[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 187 (Friday, September 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58045-58047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22997]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Fiscal Service


Public Input on the Establishment of Financial Data Standards 
(Data Exchange)

AGENCY: Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and Request for Information.

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SUMMARY: The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA 
Act) was enacted for purposes that include expanding the Federal 
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA) to require 
the disclosure of direct Federal agency expenditures and information 
that links ``Federal . . . spending information to programs of Federal 
agencies to enable taxpayers and policy makers to track Federal 
spending more effectively.'' Public Law 113-101, 2(1). FFATA, as 
amended by the DATA Act, requires the Secretary of the Treasury 
(Treasury) and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB), in consultation with the heads of Federal agencies, to 
``establish Government-wide financial data standards for any Federal 
funds made available to or expended by Federal agencies and entities 
receiving Federal funds.'' 31 U.S.C. 6101, note, Sec.  4(a)(1). 
Treasury and OMB shall consult with public and private stakeholders in 
establishing the Government-wide financial data standards (data 
standards). 31 U.S.C. 6101, note, 4(d). The DATA Act provides that 
Treasury and OMB shall issue guidance to Federal agencies on the 
established data standards no later than one year after DATA Act 
enactment, i.e., by May 9, 2015. Under this Notice, Treasury asks for 
input from public and private stakeholders on several data standards 
topics and questions, specifically on data exchange, to better ensure 
the data standards to be established by Treasury

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and OMB are informed and useful, and to ensure compliance with DATA Act 
consultation requirements. Treasury will share all input or information 
received with OMB to ensure the proper establishment of data standards 
by Treasury and OMB, consistent with DATA Act requirements.

DATES: Submit comments on or before November 25, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket FISCAL-2014-
0004, using the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions on the Web site for submitting comments.
     Mail: Ms. Ellen Hilburn, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 
Bureau of the Fiscal Service, 401 14th Street, Room 260F, Washington, 
DC 20227.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
(``Bureau of the Fiscal Service'') and docket number FISCAL-2014-0004. 
In general, comments received will be published on Regulations.gov 
without change, including any business or personal information 
provided. Comments received will be available for public inspection and 
copying at the Treasury Department Library, Main Treasury Building, 
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20220. To visit the 
library, call (202) 622-0990 for an appointment. Comments received, 
including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the 
public record and subject to public disclosure. Comments should also 
include: (1) The supporting rationale; and (2) alternative approaches, 
specific examples and additional options that should be considered, if 
any. Do not disclose any information in your comment or supporting 
materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate for public 
disclosure. Comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or 
contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina Ho at (202) 622-0550 or 
[email protected], or Ellen Hilburn at (202) 874-5724 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    FFATA requires OMB to ensure the existence and operation of a 
single, searchable Web site, accessible to the public at no cost, which 
includes specified spending information for each Federal award. 31 
U.S.C. 6101, note, 2(b). Under FFATA, as amended by the DATA Act, 
Treasury, in consultation with OMB, is required to post additional 
specified information on the Web site that links Federal spending 
information with Federal agency appropriations and program activity 
information. 31 U.S.C. 6101, note, Sec.  3. The current Web site is 
USASpending.gov, which was first launched in 2007. In February 2014, 
OMB designated Treasury as the Federal agency responsible for operating 
and supporting the USASpending.gov Web site. 31 U.S.C. 6101, note, 
2(b)(3). Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service administers this 
responsibility on behalf of Treasury.
    The establishment of the data standards by Treasury and OMB will 
better ensure that USASpending.gov, or any successor system, is 
properly designed to provide ``consistent, reliable, and searchable 
Government-wide spending data that is displayed accurately for 
taxpayers and policy makers'' once the data standards are implemented. 
Public Law 113-101, 2(2). As a general rule, Federal agencies are 
required to report financial and payment information data in accordance 
with the data standards no later than two years after Treasury and OMB 
establish the data standards. 31 U.S.C. 6101, note, 4(c)(2). 
Thereafter, Treasury and OMB are required to ensure the data standards 
are applied to specified data made available on the Web site. 31 U.S.C. 
6101, note, 4(c)(3). The establishment of informed and useful data 
standards is a predicate step, or building block, that will permit DATA 
Act requirements to be met, and DATA Act accountability and 
transparency purposes or goals to be realized.
    Treasury recognizes the paramount importance of providing the 
American public, Federal agencies, local and state governments, 
lawmakers, media, academia, standard-setting groups, transparency 
associations, technology companies, and other stakeholders with 
accurate and useful Federal spending and program activity information. 
Accordingly, Treasury welcomes the views of any public and private 
stakeholders on the types and forms of data standards that may be 
appropriate for Treasury and OMB to establish.

II. Context: Data Standards Content, Use, and Application

    To assist stakeholders in providing their input, Treasury offers 
the following context which provides certain detail on the content of 
the data standards, and how they will be used and applied.
    A. The DATA Act provides the data standards ``shall include common 
data elements for financial and payment information to be reported by 
Federal agencies and entities receiving Federal funds.'' 31 U.S.C. 
6101, note, 4(a)(2).
    B. The DATA Act provides the data standards shall, to the extent 
reasonable and practicable--
    ``(1) Incorporate widely accepted common data elements, such as 
those developed and maintained by--
    (A) an international voluntary consensus standards body;
    (B) Federal agencies with authority over contracting and financial 
assistance; and
    (C) accounting standards organizations;
    (2) incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary, searchable, 
platform-independent computer-readable format;
    (3) include unique identifiers for Federal awards and entities 
receiving Federal awards that can be consistently applied Government-
wide;
    (4) be consistent with and implement applicable accounting 
principles;
    (5) be capable of being continually upgraded as necessary;
    (6) produce consistent and comparable data, including across 
program activities; and
    (7) establish a standard method of conveying the reporting period, 
reporting entity, unit of measure, and other associated attributes.''

31 U.S.C. 3101, note, 4(b).
    C. The DATA Act provides that Treasury and OMB shall ensure the 
data standards are applied to the data made available on the Web site 
(i.e., USASpending.gov). 31 U.S.C. 6101, note, Sec.  4(c)(3). The data 
on the Web site is required to include:
    (i) For each Federal award (as defined under 31 U.S.C. 6101, note, 
Sec.  2(a)(4))--
    ``(A) the name of the entity receiving the award;
    (B) the amount of the award;
    (C) information on the award including transaction type, funding 
agency, the North American Industry Classification System code or 
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number (where applicable), 
program source, and an award title descriptive of the purpose of each 
funding action;
    (D) the location of the entity receiving the award and the primary 
location of performance under the award, including the city, State, 
congressional district, and country;
    (E) a unique identifier of the entity receiving the award and of 
the parent entity of the recipient, should the entity be owned by 
another entity;
    (F) the names and total compensation of the five most highly 
compensated officers of the entity if--
    (i) the entity in the preceding fiscal year received--
    ``(I) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues in Federal 
awards; and

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    ``(II) $ 25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal 
awards; and
    (ii) the public does not have access to information about the 
compensation of the senior executives of the entity. . . .''

31 U.S.C. 6101, note, 2(b)(1).
    (ii) For any funds made available to or expended by a Federal 
agency or component of a Federal agency, the information to be posted 
shall include--
    ``(1) For each appropriations account, including an expired or 
unexpired appropriations account, the amount--
    (A) of budget authority appropriated;
    (B) that is obligated;
    (C) of unobligated balances; and
    (D) of any other budgetary resources;
    (2) From which accounts and in what amount--
    (A) appropriations are obligated for each program activity; and
    (B) outlays are made for each program activity;
    (3) From which accounts and in what amount--
    (A) appropriations are obligated for each object class; and
    (B) outlays are made for each object class; and
    (4) For each program activity, the amount--
    (A) obligated for each object class; and
    (B) of outlays made for each object class.

31 U.S.C. 6101, note, Sec.  3.
    D. The DATA Act provides the Web site (i.e., USASpending.gov):
    ``(1) May use as the source of its data the Federal Procurement 
Data System, Federal Assistance Award Data System, and Grants.gov, if 
all of these data sources are searchable through the Web site and can 
be accessed in a search on the Web site required by this Act, provided 
that the user may--
    (A) specify such search shall be confined to Federal contracts and 
subcontracts;
    (B) specify such search shall be confined to include grants, 
subgrants, loans, awards, cooperative agreements, and other forms of 
financial assistance;
    (2) Shall not be considered in compliance if it hyperlinks to the 
Federal Procurement Data System Web site, Federal Assistance Award Data 
System Web site, Grants.gov Web site, or other existing Web sites, so 
that the information elements required by subsection (b)(1) cannot be 
searched electronically by field in a single search;
    (3) Shall provide an opportunity for the public to provide input 
about the utility of the site and recommendations for improvements;
    (4) Shall be updated not later than 30 days after the award of any 
Federal award requiring a posting;
    (5) Shall provide for separate searches for Federal awards 
described in subsection (a) to distinguish between the Federal awards 
described in subsection (a)(2)(A)(i) and those described in subsection 
(a)(2)(A)(ii);
    (6) Shall have the ability to aggregate data for the categories 
described in paragraphs (1) through (5) without double-counting data; 
and
    (7) Shall ensure that all information published under this section 
is available--
    (A) in machine-readable and open formats;
    (B) to be downloaded in bulk; and
    (C) to the extent practicable, for automated processing.''

31 U.S.C. 6101, note, 2(c).

III. Request for Comments

    Treasury is requesting comment from private and public stakeholders 
on the process described above. Please provide responsive input to the 
following posed topics and questions. We are also asking for input on 
whether there are other alternatives to this process that should be 
considered. We welcome any other input that would inform our 
consideration of the process:
    A. Please describe or provide examples of data standards on data 
exchange that could ensure the data is ``open.'' Open in this context 
means anyone can access, use, or re-use posted information, including 
the public, Federal agencies, local and state governments, academia, 
media, industry, standard-setting bodies, transparency groups, on a 
worldwide scale.
    B. What are examples of data standards on data exchange that could 
ensure that ``availability'' goals are met? ``Availability'' in this 
context means free access to the data standard, both during 
development, at final stage, and for translations. Availability is 
assurance that core technologies can be implemented royalty-free.
    C. What are examples of data standards on data exchange that could 
ensure the data provides efficient ``business reach'' to foster private 
sector innovation? ``Business reach'' refers to the global reach of the 
business community with either local or global integration 
opportunities. The end points of business reach are regional (business 
integration remains a regional area of opportunity) or international 
(business integration has the potential for direct links to the 
international community).
    D. Please describe or provide examples of data standards on data 
exchange that could ensure the implementation of appropriate 
``validation'' processes. ``Validation'' in this context means an 
ongoing process for validation and integration. Validation has spectrum 
end points that are rules-based or document-based. Rules-based refers 
to business rules of the data standard which are interwoven into the 
fabric of the standard output and standard governance body. Document-
based end points are business rules separately stored and not entirely 
contained within the standard output or standard governance body.
    E. Please describe or provide examples of data standards on data 
exchange that could ensure appropriate ``extensibility.'' 
``Extensibility'' in this context is defined as functionality for 
flexibility (maintenance) of future modification to the data standard. 
The end points of the spectrum for these criteria are flexible and 
rigid. Flexible references extensibility and implementation ease 
whereas rigid relates to the pliability of the construction and rules 
integration.
    F. Please describe or provide examples of data standards on data 
exchange that could ensure Ease of Implementation. Ease of 
Implementation refers to integration and interoperability within a 
given environment. The related end points are simple (easily integrates 
into environment) or difficult (integration into environment 
necessitates extra steps).
    G. How would the data standards examples or descriptions on data 
exchange you provided in A-F above, if implemented, benefit or add 
value to your constituent group or pertinent stakeholders?
    H. What use cases would you anticipate or envision for information 
with data structured in accordance with established data standards on 
data exchange?
    I. What impact would established and implemented data standards on 
data exchange have on you, your business, constituent group or 
pertinent stakeholders, and investments?
    J. What other criteria should be considered by Treasury and OMB in 
establishing the data standards on data exchange?

Kristine C. Conrath,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fiscal Operations and Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-22997 Filed 9-25-14; 8:45 am]
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