The Streamlining Federal Grants Act: Can Congress Finally Fix the $1.2 Trillion Application Maze?

The Office of Management and Budget has admitted what every small nonprofit and rural county government already knows: the federal grants process is so complex that "the recipients most in need of such assistance" are often "unable to access it." Grant applicants face roughly 50 separate federal requirements that apply across the board, solicitations that restate eligibility criteria multiple times across dozens of pages, and reporting systems that haven't been meaningfully updated since the Bush administration.

Now a bipartisan bill moving through the Senate proposes to do something about it. The Streamlining Federal Grants Act of 2026 (S. 3709), introduced January 28 by Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and James Lankford (R-OK), would force federal agencies to simplify application processes, adopt plain-language standards, upgrade grant management technology, and create a government-wide Grants Council to coordinate reforms. The House companion, introduced by Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC), mirrors the Senate bill and has attracted support from local government associations, nonprofit networks, and community organizations nationwide.

The bill has already cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Whether it becomes law depends on floor scheduling and whether it gets attached to a larger legislative vehicle. But even in its current form, S. 3709 represents the most serious attempt in years to address the structural barriers that keep small organizations from competing for federal funding.

The Scale of the Problem

The federal government distributes approximately $1.2 trillion annually through grants and financial assistance programs. That money flows through more than 1,800 distinct federal assistance programs administered by dozens of agencies, each with its own application portal, review criteria, reporting requirements, and compliance frameworks.

For a large university with a dedicated sponsored programs office — sometimes employing dozens of grant specialists — this complexity is manageable. For a five-person nonprofit in rural Michigan or a county government in Appalachia with no grant writer on staff, it's a wall.

The data backs up what practitioners already know. Research from the George W. Bush administration's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives found that smaller, community-based organizations are "exceedingly" disadvantaged by the sheer weight of cross-cutting federal requirements. A more recent analysis found that a 1 percent increase in government funding correlates with a 2.1 percent rise in the share of administrative to total expenses — meaning that for every dollar of federal money a small organization receives, it spends more than two cents on administration alone, a cost that scales disproportionately for smaller budgets.

The result is a self-reinforcing cycle: organizations with existing grant infrastructure win more grants, which funds more grant infrastructure, which wins more grants. Meanwhile, the community health clinic that could serve 500 patients with a $200,000 HRSA award never applies because no one on staff has 80 hours to spend decoding a 47-page Notice of Funding Opportunity.

What the Bill Actually Does

The Streamlining Federal Grants Act operates on four levels: language, process, technology, and coordination.

Plain language requirements. Federal agencies would be required to write funding opportunity announcements in clear, accessible language. Each announcement would include a "short general summary" alongside the full notice — essentially an executive summary that lets potential applicants quickly determine whether the opportunity is relevant before investing hours reading the complete NOFO. Announcements would also be required to include direct contact information for program officers, eliminating the common frustration of having questions but no one to ask.

Process simplification. Agencies would be directed to review their grant application processes and identify specific steps to reduce administrative burden. This includes standardizing common application elements across programs (so applicants don't reinvent the wheel for every submission), reducing duplicative reporting requirements, and expanding pre-award training and technical assistance for applicants. The bill specifically targets the problem of "repetitive and overly long" solicitations that state eligibility criteria multiple times.

Technology modernization. Federal grant management systems — many of which are legacy platforms built on decades-old architecture — would be required to undergo upgrades. The bill calls for updated software systems and common data standards for grant reporting, which would reduce the current patchwork of incompatible formats that force applicants to re-enter the same information across multiple systems.

Government-wide coordination. Perhaps the most structurally significant provision, the bill would create a Grants Council supervised by the OMB Director. This council would develop consistent grant policies and data standards across federal agencies, coordinate reform efforts, and ensure that changes made by one agency don't conflict with requirements imposed by another. Currently, each agency operates largely independently on grant administration, leading to inconsistencies that increase complexity for applicants who apply across multiple agencies.

Who Benefits Most

The bill's sponsors have been explicit about the target beneficiaries: rural communities, small organizations, and groups that have historically been underrepresented in federal grant portfolios.

Rural counties and small municipalities. The National Association of Counties endorsed the bill specifically because it would "reduce barriers to entry by improving interagency coordination, supporting under-resourced counties in the application and reporting process." Rural governments often lack dedicated grant staff. When a county administrator is also the grant writer, the budget officer, and the project manager, every hour spent navigating application complexity is an hour not spent serving constituents.

Small nonprofits and community organizations. Organizations with annual budgets under $1 million — which constitute the vast majority of registered nonprofits — are disproportionately affected by application complexity. Many have told researchers they simply don't apply for federal grants because the administrative burden exceeds their capacity, even when they deliver services that perfectly align with federal program goals.

Faith-based organizations. The bill echoes findings from nearly 25 years ago, when the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives documented systematic barriers preventing religious organizations from accessing federal social service funding. Many of those barriers — arcane application formats, unclear eligibility language, lack of technical assistance — remain intact.

Fire departments and emergency services. Volunteer fire departments and small-town emergency services agencies — many with no paid administrative staff — frequently miss opportunities under programs like the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant because the application process requires expertise they don't have.

The bill explicitly mandates that local governments have "a regular and ongoing part in the consultation process" as agencies develop their streamlining plans — ensuring that reforms are shaped by the people who actually experience the complexity, not just the administrators who design it.

Why Previous Reform Efforts Stalled

This isn't the first attempt to simplify federal grantmaking. The Grant Reform and New Transparency Act (GRANT Act) of 2006, the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) of 2014, and numerous executive orders and OMB circulars have all promised to reduce complexity. Grants.gov itself was created in 2002 as a "single access point" for federal grants — a mission it has only partially fulfilled.

The pattern is consistent: reform legislation passes, agencies make initial progress, and then institutional inertia reasserts itself. Each agency has its own compliance culture, its own legacy systems, and its own interpretation of cross-cutting requirements. Without sustained pressure and a coordinating body with real authority, individual agencies revert to familiar processes.

The Grants Council proposed by S. 3709 is designed to break this pattern by creating an ongoing institutional mechanism for coordination rather than relying on one-time reform efforts. Whether it will succeed depends on whether the council receives adequate staffing, whether OMB exercises genuine oversight authority, and whether agencies face real consequences for noncompliance.

What Grant Seekers Should Do Now

The Streamlining Federal Grants Act won't transform the grants landscape overnight, even if it passes. Implementation would take years as agencies develop plans, upgrade systems, and revise their NOFOs. But grant seekers can take several concrete steps today.

Track the bill's progress. S. 3709 is through committee and awaiting floor action. If it passes the Senate, the House companion bill provides a path to the president's desk. Organizations that benefit from simplified grantmaking should communicate support to their senators — bipartisan bills with local government backing are easier to move when constituents confirm the need.

Comment on regulatory changes. The 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance updates that took effect in October 2024 already streamline some administrative requirements. OMB periodically solicits public comment on proposed guidance changes. Engaging in these comment periods gives small organizations a voice in shaping the rules they operate under.

Invest in grant readiness. Regardless of federal reforms, organizations can reduce their own barriers by building basic grant infrastructure: a boilerplate organizational description, up-to-date financial statements, a DUNS/UEI number, current SAM.gov registration, and templates for common application sections like project narratives and evaluation plans. Having these materials ready reduces the marginal cost of each application from weeks to days.

Use technology to level the playing field. The same AI and automation tools that large institutions deploy for grant management are increasingly available to smaller organizations. Grant search platforms, proposal drafting tools, and compliance tracking software can substitute for dedicated staff that small organizations can't afford to hire.

Build collaborative applications. The bill emphasizes reducing barriers for underrepresented applicants, but collaboration is already a proven strategy. Small organizations that partner with larger institutions — as subcontractors, consortium members, or co-PIs — gain access to grant infrastructure while bringing the community relationships and local knowledge that funders increasingly value.

The Bigger Reform Landscape

The Streamlining Federal Grants Act exists within a broader wave of grantmaking reform. Executive Order 14332, issued in August 2025, reinforces interagency coordination and increased scrutiny of award decisions. The 2025 OMB Compliance Supplement refined audit procedures and expanded subrecipient monitoring expectations. And the modernization of Simpler.Grants.gov — the redesigned federal grant search platform — represents the technology layer that legislative reform needs to be effective.

Taken together, these changes signal a genuine, if incremental, shift toward a federal grants ecosystem that's more accessible to the organizations that need it most. The question is whether the momentum sustains through implementation — historically the point where grants reform has faltered.

For small organizations and rural communities, the stakes are concrete: every grant that goes unawarded because the application was too complex represents services not delivered, infrastructure not built, and communities not served. If S. 3709 can move even partway toward closing that gap, it will be among the most consequential pieces of legislation most Americans have never heard of.

Navigating the federal grants landscape — even as it evolves — is easier with the right tools. Granted helps organizations of all sizes discover relevant funding opportunities, understand eligibility requirements, and build competitive proposals, whether you're a first-time applicant or a seasoned grant seeker adapting to new rules.