117 S3836 IS: The Watchdog Act U.S. Senate 2022-03-15 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

II 117th CONGRESS2d Session S. 3836 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 15, 2022 Ms. Ernst introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To establish within the Executive Office of the President the Taxpayer Watchdog Office.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as The Watchdog Act.

2.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Agency

The term agency means— (A)an Executive agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code; and (B)an independent regulatory agency, as defined in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code. (2)

Director

The term Director means the Director of Openness in Government appointed under section 3(b). (3)

Federal transparency laws

The term Federal transparency laws means transparency laws of the Federal Government, including— (A)section 552 of title 5, United States Code; (B)section 552b of title 5, United States Code; (C)the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note); (D)the program inventory of each Federal agency required under section 1122(a) of title 31, United States Code; (E)section 2374b of title 10, United States Code; (F)section 11319 of title I of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58); and (G)any requirement included in an annual appropriations Act for a grant recipient of Federal funds to include in statements, press releases, requests for proposals, bid solicitations, or other documents describing projects or programs funded in whole or in part with Federal money— (i)the percentage of the total costs of the program or project which will be financed with Federal money; (ii)the dollar amount of Federal funds for the project or program; or (iii)the percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the project or program that will be financed by non-governmental sources. (4)

Office

The term Office means the Taxpayer Watchdog Office established under section 3(a).

3.

Establishment of Taxpayer Watchdog Office

(a)

Establishment

There is established within the Executive Office of the President the Taxpayer Watchdog Office. (b)

Director

The Director shall be the head of the Office and shall be appointed by the President. (c)

Staff resources

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall ensure that the Office has sufficient staff resources to enable the Director to fulfill the duties described in section 4.

4.

Duties of the Office

(a)

Oversight

(1)

Implementation of Government Transparency Laws

The Director shall oversee the implementation of Federal transparency laws. (2)

Complaints

The Director shall accept and review complaints about a failure of an agency to comply with a Federal transparency law. (3)

Evaluation

The Director shall develop a standard compliance and performance scoring methodology using a 100-point scale and shall evaluate and grade each agency according to the scale by considering— (A)the compliance of the agency with Federal transparency laws, including the accuracy, thoroughness, and timeliness of the agency in providing the public the information required by those laws; and (B)any other action taken by the agency to increase openness in the Federal Government. (4)

Cooperation

(A)

In general

The Director may collect necessary information from agencies to determine whether an agency is in compliance with Federal transparency laws. (B)

Agency cooperation

Each agency shall cooperate with the Office to provide information necessary to complete the evaluation required under paragraph (3). (b)

Information to the Public

The Director shall— (1)with respect to information to which the public is required to be provided access under Federal transparency laws— (A)compile and maintain on a searchable public website an up-to-date summary of the information and the manner in which the information may be accessed; and (B)compile a summary of the legal limitations to accessing the information, including limitations relating to personal privacy, national security, law enforcement, and privileged communications; and (2)compile case law on the interpretation of Federal transparency laws. (c)

Report and Recommendations

(1)

Annual report

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director shall make available to the public a report— (A)listing— (i)each Federal transparency law; and (ii)the compilation of information relating to Federal transparency laws required under subsection (b)(1); (B)summarizing the evaluations required under subsection (a)(3); (C)detailing how the Federal transparency laws apply to— (i)each agency; and (ii)each entity receiving Federal financial assistance, including grants, subgrants, loans, contracts, and tax expenditures; (D)providing statistics on the timeliness and completeness of agency reporting and disclosure of information required to be provided or disclosed under Federal transparency laws; and (E)including any agency response to the evaluation in the report. (2)

Recommendations

Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than every 2 years thereafter, the Director shall submit to the President, the heads of agencies, and Congress recommendations for improvements to increase transparency in the activities and missions of, and supported by, the Federal Government.

5.

Officers and Employees

The Director may appoint and terminate such officers and employees as may be necessary to enable the Office to perform the duties of the Office.

6.

Funding

The Office shall be funded through the Office of Management and Budget.