Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1998

Summary: Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1998 - Directs each Federal agency to develop and implement a plan that, among other things, streamlines and simplifies the application, administrative, and reporting procedures for Federal financial assistance programs administered by the agency.   Requires each agency to publish the plan in the Federal Register, receive public comment, and hold public forums on the plan.  Requires the designated lead agency official to consult with the representatives of non-Federal entities during plan development and implementation. 
Requires each Federal agency to submit the plan developed to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congress and report annually thereafter on plan implementation and agency performance in meeting goals and objectives. 
Requires the Director to direct, coordinate and assist Federal agencies in establishing:  (1) a common application and reporting system; and (2) an interagency process for addressing ways to streamline and simplify Federal financial assistance administrative procedures and reporting requirements for non-Federal entities. 
Permits the Director to designate a lead agency to assist him or her and use interagency working groups to assist in carrying out such responsibilities. 
Exempts any Federal agency or Federal financial assistance program from the requirements of this Act if the Director determines that the agency does not have a significant number of Federal financial assistance programs.  Requires the Director to maintain a list of exempted agencies available to the public through OMB's Internet site. 
Requires the Director or lead agency to contract with the National Academy of Public Administration to evaluate the effectiveness of this Act.  Requires the evaluation to be:  (1) submitted to the lead agency, the Director, and the Congress; and (2) performed with input from State, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations.  Terminates this Act five years after enactment.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Financial Assistance 
Management Improvement Act of 1998''.

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) to simplify Federal financial assistance application 
        and reporting requirements;
            (3) to improve the delivery of services to the public; and
            (4) to 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 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 later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, each Federal agency shall develop and implement 
a plan that--
            (1) streamlines and simplifies the application, 
        administrative, and reporting procedures for Federal 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) 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.
    (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 and Oversight 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.
    (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.
            (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 the Privacy Act of 1974; 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.--Agencies shall submit to the 
Director, upon his request and for his review, information and other 
reporting regarding their 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 will be 
available to the public through OMB's Internet site.

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 evaluate the effectiveness of this Act. Not later 
than 4 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;
            (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 five years after such date of enactment.

            Passed the Senate October 12 (legislative day, October 2), 
      1998.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                             Secretary.