I 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3262 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 26, 2011 Mr. Guinta (for himself and Mr. Walsh of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform A BILL To amend title 31, United States Code, to increase Government transparency.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Government Results Transparency Act.
2.
Amendments to increase transparency of Government performance results
(a)
Transparency amendments
Section 1122 of title 31, United States Code, is amended— (1)by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and (2)by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsections: (c)
Simultaneous Reporting to the Board on Agency Programs, Priority Goals, and Results
(1)
Agency requirement
The head of each agency shall submit to the Board all information concerning the agency’s programs, priority goals, and results that is required to be reported under this section. (2)
Publication online
The Board shall publish all such information online in its original format. (3)
Comparison of spending to performance
To the extent practicable, for each fiscal year the Board shall publish, for each program identified by an agency under subsection (a)(1)— (A)the amount spent for the program; and (B)performance information for the program. (d)
Common Data Elements for Agency Priority Goals and Results
(1)
Requirement
The Board shall, by rule, designate common data elements, such as codes, identifiers, and fields, for information required to be reported by agencies under this section, including common data elements that identify each agency, each priority goal, each program, each program activity, performance indicators, and any other information that the Board determines should be standardized. (2)
Characteristics of common data elements
The common data elements designated under this subsection shall, to the extent practicable, be nonproprietary. (3)
Existing common data elements
In designating common data elements under this subsection, the Board shall, to the extent practicable, incorporate codes, identifiers, and fields that are already in use within the Federal government. (e)
Data Reporting Standards for Agency Priority Goals and Results
(1)
Requirement
The Board shall designate data reporting standards to govern the reporting required to be performed by agencies under this section. (2)
Characteristics of data reporting standards
The data reporting standards designated under this subsection shall, to the extent practicable— (A)incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary, searchable, platform-independent computer-readable format; (B)be consistent with and implement applicable best practices; and (C)be capable of being continually upgraded as necessary. (3)
Existing data reporting standards
In designating reporting standards under this subsection, the Board shall, to the extent practicable, incorporate existing nonproprietary standards. . (b)
Definition of Board
Section 1122 of title 31, United States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (h)
Definition of Board
In this section, the term Board means the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board or any successor entity. . (c)
Assignment of transparency responsibilities
Section 1122 of title 31, United States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (i)
Assignment of transparency responsibilities
In the event that the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board does not exist and there is no successor entity to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall carry out the Board’s responsibilities under subsections (c), (d), and (e). .