[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16727-16728]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE STANDARD DATA ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GEOFF DAVIS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 3, 2011

  Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, today I am joining with my 
colleague Mr. Doggett of Texas, among others, to introduce the Standard 
Data and Technology Advancement Act, or the ``Standard DATA Act.'' This 
legislation will establish consistent requirements for the electronic 
content and format of data used in the administration of key human 
services programs authorized by the Social Security Act.
  Human services programs serve overlapping populations and should, 
from an information technology standpoint, operate consistently within 
and across programs. By beginning the process of data standardization 
and the use of common reporting mechanisms, this bill will help achieve 
three goals: better prevent and identify fraud and abuse; increase the 
efficiency of administrative resources to serve eligible beneficiaries; 
and produce program savings for U.S. taxpayers.
  The private sector is far ahead of the public sector in its ability 
to use data efficiently to detect patterns of misuse, such as when 
credit cards are lost or stolen, and streamline backend data processing 
to reduce manual workloads. The public sector needs to review and 
implement these same sorts of best practices to better improve the 
operation of public benefit programs.
  As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Resources, I called a March 
11, 2011 hearing on the use of data matching to improve customer 
service, increase program integrity, and achieve taxpayer savings. We 
received testimony in support of consistent data standards that are 
non-proprietary and promote the interoperability of data across various 
information technology platforms, including the range of State legacy 
systems. The hearing confirmed that not only are programs within the 
Subcommittee's jurisdiction in silos, but so are the accompanying data.
  Applying the provisions of the Standard DATA Act across multiple 
programs will advance the longer-term goal of allowing data both within 
and across all Federal assistance programs to operate more 
efficiently--first by establishing standard elements for individual 
items of information, and second by defining, in predictable ways, how 
those elements relate to one another. These standardization activities 
will promote transparency, flexibility, and consistency across various 
information technology platforms established by Federal and State 
agencies.
  This bill continues the efforts begun in the bipartisan, bicameral 
Child and Family Services Extension and Enhancement Act of 2011, which 
was our first effort at requiring a human services program to implement 
standard data elements and reporting. President Obama signed that bill 
into law on September 30, 2011.
  Improved data standards will help increase the efficiency of data 
exchanges to use and reuse data within and across programs. That will 
allow States to automate the exchange of

[[Page 16728]]

claimant data on work and benefit receipt, reducing delays and 
minimizing improper payments. It will also help to automate application 
forms by pre-populating them with reliable and verified data, which can 
reduce the manual burden on staff and allow them more time to engage 
beneficiaries, all while reducing error. That's good for program 
beneficiaries and taxpayers at the same time.
  I thank my colleagues for co-sponsoring this important legislation, 
starting with Mr. Doggett, the Ranking Member on the Human Resources 
Subcommittee, as well as Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Herger, Mr. Nunes, 
Mr. Tiberi, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Boustany, Mr. Price of Georgia, Ms. 
Jenkins, Mr. Paulsen, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Berg, Mrs. Black, and Mr. Reed.
  I also want to thank Oversight and Government Reform Committee 
Chairman Issa and the Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental 
Relations and Procurement Reform Subcommittee Chairman Lankford for co-
sponsoring this bill, as well as for their support and leadership on 
the larger effort to improve data reporting transparency.
  I invite all Members to join us in supporting this important 
legislation designed to improve the integrity of the benefit programs 
millions of Americans access today, and ensure that taxpayer funds are 
properly spent.

                          ____________________