19–006 

112TH CONGRESS REPT. 112–635 " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session Part 1 

TAXPAYERS RIGHT-TO-KNOW ACT 

JULY 31, 2012.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. ISSA, from the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 3609] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to whom 

was referred the bill (H.R. 3609) to provide taxpayers with an annual report disclosing the cost of, performance by, and areas for improvements for Government programs, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Committee Statement and Views ........................................................................... 4 

Section-by-Section .................................................................................................... 5 

Explanation of Amendments ................................................................................... 6 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 6 

Roll Call Votes ......................................................................................................... 6 

Application of Law to the Legislative Branch ....................................................... 7 

Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee ...... 7 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 7 

Federal Advisory Committee Act ............................................................................ 7 

Unfunded Mandate Statement ............................................................................... 7 

Committee Estimate ................................................................................................ 7 

Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .................... 7 

Additional Views ...................................................................................................... 10 


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The amendments are as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act’’. 

SEC. 2. AGENCY REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ANNUAL REPORT ON THE COST AND PERFORMANCE OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS AND AREAS OF DUPLICATION AMONG 

PROGRAMS. 

(a) REQUIREMENT TO IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE PROGRAMS.—On an annual basis, 

for purposes of the report required by subsection (b), the head of each agency shall— 

(1) identify and describe every program administered by the agency; 

(2) for each such program— 

(A) determine the total administrative expenses of the program; 

(B) determine the expenditures for services for the program; 

(C) estimate the number of clients served by the program and beneficiaries who received assistance under the program (if applicable); and 

(D) estimate— 

(i) the number of full-time employees who administer the program; 

and 

(ii) the number of full-time equivalents (whose salary is paid in part 

or full by the Federal Government through a grant or contract, a 

subaward of a grant or contract, a cooperative agreement, or another 

form of financial award or assistance) who assist in administering the 

program; and 

(3) identify programs within the agency with duplicative or overlapping missions, services, and allowable uses of funds. 

(b) REPORT.—Not later than February 1 of each fiscal year, the head of each agency shall create a link on the homepage of the official public website of the agency 

to a report containing the following: 

(1) IDENTIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS.—The information required under subsection (a) with respect to the preceding fiscal year. 

(2) PERFORMANCE REVIEWS.—The latest performance reviews (including the 

program performance reports required under section 1116 of title 31, United 

States Code) of each program of the agency identified under subsection (a)(1), 

including performance indicators, performance goals, output measures, and 

other specific metrics used to review the program and how the program performed on each. 

(3) IMPROPER PAYMENT INFORMATION.—For all programs and activities that 

may be susceptible to significant improper payments, as identified by the head 

of the agency under section 2(a) of the Improper Payments Information Act of 

2002 (31 U.S.C. 321 note), the latest improper payment rate and the total estimated amount of improper payments during the preceding fiscal year, including 

fraudulent payments and overpayments. 

(4) EXPIRED GRANT FUNDING.—The total amount of undisbursed grant funding 

remaining in grant accounts for which the period of availability to the grantee 

has expired. 

(5) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Such recommendations as the head of the agency 

considers appropriate— 

(A) to consolidate programs within the agency that are duplicative or 

overlapping; 

(B) to eliminate waste and inefficiency; and 

(C) to terminate lower priority, outdated, and unnecessary programs and 

initiatives. 

(c) RELATIONSHIP TO CATALOG OF DOMESTIC FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—With respect to the requirements of subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2)(B), the head of an agency 

may use the same information provided in the Catalog of Domestic Financial Assistance if applicable. 

(d) FORMAT.—Each agency shall make reports required by subsection (b) available 

in a searchable, machine-readable format, and shall expend no funds for the printing of such reports, except when providing such documents to the Congress. 

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ANNUAL REPORT ON THE COST AND PERFORMANCE OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS AND AREAS 

OF DUPLICATION AMONG PROGRAMS. 

(a) REPORT BY OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.—Not later than February 

1 of each fiscal year, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 

publish on the official public website of the Office of Management and Budget a report containing the following: 


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(1) IDENTIFICATION OF DUPLICATIVE PROGRAMS.—An identification of programs 

across agencies with duplicative or overlapping missions, services, and allowable uses of funds. 

(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Such recommendations as the Director considers appropriate— 

(A) to consolidate programs across agencies that are duplicative or overlapping; 

(B) to eliminate waste and inefficiency; and 

(C) to terminate lower priority, outdated, and unnecessary programs and 

initiatives. 

(b) RELATIONSHIP TO PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.—With respect to the requirements of 

subsection (a)(2), the Director may use the same information provided in the President’s annual budget submission, if applicable. 

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The term ‘‘administrative costs’’ has the meaning 

as determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under 

section 504(b)(2) of Public Law 111–85 (31 U.S.C. 1105 note), except the term 

shall also include, for purposes of that section and this section, with respect to 

an agency— 

(A) costs incurred by the agency as well as costs incurred by grantees, 

subgrantees, and other recipients of funds from a grant program or other 

program administered by the agency; and 

(B) expenses related to personnel salaries and benefits, property management, travel, program management, promotion, reviews and audits, case 

management, and communication about, promotion of, and outreach for programs and program activities administered by the agency. 

(2) SERVICES.—The term ‘‘services’’ has the meaning provided by the Director 

of the Office of Management and Budget and shall be limited to only activities, 

assistance, and aid that provide a direct benefit to a recipient, such as the provision of medical care, assistance for housing or tuition, or financial support (including grants and loans). 

(3) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the same meaning given that term in 

section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code, except that the term also includes 

offices in the legislative branch other than the Government Accountability Office. 

(4) PERFORMANCE INDICATOR, PERFORMANCE GOAL, OUTPUT MEASURE, PROGRAM ACTIVITY.—The terms ‘‘performance indicator’’, ‘‘performance goal’’, ‘‘output measure’’, and ‘‘program activity’’ have the meanings provided by section 

1115 of title 31, United States Code. 

(5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ has the meaning provided by the Director 

of the Office of Management and Budget and shall include, with respect to an 

agency, any organized set of activities directed toward a common purpose or 

goal undertaken by the agency that includes services, projects, processes, or financial or other forms of assistance, including grants, contracts, cooperative 

agreements, compacts, loans, leases, technical support, consultation, or other 

guidance. 

SEC. 5. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. 

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the disclosure of classified information. 

SEC. 6. REGULATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION. 

(a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 

Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall prescribe regulations to implement this Act. 

(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—This Act shall be implemented beginning with the first full 

fiscal year occurring after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Amend the title so as to read: 

A bill to provide taxpayers with an annual report disclosing the cost and performance of Government programs and areas of duplication among them. 


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COMMITTEE STATEMENT AND VIEWS

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 3609, the Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act, is designed to significantly reduce waste, misspending, and inefficiency throughout 

the Federal Government. The Federal Government wastes billions 

of dollars annually by operating programs that have duplicative, 

overlapping, or fragmented missions. Some experts estimate the 

annual cost of government duplication at $100 billion or more. 

The Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act provides information on government programs, spending, and duplication. The bill establishes 

several reporting requirements for agencies to better identify inefficiencies. Each agency is required to catalogue the programs it oversees, providing information on program cost and costs attributable 

to administrative overhead. Each agency is also required to evaluate its programs, collectively, for duplication and overlap. 

Agencies are further required to make recommendations to consolidate duplicative or overlapping programs, eliminate waste and 

inefficiency, and terminate unnecessary, outdated, or low priority 

programs. The Office of Management and Budget is required to 

issue an annual report identifying duplication of programs across 

agencies, and to provide consolidation recommendations. All the reports and recommendations required by the bill are to be made 

available to the public in an accessible online format. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Now more than ever, agencies must do a better job of managing 

their programs and identifying areas where taxpayer dollars are 

not being used efficiently. The Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act provides the American people with vital information on government 

spending and program management. Access to this information will 

help reduce duplication and ensure that the government is providing services in an efficient manner. 

In 2010, Senator Coburn added to a bill raising the Federal debt 

limit an amendment requiring the U.S. Government Accountability 

Office to report on duplication and overlap across the Federal Government. Consequently, GAO now submits an annual report to 

Congress identifying specific areas of duplication and ways to realize cost savings. 

GAO identified 81 areas of duplication and potential cost savings 

in its first report, issued in 2011. This year, it found 51 new areas 

of waste and duplication across the Federal government, identifying billions of dollars of waste that could easily be prevented. 

While GAO’s recommendations are a start toward making government more efficient and cost effective, government agencies are 

uniquely positioned to also assume responsibility for identifying 

unnecessary duplication. It is the Federal agencies that actually 

administer programs on a day-to-day basis. This level of intimacy 

with individual programs and their stakeholders provides senior 

civil servants at each agency with specialized knowledge that 

should be brought to bear in the effort to eliminate program duplication. 

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee held several 

hearings on program duplication during the 112th Congress. On 

March 3, 2011, the Full Committee held a hearing entitled, ‘‘Refuse 


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of the Federal Spending Binge II: How U.S. Taxpayers are Paying 

Double for Failing Government Programs.’’ In this hearing, the 

Committee discussed the 2011 GAO report, which identified 81 examples of duplication in government including programs related to 

tax benefits, military spending, food safety, economic development, 

and biological terror threats. One year later on February 28, 2012, 

the Full Committee reviewed the 2012 GAO report outlining continued duplication within the Federal government at a hearing entitled, ‘‘Government 2.0: GAO Unveils New Duplicative Program 

Report.’’ This report identified 51 additional areas of duplication including defense procurement, financial literacy, information technology investments, revenue collection and fraud detection in key 

entitlement programs. The Committee also held two subcommittee 

hearings about government duplication with narrower breadth: one 

hearing concerned duplication in social welfare programs, and another concerned duplicative information technology investments. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 3609 was introduced by Representative Lankford on December 8, 2011. The bill was referred to the Oversight and Government 

Reform Committee. A companion bill, S. 1957, was introduced by 

Senator Coburn on December 7, 2011. S. 1957 was referred to the 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION

A section-by-section summary of the amendment in the nature of 

a substitute (ANS) adopted during the Full Committee business 

meeting follows: 

Section 1. Short title 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act.’’ 

Section 2. Agency requirements relating to annual report on the cost 

and performance of government programs and areas of duplication among programs 

This section of the bill requires agencies to provide information 

on the programs they administer and on any duplication or overlap 

among such programs. For every program it administers, each 

agency must identify and describe the program, its cost, the number of full-time equivalent employees responsible for its administration, and the estimated number of people served. Each agency is 

further directed to identify and report on any programs with duplicative or overlapping functions. 

Each agency is required to post the aforementioned information 

annually on a publicly accessible page on its website—accessible 

via a link on the agency’s home page. For each of its programs, 

each agency must also post the most recent performance reviews, 

and report on any expired grant funding. For susceptible programs, 

each agency must also provide an estimate of the volume of improper payments made. 

In addition to reporting on programs and duplication, agencies 

are directed to provide recommendations to consolidate duplicative 

or overlapping programs, eliminate waste and inefficiency, and terminate programs that are deemed unnecessary, outdated, or low 

priority. 


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Section 3. Office of Management and Budget requirements relating 

to annual report on the cost and performance of government 

programs and areas of duplication among programs 

This section requires the Director of the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) to publish an annual report identifying programs across government that have duplicative or overlapping 

services. The report will provide recommendations to consolidate 

duplicative and overlapping programs, eliminate waste, and terminate unnecessary, outdated, or low priority programs. 

Section 4. Definitions 

The section defines administrative costs, services, agency, performance, and programs, as established by statute and OMB guidance. 

Section 5. Classified information 

This section specifies that the Act does not require the disclosure 

of classified information. 

Section 6. Regulations and implementation 

This section requires the OMB Director to prescribe regulations 

within 120 days of enactment in order to implement the Taxpayers 

Right-To-Know Act at the inception of the first full fiscal year after 

the date of enactment. 

EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

The provisions of Representative Lankford’s ANS adopted during 

the Committee Business Meeting are explained in the Section-bySection above. 

Representative Quigley introduced an amendment to section 2 of 

H.R. 3609 that would require every agency to create a permanent 

web page to allow the public to enter his or her total tax payment 

and calculate how much of that payment is used to fund each program at every Federal agency. The amendment was defeated by a 

recorded vote of 17 ayes to 19 nays, with one member voting 

‘‘present.’’ 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On April 26, 2012, the Committee met in open session and ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 3609, as amended, by voice 

vote, a quorum being present. 

ROLL CALL VOTES

1. Mr. Quigley offered an amendment to the Lankford ANS to insert a new subsection, ‘‘Taxpayer Receipt.’’ The amendment was defeated by a recorded vote of 17 Yeas to 19 Nays, with one voting 

‘‘Present.’’ 

Yeas: Amash, Meehan, Cummings, Towns, Norton, Kucinich, 

Tierney, Clay, Lynch, Cooper, Connolly, Quigley, Davis, Braley, 

Welch, Yarmuth and Murphy. 

Nays: Issa, Burton, Mica, Turner, Jordan, Chaffetz, Mack, 

Walberg, Lankford, Buerkle, Gosar, Labrador, DesJarlais, Walsh, 

Gowdy, Ross, Guinta, Farenthold and Kelly. 

Present: Speier. 


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APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104–1 requires a description of 

the application of this bill to the legislative branch where the bill 

relates to the terms and conditions of employment or access to public services and accommodations. This bill establishes several reporting requirements for agencies to better identify inefficiencies. 

As such this bill does not relate to employment or access to public 

services and accommodations. 

STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE

COMMITTEE

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause (2)(b)(1) 

of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the 

descriptive portions of this report. 

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee’s performance goals and 

objectives are reflected in the descriptive portions of this report. 

FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT

The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish or 

authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within the 

definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b). 

UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT

Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded Mandate 

Reform Act, P.L. 104–4) requires a statement as to whether the 

provisions of the reported bill include unfunded mandates. In compliance with this requirement the Committee has received a letter 

from the Congressional Budget Office included herein. 

EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

H.R. 3609 does not include any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9 of rule 

XXI. 

COMMITTEE ESTIMATE

Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 

3609. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its 

report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of 

the Congressional Budget Act. 

BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST

ESTIMATE

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 


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Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect to requirements 

of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for 

H.R. 3609 from the Director of Congressional Budget Office: 

JULY 2, 2012. 

Hon. DARRELL ISSA, 

Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3609, the Taxpayers 

Right-To-Know Act. 

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

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

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 3609—Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act 

Summary: H.R. 3609 would require government agencies to identify and describe each program they administer, the cost to administer the program, expenditures for services, the number of program beneficiaries, and the number of Federal employees and contract staff involved. Under the bill, that information would be posted on each agency’s Web site. In addition, H.R. 3609 would require 

an annual report by the Office of Management and Budget that 

identifies duplicative Federal programs. 

Based on information from several agencies, CBO estimates that 

implementing H.R. 3609 would cost around $100 million over the 

2013–2017 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary 

amounts. Enacting the bill could affect direct spending by agencies 

not funded through annual appropriations; therefore, pay-as-you-go 

procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that any net increase 

in spending by those agencies would be negligible. Enacting H.R. 

3609 would not affect revenues. 

H.R. 3609 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 

and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 3609 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within all budget functions that include 

spending on administrative activities. 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2013- 

2017 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Estimated Authorization Level ...................................................... 30 30 20 10 10 100 

Estimated Outlays ........................................................................ 30 30 20 10 10 100 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill 

will be enacted by the end of fiscal year 2012, that the necessary 

amounts will be appropriated each year, and that spending will folVerDate Mar 15 2010 14:51 Aug 01, 2012 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR635P1.XXX HR635P1

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low historical patterns for salaries and expenses related to modifying Federal reporting systems. 

Under current law, agencies regularly produce various types of 

management information on their programs, budgets, strategic 

plans, and annual performance reports. A recent amendment to the 

Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) will require 

agencies to describe every program they administer. Consequently, 

CBO expects that some of the requirements of H.R. 3609 would 

codify or only slightly modify current agency-reporting requirements. 

However, the legislation would add significant new reporting requirements for agencies, including reports on the total administrative costs and the total costs of contract services for each Federal 

program. Currently, the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) lists more than 2,200 programs, projects, services, and activities that provide assistance or benefits to the public. H.R. 3609 

would apply to the CFDA list of programs as well as any government service, process, grant, contract, cooperative expense, compact, loan, lease, or agency guidance. Based on information from 

the Office of Management and Budget and selected agencies about 

the costs to implement reporting requirements in the Government 

Performance and Results Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, CBO estimates that assembling that information at this level of detail would cost around $100 million over 

the 2013–2017 period. 

Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act 

of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures 

for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. Enacting H.R. 

3609 could affect direct spending by agencies not funded through 

the appropriation process, but CBO estimates that such effects 

would not be significant in any year. Enacting H.R. 3609 would not 

affect revenues. 

Intergovernmental and Private-Sector Impact: H.R. 3609 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined 

in UMRA. Any costs to state and local governments would result 

from complying with conditions of assistance. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Matthew Pickford; Impact 

on state, local, and tribal governments: Elizabeth Cove Delisle; Impact on the private sector: Paige Piper/Bach. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 


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ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

This bill will place an unnecessary burden on agencies. It requires agencies to report a significant amount of information which 

will require substantial agency resources. The bill does not authorize any additional funding to assist with agency compliance. 

This legislation is also duplicative as some of the information 

agencies already report under requirements in other laws. For example, the bill requires agencies to report information on improper 

payments made by the agency. The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 already requires agencies to report information on 

their improper payments. Additionally, the bill requires duplicative 

reporting of performance information required by the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010. 

Some of the requirements of this legislation are unclear. The bill 

requires every agency to estimate the number of clients served by 

every program administered by the agency. However, the bill does 

not define the term ‘‘client.’’ 

This legislation should be streamlined to ensure that it will improve transparency without compromising efficiency. 

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS. 

Æ 


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