[Senate Report 117-264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                         Calendar No. 655



117th Congress  }                                              {  Report
                                   SENATE                          
2d Session      }                                              {  117-264
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                       


                 ELIMINATE USELESS REPORTS ACT OF 2022

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 4477

               TO AMEND TITLE 31, UNITED STATES CODE, TO
             REQUIRE AGENCIES TO INCLUDE A LIST OF OUTDATED
            OR DUPLICATIVE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS IN ANNUAL
             BUDGET JUSTIFICATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES




               December 15, 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. 655
                                                       
117th Congress  }                                              {   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session     }                                              {  117-264

======================================================================



 
                 ELIMINATE USELESS REPORTS ACT OF 2022

                                _______
                                

               December 15, 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. 4477]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4477) to amend 
title 31, United States Code, to require agencies to include a 
list of outdated or duplicative reporting requirements in 
annual budget justifications, 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.............3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 4477, the Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2022, would 
increase government efficiency by allowing agencies to include 
in their respective Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ) 
recommendations to sunset, consolidate, reduce in frequency, or 
maintain the status quo for congressionally mandated reports. 
Congressional committees would need to agree with the 
recommendations before they take the legislative steps to 
implement them. The bill preserves government resources and 
increases efficiency by providing the impetus for agencies and 
Congress to have an open dialogue and take a fresh look at 
existing reporting requirements.

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) 
required most executive agencies to engage in performance 
management tasks, including setting goals, measuring results, 
and reporting their progress.\1\ To do so, GPRA required that 
agencies generate strategic plans, performance plans, and 
conduct gap analyses of projects. GPRA included a reporting 
framework for agencies to demonstrate progress towards 
accomplishment of these goals. The GPRA Modernization Act of 
2010 (GPRAMA) carried forward requirements from the 1993 GPRA, 
but developed a more efficient and modern system for government 
agencies to report their progress.\2\ Though GPRAMA created a 
process for agencies to make recommendations regarding 
congressional reports, implementation has essentially become 
defunct. A report by the Congressional Research Service 
published a few years after enactment of GPRAMA anticipated 
implementation difficulties and shortcomings that have since 
come to pass, including that identification and elimination of 
unnecessary recurring plans and reports may yield insignificant 
results for agencies that fail to submit such plans and reports 
in the first instance.\3\ The report also noted the continuing 
need to assess whether recurring plans and reports are 
necessary because Congress continues to legislate new reporting 
requirements for a variety of reasons.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Pub. L. No. 103-62 (1993).
    \2\Pub. L. No. 11-352 (2010).
    \3\Congressional Research Service, Reexamination of Agency 
Reporting Requirements: Annual Process Under GPRA Modernization Act of 
2010 (GPRAMA) (R42490) (updated May 29, 2013).
    \4\Id. at 3-4, 10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2022 would increase 
efficiency by providing a clear and comprehensive mechanism for 
agencies to seek committee agreement to sunset or modify 
outdated congressional reports. Agencies have traditionally 
welcomed the opportunity to assess the universe of their 
required reports and to recommend to Congress which reports may 
now be unnecessary or superfluous. The bill preserves resources 
by giving agencies the option to recommend reports to be 
terminated, consolidated, or reduced in frequency. An agency 
may elect not to make recommendations if it determines there is 
no redundant or unnecessary reporting, including while a report 
is under development and determined to be redundant. Interested 
stakeholders will have the opportunity to comment on agency 
recommendations regarding the congressional reports identified 
by agencies. Agency recommendations would be included in 
materials agencies publish consistent with the Congressional 
Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021, which requires 
CBJs be made public no later than two weeks after submission to 
Congress.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Pub. L. No. 117-40 (2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. Legislative History

    Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) introduced S. 4477 on June 23, 
2022, with Senator Rob Portman (R-OH). Senator James Lankford 
joined as a co-sponsor of the bill on August 4, 2022. The bill 
was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs. The Committee considered S. 4477 at a 
business meeting on August 3, 2022. During the business 
meeting, Senator Ossoff offered a substitute amendment to S. 
4477 (exempting any report or plan required to be submitted to 
the Senate Armed Services Committee), which was ordered 
reported favorably by voice vote en bloc. Senators present for 
the vote were Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, 
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley.

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section designates the name of the bill as the 
``Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2022.''

Section 2. Sunsets for agency Reports

    Section 2(a) amends Section 1125 of Title 31, United States 
Code, by striking the requirement for agency chief operating 
officers to annually compile for OMB a list identifying the 
plans and reports the agency is required to produce for 
Congress, as well as identification of annual reduction 
targets.
    In place of those requirements, a new subsection (a) would 
define terms to implement the Act's provisions, specifically, 
budget justification materials, recurring plan or report, and 
relevant congressional committee.
    Subsection (b)(1) requires each agency head to include in 
the agency budget justification materials a list of each 
recurring plan or report that the agency head deems outdated or 
duplicative and a recommendation on whether to sunset, modify, 
consolidate, or reduce the frequency of submission of the 
recurring plan or report, including a justification for the 
recommendation.
    Subsection (b)(2) requires each agency head required to 
coordinate or consult with another agency or entity in 
submission of a recurring plan or report to consult with the 
head of that agency or entity prior to deeming a recurring plan 
or report to be outdated or duplicative. In the event of 
disagreement, the former agency head cannot deem a recurring 
plan or report to be outdated or duplicative.
    Subsection (c) describes a process for disposition of 
agency recommendations to sunset, modify, consolidate, or 
reduce the frequency of submission of the recurring plan or 
report, specifically for committee responses to agency 
recommendations. Nothing in the Act relieves the head of an 
agency from submitting a recurring plan or report; any such 
relief would be subject to separate legislation.
    Section 2(b) strikes a provision of the statutory provision 
describing the requirements for a President's budget submission 
that would be rendered redundant by the Act.

                   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. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Subtitle II--The Budget Process

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 11--THE BUDGET AND FISCAL, BUDGET, AND PROGRAM INFORMATION

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 1105. BUDGET CONTENTS AND SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.

    (a) * * *
          (1) * * *
          [(39) the list of plans and reports, as provided for 
        under section 1125, that agencies identified for 
        elimination or consolidation because the plans and 
        reports are determined outdated or duplicative of other 
        required plans and reports.]

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 1125. ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY AGENCY REPORTING.

    [(a) Agency Identification of Unnecessary Reports.--
Annually, based on guidance provided by the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget, the Chief Operating Officer at 
each agency shall--
          (1) compile a list that identifies all plans and 
        reports the agency produces for Congress, in accordance 
        with statutory requirements or as directed in 
        congressional reports;
          (2) analyze the list compiled under paragraph (1), 
        identify which plans and reports are outdated or 
        duplicative of other required plans and reports, and 
        refine the list to include only the plans and reports 
        identified to be outdated or duplicative;
          (3) consult with the congressional committees that 
        receive the plans and reports identified under 
        paragraph (2) to determine whether those plans and 
        reports are no longer useful to the committees and 
        could be eliminated or consolidated with other plans 
        and reports; and
          (4) provide a total count of plans and reports 
        compiled under paragraph (1) and the list of outdated 
        and duplicative reports identified under paragraph (2) 
        to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
    (b) Plans and Reports.--
          (1) First year.--During the first year of 
        implementation of this section, the list of plans and 
        reports identified by each agency as outdated or 
        duplicative shall be not less than 10 percent of all 
        plans and reports identified under subsection (a)(1).
          (2) Subsequent years.--In each year following the 
        first year described under paragraph (1), the Director 
        of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine 
        the minimum percent of plans and reports to be 
        identified as outdated or duplicative on each list of 
        plans and reports.]
    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Budget justification materials.--The term `budget 
        justification materials' has the meaning given the term 
        in section 3(b)(2) of the Federal Funding 
        Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 
        6101 note; Public Law 109-282).
          (2) Recurring plan or report.--The term `recurring 
        plan or report'--
                  (A) means any plan or report submitted to 
                Congress by not less than 1 agency on a 
                recurring basis--
                          (i) in accordance with Federal law; 
                        or
                          (ii) at the direction of a 
                        congressional report; and
                  (B) does not include any plan or report that 
                is required to be submitted to the Committee on 
                Armed Services of the Senate.
          (3) Relevant congressional committee.--The term 
        `relevant congressional committee' means a 
        congressional committee to which a 14 recurring plan or 
        report is required to be submitted.
    (b) Agency Identification of Unnecessary Reports.--
          (1) In general.--The head of each agency shall 
        include in the budget justification materials of the 
        agency--
                  (A) subject to paragraph (2), a list of each 
                recurring plan or report submitted by the 
                agency that the head of the agency determines 
                to be outdated or duplicative;
                  (B) with respect to each recurring plan or 
                report described in subparagraph (A)--
                          (i) a recommendation on whether to 
                        sunset, modify, consolidate, or reduce 
                        the frequency of the submission of the 
                        recurring plan or report;
                          (ii) a citation to each provision of 
                        law that requires or requests the 
                        submission of the recurring plan or 
                        report; and
                          (iii) a list of the relevant 
                        congressional committees for the 
                        recurring plan or report; and
                  (C) a justification explaining, with respect 
                to each recommendation described in 
                subparagraph (B)(i) relating to a recurring 
                plan or report--
                          (i) why the head of the agency made 
                        the recommendation, which may include 
                        an estimate of the resources expended 
                        by the agency to prepare and submit the 
                        recurring plan or report; and
                          (ii) the understanding of the head of 
                        the agency of the purpose of the 
                        recurring plan or report.
          (2) Agency consultation.--
                  (A) In general.--In preparing the list 
                required under paragraph (1)(A), if, in 
                submitting a recurring plan or report, an 
                agency is required to coordinate or consult 
                with another agency or entity, the head of the 
                agency submitting the recurring plan or report 
                shall consult with the head of each agency or 
                entity with whom consultation or coordination 
                is required.
                  (B) Inclusion in list.--If, after a 
                consultation under subparagraph (A), the head 
                of each agency or entity consulted under that 
                subparagraph agrees that a recurring plan or 
                report is outdated or duplicative, the head of 
                the agency required to submit the recurring 
                plan or report shall--
                          (i) include the recurring plan or 
                        report in the list described in 
                        paragraph (1)(A); and
                          (ii) identify each agency or entity 
                        with which the head of the agency is 
                        required to coordinate or consult in 
                        submitting the recurring plan or 
                        report.
                  (C) Disagreement.--If the head of any agency 
                or entity consulted under subparagraph (A) does 
                not agree that a recurring plan or report is 
                outdated or duplicative, the head of the agency 
                required to submit the recurring plan or report 
                shall not include the recurring plan or report 
                in the list described in paragraph (1)(A).
    (c) Disposition of Recommendations.--
          (1) In general.--With respect to a recommendation on 
        a recurring plan or report included in budget 
        justification materials by the head of an agency under 
        subsection (b)(1)(B)(i), the chair and ranking member 
        of each relevant congressional committee may--
                  (A) in coordination with any other relevant 
                congressional committee, as necessary, agree or 
                disagree with the recommendation or postpone a 
                decision on the recommendation; and
                  (B) notify each agency that submits a 
                recommendation of the disposition of the 
                recommendation under subparagraph (A).
          (2) Legislative steps.--If a relevant congressional 
        committee agrees with an agency recommendation 
        submitted under subsection (b)(1)(B)(i), the relevant 
        congressional committee may take the necessary 
        legislative steps to accomplish the recommendation, 
        which may include consulting with the agency that 
        submits the recurring plan or report that is the 
        subject of the recommendation to prepare appropriate 
        legislation.
          (3) Agency requirements.--Nothing in this section 
        shall be construed to relieve the head of an agency 
        from a requirement to submit a recurring plan or 
        report.
    [(c)] (d) Request for Elimination of Unnecessary Reports.--
In addition to including the list of plans and reports 
determined to be outdated or duplicative by each agency [in the 
budget of the United States Government, as provided by section 
1105(a)(37)] in the budget justification materials of each 
agency, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may 
concurrently submit to Congress legislation to eliminate or 
consolidate such plans and reports.