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Prohibition Confidentiality Agreements

Prohibition Against Using Funds under Grants and Cooperative Agreements with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements.

(a) The recipient may not require its employees, contractors, or subrecipients seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign or comply with internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting them from lawfully reporting that waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.
 
(b) The recipient must notify its employees, contractors, or subrecipients that the prohibitions and restrictions of any internal confidentiality agreements inconsistent with paragraph (a) of this award provision are no longer in effect.
 
(c) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this award provision does not contravene requirements applicable to any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.
 
(d) If the Government determines that the recipient is not in compliance with this award provision, it:
 

(1) Will prohibit the recipient's use of funds under this award, in accordance with sections 743, 744 of Division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, (Pub. L. 114-113) or any successor provision of law; and 
 
(2) May pursue other remedies available for the recipient's material failure to comply with award terms and conditions.

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