[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 119 (Monday, June 29, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3689-S3690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2233. Mr. LANKFORD (for himself, Mr. Enzi, Ms. Hassan, and Ms.
Sinema) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the
bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
TITLE __--TAXPAYERS RIGHT-TO-KNOW
SEC. __01. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Taxpayers Right-To-Know
Act''.
SEC. __02. INVENTORY OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS.
Section 1122(a) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs
(2) and (3), respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated,
the following:
``(1) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
``(A) the term `Federal financial assistance' has the
meaning given that term under section 7501;
``(B) the term `open Government data asset' has the meaning
given that term under section 3502 of title 44;
``(C) the term `program' means a single program activity or
an organized set of aggregated, disaggregated, or
consolidated program activities by one or more agencies
directed toward a common purpose or goal; and
``(D) the term `program activity' has the meaning given
that term in section 1115(h).'';
(3) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``In general.--Not later than October 1,
2012, the Office of Management and Budget shall'' and
inserting ``Website and program inventory.--The Director of
the Office of Management and Budget shall'';
(B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``that includes the
information required under subsections (b) and (c)'' after
``a single website''; and
(C) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) and inserting the
following:
``(B) include on the website described in subparagraph (A),
or another appropriate Federal Government website where
related information is made available, as determined by the
Director--
``(i) a program inventory that shall identify each program;
and
``(ii) for each program identified in the program
inventory, the information required under paragraph (3);
``(C) make the information in the program inventory
required under subparagraph (B) available as an open
Government data asset; and
``(D) at a minimum--
``(i) update the information required to be included on the
single website under subparagraph (A) on a quarterly basis;
and
``(ii) update the program inventory required under
subparagraph (B) on an annual basis.'';
(4) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``described under paragraph (1) shall include'' and inserting
``identified in the program inventory required under
paragraph (2)(B) shall include'';
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(C) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``and,''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) for each program activity that is part of a program--
``(i) a description of the purposes of the program activity
and the contribution of the program activity to the mission
and goals of the agency;
``(ii) a consolidated view for the current fiscal year and
each of the 2 fiscal years before the current fiscal year
of--
``(I) the amount appropriated;
``(II) the amount obligated; and
``(III) the amount outlayed;
``(iii) to the extent practicable and permitted by law,
links to any related evaluation, assessment, or program
performance review by the agency, an inspector general, or
the Government Accountability Office (including program
performance reports required under section 1116), and other
related evidence assembled in response to implementation of
the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018
(Public Law 115-435; 132 Stat. 5529);
[[Page S3690]]
``(iv) an identification of the statutes that authorize the
program activity or the authority under which the program
activity was created or operates;
``(v) an identification of any major regulations specific
to the program activity;
``(vi) any other information that the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget determines relevant relating
to program activity data in priority areas most relevant to
Congress or the public to increase transparency and
accountability; and
``(vii) for each assistance listing under which Federal
financial assistance is provided, for the current fiscal year
and each of the 2 fiscal years before the current fiscal year
and consistent with existing law relating to the protection
of personally identifiable information--
``(I) a linkage to the relevant program activities that
fund Federal financial assistance by assistance listing;
``(II) information on the population intended to be served
by the assistance listing based on the language of the
solicitation, as required under section 6102;
``(III) to the extent practicable and based on data
reported to the agency providing the Federal financial
assistance, the results of the Federal financial assistance
awards provided by the assistance listing;
``(IV) to the extent practicable, the percentage of the
amount appropriated for the assistance listing that is used
for management and administration;
``(V) the identification of each award of Federal financial
assistance and, to the extent practicable, the name of each
direct or indirect recipient of the award; and
``(VI) any information relating to the award of Federal
financial assistance that is required to be included on the
website established under section 2(b) of the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101
note).''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Archiving.--The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget shall--
``(A) archive and preserve the information included in the
program inventory required under paragraph (2)(B) after the
end of the period during which such information is made
available under paragraph (3); and
``(B) make information archived in accordance with
subparagraph (A) publicly available as an open Government
data asset.''.
SEC. __03. GUIDANCE, IMPLEMENTATION, REPORTING, AND REVIEW.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means
the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(2) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget;
(3) the term ``program'' has the meaning given that term in
section 1122(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, as
amended by section __02 of this title;
(4) the term ``program activity'' has the meaning given
that term in section 1115(h) of title 31, United States Code;
and
(5) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Treasury.
(b) Plan for Implementation and Reconciling Program
Definitions.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the
Secretary, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that--
(1) includes a plan that--
(A) discusses how making available on a website the
information required under subsection (a) of section 1122 of
title 31, United States Code, as amended by section __02,
will leverage existing data sources while avoiding
duplicative or overlapping information in presenting
information relating to program activities and programs;
(B) indicates how any gaps in data will be assessed and
addressed;
(C) indicates how the Director will display such data; and
(D) discusses how the Director will expand the information
collected with respect to program activities to incorporate
the information required under the amendments made by section
__02;
(2) sets forth details regarding a pilot program, developed
in accordance with best practices for effective pilot
programs--
(A) to develop and implement a functional program inventory
that could be limited in scope; and
(B) under which the information required under the
amendments made by section __02 with respect to program
activities shall be made available on the website required
under section 1122(a) of title 31, United States Code;
(3) establishes an implementation timeline for--
(A) gathering and building program activity information;
(B) developing and implementing the pilot program;
(C) seeking and responding to stakeholder comments;
(D) developing and presenting findings from the pilot
program to the appropriate congressional committees;
(E) notifying the appropriate congressional committees
regarding how program activities will be aggregated,
disaggregated, or consolidated as part of identifying
programs; and
(F) implementing a Governmentwide program inventory through
an iterative approach; and
(4) includes recommendations, if any, to reconcile the
conflicting definitions of the term ``program'' in relevant
Federal statutes, as it relates to the purpose of this title.
(c) Implementation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall make available
online all information required under the amendments made by
section __02 with respect to all programs.
(2) Extensions.--The Director may, based on an analysis of
the costs of implementation, and after submitting to the
appropriate congressional committees a notification of the
action by the Director, extend the deadline for
implementation under paragraph (1) by not more than a total
of 1 year.
(d) Reporting.--Not later than 2 years after the date on
which the Director makes available online all information
required under the amendments made by section __02 with
respect to all programs, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report regarding the implementation of this
title and the amendments made by this title, which shall--
(1) review how the Director and agencies determined how to
aggregate, disaggregate, or consolidate program activities to
provide the most useful information for an inventory of
Government programs;
(2) evaluate the extent to which the program inventory
required under section 1122 of title 31, United States Code,
as amended by this title, provides useful information for
transparency, decision-making, and oversight;
(3) evaluate the extent to which the program inventory
provides a coherent picture of the scope of Federal
investments in particular areas; and
(4) include the recommendations of the Comptroller General,
if any, for improving implementation of this title and the
amendments made by this title.
SEC. __04. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 1122 of title 31, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by inserting ``described in subsection (a)(2)(A)'' after
``the website'' each place it appears;
(2) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by inserting ``described in subsection (a)(2)(A)'' after
``the website''; and
(3) in subsection (d)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``on Website'';
and
(B) in the first sentence, by striking ``on the website''.
(b) Other Amendments.--
(1) Section 1115(a) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking
``the website provided under'' and inserting ``a website
described in''.
(2) Section 10 of the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (31
U.S.C. 1115 note) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ``the website
described under'' and inserting ``a website described in'';
and
(B) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``the website described
under'' and inserting ``a website described in''; and
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``the website as
required under'' and inserting ``a website described in''.
(3) Section 1120(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``the website described under'' and
inserting ``a website described in''.
(4) Section 1126(b)(2)(E) of title 31, United States Code,
is amended by striking ``the website of the Office of
Management and Budget pursuant to'' and inserting ``a website
described in''.
(5) Section 3512(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``the website described under'' and
inserting ``a website described in''.
______