U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

79–010 

" ! SENATE 115TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REPORT

2018

115–238 

Calendar No. 395 

IMPROVE DATA ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE ACT 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 2349 

TO DIRECT THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT 

AND BUDGET TO ESTABLISH AN INTERAGENCY WORKING 

GROUP TO STUDY FEDERAL EFFORTS TO COLLECT DATA ON 

SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE 

HARMONIZATION OF SUCH EFFORTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

MAY 7, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 


E:\Seals\Congress.#13
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

KAMALA D. HARRIS, California 

DOUG JONES, Alabama 

CHRISTOPHER R. HIXON, Staff Director 

GABRIELLE D’ADAMO SINGER, Chief Counsel 

DANIEL J. SPINO, Research Assistant 

MARGARET E. DAUM, Minority Staff Director 

STACIA M. CARDILLE, Minority Chief Counsel 

CHARLES A. MOSKOWITZ, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel 

KATHERINE C. SYBENGA, Minority Counsel 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 

79–010 

Calendar No. 395 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 115–238 

IMPROVE DATA ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE ACT 

MAY 7, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2349] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 2349), to direct the Director of 

the Office of Management and Budget to establish an interagency 

working group to study Federal efforts to collect data on sexual violence and to make recommendations on the harmonization of such 

efforts, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 

favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 

bill 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 .......................................................................... 3 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 3 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 4 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ........................... 4 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

S. 2349, the Improve Data on Sexual Violence Act, requires the 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to create an interagency 

working group to improve Federal communication and data collection on sexual violence, with the goal of having standardized terms 

and statistics. 

2 

1 U.S. Gov’t Accountability Off., GAO–16–546, Sexual Violence Data: Actions Needed to Improve Clarity and Address Differences Across Federal Data Collection Efforts (July 2016), available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/680/678511.pdf. 2 Id. at 8, 13. 3 Id. at 2. 4 Id. 

5 U.S. Gov’t Accountability Off., GAO–17–491SP, 2017 Annual report: Additional Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits 

61 (April 26, 2017), available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/684304.pdf. 6Pub. L. 111–139, title II, § 21. 

7Matthew J. Breiding, et al., Ctrs. for Disease Control and Prevention, Nat’l Ctr. for Inj. Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, United States (2011), available at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ 

ss6308a1.htm. 8 Jennifer L. Truman, Ph.D. & Michael Planty, Ph.D., U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Bureau of Justice 

Statistics, Criminal Victimization, 2010 (Sept. 2011), available at https://www.bjs.gov/content/ 

pub/pdf/cv10.pdf. 9 Unif. Crime Reporting Program, Fed. Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States 

(2010), available at https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/violent-crime/ 

rapemain. 

II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

In 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a 

report that identified variations in how agencies collect information 

on sexual violence and recommended that OMB create an interagency working group to better harmonize efforts to collect sexual 

violence data.1 GAO found that the Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Education (ED), the Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) all collect 

sexual violence data.2 These agencies combined have 10 different 

data collection efforts and 23 different overlapping terms for various acts of sexual violence.3 These data collections do not contain 

any information regarding what types of acts of violence are included for each term, furthering public confusion and fragmentation.4 These recommendations were also included in the 2017 Duplication Report,5 which is an annual report on fragmentation, 

overlap, and duplication in the Federal government.6

Three specific Federal datasets on sexual violence illustrate the 

inconsistencies in the data. In 2010, the CDC reported that there 

were approximately 1.9 million rape victims,7 the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics reported 243,800 ‘‘rape/sexual assault’’ victims,8 and the 

FBI reported 84,767 ‘‘forcible rape/rape offenses.’’ 9 While the disparity in the reported numbers is concerning, the discordant terms 

and definitions reveal that the policymakers are lacking accurate 

and comprehensive information necessary to determine how to 

most effectively combat the challenges associated with sexual violence. 

S. 2349 addresses the issue of differing definitions across Federal 

agencies. S. 2349 implements GAO’s recommendation by requiring 

that OMB establish an interagency working group with representatives from CDC, DOD, ED, HHS, and DOJ. The group’s purpose is 

to define and document what constitutes different acts of sexual violence. Within two years of the enactment of this bill, the group 

will publish a report and submit it to Congress. Shortly following 

submission of the report, the working group will dissolve. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Ranking Member Claire McCaskill (D–MO) and Chairman Ron 

Johnson (R–WI) introduced S. 2349, the Improve Data on Sexual 

3 

Violence Act, on January 29, 2018. The bill was referred to the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 

The Committee considered S. 2349 at a business meeting on February 14, 2018. The bill was favorably reported en bloc by voice 

vote. Senators present for the vote were Johnson, Portman, Paul, 

Lankford, Enzi, Hoeven, Daines, McCaskill Heitkamp, Peters, Hassan, Harris, and Jones. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title 

This section establishes that the bill may be cited as the ‘‘Improve Data on Sexual Violence Act.’’ 

Section 2. Interagency working group to study Federal efforts to collect data on sexual violence 

Subsection (a) requires that OMB create an interagency working 

group to harmonize Federal efforts on sexual violence data within 

180 days of enactment. 

Subsection (b) lists the agencies that shall be in the working 

group: CDC, DOD, ED, HHS, and DOJ. 

Subsection (c) explains the obligations of the working group. The 

working group is to consider what activities constitute different 

acts of sexual violence, whether reports that use the same words 

for violent sexual acts are collecting the same data on these acts, 

if the context which leads up to a violent sexual act should impact 

how the act is recorded for the reports, whether the data is collected in a manner that is easy to understand, and ensure that 

agencies take steps to avoid duplicative counting of sexual violence 

acts. 

Subsection (d) explains that the working group is required to provide a report to Congress no later than two years of enactment on 

its activities to harmonize Federal efforts to collect data on sexual 

violence, and the actions Federal agencies should implement to 

synchronize Federal records. 

Subsection (e) states that the working group must dissolve 30 

days after the report is submitted to Congress. 

Subsection (f) provides definitions for ‘‘harmonize’’ and ‘‘sexual violence.’’ 

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. 

4 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

MARCH 1, 2018. 

Hon. RON JOHNSON, 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2349, the Improve Data on 

Sexual Violence Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

S. 2349—Improve Data on Sexual Violence Act 

S. 2349 would direct the Office of Management and Budget to establish a working group to study federal efforts to collect data on 

sexual violence and to recommend ways for agencies to coordinate 

such work. The working group would have members from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Departments of 

Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice. The 

group would report its findings to the Congress within two years 

and terminate 30 days after the report is issued. 

Using information about the costs of similar working groups and 

activities, CBO estimates that implementing S. 2349 would cost 

around $300,000 over the 2018–2020 period, assuming the availability of appropriated funds. CBO estimates each of the five agencies would devote about two month’s effort to this working group 

by a senior employee at a cost of $20,000 per month, and one junior 

employee at half of that cost. 

Enacting S. 2349 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting S. 2349 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

S. 2349 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. The 

estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any provision 

of current law, it would not make changes in existing law within 

the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 of rule XXVI 

of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

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