News

Washington, May 6 — The Federal Bar Association hosted a question-and-answer session on aspects of grants law and regulations at the National Grants Management Association Annual Training Conference. Session panelists were Thomas Armstrong, assistant general counsel for appropriations and budgeting at the Government Accountability Office; Stacia Davis Le Blanc, senior counsel at Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP; Peter Wathen-Dunn, senior attorney for the Department of Education’s Office of General Counsel; and Jennifer Schwab, senior attorney with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of General Counsel. The following offers condensed responses to Recovery Act questions posed during the session.

Washington, May 4 – Although nearly $75 billion of the estimated $246 billion states will receive from the Recovery Act has already been handed out, Congress and representatives for state and local governments remain unclear on how to best prevent fraud, abuse and mismanagement of the largest amount of stimulus spending in U.S. history.

Washington, April 29 – With federal officials predicting that the surge in applications flowing through Grants.gov for Recovery Act funds will last until August or later, federal agencies continue to flesh out alternatives to the overcrowded system. But a new report from the Government Accountability Office, sent to Congress today, says that although these alternate routes for applications have most likely prevented a total Grants.gov failure, applicants lack a centralized source of information on how and when to use them.

Washington, April 16 – The Federal Highway Administration continues to ready itself to oversee the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.

Washington, April 15 – State and local officials who rely on lobbyists to push their case in Washington may want to take a careful look at new Office of Management and Budget guidance to federal agencies concerning lobbyist activities related to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.

Washington, April 16 — Lost amid the scramble by public transportation agencies to obligate and spend American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA; Pub. L. 111-5) funds for existing transportation programs in the timely manner dictated by the law is a brand-new grant created by the ARRA to fight greenhouse gas emissions and curb energy use. And although this new program was signed into law less than two months ago, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is wasting no time in establishing program rules and soliciting applications.

Washington, April 13 – Recipients of grant funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are required by law to submit reports by Oct. 10, along with quarterly reports due 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter.

Washington, April 14 – The Department of Health and Human Services is set to receive $2.3 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to provide child care services and vaccinations for working families. The funds will enable states to issue vouchers for child care or provide them with funds to provide access through contracts with child care centers.

Washington, April 9 – As state governments gear up to submit their applications for the $8 billion in capital grants for rail projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Federal Railroad Administration is clarifying the application process and updating states on new guidance information.

Washington, April 8 – Just as federal officials had earlier feared, Grants.gov has seen an extraordinary 115 percent increase in Web site hits between December 2008 and March 2009.