31 U.S.C. § 6402 — Data standards for grant reporting

(a)(1) The Director^* must designate as the standard-setting agency^* the Executive department^* that administers the greatest number of programs under which Federal awards are issued in a calendar year. (2) No later than 2 years after this chapter was enacted, the Secretary^* and the Director must establish Governmentwide data standards for information reported by recipients of Federal awards. (3) At a minimum, these standards must include: (A) standard definitions for data elements needed to manage Federal awards; and (B) unique identifiers for Federal awards and recipients of Federal awards that can be used consistently Governmentwide. (b) The standards established under subsection (a): (1) must include core data elements^*; (2) may cover information that Federal law requires recipients of Federal awards to report to any agency^*, including audit-related information reported under chapter 75; and (3) may not be used by the Director or an agency to require collection of data that Federal law does not otherwise require. (c) To the extent reasonable and practicable, the standards must: (1) make information reported by recipients of Federal awards fully searchable and machine-readable; (2) be nonproprietary; (3) include standards developed and maintained by voluntary consensus standards bodies; (4) be consistent with and put into effect applicable accounting and reporting principles; and (5) include the data standards established under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. (d) When establishing the standards under subsection (a), the Secretary and the Director must consult with: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury, to ensure that the standards established under subsection (a) include the data standards established under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006; (2) the head of each agency that issues Federal awards; (3) recipients of Federal awards and organizations representing them; (4) private-sector experts; (5) members of the public, including privacy experts, privacy advocates, auditors, and industry stakeholders; and (6) State^* and local governments.