Title 31Money and FinanceRelease 119-73

§6401 Definitions

Title 31 › Subtitle SUBTITLE V— - GENERAL ASSISTANCE ADMINISTRATION › Chapter CHAPTER 64— - DATA STANDARDS FOR GRANT REPORTING › § 6401

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Defines key words used in the chapter. Agency: has the meaning given in 5 U.S.C. 552(f). Core data elements: non‑program‑specific financial, administrative, or management data that most federal award recipients must report (see section 1115(h) for program‑specific outcome measures). Director: the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Executive department: as defined in 5 U.S.C. 101. Federal award: a transfer of value for a public purpose (grants, subgrants, cooperative agreements, or similar transactions) but not routine government purchases or transactions that only give direct cash to an individual, subsidies, loans, loan guarantees, or insurance. Secretary: head of the standard‑setting agency. Standard‑setting agency: the Executive department named in section 6402(a)(1). State: each State, the District of Columbia, every commonwealth, territory, possession, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe.

Full Legal Text

Title 31, §6401

Money and Finance — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In this chapter:
(1)The term “agency” has the meaning given the term in section 552(f) of title 5.
(2)The term “core data elements” means data elements relating to financial management, administration, or management that—
(A)are not program-specific in nature or program-specific outcome measures, as defined in section 1115(h) of this title; and
(B)are required by agencies for all or the vast majority of recipients of Federal awards for purposes of reporting.
(3)The term “Director” means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
(4)The term “Executive department” has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 5.
(5)The term “Federal award”—
(A)means the transfer of anything of value for a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States, including financial assistance and Government facilities, services, and property;
(B)includes a grant, a subgrant, a cooperative agreement, or any other transaction; and
(C)does not include a transaction or agreement—
(i)that provides for conventional public information services or procurement of property or services for the direct benefit or use of the Government; or
(ii)that provides only—
(I)direct Government cash assistance to an individual;
(II)a subsidy;
(III)a loan;
(IV)a loan guarantee; or
(V)insurance.
(6)The term “Secretary” means the head of the standard-setting agency.
(7)The term “standard-setting agency” means the Executive department designated under section 6402(a)(1).
(8)The term “State” means each State of the United States, the District of Columbia, each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

Pub. L. 116–103, § 1(a), Dec. 30, 2019, 133 Stat. 3266, provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter, amending section 7502 and 7505 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 6402 and 7505 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act of 2019’ or the ‘GREAT Act’.” Rule of

Construction

Pub. L. 116–103, § 8, Dec. 30, 2019, 133 Stat. 3271, provided that: “Nothing in this Act [see

Short Title

note set out above], or the

Amendments

made by this Act, shall be construed to require the collection of data that is not otherwise required under any Federal law, rule, or regulation.” Purposes Pub. L. 116–103, § 2, Dec. 30, 2019, 133 Stat. 3266, provided that: “The purposes of this Act [see

Short Title

note set out above] are to— “(1) modernize reporting by recipients of Federal grants and cooperative agreements by creating and imposing data standards for the information that those recipients are required by law to report to the Federal Government; “(2) implement the recommendation by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget contained in the report submitted under section 5(b)(6) of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) relating to the development of a ‘comprehensive taxonomy of standard definitions for core data elements required for managing Federal financial assistance awards’; “(3) reduce burden and compliance costs of recipients of Federal grants and cooperative agreements by enabling technology solutions, existing or yet to be developed, for use in both the public and private sectors to better manage the data that recipients already provide to the Federal Government; and “(4) strengthen oversight and management of Federal grants and cooperative agreements by agencies by consolidating the collection and display of and access to open data that has been standardized and, where appropriate, increasing transparency to the public.” Definitions Pub. L. 116–103, § 3, Dec. 30, 2019, 133 Stat. 3267, provided that: “In this Act [see

Short Title

note set out above], the terms ‘agency’, ‘Director’, ‘Federal award’, and ‘Secretary’ have the meanings given those terms in section 6401 of title 31, United States Code, as added by section 4(a) of this Act.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

31 U.S.C. § 6401

Title 31Money and Finance

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73