Sponsors (2)
The bill aims to standardize and simplify federal grantmaking to expand access, reduce applicant burden, and increase transparency, but requires substantial upfront implementation and compliance costs, may strain small actors and staff during transition, and risks weakening oversight for programs with special reporting needs.
State, local, tribal governments, colleges, nonprofits, and small businesses will face simpler, standardized grant applications and clearer eligibility/notice information, reducing time and cost to apply and improving access to federal funding.
Underserved communities — including rural areas, urban communities, immigrants with limited English proficiency, and faith-based organizations — will have improved access to grants and services through outreach, plain-language/LEP materials, and explicit inclusion of faith-based groups.
Federal transparency and accountability will increase because agencies must name senior grant officials, create a Grants Council, post information publicly, and GAO will evaluate implementation and recommend improvements.
Federal agencies and taxpayers will face significant upfront and ongoing implementation costs (rule rework, IT and Grants.gov upgrades, data-standard adoption, translation/outreach) to meet the new statutory requirements.
Smaller agencies, small nonprofits, and small businesses may face disproportionate compliance and systems-upgrade burdens and costs to adapt to standardized processes and new reporting requirements.
Standardization risks weakening oversight of specialized programs whose unique reporting requirements support accountability, potentially reducing program integrity for those programs.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Establishes an OMB-led Grants Council, requires agency grants officials and streamlining plans, standardizes data and NOFOs, and mandates OMB and GAO studies to improve access and reporting.
Introduced January 28, 2026 by Gary C. Peters · Last progress January 28, 2026
Creates a government-wide effort to simplify and improve federal grant and cooperative agreement programs. It requires each agency to name a senior grants official, directs OMB to form a Grants Council to set common data standards and streamline notices and reporting, orders agencies to publish and implement streamlining plans, and mandates multiple studies and GAO evaluations to measure access and effectiveness—especially for organizations and communities that have rarely received federal grants.