Lafayette Reporter

The Grant Transparency Act, co-sponsored by Senator John Kennedy (R-La.), has been signed into law by the president. This new legislation aims to provide more information to Americans applying for competitive grants regarding the selection process.

"Louisianians deserve to know how the government chooses competitive grant recipients. I’m glad to see the Grant Transparency Act become law so our people have more information about how their organizations can access this crucial funding," said Kennedy.

Senator Cornyn, who introduced the bill, commented on the need for such transparency: "Grant applicants often don’t have enough information to know why they are not awarded a competitive grant despite meeting the criteria. The Grant Transparency Act will require government agencies to shine a light on how they decide between applicants behind closed doors, and I’m glad to see it become law."

The act mandates that Notices of Funding Opportunities for competitive grants include a description of selection criteria and a statement from the agency on whether a weighted scoring method was used. It also requires disclosure of any other methods employed in evaluating applicants.

Other senators who co-sponsored the bill include John Thune (R-S.D.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).