Rights of Government Grantees

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Ready or Not, Here Comes the DUNS Number Requirement

Beginning on October 1 all federal grant applicants must have a Dun and Bradstreet “DUNS” number (Data Universal Numbering System) to apply for or renew federal grants, or submit plans under mandatory grant programs. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced the new requirement in a June 27 notice of final policy issuance. OMB said, “The identifier will be used for tracking purposes, and to validate address and point of contact information.” A universal identifier also eliminates the need for separate identification numbers in different federal agencies.

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Attention ALL Grant Applicants: The DUNS Number Requirement

As of October 1 all federal grant applicants must have a "DUNS" number, which the federal government will use as a universal identifier. It will no longer be necessary to have separate identifying numbers with each federal agency. For more information on the "DUNS" number, see the Questions and Answers below: Q 1: What is a "DUNS" number?

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More Evidence of Retaliatory Grant Audits Emerges

If you know of organzations experiencing the problems outlined in this article or other types of actions taken by the government to control nonprofit speech please send a message to Kay Guinane at kguinane@ombwatch.org

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Federal Agencies Launching Grants.gov Web Site

OMB Watch has been monitoring implementation of the federal government’s grants streamlining project, which is required by the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999. The federal government has developed a web site for all agencies to post grant opportunities, and is also piloting a site for electronic submission of grant applications. You can view these at Grants.gov.

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Federal Grant Streamlining Update

The federal government is moving forward with implementation of a 1999 law requiring streamlining and simplification of the grants process. In late June, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published four announcements in the Federal Register on policies to standardize information and formats for grant announcements, and increase the threshold for organization-wide audits for grantees from $300,000 to $500,000. A policy requiring grant applicants to have a Dun and Bradstreet DUNS number after October 1, 2003 was also published.

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Senate Votes to Overturn Global Gag Rule

On July 9th, the Senate voted 53-43 in favor of an amendment to the foreign aid bill that allows federal grantees doing international work to use non-grant funds to provide information about abortion or advocacy on abortion rights. Current policy is known as the “global gag rule” because it bans international aid groups that provide abortion information from receiving federal grants. President Bush issued this policy in a memorandum sent to the Agency for International Development within days of his inauguration.

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House Debates Religious Hiring Discrimination for Faith-Based Grantees

Should religious organizations that receive federal funds for public social service programs be allowed to use religious criteria in hiring staff to carry out those programs? This controversial issue has appeared in several bills in the House of Representatives since being dropped from the CARE Act, passed by the Senate in the spring. On June 25th, the 62nd anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt’s groundbreaking Executive Order banning hiring discrimination by defense contractors, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced H.R.

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OMB Watch Statement on Discrimination in Hiring with Federal Funds

OMB Watch joined with civil rights and religious organizations to support Rep. Bobby Scott's (D-VA) proposed legislation overturning a December 2002 Executive Order of President Bush authorizing religious discrimination by faith-based organizations in hiring for federally funded positions. Here is our statement:

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HHS Seeks Input on Best Practices for Intermediary Organizations

On June 9th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published an announcement seeking public comment on a proposed research study to examine best practices of intermediary organizations that serve faith and community based organizations.

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Head Start Group Sues HHS Over Threatening Letter

The National Head Start Association (NHSA), an organization representing parents, teachers and Head Start programs, filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Tommy Thompson on June 11th, seeking a court order that would prevent HHS from penalizing Head Start advocates that speak out against the administration’s proposed overhaul of the program.

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