[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 188 (Thursday, November 29, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9722-H9723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT INFORMATION DATABASE ACT OF 2018
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 6777) to amend chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, to
require the publication of settlement agreements, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6777
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 ``Settlement Agreement
Information Database Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. INFORMATION REGARDING SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS ENTERED
INTO BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.
(a) Requirements for Settlement Agreements.--Chapter 3 of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
``Sec. 307. Information regarding settlement agreements
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Local government.--The term `local government' has
the meaning given that term in section 6501 of title 31.
``(2) Order type.--The term `order type' means the type of
action or instrument used to settle a civil or criminal
judicial action.
``(3) Settlement agreement.--The term `settlement
agreement' means a settlement agreement (including a consent
decree) that--
``(A) is entered into by an Executive agency; and
``(B) relates to an alleged violation of Federal civil or
criminal law.
``(4) State.--The term `State' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, each territory or
possession of the United States, and each federally
recognized Indian Tribe.
``(b) Settlement Agreement Information Database.--
``(1) Executive agency requirement.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the head of
each Executive agency shall, in accordance with guidance
issued pursuant to paragraph (2), submit the following
information to the database established under paragraph (3):
``(i) A list of each settlement agreement, in a categorized
and searchable format, entered into by the Executive agency,
as a party to a lawsuit, which shall include, for each
settlement agreement--
``(I) the order type of the settlement agreement;
``(II) the date on which the parties entered into the
settlement agreement;
``(III) a list of specific violations that specify the
basis for the action taken, with a description of the claims
each party settled under the settlement agreement;
``(IV) the amount of attorneys' fees and other litigation
costs awarded, if any, including a description of the
statutory basis for such an award;
``(V) the amount each party settling a claim under the
settlement agreement is obligated to pay under the settlement
agreement;
``(VI) the total amount the settling parties are obligated
to pay under the settlement agreement;
``(VII) the amount, if any, the settling party is obligated
to pay that is expressly specified under the settlement
agreement as a civil or criminal penalty or fine;
``(VIII) any payment made under the settlement agreement,
including a description of any payment made to the Federal
Government;
``(IX) the projected duration of the settlement agreement,
if available;
``(X) a list of State or local governments that may be
directly affected by the terms of the settlement agreement;
``(XI) a brief description of any economic data and
methodology used to justify the terms of the settlement
agreement;
``(XII) any modifications to the settlement agreement, when
applicable;
``(XIII) notice and comments, when applicable; and
``(XIV) whether the settlement agreement is still under
judicial enforcement and any period of time by which the
parties agreed to have certain conditions met.
``(ii) A copy of each--
``(I) settlement agreement entered into by the Executive
agency; and
``(II) statement issued under paragraph (4).
``(B) Nondisclosure.--The requirement to submit information
or a copy of a settlement agreement under subparagraph (A)
shall not apply to the extent the information or copy (or
portion thereof)--
``(i) is subject to a confidentiality provision that
prohibits disclosure of the information or copy (or portion
thereof); and
``(ii) would not be disclosed under section 552, if the
Executive agency provides a citation to the applicable
exemption.
``(C) Clarification of responsible agency.--In a case in
which an Executive agency is acting at the request or on
behalf of another Executive agency (referred to as the
originating agency), the originating agency is responsible
for submitting information under subparagraph (A).
``(2) Guidance.--The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget shall issue guidance for Executive agencies to
implement paragraph (1). Such guidance shall include the
following:
``(A) Specific dates by which submissions must be made, not
less than twice a year.
``(B) Data standards, including common data elements and a
common, nonproprietary, searchable, machine-readable,
platform independent format.
``(C) A requirement that the information and documents
required under paragraph (1) are publicly available for a
period starting on the date of the settlement through not
less than 5 years after the termination of the settlement
agreement.
``(3) Establishment of database.--The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget, or the head of an Executive
agency designated by the Director, shall establish and
maintain a public, searchable,
[[Page H9723]]
downloadable database for Executive agencies to directly
upload and submit the information and documents required
under paragraph (1) for immediate publication online.
``(4) Statement of confidentiality.--If the head of an
Executive agency determines that a confidentiality provision
in a settlement agreement, or the sealing of a settlement
agreement, is required to protect the public interest of the
United States, the head of the Executive agency may except
the settlement agreement from the requirement in paragraph
(1) and shall issue a written public statement stating why
such action is required to protect the public interest of the
United States, which shall explain--
``(A) what interests confidentiality protects; and
``(B) why the interests protected by confidentiality
outweigh the public's interest in knowing about the conduct
of the Federal Government and the expenditure of Federal
resources.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``307. Information regarding settlement agreements.''.
(c) Deadline To Establish Database.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget shall issue guidance
required by section 307(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a), and establish the settlement
agreement information database required by section 307(b)(3)
of title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).
(d) Deadline for First Submission.--Not later than 90 days
after the Director issues guidance under section 307(b)(2) of
title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), the
head of each Executive agency (as defined in section 105 of
title 5, United States Code) shall begin submitting
information to the database established under such section
307.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.
Section 552(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (E) as
subparagraphs (C) through (F), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new
subparagraph:
``(B) each settlement agreement (as defined in section 307)
entered into by an Executive agency, with redactions for
information that the agency may withhold under paragraph (8)
and subsections (b) and (c) of this section;''.
SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act,
shall be construed to require the disclosure of information
or records that any agency may properly withhold from public
disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code
(commonly known as the ``Freedom of Information Act'').
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.
This Act shall be effective 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act and shall apply--
(1) with respect to any settlement agreement (as such term
is defined in section 307 of title 5, United States Code, as
added by section 2), entered into on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act; and
(2) to the extent practicable, any such settlement
agreement (as such term is defined in section 307 of title 5,
United States Code, as added by section 2) that remains in
effect on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Kentucky (Mr. Comer) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B.
Maloney) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.
General Leave
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in 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 Kentucky?
There was no objection.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6777, introduced by
Congressman Palmer of Alabama.
Transparency and public participation are critical to maintaining the
public's trust in its government. Since the 1970s, however, Federal
agencies have increasingly resolved litigation by entering into consent
decrees and other legally binding settlement agreements rather than
through a public trial.
These agreements were often negotiated behind closed doors. Secret
negotiations prevent the public from holding the Federal Government
accountable for decisions made without their input.
States, local governments, industry stakeholders, and taxpayers are
often directly affected by the agreements, but are shut out of the
negotiations. For example, a consent decree entered into by the
Environmental Protection Agency required the city of Fort Smith,
Arkansas to reform its sewer systems in 12 years. Sewer utility bills
increased by 167 percent in 3 years to fund the obligations of the
agreement, while residents' incomes simultaneously decreased by 11
percent.
Due to poor recordkeeping, it is impossible for Congress and the
public to determine the full cost of Federal settlement agreements.
Most of the public's access to Federal settlement agreement information
is currently determined by individual agency discretion, usually issued
in the form of a press release.
Further, heads of agencies can declare a settlement confidential and
seal the contents of the agreement without providing any explanation.
The Settlement Agreement Information Database Act seeks to correct this
problem by shining light on the details of Federal settlement
agreements. The bill requires the establishment of an electronic and
publicly-available database of agencies' settlement agreements. It
requires Federal agencies to enter basic information about settlement
agreements into the database.
Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense transparency bill, and I urge my
colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I support this commonsense bill. The Settlement
Agreement Information Database Act would create a database of
settlement agreements entered into by Federal agencies that relate to
alleged violations of Federal, civil, or criminal law.
The Office of Management and Budget would manage this database and
set deadlines for submission. The heads of executive agencies would be
required to submit details about the types of settlement agreements,
parties involved in the settlements, specific violations, and the dates
on which the settlement agreements were entered into.
The information about the settlement agreements would remain public
until 5 years after the termination of the agreements. The information
within the agreements would remain subject to FOIA regulations. But if
the head of the agencies decided to keep an entire agreement
confidential, he or she would be required to submit an explanation of
that action to the database.
This bill would improve the transparency surrounding settlement
agreements, which in the past have been difficult for the public to
access.
Mr. Speaker, I do not have any further speakers, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 6777.
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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