H. R. 1079 

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE FIRST SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen 

An Act 

To require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance 

on electronic consent forms, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Creating Advanced Streamlined 

Electronic Services for Constituents Act of 2019’’ 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 AND ACCESS 

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) Requires each agency to accept electronic identity 

proofing and authentication processes for the purposes of 

allowing an individual to provide prior written consent for 

the disclosure of the individual’s records under section 552a(b) 

of title 5, United States Code, or for individual access to records 

under section 552a(d) of such title. 

(2) Creates a template for electronic consent and access 

forms and requires each agency to post the template on the 

agency website and to accept the forms from any individual 

properly identity proofed and authenticated in accordance with 

paragraph (1) for the purpose of authorizing disclosure of the 

individual’s records under section 552a(b) of title 5, United 
H. R. 1079—2 

States Code, or for individual access to records under section 

552a(d) of such title. 

(3) Requires each agency to accept the electronic consent 

and access forms described in paragraph (2) from any individual 

properly identity proofed and authenticated in accordance with 

paragraph (1) for the purpose of authorizing disclosure of the 

individual’s records to another entity, including a congressional 

office, in accordance with section 552a(b) of title 5, United 

States Code, or for individual access to records under section 

552a(d). 

(b) 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. 

(c) 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) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director 

of the Office of Management and Budget. 

SEC. 4. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using 

amounts otherwise authorized. 

SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 

with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined 

by reference to the latest statement titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of 

PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, submitted for printing in the 

Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior 

to the vote on passage. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.