Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4887) to modernize Federal grant reporting, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4887

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Mr. Speaker, I urge support of H.R. 4887, the GREAT Act, introduced by Congresswoman Foxx of North Carolina.

The GREAT Act would amend previously enacted legislation to improve reporting on Federal grants.

In 2014, Congress enacted the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, or DATA Act. The DATA Act required the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a pilot program to alleviate reporting burdens for grant recipients.

Through the pilot, it became clear that grant recipients often have to enter the same data multiple times, and there is no single location where all the data can be analyzed. This redundancy is burdensome for both the grant recipient and for those conducting oversight of Federal awards.

In fiscal year 2017, the Federal Government awarded over $660 billion in grants. Congress has a fiscal responsibility to review this spending, but without standardized data, it is difficult to do.

The GREAT Act fixes both of these problems by tasking the Office of Management and Budget and an executive branch agency with creating standardized reporting elements for Federal awards. The data elements must be machine readable, nonproprietary, and comply with standards in the DATA Act.

The GREAT Act requires the data collected to be made publicly available within 4 years of enactment. The bill exempts personally identifying information, sensitive data, and data otherwise exempt from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

The GREAT Act increases transparency for public and private oversight, helping to ensure taxpayers get the best possible return on their $660 billion investment in Federal grants.

Improved reporting processes will also ease the burden on grant recipients, so these individuals and organizations can focus on doing the work, rather than filling out duplicative information.

The GREAT Act is supported by the DATA Coalition, the National Grants Management Association, and the Association of Government Accountants.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Foxx and Representative Gomez for their work on this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. RUSSELL. Foxx), who is a sponsor of this bill.

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Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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