[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3830 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3830
To provide taxpayers with an improved understanding of Government
programs through the disclosure of cost, performance, and areas of
duplication among them, leverage existing data to achieve a functional
Federal program inventory, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 18, 2019
Mr. Walberg (for himself and Mr. Cooper) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide taxpayers with an improved understanding of Government
programs through the disclosure of cost, performance, and areas of
duplication among them, leverage existing data to achieve a functional
Federal program inventory, and for other purposes.
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 ``Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act''.
SEC. 2. INVENTORY OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS.
Section 1122(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs
(2) and (3), respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated,
the following:
``(1) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
``(A) the term `Federal financial assistance' has
the meaning given that term under section 7501;
``(B) the term `open Government data asset' has the
meaning given that term under section 3502 of title 44;
``(C) the term `program' means a single program
activity or an organized set of aggregated,
disaggregated, or consolidated program activities by 1
or more agencies directed toward a common purpose or
goal; and
``(D) the term `program activity' has the meaning
given that term in section 1115(h).'';
(3) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``In general.--Not later than
October 1, 2012, the Office of Management and Budget
shall'' and inserting ``Website and program
inventory.--The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget shall'';
(B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``that
includes the information required under subsections (b)
and (c)'' after ``a single website''; and
(C) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) and
inserting the following:
``(B) include on the website described in
subparagraph (A), or another appropriate Federal
Government website where related information is made
available, as determined by the Director--
``(i) a program inventory that shall
identify each program; and
``(ii) for each program identified in the
program inventory, the information required
under paragraph (3);
``(C) make the information in the program inventory
required under subparagraph (B) available as an open
Government data asset; and
``(D) at a minimum--
``(i) update the information required to be
included on the single website under
subparagraph (A) on a quarterly basis; and
``(ii) update the program inventory
required under subparagraph (B) on an annual
basis.'';
(4) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
striking ``described under paragraph (1) shall
include'' and inserting ``identified in the program
inventory required under paragraph (2)(B) shall
include, for each program activity that is a part of a
program'';
(B) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (C);
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as
subparagraph (A);
(D) in subparagraph (A), as so redesignated--
(i) by striking ``program'' each place it
appears and inserting ``program activity''; and
(ii) by striking ``and'' at the end; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) a consolidated view for the current fiscal
year and each of the 2 fiscal years before the current
fiscal year of--
``(i) the amount appropriated;
``(ii) the amount obligated; and
``(iii) the amount outlayed;
``(C) to the extent practicable and permitted by
law, links to any related evaluation, assessment, or
program performance review by the agency, an inspector
general, or the Government Accountability Office
(including program performance reports required under
section 1116), and other related evidence assembled in
response to implementation of the Foundations for
Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Public Law
115-435; 132 Stat. 5529);
``(D) an identification of the statutes that
authorize the program activity or the authority under
which the program activity was created or operates;
``(E) an identification of any major regulations
specific to the program activity;
``(F) any other information that the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget determines relevant
relating to program activity data in priority areas
most relevant to Congress or the public to increase
transparency and accountability; and
``(G) for assistance listings under which Federal
financial assistance is provided, for the current
fiscal year and each of the 2 fiscal years before the
current fiscal year and consistent with existing law
relating to the protection of personally identifiable
information--
``(i) a linkage to the relevant program
activities that fund Federal financial
assistance by assistance listing;
``(ii) information on the population
intended to be served by the assistance listing
based on the language of the solicitation, as
required under section 6102;
``(iii) to the extent practicable based on
data reported to the agency providing the
Federal financial assistance, the results of
the Federal financial assistance awards
provided by assistance listing;
``(iv) to the extent practicable, the
percentage of the amount appropriated for the
assistance listing that is used for management
and administration;
``(v) the identification of each award of
Federal financial assistance and, to the extent
practicable, the name of each direct or
indirect recipient of the award; and
``(vi) any information relating to the
award of Federal financial assistance that is
required to be included on the website
established under section 2(b) of the Federal
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of
2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Archiving.--The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget shall--
``(A) archive and preserve the information included
in the program inventory required under paragraph
(2)(B) after the end of the period during which such
information is required to be made available under
paragraph (3); and
``(B) make information archived in accordance with
subparagraph (A) available for research via an
archiving process that results in self-service of data
access.''.
SEC. 3. GUIDANCE, IMPLEMENTATION, REPORTING, AND REVIEW.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget;
(2) the term ``program'' has the meaning given that term in
section 1122(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, as amended
by section 2 of this Act; and
(3) the term ``program activity'' has the meaning given
that term in section 1115(h) of title 31, United States Code.
(b) Plan for Implementation and Reconciling Program Definitions.--
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Director shall submit to Congress a report that--
(1) includes plan that--
(A) discusses how making available on a website the
information required under subsection (a) of section
1122 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by
section 2, will leverage existing data sources while
avoiding duplicative or overlapping information in
presenting information relating to program activities
and programs;
(B) indicates how any gaps in data will be assessed
and addressed;
(C) indicates how the Director will display such
data; and
(D) discusses how the Director will expand the
information collected with respect to program
activities to incorporate the information required
under the amendments made by section 2;
(2) sets forth details regarding a pilot program, developed
in accordance with best practices for effective pilot
programs--
(A) to develop and implement a functional program
inventory that could be limited in scope; and
(B) under which the information required under the
amendments made by section 2 with respect to program
activities shall be made available on the website
required under section 1122(a) of title 31, United
States Code;
(3) establishes an implementation timeline for--
(A) gathering and building program activity
information;
(B) developing and implementing the pilot program;
(C) seeking and responding to stakeholder comments;
(D) developing and presenting findings from the
pilot program to Congress;
(E) notifying Congress regarding how program
activities will be aggregated, disaggregated, or
consolidated as part of identifying programs; and
(F) implementing a Governmentwide program inventory
through an iterative approach; and
(4) including recommendations, if any, to reconcile the
conflicting definitions of the term ``program'' in relevant
Federal statutes, as it relates to the purpose of this Act.
(c) Implementation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall make available online
all information required under the amendments made by section 2
with respect to all programs.
(2) Extensions.--The Director may, based on an analysis of
the costs of implementation, and after submitting to Congress a
notification of the action by the Director, extend the deadline
for implementation under paragraph (1) by not more than a total
of 1 year.
(d) Reporting.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which the
Director makes available online all information required under the
amendments made by section 2 with respect to all programs, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a
report regarding the implementation of this Act and the amendments made
by this Act, which shall--
(1) review how the Director and agencies determined how to
aggregate, disaggregate, or consolidate program activities to
provide the most useful information for an inventory of
Government investments;
(2) evaluate the extent to which the program inventory
required under section 1122 of title 31, United States Code, as
amended by this Act, provides useful information for
transparency, decision-making, and oversight;
(3) evaluate the extent to which the program inventory
provides a coherent picture of the scope of Federal investments
in particular areas; and
(4) include the recommendations of the Comptroller General,
if any, for improving implementation of this Act and the
amendments made by this Act.
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 1122 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by inserting ``described in subsection (a)(2)(A)'' after
``the website'' each place it appears;
(2) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by inserting ``described in subsection (a)(2)(A)'' after
``the website''; and
(3) in subsection (d)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``on
Website''; and
(B) in the first sentence, by striking ``on the
website''.
(b) Other Amendments.--
(1) Section 1115(a) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking ``the
website provided under'' and inserting ``a website described
in''.
(2) Section 10 of the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (31
U.S.C. 1115 note) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ``the website
described under'' and inserting ``a website described
in''; and
(B) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``the
website described under'' and inserting ``a
website described in''; and
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``the
website as required under'' and inserting ``a
website described in''.
(3) Section 1120(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``the website described under'' and
inserting ``a website described in''.
(4) Section 1126(b)(2)(E) of title 31, United States Code,
is amended by striking ``the website of the Office of
Management and Budget pursuant to'' and inserting ``a website
described in''.
(5) Section 3512(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``the website described under'' and
inserting ``a website described in''.
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