of this Act.
    (b) Factors to Be Considered.--In making the determination under 
subsection (a), the Director and the Secretary shall consider factors 
such as accessibility and cost to recipients of Federal awards, 
agencies that issue Federal awards, private sector experts, and members 
of the public, including privacy experts, privacy advocates, 
transparency experts, and transparency advocates.
    (c) Publication and Report on Determination.--Not later than the 
earlier of 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act or the date 
on which the Director and the Secretary establish data standards under 
section 6402(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code, as added by section 
4(a) of this Act, the Director and the Secretary shall publish and 
submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of 
Representatives a report explaining the reasoning for the determination 
made under subsection (a).
SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
    Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be 
construed to require the collection of data that is not otherwise 
required under any Federal law, rule, or regulation.
SEC. 9. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.
    No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of 
this Act and the amendments made by this Act. Such requirements shall 
be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.