[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 468 Engrossed Amendment House (EAH)]
1st Session
S. 468
_______________________________________________________________________
AMENDMENT
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
November 2, 1999.
Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 468) entitled ``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'', do pass with
the following
AMENDMENT:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Financial Assistance
Management Improvement Act of 1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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 same meaning as defined 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.--Except as provided under subsection (b), 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;
(6) ensures recipients of Federal financial assistance
provide timely, complete, and high quality information in
response to Federal reporting requirements; and
(7) in cooperation with recipients of Federal financial
assistance, 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
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-
62; 107 Stat. 285).
(b) Extension.--If a Federal agency is unable to comply with
subsection (a), the Director may extend for up to 12 months the period
for the agency to develop and implement a plan in accordance with
subsection (a).
(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 (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.
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 common application and reporting system, including--
(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; and
(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 section 552a of title 5, United States
Code; 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.--Upon the request of the Director,
agencies shall submit to the Director, for the Director's review,
information and other reporting regarding agency 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 shall be
available to the public through the Office of Management and Budget's
Internet site.
(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, performance, and coordination of Federal
financial assistance programs.
(f) Deadline.--All actions required under this section shall be
carried out not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 7. EVALUATION.
(a) In General.--The General Accounting Office shall evaluate the
effectiveness of this Act. Not later than 6 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; and
(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 8 years after such date of enactment.
Attest:
Clerk.