COST Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The COST Act adds a federal funding disclosure requirement to title 31. Executive agencies, independent regulatory agencies, and any individual or entity carrying out a federally funded program, project, or activity must clearly state the percentage and dollar amount financed with federal funds and the percentage and dollar amount financed by nongovernmental sources in statements, press releases, requests for proposals, bid solicitations, and similar documents longer than 280 characters. Recipients must also include the same information in performance reports. The bill is designed to make federal spending visibility follow the money into grants, projects, and public communications.
Who Benefits and How
Federal taxpayers benefit because program materials must disclose how much federal money is financing a project. Government watchdog organizations benefit from standardized federal and nongovernmental cost-share disclosures. Members of Congress benefit from clearer public attribution of federal funding in grant-funded activities. Local residents benefit when public notices and solicitations show how much of a project is federally financed.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Executive agencies must add federal funding disclosures to covered program documents. Independent regulatory agencies must apply the same disclosure rule when their funds support programs or projects. Federal grant recipients must calculate and publish federal and nongovernmental shares in communications and reports. State and local governments carrying out federal programs must update templates, solicitations, and performance reports.
Key Provisions
- Requires disclosure of the federal percentage and dollar amount for covered programs, projects, and activities.
- Requires disclosure of nongovernmental percentage and dollar financing shares.
- Applies the disclosure rule to press releases, RFPs, bid solicitations, and other documents longer than 280 characters.
- Extends disclosure duties to performance reports by recipients carrying out federally funded work.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires agencies and recipients carrying out federally funded programs to disclose federal and nongovernmental funding shares and dollar amounts in public program materials and reports.
Key Policy Areas
Federal Spending, Transparency, Grants
Primary Purpose
Requires agencies and recipients carrying out federally funded programs to disclose federal and nongovernmental funding shares and dollar amounts in public program materials and reports.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Federal taxpayers
- Government watchdog organizations
- Members of Congress
- Local residents
Identified Costs
- Executive agencies
- Independent regulatory agencies
- Federal grant recipients
- State governments
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Norman (for himself, Mr. Weber of Texas, and Mr. …
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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