113 S994 RS: Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013
U.S. Senate
2013-05-21
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as
the Digital Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2013
.2.The purposes of this Act are to—(1)expand the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 by disclosing
direct Federal agency expenditures and linking Federal contract, loan, and
grant spending information to programs of Federal agencies in order to
enable
taxpayers and policy makers to track Federal spending more effectively;(2)provide
consistent, reliable, and searchable Government-wide spending data that is
displayed accurately for taxpayers and policy makers on USASpending.gov;(3)analyze Federal
spending data to proactively prevent waste, fraud, abuse, and improper
payments;(4)simplify
reporting for entities receiving Federal funds by streamlining reporting
requirements and reducing compliance costs while improving transparency;
and(5)improve the
quality of data submitted to USASpending.gov by holding Federal agencies
accountable for the completeness and accuracy of the data submitted.3.Amendments to
the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006(a)Section 2 of the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C.
6101
note) is amended—(1)in the section
heading, by striking Full
disclosure of entities receiving Federal funding
and
inserting Disclosure of
Federal funding
;(2)in subsection
(a)—(A)by redesignating
paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (7), respectively;(B)by inserting
after paragraph (1) the following:(2)The term Federal agency has the meaning given
the term Executive agency under section 105 of title 5, United
States Code.;
(C)by inserting
after paragraph (3), as redesignated by subparagraph (A), the following:(4)The term Federal funds means any funds that
are made available to or expended by a Federal agency.(5)The term object class means the category
assigned for purposes of the annual budget of the President
submitted under
section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, to the type of
property or
services purchased by the Federal Government.(6)The term program activity has the meaning
given that term under section 1115(h) of title 31, United States
Code.; and
(D)in paragraph (7),
as redesignated by subparagraph (A)—(i)in
subparagraph (B), by striking paragraph (2)(A)(i)
and inserting
paragraph (3)(A)(i)
; and(ii)in
subparagraph (C), by striking paragraph (2)(A)(ii)
and inserting
paragraph (3)(A)(ii)
;(3)in subsection
(b)—(A)in paragraph
(1)—(i)by
striking “the Office of Management and Budget” and inserting “the
Secretary of
the Treasury” each place it appears;(ii)by
redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (G) as clauses (i) through (vii),
respectively, and adjusting the margin accordingly;(iii)by striking
for each Federal award—
and inserting the following: “for all
Federal funds—(A)for each Federal
agency, component of a Federal agency, appropriations account,
program
activity, and object class (including any subcomponent of an object
class), and
other accounts or data as appropriate—(i)the amount of
budget authority available;(ii)the amount
obligated;(iii)the amount of
outlays;(iv)the amount of
any Federal funds reprogrammed or transferred; and(v)the amount of
expired and unexpired unobligated balances; and(B)for each Federal
award—;
and(iv)in
subparagraph (B)(iii), as so designated by this subparagraph, by inserting
, which shall be assigned a unique identifier,
after
information on the award
;(B)in paragraph
(3)—(i)by
striking Director of the Office of Management and Budget
and
inserting Secretary of the Treasury
; and(ii)by
striking the Director may
and inserting the Secretary
may
;(C)in paragraph
(4)—(i)by
striking Director of the Office of Management and Budget
and
inserting Secretary of the Treasury
;(ii)by striking
the Director upon
and inserting the Secretary
upon
; and(iii)by striking
the Director in
and inserting the Secretary in
;
and(D)by adding at the
end the following:(5)Application of
data standardsThe Secretary of the Treasury shall apply the data
standards established by the Secretary of the Treasury under
subsection (e) to
all data collection, data dissemination, and data publication
required under
this section.(6)Data feed to
recovery accountability and transparency boardThe Secretary of
the Treasury shall provide the data described in paragraph (1) to
the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board for inclusion in the Recovery
Operations
Center described in subsection
(h).;(4)in subsection
(c)—(A)in paragraph
(1)—(i)in
the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking and
Grants.gov
and inserting Grants.gov, the Payment Automation
Manager and Federal Information Repository and other data or databases
from the
Department of the Treasury, the MAX Information System of the Office of
Management and Budget, and other data from Federal agencies collected and
identified by the Office of Management and Budget
;(ii)in
subparagraph (B), by adding and
at the end; and(iii)by adding at
the end the following:(C)specify such
search shall be confined to Federal
funds;;(B)in paragraph (2),
by inserting the Payment Automation Manager and Federal Information
Repository and other data or databases from the Department of the
Treasury, the
MAX Information System of the Office of Management and Budget, other data
from
Federal agencies collected and identified by the Office of Management and
Budget,
after Grants.gov website,
;(C)in paragraph
(4)—(i)by
striking shall be updated not later
and inserting the following:
“shall be updated—(A)not
later;
and(ii)by
adding at the end the following:(B)not less than
once each quarter with information relating to Federal
funds;;
(D)in paragraph
(5)—(i)by
inserting Federal funds and
before Federal awards
the first place it appears;(ii)by
striking subsection (a)(2)(A)(i) and those described in subsection
(a)(2)(A)(ii)
and inserting subsection (a)(3)(A)(i) and those
described in subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii)
; and(iii)by striking the
period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and(E)by adding at the
end the following:(6)shall have the
ability to aggregate data for the categories described in
paragraphs (1)
through (5) without double-counting data; and(7)shall permit all
information published under this section to be downloaded in
bulk.; (5)by redesignating
subsections (e), (f), and (g) as subsections (i), (j), and (k),
respectively;
and(6)by inserting
after subsection (d) the following:(e)Department of
the Treasury requirements(1)(A)The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Administrator
of General
Services, and the heads of Federal agencies, shall establish
Government-wide
financial data standards for Federal funds, which shall—(i)include common
data elements, such as codes, unique award identifiers, and fields,
for
financial and payment information required to be reported by
Federal agencies
and entities receiving Federal funds, including identifiers for
Federal awards
and entities receiving Federal awards;(ii)to the extent
reasonable and practicable, ensure interoperability and
incorporate—(I)common data
elements developed and maintained by an international voluntary
consensus
standards body, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget,
such as the
International Organization for Standardization;(II)common data
elements developed and maintained by Federal agencies with
authority over
contracting and financial assistance, such as the Federal
Acquisition
Regulatory Council; and(III)common data
elements developed and maintained by accounting standards
organizations;
and(iii)include data
reporting standards that—(I)incorporate a
widely accepted, nonproprietary, searchable, platform-independent
computer-readable format;(II)be consistent
with and implement applicable accounting principles;(III)be capable of
being continually upgraded as necessary;(IV)are structured
to specifically support the reporting of financial and
performance-related
data, such as that any data produced, regardless of reporting need
or software
used for creation or consumption, is consistent and comparable
across reporting
situations;(V)establish, for
each data point, a standard method of conveying the reporting
period, reporting
entity, unit of measure, and other associated attributes; and(VI)incorporate
nonproprietary standards in effect on the date of enactment of the
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2013.(B)(i)The
Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Director of the
Office of
Management and Budget, shall issue guidance on the data standards
established
under subparagraph (A) to Federal agencies not later than 1 year
after the date
of enactment of the Digital Accountability
and Transparency Act of 2013.(ii)Not
later than 1 year after the date on which the guidance under clause
(i) is
issued, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall
ensure that
the website required under this section makes data publically
available in
accordance with the data standards established under subparagraph
(A).(iii)Not
later than 180 days after the date on which the guidance under
clause (i) is
issued, each Federal agency shall collect, report, and maintain
data in
accordance with the data standards established under subparagraph
(A).(C)The
Secretary of the Treasury shall consult with public and private
stakeholders in
establishing data standards under this paragraph.(2)Improper
payment prevention(A)The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
heads and Inspectors General of Federal agencies, shall use the
data to which
the data standards established under paragraph (1) apply and other
available
data (including available data from State and local governments) to
detect,
prevent, and recover improper payments through pre-award,
post-award
pre-payment, and post-payment analysis, which shall include
analysis and
investigations incorporating—(i)review and data
matching of payments and beneficiary enrollment lists of State
programs carried
out using Federal funds for the purposes of identifying eligibility
duplication, residency ineligibility, duplicate payments, or other
potential
improper payment issues;(ii)review of
multiple Federal agencies and programs for which comparison of data
could show
payment duplication; and(iii)review of other
information the Secretary of the Treasury determines are effective,
which may
include investigation or review of information from multiple
Federal agencies
or programs.(B)Not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2013, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to Congress a
report, which may be included as part of another report submitted
to Congress,
which shall include a description of—(i)the
implementation of the fraud prevention efforts described under
subparagraph
(A); and(ii)the metrics used
in determining whether the fraud prevention efforts have reduced,
or
contributed to the reduction of, improper payments or improper
awards.(3)Improvements to
access to data(A)In order to carry out this Act, upon request by the
Secretary of the Treasury—(i)the Commissioner of Social Security shall
make available the Social Security earnings information of a living
or deceased
employee;(ii)the Director of
the Bureau of Prisons shall make available information relating to
Federal
prisoners; and(iii)the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development shall make available information
in the Credit
Alert Verification System of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development.(B)Use and
protection of informationThe Secretary of the Treasury—(i)may only use
information obtained under subparagraph (A) to assist in Federal
debt
collection and in the prevention, identification or recovery of
improper
payments; and(ii)shall ensure
that data to which the data standards established under paragraph
(1) apply is
adequately protected and collected in a manner consistent with
privacy
protections provided for by law.(f)Consolidated
recipient financial reportsThe Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall—(1)review the
financial reporting required by Federal agencies for Federal award
recipients
to reduce duplicative financial reporting and compliance costs for
recipients;(2)request input
from Federal award recipients to reduce duplicative financial
reporting,
especially from State and local governments and institutes of
higher
education;(3)not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of the Digital Accountability and
Transparency
Act of 2013, provide instructions to the heads of Federal agencies
regarding
how to simplify the reporting requirements for Federal award
recipients to
reduce duplicative reporting and reports to reduce compliance
costs, as
appropriate; and(4)not later than 18
months after the date of enactment of the Digital Accountability
and
Transparency Act of 2013, submit to Congress a report regarding any
legislative
action required to streamline the reporting requirements for
Federal award
recipients.(g)Accountability
for Federal funding(1)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2013, and every 2 years thereafter until the date that is 6
years after such date of enactment, the Inspector General of each
Federal
agency, in consultation with the Comptroller General of the United
States,
shall review a sampling of the spending data submitted under this
Act by the
Federal agency and shall submit to Congress and make publically
available a
report in on the completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of
the data
sampled and the implementation and use of consistent data standards
by the
Federal agency.(2)(A)Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2013, and every 2 years thereafter until the date that is 6
years after such date of enactment, and after review of the reports
submitted
under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit
to Congress and make publically available a report on the data
completeness,
timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data submitted under this
Act by each
Federal agency and the implementation and use of consistent data
standards by
each Federal agency.(B)The
Comptroller General of the United States shall make available a
ranking of
Federal agencies regarding data quality, accuracy, and compliance
with this
Act.(h)Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board(1)The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
shall develop and test information technology resources and
oversight
mechanisms to enhance the transparency of, and detect and remediate
waste,
fraud, and abuse in, Federal spending for Inspectors General.(2)The
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board shall maintain a
website
informing the public of the activities of the Recovery
Accountability and
Transparency Board to identify waste, fraud, and abuse and increase
transparency of Federal spending to provide analytical support for
Inspectors
General.(3)Recovery
Operations CenterThe Recovery Accountability and Transparency
Board shall establish and maintain a Recovery Operations Center as
a
governmentwide Internet-based data access system to carry out the
functions
described in paragraph (4).(4)Functions of
the Recovery Operations CenterThe functions described in this
paragraph are the following:(A)The Recovery Operations Center shall incorporate—(i)all information
described in subsection (b)(1);(ii)other
information maintained by Federal, State, local, and foreign
government
agencies; and(iii)other
commercially and publicly available information.(B)The Recovery Operations Center shall be designed and
operated to carry out the following functions:(i)Combine
information described in subsection (b)(1) with other compilations
of
information, including those listed in subparagraph (A).(ii)Permit
Inspectors Generals, in accordance with applicable law, to detect
and remediate
waste, fraud, and
abuse..4.Pilot program to
evaluate consolidated recipient reporting(a)Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, in
consultation
with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Office of
Management, shall establish a pilot program relating to reporting by
recipients
of Federal funds (in this section referred to as the pilot
program
) for the purpose of increasing financial transparency
to—(1)display the full
cycle of Federal funds;(2)improve the
accuracy of Federal financial data; and(3)develop
recommendations for reducing reporting required of recipients of Federal
funds
by consolidating and automating financial reporting requirements across
the
Federal Government.(b)The
pilot program shall—(1)include
recipients that collectively receive not less than $1,000,000,000 in
Federal
funds each fiscal year;(2)include
recipients that receive Federal funds under multiple programs across
multiple
agencies; and(3)include
recipients that collectively receive Federal funds under contracts,
grants, and
subawards.(c)Reporting and
evaluation requirementsEach recipient of Federal funds
participating in the pilot program shall submit to the Recovery
Accountability
and Transparency Board reports on the finances of the selected Federal
awards.(d)Publication of
informationAll the information collected by the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board under the pilot program shall be
made
publicly available and searchable on the website established under section
2 of
the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C.
6101
note).(e)The
pilot program shall terminate on the date that is 3 years after the date
on
which the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board establishes the
pilot
program.(f)Not later than 90 days after the date on which the pilot
program terminates under subsection (e), the Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the Budget of the Senate and the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on the
Budget of
the House of Representatives a report on the pilot program, which shall
include—(1)a description of
financial data collected under the pilot program, the accuracy of the data
provided, and the cost to collect the data from recipients; and(2)recommendations
for—(A)consolidating
some or all aspects of Federal financial reporting to reduce the costs to
recipients of Federal funds;(B)automating some
or all aspects of Federal financial reporting to increase efficiency and
reduce
the costs to recipients of Federal funds; and(C)improving
financial transparency.5.Classified and
protected informationSection
3 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31
U.S.C.
6101 note) is amended to read as follows:3.Classified and
protected informationNothing
in this Act shall require the disclosure to the public or to any
person without
an identifiable need to know—(1)information protected under section 552 of
title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘Freedom of
Information
Act’); or(2)information protected under section 552a of
title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Privacy Act of
1974
), or section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986..6.Expanding access
by the Secretary of the Treasury to the National Directory of New
HiresSection 453(j)(9) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)(9)) is amended—(1)in the paragraph
heading, by inserting and
in the prevention, identification, and recovery of improper
payments
after collection
;(2)in subparagraph
(A)—(A)in the matter
preceding clause (i), by striking with respect to persons—
and
inserting to assist in Federal debt collection and in the prevention,
identification, or recovery of improper payments with respect
to—
;(B)by striking
who owe
and inserting the following: “persons—(I)who
owe; (C)by striking
31 U.S.C. 3711(g).
and inserting section 3711(g) of title
31, United States Code; or
;(D)redesignating
clause (ii) as subclause (II), and adjusting the margin accordingly; and(E)by adding at the
end the following:(ii)persons—(I)who receive a
payment the head of a Federal executive, judicial, or legislative
agency
certifies is under review to determine the eligibility of the
person to receive
the payment; or(II)whose
eligibility, or continuing eligibility, to participate in a program
of the
Federal Government (including a program administered by a State or
local
government) is being reviewed.;
(3)in subparagraph
(B), by striking to improve collection of the debt
and inserting
for the purposes
;(4)in subparagraph
(D), by striking of collecting the debt
;(5)in subparagraph
(E)—(A)in clause (i), by
striking of collecting the debt
;(B)in clause (ii),
by inserting and to a Federal, State, or local agency in connection with
preventing, identifying, or recovering improper payments as described in
subparagraph (A)
before the period at the end;(C)in clause
(iv)(II), by striking described in subparagraph (A),
and all
that follows and inserting , in connection with a purpose described in
subparagraph (A), to a contractor or agent of either Secretary, to the
Federal
agency (including any contractor or agent of the Federal agency) that
referred
a debt to the Secretary of the Treasury for collection, or to a Federal,
State,
or local agency (including any contractor or agent of any such agency) for
purposes of preventing, identifying, or recovering improper payments,
subject
to the conditions in clause (iii) and such additional conditions as agreed
by
the Secretaries.
; and(D)in clause (v), by
striking collecting the debt
and inserting the
purposes
; and(6)in subparagraph
(F), by adding at the end the following: The Secretary of the Treasury
shall reimburse the Secretary for any costs attributable to the
prevention,
identification, or recovery of improper payments out of any appropriation
available to the Secretary of the Treasury for this purpose.
.7.American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 amendmentsTitle XV of division A of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 286) is
amended—(1)in section 1501,
by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:(4)The term covered funds—(A)except as
provided in subparagraph (B), means any funds that are expended or
obligated
from appropriations made under this Act; and(B)for purposes of
sections 1522 and 1524, means funds that are expended or obligated
by an agency
from appropriations made under this or any other
Act.;(2)in section 1512,
by adding at the end the following:(i)The
requirements under this section shall terminate on September 30,
2013.;(3)in section 1523,
by adding at the end the following:(d)The
requirements under this section shall terminate on September 30,
2013.;(4)in section 1526,
by adding at the end the following:(e)The
requirements under this section shall terminate on September 30,
2013.;
and(5)in section 1530,
by striking September 30, 2013,
and inserting September
30, 2017.
.8.Disaster Relief
Appropriations Act of 2013 amendmentsSection 904(d) of division A of the Disaster
Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (Public Law 113–2; 127 Stat. 18) is
amended
in section 904(d)—(1)by striking
for purposes related to the impact of Hurricane Sandy
;(2)by striking
related to the impact of Hurricane Sandy
after receiving
appropriations
; and(3)by striking
related to funds appropriated for the impact of Hurricane Sandy
after on its activities
.9.Executive agency
accounting and other financial management reports and plansSection 3512(a) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended—(1)in paragraph (1),
by inserting and make available on the website described under section
1122
after appropriate committees of Congress
;(2)in paragraph
(3)(B)(vi), by inserting , system development, financial management
workforce development, related risk assessment and mitigation for the
Federal
Government as a whole, related risk assessment and mitigation for
executive
agencies, development of capacity to prevent and detect fraud,
after
equipment acquisitions
; and(3)in paragraph (4),
by adding at the end the following:(C)Not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of the Digital Accountability
and Transparency Act of 2013, and every 90 days thereafter, the
Director shall make available on the website described under
section 1122 a
report regarding—(i)specific goals for the most recent
full fiscal year, the fiscal year during which the report is
submitted, and the
fiscal year following the year during which the report is submitted
that are
necessary steps toward implementing the Federal Funding
Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) fully and in an
effective,
efficient, and accurate manner; and(ii)the status and progress achieved
toward each goal described in clause (i), including any changes to
the cost,
schedule, or performance baselines of achieving each goal, using
earned value
management where
appropriate..1.This Act may be cited as
the Digital Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2013
or the DATA Act
.2.The purposes of this Act are to—(1)expand the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101
note) by disclosing direct Federal agency expenditures and linking Federal
contract, loan, and grant spending information to programs of Federal agencies
to enable taxpayers and policy makers to track Federal spending more
effectively;(2)provide
consistent, reliable, and searchable Government-wide spending data that is
displayed accurately for taxpayers and policy makers on USASpending.gov;(3)simplify
reporting for entities receiving Federal funds by streamlining reporting
requirements and reducing compliance costs while improving transparency;
and(4)improve the
quality of data submitted to USASpending.gov by holding Federal agencies
accountable for the completeness and accuracy of the data submitted.3.Amendments to
the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006The Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended—(1)in
section 2—(A)in subsection
(a)—(i)in the
matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking this section
and
inserting this Act
;(ii)by
redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (7),
respectively;(iii)by
inserting after paragraph (1) the following:(2)The term Federal agency has the meaning given
the term Executive agency under section 105 of title 5, United
States Code.;
and(iv)by
inserting after paragraph (3), as redesignated by subparagraph (A), the
following:(4)The term Federal funds means any funds that
are made available to or expended by a Federal agency.(5)The term object class means the category
assigned for purposes of the annual budget of the President submitted under
section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, to the type of property or
services purchased by the Federal Government.(6)The term program activity has the meaning
given that term under section 1115(h) of title 31, United States
Code.;
and(B)in subsection
(c)—(i)in
paragraph (4), by striking and
at the end;(ii)in
paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon;
and(iii)by
adding at the end the following:(6)shall have the
ability to aggregate data for the categories described in paragraphs (1)
through (5) without double-counting data; and(7)shall permit all
information published under this section to be downloaded in
bulk.;
and(2)by
striking sections 3 and 4 and inserting the following:3.Full disclosure
of Federal Funds(a)Not later than 3
years after the date of enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of
2013, and every month thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury,
in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall
ensure that the information in subsection (b) is posted on the website
established under section 2.(b)The information to
be posted shall include, for each Federal agency, component of a Federal
agency, appropriations account, program activity, and object class (including
any subcomponent of an object class), and other accounts or data as
appropriate—(1)the amount of
budget authority authorized;(2)the amount
obligated;(3)the amount of
outlays;(4)the amount of any
Federal funds reprogrammed or transferred; and(5)the amount of
expired and unexpired unobligated balances.4.(a)The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Administrator of General
Services, and the heads of Federal agencies, shall establish Government-wide
financial data standards for Federal funds, which shall include common data
elements for financial and payment information required to be reported by
Federal agencies and entities receiving Federal funds.(b)The
data standards established under subsection (a) shall, to the extent reasonable
and practicable—(1)incorporate
widely accepted common data elements, such as those developed and maintained
by—(A)an international
voluntary consensus standards body;(B)Federal agencies
with authority over contracting and financial assistance; and(C)accounting
standards organizations;(2)incorporate a
widely accepted, nonproprietary, searchable, platform-independent
computer-readable format;(3)include
Government-wide universal identifiers for Federal awards and entities receiving
Federal awards;(4)be
consistent with and implement applicable accounting principles;(5)be
capable of being continually upgraded as necessary;(6)produce
consistent and comparable data, including across program activities; and(7)establish a
standard method of conveying the reporting period, reporting entity, unit of
measure, and other associated attributes.(c)(1)Not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2013, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall issue guidance to
Federal agencies on the data standards established under subsection (a).(2)Not
later than 1 year after the date on which the guidance under paragraph (1) is
issued, each Federal agency shall collect, report, and maintain financial and
payment information data in accordance with the data standards established
under subsection (a).(3)Not
later than 2 years after the date on which the guidance under paragraph (1) is
issued, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary
of the Treasury shall ensure that the data standards established under
subsection (a) are applied to the data made available on the website
established under section 2.(d)The
Secretary of the Treasury shall consult with public and private stakeholders in
establishing data standards under this section.5.Simplifying
Federal award reporting(a)The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in
consultation with relevant Federal agencies, recipients of Federal funds,
including State and local governments, and institutions of higher education (as
defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)),
shall review the information required to be reported by recipients of Federal
awards to identify—(1)common reporting
elements across the Federal Government;(2)unnecessary
duplication in financial reporting; and(3)unnecessarily
burdensome reporting requirements for recipients of Federal awards.(b)(1)Not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2013, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or
a designee of the Director, shall establish a pilot program relating to
reporting (in this section referred to as the pilot program
) to
facilitate the development of recommendations for—(A)common reporting
elements across the Federal Government;(B)the elimination
of unnecessary duplication in financial reporting; and(C)the reduction of
compliance costs for recipients of Federal awards.(2)The
pilot program shall—(A)include a
combination of Federal contracts, grants, and subawards, the aggregate value of
which is not less than $1,000,000,000;(B)include a diverse
group of recipients of Federal awards; and(C)to the extent
practicable, include recipients who receive Federal awards from multiple
programs across multiple agencies.(3)The pilot program shall include data collected during
a 12-month reporting cycle.(4)Reporting and
evaluation requirementsEach recipient of a Federal award
participating in the pilot program shall submit to the Office of Management and
Budget any requested reports of the selected Federal awards.(5)The
pilot program shall terminate on the date that is 2 years after the date on
which the Director of the Office of Management and Budget establishes the pilot
program.(6)Not later than 90 days after the date on which the pilot
program terminates under paragraph (5), the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall provide guidance to the heads of Federal agencies
regarding how to simplify the reporting requirements for recipients of Federal
awards to reduce unnecessary duplicative reports and to reduce compliance
costs, as appropriate.(7)Not later than 90 days after the date on which the pilot
program terminates under paragraph (5), the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the Budget of the Senate and the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on the Budget of
the House of Representatives a report on the pilot program, which shall
include—(A)a description of
the data collected under the pilot program, the usefulness of the data
provided, and the cost to collect the data from recipients; and(B)recommendations
for—(i)consolidating
aspects of Federal financial reporting to reduce the costs to recipients of
Federal awards;(ii)automating
aspects of Federal financial reporting to increase efficiency and reduce the
costs to recipients of Federal awards;(iii)any
legislative action required to simplify the reporting requirements for
recipients of Federal awards; and(iv)improving
financial transparency.6.Accountability
for Federal funding(a)Inspector
general reports(1)In accordance with paragraph (2), the Inspector General
of each Federal agency, in consultation with the Comptroller General of the
United States, shall—(A)review a
statistically valid sampling of the spending data submitted under this Act by
the Federal agency; and(B)submit to
Congress and make publically available a report assessing the completeness,
timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data sampled and the implementation
and use of data standards by the Federal agency.(2)(A)Not later than 18 months after the date on which guidance is
issued under section 4(c)(1), the Inspector General of each Federal agency
shall submit a report as described in paragraph (1).(B)On the same date as the Inspector General of each Federal
agency submits the second and fourth reports under sections 3521(f) and
9105(a)(3) of title 31,
United States Code, that are submitted after the report under subparagraph (A),
the Inspector General shall submit a report as described in paragraph (1). The
report submitted under this subparagraph may be submitted as a part of the
report submitted under section 3521(f) or 9105(a)(3) of title 31, United States
Code.(b)Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2013, and every 2 years thereafter until the date that is 6
years after such date of enactment, and after review of the reports submitted
under subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit
to Congress and make publically available a report assessing and comparing the
data completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data submitted
under this Act by Federal agencies and the implementation and use of data
standards by Federal agencies.7.Classified and
protected informationNothing
in this Act shall require the disclosure to the public of—(1)information
protected from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code
(commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act
); or(2)information
protected under section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as
the Privacy Act of 1974
), or section 6103 of the Internal
Revenue Code of
1986..4.Executive agency
accounting and other financial management reports and plansSection 3512(a) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended—(1)in
paragraph (1), by inserting and make available on the website described
under section 1122
after appropriate committees of
Congress
; and(2)in
paragraph (4), by adding at the end the following:(C)Not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of
2013, and every 5 years thereafter, the Director shall make
available on the website described under section 1122 a report regarding the
implementation of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of
2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101
note)..5.The Secretary of the Treasury may use
amounts in the Department of the Treasury franchise fund established under the
matter under the heading Treasury Franchise Fund
(as contained
in section 101(f) of division A of title I of Public Law 104–208 (31 U.S.C. 322
note; 110 Stat. 3009–316)) without further appropriation to carry out this Act
and the amendments made by this Act.March 27, 2014Reported with an amendment