S. 3709 — Streamlining Federal Grants Act of 2026

This section sets forth the purposes of the Act as (1) improving the effectiveness and performance of federal grant and cooperative agreement programs; (2) simplifying their application and reporting requirements; (3) improving service delivery to the public, particularly to communities and organizations historically underserved by such programs; and (4) facilitating coordination among grant-awarding agencies and non-federal service providers.

This section defines 16 terms used in the Act, including "agency" (as defined in 5 U.S.C. §551), "Grants Council" (established under section 5(a) of the Act), "Director" (of the Office of Management and Budget), "Federal financial assistance" and "cooperative agreement" (as defined in 31 U.S.C. §§7501 and 6302, respectively), "grant," "Indian Tribe" (as defined in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act), "institution of higher education" (as defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965), "local government," "non-Federal entity" (a State, local government, Indian Tribe, institution of higher education, or nonprofit organization), "nonprofit organization," "senior agency official for grants," and "State."

This section requires the head of each agency, not later than 60 days after the date of enactment, to designate a senior agency official responsible for (1) agency-wide grant and cooperative agreement policy, management, strategic planning, and implementation; and (2) the agency's responsibilities under this Act, and to notify the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the designation. It further directs the OMB Director to maintain a list of such officials and, not later than 90 days after enactment, to make the list publicly available on OMB's website.

This section establishes the Grants Council, chaired by the Controller of the Office of Federal Financial Management in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and composed of senior grants officials from agencies that award grants or cooperative agreements (plus other officials as needed), with administrative support from the General Services Administration. Not later than 80 days after enactment, the OMB Director must establish the council; solicit ongoing feedback on grants processes from non-federal entities and incorporate it into council work; designate a two-year agency co-chair (renewable once); and, in consultation with the council, direct agencies to (1) implement common data standards; (2) create simplified funding notices; (3) improve interagency coordination and data sharing for performance and evaluation; (4) enhance timeliness, completeness, and quality of recipient data; (5) improve grants performance; (6) ensure consistent financial assistance policies; (7) support the federal financial assistance workforce; (8) prohibit conflicts of interest in awards; and (9) improve other grants procedures. The OMB Director must submit to congressional committees (1) a report on implementation one year after enactment and biennially thereafter through 15 years after enactment and (2) by four years after enactment, recommendations for statutory and regulatory changes to enhance grants programs.

This section requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with the Council, to issue guidance within 270 days of enactment for agencies to develop grant improvement plans addressing nine areas, including (1) streamlining grant and cooperative agreement application, administrative, and reporting procedures; (2) improving notices of funding opportunity with plain language, training information, and 500-word summaries; (3) enhancing recipient reporting and limited English proficiency access; and (4) establishing annual goals and objectives. Agencies must submit plans to OMB and congressional committees by the earlier of one year after guidance issuance or 635 days after enactment (with OMB extensions of up to one year possible); publish plans in the Federal Register for public comment and forums; consult non-federal entities; and submit annual reports on implementation and performance to OMB and committees. The section further requires agencies to include grant improvement goals and objectives in agency performance plans submitted annually under 31 U.S.C. §1115(b). (Thus, grant process improvements integrate into agencies' statutory program performance planning.) OMB may exempt agencies or programs administering few grants and must publish exemption lists.

This section directs the Director, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, a report containing (1) findings from a study on the accessibility and user experience of Grants.gov (or any successor website) and (2) recommendations to improve access to its functions. The section further requires implementation of those recommendations not later than three years after the date of enactment.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than two years after the date of enactment of this Act, a report that (1) identifies challenges experienced by non-Federal entities—including faith-based and community-based organizations, rural communities, and small communities—in applying for, accessing, administering, and reporting on grants and cooperative agreements; (2) identifies reasons those entities elect not to participate in such awards; (3) includes options to improve their access; (4) analyzes the extent to which agencies awarding grants collect information on the number and characteristics—including geographic distribution—of applicants for competitive grants and cooperative agreements; and (5) if such information is available, analyzes it.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States, in consultation with non-Federal entities, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees not later than five years after enactment an evaluation of the Act's effectiveness. The evaluation must (1) assess implementation of the Act and the extent to which it meets the Act's purposes; (2) make specific recommendations to further implementation; (3) evaluate each agency's actual performance in achieving the goals and objectives in its plan developed under section 6(a); and (4) assess coordination between the Director and non-Federal entities.