[Senate Report 117-213]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 566
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-213
_______________________________________________________________________
IMPROVING GOVERNMENT FOR AMERICA'S TAXPAYERS ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 4128
TO REQUIRE THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE
UNITED STATES TO PROVIDE CERTAIN INFORMATION WITH
RESPECT TO UNIMPLEMENTED PRIORITY RECOMMENDATIONS
AS PART OF THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL'S ANNUAL
REPORTING TO CONGRESS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
November 28, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
39-010 WASHINGTON : 2022
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
Matthew T. Cornelius, Senior Professional Staff Member
Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Cara G. Mumford, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 566
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-213
======================================================================
IMPROVING GOVERNMENT FOR AMERICA'S
TAXPAYERS ACT
_______
November 28, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 4128]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4128), to require
the Comptroller General of the United States to provide certain
infomation with respect to unimplemented priority
recommendations as part of the Comptroller General's annual
reporting to Congress, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment, in the nature of a substitute, and recommends that
the bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............2
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of S. 4128, the Improving Government for
America's Taxpayers Act, is to streamline how the GAO informs
Congress of the status of unimplemented recommendations by
requiring the GAO to submit an annual report listing
unimplemented matters for congressional consideration and, in
GAO's annual letters to agencies and congressional committees,
to identify congressional actions that can help agencies
implement open priority recommendations.
II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The GAO, through its individual reports and Recommendations
Database, provides information on unimplemented
recommendations, but under current reporting requirements, does
not submit a report consolidating and listing all unimplemented
matters for congressional consideration, nor do their current
annual letters to committees list actions Congress can take to
help agencies implement open GAO recommendations. S. 4128
requires the GAO to submit an annual report listing
unimplemented matters for congressional consideration,
organized by policy topic, and including the amount of time the
matters have been unimplemented. It also requires that the
GAO's annual letters to agencies and congressional committees
identify congressional actions that can help agencies implement
open priority recommendations and publish any known costs of
unimplemented priority recommendations.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Ranking Member Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced S. 4128, the
Improving Government for America's Taxpayers Act, on May 3,
2022, with Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI). The bill was referred
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 4128 at a business meeting on
May 25, 2022. Senator Portman offered an amendment in the
nature of a substitute to change a phrase, ``as applicable,''
to ``if applicable.'' The substitute amendment was adopted by
voice vote en bloc. The bill, as amended, was ordered reported
favorably by voice vote en bloc. The Senators present were
Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff,
Portman, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section cites the short title of the bill as the
``Improving Government for America's Taxpayers Act.''
Section 2. Government Accountability Office unimplemented priority
recommendations
This section requires the Comptroller General of the United
States to, as part of the Comptroller General's annual
reporting to committees of Congress,
(1) consolidate Matters for Congressional Consideration
from the Government Accountability Office in one report
organized by policy topic that includes the amount of time such
Matters have been unimplemented and submit such report to
congressional leadership and the oversight committees of each
House;
(2) with respect to the annual letters sent by the
Comptroller General to individual agency heads and relevant
congressional committees on the status of unimplemented
priority recommendations, identify any additional congressional
oversight actions that can help agencies implement such
priority recommendations and address any underlying issues
relating to such implementation;
(3) make publicly available the information described in
paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(4) publish any known costs of unimplemented priority
recommendations, if applicable.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, November 9, 2022.
Hon. Gary C. Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed table summarizing estimated budgetary
effects and mandates information for some of the legislation
that has been ordered reported by the Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during the 117th
Congress.
If you wish further details, we will be pleased to provide
them. The CBO staff contact for each estimate is listed on the
enclosed table.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
SUMMARY ESTIMATES OF LEGISLATION ORDERED REPORTED
The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the
Congressional Budget Office, to the extent practicable, to
prepare estimates of the budgetary effects of legislation
ordered reported by Congressional authorizing committees. In
order to provide the Congress with as much information as
possible, the attached table summarizes information about the
estimated direct spending and revenue effects of some of the
legislation that has been ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during
the 117th Congress. The legislation listed in this table
generally would have small effects, if any, on direct spending
or revenues, CBO estimates. Where possible, the table also
provides information about the legislation's estimated effects
on spending subject to appropriation and on intergovernmental
and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act.
ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS AND MANDATES INFORMATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increases
Direct Spending Subject Pay-As-You- On-Budget
Bill Title Status Last Budget Spending, Revenues, to Go Deficits Mandates Contact
Number Action Function 2023-2032 2023-2032 Appropriation, Procedures Beginning
2023-2027 Apply? in 2033?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 4128 Improving Ordered 05/25/22 800 0 0 Not estimated No No No Matthew
Government reported Pickford
for
America's
Taxpayers
Act
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 4128 would require the Government Accountability Office to provide a consolidated report to the Congress on priority recommendations that remain
unimplemented and share information publicly on the potential costs of those recommendations. CBO estimates that enacting S. 4128 would not affect
direct spending or revenues. CBO has not estimated the discretionary costs of implementing the bill. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
This legislation would make no changes in existing law,
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 of
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current
law.
[all]