[Senate Report 118-91]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  Calendar No. 194

118th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                           { 118-91

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

                     ELIMINATE USELESS REPORTS ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              TO ACCOMPANY

                                S. 2073

               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           REQUIRE AGENCIES TO INCLUDE A LIST OF OUTDATED OR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

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                August 22, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
   Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of July 27, 2023
   
   
                                 
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
                            WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------     
   
        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
ALEX PADILLA, California             RICK SCOTT, Florida
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut      ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
            Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
                   James Hiebert, Research Assistant
           William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
              Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
          Megan M. Krynen, Minority Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                     
                                                  Calendar No. 194

118th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                           { 118-91

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

                     ELIMINATE USELESS REPORTS ACT                     
                     
                                _______
                                

                August 22, 2023.--Ordered to be printed

   Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of July 27, 2023

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2073]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 2073) 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..............................................3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 2073, the Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2023, would 
increase government efficiency by requiring agencies to include 
recommendations to sunset, consolidate, reduce in frequency, or 
maintain the status quo for congressionally mandated reports in 
their respective Congressional Budget Justifications (CBJs). 
Congressional committees would need to agree with the 
recommendations before they take the legislative steps to 
implement them. The bill provides the impetus for agencies and 
Congress to have an open dialogue and review existing reporting 
requirements.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\On August 3, 2022, the Committee approved S. 4477, the Eliminate 
Useless Reports Act of 2022. That bill is substantially similar to S. 
2073. Accordingly, this committee report is, in many respects, similar 
to the committee report for S. 4477. See S. Rept. 117-264.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

              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.\2\ 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.\3\ Although GPRAMA created a 
process for agencies to make recommendations regarding 
congressional reports, implementation has stalled. 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.\4\ 
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.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Pub. L. No. 103-62 (1993).
    \3\Pub. L. No. 11-352 (2010).
    \4\Congressional Research Service, Reexamination of Agency 
Reporting Requirements: Annual Process Under GPRA Modernization Act of 
2010 (GPRAMA) (R42490) (updated May 29, 2013).
    \5\Id. at 3-4, 10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2023 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.\6\ 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. 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.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\Id. at 4, 7-10.
    \7\Pub. L. No. 117-40 (2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. Legislative History

    Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) introduced S. 2073, the Eliminate 
Useless Reports Act of 2023, on June 21, 2023 with original 
cosponsor Senator James Lankford (R-OK). The bill was referred 
to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs.
    The committee considered S. 2073 at a business meeting on 
July 26, 2023. At the business meeting, Senator Ossoff offered 
a substitute amendment that required the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) review and make recommendations 
about reports that are required to be produced by two or more 
agencies. The Committee adopted the Ossoff substitute amendment 
by unanimous consent with Senators Peters, Hassan, Rosen, 
Ossoff, Paul, Lankford, and Scott, present. The bill, as 
amended by the Ossoff substitute amendment, was ordered 
reported favorably by a roll call vote of 8 yeas to 0 nays, 
with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Ossoff, Paul, 
Lankford, and Scott voting in the affirmative. Senators Carper, 
Padilla, Blumenthal, Johnson, Romney, Hawley, and Marshall 
voted yea by proxy, for the record only.

        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 2023.''

Section 2. Sunsets for agency reports

    Subsection (a) amends Section 1125 of Title 31, United 
States Code, by striking the requirement for agency chief 
operating officers to annually compile for the Director of 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 section 1125, 
subsection (a) would define terms ``budget justification 
materials,'' ``recurring plan or report,'' and ``relevant 
congressional committee.''
    Section 1125, 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.
    Section 1125, subsection (b)(2) requires each agency head 
that is 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.
    Section 1125, subsection (b)(3) requires the Director of 
OMB to review and make recommendations about reports submitted 
by two or more agencies.
    Section 1125, 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, including committee responses to 
agency recommendations. This section further stipulates that 
nothing in this section relieves the head of an agency from the 
requirement of submitting a recurring plan or report; any such 
relief would be subject to separate legislation.
    Subsection (b) strikes a provision of the statutory 
provision describing the requirements for a President's budget 
submission that would be rendered redundant by the bill.

                   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

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    S. 2073 would require federal agencies to list within their 
annual budget justification any recurring reports, including 
governmentwide and interagency reports, they identify as 
outdated or duplicative and to recommend whether to sunset, 
modify, consolidate, or reduce the frequency of those reports.
    Under current law, the Office of Management and Budget 
coordinates an annual review of reports that may be outdated or 
duplicative; 53 such reports were so identified within the 
President's 2024 budget request. Because activities required 
under the bill would be similar to those already occurring 
under current law, CBO expects that implementing the bill would 
not significantly affect federal spending over the 2023-2028 
period. Any spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    Enacting S. 2073 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.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by Chad Chirico, Director 
of Budget Analysis.

                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

       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):

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 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 or directive in a congressional 
                        report 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).
          (3) Government-wide or multi-agency plan and report 
        submissions.--With respect to a recurring plan or 
        report required to be submitted by not less than 2 
        agencies, the Director of the Office of Management and 
        Budget shall--
                  (A) determine whether the requirement to 
                submit the recurring plan or report is outdated 
                or duplicative; and
                  (B) make recommendations to Congress 
                accordingly.
    (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.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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