Voglio sapere a riguardo di…

2258

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES

II. Background The December 2014 Adoption of the UAR
On December 26, 2013, the Office of Management and Budget OMB issued the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR part 200, that set standard requirements for financial management of Federal awards across the entire federal government.
78 FR 78590 Dec. 26, 2013. OMBs purpose in promulgating the Uniform Guidance was to 1 streamline guidance in making federal awards to ease administrative burden and 2
strengthen financial oversight over federal funds to reduce risks of fraud, waste, and abuse. 78 FR 78590 Dec. 26, 2013; 85 FR 3766 Jan. 22, 2020.
In December of 2014, the Department, in conjunction with OMB and two dozen other federal departments and agencies adopted Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards UAR. 79 FR 75871
Dec. 19, 2014. The Department adopted OMBs final guidance with certain amendments, based on existing HHS regulations, to supplement the guidance as needed for the Department. 79 FR at 75875.
As promulgated by OMB, the statutory authorities for the cost and audit principles in the Uniform Guidance and the UAR include the Chief Financial Officers Act, 31 U.S.C.
503, the Budget and Accounting Act, 31
U.S.C. 11011125, the Single Audit Act, 31 U.S.C. 61016106, and several Executive Orders dictating internal government practice. 2 CFR 200.103.
Similarly, as adoptedand as currently in forcethese same authorities underlie HHSs UAR regulations. 45
CFR 75.103. These laws provide broad authority for the financial management and administration of federal awards grants and cooperative agreements.
The Chief Financial Officers Act, for example, provides that OMB shall oversee, periodically review, and make recommendations to heads of agencies on the administrative structure of agencies with respect to their financial management activities. 5 U.S.C.
503a6. Similarly, the Single Audit Act directs each agency, pursuant to guidance issued by OMB, to 1
monitor non-federal entity use of federal awards, and 2 assess the quality of audits conducted under this chapter.
31 U.S.C. 7504. These statutes include rulemaking delegations, see, e.g., 31
U.S.C. 7505, and for decades have provided unquestioned authority for the
VerDate Sep<11>2014

16:05 Jan 11, 2021

Jkt 253001

financial management and oversight of federal grants. But that authority is limited to requirements associated with the financial management and oversight of federal grants.
As initially promulgated, Statutory and National Policy Requirements, 2
CFR 200.300 and 45 CFR 75.300, was a notice provision. It directed the Federal awarding agency to communicate to the non-Federal entity all relevant public policy requirements, including those in general appropriations provisions, and incorporate them either directly or by reference in the terms and conditions of the Federal award. 2 CFR 200.300a.
See also Appendix I, F.2 to Part 200
Full Text of Notice of Funding Opportunity describing requirement to inform applicants of national policy requirements: Providing this information lets a potential applicant identify any requirements with which it would have difficulty complying if its application is successful . . . . Doing so will alert applicants that have received Federal awards from the Federal awarding agency previously and might not otherwise expect different terms and conditions.. The section, Statutory and National Policy Requirements, was not intended to be an independent basis for, or to establish, new substantive conditions, nondiscrimination or otherwise.
In adopting the Uniform OMB
guidance, the Department supplemented it with HHS specific amendments to account for the Departments particular functions and programs. 79 FR 75871, 75889 Dec. 19, 2014. However, the Department did not add to the authorities beyond 75.103 and the Housekeeping Statute as the basis for Part 75.
In 75.300, Statutory and National Policy Requirements, HHS adopted OMBs Uniform Guidance nearly verbatim. Under 75.300a, the HHS
agency awarding a grant is required to manage and administer the Federal award so as to ensure that Federal funding is expended and associated programs are implemented in full accordance with U.S. statutory and public policy requirements. The regulation specifically identifies those statutory and public policy requirements as including those protecting public welfare, the environment, and prohibiting discrimination. Section 75.300a also requires the HHS awarding agency to communicate to recipients all relevant public policy requirements, including those in general appropriations provisions, and incorporate them either
PO 00000

Frm 00016

Fmt 4700

Sfmt 4700

directly or by reference in the terms and conditions of the Federal award.
The OMB Uniform Guidance and the Departments UAR apply to the recipients and, as provided, subrecipients of Federal financial assistance from the Department, whether such assistance is provided in the form of grants or cooperative agreements, with such recipients and subrecipients referenced, collectively, as non-Federal entities. In this preamble, for ease of reference, the Department uses the term grant in place of Federal financial assistance or Federal award, the terms used in the UAR and defined in 75.2. Similarly, the term grantmaking agency is used to reference Federal awarding agency or HHS awarding agency, as those terms are defined in 75.2. Finally, in this preamble, the Department uses grantee and subgrantee interchangeably with recipient and subrecipient, respectively, as those terms are also defined in 75.2.
The Departments Additions to the UAR
in December 2016
In July 2016, the Department proposed certain amendments to the UAR, and in December 2016, the Department finalized amendments to modify its UAR to incorporate certain directives not previously codified in regulation. 81 FR 89393 December 12, 2016 2016 Rule. These amendments included changes to a State payment provision, access to records, indirect allowable cost requirements, exclusion from allowable costs of employer and individual shared responsibility payments under the Affordable Care Act, and policy requirements dealing with discrimination and Supreme Court decisions on same-sex marriage.
Specifically, the 2016 Rule adopted:
Section 75.300c and d, which required recipients not to discriminate on the basis of certain specified factors, regardless of whether those factors had been incorporated into nondiscrimination statutes applicable to the specific grants and recipients and 75.101f, which exempted the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families from such requirements, and required recipient compliance with two specific Supreme Court decisions.
Section 75.305a, which addressed the applicability of certain payment provisions to states.
Section 75.365, which authorized the grant agency both to require recipients to permit public access to various materials produced under a grant and to place restrictions on recipients ability to make public any personally identifiable information or
E:FRFM12JAR1.SGM

12JAR1