[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5215 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5215

To protect the confidentiality of information acquired from the public 
 for statistical purposes, and to permit the exchange of business data 
  among designated statistical agencies for statistical purposes only.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2002

   Mr. Horn (for himself, Mr. Sawyer, and Mrs. Maloney of New York) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To protect the confidentiality of information acquired from the public 
 for statistical purposes, and to permit the exchange of business data 
  among designated statistical agencies for statistical purposes only.

    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 be cited as the ``Confidential Information Protection 
and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``agency'' means any entity that falls within 
        the definition of the term ``executive agency'' as defined in 
        section 102 of title 31, United States Code, or ``agency'', as 
        defined in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code.
            (2) The term ``agent''--
                    (A) means an employee of a private organization or 
                a researcher affiliated with an institution of higher 
                learning (including a person granted special sworn 
                status by the Bureau of the Census under section 23(c) 
                of title 13, United States Code) with whom a contract 
                or other agreement is executed, on a temporary basis, 
                by an executive agency to perform exclusively 
                statistical activities under the control and 
                supervision of an officer or employee of that agency; 
                or
                    (B) means an individual who is working under the 
                authority of a government entity with which a contract 
                or other agreement is executed by an executive agency 
                to perform exclusively statistical activities under the 
                control of an officer or employee of that agency; or
                    (C) means an individual who is a self-employed 
                researcher, a consultant, or a contractor, or who is an 
                employee of a contractor and with whom a contract or 
                other agreement is executed by an executive agency to 
                perform a statistical activity under the control of an 
                officer or employee of that agency; or
                    (D) means an individual who is a contractor or who 
                is an employee of a contractor engaged by the agency to 
                design or maintain the systems for handling or storage 
                of data received under this Act; and
                    (E) who agrees in writing to comply with all 
                provisions of law that affect information acquired by 
                that agency.
            (3) The term ``business data'' means operating and 
        financial data and information about businesses, tax-exempt 
        organizations, and government entities.
            (4) The term ``identifiable form'' means any representation 
        of information that permits information concerning a specific 
        respondent to be reasonably inferred by either direct or 
        indirect means.
            (5) The term ``nonstatistical purpose''--
                    (A) means the use of data in identifiable form for 
                any purpose that is not a statistical purpose, 
                including any administrative, regulatory, law 
                enforcement, adjudicatory, or other purpose that 
                affects the rights, privileges, or benefits of a 
                particular identifiable respondent; and
                    (B) includes the disclosure under section 552 of 
                title 5, United States Code (the Freedom of Information 
                Act) of data that are acquired for exclusively 
                statistical purposes under a pledge of confidentiality.
            (6) The term ``respondent'' means a person who, or 
        organization that, is requested or required to supply 
        information to an agency, is the subject of information 
        requested or required to be supplied to an agency, or provides 
        that information to an agency.
            (7) The term ``statistical activities''--
                    (A) 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, economy, society, or 
                natural environment; and
                    (B) includes the development of methods or 
                resources that support those activities, such as 
                measurement methods, models, statistical 
                classifications, or sampling frames.
            (8) The term ``statistical agency or unit'' means an agency 
        or organizational unit of the executive branch whose activities 
        are predominantly the collection, compilation, processing, or 
        analysis of information for statistical purposes.
            (9) The term ``statistical purpose''--
                    (A) means the description, estimation, or analysis 
                of the characteristics of groups, without identifying 
                the individuals or organizations that comprise such 
                groups; and
                    (B) includes the development, implementation, or 
                maintenance of methods, technical or administrative 
                procedures, or information resources that support the 
                purposes described in subparagraph (A).

SEC. 3. COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT OF POLICIES.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall coordinate and oversee the confidentiality and disclosure 
policies established by this Act.
    (b) Review and Approval of Rules.--The Director shall review any 
rules proposed by an agency pursuant to this Act for consistency with 
the provisions of this Act and chapter 35 of title 44, United States 
Code, and such rules shall be subject to the approval of the Director.

SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

    (a) Section 3510 of Title 44, United States Code.--This Act, 
including amendments made by this Act, does not diminish the authority 
under section 3510 of title 44, United States Code, 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) Sections 8, 16, 301, and 401 of Title 13 and Section 2108 of 
Title 44, United States Code.--This Act, including amendments made by 
this Act, does not diminish the authority of the Bureau of the Census 
to provide information in accordance with sections 8, 16, 301, and 401 
of title 13 and section 2108 of title 44, United States Code.
    (c) Section 9 of Title 13, United States Code.--This Act, including 
amendments made by this Act, shall not be construed as authorizing the 
disclosure for nonstatistical purposes of demographic data or 
information collected by the Census Bureau pursuant to section 9 of 
title 13, United States Code.
    (d) Section 12 of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974.--
In accordance with the provisions of this Act, data acquired for 
exclusively statistical purposes under a pledge of confidentiality are 
exempt from mandatory disclosure in identifiable form for 
nonstatistical purposes under section 12 of the Federal Energy 
Administration Act of 1974 (15 United States Code 771).
    (e) Preemption of State Law.--Nothing in this Act shall preempt 
applicable State law regarding the confidentiality of data collected by 
the States.
    (f) Statutes Regarding False Statements.--Notwithstanding section 
102, information collected by an agency for exclusively statistical 
purposes under a pledge of confidentiality may be provided by the 
collecting agency to a law enforcement agency for the prosecution of 
submissions to the collecting agency of false statistical information 
under statutes that authorize criminal penalties (such as section 221 
of title 13, United States Code) or civil penalties for the provision 
of false statistical information, unless such disclosure or use would 
otherwise be prohibited under Federal law.
    (g) Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed as 
restricting or diminishing any confidentiality protections or penalties 
for unauthorized disclosure that otherwise apply to data or information 
collected for statistical purposes or nonstatistical purposes, 
including, but not limited to, section 6103 of title 26, United States 
Code.

              TITLE I--CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION

SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Individuals, businesses, and other organizations have 
        varying degrees of legal protection when providing information 
        to the Federal Government for strictly statistical purposes.
            (2) Pledges of confidentiality by the Federal Government 
        provide assurances to the public that information about 
        individuals or organizations or provided by individuals or 
        organizations for exclusively statistical purposes will be held 
        in confidence and will not be used against such individuals or 
        organizations in any Federal Government action.
            (3) Protecting the confidentiality interests of individuals 
        or organizations who provide information for Federal 
        statistical programs serves both the interests of the public 
        and the needs of society.
            (4) Declining trust of the public in the protection of 
        information provided to the Federal Government adversely 
        affects both the accuracy and completeness of statistical 
        analyses.
            (5) Ensuring that information provided for statistical 
        purposes receives protection is essential in continuing public 
        cooperation in statistical programs.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are the following:
            (1) To ensure that information supplied by individuals or 
        organizations to an agency for statistical purposes under a 
        pledge of confidentiality is used exclusively for statistical 
        purposes.
            (2) To ensure that individuals or organizations who supply 
        information to the Federal Government for statistical purposes 
        will neither have that information disclosed in identifiable 
        form to anyone not authorized by this Act nor have that 
        information used for any purpose other than a statistical 
        purpose.
            (3) To safeguard the confidentiality of individually 
        identifiable information acquired under a pledge of 
        confidentiality for statistical purposes by controlling access 
        to, and uses made of, such information.

SEC. 102. LIMITATIONS ON USE AND DISCLOSURE OF DATA AND INFORMATION.

    (a) Use of Statistical Data or Information.--Data or information 
acquired by an agency under a pledge of confidentiality and for 
exclusively statistical purposes shall be used by officers, employees, 
or agents of the agency exclusively for statistical purposes.
    (b) Disclosure of Statistical Data or Information.--
            (1) Data or information acquired by an agency under a 
        pledge of confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes 
        shall not be disclosed by an agency in identifiable form, for 
        any use other than an exclusively statistical purpose, except 
        with the informed consent of the respondent.
            (2) A disclosure pursuant to subparagraph (b)(1) above is 
        authorized only when the head of the agency approves such 
        disclosure and the disclosure is not prohibited by any other 
        law.
            (3) This section does not restrict or diminish any 
        confidentiality protections in law that otherwise apply to data 
        or information acquired by an agency under a pledge of 
        confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes.
    (c) Rule for Use of Data or Information for Nonstatistical 
Purposes.--A statistical agency or unit shall clearly distinguish any 
data or information it collects for nonstatistical purposes (as 
authorized by law) by a rule that provides that the respondent 
supplying the data or information is fully informed, before the data or 
information is collected, that the data or information could be used 
for nonstatistical purposes.
    (d) Designation of Agents.--A statistical agency or unit may 
designate agents, by contract or by entering into a special agreement 
containing the provisions required by section 2, who may perform 
exclusively statistical activities, subject to the limitations and 
penalties described in this Act.

SEC. 103. FINES AND PENALTIES.

    Whoever, being an officer, employee, or agent of an agency 
acquiring information for exclusively statistical purposes, having 
taken and subscribed the oath of office, or having sworn to observe the 
limitations imposed by section 102 of this title, comes into possession 
of such information by reason of his being an officer, employee, or 
agent and, knowing that the disclosure of the specific information is 
prohibited under the provisions of this Act, willfully discloses the 
information in any manner to a person or agency not entitled to receive 
it, shall be guilty of a class E felony and imprisoned for not more 
than 5 years, or fined not more than $250,000, or both.

                    TITLE II--STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY

SEC. 201. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Federal statistics are an important source of 
        information for public and private decision-makers such as 
        policymakers, consumers, businesses, investors, and workers.
            (2) Federal statistical agencies should continuously seek 
        to improve their efficiency. Statutory constraints limit the 
        ability of these agencies to share data and thus to achieve 
        higher efficiency for Federal statistical programs.
            (3) The quality of Federal statistics depends on the 
        willingness of businesses to respond to statistical surveys. 
        Reducing reporting burdens will increase response rates, and 
        therefore lead to more accurate characterizations of the 
        economy.
            (4) Enhanced sharing of business data among the Bureau of 
        the Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bureau of 
        Labor Statistics for exclusively statistical purposes will 
        improve their ability to track more accurately the large and 
        rapidly changing nature of U.S. business. In particular, the 
        statistical agencies will be able to better ensure that 
        businesses are consistently classified in appropriate 
        industries, resolve data anomalies, produce statistical samples 
        that are consistently adjusted for the entry and exit of new 
        businesses in a timely manner, and correct faulty reporting 
        errors quickly and efficiently.
            (5) Congress passed the International Investment and Trade 
        in Services Act of 1990 that allowed the Bureau of the Census, 
        the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor 
        Statistics to share data on foreign-owned companies. The Act 
        not only expanded detailed industry coverage from 135 
        industries to over 800 industries with no increase in the data 
        collected from respondents but also demonstrated how data 
        sharing can result in the creation of valuable data products.
            (6) With title I of this Act, the sharing of business data 
        among the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic 
        Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to 
        ensure the highest level of confidentiality for respondents to 
        statistical surveys.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are the following:
            (1) To authorize the sharing of business data among the 
        Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the 
        Bureau of Labor Statistics for exclusively statistical 
        purposes.
            (2) To reduce the paperwork burdens imposed on businesses 
        that provide requested information to the Federal Government.
            (3) To improve the comparability and accuracy of Federal 
        economic statistics by allowing the Bureau of the Census, the 
        Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
        to update sample frames, develop consistent classifications of 
        establishments and companies into industries, improve coverage, 
        and reconcile significant differences in data produced by the 
        three agencies.
            (4) To increase understanding of the United States economy, 
        especially for key industry and regional statistics, to develop 
        more accurate measures of the impact of technology on 
        productivity growth, and to enhance the reliability of the 
        Nation's most important economic indicators, such as the 
        National Income and Product Accounts.

SEC. 202. DESIGNATION OF STATISTICAL AGENCIES.

    For purposes of this title, the following shall hereafter be 
referred to as Designated Statistical Agencies:
            (1) The Bureau of the Census in the Department of Commerce,
            (2) The Bureau of Economic Analysis in the Department of 
        Commerce, and
            (3) The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of 
        Labor.

SEC. 203. RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED STATISTICAL AGENCIES.

    Designated Statistical Agencies shall:
            (1) identify opportunities to eliminate duplication and 
        otherwise reduce reporting burden and cost imposed on the 
        public in providing information for statistical purposes;
            (2) enter into joint statistical projects to improve the 
        quality and reduce the cost of statistical programs; and
            (3) protect the confidentiality of individually 
        identifiable information acquired for statistical purposes by 
        adhering to safeguard principles, including--
                    (A) emphasizing to their officers, employees, and 
                agents the importance of protecting the confidentiality 
                of individually identifiable information,
                    (B) training their officers, employees, and agents 
                in their legal obligations to protect the 
                confidentiality of individually identifiable 
                information and in the procedures that must be followed 
                to provide access to such information,
                    (C) implementing appropriate measures to assure the 
                physical and electronic security of confidential data,
                    (D) establishing a system of records that 
                identifies individuals accessing confidential data and 
                the project for which the data were required, and
                    (E) being prepared to document their compliance 
                with safeguard principles to other agencies authorized 
                by law to monitor such compliance.

SEC. 204. SHARING OF BUSINESS DATA AMONG DESIGNATED STATISTICAL 
              AGENCIES.

    (a) A Designated Statistical Agency may provide business data in an 
identifiable form to another Designated Statistical Agency under the 
terms of a written agreement among the agencies sharing the business 
data that specifies--
            (1) the business data to be shared;
            (2) the statistical purposes for which the business data 
        are to be used;
            (3) the officers, employees, and agents authorized to 
        examine the business data to be shared; and
            (4) appropriate security procedures to safeguard the 
        confidentiality of the business data.
    (b) The provision of business data by an agency to a Designated 
Statistical Agency under this title shall in no way alter the 
responsibility of the agency providing the data under other statutes 
(including the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act) with 
respect to the provision or withholding of such information by the 
agency providing the data.
    (c) Examination of business data in identifiable form shall be 
limited to the officers, employees, and agents authorized to examine 
the individual reports in accordance with written agreements pursuant 
to this section. Officers, employees, and agents of a Designated 
Statistical Agency who receive data pursuant to this title shall be 
subject to all provisions of law, including penalties, that relate:
            (1) to the unlawful provision of the business data that 
        would apply to the officers, employees, and agents of the 
        agency that originally obtained the information; and
            (2) to the unlawful disclosure of the business data that 
        would apply to officers, employees, and agents of the agency 
        that originally obtained the information.
    (d) Notice.--Whenever a written agreement concerns data that 
respondents were required by law to report and the respondents were not 
informed that the data could be shared among the Designated Statistical 
Agencies, for exclusively statistical purposes, the terms of such 
agreement shall be described in a public notice issued by the agency 
that intends to provide the data. Such notice shall allow a minimum of 
60 days for public comment.

SEC. 205. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF BUSINESS DATA PROVIDED BY DESIGNATED 
              STATISTICAL AGENCIES.

    (a) Business data provided by a Designated Statistical Agency 
pursuant to this title shall be used exclusively for statistical 
purposes as defined by this Act.
    (b) Publication of business data acquired by a Designated 
Statistical Agency shall occur in a manner whereby the data furnished 
by any particular respondent are not in identifiable form.

SEC. 206. CONFORMING CHANGES IN LAW.

    (a) Department of Commerce.--Section 1 of the Act of January 27, 
1938 (15 United States Code 176a) is amended by--
            (1) striking ``The'' and inserting ``Except as provided in 
        the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
        Efficiency Act of 2002, the'';
            (2) chapter 10 of title 13, United States Code, is amended 
        by adding after section 401 the following:

``SEC. 402. PROVIDING BUSINESS DATA TO DESIGNATED STATISTICAL AGENCIES.

    ``The Bureau of the Census may provide business data to the Bureau 
of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (`Designated 
Statistical Agencies') if such information is required for an 
authorized statistical purpose and the provision is the subject of a 
written agreement with that Designated Statistical Agency, or their 
successors, as defined in the Confidential Information Protection and 
Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002.''; and
            (3) the table of sections for chapter 10 of title 13, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding after the item 
        relating to section 401 the following:

``402. Providing business data from the Bureau of the Census to 
                            Designated Statistical Agencies.''.
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