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[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2164 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2164

    To establish responsibility and accountability for information 
  technology systems of the Department of Agriculture, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 30, 1996

   Mr. Lugar introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To establish responsibility and accountability for information 
  technology systems of the Department of Agriculture, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Department of 
Agriculture Responsibility and Accountability Act of 1996''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
          TITLE I--INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM CONTROL BOARD

Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Definitions.
Sec. 103. Information Technology System Control Board.
Sec. 104. Mission of the Board.
Sec. 105. Duties of the Board.
Sec. 106. Powers of the Board.
Sec. 107. Review by Office of Management and Budget.
Sec. 108. Technical amendment.
Sec. 109. Termination of authorities.
         TITLE II--ADMINISTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Sec. 201. Administration of Department of Agriculture.
                       TITLE III--EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 301. Effective date.

          TITLE I--INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM CONTROL BOARD

SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Office of Management and Budget estimates that the 
        Department of Agriculture will spend $1,100,000,000 for fiscal 
        year 1996 and $1,400,000,000 for fiscal year 1997 on 
        information technology and automated data processing equipment;
            (2) according to the Department of Agriculture, as of 
        October 1993, the Department had 17 major information 
        technology systems under development with an estimated life-
        cycle cost of $6,300,000,000;
            (3) both the General Accounting Office and the Office of 
        Management and Budget have categorized the information 
        technology programs of the Department as high risk due to lack 
        of management and financial controls;
            (4) the General Accounting Office, the Office of the 
        Inspector General of the Department, and independent contract 
        studies have shown that the Department's information technology 
        decisions have been made in piecemeal fashion, on an individual 
        agency basis, resulting in a lack of coordination, duplication, 
        and wasted financial and technological resources among the 
        various offices and agencies of the Department and costing 
        hundreds of millions of wasted dollars over the past decade;
            (5) over the past 10 years, committees of Congress, the 
        General Accounting Office, the Office of Management and Budget, 
        and private consultants have repeatedly pointed to the lack of 
        strong central leadership and accountability as the fundamental 
        reasons for the Department's failure to make informed decisions 
        on critical information technology investments;
            (6) committees of Congress, the General Accounting Office, 
        the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of the 
        Inspector General of the Department, and private consultants 
        have--
                    (A) strongly criticized the Department over the 
                past 10 years for ignoring business process 
                reengineering; and
                    (B) pointed to the Department's refusal to use an 
                industry accepted methodology as key to its failure to 
                develop a technology platform that services the entire 
                Department;
            (7) the Department's role in regulating agriculture in the 
        United States was substantially reduced by the FAIR Act;
            (8) the Department has failed to adequately assess the 
        impact of the FAIR Act will have on the needs of its customers;
            (9) the Department has continued information technology 
        procurement absent future business need considerations and 
        workforce requirements resulting from the FAIR Act;
            (10) the Department continues to approach the technological 
        changes brought about by the Act without studying the changes 
        in the context of the business processes of the Department;
            (11) because the Department has failed to implement the 
        internal changes necessary to effectively address the 
        deficiencies raised by committees of Congress, the General 
        Accounting Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the 
Office of the Inspector General of the Department over the past decade, 
it is necessary to establish a single entity within the Department with 
both the responsibility and authority to make decisions regarding 
information technology planning and procurement; and
            (12) having an Information Technology System Control Board 
        to control the Department's information technology planning and 
        procurements will--
                    (A) provide the Department with strong and 
                coordinated leadership and direction;
                    (B) ensure that funds will be spent by the 
                Department on information technology only after the 
                Department has completed the required planning and 
                review of future business requirements; and
                    (C) force the Department to act as a single 
                enterprise with respect to information technology, thus 
                eliminating the duplication and inefficiency associated 
                with an independent agency-based approach.

SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Information 
        Technology System Control Board established under section 103.
            (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Agriculture.
            (3) FAIR act.--The term ``FAIR Act'' means the Federal 
        Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-
        127).
            (4) Information technology system.--The term ``information 
        technology system'' means all or part of each system of 
        automated data processing, telecommunications, information 
        resource management, or business process reengineering of an 
        office or agency of the Department.
            (5) Office or agency of the department.--The term ``office 
        or agency of the Department'' means each current or future--
                    (A) national, regional, county, or local office or 
                agency of the Department;
                    (B) county committee established under section 
                8(b)(5) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment 
                Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5));
                    (C) State committee, State office, or field service 
                center of the Farm Service Agency; and
                    (D) multiple offices and agencies of the Department 
                that are currently, or will be, connected by an 
                information technology system.
            (6) Transfer or obligation of funds.--The term ``transfer 
        or obligation of funds'' means, as applicable--
                    (A) the transfer of funds (including appropriated 
                funds, mandatory funds, and funds of the Commodity 
                Credit Corporation) from 1 account to another account 
                of an office or agency of the Department for the 
                purpose of funding any activity of the Department 
                regarding planning, providing services, or leasing or 
                purchasing of personal property (including all hardware 
                and software) or services for an information technology 
                system of an office or agency of the Department;
                    (B) the obligation of funds (including appropriated 
                funds, mandatory funds, and funds of the Commodity 
                Credit Corporation) for the purpose of funding any 
                activity of the Department regarding planning, 
                providing services, or leasing or purchasing of 
                personal property (including all hardware and software) 
                or services for an information technology system of an 
                office or agency of the Department; or
                    (C) the obligation of funds (including appropriated 
                funds, mandatory funds, and funds of the Commodity 
                Credit Corporation) for the purpose of funding any 
                activity of the Department regarding planning, 
                providing services, or leasing or purchasing of 
                personal property (including all hardware and software) 
                or services for an information technology system of an 
                office or agency of the Department, to be obtained 
                through a contract with any office or agency of the 
                Federal Government, a State, the District of Columbia, 
                or any person in the private sector.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.

SEC. 103. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM CONTROL BOARD.

    (a) Establishment.--An Information Technology System Control Board 
is established in the Department.
    (b) Composition.--The Board shall consist of 3 members, of whom--
            (1) 2 members shall be appointed from the private sector by 
        the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; 
        and
            (2) 1 member shall be the Secretary.
    (c) Qualifications of Board Members.--Of the members of the Board 
appointed by the President (other than the Secretary)--
            (1) 1 member shall have--
                    (A) extensive private sector work-related 
                experience in the field of total quality management; 
                and
                    (B) at least 5 years of demonstrated work related 
                experience in a full range of activities with large 
                organizations involving information strategic planning, 
                strategic quality planning, and strategic process 
                management, including business process reengineering 
                and business process improvement project-related 
                experience; and
            (2) 1 member shall have at least 15 years experience and 
        industry-recognized credentials in the field of planning and 
        managing the specification, design, and implementation of 
        information technology, telecommunications, and information 
        management systems in the private sector.
    (d) Compensation.--
            (1) In general.--A member of the Board appointed by the 
        President (other than the Secretary) shall--
                    (A) be a limited term appointee (as defined in 
                section 3132(a) of title 5, United States Code); and
                    (B) be paid an annual rate of compensation that 
                does not exceed the annual rate in effect for positions 
                at level V of the Executive Schedule.
            (2) Administration.--A member of the Board (other than the 
        Secretary) shall not be governed by--
                    (A) the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 
                relating to appointments in the competitive service; or
                    (B) the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 
                of chapter 53 of title 5, or any other provision of 
                law, relating to number or classification of General 
                Schedule rates.
            (3) Conforming amendment.--Section 5316 of title 5, United 
        States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``Limited term appointees of the Information Technology 
        System Control Board, Department of Agriculture (2).''.
    (e) Clerical and Support Personnel.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law:
            (1) In general.--The Board is authorized to obtain and 
        employ such clerical or other support personnel, including 
        detailees from an office or agency of the Department, as are 
        necessary to enable the Board to carry out this title. The 
        Secretary shall approve the transfer of each detailee selected 
        by the Board.
            (2) Management and supervisory duties.--The Board shall 
        have general management and supervisory authority over all 
        clerical and support personnel and detailees selected by the 
        Board.
            (3) Specific duties.--In the case of clerical and support 
        personnel and detailees selected by the Board, the supervisory 
        and management authority of the Board under paragraph (2) shall 
        include the exclusive authority (unless expressly delegated by 
        a unanimous vote of the Board) to--
                    (A) establish and control workloads, quality of 
                work, and work content;
                    (B) approve bonuses, step advancements, and 
                promotions; and
                    (C) discipline employees for unsatisfactory 
                performance or conduct.
    (f) Board Voting Procedure.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
title--
            (1) a decision or action of the Board shall require at 
        least a \2/3\-majority vote in favor of the decision or action; 
        and
            (2) if at least a \2/3\-majority vote on a decision or 
        action is obtained, the Secretary shall carry out the decision 
        or action of the Board.

SEC. 104. MISSION OF THE BOARD.

    (a) In General.--The Board shall--
            (1) develop and implement for the future a blueprint for a 
        single platform information technology system of the Department 
        that is coordinated between the offices or agencies of the 
        Department, eliminate duplication, and are cost effective; and
            (2) provide the strong central leadership, planning, and 
        accountability that is needed in light of the substantial 
        changes created by the FAIR Act and reorganization and 
        downsizing initiatives already commenced within the Department.
    (b) Specific Goals of the Board.--The Board shall ensure that--
            (1) information technology systems of the Department are 
        designed to coordinate the functions of the offices or agencies 
        of the Department on a departmental basis in contrast to the 
        current practice of individual agencies designing and procuring 
        information technology systems that service only a single 
        agency;
            (2) information technology systems are designed for field 
        service centers--
                    (A) to best facilitate the exchange of information 
                between field service centers and other offices or 
                agencies of the Department;
                    (B) that integrate the changed missions of the 
                Department in light of the FAIR Act and reorganization 
                and downsizing initiatives of the Department; and
                    (C) that are cost effective; and
            (3) a technical architecture is established that serves the 
        entire Department.
    (c) Business Plan.--
            (1) Approval; report.--Not later than 90 days after the 
        date the last member of the Board appointed by the President 
        (other than the Secretary) is confirmed by the Senate, the 
        Board shall approve and report to the Committee on Agriculture 
        of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a business 
        plan to carry out this section through March 31, 2002.
            (2) Failure to report.--If a business plan is not approved 
        and reported in accordance with paragraph (1), notwithstanding 
        any other provision of law, the transfer or obligation of funds 
        available to the Department for the purpose of funding any 
        activity of the Department regarding planning, providing 
        services, or leasing or purchasing of personal property 
        (including all hardware and software) or services for an 
        information technology system of an office or agency of the 
        Department shall be prohibited until the business plan is 
        reported to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
        and Forestry of the Senate.

SEC. 105. DUTIES OF THE BOARD.

    The Board shall--
            (1) review, evaluate, and approve (or, at the option of the 
        Board, develop) each plan or design for all or part of each 
        information technology system of each office or agency of the 
        Department;
            (2) exercise exclusive authority to approve each transfer 
        or obligation of funds to be used to acquire all or part of 
        each information technology system (including all hardware and 
        software) for each office or agency of the Department;
            (3) ensure that major information technology systems of the 
        Department, where appropriate, result in improvements to the 
        operations of the Department that are commensurate with the 
        level of investment;
            (4) ensure that the information technology system of each 
        office or agency of the Department maximizes the effectiveness 
        and efficiency of mission delivery and is focused first on 
        specific improvements to core business processes (the strategic 
        process management architecture) of the Department;
            (5) ensure that the information technology system of each 
        office or agency of the Department maximizes quality per dollar 
        expended, and maximizes efficiency and coordination of 
        information technology systems between offices and agencies of 
        the Department;
            (6) ensure that planning for, leases, and purchases of the 
        information technology system of each office or agency of the 
        Department most efficiently satisfy the needs of the office or 
        agency in terms of the demographics, program, and the number of 
        employees affected by the system; and
            (7) ensure that funding used for planning or purchasing of 
        the information technology system of each office or agency of 
        the Department is used in the most effective manner.

SEC. 106. POWERS OF THE BOARD.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (c) and notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the Board shall have the exclusive authority 
(except as expressly delegated by a unanimous vote of the Board) to--
            (1) review, evaluate, and approve each plan or design for 
        each activity or regulation of the Department regarding 
        planning, providing services, leasing, or purchasing of 
        personal property (including all hardware and software) or 
        services for the information technology system of each office 
        or agency of the Department;
            (2) develop (or, on a unanimous vote of the Board, direct 
        employees of an agency or office of the Department to develop) 
        a plan or design for an activity of the Department regarding 
        planning, providing services, leasing, or purchasing of 
        personal property (including hardware and software) or services 
        for the information technology system of an office or agency of 
        the Department; and
            (3) approve each transfer or obligation of funds to be used 
        for the purpose of funding any activity of the Department 
        regarding planning, providing services, or leasing or 
        purchasing of personal property (including all hardware and 
        software) or services for the information technology system of 
        each office or agency of the Department.
    (b) Report to Board.--An employee directed by the Board to develop 
a plan or design under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) shall report to 
the Board on actions taken to carry out the paragraph.
    (c) Board Not Subject to Control of Secretary.--The Board 
(including a decision or action of the Board approved by at least a \2/
3\-majority vote) shall not be subject to the control, direction, or 
supervision of the Secretary.
    (d) Exclusive Authority.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, the Board shall have the exclusive authority to exercise all 
powers described in subsection (a) during the period--
            (1) beginning on the earlier of--
                    (A) the date the last member of the Board appointed 
                by the President (other than the Secretary) is 
                confirmed by the Senate; or
                    (B) March 31, 1997; and
            (2) ending on March 31, 2002.

SEC. 107. REVIEW BY OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.

    The Director of the Office of Management and Budget may review any 
regulation or transfer or obligation of funds involving an information 
technology system of the Department.

SEC. 108. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.

    The second sentence of section 13 of the Commodity Credit 
Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714k) is amended by striking 
``section 5 or 11'' and inserting ``section 4, 5, or 11''.

SEC. 109. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITIES.

    The Board and all other authorities provided by this title (other 
than section 108) shall terminate on March 31, 2002.

         TITLE II--ADMINISTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

SEC. 201. ADMINISTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

    Section 735 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public 
Law 104-180; 110 Stat. 1604), is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(H) any employee who, on separation and 
                application, would be eligible for an immediate annuity 
                under subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of 
                title 5, United States Code (or another retirement 
                system for an employee of the agency), other than an 
                annuity subject to a reduction under section 8339(h) or 
                8415(f) of title 5, United States Code (or 
                corresponding provisions of another retirement system 
                for an employee of the agency).'';
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by striking subparagraph (B) and 
                        inserting the following:
                    ``(B) shall be paid from appropriations made 
                available for salaries and expenses of the agency;'';
                            (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 
                        through (E) as subparagraphs (D) through (F), 
                        respectively;
                            (iii) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 
                        the following:
                    ``(C) may not originate from funds of a mandatory 
                account (including funds of the Commodity Credit 
                Corporation) that are transferred to the salaries and 
                expenses account of the agency;''; and
                            (iv) in subparagraph (D)(ii) (as so 
                        redesignated), by striking ``in fiscal year 
                        1997,'' and all that follows through ``2000''; 
                        and
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``September 30, 
                2000'' and inserting ``March 31, 1997''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the following:
    ``(g) Period.--The authority to offer separation incentive payments 
under this section shall apply during the period beginning October 1, 
1996, and ending March 31, 1997.''.

                       TITLE III--EFFECTIVE DATE

SEC. 301. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Except as provided in section 106(d)(1), this Act and the 
amendments made by this Act shall become effective on the date of 
enactment of this Act.
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