; (4) to complain and defend itself in any court of competent jurisdiction (except that the members of the Board shall not be personally liable, except for gross negligence); (5) to enter into contracts or other arrangements with public agencies, private organizations, and persons and to make such payments as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of such contracts or arrangements; and (6) to award grants for eligible projects, in accordance with section 7. (c) Limitation of public liability The United States shall not be liable for any debts, defaults, acts, or omissions of the Foundation. The Federal Government shall be held harmless from any damages or awards ordered by a court against the Foundation. 6. Safeguards and accountability (a) Safeguards The Foundation shall develop, and incorporate into any agreement for support provided by the Foundation, appropriate safeguards, policies, and guidelines, consistent with United States law and best practices and standards for environmental and social safeguards. (b) Independent accountability mechanism (1) In general The Secretary, or the Secretary’s designee, shall establish a transparent and independent accountability mechanism, consistent with best practices, which shall provide— (A) a compliance review function that assesses whether Foundation-supported projects adhere to the requirements developed pursuant to subsection (a); (B) a dispute resolution function for resolving and remedying concerns between complainants and project implementers regarding the impacts of specific Foundation-supported projects with respect to such standards; and (C) an advisory function that reports to the Board on projects, policies, and practices. (2) Duties The accountability mechanism shall— (A) report annually to the Board and the appropriate congressional committees regarding the Foundation’s compliance with best practices and standards in accordance with paragraph (1)(A) and the nature and resolution of any complaint