Grants Management Reform Bill On The Move

Yesterday the House passed its version of a bill to reauthorize the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act, pushing OMB even more to create a one-stop web portal that would consolidate all grant application and management functions and standardize the process governmentwide.

The House version of S. 303 is similar to the Senate bill passed in March 2009. Both direct OMB to beef up Grants.gov so that it serves not only as a central location for grant applications, but also for grants management. The legislation continues the push for standardized reporting forms, and requires OMB to provide Congress with a list of those federal agencies that do not use the standard forms and the central management portal.

The House bill also would require the development of a single data standard for private sector entities to use to submit information to federal agencies, including grant applications and reports.

Because the Senate bill does not contain this language – and because of other differences – members of the House and Senate must now meet in conference to work out a comprise bill before the legislation can be sent to the White House.

We’ll keep you informed about this measure as it moves through Congress. Also, this and other grants-related developments will be covered in Management Concepts’ upcoming Federal Grants Update course. The annual course is offered around the country each spring and summer. Watch our website for details in the coming months.