FR 2010 22705

User Manual: FR-2010

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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

55663

Vol. 75, No. 177

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND

BUDGET

2 CFR Part 170

RIN 0348–AB61

Requirements for Federal Funding

Accountability and Transparency Act

Implementation

AGENCY

: Office of Federal Financial

Management, Office of Management and

Budget (OMB).

ACTION

: Interim final guidance to

agencies with opportunity for comment.

SUMMARY

: OMB is issuing interim final

guidance to agencies to establish

requirements for Federal financial

assistance applicants, recipients, and

subrecipients that are necessary for the

implementation of the Federal Funding

Accountability and Transparency Act of

2006, hereafter referred to as ‘‘the

Transparency Act’’ or ‘‘the Act’’. This

interim final guidance provides

standard wording for an award term that

each agency must include in grant and

cooperative agreement awards it makes

on or after October 1, 2010, to require

recipients to report information about

first-tier subawards and executive

compensation under only those awards.

This implementation of the requirement

for reporting of subawards and

executive compensation under Federal

assistance awards parallels the

implementation for subcontracts and

executive compensation under Federal

procurement contracts, which is in the

Federal Acquisition Regulation.

DATES

: The effective date for this

interim final guidance is September 14,

2010. Comments on the interim final

guidance must be received by no later

than October 14, 2010.

ADDRESSES

: Comments may be sent to

regulations.gov, a Federal E-Government

Web site that allows the public to find,

review, and submit comments on

documents that agencies have published

in the Federal Register and that are

open for comment. Simply type ‘‘FFATA

subaward reporting’’ (in quotes) in the

Comment or Submission search box,

click Go, and follow the instructions for

submitting comments. Comments

received by the date specified above

will be included as part of the official

record and considered in preparing the

final guidance.

Marguerite Pridgen, Office of Federal

Financial Management, Office of

Management and Budget, 725 17th

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503;

telephone 202–395–7844; fax 202–395–

3952; e-mail mpridgen@omb.eop.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

Marguerite Pridgen, Office of Federal

Financial Management, Office of

Management and Budget, telephone

(202) 395–7844 (direct) or (202) 395–

3993 (main office) and e-mail:

mpridgen@omb.eop.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Background

On June 6, 2008 [73 FR 32417], the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) published proposed guidance to

Federal agencies with an award term

needed to implement requirements

related to subaward reporting under the

Federal Funding Accountability and

Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109–

282, as amended by section 6202 of

Public Law 110–252, hereafter referred

to as ‘‘the Transparency Act’’ or ‘‘the

Act’’). The guidance was proposed for

adoption in a new part 33 within title

2 of the Code of Federal Regulations

(CFR).

We are adopting the interim final

guidance in 2 CFR part 170, a different

2 CFR part than part 33 in which we

originally proposed to adopt it in June

2008. The reason is that part 33 now is

within a newly created subchapter in 2

CFR that is for OMB guidance related to

pre-award responsibilities (for more

information on the new 2 CFR

subchapters, see the notice in today’s

Federal Register that adopts 2 CFR part

25). The content of the guidance

following this preamble is better suited

to another new subchapter for guidance

on national policy requirements, a

subchapter that includes part 170.

We received comments from 75

entities in response to the 2008 Federal

agencies and two associations of State

officials; 16 institutions of higher

education and an association of research

universities; six nonprofit organizations

and an association of nonprofits; two

local governmental organizations and an

association of local government

officials; two commercial firms; one

individual; and 14 Federal agencies.

Some of the comments concerned

subaward reporting under the

Transparency Act but were not directly

related to the content of the guidance.

For example, we received comments

that suggested:

•Specific data elements that either

should be included in, or excluded

from, the information that will be

required for each subaward.

•A need for better definitions of

some data elements or clarification of

the information desired in some data

fields.

•Using the same information

technology systems for submission of

data on both: (1) Subawards under

Federal assistance awards subject to the

Transparency Act’s requirements; and

(2) subcontracts that entities receiving

Federal procurement contracts must

submit under the Act.

•Other specific features that it would

be important to include in those

information technology systems.

When we received them in 2008, we

referred comments that do not directly

relate to the policy guidance to the

appropriate Federal agency groups,

including the groups that were working

on the design of systems to which

entities will submit data to fulfill their

reporting responsibilities under the Act.

As stated in the 2008 Federal Register

notice, the data elements and other

aspects of subaward reporting are

separate from the policy guidance. The

General Services Administration has

recently published the information

collections with an opportunity for

public comment that provide the

specific data elements required for

Transparency Act reporting of

subawards and executive compensation

[75 FR 43165]. The Federal acquisition

councils have simultaneously published

for public comment their proposed

information collection for subcontract

reporting pursuant to the Transparency

Act.

As it was proposed in 2008, the new

part 33 would have required direct

recipients of Federal agency awards

and, with some exceptions,

subrecipients at all lower tiers (if their

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subawards were subject to Transparency

Act reporting requirements) to have

DUNS numbers and register in the CCR.

Since the publication of the June 2008

proposal, OMB proposed a new part 25

to 2 CFR on February 18, 2010 [75 FR

7316]. The proposed part 25 superseded

the DUNS number and CCR elements of

the June 2008 notice and limited the

DUNS number requirement to

applicants, recipients, and first-tier

subrecipients only. The preamble of the

February 2010 Federal Register

document also contained responses to

the public comments on the DUNS and

CCR requirements proposed in June

2008. Part 25 is being finalized in

another document in this section of

today’s Federal Register. Therefore, the

DUNS and CCR requirements will not

be addressed further in this document.

The remainder of this document

addresses the portions of the 2008

proposal related to reporting of

subawards, as well as the additional

reporting on executive compensation

that is required by the subsequent

amendment to the Transparency Act. In

developing the interim final policy

guidance on subaward reporting, we

considered:

•All comments relevant to that

subject in the 2008 proposal;

•The experience gained under the

guidance for, and practical

implementation of, recipient reporting

required by section 1512 of the

American Recovery and Reinvestment

Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111–5, hereafter

referred to as ‘‘the Recovery Act’’),

which we consider to be the pilot

program for subaward reporting

envisioned by paragraph (d)(1) of

section 2 of the Transparency Act; and

•New transparency and Open

Government policies put in effect since

the publication of the 2008 proposal,

including the amendment of the

Transparency Act by section 6202 of

Public Law 110–252 to require the

reporting of the names and total

compensation of a recipient’s or

subrecipient’s five most highly

compensated executives.

Because most aspects of this guidance

were proposed in 2008, with

opportunity for comment, and given the

public benefits to be gained by

expediting the implementation of

subaward reporting under the

Transparency Act, we are publishing

this guidance as interim final.

The following section provides

detailed responses to comments that we

received on the portions of the guidance

proposed in 2008 that are relevant to

subaward reporting. Each response

describes any revisions that we

included in the interim final guidance

as a result of the comment.

II. Comments, Responses, and Changes

to the Guidance

A. Comments on the 2008 Federal

Comment: Two commenters noted

that the preamble of the 2008 Federal

element—an award title descriptive of

the purpose of the funding action—

when it listed the data elements that the

Transparency Act specifies for Federal

agencies’ awards.

Response: The commenters are correct

that the Act specifies the additional data

element. The inadvertent omission did

not affect the proposed guidance,

however. The data elements were listed

solely as background explanatory

information in the preamble of the 2008

Federal Register notice.

Comment: With respect to that same

list of data elements in the preamble,

one commenter asked whether the

inclusion of the country of the recipient

and its parent entity was a

typographical error. The commenter

suggested that the data element likely

was meant to be the county, rather than

the country.

Response: Although the specifics of

the data elements do not affect the

guidance, the data element specified in

the Transparency Act is the country,

rather than the county.

B. General Comments Related to the Act

and Guidance

Comment: Thirty nine commenters

expressed concern that recipients and

subrecipients must allocate additional

resources in order to comply with the

new requirements for subaward

reporting. They cited the need to change

business processes and systems to begin

to collect data that they are not

collecting now and do it electronically.

They also noted the continuing need for

resources to compile and report data

after that initial transition period. Most

of the commenters noted the fiscal

impact of subaward reporting and the

provision in the Transparency Act that

provides for recovering the additional

costs. Some State agencies expressed

concern that the increased

administration costs would deplete

resources available for program

purposes and some suggested that the

new requirement is an unfunded

mandate. Some institutions of higher

education noted that the limitation in

OMB Circular A–21 on recovery of

indirect costs could prevent them from

recovering those costs from their

Federal awards. Some State agencies

suggested that the costs should be

allocable as direct program costs. A

number of commenters were concerned

that the added burdens of reporting

could discourage some entities,

especially smaller subrecipient entities,

from applying for Federal grants.

Response: This guidance requires

only prime grant recipients to report to

the Federal Government on subawards

and executive compensation.

Nevertheless, we understand the

administrative changes and effort that

are associated with reporting on

subawards. As section (d)(2)(A) of the

Transparency Act provides, recipients

and subrecipients are allowed ‘‘to

allocate reasonable costs for the

collection and reporting of subaward

data as indirect costs.’’ We will assess

the overall cost impact of the new

requirements on recipients and

subrecipients, as well as their ability to

recover the indirect costs under current

limitations in statute, policy, program

regulations, or practice.

Comment: Nine commenters

suggested that it was premature to

propose the policy guidance. Among

reasons given were that we did not yet

provide details about all data elements

that will be required in each report of

an obligating action, the definitions of

the data elements, and the reporting

format and procedures that will be used.

A few commenters noted that the award

term in the proposed guidance referred

to a Web site at which entities would

submit subaward data but observed that

the site was not ready to receive data

and had no further details on what or

how to report. One commenter asked if

there was an exception process when

there are systems issues to be resolved.

Response: We revised the wording of

the award term to further clarify that the

Web site will be the source of the

detailed information on what to report

(i.e., the specific data elements and their

definitions) and how to report (i.e., the

formats and information technology

system features). That information will

be posted at the Web site before non-

Federal entities are required to report

data on subaward obligations. In

addition, the General Services

Administration’s Paperwork Reduction

Act information collection also provides

the specific data elements required for

Transparency Act reporting.

There is an important distinction to

be made between the policy guidance

contained in this Federal Register

notice and the operational details on

what and how to report. Under the

current statute, non-Federal entities will

be required to report subaward data, a

basic requirement that does not depend

on the specific data elements and

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procedural details. The policy guidance

and the award term it contains are the

means for having agencies formally

communicate that basic statutory

requirement to recipients and

subrecipients. Neither the guidance nor

the award term needs to contain the

operational details about the specific

data elements to be reported or how to

submit the data. Both need to be in

place now so that agencies can use the

award term to provide timely

notification to recipients and

subrecipients about their

responsibilities.

Nonetheless, we fully recognize that

the operational details also are very

important. To ensure adequate

opportunity for public comment, we

have published the data elements and

other details that affect the public.

Further, we have made every effort to

minimize the burden associated with

Transparency Act reporting, through

both pre-population of data and use of

an electronic system that facilitates

streamlined reporting [75 FR 43165–

43166]. With respect to the question

concerning the exception process, the

Transparency Act does not provide for

exceptions due to unresolved systems

issues.

Comment: Twenty two commenters

recommended delaying the January 1,

2009, date on which the Transparency

Act provided that subaward reporting

would begin. They stated that the

implementation timeframe was not

reasonable, especially since the

procedures for compiling and

submitting the data would not be set

until after completion of a pilot that had

not yet begun. Seven of the commenters

also recommended that OMB grant the

18-month extension to the deadline that

the Act allowed for subrecipients under

awards to State, local, and tribal

governments, if the Director of OMB

determined that compliance would

impose an undue burden for those

subrecipients.

Response: A subaward reporting pilot

was conducted in the Fall of 2008 to

assess the burden of subaward reporting

on recipients and subrecipients. The

results of the pilot were mixed and

showed that there were various

unresolved policy and procedural issues

surrounding subaward reporting. In

2009, the Recovery Act was enacted and

required reporting of funds awarded to

prime recipients, subrecipients and

vendors. The Recovery Act reporting

effort, which commenced in October

2009, served as a demonstration of

subaward reporting on a

governmentwide scale which is why we

consider it to be the pilot program for

subaward reporting envisioned by

paragraph (d)(1) of section 2 of the

Transparency Act. Various audits and

reviews have been conducted on

Recovery Act implementation. Some of

the reports from those reviews are

available on the Recovery.gov Web site

under the ‘‘Accountability’’ section and

include information on recipient

challenges with implementing reporting

requirements under the Recovery Act.

In a memorandum dated April 6, 2010

with the subject line ‘‘Open Government

Directive—Federal Spending

Transparency,’’ OMB established an

October 1, 2010 deadline for Federal

agencies to initiate subaward reporting

pursuant to the Transparency Act and

provide a timeline for additional

guidance to assist in meeting the goals

established in the memorandum.

Comment: Three commenters pointed

out that the proposed guidance did not

include a detailed implementation of a

Transparency Act provision that

provides an exemption from the

subaward reporting requirement for an

entity that demonstrates to the Director

of OMB that its gross income, from all

sources, did not exceed $300,000 in the

previous tax year. The Act provides for

the exemption until the Director

determines that the imposition of the

reporting requirement will not place an

undue burden on such entities. The

commenters noted that the guidance did

not disclose how to request a reporting

exemption, what proofs would be

required, and what evaluation factors

OMB would use in granting exemptions.

Response: The award term in

Appendix A to part 170 of the guidance

properly includes that exception to the

subaward reporting requirement.

Section 2(e) of the Transparency Act

allows the Director, OMB, to exempt

any entity that demonstrates its gross

income, from all sources, did not exceed

$300,000 in the entity’s previous tax

year, from reporting the first-tier

subaward information, until the Director

determines that the imposition of the

reporting requirement will not cause

undue burden on the entity. The

Director has exempted entities that fall

under this category at this time.

Comment: Two commenters raised

questions concerning the applicability

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).

One stated that the Transparency Act

and guidance did not comply with the

PRA. The other suggested that OMB

could not yet provide the PRA clearance

for the information collection associated

with subaward reporting, because the

data elements and format were not

specified in the guidance proposed on

2008.

Response: As stated in the response to

a previous comment, the nature of the

guidance is distinct from that of the

operational details. What requires PRA

clearance, as correctly noted by the

second commenter, are the data

elements and similar details for which

reporting burdens can be estimated. The

General Services Administration has

recently published the information

collections for public comment that

provide the specific data elements

required for Transparency Act reporting

of subawards and executive

compensation [75 FR 43165]. It is not

pertinent to the issuance of the guidance

in this Federal Register notice on the

basic statutory requirement to report.

Comment: With respect to the

requirement to report each action under

a subaward that obligates $25,000 or

more in Federal funding, ten

commenters recommended raising the

$25,000 threshold due to the potential

magnitude of the burdens, especially on

small entities. The commenters

suggested setting the threshold at

$100,000 or more, to be parallel with

their State’s reporting requirement, the

simplified acquisition threshold for

Federal procurement contracts, or the

threshold in OMB Circular A–133 at

which an entity must have a single

audit. One State agency asked if it could

request a waiver to increase that

threshold.

Response: We made no change to the

threshold in the guidance. The $25,000

threshold is set by the Transparency Act

and there is no provision in the statute

that authorizes a waiver to increase the

threshold.

Comment: Four commenters stated

that the new subaward reporting

requirement overlapped with at least

some Federal agencies’ existing

requirements for reporting on

subawards. As an example, one

commenter cited information about

subawards that applications to agencies

either contain or could be amended to

contain. Two non-Federal entities and

one Federal agency were concerned that

the existing and new requirements

could be redundant, thereby

unnecessarily increasing the burdens of

subaward reporting. One Federal agency

stated that it currently obtained

information about all subawards, and

not just those above the $25,000

threshold, and did not want to lose

insight into the subawards below

$25,000 due to the Transparency Act

threshold.

Response: Relatively few Federal

agency awarding offices currently obtain

the details about each subaward

obligation that they would need to do

the reporting under the Transparency

Act. Many agencies receive individual

applications that identify the applicant’s

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intent to make a subaward of a specified

amount if its application is successful.

However, the actual subaward recipient

may not be known at that time or, if

known, the amount that a successful

applicant obligates may not be the same

as it originally planned and proposed,

for various reasons (e.g., the Federal

award it receives may be for a lesser

amount than it proposed or it may

rebudget after receiving the award, as

pertinent Federal rules allow it to do

without the Federal agency’s prior

approval). Given that what the

application describes is only a plan, it

cannot serve as a definitive source of

information for Transparency Act

purposes. At this time, we are not

asking for reporting of subaward

information below the first-tier.

With respect to the relatively few

Federal awarding offices that do obtain

post-award data on actual subaward

obligations, we are directing those

agencies to take the necessary steps to

ensure that their recipients are not

required, due to the combination of

agency-specific and Transparency Act

reporting requirements, to submit the

same or similar data multiple times

during a given reporting period.

Comment: Five commenters asked

about the consequences of a

subrecipient’s noncompliance with

requirements related to the

Transparency Act. Two commenters

expressed concern that delivery of

essential services could be interrupted if

awards could not be made or payments

had to be suspended.

Response: After a subaward is made,

the range of consequences that may

result from the subrecipient’s material

failure to comply with a requirement

related to the Transparency Act should

be no different than it is for a material

failure to comply with other Federal

requirements. The same remedies are

available to the recipient and—should

the matter of a subrecipient entity’s

noncompliance become an issue for the

Federal Government—to a Federal

agency.

C. Comments Related to the

Applicability of the Guidance

Comment: One commenter stated that

the guidance should not apply to loan

guarantees because the definition of

‘‘federal award’’ in the Transparency Act

does not explicitly mention them. The

commenter expressed concern that the

requirement in the guidance for lenders,

small businesses, and rural businesses

to obtain DUNS numbers could be an

added barrier to their participation in

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

rural development and Small Business

Administration (SBA) programs that

stimulate financing for small and rural

businesses. The commenter

recommended not applying the

guidance to loan guarantees under those

programs until a Federal Register notice

was published, with an opportunity to

comment, that proposed applying

Transparency Act requirements to those

programs specifically.

Response: Although the 2008 Federal

of the guidance broadly to all of the

types of financial assistance subject to

the Transparency Act, we revised the

interim final guidance to implement at

this time only the reporting

requirements specifically for first-tier

subawards under grants and cooperative

agreements in light of these public

comments and concerns. We are

deferring to a later date the

implementation of subaward reporting

under other financial assistance subject

to the Act, which includes loans and

loan guarantees, as well as lower-tier

subawards.

We understand the legitimate concern

that additional administrative

requirements can have an impact on

financial assistance applicants and

recipients under any Federal program.

However, to publish a notice that lists

the hundreds of programs individually

would be unnecessary and impractical.

Comment: One Federal agency

suggested we make it clearer that

financial assistance provided through

assessed and voluntary contributions is

subject to the guidance, by explicitly

listing that type of assistance in the

proposed definition of ‘‘Federal

financial assistance subject to the

Transparency Act.’’ The definition in

section 33.325 of the proposed guidance

included them only implicitly, through

the inclusion of a category of ‘‘other

financial assistance transactions that

authorize the non-Federal entities’

expenditure of Federal funds.’’

Response: We agree and made the

change to the guidance (in what now is

section 170.320).

Comment: A Federal agency

recommended that the guidance not

apply to loans, loan guarantees, interest

subsidies, and insurance that recipients

provide as subawards to subrecipients.

The agency stated that the Transparency

Act did not explicitly identify them as

subawards and their inclusion would be

inconsistent with coverage of the

administrative requirements for grants

to and agreements with educational and

other nonprofit organizations that are in

2 CFR part 215 (OMB Circular A–110).

Response: We did not revise the

guidance. The Act requires OMB to

‘‘ensure that data regarding subawards

are disclosed in the same manner as

data regarding other Federal awards.’’

The Transparency Act’s definition of

‘‘federal award’’ includes types of

financial assistance awards that are not

subject to the administrative

requirements in 2 CFR part 215, and

therefore includes them both at the

prime tier between Federal agencies and

recipients and at lower tiers between

recipients and subrecipients. While only

subawards under grants and cooperative

agreements need to be reported at this

time, subawards under all types of

Federal financial assistance subject to

the Transparency Act will need to be

reported at a later date.

Comment: One Federal agency

expressed concern that it would be

difficult to provide an actual dollar

amount associated with a transfer of

title to Federally owned property.

Response: We revised the definition

of ‘‘Federal financial assistance subject

to the Transparency Act’’ in that section

(which now is section 170.320) to

clarify that the guidance does not apply

to transfers of title to Federally owned

property.

Comment: One Federal agency

suggested amending the proposed

guidance to explicitly exclude

Cooperative Research and Development

Agreements (CRDAs) under 15 U.S.C.

3710a from coverage under the

Transparency Act. CRDAs are

instruments authorized for use between

Federal laboratories and non-Federal

entities for technology transfer

purposes. The commenter noted that the

statute permits a Federal laboratory to

receive funds from a non-Federal entity

under a CRDA and expressed concern

that a funds transfer might be perceived

as a subaward to the Federal laboratory.

Response: We agree and made a

change to the definition of ‘‘Federal

financial assistance subject to the

Transparency Act’’ in that section

(which now is section 170.320) of the

guidance. The definition of ‘‘cooperative

research and development agreement’’

in 15 U.S.C. 3710a excludes transactions

under which Federal funds are provided

to non-Federal entities. It also

distinguishes CRDAs, which are not

Federal financial assistance awards,

from cooperative agreements under the

Federal Grant and Cooperative

Agreement Act in 31 U.S.C., chapter 63.

Comment: One commenter noted that

the proposed guidance did not apply to

a Federal agency that receives an award

from another agency and asked whether

it would apply to an award that a

Federal agency receives from a non-

Federal entity.

Response: Yes, the guidance applies.

The non-Federal entity would have to

report the subaward. At this time, the

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non-Federal entity would not have to

report lower-tier subawards. To clarify

this, we revised the definition of ‘‘entity’’

in the award term that now is in

Appendix A to part 170.

Comment: One commenter stated that

it acts as a fund manager overseeing

accounts for Federal agencies into

which voluntary payments, court-

ordered settlements, fines, and other

sources of funds are deposited. It noted

that the Federal agency specifies the

entities to whom funds from those

accounts are obligated. The commenter

asked if it is the recipient in that case

and the other entities are the

subrecipients, or if the entities to whom

it awards the funds are the prime

recipients because the Federal agency

makes the funding decisions.

Response: If the funds cited in the

comment are available for obligation or

reobligation for Federal program

purposes, this situation is somewhat

similar to that of a grant under which

the recipient is authorized to: (1) Make

loans for program purposes to

subrecipients; (2) merge the funds

received from those subrecipients’ loan

payments back into the corpus of grant

funding; and (3) use those repaid funds

to make new loans. In both that case and

the case raised by the commenter, the

non-Federal entity that manages Federal

agency funds that are available for

program purposes is the recipient. The

entities that receive the funds that the

recipient obligates or reobligates are

subrecipients.

Comment: One commenter suggested

not applying the reporting requirement

below the first-tier of subawards under

mandatory programs such as block and

formula grants and other types of

assistance to State, local, and tribal

governments.

Response: The Transparency Act does

not authorize a limitation on the

reporting requirement to the first-tier of

subawards. At this time, however, we

are deferring to a later date the

implementation of the reporting

requirement below the first-tier.

Comment: Six commenters asked

whether the requirements in the

guidance applied to prior program

announcements, awards, and

subawards. One of the commenters

pointed out that an applicant who

already had applied in response to a

previously issued announcement might

have decided not to apply if it had been

informed about the Transparency Act

requirements prior to doing so. Others

noted they would need to amend

previously issued awards if the

requirements applied to them.

Response: New Federal, non-Recovery

Act funded grant awards and

cooperative agreements with an award

date on or after October 1, 2010, and

resulting first-tier subawards, are subject

to the reporting requirements in this

guidance. New Federal grants and

cooperative agreements are grants and

cooperative agreements with a new

Federal Award Identification Number

(FAIN) as of October 1, 2010. They do

not include obligating actions on or after

October 1, 2010, that provide additional

funding under continuing grants and

cooperative agreements awarded in

prior fiscal years.

D. Other Comments

Comment: Two commenters raised

questions about the dates in the

proposed paragraph 33.200(a)(2). One

commenter asked what was meant by

the effective date of the part cited in

paragraph (a)(2)(i). The other

commenter recommended changing the

date in paragraph (a)(2)(ii). That

paragraph required a Federal agency to

incorporate Transparency Act

requirements into a program

announcement or other application

instructions if awards would be made

after October 1, 2008, in response to

applications using those instructions.

The commenter recommended changing

the date to December 31, 2008.

Response: The guidance in 2 CFR part

170 is effective today, with its

publication in the Federal Register. We

revised the date in paragraph

170.200(a)(2)(ii) to October 1, 2010.

Comment: Three commenters noted

that some entities may want to take

advantage of the flexibility that the

award term in the proposed guidance

gave a recipient to either: (1) Pass the

responsibility for reporting on lower-tier

subawards to the subrecipients who

made those subawards; or (2) do that

reporting itself, which would require

the recipient to collect the information

from lower-tier subrecipients. One, a

State agency, stated that it maintains a

complete data base that should be

sufficient to meet the Transparency Act

requirements.

Response: We recognize the burdens

associated with subaward reporting and

understand that programs and

organizations differ. However, prime

recipients will not have the option to

delegate reporting of subgrant

information to their subrecipients. We

believe that this may help reduce

reporting burden on subaward

recipients.

Comment: Six commenters asked for

clarification on the meaning of the

phrases ‘‘date of obligation’’ and

‘‘obligating action’’ used in the award

term in the proposed section 33.220

with respect to subawards. Two

commenters asked how the date of

obligation would be defined for a

subaward that allowed reimbursement

of pre-award costs a subrecipient

incurred on or after a ‘‘start date’’ that

was prior to the date on which the

subaward was signed.

Response: With respect to a subaward,

an obligating action is a transaction that

makes available to the subrecipient a

known amount of funding for program

purposes. Examples include a new

subaward, an incremental funding

amendment that increases the total

amount of a subaward, or a quarterly

allotment under a formula grant

program.

We made no change to the guidance,

since ‘‘obligations’’ is a well established

term in OMB’s guidance on

administrative requirements for grants

and agreements (2 CFR part 215 and the

common rule that Federal agencies

adopted to implement OMB Circular A–

102). Under most Federal grants and

cooperative agreements, recipients

regularly report amounts of ‘‘unobligated

balances’’ to Federal agencies on the

standard financial reporting forms.

The date of obligation for a subaward

is the date on which the recipient

authorizes the subrecipient to incur

costs against the known amount it

obligates, and does so in a way that

legally obliges the recipient to provide

funds to cover costs that are incurred in

accordance with the subaward’s terms

and conditions. That date usually is

associated with the signature of a formal

document, either the initial subaward or

an amendment to it. That is distinct

from the ‘‘start date’’ cited in the

example of pre-award costs, since we

assume that the subrecipient incurs

those costs at its own risk, in

anticipation of the subaward, and that

the recipient has no legal obligation—

until it signs the subaward—to provide

award funds to cover those costs.

Comment: Eight commenters

questioned whether the guidance

required reporting of obligations or

disbursements as the award amounts.

One commenter recommended that

recipients and subrecipients report

‘‘expenditures,’’ the term used in the

Transparency Act. Four State agencies

asked how ‘‘obligations’’ would be

determined in some programs that

adjust the amount a subrecipient

receives at some time after the initial

obligation. One of the agencies cited the

example of the school lunch program,

under which the amount obligated is

not known until after the subrecipient

expends the funds.

Response: The guidance requires

reporting of each obligation, rather than

each disbursement against the amount

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obligated. If a recipient obligates a

specific known amount for a subaward,

even if it may be adjusted later, it must

report the obligation when it is made.

For a program like the school lunch

program, however, where the initial

subaward provides the subrecipient

with an open-ended authorization of

unspecified amount, the obligation date

corresponds to the date on which the

amount of the obligation is specified.

Reporting is required by the end of the

month following the month in which

the subaward obligation was made.

Comment: One commenter

recommended revising the requirement

to report each obligating action within

30 days of the date of obligation. The

commenter suggested allowing reporting

quarterly, semiannually, or annually.

Response: We changed the guidance

and award term to require obligations to

be reported no later than the end of the

month following the month of the

obligation. For example, if a subaward

is made on October 2, 2010, the

subaward information must be reported

by no later than November 30, 2010.

Comment: Ten commenters requested

additional clarification about the

difference between a subaward, which

must be reported under the

Transparency Act, and procurement

under an award, which is not subject to

the reporting requirement.

Response: It is worth noting that

recipients for many years have had to

judge whether a transaction under their

Federal award was a subaward or a

procurement action. That is because a

recipient must include different

requirements in a subaward than it does

in a procurement under an award, in

accordance with the administrative

requirements in 2 CFR part 215 (OMB

Circular A 110) or the common rule

implementing OMB Circular A 102.

Also, when the transaction provides

funds to a for-profit entity, the recipient

must properly take into account

whether the transaction would be more

characteristic of a vendor relationship

than a subrecipient under ___.210 of

OMB Circular A–133. The judgments a

recipient must make to decide whether

a lower tier agreement is a subaward or

procurement for Transparency Act

reporting purposes are the same as the

judgments it makes to establish which

terms and conditions to include in the

agreement. Prime recipients should refer

to awarding agency supplemental

guidance, if any, in making such a

determination.

Two examples may help clarify the

distinction, which is based on the

purpose of the transaction between the

recipient or subrecipient and the entity

at the next lower tier. If the purpose of

the lower-tier transaction is the same as

the purpose of the substantive program

supported by the Federal award at the

prime tier, so that the recipient through

that lower tier transaction is in effect

handing a portion of the substantive

program over to the lower-tier entity for

performance, the lower-tier transaction

is a subaward. The two examples

follow:

•Example 1: Provision of health

services. A Federal program provides

funding to State agencies to deliver a

variety of services for older citizens. If

the State provides funds to a third party

to carry out a type of service (e.g.,

mental health services) that is

authorized under the program and the

State otherwise might deliver itself, the

agreement is a subaward because the

third party is carrying out substantive

programmatic activity that is the

purpose of the Federal award. If a

recipient or subrecipient obtains the

services of a third party to help in

designing public service

announcements or developing

educational materials about the

program—goods or services that the

State or subrecipient needs to carry out

the program that is the purpose of the

award—that would be a procurement

under the award or subaward.

•Example 2: Research. An agency

makes an award to a university to

investigate basic physics to understand

why certain materials have the

properties they do. To do some of the

experiments, the university researchers

need an instrument that does not yet

exist. The university provides funding

under the Federal award to a small firm

to carry out a research and development

project and develop an instrument. The

award to the firm has the purpose of

instrument development, and does not

have the same purpose as the Federal

award. The award to the firm is a

procurement action. If the university

instead made an award to the firm to

perform some of the basic research on

physics of materials that is the

substantive program purpose of the

Federal award, and the recipient

determines it does not have a vendor

relationship with the firm under this

award as described in Sec. __.210 of the

attachment to OMB Circular A–133, the

award to the firm would be a subaward.

Comment: One commenter from a

State agency said that it is unclear

whether Medicaid is considered Federal

financial assistance for the purposes of

the subaward reporting requirement.

Response: There are no program

exemptions under this guidance even

though there are other types of

exemptions which are described in the

guidance. If a state makes a subaward

under a grant or cooperative agreement

to an entity other than an individual

who is a natural person, the subaward

is $25,000 or more, and no exemptions

apply, the state would need to report the

subaward.

Comment: Three commenters raised

issues with wording in the award term

in the proposed section 33.220 that

related to the $25,000 reporting

threshold for subawards. Two

commenters asked for clarification on

the meaning of ‘‘life of the subaward,’’ as

that phrase was used, both in the award

term and the associated guidance to

Federal agencies on use of the award

term. Another commenter suggested that

readers might perceive ‘‘$25,000 over

the life of the subaward’’ to be

inconsistent with ‘‘each action that

obligates $25,000 or more in Federal

funding.’’ One of the commenters also

suggested consistent wording to replace

‘‘a total value of $25,000’’ in one

paragraph and ‘‘in that range’’ in another

paragraph.

Response: With respect to the

comment concerning the apparent

inconsistency between ‘‘a total value of

25,000’’ and ‘‘each action that obligates

$25,000 or more in Federal funding,’’ it

should be noted that the two phrases

refer to related but different

requirements addressing lower-tier

subaward reporting. We have revised

the interim final guidance to show that

only recipient reporting of first-tier

subawards will be required at this time,

and therefore, the comment is no longer

relevant. We have replaced the phrase

‘‘life of the subaward’’ with alternative

wording that more clearly specifies

when a recipient must include the

Transparency Act reporting requirement

in a subaward it makes to a

subrecipient. For new Federal grants or

cooperative agreements as of October 1,

2010, if the initial award is $25,000 or

more, reporting of subaward

information is required. If the initial

award is below $25,000 but subsequent

award modifications result in a total

award of $25,000 or more, the award is

subject to the reporting requirements, as

of the date the award exceeds $25,000.

If the initial award is $25,000 or more,

but funding is subsequently de-

obligated such that the total award

amount falls below $25,000, the award

continues to be subject to the reporting

requirements of the Transparency Act.

Comment: One commenter asked for

clarification concerning reporting

requirements for incrementally funded

subawards. The commenter gave as an

example a subaward that a recipient

expected to exceed $25,000 over the

duration of the subaward, but for which

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the initial obligation was less than

$25,000.

Response: Each action that obligates

$25,000 or more in Federal funds must

be reported.

Comment: Three commenters asked

whether a recipient or subrecipient

would be required to report a downward

adjustment in the amount of a subaward

it had made previously.

Response: We made no change to the

guidance. The award term that now is

in section Appendix A to part 170 of the

guidance refers recipients and

subrecipients to the web site at which

data submission instructions will be

posted. Those instructions will include

the specific data elements and their

definitions that, as discussed in Section

I of this Federal Register notice, have

been established through a separate

process under the Paperwork Reduction

Act [75 FR 43165]. The instructions will

address whether reporting of reductions

in subaward amounts, sometimes called

‘‘deobligations,’’ are a subcategory of

obligations to be reported.

Comment: One commenter asked

about the requirement to submit

changed information other than

subaward amounts, such as a change in

subrecipient information.

Response: If the information that was

reported was correct at the time it was

reported and changed at a later date,

there would be no need to subsequently

revise the information in previously

submitted reports. The updated

information would be included in

reports of subsequent obligations under

the same subaward, however.

That is distinct from a case in which

a recipient later discovers that

information it reported was erroneous at

the time it was reported. Questions

concerning error corrections in that case

are being considered by the interagency

group developing the data elements and

information technology systems for

subaward reporting. As discussed in the

response to the previous comment, the

process for resolving those issues will

include an opportunity for public input.

Comment: Four commenters asked

how one would report subawards to

recipients with multiple Federal

funding sources. One commenter asked

if the amount of funding from each

program listed in the Catalog of Federal

Domestic Assistance (CFDA) would

need to be reported.

Response: Each action that obligates

$25,000 or more in Federal funding

would need to be separately reported.

For new Federal grants or cooperative

agreements as of October 1, 2010, if the

initial award is $25,000 or more,

reporting of subaward information is

required. If the initial award is below

$25,000 but subsequent award

modifications result in a total award of

$25,000 or more, the award is subject to

the reporting requirements, as of the

date the award exceeds $25,000. If the

initial award exceeds $25,000 but

funding is subsequently de-obligated

such that the total award amount falls

below $25,000, the award continues to

be subject to the reporting requirements

of the Transparency Act. If a single

action obligates funding from multiple

programs, the data submitted for that

action would include the CFDA number

for the program that is the predominant

source of the Federal funding. If a

program’s funding is obligated by a

separate amendment to the same

subaward agreement that provides other

programs’ funding, however, then the

data reported for each amendment to the

agreement would include the CFDA

number of the program that provided

the funding for that amendment.

Comment: One commenter asked

whether, in light of the new reporting

requirements, a subrecipient would be

subject to Federal audit requirements if

it received $500,000 or more either from

a single program or a combination of

programs.

Response: The new reporting

requirements under the Transparency

Act do not change the audit

requirements in OMB Circular A–133,

section ll.200, that apply to a non-

Federal entity that expends $500,000 or

more in ‘‘federal awards’’ (which the

Circular defines to include Federal

financial assistance received indirectly

through pass-through entities).

III. Next Steps

Federal agencies that award Federal

financial assistance subject to the

Transparency Act will implement the

interim final guidance in 2 CFR part 170

through their regulations, internal

policy guidance to awarding offices,

program announcements and

application instructions, and the award

term that now is in section Appendix A

to part 170. The General Services

Administration has recently published

in the Federal Register with an

opportunity for public comment the

information collections that provide the

specific data elements required for

Transparency Act reporting of

subawards and executive compensation

[75 FR 43165]. The information

collections will be modified as

appropriate in response to public

comments and published with any other

operational guidelines before recipients

begin reporting data on subawards.

List of Subjects in 2 CFR Part 170

Business and industry, Colleges and

universities, Cooperative agreements,

Farmers, Federal aid programs, Grant

programs, Grants administration,

Hospitals, Indians, Insurance,

International organizations, Loan

programs, Nonprofit organizations,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, State and local

governments, Subsidies.

Danny Werfel,

Controller.

Authority and Issuance

■For the reasons set forth above, the

Office of Management and Budget

amends 2 CFR chapter I by adding part

170 to read as follows:

PART 170—REPORTING SUBAWARD

AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

INFORMATION

Sec.

Subpart A—General

170.100 Purposes of this part.

170.105 Types of awards to which this part

applies.

170.110 Types of entities to which this part

applies.

170.115 Deviations.

Subpart B—Policy

170.200 Requirements for program

announcements, regulations, and

application instructions.

170.220 Award term

Subpart C—Definitions

170.300 Agency.

170.305 Award.

170.310 Entity.

170.315 Executive

170.320 Federal financial assistance

subject to the Transparency Act.

170.325 Subaward.

170.330 Total compensation.

Appendix A to Part 170—Award Term

Authority: Pub. L. 109–282; 31 U.S.C.

6102.

Subpart A—General

§ 170.100 Purposes of this part.

This part provides guidance to

agencies to establish requirements for

recipients’ reporting of information on

subawards and executive total

compensation, as required by the

Federal Funding Accountability and

Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109–

282), as amended by section 6202 of

Public Law 110–252, hereafter referred

to as ‘‘the Transparency Act’’.

§ 170.105 Types of awards to which this

part applies.

This part applies to an agency’s

grants, cooperative agreements, loans,

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and other forms of Federal financial

assistance subject to the Transparency

Act, as defined in § 170.320.

§ 170.110 Types of entities to which this

part applies.

(a) General. Through an agency’s

implementation of the guidance in this

part, this part applies to all entities,

other than those excepted in paragraph

(b) of this section, that—

(1) Apply for or receive agency

awards; or

(2) Receive subawards under those

awards.

(b) Exceptions. (1) None of the

requirements in this part apply to an

individual who applies for or receives

an award as a natural person (i.e.,

unrelated to any business or non-profit

organization he or she may own or

operate in his or her name).

(2) None of the requirements

regarding reporting names and total

compensation of an entity’s five most

highly compensated executives apply

unless in the entity’s preceding fiscal

year, it received—

(i) 80 percent or more of its annual

gross revenue in Federal procurement

contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal

financial assistance awards subject to

the Transparency Act, as defined at

§ 170.320 (and subawards); and

(ii) $25,000,000 or more in annual

gross revenue from Federal procurement

contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal

financial assistance awards subject to

the Transparency Act, as defined at

§ 170.320; and

(3) The public does not have access to

information about the compensation of

the senior executives through periodic

reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section

6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of

1986.

§ 170.115 Deviations.

Deviations from this part require the

prior approval of the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB).

Subpart B—Policy

§ 170.200 Requirements for program

announcements, regulations, and

application instructions.

(a) Each agency that makes awards of

Federal financial assistance subject to

the Transparency Act must include the

requirements described in paragraph (b)

of this section in each program

announcement, regulation, or other

issuance containing instructions for

applicants:

(1) Under which awards may be made

that are subject to Transparency Act

reporting requirements; and

(2) That either:

(i) Is issued on or after the effective

date of this part; or

(ii) Has application or plan due dates

after October 1, 2010.

(b) The program announcement,

regulation, or other issuance must

require each entity that applies and does

not have an exception under

§ 170.110(b) to ensure they have the

necessary processes and systems in

place to comply with the reporting

requirements should they receive

funding.

award data on subaward obligations

outside of this policy should take the

necessary steps to ensure that their

recipients are not required, due to the

combination of agency-specific and

Transparency Act reporting

requirements, to submit the same or

similar data multiple times during a

given reporting period.

§ 170.220 Award term.

(a) To accomplish the purposes

described in § 170.100, an agency must

include the award term in Appendix A

to this part in each award to a non-

Federal entity under which the total

funding will include $25,000 or more in

Federal funding at any time during the

project or program period.

(b) An agency—

(1) Consistent with paragraph (a) of

this section, is not required to include

the award term in Appendix A to this

part if it determines that there is no

possibility that the total amount of

Federal funding under the award will

equal or exceed $25,000. However, the

agency must subsequently amend the

award to add the award term if changes

in circumstances increase the total

Federal funding under the award to

$25,000 or more during the project or

program period.

Subpart C—Definitions

§ 170.300 Agency.

Agency means a Federal agency as

defined at 5 U.S.C. 551(1) and further

clarified by 5 U.S.C. 552(f).

§ 170.305 Award.

Award, for the purposes of this part,

effective October 1, 2010, means a grant

or cooperative agreement. On future

dates to be specified by OMB in policy

memoranda available at the OMB Web

site, award also will include other types

of awards of Federal financial assistance

subject to the Transparency Act, as

defined in § 170.320.

§ 170.310 Entity.

Entity has the meaning given in 2 CFR

part 25.

§ 170.315 Executive.

Executive means officers, managing

partners, or any other employees in

management positions.

§ 170.320 Federal financial assistance

subject to the Transparency Act.

Federal financial assistance subject to

the Transparency Act means assistance

that non-Federal entities described in

§ 170.105 receive or administer in the

form of—

(a) Grants;

(b) Cooperative agreements (which

does not include cooperative research

and development agreements pursuant

to the Federal Technology Transfer Act

of 1986, as amended (15 U.S.C. 3710a));

(d) Loan guarantees;

(e) Subsidies;

(f) Insurance;

(g) Food commodities;

(h) Direct appropriations;

(i) Assessed and voluntary

contributions; and

(j) Other financial assistance

transactions that authorize the non-

Federal entities’ expenditure of Federal

funds.

(b) Does not include—

(1) Technical assistance, which

provides services in lieu of money;

(2) A transfer of title to Federally

owned property provided in lieu of

money, even if the award is called a

grant;

(3) Any classified award; or

(4) Any award funded in whole or in

part with Recovery funds, as defined in

section 1512 of the American Recovery

and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L.

111–5).

§ 170.325 Subaward.

Subaward has the meaning given in

paragraph e.3 of the award term in

Appendix A to this part.

170.330 Total compensation.

Total Compensation has the meaning

given in paragraph e.5 of the award term

in Appendix A to this part.

Appendix A to Part 170—Award Term

I. Reporting Subawards and Executive

Compensation.

a. Reporting of first-tier subawards.

1. Applicability. Unless you are exempt as

provided in paragraph d. of this award term,

you must report each action that obligates

$25,000 or more in Federal funds that does

not include Recovery funds (as defined in

section 1512(a)(2) of the American Recovery

and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L.

111–5) for a subaward to an entity (see

definitions in paragraph e. of this award

term).

2. Where and when to report.

i. You must report each obligating action

described in paragraph a.1. of this award

term to http://www.fsrs.gov.

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ii. For subaward information, report no

later than the end of the month following the

month in which the obligation was made.

(For example, if the obligation was made on

November 7, 2010, the obligation must be

reported by no later than December 31, 2010.)

3. What to report. You must report the

information about each obligating action that

the submission instructions posted at

http://www.fsrs.gov specify.

b. Reporting Total Compensation of

Recipient Executives.

1. Applicability and what to report. You

must report total compensation for each of

your five most highly compensated

executives for the preceding completed fiscal

year, if—

i. the total Federal funding authorized to

date under this award is $25,000 or more;

ii. in the preceding fiscal year, you

received—

(A) 80 percent or more of your annual gross

revenues from Federal procurement contracts

(and subcontracts) and Federal financial

assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as

defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards);

and

(B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross

revenues from Federal procurement contracts

(and subcontracts) and Federal financial

assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as

defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards);

and

iii. The public does not have access to

information about the compensation of the

executives through periodic reports filed

under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a),

78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the

public has access to the compensation

information, see the U.S. Security and

Exchange Commission total compensation

filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/

execomp.htm.)

2. Where and when to report. You must

report executive total compensation

described in paragraph b.1. of this award

term:

i. As part of your registration profile at

http://www.ccr.gov.

ii. By the end of the month following the

month in which this award is made, and

annually thereafter.

c. Reporting of Total Compensation of

Subrecipient Executives.

1. Applicability and what to report. Unless

you are exempt as provided in paragraph d.

of this award term, for each first-tier

subrecipient under this award, you shall

report the names and total compensation of

each of the subrecipient’s five most highly

compensated executives for the

subrecipient’s preceding completed fiscal

year, if—

i. in the subrecipient’s preceding fiscal

year, the subrecipient received—

(A) 80 percent or more of its annual gross

revenues from Federal procurement contracts

(and subcontracts) and Federal financial

assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as

defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards);

and

(B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross

revenues from Federal procurement contracts

(and subcontracts), and Federal financial

assistance subject to the Transparency Act

(and subawards); and

ii. The public does not have access to

information about the compensation of the

executives through periodic reports filed

under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a),

78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the

public has access to the compensation

information, see the U.S. Security and

Exchange Commission total compensation

filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/

execomp.htm.)

2. Where and when to report. You must

report subrecipient executive total

compensation described in paragraph c.1. of

this award term:

i. To the recipient.

ii. By the end of the month following the

month during which you make the subaward.

For example, if a subaward is obligated on

any date during the month of October of a

given year (i.e., between October 1 and 31),

you must report any required compensation

information of the subrecipient by November

30 of that year.

d. Exemptions

If, in the previous tax year, you had gross

income, from all sources, under $300,000,

you are exempt from the requirements to

report:

i. Subawards,

and

ii. The total compensation of the five most

highly compensated executives of any

subrecipient.

e. Definitions. For purposes of this award

term:

1. Entity means all of the following, as

defined in 2 CFR part 25:

i. A Governmental organization, which is

a State, local government, or Indian tribe;

ii. A foreign public entity;

iii. A domestic or foreign nonprofit

organization;

iv. A domestic or foreign for-profit

organization;

v. A Federal agency, but only as a

subrecipient under an award or subaward to

a non-Federal entity.

2. Executive means officers, managing

partners, or any other employees in

management positions.

3. Subaward:

i. This term means a legal instrument to

provide support for the performance of any

portion of the substantive project or program

for which you received this award and that

you as the recipient award to an eligible

subrecipient.

ii. The term does not include your

procurement of property and services needed

to carry out the project or program (for

further explanation, see Sec. ll .210 of the

attachment to OMB Circular A–133, ‘‘Audits

of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit

Organizations’’).

iii. A subaward may be provided through

any legal agreement, including an agreement

that you or a subrecipient considers a

contract.

4. Subrecipient means an entity that:

i. Receives a subaward from you (the

recipient) under this award; and

ii. Is accountable to you for the use of the

Federal funds provided by the subaward.

5. Total compensation means the cash and

noncash dollar value earned by the executive

during the recipient’s or subrecipient’s

preceding fiscal year and includes the

following (for more information see 17 CFR

229.402(c)(2)):

i. Salary and bonus.

ii. Awards of stock, stock options, and

stock appreciation rights. Use the dollar

amount recognized for financial statement

reporting purposes with respect to the fiscal

year in accordance with the Statement of

Financial Accounting Standards No. 123

(Revised 2004) (FAS 123R), Shared Based

Payments.

iii. Earnings for services under non-equity

incentive plans. This does not include group

life, health, hospitalization or medical

reimbursement plans that do not

discriminate in favor of executives, and are

available generally to all salaried employees.

iv. Change in pension value. This is the

change in present value of defined benefit

and actuarial pension plans.

v. Above-market earnings on deferred

compensation which is not tax-qualified.

vi. Other compensation, if the aggregate

value of all such other compensation (e.g.

severance, termination payments, value of

life insurance paid on behalf of the

employee, perquisites or property) for the

executive exceeds $10,000.

[FR Doc. 2010–22705 Filed 9–13–10; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3110–01–P

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND

BUDGET

2 CFR Subtitle A, Chapter I, and Part

Financial Assistance Use of Universal

Identifier and Central Contractor

Registration

AGENCY

: Office of Federal Financial

Management, Office of Management and

Budget.

ACTION

: Final guidance.

SUMMARY

: OMB is issuing guidance to

Federal agencies concerning two

requirements for financial assistance

applicants and recipients, and one

requirement for first-tier subrecipients.

An agency under the guidance must

require applicants other than

individuals, with some specific

exceptions, to have Dun and Bradstreet

Data Universal Numbering System

(DUNS) numbers and maintain current

registrations in the Central Contractor

Registration (CCR) database. An agency

must require applicants and recipients

of grants and cooperative agreements to

comply with the DUNS number and

CCR requirements by October 1, 2010

and require applicants and recipients of

all other financial assistance types to

comply by October 1, 2011. The

guidance provides standard wording for

a new award term that each agency must

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FR 2010 22705

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