Thank you for your patience and understanding as we collectively work to understand continued access to our federal grant funds. As we learned just today, the OMB memorandum of January 27, 2025 has been rescinded.
As we manage and administer our federal awards, it’s important that you continue to adhere to the cost principles that govern your federal awards. We operate a reimbursement claim system that is based on grantees expending funding and then seeking reimbursement through GEM$. This principle is grounded in the federal Uniform Grants Guidance (UGG), 2 CFR 200, and the Commonwealth’s US Treasury State Agreement to comply with the federal Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990 (CMIA). Simply put, as a grantee, you must have eligible expenditures incurred that become the basis for requesting funds in GEM$.
Likely due to the concern generated by the OMB memo, we have seen some anomalies in this week’s federal claim requests that cause DESE to question whether the requests are supported by incurred expenses. Requesting funds in advance can result in grantees being out of compliance with UGG and CMIA requirements. Additionally, it appears that some claims were made against the most recent award, while there is still a balance in a prior year’s award. It’s important that grantees practice the principle of First In First Out (FIFO), in spending your multi-year grant awards.
If any of your current claims are inconsistent with these requirements, grantees should consider making amended claims. If you do intend to amend a claim, please contact Andrew Owens at (Andrew.C.Owens@mass.gov) by noon Thursday 1/30/2025. If you do not need to amend a claim, payments will be processed by the end of this week.