SIMPLIFYING FEDERAL AWARD REPORTING.

SEC. 5. [31 U.S.C. 6101 note] SIMPLIFYING FEDERAL AWARD REPORTING. (a) In General.—The Director, in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, recipients of Federal awards, including State and local governments, and institutions of higher education (as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)), shall review the information required to be reported by recipients of Federal awards to identify— (1) common reporting elements across the Federal Government; (2) unnecessary duplication in financial reporting; and (3) unnecessarily burdensome reporting requirements for recipients of Federal awards. (b) Pilot Program.— (1) Establishment.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014, the Director, or a Federal agency designated by the Director, shall establish a pilot program (in this section referred to as the “pilot program”) with the participation of appropriate Federal agencies to facilitate the development of recommendations for— (A) standardized reporting elements across the Federal Government; (B) the elimination of unnecessary duplication in financial reporting; and (C) the reduction of compliance costs for recipients of Federal awards. (2) Requirements.—The pilot program shall— (A) include a combination of Federal contracts, grants, and subawards, the aggregate value of which is not less than $1,000,000,000 and not more than $2,000,000,000; (B) include a diverse group of recipients of Federal awards; and (C) to the extent practicable, include recipients who receive Federal awards from multiple programs across multiple agencies. (3) Data collection.—The pilot program shall include data collected during a 12-month reporting cycle. (4) Reporting and evaluation requirements.—Each recipient of a Federal award participating in the pilot program shall submit to the Office of Management and Budget or the Federal agency designated under paragraph (1), as appropriate, any requested reports of the selected Federal awards. (5) Termination.—The pilot program shall terminate on the date that is 2 years after the date on which the pilot program is established. (6) Report to congress.—Not later than 90 days after the date on which the pilot program terminates under paragraph (5), the Director shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the Budget of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives a report on the pilot program, which shall include— (A) a description of the data collected under the pilot program, the usefulness of the data provided, and the cost to collect the data from recipients; and (B) a discussion of any legislative action required and recommendations for— (i) consolidating aspects of Federal financial reporting to reduce the costs to recipients of Federal awards; (ii) automating aspects of Federal financial reporting to increase efficiency and reduce the costs to recipients of Federal awards; (iii) simplifying the reporting requirements for recipients of Federal awards; and (iv) improving financial transparency. (7) Government-wide implementation.—Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Director submits the report under paragraph (6), the Director shall issue guidance to the heads of Federal agencies as to how the Government-wide financial data standards established under section 4(a) shall be applied to the information required to be reported by entities receiving Federal awards to— (A) reduce the burden of complying with reporting requirements; and (B) simplify the reporting process, including by reducing duplicative reports.