[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 100 (Thursday, July 15, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8695-S8697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1999

  Mr. JEFFORDS. I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to the 
consideration of Calendar No. 199, S. 468.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 468) 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.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
bill, which had been reported from the Committee on Governmental 
Affairs, with amendments; as follows:

  (The parts of the bill intended to be stricken are shown in boldface 
brackets and the parts of the bill intended to be inserted are shown in 
italic.)

                                 S. 468

       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

[[Page S8696]]

     the same meaning as defined 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] Except as provided under subsection 
     (b), not later than [18] 36 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, each Federal agency shall develop and 
     implement, including promulgation of rules and amendments to 
     existing collections of information, 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;
       (6) ensures recipients of Federal financial assistance 
     provide timely, complete, and high quality information in 
     response to Federal reporting requirements; and
       (7) in cooperation with recipients of Federal financial 
     assistance, 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 Government Performance and Results 
     Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-62; 107 Stat. 285).
       (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.] If an agency is 
     unable to comply with the requirements of subsection (a)(5), 
     the Director may extend the period for the agency to develop 
     and implement a plan that allows applicants to electronically 
     apply for, and report on the use of, funds from Federal 
     financial assistance programs administered by the agency to 
     October 31, 2003.
       (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 (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.

     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 common application and reporting system, including--
       (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; and
       (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 section 552a of title 5, 
     United States Code; 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.--Upon the request of the 
     Director, agencies shall submit to the Director, for the 
     Director's review, information and other reporting regarding 
     agency 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 shall be available to the 
     public through the Office of Management and Budget's Internet 
     site.
       (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, performance, and coordination of Federal 
     financial assistance programs.
       (f) Deadline.--All actions required under this section 
     shall be carried out not later than 18 months after the date 
     of enactment of this Act.

     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] The General 
     Accounting Office shall evaluate the effectiveness of this 
     Act. Not later than [4] 6 years after the date of 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; and
       (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 enactment of this 
     Act and shall cease to be effective [5] 8 years after such 
     date of enactment.

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the committee

[[Page S8697]]

amendments be agreed to, the bill be considered read a third time and 
passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any 
statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee amendments were agreed to.
  The bill (S. 468) was read the third time and passed.

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