[Senate Report 118-301]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 707
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-301
======================================================================
STOP SECRET SPENDING ACT OF 2024
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 3926
TO AMEND THE FEDERAL FUNDING ACCOUNTABILITY AND
TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006 TO ENSURE THAT OTHER
TRANSACTION AGREEMENTS ARE REPORTED TO
USASPENDING.GOV, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 17 (legislative day, December 16), 2024.--Ordered to be
printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
59-010 WASHINGTON : 2025
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
ADAM SCHIFF, California ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Alan S. Kahn, Chief Counsel
Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
James F. Hiebert, Professional Staff Member
Tiffany Ann Shujath, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Detailee
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 707
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-301
======================================================================
STOP SECRET SPENDING ACT OF 2024
_______
December 17 (legislative day, December 16), 2024.--Ordered to be
printed
_______
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 3926]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 3926) to amend the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to
ensure that other transaction agreements are reported to
USAspending.gov, 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..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............7
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 3926, the Stop Secret Spending Act of 2024, amends the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
(FFATA) to require other transaction agreements (OTAs) to be
reported on USAspending.gov (USAspending), the official data
source of federal spending information. The bill also updates
reporting requirements for Inspectors General and creates
processes to clarify which agencies are responsible for posting
data on USAspending under FFATA.
II. Background and Need for the Legislation
Congress directed the executive branch to create a
centralized database of grant and contract awards in FFATA, and
later amended those requirements to cover federal budget data
in the Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act of
2014.\1\ This bill seeks to respond to recent recommendations
by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to improve the
completeness and quality of data posted to the website required
under FFATA, USASpending.gov.
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\1\31 U.S.C. 6101 note.
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First, the bill addresses reporting of ``other transaction
agreements'' (OTAs) under FFATA. OTAs are legally binding
agreements other than standard contracts, cooperative
agreements, and grants, that authorize federal government
agencies to acquire technology and services. They are not
subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation and they are not
required to be posted on USAspending under FFATA.\2\ The use of
OTAs has grown significantly, particularly at the Department of
Defense.\3\ Overall OTA obligations increased from $4.8 billion
in 2018 to $11 billion in 2022, and reached as high as $18.4
billion in 2020.\4\ Notably, the Department of Defense and the
Department of Health and Human Services relied on OTAs to
develop and procure COVID 19 vaccines under ``Operation Warp
Speed''.\5\
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\2\Government Accountability Office, Federal Spending Transparency:
Opportunities to Improve USAspending.gov Data, GAO-24-106214 (Nov. 7,
2023) (https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106214.pdf).
\3\IBM Center for the Business of Government, Other Transaction
Authorities (2021) (https://www.businessofgovernment.org/sites/default/
files/Other%20Transactions%20Authorities.pdf); Government
Accountability Office, Other Transaction Agreements: DOD Can Improve
Planning for Consortia Awards, GAO-22-105357 (Sept. 20, 2022) (https://
www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-
105357).
\4\Supra, note 2.
\5\5 National Public Radio, How Operation Warp Speed's Big Vaccine
Contracts Could Stay Secret (Sep 19, 2020) (https://www.npr.org/
sections/health-shots/2020/09/29/917899357/how-operation-warp-speeds-
big-vaccine-contracts-could-stay-secret).
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Despite the growth in OTA authorization and usage,
reporting and transparency requirements have not kept pace.
Contract law scholars have indicated that agencies may over-
rely on OTAs to avoid traditional contracting requirements for
fair and open competition, conflict of interest protections,
patent requirements under the Bayh-Dole Act, and transparency
measures.\6\ GAO found that agencies had no standard way to
report OTA spending, which led to over $40 billion in OTA
spending not being reported to USAspending.\7\ Separately, GAO
found that agencies did not properly identify at least $1.6
billion worth of OTA spending related to pandemic spending,
including spending on vaccine development and procurement.\8\
Thus, GAO recommended that OTAs be considered in the list of
federal awards that agencies must report to USAspending.\9\
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\6\Roza Sheffield, Other Transactions Authority: Business Necessity
that Needs a Minor Tune-up? Or Too Fast and Furious with Insufficient
Compliance and Transparency Requirements?, Public Contract Law Journal
(Apr 12, 2024).
\7\Supra, note 2.
\8\Government Accountability Office, COVID-19 Contracting: Actions
Needed to Enhance Transparency and Oversight of Selected Awards, GAO-
21-501 (Jul. 26, 2021) (https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-501.pdf).
\9\Supra, note 2.
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The bill responds to this recommendation by requiring
public reporting of OTAs on USAspending. The bill adopts a
phased approach over three years to permit the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), the General Services
Administration, and the Department of the Treasury to update
the necessary systems to include OTAs. The bill also requires
certain transparency measures during the phase-in period,
including disclosure of all OTAs.
GAO also made recommendations to improve the quality and
completeness of data on USAspending. The DATA Act required that
Inspectors General review and report on the completeness,
timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data on USAspending,
but these requirements expired in 2021.\10\ In identifying ways
to reduce federal financial management risks and increase
transparency of federal spending data related to emergencies,
GAO recommended extending these reporting requirements.\11\
This bill responds to that recommendation by extending the
requirements for ten years.
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\10\Pub. L. No. 113-101, Sec. Sec. 2-3, 128 Stat. 1146, 1146-51.
\11\Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
Testimony Submitted for the Record of General Gene Dodaro, Governmental
Accountability Office, Hearing on Pandemic Response and Accountability:
Reducing Fraud and Expanding Access to COVID-19 Relief through
Effective Oversight, 117th Cong. (Mar. 17, 2022) (S. Hrg. 117-564).
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Finally, GAO found that 49 federal agencies do not report
data to USAspending, limiting its quality and completeness.\12\
Many of these agencies are small, are not executive branch
agencies, or have complex statutory organizations, like the
Smithsonian Institution.\13\ GAO recommended that Congress
direct the Department of the Treasury, in coordination with
OMB, to assess and determine which agencies are responsible for
reporting data under FFATA. This bill responds to the
recommendation by requiring such an assessment, and by
directing that agencies take steps to verify the quality of
information and compliance with display standards on
USAspending.
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\12\Supra, note 2.
\13\Email from Nina Rostro, Government Accountability Office to the
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs staff.
(Nov. 13, 2023).
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III. Legislative History
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced S. 3926, the Stop
Secret Spending Act of 2024, on March 12, 2024. The bill was
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined as an additional
cosponsor on September 25, 2024. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI)
joined as an additional cosponsor on November 12, 2024.
The Committee considered S. 3926 at a business meeting on
September 25, 2024. At the business meeting, Senator Peters
offered a substitute amendment, as well as a modification to
the substitute amendment. The Peters substitute amendment, as
modified, adds an implementation plan on reporting OTAs, limits
Inspector General reports to agencies covered by the Chief
Financial Officers Act of 1990, and adds a GAO report on
recommendations for updating the Federal Acquisition Regulation
for reporting of certain personnel information under FFATA.
The Committee adopted the modification to the Peters
substitute amendment, and the Peters substitute amendment as
modified, by unanimous consent, with Senators Peters, Hassan,
Sinema, Rosen, Blumenthal, Butler, Paul, Lankford, and Hawley
present. The bill, as amended by the Peters substitute, as
modified, was ordered reported favorably by a roll call vote of
9 yeas and 0 nays, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen,
Blumenthal, Butler, Paul, Lankford, and Hawley voting in the
affirmative. Senators Carper, Ossoff, Johnson, Romney, Scott,
and Marshall voted yea by proxy, for the record only.
Consistent with Committee Rule 3(G), the Committee reports
the bill with a technical amendment by mutual agreement of the
Chairman and Ranking Member.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Stop Secret Spending Act of 2024.''
Section 2. Other transaction agreement reporting
Subsection (a) amends section 2(a) of FFATA to require
posting of other transaction agreements (OTAs).
Subsection (b) amends section 4 of FFATA to require OTA
data be posted and centralized on USAspending within 3 years.
Subsection (c) amends section 2 of FFATA to require that
the Secretary of the Treasury annually report a description of
data not posted on USAspending.
Subsection (d) requires that if agencies have not yet
posted OTA data on USAspending within one year of this bill's
enactment, the Treasury Secretary, in coordination OMB and
agencies, must publish a report including a list and a detailed
description of the OTAs entered into by agencies in the
previous year. If the data has not been posted within two years
of enactment, the agencies must submit a plan to Congress
describing the actions underway and planned to ensure OTA data
is included on USAspending within three years of enactment.
Section 3. Other amendments
Subsection (a) amends section 6(a) of FFATA to direct
Inspectors General to review spending data submitted to
USAspending, and report to Congress every two years for ten
years after enactment, to ensure accuracy and completeness of
the data.
Subsection (b) amends section 3 of FFATA to require that
the Treasury Secretary and the OMB Director, in consultation
with other agency heads, assess and verify which federal
agencies are responsible to submit data to USAspending under
FFATA. This section also clarifies that agencies are
responsible for verifying the accuracy of data on USAspending.
The section also requires that the Treasury Secretary, in
consultation with the OMB Director, ensure agencies post
information that complies with display standards established by
the Secretary.
Section 4. GAO Report
This section directs GAO to make recommendations to update
clause 52.204.10 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which
implements executive compensation reporting requirements under
FFATA within 1 year.
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
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 118th 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 MANDATE INFORMATION
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Spending subject
Last Budget Direct Revenues, to Pay-as-you-go Budgetary
Bill number Title Status action function spending, 2025-2034 appropriations, procedures effects Mandates Contact
2025-2034 2025-2029 apply? after 2034
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S. 3926...................... Stop Secret Ordered reported 09/25/24 800 Between zero 0 Not estimated... Yes No No Kelly Durand
Spending Act of and $500,000
2024.
S. 3926 would increase the amount of information that the Department of the Treasury must publish each year concerning federal spending. The bill also would
direct the department and the Office of Management and Budget to establish standards to ensure that federal agencies report complete, accurate financial data,
and it would require agencies' inspectors general to assess and report to the Congress biennially on the quality of reported financial data. Enacting S. 3926
could affect direct spending by some agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO
estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust amounts collected to reflect changes in
operating costs. CBO estimates that enacting S. 3926 would have no effect on revenues. CBO has not estimated the bill's effects on spending subject to
appropriation. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
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VII. 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):
FEDERAL FUNDING ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006
* * * * * * *
SEC. 2. FULL DISCLOSURES OF ENTITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FUNDING.
(a) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
(3) * * *
(4) Federal award.--The term `Federal award'--
(A) * * *
(i) * * *
(ii) includes contracts,
subcontracts, purchase orders, task
orders, and delivery orders; and
(iii) includes other transaction
agreements;
(5) * * *
(6) * * *
(7) Searchable website.--The term `searchable
website' means a website that allows the public to--
(A) * * *
(B) ascertain through a single search the
total amount of Federal funding awarded to an
entity by a Federal award described in
paragraph [(2)(A)(i)] 4(A)(i), by fiscal year;
(C) ascertain through a single search the
total amount of Federal funding awarded to an
entity by a Federal award described in
paragraph [(2)(A)(ii)] 4(A)(ii), by fiscal
year; and (b) * * *
(c) * * *
(d) * * *
(e) * * *
(f) * * *
(g) * * *
(h) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Stop Secret Spending Act of 2024, and annually
thereafter, the Secretary shall post to the website established
under this section a report that includes--
(1) the total amount of Federal spending on Federal
awards for which data has not been posted to the
website; and
(2) the reason data on the Federal spending described
in paragraph (1) has not been posted to the website,
including whether the Federal spending was--
(A) national security-related or classified;
(B) a grant or contract awarded or entered
into by a legislative or judicial branch
agency; or
(C) a subaward below a primary subaward.
SEC. 3. FULL DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.
(a) * * *
(b) Information To Be Posted.--
(1) Funds.--For any funds made available to or
expended by [a Federal agency or component of a Federal
agency] a Federal agency or a component of a Federal
agency included on the list posted under subsection
(e)(2), the information to be posted shall include--
(A) * * *
(B) * * *
(C) * * *
(D) * * *
(2) Budget justifications.--
(A) * * *
(B) Information.--The information [to be
posted] to be posted by a Federal agency or a
component of a Federal agency included on the
list posted under subsection (e)(2)--
(i) shall include any budget
justification materials--
(I) for the second fiscal
year beginning after the date
of enactment of this paragraph,
and each fiscal year
thereafter; and
(II) to the extent
practicable, that were released
for any fiscal year before the
date of enactment of this
paragraph; and
(ii) shall not include budget
justification materials the disclosure
of which is prohibited by law, that are
classified, or that are exempt from
disclosure under section 552(b) of
title 5, United States Code.
(C) * * *
(D) * * *
(E) * * *
(c) Quality of Information.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary and the Director, in
consultation with the heads of Federal agencies, shall
establish requirements to ensure that the information
to be posted under subsection (b) that is posted by a
Federal agency or component of a Federal agency is
complete and accurate.
(2) Federal agency responsibility.--The head of each
Federal agency or component of a Federal agency posting
data under subsection (b) shall ensure that the data is
complete and accurate.
(3) Authority to verify accuracy.--The Secretary and
the Director may verify that the data posted under
subsection (b) by a Federal agency or component of a
Federal agency are complete, accurate, and consistent.
(d) Display Standards.--The Secretary, in consultation with
the Director, shall ensure that the heads of Federal agencies
that post information under subsection (b) comply with display
standards established by the Secretary.
(e) Agency Reporting Determination.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of the Stop Secret Spending Act of
2024, and not less frequently than once every 2 years
thereafter, the Secretary, in coordination with the Director,
shall--
(1) assess and make a determination with respect to
which Federal agencies and components of Federal
agencies are required to post information under
subsection (b);
(2) publish a list of the Federal agencies and
components of Federal agencies determined under
paragraph (1) on the website established under section
2(b)(1); and
(3) provide to the head and inspector general of each
Federal agency or component of a Federal agency
included on the list published under paragraph (2)
written notice of the inclusion of the Federal agency
or component of a Federal agency on the list.
SEC. 4. DATA STANDARDS.
(a) * * *
(b) * * *
(c) * * *
(d) * * *
(e) Other Transaction Agreement Data.--Not later than 3
years after the date of enactment of the Stop Secret Spending
Act of 2024, the Secretary shall ensure that, with respect to
the website established under section 2, or any successor
website--
(1) data relating to other transaction agreements is
automatically transmitted to the website; and
(2) a centralized view of the data described in
paragraph (1) is available on the website.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 6. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FEDERAL FUNDING.
(a) Inspector General Reports.--
(1) In general.--In accordance with paragraph (2),
the Inspector General of [each Federal agency] each
agency described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section
901(b) of title 31, United States Code, in consultation
with the Comptroller General of the United States,
shall--
(A) review a statistically valid sampling of
the spending data submitted under this Act by
the [Federal agency] agency; and
(B) submit to Congress and make publically
available a report assessing the completeness,
timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data
sampled and the implementation and use of data
standards by the [Federal agency] agency.
[(2) Deadlines.--
[(A) First report.--Not later than 18 months
after the date on which the Director and the
Secretary issue guidance to Federal agencies
under section 4(c)(1), the Inspector General of
each Federal agency shall submit and make
publically available a report as described in
paragraph (1).
[(B) Subsequent reports.--On the same date as
the Inspector General of each Federal agency
submits the second and fourth reports under
sections 3521(f) and 9105(a)(3) of title 31,
United States Code, that are submitted after
the report under subparagraph (A), the
Inspector General shall submit and make
publically available a report as described in
paragraph (1). The report submitted under this
subparagraph may be submitted as a part of the
report submitted under section 3521(f) or
9105(a)(3) of title 31, United States Code.]
(2) Deadlines.--The inspector general of each agency
described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 901(b)
of title 31, United States Code, shall submit to
Congress and make publicly available a report described
in paragraph (1)(B)--
(A) not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Stop Secret Spending Act of
2024; and
(B) not less than frequently than once every
2 years after the date described in
subparagraph (A) until the date that is 10
years after the date of enactment of the Stop
Secret Spending Act of 2024 on the date of
submission of the report required under section
3521(f) or 9105(a)(3) of title 31, United
States Code, for the applicable fiscal year.
* * * * * * *
[all]