Simplifying Grants Act of 2023

Subjects: Government Operations and Politics, Congressional oversight, Government information and archives, Intergovernmental relations, State and local finance

Summary:  <p><strong>Simplifying Grants Act of 2023</strong></p> <p>This bill sets forth procedures for simplifying the grant process for nonurbanized areas, for both existing and new grant programs. </p> <p>Each agency must make publicly available a checklist for covered local governments with respect to each grant program of the agency for which such governments are otherwise eligible that includes each requirement for every step of the grant process.</p> <p>The Office of Management and Budget must report to Congress (1) within 270 days of this bill's enactment, evaluating the extent to which agencies have simplified the requirements and made the checklist available; and (2) each April 1st, evaluating the amount of technical assistance provided and the amount of funds awarded.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 914 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 914

  To simplify the grant process for nonurbanized areas, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 9, 2023

Mr. C. Scott Franklin of Florida (for himself, Mr. Rogers of Kentucky, 
  Ms. Letlow, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. Finstad, Mr. Aderholt, 
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer, Mr. Guest, Mr. Carter of Texas, Mr. LaMalfa, Mrs. 
 Houchin, Mr. Sessions, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Tiffany, Ms. Mace, Mr. 
Fallon, Ms. Tenney, Mr. McCormick, Mrs. Steel, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Ezell, 
Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Mr. Stauber, Mr. Kustoff, Mrs. Cammack, Mr. 
Feenstra, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Flood, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Mann, 
   Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Ellzey, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, and Mr. Carter of 
   Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
               Committee on Oversight and Accountability

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To simplify the grant process for nonurbanized areas, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Simplifying Grants Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means an Executive 
        department or independent establishment, as such terms are 
        defined in sections 101 and 104 of title 5, United States Code, 
        respectively.
            (2) Covered local government.--The term ``covered local 
        government'' means a local government located in an area of 
        which the population is less than the population required to be 
        an urbanized area.
            (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
            (4) Local government.--The term ``local government'' means 
        a county, municipality, city, town, township, or other general 
        purpose political subdivision of a State.
            (5) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, 
        territory, or possession of the United States.
            (6) Urbanized area.--The term ``urbanized area'' means an 
        urbanized area, as determined by the Bureau of the Census for 
        purposes of the most recent decennial census of population.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROCESS SIMPLIFICATION.

    (a) Existing Grant Programs.--For each grant program of an agency 
in existence on the date of enactment of this Act under which covered 
local governments are eligible to receive grants, not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act--
            (1) the Director shall--
                    (A) conduct a review of the complexity of the 
                requirements for a covered local government to receive 
                funds under a grant under the program; and
                    (B) provide to the head of the agency instructions 
                on how to simplify such requirements; and
            (2) the head of the agency, in consultation with the 
        Director, shall simplify such requirements.
    (b) New Grant Programs.--For each grant program of an agency 
established after the date of enactment of this Act under which covered 
local governments are eligible to receive grants, before the 
application for grants under the program becomes available--
            (1) the Director shall--
                    (A) conduct a review of the complexity of the 
                proposed requirements for a covered local government to 
                receive funds under a grant under the program; and
                    (B) provide to the head of the agency instructions 
                on how to simplify such requirements; and
            (2) the head of each agency, in consultation with the 
        Director, shall simplify such requirements.
    (c) Checklists.--
            (1) In general.--In accordance with paragraph (2), the head 
        of each agency shall make publicly available a checklist for 
        covered local governments with respect to each grant program of 
        the agency for which covered local governments are otherwise 
        eligible that includes each requirement for each step of the 
        grant process for a grant under the grant program.
            (2) Deadline.--The head of an agency shall make publicly 
        available a checklist under paragraph (1)--
                    (A) with respect to a grant program in existence on 
                the date of enactment of this Act, not later than 180 
                days after the date of enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) with respect to a grant program established 
                after the date of enactment of this Act, on the date on 
                which the application for the grant program becomes 
                available.

SEC. 4. REPORTING.

    (a) One-Time Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to Congress a report 
evaluating, as of the date of submission of the report--
            (1) the extent to which agencies have simplified the 
        requirements for covered local governments under section 3(a); 
        and
            (2) the extent to which agencies made available checklists 
        under section 3(c)(1) for each grant program in existence on 
        the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Ongoing Report.--Not later than April 1 of the first year after 
the year during which this Act is enacted, and every April 1 
thereafter, the Director shall submit to Congress a report evaluating--
            (1) the amount of technical assistance provided to covered 
        local governments during the previous fiscal year by agencies 
        relating to the preaward, award, implementation, and closeout 
        stages of grants awarded by the agencies; and
            (2) the amount of funds that were awarded by agencies 
        during the previous fiscal year to--
                    (A) covered local governments; and
                    (B) local governments that are not covered local 
                governments.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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