[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2866 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2866

 To improve the customer experience of the Federal Government, ensure 
 that Federal services are simple, seamless, and secure, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 20, 2023

 Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Lankford, and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve the customer experience of the Federal Government, ensure 
 that Federal services are simple, seamless, and secure, 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 ``Improving Government Services Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the 
        term ``Executive agency'' in section 105 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (2) Customer.--The term ``customer'' means any individual, 
        business, or organization, including a grantee and a State, 
        local, or Tribal entity, that interacts with an agency or 
        program, either directly or through a federally funded program 
        administered by a contractor, nonprofit organization, or other 
        Federal entity.
            (3) Customer experience.--The term ``customer experience'' 
        means, with respect to a member of the public, the general 
        perception of and the overall satisfaction with interactions 
        with an agency or a product or service of the agency.
            (4) CX action plan.--The term ``CX Action Plan'' means the 
        annual customer experience action plan described in section 3.
            (5) Designated entity.--The term ``designated entity'' 
        means an agency or high-impact service provider designated by 
        the Director under section 3(a).
            (6) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
            (7) High-impact service provider.--The term ``high-impact 
        service provider'' means a Federal entity, as designated by the 
        Director, that provides or funds customer-facing services, 
        including Federal services administered at the State or local 
        level, that have a high impact on the public, whether because 
        of a large customer base or a critical effect on those served.
            (8) Human-centered design.--The term ``human-centered 
        design'' means an interdisciplinary methodology of putting 
        individuals, including those who will use or be impacted by a 
        product or service, at the center of any process to solve 
        challenging problems.
            (9) Service delivery.--The term ``service delivery'' means 
        any actions by the Federal Government relating to the provision 
        of a benefit or service to a customer of an agency during each 
        stage of the process of delivering the benefit or service to 
        the customer, including--
                    (A) an application, renewal, or extension by a 
                customer for a benefit or loan, including health 
                services for veterans and a small business loan;
                    (B) receipt by a customer of a service, including--
                            (i) health care or small business 
                        counseling; and
                            (ii) guidance to support commerce, 
                        transportation, employment rules, workplace 
                        safety, or public safety, including relating to 
                        ensuring clean water and consumer protection 
                        services;
                    (C) a request or renewal by a customer for a 
                document or other item, including a passport, driver's 
                license, or Social Security card;
                    (D) a submission by a customer of a Federal tax 
                return;
                    (E) a declaration of goods by a customer;
                    (F) use by a customer of recreation resources and 
                public spaces, including a park, historical site, or 
                museum;
                    (G) a request by a customer for information, 
                including a notice, warning, or guidance about public 
                health, safety, consumer protection, commerce, 
                transportation, environment, employment, and workplace 
                safety; and
                    (H) a request by a customer for, or use by a 
                customer of, data and research, including for applying 
                for funding, conducting research, maintaining and 
                preserving artifacts, and collecting, analyzing, 
                reporting, and sharing data.
            (10) Voluntary customer feedback.--The term ``voluntary 
        customer feedback'' means the submission by a customer of 
        information, an opinion, appreciation, or a concern following 
        an interaction with an agency and relating to the interaction 
        with the agency that is--
                    (A) solicited by the agency and identified as 
                voluntary at the time of solicitation; and
                    (B) is voluntarily made by the customer.

SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ACTION PLAN.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Designation.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director shall designate agencies 
        and high-impact service providers to develop an annual customer 
        experience action plan.
            (2) Submission of cx action plans.--Not later than 1 year 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 
        thereafter, at a time determined by the Director, the head of 
        each designated entity shall submit to the Director and to 
        Congress and make publicly available the CX Action Plan of the 
        designated entity.
    (b) CX Action Plan Contents.--The CX Action Plan of a designated 
entity shall include--
            (1) a comprehensive customer experience strategy and 
        corresponding implementation actions that adopt leading human-
        centered design practices that include--
                    (A) conducting outreach to the public about the 
                public services provided by the designated entity;
                    (B) providing assistance to members of the public 
                enrolling in or navigating the services of the 
                designated entity;
                    (C) streamlining and improving the accessibility of 
                forms and digital experiences and ensuring the 
                accessibility of services for customers with 
                disabilities or limited English proficiency;
                    (D) eliminating unnecessary administrative burdens 
                on customers;
                    (E) engaging in efforts to coordinate with other 
                agencies to reduce the need for customers served by the 
                designated entity to interact separately with multiple 
                agencies;
                    (F) preventing fraud and improving fraud and spam 
                reporting capabilities; and
                    (G) incorporating best practices from the private 
                sector, including providing online services, telephone 
                call-back services, and training to employees who 
                provide customer service;
            (2) information on the average amount of time it takes the 
        designated entity to resolve a customer request and an 
        identification and assessment of any backlog issues for key 
        designated entity services, including the resolution of 
        requests for passport services, veteran records, determinations 
        of Social Security benefits, the processing of applications for 
        Federal retirement benefits, and other similar services;
            (3) an assessment of opportunities for the designated 
        entity to--
                    (A) co-locate the services of the designated entity 
                with other Federal services, where appropriate and in 
                response to demonstrated customer needs;
                    (B) increase the use of digital channels and self-
                service options, while ensuring efficient multi-channel 
                offerings, in accordance with the 21st Century 
                Integrated Digital Experience Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
                note); and
                    (C) increase the quantity and improve the quality 
                of protections for personally identifiable information 
                in customer data;
            (4) actions to build the capacity of the designated entity 
        to deliver leading services and manage customer experience, 
        including updating guidance and training materials for 
        employees of the designated entity;
            (5) specific proposals to improve customer experience and 
        service delivery, including--
                    (A) progress on the delivery of the CX Action Plan 
                of the fiscal year in which the CX Action plan is 
                submitted against the commitments of the CX Action Plan 
                of the prior fiscal year, including the performance of 
                priority services (including wait and processing times, 
                customer feedback, and the information described in 
                paragraph (3)); and
                    (B) plans for the fiscal year following the 
                submission of the CX Action Plan; and
            (6) the medium- and long-term customer experience 
        strategies of the designated entity, including--
                    (A) plans for the period of 3 to 5 fiscal years 
                following the fiscal year of the submission of the CX 
                Action Plan; and
                    (B) plans for the period of 5 to 10 fiscal years 
                following the fiscal year of the submission of the CX 
                Action Plan.
    (c) Existing Guidance.--In developing the CX Action Plan, each 
designated entity shall adhere to existing and additional guidance 
provided by the Director.

SEC. 4. OVERSIGHT AND ANNUAL REPORT.

    (a) In General.--The Director shall--
            (1) ensure designated entity compliance with this Act;
            (2) facilitate sharing of leading practices between 
        designated entities; and
            (3) review the comprehensive CX Action Plans of designated 
        entities for consistency with existing customer experience 
        guidance.
    (b) Annual Report.--Not later than 180 days after the submission of 
all CX Action Plans under section 3(a), and annually thereafter, the 
Director shall make public recommendations for opportunities to 
streamline or co-locate critical Federal services.
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