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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2061 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2061

 To expand the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 
 2006 to increase accountability and transparency in Federal spending, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2013

Mr. Issa (for himself and Mr. Cummings) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Digital 
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Amendments to the Federal Funding Accountability and 
                            Transparency Act of 2006.
Sec. 4. Pilot program to evaluate consolidated recipient reporting.
Sec. 5. Classified and protected information.
Sec. 6. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 amendments.
Sec. 7. Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 amendments.
Sec. 8. Executive agency accounting and other financial management 
                            reports and plans.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) expand the Federal Funding Accountability and 
        Transparency Act of 2006 by disclosing direct Federal agency 
        expenditures and linking Federal contract, loan, and grant 
        spending information to programs of Federal agencies in order 
        to enable taxpayers and policymakers to track Federal spending 
        more effectively;
            (2) provide consistent, reliable, and searchable 
        Government-wide spending data that is displayed accurately for 
        taxpayers and policymakers on USASpending.gov;
            (3) analyze Federal spending data to proactively prevent 
        waste, fraud, abuse, and improper payments;
            (4) simplify reporting for entities receiving Federal funds 
        by streamlining reporting requirements and reducing compliance 
        costs while improving transparency; and
            (5) improve the quality of data submitted to 
        USASpending.gov by holding Federal agencies accountable for the 
        completeness and accuracy of the data submitted.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL FUNDING ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
              TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006.

    Section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency 
Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``full disclosure 
        of entities receiving federal funding'' and inserting 
        ``disclosure of federal funding'';
            (2) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 
                paragraphs (3) and (7), respectively;
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following 
                new paragraph (2):
            ``(2) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' has the 
        meaning given the term `Executive agency' under section 105 of 
        title 5, United States Code.'';
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (3), as 
                redesignated by subparagraph (A), the following new 
                paragraphs:
            ``(4) Federal funds.--The term `Federal funds' means any 
        funds that are made available to or expended by a Federal 
        agency.
            ``(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
                    (D) in paragraph (7), as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``paragraph (2)(A)(i)'' and inserting 
                        ``paragraph (3)(A)(i)''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
                        ``paragraph (2)(A)(ii)'' and inserting 
                        ``paragraph (3)(A)(ii)'';
            (3) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``the Office of Management 
                        and Budget'' and inserting ``the Secretary of 
                        the Treasury'' each place it appears;
                            (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 
                        through (G) as clauses (i) through (vii), 
                        respectively, and adjusting the margin 
                        accordingly;
                            (iii) by striking ``for each Federal 
                        award--'' and inserting the following: ``for 
                        all Federal funds--
                    ``(A) for each Federal agency, component of a 
                Federal agency, appropriations account, program 
                activity, and object class (including any subcomponent 
                of an object class), and other accounts or data as 
                appropriate--
                            ``(i) the amount of budget authority 
                        available;
                            ``(ii) the amount obligated;
                            ``(iii) the amount of outlays;
                            ``(iv) the amount of any Federal funds 
                        reprogrammed or transferred; and
                            ``(v) the amount of expired and unexpired 
                        unobligated balances; and
                    ``(B) for each Federal award--''; and
                            (iv) in subparagraph (B)(iii), as so 
                        designated by this subparagraph, by inserting 
                        ``, which shall be assigned a unique 
                        identifier,'' after ``information on the 
                        award'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by striking ``The Director of the 
                        Office of Management and Budget'' and inserting 
                        ``The Secretary of the Treasury''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``the Director'' and 
                        inserting ``the Secretary'';
                    (C) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) by striking ``the Director of the 
                        Office of Management and Budget'' and inserting 
                        ``the Secretary of the Treasury''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``the Director'' and 
                        inserting ``the Secretary'', each place it 
                        appears; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Application of data standards.--The Secretary of the 
        Treasury shall apply the data standards established under 
        subsection (e) to all data collection, data dissemination, and 
        data publication required under this section.
            ``(6) Data feed to recovery accountability and transparency 
        board.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide the data 
        described in paragraph (1) to the Recovery Accountability and 
        Transparency Board so that it can be included in the Recovery 
        Operations Center described in subsection (h).'';
            (4) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by striking ``and Grants.gov'' and 
                        inserting ``Grants.gov, the Payment Automation 
                        Manager and Financial Information Repository 
                        and other data or databases from the Department 
                        of the Treasury, the MAX Information System of 
                        the Office of Management and Budget, and other 
                        data from Federal agencies collected and 
                        identified by the Office of Management and 
                        Budget'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' 
                        at the end; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) specify such search shall be confined to 
                Federal funds;'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``the Payment 
                Automation Manager and Financial Information Repository 
                and other data or databases from the Department of the 
                Treasury, the MAX Information System of the Office of 
                Management and Budget, other data from Federal agencies 
                collected and identified by the Office of Management 
                and Budget,'' after ``Grants.gov website,'';
                    (C) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) by striking ``shall be updated not 
                        later'' and inserting the following: ``shall be 
                        updated--
                    ``(A) not later''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) not less than once each quarter with 
                information relating to Federal funds;'';
                    (D) in paragraph (5)--
                            (i) by inserting ``Federal funds and'' 
                        before ``Federal awards'' the first place it 
                        appears;
                            (ii) by striking ``subsection (a)(2)(A)(i) 
                        and those described in subsection 
                        (a)(2)(A)(ii)'' and inserting ``subsection 
                        (a)(3)(A)(i) and those described in subsection 
                        (a)(3)(A)(ii)''; and
                            (iii) by striking the period at the end and 
                        inserting a semicolon; and
                    (E) 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 permit all information published under this 
        section to be downloaded in bulk.'';
            (5) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and (g) as 
        subsections (i), (j), and (k), respectively; and
            (6) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
        subsections:
    ``(e) Department of the Treasury Requirements for Data Standards.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in 
        consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and 
        Budget, the Administrator of General Services, and the heads of 
        Federal agencies, shall establish Government-wide financial 
        data standards for Federal funds, which shall--
                    ``(A) include common data elements, such as codes, 
                unique award identifiers, and fields, for financial and 
                payment information required to be reported by Federal 
                agencies and entities receiving Federal funds, 
                including identifiers for Federal awards and entities 
                receiving Federal awards;
                    ``(B) to the extent reasonable and practicable, 
                ensure interoperability and incorporate--
                            ``(i) common data elements developed and 
                        maintained by an international voluntary 
                        consensus standards body, as defined by the 
                        Office of Management and Budget, such as the 
                        International Organization for Standardization;
                            ``(ii) common data elements developed and 
                        maintained by Federal agencies with authority 
                        over contracting and financial assistance, such 
                        as the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) common data elements developed and 
                        maintained by accounting standards 
                        organizations; and
                    ``(C) include data reporting standards that--
                            ``(i) incorporate a widely accepted, 
                        nonproprietary, searchable, platform-
                        independent computer-readable format;
                            ``(ii) are consistent with and implement 
                        applicable accounting principles;
                            ``(iii) are capable of being continually 
                        upgraded as necessary;
                            ``(iv) are structured to specifically 
                        support the reporting of financial and 
                        performance-related data, such as that any data 
                        produced, regardless of reporting need or 
                        software used for creation or consumption, is 
                        consistent and comparable across reporting 
                        situations;
                            ``(v) establish, for each data point, a 
                        standard method of conveying the reporting 
                        period, reporting entity, unit of measure, and 
                        other associated attributes; and
                            ``(vi) incorporate nonproprietary standards 
                        in effect on the date of enactment of the 
                        Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 
                        2013.
            ``(2) Deadlines.--
                    ``(A) Guidance.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in 
                consultation with the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget, shall issue guidance on the data 
                standards established under paragraph (1) to Federal 
                agencies not later than 1 year after the date of 
                enactment of the Digital Accountability and 
                Transparency Act of 2013.
                    ``(B) Website.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date on which the guidance under clause (i) is issued, 
                the Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that the 
                website required under this section makes data publicly 
                available in accordance with the data standards 
                established under paragraph (1).
                    ``(C) Agencies.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date on which the guidance under subparagraph (A) is 
                issued, each Federal agency shall collect, report, and 
                maintain data in accordance with the data standards 
                established under paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Consultation.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        consult with public and private stakeholders in establishing 
        data standards under this subsection.
    ``(f) Consolidated Recipient Financial Reports.--The Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget shall--
            ``(1) review the financial reporting required by Federal 
        agencies for Federal award recipients to consolidate financial 
        reporting and reduce duplicative financial reporting and 
        compliance costs for recipients;
            ``(2) request input from Federal award recipients to reduce 
        duplicative financial reporting, especially from State and 
        local governments and institutions of higher education;
            ``(3) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013, 
        provide guidance to the heads of Federal agencies regarding how 
        to simplify the reporting requirements for Federal award 
        recipients to consolidate financial reporting, reduce 
        duplicative reporting, and reduce compliance costs, as 
        appropriate; and
            ``(4) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
        of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013, 
        submit to Congress a report regarding any legislative action 
        required to consolidate, streamline, or reduce the cost of 
        reporting requirements for Federal award recipients.
    ``(g) Accountability for Federal Funding.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 
        2013, and every 2 years thereafter until the date that is 6 
        years after such date of enactment, the Inspector General of 
        each Federal agency, in consultation with the Comptroller 
        General of the United States, shall review a sampling of the 
        data submitted under this Act by the agency, and shall submit 
        to Congress and make publicly available a report on the 
        completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data 
        sampled and the implementation and use of consistent data 
        standards by the Federal agency.
            ``(2) Comptroller general.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the 
                date of enactment of the Digital Accountability and 
                Transparency Act of 2013, and every 2 years thereafter 
                until the date that is 6 years after such date of 
                enactment, and after review of the reports submitted 
                under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General of the 
                United States shall submit to Congress and make 
                publicly available a report on the completeness, 
                timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data submitted 
                under this Act by each Federal agency and the 
                implementation and use of consistent data standards by 
                each Federal agency.
                    ``(B) Ranking.--The Comptroller General of the 
                United States shall make available a ranking of Federal 
                agencies regarding data quality, accuracy, and 
                compliance with this Act.
    ``(h) Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.--
            ``(1) Resources and mechanisms.--The Recovery 
        Accountability and Transparency Board shall develop and test 
        information technology resources and oversight mechanisms to 
        enhance the transparency of and detect and remediate waste, 
        fraud, and abuse in Federal spending for Inspectors General.
            ``(2) Website.--The Recovery Accountability and 
        Transparency Board shall maintain a website informing the 
        public of its activities to identify waste, fraud, and abuse 
        and increase transparency of Federal funds to provide support 
        for Inspectors General.
            ``(3) Recovery operations center.--The Recovery 
        Accountability and Transparency Board shall establish and 
        maintain a Recovery Operations Center as a Government-wide 
        Internet-based data access system to carry out the functions 
        described in paragraph (4).
            ``(4) Functions of the recovery operations center.--The 
        functions referred to in paragraph (3) are the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--The Recovery Operations Center 
                shall incorporate--
                            ``(i) all information described in 
                        subsection (b)(1);
                            ``(ii) other information maintained by 
                        Federal, State, local, and foreign government 
                        agencies; and
                            ``(iii) other commercially and publicly 
                        available information.
                    ``(B) Specific functions.--The Recovery Operations 
                Center shall be designed and operated to carry out the 
                following functions:
                            ``(i) Combine information described in 
                        subsection (b)(1) with other compilations of 
                        information, including those listed in 
                        subparagraph (A).
                            ``(ii) Permit agencies, in accordance with 
                        applicable law, to detect and remediate waste, 
                        fraud, and abuse.''.

SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM TO EVALUATE CONSOLIDATED RECIPIENT REPORTING.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, in 
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget, shall establish a pilot program 
relating to reporting by recipients of Federal funds (in this section 
referred to as the ``pilot program'') for the purpose of increasing 
financial transparency to--
            (1) display the full cycle of Federal funds;
            (2) improve the accuracy of Federal financial data; and
            (3) develop recommendations for reducing reporting required 
        of recipients of Federal funds by consolidating and automating 
        financial reporting requirements across the Federal Government.
    (b) Requirements.--The pilot program shall--
            (1) include recipients that collectively receive not less 
        than $1,000,000,000 in Federal funds each fiscal year;
            (2) include recipients that receive Federal funds under 
        multiple programs across multiple agencies; and
            (3) include recipients that collectively receive Federal 
        funds under contracts, grants, and subawards.
    (c) Reporting and Evaluation Requirements.--Each recipient of 
Federal funds participating in the pilot program shall submit to the 
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board reports on the finances 
of the selected Federal awards.
    (d) Publication of Information.--All the information collected by 
the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board under the pilot 
program shall be made publicly available and searchable on the website 
established under section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and 
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).
    (e) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the date 
that is 3 years after the date on which the Recovery Accountability and 
Transparency Board establishes the pilot program.
    (f) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the date on 
which the pilot program terminates under subsection (e), the Recovery 
Accountability and Transparency Board shall submit to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives a 
report on the pilot program, which shall include--
            (1) a description of financial data collected under the 
        pilot program, the accuracy of the data provided, and the cost 
        to collect the data from recipients; and
            (2) recommendations for--
                    (A) consolidating some or all aspects of Federal 
                financial reporting to reduce the costs to recipients 
                of Federal funds;
                    (B) automating some or all aspects of Federal 
                financial reporting to increase efficiency and reduce 
                the costs to recipients of Federal funds; and
                    (C) improving financial transparency.

SEC. 5. CLASSIFIED AND PROTECTED INFORMATION.

    Section 3 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency 
Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 3. CLASSIFIED AND PROTECTED INFORMATION.

    ``Nothing in this Act shall require the disclosure to the public or 
to any person without an identifiable need to know--
            ``(1) information protected 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. 6. AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 AMENDMENTS.

    Public Law 111-5 is amended--
            (1) in subsection 1501(4) of title XV, by adding before the 
        period at the end the following: ``except that, in subtitle B, 
        the term means any funds that are obligated or expended by an 
        agency from appropriations made under this or any other Act'';
            (2) in section 1512 of title XV, by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(i) Expiration.--The requirements in this section shall expire on 
September 31, 2013.'';
            (3) in section 1523 of title XV, by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(d) Expiration.--The requirements in this section shall expire on 
September 30, 2013.'';
            (4) in section 1526 of title XV, by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(e) Expiration.--The requirements in this section shall expire on 
September 30, 2013.''; and
            (5) in section 1530 of title XV, by striking ``September 
        30, 2013,'' and inserting ``September 30, 2017.''.

SEC. 7. DISASTER RELIEF APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2013 AMENDMENTS.

    Public Law 113-2 is amended in section 904(d)--
            (1) by striking ``for purposes related to the impact of 
        Hurricane Sandy'';
            (2) by striking ``related to the impact of Hurricane 
        Sandy'' after ``receiving appropriations''; and
            (3) by striking ``related to funds appropriated for the 
        impact of Hurricane Sandy'' after ``on its activities''.

SEC. 8. EXECUTIVE AGENCY ACCOUNTING AND OTHER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 
              REPORTS AND PLANS.

    Section 3512(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``and make available on 
        the website described under section 1122 of this title'' after 
        ``appropriate committees of the Congress'';
            (2) in paragraph (3)(B)(vi), by inserting ``, system 
        development, financial management workforce development, 
        related risk assessment and mitigation for the Federal 
        Government as a whole, related risk assessment and mitigation 
        for executive agencies, development of capacity to prevent and 
        detect fraud,'' after ``equipment acquisitions''; and
            (3) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the following:
    ``(C) Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the 
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013, and every 90 days 
thereafter, the Director shall make available on the website described 
under section 1122 of this title a report regarding--
            ``(i) specific goals for the most recent full fiscal year, 
        the fiscal year during which the report is submitted, and the 
        fiscal year following the year during which the report is 
        submitted that are necessary steps toward implementing the 
        Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 
        U.S.C. 6101 note) fully and in an effective, efficient, and 
        accurate manner; and
            ``(ii) the status and progress achieved toward each goal 
        described in clause (i), including any changes to the cost, 
        schedule, or performance baselines of achieving each goal, 
        using earned value management where appropriate.''.
                                 <all>
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