The federal government is looking for your feedback once again; this time it's the U.S. Treasury Department. This month, the Department of the Treasury unveiled a new website to collect recommendations and suggestions on the final version of USASpending.gov, which is being updated as part of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) (Pub. L. 113-101).

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Single Audit Information Service). Officials with the Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) anticipate that internal policy updated in 2014 related to its Financial Integrity Review and Evaluation (FIRE) program will enable its division offices to more accurately monitor state use of FHWA funds and ensure the validity of reviews conducted by FHWA’s division offices.

There are certain ideas that on the outset seem like a good, healthy proposals. However, in reality, such ideas may not prove so easy to accomplish.

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Federal Grants Management Handbook.) An interagency working group is seeking public comments on a draft set of research terms and conditions that implements the provisions of Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) uniform grant guidance, with specific clarifications and additions applicable to research awards.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is looking for your opinion. To comply with Section 1109 of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 (Pub. L. 113-2), FEMA issued a proposed rule in today’s Federal Register, to review and revise the individual assistance factors that FEMA uses to measure the severity, magnitude and impact of a disaster.

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Single Audit Information Service.) Representatives from federal agency Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) are requesting Congress to amend a provision in the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) (Pub. L. 113-101) that requires OIGs in November 2016 to report whether agencies are complying with the DATA Act’s data standards for federal spending. The timing of the report is inappropriate, they say, because under the Act’s timeline, federal agencies will not yet be required to comply with the data standards.

We are now about a month and a half away from the one-year anniversary of the issuance in the Dec. 19, 2014, Federal Register of the joint interim final rule in which 28 federal agencies and offices implemented the Office of Management and Budget’s uniform grant guidance. The key word to the previous sentence that we want to address here is the word “interim.” The agencies accepted public comments on their implementation of the uniform guidance, including specific agency additions and exceptions, before adopting them as final.