Grants council

(a) In general Not later than 80 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a council to be known as the Grants Council. (b) Membership The Council shall be composed of— (1) the Controller of the Office of Federal Financial Management of the Office of Management and Budget, who shall act as the Chair of the Council; (2) with respect to each agency that distributes grants or enters into cooperative agreements, the senior agency official for grants of the agency; and (3) other relevant agency officials, as determined necessary by the Chair. (c) Administrative support The Administrator of General Services shall provide administrative support for the Council. (d) Solicitation of feedback The Director shall— (1) consistently and regularly solicit input and collect feedback and user experience information with respect to the application, administration, and reporting of grants and cooperative agreements, including from non-Federal entities; and (2) incorporate the information collected under paragraph (1) into the work of the Council. (e) Implementation assistance (1) Agency co-chair (A) In general The Director shall designate an agency with representation on the Council to serve as the agency co-chair to assist the Director in carrying out the responsibilities under this section. (B) Term The term of service of the agency co-chair shall be 2 years. (C) Renewal At the discretion of the Council, an agency may serve as the agency co-chair for not more than 2 consecutive terms. (D) Successor Upon the expiration of a term of service of an agency co-chair, the members of the Council shall designate a successor agency co-chair. (2) Interagency working groups The Director may use interagency working groups to assist in carrying out the responsibilities under this section. (f) Interagency duties The Director, in consultation with the Council, shall direct, coordinate, and assist agencies in— (1) designing and implementing common data standards under chapter 64 of title 31, United States Code; (2) creating guidelines for simplified notice of funding opportunities that improve the user experience for grants and cooperative agreements; (3) improving interagency and intergovernmental coordination of information collection and data sharing relating to grant and cooperative agreement programs, including for the purpose of performance management and program evaluation; (4) improving the timeliness, completeness, and quality of information received by agencies from recipients of grants and cooperative agreements; (5) improving the performance of grants and cooperative agreements; (6) ensuring the consistent application and interpretation of Governmentwide Federal financial assistance policy, oversight, and management; (7) supporting the development of the Federal financial assistance workforce; (8) establishing policies and guidelines to prohibit conflicts of interest by officials involved in determining grant awards and grant recipients; and (9) identifying and improving other procedures and policies relating to the application, administration, and reporting of grants and cooperative agreements, as identified by the Council. (g) Report on improvements Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter until the date that is 15 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the Council, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report relating to the implementation of this Act. (h) Report on recommended changes in law and regulations Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the Council, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing recommendations for changes in law and regulations to improve the effectiveness, performance, and coordination of grant and cooperative agreement programs.