I 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3752 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 20, 2011 Ms. Richardson 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 require each agency Chief Financial Officer to submit to the Office of Management and Budget a report on and recommendations concerning the adjustment or reduction of fees imposed by the agency for services and things of value it provides.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Cost Recovery and Fair Value for Services Act of 2011.

2.

Findings

The Congress finds the following: (1)The Federal Government has an obligation to United States citizens to be stewards of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars by operating in an efficient manner. (2)There are hundreds of Federal agencies in the executive branch providing an array of services and programs. (3)It is critical, especially in times when national debt is high, for these agencies to ensure that the programs they provide are consistently assessed regarding their costs and self-financed to the greatest extent possible. (4)By setting equitable user fee rates for services provided, agencies as well as those who use the services can participate in the shared fiscal responsibility needed to reduce the deficit without overburdening users or constraining demand.

3.

User fee report

(a)

Amendment

Section 902 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (c)

User fee report required

(1)

In general

Not later than October 1 of each odd-numbered year, beginning with October 1, 2011, an agency Chief Financial Officer shall prepare and submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on the review and recommendations under subsection (a)(8) and shall include with regard to the recommendations concerning the adjustment or reduction of fees imposed by the agency for services and things of value it provides for the matters described under paragraphs (2) and (3). (2)

Matters related to equity

The report required by paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A)An evaluation of whether each user is paying an equitable amount and the ability of the user to pay the fee. (B)The extent to which use of such program by certain users, or for certain types of uses, provides a public benefit. (C)The extent to which the program for which the fee is funding benefits the public and identifiable users. (3)

Matters related to efficiency

The report required by paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A)The amount of the fee sufficient to cover the full cost of the service or thing of value provided by the agency. (B)Whether the agency has timely and reliable cost data to determine the amount of the fee to cover the full cost of the service or thing of value provided by the agency. (C)The extent to which the fee will fully or partially recover costs of the service or thing of value provided by the agency. (D)Whether the fee structure should include exemptions or reduced fees. (E)Whether the fee should be set as a percentage or as a fixed dollar amount. (F)How the fee will be structured to cover the intended share of the cost of the service or thing of value provided by the agency over time. (G)Whether fee collections are projected to change over time in relation to the cost of the service or thing of value provided by the agency. (4)

Definitions

In this subsection: (A)

Equitable amount

The term equitable amount means an amount that is set at a level so that a user with the ability to pay a higher fee pays more for the service and thing of value than a user with less ability to pay. (B)

User

The term user means a person that pays a fee imposed by an agency for services and things of value provided by the agency. . (b)

Submission by OMB

Not later than December 1 of each year in which a report is submitted under section 902(c) of title 31, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall compile and transmit the reports, along with a summary prepared by the Director, including an identification of any recommendations in the report the Director does not agree with and the reasons for such disagreement, to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.