Duplicative Grant Consolidation Act

This bill aims to stop people from getting two federal grants for the same project and to block grants based on fake applications. If a person applies to more than one federal agency for the same purpose, the agencies will coordinate and decide which one, if any, should award the grant. Colleges and universities are exempt from the “no two grants for the same purpose” rule, but no one is exempt from the rule against fraud .

Within one year, the Office of Management and Budget must create an online system that lets agencies and their Inspectors General check whether an applicant has already applied for, or received, a grant for the same purpose. The system will include basic details like the awardee’s name, principal investigator, award period, agency contact, and an abstract. It will also cover federal research awards to flag when very similar research is being proposed to the same or different agencies. The office must also report to Congress on whether artificial intelligence could quickly spot duplicate applications and signs of waste, fraud, and abuse.

Key points:

• Who is affected: Federal grant applicants, federal agencies, and Inspectors General; colleges and universities get an exception to the duplicate-grant rule but not to the fraud rule .
• What changes: No grants for duplicate projects (with the college/university exception) and no grants for fraudulent applications; new tracking system to catch duplicates; study of AI tools to find duplicates and fraud .
• When: The new tracking system must be in place within one year of the bill becoming law.