[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1275 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 111
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1275
[Report No. 116-46]
To require the collection of voluntary feedback on services provided by
agencies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 1, 2019
Ms. Hassan (for herself and Mr. Lankford) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs
June 10, 2019
Reported by Mr. Johnson, with amendments
[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the collection of voluntary feedback on services provided by
agencies, 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 ``Federal Agency Customer Experience
Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the Federal Government serves the people of the United
States and should seek to continually improve public services
provided by the Federal Government based on customer feedback;
(2) the people of the United States deserve a Federal
Government that provides efficient, effective, and high-quality
services across multiple channels;
(3) many agencies, offices, programs, and Federal employees
provide excellent service to individuals;, however, many parts
of the Federal Government still fall short on delivering the
customer service experience that individuals have come to
expect from the private sector;
(4) according to the 2018 American Customer Satisfaction
Index, the Federal Government ranks among the bottom of all
industries in the United States in customer satisfaction;
(5) providing quality services to individuals improves the
confidence of the people of the United States in their
government Government and helps agencies achieve greater impact
and fulfill their missions; and
(6) improving service to individuals requires agencies to
work across organizational boundaries, leverage technology,
collect and share standardized data, and develop customer-
centered mindsets and service strategies.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) all agencies should strive to provide high-quality,
courteous, effective, and efficient services to the people of
the United States and seek to measure, collect, report, and
utilize metrics relating to the experience of individuals
interacting with agencies to continually improve services to
the people of the United States; and
(2) adequate Federal funding is needed to ensure agency
staffing levels that can provide the public with appropriate
customer service levels.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of General Services.
(2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code.
(3) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency'' means an
agency or component of an agency that is required by the
Director to collect voluntary feedback for purposes of section
6, based on an assessment of the components and programs of the
agency with the highest impact on or number of interactions
with individuals or entities.
(4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget.
(5) Voluntary feedback.--The term ``voluntary feedback''
has the meaning given the term in section 3502 of title 44,
United States Code, as added by section 4 of this Act.
SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT TO COLLECTION OF
VOLUNTARY FEEDBACK.
Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code
(commonly known as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act''), is amended--
(1) in section 3502, as amended by section 202(a) of the
Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Public
Law 115-435)--
(A) in paragraph (13)(D) (22), by striking ``and''
at the end;
(B) in paragraph (14) (23), by striking the period
at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(1524) the term `voluntary feedback' means any submission
of information, opinion, or concern that is--
``(A) voluntarily made by a specific individual or
other entity relating to a particular service of or
transaction with an agency; and
``(B) specifically solicited by that agency.''; and
(2) in section 3518(c)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or'' at the
end;
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) by an agency that is voluntary feedback.''.
SEC. 5. GUIDELINES FOR VOLUNTARY FEEDBACK.
Each agency that solicits voluntary feedback shall ensure that--
(1) responses to the solicitation of voluntary feedback
remain anonymous and shall not be traced to specific
individuals or entities;
(2) individuals and entities who decline to participate in
the solicitation of voluntary feedback shall not be treated
differently by the agency for purposes of providing services or
information;
(3) the solicitation does not include more than 10
questions;
(4) the voluntary nature of the solicitation is clear;
(5) the proposed solicitation of voluntary feedback will
contribute to improved customer service;
(6) solicitations of voluntary feedback are limited to 1
solicitation per interaction with an individual or entity;
(7) to the extent practicable, the solicitation of
voluntary feedback is made at the point of service with an
individual or entity;
(8) instruments for collecting voluntary feedback are
accessible to individuals with disabilities in accordance with
section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d);
and
(9) internal agency data governance policies remain in
effect with respect to the collection of voluntary feedback
from individuals and entities.
SEC. 6. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DATA COLLECTION.
(a) Collection of Responses.--The head of each covered agency (or a
designee), assisted by and in coordination with the senior accountable
official for customer service of the covered agency, shall collect
voluntary feedback with respect to services of or transactions with the
covered agency.
(b) Content of Questions.--
(1) Standardized questions.--The Director, in coordination
with the Administrator, shall develop a set of standardized
questions for use by covered agencies in collecting voluntary
feedback under this section that address--
(A) overall satisfaction of individuals or entities
with the specific interaction or service received;
(B) the extent to which individuals or entities
were able to accomplish their intended task or purpose;
(C) whether the individual or entity was treated
with respect and professionalism;
(D) whether the individual or entity believes they
were served in a timely manner; and
(E) any additional metrics as determined by the
Director, in coordination with the Administrator.
(2) Additional questions.--In addition to the questions
developed under paragraph (1), the senior accountable official
for customer service at a covered agency may develop questions
relevant to the specific operations or programs of the covered
agency.
(c) Additional Requirements.--To the extent practicable--
(1) each covered agency shall collect voluntary feedback
across all platforms or channels through which the covered
agency interacts with individuals or other entities to deliver
information or services; and
(2) voluntary feedback collected under this section shall
be tied to specific transactions or interactions with customers
of the covered agency.
(d) Reports.--
(1) Annual report to the director.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently
than annually thereafter, each covered agency shall
publish on the website of the covered agency and submit
to the Director, in a manner determined by the
Director, a report on the voluntary feedback required
to be collected under this section that includes--
(i) the detailed results, including a
summary of how individuals and entities
responded to each question;
(ii) the total number of survey responses;
and
(iii) the response rate for each survey
administered.
(B) Centralized website.--The Director shall--
(i) include and maintain on a publicly
available website links to the information
provided on the websites of covered agencies
under subparagraph (A); and
(ii) for purposes of clause (i), establish
a website or make use of an existing website,
such as the website required under section 1122
of title 31, United States Code.
(2) Aggregated report.--Each covered agency shall publish,
on a regular basis, an aggregated report on the solicitation of
voluntary feedback sent to individuals or entities, which shall
include--
(A) the intended purpose of each solicitation of
voluntary feedback conducted by the covered agency;
(B) the appropriate point of contact within each
covered agency for each solicitation of voluntary
feedback conducted;
(C) the questions or survey instrument submitted to
members of the public as part of the solicitation of
voluntary information; and
(D) a description of how the covered agency uses
the voluntary feedback received by the covered agency
to improve the customer service of the covered agency.
SEC. 7. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 15 months after the date on which
all covered agencies have submitted the first annual reports to the
Director required under section 6(d)(1), and every 2 years thereafter
until the date that is 10 years after such date, the Comptroller
General of the United States shall make publicly available and submit
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the
Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of
Representatives a report assessing the data collected and reported by
the covered agencies.
(b) Contents.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) a summary of the information required to be published
by covered agencies under section 6(d); and
(2) a description of how each covered agency will use the
voluntary feedback received by the covered agency to improve
service delivery.
SEC. 8. RESTRICTION ON USE OF INFORMATION.
Any information collected pursuant to this Act, or any amendment
made by this Act, may not be used in any appraisal of job performance
of a Federal employee under chapter 43 of title 5, United States Code,
or any other provision of law.
Calendar No. 111
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1275
[Report No. 116-46]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the collection of voluntary feedback on services provided by
agencies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 10, 2019
Reported with amendments