Q: To what extent does the Recovery Act preserve access to Federal contracts and procurement opportunities for women- and minority-owned businesses?
A: There is nothing in the Recovery Act that changes any existing Federal laws or regulations in place dedicated to establishing or fostering the growth of women- or minority-owned businesses. Moreover, as noted more fully in Section 1.6 of OMB's Initial Implementing Guidance to agencies for the Recovery Act, dated February 18, 2009, the Executive Branch shall distribute Recovery Act funds in accordance with all anti-discrimination and equal opportunity statutes, regulations, Executive Orders, and policies that apply to the expenditure of funds under Federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, loans, and other forms of Federal assistance. Generally applicable civil rights laws also continue to apply.
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Q: What are the reporting requirements for Federal agencies that are engaging in Recovery Act-related activities but did not receive Recovery Act funding, and are there any exceptions?
A: Federal agencies receiving Recovery Act funds are subject to the reporting requirements outlined in OMB guidance to track and monitor all Recovery Act dollars in a manner that provides transparency and accountability for Congress and taxpayers. It is expected that these agencies will incur some incidental costs to be funded through regular appropriations, which are not subject to the reporting requirements. Agencies not receiving Recovery Act funds should not report on incidental Recovery-related expenses that are incurred by normal agency appropriations; however, such agencies should report on any Recovery funding they receive through interagency transfers. There is one exception: Inspectors General are required to report monthly on total funding used for Recovery oversight activities at their respective agencies. This total will include both the Recovery Act funds and the non-Recovery Act funds spent on Recovery oversight activities (i.e. costs absorbed by normal appropriations). This enables a calculation of total dollars spent on Recovery oversight throughout the government.
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Q: What are the reporting requirements for Inspectors General that are engaged in oversight of Recovery Act-related activities?
A: Inspectors General are required to independently report monthly on all obligations for Recovery oversight activities at their respective agencies for both Recovery Act funds and non-Recovery Act funds. Monthly reports must be submitted no later than 5 working days after the last day of the reporting month. This monthly reporting meets all OMB reporting requirements for Inspectors General under the Recovery Act.
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Q: Do reporting requirements of the Recovery Act apply to existing, non-Recovery funded activities or contracts when a Federal agency supplements those activities with Recovery funds?
A: The Recovery Act reporting requirements apply to Recovery funds only and do not extend to existing, non-Recovery funded activities or contracts. In instances where a Federal agency chooses to supplement existing activities or contracts with Recovery funds, only the Recovery funds are reported. An agency's contracting officer should ensure expansions to any existing contracts are amended to meet the Recovery Act reporting requirements.
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Q: If the Governor of my State submits a certification under Section 1607, does the Governor also have to submit additional (e.g., agency-specific or program-specific) certifications in order to satisfy Section 1607?
A: No. Governors are not required to submit more than one certification under Section 1607. Once a Governor submits a Section 1607 certification, no additional agency-specific or program-specific certifications under Section 1607 are required for those States. However, other provisions of the Recovery Act do require additional certifications. For example, section 1511 (infrastructure), section 1201 (transportation grants), section 410 (energy grants), and section 14004 (fiscal stabilization) each require varying forms of additional certifications by state or local entities before they can access specific federal funds made available under the Act.
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Q: Is there flexibility to alter any deadlines outlined in the OMB Guidance?
A: OMB is accepting Federal agency extension requests for the 20-day and 30-day grants announcement deadlines only (§5.2; p. 33). No other deadline extensions or waivers will be authorized at this time unless otherwise specified in law or guidance. All extension request letters to the OMB Director must include detailed justification and be sent to recovery@omb.eop.gov, OMB’s general email address for Federal agencies to send inquiries related to the Recovery Act.
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Q: How should agencies account for and report on overhead costs of Recovery funds?
A: Overhead or administrative costs are reported under an award type of "Other" in the weekly reports. Agencies must be prepared to report on the amount or percentage of funds that were spent on administrative activities. This includes funds used to reimburse non-Recovery funding used for Recovery-related administrative activities. The calculation and tracking of overhead costs should follow existing agency practice or guidance an agency develops for its Recovery-related activities.
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Q: Will OMB be issuing guidance on the requirement in Section 1511 of the Recovery Act related to the state and local certifications for infrastructure investments?
A: OMB does not plan to issue formal guidance directly to state or local governments, but agencies should seek to do so, as appropriate, for potential infrastructure project funding through their programs. Agencies should monitor state Recovery Act websites to ensure that recipients are complying with Section 1511 and engage state and local governments during the development of any relevant guidance, as practical.
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Q: What actions must a Federal agency take when it issues guidance for recipients (e.g., state and local governments) regarding the Recovery Act?
A: When a Federal agency issues guidance on the Recovery Act, the agency must immediately post the guidance on the agency's Recovery Act web page. In addition, the agency must disseminate the guidance, to the maximum extent practical, to a broad array of external stakeholders (e.g., Governors, State Legislatures, state program offices, local government officials, etc.) and respond promptly to their queries about the guidance. Federal agencies are encouraged to engage state and local governments during the development of any relevant guidance.
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Q: What is the status of the effort to develop government wide standard terms and conditions?
A: OMB established working groups to develop standard terms and conditions to be included within grants, contracts, loans and loan guarantees, or other forms of assistance, as appropriate and in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). It is expected that these standard terms and conditions will be published in interim final rules or otherwise issued for agency use in March 2009. Agencies intending to finalize award agreement(s) prior to the issuance of the government wide standard should ensure that any agency developed terms and conditions related to the Recovery Act reflect the specific language of the Act and are approved by OMB, if required by the PRA. Agencies should consult OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs if they are uncertain as to whether the PRA requires OMB approval of agency developed terms and conditions.
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Q: Are agencies required to submit major communications, formula block grant allocations, and agency weekly reports via e-mail using the provided standard excel templates? Even if they have successfully implemented an ATOM 1.0 or RSS feed for the same information?
A: Yes. All reporters are required to submit all Recovery Act major communications, formula block grant allocations, and agency weekly reports as described in the OMB Guidance using the referenced excel templates. This is required even if agencies have implemented the feed-based publication approach. Dual reporting is to ensure receipt of information and integration of the same into recovery.gov during this start-up period. OMB will reassess this dual reporting requirement in the Final Guidance.
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