PASSED THE HOUSE: Hassan, Cornyn, Colleagues’ Bill to Increase Transparency of Federal Grant Application Process

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Thune (R-SD), Gary Peters (D-MI), John Kennedy (R-LA), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) released the following statements after their Grant Transparency Act, which would require government agencies to provide competitive grant applicants with more information about their selection criteria and evaluation process, passed the House:  

“Grant applicants often don’t have enough information to know why they are not awarded a competitive grant despite meeting all of the criteria,” said Sen. Cornyn. “The Grant Transparency Act would require government agencies to shine a light on how they decide between applicants behind closed doors, and I urge my colleagues to support it.”

“All grant applicants should have a level playing field when applying for federal funding, but too often there is little transparency from federal agencies about how applications will be evaluated,” said Sen. Hassan. “This bipartisan legislation will help small towns and organizations in particular more easily access federal assistance, so that they can best serve the people in their communities.”

“State and local leaders work hard to develop a strong application process for federal funding,” said Sen. Thune. “This legislation would require agencies to increase transparency of the grant application process, which would help ensure that funding is truly based on merit, not political favoritism.” 

“Grant dollars can be a game changer for communities, but too often applicants lack the information needed to effectively compete for these important federal investments,” said Sen. Peters. “This bipartisan legislation will help applicants across Michigan and the country better understand how their projects will be evaluated, making sure every community has a fair shot at accessing these resources.”

“The Grant Transparency Act would shed a light on how the government chooses which Louisianians receive or don’t receive competitive grants,” said Sen. Kennedy. “Now that the House has passed this critically important bill, I urge my Senate colleagues to do the same to bring clarity to the process.”

“So many communities throughout Georgia rely on the resources and funding that federal grants can provide. But too often, the lack of transparency and clarity from federal agencies makes the barrier to entry for these grants almost unfeasible for the communities that need them most,” said Sen. Rev. Warnock. “That is why our bipartisan Grant Transparency Act is so important for helping streamline the application process and better connect our local communities with federal resources to help them thrive.”

Background:

The Grant Transparency Act would require the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for competitive grants to include:

• A description of any rating system, evaluation, and selection criteria the agency uses to assess applications for the competitive grant;
• A statement of whether the agency uses a weighted scoring method and a description of any weighted scoring method the agency uses for the competitive grant, including the amount by which the agency weights each criterion;
• And any other qualitative or quantitative merit-based approach the agency uses to evaluate an application for a competitive grant.

Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) is also a cosponsor of the legislation.

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