“To require a study on the critical data gaps experienced by Federal agencies providing grants for the recovery of Puerto Rico.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to complete, not later than one year after the date of enactment, and submit to the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources a report on data needs across specified grant-awarding agencies (i.e., relevant agencies that have allocated, obligated, or disbursed recovery funds for Puerto Rico) for grants supporting Puerto Rico's recovery from Hurricanes Irma, María, and Fiona, the 2020 earthquakes, and COVID-19. The report must include (1) a list of all such grants specifying type, amount, and pertinent disaster or emergency; (2) an assessment of statistical products (i.e., federal statistical inputs, estimates, and products used to develop and manage grant funding) detailing their use at specified grant process stages including notice of funding opportunity, development, application review, award selection, terms and conditions formulation, and technical assistance; (3) an evaluation of critical data needs including lack of coverage, disparities, reporting delays, and reliability limitations; (4) a description of how identified data gaps impeded grant allocation, management, and evaluation with specific examples; and (5) where applicable, a list of federal products excluding Puerto Rico that could improve grant processes if Puerto Rico were included, along with agency recommendations for integration. This section further requires any federal official to comprehensively respond to the Comptroller General's information requests for the report within 90 days of receipt.