GENERAL RULES REGARDING THE PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE.

SEC. 1662. GENERAL RULES REGARDING THE PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE. (a) Notice of Receipt of Applications.— Not later than 30 days before the start of each period established by the Board for receipt of applications for financial assistance under section 1660 or 1661, the Board shall publish in the Federal Register a notice that it will receive such applications. (b) Monitoring.— The Board shall monitor the progress of projects that receive financial assistance under this subtitle. Such monitoring may include on-site reviews by representatives of the Board, a Regional Center, or the Advisory Council, the requirement of written reports by recipients of assistance, and supportive business and technical counseling as needed by the recipient. The Board may use the Advisory Council appointed under section 1661 to assist in such monitoring. (c) Auditing and Accountability.— (1) Required.— The Board shall establish a thorough and effective system of auditing and accountability to ensure that funds paid under section 1660 or 1661 are used by recipients only for the purposes for which those funds are provided by the Center. (2) Demonstrated compliance.— The Board may require that recipients of financial assistance demonstrate that the use of financial assistance is in compliance with the agreement by which that assistance is provided. (d) Information Exempt From Disclosure.— With respect to research, development, demonstration, or commercialization projects carried out with the participation of private research institutions or commercial companies, information received by the Center incident thereto shall be exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and shall not be made available publicly except— (1) with the approval of the person providing the information; or (2) in a judicial or administrative proceeding in which such information is subject to protective order. (e) Overhead and Administrative Costs.— The Board shall require that applications or responses to requests for proposals issued by the Center for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements include detailed estimates of project overhead and administrative costs. In selecting such applications or proposals for awards, the Center shall give preference to those with the lowest effective costs. (f) Prohibition on Certain Uses of Assistance.— No grant may be awarded, or contract or cooperative agreement entered into under this subtitle, for the acquisition or construction of a building or a facility. (g) Reports.— (1) Preparation.— As soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year, the Board shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a report on the activities, progress, and accomplishments of the Center during such fiscal year. The report shall include— (A) a description of the progress, activities, and accomplishments of the Center during that fiscal year and the104 STAT. 3765 expenditures by the Center for its information and other service activities; and (B) a copy of the operating plan prepared by the Board under section 1659(c)(6). (2) Transmittal.— The Secretary shall transmit each report received under paragraph (1) to the President and Congress not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives the report.