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[Senate Report 113-232]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     113-232
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                       Calendar No. 505

                  GOVERMENTAL REPORTS ELIMINATION ACT

                                OF 2014

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                               H.R. 4194

  TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELIMINATION OR MODIFICATION OF FEDERAL REPORTING 
                              REQUIREMENTS

                 July 31, 2014.--Ordered to be printed

        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan                 TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas              JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana          RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
JON TESTER, Montana                  RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MARK BEGICH, Alaska                  MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire
HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota

                  Gabrielle A. Batkin, Staff Director
               John P. Kilvington, Deputy Staff Director
                    Mary Beth Schultz, Chief Counsel
               Kristine V. Lam, Professional Staff Member
               Keith B. Ashdown, Minority Staff Director
         Christopher J. Barkley, Minority Deputy Staff Director
               Andrew C. Dockham, Minority Chief Counsel
                  Patrick J. Bailey, Minority Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk

                                                       Calendar No. 505
113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     113-232

======================================================================

 
               GOVERNMENT REPORTS ELIMINATION ACT OF 2014

                                _______
                                

                 July 31, 2014.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Carper, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4194]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 4194), to provide 
for the elimination or modification of Federal reporting 
requirements, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I.  Purpose and Summary.............................................1
 II.  Background and Need for Legislation.............................1
III.  Legislative History.............................................3
 IV.  Section-by-Section Analysis.....................................3
  V.  Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................6
 VI.  Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................7
VII.  Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported...........7

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    The Government Reports Elimination Act will save taxpayer 
money by relieving federal agencies of requirements to produce 
reports that are outdated or unneeded. Specifically, the bill 
eliminates requirements for federal agencies to submit 61 
quarterly, semiannual, and annual reports to Congress and 
reduces reporting requirements for an additional five reports 
that are required under law.

                II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    When passing laws, Congress frequently includes 
requirements for federal agencies to submit reports to Congress 
or its committees. Members of Congress often use reporting 
requirements to help inform their study of policy issues and 
conduct oversight of agencies and programs. Congress may 
require federal agencies to submit reports only once or 
periodically according to a fixed schedule.
    Over time, some reporting requirements become outdated or 
no longer necessary, or are duplicative of other reporting 
requirements. On several occasions, Congress, agencies, and the 
President have reexamined reporting requirements to ascertain 
whether the requirements should continue, change, or be 
eliminated. In 1995, Congress passed the Federal Reports 
Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-66). The law 
eliminated and modified nearly 200 reporting requirements and 
established a date on which all annual or routine 
Congressionally mandated reporting requirements that were in 
place on the date of enactment of the Act would be terminated 
unless specifically exempted by law. Additionally, the law 
required the President to identify, in the next proposed budget 
additional, Congressionally mandated reporting requirements 
that could be eliminated. As a result of that provision, the 
President, in the Fiscal Year 1997 Budget, provided Congress 
with a list recommending that an additional 400 reports be 
eliminated or modified. That list became the basis for the 
Federal Reports Elimination Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-362), which 
eliminated nearly 200 additional reports.
    Congress revisited reporting requirements in the Government 
Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRA 
Modernization) (P.L. 111-352), which was enacted in January 
2011. Under GPRA Modernization, each agency's chief operating 
officer is required, on an annual basis, to compile a list of 
all plans and reports the agency produces for Congress and to 
identify those plans and reports that are outdated or 
duplicative of other required plans and reports. Each agency's 
chief operating officer then provides this information to the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Finally, 
GPRA Modernization requires the President to include the list 
of duplicative or outdated plans in the President's annual 
budget submitted to Congress.
    In January 2013, the Office of Management and Budget 
published an initial list of 376 congressionally mandated 
reports that agencies recommended be eliminated or modified to 
improve efficiency. Because the reports are mandated by law, 
striking the reporting requirements requires Congress to pass a 
law. The Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014 was based 
on this list and reflects those reports in which Congress 
agrees with the assessment of federal agencies. Prior to 
introducing the bill, Representative Darrell Issa, Chairman of 
the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a 
letter to the chairman of each committee of the House of 
Representatives soliciting input on OMB's list of reports that 
agencies have recommended be eliminated or modified. The 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform relied on the 
feedback received from the various committees of the House to 
form the list of reports to be eliminated that became the basis 
of the Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014.
    Similarly, after the legislation passed the House of 
Representatives and was referred to this Committee in the 
Senate, Chairman Carper and Ranking Member Coburn sent a letter 
to the Chairman and Ranking Member of each other committee in 
the Senate soliciting their feedback regarding eliminating the 
reports contained in the House-passed version of the Government 
Reports Elimination Act of 2014. The legislation reported by 
this Committee containing a list of reports to be eliminated 
reflects the input of the Senate committees.

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 4194 was introduced on March 11, 2014 by 
Representative Darrell Issa. On April 28, 2014, H.R. 4194 was 
agreed to in the House of Representatives by voice vote. The 
bill was received in the Senate on April 29, 2014 and referred 
to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
    The Committee considered the bill at a business meeting on 
June 25, 2014. Senators Carper, Coburn, and McCaskill offered a 
substitute amendment to the bill that would eliminate 61 
quarterly, semiannual, and annual reports to Congress and 
modify reporting requirements for an additional five reports 
that are currently required under law. The Committee adopted 
the Carper-Coburn-McCaskill substitute and ordered the bill, as 
amended, be reported favorably by voice vote. Senators Carper, 
Levin, McCaskill, Tester, Heitkamp, Coburn, McCain, Johnson, 
and Portman were present for the vote.

                    IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    This section states that this bill may be cited as the 
``Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014.''

Section 2. Table of contents

    This section provides the Table of Contents for the bill.

                   TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

    Section 101 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Department of Agriculture:
    1. Information on Administrative Expenses on Commodity 
Promotion Programs
    2. Unfair Trade Practices Report and the Related Meeting
    3. Farmland Protection Policy Act Annual Report
    4. Peanut Base Acres Data Collection and Publication
    5. Other Base Acres Data Collection and Publication
    6. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development 
Accounts Pilot Program Report
    7. Rural Broadband Access Program Report
    8. Report on Export Credit Guarantees to Emerging Markets
    9. Commodity Credit Corporation Quarterly Report
    10. Evaluation of the Rural Development, Business and 
Industry Guaranteed Loan Program Financing of Locally or 
Regionally Produced Food Products
    11. United States Grain Standards Act Report
    12. Notifications to Congress on Release of Names and 
Addresses of Producers Operating Under Marketing Agreements and 
Orders
    13. Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster 
Prevention Action Plans Reports
    14. Quarterly Export Assistance Reports
    15. Rural Collaborative Investment Program
          a. Secretarial Report on Regional Rural Investment 
        Boards
          b. Report by Regional Rural Investment Board to 
        National Rural Investment Board and the Secretary
    16. Status Report for Food for Progress Program
    17. Southeastern Alaska Timber Reports

                    TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

    Section 201 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Department of Commerce:
    1. Efforts and Progress in Becoming Designated as a Sea 
Grant College or Institute
    2. Enterprise Integration Standardization and 
Implementation
    3. Ensuring Equal Access to Sea Grant Fellowship Program
    4. TIP Activities
    5. TIP Advisory Board Annual Report
    6. Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Activities

              TITLE III--CORPORATION FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE

    Section 301 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Corporation for Community 
Service:
    1. Reports by Other Federal Agencies to the Corporation
    2. Service-Learning Impact Study

                    TITLE IV--DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

    Section 401 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Department of Defense:
    1. Display of Annual Budget Requirements for Air 
Sovereignty Alert Mission
    2. Annual Report on Reliability of Department of Defense 
Financial Statement

                    TITLE V--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

    Section 501 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated report submitted by the Department of Education:
    1. Impact Aid Construction Justifying Discretionary Grant 
Awards

                     TITLE VI--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

    Section 601 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Department of Energy:
    1. Science and Engineering Education Pilot Program
    2. Strategic Unconventional Fuels Development Program
    3. Energy Efficiency Standards for Industrial Equipment

               TITLE VII--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

    Section 701 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated report submitted by the Environmental Protection 
Agency:
    1. Great Lakes Management Comprehensive Report

             TITLE VIII--EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

    Section 801 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated report submitted by the Executive Office of the 
President:
    1. Report Relating to Waiver of Certain Sanctions against 
North Korea

               TITLE IX--GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

    Section 901 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Government Accountability 
Office:
    1. Expenditures of Local Educational Agencies
    2. Use of Recovery Act Funds by States and Localities 
Report
    3. State Small Business Credit Initiative Audit and Report
    4. Help America Vote Act Funds Audit
    5. Small Business Lending Fund Program Audit and Report
    6. Housing Assistance Council Financial Statement Audit 
Report
    Section 902 would modify the requirements to the following 
congressionally mandated reports submitted by the Government 
Accountability Office:
    1. National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health 
Council, by directing only the Secretary of the Department of 
Health and Human Services to conduct periodic reviews
    2. Postcard Mandate, by allowing for online posting of this 
information instead of requiring print copies to be delivered 
to each Congressional office
    3. Annual Audit of the Congressional Award Foundation, by 
allowing for the contracting of a private auditor
    4. Annual GAO Review of Proposed HHS Recovery Threshold, by 
phasing out this requirement at the end of 2014

                TITLE X--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

    Section 1001 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Department of Homeland 
Security:
    1. Prohibition on Importation of Products Made With Dog or 
Cat Fur
    2. Port of Entry Infrastructure Assessment Study and 
National Land Border Security Plan
    3. Fees for Certain Customs Services
    4. Modernization of the National Distress and Response 
System

                  TITLE XI--DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

    Section 1101 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated report submitted by the Department of the Interior:
    1. Royalties In-Kind Report

                     TITLE XII--DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

    Section 1201 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Department of Labor:
    1. Older Americans Act
    2. Andean Trade Preference Act

      TITLE XIII--OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

    Section 1301 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Office of the Director of 
National Intelligence:
    1. Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
    2. Reports on Commerce With, and Assistance to, Cuba from 
Other Foreign Countries

                     TITLE XIV--DEPARTMENT OF STATE

    Section 1401 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated report submitted by the Department of State:
    1. Report on Progress Toward Regional Non-Proliferation in 
South Asia

                 TITLE XV--DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

    Section 1501 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Department of Transportation:
    1. Reports of the Air Traffic Services Committee
    2. Annual Summaries of Airport Financial Reports
    3. Annual Report on Pipeline Safety Information Grants to 
Communities
    4. Annual Report on Pilot Program for Innovative Financing 
of Air Traffic Control Equipment
    5. Reports on Justifications for Air Defense Identification 
Zones
    6. Annual Report on Standards for Aircraft and Aircraft 
Engines to Reduce Noise Levels
    Section 1502 would modify the requirements to the following 
congressionally mandated report submitted by the Department of 
Transportation:
    1. Evaluation and Audit of the National Transportation 
Safety Board, by allowing the evaluation and audit to be 
conducted only when needed

                 TITLE XVI--DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

    Section 1601 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated reports submitted by the Department of the Treasury:
    1. Annual Report on the North American Development Bank
    2. Report on International Financial Institution Borrowers' 
Labor Practices
    3. Report on New IMF Arrangements Regarding Rates and 
Maturities
    4. Report on Significant Modifications

               TITLE XVII--DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

    Section 1701 would eliminate the following congressionally 
mandated report submitted by the Department of Veterans 
Affairs:
    1. Annual Report on Procurement of Health-care Items

                  V. REGULATORY IMPACT AND EVALUATION

    Pursuant to the requirement of paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and has 
determined that the bill will have no regulatory impact. CBO 
states that the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                                      July 9, 2014.
Hon. Tom Carper,
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 H.R. 4194, the 
Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                      Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 4194--Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014

    H.R. 4194 would eliminate the requirement for 17 federal 
entities to prepare certain reports for the Congress. Based on 
information from the Office of Management and Budget and some 
affected agencies, CBO estimates that implementing this 
legislation would reduce costs that are subject to 
appropriation by less than $1 million over the next five years. 
Enacting H.R. 4194 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    H.R. 4194 would eliminate the requirement to prepare 66 
reports that are produced by numerous federal agencies, 
including: the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, 
Education, Energy, Homeland Security, Interior, Labor, State, 
Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and the 
Corporation for National and Community Service, the 
Environmental Protection Agency, the Executive Office of the 
President, the Government Accountability Office, and the Office 
of the Director of National Intelligence. By reducing the 
number of reports that must be prepared and printed, 
implementing H.R. 4194 would reduce the administrative costs of 
those agencies. However, about 50 of the reports are either 
duplicative, obsolete, or would remain available online. CBO 
estimates that eliminating the requirement to produce them 
would yield a small reduction in administrative costs.
    H.R. 4194 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local or tribal governments.
    On April 24, 2014, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
4194 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight 
and Government Reform. The two versions of H.R. 4194 are 
similar, but they would affect different federal entities and 
eliminate a different number of reports. The CBO cost estimates 
reflect those differences.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

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

    Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of 
the Standing Rules of the Senate, the changes in existing law 
made by certain portions of the bill have not been shown in 
this section of the report because, in the opinion of the 
committee, it is necessary to dispense with showing such 
changes in order to expedite the business of the Senate.

                                  
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