Congress Unanimously Passes Bipartisan Proposal to Improve Federal Grant Data

Washington, D.C. – Data Coalition Chief Executive Officer Nick Hart, Ph.D. issued the following statement on the passage of the Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency (GREAT) Act of 2019 on Monday, December 16, 2019:  

For far too long businesses, non-profits, local governments, and other federal grant recipients were expected to navigate cumbersome reporting processes, resulting in delayed and incomplete information. Because of insufficient reporting in the past, too little information is available to determine which grants most effectively accomplish program goals and best serve the American people. In passing the GREAT Act today, Congress decided to transform federal grant reporting for the modern era by directing federal agencies to modernize and improve grantee reporting.

The GREAT Act will fundamentally improve accountability and transparency for federal grants provided to school districts, police departments, fire stations, hospitals, food banks, homeless shelters, job training centers, and much more. The policies about data standards in the GREAT Act are long overdue, which is why the bipartisan cooperation to advance this common-sense legislation unanimously through Congress is welcome.

The Data Coalition strongly encourages the President to quickly sign the GREAT Act so the American people can begin to realize the tremendous benefits from better data on federal grants.