Title: GREAT Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act of 2019 or the GREAT Act
This bill requires the establishment and use of data standards for information reported by recipients of federal grants.
The bill requires the Office of Management and Budget, jointly with the executive department that issues the most federal grant awards, to (1) establish government-wide data standards for information reported by grant recipients, (2) issue guidance directing federal agencies to apply those standards, and (3) require the publication of recipient-reported data collected from all agencies on a single public website.
Each agency shall ensure its awards use the data standards for future information collection requests.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1829 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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.

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

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) to 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.
            ``(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 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.

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.
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