[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 130 (Monday, July 26, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3872-H3874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET JUSTIFICATION TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2021
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 272) to amend the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006, to require the budget justifications and
appropriation requests of agencies be made publicly available.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 272
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 ``Congressional Budget
Justification Transparency Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF BUDGET JUSTIFICATIONS AND
APPROPRIATION REQUESTS.
(a) In General.--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. FULL DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.
``(a) In General.--Not less frequently than monthly when
practicable, and in any event not less frequently than
quarterly, the Secretary (in consultation with the Director
and, with respect to information described in subsection
(b)(2), the head of the applicable Federal agency) shall
ensure that updated information with respect to the
information described in subsection (b) is posted on the
website established under section 2.
``(b) Information To Be Posted.--
``(1) Funds.--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--
``(A) for each appropriations account, including an expired
or unexpired appropriations account, the amount--
``(i) of budget authority appropriated;
``(ii) that is obligated;
``(iii) of unobligated balances; and
``(iv) of any other budgetary resources;
``(B) from which accounts and in what amount--
``(i) appropriations are obligated for each program
activity; and
``(ii) outlays are made for each program activity;
``(C) from which accounts and in what amount--
``(i) appropriations are obligated for each object class;
and
``(ii) outlays are made for each object class; and
``(D) for each program activity, the amount--
``(i) obligated for each object class; and
``(ii) of outlays made for each object class.
``(2) Budget justifications.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
``(i) the term `budget justification materials' means the
annual budget justification materials of a Federal agency, or
a component of a Federal agency, that are submitted, in
conjunction with the budget of the United States Government
submitted under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States
Code; and
``(ii) the term `open Government data asset' has the
meaning given that term in section 3502 of title 44, United
States Code.
``(B) Information.--The information to be posted--
``(i) shall include any budget justification materials--
``(I) for the second fiscal year beginning after the date
of enactment of this paragraph, and each fiscal year
thereafter; and
``(II) to the extent practicable, that were released for
any fiscal year before the date of enactment of this
paragraph; and
``(ii) shall not include budget justification materials the
disclosure of which is prohibited by law, that are
classified, or that are exempt from disclosure under section
552(b) of title 5, United States Code.
``(C) Format.--Budget justification materials shall be
posted under subparagraph (B)--
``(i) as an open Government data asset;
``(ii) in a manner that enables users to download
individual reports, download all reports in bulk, and
download in bulk the results of a search, to the extent
practicable; and
``(iii) in a structured data format, to the extent
practicable.
``(D) Deadline.--The budget justification materials
required to be posted under subparagraph (B)(i) shall be
posted not later than 2 weeks after the date on which the
budget justification materials are first submitted to
Congress.
``(E) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed to authorize a Federal agency, or a
component of a Federal agency, to destroy any budget
justification materials relating to a fiscal year before the
fiscal year described in subparagraph (B)(i).''.
(b) Information Regarding Agency Budget Justifications.--
Section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(i)(1) The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall make publicly available on a website, and
continuously update, a tabular list for each fiscal year of
each agency that submits budget justification materials,
which shall include--
``(A) the name of the agency;
``(B) a unique identifier that identifies the agency;
``(C) to the extent practicable, the date on which the
budget justification materials of the agency are first
submitted to Congress;
``(D) the date on which the budget justification materials
of the agency are posted online under section 3 of the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
(31 U.S.C. 6101 note);
``(E) the uniform resource locator where the budget
justification materials are published on the website of the
agency; and
``(F) a single data set that contains the information
described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) with respect to
the agency for all fiscal years for which budget
justifications of the agency are made available under
[[Page H3873]]
section 3 of the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) in a
structured data format.
``(2)(A) Each agency that submits budget justification
materials shall make the materials available on the website
of the agency, in accordance with the policies established by
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under
subparagraph (B).
``(B) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this subsection, the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury,
shall establish policies and data standards for agencies
relating to making available materials under subparagraph
(A), which shall include guidelines for making budget
justification materials available in a format aligned with
the requirements of section 3(b)(2)(C) of the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101
note) and using a uniform resource locator that is in a
consistent format across agencies and is descriptive,
memorable, and pronounceable, such as the format of
`agencyname.gov/budget'.
``(C) If the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget maintains a public website that contains the budget of
the United States Government submitted under subsection (a)
and any related materials, such website shall also contain a
link to the tabular list required under paragraph (1).
``(3) In this subsection, the term `budget justification
materials' has the meaning given that term in section 3(b)(2)
of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of
2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).''.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
General Leave
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the measure before us.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
There was no objection.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the bill before us, the Congressional Budget
Justification Transparency Act, is a commonsense, good government
measure every Member should support.
It would require the congressional budget justification documents
that agencies prepare for congressional committees to be posted online
in a centralized, searchable database.
This would make these detailed, plain-language explanations of how
agencies plan to spend taxpayer dollars more accessible to the public.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Mike Quigley for his
work on the House companion to this measure. He has a long history as a
strong advocate of transparency in the operations of the Federal
Government.
This bill builds on the work of the Committee to improve government
transparency by allowing the public to more easily learn about how
Federal agencies spend their taxpayer dollars.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 272, the Congressional Budget
Justification Transparency Act.
The Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act is a long
overdue reform that would ensure Congress and the Nation's taxpayers
can understand the full scope and context of the annual Federal budget.
I would like to thank Congressman Mike Quigley for working together
with House Oversight and Reform Committee Ranking Member Comer to pass
the nearly identical companion bill, H.R. 22, through the House at the
beginning of this year.
Last year, more than $6.8 trillion was spent to fight the COVID-19
pandemic.
Public spending transparency resources like USAspending.gov and
PandemicOversight.gov, helped the public track agency spending, but
they are not enough.
Annual Federal agency budget justifications provide detailed and
plain language explanations of how agencies plan to spend
congressionally appropriated funds.
{time} 1600
However, these necessary justification materials are scattered across
agency websites and often difficult to find. This bipartisan
legislation will ensure the American people and Congress can easily
access these important budget justification materials to review
proposed agency spending.
The bill requires every agency to make their annual budget
justification materials publicly available on a single website. To do
this, the bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to issue a
full listing of agency budget justifications and the individual agency
web pages where they are posted.
Thanks to another law produced by the House Oversight and Reform
Committee, the 2018 Good Accounting Obligation in Government Act,
congressional budget justifications also now list unimplemented
Inspector General audit and GAO report recommendations. This means the
bill will also help Congress and the public annually track open IG and
GAO oversight recommendations.
The Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act makes the
executive branch annual budget process truly open to the American
people and provides needed transparency of each agency's detailed
budget justifications.
The American public and their congressional Representatives deserve
full access to agency plans to spend their hard-earned tax dollars.
America's tax dollars must be used wisely, and I encourage my
colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from Pennsylvania has no
further speakers, I am prepared to close.
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer).
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from
Pennsylvania for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 272, the Congressional Budget
Justification Transparency Act.
This bill is a timely and important reform to ensure Congress and the
public can review all Federal spending. This bipartisan legislation
make it possible for the public and every member of Congress to readily
find and compare the annual budget justification and supporting
materials that each agency prepares and sends to Congress. This
detailed review is critical to ensuring that our tax dollars are spent
properly.
This reform is also needed now more than ever. Last year alone, the
Federal Government spent more than $6.8 trillion. Unfortunately, this
trend in massive government spending does not seem to be slowing down
any time soon.
The Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act will require
all agencies to make their budget justification materials available
online in plain language. In doing so, this legislation will empower
Congress' ability to conduct oversight of Federal agencies' use of
taxpayer dollars by consolidating agency data. It will also provide
much-needed transparency to the American people.
Requiring each agency to provide detailed plain language explanations
of how they intend to spend taxpayer dollars ensures Americans can
review those decisions at any time.
I want to thank my colleague, Congressman Mike Quigley, for working
with me on H.R. 22 which we were able to pass through the House back on
January 5 of this year. I was glad to see the Senate's recent action
advancing this much-needed reform bill through Congress.
This legislation illustrates the importance of working across the
aisle to improve congressional oversight to ensure American tax dollars
are spent efficiently and effectively. Today the House sends the
Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act to the President's
desk.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working on many more bipartisan
government accountability bills and encourage my colleagues to support
this bill.
[[Page H3874]]
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am
prepared to close.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this
commonsense transparency bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of S. 272, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kahele). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton)
that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 272.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
are postponed.
____________________