WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Environment Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL), and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Gregg Harper (R-MS) sent a letter today seeking further information from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the process it uses to review grant solicitations and applications.
Walden, Shimkus, and Harper wrote, “EPA’s Grants Management Plan outlines goals and objectives for improving oversight of grants, including the review process. According to the document, ‘[t]he goals and objectives identified in the Plan are intended to guide the day-to-day activities of the EPA’s grants management staff and the senior managers responsible for overseeing grant activities.’ Specifically, one goal calls for EPA to ‘Strengthen accountability in Regional and Headquarters Offices by improving the Management Effectiveness Review Process.’ This includes developing ‘a standardized review protocol’ and measuring this goal by performing effectiveness reviews of grants management offices two times per year beginning in 2017."
They concluded, “Implementing the goals outlined in the Grants Management Plan would most certainly improve oversight of the grants program and increase the effectiveness of the review process."
