[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 994 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.994
One Hundred Thirteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
the third day of January, two thousand and fourteen
An Act
To expand the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of
2006 to increase accountability and transparency in Federal spending,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Digital Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2014'' or the ``DATA Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) expand the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency
Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) by disclosing direct Federal
agency expenditures and linking Federal contract, loan, and grant
spending information to programs of Federal agencies to enable
taxpayers and policy makers to track Federal spending more
effectively;
(2) establish Government-wide data standards for financial data
and provide consistent, reliable, and searchable Government-wide
spending data that is displayed accurately for taxpayers and policy
makers on USASpending.gov (or a successor system that displays the
data);
(3) simplify reporting for entities receiving Federal funds by
streamlining reporting requirements and reducing compliance costs
while improving transparency;
(4) improve the quality of data submitted to USASpending.gov by
holding Federal agencies accountable for the completeness and
accuracy of the data submitted; and
(5) apply approaches developed by the Recovery Accountability
and Transparency Board to spending across the Federal Government.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL FUNDING ACCOUNTABILITY AND
TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31
U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended--
(1) in section 2--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``this section'' and inserting ``this Act'';
(ii) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as
paragraphs (2), (4), and (7), respectively;
(iii) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(1) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget.'';
(iv) by inserting after paragraph (2), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(3) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' has the
meaning given the term `Executive agency' under section 105 of
title 5, United States Code.'';
(v) by inserting after paragraph (4), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(5) Object class.--The term `object class' means the category
assigned for purposes of the annual budget of the President
submitted under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, to
the type of property or services purchased by the Federal
Government.
``(6) Program activity.--The term `program activity' has the
meaning given that term under section 1115(h) of title 31, United
States Code.''; and
(vi) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of
the Treasury.'';
(B) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (3), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget''; and
(ii) in paragraph (4), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget'';
(C) in subsection (c)--
(i) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(ii) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(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.'';
(D) in subsection (d)--
(i) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget'';
(ii) in paragraph (2)--
(I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``of the
Office of Management and Budget''; and
(II) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``of the
Office of Management and Budget'';
(E) in subsection (e), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget''; and
(F) in subsection (g)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget''; and
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``of the Office of
Management and Budget''; and
(2) by striking sections 3 and 4 and inserting the following:
``SEC. 3. FULL DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014,
and monthly when practicable but not less than quarterly thereafter,
the Secretary, in consultation with the Director, shall ensure that the
information in subsection (b) is posted on the website established
under section 2.
``(b) Information To Be Posted.--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.
``SEC. 4. DATA STANDARDS.
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Establishment of standards.--The Secretary and the
Director, in consultation with the heads of Federal agencies, shall
establish Government-wide financial data standards for any Federal
funds made available to or expended by Federal agencies and
entities receiving Federal funds.
``(2) Data elements.--The financial data standards established
under paragraph (1) shall include common data elements for
financial and payment information required to be reported by
Federal agencies and entities receiving Federal funds.
``(b) Requirements.--The data standards established under
subsection (a) 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.
``(c) Deadlines.--
``(1) Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of
2014, the Director and the Secretary shall issue guidance to
Federal agencies on the data standards established under subsection
(a).
``(2) Agencies.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
not later than 2 years after the date on which the guidance
under paragraph (1) is issued, each Federal agency shall report
financial and payment information data in accordance with the
data standards established under subsection (a).
``(B) Noninterference with auditability of department of
defense financial statements.--
``(i) In general.--Upon request by the Secretary of
Defense, the Director may grant an extension of the
deadline under subparagraph (A) to the Department of
Defense for a period of not more than 6 months to report
financial and payment information data in accordance with
the data standards established under subsection (a).
``(ii) Limitation.--The Director may not grant more
than 3 extensions to the Secretary of Defense under clause
(i).
``(iii) Notification.--The Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall notify the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the
Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on
Armed Services of the House of Representatives of--
``(I) each grant of an extension under clause (i);
and
``(II) the reasons for granting such an extension.
``(3) Website.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which
the guidance under paragraph (1) is issued, the Director and the
Secretary shall ensure that the data standards established under
subsection (a) are applied to the data made available on the
website established under section 2.
``(d) Consultation.--The Director and the Secretary shall consult
with public and private stakeholders in establishing data standards
under this section.
``SEC. 5. SIMPLIFYING FEDERAL AWARD REPORTING.
``(a) In General.--The Director, in consultation with relevant
Federal agencies, recipients of Federal awards, including State and
local governments, and institutions of higher education (as defined in
section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)),
shall review the information required to be reported by recipients of
Federal awards to identify--
``(1) common reporting elements across the Federal Government;
``(2) unnecessary duplication in financial reporting; and
``(3) unnecessarily burdensome reporting requirements for
recipients of Federal awards.
``(b) Pilot Program.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of
2014, the Director, or a Federal agency designated by the Director,
shall establish a pilot program (in this section referred to as the
`pilot program') with the participation of appropriate Federal
agencies to facilitate the development of recommendations for--
``(A) standardized reporting elements across the Federal
Government;
``(B) the elimination of unnecessary duplication in
financial reporting; and
``(C) the reduction of compliance costs for recipients of
Federal awards.
``(2) Requirements.--The pilot program shall--
``(A) include a combination of Federal contracts, grants,
and subawards, the aggregate value of which is not less than
$1,000,000,000 and not more than $2,000,000,000;
``(B) include a diverse group of recipients of Federal
awards; and
``(C) to the extent practicable, include recipients who
receive Federal awards from multiple programs across multiple
agencies.
``(3) Data collection.--The pilot program shall include data
collected during a 12-month reporting cycle.
``(4) Reporting and evaluation requirements.--Each recipient of
a Federal award participating in the pilot program shall submit to
the Office of Management and Budget or the Federal agency
designated under paragraph (1), as appropriate, any requested
reports of the selected Federal awards.
``(5) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the
date that is 2 years after the date on which the pilot program is
established.
``(6) Report to congress.--Not later than 90 days after the
date on which the pilot program terminates under paragraph (5), the
Director shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the Budget of the Senate
and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the
Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives a report on
the pilot program, which shall include--
``(A) a description of the data collected under the pilot
program, the usefulness of the data provided, and the cost to
collect the data from recipients; and
``(B) a discussion of any legislative action required and
recommendations for--
``(i) consolidating aspects of Federal financial
reporting to reduce the costs to recipients of Federal
awards;
``(ii) automating aspects of Federal financial
reporting to increase efficiency and reduce the costs to
recipients of Federal awards;
``(iii) simplifying the reporting requirements for
recipients of Federal awards; and
``(iv) improving financial transparency.
``(7) Government-wide implementation.--Not later than 1 year
after the date on which the Director submits the report under
paragraph (6), the Director shall issue guidance to the heads of
Federal agencies as to how the Government-wide financial data
standards established under section 4(a) shall be applied to the
information required to be reported by entities receiving Federal
awards to--
``(A) reduce the burden of complying with reporting
requirements; and
``(B) simplify the reporting process, including by reducing
duplicative reports.
``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, 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; 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.
``(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.
``(b) Comptroller General Reports.--
``(1) In general.--In accordance with paragraph (2) and after a
review of the reports submitted under subsection (a), the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress
and make publically available a report assessing and comparing the
data completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data
submitted under this Act by Federal agencies and the implementation
and use of data standards by Federal agencies.
``(2) Deadlines.--Not later than 30 months after the date on
which the Director and the Secretary issue guidance to Federal
agencies under section 4(c)(1), and every 2 years thereafter until
the date that is 4 years after the date on which the first report
is submitted under this subsection, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit and make publically available a report
as described in paragraph (1).
``(c) Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board Data Analysis
Center.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may establish a data analysis
center or expand an existing service to provide data, analytic
tools, and data management techniques to support--
``(A) the prevention and reduction of improper payments by
Federal agencies; and
``(B) improving efficiency and transparency in Federal
spending.
``(2) Data availability.--The Secretary shall enter into
memoranda of understanding with Federal agencies, including
Inspectors General and Federal law enforcement agencies--
``(A) under which the Secretary may provide data from the
data analysis center for--
``(i) the purposes set forth under paragraph (1);
``(ii) the identification, prevention, and reduction of
waste, fraud, and abuse relating to Federal spending; and
``(iii) use in the conduct of criminal and other
investigations; and
``(B) which may require the Federal agency, Inspector
General, or Federal law enforcement agency to provide
reimbursement to the Secretary for the reasonable cost of
carrying out the agreement.
``(3) Transfer.--Upon the establishment of a data analysis
center or the expansion of a service under paragraph (1), and on or
before the date on which the Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board terminates, and in addition to any other
transfer that the Director determines is necessary under section
1531 of title 31, United States Code, there are transferred to the
Department of the Treasury all assets identified by the Secretary
that support the operations and activities of the Recovery
Operations Center of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency
Board relating to the detection of waste, fraud, and abuse in the
use of Federal funds that are in existence on the day before the
transfer.
``SEC. 7. CLASSIFIED AND PROTECTED INFORMATION.
``Nothing in this Act shall require the disclosure to the public
of--
``(1) information that would be exempt from disclosure under
section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the
`Freedom of Information Act'); or
``(2) information protected under section 552a of title 5,
United States Code (commonly known as the `Privacy Act of 1974'),
or section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
``SEC. 8. NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.
``Nothing in this Act shall be construed to create a private right
of action for enforcement of any provision of this Act.''.
SEC. 4. EXECUTIVE AGENCY ACCOUNTING AND OTHER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
REPORTS AND PLANS.
Section 3512(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by
inserting ``and make available on the website described under section
1122'' after ``appropriate committees of Congress''.
SEC. 5. DEBT COLLECTION IMPROVEMENT.
Section 3716(c)(6) of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``Any Federal agency'';
(2) in subparagraph (A), as so designated, by striking ``180
days'' and inserting ``120 days''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) The Secretary of the Treasury shall notify Congress of any
instance in which an agency fails to notify the Secretary as required
under subparagraph (A).''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.