[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 61 (Monday, April 28, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H3203-H3207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DIGITAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2014
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 994) to expand the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 to increase accountability and transparency in
Federal spending, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 994
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 2014'' or the ``DATA Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) expand the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) by disclosing
direct Federal agency expenditures and linking Federal
contract, loan, and grant spending information to programs of
Federal agencies to enable taxpayers and policy makers to
track Federal spending more effectively;
(2) establish Government-wide data standards for financial
data and provide consistent, reliable, and searchable
Government-wide spending data that is displayed accurately
for taxpayers and policy makers on USASpending.gov (or a
successor system that displays the data);
(3) simplify reporting for entities receiving Federal funds
by streamlining reporting requirements and reducing
compliance costs while improving transparency;
(4) improve the quality of data submitted to
USASpending.gov by holding Federal agencies accountable for
the completeness and accuracy of the data submitted; and
(5) apply approaches developed by the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board to spending across the
Federal Government.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL FUNDING ACCOUNTABILITY AND
TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of
2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended--
(1) in section 2--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``this section'' and inserting ``this Act'';
(ii) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as
paragraphs (2), (4), and (7), respectively;
(iii) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(1) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget.'';
(iv) by inserting after paragraph (2), as so redesignated,
the following:
``(3) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' has the
meaning given the term `Executive agency' under section 105
of title 5, United States Code.'';
(v) by inserting after paragraph (4), as so redesignated,
the following:
``(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
(vi) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of the Treasury.'';
(B) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (3), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget''; and
(ii) in paragraph (4), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget'';
(C) in subsection (c)--
(i) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(ii) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(iii) 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 ensure that all information published under
this section is available--
``(A) in machine-readable and open formats;
``(B) to be downloaded in bulk; and
``(C) to the extent practicable, for automated
processing.'';
(D) in subsection (d)--
(i) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget'';
(ii) in paragraph (2)--
(I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget''; and
(II) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget'';
(E) in subsection (e), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget''; and
(F) in subsection (g)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget''; and
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget''; and
(2) by striking sections 3 and 4 and inserting the
following:
``SEC. 3. FULL DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2014, and monthly when practicable but not less than
quarterly thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the
Director, shall ensure that the information in subsection (b)
is posted on the website established under section 2.
``(b) Information To Be Posted.--For any funds made
available to or expended by a Federal agency or component of
a Federal agency, the information to be posted shall
include--
``(1) for each appropriations account, including an expired
or unexpired appropriations account, the amount--
``(A) of budget authority appropriated;
``(B) that is obligated;
``(C) of unobligated balances; and
``(D) of any other budgetary resources;
``(2) from which accounts and in what amount--
``(A) appropriations are obligated for each program
activity; and
``(B) outlays are made for each program activity;
``(3) from which accounts and in what amount--
``(A) appropriations are obligated for each object class;
and
``(B) outlays are made for each object class; and
``(4) for each program activity, the amount--
``(A) obligated for each object class; and
``(B) of outlays made for each object class.
``SEC. 4. DATA STANDARDS.
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Establishment of standards.--The Secretary and the
Director, in consultation with the heads of Federal agencies,
shall establish Government-wide financial data standards for
any Federal funds made available to or expended by Federal
agencies and entities receiving Federal funds.
``(2) Data elements.--The financial data standards
established under paragraph (1) shall include common data
elements for financial and payment information required to be
reported by Federal agencies and entities receiving Federal
funds.
``(b) Requirements.--The data standards established under
subsection (a) shall, to the extent reasonable and
practicable--
``(1) incorporate widely accepted common data elements,
such as those developed and maintained by--
``(A) an international voluntary consensus standards body;
``(B) Federal agencies with authority over contracting and
financial assistance; and
``(C) accounting standards organizations;
``(2) incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary,
searchable, platform-independent computer-readable format;
``(3) include unique identifiers for Federal awards and
entities receiving Federal awards that can be consistently
applied Government-wide;
``(4) be consistent with and implement applicable
accounting principles;
``(5) be capable of being continually upgraded as
necessary;
``(6) produce consistent and comparable data, including
across program activities; and
``(7) establish a standard method of conveying the
reporting period, reporting entity, unit of measure, and
other associated attributes.
``(c) Deadlines.--
[[Page H3204]]
``(1) Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
of 2014, the Director and the Secretary shall issue guidance
to Federal agencies on the data standards established under
subsection (a).
``(2) Agencies.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
not later than 2 years after the date on which the guidance
under paragraph (1) is issued, each Federal agency shall
report financial and payment information data in accordance
with the data standards established under subsection (a).
``(B) Noninterference with auditability of department of
defense financial statements.--
``(i) In general.--Upon request by the Secretary of
Defense, the Director may grant an extension of the deadline
under subparagraph (A) to the Department of Defense for a
period of not more than 6 months to report financial and
payment information data in accordance with the data
standards established under subsection (a).
``(ii) Limitation.--The Director may not grant more than 3
extensions to the Secretary of Defense under clause (i).
``(iii) Notification.--The Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall notify the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Armed
Services of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform and the Committee on Armed Services of the
House of Representatives of--
``(I) each grant of an extension under clause (i); and
``(II) the reasons for granting such an extension.
``(3) Website.--Not later than 3 years after the date on
which the guidance under paragraph (1) is issued, the
Director and the Secretary shall ensure that the data
standards established under subsection (a) are applied to the
data made available on the website established under section
2.
``(d) Consultation.--The Director and the Secretary shall
consult with public and private stakeholders in establishing
data standards under this section.
``SEC. 5. SIMPLIFYING FEDERAL AWARD REPORTING.
``(a) In General.--The Director, in consultation with
relevant Federal agencies, recipients of Federal awards,
including State and local governments, and institutions of
higher education (as defined in section 102 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)), shall review the
information required to be reported by recipients of Federal
awards to identify--
``(1) common reporting elements across the Federal
Government;
``(2) unnecessary duplication in financial reporting; and
``(3) unnecessarily burdensome reporting requirements for
recipients of Federal awards.
``(b) Pilot Program.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency
Act of 2014, the Director, or a Federal agency designated by
the Director, shall establish a pilot program (in this
section referred to as the `pilot program') with the
participation of appropriate Federal agencies to facilitate
the development of recommendations for--
``(A) standardized reporting elements across the Federal
Government;
``(B) the elimination of unnecessary duplication in
financial reporting; and
``(C) the reduction of compliance costs for recipients of
Federal awards.
``(2) Requirements.--The pilot program shall--
``(A) include a combination of Federal contracts, grants,
and subawards, the aggregate value of which is not less than
$1,000,000,000 and not more than $2,000,000,000;
``(B) include a diverse group of recipients of Federal
awards; and
``(C) to the extent practicable, include recipients who
receive Federal awards from multiple programs across multiple
agencies.
``(3) Data collection.--The pilot program shall include
data collected during a 12-month reporting cycle.
``(4) Reporting and evaluation requirements.--Each
recipient of a Federal award participating in the pilot
program shall submit to the Office of Management and Budget
or the Federal agency designated under paragraph (1), as
appropriate, any requested reports of the selected Federal
awards.
``(5) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on
the date that is 2 years after the date on which the pilot
program is established.
``(6) Report to congress.--Not later than 90 days after the
date on which the pilot program terminates under paragraph
(5), the Director shall submit to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the
Budget of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform and the Committee on the Budget of the
House of Representatives a report on the pilot program, which
shall include--
``(A) a description of the data collected under the pilot
program, the usefulness of the data provided, and the cost to
collect the data from recipients; and
``(B) a discussion of any legislative action required and
recommendations for--
``(i) consolidating aspects of Federal financial reporting
to reduce the costs to recipients of Federal awards;
``(ii) automating aspects of Federal financial reporting to
increase efficiency and reduce the costs to recipients of
Federal awards;
``(iii) simplifying the reporting requirements for
recipients of Federal awards; and
``(iv) improving financial transparency.
``(7) Government-wide implementation.--Not later than 1
year after the date on which the Director submits the report
under paragraph (6), the Director shall issue guidance to the
heads of Federal agencies as to how the Government-wide
financial data standards established under section 4(a) shall
be applied to the information required to be reported by
entities receiving Federal awards to--
``(A) reduce the burden of complying with reporting
requirements; and
``(B) simplify the reporting process, including by reducing
duplicative reports.
``SEC. 6. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FEDERAL FUNDING.
``(a) Inspector General Reports.--
``(1) In general.--In accordance with paragraph (2), the
Inspector General of each Federal agency, in consultation
with the Comptroller General of the United States, shall--
``(A) review a statistically valid sampling of the spending
data submitted under this Act by the Federal agency; and
``(B) submit to Congress and make publically available a
report assessing the completeness, timeliness, quality, and
accuracy of the data sampled and the implementation and use
of data standards by the Federal agency.
``(2) Deadlines.--
``(A) First report.--Not later than 18 months after the
date on which the Director and the Secretary issue guidance
to Federal agencies under section 4(c)(1), the Inspector
General of each Federal agency shall submit and make
publically available a report as described in paragraph (1).
``(B) Subsequent reports.--On the same date as the
Inspector General of each Federal agency submits the second
and fourth reports under sections 3521(f) and 9105(a)(3) of
title 31, United States Code, that are submitted after the
report under subparagraph (A), the Inspector General shall
submit and make publically available a report as described in
paragraph (1). The report submitted under this subparagraph
may be submitted as a part of the report submitted under
section 3521(f) or 9105(a)(3) of title 31, United States
Code.
``(b) Comptroller General Reports.--
``(1) In general.--In accordance with paragraph (2) and
after a review of the reports submitted under subsection (a),
the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to
Congress and make publically available a report assessing and
comparing the data completeness, timeliness, quality, and
accuracy of the data submitted under this Act by Federal
agencies and the implementation and use of data standards by
Federal agencies.
``(2) Deadlines.--Not later than 30 months after the date
on which the Director and the Secretary issue guidance to
Federal agencies under section 4(c)(1), and every 2 years
thereafter until the date that is 4 years after the date on
which the first report is submitted under this subsection,
the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit and
make publically available a report as described in paragraph
(1).
``(c) Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board Data
Analysis Center.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may establish a data
analysis center or expand an existing service to provide
data, analytic tools, and data management techniques to
support--
``(A) the prevention and reduction of improper payments by
Federal agencies; and
``(B) improving efficiency and transparency in Federal
spending.
``(2) Data availability.--The Secretary shall enter into
memoranda of understanding with Federal agencies, including
Inspectors General and Federal law enforcement agencies--
``(A) under which the Secretary may provide data from the
data analysis center for--
``(i) the purposes set forth under paragraph (1);
``(ii) the identification, prevention, and reduction of
waste, fraud, and abuse relating to Federal spending; and
``(iii) use in the conduct of criminal and other
investigations; and
``(B) which may require the Federal agency, Inspector
General, or Federal law enforcement agency to provide
reimbursement to the Secretary for the reasonable cost of
carrying out the agreement.
``(3) Transfer.--Upon the establishment of a data analysis
center or the expansion of a service under paragraph (1), and
on or before the date on which the Recovery Accountability
and Transparency Board terminates, and in addition to any
other transfer that the Director determines is necessary
under section 1531 of title 31, United States Code, there are
transferred to the Department of the Treasury all assets
identified by the Secretary that support the operations and
activities of the Recovery Operations Center of the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board relating to the
detection of waste, fraud, and abuse in the use of Federal
funds that are in existence on the day before the transfer.
``SEC. 7. CLASSIFIED AND PROTECTED INFORMATION.
``Nothing in this Act shall require the disclosure to the
public of--
``(1) information that would be exempt from disclosure
under section 552 of title 5,
[[Page H3205]]
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. 8. NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.
``Nothing in this Act shall be construed to create a
private right of action for enforcement of any provision of
this Act.''.
SEC. 4. EXECUTIVE AGENCY ACCOUNTING AND OTHER FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT REPORTS AND PLANS.
Section 3512(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by inserting ``and make available on the website
described under section 1122'' after ``appropriate committees
of Congress''.
SEC. 5. DEBT COLLECTION IMPROVEMENT.
Section 3716(c)(6) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``Any Federal agency'';
(2) in subparagraph (A), as so designated, by striking
``180 days'' and inserting ``120 days''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) The Secretary of the Treasury shall notify Congress
of any instance in which an agency fails to notify the
Secretary as required under subparagraph (A).''.
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. 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 CHAIR. 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.
I rise in support of S. 994, the Digital Accountability and
Transparency Act, or DATA Act.
As chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, I
have looked to tackle major problems pervasive in the Federal
Government.
Over the past 4 years, our committee, the majority and the minority,
has taken up and moved several bills designed to reform the Federal
Government.
Majority Leader Cantor has worked with leaders on both sides of the
aisle to take most of those reforms and advance them through the full
House, often on a unanimous basis.
All Members of the House can be proud of the work we have done to
improve the Federal Government. Without a doubt, the most important
transparency reform we have pushed over the last 4 years has been the
DATA Act. The DATA Act is but a first shot of a technological
revolution that will transform the way we govern.
Just 3 weeks ago, the GAO's Comptroller General Gene Dodaro came
before our committee and testified that the status of the Federal data
programs is abysmal. Agencies have no standardized performance metrics
for their programs. Agencies cannot tell us how many programs they
have. But most importantly, agencies do not and usually cannot tell us
how much taxpayer money has been spent on any given program.
The spending information that is provided is often incomplete, out-
of-date, and very often inaccurate. The American people deserve to know
if their taxpayer dollars are being wasted or whether they are being
spent wisely. Even the meager amount of performance information
collected today is useless if it cannot determine how much resources
any given program truly consumes.
This information disadvantages not only Congress, but in fact the
President's administration. Presidential administrations one after
another consist of but a few thousand officials to oversee a workforce
of nearly 2 million people and trillions of dollars.
Regardless of political party affiliation, each Congress and every
President is frustrated by this large, permanent, unaccountable class
of bureaucrats.
{time} 1615
Some scholars have even deemed the permanent bureaucracy as the
``fourth branch'' of the Federal Government.
In order to better oversee the Federal Government, Congress, and even
the President and his appointees, must better leverage the technology
available today. The DATA Act will allow us to do just that.
I introduced the first version of the DATA Act in 2011. Its
inspiration came from a relatively small expense in the Obama
administration's 2009 stimulus spending bill, a bill that I overall did
not approve of but which did have this important accountability
standard.
The stimulus temporarily established an entity called the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board. The Board was chaired by a
respected inspector general, Earl Devaney. Under Chairman Devaney's
leadership, the Board established direct reporting requirements for
stimulus projects and standardized Federal agency reporting. This
allowed inspector generals and other law enforcement agencies to more
effectively prosecute fraud and prevent improper payments.
Furthermore, this information was made available to the public online
in an easy-to-download, easy-to-manipulate format so that journalists,
academics, and government watchdogs could more easily analyze stimulus
spending.
I met with Vice President Joe Biden in November of 2010, prior to
even becoming the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee. Despite possible disagreements on some aspects of the
stimulus, we found ourselves very much in support of the Recovery
Board's successes and knew that it could be replicated across the
entire Federal Government.
I want to thank Vice President Biden for his continued public and
private support for the kinds of reforms embedded in this legislation
today, and particularly for continuing to be a champion of the Recovery
Board's work and the transparency it brought.
In order to do what we agreed to back in 2010, the Federal Government
would need standardized data and reporting by all Federal agencies and
improved recipient reporting. That is the only way that you could
accomplish this, and legislative action was needed.
After months of working with leading experts in the field of
standardized reporting, I introduced in July of 2011 the first version
of the DATA Act, H.R. 2146. Later that year, I joined with Ranking
Member Elijah Cummings to refine the legislation and mark it up through
our committee.
I want to thank Representatives on both sides of the aisle here today
for the bipartisan nature in which we worked on this kind of
transparency work. It is technical. It is sometimes hard. Of course, it
is a pushback from bureaucrats, but it is what Congress is supposed to
do: make the institutional changes that make government more
accountable.
In April 2012 we brought it to the floor on a bipartisan basis and
passed the first version of the DATA Act unanimously. While a companion
version, S. 3600, was introduced by Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and
Senator Rob Portman of Ohio that year, the Senate did not act on either
it or the House-passed bill.
Last year we reintroduced the DATA Act as H.R. 2061 and approved it
unanimously out of our committee. We made significant changes to
streamline the bill, but we maintained the focus on its core elements.
Simultaneously, Senator Warner and Senator Portman introduced a new
Senate companion, S. 994, the bill before us today. The House acted
quickly again and approved H.R. 2061 by a vote of 388-1.
Knowing that the legislative calendar was short, House and Senate
sponsors worked with Senator Carper and Senator Coburn in a
preconference process that ensured the bill would be taken up by the
full Senate and which anticipates our passage here today.
We also were able to bring to the table those reformers in the
administration--both political appointees and career civil servants--to
offer technical improvements to the bill, and they are incorporated in
this legislation.
While the bill does not contain all reforms the House advanced in its
two previous votes on the DATA Act, the bill before us today does
contain the core elements of the two prior versions of the bill and
maintains the most important step: common data standards and recipient
reporting.
[[Page H3206]]
The DATA Act is more than just better tools to fight waste and fraud.
It requires agencies to report their financial information in standard
formats program by program. The DATA Act also gives policymakers in
Congress and in the executive branch better information to make better
decisions. More importantly, we give the American people better
information to evaluate our performance.
In addition to the strong data standards and requirements for
agencies to produce program-by-program information, the House-Senate
agreement contains two key provisions from previous versions of the
DATA Act.
First, the bill authorizes the Treasury Department to establish a
cutting-edge data analysis center modeled specifically after the
successful Recovery Operations Center, also known as the ROC. This is
the center I spoke earlier about that was established by now-retired
but still-distinguished friend of government Earl Devaney as part of
the Recovery Board's stimulus transparency efforts.
This new center will build on the innovative technology and ideas of
the ROC and expand their use throughout the Federal Government. The
DATA Act specifically provides for the transfer of that technology
still in place at the ROC.
This new Treasury Department data analysis center will be a vital
tool for law enforcement agencies and the IGs in their criminal and
other investigations. The new center will also serve agencies who
strive to prevent improper payments.
Second, the DATA Act agreement before you today establishes a pilot
program to develop consolidated reporting for recipients of Federal
funds. And I want to emphasize that, Madam Speaker. Federal recipients,
people who get taxpayer money, will now have a transparent and
consolidated way to send the information as to how they are spending it
so you and the public will know.
Hundreds of billions of Federal taxpayer dollars are spent every year
by State, local, tribal governments, universities, and private
institutions. These institutions end up inevitably wasting millions of
taxpayer dollars complying with duplicative and complicated reporting
requirements.
At the end of a 2-year pilot program where some recipients will
report to a single entity in a standardized manner, the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget will issue guidance to all Federal
agencies on how to streamline and consolidate reporting requirements.
Just like with stimulus funds, the same data standards that apply to
Federal agency reporting will apply to recipient reporting.
The DATA Act will give the American people the ability to track how
we spend their tax dollars. Instead of sifting through PDFs--a form of
visual, nondata-based standard--posted online that only let's you see a
picture of the spending--and many different formats--you now will in
fact have all Federal spending information available for bulk download
in a single, machine-readable format.
That is a big mouthful, Madam Speaker, but what it really means is
that both individuals and entities, large and small, will be able to
create tools where, on your iPhone or Android, you will be able to ask
a question and get back an answer as successfully as the programs that
have previously been made available.
The DATA Act will give lawmakers and public watchdogs powerful tools
to identify and root out fraud, waste, and excess spending in the
government. It will put at the American people's fingertips today the
kind of information that only long and arduous research could unveil.
More importantly, by simply opening up this information, we will
enable journalists, academics, and even private sector businesses to
use the data to create products that will deliver real value to the
American people.
This is just one example:
The National Weather Service some years ago did just what we are
proposing by opening up their data, making it freely available to the
public some years ago. Today it supports a multibillion-dollar weather
analysis industry, and every American with a smartphone or a computer
can find out what the weather is and what it is forecasted to be at any
location in America. That wouldn't be possible without that open data
standard.
I am very proud that it was a start, but there is more to do.
The DATA Act will have the same ability to create jobs, which is why
this bill is so important. It is endorsed by dozens of private sector
technology companies.
New York University Business School Professor Joel Gurin wrote in a
recent book that ``the value of government open data is that it's a
long-term, permanent resource that innovators can use for decades,
developing new ideas and new companies as technology makes them
possible.''
That is a mouthful, but it says what we need to say, which is that
this is going to create new industries that are able to leverage the
information that today is not available to the American people and not
available to the innovators in Silicon Valley and around America.
I ask that my colleagues join with me today in sending this bill to
the President for his signature, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am pleased to rise in support of S. 994, the DATA Act. This is a
landmark piece of bipartisan and bicameral legislation that will change
the way the government operates.
I applaud the sponsor of S. 994, Senator Mark Warner, who put a lot
of passion and hard work into this legislation; as did the principal
sponsor here, whom you have just heard from, House Oversight Committee
Chairman Darrell Issa, who put considerable energy into this bill over
more than one session; as well as Senate Chairman Tom Carper of the
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; and House
Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings, who worked very
diligently to get us to the House floor today.
The DATA Act will provide the public with information about how the
government is spending money, pure and simple. This will hold agencies
accountable for their spending, and it will result in a more effective
government.
On April 8, 2014, the Comptroller General of the United States, Gene
Dodaro, testified in support of this legislation. Here is what he said:
``I think the DATA Act is one of the biggest single things that could
be done in order to provide more transparency on the costs of these
program activities.''
The Comptroller General went on to say that the DATA Act would
``standardize the data''--and that is the operative word, ``standardize
the data''--``so that you would be able to compare data across
agencies, which you can't do right now. It would also provide more
consistent information and at a lower program spending level that we
found to be a big obstacle in us identifying additional savings
opportunities.''
The DATA Act will require the Secretary of the Treasury and the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish
government-wide data standards. This will improve the quality of the
data that agencies make available about their spending.
Under this bill, spending data will be available through a single Web
site. The bill will require that spending data be available for each
agency and each program activity in a searchable, downloadable format.
The DATA Act is a bipartisan bill across both Chambers that will
improve transparency and, in turn, make government work better. I urge
every Member to support this legislation.
{time} 1630
I would like, again, to express my strong support for this bill and
to thank Chairman Issa for his many efforts to get it passed and
through committee more than once.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, in closing, this last weekend, the
Associated Press talked about the waning days of this Congress and
expected to have a do-nothing Congress.
That is easy to say, but in this case, today, we are showing, on a
bipartisan, bicameral basis, with our friends in the Senate, that there
are major pieces of legislation that will save countless billions of
dollars and provide better information to the American people and
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to the watchdogs who want to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in our
government.
So this is not a controversial bill because it has taken years of
hard work to get it right. But, in fact, this is a major piece of
legislation.
I want to close by thanking Senator Carper, Senator Coburn, Senator
Portman, and Senator Warner, the author of the bill today, in addition
to Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, and of course, my ranking member,
Congressman Cummings.
This has been bipartisan. It is one of the many pieces of bipartisan
legislation that take a long time, they hold a lot of hearings, but at
the end of the day, the American people can trust that the American
people's work does get done, in spite of some of the things we are
unable to do. This is a major piece of legislation.
I want to thank, lastly, leadership for bringing this to the floor
today in a timely fashion so that we can get it to the President's desk
for signing next week.
Madam Speaker, I urge support and yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Black). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 994.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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