I

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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2995

To further the goals of the Paperwork Reduction Act to have Federal agencies

become more responsible and publicly accountable for reducing the burden of Federal paperwork on the public, to establish the Commission

on Information Technology and Paperwork Reduction, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 6, 1993

Mr. SISISKY (for himself, Mr. CLINGER, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. MICHEL, Mr.

MAZZOLI, Mr. MCDADE, Mr. WISE, Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. BACHUS of Alabama, Mr. BAKER of California, Mr. MORAN,

Mr. BATEMAN, Mr. COOPER, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mrs. LLOYD, Mr.

BLUTE, Ms. BYRNE, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. VALENTINE, Mr.

BONILLA, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. BUNNING, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. BURTON of

Indiana, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. PAYNE of Virginia, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. COMBEST, Mr. LANCASTER, Mr. DELAY, Mr. MCCURDY, Mr.

DOOLITTLE, Mr. PICKETT, Mr. EMERSON, Ms. LAMBERT, Mr. FAWELL,

Mr. PETE GREEN of Texas, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. ORTON, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. JACOBS, Mr. GUNDERSON, Mr. MONTGOMERY, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. DARDEN, Mr. INGLIS of South

Carolina, Mr. KIM, Mr. SARPALIUS, Mr. KINGSTON, Ms. HARMAN, Mr.

KOLBE, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. MACHTLEY, Mr. HEFNER, Mr. MCCANDLESS, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HUGHES, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. JOHNSON of South

Dakota, Mr. PETRI, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. PARKER, Mr. PORTER, Mr.

POSHARD, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. ROWLAND, Mr. RIDGE, Ms. SHEPHERD,

Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. FINGERHUT, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. ROTH, Mr. SCHIFF,

Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SKEEN, Mr. SUNDQUIST, Mr.

TALENT, Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming, Mr. TORKILDSEN, Mr. UPTON, Mr.

WALSH, Mr. WELDON, Mr. ZELIFF, Mr. ZIMMER, and Mr. SAM JOHNSON

of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Operations
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A BILL

To further the goals of the Paperwork Reduction Act to

have Federal agencies become more responsible and publicly accountable for reducing the burden of Federal paperwork on the public, to establish the Commission on

Information Technology and Paperwork Reduction, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction

5 Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

7 The contents of this Act are as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE II—REDUCING THE BURDEN OF FEDERAL PAPERWORK

ON THE PUBLIC

Sec. 201. Reemphasizing the need to reduce the burden of Federal paperwork

on the public.

Sec. 202. Coverage of all federally sponsored paperwork burdens.

Sec. 203. Paperwork reduction goals.

TITLE III—ENHANCING FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY AND

ACCOUNTABILITY FOR REDUCING THE BURDEN OF FEDERAL

PAPERWORK

Sec. 301. Designating an agency official responsible and publicly accountable

for reducing the burden of Federal paperwork.

Sec. 302. Agency responsibilities for controlling and reducing the burden of

Federal paperwork.

TITLE IV—ENHANCING GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY AND

ACCOUNTABILITY FOR REDUCING THE BURDEN OF FEDERAL

PAPERWORK
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Sec. 401. Reemphasizing the responsibility of the director to control the burden

of Federal paperwork.

Sec. 402. Enhancing agency responsibility to obtain public review of proposed

paperwork burdens.

Sec. 403. Expediting review at the Office of Management and Budget.

Sec. 404. Improving public and agency scrutiny of paperwork burdens proposed

for renewal.

Sec. 405. Protection for whistleblowers of unauthorized paperwork burden.

Sec. 406. Enhancing public participation.

Sec. 407. Expediting review of an agency information collection request with a

reduced burden.

TITLE V—ENHANCING AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY FOR SHARING

AND DISSEMINATING PUBLIC INFORMATION

Sec. 501. Prescribing governmentwide standards for sharing and disseminating

public information.

Sec. 502. Agency responsibilities for sharing and disseminating public information.

Sec. 503. Agency information inventory/locator system.

TITLE VI—ADDITIONAL GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY

Sec. 601. Strengthening the statistical policy and coordination functions of the

Director.

Sec. 602. Use of electronic information collection and dissemination techniques

to reduce burden.

Sec. 603. Agency implementation.

Sec. 604. Automatic data processing equipment plan.

Sec. 605. Technical and conforming amendments.

TITLE VII—EFFECTIVE DATES

Sec. 701. Effective dates.

1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF

2 APPROPRIATIONS

3 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 Section 3520(a) of title 44, United States Code, is

5 amended by striking out ‘‘$5,500,000 for each of the fiscal

6 years 1987, 1988, and 1989.’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

7 ‘‘$7,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, $7,500,000 for fiscal

8 year 1995, $8,000,000 for fiscal year 1996, $8,500,000

9 for fiscal year 1997, and $9,000,000 for fiscal year

10 1998.’’.
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1 TITLE II—REDUCING THE BUR2 DEN OF FEDERAL PAPER3 WORK ON THE PUBLIC

4 SEC. 201. REEMPHASIZING THE NEED TO REDUCE THE

5 BURDEN OF FEDERAL PAPERWORK ON THE

6 PUBLIC.

7 Section 3501 of title 44, United States Code, is

8 amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘§ 3501. Purposes

10 ‘‘The purposes of this chapter are to—

11 ‘‘(1) minimize the Federal paperwork burden

12 for individuals, small businesses, educational and

13 nonprofit institutions, Federal contractors, State

14 and local governments, and other persons;

15 ‘‘(2) minimize the cost to the Federal Govern16 ment of collecting, maintaining, using, retaining,

17 sharing, and disseminating information;

18 ‘‘(3) maximize the usefulness of information

19 collected, maintained, used, retained and shared by

20 the Federal Government;

21 ‘‘(4) coordinate, integrate and, to the extent

22 practicable and appropriate, make uniform Federal

23 information policies and practices;
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1 ‘‘(5) ensure that government information re2 sources management is conducted in an efficient and

3 cost effective manner to—

4 ‘‘(A) improve the quality of decisionmaking

5 and program management and administration;

6 ‘‘(B) improve the quality and timeliness of

7 services delivered to the public;

8 ‘‘(C) increase productivity;

9 ‘‘(D) reduce waste and fraud;

10 ‘‘(E) facilitate the sharing of information;

11 ‘‘(F) ensure the integrity, quality and util12 ity of the Federal statistical system; and

13 ‘‘(G) reduce burden upon the public;

14 ‘‘(6) ensure that the collection, maintenance,

15 use, retention, sharing, and disseminating of infor16 mation by or for the Federal Government is consist17 ent with applicable laws;

18 ‘‘(7) establish the responsibility and public ac19 countability of Federal agencies for implementing

20 the information collection review process, informa21 tion resources management, and related policies and

22 guidance established pursuant to this chapter;

23 ‘‘(8) ensure that automatic data processing,

24 telecommunications and other information tech-
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1 nologies are acquired and used by the Federal Gov2 ernment in an effective and efficient manner that—

3 ‘‘(A) improves service delivery and pro4 gram management;

5 ‘‘(B) increases productivity;

6 ‘‘(C) improves the quality of decisionmak7 ing;

8 ‘‘(D) reduces waste and fraud;

9 ‘‘(E) maximizes the return on investment

10 from the application of Government information

11 and information technology resources over their

12 life cycle; and

13 ‘‘(F) wherever practicable and appropriate,

14 reduces the information processing burden for

15 the Federal Government and for persons who

16 provide information, keep records and otherwise

17 disclose information to and for the Federal

18 Government; and

19 ‘‘(9) strengthen the partnership between the

20 Federal Government with State and local govern21 ments by minimizing the burden and maximizing the

22 utility of information collected and shared.’’.
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1 SEC. 202. COVERAGE OF ALL FEDERALLY SPONSORED PA2 PERWORK BURDENS.

3 Section 3502 of title 44, United States Code, is

4 amended—

5 (1) by amending paragraph (3) to read as

6 follows:

7 ‘‘(3) the term ‘burden’ means the time, effort,

8 financial resources, and opportunity costs imposed

9 on persons to generate, capture, assemble, process,

10 maintain, and report information to or for a Federal

11 agency, including—

12 ‘‘(A) the resources expended for obtaining,

13 reviewing and understanding applicable instruc14 tions and requirements;

15 ‘‘(B) developing a way to comply with the

16 applicable instructions and requirements;

17 ‘‘(C) adjusting the existing ways to comply

18 with any previously applicable instructions and

19 requirements;

20 ‘‘(D) searching existing data sources;

21 ‘‘(E) obtaining, compiling and maintaining

22 the necessary data;

23 ‘‘(F) implementing recordkeeping require24 ments;

25 ‘‘(G) completing and reviewing the collec26 tion of information;
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1 ‘‘(H) retaining, sharing, notifying, report2 ing, transmitting, labeling, or otherwise disclos3 ing to third parties or the public the informa4 tion involved; and

5 ‘‘(I) carrying out any other information

6 transaction which occurs as a result of the

7 collection of information;’’;

8 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking out ‘‘of facts

9 or opinions by’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

10 ‘‘(through maintenance, retention, notifying, report11 ing, labeling or disclosure to third parties or the

12 public) of facts or opinions by or for’’; and

13 (3) in paragraph (17) by inserting ‘‘, including

14 the retention, reporting, notifying, or disclosure to

15 third parties or the public of such records’’ before

16 the period.

17 SEC. 203. PAPERWORK REDUCTION GOALS.

18 Section 3505 of title 44, United States Code, is

19 amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘§ 3505. Assignment of tasks and deadlines

21 ‘‘In carrying out the functions under this chapter, the

22 Director shall—

23 ‘‘(1) set a Governmentwide goal, consistent with

24 improving agency management of the process for the

25 review of each collection of information established
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1 under section 3506(e), to reduce by September 30,

2 1994, the burden of Federal collections of informa3 tion existing on September 30, 1993, by at least 5

4 percent;

5 ‘‘(2) for the fiscal year beginning on October 1,

6 1994, and the following 3 fiscal years, set a Govern7 mentwide goal, consistent with improving agency

8 management of the process for the review of each

9 collection of information established under section

10 3506(e), to reduce the burden of Federal collections

11 of information existing at the end of the immediately

12 preceding fiscal year by at least 5 percent;

13 ‘‘(3) in establishing the Governmentwide goal

14 pursuant to paragraph (2), establish a goal for each

15 agency that—

16 ‘‘(A) represents the maximum practicable

17 opportunity to reduce the paperwork burden

18 imposed upon the public by such agency’s col19 lections of information, after considering the

20 recommendations of the senior agency official

21 designated under section 3506(b)(1); and

22 ‘‘(B) permits the attainment of the Gov23 ernmentwide goal when such agency’s goal is

24 aggregated with the individual goals of all other
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1 agencies included in the Governmentwide goal;

2 and

3 ‘‘(4) in each report issued under section 3514,

4 beginning with the report relating to fiscal year

5 1994, identify any agency initiatives to reduce the

6 burden of the Federal collections of information as7 sociated with—

8 ‘‘(A) businesses, especially small businesses

9 and those engaged in international competition;

10 ‘‘(B) State and local governments; and

11 ‘‘(C) educational institutions.’’.

12 TITLE III—ENHANCING FED13 ERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBIL14 ITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

15 FOR REDUCING THE BURDEN

16 OF FEDERAL PAPERWORK

17 SEC. 301. DESIGNATING AN AGENCY OFFICIAL RESPON18 SIBLE AND PUBLICLY ACCOUNTABLE FOR

19 REDUCING THE BURDEN OF FEDERAL PA20 PERWORK.

21 Section 3506 of title 44, United States Code, is

22 amended—

23 (1) in subsection (a)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘Each agency’’ and insert2 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘The head of each agency’’;

3 and

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘resources’’ after ‘‘its in5 formation’’;

6 (2) in subsection (b)—

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The head of

8 each agency’’; and

9 (B) by adding at the end thereof the fol10 lowing new paragraphs:

11 ‘‘(2) The senior official designated under para12 graph (1) shall be the head of an office, established

13 by the head of the agency, responsible for assuring

14 agency compliance with and prompt, efficient, and

15 effective implementation of the information collection

16 review process, information resources management,

17 and related policies and guidance established pursu18 ant to this chapter.

19 ‘‘(3) Staff to such office shall be well qualified

20 through experience or training to carry out the in21 formation collection review process, information re22 sources management, and related policies and guid23 ance established under this chapter.’’; and

24 (3) in subsection (c)—
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1 (A) by striking out ‘‘and’’ after the semi2 colon at the end of paragraph (7);

3 (B) by striking out the period at the end

4 of paragraph (8) and inserting in lieu thereof

5 a semicolon; and

6 (C) by adding at the end thereof the fol7 lowing new paragraphs:

8 ‘‘(9) prepare estimates of burden that will re9 sult from proposed collections of information;

10 ‘‘(10) develop and maintain a strategic Infor11 mation Resources Management Plan, in accordance

12 with guidance from the Director, for the application

13 of information resources to support the agency’s

14 specified mission goals as articulated through its

15 strategic mission planning process;

16 ‘‘(11) establish oversight procedures, in accord17 ance with guidance provided by the Director, to im18 prove the life cycle management of the agency’s

19 major information systems; and

20 ‘‘(12) assess the agency’s efforts to have pro21 gram offices manage Government information re22 sources by using performance measures that exam23 ine such factors as quality and timeliness of service

24 delivery to the public, productivity of program ad25 ministration, ability to prevent or reduce fraud, and
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1 the burden of Government’s information collection

2 practices on the public.’’.

3 SEC. 302. AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES FOR CONTROLLING

4 AND REDUCING THE BURDEN OF FEDERAL

5 PAPERWORK.

6 Section 3506 of title 44, United States Code (as

7 amended by section 301 of this Act) is further amended

8 by adding at the end thereof the following new sub9 sections:

10 ‘‘(e) The head of each agency, acting through the sen11 ior official designated under subsection (b)(1), shall estab12 lish an efficient, and effective process for the prompt re13 view of each information collection request before it is sub14 mitted to the Director for review and approval under this

15 chapter. At a minimum, this review process shall—

16 ‘‘(1) be sufficiently independent of program re17 sponsibilities to evaluate whether each information

18 collection request should be carried out;

19 ‘‘(2) be provided sufficient personnel and other

20 resources to carry out such review responsibility ef21 fectively; and

22 ‘‘(3) have authority (independent of agency pro23 gram officers) to approve, disapprove, and make

24 needed improvements in any agency collection of in25 formation.
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1 ‘‘(f) Under the process established under subsection

2 (e), the senior official designated under subsection (b)(1)

3 shall certify (and provide a record supporting such certifi4 cation, including any pertinent public comments received

5 by the agency) to the Director that—

6 ‘‘(1) the collection of information and any appli7 cable instructions and requirements—

8 ‘‘(A) are necessary for the proper perform9 ance of the agency’s functions and are the least

10 burdensome necessary;

11 ‘‘(B) are not unnecessarily duplicative of

12 information otherwise reasonably accessible to

13 the agency;

14 ‘‘(C) have practical utility;

15 ‘‘(D) are written using plain, coherent, and

16 unambiguous terminology;

17 ‘‘(E) are to be implemented in ways con18 sistent and compatible, to the maximum extent

19 practicable, with the existing reporting and rec20 ordkeeping practices of those who are to

21 respond;

22 ‘‘(F) are understandable to those who are

23 to respond;

24 ‘‘(G) display on the information collection

25 request, to the extent practicable, the agency
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1 estimate of the burden for each response, cal2 culated in accordance with the procedures es3 tablished by the Director under section

4 3504(c)(5);

5 ‘‘(H) use information technology to reduce

6 burden and improve agency responsiveness to

7 the public;

8 ‘‘(I) use effective and efficient statistical

9 survey methodology appropriate to the need for

10 which the information is to be collected; and

11 ‘‘(J) explain the need and ultimate use of

12 the information to be collected, and the impor13 tance of an accurate and timely response; and

14 ‘‘(2) the agency has taken necessary steps to—

15 ‘‘(A) except as provided in section 3507 (g)

16 and (k), give 60-day notice to, and consult with

17 members of the public and interested agencies,

18 in order to—

19 ‘‘(i) enhance the clarity of the pro20 posed collection of information;

21 ‘‘(ii) solicit comment on the agency es22 timate of the burden for each response for

23 such collection of information; and

24 ‘‘(iii) minimize the burden of such col25 lection of information on those who are to
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1 respond, including the appropriate use of

2 automated collection technics or other

3 forms of information technology;

4 ‘‘(B) evaluate the proposed collection of in5 formation and any applicable instructions and

6 requirements, by developing and conducting—

7 ‘‘(i) an assessment of need;

8 ‘‘(ii) a functional description of the in9 formation to be collected;

10 ‘‘(iii) a plan for the practical collec11 tion of information;

12 ‘‘(iv) a specific, objectively supported

13 estimation of burden, including each trans14 action involved; and

15 ‘‘(v) a test of the collection of infor16 mation through a pilot or prototype pro17 gram, if appropriate;

18 ‘‘(C) plan and allocate resources for the ef19 ficient and effective management and use of the

20 information to be solicited; and

21 ‘‘(D) reduce burdens on businesses (espe22 cially small businesses and those engaged in

23 international competition), State and local gov24 ernments, and educational institutions, through

25 consideration of such alternatives as—
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1 ‘‘(i) establishing differing compliance

2 or reporting requirements or timetables in

3 recognition of the resources available to

4 those who are to respond;

5 ‘‘(ii) the clarification, consolidation, or

6 simplification of compliance and reporting

7 requirements; and

8 ‘‘(iii) an exemption from coverage of

9 the collection of information, or any part

10 thereof.’’.

11 TITLE IV—ENHANCING GOVERN12 MENT RESPONSIBILITY AND

13 ACCOUNTABILITY FOR RE14 DUCING THE BURDEN OF

15 FEDERAL PAPERWORK

16 SEC. 401. REEMPHASIZING THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE

17 DIRECTOR TO CONTROL THE BURDEN OF

18 FEDERAL PAPERWORK.

19 Section 3504(c) of title 44, United States Code, is

20 amended—

21 (1) in paragraph (3) by redesignating subpara22 graphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D),

23 respectively, and inserting after subparagraph (A)

24 the following new subparagraph:
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1 ‘‘(B) display, to the extent practicable, an

2 estimate of the burden for each response;’’;

3 (2) by amending paragraphs (5) and (6) to

4 read as follows:

5 ‘‘(5) establishing procedures under which an

6 agency is to estimate the burden under this chapter

7 to comply with the proposed collection of informa8 tion;

9 ‘‘(6) coordinating with the Office of Federal

10 Procurement Policy to eliminate paperwork burdens

11 associated with procurement and acquisition;’’;

12 (3) by striking out the period at the end of

13 paragraph (7) and inserting in lieu thereof a semi14 colon; and

15 (4) by adding at the end thereof the following

16 new paragraphs:

17 ‘‘(8) minimizing the Federal paperwork burden

18 imposed through Federal collection of information,

19 with particular emphasis on those individuals or en20 tities most adversely affected, including—

21 ‘‘(A) businesses, especially small businesses

22 and those engaged in international competition;

23 ‘‘(B) State and local governments; and

24 ‘‘(C) educational institutions; and
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1 ‘‘(9) initiating and conducting, with selected

2 agencies and non-Federal entities on a voluntary

3 basis, pilot projects to test or demonstrate the fea4 sibility and benefit of changes or innovations in Fed5 eral policies, rules, regulations, and agency proce6 dures to improve information management practices

7 and related management activities (including author8 ity for the Director to waive the application of des9 ignated agency regulations or administrative direc10 tives after giving timely notice to the public and

11 Congress regarding the need for such waiver).’’.

12 SEC. 402. ENHANCING AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY TO OB13 TAIN PUBLIC REVIEW OF PROPOSED PAPER14 WORK BURDENS.

15 Section 3507(a) of title 44, United States Code, is

16 amended—

17 (1) in paragraph (2)(B) by inserting ‘‘a sum18 mary of the request,’’ after ‘‘title for the information

19 collection request,’’;

20 (2) by striking out ‘‘and’’ at the end of para21 graph (2); and

22 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para23 graph (4) and inserting after paragraph (2) the

24 following:
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1 ‘‘(3) the agency provides at least 30 days for

2 public comment to the agency and the Office of

3 Management and Budget after publication of the no4 tice in the Federal Register, except as provided

5 under section 3507 (g) and (k), and the agency head

6 and the Director consider comments received regard7 ing the proposed collection of information; and’’.

8 SEC. 403. EXPEDITING REVIEW AT THE OFFICE OF MAN9 AGEMENT AND BUDGET.

10 Section 3507(b) of title 44, United States Code, is

11 amended—

12 (1) by striking out the first sentence and insert13 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘The Director shall within 30

14 days after publication of the notice under subsection

15 (a)(3) that is applicable to a proposed information

16 collection request not contained in a proposed rule,

17 notify the agency involved of the decision to approve

18 or disapprove the proposed information collection re19 quest and shall make such decisions publicly avail20 able. Any decision to disapprove an information col21 lection request shall include an explanation of the

22 reasons for such decision.’’;

23 (2) by striking out ‘‘sixty’’ each place it appears

24 and inserting ‘‘30’’ in each such place;
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1 (3) by striking out ‘‘thirty’’ and inserting in

2 lieu thereof ‘‘30’’; and

3 (4) by striking out ‘‘one’’ and inserting in lieu

4 thereof ‘‘1’’.

5 SEC. 404. IMPROVING PUBLIC AND AGENCY SCRUTINY OF

6 PAPERWORK BURDENS PROPOSED FOR RE7 NEWAL.

8 (a) APPROVAL OF INFORMATION COLLECTION RE9 QUEST.—Section 3507(d) of title 44, United States Code,

10 is amended—

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’; and

12 (2) by adding at the end thereof the following:

13 ‘‘(2)(A) If the head of the agency, or the senior offi14 cial designated under section 3506(b)(1), decides to seek

15 extension of the Director’s approval granted for a cur16 rently approved information collection request, the agency

17 shall, through the notice prescribed in subsection

18 (a)(2)(B) and such other practicable steps as may be rea19 sonable, seek comment from the agencies, and the public

20 on the continued need for, and burden imposed by, the

21 collection of information.

22 ‘‘(B) The agency, after having made a reasonable ef23 fort to seek comment under subparagraph (A), but no

24 later than 60 days before the expiration date of the control
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1 number assigned by the Director for the currently ap2 proved information collection request, shall—

3 ‘‘(i) evaluate the public comments received;

4 ‘‘(ii) conduct the review established under sec5 tion 3506(e); and

6 ‘‘(iii) provide to the Director the certification

7 required by section 3506(f), including the text of the

8 certification and any additional relevant information

9 regarding how the information collection request

10 comports with the principles and requirements of

11 this chapter.

12 ‘‘(C) Upon receipt of such certification, and prior to

13 the expiration of the control number for that information

14 collection request, the Director shall—

15 ‘‘(i) ensure that the agency has taken the ac16 tions specified under section 3506(f)(2);

17 ‘‘(ii) evaluate the public comments received by

18 the agency or by the Director;

19 ‘‘(iii) determine whether the agency certification

20 complies with the standards under section

21 3506(f)(1); and

22 ‘‘(iv) approve or disapprove the information col23 lection request under this chapter.

24 ‘‘(3) If a certification is not provided to the Director

25 prior to the beginning of the 60-day period before the expi-
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1 ration of the control number as provided under paragraph

2 (2)(B), the agency shall submit the information collection

3 request for review and approval or disapproval under this

4 chapter.

5 ‘‘(4) An agency may not make a substantive or mate6 rial modification to an information collection request after

7 it has been approved by the Director, unless the modifica8 tion has been submitted to the Director for review and

9 approval or disapproval under this chapter.’’.

10 (b) APPROVAL OF INFORMATION COLLECTION RE11 QUIREMENTS.—Section 3507 of title 44, United States

12 Code, is further amended by adding at the end thereof

13 the following new subsections:

14 ‘‘(i)(1) As soon as practicable, but no later than pub15 lication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal

16 Register, each agency shall forward to the Director a copy

17 of any proposed rule which contains a collection of infor18 mation requirement and upon request, information nec19 essary to make the determination required under this

20 chapter.

21 ‘‘(2) Within 60 days after the notice of proposed rule22 making is published in the Federal Register, the Director

23 may file public comments under the standards set forth

24 in section 3508 on the collection of information require25 ment contained in the proposed rule.
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1 ‘‘(3) When a final rule is published in the Federal

2 Register, the agency shall explain how any collection of

3 information requirement contained in the final rule re4 sponds to the comments, if any, filed by the Director or

5 the public, or explain the reasons such comments were re6 jected.

7 ‘‘(4) The Director has no authority to disapprove any

8 collection of information requirement specifically con9 tained in an agency rule, if the Director has received no10 tice and failed to comment on the rule within 60 days after

11 the notice of proposed rulemaking.

12 ‘‘(5) No provision in this section shall be construed

13 to prevent the Director, at the discretion of such officer,

14 from—

15 ‘‘(A) disapproving any information collection re16 quest which was not specifically required by an

17 agency rule;

18 ‘‘(B) disapproving any collection of information

19 requirement contained in an agency rule, if the

20 agency failed to comply with the requirements of

21 paragraph (1) of this subsection;

22 ‘‘(C) disapproving any collection of information

23 requirement contained in a final agency rule, if the

24 Director finds within 60 days after the publication

25 of the final rule that such a collection of information
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1 requirement cannot be approved under the standards

2 set forth in section 3508, after reviewing the agen3 cy’s response to the comments of the Director filed

4 under paragraph (2) of this subsection; or

5 ‘‘(D) disapproving any collection of information

6 requirement, if the Director determines that the

7 agency has substantially modified, in the final rule,

8 the collection of information requirement contained

9 in the proposed rule and the agency has not given

10 the Director the information required under para11 graph (1) with respect to the modified collection of

12 information requirement, at least 60 days before the

13 issuance of the final rule.

14 ‘‘(6) The Director shall make publicly available any

15 decision to disapprove a collection of information require16 ment contained in an agency rule, together with the rea17 sons for such decision.

18 ‘‘(7) The authority of the Director under this sub19 section is subject to subsection (c).

20 ‘‘(8) This subsection shall apply only when an agency

21 publishes a notice of proposed rulemaking and requests

22 public comments.

23 ‘‘(9) The decision of the Director to approve or not

24 to act upon a collection of information requirement con-
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1 tained in an agency rule shall not be subject to judicial

2 review.

3 ‘‘(j)(1) If the head of the agency, or the senior official

4 designated under section 3506(b)(1), decides to seek ex5 tension of the Director’s approval granted for a currently

6 approved collection of information requirement, the agency

7 shall, through the notice prescribed in subsection

8 (a)(2)(B) and such other practicable steps as may be rea9 sonable, seek comment from the agencies, and the public

10 on the continued need for, and burden imposed by, the

11 collection of information requirement.

12 ‘‘(2) The agency, after having made a reasonable ef13 fort to seek comment under paragraph (1), but no later

14 than 60 days before the expiration date of the control

15 number assigned by the Director for the currently ap16 proved collection of information requirement, shall—

17 ‘‘(A) evaluate the public comments received;

18 ‘‘(B) conduct the review established under sec19 tion 3506(e); and

20 ‘‘(C) provide to the Director the certification re21 quired by section 3506(f), including the text of the

22 certification and any additional relevant information

23 regarding how the collection of information require24 ment comports with the principles and requirements

25 of this chapter.
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1 ‘‘(3) Upon receipt of such certification, and prior to

2 the expiration date of the control number for that collec3 tion of information requirement, the Director shall—

4 ‘‘(A) ensure that the agency has taken the ac5 tions specified in section 3506(f)(2);

6 ‘‘(B) evaluate the public comments received by

7 the agency or by the Director;

8 ‘‘(C) determine whether the agency certification

9 complies with the standards under section

10 3506(f)(1); and

11 ‘‘(D) approve or disapprove the collection of in12 formation requirement under this chapter.

13 ‘‘(4) If under the provisions of paragraph (3), the Di14 rector disapproves a collection of information requirement,

15 or recommends or instructs the agency to make a sub16 stantive or material change to a collection of information

17 requirement, the Director shall—

18 ‘‘(A) publish an explanation thereof in the Fed19 eral Register; and

20 ‘‘(B) instruct the agency to undertake a rule21 making within a reasonable time limited to consider22 ation of changes to the collection of information re23 quirement and thereafter to submit the collection of

24 information requirement for approval or disapproval

25 under this chapter.
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1 ‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection affects the review

2 process for a collection of information requirement con3 tained in a proposed rule, including a proposed change to

4 an existing collection of information requirement, under

5 subsection (i) with respect to such collection of informa6 tion requirement.

7 ‘‘(6) The Director may not approve a collection of

8 information requirement for a period in excess of 3

9 years.’’.

10 SEC. 405. PROTECTION FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS OF UNAU11 THORIZED PAPERWORK BURDEN.

12 Section 3507(h) of title 44, United States Code, is

13 amended in the second sentence by inserting before the

14 period ‘‘, and any communication relating to a collection

15 of information, the disclosure of which could lead to retal16 iation or discrimination against the communicator’’.

17 SEC. 406. ENHANCING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.

18 Section 3517 of title 44, United States Code, is

19 amended—

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘In development’’;

21 and

22 (2) by adding at the end thereof:

23 ‘‘(b)(1) Under procedures established by the Direc24 tor, a person may request the Director to review any col-
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1 lection of information conducted by or for an agency to

2 determine, if—

3 ‘‘(A) the collection of information is subject to

4 the requirements of this chapter;

5 ‘‘(B) the collection of information has been ap6 proved in conformity with this chapter; and

7 ‘‘(C) the person that is to respond to the collec8 tion of information is entitled to the public protec9 tions afforded by this chapter.

10 ‘‘(2) Any review requested under paragraph (1), un11 less the request is determined frivolous or does not on its

12 face state a valid basis for such review, shall—

13 ‘‘(A) be completed by the Director within 60

14 days after receiving the request, unless such period

15 is extended by the Director to a specified date and

16 the person making the request is given notice of

17 such extension;

18 ‘‘(B)(i) be coordinated with the agency respon19 sible for the collection of information to which the

20 request relates; and

21 ‘‘(ii) be coordinated with the Administrator for

22 Federal Procurement Policy, if the request relates to

23 a collection of information applicable to an actual or

24 prospective Federal contractor or subcontractor at

25 any tier; and
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1 ‘‘(C) result in a written determination by the

2 Director, that shall be—

3 ‘‘(i) furnished to the person making the re4 quest; and

5 ‘‘(ii) made available to the public upon re6 quest (and listed and summarized in the annual

7 report required under section 3514), unless con8 fidentiality is requested by the person making

9 the request.’’.

10 SEC. 407. EXPEDITING REVIEW OF AN AGENCY INFORMA11 TION COLLECTION REQUEST WITH A RE12 DUCED BURDEN.

13 Section 3507 of title 44, United States Code (as

14 amended by section 404(b) of this Act) is further amended

15 by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

16 ‘‘(k) Upon request by the head of an agency, the Di17 rector shall approve a proposed change to an existing in18 formation collection request (unless such proposed change

19 is subject to subsection (i)) within 30 days after the Direc20 tor receives the proposed change. The information collec21 tion request shall thereafter remain in effect at least for

22 the remainder of the period for which it was previously

23 approved by the Director, if—

24 ‘‘(1) the information collection request has a

25 current control number; and
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1 ‘‘(2) the Director determines that the revi2 sion—

3 ‘‘(A) reduces the burden resulting from the

4 information collection request; and

5 ‘‘(B) does not substantially change the in6 formation collection request.’’.

7 TITLE V—ENHANCING AGENCY

8 RESPONSIBILITY FOR SHAR9 ING AND DISSEMINATING

10 PUBLIC INFORMATION

11 SEC. 501. PRESCRIBING GOVERNMENTWIDE STANDARDS

12 FOR SHARING AND DISSEMINATING PUBLIC

13 INFORMATION.

14 Section 3504(h) of title 44, United States Code, is

15 amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(h) The functions of the Director related to agency

17 dissemination and sharing of public information shall in18 clude—

19 ‘‘(1) developing policies and practices for agen20 cy dissemination and sharing of public information

21 consistent with the agency responsibilities under sec22 tion 3506(g); and

23 ‘‘(2) developing policy guidelines that instruct

24 Federal agencies on ways to fulfill agency respon-
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1 sibilities to disseminate and share information that,

2 to the extent appropriate and practicable—

3 ‘‘(A) make information dissemination prod4 ucts available on timely, equitable and cost

5 effective terms;

6 ‘‘(B) encourage a diversity of public and

7 private information dissemination products;

8 ‘‘(C) avoid establishing, or permitting oth9 ers to establish, exclusive, restricted, or other

10 distribution arrangements that interfere with

11 the availability of information dissemination

12 products on a timely and equitable basis; and

13 ‘‘(D) avoid establishing restrictions or reg14 ulations, including the charging of fees or royal15 ties, on the reuse, resale, or redissemination of

16 Federal information dissemination products by

17 the public; and

18 ‘‘(E) set user charges for information dis19 semination products at a level sufficient to re20 cover the cost of dissemination, except—

21 ‘‘(i) where otherwise required by stat22 ute;

23 ‘‘(ii) where the information is col24 lected, processed, and disseminated for the
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1 benefit of a specific identifiable group be2 yond the benefit to the general public; or

3 ‘‘(iii) where user charges are estab4 lished at less than cost of dissemination

5 because of a determination that higher

6 charges would interfere with the proper

7 performance of the agency’s functions.’’.

8 SEC. 502. AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES FOR SHARING AND

9 DISSEMINATING PUBLIC INFORMATION.

10 Section 3506 of title 44, United States Code (as

11 amended by sections 301 and 302 of this Act) is further

12 amended by adding at the end thereof the following new

13 subsection:

14 ‘‘(g) The head of each agency shall, to the extent ap15 propriate and practicable, and in conformance with the

16 policy guidelines established under section 3504(h), estab17 lish and maintain a management system for the dissemi18 nation and sharing of information that—

19 ‘‘(1) ensures that the public has timely, equi20 table and cost-effective access to the agency’s infor21 mation dissemination products;

22 ‘‘(2) disseminates and shares information in a

23 manner that achieves the best balance between maxi24 mizing the usefulness of the information and mini25 mizing the cost to the Government and the public;
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1 ‘‘(3) takes advantage of all appropriate chan2 nels, Federal and non-Federal, including State and

3 local governments, libraries and private sector enti4 ties, in discharging agency responsibilities for the

5 dissemination and sharing of information;

6 ‘‘(4) considers whether an information dissemi7 nation product available from other Federal or non8 Federal sources is equivalent to an agency informa9 tion dissemination product and reasonably achieves

10 the objectives of the agency;

11 ‘‘(5) establishes and maintains inventories of all

12 agency information dissemination products in con13 formance with the requirements of section 3511;

14 ‘‘(6) establishes and maintains communications

15 with members of the public and with State and local

16 governments so that the agency shares information

17 and otherwise creates information dissemination

18 products that meet their respective needs; and

19 ‘‘(7) provides adequate notice when initiating,

20 substantially modifying, or terminating significant

21 information dissemination products.’’.

22 SEC. 503. AGENCY INFORMATION INVENTORY/LOCATOR

23 SYSTEM.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3511 of title 44, United

25 States Code, is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘§ 3511. Inventory systems of information dissemina2 tion products

3 ‘‘(a) Each agency having significant information dis4 semination products shall establish and maintain a com5 prehensive inventory of such products, which shall include,

6 at a minimum, the title of each such product, an abstract

7 of the contents of each product, the media in which each

8 product is available, and the cost, if any, of each product,

9 subject to any requirements promulgated pursuant to sub10 section (c).

11 ‘‘(b) The inventory created pursuant to subsection (a)

12 shall be made available for public access by electronic

13 means, and in such other media as are appropriate and

14 practicable, at no charge to the public.

15 ‘‘(c) The Director, in consultation with the Secretary

16 of Commerce, the Archivist of the United States, the Pub17 lic Printer, and the Librarian of Congress, may establish

18 a mechanism for developing technical standards and other

19 minimum requirements for the agency inventory systems

20 created under subsection (a).’’.

21 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

22 The table of sections for chapter 35 of title 44, United

23 States Code, is amended by amending the item relating

24 to section 3511 to read as follows:

‘‘3511. Inventory systems of information dissemination products.’’.
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1 TITLE VI—ADDITIONAL GOVERN2 MENT INFORMATION MAN3 AGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY

4 SEC. 601. STRENGTHENING THE STATISTICAL POLICY AND

5 COORDINATION FUNCTIONS OF THE DIREC6 TOR.

7 Section 3504(d) of title 44, United States Code, is

8 amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(d)(1) The statistical policy and coordination func10 tions of the Director shall include—

11 ‘‘(A) coordinating and providing leadership for

12 development of the Federal statistical system;

13 ‘‘(B) developing and periodically reviewing and,

14 as necessary, revising long-range plans for the im15 proved coordination and performance of the statis16 tical activities and programs of the Federal Govern17 ment;

18 ‘‘(C) ensuring the integrity, objectivity, impar19 tiality and confidentiality of the Federal statistical

20 system;

21 ‘‘(D) reviewing budget proposals of agencies to

22 ensure that the proposals are consistent with such

23 long-range plans and developing a summary and

24 analysis of the budget submitted by the President to
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1 the Congress for each fiscal year of the allocation for

2 all statistical activities;

3 ‘‘(E) coordinating, through the review of budget

4 proposals and as otherwise provided under this chap5 ter, the functions of the Federal Government with

6 respect to gathering, interpreting and sharing statis7 tics and statistical information;

8 ‘‘(F) developing and implementing Government9 wide policies, principles, standards and guidelines

10 concerning statistical collection procedures and

11 methods, statistical data classification, statistical in12 formation presentation and sharing, and such statis13 tical data sources as may be required for the admin14 istration of Federal programs;

15 ‘‘(G) evaluating statistical program perform16 ance and agency compliance with Governmentwide

17 policies, principles, standards and guidelines;

18 ‘‘(H) promoting the timely release by agencies

19 of statistical data to the public;

20 ‘‘(I) coordinating the participation of the

21 United States in international statistical activities;

22 ‘‘(J) preparing an annual report to submit to

23 the Congress on the statistical policy and coordina24 tion function;
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1 ‘‘(K) integrating the functions described under

2 this paragraph with the other information resources

3 management functions specified under this chapter;

4 and

5 ‘‘(L) appointing a chief statistician who is a

6 trained and experienced professional to carry out the

7 functions described under this paragraph.

8 ‘‘(2) The Director shall establish an interagency

9 working group on statistical policy, consisting of the heads

10 of the agencies with major statistical programs, headed

11 by the chief statistician to coordinate agency activities in

12 carrying out the functions under paragraph (1).

13 ‘‘(3) The Director shall provide opportunities for

14 long-term training in the statistical policy functions of the

15 chief statistician to employees of the Federal Government.

16 Each trainee shall be selected at the discretion of the Di17 rector based on agency requests and shall serve for at least

18 6 months and no more than 1 year. All costs of the train19 ing are to be paid by the agency requesting training.’’.

20 SEC. 602. USE OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION COLLECTION

21 AND DISSEMINATION TECHNIQUES TO RE22 DUCE BURDEN.

23 Section 3504(g)(1) of title 44, United States Code,

24 is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘development and’’ after

2 ‘‘overseeing the’’; and

3 (2) by inserting ‘‘(including standards that im4 prove the ability of agencies to use technology to

5 reduce burden)’’ after ‘‘establishment of standards’’.

6 SEC. 603. AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION.

7 Section 3514(a) of title 44, United States Code, is

8 amended—

9 (1) in paragraph (9)(C) by striking out ‘‘and’’

10 at the end thereof;

11 (2) in paragraph (10)(C) by striking out the pe12 riod and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon; and

13 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following

14 new paragraphs:

15 ‘‘(11) a listing of any increase in the burden

16 imposed on the public during the year covered by the

17 report resulting from a collection of information con18 ducted or sponsored by or for an agency, which was

19 imposed by such agency—

20 ‘‘(A) as specifically mandated by the provi21 sion of a statute; or

22 ‘‘(B) as necessary to implement a statutory

23 requirement, which requirement shall be identi24 fied with particularity; and
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1 ‘‘(12) a description of each such agency’s ef2 forts in implementing, and plans to implement, the

3 applicable policies, standards and guidelines with re4 spect to the functions under this chapter; and

5 ‘‘(13) a strategic information resources man6 agement plan for the Federal Government, developed

7 in consultation with the Administrator of General

8 Services, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Archi9 vist of the United States, that includes an analysis

10 of cross-cutting issues of Governmentwide impor11 tance.’’.

12 SEC. 604. AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

13 PLAN.

14 Section 3504(g) of title 44, United States Code, is

15 amended—

16 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and

17 (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and

18 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the follow19 ing new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(3) developing and annually revising, in con21 sultation with the Administrator of General Services,

22 a 5-year plan for meeting the automatic data proc23 essing equipment (including telecommunications)

24 and other information technology needs of the Fed25 eral Government in accordance with the require-
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1 ments of sections 110 and 111 of the Federal Prop2 erty and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40

3 U.S.C. 757 and 759) and the purposes of this

4 chapter;’’.

5 SEC. 605. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3502(10) of title 44,

7 United States Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘the Fed8 eral Housing Finance Board’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

9 ‘‘Federal Housing Finance Board’’.

10 (b) REVIEW PERIODS.—Section 3507(g)(1) of title

11 44, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(1) is needed prior to the expiration of the time periods

13 for public notice and review by the Director pursuant to

14 the requirements of this chapter,’’.

15 (c) DIRECTOR REVIEW.—Section 3513(a) of title 44,

16 United States Code, is amended in the first sentence by

17 inserting ‘‘resources’’ after ‘‘information’’.

18 (d) RESPONSIVENESS.—Section 3514(a) of title 44,

19 United States Code, is amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (9)(A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at

21 the end thereof;

22 (2) in paragraph (9)(B) by striking out the

23 semicolon and inserting a period; and

24 (3) by striking out paragraph (9)(C).
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1 TITLE VII—EFFECTIVE DATES

2 SEC. 701. EFFECTIVE DATES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

4 (b), the provisions of this Act shall become effective 120

5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

6 (b) IN PARTICULAR.—Section 101 and this section

7 shall become effective upon the date of the enactment of

8 this Act.

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