Currently, there are over 1,900 different federal grant programs administered by 51 agencies involving more than 131,000 award recipients. Image: Maria Dryfhout/Shutterstock.com
Grant awards and cooperative agreements account for an increasing share of federal agency spending, a larger share than acquisition, but “administration is fragmented, duplicative, and uncoordinated across agencies and programs,” says a Senate report.
“Currently, there are over 1,900 different federal grant programs administered by 51 agencies involving more than 131,000 award recipients. Programs often use different funding announcement formats, application forms, and software systems for grant application and management. This fragmentation increases the burden for communities and organizations applying and managing federal grants, particularly for groups that have not previously applied for or received federal grants,” it says.
Laws enacted in recent years such as the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act “significantly increased the amount of grant funding flowing to local communities and organizations to advance key climate, infrastructure, and competitiveness goals,” it says.
The report was filed in support of S-2286, now ready for a full Senate vote, which would require: each grantmaking federal agency to identify a senior agency official responsible for grant policy and management; OMB to establish a Grants Council tasked with streamlining and coordinating processes related to grant application, administration, and reporting; OMB and the council to issue guidance to improve grant administration; and OMB and HHS to study and improve grants.gov.
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