[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 22, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3095-S3096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FEDERAL AGENCY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ACT OF 2021

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 103, S. 
671.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 671) to require the collection of voluntary 
     feedback on services provided by agencies, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I further ask unanimous consent that the Hassan 
substitute amendment be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as 
amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the 
motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no 
intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 5119) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to, 
as follows:

                (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

        Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Agency Customer 
     Experience Act of 2021''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the Federal Government serves the people of the United 
     States and should seek to continually improve public services 
     provided by the Federal Government based on customer 
     feedback;
       (2) the people of the United States deserve a Federal 
     Government that provides efficient, effective, equitable, and 
     high-quality services and customer experiences across 
     multiple channels;
       (3) many agencies, offices, programs, and Federal employees 
     provide excellent customer experiences to individuals, but 
     many parts of the Federal Government still fall short on 
     delivering the customer experience that individuals have come 
     to expect from the private sector;
       (4) according to the 2020 American Customer Satisfaction 
     Index, the Federal Government ranks among the bottom of all 
     industries in the United States in customer satisfaction;
       (5) providing an equitable, reliable, transparent, and 
     responsive customer experience to individuals improves the 
     confidence of the people of the United States in their 
     Government and helps agencies achieve greater impact and 
     fulfill their missions; and
       (6) improving service to individuals requires agencies to 
     work across organizational boundaries, leverage technology, 
     collect and share standardized data, and develop customer-
     centered mindsets and experience strategies.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) all agencies should strive to provide a high-quality, 
     courteous, effective, and efficient customer experience to 
     the people of the United States and seek to measure, collect, 
     report, and use metrics relating to the experience of 
     individuals interacting with agencies to continually improve 
     the customer experience of the people of the United States; 
     and
       (2) adequate Federal funding is needed to ensure agency 
     staffing levels that can provide the public with an improved 
     customer experience.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of General Services.
       (2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code.
       (3) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency'' means an 
     agency or component of an agency that is required by the 
     Director to collect voluntary customer experience feedback 
     for purposes of section 5, based on an assessment of the 
     components and programs of the agency with the highest impact 
     on or number of interactions with individuals or entities.
       (4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the Office of Management and Budget.
       (5) Voluntary customer experience feedback.--The term 
     ``voluntary customer experience feedback'' means the 
     submission of information, an opinion, or a concern to an 
     agency by an individual or entity that--
       (A) is voluntarily made by the individual or entity; and
       (B) relates to--
       (i) a particular service provided to the individual or 
     entity by the agency; or
       (ii) an interaction of the individual or entity with the 
     agency.

     SEC. 4. GUIDELINES FOR VOLUNTARY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE 
                   FEEDBACK.

       Each agency that solicits voluntary customer experience 
     feedback shall ensure that--
       (1) individuals and entities providing responses to the 
     solicitation of voluntary customer experience feedback have 
     the option to remain anonymous;
       (2) individuals and entities that decline to participate in 
     the solicitation of voluntary customer experience feedback 
     are not treated differently by the agency for purposes of 
     providing services or information;
       (3) the solicitation includes--
       (A) the fewest number of questions as is practicable; and
       (B) not more than 10 questions;
       (4) the voluntary nature of the solicitation is clear;
       (5) the proposed solicitation of voluntary customer 
     experience feedback will contribute to improved customer 
     experience;
       (6) solicitations of voluntary customer experience feedback 
     are limited to 1 solicitation per interaction with an 
     individual or entity;
       (7) to the extent practicable, the solicitation of 
     voluntary customer experience feedback is made at the point 
     of service with an individual or entity;
       (8) instruments for collecting voluntary customer 
     experience feedback are accessible to individuals with 
     disabilities in accordance with section 508 of the 
     Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d); and
       (9) internal agency data governance policies remain in 
     effect with respect to the collection of voluntary customer 
     experience feedback from individuals and entities.

     SEC. 5. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DATA COLLECTION.

       (a) Collection of Responses.--The head of each covered 
     agency, assisted by and in coordination with the senior 
     accountable official for customer experience of the covered 
     agency, shall collect voluntary customer experience feedback 
     with respect to services of or interactions with the covered 
     agency.
       (b) Content of Questions.--
       (1) Standardized questions.--The Director, in coordination 
     with the Administrator, shall develop a set of standardized 
     questions for use by covered agencies in collecting voluntary 
     customer experience feedback under this section that 
     address--
       (A) overall satisfaction of individuals or entities with 
     the specific interaction or service received;
       (B) the extent to which individuals or entities were able 
     to accomplish the intended task or purpose of those 
     individuals or entities;
       (C) whether an individual or entity was treated with 
     respect and professionalism;
       (D) whether an individual or entity believes that the 
     individual or entity was served in a timely manner; and
       (E) any additional metrics determined by the Director, in 
     coordination with the Administrator.
       (2) Additional questions.--In addition to the questions 
     developed under paragraph (1), the senior accountable 
     official for customer experience of a covered agency may 
     develop questions relevant to the specific operations or 
     programs of the covered agency.
       (c) Additional Requirements.--To the extent practicable--
       (1) each covered agency shall collect voluntary customer 
     experience feedback across every platform or channel through 
     which the covered agency interacts with individuals or other 
     entities to deliver information or services; and
       (2) voluntary customer experience feedback collected under 
     this section shall be tied to specific transactions or 
     interactions with customers of the covered agency.
       (d) Exemption From Public Notice and Comment.--The 
     requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) and subparagraphs (B) 
     and (D) of subsection (a)(1) and subsection (b) of section 
     3507 of title 44, United States Code, shall not apply to the 
     collection of voluntary customer experience feedback by an 
     agency that meets the requirements of this Act.
       (e) Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act and not less frequently than quarterly 
     thereafter,

[[Page S3096]]

     each covered agency shall submit to the Director, in a manner 
     determined by the Director, an aggregated report on each 
     solicitation of voluntary customer experience feedback from 
     individuals and entities conducted by the covered agency, 
     which shall include--
       (A) the intended purpose of the solicitation;
       (B) the appropriate point of contact within the covered 
     agency for the solicitation;
       (C) the questions or survey instrument submitted to members 
     of the public as part of the solicitation;
       (D) a description of how the covered agency uses the 
     voluntary customer experience feedback from the solicitation 
     to improve the customer experience of the covered agency; and
       (E) the results of the solicitation, including--
       (i) the responses collected;
       (ii) the total number of survey responses; and
       (iii) the rate of response for the solicitation.
       (2) Centralized website.--The Director shall--
       (A) include and maintain on a publicly available website 
     the information provided by covered agencies under paragraph 
     (1); and
       (B) for the purpose of subparagraph (A), establish a 
     website or make use of an existing website, such as the 
     website required under section 1122 of title 31, United 
     States Code.

     SEC. 6. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE REPORT.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 450 days after the date on 
     which all covered agencies have submitted the first reports 
     to the Director required under section 5(e)(1), and every 2 
     years thereafter until the date that is 10 years after such 
     date, the Comptroller General of the United States shall make 
     publicly available and submit to the Committee on Homeland 
     Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of 
     Representatives a report assessing the data collected and 
     reported by the covered agencies.
       (b) Contents.--The report required under subsection (a) 
     shall include--
       (1) a summary of the information required to be submitted 
     by covered agencies under section 5(e)(1);
       (2) a description of how each covered agency used the 
     voluntary customer experience feedback received by the 
     covered agency to improve the customer experience of the 
     covered agency; and
       (3) an assessment of the quality of the data collected 
     under this Act and, if applicable, recommendations to improve 
     that quality.

     SEC. 7. RESTRICTION ON USE OF INFORMATION.

       No information collected pursuant to this Act may be used 
     in any appraisal of the job performance of a Federal employee 
     under chapter 43 of title 5, United States Code, or any other 
     provision of law.
  The bill (S. 671), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

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