The COST Act of 2023 is about transparency and honesty when the government spends money. Here's what it does: whenever someone receives federal funding—whether it's a state government, a city, a university getting a research grant, or any other organization—they have to be upfront about where the money is coming from. If they announce a project, write a press release, or put out a bid for work, they must clearly state how much of the funding comes from the federal government and how much comes from other sources, including the actual percentages.

The bill also requires organizations to report whether they're following these rules, especially for short communications like social media posts (up to 280 characters). To make sure everyone complies, the Office of Management and Budget will randomly check public announcements from government agencies and grant recipients each year and publish what they find. If you spot someone not following the rules, you can anonymously report it through a system the government will set up.

Basically, this law prevents organizations from hiding the fact that taxpayer money is funding their projects. It's designed to help the public understand where federal dollars are actually going and ensure that organizations aren't misleading people about funding sources.

COST Act of 2023

Ernst, Joni

Cost Openness and Spending Transparency Act of 2023 or the COST Act of 2023 This bill requires recipients of federal funds to disclose financing information relating to programs, projects, or activities carried out using such funds. Specifically, such a recipient (including a state or local government or a recipient of a federal research grant) must clearly state in any press release, request for proposals, bid solicitation, or other document describing the activity the amount and percentage of federal funding and the amount and percentage of nongovernmental funding. An individual or entity carrying out a program, project, or activity that is carried out using federal funds must, as part of the performance progress reporting, include a certification indicating whether the individual or entity complied with the disclosure requirements for communications containing not more than 280 characters relating to the program, project, or activity. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must annually <ul> <li>review a random sampling of public communications issued by agencies and recipients of federal funds for compliance with the disclosure requirements, and</li> <li>make publicly available the findings of the review.</li> </ul> The OMB must make available to the public a mechanism to anonymously report communications that do not comply.