Data Improvement for Puerto Rico Recovery Act in plain language
1: Short title
This section gives the Act its official short name: the Data Improvement for Puerto Rico Recovery Act.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Data Improvement for Puerto Rico Recovery Act .
2: Study required
This section would require the Comptroller General (the head of the Government Accountability Office) to complete a study and submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees not later than 1 year after the Act becomes law. The report would have to contain: a list of all grants that grant-awarding agencies have provided to support Puerto Rico's recovery from Hurricanes Irma, Maria, and Fiona, the 2020 earthquakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic, with each grant's type, amount, and the specific disaster or emergency it relates to; an assessment of statistical products that identifies the stages of the grant process at which those products were used, covering the notice of funding opportunity, development, application review, award selection, formulation of terms and conditions, and technical assistance; an evaluation of the most critical data needs that grant-awarding agencies have identified in managing disaster-related grants for Puerto Rico, including issues with lack of data coverage, disparities, reporting delays, and limits on data reliability; a description of how much the identified data gaps have gotten in the way of effective grant allocation, management, and evaluation for Puerto Rico, including any specific examples where a grant's execution was held up; and, where applicable, a list of federal products that currently exclude Puerto Rico but that could improve grant processes if Puerto Rico were included, together with recommendations from the grant-awarding agencies on how to integrate Puerto Rico into those federal products to improve grant allocation and oversight. This section would also require any federal official from whom the Comptroller General seeks information for the report to respond comprehensively to that request not later than 90 days after receiving it. This section defines several terms used in the Act. 'Appropriate congressional committees' means the Committee on National Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. 'Grant-awarding agencies' means the relevant agencies that have allocated, obligated, or disbursed recovery funds for Puerto Rico. 'Relevant agencies' means the following: the Environmental Protection Agency; the Federal Communications Commission; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the General Services Administration; the National Science Foundation; the Small Business Administration; the Army Corps of Engineers; the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Commerce, including the Economic Development Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency; the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; the National Institute of Standards and Technology; the International Trade Administration; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the Department of Energy; the Department of Health and Human Services; the Department of Homeland Security; the Department of Housing and Urban Development; the Department of Justice; the Department of Labor; the Department of the Interior; the Department of Transportation; and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 'Statistical products' means federal statistical inputs, estimates, and products that grant-awarding agencies use to develop and manage grant funding.
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2. Study required (a) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall complete and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing the results of a study on the specific data needs across grant-awarding agencies. The report shall contain the following: (1) A list of all grants provided by grant-awarding agencies to support Puerto Rico’s recovery from Hurricanes Irma, María, and Fiona, the 2020 earthquakes, and the COVID–19 pandemic. The list shall specify the grant type, amount, and the specific disaster or emergency to which it pertains. (2) An assessment of statistical products that details the stages of the grant process at which statistical products were used, including— (A) notice of funding opportunity; (B) development; (C) application review; (D) award selection; (E) formulation of terms and conditions; and (F) technical assistance. (3) An evaluation of the most critical data needs identified by grant-awarding agencies in managing disaster-related grants for Puerto Rico, including issues related to lack of data coverage, disparities, reporting delays, and limitations in data reliability. (4) A description of the extent to which the identified data gaps have impeded effective grant allocation, management, and evaluation for Puerto Rico, including any specific examples where grant execution was hindered. (5) Where applicable, a list of Federal products that currently exclude Puerto Rico, but which could improve grant processes if the Puerto Rico was included. The grant-awarding agencies shall provide recommendations on integrating Puerto Rico into such Federal products to enhance grant allocation and oversight. (b) Access to prompt and complete information Any Federal official from whom the Comptroller General seeks information for purposes of the report required by subsection (a) shall comprehensively respond to such request for information, not later than 90 days after the receipt of that request. (c) Definitions In this Act: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on National Resources of the House of Representatives; and (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. (2) Grant-awarding agencies The term grant-awarding agencies means relevant agencies what have allocated, obligated, or disbursed recovery funds for Puerto Rico. (3) Relevant agencies The term relevant agencies means the following: (A) Environmental Protection Agency. (B) Federal Communications Commission. (C) Federal Emergency Management Agency. (D) General Services Administration. (E) National Science Foundation. (F) Small Business Administration. (G) Army Corps of Engineers. (H) Department of Agriculture. (I) Department of Commerce, including the Economic Development Administration, Minority Business Development Agency. (J) National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (K) National Institute of Standards and Technology. (L) International Trade Administration. (M) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (N) Department of Energy. (O) Department of Health and Human Services. (P) Department of Homeland Security. (Q) Department of Housing and Urban Development. (R) Department of Justice. (S) Department of Labor. (T) Department of the Interior. (U) Department of Transportation. (V) Department of Veterans Affairs. (4) Statistical products The term statistical products means Federal statistical inputs, estimates, and products used by grant-awarding agencies to develop and manage grant funding.