II 

Calendar No. 576 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2590 

To require full disclosure of all entities and organizations receiving Federal 

funds. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6, 2006 

Mr. COBURN (for himself, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. CARPER, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. 

SANTORUM, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. 

CORNYN, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. BAYH, Mr. FRIST, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Mr. KERRY, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. REID, 

Mr. DURBIN, Mr. THUNE, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mrs. BOXER, 

Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. DEWINE, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. VITTER, and Mr. 

CHAMBLISS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

AUGUST 2, 2006 

Reported by Ms. COLLINS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To require full disclosure of all entities and organizations 

receiving Federal funds. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Funding Ac3 countability and Transparency Act of 2006’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FULL DISCLOSURE OF ENTITIES RECEIVING FED5 ERAL FUNDING. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

7 (1) WEBSITE.—Effective beginning January 1, 

8 2007 and subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the Of9 fice of Management and Budget shall ensure the ex10 istence and operation of a single updated searchable 

11 database website accessible by the public at no cost 

12 that includes for each entity receiving Federal fund13 ing— 

14 (A) the name of the entity; 

15 (B) the amount of any Federal funds that 

16 the entity has received in each of the last 10 

17 fiscal years; 

18 (C) an itemized breakdown of each trans19 action, including funding agency, program 

20 source, and a description of the purpose of each 

21 funding action; 

22 (D) the location of the entity and primary 

23 location of performance, including the city, 

24 State, congressional district, and country; 


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1 (E) a unique identifier for each such entity 

2 and parent entity, should the entity be owned 

3 by another entity; and 

4 (F) any other relevant information. 

5 (2) INITIAL DATA.—Effective January 1, 2007, 

6 the website shall include data for fiscal years 2006 

7 and 2007. 

8 (3) PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS.—Not later than 

9 January 1, 2009, information required by this sec10 tion shall be posted on the website for fiscal years 

11 1999 through 2005. 

12 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’— 

14 (A) includes— 

15 (i) a corporation; 

16 (ii) an association; 

17 (iii) a partnership; 

18 (iv) a limited liability company; 

19 (v) a limited liability partnership; 

20 (vi) any other legal business entity; 

21 (vii) grantees, contractors, and, on 

22 and after October 1, 2007, subgrantees 

23 and subcontractors; and 

24 (viii) any State or locality; and 

25 (B) does not include— 


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1 (i) an individual recipient of Federal 

2 assistance; 

3 (ii) a Federal employee; or 

4 (iii) a grant or contract of a nature 

5 that could be reasonably expected to cause 

6 damage to national security. 

7 (2) FEDERAL FUNDING.—The term ‘‘federal 

8 funding’’— 

9 (A) means Federal financial assistance and 

10 expenditures that include grants, contracts, 

11 subgrants, subcontracts, loans, awards and 

12 other forms of financial assistance; and 

13 (B) does not include credit card trans14 actions or minor purchases. 

15 (3) SEARCHABLE DATABASE WEBSITE.—The 

16 term ‘‘searchable database website’’ means a website 

17 that allows the public to— 

18 (A) search Federal funding by name of en19 tity, parent entity, or type of industry, geog20 raphy, including location of the entity and the 

21 primary location of the performance, amounts 

22 and types of federal funding, program sources, 

23 type of activity being performed, time factors 

24 such as fiscal years or multiple fiscal years, and 

25 other relevant information; and 


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1 (B) download data included in subpara2 graph (A) including outcomes from searches. 

3 (c) WEBSITE.—The database website established by 

4 this section— 

5 (1) shall not be considered in compliance if it 

6 links to FPDS, Grants.gov or other existing websites 

7 and databases, unless each of those sites has infor8 mation from all agencies and each category of infor9 mation required to be itemized can be searched elec10 tronically by field in a single search; 

11 (2) shall provide an opportunity for the public 

12 to provide input about the utility of the site and rec13 ommendations for improvements; and 

14 (3) shall be updated not later than 30 days 

15 after the award of any assistance requiring a post16 ing. 

17 (d) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director of 

18 OMB shall provide guidance to agency heads to ensure 

19 compliance with this section. 

20 (e) REPORT.—The Director of OMB shall annually 

21 report to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security 

22 and Government Affairs and the House Committee on 

23 Government Reform on implementation of the website that 

24 shall include data about the usage and public feedback on 

25 the utility of the site, including recommendations for imVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:17 Aug 04, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2590.RS S2590

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1 provements. The annual report shall be made publicly 

2 available on the website. 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Funding Ac5 countability and Transparency Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FULL DISCLOSURE OF ENTITIES RECEIVING FED7 ERAL FUNDING. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’— 

10 (A) includes, whether for profit or non11 profit— 

12 (i) a corporation; 

13 (ii) an association; 

14 (iii) a partnership; 

15 (iv) a limited liability company; 

16 (v) a limited liability partnership; 

17 (vi) a sole proprietorship; 

18 (vii) any other legal business entity; 

19 (viii) any other grantee or contractor 

20 that is not excluded by subparagraph (B) or 

21 (C); and 

22 (ix) any State or locality; 

23 (B) on and after January 1, 2009, includes 

24 any subcontractor or subgrantee; and 

25 (C) does not include— 


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1 (i) an individual recipient of Federal 

2 assistance; or 

3 (ii) a Federal employee. 

4 (2) FEDERAL AWARD.—The term ‘‘Federal 

5 award’’— 

6 (A) means Federal financial assistance and 

7 expenditures that include grants, contracts, sub8 grants, subcontracts, loans, awards, cooperative 

9 agreements, purchase orders, task orders, delivery 

10 orders, and other forms of financial assistance; 

11 (B) does not include individual transactions 

12 below $25,000; and 

13 (C) before October 1, 2008, does not include 

14 credit card transactions. 

15 (3) SEARCHABLE WEBSITE.—The term ‘‘search16 able website’’ means a website that allows the public 

17 to— 

18 (A) search Federal funding by any element 

19 required by subsection (b)(1); 

20 (B) ascertain through a single search the 

21 total amount of Federal funding awarded to an 

22 entity, by fiscal year; and 

23 (C) download data included in subpara24 graph (A) included in the outcome from searches. 

25 (b) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (1) WEBSITE.—Not later than January 1, 2008, 

2 the Office of Management and Budget shall, in ac3 cordance with this section and section 204 of the E4 Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–347; 44 

5 U.S.C. 3501 note), ensure the existence and operation 

6 of a single searchable website, accessible by the public 

7 at no cost to access, that includes for each Federal 

8 award— 

9 (A) the name of the entity receiving the 

10 award; 

11 (B) the amount of the award; 

12 (C) information on the award including 

13 transaction type, funding agency, the North 

14 American Industry Classification System code or 

15 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number 

16 (where applicable), program source, and an 

17 award title descriptive of the purpose of each 

18 funding action; 

19 (D) the location of the entity receiving the 

20 award and the primary location of performance 

21 under the award, including the city, State, con22 gressional district, and country; 

23 (E) a unique identifier of the entity receiv24 ing the award and of the parent entity of the reVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:17 Aug 04, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2590.RS S2590

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1 cipient, should the entity be owned by another 

2 entity; and 

3 (F) any other relevant information specified 

4 by the Office of Management and Budget. 

5 (2) SCOPE OF DATA.—The website shall include 

6 data for fiscal year 2007, and each fiscal year there7 after. 

8 (3) DESIGNATION OF AGENCIES.—The Director 

9 of the Office of Management and Budget is authorized 

10 to designate one or more Federal agencies to partici11 pate in the development, establishment, operation, 

12 and support of the single website. In the initial des13 ignation, or in subsequent instructions and guidance, 

14 the Director may specify the scope of the responsibil15 ities of each such agency. 

16 (4) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—Federal agen17 cies shall comply with the instructions and guidance 

18 issued by the Director of the Office of Management 

19 and Budget under paragraph (3), and shall provide 

20 appropriate assistance to the Director upon request, 

21 so as to assist the Director in ensuring the existence 

22 and operation of the single website. 

23 (c) WEBSITE.—The website established under this sec24 tion— 


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1 (1) may use as the source of its data the Federal 

2 Procurement Data System, Federal Assistance Award 

3 Data System, and Grants.gov, if all of these data 

4 sources are searchable through the website and can be 

5 accessed in a single search; 

6 (2) shall not be considered in compliance if it 

7 hyperlinks to the Federal Procurement Data System 

8 website, Federal Assistance Award Data System 

9 website, Grants.gov website, or other existing websites, 

10 so that the information elements required in sub11 section (b)(1) cannot be searched electronically by 

12 field in a single search; 

13 (3) shall provide an opportunity for the public 

14 to provide input about the utility of the site and rec15 ommendations for improvements; and 

16 (4) shall be updated not later than 30 days after 

17 the award of any Federal award requiring a posting. 

18 (d) SUBAWARD DATA.— 

19 (1) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than July 1, 

21 2007, the Director of the Office of Management 

22 and Budget shall commence a pilot program 

23 to— 

24 (i) test the collection and accession of 

25 data about subgrants and subcontracts; and 


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1 (ii) determine how to implement a 

2 subaward reporting program across the 

3 Federal Government, including— 

4 (I) a reporting system under 

5 which the entity issuing a subgrant or 

6 subcontract is responsible for fulfilling 

7 the subaward reporting requirement; 

8 and 

9 (II) a mechanism for collecting 

10 and incorporating agency and public 

11 feedback on the design and utility of 

12 the website. 

13 (B) TERMINATION.—The pilot program 

14 under subparagraph (A) shall terminate not 

15 later than January 1, 2009. 

16 (2) REPORTING OF SUBAWARDS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Based on the pilot pro18 gram conducted under paragraph (1), and, ex19 cept as provided in subparagraph (B), not later 

20 than January 1, 2009, the Director of the Office 

21 of Management and Budget— 

22 (i) shall ensure that data regarding 

23 subawards are disclosed in the same man24 ner as data regarding other Federal awards, 

25 as required by this Act; and 


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1 (ii) shall ensure that the method for 

2 collecting and distributing data about sub3 awards under clause (i)— 

4 (I) minimizes burdens imposed on 

5 Federal award recipients and 

6 subaward recipients; 

7 (II) allows Federal award recipi8 ents and subaward recipients to allo9 cate reasonable costs for the collection 

10 and reporting of subaward data as in11 direct costs; and 

12 (III) establishes cost-effective re13 quirements for collecting subaward 

14 data under block grants, formula 

15 grants, and other types of assistance to 

16 State and local governments. 

17 (B) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—For 

18 subaward recipients that receive Federal funds 

19 through State, local, or tribal governments, the 

20 Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

21 may extend the deadline for ensuring that data 

22 regarding such subawards are disclosed in the 

23 same manner as data regarding other Federal 

24 awards for a period not to exceed 18 months, if 

25 the Director determines that compliance would 


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1 impose an undue burden on the subaward recipi2 ent. 

3 (e) EXCEPTION.—Any entity that demonstrates to the 

4 Director of the Office of Management and Budget that the 

5 gross income, from all sources, for such entity did not exceed 

6 $300,000 in the previous tax year of such entity shall be 

7 exempt from the requirement to report subawards under 

8 subsection (d), until the Director determines that the impo9 sition of such reporting requirements will not cause an 

10 undue burden on such entities. 

11 (f) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall prohibit 

12 the Office of Management and Budget from including 

13 through the website established under this section access to 

14 data that is publicly available in any other Federal data15 base. 

16 (g) REPORT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

18 Management and Budget shall submit to the Com19 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af20 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Government 

21 Reform of the House of Representatives an annual re22 port regarding the implementation of the website es23 tablished under this section. 

24 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

25 paragraph (1) shall include— 


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1 (A) data regarding the usage and public 

2 feedback on the utility of the site (including rec3 ommendations for improving data quality and 

4 collection); 

5 (B) an assessment of the reporting burden 

6 placed on Federal award and subaward recipi7 ents; and 

8 (C) an explanation of any extension of the 

9 subaward reporting deadline under subsection 

10 (d)(2)(B), if applicable. 

11 (3) PUBLICATION.—The Director of the Office of 

12 Management and Budget shall make each report sub13 mitted under paragraph (1) publicly available on the 

14 website established under this section. 

15 SEC. 3. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. 

16 Nothing in this Act shall require the disclosure of clas17 sified information. 


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Calendar No. 576 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2590 

A BILL 

To require full disclosure of all entities and 

organizations receiving Federal funds. 

AUGUST 2, 2006 

Reported with an amendment 


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