II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1829 

To modernize Federal grant reporting, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 13, 2019 

Mr. LANKFORD (for himself, Mr. PETERS, Mr. ENZI, and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To modernize Federal grant reporting, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Trans6 parency Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘GREAT Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 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. 


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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. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are to— 

3 (1) modernize reporting by recipients of Federal 

4 grants and cooperative agreements by creating and 

5 imposing data standards for the information that 

6 those recipients are required by law to report to the 

7 Federal Government; 

8 (2) implement the recommendation by the Di9 rector of the Office of Management and Budget con10 tained in the report submitted under section 5(b)(6) 

11 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Trans12 parency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) relating 

13 to the development of a ‘‘comprehensive taxonomy of 

14 standard definitions for core data elements required 

15 for managing Federal financial assistance awards’’; 

16 (3) reduce burden and compliance costs of re17 cipients of Federal grants and cooperative agree18 ments by enabling technology solutions, existing or 

19 yet to be developed, for use in both the public and 

20 private sectors to better manage the data that re21 cipients already provide to the Federal Government; 

22 and 


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1 (4) to strengthen oversight and management of 

2 Federal grants and cooperative agreements by agen3 cies by consolidating the collection and display of 

4 and access to open data that has been standardized 

5 and, where appropriate, increasing transparency to 

6 the public. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act, the terms ‘‘agency’’, ‘‘Director’’, ‘‘Fed9 eral award’’, and ‘‘Secretary’’ have the meanings given 

10 those terms in section 6401 of title 31, United States 

11 Code, as added by section 4(a) of this Act. 

12 SEC. 4. DATA STANDARDS FOR GRANT REPORTING. 

13 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle V of title 31, United 

14 States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 63 the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘CHAPTER 64—DATA STANDARDS FOR 

17 GRANT REPORTING 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘6401. Definitions. 

‘‘6402. Data standards for grant reporting. 

‘‘6403. Guidance applying data standards for grant reporting. 

‘‘6404. Agency requirements. 

18 ‘‘§ 6401. Definitions 

19 ‘‘In this chapter: 

20 ‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ has the 

21 meaning given the term in section 552(f) of title 5. 

22 ‘‘(2) CORE DATA ELEMENTS.—The term ‘core 

23 data elements’ means data elements relating to fiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Jun 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1829.IS S1829

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1 nancial management, administration, or manage2 ment that— 

3 ‘‘(A) are not program-specific in nature or 

4 program-specific outcome measures, as defined 

5 in section 1115(h) of this title; and 

6 ‘‘(B) are required by agencies for all or the 

7 vast majority of recipients of Federal awards 

8 for purposes of reporting. 

9 ‘‘(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

10 the Director of the Office of Management and Budg11 et. 

12 ‘‘(4) EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.—The term 

13 ‘Executive department’ has the meaning given the 

14 term in section 101 of title 5. 

15 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL AWARD.—The term ‘Federal 

16 award’— 

17 ‘‘(A) means the transfer of anything of 

18 value for a public purpose of support or stimu19 lation authorized by a law of the United States, 

20 including financial assistance and Government 

21 facilities, services, and property; 

22 ‘‘(B) includes a grant, a subgrant, a coop23 erative agreement, or any other transaction; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) does not include a transaction or 

2 agreement— 

3 ‘‘(i) that provides for conventional 

4 public information services or procurement 

5 of property or services for the direct ben6 efit or use of the Government; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) that provides only— 

8 ‘‘(I) direct Government cash as9 sistance to an individual; 

10 ‘‘(II) a subsidy; 

11 ‘‘(III) a loan; 

12 ‘‘(IV) a loan guarantee; or 

13 ‘‘(V) insurance. 

14 ‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

15 the head of the standard-setting agency. 

16 ‘‘(7) STANDARD-SETTING AGENCY.—The term 

17 ‘standard-setting agency’ means the Executive de18 partment designated under section 6402(a)(1). 

19 ‘‘(8) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each 

20 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

21 each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 

22 United States, and each federally recognized Indian 

23 Tribe. 

24 ‘‘§ 6402. Data standards for grant reporting 

25 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION OF STANDARD-SETTING

2 AGENCY.—The Director shall designate the Execu3 tive department that administers the greatest num4 ber of programs under which Federal awards are 

5 issued in a calendar year as the standard-setting 

6 agency. 

7 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS.—Not 

8 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 

9 this chapter, the Secretary and the Director shall es10 tablish Governmentwide data standards for informa11 tion reported by recipients of Federal awards. 

12 ‘‘(3) DATA ELEMENTS.—The data standards 

13 established under paragraph (2) shall include, at a 

14 minimum— 

15 ‘‘(A) standard definitions for data elements 

16 required for managing Federal awards; and 

17 ‘‘(B) unique identifiers for Federal awards 

18 and recipients of Federal awards that can be 

19 consistently applied Governmentwide. 

20 ‘‘(b) SCOPE.—The data standards established under 

21 subsection (a)— 

22 ‘‘(1) shall include core data elements; 

23 ‘‘(2) may cover information required by law to 

24 be reported to any agency by recipients of Federal 


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1 awards, including audit-related information reported 

2 under chapter 75 of this title; and 

3 ‘‘(3) may not be used by the Director or any 

4 agency to require the collection of any data not oth5 erwise required under Federal law. 

6 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The data standards estab7 lished under subsection (a) shall, to the extent reasonable 

8 and practicable— 

9 ‘‘(1) render information reported by recipients 

10 of Federal awards fully searchable and machine11 readable; 

12 ‘‘(2) be nonproprietary; 

13 ‘‘(3) incorporate standards developed and main14 tained by voluntary consensus standards bodies; 

15 ‘‘(4) be consistent with and implement applica16 ble accounting and reporting principles; and 

17 ‘‘(5) incorporate the data standards established 

18 under the Federal Funding Accountability and 

19 Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note). 

20 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the data 

21 standards under subsection (a), the Secretary and the Di22 rector shall consult with— 

23 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure 

24 that the data standards established under subsection 

25 (a) incorporate the data standards established under 


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1 the Federal Funding Accountability and Trans2 parency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note); 

3 ‘‘(2) the head of each agency that issues Fed4 eral awards; 

5 ‘‘(3) recipients of Federal awards and organiza6 tions representing recipients of Federal awards; 

7 ‘‘(4) private sector experts; 

8 ‘‘(5) members of the public, including privacy 

9 experts, privacy advocates, auditors, and industry 

10 stakeholders; and 

11 ‘‘(6) State and local governments. 

12 ‘‘§ 6403. Guidance applying data standards for grant 

13 reporting 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

15 date of enactment of this chapter— 

16 ‘‘(1) the Secretary and the Director shall jointly 

17 issue guidance to all agencies directing the agencies 

18 to apply the data standards established under sec19 tion 6402(a) to all applicable reporting by recipients 

20 of Federal awards; and 

21 ‘‘(2) the Director shall prescribe guidance ap22 plying the data standards established under section 

23 6402(a) to audit-related information reported under 

24 chapter 75 of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE.—The guidance issued under sub2 section (a) shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) to the extent reasonable and practicable— 

4 ‘‘(A) minimize the disruption of existing 

5 reporting practices of, and not increase the re6 porting burden on, agencies or recipients of 

7 Federal awards; and 

8 ‘‘(B) explore opportunities to implement 

9 modern technologies in reporting relating to 

10 Federal awards; 

11 ‘‘(2) allow the Director to permit exceptions for 

12 classes of Federal awards, including exceptions for 

13 Federal awards granted to Indian Tribes and Tribal 

14 organizations consistent with the Indian Self-Deter15 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

16 5301 et seq.), if the Director publishes a list of 

17 those exceptions and submits the list to the Com18 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af19 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight 

20 and Reform of the House of Representatives; and 

21 ‘‘(3) take into consideration the consultation re22 quired under section 6402(d). 

23 ‘‘(c) UPDATING GUIDANCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

2 once every 10 years, the Director shall update the 

3 guidance issued under subsection (a). 

4 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.—In updating guidance 

5 under paragraph (1), the Director shall, to the max6 imum extent practicable, follow the procedures for 

7 the development of the data standards and guidance 

8 prescribed under this section and section 6402. 

9 ‘‘§ 6404. Agency requirements 

10 ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date on which guid11 ance is issued or updated under subsection (b) or (c), re12 spectively, of section 6403, the head of each agency 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) ensure that all of the Federal awards that 

15 the agency issues use data standards for all future 

16 information collection requests; and 

17 ‘‘(2) amend existing information collection re18 quests under chapter 35 of title 44 (commonly 

19 known as the ‘Paperwork Reduction Act’) to comply 

20 with the data standards established under section 

21 6402 of this chapter, in accordance with the guid22 ance issued by the Director under section 6403 of 

23 this chapter.’’. 

24 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

25 The table of chapters for subtitle V of title 31, United 


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1 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat2 ing to chapter 63 the following: 

‘‘64. Data standards for grant reporting .................................. 6401’’. 

3 SEC. 5. SINGLE AUDIT ACT. 

4 (a) AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.—Section 7502(h) 

6 of title 31, United States Code, is amended, in the 

7 matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘in an 

8 electronic form in accordance with the data stand9 ards established under chapter 64 and’’ after ‘‘the 

10 reporting package,’’. 

11 (2) REGULATIONS.—Section 7505 of title 31, 

12 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘(d) Such guidance shall require audit-related infor15 mation reported under this chapter to be reported in an 

16 electronic form in accordance with the data standards es17 tablished under chapter 64.’’. 

18 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 3 years after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue 

20 guidance requiring audit-related information reported 

21 under chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code, to be 

22 reported in an electronic form consistent with the data 

23 standards established under chapter 64 of that title, as 

24 added by section 4(a) of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 6. CONSOLIDATION OF ASSISTANCE-RELATED INFOR2 MATION; PUBLICATION OF PUBLIC INFORMA3 TION AS OPEN DATA. 

4 (a) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—Not later than 

5 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec6 retary and the Director shall, using the data standards 

7 established under chapter 64 of title 31, United States 

8 Code, as added by section 4(a) of this Act, enable the col9 lection, public display, and maintenance of Federal award 

10 information as a Governmentwide data set, subject to rea11 sonable restrictions established by the Director to ensure 

12 protection of personally identifiable information and other13 wise sensitive information. 

14 (b) PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

15 and the Director shall require the publication of data re16 ported by recipients of Federal awards that is collected 

17 from all agencies on a single public portal, which may be 

18 an existing Governmentwide website, as determined appro19 priate by the Director. 

20 (c) FOIA.—Nothing in this section shall require the 

21 disclosure to the public of information that would be ex22 empt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United 

23 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of Infor24 mation Act’’). 


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1 SEC. 7. EVALUATION OF NONPROPRIETARY IDENTIFIERS. 

2 (a) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—The Director and 

3 the Secretary shall determine whether to use nonpropri4 etary identifiers described in section 6402(a)(3)(B) of title 

5 31, United States Code, as added by section 4(a) of this 

6 Act. 

7 (b) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In making the 

8 determination under subsection (a), the Director and the 

9 Secretary shall consider factors such as accessibility and 

10 cost to recipients of Federal awards, agencies that issue 

11 Federal awards, private sector experts, and members of 

12 the public, including privacy experts, privacy advocates, 

13 transparency experts, and transparency advocates. 

14 (c) PUBLICATION AND REPORT ON DETERMINA15 TION.—Not later than the earlier of 1 year after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act or the date on which the Director 

17 and the Secretary establish data standards under section 

18 6402(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code, as added by 

19 section 4(a) of this Act, the Director and the Secretary 

20 shall publish and submit to the Committee on Homeland 

21 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

22 Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Rep23 resentatives a report explaining the reasoning for the de24 termination made under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 

3 Act, shall be construed to require the collection of data 

4 that is not otherwise required under any Federal law, rule, 

5 or regulation. 

6 SEC. 9. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

7 No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 

8 requirements of this Act and the amendments made by 

9 this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using 

10 amounts otherwise authorized. 

Æ 


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