[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 409 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
1st Session
H. R. 409
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 25, 1999
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To improve the effectiveness and performance of Federal financial
assistance programs, simplify Federal financial assistance application
and reporting requirements, and improve the delivery of services to the
public.
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 ``Federal Financial Assistance
Management Improvement Act of 1999''.
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) simplify Federal financial assistance application and
reporting requirements;
(3) improve the delivery of services to the public; and
(4) 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 meaning given that term 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 the
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 in a manner not
inconsistent with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act
(title XVII of Public Law 105-277);
(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
provisions enacted in the Government Performance and Results
Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-62).
(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 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 (Public Law 104-4; 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.
(e) Department of Housing and Urban Development.--(1) Not later
than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development shall develop and implement
a plan that establishes policies and procedures regarding an applicant
who has submitted an application for Federal financial assistance to
the agency that includes a technical deficiency under which--
(A) the applicant shall be notified promptly of the
deficiency and permitted to submit the appropriate information
to correct the deficiency within 7 days of receipt of notice by
the applicant of the deficiency, notwithstanding that the
deadline for submission of an application has expired;
(B) the application shall continue to be considered by the
agency during the period before the applicant is notified and
the 7-day period during which the applicant is permitted to
correct the deficiency; and
(C) if the applicant corrects the deficiency within the 7-
day period, the agency shall continue to consider the
application.
(2) A deficiency (including, but not limited to, a misfiling,
error, or omission) may be considered technical for purposes of this
subsection notwithstanding a material impact on the eligibility of an
applicant or proposed activity for requested funding. A technical
deficiency for purposes of this subsection does not include the failure
to submit a substantially complete application by a deadline published
in the Federal Register.
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) 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 provisions in the Privacy Act of
1974 (Public Law 93-579); 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 the Internet site of the Office of
Management and Budget.
(e) Report on Recommended Changes in Law.--Not later than 18 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit
to Congress a report containing recommendations for changes in law to
improve the effectiveness and performance of Federal financial
assistance programs.
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 the 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 the enactment of this Act
and shall cease to be effective five years after such date of
enactment.
SEC. 12. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
It is the sense of the Congress that Federal agencies, in providing
Federal financial assistance for the purpose of economic development,
should focus primarily on communities with high poverty and
unemployment rates.
Passed the House of Representatives February 24, 1999.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.