[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 60 (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H2082-H2095]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DIGITAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2012
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2146) to amend title 31, United States Code, to require
accountability and transparency in Federal spending, and for other
purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2146
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 ``Digital Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2012'' or the ``DATA Act''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I--ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING
Sec. 101. General requirements for accountability and transparency in
Federal spending.
Sec. 102. Data standardization for accountability and transparency in
Federal spending.
Sec. 103. Amendments to the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006.
Sec. 104. Effective date and deadlines for accountability and
transparency in Federal spending.
TITLE II--FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING TRANSPARENCY COMMISSION
Sec. 201. Federal Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission.
Sec. 202. Conforming amendment relating to compensation of Chairman.
Sec. 203. Conforming amendments related to Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board.
TITLE III--ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Classified information.
Sec. 302. Paperwork Reduction Act exemption.
Sec. 303. Matching program exception for inspectors general.
Sec. 304. Transfer of Consolidated Federal Funds Report.
Sec. 305. Transfer of authority over Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance to Commission.
Sec. 306. Government Accountability Office Improvement.
Sec. 307. Amendments to the Inspector General Act of 1978 and the
Inspector General Reform Act of 2008.
Sec. 308. Limits and transparency for travel and conference spending.
Sec. 309. Effective date.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission
established under subchapter III of chapter 36 of title 31,
United States Code, as added by this Act.
(2) The term ``Executive agency'' has the meaning provided
by section 105 of title 5, United States Code, except the
term does not include the Government Accountability Office.
TITLE I--ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING
SEC. 101. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND
TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING.
(a) In General.--Subtitle III of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 35 the following
new chapter:
``CHAPTER 36--ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING
``subchapter i--reporting requirements
``3601. Definitions.
``3602. Recipient reporting requirement.
``3603. Agency reporting requirement.
``3604. Treasury reporting requirement.
``3605. Exemptions from recipient reporting requirement.
``subchapter ii--data standardization
``3611. Data standardization for reporting information.
``3612. Full disclosure of information.
``3613. Federal accountability portal.
``3614. Agency responsibilities.
``3615. Consolidated financial reporting.
``3616. Office of Management and Budget responsibilities.
``3617. Treasury responsibilities.
``3618. General Services Administration responsibilities.
``subchapter iii--federal accountability and spending transparency
commission
``3621. Establishment.
``3622. Composition of the Commission.
``3623. Functions.
``3624. Powers.
``3625. Employment, personnel, and related authorities.
``3626. Transfer of certain personnel.
``3627. Advisory committee to Commission.
``3628. Authorization and availability of appropriations.
``3629. Sunset.
``subchapter iv--general provisions
``3641. Independence of inspectors general.
``3642. Effective date.
[[Page H2083]]
``SUBCHAPTER I--REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
``Sec. 3601. Definitions
``In this chapter:
``(1) Recipient.--The term `recipient' means--
``(A) any person that receives Federal funds pursuant to a
Federal award, either directly or through a subgrant or
subcontract at any tier; and
``(B) any State, local, or tribal government, or any
government corporation, that receives Federal funds pursuant
to a Federal award, either directly or through a subgrant or
subcontract at any tier.
``(2) Federal award.--The term `Federal award' means
Federal financial assistance and expenditures that--
``(A) include grants, subgrants, loans, awards, cooperative
agreements, agreements entered into under other transactional
authority, and other forms of financial assistance; and
``(B) include contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders,
task orders, and delivery orders.
``(3) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Federal
Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission
established under subchapter III of this chapter, or any
successor entity to the Federal Accountability and Spending
Transparency Commission.
``(4) Chairman.--The term `Chairman' means the Chairman of
the Federal Accountability and Spending Transparency
Commission.
``(5) Executive agency.--The term `Executive agency' has
the meaning provided by section 105 of title 5, except the
term does not include the Government Accountability Office.
``(6) Foreign corrupt practices act of 1977.--The term
`Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977' means--
``(A) section 30A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(15 U.S.C. 78dd 1); and
``(B) sections 104 and 104A of the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 78dd 2).
``Sec. 3602. Recipient reporting requirement
``(a) Requirement.--Each recipient shall report to the
Commission each receipt and use of Federal funds pursuant to
a Federal award.
``(b) Characteristics of Reports.--
``(1) Frequency of reports.--
``(A) In general.--The Commission shall designate, by rule,
the frequency of reports to be submitted by recipients under
subsection (a), but the frequency shall not be less than once
each quarter.
``(B) Deadlines.--The Commission shall, by rule, specify
deadlines by which a particular receipt or use of Federal
funds must be reported by a recipient under subsection (a).
In specifying deadlines under this subparagraph, the
Commission shall take into account the capabilities of the
management and accounting systems and processes of
recipients. The Commission shall, by rule, provide for
extensions of the deadlines specified under this subparagraph
in cases of hardship or emergency.
``(C) Continuous or automatic reporting.--To the extent
practicable, the Commission shall require continuous or
automatic reporting for compliance with this section.
``(2) Content of reports.--Each report submitted by a
recipient under subsection (a) shall contain the following
information:
``(A) An identification of the recipient, including the
recipient's name and location (including city, county, State,
congressional district, and country), with location
information provided in proper United States Postal Service
standardized format, including ZIP+4, or proper international
postal service standardized format where applicable.
``(B) An identification of the recipient and the parent
entity of the recipient, if the recipient is owned by another
entity.
``(C) An identification of the Executive agency.
``(D) An identification of the Federal award.
``(E) If applicable, an identification of the program
pursuant to which the Federal award was awarded.
``(F) The total amount of Federal funds received from that
Executive agency for the Federal award, during the period
covered by the report.
``(G) The amount of Federal funds from the Federal award
that were expended or obligated by the recipient to projects
or activities during the period covered by the report.
``(H) A list of all projects or activities for which
Federal funds were expended or obligated.
``(I) If the Federal award is a prime award, an
identification of its immediate subawards.
``(J) If the Federal award is a subaward, an identification
of its immediate prime award.
``(K) Such additional information reasonably related to the
receipt and use of Federal funds as the Commission shall, by
rule, require.
``(3) Use of data standards.--The reports submitted under
this section shall use the common data elements and data
reporting standards designated by the Commission under
section 3611 of this title.
``(c) Fulfillment of Requirements by Prime Awardees.--The
Commission shall, by rule, permit prime awardees to fulfill
the requirements of this section on behalf of subawardees, so
long as all subaward tiers are reported.
``(d) Guidance by Commission.--The Commission shall issue
guidance to recipients on compliance with this section.
``(e) Prepopulation.--To the extent practicable, the
Commission shall prepopulate its electronic systems for the
submission of reports required by this section with data
submitted to it by agencies under section 3603 of this title,
and shall permit recipients either to confirm that
prepopulated data is correct or, if it is incorrect, to make
corrections.
``(f) Registration.--Recipients required to report
information under subsection (a) shall register with the
Central Contractor Registration database or complete such
other registration requirements as the Commission shall, by
rule, require.
``Sec. 3603. Agency reporting requirement
``(a) Requirement.--Each Executive agency shall report to
the Commission all obligations and expenditures of Federal
funds.
``(b) Characteristics of Reports.--
``(1) Frequency of reports.--
``(A) In general.--The Commission shall designate, by rule,
and after consultation with the Office of Management and
Budget, the frequency of reports to be submitted by agencies
under subsection (a), but the frequency shall not be less
than once each quarter.
``(B) Deadlines.--The Commission shall, by rule, and after
consultation with the Office of Management and Budget,
specify the deadline by which an obligation or expenditure
must be reported by an agency under subsection (a).
``(C) Continuous or automatic reporting.--To the extent
practicable, the Commission shall require continuous or
automatic reporting for compliance with this section.
``(2) Content of report.--
``(A) Information relating to federal awards.--Each report
submitted by an Executive agency under subsection (a) that
relates to a Federal award shall contain the following
information for that Federal award:
``(i) An identification of the recipient, including the
recipient's name and location (including city, State,
congressional district, and country), with location
information provided in proper United States Postal Service
standardized format, including ZIP+4, or proper international
postal service standardized format where applicable.
``(ii) An identification of the recipient and the parent
entity of the recipient, should the entity be owned by
another entity.
``(iii) An identification of the Executive agency.
``(iv) An identification of the Federal award.
``(v) If applicable, an identification of the program
pursuant to which the Federal award was awarded.
``(vi) If necessary, the total amount of the award.
``(vii) The total amount of Federal funds received by the
recipient from the Executive agency for the Federal award,
during the period covered by the report.
``(viii) Information on the award, including transaction
type, funding agency, the North American Industry
Classification System code or Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance number (if applicable), the program source, and an
award title descriptive of the purpose of each funding
action.
``(ix) Such additional information reasonably related to
the Federal award as the Commission shall, by rule, require.
``(B) Information not relating to federal awards.--The
content of each report submitted by an Executive agency under
subsection (a) that does not relate to a Federal award shall
be designated by the Commission, by rule, and after
consultation with the Office of Management and Budget.
``(C) Identification information.--To the extent
practicable, reports submitted by agencies under subsection
(a) shall identify the programs, budget functions, Treasury
accounts, and appropriations categories pursuant to which
Federal funds are obligated or expended.
``(D) Use of other reporting information.--To the extent
practicable, the Commission shall permit agencies to comply
with subsection (a) by submitting the same information that
they submit or contribute for other governmentwide reporting
requirements, including the following:
``(i) For information about Federal awards--
``(I) the Federal assistance awards data system established
pursuant to section 6102a of title 31, United States Code;
``(II) the Federal procurement data system established
pursuant to section 1122(a)(4) of title 41, United States
Code;
``(III) the common application and reporting system
established pursuant to section 6 of the Federal Financial
Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (31 U.S.C. 6101
note); or
``(IV) such systems as may be established to replace or
supplement the systems identified in this clause.
``(ii) For information about internal expenditures and
accounting, the Federal Agencies' Centralized Trial-Balance
Systems (FACTS I and FACTS II), the Governmentwide Financial
Report System (GFRS), the Intragovernmental Fiduciary
Confirmation System (IFCS), or such systems as may be
established to replace or supplement such systems.
``(3) Use of data standards.--The reports submitted under
this section shall use the common data elements and data
reporting
[[Page H2084]]
standards designated by the Commission under section 3611 of
this title.
``(4) Information also subject to recipient reporting
requirement.--In complying with this section, each Executive
agency shall identify, to the extent practicable, Federal
awards made by the agency that are subject to the recipient
reporting requirement of section 3602 of this title so that
information reported by recipients and information reported
by the agency can be directly compared.
``(c) Guidance by Commission.--The Commission shall issue
guidance to Executive agencies on compliance with this
section.
``(d) Commission to Monitor Compliance.--The Commission
shall regularly report to Congress on each Executive agency's
compliance with this section, including the timeliness,
completeness, accuracy, and interoperability of the data
submitted by each Executive agency. The Commission shall make
these reports publicly available contemporaneously online.
``Sec. 3604. Treasury reporting requirement
``(a) Requirement.--The Department of the Treasury shall
report to the Commission disbursements of Federal funds.
``(b) Characteristics of Reports.--
``(1) Frequency of reports.--
``(A) In general.--The Commission and the Secretary of the
Treasury shall determine the frequency of reports submitted
by the Department of the Treasury under subsection (a), but
the frequency shall not be less than once each quarter.
``(B) Continuous or automatic reporting.--To the extent
practicable, the Commission and the Department of the
Treasury shall establish continuous or automatic reporting
for compliance with this section.
``(2) Content of report.--
``(A) The Commission and the Secretary of the Treasury
shall determine the content of reports submitted by the
Department of the Treasury under subsection (a).
``(B) To the extent practicable, reports submitted by the
Department of the Treasury under subsection (a) shall
identify the programs, budget functions, Treasury accounts,
and appropriations categories pursuant to which Federal funds
are disbursed.
``(3) Use of data standards.--The reports submitted under
this section shall use the common data elements and data
reporting standards designated by the Commission under
section 3611 of this title.
``(c) Commission to Monitor Compliance.--The Commission
shall regularly submit to Congress reports on compliance by
the Department of the Treasury with this section, including
the timeliness, completeness, accuracy, and interoperability
of the data submitted. The Commission shall make all reports
submitted under this subsection publicly available
contemporaneously online.
``Sec. 3605. Exemptions from recipient reporting requirement
``(a) Exemption.--A recipient is exempt from the reporting
requirement of section 3602 of this title with respect to
funds received pursuant to a Federal award if--
``(1) the recipient is an individual; and
``(2) either--
``(A) the total amount of Federal funds received by the
recipient does not exceed $100,000 in the current calendar
year or fiscal year; or
``(B) no transaction in which the recipient has received
Federal funds during the current calendar year or fiscal year
has exceeded $24,999.
``(b) Authority to Grant Additional Exemptions.--The
Commission may, by rule, grant additional exemptions under
this section for classes or categories of recipients.
``(c) Adjustment for Inflation.--The Commission shall, by
rule, provide for an adjustment of the dollar thresholds
specified in subsection (a)(2) to maintain the constant
dollar value of the threshold.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the
beginning of subtitle III of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 35
the following new item:
``36. Accountability and Transparency in Federal Spending...3601''.....
SEC. 102. DATA STANDARDIZATION FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND
TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING.
Chapter 36 of title 31, United States Code, as added by
section 101, is amended by adding at the end the following
new subchapter:
``SUBCHAPTER II--DATA STANDARDIZATION
``Sec. 3611. Data standardization for reporting information
``(a) Common Data Elements.--
``(1) Requirement.--The Commission shall, by rule,
designate common data elements, such as codes, identifiers,
and fields, for information required to be reported by
recipients and agencies under this chapter, including
identifiers for recipients, awards, and agencies.
``(2) Characteristics of common data elements.--The common
data elements designated under this subsection shall, to the
extent practicable, be nonproprietary.
``(3) Existing common data elements.--In designating common
data elements under this subsection, the Commission shall, to
the extent practicable, ensure interoperability and
incorporate the following:
``(A) Common data elements developed and maintained by an
international voluntary consensus standards body, as defined
by the Office of Management and Budget, such as the
International Organization for Standardization.
``(B) Common data elements developed and maintained by
intragovernmental partnerships, such as the National
Information Exchange Model.
``(C) Common data elements developed and maintained by
Federal entities with authority over contracting and
financial assistance, such as the Federal Acquisition
Regulatory Council.
``(D) Common data elements developed and maintained by
accounting standards organizations.
``(b) Data Reporting Standards.--
``(1) Requirement.--The Commission shall, by rule,
designate data reporting standards to govern the reporting
required to be performed by recipients and agencies under
this title.
``(2) Characteristics of data reporting standards.--The
data reporting standards designated under this subsection
shall, to the extent practicable--
``(A) incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary,
searchable, platform-independent computer-readable format;
``(B) be consistent with and implement applicable
accounting principles; and
``(C) be capable of being continually upgraded as
necessary.
``(3) Existing data reporting standards.--In designating
reporting standards under this subsection, the Commission
shall, to the extent practicable, incorporate existing
nonproprietary standards, such as the eXtensible Business
Reporting Language (XBRL).
``Sec. 3612. Full disclosure of information
``The Commission shall publish online all information
submitted by recipients and agencies pursuant to sections
3602, 3603, and 3604 of this title in accordance with the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
(31 U.S.C. 6101 note).
``Sec. 3613. Federal accountability portal
``(a) Requirement.--The Commission shall establish and
maintain a government-wide Internet-based data access system,
to be known as a `Federal accountability portal', to carry
out the functions described in subsection (b).
``(b) Functions.--
``(1) In general.--The Federal accountability portal shall
incorporate--
``(A) information submitted by recipients and agencies
under sections 3602, 3603, and 3604 of this title;
``(B) other information maintained by Federal, State,
local, and foreign government agencies; and
``(C) other commercially and publicly available
information.
``(2) Specific functions.--The Federal accountability
portal shall be designed and operated to carry out the
following functions:
``(A) Combine information submitted by recipients and
agencies under sections 3602, 3603, and 3604 of this title
with other compilations of information, including those
listed in paragraph (1).
``(B) Permit Executive agencies, in accordance with
applicable law, to verify the eligibility and responsibility
of recipients and potential recipients with respect to the
receipt and use of Federal funds.
``(C) Permit Executive agencies, inspectors general, law
enforcement agencies, and appropriate State authorities, in
accordance with applicable law, to track Federal awards and
recipients to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
``(D) Serve as the primary accountability portal for the
entire Federal Government.
``(c) Guidance by Commission.--The Commission shall issue
guidance on the use of and access to the Federal
accountability portal.
``Sec. 3614. Agency responsibilities
``(a) Requirement.--As a condition of receipt of Federal
funds of an Executive agency pursuant to any Federal award,
the Executive agency shall require any recipient of such
funds to provide the information required under section 3602
of this title.
``(b) Penalties for Recipient Noncompliance.--
``(1) In general.--The head of an Executive agency may
impose a civil penalty in an amount not more than $250,000 on
a recipient of Federal funds from that Executive agency that
does not provide the information required under section 3602
of this title or provides information that contains a
material omission or misstatement.
``(2) Nonpreclusion.--The imposition of a civil penalty
under this subsection does not preclude any other criminal or
civil statutory, common law, or administrative remedy that is
available by law to the United States or any other person.
Any amounts received from a civil penalty under this
subsection shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United
States to the credit of the appropriation or appropriations
from which the award is made.
``(3) Notification.--The head of an Executive agency shall
provide a written notification to a recipient that fails to
provide the information required under section 3602 of this
title or provides information that contains a material
omission or misstatement. Such notification shall provide the
recipient with information on how to comply with the
requirements of such section 3602 and notice of the penalties
for failing to do so. The head of the Executive agency may
not impose a civil penalty under paragraph (1) until 60 days
after the date of the notification.
``(c) Compliance With Commission Guidance.--Executive
agencies shall comply with the instructions and guidance
issued by the Commission under this Act.
[[Page H2085]]
``(d) Information and Assistance.--
``(1) In general.--Upon request of the Commission for
information or assistance from any Executive agency or other
entity of the Federal Government, the head of such entity
shall, insofar as is practicable and not in contravention of
any existing law, furnish such information or assistance to
the Commission, or an authorized designee.
``(2) Report of refusals.--Whenever information or
assistance requested by the Commission is, in the judgment of
the Commission, unreasonably refused or not provided, the
Commission shall report the circumstances to Congress.
``(e) Requirement to Use Common Data Elements and Data
Reporting Standards.--After the Commission designates any
common data element or data reporting standard under section
3611 of this title, each Executive agency shall issue
guidance that requires every recipient of Federal funds under
any of its Federal awards to use that common data element or
data reporting standard for any information reported to that
Executive agency to which the common data element or data
reporting standard is applicable.
``(f) Prepopulation.--To the extent practicable, each
Executive agency shall use data from the website maintained
by the Commission under the Federal Funding Accountability
and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) to
prepopulate any electronic systems maintained by that agency
for the submission of reports on the receipt and use of
Federal funds distributed by that agency.
``Sec. 3615. Consolidated financial reporting
``(a) Report Identifying Recipient Financial Reporting
Requirements to Be Consolidated.--In consultation with the
Office of Management and Budget, each Executive agency shall,
not later than two years after the effective date of this
chapter, submit to the President, Congress, and the
Commission a report that--
``(1) describes any agency-specific financial reporting
requirements for recipients of Federal funds pursuant to a
Federal award from the agency;
``(2) identifies every element of information that such
recipients must regularly submit to the agency pursuant to
such requirements; and
``(3) for each element so identified, identifies whether
that element or a similar element is already being reported
to the Commission by such recipients under this title.
``(b) Date Certain That Recipients May Use Consolidated
Financial Reporting.--Beginning on the date that is three
years after the effective date of this chapter, recipients of
Federal funds are deemed to have satisfied the agency-
specific financial reporting requirements identified in the
reports required by subsection (a) by transmitting the same
information to the Commission, in a manner prescribed by the
Commission.
``(c) Recipient Notification.--After an Executive agency
has submitted its report under subsection (a), the Executive
agency shall issue guidance notifying recipients of Federal
funds under its awards that they may, as of the date that is
three years after the effective date of this chapter, satisfy
those agency-specific financial reporting requirements
identified by the agency in its report required under
subsection (a) by reporting the same information to the
Commission only.
``(d) Commission Responsibilities.--
``(1) After an Executive agency submits its report under
subsection (a), the Commission shall promulgate rules
describing the manner in which the agency-specific financial
reporting requirements identified in the report may be met by
recipients of Federal funds from that agency through
reporting to the Commission only.
``(2) Upon receipt of agency-specific financial reporting
information as described under this section, the Commission
shall immediately make such information available to the
Executive agency to which the information had previously been
required to be submitted.
``Sec. 3616. Office of Management and Budget
responsibilities
``After the Commission designates any common data element
or data reporting standard under section 3611 of this title,
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall
issue guidance that requires Executive agencies to use that
common data element or data reporting standard for any
information reported by Executive agencies to the Office of
Management and Budget to which the common data element or
data reporting standard is applicable.
``Sec. 3617. Treasury responsibilities
``After the Commission designates any common data element
or data reporting standard under section 3611 of this title,
the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue guidance that
requires Executive agencies to use that common data element
or data reporting standard for any information reported by
Executive agencies to the Department of the Treasury to which
the common data element or data reporting standard is
applicable.
``Sec. 3618. General Services Administration
responsibilities
``After the Commission designates any common data element
or data reporting standard under section 3611 of this title,
the Administrator of General Services shall apply that common
data element or data reporting standard for any information
contained in acquisition-related databases maintained by the
General Services Administration to which the common data
element or data reporting standard is applicable.''.
SEC. 103. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL FUNDING ACCOUNTABILITY
AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006.
(a) Additional Requirements for USASpending.gov.--Section
2(c) of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency
Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended--
(1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2);
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) as
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(4) shall, to the extent practicable, publish data under
this section in a manner that complies with applicable
principles and best practices in the private sector for the
publication of open government data;
``(5) shall serve as a public portal for Federal financial
information, including information concerning all Federal
awards and information concerning the expenditure of all
Federal funds;
``(6) shall--
``(A) make available all information published under
subsections (b), (c), and (d) in a reasonably timely manner;
``(B) make available all information published under
subsections (b), (c), and (d), using the common data elements
and data reporting standards designated by the Commission
under section 3611 of title 31, United States Code;
``(C) make available all information published under
subsections (b), (c), and (d) without charge, license, or
registration requirement;
``(D) permit all information published under subsections
(b), (c), and (d) to be searched and aggregated;
``(E) permit all information published under subsections
(b), (c), and (d) to be downloaded, including downloaded in
bulk;
``(F) to the extent practicable, disseminate information
published under subsections (b), (c), and (d) via automatic
electronic means;
``(G) to the extent practicable, permit information
published under subsections (b), (c), and (d) to be freely
shared by the public, such as by social media; and
``(H) to the extent practicable, use permanent uniform
resource locators for information published under subsections
(b), (c), and (d).''.
(b) Requirement to Report All Data Submitted Under DATA Act
and Chapter 61 of Title 31 on USASpending.gov.--Section 2 of
the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of
2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note), as amended by subsection (a), is
further amended--
(1) by striking subsections (d) and (e);
(2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (e); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsections (c) and (d):
``(c) Full Disclosure of Data Submitted Under the Digital
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2012.--
``(1) Requirement.--The Commission shall publish on the
website established under this section all information
submitted by recipients and agencies pursuant to sections
3602, 3603, and 3604 of title 31, United States Code, as
added by the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of
2012.
``(2) Aggregation of information that is exempt from
recipient reporting requirement.--The Commission shall
publish, online and in the aggregate, information that is
exempt from recipient reporting under section 3605 of such
title but that is reported by an Executive agency under
section 3603 of such title in the aggregate.
``(d) Full Disclosure of Information Required by Chapter 61
of Title 31.--The Commission shall publish on the website
established under this section all information contained in
the information system required under section 6103 of title
31, United States Code.''.
(c) Additional Definitions.--Subsection 2(a) of the Federal
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31
U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(4) Recipient.--The term `recipient' means--
``(A) any person that receives Federal funds pursuant to a
Federal award, either directly or through a subgrant or
subcontract at any tier; and
``(B) any State, local, or tribal government, or any
government corporation, that receives Federal funds pursuant
to a Federal award, either directly or through a subgrant or
subcontract at any tier.
``(5) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Federal
Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission
established under subchapter III of chapter 36 of title 31,
United States Code, or any successor entity to the Federal
Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission.''.
(d) New Technologies.--Section 2(f) of the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 is amended--
(1) by striking ``Nothing'' and inserting the following:
``(1) Access to other data.--Nothing''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(2) New technologies.--Nothing in this Act shall prohibit
the Commission from complying with the requirements of this
section using such new technologies as may replace websites
for data publication and dissemination.''.
[[Page H2086]]
(e) Conforming Amendments to Replace OMB With Commission
for Management of USASpending.gov.--Section 2 of such Act (31
U.S.C. 6101 note) is further amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ``Office of Management
and Budget'' and inserting ``Commission'' both places it
appears in paragraph (1); and
(2) in subsection (g), by striking ``Director of the Office
of Management and Budget'' and inserting ``Commission'' in
paragraph (1) and in paragraph (3).
(f) Repeal of Superseded Provisions.--Section 2(b) of such
Act (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is further amended by striking
paragraphs (3) and (4).
(g) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Such Act (31
U.S.C. 6101 note) is further amended--
(1) in section 2(b), by striking ``Not later than January
1, 2008, the'' and inserting ``The''; and
(2) in section 2(g)--
(A) by striking ``Committee on Government Reform'' and
inserting ``Committee on Oversight and Government Reform'';
and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by inserting ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
(ii) by striking ``; and'' at the end of subparagraph (B)
and inserting a period; and
(iii) by striking subparagraph (C).
SEC. 104. EFFECTIVE DATE AND DEADLINES FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND
TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING.
(a) Effective Date.--Chapter 36 of title 31, United States
Code, as added by section 101, is further amended by adding
at the end the following new subchapter:
``SUBCHAPTER IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS
``Sec. 3641. Independence of inspectors general
``Nothing in this chapter shall affect the independent
authority or discretion of an inspector general to determine
whether or how to conduct an audit, investigation, or any
other function authorized by the Inspector General Act of
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), or to disclose any information relating
to an audit or investigation.
``Sec. 3642. Effective date
``This chapter takes effect on the date of the enactment of
this chapter.''.
(b) Deadlines for Implementation.--
(1) Deadline for appointment of commissioners.--Within 60
days after the effective date of this Act, the President
shall appoint Commissioners to the Commission under section
3622 of title 31, United States Code, as added by this Act.
(2) Commission deadlines.--
(A) Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act,
the Commission shall establish the committee required under
section 3627 of title 31, United States Code, as added by
this Act.
(B) Within 180 days after the effective date of this Act,
the Commission shall--
(i) promulgate rules and issue guidance under sections 3602
and 3603 of title 31, United States Code, as added by this
Act;
(ii) together with the Secretary of the Treasury, determine
the frequency and content of reports to be submitted to the
Commission by the Department of the Treasury under section
3604 of such title, as so added;
(iii) designate common data elements under section 3611(a)
of such title and data reporting standards under section
3611(b) of such title, as so added; and
(iv) establish one or more websites under the Federal
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, as
amended by this Act.
(3) Agency and department deadlines.--
(A) Within one year after the effective date of this Act,
each Executive agency shall implement section 3614(a) of
title 31, United States Code, as added by this Act.
(B) Within two years after the Commission designates any
common data element or data reporting standard under section
3611 of such title, as so added--
(i) each Executive agency shall issue guidance under
section 3614(e) of such title, as so added;
(ii) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
shall issue guidance under section 3615 of such title, as so
added; and
(iii) the Administrator of General Services shall take the
actions required under section 3617 of such title, as so
added.
(4) Treasury deadlines.--
(A) Within 180 days after the effective date of this Act,
the Secretary of the Treasury, together with the Commission,
shall determine the frequency and content of reports to be
submitted to the Commission by the Department of the Treasury
under section 3604 of title 31, United States Code, as added
by this Act.
(B) Within 180 days after the Commission and the Secretary
of the Treasury determine the frequency and content of
reports to be submitted to the Commission by the Department
of the Treasury under section 3604 of such title, as so
added, the Department of the Treasury shall begin to submit
such reports to the Commission.
(C) Within two years after the Commission designates any
common data element or data reporting standard under section
3611 of such title, as so added, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall issue guidance under section 3616 of such
title, as so added.
(5) Recipient deadlines.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act or the amendments made by this Act, no
recipient shall be required to comply with this Act or such
amendments until 180 days after the Commission has issued
rules and guidance under section 3602 of title 31, United
States Code, as added by this Act.
(6) Transfer of usaspending.gov.--Within 180 days after the
effective date of this Act, the Commission and the Office of
Management and Budget shall transfer the management and
control of USASpending.gov from the Office of Management and
Budget to the Commission, as required by the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, as amended by
this Act.
TITLE II--FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING TRANSPARENCY COMMISSION
SEC. 201. FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING TRANSPARENCY
COMMISSION.
Chapter 36 of title 31, United States Code, as added by
section 101, is further amended by inserting after subchapter
II the following new subchapter:
``SUBCHAPTER III--FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING TRANSPARENCY
COMMISSION
``Sec. 3621. Establishment
``(a) Establishment.--There is established the Federal
Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission as an
independent agency in the Executive Branch.
``(b) Functions and Powers Transferred.--
``(1) Functions transferred.--Except as provided in this
section, there are transferred to the Commission all
functions of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency
Board.
``(2) Powers, authorities, rights, and duties.--The Federal
Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission shall
succeed to all powers, authorities, rights, and duties that
were vested in the Recovery Accountability and Transparency
Board on the day before the effective date of this chapter.
``Sec. 3622. Composition of the Commission
``(a) Members.--
``(1) In general.--The Commission shall be composed of five
Commissioners who shall be appointed by the President, by and
with the consent of the Senate.
``(2) Party affiliation.--Not more than three of the
members of the Commission shall be members of the same
political party.
``(3) Term.--Each Commissioner shall hold office for a term
of five years and until a successor is appointed and has
qualified, except that--
``(A) a Commissioner shall not so continue to serve beyond
the expiration of the next session of Congress subsequent to
the expiration of such term of office;
``(B) any Commissioner appointed to fill a vacancy
occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which that
Commissioner's predecessor was appointed shall be appointed
for the remainder of such term; and
``(C) the terms of office of the Commissioners first taking
office after the enactment of this paragraph shall expire as
designated by the President at the time of nomination, one at
the end of one year, one at the end of two years, one at the
end of three years, one at the end of four years, and one at
the end of five years.
``(4) Compensation.--An individual appointed to the
Commission under this subsection shall be compensated at the
rate of basic pay prescribed for level III of the Executive
Schedule under section 5314 of title 5.
``(b) Chairman.--
``(1) In general.--The President shall appoint, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate, a member of the
Commission as Chairman, who shall serve as Chairman at the
pleasure of the President. An individual may be appointed as
Chairman at the same time that person is appointed as a
Commissioner. At any time, the President may appoint, by and
with the advise and consent of the Senate, a different
Chairman, and the Commissioner previously appointed as
Chairman may complete that Commissioner's term as a
Commissioner.
``(2) Duties.--The Chairman shall be the chief
administrative officer of the Commission and shall preside at
meetings of the Commission.
``(3) Powers and functions.--
``(A) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph and in
section 3625 of this chapter, the executive and
administrative functions of the Commission, including
functions of the Commission with respect to the appointment
and supervision of personnel employed under the Commission,
the distribution of business among such personnel and among
administrative units of the Commission, and the use and
expenditure of funds, according to budget categories, plans,
programs, and priorities established and approved by the
Commission, shall be exercised solely by the Chairman.
``(B) In carrying out any of his functions under the
provisions of this paragraph, the Chairman shall be governed
by the general policies, plans, priorities, and budgets
approved by the Commission and by such regulatory decisions,
findings, and determinations as the Commission may by law be
authorized to make.
``(C) The appointment by the Chairman of the heads of major
administrative units under the Commission shall be subject to
the approval of the Commission.
``(D) Personnel employed regularly and full time in the
immediate offices of Commissioners other than the Chairman
shall not be affected by the provisions of this paragraph.
[[Page H2087]]
``(E) The Commission shall be responsible for the functions
of revising budget estimates of the Commission and
determining the distribution of appropriated funds according
to major programs and purposes of the Commission.
``(F) The Chairman may authorize the performance by any
officer, employee, or administrative unit under the
Chairman's jurisdiction of any functions of the Chairman
under this paragraph.
``(4) Limitation on terms.--No person appointed as Chairman
under this subsection shall serve as Chairman for more than
10 years, whether or not such service is consecutive.
``(5) Interim chairman.--Upon the effective date of this
chapter, the person serving as Chairperson of the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board on the day before the
effective date of this chapter shall serve as acting Chairman
of the Commission until the President appoints a Chairman of
the Commission pursuant to this subsection.
``(c) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall not
impair the right of the remaining Commissioners to exercise
all the powers of the Commission.
``Sec. 3623. Functions
``(a) In General.--The Commission shall--
``(1) be responsible for the collection, storage, and
public disclosure of information about Federal spending;
``(2) serve as the authoritative government source for the
information about Federal spending that it collects; and
``(3) coordinate and conduct oversight of Federal funds in
order to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
``(b) Specific Functions.--The functions of the Commission
shall include each of the following:
``(1) Receiving, storing, and publicly disseminating all of
the information that is reported to it under sections 3602,
3603, and 3604 of this title.
``(2) Reviewing whether reporting under section 3602 of
this title meets applicable standards and specifies the
purpose of the Federal award and measures of performance.
``(3) Identifying possible criminal activity and referring
such matters to appropriate Federal, State, and local law
enforcement authorities.
``(4) Supporting ongoing criminal investigations,
prosecutions, and related proceedings.
``(5) Furnishing research, analytical, and informational
services to Executive agencies, inspectors general, law
enforcement agencies, and appropriate State authorities in
the interest of detection, prevention, and prosecution of
waste, fraud, and abuse of Federal funds.
``(6) Regularly evaluating the quality of the data
submitted to it under sections 3602, 3603, and 3604 of this
title.
``(7) Standardizing common data elements and data reporting
standards to foster transparency and accountability for
Federal spending, as required by section 3611 of this title.
``(8) Reviewing whether there are appropriate mechanisms
for interagency collaboration relating to Federal funds,
including coordinating and collaborating to the extent
practicable with the Council of the Inspectors General on
Integrity and Efficiency established by section 11 of the
Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
``(9) Issuing a report in accordance with subsection (e) on
the feasibility of collecting and publishing online tax
expenditures data.
``(c) Priorities in Analyses and Reviews.--
``(1) In general.--To the extent practicable, the
Commission shall give high priority to analyses and reviews
relating to Federal funds--
``(A) awarded without the use of competitive procedures; or
``(B) awarded to any contractor found to be in violation of
the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977.
``(2) Identification.--The Commission shall identify any
contractor found to be in violation of the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act of 1977 as a violator of such Act in any
contract information related to such contractor published
online under the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006.
``(d) Report Requirements.--
``(1) Reports.--
``(A) Regular reports on data quality audits.--The
Commission shall regularly submit to the President and
Congress reports on its audits of the quality of the data
submitted to it under sections 3602, 3603, and 3604 of this
title.
``(B) Semi-annual reports on activities.--The Commission
shall submit semi-annual reports to the President and
Congress, summarizing the activities and findings of the
Commission and, in the Commission's discretion, the findings
of inspectors general of Executive agencies that relate to
the Commission's activities during the reporting period.
``(C) Report on savings.--Not later than five years after
the effective date of this chapter, the Commission shall
submit to the President, Congress, and the Comptroller
General of the United States a report containing estimates of
the direct and indirect cost savings to the Treasury achieved
as a result of the Commission's activities.
``(D) Other reports.--Section 2(f) of the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 requires another
report by the Commission.
``(2) Public availability.--The Commission shall make all
reports submitted under paragraph (1) publicly available
contemporaneously online.
``(3) GAO evaluation.--Upon receipt of the report submitted
by the Commission under paragraph (1)(C), the Comptroller
General shall conduct an evaluation of the report and submit
the evaluation to Congress within six months after receipt of
the report, with such findings and recommendations as the
Comptroller General considers appropriate.
``(e) Tax Expenditures Report.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (b)(7), not
later than one year after the effective date of this chapter,
the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on tax expenditures data that includes
the following:
``(A) A description of processes that could be put in place
to collect and disseminate tax expenditures data, and the
potential effects of making such data publicly available on
the Internal Revenue Service, taxpayers, and other relevant
parties determined by the Commission.
``(B) Any changes in law that are needed to make such tax
expenditures data publicly available.
``(2) Tax expenditures defined.--In this section, the term
`tax expenditures' has the meaning given that term in section
3(3) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act
of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622(3)).
``(3) Public availability.--The Commission shall make the
report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly available.
``(f) Recommendations.--
``(1) In general.--The Commission shall make
recommendations to Executive agencies on measures to prevent
waste, fraud, and abuse relating to Federal funds.
``(2) Responsive reports.--Not later than 30 days after
receipt of a recommendation under paragraph (1), an Executive
agency shall submit a report to the President, the
congressional committees of jurisdiction, and the Commission
on whether the Executive agency agrees or disagrees with the
recommendations and any actions the Executive agency will
take to implement the recommendations. The Commission shall
make all reports submitted to it under this paragraph
publicly available contemporaneously online.
``Sec. 3624. Powers
``(a) In General.--The Commission shall conduct independent
analyses and reviews of spending of Federal funds, including
analyses and reviews of information maintained in the Federal
accountability portal established under section 3612 of this
title, and provide investigative and audit support to the
inspectors general of Executive agencies.
``(b) Analyses and Reviews.--The Commission may--
``(1) conduct its own independent analyses and reviews of
spending of Federal funds; and
``(2) collaborate with and provide support for any
inspector general of any Executive agency or other law
enforcement authority on any audit, investigation, or other
review relating to Federal funds.
``(c) Authorities.--
``(1) Analyses, reviews, and investigative and audit
support.--In conducting analyses and reviews, and in
providing investigative and audit support to inspectors
general and law enforcement authorities, the Commission shall
have the authorities provided under paragraphs (1), (3), and
(6) through (10) of section 6(a), and section 6(b), of the
Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
``(2) Matching program authority with respect to
evaluations and reviews.--The authorities provided under
section 6(a)(9) of the Inspector General Act of 1978
(provided to the Commission pursuant to paragraph (1)) may be
used by the Commission while conducting an evaluation or
other review authorized under such Act.
``(d) Contracts.--
``(1) In general.--The Commission may enter into contracts
to enable the Commission to discharge its duties under this
chapter, including contracts and other arrangements for
audits, studies, analyses, and other services with public
agencies and with private persons, and make such payments as
may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission.
``(2) Contracting for missions of other agencies.--The
Commission may enter into contracts with any Federal agency
(within or outside the executive branch) to enable such
agency to identify waste, fraud, and abuse, including
contracts and other arrangements for audits, studies,
analyses, and other services.
``(3) Contracting for publication of data.--The Commission
may make contracts or agreements with any Federal agency
(within or outside the executive branch) to publish data
maintained by such agency on the website maintained under the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.
``(e) Transfer of Funds.--The Commission may transfer funds
appropriated to the Commission for expenses to support
administrative support services, investigations, audits,
reviews, or other activities related to oversight by the
Commission of Federal funds to any office of inspector
general, the Office of Management and Budget, and the General
Services Administration.
``Sec. 3625. Employment, personnel, and related authorities
``(a) Executive Director.--The Commission shall have an
Executive Director, who shall be appointed by the Commission
and serve at the pleasure of the Commission. The
[[Page H2088]]
Executive Director shall report directly to the Commission
and carry out the functions of the Commission subject to the
supervision and direction of the Commission. The position of
Executive Director shall be a career reserved position in the
Senior Executive Service, as that position is defined under
section 3132 of title 5.
``(b) Other Employees.--The Commission may appoint and fix
the compensation of such officers, attorneys, information
technology professionals, and other employees as may be
necessary for carrying out the functions of the Commission
under this chapter.
``(c) Administrative Support.--The General Services
Administration shall provide the Commission with
administrative support services, including the provision of
office space and facilities.
``Sec. 3626. Transfer of certain personnel
``(a) Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
Employees.--The Chairman or Executive Director, or both,
shall identify employees of the Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board for transfer to the Commission, and such
identified employees shall be transferred to the Commission
for employment.
``(b) Pay.--
``(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each transferred
employee shall, during the 2-year period beginning on the
effective date of this chapter, receive pay at a rate equal
to not less than the basic rate of pay (including any
geographic differential) that the employee received during
the pay period immediately preceding the date of transfer.
``(2) Paragraph (1) does not limit the right of the
Commission to reduce the rate of basic pay of a transferred
employee for cause, for unacceptable performance, or with the
consent of the employee.
``(3) Paragraph (1) applies to a transferred employee only
while that employee remains employed by the Commission.
``Sec. 3627. Advisory committee to Commission
``(a) Establishment and Purpose.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Commission shall establish an
advisory committee to be known as the Federal Accountability
and Spending Transparency Advisory Committee (in this section
referred to as the `Advisory Committee').
``(2) Purpose.--The Advisory Committee shall submit to the
Commission such findings and recommendations related to the
Commission's implementation of this chapter as it determines
are appropriate.
``(b) Membership and Chairperson.--
``(1) In general.--The Commission shall appoint no fewer
than 10, and no more than 20, members to the Advisory
Committee, from among individuals who--
``(A) represent the interests of recipients of Federal
contracts;
``(B) represent the interests of State, local, and tribal
governments receiving Federal grants;
``(C) represent the interests of other recipients of
Federal funds; and
``(D) represent nonprofit organizations that advocate
transparency and accountability in government.
``(2) Term.--Each member of the Advisory Committee
appointed under this section shall serve for a term of three
years, except that the Commission may appoint original
members of the Committee to one-year and two-year terms in
order to achieve staggered terms. No person shall serve more
than one term.
``(3) Chairperson.--The members of the Advisory Committee
shall elect a chairperson.
``(c) Meetings.--The Advisory Committee shall meet not less
frequently than six times annually, at the call of the
chairperson of the Advisory Committee.
``(d) Compensation and Travel Expenses.--Each member of the
Committee who is not a full-time employee of the United
States shall--
``(1) be entitled to receive compensation at a rate not to
exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay
in effect for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule
under section 5316 of title 5 for each day during which the
member is engaged in the actual performance of the duties of
the Committee; and
``(2) while away from the home or regular place of business
of the member in the performance of services for the
Committee, be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in
lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed
intermittently in the Government service are allowed expenses
under section 5703(b) of title 5.
``(e) Staff.--The Commission shall make available to the
Advisory Committee such staff of the Commission as the
chairperson of the Advisory Committee recommends is necessary
to carry out this section.
``(f) Review by Commission.--After receipt of any finding
or recommendation from the Advisory Committee, the Commission
shall--
``(1) review the finding or recommendation; and
``(2) promptly issue a public statement--
``(A) assessing the finding or recommendation of the
Advisory Committee; and
``(B) disclosing the action, if any, the Commission intends
to take with respect to the finding or recommendation.
``(g) Advisory Committee Findings.--Nothing in this section
shall be construed as requiring the Commission to agree to or
act upon any finding or recommendation of the Advisory
Committee.
``(h) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--The Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Advisory
Committee.
``Sec. 3628. Authorization and availability of
appropriations
``(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated $51,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012,
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 to carry out the
functions of the Commission.
``(b) Availability of Appropriations.--If the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board has unobligated
appropriations as of the effective date of this chapter, such
appropriations are authorized to remain available to the
Commission until September 30, 2015.
``Sec. 3629. Sunset
``This subchapter shall cease to be in effect after the
date occurring seven years after the date of the enactment of
this subchapter.''.
SEC. 202. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO COMPENSATION OF
CHAIRMAN.
Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following new item:
``Chairman of the Federal Accountability and Spending
Transparency Commission.''.
SEC. 203. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATED TO RECOVERY
ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD.
(a) Repeal of Superseded Provisions in Subtitle B of Title
XV of Public Law 111 5.--Subtitle B of title XV of division A
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public
Law 111 5; 123 Stat. 287) is amended by striking sections
1521, 1522, 1525(a), 1529, and 1530.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) References to board and chairperson.--
(A) Paragraph (2) of section 1501 of the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111 5; 123 Stat.
287) is amended to read as follows:
``(2) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Federal
Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission
established in chapter 36 of title 31, United States Code.''.
(B) Such section is further amended by striking paragraph
(3).
(C) The following provisions of such Act are amended by
striking ``Board'' each place it appears and inserting
``Commission'' in the headings or text, as the case may be:
the heading of subtitle B of title XV, and sections 1523,
1524, 1525(b), 1525(c), 1526, 1527, 1528, 1542, and 1553.
(D) Section 1513(b)(2) of such Act is amended by striking
``the quarter in which the Board terminates under section
1530'' and inserting ``the quarter ending September 30,
2013''.
(c) Repeal of Subtitle B of Title XV of Public Law 111 5.--
Effective on October 1, 2013, subtitle B of title XV of
division A of such Act is repealed.
(d) References in Federal Law to Board.--On and after the
effective date of this Act, any reference in Federal law to
the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board is deemed
to be a reference to the Federal Accountability and Spending
Transparency Commission.
TITLE III--ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 301. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act
shall be construed to require the public disclosure of
classified information.
SEC. 302. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT EXEMPTION.
Section 3518(c) of title 44, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and
inserting ``paragraph (3)'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph:
``(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), this subchapter shall
not apply to the collection of information during the conduct
of any evaluation, or other review conducted by the Federal
Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission, or
during the conduct of any audit, investigation, inspection,
evaluation, or any other review conducted by the Council of
Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency or any office
of inspector general, including any office of special
inspector general.''.
SEC. 303. MATCHING PROGRAM EXCEPTION FOR INSPECTORS GENERAL.
Section 6(a) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App.) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``and'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following new
paragraph:
``(9) notwithstanding subsections (e)(12), (o), (p), (q),
(r), and (u) of section 552a of title 5, United States Code,
to compare, through a matching program (as defined in such
section), any Federal records with other Federal or non-
Federal records, while conducting an audit, investigation, or
inspection authorized under this Act to identify weaknesses
that may lead to waste, fraud, or abuse and to detect
improper payments and fraud; and''.
SEC. 304. TRANSFER OF CONSOLIDATED FEDERAL FUNDS REPORT.
(a) Transfer of Functions.--The Commission and the
Secretary of Commerce shall transfer the functions of the
Consolidated
[[Page H2089]]
Federal Funds Report to the website established under the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006,
as amended by this Act.
(b) Information.--Section 2(d) of the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, as amended by
section 103 of this Act, is further amended--
(1) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(7) shall permit users to determine the following
information:
``(A) For each fiscal year, the total amount of Federal
funds that were obligated in each State, county or parish,
congressional district, and municipality of the United
States.
``(B) For each fiscal year, the total amount of Federal
funds that were actually expended in each State, county or
parish, congressional district, and municipality of the
United States.''.
(c) Conforming Repeals of Superseded Provisions.--Chapter
62 of subtitle V of title 31, United States Code, is
repealed. The item relating to that chapter in the table of
chapters at the beginning of subtitle V of such title is
repealed.
SEC. 305. TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY OVER CATALOG OF FEDERAL
DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE TO COMMISSION.
(a) Transfer of Authority From Administrator of General
Services and Director of Office of Management and Budget to
Commission.--
(1) Definition.--Paragraph (6) of section 6101 of title 31,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(6) `Commission' means the Federal Accountability and
Spending Transparency Commission established in subchapter
III of chapter 36 of this title.''.
(2) Amendments relating to program information
requirements.--Section 6102 of such title is amended--
(A) in subsections (a) and (b), by striking
``Administrator'' and inserting ``Commission'' both places it
appears;
(B) in subsection (c)--
(i) by striking ``Administrator'' and inserting
``Commission'';
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and that the printed
catalog'' and all that follows through ``printing''; and
(iii) in paragraph (4)--
(I) by striking ``transmit annually'' and inserting
``make''; and
(II) by striking ``to the Committee'' and all that follows
through the period and inserting the following: ``available
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.''.
(3) Amendments relating to assistance awards information
system.--Section 6102a of such title is amended--
(A) by striking subsection (b);
(B) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b);
(C) by striking ``Director'' and inserting ``Commission''
each place it appears; and
(D) in subsection (b), as so redesignated--
(i) by striking ``transmit promptly after the end of each
calendar quarter, free of charge,'' and insert ``make
available''; and
(ii) by striking ``Oversight'' and inserting
``Administration''.
(4) Amendments relating to access to computer information
system.--Section 6103 of such title is amended--
(A) in subsections (a) and (c), by striking
``Administrator'' and inserting ``Commission'' each place it
appears; and
(B) by striking the text of subsection (b) and inserting
the following: ``The Commission shall publish online all of
the information contained in the information system under
subsection (a) in accordance with the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101
note).''.
(5) Amendments relating to catalog of federal domestic
assistance programs.--Section 6104 of such title if amended
by striking ``Administrator'' and inserting ``Commission''
each place it appears.
(6) Repeal of authorization.--Section 6106 of such title is
repealed.
(b) Deadline for Transfer of Program Information System and
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.--Within 180 days
after the effective date of this Act, the Commission and the
Administrator of General Services shall transfer the
management and control of the following from the
Administrator to the Commission, as required by chapter 61 of
title 31, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a):
(1) The computer information system required under section
6103 of such title, as so amended.
(2) The catalog of Federal domestic assistance programs
required under section 6104 of such title, as so amended.
(c) Deadline for Transfer of Assistance Awards Information
System.--Within 180 days after the effective date of this
Act, the Commission and the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall transfer the management and
control of the assistance awards information system from the
Director to the Commission, as required by section 6102a of
title 31, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a).
SEC. 306. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IMPROVEMENT.
(a) Authority to Obtain Information.--
(1) Authority to obtain records.--Section 716 of title 31,
United States Code, is amended in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``(a)'' and inserting ``(2)''; and
(B) by inserting after the section heading the following:
``(a)(1) The Comptroller General is authorized to obtain
such agency records as the Comptroller General requires to
discharge his duties (including audit, evaluation, and
investigative duties), including through the bringing of
civil actions under this section. In reviewing a civil action
under this section, the court shall recognize the continuing
force and effect of the authorization in the preceding
sentence until such time as the authorization is repealed
pursuant to law.''.
(2) Copies.--Section 716(a) of title 31, United States
Code, as amended by subsection (a), is further amended in the
second sentence of paragraph (2) by striking ``inspect an
agency record'' and inserting ``inspect, and make and retain
copies of, an agency record''.
(b) Administering Oaths.--Section 711 of title 31, United
States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (4) and
inserting the following:
``(4) administer oaths to witnesses when auditing and
settling accounts and, with the prior express approval of the
Comptroller General, when investigating fraud or attempts to
defraud the United States, or irregularity or misconduct of
an employee or agent of the United States.''.
(c) Access to Certain Information.--
(1) Access to certain information.--Subchapter II of
chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 721. Access to certain information
``(a) No provision of the Social Security Act, including
section 453(l) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 653(l)), shall be
construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the
Comptroller General to obtain any information or to inspect
or copy any record under section 716 of this title.
``(b) No provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act, including section 301(j) of that Act (21 U.S.C. 331(j)),
shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the
authority of the Comptroller General to obtain any
information or to inspect or copy any record under section
716 of this title.
``(c) No provision of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust
Improvements Act of 1976 (Public Law 94 435) and the
amendments made by that Act shall be construed to limit,
amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General
to obtain any information or to inspect or copy any record
under section 716 of this title, including with respect to
any information disclosed to the Assistant Attorney General
of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice or the
Federal Trade Commission for purposes of pre-merger review
under section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a).
``(d)(1) The Comptroller General shall prescribe such
policies and procedures as are necessary to protect from
public disclosure proprietary or trade secret information
obtained consistent with this section.
``(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to--
``(A) alter or amend the prohibitions against the
disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive information
prohibited by section 1905 of title 18 and other applicable
laws; or
``(B) affect the applicability of section 716(e) of this
title, including the protections against unauthorized
disclosure contained in that section, to information obtained
consistent with this section.
``(e) Specific references to statutes in this section shall
not be construed to affect access by the Government
Accountability Office to information under statutes that are
not so referenced.''.
(2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 720
the following:
``721. Access to certain information.''.
(d) Agency Reports.--Section 720(b) of title 31, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting
``or planned'' after ``action taken''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
``(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the
congressional committees with jurisdiction over the agency
program or activity that is the subject of the
recommendation, and the Government Accountability Office
before the 61st day after the date of the report; and''.
SEC. 307. AMENDMENTS TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978 AND
THE INSPECTOR GENERAL REFORM ACT OF 2008.
(a) Incorporation of Provisions From the Inspector General
Reform Act of 2008 Into the Inspector General Act of 1978.--
(1) Classification and pay.--
(A) Amendment.--Section 8G of the Inspector General Act of
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
``(i) Classification and Pay.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the Inspector General of each designated Federal entity
shall, for pay and all other purposes, be classified at a
grade, level, or rank designation, as the case may be, at or
above those of a majority of the senior level executives of
that designated
[[Page H2090]]
Federal entity (such as a General Counsel, Chief Information
Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Human Capital
Officer, or Chief Acquisition Officer). The pay of an
Inspector General of a designated Federal entity shall be not
less than the average total compensation (including bonuses)
of the senior level executives of that designated Federal
entity calculated on an annual basis.
``(2) Limitation on adjustment.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of an Inspector General of a
designated Federal entity whose pay is adjusted under
paragraph (1), the total increase in pay in any fiscal year
resulting from that adjustment may not exceed 25 percent of
the average total compensation (including bonuses) of the
Inspector General of that entity for the preceding 3 fiscal
years.
``(B) Sunset of limitation.--The limitation under
subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any adjustment made in
fiscal year 2013 or each fiscal year thereafter.''.
(B) Conforming repeal.--Section 4(b) of the Inspector
General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 110 409; 122 Stat.
4304; 5 U.S.C. App. 3 note) is repealed.
(2) Pay retention.--
(A) Amendment.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App.) is amended by adding after section 8L the following new
section:
``SEC. 8M. PAY RETENTION.
``(a) In General.--The provisions of section 3392 of title
5, United States Code, other than the terms `performance
awards' and `awarding of ranks' in subsection (c)(1) of such
section, shall apply to career appointees of the Senior
Executive Service who are appointed to the position of
Inspector General.
``(b) Nonreduction in Pay.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, career Federal employees serving on an
appointment made pursuant to statutory authority found other
than in section 3392 of title 5, United States Code, shall
not suffer a reduction in pay, not including any bonus or
performance award, as a result of being appointed to the
position of Inspector General.''.
(B) Conforming repeal.--Section 4(c) of the Inspector
General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 110 409; 122 Stat.
4304; 5 U.S.C. App. 3 note) is repealed.
(3) Allegations of wrongdoing against special counsel or
deputy special counsel.--
(A) Amendment.--Section 11(d) of the Inspector General Act
of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(12) Allegations of wrongdoing against special counsel or
deputy special counsel.--
``(A) Special counsel defined.--In this paragraph, the term
`Special Counsel' means the Special Counsel appointed under
section 1211(b) of title 5, United States Code.
``(B) Authority of integrity committee.--
``(i) In general.--An allegation of wrongdoing against the
Special Counsel or the Deputy Special Counsel may be
received, reviewed, and referred for investigation by the
Integrity Committee to the same extent and in the same manner
as in the case of an allegation against an Inspector General
(or a member of the staff of an Office of Inspector General),
subject to the requirement that the Special Counsel recuse
himself or herself from the consideration of any allegation
brought under this paragraph.
``(ii) Coordination with existing provisions of law.--This
paragraph does not eliminate access to the Merit Systems
Protection Board for review under section 7701 of title 5,
United States Code. To the extent that an allegation brought
under this subsection involves section 2302(b)(8) of that
title, a failure to obtain corrective action within 120 days
after the date on which that allegation is received by the
Integrity Committee shall, for purposes of section 1221 of
such title, be considered to satisfy section 1214(a)(3)(B) of
that title.
``(C) Regulations.--The Integrity Committee may prescribe
any rules or regulations necessary to carry out this
paragraph, subject to such consultation or other requirements
as might otherwise apply.''.
(B) Conforming amendment.--Section 7(b) of the Inspector
General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 110 409; 122 Stat.
4312; 5 U.S.C. 1211 note) is repealed.
(b) Agency Applicability.--
(1) Amendments.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5
U.S.C. App.), as amended by subsection (a), is further
amended--
(A) in section 8L--
(i) in subsection (a)(1)--
(I) by striking the first ``agency'' and inserting
``Federal agency and designated Federal entity''; and
(II) by striking the second and third ``agency'' and
inserting ``Federal agency or designated Federal entity'';
and
(ii) in subsection (b)--
(I) in paragraph (1), by striking ``agency'' and inserting
``Federal agency and designated Federal entity''; and
(II) in paragraph (2)--
(aa) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``agency'' and
inserting ``Federal agency and designated Federal entity'';
and
(bb) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``agency'' and
inserting ``Federal agency and designated Federal entity'';
and
(B) in section 11(c)(3)(A)(ii), by striking ``department,
agency, or entity of the executive branch'' and inserting
``Federal agency or designated Federal entity''.
(2) Implementation.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the head and the Inspector General
of each Federal agency and each designated Federal entity (as
such terms are defined in sections 12 and 8G of the Inspector
General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), respectively) shall
implement the amendments made by this subsection.
(c) Requirements for Inspectors General Websites.--Section
8L(b)(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)
is amended--
(1) by striking ``report or audit (or portion of any report
or audit)'' and inserting ``audit report, inspection report,
or evaluation report (or portion of any such report)''; and
(2) by striking ``report or audit (or portion of that
report or audit)'' and inserting ``report (or portion of that
report)'' each place it appears.
(d) Corrections.--
(1) Executive order number.--Section 7(c)(2) of the
Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 110 409; 122
Stat. 4313; 31 U.S.C. 501 note) is amended by striking
``12933'' and inserting ``12993''.
(2) Punctuation and cross-references.--The Inspector
General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
(A) in section 6(a)(4), by striking ``information, as well
as any tangible thing)'' and inserting ``information), as
well as any tangible thing''; and
(B) in section 8G(g)(3), by striking ``8C'' and inserting
``8D''.
(3) Spelling.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App.) is amended--
(A) in section 3(a), by striking ``subpena'' and inserting
``subpoena'';
(B) in section 6(a)(4), by striking ``subpena'' and
``subpenas'' and inserting ``subpoena'' and ``subpoenas'',
respectively;
(C) in section 8D(a)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subpenas'' and
inserting ``subpoenas''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``subpena'' and
inserting ``subpoena'', each place it appears;
(D) in section 8E(a)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subpenas'' and
inserting ``subpoenas''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``subpena'' and
inserting ``subpoena'' each place it appears; and
(E) in section 8G(d), by striking ``subpena'' and inserting
``subpoena''.
(e) Repeal.--Section 744 of the Financial Services and
General Government Appropriations Act, 2009 (division D of
Public Law 111 8; 123 Stat. 693; 5 U.S.C. App. 8L) is
repealed.
SEC. 308. LIMITS AND TRANSPARENCY FOR TRAVEL AND CONFERENCE
SPENDING.
(a) Travel Expenses of Federal Agencies Relating to
Conferences.--
(1) Limitations and reports on travel expenses to
conferences.--Chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 5711 the following:
``Sec. 5712. Limitations and reports on travel expenses to
conferences
``(a) In this section, the term--
``(1) `conference' means a meeting that--
``(A) is held for consultation, education, or discussion;
``(B) is not held entirely at an agency facility;
``(C) involves costs associated with travel and lodging for
some participants; and
``(D) is sponsored by 1 or more agencies, 1 or more
organizations that are not agencies, or a combination of such
agencies or organizations; and
``(2) `international conference' means a conference
attended by representatives of --
``(A) the United States Government; and
``(B) any foreign government, international organization,
or foreign nongovernmental organization.
``(b) No agency may pay the travel expenses for more than
50 employees of that agency who are stationed in the United
States, for any international conference occurring outside
the United States, unless the Secretary of State determines
that attendance for such employees is in the national
interest.
``(c) At the beginning of each quarter of each fiscal year,
each agency shall post on the public Internet website of that
agency a report on each conference for which the agency paid
travel expenses during the preceding 3 months that includes--
``(1) the itemized expenses paid by the agency, including
travel expenses, the cost of scouting for and selecting the
location of the conference, and any agency expenditures to
otherwise support the conference;
``(2) the primary sponsor of the conference;
``(3) the location of the conference;
``(4) in the case of a conference for which that agency was
the primary sponsor, a statement that--
``(A) justifies the location selected;
``(B) demonstrates the cost efficiency of the location; and
``(C) provides a cost benefit analysis of holding a
conference rather than conducting a teleconference;
``(5) the date of the conference;
``(6) a brief explanation how the conference advanced the
mission of the agency;
``(7) the title of any Federal employee or any individual
who is not a Federal employee whose travel expenses or other
conference expenses were paid by the agency; and
``(8) the total number of individuals whose travel expenses
or other conference expenses were paid by the agency.
``(d) Each report posted on the public Internet website
under subsection (c) shall--
[[Page H2091]]
``(1) be in a searchable electronic format; and
``(2) remain on that website for at least 5 years after the
date of posting.''.
(2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 5711
the following:
``5712. Limitations and reports on travel expenses to conferences.''.
(b) Limitations on Annual Travel Expenses.--
(1) In general.--In the case of each of fiscal years 2012
through 2016, an agency (as defined under section 5701(1) of
title 5, United States Code) may not make, or obligate to
make, expenditures for travel expenses, in an aggregate
amount greater than 80 percent of the aggregate amount of
such expenses for fiscal year 2010.
(2) Identification of travel expenses.--
(A) Responsibilities.--Not later than September 1, 2012 and
after consultation with the Administrator of General Services
and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts, the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall establish guidelines for the determination of
what expenses constitute travel expenses for purposes of this
subsection. The guidelines shall identify specific expenses,
and classes of expenses, that are to be treated as travel
expenses.
(B) Exemption for military travel.--The guidelines required
under subparagraph (A) shall exclude military travel expenses
in determining what expenses constitute travel expenses.
Military travel expenses shall include travel expenses
involving military combat, the training or deployment of
uniformed military personnel, and such other travel expenses
as are determined under the guidelines.
(c) Conference Transparency and Limitations.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) the term ``agency'' has the meaning given under section
5701(1) of title 5, United States Code; and
(B) the term ``conference'' has the meaning given under
section 5712(a)(1) of that title (as added by subsection
(a)).
(2) Public availability of conference materials.--Each
agency shall post on the public Internet website of that
agency detailed information on any presentation made by any
employee of that agency at a conference, including--
(A) any minutes relating to the presentation;
(B) any speech delivered;
(C) any visual exhibit, including photographs or slides;
(D) any video, digital, or audio recordings of the
conference; and
(E) information regarding any financial support or other
assistance from a foundation or other non-Federal source used
to pay or defray the costs of the conference, which shall
include a certification by the head of the agency that there
is no conflict of interest resulting from the support
received from each such source.
(3) Limitation on amount expended on a conference.--
(A) In general.--No agency may expend more than $500,000 to
support a single conference.
(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph shall
be construed to preclude an agency from receiving financial
support or other assistance from a foundation or other non-
Federal source to pay or defray the costs of a conference the
total cost of which exceeds $500,000.
(4) Limitation on the annual number of conferences an
agency may support.--No agency may expend funds on more than
a single conference sponsored or organized by an organization
during any fiscal year, unless the agency is the primary
sponsor and organizer of the conference.
SEC. 309. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act and the
amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Issa) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The American people have a right to know that taxpayer dollars are
well spent. We have a responsibility to stay up with the times. As
government has grown, waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement have
increased. Today, however, the technology is before us, if we simply
embrace it, to do a far better job of accounting for every dollar spent
on behalf of the American people. That's not just the American dollars
that are spent by the Federal Government, but dollars passed on to the
private sector, to the States, to public entities, and to nonprofits.
Today, as those trillions of dollars are put out, we find that we
don't know where they're spent. At best, we know the first place they
went to. Under the Recovery Act, often called the ``stimulus,'' we can
all disagree or agree on how the money was spent; but unlike previous
appropriations, under that act, we found a way to do a better job of
tracing the dollars, of tracing the dollars through recipient
reporting--a system that, although costing a little bit to do,
ultimately once set up saves money.
The DATA Act before us today will literally track those trillions of
dollars in a way not done outside of the Recovery Act. Quite frankly,
we owe a debt of gratitude to the Recovery Board for showing us an
effective system on which we could build.
Just a few days ago, our committee, on a very bipartisan basis,
evaluated the GSA's lavish spending. They explained to us that part of
the way they spent $830,000-plus was, in fact, to cobble together, as
they put it, multiple baskets of money--meaning, if you didn't know or
couldn't trace how they'd spent their money, you wouldn't know that it
was spent on a mind reader and a clown. You wouldn't know that those 10
trips, essentially, were publicly funded trips so that key executives
could have family vacations.
With the DATA Act, we expect that and many other wasteful practices
to be brought to an end. Some of them will be brought to an end by the
ranking member and our work on the committee, but a great many of them
will be brought to bear by the American people being able to search
online and learn what they currently cannot learn.
The DATA Act has been a bill that has been, unlike many, completely
bipartisan. The minority and the majority have worked hand in hand. We
come to you today with a bill that has been agreed to and that will
save--I repeat, save--billions of dollars. Additionally, we do, in
fact, amend some of the abuses under the GSA scandal and do so based on
the good work of Representative Dennis Ross of Florida, who introduced
strong language to do exactly what we're doing today.
Before we go on, let me just say that I want to thank the ranking
member, because the work on this bill and the reason this bill is
before us on suspension is that we've been able to work hand in hand
with members of the majority and minority and with key staff on both
sides to make sure that we have a bill that will pass the House,
hopefully, on a unanimous basis, and clearly, we'll see the Senate send
a message that it's time for accountability generated from bipartisan
work in the House.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
First, let me say that the chairman, Chairman Issa, has worked very
closely with us as we have cosponsored this bill and has worked hard to
make sure that all of its provisions are satisfactory to this side. So
he is absolutely right, Madam Speaker, it is truly a bipartisan bill.
Again, I thank him.
Taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent, and we on
our committee and all those in Congress believe we have a
responsibility to ensure that those hard-earned tax dollars are spent
effectively and efficiently. H.R. 2146, the Digital Accountability and
Transparency Act, will make the Federal Government more accountable by
making it easier for taxpayers to see where their money is going. By
making government spending more transparent, we will, hopefully, reduce
wasteful spending.
This bill aims to capitalize on the success of the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board. The Democrats in Congress
created the board as part of the Recovery Act in 2009. In addition to
promoting job creation, economic activity and long-term growth, the
Recovery Act fostered unprecedented accountability and transparency in
government spending. Under the administration's implementation and the
RAT Board's oversight, the Recovery Act has had historically
[[Page H2092]]
low levels of waste, fraud, and abuse. The successful implementation of
the Recovery Act should be a model for improving transparency and
accountability in all Federal spending.
The DATA Act would do many of the same things the President directed
by executive order on June 13, 2011. The DATA Act would establish a
new, independent commission to lead the government's efforts on Federal
spending transparency and accountability. The new commission would be
authorized to set government-wide data standards and to coordinate the
oversight of Federal funds to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
I supported this legislation when it was considered by the Oversight
Committee in June, but I had several concerns which I asked Chairman
Issa to work with me on addressing. I commend the chairman for bringing
an amendment to the floor today that addresses those concerns.
This bill also includes language requiring agencies to disclose their
spending on conferences and to justify their locations and cost
efficiency. The bill, as amended, also requires agencies to reduce
their travel spending by 20 percent from fiscal year 2010 levels. The
President directed agencies to reduce travel spending in an executive
order issued on November 9, 2011.
When he signed that executive order to cut waste and promote
efficient spending, he said this:
We can't wait for Congress to act. We can't wait for them
to get our fiscal house in order and make the investments
necessary to keep America great. That's why, today, I'm
signing an executive order that will build on our efforts to
cut waste and promote more efficient spending across the
government. We're cutting what we don't need so that we can
invest in what we do need.
Let's show the President that Congress can and will act to reduce
wasteful spending. I urge my colleagues to join me, our chairman, and
our committee in supporting this legislation.
With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I would now like to yield 5 minutes to the
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford).
Mr. LANKFORD. If people call my office and ask a simple question,
something as simple as, How much did this cost?, it is difficult for
even a Member of Congress to be able to track down all the details. How
much was allotted for that grant? How much was actually spent? How much
was that contract? How much was actually spent? How much does this
agency spend on X number of programs or on this specific program?
An individual hardworking taxpayer should be able to go research that
out. Outside groups should be able to research that and should be able
to develop some way to systematically research and compare. Right now,
we can't do that.
{time} 1340
We may do something as labor intensive as mail them something, or
email them some things that we found, or maybe get a PDF document and
be able to send it in, or send them to an agency Web site, but there is
no systematic structured way to be able to compare last year to this
year, one agency to another agency, how this contract was done, how
this grant was done. This is a great moment to be able to bring all
that information together so that every group, including Congress, can
pull that data and can research it.
This gets to the essence of why transparency is such a big deal
because we want every single taxpayer to be able to look in and be able
to see how their money is spent. That's an appropriate way to be able
to respond to this.
This also eliminates the duplication reporting from a contractor or
an agency that is actually trying to file this information to not have
to do it multiple times, to make it more efficient. This deals with the
inconsistent requirements of reporting across different platforms. This
deals with the basics of grant and contract recipients being able to
also report in that data, as was done by the Recovery Board, which has
been very successful in getting accurate information in.
This also engages those outside individuals, grant writers, grant
recipients, and contract recipients, to be able to come back in and
process that data so we get real-time information. And it deals with
one of the most basic things: efficient use of money. In this
particular bill, it deals with all these conferences, reducing the cost
of government conferences, finding some way to be able to put some
parameters around them and structure, so that money is not pulled from
one place or another to be able to function in conference, a conference
that doesn't have a quarter of a million dollars budget spending
$850,000 for a single event.
I reiterate what we have said on both sides of the aisle:
transparency is not a partisan issue. This is a bipartisan bill, and
whoever is in the White House and whoever is running agencies, just
like Congress, is accountable to all the American people.
This makes all of what we do publicly available, easy to be able to
research, easy to be able to compare. It is a simple way to take this
on. I'm strongly in support of this and grateful that it's a very
bipartisan act.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman
from New York (Mrs. Maloney).
Mrs. MALONEY. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his
leadership, and I thank the chairman for his leadership.
This is truly a bipartisan effort, and one that is sorely needed, as
we can see from the hearing that we held last week in the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee on the General Services Administration. And
it was just outrageous that they would spend over $800,000 for some
conference with mind readers and clowns when so many Americans are
struggling and working hard.
This bill will help prevent this type of abuse from happening again,
and I am rising in strong support of H.R. 2146, the Digital
Accountability and Transparency Act.
It is good government, it is bipartisan, it is something that we can
all agree on. It is common sense, and if it had been in place earlier
we could have possibly prevented the type of abuse that we are both
dedicated to cleaning up.
This bill will improve congressional oversight of how Federal dollars
are being spent. This bill does this by creating a single online portal
for information about where Federal spending can be tracked. The bill
requires recipients of Federal grants, loans, and contracts to disclose
how much money they receive and how that money is spent, and reduces
the compliance burden on recipients of Federal funds by streamlining
reporting and establishing universal data standards.
The Congressional Budget Office has certified that:
H.R. 2146 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates, as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA), and would impose no additional costs on State, local
or tribal governments.
This is designed to save money and to save the taxpayers, and to
allow the public to have insight into how these dollars are being
spent, too.
The DATA Act capitalizes on the reporting required under the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act and President Obama's executive order
establishing the Government Accountability and Transparency Board, and
it will give legislative teeth to increase transparency and
accountability over Federal spending across the government.
The DATA Act also caps nonmilitary travel spending at 20 percent
below FY10 levels and limits both the number of and amount spent on
agency conferences, which will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of
dollars per year.
So this is truly something we can all agree upon. The technology is
there. This bill puts the political will behind having this
accountability. We do know how to track this. This will be in one
centralized place, it will be available to the public, and it's an
improvement in all ways.
Currently available data on Federal spending is incomplete,
confusing, and inconsistent. This act would centralize and simplify the
convoluted reporting that is in place now, and everything would be
reported in the same way. The bill also includes uniform reporting from
the recipients of the Federal funds and, very importantly, all of this
would be available to the public.
The independent commission that would be established by this would be
responsible for publishing and monitoring Federal spending. A number of
[[Page H2093]]
diverse groups have come out in favor of it. I have roughly 20 groups
that have written in support of the bill, from the Citizens for
Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, to the Taxpayers for Common
Sense, to POGO, to OMB Watch.
I believe this is an important bill. I believe it will make the
government perform better, save taxpayers money, and the time of those
who are tracking where these dollars are going. It is well overdue, and
it should pass today.
I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for
this important piece of legislation.
POGO and Partners Strongly Support Passage of the DATA Act
April 23, 2012.
Members of the House of Representatives: We, the
undersigned organizations, are writing in strong support of
the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act),
H.R. 2146, which is planned for a floor vote this Wednesday.
The DATA Act is an important step towards improving federal
financial transparency and would empower the public to better
understand how their federal dollars are being spent.
Currently available data on federal spending is incomplete
and inconsistent. The DATA Act would centralize and simplify
the convoluted spending reporting standards so that every
government agency reports their spending in the same way.
Importantly, the bill also includes uniform reporting from
recipients of federal funds. All of this information will be
readily available to the public.
The DATA Act establishes an independent commission
responsible for publishing and monitoring federal spending,
modeled after the Recovery Accountability and Transparency
Board. It also sets consistent government-wide standards for
financial data reporting. Its enactment will greatly improve
the scope, granularity, timeliness, usefulness, and accuracy
of public reports on federal spending beyond what is
currently available.
Concerns many of us expressed with earlier versions of the
legislation have been addressed. For example, the bill
provides for continuity of the Federal Funding Accountability
and Transparency Act and USAspending.gov. It ensures that
reporting requirements will persist even if the Commission
sunsets. It requires prime federal award recipients to
identify all sub-awards, and expands Treasury Department
reporting requirements. It also strengthens the Government
Accountability Office's ability to obtain certain agency
records.
This bill, introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R CA),
cosponsored by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D MD) and 13 others, was
passed unanimously by the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee, and enjoys strong bipartisan support.
We urge that you be present and vote ``yes'' on the DATA
Act to shine a light on the spending of our tax dollars.
For more information, please contact Daniel Schuman of the
Sunlight Foundation, Angela Canterbury of the Project on
Government Oversight, or Sam Rosen-Amy of OMB Watch.
Sincerely,
Center for Responsive Politics, Citizens for
Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, (CREW), Cost
of Government Center, Data Transparency Coalition,
Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fore See, Global
Financial Integrity, iSolon.org, Jubilee USA Network,
Liberty Coalition, Missionary Oblates US Province.
National Freedom of Information Coalition, National
Priorities Project, OMB Watch, OpenTheGovernment.org,
Progressive Librarians Guild, Project On Government
Oversight (POGO), Tabulaw Inc., Taxpayers for Common
Sense Action, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, The
Sunlight Foundation, U.S. Transparency, Washington
Coalition for Open Government, WashingtonWatch.com.
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Ross), the author of many of the reforms in this bill.
Mr. ROSS of Florida. Thank you, chairman, for yielding.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Digital Accountability
and Transparency Act of 2011, also known as the DATA Act.
The DATA Act finally does what America wants: opens up the books of
government and lets the taxpayers see what is being spent. The bill
also cuts agency travel spending by hundreds of millions of dollars per
year, a great and necessary first step.
By requiring Federal agencies to report how their funds are spent and
capping travel expenses, this commonsense bipartisan bill will bring
much-needed accountability and transparency to Federal spending. The
DATA Act should also send a clear message to bureaucrats here in
Washington, D.C.
The American taxpayer is watching, and they're sick and tired of the
blank-check mentality. Let's make sure that taxpayer dollars are no
longer spent on lavish conferences. But with this bill we can also
begin to crowdsource all Federal spending.
I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) for introducing this
bill and for his leadership on transparency and accountability in
government. Let's make sure that common sense becomes something common
in government.
Please join me in supporting the DATA Act.
Mr. CUMMINGS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
As the Chairman stated and others have stated on this floor, we saw
the abuses that took place at GSA, and we will certainly continue to
follow them, because I believe that all of us were very upset about
those abuses, Madam Speaker.
One of the things that we do believe is that the legislation like
this is so important because it shines a light on how money is being
spent. It won't solve all the problems, but it certainly will solve a
lot of them.
{time} 1350
One of the things that Mr. Devaney said, who was over the stimulus
bill and the RAT Board there, is that he wanted to do certain things
that not only would lay out a formula for accountability, but would
prevent people from even abusing the system.
Again, I think what we're doing here puts us out front of, hopefully,
some things that people may have been thinking about doing. We don't
even want to think about it because there are so many people in our
districts who work so hard to earn their money, and they don't mind
paying their taxes, they don't mind sacrificing, as long as they know
that that money is being spent effectively and efficiently.
One of the things that we have to do, Madam Speaker, is to make sure
that we establish and maintain a trust with them so that when they
write that check, they know it's going towards the roads that they want
to see built, going towards making sure the air is clean, and making
sure that the park rangers are present. They want to see that money
spent properly. They don't want to see it spent on some bureaucrats
flying around the country using the money in an improper way.
So with this bipartisan bill, I think we send a message to the public
that we're going to do everything in our power to make sure that they
have as much information as possible about where that money goes when
it leaves their checking account. And because of that and because this
bill is so significant and because it is about a truly bipartisan
effort, I'm hoping that we will have every Member of the House voting
in favor of it.
With that, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the expression we often hear about success and failure
is that success has many fathers, while, in fact, failure is an orphan.
This bill will not be an orphan. In fact, the work of Ranking Member
Cummings, along with Representative Maloney, Representative Sherman,
Representative Collin Peterson, and the former chairman of the full
committee, Ed Towns, on just one side, have been critical in getting
this done. The support of Jason Chaffetz, Dan Burton, Blake Farenthold,
the gentleman who spoke a minute ago, James Lankford, Mike Kelly, Tom
Latham, Patrick McHenry, and Dennis Ross all have been critical in this
process.
But perhaps less often heard, as the ranking member referred, former
Inspector General and chairman of the Recovery Board, Earl Devaney, has
been critical to shepherding the process that has gone over two
Congresses, and I want to thank him personally while he's enjoying his
well-earned retirement. Along with him was Vice President Joe Biden,
who has been supportive and helped us in this process and held numerous
meetings at the White House on behalf of it. In the Senate, Mark Warner
of Virginia has championed and introduced the companion product, making
it bipartisan in both Houses.
Additionally, as I think the ranking member alluded to, the Sunlight
Foundation, the Project on Government Oversight, the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants, the Americans for Tax Reform, the Data
[[Page H2094]]
Transparency Coalition, and XPRL US have all been critical. The last
one I mentioned is particularly critical because the need for standards
that ultimately are set that allow for this transparency are going to
come not from us in government but from organizations who have open and
transparent capability that we will leverage. All of these and more are
to be thanked today.
I want to close by saying the winners of this effort will be the
American people. It will be the American people because when this is
fully implemented, the American people, who are used to Googling for
information outside of government, will find it possible to get
meaningful information on where their hard-earned tax dollars are being
spent just as quickly. And that's the goal of our committee: to
recognize that the hundred-or-so staff and members on both sides of the
aisle of the Oversight Committee cannot protect the American people
alone. The 12,000-or-so members of the Inspector General's staff
throughout government cannot protect the American people alone. But
with data transparency and more access and sunlight available more
broadly, we believe that these organizations can, in fact, have the
kind of whistle-blowers and information providers that will allow us to
scrub the balance sheet to wrench out waste, fraud, and abuse in our
government at any level.
So I join with the ranking member in urging its unanimous support and
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Madam Speaker, the Oversight and Reform
Committee marked up the DATA Act without holding a single hearing about
the advisability of creating additional, duplicative reporting
requirements for grantees, subgrantees, contractors and subcontractors.
The reporting requirements imposed by this bill would affect local and
state governments, colleges and universities, and private sector
federal contractors and subcontractors. I ask unanimous consent to
include for the Record statements from the National Governors
Association, National Association of Counties, National League of
Cities, National Association of Chief Information Officers,
International City/County Management Association, National Association
of State Budget Officers, National Association of State Auditors,
Comptrollers, and Treasurers, Government Finance Officers Association,
and George Mason University opposing this legislation.
The authors of this bill believe that creating these additional
regulations on the private sector and mandates on state and local
governments will cost $51 million per year, which is the new spending
authorized by the DATA Act. That only represents the direct cost, not
the indirect costs taxpayers will bear if local and state governments
and colleges and universities must spend more money filing paperwork to
comply with the requirements of this bill. That cost also does not
account for the costs to private sector businesses to comply with new
regulations imposed by this bill. University and contractor
associations have not taken a public position opposing this legislation
because of last-minute changes to the bill made by Mr. Issa's staff.
These changes should have been made during Committee or Subcommittee
markup, but our Committee engaged in no substantive deliberations about
the content of the bill in that context. As a result, today we have a
bill that probably is less costly to both public and private entities
but nonetheless still creates new private and public sector regulations
and mandates at a significant cost. I remain concerned that the
laudable goal of creating a single reporting system for federal
spending could be lost in a maze of duplicative and conflicting
reporting requirements as a result of this bill.
It is ironic that a bill whose stated purpose is transparency would
be rammed through Committee and then brought to the floor with last-
minute changes made in the least public manner possible. As a result of
this convoluted legislative process, there may be problems with the
current text of the DATA Act which have not been subjected to review by
the committee of jurisdiction. I hope that the Senate reviews the
current text of this bill carefully not only because of the bill's
costs, new regulations, and new mandates, but also because the
haphazard manner in which the bill was written increases the likelihood
that there are drafting errors, duplicative regulations, or provisions
that are inconsistent with current law.
It should be obvious that our committee could work in a bipartisan
manner to promote transparency through legislation like the DATA Act,
but certain provisions of this bill and the lack of deliberation in
developing it expose stakeholders to potential negative unintended
consequences. For these reasons I must oppose this legislation.
Government Finance Officers Association; International
City/County Management Association; National
Association of Counties; National Association of State
Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers; National
Association of State Budget Officers; National
Association of State Chief Information Officers;
National League of Cities,
April 24, 2012.
Hon. Darrell Issa,
Chairman, Oversight and Government Reform Committee, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Issa: On behalf of the above listed
organizations, we are writing to commend you on your efforts
to further transparency and accountability in federal
spending and to express our sincere appreciation to your
staff in working with many of our organizations to include
recommended changes in the most recent draft amendment to
H.R. 2146, the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act.
We agree with the long term purpose of the Act to consolidate
and streamline the reporting of federal funds. However, in
addition to the overall goals of modernization, efficiency
and accountability, the shift toward data reporting
standardization should keep in mind the costs and burdens for
fiscally strained state and local governments and other
federal grant recipients.
While there are a number of positive changes contained in
the most recent draft, we remain concerned about the
magnitude of reporting and the stated timelines for
implementation. The lack of funding for state and local
governments to carry out the reporting and necessary
oversight is disappointing given the enormous administrative
challenges inherent in implementing Recovery Act-type
reporting for all grants and contracts. Having adequate staff
and sufficient equipment and data systems are essential to
effective implementation and oversight.
The ultimate success of Recovery Act reporting and the
resulting low level of fraud and abuse can be attributed not
only to the work of the Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board but also to the commitment and dedication
of accountability and oversight professionals at the state
and local levels. It was recognized early on that the lack of
funding for state and local governments was a major oversight
and shortcoming of the original Recovery Act, and it appears
that this shortcoming will be repeated in the DATA Act.
We believe that an efficient and streamlined reporting
process, such as the one established in the DATA Act, hinges
on identifying challenges and establishing well thought out
and vetted business processes. Relying on the success of
reporting for a small number of ARRA grants and contracts and
expanding that universe to include all federal awards will
require significant planning and resources.
We have recently become aware that the current Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board will conduct a grants
information reporting pilot project this summer to identify
cost efficiencies and the potential pitfalls of moving toward
a centralized system for data collection and warehousing.
Such a pilot would be an important step in identifying the
plausibility of expanding ARRA-like reporting requirements to
the entire universe of grants and contracts.
As we have suggested previously, we believe that developing
a phased-in approach to implementing the DATA Act would allow
for grant recipients to establish the appropriate processes
for such an enormous endeavor. Such an approach would also
give the Recovery Board an opportunity to undertake its
planned information reporting pilots and would help to
mitigate the reoccurring data quality problems that have
plagued USASpending.gov.
While we support the intent of the DATA Act, trying to
implement the requirements on all grants and contracts all at
once will severely limit the chances of meeting the intended
goals and objectives. We hope that you will reconsider the
legislation in its current form to develop a reasonable
phased-in approach for implementation and that you will
consider adding a funding provision to support state and
local governments, which will be essential partners for
successful implementation.
We look forward to continuing the dialog on this important
initiative. Please feel free to contact our representatives
in Washington should you have any questions or desire further
information.
Michael Belarmino, NACo.
Cornelia Chebinou, NASACT.
Lars Etzkorn, NLC.
Susan Gaffney, GFOA.
Elizabeth Kellar, ICMA.
Scott Pattison, NASBO.
Pam Walker, NASCIO.
____
NGA Opposes Data Act Legislation
Washington.--The National Governors Association (NGA) today
issued the following statement regarding the establishment of
an independent agency in the executive branch to improve
transparency in federal spending and coordinate
investigations to prevent fraud:
``While governors support the need for transparency in
accountability and reporting, they have long opposed unfunded
mandates.
[[Page H2095]]
``The DATA Act (H.R. 2146) builds upon lessons learned by
states in tracking federal funds under the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act. Unfortunately, funding is not provided
for the Act's numerous new requirements.
``Without funding for state compliance, governors cannot
implement the bill and therefore do not support the passage
of the DATA Act. Governors encourage Congress to work with
them to develop a more workable solution that meets the needs
of states.
____
George Mason University, Office of the Vice President,
Research and Economic Development,
Fairfax, VA, April 24, 2012.
Hon. Gerry Connolly,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Connolly: I am writing to you regarding
H.R. 2146, the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
(DATA Act), which is scheduled to be considered on the House
Floor tomorrow. George Mason University very much appreciates
all your efforts to make the necessary changes in the bill so
it would accomplish the goal of more accountability and
transparency in federal spending by enhancing the reporting
requirements of Federal agencies and recipients of federal
funds. We support this goal and also recognize the sincere
efforts of all those involved to meet the concerns of the
various stakeholders. Nevertheless, we continue to oppose the
bill for the following reasons.
The bill requires recipients to report, not less than
quarterly, any transaction, basic location information,
individual Federal awards by agency, the total amount of
funds received and the amount of funds expended or obligated
for an individual award per quarter, subawardees (or prime
awardee depending on status of recipient) and any additional
information requested. Mason has approximately 650 active
awards totaling over $285 million. Mason already reports on
each of these, and to do so on a quarterly basis would
require an additional 2\1/2\ 3 additional FTEs. This is just
the administrative cost to our Office of Sponsored Programs,
not counting the time PIs would have to spend. Since State
funds are dwindling and administrative costs allowed in
indirect costs are capped at 26% the Act will impact our
budget.
It should be noted that the Federal Demonstration
Partnership found that the Recovery Act quarterly reporting
resulted in each award costing an additional $7900 to
administer, for little useful information. Research is about
creating and advancing knowledge and is less prone to
duplication and abuse because researchers generally know
their peers and their published work. We have several other
concerns such as the FAST Commission and the penalties for
non-compliance, but the cost of quarterly reporting is the
most direct.
Again, thank you for all you do on behalf of George Mason
University. I look forward to continuing to work with you.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Kerry D. Bolognese,
Director of Federal Relations.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to
speak on H.R. 2146, the DATA Act. I join all of my colleagues on both
sides of the aisle in supporting greater transparency in Federal grants
and contracts. But the details in how we reach that goal are important.
The bill as reported by the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform would have created an extra level of bureaucracy and duplicative
reporting of financial data in addition to an administrative tax on
scarce Federal research dollars and an unfunded mandate imposed on our
already struggling universities.
Research universities, the economic engines of our Nation, typically
receive research grants from 6 7 Federal agencies, each with its own
financial reporting requirements and data standards. The bill as
introduced would simply have added one more agency, in the form of the
new Commission, to which universities would have to report. This would
have increased the administrative costs on Federal research dollars
without providing any new information about funding to those
institutions.
The amendment being considered today is a big improvement on the
original bill in ensuring that financial reporting of Federal grants
and contracts is standardized and consolidated to reduce the overall
administrative burden on grant recipients such as universities while
providing the increased transparency that is the goal of this bill. I
want to express my appreciation to Chairman Issa and Ranking Member
Cummings for working closely with the university groups to address
these issues.
However, I believe that more work still needs to be done on this bill
to guarantee that financial reporting is fully streamlined and agencies
are required to comply with a consolidated reporting system. I
understand that the transition will be difficult for all involved,
including both the granting agencies and the grant recipients, but I
also believe that a consolidated financial reporting system is good for
the government and good for the taxpayer.
I share with some of my colleagues other concerns that have been
expressed about this bill, but today I speak only in my role as Ranking
Member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. I hope that
Chairman Issa and Ranking Member Cummings will maintain their open
dialogue with the universities and other Federal grant and contract
recipients about the details of this bill as it moves forward. I
believe we all share the goal of increased transparency while keeping
U.S. research dollars directed to ground-breaking research that is the
foundation of our economic growth, rather than to additional paperwork.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2146, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________