HR 420
Federal Grant Accountability Act
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Bill overview
This bill, the Federal Grant Accountability Act, aims to standardize indirect cost rates for research grants awarded to colleges and universities. It limits the amount of indirect costs – expenses like administrative support – that institutions can claim on federal research funds to match the rates received by private sector organizations. The Office of Management and Budget will determine the average private rate, and the Government Accountability Office will conduct a study to assess these rates and how they’re applied across different research fields and institutions.
Key provisions
- Limits indirect costs on federal research awards to match private research award rates.
- The Office of Management and Budget will annually determine the average indirect cost rate for private research awards.
- The Government Accountability Office will study indirect cost rates for both federal and private research awards.
- The GAO study will examine indirect costs related to administrative staff, including those focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- The GAO study will assess consistency in how research awarding organizations set indirect cost rates.
- The bill defines ‘Federal research award’ and ‘Institution of higher education’ for clarity.
- The bill uses guidelines from the Code of Federal Regulations for determining indirect costs.
Who is affected
- Institutions of Higher Education
- Federal Research Grant Recipients
- The Office of Management and Budget
- The Government Accountability Office
Sponsors
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Primary sponsor
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 420
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To impose limitations on the amount of indirect costs allowable under Federal research awards to institutions of higher education, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Federal Grant Accountability Act
.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine, not less frequently than annually, the average indirect cost rate applicable to private research awards for purposes of paragraph (1).
In determining indirect costs
for purposes of this subsection, the guidelines under subpart E of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations) for determining indirect costs charged to Federal awards shall be used.
the indirect cost rates allowable under Federal research awards to institutions of higher education, including awards made by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and other such organizations; and
the indirect cost rates allowable under private research awards to institutions of higher education.
The study under paragraph (1) shall include an assessment of—
the average indirect cost rates allowable under Federal and private research awards, respectively;
the research fields that receive the highest levels of funding from Federal and private research awards, respectively;
the average amount of indirect costs allowable under Federal and private research awards that are used to fund administrative staff, including administrative staff with responsibilities relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion; and
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1). The report shall include such recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate to improve the system for determining indirect cost rates and tracking reimbursements for indirect costs under Federal research awards.
In this section:
The term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).