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Amends the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act to add a legal definition of “subaward” and to require public reporting of certain foreign subawards. The change creates new reporting rules and definitions for key terms, imposes a requirement that eligible subawards to foreign entities be reported to the federal transparency system, and directs the agency Director to issue implementing guidance within 90 days of enactment.
Adds a new definition of the term “subaward.” The definition states that a subaward: (A) means an award (including a grant, contract, cooperative agreement, other transaction agreement, or other financial transaction) provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient so the subrecipient can carry out part of a Federal award received by the pass-through entity; (B) includes an award described in (A) that is passed from a subrecipient to another subrecipient; and (C) does not include payments to a beneficiary of a Federal program.
Requires the recipient of a covered subaward to disclose data about the covered subaward in the same manner that subawards are disclosed under paragraph (2) of subsection (d).
Defines the term “prime award recipient” for purposes of a covered subaward as the entity that directly receives the Federal award from which the covered subaward originates.
Directs the Director to issue guidance to establish consistency for complying with the new paragraph for agencies, prime award recipients, and covered subaward recipients. The guidance must include standards for disclosed data.
The Director must issue the guidance not later than 90 days after the date of enactment.
Who is affected and how:
Government contractors and prime award recipients: Entities that receive federal awards and that make subawards (including to foreign entities) will face new reporting obligations. They will likely need to identify covered foreign subawards, collect required information from foreign subrecipients, and submit reports into the FFATA system. This creates administrative and compliance costs (staff time, recordkeeping, possible system changes).
Non‑Federal entities and grantees: Non‑federal organizations that administer federal grants or cooperative agreements and that pass funds to foreign partners will likewise need to track and report covered foreign subawards. They may adjust contracting practices and due‑diligence procedures to capture required data.
Foreign persons and foreign subrecipients: Foreign entities receiving federal dollars indirectly via subawards may be required to provide identifying information and other data to U.S. prime recipients for reporting. That raises privacy, commercial confidentiality, and practical burden issues for those foreign organizations.
Federal implementing office(s): The Director charged with administering FFATA must draft and publish guidance within 90 days, update reporting systems as necessary, and provide outreach to awardees. Agencies will incur administrative work to align grant/contract terms with the new reporting rules.
Oversight bodies and the public: Congress, watchdogs, journalists, and the public will gain more visibility into money that flows overseas via subawards, improving oversight and transparency but potentially raising national‑security or privacy debates depending on the nature of reported recipients and data released.
Net effects: greater visibility into federal subaward flows to foreign entities and clearer legal definitions, offset by increased compliance burden on U.S. awardees and potential information‑sharing concerns for foreign subrecipients. The statute relies on near‑term agency guidance to resolve practical implementation questions, so the precise timing and scope of reporting burdens will depend on that guidance.
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TRACKS Act
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Introduced April 10, 2025 by Joni Ernst · Last progress April 10, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Introduced in Senate