WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Thune (R-SD), Gary Peters (D-MI), John Kennedy (R-LA), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) released the following statements after their Grant Transparency Act, which would require government agencies to provide competitive grant applicants with more information about their selection criteria and evaluation process, passed the Senate and now heads to the President’s desk:  

“Grant applicants often don’t have enough information to know why they are not awarded a competitive grant despite meeting all of the criteria,” said Sen. Cornyn. “The Grant Transparency Act would require government agencies to shine a light on how they decide between applicants behind closed doors, and I urge the President to swiftly sign it into law.”

“Federal grant funding provides essential support to small towns and organizations, but the current process can often leave applicants in the dark about how their applications will be evaluated,” said Sen. Hassan. “This bipartisan legislation will help grant applicants understand exactly how they can successfully compete for federal funding that can make a real difference in their local communities.”

“State and local leaders work hard to develop a strong application process for federal funding,” said Sen. Thune. “This legislation would require agencies to increase transparency of the grant application process, which would help ensure that funding is truly based on merit, not political favoritism.” 

“Grant dollars can be a game changer for communities, but too often applicants lack the information needed to effectively compete for these important federal investments,” said Sen. Peters. “This bipartisan legislation will help applicants across Michigan and the country better understand how their projects will be evaluated, making sure every community has a fair shot at accessing these resources.”

“Louisianians deserve to know how the government chooses competitive grant recipients,” said Sen. Kennedy. “The president should move quickly to sign the Grant Transparency Act into law so that applicants can better understand how organizations can access this crucial funding.”

“Communities throughout Georgia rely on federal grants to better the lives of their community members. But too often, the lack of transparency and clarity from federal agencies makes the barrier to entry for these grants almost unfeasible for the communities that need them most,” said Sen. Warnock. “Because of our bipartisan efforts, legislation to more easily connect our local communities with federal resources is on its way to becoming law.”

Background:

The Grant Transparency Act would require the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for competitive grants to include:

• A description of any rating system, evaluation, and selection criteria the agency uses to assess applications for the competitive grant;
• A statement of whether the agency uses a weighted scoring method and a description of any weighted scoring method the agency uses for the competitive grant, including the amount by which the agency weights each criterion;
• And any other qualitative or quantitative merit-based approach the agency uses to evaluate an application for a competitive grant.

Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) is also a cosponsor of the legislation. U.S. Representatives Russell Fry (SC-07) and Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) led companion legislation in the House.