79–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–826 

CREATING ADVANCED STREAMLINED ELECTRONIC 

SERVICES FOR CONSTITUENTS ACT OF 2018 

JULY 16, 2018.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. GOWDY, from the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 3076] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to whom 

was referred the bill (H.R. 3076) to amend section 552a of title 5, 

United States Code (commonly referred to as the Privacy Act) to 

require agencies to accept electronic release forms, and for other 

purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 

with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do 

pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Summary and Purpose of the Legislation ............................................................. 3 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 3 

Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee ...... 4 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 4 

Legislative History .................................................................................................. 4 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 4 

Roll Call Votes ......................................................................................................... 4 

Explanation of Amendments ................................................................................... 4 

Application of Law to the Legislative Branch ....................................................... 5 

Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................................ 5 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings ..................................................................... 5 

Federal Advisory Committee Act ............................................................................ 5 

Unfunded Mandates Statement .............................................................................. 5 

Earmark Identification ............................................................................................ 5 

Committee Estimate ................................................................................................ 5 

New Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ........... 6 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 7 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 8 

2 

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 ‘‘Creating Advanced Streamlined Electronic Services 

for Constituents Act of 2018’’ or the ‘‘CASES Act’’. 

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

It is the sense of Congress that— 

(1) congressional offices provide crucial services to constituents by acting as 

a liaison between the constituents and the respective agencies; 

(2) this includes assisting constituents by making inquiries and working toward resolutions on behalf of the constituent with the respective agencies; and 

(3) this process should be simplified through the creation of electronic forms 

that may be submitted under section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Privacy Act), thus modernizing the process for constituents and improving access and efficiency of Government services and agencies 

in order to expedite the resolution of the problem for which constituents sought 

help. 

SEC. 3. OMB GUIDANCE ON ELECTRONIC CONSENT FORMS. 

(a) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

the Director shall issue guidance that does the following: 

(1) Establishes— 

(A) standards for each agency to develop an electronic identity proofing 

and authentication process for allowing an individual to provide a prior 

written electronic consent form for the disclosure of the individual’s record 

under section 552a(b) of title 5, United States Code, or for individual access 

to a record under section 552a(d) of such title; or 

(B) a method by which each agency can electronically identity proof and 

authenticate an individual submitting an electronic consent form through 

a central online portal. 

(2) Creates a template for an electronic consent form that can be properly 

identity proofed and authenticated in accordance with paragraph (1). 

(3) Requires each agency to accept the electronic consent form described in 

paragraph (2) that provides consent from any individual properly identity 

proofed and authenticated in accordance with paragraph (1) from the individual 

providing consent or an entity other than the individual, including a congressional office, on behalf of the individual for the purpose of authorizing the disclosure of the individual’s record in accordance with section 552a(b) or 552a(d) 

of title 5, United States Code. 

(4) Authorizes each agency to provide an online link to the consolidated online 

portal described under subsection (b)(1). 

(b) PORTAL; CONSENT IDENTIFIER; CONGRESSIONAL FUNCTION.— 

(1) CONSOLIDATED ONLINE PORTAL.— 

(A) OPERATION OF PORTAL.—The Director (or a designee) shall operate (or 

designate the head of an agency to operate) a consolidated online portal 

that allows a member of the public to submit an electronic consent form in 

accordance with the guidance issued pursuant to subsection (a) to any agency from a single website. 

(B) PRIVACY AND OTHER FEATURES.—The portal shall include features to 

protect the privacy of individuals using the portal and may include any additional functions the Director finds will improve the implementation of this 

section. 

(C) USE OF EXISTING WEBSITE OR PORTAL.—The Director may use any existing website or portal to satisfy the requirements of this subsection, including the portal established under section 552(m) of title 5, United States 

Code. 

(2) CONSENT IDENTIFIER.—The Director, or a designee, shall assign each consent form submitted through the portal described in paragraph (1) a consent 

identifier, which shall be provided to the agency and the individual or entity 

submitting the consent form. The agency shall track the consent form with the 

consent identifier. 

(3) CONGRESSIONAL ASSISTANCE FUNCTION.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director, or a designee, shall ensure the operation 

of a function that allows a congressional office to provide a publicly available online link to the portal described in paragraph (1), which shall autopopulate information about such congressional office, including an indication of consent for such office to access a record in accordance with section 

3 

1Sarah J. Eckman, Cong. Research Serv., R44726, Constituent Services: Overview and Resources (2017). 2 Id. 

3 R. Eric Petersen and Sarah J. Eckman, Cong. Research Serv., RL33209, Casework in a Congressional Office: Background, Rules, Laws, and Resources (2017). 

552a(b) of title 5, United States Code, in the consent form accessed through 

the portal. 

(B) NOTIFICATION OF CONSENT IDENTIFIER REQUIRED.— The Director, or a 

designee, shall ensure the function sends the consent identifier to the congressional office when a consent form is submitted to an agency through the 

portal as accessed through the function. 

(c) AGENCY COMPLIANCE.—Each agency shall comply with the guidance issued 

pursuant to subsection (a) not later than 1 year after the date on which such guidance is issued. 

(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) AGENCY; INDIVIDUAL; RECORD.—The terms ‘‘agency’’, ‘‘individual’’, and 

‘‘record’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 552a(a) of title 5, 

United States Code. 

(2) CONSENT IDENTIFIER.—The term ‘‘consent identifier’’ means a nonproprietary, unique identification number. 

(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. 

Amend the title so as to read: 

A bill to require the Director of the Office of Management and 

Budget to issue guidance on electronic consent forms, and for other 

purposes. 

SUMMARY AND PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION

The Creating Advanced Streamlined Electronic Services for Constituents Act of 2018, or CASES Act, facilitates congressional casework by requiring federal agencies to accept electronic privacy release forms. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 3076 allows members of Congress to better fulfill an important duty of their office. Since the early American republic, constituents have requested Congress’s assistance in their interactions 

with the Executive Branch. In 1794, the House established a select 

committee for private claims to help sort out requests related to 

Revolutionary War pensions.1 Today, individual Members and congressional staff handle constituent services or casework. Though 

Members have significant flexibility in resources they devote to 

casework, most see it as a one of their most important responsibilities. As one former Congressman recalled, ‘‘you learn more about 

the job by doing constituent service work than anything else.’’ 2

When casework involves personally-identifiable information at an 

executive agency, the Privacy Act of 1974 prohibits the agency from 

providing access to an individual member of Congress without a release form signed by the constituent.3 Under the current process, 

a constituent cannot complete and submit a release form entirely 

online. Instead, a constituent must print the form, sign it, and then 

deliver or fax it or scan and email it to the congressional office. 

Once received by the congressional office, a staff member in the office submits the form to the individual agency with which a constituent is requesting assistance. 

The process works, but it is slow and cumbersome, often to the 

point of frustrating constituents. It can present particular challenges for constituents without access to printing or scanning servVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 Jul 21, 2018 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR826.XXX HR826
4 

ices, but who would be able to complete and submit the release if 

it were entirely online, such as during the aftermath of a natural 

disaster. 

H.R. 3076 addresses this problem by allowing constituents to 

complete and submit a Privacy Act release online directly to each 

agency. Under the proposed system, agencies will notify the respective congressional office when a constituent successfully submits a 

release form. After receiving the notification, the Member office can 

then submit a casework request to the agency. 

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 

previous section. 

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 goal or objective for this bill is to require federal agencies to accept Privacy 

Act release forms electronically from constituents. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

On June 27, 2017, Representative Garret Graves (R–LA) introduced H.R. 3076, the Creating Advanced Streamlined Electronic 

Services (CASES) for Constituents Act of 2017, with Representative 

Joseph P. Kennedy, III (D–MA). H.R. 3076 was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The Committee 

considered H.R. 3076 at a business meeting on February 6, 2018 

and ordered the bill favorably reported, as amended, by voice vote. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On February 6, 2018, the Committee met in open session and, 

with a quorum being present, ordered the bill favorably reported, 

as amended, by voice vote. 

ROLL CALL VOTES

There were no roll call votes requested or conducted during Committee consideration of H.R. 3076. 

EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

During Committee consideration of the bill, Representative Mark 

Meadows (R–NC), Chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The 

amendment in the nature of a substitute included a Sense of Congress, expressing the importance of the congressional office in casework. In addition, it required the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance to federal agencies to accept electronically submitted Privacy Act waivers. Agencies can either use a single portal 

created and maintained by the Office of Management and Budget 

or a designee, such as the General Services Administration, to accept these forms or another mechanism to authenticate individuals. 

5 

Each submission will receive a consent identifier in order to track 

requests through the casework process. 

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. The purpose of this bill is to require federal agencies to accept Privacy Act release forms electronically from constituents. As such, this bill does not relate to employment or access to public services and accommodations. 

DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

In accordance with clause 2(c)(5) of rule XIII no provision of this 

bill establishes or reauthorizes a program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was included in any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public 

Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

This bill directs the Office of Management and Budget to promulgate guidance on federal agencies’ implementation of the requirement of this bill within one year of enactment. 

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 Section 5(b) of the appendix to title 5, United States 

Code. 

UNFUNDED MANDATES STATEMENT

Pursuant to section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (Pub. L. 113–67) the Committee has included a letter received from the Congressional Budget Office 

below. 

EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

This bill does not include any congressional earmarks, limited 

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

XXI of the House of Representatives. 

COMMITTEE ESTIMATE

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(2)(B) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee includes below a cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional 

Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act 

of 1974. 

6 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST

ESTIMATE

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives, the cost estimate prepared by the Congressional Budget Office and submitted pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional 

Budget Act of 1974 is as follows: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, May 4, 2018. 

Hon. TREY GOWDY, 

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. 3076, the CASES 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, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 3076—CASES Act 

H.R. 3076 would require the Office of Management and Budget 

to create an electronic form that would allow individual users to 

consent to have a Member of Congress act on their behalf in matters concerning any federal agency. Under current law, most constituent services performed by federal agencies are provided using 

a paper process. 

CBO is unaware of any electronic authentication program currently under development or planned in the near term that features three-person authentication (constituent, agency, and Congressional staff). In addition, CBO is unaware of any comprehensive information on the amount of work that legislative branch employees provide for constituent services. 

Login.gov—an online system that offers about 4 million users secure, private access to 10 participating federal programs—cost 

about $15 million to develop. On that basis, CBO estimates that 

implementing H.R. 3076 by adding another secure access point to 

login.gov would cost less than $1 million per major federal agency. 

Estimated costs over the 2019–2023 period, most of which would be 

subject to the availability of appropriated funds, would total about 

$15 million. 

Enacting H.R. 3076 could affect direct spending by some agencies 

because they are authorized to use receipts from the sale of goods 

and from fees and other collections to cover operating costs. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Because most agencies can 

adjust the amounts collected as their operating costs change, CBO 

estimates any net changes in direct spending by those agencies 

would be insignificant. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3076 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

7 

H.R. 3076 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 reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 establishes the short title of the bill. 

Sec. 2. Sense of Congress 

Section 2 provides a sense of congress related to the intent of the 

bill. 

Sec. 3. OMB guidance on electronic consent forms 

Section 3 directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 

within one year of enactment, to issue guidance establishing either 

standards for agencies to create electronic identity proofing and authentication processes or a central online consent portal through 

which agencies can electronically identity proof and authenticate 

individuals. 

If OMB chooses to establish standards for agencies to develop 

electronic identity proofing and authentication processes, then 

OMB will create a template consent form in accordance with the 

set standards. Agencies will accept consent forms from the individuals or other entities, including congressional offices, on behalf of 

the individual in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974. 

Additionally, OMB or a designated agency such as the General 

Services Administration will ensure the operation of a consolidated 

online portal that allows individuals to submit consent forms that 

meet the OMB standards for identity proofing and authentication 

to any agency. This portal can be the existing portal, including the 

portal established for Freedom of Information Act requests. The 

portal will assign each consent form submitted through the portal 

a nonproprietary, unique identification number to be called a consent identifier. The consent identifier will be provided to the agency, individual, and entity submitting the identifier on behalf of the 

individual. Agencies will track the consent form with the consent 

identifier. The portal will include features to protect the privacy of 

individuals using the portal. 

OMB will ensure that the portal has an operational tool to allow 

congressional offices to link to the portal with information about 

the congressional office auto-populating the fields to indicate consent for such office to access the records in accordance with the Privacy Act. The tool will ensure the consent identifier is sent to the 

congressional office. 

To the extent user authentication is necessary to achieve the requirements of this bill, the Committee intends the Office of Management and Budget or its designee to comply with section 

225(b)(1)(D) of the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015 

8 

4Pub. L. 114–113 (2015), Div. N, Title II, Subtitle B, Sec. 225, 129 Stat. 2242, 2968 (6 U.S.C. 

§ 1523). 

in implementing this requirement, namely by utilizing the General 

Services Administration’s single-sign on platform, login.gov.4

Agencies have one year to implement the form after guidance is 

issued. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

H.R. 3076 would make no changes to existing law. 

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