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University Of Hawai‘iOffice of Research Services

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)Info Session

September 3, 2009

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Agenda

Introduction:– Enactment of ARRA– UH Proposals and Awards

Part I: Regulatory Provisions– general provisions of ARRA

Part II: Reporting Instructions – proposed reporting instructions for UH

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Introduction: ARRA

Enacted by Congress in February 2009 Based largely on proposals by President Obama Intended to provide a stimulus to the U.S. economy

in the wake of the economic downturn Stimulus package worth $787 billion Save and create 3.5 million jobs over the next two

years

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Introduction: UH ARRA Proposals and Awards

As of August 31, 2009 (through ORS) UH has:– submitted 124 Proposals, totaling $144 Million– received 39 Awards, totaling $18 Million

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Part I – ARRA Regulatory Provisions

Quarterly Reports - §1512 Whistleblower Protections - §1553 Davis Bacon Act - §1606 Buy American Requirements - §1605 ARRA Sub-awards

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Quarterly Reports

Why– Provide transparency, oversight and accountability into the

use of funds

Who– (1) Prime recipients – (2) Sub-recipients who have been delegated the responsibility

for reporting (by the prime)

When– Due 10 calendar days after the end of the quarter that

recovery funds were received– First report due Oct. 10, 2009

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Quarterly Reports (continued)

What– Total amount of funds received; and of that, the amount spent on

projects and activities– List of projects and activities funded by name including

Description Completion Status Estimates on jobs created or retained

– Details on subcontracts (vendor) or sub-awards (sub-recipients) For amounts of $25,000 or greater, detailed information for the

contract or award For amounts below $25,000, report aggregate information

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Quarterly Reports (continued)

How– Prime Recipient will upload data to

www.FederalReporting.gov– Reports will be prepared and made available to the public

on www.Recovery.gov

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Quarterly Reports (continued)

Estimate on Jobs Created or Retained– A job created is a new position created and filled or an existing unfilled

position that is filled because of ARRA; a job retained is an existing position that would not have been continued to be filled without ARRA. A job cannot be counted as both.

– Include only direct employment– Express in full-time equivalents (FTE). Take total actual hours worked

during the quarter and divide by number of hours available in a full-time schedule for the quarter.

– Prime recipient must report estimates for all sub-recipients and vendors that receive $25,000 or more

– For description of jobs created, may rely on position titles / descriptions

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Quarterly Reports (continued)

Agency Requirements – Recipients must comply with specific agency reporting

requirements

OMB Guidance – M-09-21, Implementing Guidance for the Reports on Use of

Funds Pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (June 22, 2009) – available on http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/

Recovery.gov– Recipient Reporting Information

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Whistleblower Protections

Under existing Federal laws, regulations and OMB Cirulars regulating the expenditure of federal funds, recipients must manage and expend awarded federal funds appropriately.

ARRA Section 1553 extends investigatory powers of the Inspector General and other authorities to relevant personnel of the Recipient’s contractors, subcontractors, or other recipients of funds pursuant to a contract.

Any employee who alleges “whistleblowing” or disclosing information about gross mismanagement or waste of stimulus funds is protected from reprisal (discharge, demotion or other discrimination).

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Whistleblower Protections (continued)

Recipients and major contractors should maintain programs and procedures to manage the risk, to detect and remediate instances of mismanagement, fraud, waste or unlawful use of ARRA funds, and properly record and act upon reports.

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Davis-Bacon Act

ARRA Section 1606 mirrors existing requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and applies to all ARRA funded construction projects.

Laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on ARRA funded projects for construction, alteration, maintenance or repair (including painting and decorating) must be paid the prevailing wages in the wage determination included in the contract.

Contractors and subcontractors must pay wages on a weekly basis and submit weekly certified payroll records.

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ARRA Buy American

ARRA Section 1605 prohibits the use of recovery funds for a construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the U.S.

ARRA definition of “manufactured good” centers on the fact of assembly of the good in the U.S., but before it gets to the construction site. The origin of the original components is not a factor. (Parts can be from outside the U.S., but must be assembled in the U.S.)

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ARRA Buy American - Waivers

Under OMB rules, waivers may be granted based upon the following:

– Public interest – application of the requirements would be inconsistent with the public interest, as determined by Agency Administrator.

– Non-availability – Agency Administrator finds that the materials for which a waiver is requested are not available in the U.S. in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; and

– Cost-differential – Agency Administrator finds that use of a domestic product will increase cost of entire project more than 25%.

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ARRA Subawards

ARRA Terms and Conditions must be flowed down to any sub-awards

All ARRA sub-awards will be forwarded to ORS for review to ensure that proper ARRA terms and conditions are included (i.e. For NSF, if after 12 months, no allowable expenditures have been incurred, award may be terminated.)

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Part II – UH Proposed ARRA Reporting Instructions

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ARRA Reporting Process

Upon acceptance of the awards, ORS will notify PI and FO if the award is funded under ARRA

Awards issued under ARRA – identified in FMIS with “A” in Report Format on Screen 603

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ARRA Reporting Process (Cont.)

ORS Compliance will update data elements from award documents on Excel template for each award

Approximately 2 weeks prior to end of the quarter, PI and FO will receive an email with the partially updated Excel template for their awards and a request to provide selected data elements

Timeline– If no sub-awards or subcontracts > $25,000, information will be

due by the 3rd calendar day of the month following the quarter end– If there are sub-awards or subcontracts > $25,000, information will

be due by the 5th calendar day of the month following the quarter end

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ARRA Reporting Process (Cont.)

By the 10th calendar day of the month following the quarter end, ORS Compliance will upload the individual award templates to FederalReporting.gov.

Between the 11th and 20th calendar day of the month following the quarter end, ORS Compliance will perform data quality reviews and may be contacting PIs and FOs for supporting documentation

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ORS Website – ARRA Reporting

Reporting Guidelines– Responsibilities– Procedures– Instructions

Prime Recipients– identifying subcontracts (vendor) and obtaining data– Jobs created / retained

Sub-recipients Vendors

– Resources – links, Q&A

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Award Information Data

Sub-awards to individuals:– Total number and amount (encumbrances)

Payments to vendors < $25K:– Total number and amount (expenditures)

Sub-awards < $25K (encumbrances):– Total number and amount (exclude individuals)

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Project Information Data (Status)

Project status:– Not started– <50% completed – >50% completed– Fully completed

Based on performance progress reports and other relevant non-financial performance info

Awards that fund multiple projects/activities– Use best estimate on any aggregate data and information

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Project Information Data (Jobs)

Number of jobs created and retained (FTE):– Cumulative average @ each quarter-end– Average to include:

Regular UH employees Overload, Casual, Student help & RCUH employees Sub-recipient & vendor employees

– Ideally obtain via email or in other written form– If unable to obtain written documentation; note date, name

& title of person contacted at the sub-recipient or vendor

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Project Information Data (Jobs) (Cont.)

Description of jobs (job titles) created and retained in US & outlying areas– Outlying areas = Commonwealths, Territories,

and Minor outlying islands (i.e. Johnston, Midway)

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Project Information Data (Infrastructure Awards)

Modernizing roads, bridges, transit & waterways– May have been awarded to the State and/or C&C

governments (UH may be a sub-recipient)

Total Federal ARRA infrastructure expenditure (total awarded to us)

Contact name, email, phone & address info Purpose & rationale

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Primary Place of Performance Data

Address information of “Primary” location Congressional District – 2 digit code If various locations, may use reasoning for

determining on or off campus IDC rates

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Sub-recipient(sub-awards >=$25K) Data Reporting

Sub-recipient information:– DUNS #– Sub-award # (RCUH PO#)– Sub-recipient Congressional District – 2 digit code

Sub-award information:– Amount of sub-award– Total sub-award funds disbursed– Sub-award date

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Sub-recipient(sub-awards >=$25K) Data Reporting - continued

Sub-recipient place of performance– Address information

Sub-recipient Highly Compensated Officers– Only required if subrecipient received (1) 80% or

more of annual revenues and $25,000,000 from Federal awards in the preceding fiscal year and (2) information is not available to the public.

If UH is the sub-recipient, make sure to follow prime recipient’s instructions for reporting

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Vendor (purchases >=$25K) Data Reporting

Purchases >=$25K (individual payment transactions)– Sub-award # - optional, leave blank– Vendor DUNS #– Vendor name– Vendor headquarter zip code – Product and service description– Payment amount

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REMINDERS

Contact Sub-recipients and Vendors (receiving $25,000 or more) early to obtain required data

Maintain documentation to support data elements – especially for jobs created / retained

Expect increased audit scrutiny from external auditors and internal reviews by ORS Compliance

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QUESTIONS?

Contact:ORS Compliance Section

compliance@ors.hawaii.edu