[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 203 (Monday, December 16, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H10295-H10298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   GRANT REPORTING EFFICIENCY AND AGREEMENTS TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2019

  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the 
Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 150) to modernize Federal grant 
reporting, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:
  Senate amendment:

     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.

[[Page H10296]]

       ``(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.

[[Page H10297]]

  


     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.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Gomez) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. 
Foxx) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous materials on H.R. 150.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1700

  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  The Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act, 
introduced by Representative Virginia Foxx and myself, would 
standardize reporting for recipients of Federal grants and cooperative 
agreements.
  Grant recipients often have to report the same information in 
different ways because Federal agencies do not use the same forms or 
even the same terms to describe required information, often making it 
difficult for organizations and businesses to apply for Federal grants.
  Under this bill, the Director of OMB and the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services would be required to establish governmentwide data 
standards for grant reporting. This bill would encourage OMB and HHS to 
make the information grant recipients report fully searchable and 
machine readable. This would provide greater transparency into the 
money spent on grants because spending data would be more usable.
  This bill would require that data collected from grant recipients be 
published on a single public portal.
  The bill we are considering today is a version that the Senate has 
amended and makes certain technical changes to that bill. This is a 
good, commonsense measure that will ease burdens on the private sector 
and improve the efficiency of government operations.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this bill, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  I rise in support of our bill, one that now awaits a final vote in 
Congress before it heads to the President's desk.
  I thank Representative   Jimmy Gomez for helping author this piece of 
legislation, the Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency 
Act, or GREAT Act. Representative Gomez has been a tremendous partner 
on this bipartisan, bicameral bill to create more transparency, 
efficiency, and accountability in the Federal grant reporting process, 
and I thank him for his hard work.
  Mr. Speaker, according to USAspending.gov, in 2019, the Federal 
Government awarded $764.9 billion in grants funding to State agencies, 
local and Tribal governments, agencies, nonprofits, universities, and 
other organizations. Roughly translated, this equates to the gross 
domestic product of Switzerland--or more than the GDP of every country 
outside the G20.
  Within our Federal Government, there are 26 agencies awarding Federal 
grants, and all of them continue to rely on outdated, burdensome, 
document-based forms to collect and track grant dollars. Society has 
moved into a new age of information and technology, and it is time that 
our government follow suit.
  The GREAT Act represents bipartisan legislation to modernize the 
Federal grant reporting process. It would do so by mandating a 
standardized data structure for information that recipients report to 
Federal agencies. Unless the reporting requirements for Federal grants 
are searchable, the auditing process will continue to yield waste and 
inefficiency at best and, potentially, fraud and abuse at worst.
  Adopting a governmentwide open data structure for all the information 
grantees report will alleviate compliance burden, provide instant 
insights for grantor agencies and Congress, and enable easy access to 
data for oversight, analytics, and program evaluation.
  Digitizing and, therefore, automating the reporting process would 
have a twofold effect:
  First, it would allow greater scrutiny of how the money is being 
spent.
  Second, it allows grantees to maximize every dollar they receive from 
the government to ensure it goes back into communities, supporting 
local businesses, organizations, and education.
  Lastly, the GREAT Act has received a broad breadth of support from an 
array of good government groups and associations within the grant 
recipient community.
  The coalition endorsing the GREAT Act includes the Association of 
Government Accountants, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the American 
Library Association, the Data Coalition, the Grant Professionals 
Association, the Native American Finance Officers Association, and the 
Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition.
  In order to fix the way Federal grants are reported, we must move 
from a document-centric reporting system to a data superhighway. I urge 
my colleagues in the House and the Senate to support the GREAT Act and 
bring grant reporting into the 21st century.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers on my side.
  Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, our current post-award grant reporting process is a 
cumbersome, document-based process. It burdens administrators and grant 
recipients. It hinders agencies in their ability to manage grant 
programs and conduct performance evaluations.
  These problems are exacerbated for those conducting governmentwide 
and congressional oversight work, but that comes to an end today if we 
pass this bill. As I said earlier, this week's vote on the GREAT Act is 
the legislation's final stop in Congress before it heads to the 
President's desk.
  In addition to thanking Representative Gomez, I thank Senators 
Lankford and Peters and their staffs for their tireless work this 
Congress. Put simply, we could not have gotten this important 
legislation through Congress without their sponsorship of the Senate 
companion bill and their advocacy throughout this process.
  Further, I thank my House bill's original cosponsors for their work 
on this bipartisan achievement: Congressman Gomez, Congressman Walker, 
Congressman Quigley, Congressman DesJarlais, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, 
Congressman Palmer, and Congressman Kilmer.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, the fragmented, decentralized, and redundant 
grant reporting structure ends this week.
  Instead, we usher in a new age, one that moves this government 
spending from Document Street to a data superhighway with the passage 
of this legislation. When we do, it will mark a great moment not just 
for our Nation's grant recipients and those working for the common good 
but, ultimately, the American taxpayer.
  The transparency, accountability, and efficiencies that this 
legislation is bound to produce are ultimately intended for them. I 
proudly ask that my colleagues support this bipartisan legislation, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina, 
Representative Foxx, for her partnership on this legislation.
  I know, during such a historic week on a variety of fronts, this bill 
might be little noticed 20, 30, or 40 years from now, but what people 
should notice is that a progressive Democrat from Los Angeles and a 
conservative Member from North Carolina could spot a problem that was 
impacting our constituents, our businesses, our nonprofits, and that we 
saw a problem that needed a solution. It might not always be the 
perfect solution, but it is definitely a great solution. What we are 
showing is that we can work, once again, for the American people.
  I thank the gentlewoman for her example, and I know that, in the 
future, we can continue to work together on even bigger and more 
meaningful legislation. Let's let this be a reminder that

[[Page H10298]]

our country continues to work on behalf of everyone.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez) that the House suspend the rules 
and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 150.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the Senate amendment was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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