[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5558-5572]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          DIGITAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2012

  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2146) to amend title 31, United States Code, to require 
accountability and transparency in Federal spending, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2146

       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 ``Digital Accountability and 
     Transparency Act of 2012'' or the ``DATA Act''.

     SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Definitions.

      TITLE I--ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING

Sec. 101. General requirements for accountability and transparency in 
              Federal spending.
Sec. 102. Data standardization for accountability and transparency in 
              Federal spending.
Sec. 103. Amendments to the Federal Funding Accountability and 
              Transparency Act of 2006.
Sec. 104. Effective date and deadlines for accountability and 
              transparency in Federal spending.

 TITLE II--FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING TRANSPARENCY COMMISSION

Sec. 201. Federal Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission.
Sec. 202. Conforming amendment relating to compensation of Chairman.
Sec. 203. Conforming amendments related to Recovery Accountability and 
              Transparency Board.

                    TITLE III--ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Classified information.
Sec. 302. Paperwork Reduction Act exemption.
Sec. 303. Matching program exception for inspectors general.
Sec. 304. Transfer of Consolidated Federal Funds Report.
Sec. 305. Transfer of authority over Catalog of Federal Domestic 
              Assistance to Commission.
Sec. 306. Government Accountability Office Improvement.
Sec. 307. Amendments to the Inspector General Act of 1978 and the 
              Inspector General Reform Act of 2008.
Sec. 308. Limits and transparency for travel and conference spending.
Sec. 309. Effective date.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission 
     established under subchapter III of chapter 36 of title 31, 
     United States Code, as added by this Act.
       (2) The term ``Executive agency'' has the meaning provided 
     by section 105 of title 5, United States Code, except the 
     term does not include the Government Accountability Office.

[[Page 5559]]



      TITLE I--ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING

     SEC. 101. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
                   TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING.

       (a) In General.--Subtitle III of title 31, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 35 the following 
     new chapter:

   ``CHAPTER 36--ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING

                 ``subchapter i--reporting requirements

``3601. Definitions.
``3602. Recipient reporting requirement.
``3603. Agency reporting requirement.
``3604. Treasury reporting requirement.
``3605. Exemptions from recipient reporting requirement.

                  ``subchapter ii--data standardization

``3611. Data standardization for reporting information.
``3612. Full disclosure of information.
``3613. Federal accountability portal.
``3614. Agency responsibilities.
``3615. Consolidated financial reporting.
``3616. Office of Management and Budget responsibilities.
``3617. Treasury responsibilities.
``3618. General Services Administration responsibilities.

   ``subchapter iii--federal accountability and spending transparency 
                               commission

``3621. Establishment.
``3622. Composition of the Commission.
``3623. Functions.
``3624. Powers.
``3625. Employment, personnel, and related authorities.
``3626. Transfer of certain personnel.
``3627. Advisory committee to Commission.
``3628. Authorization and availability of appropriations.
``3629. Sunset.

                   ``subchapter iv--general provisions

``3641. Independence of inspectors general.
``3642. Effective date.

                 ``SUBCHAPTER I--REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

     ``Sec.  3601. Definitions

       ``In this chapter:
       ``(1) Recipient.--The term `recipient' means--
       ``(A) any person that receives Federal funds pursuant to a 
     Federal award, either directly or through a subgrant or 
     subcontract at any tier; and
       ``(B) any State, local, or tribal government, or any 
     government corporation, that receives Federal funds pursuant 
     to a Federal award, either directly or through a subgrant or 
     subcontract at any tier.
       ``(2) Federal award.--The term `Federal award' means 
     Federal financial assistance and expenditures that--
       ``(A) include grants, subgrants, loans, awards, cooperative 
     agreements, agreements entered into under other transactional 
     authority, and other forms of financial assistance; and
       ``(B) include contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders, 
     task orders, and delivery orders.
       ``(3) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Federal 
     Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission 
     established under subchapter III of this chapter, or any 
     successor entity to the Federal Accountability and Spending 
     Transparency Commission.
       ``(4) Chairman.--The term `Chairman' means the Chairman of 
     the Federal Accountability and Spending Transparency 
     Commission.
       ``(5) Executive agency.--The term `Executive agency' has 
     the meaning provided by section 105 of title 5, except the 
     term does not include the Government Accountability Office.
       ``(6) Foreign corrupt practices act of 1977.--The term 
     `Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977' means--
       ``(A) section 30A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
     (15 U.S.C. 78dd-1); and
       ``(B) sections 104 and 104A of the Foreign Corrupt 
     Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 78dd-2).

     ``Sec.  3602. Recipient reporting requirement

       ``(a) Requirement.--Each recipient shall report to the 
     Commission each receipt and use of Federal funds pursuant to 
     a Federal award.
       ``(b) Characteristics of Reports.--
       ``(1) Frequency of reports.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Commission shall designate, by rule, 
     the frequency of reports to be submitted by recipients under 
     subsection (a), but the frequency shall not be less than once 
     each quarter.
       ``(B) Deadlines.--The Commission shall, by rule, specify 
     deadlines by which a particular receipt or use of Federal 
     funds must be reported by a recipient under subsection (a). 
     In specifying deadlines under this subparagraph, the 
     Commission shall take into account the capabilities of the 
     management and accounting systems and processes of 
     recipients. The Commission shall, by rule, provide for 
     extensions of the deadlines specified under this subparagraph 
     in cases of hardship or emergency.
       ``(C) Continuous or automatic reporting.--To the extent 
     practicable, the Commission shall require continuous or 
     automatic reporting for compliance with this section.
       ``(2) Content of reports.--Each report submitted by a 
     recipient under subsection (a) shall contain the following 
     information:
       ``(A) An identification of the recipient, including the 
     recipient's name and location (including city, county, State, 
     congressional district, and country), with location 
     information provided in proper United States Postal Service 
     standardized format, including ZIP+4, or proper international 
     postal service standardized format where applicable.
       ``(B) An identification of the recipient and the parent 
     entity of the recipient, if the recipient is owned by another 
     entity.
       ``(C) An identification of the Executive agency.
       ``(D) An identification of the Federal award.
       ``(E) If applicable, an identification of the program 
     pursuant to which the Federal award was awarded.
       ``(F) The total amount of Federal funds received from that 
     Executive agency for the Federal award, during the period 
     covered by the report.
       ``(G) The amount of Federal funds from the Federal award 
     that were expended or obligated by the recipient to projects 
     or activities during the period covered by the report.
       ``(H) A list of all projects or activities for which 
     Federal funds were expended or obligated.
       ``(I) If the Federal award is a prime award, an 
     identification of its immediate subawards.
       ``(J) If the Federal award is a subaward, an identification 
     of its immediate prime award.
       ``(K) Such additional information reasonably related to the 
     receipt and use of Federal funds as the Commission shall, by 
     rule, require.
       ``(3) Use of data standards.--The reports submitted under 
     this section shall use the common data elements and data 
     reporting standards designated by the Commission under 
     section 3611 of this title.
       ``(c) Fulfillment of Requirements by Prime Awardees.--The 
     Commission shall, by rule, permit prime awardees to fulfill 
     the requirements of this section on behalf of subawardees, so 
     long as all subaward tiers are reported.
       ``(d) Guidance by Commission.--The Commission shall issue 
     guidance to recipients on compliance with this section.
       ``(e) Prepopulation.--To the extent practicable, the 
     Commission shall prepopulate its electronic systems for the 
     submission of reports required by this section with data 
     submitted to it by agencies under section 3603 of this title, 
     and shall permit recipients either to confirm that 
     prepopulated data is correct or, if it is incorrect, to make 
     corrections.
       ``(f) Registration.--Recipients required to report 
     information under subsection (a) shall register with the 
     Central Contractor Registration database or complete such 
     other registration requirements as the Commission shall, by 
     rule, require.

     ``Sec.  3603. Agency reporting requirement

       ``(a) Requirement.--Each Executive agency shall report to 
     the Commission all obligations and expenditures of Federal 
     funds.
       ``(b) Characteristics of Reports.--
       ``(1) Frequency of reports.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Commission shall designate, by rule, 
     and after consultation with the Office of Management and 
     Budget, the frequency of reports to be submitted by agencies 
     under subsection (a), but the frequency shall not be less 
     than once each quarter.
       ``(B) Deadlines.--The Commission shall, by rule, and after 
     consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, 
     specify the deadline by which an obligation or expenditure 
     must be reported by an agency under subsection (a).
       ``(C) Continuous or automatic reporting.--To the extent 
     practicable, the Commission shall require continuous or 
     automatic reporting for compliance with this section.
       ``(2) Content of report.--
       ``(A) Information relating to federal awards.--Each report 
     submitted by an Executive agency under subsection (a) that 
     relates to a Federal award shall contain the following 
     information for that Federal award:
       ``(i) An identification of the recipient, including the 
     recipient's name and location (including city, State, 
     congressional district, and country), with location 
     information provided in proper United States Postal Service 
     standardized format, including ZIP+4, or proper international 
     postal service standardized format where applicable.
       ``(ii) An identification of the recipient and the parent 
     entity of the recipient, should the entity be owned by 
     another entity.
       ``(iii) An identification of the Executive agency.
       ``(iv) An identification of the Federal award.
       ``(v) If applicable, an identification of the program 
     pursuant to which the Federal award was awarded.
       ``(vi) If necessary, the total amount of the award.
       ``(vii) The total amount of Federal funds received by the 
     recipient from the Executive agency for the Federal award, 
     during the period covered by the report.
       ``(viii) Information on the award, including transaction 
     type, funding agency, the North American Industry 
     Classification System

[[Page 5560]]

     code or Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number (if 
     applicable), the program source, and an award title 
     descriptive of the purpose of each funding action.
       ``(ix) Such additional information reasonably related to 
     the Federal award as the Commission shall, by rule, require.
       ``(B) Information not relating to federal awards.--The 
     content of each report submitted by an Executive agency under 
     subsection (a) that does not relate to a Federal award shall 
     be designated by the Commission, by rule, and after 
     consultation with the Office of Management and Budget.
       ``(C) Identification information.--To the extent 
     practicable, reports submitted by agencies under subsection 
     (a) shall identify the programs, budget functions, Treasury 
     accounts, and appropriations categories pursuant to which 
     Federal funds are obligated or expended.
       ``(D) Use of other reporting information.--To the extent 
     practicable, the Commission shall permit agencies to comply 
     with subsection (a) by submitting the same information that 
     they submit or contribute for other governmentwide reporting 
     requirements, including the following:
       ``(i) For information about Federal awards--

       ``(I) the Federal assistance awards data system established 
     pursuant to section 6102a of title 31, United States Code;
       ``(II) the Federal procurement data system established 
     pursuant to section 1122(a)(4) of title 41, United States 
     Code;
       ``(III) the common application and reporting system 
     established pursuant to section 6 of the Federal Financial 
     Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (31 U.S.C. 6101 
     note); or
       ``(IV) such systems as may be established to replace or 
     supplement the systems identified in this clause.

       ``(ii) For information about internal expenditures and 
     accounting, the Federal Agencies' Centralized Trial-Balance 
     Systems (FACTS I and FACTS II), the Governmentwide Financial 
     Report System (GFRS), the Intragovernmental Fiduciary 
     Confirmation System (IFCS), or such systems as may be 
     established to replace or supplement such systems.
       ``(3) Use of data standards.--The reports submitted under 
     this section shall use the common data elements and data 
     reporting standards designated by the Commission under 
     section 3611 of this title.
       ``(4) Information also subject to recipient reporting 
     requirement.--In complying with this section, each Executive 
     agency shall identify, to the extent practicable, Federal 
     awards made by the agency that are subject to the recipient 
     reporting requirement of section 3602 of this title so that 
     information reported by recipients and information reported 
     by the agency can be directly compared.
       ``(c) Guidance by Commission.--The Commission shall issue 
     guidance to Executive agencies on compliance with this 
     section.
       ``(d) Commission to Monitor Compliance.--The Commission 
     shall regularly report to Congress on each Executive agency's 
     compliance with this section, including the timeliness, 
     completeness, accuracy, and interoperability of the data 
     submitted by each Executive agency. The Commission shall make 
     these reports publicly available contemporaneously online.

     ``Sec.  3604. Treasury reporting requirement

       ``(a) Requirement.--The Department of the Treasury shall 
     report to the Commission disbursements of Federal funds.
       ``(b) Characteristics of Reports.--
       ``(1) Frequency of reports.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Commission and the Secretary of the 
     Treasury shall determine the frequency of reports submitted 
     by the Department of the Treasury under subsection (a), but 
     the frequency shall not be less than once each quarter.
       ``(B) Continuous or automatic reporting.--To the extent 
     practicable, the Commission and the Department of the 
     Treasury shall establish continuous or automatic reporting 
     for compliance with this section.
       ``(2) Content of report.--
       ``(A) The Commission and the Secretary of the Treasury 
     shall determine the content of reports submitted by the 
     Department of the Treasury under subsection (a).
       ``(B) To the extent practicable, reports submitted by the 
     Department of the Treasury under subsection (a) shall 
     identify the programs, budget functions, Treasury accounts, 
     and appropriations categories pursuant to which Federal funds 
     are disbursed.
       ``(3) Use of data standards.--The reports submitted under 
     this section shall use the common data elements and data 
     reporting standards designated by the Commission under 
     section 3611 of this title.
       ``(c) Commission to Monitor Compliance.--The Commission 
     shall regularly submit to Congress reports on compliance by 
     the Department of the Treasury with this section, including 
     the timeliness, completeness, accuracy, and interoperability 
     of the data submitted. The Commission shall make all reports 
     submitted under this subsection publicly available 
     contemporaneously online.

     ``Sec.  3605. Exemptions from recipient reporting requirement

       ``(a) Exemption.--A recipient is exempt from the reporting 
     requirement of section 3602 of this title with respect to 
     funds received pursuant to a Federal award if--
       ``(1) the recipient is an individual; and
       ``(2) either--
       ``(A) the total amount of Federal funds received by the 
     recipient does not exceed $100,000 in the current calendar 
     year or fiscal year; or
       ``(B) no transaction in which the recipient has received 
     Federal funds during the current calendar year or fiscal year 
     has exceeded $24,999.
       ``(b) Authority to Grant Additional Exemptions.--The 
     Commission may, by rule, grant additional exemptions under 
     this section for classes or categories of recipients.
       ``(c) Adjustment for Inflation.--The Commission shall, by 
     rule, provide for an adjustment of the dollar thresholds 
     specified in subsection (a)(2) to maintain the constant 
     dollar value of the threshold.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the 
     beginning of subtitle III of title 31, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 35 
     the following new item:

``36. Accountability and Transparency in Federal Spending...3601''.....

     SEC. 102. DATA STANDARDIZATION FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
                   TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING.

       Chapter 36 of title 31, United States Code, as added by 
     section 101, is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new subchapter:

                 ``SUBCHAPTER II--DATA STANDARDIZATION

     ``Sec.  3611. Data standardization for reporting information

       ``(a) Common Data Elements.--
       ``(1) Requirement.--The Commission shall, by rule, 
     designate common data elements, such as codes, identifiers, 
     and fields, for information required to be reported by 
     recipients and agencies under this chapter, including 
     identifiers for recipients, awards, and agencies.
       ``(2) Characteristics of common data elements.--The common 
     data elements designated under this subsection shall, to the 
     extent practicable, be nonproprietary.
       ``(3) Existing common data elements.--In designating common 
     data elements under this subsection, the Commission shall, to 
     the extent practicable, ensure interoperability and 
     incorporate the following:
       ``(A) Common data elements developed and maintained by an 
     international voluntary consensus standards body, as defined 
     by the Office of Management and Budget, such as the 
     International Organization for Standardization.
       ``(B) Common data elements developed and maintained by 
     intragovernmental partnerships, such as the National 
     Information Exchange Model.
       ``(C) Common data elements developed and maintained by 
     Federal entities with authority over contracting and 
     financial assistance, such as the Federal Acquisition 
     Regulatory Council.
       ``(D) Common data elements developed and maintained by 
     accounting standards organizations.
       ``(b) Data Reporting Standards.--
       ``(1) Requirement.--The Commission shall, by rule, 
     designate data reporting standards to govern the reporting 
     required to be performed by recipients and agencies under 
     this title.
       ``(2) Characteristics of data reporting standards.--The 
     data reporting standards designated under this subsection 
     shall, to the extent practicable--
       ``(A) incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary, 
     searchable, platform-independent computer-readable format;
       ``(B) be consistent with and implement applicable 
     accounting principles; and
       ``(C) be capable of being continually upgraded as 
     necessary.
       ``(3) Existing data reporting standards.--In designating 
     reporting standards under this subsection, the Commission 
     shall, to the extent practicable, incorporate existing 
     nonproprietary standards, such as the eXtensible Business 
     Reporting Language (XBRL).

     ``Sec.  3612. Full disclosure of information

       ``The Commission shall publish online all information 
     submitted by recipients and agencies pursuant to sections 
     3602, 3603, and 3604 of this title in accordance with the 
     Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 
     (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).

     ``Sec.  3613. Federal accountability portal

       ``(a) Requirement.--The Commission shall establish and 
     maintain a government-wide Internet-based data access system, 
     to be known as a `Federal accountability portal', to carry 
     out the functions described in subsection (b).
       ``(b) Functions.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Federal accountability portal shall 
     incorporate--
       ``(A) information submitted by recipients and agencies 
     under sections 3602, 3603, and 3604 of this title;
       ``(B) other information maintained by Federal, State, 
     local, and foreign government agencies; and
       ``(C) other commercially and publicly available 
     information.
       ``(2) Specific functions.--The Federal accountability 
     portal shall be designed and operated to carry out the 
     following functions:

[[Page 5561]]

       ``(A) Combine information submitted by recipients and 
     agencies under sections 3602, 3603, and 3604 of this title 
     with other compilations of information, including those 
     listed in paragraph (1).
       ``(B) Permit Executive agencies, in accordance with 
     applicable law, to verify the eligibility and responsibility 
     of recipients and potential recipients with respect to the 
     receipt and use of Federal funds.
       ``(C) Permit Executive agencies, inspectors general, law 
     enforcement agencies, and appropriate State authorities, in 
     accordance with applicable law, to track Federal awards and 
     recipients to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
       ``(D) Serve as the primary accountability portal for the 
     entire Federal Government.
       ``(c) Guidance by Commission.--The Commission shall issue 
     guidance on the use of and access to the Federal 
     accountability portal.

     ``Sec.  3614. Agency responsibilities

       ``(a) Requirement.--As a condition of receipt of Federal 
     funds of an Executive agency pursuant to any Federal award, 
     the Executive agency shall require any recipient of such 
     funds to provide the information required under section 3602 
     of this title.
       ``(b) Penalties for Recipient Noncompliance.--
       ``(1) In general.--The head of an Executive agency may 
     impose a civil penalty in an amount not more than $250,000 on 
     a recipient of Federal funds from that Executive agency that 
     does not provide the information required under section 3602 
     of this title or provides information that contains a 
     material omission or misstatement.
       ``(2) Nonpreclusion.--The imposition of a civil penalty 
     under this subsection does not preclude any other criminal or 
     civil statutory, common law, or administrative remedy that is 
     available by law to the United States or any other person. 
     Any amounts received from a civil penalty under this 
     subsection shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United 
     States to the credit of the appropriation or appropriations 
     from which the award is made.
       ``(3) Notification.--The head of an Executive agency shall 
     provide a written notification to a recipient that fails to 
     provide the information required under section 3602 of this 
     title or provides information that contains a material 
     omission or misstatement. Such notification shall provide the 
     recipient with information on how to comply with the 
     requirements of such section 3602 and notice of the penalties 
     for failing to do so. The head of the Executive agency may 
     not impose a civil penalty under paragraph (1) until 60 days 
     after the date of the notification.
       ``(c) Compliance With Commission Guidance.--Executive 
     agencies shall comply with the instructions and guidance 
     issued by the Commission under this Act.
       ``(d) Information and Assistance.--
       ``(1) In general.--Upon request of the Commission for 
     information or assistance from any Executive agency or other 
     entity of the Federal Government, the head of such entity 
     shall, insofar as is practicable and not in contravention of 
     any existing law, furnish such information or assistance to 
     the Commission, or an authorized designee.
       ``(2) Report of refusals.--Whenever information or 
     assistance requested by the Commission is, in the judgment of 
     the Commission, unreasonably refused or not provided, the 
     Commission shall report the circumstances to Congress.
       ``(e) Requirement to Use Common Data Elements and Data 
     Reporting Standards.--After the Commission designates any 
     common data element or data reporting standard under section 
     3611 of this title, each Executive agency shall issue 
     guidance that requires every recipient of Federal funds under 
     any of its Federal awards to use that common data element or 
     data reporting standard for any information reported to that 
     Executive agency to which the common data element or data 
     reporting standard is applicable.
       ``(f) Prepopulation.--To the extent practicable, each 
     Executive agency shall use data from the website maintained 
     by the Commission under the Federal Funding Accountability 
     and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) to 
     prepopulate any electronic systems maintained by that agency 
     for the submission of reports on the receipt and use of 
     Federal funds distributed by that agency.

     ``Sec.  3615. Consolidated financial reporting

       ``(a) Report Identifying Recipient Financial Reporting 
     Requirements to Be Consolidated.--In consultation with the 
     Office of Management and Budget, each Executive agency shall, 
     not later than two years after the effective date of this 
     chapter, submit to the President, Congress, and the 
     Commission a report that--
       ``(1) describes any agency-specific financial reporting 
     requirements for recipients of Federal funds pursuant to a 
     Federal award from the agency;
       ``(2) identifies every element of information that such 
     recipients must regularly submit to the agency pursuant to 
     such requirements; and
       ``(3) for each element so identified, identifies whether 
     that element or a similar element is already being reported 
     to the Commission by such recipients under this title.
       ``(b) Date Certain That Recipients May Use Consolidated 
     Financial Reporting.--Beginning on the date that is three 
     years after the effective date of this chapter, recipients of 
     Federal funds are deemed to have satisfied the agency-
     specific financial reporting requirements identified in the 
     reports required by subsection (a) by transmitting the same 
     information to the Commission, in a manner prescribed by the 
     Commission.
       ``(c) Recipient Notification.--After an Executive agency 
     has submitted its report under subsection (a), the Executive 
     agency shall issue guidance notifying recipients of Federal 
     funds under its awards that they may, as of the date that is 
     three years after the effective date of this chapter, satisfy 
     those agency-specific financial reporting requirements 
     identified by the agency in its report required under 
     subsection (a) by reporting the same information to the 
     Commission only.
       ``(d) Commission Responsibilities.--
       ``(1) After an Executive agency submits its report under 
     subsection (a), the Commission shall promulgate rules 
     describing the manner in which the agency-specific financial 
     reporting requirements identified in the report may be met by 
     recipients of Federal funds from that agency through 
     reporting to the Commission only.
       ``(2) Upon receipt of agency-specific financial reporting 
     information as described under this section, the Commission 
     shall immediately make such information available to the 
     Executive agency to which the information had previously been 
     required to be submitted.

     ``Sec.  3616. Office of Management and Budget 
       responsibilities

       ``After the Commission designates any common data element 
     or data reporting standard under section 3611 of this title, 
     the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
     issue guidance that requires Executive agencies to use that 
     common data element or data reporting standard for any 
     information reported by Executive agencies to the Office of 
     Management and Budget to which the common data element or 
     data reporting standard is applicable.

     ``Sec.  3617. Treasury responsibilities

       ``After the Commission designates any common data element 
     or data reporting standard under section 3611 of this title, 
     the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue guidance that 
     requires Executive agencies to use that common data element 
     or data reporting standard for any information reported by 
     Executive agencies to the Department of the Treasury to which 
     the common data element or data reporting standard is 
     applicable.

     ``Sec.  3618. General Services Administration 
       responsibilities

       ``After the Commission designates any common data element 
     or data reporting standard under section 3611 of this title, 
     the Administrator of General Services shall apply that common 
     data element or data reporting standard for any information 
     contained in acquisition-related databases maintained by the 
     General Services Administration to which the common data 
     element or data reporting standard is applicable.''.

     SEC. 103. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL FUNDING ACCOUNTABILITY 
                   AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006.

       (a) Additional Requirements for USASpending.gov.--Section 
     2(c) of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency 
     Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2);
       (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) as 
     paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
       ``(4) shall, to the extent practicable, publish data under 
     this section in a manner that complies with applicable 
     principles and best practices in the private sector for the 
     publication of open government data;
       ``(5) shall serve as a public portal for Federal financial 
     information, including information concerning all Federal 
     awards and information concerning the expenditure of all 
     Federal funds;
       ``(6) shall--
       ``(A) make available all information published under 
     subsections (b), (c), and (d) in a reasonably timely manner;
       ``(B) make available all information published under 
     subsections (b), (c), and (d), using the common data elements 
     and data reporting standards designated by the Commission 
     under section 3611 of title 31, United States Code;
       ``(C) make available all information published under 
     subsections (b), (c), and (d) without charge, license, or 
     registration requirement;
       ``(D) permit all information published under subsections 
     (b), (c), and (d) to be searched and aggregated;
       ``(E) permit all information published under subsections 
     (b), (c), and (d) to be downloaded, including downloaded in 
     bulk;
       ``(F) to the extent practicable, disseminate information 
     published under subsections (b), (c), and (d) via automatic 
     electronic means;
       ``(G) to the extent practicable, permit information 
     published under subsections (b), (c), and (d) to be freely 
     shared by the public, such as by social media; and

[[Page 5562]]

       ``(H) to the extent practicable, use permanent uniform 
     resource locators for information published under subsections 
     (b), (c), and (d).''.
       (b) Requirement to Report All Data Submitted Under DATA Act 
     and Chapter 61 of Title 31 on USASpending.gov.--Section 2 of 
     the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 
     2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note), as amended by subsection (a), is 
     further amended--
       (1) by striking subsections (d) and (e);
       (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (e); and
       (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
     subsections (c) and (d):
       ``(c) Full Disclosure of Data Submitted Under the Digital 
     Accountability and Transparency Act of 2012.--
       ``(1) Requirement.--The Commission shall publish on the 
     website established under this section all information 
     submitted by recipients and agencies pursuant to sections 
     3602, 3603, and 3604 of title 31, United States Code, as 
     added by the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 
     2012.
       ``(2) Aggregation of information that is exempt from 
     recipient reporting requirement.--The Commission shall 
     publish, online and in the aggregate, information that is 
     exempt from recipient reporting under section 3605 of such 
     title but that is reported by an Executive agency under 
     section 3603 of such title in the aggregate.
       ``(d) Full Disclosure of Information Required by Chapter 61 
     of Title 31.--The Commission shall publish on the website 
     established under this section all information contained in 
     the information system required under section 6103 of title 
     31, United States Code.''.
       (c) Additional Definitions.--Subsection 2(a) of the Federal 
     Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 
     U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(4) Recipient.--The term `recipient' means--
       ``(A) any person that receives Federal funds pursuant to a 
     Federal award, either directly or through a subgrant or 
     subcontract at any tier; and
       ``(B) any State, local, or tribal government, or any 
     government corporation, that receives Federal funds pursuant 
     to a Federal award, either directly or through a subgrant or 
     subcontract at any tier.
       ``(5) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Federal 
     Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission 
     established under subchapter III of chapter 36 of title 31, 
     United States Code, or any successor entity to the Federal 
     Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission.''.
       (d) New Technologies.--Section 2(f) of the Federal Funding 
     Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Nothing'' and inserting the following:
       ``(1) Access to other data.--Nothing''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) New technologies.--Nothing in this Act shall prohibit 
     the Commission from complying with the requirements of this 
     section using such new technologies as may replace websites 
     for data publication and dissemination.''.
       (e) Conforming Amendments to Replace OMB With Commission 
     for Management of USASpending.gov.--Section 2 of such Act (31 
     U.S.C. 6101 note) is further amended--
       (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``Office of Management 
     and Budget'' and inserting ``Commission'' both places it 
     appears in paragraph (1); and
       (2) in subsection (g), by striking ``Director of the Office 
     of Management and Budget'' and inserting ``Commission'' in 
     paragraph (1) and in paragraph (3).
       (f) Repeal of Superseded Provisions.--Section 2(b) of such 
     Act (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is further amended by striking 
     paragraphs (3) and (4).
       (g) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Such Act (31 
     U.S.C. 6101 note) is further amended--
       (1) in section 2(b), by striking ``Not later than January 
     1, 2008, the'' and inserting ``The''; and
       (2) in section 2(g)--
       (A) by striking ``Committee on Government Reform'' and 
     inserting ``Committee on Oversight and Government Reform''; 
     and
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by inserting ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
       (ii) by striking ``; and'' at the end of subparagraph (B) 
     and inserting a period; and
       (iii) by striking subparagraph (C).

     SEC. 104. EFFECTIVE DATE AND DEADLINES FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
                   TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING.

       (a) Effective Date.--Chapter 36 of title 31, United States 
     Code, as added by section 101, is further amended by adding 
     at the end the following new subchapter:

                  ``SUBCHAPTER IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS

     ``Sec.  3641. Independence of inspectors general

       ``Nothing in this chapter shall affect the independent 
     authority or discretion of an inspector general to determine 
     whether or how to conduct an audit, investigation, or any 
     other function authorized by the Inspector General Act of 
     1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), or to disclose any information relating 
     to an audit or investigation.

     ``Sec.  3642. Effective date

       ``This chapter takes effect on the date of the enactment of 
     this chapter.''.
       (b) Deadlines for Implementation.--
       (1) Deadline for appointment of commissioners.--Within 60 
     days after the effective date of this Act, the President 
     shall appoint Commissioners to the Commission under section 
     3622 of title 31, United States Code, as added by this Act.
       (2) Commission deadlines.--
       (A) Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act, 
     the Commission shall establish the committee required under 
     section 3627 of title 31, United States Code, as added by 
     this Act.
       (B) Within 180 days after the effective date of this Act, 
     the Commission shall--
       (i) promulgate rules and issue guidance under sections 3602 
     and 3603 of title 31, United States Code, as added by this 
     Act;
       (ii) together with the Secretary of the Treasury, determine 
     the frequency and content of reports to be submitted to the 
     Commission by the Department of the Treasury under section 
     3604 of such title, as so added;
       (iii) designate common data elements under section 3611(a) 
     of such title and data reporting standards under section 
     3611(b) of such title, as so added; and
       (iv) establish one or more websites under the Federal 
     Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, as 
     amended by this Act.
       (3) Agency and department deadlines.--
       (A) Within one year after the effective date of this Act, 
     each Executive agency shall implement section 3614(a) of 
     title 31, United States Code, as added by this Act.
       (B) Within two years after the Commission designates any 
     common data element or data reporting standard under section 
     3611 of such title, as so added--
       (i) each Executive agency shall issue guidance under 
     section 3614(e) of such title, as so added;
       (ii) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
     shall issue guidance under section 3615 of such title, as so 
     added; and
       (iii) the Administrator of General Services shall take the 
     actions required under section 3617 of such title, as so 
     added.
       (4) Treasury deadlines.--
       (A) Within 180 days after the effective date of this Act, 
     the Secretary of the Treasury, together with the Commission, 
     shall determine the frequency and content of reports to be 
     submitted to the Commission by the Department of the Treasury 
     under section 3604 of title 31, United States Code, as added 
     by this Act.
       (B) Within 180 days after the Commission and the Secretary 
     of the Treasury determine the frequency and content of 
     reports to be submitted to the Commission by the Department 
     of the Treasury under section 3604 of such title, as so 
     added, the Department of the Treasury shall begin to submit 
     such reports to the Commission.
       (C) Within two years after the Commission designates any 
     common data element or data reporting standard under section 
     3611 of such title, as so added, the Secretary of the 
     Treasury shall issue guidance under section 3616 of such 
     title, as so added.
       (5) Recipient deadlines.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of this Act or the amendments made by this Act, no 
     recipient shall be required to comply with this Act or such 
     amendments until 180 days after the Commission has issued 
     rules and guidance under section 3602 of title 31, United 
     States Code, as added by this Act.
       (6) Transfer of usaspending.gov.--Within 180 days after the 
     effective date of this Act, the Commission and the Office of 
     Management and Budget shall transfer the management and 
     control of USASpending.gov from the Office of Management and 
     Budget to the Commission, as required by the Federal Funding 
     Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, as amended by 
     this Act.

 TITLE II--FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING TRANSPARENCY COMMISSION

     SEC. 201. FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING TRANSPARENCY 
                   COMMISSION.

       Chapter 36 of title 31, United States Code, as added by 
     section 101, is further amended by inserting after subchapter 
     II the following new subchapter:

  ``SUBCHAPTER III--FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING TRANSPARENCY 
                               COMMISSION

     ``Sec.  3621. Establishment

       ``(a) Establishment.--There is established the Federal 
     Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission as an 
     independent agency in the Executive Branch.
       ``(b) Functions and Powers Transferred.--
       ``(1) Functions transferred.--Except as provided in this 
     section, there are transferred to the Commission all 
     functions of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency 
     Board.
       ``(2) Powers, authorities, rights, and duties.--The Federal 
     Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission shall 
     succeed to all powers, authorities, rights, and duties that 
     were vested in the Recovery

[[Page 5563]]

     Accountability and Transparency Board on the day before the 
     effective date of this chapter.

     ``Sec.  3622. Composition of the Commission

       ``(a) Members.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall be composed of five 
     Commissioners who shall be appointed by the President, by and 
     with the consent of the Senate.
       ``(2) Party affiliation.--Not more than three of the 
     members of the Commission shall be members of the same 
     political party.
       ``(3) Term.--Each Commissioner shall hold office for a term 
     of five years and until a successor is appointed and has 
     qualified, except that--
       ``(A) a Commissioner shall not so continue to serve beyond 
     the expiration of the next session of Congress subsequent to 
     the expiration of such term of office;
       ``(B) any Commissioner appointed to fill a vacancy 
     occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which that 
     Commissioner's predecessor was appointed shall be appointed 
     for the remainder of such term; and
       ``(C) the terms of office of the Commissioners first taking 
     office after the enactment of this paragraph shall expire as 
     designated by the President at the time of nomination, one at 
     the end of one year, one at the end of two years, one at the 
     end of three years, one at the end of four years, and one at 
     the end of five years.
       ``(4) Compensation.--An individual appointed to the 
     Commission under this subsection shall be compensated at the 
     rate of basic pay prescribed for level III of the Executive 
     Schedule under section 5314 of title 5.
       ``(b) Chairman.--
       ``(1) In general.--The President shall appoint, by and with 
     the advice and consent of the Senate, a member of the 
     Commission as Chairman, who shall serve as Chairman at the 
     pleasure of the President. An individual may be appointed as 
     Chairman at the same time that person is appointed as a 
     Commissioner. At any time, the President may appoint, by and 
     with the advise and consent of the Senate, a different 
     Chairman, and the Commissioner previously appointed as 
     Chairman may complete that Commissioner's term as a 
     Commissioner.
       ``(2) Duties.--The Chairman shall be the chief 
     administrative officer of the Commission and shall preside at 
     meetings of the Commission.
       ``(3) Powers and functions.--
       ``(A) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph and in 
     section 3625 of this chapter, the executive and 
     administrative functions of the Commission, including 
     functions of the Commission with respect to the appointment 
     and supervision of personnel employed under the Commission, 
     the distribution of business among such personnel and among 
     administrative units of the Commission, and the use and 
     expenditure of funds, according to budget categories, plans, 
     programs, and priorities established and approved by the 
     Commission, shall be exercised solely by the Chairman.
       ``(B) In carrying out any of his functions under the 
     provisions of this paragraph, the Chairman shall be governed 
     by the general policies, plans, priorities, and budgets 
     approved by the Commission and by such regulatory decisions, 
     findings, and determinations as the Commission may by law be 
     authorized to make.
       ``(C) The appointment by the Chairman of the heads of major 
     administrative units under the Commission shall be subject to 
     the approval of the Commission.
       ``(D) Personnel employed regularly and full time in the 
     immediate offices of Commissioners other than the Chairman 
     shall not be affected by the provisions of this paragraph.
       ``(E) The Commission shall be responsible for the functions 
     of revising budget estimates of the Commission and 
     determining the distribution of appropriated funds according 
     to major programs and purposes of the Commission.
       ``(F) The Chairman may authorize the performance by any 
     officer, employee, or administrative unit under the 
     Chairman's jurisdiction of any functions of the Chairman 
     under this paragraph.
       ``(4) Limitation on terms.--No person appointed as Chairman 
     under this subsection shall serve as Chairman for more than 
     10 years, whether or not such service is consecutive.
       ``(5) Interim chairman.--Upon the effective date of this 
     chapter, the person serving as Chairperson of the Recovery 
     Accountability and Transparency Board on the day before the 
     effective date of this chapter shall serve as acting Chairman 
     of the Commission until the President appoints a Chairman of 
     the Commission pursuant to this subsection.
       ``(c) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall not 
     impair the right of the remaining Commissioners to exercise 
     all the powers of the Commission.

     ``Sec.  3623. Functions

       ``(a) In General.--The Commission shall--
       ``(1) be responsible for the collection, storage, and 
     public disclosure of information about Federal spending;
       ``(2) serve as the authoritative government source for the 
     information about Federal spending that it collects; and
       ``(3) coordinate and conduct oversight of Federal funds in 
     order to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
       ``(b) Specific Functions.--The functions of the Commission 
     shall include each of the following:
       ``(1) Receiving, storing, and publicly disseminating all of 
     the information that is reported to it under sections 3602, 
     3603, and 3604 of this title.
       ``(2) Reviewing whether reporting under section 3602 of 
     this title meets applicable standards and specifies the 
     purpose of the Federal award and measures of performance.
       ``(3) Identifying possible criminal activity and referring 
     such matters to appropriate Federal, State, and local law 
     enforcement authorities.
       ``(4) Supporting ongoing criminal investigations, 
     prosecutions, and related proceedings.
       ``(5) Furnishing research, analytical, and informational 
     services to Executive agencies, inspectors general, law 
     enforcement agencies, and appropriate State authorities in 
     the interest of detection, prevention, and prosecution of 
     waste, fraud, and abuse of Federal funds.
       ``(6) Regularly evaluating the quality of the data 
     submitted to it under sections 3602, 3603, and 3604 of this 
     title.
       ``(7) Standardizing common data elements and data reporting 
     standards to foster transparency and accountability for 
     Federal spending, as required by section 3611 of this title.
       ``(8) Reviewing whether there are appropriate mechanisms 
     for interagency collaboration relating to Federal funds, 
     including coordinating and collaborating to the extent 
     practicable with the Council of the Inspectors General on 
     Integrity and Efficiency established by section 11 of the 
     Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
       ``(9) Issuing a report in accordance with subsection (e) on 
     the feasibility of collecting and publishing online tax 
     expenditures data.
       ``(c) Priorities in Analyses and Reviews.--
       ``(1) In general.--To the extent practicable, the 
     Commission shall give high priority to analyses and reviews 
     relating to Federal funds--
       ``(A) awarded without the use of competitive procedures; or
       ``(B) awarded to any contractor found to be in violation of 
     the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977.
       ``(2) Identification.--The Commission shall identify any 
     contractor found to be in violation of the Foreign Corrupt 
     Practices Act of 1977 as a violator of such Act in any 
     contract information related to such contractor published 
     online under the Federal Funding Accountability and 
     Transparency Act of 2006.
       ``(d) Report Requirements.--
       ``(1) Reports.--
       ``(A) Regular reports on data quality audits.--The 
     Commission shall regularly submit to the President and 
     Congress reports on its audits of the quality of the data 
     submitted to it under sections 3602, 3603, and 3604 of this 
     title.
       ``(B) Semi-annual reports on activities.--The Commission 
     shall submit semi-annual reports to the President and 
     Congress, summarizing the activities and findings of the 
     Commission and, in the Commission's discretion, the findings 
     of inspectors general of Executive agencies that relate to 
     the Commission's activities during the reporting period.
       ``(C) Report on savings.--Not later than five years after 
     the effective date of this chapter, the Commission shall 
     submit to the President, Congress, and the Comptroller 
     General of the United States a report containing estimates of 
     the direct and indirect cost savings to the Treasury achieved 
     as a result of the Commission's activities.
       ``(D) Other reports.--Section 2(f) of the Federal Funding 
     Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 requires another 
     report by the Commission.
       ``(2) Public availability.--The Commission shall make all 
     reports submitted under paragraph (1) publicly available 
     contemporaneously online.
       ``(3) GAO evaluation.--Upon receipt of the report submitted 
     by the Commission under paragraph (1)(C), the Comptroller 
     General shall conduct an evaluation of the report and submit 
     the evaluation to Congress within six months after receipt of 
     the report, with such findings and recommendations as the 
     Comptroller General considers appropriate.
       ``(e) Tax Expenditures Report.--
       ``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (b)(7), not 
     later than one year after the effective date of this chapter, 
     the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
     committees a report on tax expenditures data that includes 
     the following:
       ``(A) A description of processes that could be put in place 
     to collect and disseminate tax expenditures data, and the 
     potential effects of making such data publicly available on 
     the Internal Revenue Service, taxpayers, and other relevant 
     parties determined by the Commission.
       ``(B) Any changes in law that are needed to make such tax 
     expenditures data publicly available.
       ``(2) Tax expenditures defined.--In this section, the term 
     `tax expenditures' has the meaning given that term in section 
     3(3) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act 
     of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622(3)).

[[Page 5564]]

       ``(3) Public availability.--The Commission shall make the 
     report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly available.
       ``(f) Recommendations.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall make 
     recommendations to Executive agencies on measures to prevent 
     waste, fraud, and abuse relating to Federal funds.
       ``(2) Responsive reports.--Not later than 30 days after 
     receipt of a recommendation under paragraph (1), an Executive 
     agency shall submit a report to the President, the 
     congressional committees of jurisdiction, and the Commission 
     on whether the Executive agency agrees or disagrees with the 
     recommendations and any actions the Executive agency will 
     take to implement the recommendations. The Commission shall 
     make all reports submitted to it under this paragraph 
     publicly available contemporaneously online.

     ``Sec.  3624. Powers

       ``(a) In General.--The Commission shall conduct independent 
     analyses and reviews of spending of Federal funds, including 
     analyses and reviews of information maintained in the Federal 
     accountability portal established under section 3612 of this 
     title, and provide investigative and audit support to the 
     inspectors general of Executive agencies.
       ``(b) Analyses and Reviews.--The Commission may--
       ``(1) conduct its own independent analyses and reviews of 
     spending of Federal funds; and
       ``(2) collaborate with and provide support for any 
     inspector general of any Executive agency or other law 
     enforcement authority on any audit, investigation, or other 
     review relating to Federal funds.
       ``(c) Authorities.--
       ``(1) Analyses, reviews, and investigative and audit 
     support.--In conducting analyses and reviews, and in 
     providing investigative and audit support to inspectors 
     general and law enforcement authorities, the Commission shall 
     have the authorities provided under paragraphs (1), (3), and 
     (6) through (10) of section 6(a), and section 6(b), of the 
     Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
       ``(2) Matching program authority with respect to 
     evaluations and reviews.--The authorities provided under 
     section 6(a)(9) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 
     (provided to the Commission pursuant to paragraph (1)) may be 
     used by the Commission while conducting an evaluation or 
     other review authorized under such Act.
       ``(d) Contracts.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Commission may enter into contracts 
     to enable the Commission to discharge its duties under this 
     chapter, including contracts and other arrangements for 
     audits, studies, analyses, and other services with public 
     agencies and with private persons, and make such payments as 
     may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission.
       ``(2) Contracting for missions of other agencies.--The 
     Commission may enter into contracts with any Federal agency 
     (within or outside the executive branch) to enable such 
     agency to identify waste, fraud, and abuse, including 
     contracts and other arrangements for audits, studies, 
     analyses, and other services.
       ``(3) Contracting for publication of data.--The Commission 
     may make contracts or agreements with any Federal agency 
     (within or outside the executive branch) to publish data 
     maintained by such agency on the website maintained under the 
     Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.
       ``(e) Transfer of Funds.--The Commission may transfer funds 
     appropriated to the Commission for expenses to support 
     administrative support services, investigations, audits, 
     reviews, or other activities related to oversight by the 
     Commission of Federal funds to any office of inspector 
     general, the Office of Management and Budget, and the General 
     Services Administration.

     ``Sec.  3625. Employment, personnel, and related authorities

       ``(a) Executive Director.--The Commission shall have an 
     Executive Director, who shall be appointed by the Commission 
     and serve at the pleasure of the Commission. The Executive 
     Director shall report directly to the Commission and carry 
     out the functions of the Commission subject to the 
     supervision and direction of the Commission. The position of 
     Executive Director shall be a career reserved position in the 
     Senior Executive Service, as that position is defined under 
     section 3132 of title 5.
       ``(b) Other Employees.--The Commission may appoint and fix 
     the compensation of such officers, attorneys, information 
     technology professionals, and other employees as may be 
     necessary for carrying out the functions of the Commission 
     under this chapter.
       ``(c) Administrative Support.--The General Services 
     Administration shall provide the Commission with 
     administrative support services, including the provision of 
     office space and facilities.

     ``Sec.  3626. Transfer of certain personnel

       ``(a) Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board 
     Employees.--The Chairman or Executive Director, or both, 
     shall identify employees of the Recovery Accountability and 
     Transparency Board for transfer to the Commission, and such 
     identified employees shall be transferred to the Commission 
     for employment.
       ``(b) Pay.--
       ``(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each transferred 
     employee shall, during the 2-year period beginning on the 
     effective date of this chapter, receive pay at a rate equal 
     to not less than the basic rate of pay (including any 
     geographic differential) that the employee received during 
     the pay period immediately preceding the date of transfer.
       ``(2) Paragraph (1) does not limit the right of the 
     Commission to reduce the rate of basic pay of a transferred 
     employee for cause, for unacceptable performance, or with the 
     consent of the employee.
       ``(3) Paragraph (1) applies to a transferred employee only 
     while that employee remains employed by the Commission.

     ``Sec.  3627. Advisory committee to Commission

       ``(a) Establishment and Purpose.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--The Commission shall establish an 
     advisory committee to be known as the Federal Accountability 
     and Spending Transparency Advisory Committee (in this section 
     referred to as the `Advisory Committee').
       ``(2) Purpose.--The Advisory Committee shall submit to the 
     Commission such findings and recommendations related to the 
     Commission's implementation of this chapter as it determines 
     are appropriate.
       ``(b) Membership and Chairperson.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall appoint no fewer 
     than 10, and no more than 20, members to the Advisory 
     Committee, from among individuals who--
       ``(A) represent the interests of recipients of Federal 
     contracts;
       ``(B) represent the interests of State, local, and tribal 
     governments receiving Federal grants;
       ``(C) represent the interests of other recipients of 
     Federal funds; and
       ``(D) represent nonprofit organizations that advocate 
     transparency and accountability in government.
       ``(2) Term.--Each member of the Advisory Committee 
     appointed under this section shall serve for a term of three 
     years, except that the Commission may appoint original 
     members of the Committee to one-year and two-year terms in 
     order to achieve staggered terms. No person shall serve more 
     than one term.
       ``(3) Chairperson.--The members of the Advisory Committee 
     shall elect a chairperson.
       ``(c) Meetings.--The Advisory Committee shall meet not less 
     frequently than six times annually, at the call of the 
     chairperson of the Advisory Committee.
       ``(d) Compensation and Travel Expenses.--Each member of the 
     Committee who is not a full-time employee of the United 
     States shall--
       ``(1) be entitled to receive compensation at a rate not to 
     exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 
     in effect for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule 
     under section 5316 of title 5 for each day during which the 
     member is engaged in the actual performance of the duties of 
     the Committee; and
       ``(2) while away from the home or regular place of business 
     of the member in the performance of services for the 
     Committee, be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in 
     lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed 
     intermittently in the Government service are allowed expenses 
     under section 5703(b) of title 5.
       ``(e) Staff.--The Commission shall make available to the 
     Advisory Committee such staff of the Commission as the 
     chairperson of the Advisory Committee recommends is necessary 
     to carry out this section.
       ``(f) Review by Commission.--After receipt of any finding 
     or recommendation from the Advisory Committee, the Commission 
     shall--
       ``(1) review the finding or recommendation; and
       ``(2) promptly issue a public statement--
       ``(A) assessing the finding or recommendation of the 
     Advisory Committee; and
       ``(B) disclosing the action, if any, the Commission intends 
     to take with respect to the finding or recommendation.
       ``(g) Advisory Committee Findings.--Nothing in this section 
     shall be construed as requiring the Commission to agree to or 
     act upon any finding or recommendation of the Advisory 
     Committee.
       ``(h) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--The Federal Advisory 
     Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Advisory 
     Committee.

     ``Sec.  3628. Authorization and availability of 
       appropriations

       ``(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated $51,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012, 
     2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 to carry out the 
     functions of the Commission.
       ``(b) Availability of Appropriations.--If the Recovery 
     Accountability and Transparency Board has unobligated 
     appropriations as of the effective date of this chapter, such 
     appropriations are authorized to remain available to the 
     Commission until September 30, 2015.

     ``Sec.  3629. Sunset

       ``This subchapter shall cease to be in effect after the 
     date occurring seven years after the date of the enactment of 
     this subchapter.''.

[[Page 5565]]



     SEC. 202. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO COMPENSATION OF 
                   CHAIRMAN.

       Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new item:
       ``Chairman of the Federal Accountability and Spending 
     Transparency Commission.''.

     SEC. 203. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATED TO RECOVERY 
                   ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD.

       (a) Repeal of Superseded Provisions in Subtitle B of Title 
     XV of Public Law 111-5.--Subtitle B of title XV of division A 
     of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public 
     Law 111-5; 123 Stat. 287) is amended by striking sections 
     1521, 1522, 1525(a), 1529, and 1530.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) References to board and chairperson.--
       (A) Paragraph (2) of section 1501 of the American Recovery 
     and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5; 123 Stat. 
     287) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(2) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Federal 
     Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission 
     established in chapter 36 of title 31, United States Code.''.
       (B) Such section is further amended by striking paragraph 
     (3).
       (C) The following provisions of such Act are amended by 
     striking ``Board'' each place it appears and inserting 
     ``Commission'' in the headings or text, as the case may be: 
     the heading of subtitle B of title XV, and sections 1523, 
     1524, 1525(b), 1525(c), 1526, 1527, 1528, 1542, and 1553.
       (D) Section 1513(b)(2) of such Act is amended by striking 
     ``the quarter in which the Board terminates under section 
     1530'' and inserting ``the quarter ending September 30, 
     2013''.
       (c) Repeal of Subtitle B of Title XV of Public Law 111-5.--
     Effective on October 1, 2013, subtitle B of title XV of 
     division A of such Act is repealed.
       (d) References in Federal Law to Board.--On and after the 
     effective date of this Act, any reference in Federal law to 
     the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board is deemed 
     to be a reference to the Federal Accountability and Spending 
     Transparency Commission.

                    TITLE III--ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS

     SEC. 301. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.

       Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act 
     shall be construed to require the public disclosure of 
     classified information.

     SEC. 302. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT EXEMPTION.

       Section 3518(c) of title 44, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and 
     inserting ``paragraph (3)'';
       (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), this subchapter shall 
     not apply to the collection of information during the conduct 
     of any evaluation, or other review conducted by the Federal 
     Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission, or 
     during the conduct of any audit, investigation, inspection, 
     evaluation, or any other review conducted by the Council of 
     Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency or any office 
     of inspector general, including any office of special 
     inspector general.''.

     SEC. 303. MATCHING PROGRAM EXCEPTION FOR INSPECTORS GENERAL.

       Section 6(a) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
     App.) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``and'';
       (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(9) notwithstanding subsections (e)(12), (o), (p), (q), 
     (r), and (u) of section 552a of title 5, United States Code, 
     to compare, through a matching program (as defined in such 
     section), any Federal records with other Federal or non-
     Federal records, while conducting an audit, investigation, or 
     inspection authorized under this Act to identify weaknesses 
     that may lead to waste, fraud, or abuse and to detect 
     improper payments and fraud; and''.

     SEC. 304. TRANSFER OF CONSOLIDATED FEDERAL FUNDS REPORT.

       (a) Transfer of Functions.--The Commission and the 
     Secretary of Commerce shall transfer the functions of the 
     Consolidated Federal Funds Report to the website established 
     under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act 
     of 2006, as amended by this Act.
       (b) Information.--Section 2(d) of the Federal Funding 
     Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, as amended by 
     section 103 of this Act, is further amended--
       (1) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(7) shall permit users to determine the following 
     information:
       ``(A) For each fiscal year, the total amount of Federal 
     funds that were obligated in each State, county or parish, 
     congressional district, and municipality of the United 
     States.
       ``(B) For each fiscal year, the total amount of Federal 
     funds that were actually expended in each State, county or 
     parish, congressional district, and municipality of the 
     United States.''.
       (c) Conforming Repeals of Superseded Provisions.--Chapter 
     62 of subtitle V of title 31, United States Code, is 
     repealed. The item relating to that chapter in the table of 
     chapters at the beginning of subtitle V of such title is 
     repealed.

     SEC. 305. TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY OVER CATALOG OF FEDERAL 
                   DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE TO COMMISSION.

       (a) Transfer of Authority From Administrator of General 
     Services and Director of Office of Management and Budget to 
     Commission.--
       (1) Definition.--Paragraph (6) of section 6101 of title 31, 
     United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(6) `Commission' means the Federal Accountability and 
     Spending Transparency Commission established in subchapter 
     III of chapter 36 of this title.''.
       (2) Amendments relating to program information 
     requirements.--Section 6102 of such title is amended--
       (A) in subsections (a) and (b), by striking 
     ``Administrator'' and inserting ``Commission'' both places it 
     appears;
       (B) in subsection (c)--
       (i) by striking ``Administrator'' and inserting 
     ``Commission'';
       (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and that the printed 
     catalog'' and all that follows through ``printing''; and
       (iii) in paragraph (4)--

       (I) by striking ``transmit annually'' and inserting 
     ``make''; and
       (II) by striking ``to the Committee'' and all that follows 
     through the period and inserting the following: ``available 
     to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
     Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.''.

       (3) Amendments relating to assistance awards information 
     system.--Section 6102a of such title is amended--
       (A) by striking subsection (b);
       (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b);
       (C) by striking ``Director'' and inserting ``Commission'' 
     each place it appears; and
       (D) in subsection (b), as so redesignated--
       (i) by striking ``transmit promptly after the end of each 
     calendar quarter, free of charge,'' and insert ``make 
     available''; and
       (ii) by striking ``Oversight'' and inserting 
     ``Administration''.
       (4) Amendments relating to access to computer information 
     system.--Section 6103 of such title is amended--
       (A) in subsections (a) and (c), by striking 
     ``Administrator'' and inserting ``Commission'' each place it 
     appears; and
       (B) by striking the text of subsection (b) and inserting 
     the following: ``The Commission shall publish online all of 
     the information contained in the information system under 
     subsection (a) in accordance with the Federal Funding 
     Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 
     note).''.
       (5) Amendments relating to catalog of federal domestic 
     assistance programs.--Section 6104 of such title if amended 
     by striking ``Administrator'' and inserting ``Commission'' 
     each place it appears.
       (6) Repeal of authorization.--Section 6106 of such title is 
     repealed.
       (b) Deadline for Transfer of Program Information System and 
     Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.--Within 180 days 
     after the effective date of this Act, the Commission and the 
     Administrator of General Services shall transfer the 
     management and control of the following from the 
     Administrator to the Commission, as required by chapter 61 of 
     title 31, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a):
       (1) The computer information system required under section 
     6103 of such title, as so amended.
       (2) The catalog of Federal domestic assistance programs 
     required under section 6104 of such title, as so amended.
       (c) Deadline for Transfer of Assistance Awards Information 
     System.--Within 180 days after the effective date of this 
     Act, the Commission and the Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget shall transfer the management and 
     control of the assistance awards information system from the 
     Director to the Commission, as required by section 6102a of 
     title 31, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a).

     SEC. 306. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IMPROVEMENT.

       (a) Authority to Obtain Information.--
       (1) Authority to obtain records.--Section 716 of title 31, 
     United States Code, is amended in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``(a)'' and inserting ``(2)''; and
       (B) by inserting after the section heading the following:
       ``(a)(1) The Comptroller General is authorized to obtain 
     such agency records as the Comptroller General requires to 
     discharge his duties (including audit, evaluation, and 
     investigative duties), including through the bringing of 
     civil actions under this section. In reviewing a civil action 
     under this section, the court shall recognize the continuing 
     force and effect of the authorization

[[Page 5566]]

     in the preceding sentence until such time as the 
     authorization is repealed pursuant to law.''.
       (2) Copies.--Section 716(a) of title 31, United States 
     Code, as amended by subsection (a), is further amended in the 
     second sentence of paragraph (2) by striking ``inspect an 
     agency record'' and inserting ``inspect, and make and retain 
     copies of, an agency record''.
       (b) Administering Oaths.--Section 711 of title 31, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (4) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(4) administer oaths to witnesses when auditing and 
     settling accounts and, with the prior express approval of the 
     Comptroller General, when investigating fraud or attempts to 
     defraud the United States, or irregularity or misconduct of 
     an employee or agent of the United States.''.
       (c) Access to Certain Information.--
       (1) Access to certain information.--Subchapter II of 
     chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec.  721. Access to certain information

       ``(a) No provision of the Social Security Act, including 
     section 453(l) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 653(l)), shall be 
     construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the 
     Comptroller General to obtain any information or to inspect 
     or copy any record under section 716 of this title.
       ``(b) No provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
     Act, including section 301(j) of that Act (21 U.S.C. 331(j)), 
     shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the 
     authority of the Comptroller General to obtain any 
     information or to inspect or copy any record under section 
     716 of this title.
       ``(c) No provision of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust 
     Improvements Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-435) and the 
     amendments made by that Act shall be construed to limit, 
     amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General 
     to obtain any information or to inspect or copy any record 
     under section 716 of this title, including with respect to 
     any information disclosed to the Assistant Attorney General 
     of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice or the 
     Federal Trade Commission for purposes of pre-merger review 
     under section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a).
       ``(d)(1) The Comptroller General shall prescribe such 
     policies and procedures as are necessary to protect from 
     public disclosure proprietary or trade secret information 
     obtained consistent with this section.
       ``(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to--
       ``(A) alter or amend the prohibitions against the 
     disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive information 
     prohibited by section 1905 of title 18 and other applicable 
     laws; or
       ``(B) affect the applicability of section 716(e) of this 
     title, including the protections against unauthorized 
     disclosure contained in that section, to information obtained 
     consistent with this section.
       ``(e) Specific references to statutes in this section shall 
     not be construed to affect access by the Government 
     Accountability Office to information under statutes that are 
     not so referenced.''.
       (2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 720 
     the following:

``721. Access to certain information.''.

       (d) Agency Reports.--Section 720(b) of title 31, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting 
     ``or planned'' after ``action taken''; and
       (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
       ``(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and 
     Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the 
     congressional committees with jurisdiction over the agency 
     program or activity that is the subject of the 
     recommendation, and the Government Accountability Office 
     before the 61st day after the date of the report; and''.

     SEC. 307. AMENDMENTS TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978 AND 
                   THE INSPECTOR GENERAL REFORM ACT OF 2008.

       (a) Incorporation of Provisions From the Inspector General 
     Reform Act of 2008 Into the Inspector General Act of 1978.--
       (1) Classification and pay.--
       (A) Amendment.--Section 8G of the Inspector General Act of 
     1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(i) Classification and Pay.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Inspector General of each designated Federal entity 
     shall, for pay and all other purposes, be classified at a 
     grade, level, or rank designation, as the case may be, at or 
     above those of a majority of the senior level executives of 
     that designated Federal entity (such as a General Counsel, 
     Chief Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief 
     Human Capital Officer, or Chief Acquisition Officer). The pay 
     of an Inspector General of a designated Federal entity shall 
     be not less than the average total compensation (including 
     bonuses) of the senior level executives of that designated 
     Federal entity calculated on an annual basis.
       ``(2) Limitation on adjustment.--
       ``(A) In general.--In the case of an Inspector General of a 
     designated Federal entity whose pay is adjusted under 
     paragraph (1), the total increase in pay in any fiscal year 
     resulting from that adjustment may not exceed 25 percent of 
     the average total compensation (including bonuses) of the 
     Inspector General of that entity for the preceding 3 fiscal 
     years.
       ``(B) Sunset of limitation.--The limitation under 
     subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any adjustment made in 
     fiscal year 2013 or each fiscal year thereafter.''.
       (B) Conforming repeal.--Section 4(b) of the Inspector 
     General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-409; 122 Stat. 
     4304; 5 U.S.C. App. 3 note) is repealed.
       (2) Pay retention.--
       (A) Amendment.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
     App.) is amended by adding after section 8L the following new 
     section:

     ``SEC. 8M. PAY RETENTION.

       ``(a) In General.--The provisions of section 3392 of title 
     5, United States Code, other than the terms `performance 
     awards' and `awarding of ranks' in subsection (c)(1) of such 
     section, shall apply to career appointees of the Senior 
     Executive Service who are appointed to the position of 
     Inspector General.
       ``(b) Nonreduction in Pay.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, career Federal employees serving on an 
     appointment made pursuant to statutory authority found other 
     than in section 3392 of title 5, United States Code, shall 
     not suffer a reduction in pay, not including any bonus or 
     performance award, as a result of being appointed to the 
     position of Inspector General.''.
       (B) Conforming repeal.--Section 4(c) of the Inspector 
     General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-409; 122 Stat. 
     4304; 5 U.S.C. App. 3 note) is repealed.
       (3) Allegations of wrongdoing against special counsel or 
     deputy special counsel.--
       (A) Amendment.--Section 11(d) of the Inspector General Act 
     of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new paragraph:
       ``(12) Allegations of wrongdoing against special counsel or 
     deputy special counsel.--
       ``(A) Special counsel defined.--In this paragraph, the term 
     `Special Counsel' means the Special Counsel appointed under 
     section 1211(b) of title 5, United States Code.
       ``(B) Authority of integrity committee.--
       ``(i) In general.--An allegation of wrongdoing against the 
     Special Counsel or the Deputy Special Counsel may be 
     received, reviewed, and referred for investigation by the 
     Integrity Committee to the same extent and in the same manner 
     as in the case of an allegation against an Inspector General 
     (or a member of the staff of an Office of Inspector General), 
     subject to the requirement that the Special Counsel recuse 
     himself or herself from the consideration of any allegation 
     brought under this paragraph.
       ``(ii) Coordination with existing provisions of law.--This 
     paragraph does not eliminate access to the Merit Systems 
     Protection Board for review under section 7701 of title 5, 
     United States Code. To the extent that an allegation brought 
     under this subsection involves section 2302(b)(8) of that 
     title, a failure to obtain corrective action within 120 days 
     after the date on which that allegation is received by the 
     Integrity Committee shall, for purposes of section 1221 of 
     such title, be considered to satisfy section 1214(a)(3)(B) of 
     that title.
       ``(C) Regulations.--The Integrity Committee may prescribe 
     any rules or regulations necessary to carry out this 
     paragraph, subject to such consultation or other requirements 
     as might otherwise apply.''.
       (B) Conforming amendment.--Section 7(b) of the Inspector 
     General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-409; 122 Stat. 
     4312; 5 U.S.C. 1211 note) is repealed.
       (b) Agency Applicability.--
       (1) Amendments.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
     U.S.C. App.), as amended by subsection (a), is further 
     amended--
       (A) in section 8L--
       (i) in subsection (a)(1)--

       (I) by striking the first ``agency'' and inserting 
     ``Federal agency and designated Federal entity''; and
       (II) by striking the second and third ``agency'' and 
     inserting ``Federal agency or designated Federal entity''; 
     and

       (ii) in subsection (b)--

       (I) in paragraph (1), by striking ``agency'' and inserting 
     ``Federal agency and designated Federal entity''; and
       (II) in paragraph (2)--

       (aa) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``agency'' and 
     inserting ``Federal agency and designated Federal entity''; 
     and
       (bb) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``agency'' and 
     inserting ``Federal agency and designated Federal entity''; 
     and
       (B) in section 11(c)(3)(A)(ii), by striking ``department, 
     agency, or entity of the executive branch'' and inserting 
     ``Federal agency or designated Federal entity''.
       (2) Implementation.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the head and the Inspector General 
     of each Federal agency and each designated Federal

[[Page 5567]]

     entity (as such terms are defined in sections 12 and 8G of 
     the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), 
     respectively) shall implement the amendments made by this 
     subsection.
       (c) Requirements for Inspectors General Websites.--Section 
     8L(b)(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 
     is amended--
       (1) by striking ``report or audit (or portion of any report 
     or audit)'' and inserting ``audit report, inspection report, 
     or evaluation report (or portion of any such report)''; and
       (2) by striking ``report or audit (or portion of that 
     report or audit)'' and inserting ``report (or portion of that 
     report)'' each place it appears.
       (d) Corrections.--
       (1) Executive order number.--Section 7(c)(2) of the 
     Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-409; 122 
     Stat. 4313; 31 U.S.C. 501 note) is amended by striking 
     ``12933'' and inserting ``12993''.
       (2) Punctuation and cross-references.--The Inspector 
     General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
       (A) in section 6(a)(4), by striking ``information, as well 
     as any tangible thing)'' and inserting ``information), as 
     well as any tangible thing''; and
       (B) in section 8G(g)(3), by striking ``8C'' and inserting 
     ``8D''.
       (3) Spelling.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
     App.) is amended--
       (A) in section 3(a), by striking ``subpena'' and inserting 
     ``subpoena'';
       (B) in section 6(a)(4), by striking ``subpena'' and 
     ``subpenas'' and inserting ``subpoena'' and ``subpoenas'', 
     respectively;
       (C) in section 8D(a)--
       (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subpenas'' and 
     inserting ``subpoenas''; and
       (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``subpena'' and 
     inserting ``subpoena'', each place it appears;
       (D) in section 8E(a)--
       (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subpenas'' and 
     inserting ``subpoenas''; and
       (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``subpena'' and 
     inserting ``subpoena'' each place it appears; and
       (E) in section 8G(d), by striking ``subpena'' and inserting 
     ``subpoena''.
       (e) Repeal.--Section 744 of the Financial Services and 
     General Government Appropriations Act, 2009 (division D of 
     Public Law 111-8; 123 Stat. 693; 5 U.S.C. App. 8L) is 
     repealed.

     SEC. 308. LIMITS AND TRANSPARENCY FOR TRAVEL AND CONFERENCE 
                   SPENDING.

       (a) Travel Expenses of Federal Agencies Relating to 
     Conferences.--
       (1) Limitations and reports on travel expenses to 
     conferences.--Chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after section 5711 the following:

     ``Sec.  5712. Limitations and reports on travel expenses to 
       conferences

       ``(a) In this section, the term--
       ``(1) `conference' means a meeting that--
       ``(A) is held for consultation, education, or discussion;
       ``(B) is not held entirely at an agency facility;
       ``(C) involves costs associated with travel and lodging for 
     some participants; and
       ``(D) is sponsored by 1 or more agencies, 1 or more 
     organizations that are not agencies, or a combination of such 
     agencies or organizations; and
       ``(2) `international conference' means a conference 
     attended by representatives of --
       ``(A) the United States Government; and
       ``(B) any foreign government, international organization, 
     or foreign nongovernmental organization.
       ``(b) No agency may pay the travel expenses for more than 
     50 employees of that agency who are stationed in the United 
     States, for any international conference occurring outside 
     the United States, unless the Secretary of State determines 
     that attendance for such employees is in the national 
     interest.
       ``(c) At the beginning of each quarter of each fiscal year, 
     each agency shall post on the public Internet website of that 
     agency a report on each conference for which the agency paid 
     travel expenses during the preceding 3 months that includes--
       ``(1) the itemized expenses paid by the agency, including 
     travel expenses, the cost of scouting for and selecting the 
     location of the conference, and any agency expenditures to 
     otherwise support the conference;
       ``(2) the primary sponsor of the conference;
       ``(3) the location of the conference;
       ``(4) in the case of a conference for which that agency was 
     the primary sponsor, a statement that--
       ``(A) justifies the location selected;
       ``(B) demonstrates the cost efficiency of the location; and
       ``(C) provides a cost benefit analysis of holding a 
     conference rather than conducting a teleconference;
       ``(5) the date of the conference;
       ``(6) a brief explanation how the conference advanced the 
     mission of the agency;
       ``(7) the title of any Federal employee or any individual 
     who is not a Federal employee whose travel expenses or other 
     conference expenses were paid by the agency; and
       ``(8) the total number of individuals whose travel expenses 
     or other conference expenses were paid by the agency.
       ``(d) Each report posted on the public Internet website 
     under subsection (c) shall--
       ``(1) be in a searchable electronic format; and
       ``(2) remain on that website for at least 5 years after the 
     date of posting.''.
       (2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 5711 
     the following:

``5712. Limitations and reports on travel expenses to conferences.''.

       (b) Limitations on Annual Travel Expenses.--
       (1) In general.--In the case of each of fiscal years 2012 
     through 2016, an agency (as defined under section 5701(1) of 
     title 5, United States Code) may not make, or obligate to 
     make, expenditures for travel expenses, in an aggregate 
     amount greater than 80 percent of the aggregate amount of 
     such expenses for fiscal year 2010.
       (2) Identification of travel expenses.--
       (A) Responsibilities.--Not later than September 1, 2012 and 
     after consultation with the Administrator of General Services 
     and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
     States Courts, the Director of the Office of Management and 
     Budget shall establish guidelines for the determination of 
     what expenses constitute travel expenses for purposes of this 
     subsection. The guidelines shall identify specific expenses, 
     and classes of expenses, that are to be treated as travel 
     expenses.
       (B) Exemption for military travel.--The guidelines required 
     under subparagraph (A) shall exclude military travel expenses 
     in determining what expenses constitute travel expenses. 
     Military travel expenses shall include travel expenses 
     involving military combat, the training or deployment of 
     uniformed military personnel, and such other travel expenses 
     as are determined under the guidelines.
       (c) Conference Transparency and Limitations.--
       (1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
       (A) the term ``agency'' has the meaning given under section 
     5701(1) of title 5, United States Code; and
       (B) the term ``conference'' has the meaning given under 
     section 5712(a)(1) of that title (as added by subsection 
     (a)).
       (2) Public availability of conference materials.--Each 
     agency shall post on the public Internet website of that 
     agency detailed information on any presentation made by any 
     employee of that agency at a conference, including--
       (A) any minutes relating to the presentation;
       (B) any speech delivered;
       (C) any visual exhibit, including photographs or slides;
       (D) any video, digital, or audio recordings of the 
     conference; and
       (E) information regarding any financial support or other 
     assistance from a foundation or other non-Federal source used 
     to pay or defray the costs of the conference, which shall 
     include a certification by the head of the agency that there 
     is no conflict of interest resulting from the support 
     received from each such source.
       (3) Limitation on amount expended on a conference.--
       (A) In general.--No agency may expend more than $500,000 to 
     support a single conference.
       (B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph shall 
     be construed to preclude an agency from receiving financial 
     support or other assistance from a foundation or other non-
     Federal source to pay or defray the costs of a conference the 
     total cost of which exceeds $500,000.
       (4) Limitation on the annual number of conferences an 
     agency may support.--No agency may expend funds on more than 
     a single conference sponsored or organized by an organization 
     during any fiscal year, unless the agency is the primary 
     sponsor and organizer of the conference.

     SEC. 309. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act and the 
     amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of 
     the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Issa) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  The American people have a right to know that taxpayer dollars are 
well spent. We have a responsibility to stay up with the times. As 
government has

[[Page 5568]]

grown, waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement have increased. Today, 
however, the technology is before us, if we simply embrace it, to do a 
far better job of accounting for every dollar spent on behalf of the 
American people. That's not just the American dollars that are spent by 
the Federal Government, but dollars passed on to the private sector, to 
the States, to public entities, and to nonprofits.
  Today, as those trillions of dollars are put out, we find that we 
don't know where they're spent. At best, we know the first place they 
went to. Under the Recovery Act, often called the ``stimulus,'' we can 
all disagree or agree on how the money was spent; but unlike previous 
appropriations, under that act, we found a way to do a better job of 
tracing the dollars, of tracing the dollars through recipient 
reporting--a system that, although costing a little bit to do, 
ultimately once set up saves money.
  The DATA Act before us today will literally track those trillions of 
dollars in a way not done outside of the Recovery Act. Quite frankly, 
we owe a debt of gratitude to the Recovery Board for showing us an 
effective system on which we could build.
  Just a few days ago, our committee, on a very bipartisan basis, 
evaluated the GSA's lavish spending. They explained to us that part of 
the way they spent $830,000-plus was, in fact, to cobble together, as 
they put it, multiple baskets of money--meaning, if you didn't know or 
couldn't trace how they'd spent their money, you wouldn't know that it 
was spent on a mind reader and a clown. You wouldn't know that those 10 
trips, essentially, were publicly funded trips so that key executives 
could have family vacations.
  With the DATA Act, we expect that and many other wasteful practices 
to be brought to an end. Some of them will be brought to an end by the 
ranking member and our work on the committee, but a great many of them 
will be brought to bear by the American people being able to search 
online and learn what they currently cannot learn.
  The DATA Act has been a bill that has been, unlike many, completely 
bipartisan. The minority and the majority have worked hand in hand. We 
come to you today with a bill that has been agreed to and that will 
save--I repeat, save--billions of dollars. Additionally, we do, in 
fact, amend some of the abuses under the GSA scandal and do so based on 
the good work of Representative Dennis Ross of Florida, who introduced 
strong language to do exactly what we're doing today.
  Before we go on, let me just say that I want to thank the ranking 
member, because the work on this bill and the reason this bill is 
before us on suspension is that we've been able to work hand in hand 
with members of the majority and minority and with key staff on both 
sides to make sure that we have a bill that will pass the House, 
hopefully, on a unanimous basis, and clearly, we'll see the Senate send 
a message that it's time for accountability generated from bipartisan 
work in the House.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  First, let me say that the chairman, Chairman Issa, has worked very 
closely with us as we have cosponsored this bill and has worked hard to 
make sure that all of its provisions are satisfactory to this side. So 
he is absolutely right, Madam Speaker, it is truly a bipartisan bill. 
Again, I thank him.
  Taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent, and we on 
our committee and all those in Congress believe we have a 
responsibility to ensure that those hard-earned tax dollars are spent 
effectively and efficiently. H.R. 2146, the Digital Accountability and 
Transparency Act, will make the Federal Government more accountable by 
making it easier for taxpayers to see where their money is going. By 
making government spending more transparent, we will, hopefully, reduce 
wasteful spending.
  This bill aims to capitalize on the success of the Recovery 
Accountability and Transparency Board. The Democrats in Congress 
created the board as part of the Recovery Act in 2009. In addition to 
promoting job creation, economic activity and long-term growth, the 
Recovery Act fostered unprecedented accountability and transparency in 
government spending. Under the administration's implementation and the 
RAT Board's oversight, the Recovery Act has had historically low levels 
of waste, fraud, and abuse. The successful implementation of the 
Recovery Act should be a model for improving transparency and 
accountability in all Federal spending.
  The DATA Act would do many of the same things the President directed 
by executive order on June 13, 2011. The DATA Act would establish a 
new, independent commission to lead the government's efforts on Federal 
spending transparency and accountability. The new commission would be 
authorized to set government-wide data standards and to coordinate the 
oversight of Federal funds to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
  I supported this legislation when it was considered by the Oversight 
Committee in June, but I had several concerns which I asked Chairman 
Issa to work with me on addressing. I commend the chairman for bringing 
an amendment to the floor today that addresses those concerns.
  This bill also includes language requiring agencies to disclose their 
spending on conferences and to justify their locations and cost 
efficiency. The bill, as amended, also requires agencies to reduce 
their travel spending by 20 percent from fiscal year 2010 levels. The 
President directed agencies to reduce travel spending in an executive 
order issued on November 9, 2011.
  When he signed that executive order to cut waste and promote 
efficient spending, he said this:

       We can't wait for Congress to act. We can't wait for them 
     to get our fiscal house in order and make the investments 
     necessary to keep America great. That's why, today, I'm 
     signing an executive order that will build on our efforts to 
     cut waste and promote more efficient spending across the 
     government. We're cutting what we don't need so that we can 
     invest in what we do need.

  Let's show the President that Congress can and will act to reduce 
wasteful spending. I urge my colleagues to join me, our chairman, and 
our committee in supporting this legislation.
  With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I would now like to yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford).
  Mr. LANKFORD. If people call my office and ask a simple question, 
something as simple as, How much did this cost?, it is difficult for 
even a Member of Congress to be able to track down all the details. How 
much was allotted for that grant? How much was actually spent? How much 
was that contract? How much was actually spent? How much does this 
agency spend on X number of programs or on this specific program?
  An individual hardworking taxpayer should be able to go research that 
out. Outside groups should be able to research that and should be able 
to develop some way to systematically research and compare. Right now, 
we can't do that.

                              {time}  1340

  We may do something as labor intensive as mail them something, or 
email them some things that we found, or maybe get a PDF document and 
be able to send it in, or send them to an agency Web site, but there is 
no systematic structured way to be able to compare last year to this 
year, one agency to another agency, how this contract was done, how 
this grant was done. This is a great moment to be able to bring all 
that information together so that every group, including Congress, can 
pull that data and can research it.
  This gets to the essence of why transparency is such a big deal 
because we want every single taxpayer to be able to look in and be able 
to see how their money is spent. That's an appropriate way to be able 
to respond to this.
  This also eliminates the duplication reporting from a contractor or 
an agency that is actually trying to file this information to not have 
to do it multiple times, to make it more efficient.

[[Page 5569]]

This deals with the inconsistent requirements of reporting across 
different platforms. This deals with the basics of grant and contract 
recipients being able to also report in that data, as was done by the 
Recovery Board, which has been very successful in getting accurate 
information in.
  This also engages those outside individuals, grant writers, grant 
recipients, and contract recipients, to be able to come back in and 
process that data so we get real-time information. And it deals with 
one of the most basic things: efficient use of money. In this 
particular bill, it deals with all these conferences, reducing the cost 
of government conferences, finding some way to be able to put some 
parameters around them and structure, so that money is not pulled from 
one place or another to be able to function in conference, a conference 
that doesn't have a quarter of a million dollars budget spending 
$850,000 for a single event.
  I reiterate what we have said on both sides of the aisle: 
transparency is not a partisan issue. This is a bipartisan bill, and 
whoever is in the White House and whoever is running agencies, just 
like Congress, is accountable to all the American people.
  This makes all of what we do publicly available, easy to be able to 
research, easy to be able to compare. It is a simple way to take this 
on. I'm strongly in support of this and grateful that it's a very 
bipartisan act.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from New York (Mrs. Maloney).
  Mrs. MALONEY. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his 
leadership, and I thank the chairman for his leadership.
  This is truly a bipartisan effort, and one that is sorely needed, as 
we can see from the hearing that we held last week in the Oversight and 
Government Reform Committee on the General Services Administration. And 
it was just outrageous that they would spend over $800,000 for some 
conference with mind readers and clowns when so many Americans are 
struggling and working hard.
  This bill will help prevent this type of abuse from happening again, 
and I am rising in strong support of H.R. 2146, the Digital 
Accountability and Transparency Act.
  It is good government, it is bipartisan, it is something that we can 
all agree on. It is common sense, and if it had been in place earlier 
we could have possibly prevented the type of abuse that we are both 
dedicated to cleaning up.
  This bill will improve congressional oversight of how Federal dollars 
are being spent. This bill does this by creating a single online portal 
for information about where Federal spending can be tracked. The bill 
requires recipients of Federal grants, loans, and contracts to disclose 
how much money they receive and how that money is spent, and reduces 
the compliance burden on recipients of Federal funds by streamlining 
reporting and establishing universal data standards.
  The Congressional Budget Office has certified that:

       H.R. 2146 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
     mandates, as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
     (UMRA), and would impose no additional costs on State, local 
     or tribal governments.

  This is designed to save money and to save the taxpayers, and to 
allow the public to have insight into how these dollars are being 
spent, too.
  The DATA Act capitalizes on the reporting required under the American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Act and President Obama's executive order 
establishing the Government Accountability and Transparency Board, and 
it will give legislative teeth to increase transparency and 
accountability over Federal spending across the government.
  The DATA Act also caps nonmilitary travel spending at 20 percent 
below FY10 levels and limits both the number of and amount spent on 
agency conferences, which will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of 
dollars per year.
  So this is truly something we can all agree upon. The technology is 
there. This bill puts the political will behind having this 
accountability. We do know how to track this. This will be in one 
centralized place, it will be available to the public, and it's an 
improvement in all ways.
  Currently available data on Federal spending is incomplete, 
confusing, and inconsistent. This act would centralize and simplify the 
convoluted reporting that is in place now, and everything would be 
reported in the same way. The bill also includes uniform reporting from 
the recipients of the Federal funds and, very importantly, all of this 
would be available to the public.
  The independent commission that would be established by this would be 
responsible for publishing and monitoring Federal spending. A number of 
diverse groups have come out in favor of it. I have roughly 20 groups 
that have written in support of the bill, from the Citizens for 
Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, to the Taxpayers for Common 
Sense, to POGO, to OMB Watch.
  I believe this is an important bill. I believe it will make the 
government perform better, save taxpayers money, and the time of those 
who are tracking where these dollars are going. It is well overdue, and 
it should pass today.
  I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for 
this important piece of legislation.

       POGO and Partners Strongly Support Passage of the DATA Act

                                                   April 23, 2012.
       Members of the House of Representatives: We, the 
     undersigned organizations, are writing in strong support of 
     the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act), 
     H.R. 2146, which is planned for a floor vote this Wednesday. 
     The DATA Act is an important step towards improving federal 
     financial transparency and would empower the public to better 
     understand how their federal dollars are being spent.
       Currently available data on federal spending is incomplete 
     and inconsistent. The DATA Act would centralize and simplify 
     the convoluted spending reporting standards so that every 
     government agency reports their spending in the same way. 
     Importantly, the bill also includes uniform reporting from 
     recipients of federal funds. All of this information will be 
     readily available to the public.
       The DATA Act establishes an independent commission 
     responsible for publishing and monitoring federal spending, 
     modeled after the Recovery Accountability and Transparency 
     Board. It also sets consistent government-wide standards for 
     financial data reporting. Its enactment will greatly improve 
     the scope, granularity, timeliness, usefulness, and accuracy 
     of public reports on federal spending beyond what is 
     currently available.
       Concerns many of us expressed with earlier versions of the 
     legislation have been addressed. For example, the bill 
     provides for continuity of the Federal Funding Accountability 
     and Transparency Act and USAspending.gov. It ensures that 
     reporting requirements will persist even if the Commission 
     sunsets. It requires prime federal award recipients to 
     identify all sub-awards, and expands Treasury Department 
     reporting requirements. It also strengthens the Government 
     Accountability Office's ability to obtain certain agency 
     records.
       This bill, introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), 
     cosponsored by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and 13 others, was 
     passed unanimously by the House Oversight and Government 
     Reform Committee, and enjoys strong bipartisan support.
       We urge that you be present and vote ``yes'' on the DATA 
     Act to shine a light on the spending of our tax dollars.
       For more information, please contact Daniel Schuman of the 
     Sunlight Foundation, Angela Canterbury of the Project on 
     Government Oversight, or Sam Rosen-Amy of OMB Watch.
           Sincerely,
         Center for Responsive Politics, Citizens for 
           Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, (CREW), Cost 
           of Government Center, Data Transparency Coalition, 
           Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fore See, Global 
           Financial Integrity, iSolon.org, Jubilee USA Network, 
           Liberty Coalition, Missionary Oblates US Province.
         National Freedom of Information Coalition, National 
           Priorities Project, OMB Watch, OpenTheGovernment.org, 
           Progressive Librarians Guild, Project On Government 
           Oversight (POGO), Tabulaw Inc., Taxpayers for Common 
           Sense Action, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, The 
           Sunlight Foundation, U.S. Transparency, Washington 
           Coalition for Open Government, WashingtonWatch.com.

  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Ross), the author of many of the reforms in this bill.
  Mr. ROSS of Florida. Thank you, chairman, for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Digital Accountability 
and

[[Page 5570]]

Transparency Act of 2011, also known as the DATA Act.
  The DATA Act finally does what America wants: opens up the books of 
government and lets the taxpayers see what is being spent. The bill 
also cuts agency travel spending by hundreds of millions of dollars per 
year, a great and necessary first step.
  By requiring Federal agencies to report how their funds are spent and 
capping travel expenses, this commonsense bipartisan bill will bring 
much-needed accountability and transparency to Federal spending. The 
DATA Act should also send a clear message to bureaucrats here in 
Washington, D.C.
  The American taxpayer is watching, and they're sick and tired of the 
blank-check mentality. Let's make sure that taxpayer dollars are no 
longer spent on lavish conferences. But with this bill we can also 
begin to crowdsource all Federal spending.
  I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) for introducing this 
bill and for his leadership on transparency and accountability in 
government. Let's make sure that common sense becomes something common 
in government.
  Please join me in supporting the DATA Act.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As the Chairman stated and others have stated on this floor, we saw 
the abuses that took place at GSA, and we will certainly continue to 
follow them, because I believe that all of us were very upset about 
those abuses, Madam Speaker.
  One of the things that we do believe is that the legislation like 
this is so important because it shines a light on how money is being 
spent. It won't solve all the problems, but it certainly will solve a 
lot of them.

                              {time}  1350

  One of the things that Mr. Devaney said, who was over the stimulus 
bill and the RAT Board there, is that he wanted to do certain things 
that not only would lay out a formula for accountability, but would 
prevent people from even abusing the system.
  Again, I think what we're doing here puts us out front of, hopefully, 
some things that people may have been thinking about doing. We don't 
even want to think about it because there are so many people in our 
districts who work so hard to earn their money, and they don't mind 
paying their taxes, they don't mind sacrificing, as long as they know 
that that money is being spent effectively and efficiently.
  One of the things that we have to do, Madam Speaker, is to make sure 
that we establish and maintain a trust with them so that when they 
write that check, they know it's going towards the roads that they want 
to see built, going towards making sure the air is clean, and making 
sure that the park rangers are present. They want to see that money 
spent properly. They don't want to see it spent on some bureaucrats 
flying around the country using the money in an improper way.
  So with this bipartisan bill, I think we send a message to the public 
that we're going to do everything in our power to make sure that they 
have as much information as possible about where that money goes when 
it leaves their checking account. And because of that and because this 
bill is so significant and because it is about a truly bipartisan 
effort, I'm hoping that we will have every Member of the House voting 
in favor of it.
  With that, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISSA. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, the expression we often hear about success and failure 
is that success has many fathers, while, in fact, failure is an orphan. 
This bill will not be an orphan. In fact, the work of Ranking Member 
Cummings, along with Representative Maloney, Representative Sherman, 
Representative Collin Peterson, and the former chairman of the full 
committee, Ed Towns, on just one side, have been critical in getting 
this done. The support of Jason Chaffetz, Dan Burton, Blake Farenthold, 
the gentleman who spoke a minute ago, James Lankford, Mike Kelly, Tom 
Latham, Patrick McHenry, and Dennis Ross all have been critical in this 
process.
  But perhaps less often heard, as the ranking member referred, former 
Inspector General and chairman of the Recovery Board, Earl Devaney, has 
been critical to shepherding the process that has gone over two 
Congresses, and I want to thank him personally while he's enjoying his 
well-earned retirement. Along with him was Vice President Joe Biden, 
who has been supportive and helped us in this process and held numerous 
meetings at the White House on behalf of it. In the Senate, Mark Warner 
of Virginia has championed and introduced the companion product, making 
it bipartisan in both Houses.
  Additionally, as I think the ranking member alluded to, the Sunlight 
Foundation, the Project on Government Oversight, the American Institute 
of Certified Public Accountants, the Americans for Tax Reform, the Data 
Transparency Coalition, and XPRL US have all been critical. The last 
one I mentioned is particularly critical because the need for standards 
that ultimately are set that allow for this transparency are going to 
come not from us in government but from organizations who have open and 
transparent capability that we will leverage. All of these and more are 
to be thanked today.
  I want to close by saying the winners of this effort will be the 
American people. It will be the American people because when this is 
fully implemented, the American people, who are used to Googling for 
information outside of government, will find it possible to get 
meaningful information on where their hard-earned tax dollars are being 
spent just as quickly. And that's the goal of our committee: to 
recognize that the hundred-or-so staff and members on both sides of the 
aisle of the Oversight Committee cannot protect the American people 
alone. The 12,000-or-so members of the Inspector General's staff 
throughout government cannot protect the American people alone. But 
with data transparency and more access and sunlight available more 
broadly, we believe that these organizations can, in fact, have the 
kind of whistle-blowers and information providers that will allow us to 
scrub the balance sheet to wrench out waste, fraud, and abuse in our 
government at any level.
  So I join with the ranking member in urging its unanimous support and 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Madam Speaker, the Oversight and Reform 
Committee marked up the DATA Act without holding a single hearing about 
the advisability of creating additional, duplicative reporting 
requirements for grantees, subgrantees, contractors and subcontractors. 
The reporting requirements imposed by this bill would affect local and 
state governments, colleges and universities, and private sector 
federal contractors and subcontractors. I ask unanimous consent to 
include for the Record statements from the National Governors 
Association, National Association of Counties, National League of 
Cities, National Association of Chief Information Officers, 
International City/County Management Association, National Association 
of State Budget Officers, National Association of State Auditors, 
Comptrollers, and Treasurers, Government Finance Officers Association, 
and George Mason University opposing this legislation.
  The authors of this bill believe that creating these additional 
regulations on the private sector and mandates on state and local 
governments will cost $51 million per year, which is the new spending 
authorized by the DATA Act. That only represents the direct cost, not 
the indirect costs taxpayers will bear if local and state governments 
and colleges and universities must spend more money filing paperwork to 
comply with the requirements of this bill. That cost also does not 
account for the costs to private sector businesses to comply with new 
regulations imposed by this bill. University and contractor 
associations have not taken a public position opposing this legislation 
because of last-minute changes to the bill made by Mr. Issa's staff.
  These changes should have been made during Committee or Subcommittee 
markup, but our Committee engaged in no substantive deliberations about 
the content of the bill in that context. As a result, today we have a 
bill that probably is less costly to both public and private entities 
but nonetheless still creates

[[Page 5571]]

new private and public sector regulations and mandates at a significant 
cost. I remain concerned that the laudable goal of creating a single 
reporting system for federal spending could be lost in a maze of 
duplicative and conflicting reporting requirements as a result of this 
bill.
  It is ironic that a bill whose stated purpose is transparency would 
be rammed through Committee and then brought to the floor with last-
minute changes made in the least public manner possible. As a result of 
this convoluted legislative process, there may be problems with the 
current text of the DATA Act which have not been subjected to review by 
the committee of jurisdiction. I hope that the Senate reviews the 
current text of this bill carefully not only because of the bill's 
costs, new regulations, and new mandates, but also because the 
haphazard manner in which the bill was written increases the likelihood 
that there are drafting errors, duplicative regulations, or provisions 
that are inconsistent with current law.
  It should be obvious that our committee could work in a bipartisan 
manner to promote transparency through legislation like the DATA Act, 
but certain provisions of this bill and the lack of deliberation in 
developing it expose stakeholders to potential negative unintended 
consequences. For these reasons I must oppose this legislation.

         Government Finance Officers Association; International 
           City/County Management Association; National 
           Association of Counties; National Association of State 
           Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers; National 
           Association of State Budget Officers; National 
           Association of State Chief Information Officers; 
           National League of Cities,
                                                   April 24, 2012.
     Hon. Darrell Issa,
     Chairman, Oversight and Government Reform Committee, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Issa: On behalf of the above listed 
     organizations, we are writing to commend you on your efforts 
     to further transparency and accountability in federal 
     spending and to express our sincere appreciation to your 
     staff in working with many of our organizations to include 
     recommended changes in the most recent draft amendment to 
     H.R. 2146, the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act. 
     We agree with the long term purpose of the Act to consolidate 
     and streamline the reporting of federal funds. However, in 
     addition to the overall goals of modernization, efficiency 
     and accountability, the shift toward data reporting 
     standardization should keep in mind the costs and burdens for 
     fiscally strained state and local governments and other 
     federal grant recipients.
       While there are a number of positive changes contained in 
     the most recent draft, we remain concerned about the 
     magnitude of reporting and the stated timelines for 
     implementation. The lack of funding for state and local 
     governments to carry out the reporting and necessary 
     oversight is disappointing given the enormous administrative 
     challenges inherent in implementing Recovery Act-type 
     reporting for all grants and contracts. Having adequate staff 
     and sufficient equipment and data systems are essential to 
     effective implementation and oversight.
       The ultimate success of Recovery Act reporting and the 
     resulting low level of fraud and abuse can be attributed not 
     only to the work of the Recovery Accountability and 
     Transparency Board but also to the commitment and dedication 
     of accountability and oversight professionals at the state 
     and local levels. It was recognized early on that the lack of 
     funding for state and local governments was a major oversight 
     and shortcoming of the original Recovery Act, and it appears 
     that this shortcoming will be repeated in the DATA Act.
       We believe that an efficient and streamlined reporting 
     process, such as the one established in the DATA Act, hinges 
     on identifying challenges and establishing well thought out 
     and vetted business processes. Relying on the success of 
     reporting for a small number of ARRA grants and contracts and 
     expanding that universe to include all federal awards will 
     require significant planning and resources.
       We have recently become aware that the current Recovery 
     Accountability and Transparency Board will conduct a grants 
     information reporting pilot project this summer to identify 
     cost efficiencies and the potential pitfalls of moving toward 
     a centralized system for data collection and warehousing. 
     Such a pilot would be an important step in identifying the 
     plausibility of expanding ARRA-like reporting requirements to 
     the entire universe of grants and contracts.
       As we have suggested previously, we believe that developing 
     a phased-in approach to implementing the DATA Act would allow 
     for grant recipients to establish the appropriate processes 
     for such an enormous endeavor. Such an approach would also 
     give the Recovery Board an opportunity to undertake its 
     planned information reporting pilots and would help to 
     mitigate the reoccurring data quality problems that have 
     plagued USASpending.gov.
       While we support the intent of the DATA Act, trying to 
     implement the requirements on all grants and contracts all at 
     once will severely limit the chances of meeting the intended 
     goals and objectives. We hope that you will reconsider the 
     legislation in its current form to develop a reasonable 
     phased-in approach for implementation and that you will 
     consider adding a funding provision to support state and 
     local governments, which will be essential partners for 
     successful implementation.
       We look forward to continuing the dialog on this important 
     initiative. Please feel free to contact our representatives 
     in Washington should you have any questions or desire further 
     information.
     Michael Belarmino, NACo.
     Cornelia Chebinou, NASACT.
     Lars Etzkorn, NLC.
     Susan Gaffney, GFOA.
     Elizabeth Kellar, ICMA.
     Scott Pattison, NASBO.
     Pam Walker, NASCIO.
                                  ____


                    NGA Opposes Data Act Legislation

       Washington.--The National Governors Association (NGA) today 
     issued the following statement regarding the establishment of 
     an independent agency in the executive branch to improve 
     transparency in federal spending and coordinate 
     investigations to prevent fraud:
       ``While governors support the need for transparency in 
     accountability and reporting, they have long opposed unfunded 
     mandates.
       ``The DATA Act (H.R. 2146) builds upon lessons learned by 
     states in tracking federal funds under the American Recovery 
     and Reinvestment Act. Unfortunately, funding is not provided 
     for the Act's numerous new requirements.
       ``Without funding for state compliance, governors cannot 
     implement the bill and therefore do not support the passage 
     of the DATA Act. Governors encourage Congress to work with 
     them to develop a more workable solution that meets the needs 
     of states.
                                  ____

         George Mason University, Office of the Vice President, 
           Research and Economic Development,
                                      Fairfax, VA, April 24, 2012.
     Hon. Gerry Connolly,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Connolly: I am writing to you regarding 
     H.R. 2146, the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act 
     (DATA Act), which is scheduled to be considered on the House 
     Floor tomorrow. George Mason University very much appreciates 
     all your efforts to make the necessary changes in the bill so 
     it would accomplish the goal of more accountability and 
     transparency in federal spending by enhancing the reporting 
     requirements of Federal agencies and recipients of federal 
     funds. We support this goal and also recognize the sincere 
     efforts of all those involved to meet the concerns of the 
     various stakeholders. Nevertheless, we continue to oppose the 
     bill for the following reasons.
       The bill requires recipients to report, not less than 
     quarterly, any transaction, basic location information, 
     individual Federal awards by agency, the total amount of 
     funds received and the amount of funds expended or obligated 
     for an individual award per quarter, subawardees (or prime 
     awardee depending on status of recipient) and any additional 
     information requested. Mason has approximately 650 active 
     awards totaling over $285 million. Mason already reports on 
     each of these, and to do so on a quarterly basis would 
     require an additional 2\1/2\-3 additional FTEs. This is just 
     the administrative cost to our Office of Sponsored Programs, 
     not counting the time PIs would have to spend. Since State 
     funds are dwindling and administrative costs allowed in 
     indirect costs are capped at 26% the Act will impact our 
     budget.
       It should be noted that the Federal Demonstration 
     Partnership found that the Recovery Act quarterly reporting 
     resulted in each award costing an additional $7900 to 
     administer, for little useful information. Research is about 
     creating and advancing knowledge and is less prone to 
     duplication and abuse because researchers generally know 
     their peers and their published work. We have several other 
     concerns such as the FAST Commission and the penalties for 
     non-compliance, but the cost of quarterly reporting is the 
     most direct.
       Again, thank you for all you do on behalf of George Mason 
     University. I look forward to continuing to work with you. 
     Please let me know if you have any questions.
           Sincerely,
                                               Kerry D. Bolognese,
                                    Director of Federal Relations.

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
speak on H.R. 2146, the DATA Act. I join all of my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle in supporting greater transparency in Federal grants 
and contracts. But the details in how we reach

[[Page 5572]]

that goal are important. The bill as reported by the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform would have created an extra level of 
bureaucracy and duplicative reporting of financial data in addition to 
an administrative tax on scarce Federal research dollars and an 
unfunded mandate imposed on our already struggling universities.
  Research universities, the economic engines of our Nation, typically 
receive research grants from 6-7 Federal agencies, each with its own 
financial reporting requirements and data standards. The bill as 
introduced would simply have added one more agency, in the form of the 
new Commission, to which universities would have to report. This would 
have increased the administrative costs on Federal research dollars 
without providing any new information about funding to those 
institutions.
  The amendment being considered today is a big improvement on the 
original bill in ensuring that financial reporting of Federal grants 
and contracts is standardized and consolidated to reduce the overall 
administrative burden on grant recipients such as universities while 
providing the increased transparency that is the goal of this bill. I 
want to express my appreciation to Chairman Issa and Ranking Member 
Cummings for working closely with the university groups to address 
these issues.
  However, I believe that more work still needs to be done on this bill 
to guarantee that financial reporting is fully streamlined and agencies 
are required to comply with a consolidated reporting system. I 
understand that the transition will be difficult for all involved, 
including both the granting agencies and the grant recipients, but I 
also believe that a consolidated financial reporting system is good for 
the government and good for the taxpayer.
  I share with some of my colleagues other concerns that have been 
expressed about this bill, but today I speak only in my role as Ranking 
Member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. I hope that 
Chairman Issa and Ranking Member Cummings will maintain their open 
dialogue with the universities and other Federal grant and contract 
recipients about the details of this bill as it moves forward. I 
believe we all share the goal of increased transparency while keeping 
U.S. research dollars directed to ground-breaking research that is the 
foundation of our economic growth, rather than to additional paperwork.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2146, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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