Venable’s federal grants attorneys advise clients across industries on the unique federal grant compliance requirements that arise under federally funded programs, offering practical guidance tailored to specific sectors such as infrastructure, disaster response, research, and social services.
Our team has several decades of experience in supporting clients across a variety of industries and offering counsel on the various program-specific considerations that arise in federally supported projects. We have assisted clients with a myriad of infrastructure/construction projects, disaster response, conservation, foreign aid, healthcare, and research.
We provide program-specific compliance guidance across a wide range of federally funded initiatives and emerging federal policy mandates, helping clients understand and meet the distinct requirements that apply in various areas.
Guidance On Program-Specific Compliance Requirements Across Federally Funded Programs
In the context of infrastructure, construction, and disaster funding, we commonly advise clients on:
- Real property issues, including federal interest, fair market assessment, cost allowability, property disposition, and other related issues
- Construction matters, which include health and safety requirements, as well as prevailing wage (both federal and state) requirements, such as the Davis Bacon Act and little Davis Bacon Acts
- Domestic sourcing requirements, including Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act requirements and similar pre-existing requirements most commonly applicable to Department of Transportation (DOT) funding
- Small Business and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) sourcing under 2 C.F.R. § 200.321, as well as more specific requirements for DOT programs under 49 C.F.R. Part 26 and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) programs under 40 C.F.R. Part 33
- Disaster response programs under the Stafford Act, including preparing sole-source justifications for exigent procurements, in addition to assisting in all facets of designing and implementing rebuilding programs under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant program
In the context of federally supported research, we advise our clients on:
- Intellectual property requirements, including licenses claimed by federal funders in copyrightable works and patentable inventions, under the Bayh Dole Act, 35 U.S.C. § 200 et seq., 2 C.F.R. § 200.315
- Human subjects protections, including notice and consent obligations, privacy/data protection requirements, as well as planning for and mitigating potential liabilities thereunder
- Strategic considerations and agreement terms in collaborative efforts funded via Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) or coordinated with Federal laboratories under Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)
Finally, responding to an ever-evolving compliance environment, addressing issues such as:
- Terms and conditions arising from Executive Orders 14151 and 14173, emphasizing nondiscrimination in federal programs
- Evolving interpretations of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), 8 U.S.C. § 1611 et seq., as applied to federally supported social service providers