[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17295-17300]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          DIGITAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2013

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 2061) to expand the Federal Funding Accountability and 
Transparency Act of 2006 to increase 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. 2061

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Digital 
     Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Amendments to the Federal Funding Accountability and 
              Transparency Act of 2006.
Sec. 4. Pilot program to evaluate consolidated recipient reporting.
Sec. 5. Classified and protected information.
Sec. 6. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 amendments.
Sec. 7. Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 amendments.
Sec. 8. Executive agency accounting and other financial management 
              reports and plans.
Sec. 9. Limits and transparency for conference and travel spending.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are to--
       (1) expand the Federal Funding Accountability and 
     Transparency Act of 2006 by disclosing direct Federal agency 
     expenditures and linking Federal contract, loan, and grant 
     spending information to programs of Federal agencies in order 
     to enable taxpayers and policy makers to track Federal 
     spending more effectively;
       (2) provide consistent, reliable, and searchable 
     Government-wide spending data that is displayed accurately 
     for taxpayers and policy makers on USASpending.gov;
       (3) analyze Federal spending data to proactively prevent 
     waste, fraud, abuse, and improper payments;
       (4) simplify reporting for entities receiving Federal funds 
     by streamlining reporting requirements and reducing 
     compliance costs while improving transparency; and
       (5) improve the quality of data submitted to 
     USASpending.gov by holding Federal agencies accountable for 
     the completeness and accuracy of the data submitted.

     SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL FUNDING ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
                   TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006.

       Section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and 
     Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended--
       (1) in the section heading, by striking ``FULL DISCLOSURE 
     OF ENTITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FUNDING'' and inserting 
     ``DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL FUNDING'';
       (2) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
     (3) and (7), respectively;
       (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new 
     paragraph (2):
       ``(2) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' has the 
     meaning given the term `Executive agency' under section 105 
     of title 5, United States Code.'';
       (C) by inserting after paragraph (3), as redesignated by 
     subparagraph (A), the following new paragraphs:
       ``(4) Federal funds.--The term `Federal funds' means any 
     funds that are made available to or expended by a Federal 
     agency.
       ``(5) Object class.--The term `object class' means the 
     category assigned for purposes of the annual budget of the 
     President submitted under section 1105(a) of title 31, United 
     States Code, to the type of property or services purchased by 
     the Federal Government.
       ``(6) Program activity.--The term `program activity' has 
     the meaning given that term under section 1115(h) of title 
     31, United States Code.''; and
       (D) in paragraph (7), as redesignated by subparagraph (A)--
       (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``paragraph 
     (2)(A)(i)'' and inserting ``paragraph (3)(A)(i)''; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``paragraph 
     (2)(A)(ii)'' and inserting ``paragraph (3)(A)(ii)'';
       (3) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``the Office of Management and Budget'' and 
     inserting ``the Secretary of the Treasury'' each place it 
     appears;
       (ii) in subparagraph (F)--

       (I) in clause (i), by redesignating subclauses (I) and (II) 
     as items (aa) and (bb), respectively;
       (II) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses 
     (I) and (II); and

[[Page 17296]]

       (III) by striking the period at the end of subclause (II) 
     as so redesignated and inserting ``; and'';

       (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (G) as 
     clauses (i) through (vii), respectively, and adjusting the 
     margin accordingly;
       (iv) by striking ``for each Federal
     award--'' and inserting the following: ``for all Federal 
     funds--
       ``(A) for each Federal agency, component of a Federal 
     agency, appropriations account, program activity, and object 
     class (including any subcomponent of an object class), and 
     other accounts or data as appropriate--
       ``(i) the amount of budget authority available;
       ``(ii) the amount obligated;
       ``(iii) the amount of outlays;
       ``(iv) the amount of any Federal funds reprogrammed or 
     transferred; and
       ``(v) the amount of expired and unexpired unobligated 
     balances; and
       ``(B) for each Federal award--''; and
       (v) in subparagraph (B)(iii), as so designated by this 
     subparagraph, by inserting ``, which shall be assigned a 
     unique identifier,'' after ``information on the award'';
       (B) in paragraph (3)--
       (i) by striking ``The Director of the Office of Management 
     and Budget'' and inserting ``The Secretary of the Treasury''; 
     and
       (ii) by striking ``the Director'' and inserting ``the 
     Secretary'';
       (C) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) by striking ``the Director of the Office of Management 
     and Budget'' and inserting ``the Secretary of the Treasury''; 
     and
       (ii) by striking ``the Director'' and inserting ``the 
     Secretary'', each place it appears; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Application of data standards.--The Secretary of the 
     Treasury shall apply the data standards established under 
     subsection (e) to all data collection, data dissemination, 
     and data publication required under this section.
       ``(6) Data feed to recovery accountability and transparency 
     board.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide the data 
     described in paragraph (1) to the Recovery Accountability and 
     Transparency Board so that it can be included in the Recovery 
     Operations Center described in subsection (h).'';
       (4) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
     ``and Grants.gov'' and inserting ``Grants.gov, the Payment 
     Automation Manager and Financial Information Repository and 
     other data or databases from the Department of the Treasury, 
     the MAX Information System of the Office of Management and 
     Budget, and other data from Federal agencies collected and 
     identified by the Office of Management and Budget'';
       (ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) specify such search shall be confined to Federal 
     funds;'';
       (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``the Payment Automation 
     Manager and Financial Information Repository and other data 
     or databases from the Department of the Treasury, the MAX 
     Information System of the Office of Management and Budget, 
     other data from Federal agencies collected and identified by 
     the Office of Management and Budget,'' after ``Grants.gov 
     website,'';
       (C) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) by striking ``shall be updated not later'' and 
     inserting the following: ``shall be updated--
       ``(A) not later''; and
       (ii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(B) not less than once each quarter with information 
     relating to Federal funds;'';
       (D) in paragraph (5)--
       (i) by inserting ``Federal funds and'' before ``Federal 
     awards'' the first place it appears;
       (ii) by striking ``subsection (a)(2)(A)(i) and those 
     described in subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii)'' and inserting 
     ``subsection (a)(3)(A)(i) and those described in subsection 
     (a)(3)(A)(ii)''; and
       (iii) by striking the period at the end and inserting a 
     semicolon; and
       (E) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) shall have the ability to aggregate data for the 
     categories described in paragraphs (1) through (5) without 
     double-counting data; and
       ``(7) shall permit all information published under this 
     section to be downloaded in bulk.'';
       (5) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and (g) as 
     subsections (i), (j), and (k), respectively; and
       (6) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
     subsections:
       ``(e) Department of the Treasury Requirements for Data 
     Standards.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in 
     consultation with the Director of the Office of Management 
     and Budget, the Administrator of General Services, and the 
     heads of Federal agencies, shall establish Government-wide 
     financial data standards for Federal funds, which shall--
       ``(A) include common data elements, such as codes, unique 
     award identifiers, and fields, for financial and payment 
     information required to be reported by Federal agencies and 
     entities receiving Federal funds, including identifiers for 
     Federal awards and entities receiving Federal awards;
       ``(B) to the extent reasonable and practicable, ensure 
     interoperability and incorporate--
       ``(i) 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;
       ``(ii) common data elements developed and maintained by 
     Federal agencies with authority over contracting and 
     financial assistance, such as the Federal Acquisition 
     Regulatory Council; and
       ``(iii) common data elements developed and maintained by 
     accounting standards organizations; and
       ``(C) include data reporting standards that--
       ``(i) incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary, 
     searchable, platform-independent computer-readable format;
       ``(ii) are consistent with and implement applicable 
     accounting principles;
       ``(iii) are capable of being continually upgraded as 
     necessary;
       ``(iv) are structured to specifically support the reporting 
     of financial and performance-related data, such as that any 
     data produced, regardless of reporting need or software used 
     for creation or consumption, is consistent and comparable 
     across reporting situations;
       ``(v) establish, for each data point, a standard method of 
     conveying the reporting period, reporting entity, unit of 
     measure, and other associated attributes; and
       ``(vi) incorporate nonproprietary standards in effect on 
     the date of enactment of the Digital Accountability and 
     Transparency Act of 2013.
       ``(2) Deadlines.--
       ``(A) Guidance.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in 
     consultation with the Director of the Office of Management 
     and Budget, shall issue guidance on the data standards 
     established under paragraph (1) to Federal agencies not later 
     than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Digital 
     Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013.
       ``(B) Website.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
     which the guidance under clause (i) is issued, the Secretary 
     of the Treasury shall ensure that the website required under 
     this section makes data publicly available in accordance with 
     the data standards established under paragraph (1).
       ``(C) Agencies.--Not later than 180 days after the date on 
     which the guidance under subparagraph (A) is issued, each 
     Federal agency shall collect, report, and maintain data in 
     accordance with the data standards established under 
     paragraph (1).
       ``(3) Consultation.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
     consult with public and private stakeholders in establishing 
     data standards under this subsection.
       ``(f) Consolidated Recipient Financial Reports.--The 
     Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall--
       ``(1) review the financial reporting required by Federal 
     agencies for Federal award recipients to consolidate 
     financial reporting and reduce duplicative financial 
     reporting and compliance costs for recipients;
       ``(2) request input from Federal award recipients to reduce 
     duplicative financial reporting, especially from State and 
     local governments and institutions of higher education;
       ``(3) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
     the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013, 
     provide guidance to the heads of Federal agencies regarding 
     how to simplify the reporting requirements for Federal award 
     recipients to consolidate financial reporting, reduce 
     duplicative reporting, and reduce compliance costs, as 
     appropriate; and
       ``(4) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
     of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013, 
     submit to Congress a report regarding any legislative action 
     required to consolidate, streamline, or reduce the cost of 
     reporting requirements for Federal award recipients.
       ``(g) Accountability for Federal Funding.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act 
     of 2013, and every 2 years thereafter until the date that is 
     6 years after such date of enactment, the Inspector General 
     of each Federal agency, in consultation with the Comptroller 
     General of the United States, shall review a sampling of the 
     data submitted under this Act by the agency, and shall submit 
     to Congress and make publicly available a report on the 
     completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data 
     sampled and the implementation and use of consistent data 
     standards by the Federal agency.
       ``(2) Comptroller general.--
       ``(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act 
     of 2013, and every 2 years thereafter until the date that is 
     6 years after such date of enactment, and after review of the 
     reports submitted under paragraph (1), the Comptroller 
     General of the United States shall submit to Congress and 
     make publicly available a report on the completeness, 
     timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data submitted under 
     this Act by each Federal agency and

[[Page 17297]]

     the implementation and use of consistent data standards by 
     each Federal agency.
       ``(B) Ranking.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall make available a ranking of Federal agencies 
     regarding data quality, accuracy, and compliance with this 
     Act.
       ``(h) Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.--
       ``(1) Resources and mechanisms.--The Recovery 
     Accountability and Transparency Board shall develop and test 
     information technology resources and oversight mechanisms to 
     enhance the transparency of and detect and remediate waste, 
     fraud, and abuse in Federal spending for Inspectors General.
       ``(2) Website.--The Recovery Accountability and 
     Transparency Board shall maintain a website informing the 
     public of its activities to identify waste, fraud, and abuse 
     and increase transparency of Federal funds to provide support 
     for Inspectors General.
       ``(3) Recovery operations center.--The Recovery 
     Accountability and Transparency Board shall establish and 
     maintain a Recovery Operations Center as a government-wide 
     Internet-based data access system to carry out the functions 
     described in paragraph (4).
       ``(4) Functions of the recovery operations center.--The 
     functions referred to in paragraph (3) are the following:
       ``(A) In general.--The Recovery Operations Center shall 
     incorporate--
       ``(i) all information described in subsection (b)(1);
       ``(ii) other information maintained by Federal, State, 
     local, and foreign government agencies; and
       ``(iii) other commercially and publicly available 
     information.
       ``(B) Specific functions.--The Recovery Operations Center 
     shall be designed and operated to carry out the following 
     functions:
       ``(i) Combine information described in subsection (b)(1) 
     with other compilations of information, including those 
     listed in subparagraph (A).
       ``(ii) Permit agencies, in accordance with applicable law, 
     to detect and remediate waste, fraud, and abuse.''.

     SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM TO EVALUATE CONSOLIDATED RECIPIENT 
                   REPORTING.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Recovery Accountability and 
     Transparency Board, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
     Treasury and the Director of the Office of Management and 
     Budget, shall establish a pilot program relating to reporting 
     by recipients of Federal funds (in this section referred to 
     as the ``pilot program'') for the purpose of increasing 
     financial transparency to--
       (1) display the full cycle of Federal funds;
       (2) improve the accuracy of Federal financial data; and
       (3) develop recommendations for reducing reporting required 
     of recipients of Federal funds by consolidating and 
     automating financial reporting requirements across the 
     Federal Government.
       (b) Requirements.--The pilot program shall--
       (1) include a combination of recipients of Federal 
     contracts, grants, and subawards, the aggregate value of 
     which is not less than $1,000,000,000;
       (2) include a diverse group of recipients of Federal 
     awards; and
       (3) to the extent practicable, include recipients that 
     receive Federal awards from multiple programs across multiple 
     agencies.
       (c) Reporting and Evaluation Requirements.--Each recipient 
     of Federal funds participating in the pilot program shall 
     submit to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board 
     reports on the finances of the selected Federal awards.
       (d) Publication of Information.--All the information 
     collected by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency 
     Board under the pilot program shall be made publicly 
     available and searchable on the website established under 
     section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and 
     Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).
       (e) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the 
     date that is 3 years after the date on which the Recovery 
     Accountability and Transparency Board establishes the pilot 
     program.
       (f) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which 
     the pilot program terminates under subsection (e), the 
     Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board shall submit 
     to the Office of Management and Budget, the Committee on 
     Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and 
     the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
     of Representatives a report on the pilot program, which shall 
     include--
       (1) a description of financial data collected under the 
     pilot program, the accuracy of the data provided, and the 
     cost to collect the data from recipients; and
       (2) recommendations for--
       (A) consolidating some or all aspects of Federal financial 
     reporting to reduce the costs to recipients of Federal funds;
       (B) automating some or all aspects of Federal financial 
     reporting to increase efficiency and reduce the costs to 
     recipients of Federal funds; and
       (C) improving financial transparency.
       (g) Government-wide Implementation.--Not later than 90 days 
     after the date on which the Office of Management and Budget 
     receives the report required by subsection (f), the Director 
     of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine 
     whether to authorize the Recovery Accountability and 
     Transparency Board to extend the recipient reporting 
     requirements of the pilot program to all Federal funds. The 
     Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board shall begin 
     requiring Government-wide recipient reporting at the start of 
     the fiscal year that commences after the fiscal year during 
     which such authorization is granted, and under such terms and 
     conditions that the Board shall determine, in consultation 
     with the Director.

     SEC. 5. CLASSIFIED AND PROTECTED INFORMATION.

       Section 3 of the Federal Funding Accountability and 
     Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``SEC. 3. CLASSIFIED AND PROTECTED INFORMATION.

       ``Nothing in this Act shall require the disclosure to the 
     public or to any person without an identifiable need to 
     know--
       ``(1) information protected under section 552 of title 5, 
     United States Code (commonly known as the `Freedom of 
     Information Act'); or
       ``(2) information protected under section 552a of title 5, 
     United States Code (commonly known as the `Privacy Act of 
     1974'), or section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986.''.

     SEC. 6. AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 
                   AMENDMENTS.

       Division A of Public Law 111-5 is amended--
       (1) in section 1501 of title XV, by striking paragraph (4) 
     and inserting the following:
       ``(4) Covered funds.--The term `covered funds'--
       ``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), means any 
     funds that are expended or obligated from appropriations made 
     under this Act; and
       ``(B) for purposes of sections 1522 and 1524, means funds 
     that are expended or obligated by an agency from 
     appropriations made under this or any other Act.'';
       (2) in section 1512 of title XV, by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(i) Expiration.--The requirements in this section shall 
     expire on December 30, 2013.'';
       (3) in section 1523 of title XV, by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(d) Expiration.--The requirements in this section shall 
     expire on December 30, 2013.'';
       (4) in section 1526 of title XV, by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(e) Expiration.--The requirements in this section shall 
     expire on December 30, 2013.''; and
       (5) in section 1530 of title XV, by striking ``September 
     30, 2013.'' and inserting ``September 30, 2017.''.

     SEC. 7. DISASTER RELIEF APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2013 
                   AMENDMENTS.

       Division A of Public Law 113-2 is amended in section 
     904(d)--
       (1) by striking ``for purposes related to the impact of 
     Hurricane Sandy'';
       (2) by striking ``related to the impact of Hurricane 
     Sandy'' after ``receiving appropriations''; and
       (3) by striking ``related to funds appropriated for the 
     impact of Hurricane Sandy'' after ``on its activities''.

     SEC. 8. EXECUTIVE AGENCY ACCOUNTING AND OTHER FINANCIAL 
                   MANAGEMENT REPORTS AND PLANS.

       Section 3512(a) of title 31, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``and make available on 
     the website described under section 1122 of this title'' 
     after ``appropriate committees of the Congress'';
       (2) in paragraph (3)(B)(vi), by inserting ``, system 
     development, financial management workforce development, 
     related risk assessment and mitigation for the Federal 
     Government as a whole, related risk assessment and mitigation 
     for executive agencies, development of capacity to prevent 
     and detect fraud,'' after ``equipment acquisitions''; and
       (3) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
     the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013, and 
     every 90 days thereafter, the Director shall make available 
     on the website described under section 1122 of this title a 
     report regarding--
       ``(i) specific goals for the most recent full fiscal year, 
     the fiscal year during which the report is submitted, and the 
     fiscal year following the year during which the report is 
     submitted that are necessary steps toward implementing the 
     Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 
     (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) fully and in an effective, efficient, 
     and accurate manner; and
       ``(ii) the status and progress achieved toward each goal 
     described in clause (i), including any changes to the cost, 
     schedule, or performance baselines of achieving each goal, 
     using earned value management where appropriate.''.

     SEC. 9. LIMITS AND TRANSPARENCY FOR CONFERENCE AND TRAVEL 
                   SPENDING.

       (a) Amendment.--Chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, 
     is amended by inserting after section 5711 the following:

[[Page 17298]]



     ``Sec. 5712. Limits and transparency for conference and 
       travel spending

       ``(a) Conference Transparency and Spending Limits.--
       ``(1) Public availability of conference materials.--Each 
     agency shall post on the public website of that agency 
     detailed information on any presentation made by any employee 
     of that agency at a conference (except to the extent the head 
     of an agency excludes such information for reasons of 
     national security or information described under section 
     552(b)) including--
       ``(A) the prepared text of any verbal presentation made; 
     and
       ``(B) any visual, digital, video, or audio materials 
     presented, including photographs, slides, and audio-visual 
     recordings.
       ``(2) Limits on amount expended on a conference.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided under subparagraph 
     (B), an agency may not expend more than $500,000 to support a 
     single conference.
       ``(B) Exception.--The head of an agency may waive the 
     limitation under subparagraph (A) for a specific conference 
     after making a determination that the expenditure is 
     justified as the most cost-effective option to achieve a 
     compelling purpose. The head of an agency shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a report on any waiver 
     granted under this subparagraph, including the justification 
     for such waiver.
       ``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph 
     shall be construed to preclude an agency from receiving 
     financial support or other assistance from a private entity 
     to pay or defray the costs of a conference the total cost of 
     which exceeds $500,000.
       ``(b) International Conference Rule.--An agency may not pay 
     the travel expenses for more than 50 employees of that agency 
     who are stationed in the United States, for any international 
     conference, unless the Secretary of State determines that 
     attendance for such employees is in the national interest, or 
     the head of the agency determines that attendance for such 
     employees is critical to the agency's mission. The Secretary 
     of State and the head of an agency shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a report on any waiver 
     granted under this subsection, including the justification 
     for such waiver.
       ``(c) Reporting on Travel and Conference Expenses 
     Required.--At the beginning of each quarter of each fiscal 
     year, each agency shall post on the public website of that 
     agency a report on each conference that costs more than 
     $10,000 for which the agency paid travel expenses during the 
     preceding 3 months that includes--
       ``(1) the itemized expenses paid by the agency, including 
     travel, lodging, and meal expenses, and any other agency 
     expenditures to otherwise support the conference;
       ``(2) the primary sponsor of the conference;
       ``(3) the location of the conference;
       ``(4) the date of the conference;
       ``(5) a brief explanation of how the participation of 
     employees from such agency at the conference advanced the 
     mission of the agency;
       ``(6) the title of any employee, or any individual who is 
     not a Federal employee, whose travel expenses or other 
     conference expenses were paid by the agency;
       ``(7) the total number of individuals whose travel expenses 
     or other conference expenses were paid by the agency; and
       ``(8) in the case of a conference for which that agency was 
     the primary sponsor, a statement that--
       ``(A) describes the cost to the agency of selecting the 
     specific conference venue;
       ``(B) describes why the location was selected, including a 
     justification for such selection;
       ``(C) demonstrates the cost efficiency of the location;
       ``(D) provides a cost benefit analysis of holding a 
     conference rather than conducting a teleconference; and
       ``(E) describes any financial support or other assistance 
     from a private entity used to pay or defray the costs of the 
     conference, and for each case where such support or 
     assistance was used, the head of the agency shall include a 
     certification that there is no conflict of interest resulting 
     from such support or assistance.
       ``(d) Format and Publication of Reports.--Each report 
     posted on the public 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.
       ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Agency.--The term `agency' has the meaning given that 
     term under section 5701, but does not include the government 
     of the District of Columbia.
       ``(2) Conference.--The term `conference' means a meeting, 
     retreat, seminar, symposium, or event that--
       ``(A) is held for consultation, education, discussion, or 
     training; and
       ``(B) is not held entirely at a Government facility.
       ``(3) International conference.--The term `international 
     conference' means a conference occurring outside the United 
     States attended by representatives of--
       ``(A) the Government of the United States; and
       ``(B) any foreign government, international organization, 
     or foreign nongovernmental organization.''.
       (b) 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. Limits and transparency for conference and travel spending.''.

       (c) Annual Travel Expense Limits.--
       (1) In general.--In the case of each of fiscal years 2014 
     through 2018, an agency (as defined under section 5712(e) of 
     title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)) may 
     not make, or obligate to make, expenditures for travel 
     expenses, in an aggregate amount greater than 70 percent of 
     the aggregate amount of such expenses for fiscal year 2010.
       (2) Exemptions.--The agency may exclude certain travel 
     expenses from the limitation under paragraph (1) only if the 
     agency head determines that inclusion of such expenses would 
     undermine national security, international diplomacy, health 
     and safety inspections, law enforcement, or site visits 
     required for oversight or investigatory purposes.
       (3) Report to congress.--In each of fiscal years 2014 
     through 2018, the head of each agency shall submit 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 a report containing--
       (A) the justification for any expenses excluded (under 
     paragraph (2)) from the limitation under paragraph (1); and
       (B) the positive or negative impacts, if any, of the 
     limitation under paragraph (1) on the agency's mission, cost-
     effectiveness, efficiency, and ability to perform core 
     functions.
       (4) Identification of travel expenses.--
       (A) Responsibilities.--Not later than January 1, 2014, 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 determined by the Director of the Office of Management and 
     Budget, in consultation with the Administrator of General 
     Services and the Director of the Administrative Office of the 
     United States Courts.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Issa) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material 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. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, substantially the same bill was passed in the previous 
Congress. The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, or the DATA 
Act, is an important piece of legislation in that it will create the 
opportunity for government to be more efficient, more effective, and 
more transparent.
  The American people deserve real accountability in how the taxpayer 
dollars are spent, now more than ever. It is unacceptable for Federal 
spending on data currently to be so inaccurate, unpredictable, 
inconsistent, and, quite frankly, expensive.
  Nobody can follow the money at the Federal level these days, in spite 
of the fact that we spend over $82 billion on IT. Political gain is 
often had or lost every time a major program funding proves to lead to 
a dead end. Whether it is a billion-dollar program for the Department 
of Defense or, now, the most current challenge, the one faced in 
healthcare.gov, it is often easy to point fingers.
  But, Mr. Speaker, if we are going to handle large data in a way in 
which we

[[Page 17299]]

get predictable success rather than inevitable failure, we have to 
start by demanding that data be structured from the day it is created 
and formatted in a way that makes it capable of search, aggregating, 
downloading in bulk, and manipulating, both for the benefit of insiders 
trying to find accountability and outsiders legitimately exercising 
their right to know how government is spending their money.
  The DATA Act will contain a pilot to examine ways to consolidate and 
streamline reporting requirements. This will decrease the burden of 
Federal financial reporting for agencies and for States, school 
systems, and other recipients of Federal dollars.
  We found, during the Recovery Act, that the Recovery Board, using 
DATA Act-type transparency, was able to find huge amounts of waste, 
fraud, and abuse and do it in a transparent way in real-time because 
they required recipient reporting.
  Recipient reporting, in a perfect world, would already have taken 
place; but we recognize that consolidating and improving the way in 
which data is compiled needs to come first. Therefore, between the 
pilot in this bill and, in fact, the requirement that we begin 
structuring data the way the SEC and other agencies have will, in fact, 
make this legislation a money saver for the Federal Government.
  The DATA Act is bipartisan and bicameral and widely supported. A 
companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senator Warner 
and Senator Portman. Their legislation is substantially similar and 
will be easily made into a consolidated bill, one the American people 
can have confidence in, was thought of over multiple Congresses, well 
vetted, and, in fact, assure the American people that we will not make, 
in the next Congress and in Congresses beyond, some of the mistakes 
that have been made in the past.
  With that, I ask for early consideration of this version of the act 
and would note that we passed out of our committee unanimously, and by 
voice, not just in our committee, but in the last Congress, a bill 
substantially similar.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 2061, the DATA Act, and I am 
pleased to work with the chairman as we continue to reconcile this bill 
with the Senate bill.
  The DATA Act will provide the public with information about how the 
government is spending its money. This will hold agencies accountable 
for their spending, and it will result in a more effective and 
efficient government.
  The President emphasized the importance of access to data when he 
issued an executive order on May 9, 2013, that requires government 
information to be released in ways that make it easy to find and use. 
The DATA Act would require government spending data to meet those same 
requirements through data standards issued by the Office of Management 
and Budget.
  The bill also requires that spending data be available through a 
single Web site.
  H.R. 2061 authorizes, in addition, the Recovery Act Board through the 
year 2017, and requires the Recovery Board to conduct a pilot project 
involving direct reporting of spending information from recipients of 
Federal money.
  There are a couple of issues that I hope will be resolved as the bill 
moves forward to the Senate. During the committee markup of this bill, 
Ranking Member Elijah Cummings requested that the bill be amended to 
address two specific concerns.
  One of those concerns was the need to ensure that stakeholders have 
an opportunity to provide feedback before OMB decides whether to extend 
the pilot project on recipient reporting.
  The other issue was the need to ensure that OMB has the option to 
extend all the requirements under the pilot project, or just some of 
the requirements, if the Director determines that is the best course.
  Just as the chairman led H.R. 2061 through our committee on a 
bipartisan basis, I am hopeful that Chairman Issa will work on the same 
basis to address these outstanding issues.
  This, however, is a good bill, Mr. Speaker; and I urge my colleagues 
to support this legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the leader of the House, and a 
supporter of big data reform.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California. I 
want to thank him, as well as the gentlelady from the District of 
Columbia, for their work on the DATA Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I do rise today in support of the Digital Accountability 
and Transparency Act. The American people deserve a functioning 
government that is both open and accountable. The DATA Act is an 
important step to achieving this goal because it will publish Federal 
spending data and transform it from disconnected documents into open, 
searchable data for people to see and read through online.
  This easily accessible data will create an abundant amount of 
resources and opportunities for innovation to occur. It will bring 
about new start-ups and innovators, all of which will be aimed toward 
turning this data into actionable information.
  This information can then be used to help solve some of our Nation's 
most pressing problems and help all of us better determine where we can 
better eliminate waste.
  Over the last year, Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of visiting a 
civic start-up called Code for America in California. It is an 
organization that is committed to helping solve problems, primarily at 
the local level.
  It has a long list of programmers and developers who are ready to 
take action across the country. They want to use their skills and apply 
those skills to help government and its citizens be more efficient. But 
they, first, need to know, when they go into a locality, whether the 
kind of information they need is going to be accessible.
  We can begin to do that today here at the Federal level. With the 
passage of the DATA Act, we will be one step closer to the American 
people being able to hold government bureaucracies accountable. Plain 
and simple, Federal spending data will be easier to access under this 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the 
rollout of ObamaCare over the last month. And beyond the core problem 
of the law's causing the cancelation of individuals' insurance, beyond 
the core problem of the law's causing the increase in costs to millions 
of Americans for their health care, one of the more frustrating issues 
is a lack of transparency on the part of government bureaucracy.
  We just cannot tell what the information is right now. How many 
people have really signed up for ObamaCare?
  We don't know whether it is people who have purchased plans on the 
healthcare.gov site, or whether it is people who have just put them 
into their shopping carts. Again, very, very frustrating, not only for 
folks around the country, but for those of us who want to try and help 
the situation so that government is not cramming down on anyone its 
prescribed method of health care coverage.
  So the DATA Act is an opportunity for both parties to come together 
and to demonstrate that we are serious about creating a more open and 
effective government and about holding government accountable. Let's 
pass this bill so we can begin to restore trust with the American 
people.
  Again, I want to thank the gentleman from California, Chairman 
Darrell Issa, as well as the gentlelady from the District of Columbia, 
for their work on this bill, the other members of the Oversight and 
Government Reform Committee for their hard work; and I urge my 
colleagues to support the bill.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume in 
closing.
  I want to thank the gentlelady from the District of Columbia, and 
particularly note that this has been one of

[[Page 17300]]

those shining, shining examples of bipartisan behavior by the committee 
and, I suspect, the entire Congress.
  I might note that earlier this month the Senate Homeland Security and 
Government Affairs Committee voted unanimously to pass the Senate 
version of this act, so upon our passage, we will very shortly be in an 
opportunity to begin making these kinds of changes, and I look forward 
to that. I look forward to this kind of legislation in the future.
  I urge all Members to vote positively on this fundamental reform, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by 
thanking Chairman Issa and Ranking Member Cummings for working with the 
university community to address a number of their concerns with 
specific provisions of H.R. 2061. I understand that the universities 
are still seeking some improvements to the legislation in order to 
ensure a transparent, fair, and effective process for improving the 
collection of data on federal funding, including of research grants to 
universities. I hope that the Chairman and Ranking Member will continue 
to work with the universities as this bill moves forward.
  What concerns me most about this legislation is the sudden inclusion 
of major portions of H.R. 313 in this otherwise unrelated bill. I 
expressed my concerns about H.R. 313 when it was under consideration 
earlier this year, and these concerns remain in place today. I think we 
can all agree that federal agencies need to be wise and judicious in 
their use of travel funds, and that highly publicized past abuses, 
while very much the exception, were a wake-up call for us to exercise 
stricter oversight of taxpayer dollars. The Administration itself, 
through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has also sought to 
curb these abuses by instituting new travel caps and new reporting 
requirements on all agency travel and I applaud them for taking this 
seriously.
  However, the scientific community, which includes tens of thousands 
of federal scientists and engineers at agencies such as the Department 
of Energy and NASA, depend on face-to-face interaction through 
conferences and workshops to foster innovation and launch new 
scientific directions. The scientific community, therefore, is 
rightfully concerned about the unintended consequences of travel 
restrictions stifling innovation and stunting economic growth by 
preventing federal scientists from participating fully in scientific 
exchanges with their fellow scientists and engineers from across the 
country and the world.
  Once again, I want to thank Chairman Issa for taking into 
consideration some of the concerns expressed by the agencies and the 
scientific community regarding the travel restrictions in H.R. 313 that 
have now been incorporated into H.R. 2061. However, this legislation 
still requires significant improvement. While OMB requires all agencies 
to publicly report on conference expenses in excess of $100,000, H.R. 
2061 would require even more detailed reporting for an agency sending 
even a single employee to a conference for which the conference's total 
cost--which may or may not be borne by taxpayer dollars--exceeds 
$10,000. In other words, while the intent may have been otherwise, the 
language as written would not create any reasonable threshold for 
agency reporting. Are we really going to pay agency staff to post an 
explanation of how the participation of an employee advanced the 
mission of the agency for every $30 roundtrip train ticket to a large 
meeting or workshop? It seems to me that in any given fiscal year, the 
cost of the additional bureaucratic resources necessary to meet this 
requirement will exceed the actual expenses incurred.
  I also remain concerned about what I see as arbitrary limits on the 
number of agency employees who may participate in large, international, 
scientific conferences and on the total amount an agency may spend not 
just next year, but through fiscal year 2018. I hope that, if this bill 
should continue to move forward, my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle will work with our colleagues in the other body to continue to 
perfect this bill. As the Ranking Member of the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology, I stand by to assist in whatever way I can to 
ensure that we do not implement new regulations with unintended 
negative consequences for the progress of U.S. health, science, and 
innovation.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, as a scientist, I know firsthand how important 
scientific conferences and meetings are. I opposed H.R. 2061, the 
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, because it would cut by 30 
percent the amount of travel federal employees could undertake for 
conferences, meetings, and other crucial events.
  Although I appreciate the sponsors' efforts to ensure oversight on 
travel expenditures, I suspect they fail to realize the impact that 
this legislation would have on the progress of science and technology. 
Scientific conferences play a key role in American innovation. The 
informal conversations, formal presentations, and everything else that 
goes on between scientists from different institutions and different 
countries lead to new collaborations that have the promise of new 
discoveries.
  Just about any scientific society in this country can give you 
examples where large numbers of federally sponsored researchers have 
teamed up to tackle pressing issues of our day at a conference. To give 
just one example, the American Chemical Society and the American 
Physical Society have stated that the development of an anti-cancer 
drug was the result of collaboration between a team of scientists from 
three laboratories that took place at one of these conferences.
  We justifiably invest in federal research efforts, and we should 
ensure that we maximize that investment. When we deny federal 
scientists and researchers the ability to travel and collaborate with 
their peers, we leave them and our country with a diminished ability to 
make the most of that investment.
  This affects not only scientists, of course. It is important for all 
federal employees to meet with their fellow professionals. If any of my 
colleagues wonder why face-to-face meetings are important, I would ask, 
why did they vote for House rules that require all of our votes to be 
taken in person here in the House of Representatives?
  While H.R. 2061 takes some laudable attempts to increase 
transparency, it will undoubtedly stifle scientific collaboration, and 
thus I cannot support it.
  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. 2061, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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