[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3924 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3924

 To provide uniform safeguards for the confidentiality of information 
   acquired for exclusively statistical purposes, and to improve the 
 efficiency of Federal statistical programs and the quality of Federal 
  statistics by permitting limited sharing of records for statistical 
                   purposes under strong safeguards.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 1996

Mr. Horn (for himself and Mrs. Maloney) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide uniform safeguards for the confidentiality of information 
   acquired for exclusively statistical purposes, and to improve the 
 efficiency of Federal statistical programs and the quality of Federal 
  statistics by permitting limited sharing of records for statistical 
                   purposes under strong safeguards.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section. 1. Short Title.--This Act may cited as the ``Statistical 
Confidentiality Act''.
Sec. 2. Findings and Statement of Purposes.--(a) The Congress finds 
that--
            (1) high quality Federal statistical products and programs 
        are essential for sound business and public policy decisions;
            (2) the challenge of providing high quality statistics has 
        increased because our economy and society are more complex, new 
        technologies are available, and decisionmakers need more 
        complete and accurate data;
            (3) maintaining quality requires full cooperation between 
        Federal statistical agencies and those persons and 
        organizations that respond to their requests for information; 
        and
            (4) Federal statistical products and programs can be 
        improved, without reducing respondent cooperation, by 
        permitting carefully controlled sharing of data with 
        statistical agencies in a manner that is consistent with 
        confidentiality commitments made to respondents.
    (b) The purposes of this Act are to:
            (1) Provide that individually identifiable information 
        furnished either directly or indirectly to designated 
        statistical agencies for exclusively statistical purposes shall 
        not be disclosed in individually identifiable form by such 
        agencies for any other purpose without the informed consent of 
        the respondent,
            (2) Prohibit the use by such agencies, in individually 
        identifiable form, of any information collected, compiled or 
        maintained solely for statistical purposes under Federal 
        authority to make any decision or take any action directly 
        affecting the rights, benefits, and privileges of the person to 
        whom the information pertains, except with the person's 
        consent,
            (3) Reduce the reporting burden, duplication and expense 
        imposed on the public by permitting inter-agency exchange, 
        solely for statistical purposes, of individually identifiable 
        information needed for statistical programs, and establishing 
        safe conditions for such exchanges,
            (4) Reduce the cost and improve the accuracy of statistical 
        programs by facilitating cooperative projects between 
        statistical agencies, creating a safe environment where 
        expertise and data resources that reside in different agencies 
        can be brought together to address the information needs of the 
        public,
            (5) Reduce the risk of unauthorized disclosure of 
        information maintained solely for statistical purposes by 
        designating specific statistical agencies that are authorized 
        to receive otherwise privileged information for such purposes 
        from other agencies, and to prescribe specific conditions and 
        procedures that must be complied with in any such exchange,
            (6) Establish a consistent basis under the requirements of 
        the Freedom of Information Act for exempting a defined class of 
        statistical information from compulsory disclosure,
            (7) Ensure that existing avenues for public access to 
        administrative data or information under the Privacy Act or the 
        Freedom of Information Act are retained without change.
            (8) Establish consistent procedural safeguards for records 
        disclosed exclusively for statistical purposes, including both 
        public input and an oversight process to ensure fair 
        information practices.
    Sec. 3. Definitions.--For the purposes of this Act, the term--
            (1) ``agency'' means any Federal organization that falls 
        within the definition of ``Executive agency'' in section 102 of 
        title 31, United States Code, or within the definition of 
        ``agency'' in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code;
            (2) ``agent'' means a person designated by a statistical 
        data center to perform, either in the capacity of a Federal 
        employee or otherwise, exclusively statistical activities 
        authorized by law under the supervision or control of an 
        officer or employee of that center, and who has agreed in 
        writing to comply with all provisions of law that affect 
        information acquired by that center;
            (3) ``identifiable form'' means any representation of 
        information that permits information concerning individual 
        subjects to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect 
        means;
            (4) ``nonstatistical purpose'' means any purpose that is 
        not a statistical purpose, and includes administrative, 
        regulatory, adjudicatory, or any other purpose that affects the 
        rights, privileges, or benefits of a particular identifiable 
        respondent;
            (5) ``respondent'' means an individual or organization who 
        is requested or required to supply information or who is the 
        subject of that information, or provides that information;
            (6) ``statistical activities'' means the collection, 
        compilation, processing, or analysis of data for the purpose of 
        describing or making estimates concerning the whole or relevant 
        groups or components within the economy, society, or the 
        natural environment and includes the development of methods or 
        resources that support these activities, such as measurement 
        methods, models, statistical classifications, or sampling 
        frames; and
            (7) ``statistical purpose'' means the description, 
        estimation, or analysis of the characteristics of groups 
        without regard to the identities of individuals or 
        organizations that comprise such groups, and the development, 
        implementation, or maintenance of methods, technical or 
        administrative procedures or information resources that support 
        such purposes.
    Sec. 4. Statistical Data Centers.--(a) The Bureau of Economic 
Analysis and the Bureau of the Census within the Department of 
Commerce, the Bureau of Labor Statistics within the Department of 
Labor, the National Agricultural Statistics Service within the 
Department of Agriculture, the National Center for Education Statistics 
within the Department of Education, the National Center for Health 
Statistics within the Department of Health and Human Services, the 
Energy End Use and Integrated Statistics Division of the Energy 
Information Administration within the Department of Energy, and the 
Division of Science Resources Studies within the National Science 
Foundation are hereby designated Statistical Data Centers.
    (b) In the case of a reorganization that eliminates, or 
substantially alters the mission or functions of, an agency or unit 
designated in subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget, after consultation with the head of the agency proposing 
such reorganization, may designate an agency or unit that shall serve 
as the successor statistical data center under the terms of this Act, 
if the Director determines that--
            (1) the primary activities of the successor agency or unit 
        are statistical activities specifically authorized by law;
            (2) the successor agency or unit would participate in data 
        sharing activities that significantly improve Federal 
        statistical programs or products;
            (3) the successor agency or unit has demonstrated its 
        capability to protect the individual confidentiality of any 
        shared data; and
            (4) any statutes that apply to the proposed statistical 
        data center are not inconsistent with this Act.
    (c) Any agency seeking a successor designation authorized by 
subsection (b) shall, after consultation with the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget, provide public notice with an 
opportunity to comment on the consequences of such designation and on 
those determinations upon which such designation is proposed to be 
based.
    (d) No action taken under subsection (b) shall increase the number 
of statistical data centers authorized by statute.
    Sec. 5. Statistical Data Center Responsibilities.--Statistical data 
centers shall--
            (1) identify opportunities to eliminate duplication and 
        otherwise reduce reporting burden and cost imposed on the 
        public by sharing information for exclusively statistical 
        purposes;
            (2) enter into joint statistical projects to improve the 
        quality and reduce the cost of statistical programs;
            (3) safeguard the confidentiality of individually 
        identifiable information acquired for statistical purposes by 
        assuring its physical security and by controlling access to and 
        uses made of such information; and
            (4) respect the rights and privileges of the public by 
        observing and promoting fair information practices.
    Sec. 6. Confidentiality of Information.--(a) Data or information 
acquired by a statistical data center for exclusively statistical 
purposes shall be used only for statistical purposes. Such data or 
information shall not be disclosed in identifiable form for any other 
purpose without the informed consent of the respondent.
    (b) If a statistical data center is authorized by any other statute 
to collect data or information for nonstatistical purposes, the head of 
the Statistical Data Center shall clearly distinguish such data or 
information by rule, which rule shall provide for fully informing the 
respondents requested or required to supply such data or information of 
such nonstatistical uses before collecting such data or information.
    (c) Data or information may be disclosed by an agency to one or 
more statistical data centers: Provided That--
            (1) the disclosure and use are not inconsistent with any 
        provisions of law or Executive order that explicitly limit the 
        statistical purposes for which such data or information may be 
        used;
            (2) the disclosure is not prohibited by law or Executive 
        order in the interest of national security;
            (3) the data or information are to be used exclusively for 
        statistical purposes by the statistical data center or centers; 
        and
            (4) the disclosure is made under the terms of a written 
        agreement between a statistical data center or centers and the 
        agency supplying information as authorized by this subsection, 
        specifying--
                    (A) the data or information to be disclosed,
                    (B) the purposes for which the data or information 
                are to be used, and
                    (C) appropriate security procedures to safeguard 
                the confidentiality of the data or information.
    (c) Data or information supplied to a statistical data center under 
an agreement authorized by subsection (b)(4) shall not be disclosed in 
identifiable form by that center for any purpose, except that data or 
information collected directly by any party to such agreement may be 
disclosed to any other party to that agreement for exclusively 
statistical purposes specified in that agreement.
    (d) Whenever a written agreement authorized by subsection (b)(4) 
concerns data that respondents were required by law to report and the 
agreement contains terms that could not reasonably have been 
anticipated by respondents who provided the data that will be 
disclosed, or upon the initiative of any party to such an agreement, or 
whenever ordered by the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget, the terms of such agreement shall be described in a public 
notice issued by the agency that intends to disclose the data, which 
notice shall allow a minimum of sixty days for public comment before 
such agreement shall take effect: Provided further That the Director 
shall be fully apprised of any issues raised by the public and may 
suspend the effect of such an agreement to permit modifications 
responsive to public comments.
    (e) The disclosure of data or information by an agency under 
subsection (b) shall in no way alter the responsibility of that agency 
under other statutes, including the Freedom of Information Act and the 
Privacy Act, for the disclosure or withholding of the same or similar 
information retained by that agency.
    (f) If information obtained by an agency is released to another 
agency pursuant to this section, all provisions of law (including 
penalties) that relate to the unlawful disclosure of information apply 
to the officers, employees, or agents of the agency to which 
information is released to the same extent and in the same manner as 
the provisions apply to the officers and employees of the agency which 
originally obtained the information. The officers, employees, and 
agents of the agency to which the information is released, in addition, 
shall be subject to the same provisions of law, including penalties, 
relating to the unlawful disclosure of information that would apply to 
officers and employees of that agency if the information had been 
collected directly by that agency.
    Sec. 7. Coordination and Oversight.--(a) The Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget shall coordinate and oversee the 
confidentiality and disclosure policies established by this Act.
    (b) The head of each statistical data center shall report to the 
Office of Management and Budget each disclosure agreement under this 
Act and the results of any review of information security undertaken at 
the request of the Office of Management and Budget or any similar 
review undertaken on the initiative of the statistical data center or 
an agency supplying data or information to a statistical data center.
    (c) The Office of Management and Budget shall include a summary of 
all such reports and any actions taken by that Office to advance the 
purposes of this Act in its annual report to the Congress on 
statistical programs.
    (d) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
review and approve any rules proposed under section 8 of this Act for 
consistency with this Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    Sec. 8. Implementing Regulations.--(a) The Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget, or the head of a statistical data center or 
of an agency providing information to a center, may promulgate such 
rules as may be necessary to implement this Act: Provided, That:
    (b) the Director shall promulgate rules and/or provide such other 
guidance as may be needed to ensure consistent interpretation of this 
Act by the affected agencies; and
    (c) rules governing disclosures of information authorized by this 
Act shall be promulgated by the agency that originally collected the 
information, subject to the review and approval required in section 7.
    Sec. 9. Conforming Amendments.--
    (a) Department of Commerce.--(1) Section 176a of title 15, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting the phrase ``Except as provided in 
the Statistical Confidentiality Act,'' at the beginning of the last 
sentence of the section.
    (2) Chapter 10 of title 13, United States Code, and its table of 
contents are amended by adding the following new section 402 after 
section 401:

``402. Exchange of census information with Statistical Data Centers.
    ``(a) Statistical Data Centers.--The Bureau of the Census is 
authorized to provide data collected under this title to statistical 
data centers (centers) named in the Statistical Confidentiality Act, or 
their successors designated under the terms of that Act.''.
    (b) Department of Energy.--(1) Section 205 of the Department of 
Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7135) is amended by adding after 
subsection (l) the following new subsection:
    ``(m)(1) The Administrator shall designate an organizational unit 
to conduct statistical activities pertaining to energy end use 
consumption information. Using procedures authorized by the Statistical 
Confidentiality Act, the Administrator shall ensure the security, 
integrity, and confidentiality of the information that has been 
submitted (1) in identifiable form and (2) supplied exclusively for 
statistical purposes either directly to the Administration or by other 
government agencies. To carry out this section, the Administrator shall 
establish procedures for the disclosure of these data to statistical 
data centers for statistical purposes only consistent with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act and the Statistical Confidentiality Act.
    ``(2)(A) A person may not publish, cause to be published, or 
otherwise communicate, statistical information designated in section 
(m)(1) in a manner that identifies any respondent.
    ``(B) A person may not use statistical information designated in 
section (m)(1) for a non-statistical purpose.
    ``(C) The identity of a respondent who supplies, or is the subject 
of, information collected for statistical purposes--
            ``(i) may not be disclosed through any process, including 
        disclosure through legal process, unless the respondent 
        consents in writing:
            ``(ii) may not be disclosed to the public, unless 
        information has been transformed into a statistical or 
        aggregate form that dose not allow the identification of the 
        person who supplied the information or who is the subject of 
        that information; and
            ``(iii) may not, without the written consent of the 
        respondent, be admitted as evidence or used for any purpose in 
        an action, suit, or other judicial or administrative 
        proceeding.
    ``(D) Any person, who violates subsections (2) (A), (B), or (C), 
upon conviction, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, 
imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
    ``(E) For purposes of this subsection:
            ``(i) ``Person'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        1 of title 1 of the United States Code but also includes a 
        local, state, or Federal entity or officer or employee of a 
        local, state, or Federal entity.
            ``(ii) ``Statistical activities'', ``identifiable form'', 
        ``statistical purpose'', ``nonstatistical purpose'', and 
        ``respondent'' have meaning given terms in section 3 of the 
        Statistical Confidentiality Act.
            ``(3) Statistical information designated in section (m)(1) 
        is exempt from disclosure under sections 205(f) and 407 of the 
        Department of Energy Organization Act, and sections 12, 20, and 
        59 of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974, or any 
        other law which requires disclosure of that information.
    (2) Section 205(f) of the Department of Organization Energy Act (42 
U.S.C. 7135) is amended by inserting ``, excluding information 
designated solely for statistical purposes under subsection (m)(1),'' 
after ``analysis''.
    (3) Section 407 of the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 
U.S.C. 7177a) is amended by inserting ``, excluding information 
designated solely for statistical purposes under section (m)(1),'' 
after ``information''.
    (4) The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 is amended--
            (A) in section 12(15 U.S.C. 771), by adding after 
        subsection (f) the following new subsection:
    ``(g) This section does not apply to information designated solely 
for statistical purposes under section 205(m)(1) of the Department of 
Energy Organization Act.''
            (B) in section 20(a)(3) (15 U.S.C. 779), by inserting ``, 
        excluding information designated solely for statistical 
        purposes under section (m)(1) of the Department of Energy 
        Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7135)'' after ``information''; and
            (C) in section 59 (15 U.S.C. 790h), by inserting ``, 
        excluding information designated solely for statistical 
        purposes under section (m)(1) of the Department of Energy 
        Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7135)'' after ``information''.
    (c) Department of Health and Human Services.--Section 306 of the 
Public Health Service Act (12 U.S.C. 242k) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection:
    ``(o) Sharing of Identifying Information for Statistical 
Purposes.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director may, subject to the 
        provisions of paragraph (2), designate as an agent of the 
        Center, within the meaning of section 3(b) of the Statistical 
        Confidentiality Act, an individual--
                    ``(A) who is not otherwise an employee, official, 
                or agent of the Center; and
                    (B) who enters into a written agreement with the 
                Director specifying terms and conditions for sharing of 
                statistical information.
            ``(2) Effect of designation.--An individual designated as 
        an agent of the Center pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be 
        subject to all restrictions on the use and disclosure of 
        statistical information obtained by the individual under the 
        agreement specified in paragraph (1)(B), and to all civil and 
        criminal penalties applicable to violations of such 
        restrictions, including penalties under 18 U.S.C. 1905, that 
        would apply to the individual if an employee of the Center.''
    (d) Department of Labor.--Chapter 1 of title 29, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting the following new section after section 
2b:
    ``Sec. 2c. Designation of Bureau of Labor Statistics Agents. The 
Commissioner of Labor Statistics shall be authorized to designate 
agents, as defined in section 3(b) of the Statistical Confidentiality 
Act.''
    (e) National Science Foundation. Section 1873 of title 42, United 
States Code, is amended by striking the paragraph following the 
catchline of subsection (i) and substituting the following paragraph: 
``Information supplied to the Foundation or its contractor in survey 
forms, questionnaires or similar instruments for purposes of subsection 
(a)(5) or (a)(6) of section 1862 of this title by an individual, by an 
industrial or commercial organization, or by an educational or academic 
institution when the institution has received a pledge of 
confidentiality from the Foundation, may not be disclosed to the public 
unless the information has been transformed into statistical or 
abstract formats that do not allow the identification of the supplier. 
Such information shall be used in identifiable form only for 
statistical purposes as defined in the Statistical Confidentiality Act. 
The names of individuals and organizations supplying such information 
may not be disclosed to the public.''
and by renumbering subsection (j) as subsection (k) and inserting the 
following new subsection after subsection (i):
    ``(j) Obligations of Other Researchers.--In support of functions 
authorized by subsection (a)(5) or (a)(6) of section 1862 of this 
title, the Foundation may designate, at its discretion, authorized 
persons, including employees of Federal, state or local agencies 
(including local educational agencies) and employees of private 
organizations, who may have access, for exclusively statistical 
purposes as defined in the Statistical Confidentiality Act, to 
identifiable information collected pursuant to subsection (a)(5) or 
(a)(6) of section 1862 of this title. No such person may--
            (1) publish information collected pursuant to subsection 
        (a)(5) or (a)(6) of section 1862 of this title in such a manner 
        that either an individual, an industrial or commercial 
        organization, or an educational or academic institution that 
        has received a pledge of confidentiality from the Foundation 
        can be specifically identified;
            (2) permit anyone other than individuals authorized by the 
        Foundation to examine in identifiable form data relating to an 
        individual, to an industrial or commercial organization, or to 
        an educational or academic institution that has received a 
        pledge of confidentiality from the Foundation; or
            (3) knowingly and willfully request or obtain any 
        confidential information described in subsection (i) from the 
        Foundation under false pretenses.
Any person who violates these restrictions shall be guilty of a 
misdemeanor and fined not more than $10,000.''
    (f) Disclosure Penalties.--Section 1905 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting ``, or agent of a Statistical Data Center 
as defined in the Statistical Confidentiality Act,'' after ``thereof'', 
and substituting the words ``shall be fined under this title'' for the 
words ``shall be fined not more than $1,000''.
    Sec. 10. Effect on Other Laws.--(a) This Act, including the 
amendments made herein, does not diminish the authority under 44 U.S.C. 
3510 of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to direct, 
and of an agency to make, disclosures that are not inconsistent with 
any applicable law.
    (b) Data of information acquired for exclusively statistical 
purposes as provided in section 6 is exempt from mandatory disclosure 
under 5 U.S.C. 552, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(3).
    Sec. 11. Effective Date.--The provisions of this Act shall take 
effect upon enactment.
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