[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 164 (Monday, November 18, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H7157-H7162]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DIGITAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2013
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 2061) to expand the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 to increase 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. 2061
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Digital
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Amendments to the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006.
Sec. 4. Pilot program to evaluate consolidated recipient reporting.
Sec. 5. Classified and protected information.
Sec. 6. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 amendments.
Sec. 7. Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 amendments.
Sec. 8. Executive agency accounting and other financial management
reports and plans.
Sec. 9. Limits and transparency for conference and travel spending.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) expand the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 by disclosing direct Federal agency
expenditures and linking Federal contract, loan, and grant
spending information to programs of Federal agencies in order
to enable taxpayers and policy makers to track Federal
spending more effectively;
(2) provide consistent, reliable, and searchable
Government-wide spending data that is displayed accurately
for taxpayers and policy makers on USASpending.gov;
(3) analyze Federal spending data to proactively prevent
waste, fraud, abuse, and improper payments;
(4) simplify reporting for entities receiving Federal funds
by streamlining reporting requirements and reducing
compliance costs while improving transparency; and
(5) improve the quality of data submitted to
USASpending.gov by holding Federal agencies accountable for
the completeness and accuracy of the data submitted.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL FUNDING ACCOUNTABILITY AND
TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006.
Section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``FULL DISCLOSURE
OF ENTITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FUNDING'' and inserting
``DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL FUNDING'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs
(3) and (7), respectively;
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph (2):
``(2) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' has the
meaning given the term `Executive agency' under section 105
of title 5, United States Code.'';
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3), as redesignated by
subparagraph (A), the following new paragraphs:
[[Page H7158]]
``(4) Federal funds.--The term `Federal funds' means any
funds that are made available to or expended by a Federal
agency.
``(5) Object class.--The term `object class' means the
category assigned for purposes of the annual budget of the
President submitted under section 1105(a) of title 31, United
States Code, to the type of property or services purchased by
the Federal Government.
``(6) Program activity.--The term `program activity' has
the meaning given that term under section 1115(h) of title
31, United States Code.''; and
(D) in paragraph (7), as redesignated by subparagraph (A)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``paragraph
(2)(A)(i)'' and inserting ``paragraph (3)(A)(i)''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``paragraph
(2)(A)(ii)'' and inserting ``paragraph (3)(A)(ii)'';
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``the Office of Management and Budget'' and
inserting ``the Secretary of the Treasury'' each place it
appears;
(ii) in subparagraph (F)--
(I) in clause (i), by redesignating subclauses (I) and (II)
as items (aa) and (bb), respectively;
(II) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses
(I) and (II); and
(III) by striking the period at the end of subclause (II)
as so redesignated and inserting ``; and'';
(iii) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (G) as
clauses (i) through (vii), respectively, and adjusting the
margin accordingly;
(iv) by striking ``for each Federal award--'' and inserting
the following: ``for all Federal funds--
``(A) for each Federal agency, component of a Federal
agency, appropriations account, program activity, and object
class (including any subcomponent of an object class), and
other accounts or data as appropriate--
``(i) the amount of budget authority available;
``(ii) the amount obligated;
``(iii) the amount of outlays;
``(iv) the amount of any Federal funds reprogrammed or
transferred; and
``(v) the amount of expired and unexpired unobligated
balances; and
``(B) for each Federal award--''; and
(v) in subparagraph (B)(iii), as so designated by this
subparagraph, by inserting ``, which shall be assigned a
unique identifier,'' after ``information on the award'';
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) by striking ``The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget'' and inserting ``The Secretary of the Treasury'';
and
(ii) by striking ``the Director'' and inserting ``the
Secretary'';
(C) in paragraph (4)--
(i) by striking ``the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget'' and inserting ``the Secretary of the Treasury'';
and
(ii) by striking ``the Director'' and inserting ``the
Secretary'', each place it appears; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Application of data standards.--The Secretary of the
Treasury shall apply the data standards established under
subsection (e) to all data collection, data dissemination,
and data publication required under this section.
``(6) Data feed to recovery accountability and transparency
board.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide the data
described in paragraph (1) to the Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board so that it can be included in the Recovery
Operations Center described in subsection (h).'';
(4) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``and Grants.gov'' and inserting ``Grants.gov, the Payment
Automation Manager and Financial Information Repository and
other data or databases from the Department of the Treasury,
the MAX Information System of the Office of Management and
Budget, and other data from Federal agencies collected and
identified by the Office of Management and Budget'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) specify such search shall be confined to Federal
funds;'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``the Payment Automation
Manager and Financial Information Repository and other data
or databases from the Department of the Treasury, the MAX
Information System of the Office of Management and Budget,
other data from Federal agencies collected and identified by
the Office of Management and Budget,'' after ``Grants.gov
website,'';
(C) in paragraph (4)--
(i) by striking ``shall be updated not later'' and
inserting the following: ``shall be updated--
``(A) not later''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) not less than once each quarter with information
relating to Federal funds;'';
(D) in paragraph (5)--
(i) by inserting ``Federal funds and'' before ``Federal
awards'' the first place it appears;
(ii) by striking ``subsection (a)(2)(A)(i) and those
described in subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii)'' and inserting
``subsection (a)(3)(A)(i) and those described in subsection
(a)(3)(A)(ii)''; and
(iii) by striking the period at the end and inserting a
semicolon; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) shall have the ability to aggregate data for the
categories described in paragraphs (1) through (5) without
double-counting data; and
``(7) shall permit all information published under this
section to be downloaded in bulk.'';
(5) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and (g) as
subsections (i), (j), and (k), respectively; and
(6) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new
subsections:
``(e) Department of the Treasury Requirements for Data
Standards.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, the Administrator of General Services, and the
heads of Federal agencies, shall establish Government-wide
financial data standards for Federal funds, which shall--
``(A) include common data elements, such as codes, unique
award identifiers, and fields, for financial and payment
information required to be reported by Federal agencies and
entities receiving Federal funds, including identifiers for
Federal awards and entities receiving Federal awards;
``(B) to the extent reasonable and practicable, ensure
interoperability and incorporate--
``(i) 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;
``(ii) common data elements developed and maintained by
Federal agencies with authority over contracting and
financial assistance, such as the Federal Acquisition
Regulatory Council; and
``(iii) common data elements developed and maintained by
accounting standards organizations; and
``(C) include data reporting standards that--
``(i) incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary,
searchable, platform-independent computer-readable format;
``(ii) are consistent with and implement applicable
accounting principles;
``(iii) are capable of being continually upgraded as
necessary;
``(iv) are structured to specifically support the reporting
of financial and performance-related data, such as that any
data produced, regardless of reporting need or software used
for creation or consumption, is consistent and comparable
across reporting situations;
``(v) establish, for each data point, a standard method of
conveying the reporting period, reporting entity, unit of
measure, and other associated attributes; and
``(vi) incorporate nonproprietary standards in effect on
the date of enactment of the Digital Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2013.
``(2) Deadlines.--
``(A) Guidance.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, shall issue guidance on the data standards
established under paragraph (1) to Federal agencies not later
than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Digital
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013.
``(B) Website.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the guidance under clause (i) is issued, the Secretary
of the Treasury shall ensure that the website required under
this section makes data publicly available in accordance with
the data standards established under paragraph (1).
``(C) Agencies.--Not later than 180 days after the date on
which the guidance under subparagraph (A) is issued, each
Federal agency shall collect, report, and maintain data in
accordance with the data standards established under
paragraph (1).
``(3) Consultation.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall
consult with public and private stakeholders in establishing
data standards under this subsection.
``(f) Consolidated Recipient Financial Reports.--The
Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall--
``(1) review the financial reporting required by Federal
agencies for Federal award recipients to consolidate
financial reporting and reduce duplicative financial
reporting and compliance costs for recipients;
``(2) request input from Federal award recipients to reduce
duplicative financial reporting, especially from State and
local governments and institutions of higher education;
``(3) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013,
provide guidance to the heads of Federal agencies regarding
how to simplify the reporting requirements for Federal award
recipients to consolidate financial reporting, reduce
duplicative reporting, and reduce compliance costs, as
appropriate; and
``(4) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment
of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013,
submit to Congress a report regarding any legislative action
required to consolidate, streamline, or reduce the cost of
reporting requirements for Federal award recipients.
``(g) Accountability for Federal Funding.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2013, and every 2 years thereafter until the
[[Page H7159]]
date that is 6 years after such date of enactment, the
Inspector General of each Federal agency, in consultation
with the Comptroller General of the United States, shall
review a sampling of the data submitted under this Act by the
agency, and shall submit to Congress and make publicly
available a report on the completeness, timeliness, quality,
and accuracy of the data sampled and the implementation and
use of consistent data standards by the Federal agency.
``(2) Comptroller general.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2013, and every 2 years thereafter until the date that is
6 years after such date of enactment, and after review of the
reports submitted under paragraph (1), the Comptroller
General of the United States shall submit to Congress and
make publicly available a report on the completeness,
timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data submitted under
this Act by each Federal agency and the implementation and
use of consistent data standards by each Federal agency.
``(B) Ranking.--The Comptroller General of the United
States shall make available a ranking of Federal agencies
regarding data quality, accuracy, and compliance with this
Act.
``(h) Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.--
``(1) Resources and mechanisms.--The Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board shall develop and test
information technology resources and oversight mechanisms to
enhance the transparency of and detect and remediate waste,
fraud, and abuse in Federal spending for Inspectors General.
``(2) Website.--The Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board shall maintain a website informing the
public of its activities to identify waste, fraud, and abuse
and increase transparency of Federal funds to provide support
for Inspectors General.
``(3) Recovery operations center.--The Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board shall establish and
maintain a Recovery Operations Center as a government-wide
Internet-based data access system to carry out the functions
described in paragraph (4).
``(4) Functions of the recovery operations center.--The
functions referred to in paragraph (3) are the following:
``(A) In general.--The Recovery Operations Center shall
incorporate--
``(i) all information described in subsection (b)(1);
``(ii) other information maintained by Federal, State,
local, and foreign government agencies; and
``(iii) other commercially and publicly available
information.
``(B) Specific functions.--The Recovery Operations Center
shall be designed and operated to carry out the following
functions:
``(i) Combine information described in subsection (b)(1)
with other compilations of information, including those
listed in subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Permit agencies, in accordance with applicable law,
to detect and remediate waste, fraud, and abuse.''.
SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM TO EVALUATE CONSOLIDATED RECIPIENT
REPORTING.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board, in consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury and the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, shall establish a pilot program relating to reporting
by recipients of Federal funds (in this section referred to
as the ``pilot program'') for the purpose of increasing
financial transparency to--
(1) display the full cycle of Federal funds;
(2) improve the accuracy of Federal financial data; and
(3) develop recommendations for reducing reporting required
of recipients of Federal funds by consolidating and
automating financial reporting requirements across the
Federal Government.
(b) Requirements.--The pilot program shall--
(1) include a combination of recipients of Federal
contracts, grants, and subawards, the aggregate value of
which is not less than $1,000,000,000;
(2) include a diverse group of recipients of Federal
awards; and
(3) to the extent practicable, include recipients that
receive Federal awards from multiple programs across multiple
agencies.
(c) Reporting and Evaluation Requirements.--Each recipient
of Federal funds participating in the pilot program shall
submit to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
reports on the finances of the selected Federal awards.
(d) Publication of Information.--All the information
collected by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency
Board under the pilot program shall be made publicly
available and searchable on the website established under
section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).
(e) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the
date that is 3 years after the date on which the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board establishes the pilot
program.
(f) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which
the pilot program terminates under subsection (e), the
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board shall submit
to the Office of Management and Budget, the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House
of Representatives a report on the pilot program, which shall
include--
(1) a description of financial data collected under the
pilot program, the accuracy of the data provided, and the
cost to collect the data from recipients; and
(2) recommendations for--
(A) consolidating some or all aspects of Federal financial
reporting to reduce the costs to recipients of Federal funds;
(B) automating some or all aspects of Federal financial
reporting to increase efficiency and reduce the costs to
recipients of Federal funds; and
(C) improving financial transparency.
(g) Government-wide Implementation.--Not later than 90 days
after the date on which the Office of Management and Budget
receives the report required by subsection (f), the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine
whether to authorize the Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board to extend the recipient reporting
requirements of the pilot program to all Federal funds. The
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board shall begin
requiring Government-wide recipient reporting at the start of
the fiscal year that commences after the fiscal year during
which such authorization is granted, and under such terms and
conditions that the Board shall determine, in consultation
with the Director.
SEC. 5. CLASSIFIED AND PROTECTED INFORMATION.
Section 3 of the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended to
read as follows:
``SEC. 3. CLASSIFIED AND PROTECTED INFORMATION.
``Nothing in this Act shall require the disclosure to the
public or to any person without an identifiable need to
know--
``(1) information protected under section 552 of title 5,
United States Code (commonly known as the `Freedom of
Information Act'); or
``(2) information protected under section 552a of title 5,
United States Code (commonly known as the `Privacy Act of
1974'), or section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.''.
SEC. 6. AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009
AMENDMENTS.
Division A of Public Law 111-5 is amended--
(1) in section 1501 of title XV, by striking paragraph (4)
and inserting the following:
``(4) Covered funds.--The term `covered funds'--
``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), means any
funds that are expended or obligated from appropriations made
under this Act; and
``(B) for purposes of sections 1522 and 1524, means funds
that are expended or obligated by an agency from
appropriations made under this or any other Act.'';
(2) in section 1512 of title XV, by adding at the end the
following:
``(i) Expiration.--The requirements in this section shall
expire on December 30, 2013.'';
(3) in section 1523 of title XV, by adding at the end the
following:
``(d) Expiration.--The requirements in this section shall
expire on December 30, 2013.'';
(4) in section 1526 of title XV, by adding at the end the
following:
``(e) Expiration.--The requirements in this section shall
expire on December 30, 2013.''; and
(5) in section 1530 of title XV, by striking ``September
30, 2013.'' and inserting ``September 30, 2017.''.
SEC. 7. DISASTER RELIEF APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2013
AMENDMENTS.
Division A of Public Law 113-2 is amended in section
904(d)--
(1) by striking ``for purposes related to the impact of
Hurricane Sandy'';
(2) by striking ``related to the impact of Hurricane
Sandy'' after ``receiving appropriations''; and
(3) by striking ``related to funds appropriated for the
impact of Hurricane Sandy'' after ``on its activities''.
SEC. 8. EXECUTIVE AGENCY ACCOUNTING AND OTHER FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT REPORTS AND PLANS.
Section 3512(a) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``and make available on
the website described under section 1122 of this title''
after ``appropriate committees of the Congress'';
(2) in paragraph (3)(B)(vi), by inserting ``, system
development, financial management workforce development,
related risk assessment and mitigation for the Federal
Government as a whole, related risk assessment and mitigation
for executive agencies, development of capacity to prevent
and detect fraud,'' after ``equipment acquisitions''; and
(3) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013, and
every 90 days thereafter, the Director shall make available
on the website described under section 1122 of this title a
report regarding--
``(i) specific goals for the most recent full fiscal year,
the fiscal year during which the report is submitted, and the
fiscal year following the year during which the report is
submitted that are necessary steps toward
[[Page H7160]]
implementing the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) fully and in
an effective, efficient, and accurate manner; and
``(ii) the status and progress achieved toward each goal
described in clause (i), including any changes to the cost,
schedule, or performance baselines of achieving each goal,
using earned value management where appropriate.''.
SEC. 9. LIMITS AND TRANSPARENCY FOR CONFERENCE AND TRAVEL
SPENDING.
(a) Amendment.--Chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code,
is amended by inserting after section 5711 the following:
``Sec. 5712. Limits and transparency for conference and
travel spending
``(a) Conference Transparency and Spending Limits.--
``(1) Public availability of conference materials.--Each
agency shall post on the public website of that agency
detailed information on any presentation made by any employee
of that agency at a conference (except to the extent the head
of an agency excludes such information for reasons of
national security or information described under section
552(b)) including--
``(A) the prepared text of any verbal presentation made;
and
``(B) any visual, digital, video, or audio materials
presented, including photographs, slides, and audio-visual
recordings.
``(2) Limits on amount expended on a conference.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided under subparagraph
(B), an agency may not expend more than $500,000 to support a
single conference.
``(B) Exception.--The head of an agency may waive the
limitation under subparagraph (A) for a specific conference
after making a determination that the expenditure is
justified as the most cost-effective option to achieve a
compelling purpose. The head of an agency shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on any waiver
granted under this subparagraph, including the justification
for such waiver.
``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed to preclude an agency from receiving
financial support or other assistance from a private entity
to pay or defray the costs of a conference the total cost of
which exceeds $500,000.
``(b) International Conference Rule.--An agency may not pay
the travel expenses for more than 50 employees of that agency
who are stationed in the United States, for any international
conference, unless the Secretary of State determines that
attendance for such employees is in the national interest, or
the head of the agency determines that attendance for such
employees is critical to the agency's mission. The Secretary
of State and the head of an agency shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on any waiver
granted under this subsection, including the justification
for such waiver.
``(c) Reporting on Travel and Conference Expenses
Required.--At the beginning of each quarter of each fiscal
year, each agency shall post on the public website of that
agency a report on each conference that costs more than
$10,000 for which the agency paid travel expenses during the
preceding 3 months that includes--
``(1) the itemized expenses paid by the agency, including
travel, lodging, and meal expenses, and any other agency
expenditures to otherwise support the conference;
``(2) the primary sponsor of the conference;
``(3) the location of the conference;
``(4) the date of the conference;
``(5) a brief explanation of how the participation of
employees from such agency at the conference advanced the
mission of the agency;
``(6) the title of any employee, or any individual who is
not a Federal employee, whose travel expenses or other
conference expenses were paid by the agency;
``(7) the total number of individuals whose travel expenses
or other conference expenses were paid by the agency; and
``(8) in the case of a conference for which that agency was
the primary sponsor, a statement that--
``(A) describes the cost to the agency of selecting the
specific conference venue;
``(B) describes why the location was selected, including a
justification for such selection;
``(C) demonstrates the cost efficiency of the location;
``(D) provides a cost benefit analysis of holding a
conference rather than conducting a teleconference; and
``(E) describes any financial support or other assistance
from a private entity used to pay or defray the costs of the
conference, and for each case where such support or
assistance was used, the head of the agency shall include a
certification that there is no conflict of interest resulting
from such support or assistance.
``(d) Format and Publication of Reports.--Each report
posted on the public website under subsection (c) shall--
``(1) be in a searchable electronic format; and
``(2) remain on that website for at least 5 years after the
date of posting.
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Agency.--The term `agency' has the meaning given that
term under section 5701, but does not include the government
of the District of Columbia.
``(2) Conference.--The term `conference' means a meeting,
retreat, seminar, symposium, or event that--
``(A) is held for consultation, education, discussion, or
training; and
``(B) is not held entirely at a Government facility.
``(3) International conference.--The term `international
conference' means a conference occurring outside the United
States attended by representatives of--
``(A) the Government of the United States; and
``(B) any foreign government, international organization,
or foreign nongovernmental organization.''.
(b) 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. Limits and transparency for conference and travel spending.''.
(c) Annual Travel Expense Limits.--
(1) In general.--In the case of each of fiscal years 2014
through 2018, an agency (as defined under section 5712(e) of
title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)) may
not make, or obligate to make, expenditures for travel
expenses, in an aggregate amount greater than 70 percent of
the aggregate amount of such expenses for fiscal year 2010.
(2) Exemptions.--The agency may exclude certain travel
expenses from the limitation under paragraph (1) only if the
agency head determines that inclusion of such expenses would
undermine national security, international diplomacy, health
and safety inspections, law enforcement, or site visits
required for oversight or investigatory purposes.
(3) Report to congress.--In each of fiscal years 2014
through 2018, the head of each agency shall submit 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 a report containing--
(A) the justification for any expenses excluded (under
paragraph (2)) from the limitation under paragraph (1); and
(B) the positive or negative impacts, if any, of the
limitation under paragraph (1) on the agency's mission, cost-
effectiveness, efficiency, and ability to perform core
functions.
(4) Identification of travel expenses.--
(A) Responsibilities.--Not later than January 1, 2014, 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 determined by the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, in consultation with the Administrator of General
Services and the Director of the Administrative Office of the
United States Courts.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Issa) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material 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. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, substantially the same bill was passed in the previous
Congress. The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, or the DATA
Act, is an important piece of legislation in that it will create the
opportunity for government to be more efficient, more effective, and
more transparent.
The American people deserve real accountability in how the taxpayer
dollars are spent, now more than ever. It is unacceptable for Federal
spending on data currently to be so inaccurate, unpredictable,
inconsistent, and, quite frankly, expensive.
Nobody can follow the money at the Federal level these days, in spite
of the fact that we spend over $82 billion on IT. Political gain is
often had or lost every time a major program funding proves to lead to
a dead end. Whether it is a billion-dollar program for the Department
of Defense or, now, the
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most current challenge, the one faced in healthcare.gov, it is often
easy to point fingers.
But, Mr. Speaker, if we are going to handle large data in a way in
which we get predictable success rather than inevitable failure, we
have to start by demanding that data be structured from the day it is
created and formatted in a way that makes it capable of search,
aggregating, downloading in bulk, and manipulating, both for the
benefit of insiders trying to find accountability and outsiders
legitimately exercising their right to know how government is spending
their money.
The DATA Act will contain a pilot to examine ways to consolidate and
streamline reporting requirements. This will decrease the burden of
Federal financial reporting for agencies and for States, school
systems, and other recipients of Federal dollars.
We found, during the Recovery Act, that the Recovery Board, using
DATA Act-type transparency, was able to find huge amounts of waste,
fraud, and abuse and do it in a transparent way in real-time because
they required recipient reporting.
Recipient reporting, in a perfect world, would already have taken
place; but we recognize that consolidating and improving the way in
which data is compiled needs to come first. Therefore, between the
pilot in this bill and, in fact, the requirement that we begin
structuring data the way the SEC and other agencies have will, in fact,
make this legislation a money saver for the Federal Government.
The DATA Act is bipartisan and bicameral and widely supported. A
companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senator Warner
and Senator Portman. Their legislation is substantially similar and
will be easily made into a consolidated bill, one the American people
can have confidence in, was thought of over multiple Congresses, well
vetted, and, in fact, assure the American people that we will not make,
in the next Congress and in Congresses beyond, some of the mistakes
that have been made in the past.
With that, I ask for early consideration of this version of the act
and would note that we passed out of our committee unanimously, and by
voice, not just in our committee, but in the last Congress, a bill
substantially similar.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 2061, the DATA Act, and I am
pleased to work with the chairman as we continue to reconcile this bill
with the Senate bill.
The DATA Act will provide the public with information about how the
government is spending its money. This will hold agencies accountable
for their spending, and it will result in a more effective and
efficient government.
The President emphasized the importance of access to data when he
issued an executive order on May 9, 2013, that requires government
information to be released in ways that make it easy to find and use.
The DATA Act would require government spending data to meet those same
requirements through data standards issued by the Office of Management
and Budget.
The bill also requires that spending data be available through a
single Web site.
H.R. 2061 authorizes, in addition, the Recovery Act Board through the
year 2017, and requires the Recovery Board to conduct a pilot project
involving direct reporting of spending information from recipients of
Federal money.
There are a couple of issues that I hope will be resolved as the bill
moves forward to the Senate. During the committee markup of this bill,
Ranking Member Elijah Cummings requested that the bill be amended to
address two specific concerns.
One of those concerns was the need to ensure that stakeholders have
an opportunity to provide feedback before OMB decides whether to extend
the pilot project on recipient reporting.
The other issue was the need to ensure that OMB has the option to
extend all the requirements under the pilot project, or just some of
the requirements, if the Director determines that is the best course.
Just as the chairman led H.R. 2061 through our committee on a
bipartisan basis, I am hopeful that Chairman Issa will work on the same
basis to address these outstanding issues.
This, however, is a good bill, Mr. Speaker; and I urge my colleagues
to support this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the leader of the House, and a
supporter of big data reform.
Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California. I
want to thank him, as well as the gentlelady from the District of
Columbia, for their work on the DATA Act.
Mr. Speaker, I do rise today in support of the Digital Accountability
and Transparency Act. The American people deserve a functioning
government that is both open and accountable. The DATA Act is an
important step to achieving this goal because it will publish Federal
spending data and transform it from disconnected documents into open,
searchable data for people to see and read through online.
This easily accessible data will create an abundant amount of
resources and opportunities for innovation to occur. It will bring
about new start-ups and innovators, all of which will be aimed toward
turning this data into actionable information.
This information can then be used to help solve some of our Nation's
most pressing problems and help all of us better determine where we can
better eliminate waste.
Over the last year, Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of visiting a
civic start-up called Code for America in California. It is an
organization that is committed to helping solve problems, primarily at
the local level.
It has a long list of programmers and developers who are ready to
take action across the country. They want to use their skills and apply
those skills to help government and its citizens be more efficient. But
they, first, need to know, when they go into a locality, whether the
kind of information they need is going to be accessible.
We can begin to do that today here at the Federal level. With the
passage of the DATA Act, we will be one step closer to the American
people being able to hold government bureaucracies accountable. Plain
and simple, Federal spending data will be easier to access under this
bill.
Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the
rollout of ObamaCare over the last month. And beyond the core problem
of the law's causing the cancelation of individuals' insurance, beyond
the core problem of the law's causing the increase in costs to millions
of Americans for their health care, one of the more frustrating issues
is a lack of transparency on the part of government bureaucracy.
We just cannot tell what the information is right now. How many
people have really signed up for ObamaCare?
We don't know whether it is people who have purchased plans on the
healthcare.gov site, or whether it is people who have just put them
into their shopping carts. Again, very, very frustrating, not only for
folks around the country, but for those of us who want to try and help
the situation so that government is not cramming down on anyone its
prescribed method of health care coverage.
So the DATA Act is an opportunity for both parties to come together
and to demonstrate that we are serious about creating a more open and
effective government and about holding government accountable. Let's
pass this bill so we can begin to restore trust with the American
people.
Again, I want to thank the gentleman from California, Chairman
Darrell Issa, as well as the gentlelady from the District of Columbia,
for their work on this bill, the other members of the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee for their hard work; and I urge my
colleagues to support the bill.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume in
closing.
I want to thank the gentlelady from the District of Columbia, and
particularly note that this has been one of those shining, shining
examples of bipartisan behavior by the committee and, I suspect, the
entire Congress.
I might note that earlier this month the Senate Homeland Security and
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Government Affairs Committee voted unanimously to pass the Senate
version of this act, so upon our passage, we will very shortly be in an
opportunity to begin making these kinds of changes, and I look forward
to that. I look forward to this kind of legislation in the future.
I urge all Members to vote positively on this fundamental reform, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by
thanking Chairman Issa and Ranking Member Cummings for working with the
university community to address a number of their concerns with
specific provisions of H.R. 2061. I understand that the universities
are still seeking some improvements to the legislation in order to
ensure a transparent, fair, and effective process for improving the
collection of data on federal funding, including of research grants to
universities. I hope that the Chairman and Ranking Member will continue
to work with the universities as this bill moves forward.
What concerns me most about this legislation is the sudden inclusion
of major portions of H.R. 313 in this otherwise unrelated bill. I
expressed my concerns about H.R. 313 when it was under consideration
earlier this year, and these concerns remain in place today. I think we
can all agree that federal agencies need to be wise and judicious in
their use of travel funds, and that highly publicized past abuses,
while very much the exception, were a wake-up call for us to exercise
stricter oversight of taxpayer dollars. The Administration itself,
through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has also sought to
curb these abuses by instituting new travel caps and new reporting
requirements on all agency travel and I applaud them for taking this
seriously.
However, the scientific community, which includes tens of thousands
of federal scientists and engineers at agencies such as the Department
of Energy and NASA, depend on face-to-face interaction through
conferences and workshops to foster innovation and launch new
scientific directions. The scientific community, therefore, is
rightfully concerned about the unintended consequences of travel
restrictions stifling innovation and stunting economic growth by
preventing federal scientists from participating fully in scientific
exchanges with their fellow scientists and engineers from across the
country and the world.
Once again, I want to thank Chairman Issa for taking into
consideration some of the concerns expressed by the agencies and the
scientific community regarding the travel restrictions in H.R. 313 that
have now been incorporated into H.R. 2061. However, this legislation
still requires significant improvement. While OMB requires all agencies
to publicly report on conference expenses in excess of $100,000, H.R.
2061 would require even more detailed reporting for an agency sending
even a single employee to a conference for which the conference's total
cost--which may or may not be borne by taxpayer dollars--exceeds
$10,000. In other words, while the intent may have been otherwise, the
language as written would not create any reasonable threshold for
agency reporting. Are we really going to pay agency staff to post an
explanation of how the participation of an employee advanced the
mission of the agency for every $30 roundtrip train ticket to a large
meeting or workshop? It seems to me that in any given fiscal year, the
cost of the additional bureaucratic resources necessary to meet this
requirement will exceed the actual expenses incurred.
I also remain concerned about what I see as arbitrary limits on the
number of agency employees who may participate in large, international,
scientific conferences and on the total amount an agency may spend not
just next year, but through fiscal year 2018. I hope that, if this bill
should continue to move forward, my colleagues on the other side of the
aisle will work with our colleagues in the other body to continue to
perfect this bill. As the Ranking Member of the Committee on Science,
Space, and Technology, I stand by to assist in whatever way I can to
ensure that we do not implement new regulations with unintended
negative consequences for the progress of U.S. health, science, and
innovation.
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. 2061, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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