Austin News

U.S. Senators have advanced the Grant Transparency Act, a bipartisan effort to increase transparency in the federal grant application process. The bill, backed by 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), has passed the Senate and is now awaiting approval from the President.

Senator Cornyn highlighted the need for this legislation by stating, "Grant applicants often don’t have enough information to know why they are not awarded a competitive grant despite meeting all of the criteria." He urged prompt action from the President to sign it into law.

The legislation aims to make the selection criteria and evaluation processes more transparent for competitive grant applicants. Senator Hassan noted that current procedures often leave applicants uncertain about how their applications will be judged. She emphasized that this bill would help small towns and organizations understand how to compete effectively for federal funding.

Senator Thune pointed out that increased transparency could ensure that funding decisions are based on merit rather than political favoritism. Similarly, Senator Peters remarked on how vital these grants can be for communities, stating that this act would provide applicants with necessary insights into how projects are evaluated.

Senator Kennedy stressed that people deserve clarity on how government agencies select grant recipients. He encouraged swift presidential action to enact the Grant Transparency Act so applicants can better comprehend access methods for crucial funding.

Finally, Senator Warnock addressed the challenges faced by communities in Georgia due to opaque federal agency practices. He expressed optimism about connecting local communities with federal resources through this legislative initiative.

The act mandates that Notices of Funding Opportunities must include detailed descriptions of rating systems, evaluation criteria, any weighted scoring methods used by agencies, and other qualitative or quantitative merit-based approaches employed during evaluations.

Additionally, Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) is a cosponsor of this legislation. In parallel efforts within the House of Representatives, Russell Fry (SC-07) and Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) led companion legislation supporting these transparency measures.