IB 

Union Calendar No. 174 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2146 

[Report No. 112–260] 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to require accountability and 

transparency in Federal spending, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 13, 2011 

Mr. ISSA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Oversight and Government Reform 

OCTOBER 25, 2011 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 13, 2011] 


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A BILL 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to require accountability and transparency in Federal spending, and for 

other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Digital Accountability 

5 and Transparency Act of 2011’’ or the ‘‘DATA Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL 

SPENDING 

Sec. 101. General requirements for accountability and transparency in Federal 

spending. 

Sec. 102. Data standardizaton for accountability and transparency in Federal 

spending. 

Sec. 103. General provisions and deadlines for accountability and transparency 

in Federal spending. 

TITLE II—FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING 

TRANSPARENCY BOARD 

Sec. 201. Federal Accountability and Spending Transparency Board. 

Sec. 202. Conforming amendment relating to compensation of Chairperson. 

Sec. 203. Amendments and repeal of Recovery Accountability and Transparency 

Board. 

TITLE III—ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Classified information. 

Sec. 302. Paperwork Reduction Act exemption. 

Sec. 303. Matching program. 

Sec. 304. Transfer of Consolidated Federal Funds Report. 

Sec. 305. Repeal of Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 

2006. 

Sec. 306. Government Accountability Office Improvement. 

Sec. 307. Effective date. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Federal Ac11 countability and Spending Transparency Board esVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:18 Oct 25, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2146.RH H2146

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1 tablished under subchapter III of chapter 36 of title 

2 31, United States Code, as added by this Act. 

3 (2) The term ‘‘Executive agency’’ has the mean4 ing provided by section 105 of title 5, United States 

5 Code, except the term does not include the Govern6 ment Accountability Office. 

7 TITLE I—ACCOUNTABILITY AND 

8 TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL 

9 SPENDING 

10 SEC. 101. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY 

11 AND TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle III of title 31, United 

13 States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 35 the 

14 following new chapter: 

15 ‘‘CHAPTER 36—ACCOUNTABILITY AND 

16 TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘3601. Definitions. 

‘‘3602. Recipient reporting requirement. 

‘‘3603. Agency reporting requirement. 

‘‘3604. Exemptions from recipient reporting requirement. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—DATA STANDARDIZATION

‘‘3611. Data standardization for reporting information. 

‘‘3612. Full disclosure of information. 

‘‘3613. Federal accountability portal. 

‘‘3614. Agency responsibilities. 

‘‘3615. Office of Management and Budget responsibilities. 

‘‘3616. Treasury responsibilities. 

‘‘3617. General Services Administration responsibilities. 


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‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING TRANSPARENCY

BOARD

‘‘3621. Establishment. 

‘‘3622. Composition of the board. 

‘‘3623. Functions. 

‘‘3624. Powers. 

‘‘3625. Employment, personnel, and related authorities. 

‘‘3626. Rulemaking authority. 

‘‘3627. Transfer of certain personnel. 

‘‘3628. Authorization and availability of appropriations. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS

‘‘3641. Independence of Inspectors General. 

‘‘3642. Effective date. 

‘‘3643. Sunset. 

1 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 

2 ‘‘§ 3601. Definitions 

3 ‘‘In this chapter: 

4 ‘‘(1) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘recipient’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) any person that receives Federal funds 

6 pursuant to a Federal award, either directly or 

7 through a subgrant or subcontract at any tier; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) any State, local, or tribal government, 

10 or any government corporation, that receives 

11 Federal funds pursuant to a Federal award, ei12 ther directly or through a subgrant or sub13 contract at any tier. 

14 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL AWARD.—The term ‘Federal 

15 award’ means Federal financial assistance and ex16 penditures that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) include grants, subgrants, loans, 

2 awards, cooperative agreements, and other forms 

3 of financial assistance; and 

4 ‘‘(B) include contracts, subcontracts, pur5 chase orders, task orders, delivery orders, blanket 

6 purchase agreements, schedule orders, and other 

7 transactions. 

8 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL FUNDS.—The term ‘Federal 

9 funds’ means any funds that are made available to an 

10 Executive agency through Federal appropriations. 

11 ‘‘(4) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the Fed12 eral Accountability and Spending Transparency 

13 Board established under subchapter III of this chap14 ter. 

15 ‘‘(5) CHAIRPERSON.—The term ‘Chairperson’ 

16 means the Chairperson of the Federal Accountability 

17 and Spending Transparency Board. 

18 ‘‘(6) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘Executive 

19 agency’ has the meaning provided by section 105 of 

20 title 5, except the term does not include the Govern21 ment Accountability Office. 

22 ‘‘(7) FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT OF

23 1977.—The term ‘Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 

24 1977’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) section 30A of the Securities Exchange 

2 Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78dd–1); and 

3 ‘‘(B) sections 104 and 104A of the Foreign 

4 Corrupt Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 78dd–2). 

5 ‘‘§ 3602. Recipient reporting requirement 

6 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Each recipient shall report each 

7 receipt and use of Federal funds pursuant to a Federal 

8 award to the Board. 

9 ‘‘(b) CHARACTERISTICS OF REPORTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) FREQUENCY OF REPORTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall des12 ignate, by rule, the frequency of reports to be 

13 submitted by recipients under subsection (a), but 

14 the frequency shall not be less than once each 

15 quarter. 

16 ‘‘(B) CONTINUOUS OR AUTOMATIC REPORT17 ING.—To the extent practicable, the Board shall 

18 require continuous or automatic reporting for 

19 compliance with this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) CONTENT OF REPORTS.—Each report sub21 mitted by a recipient under subsection (a) shall con22 tain— 

23 ‘‘(A) an identification of the recipient, in24 cluding the recipient’s name and location, with 

25 location information provided in proper United 


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1 States Postal Service standardized format, in2 cluding ZIP+4, or proper international postal 

3 service standardized format where applicable; 

4 ‘‘(B) an identification of the Executive 

5 agency; 

6 ‘‘(C) an identification of the Federal award; 

7 ‘‘(D) if applicable, an identification of the 

8 program pursuant to which the Federal award 

9 was awarded; 

10 ‘‘(E) the total amount of Federal funds re11 ceived from that Executive agency for the Fed12 eral award, during the period covered by the re13 port; 

14 ‘‘(F) the amount of Federal funds from the 

15 Federal award that were expended or obligated 

16 by the recipient to projects or activities during 

17 the period covered by the report; 

18 ‘‘(G) a detailed list of all projects or activi19 ties for which Federal funds were expended or 

20 obligated; 

21 ‘‘(H) if the Federal award is a prime 

22 award, an identification of all subawards; 

23 ‘‘(I) if the Federal award is a subaward, an 

24 identification of its prime award; and 


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1 ‘‘(J) such additional information reason2 ably related to the receipt and use of Federal 

3 funds as the Board shall, by rule, require. 

4 ‘‘(3) USE OF DATA STANDARDS.—The reports 

5 submitted under this section shall use the common 

6 data elements and data reporting standards des7 ignated by the Board under section 3611. 

8 ‘‘(c) FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS BY PRIME

9 AWARDEES.—The Board shall, by rule, permit prime 

10 awardees to fulfill the requirements of this section on behalf 

11 of subawardees, so long as all subaward tiers are reported. 

12 ‘‘(d) GUIDANCE BY BOARD.—The Board shall issue 

13 guidance to recipients on compliance with this section. 

14 ‘‘(e) REGISTRATION.—Recipients required to report in15 formation under subsection (a) shall register with the Cen16 tral Contractor Registration database or complete such 

17 other registration requirements as the Board shall, by rule, 

18 require. 

19 ‘‘§ 3603. Agency reporting requirement 

20 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Each Executive agency shall re21 port all obligations and expenditures of Federal funds to 

22 the Board. 

23 ‘‘(b) CHARACTERISTICS OF REPORTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) FREQUENCY OF REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall des2 ignate, by rule, the frequency of reports to be 

3 submitted by agencies under subsection (a), but 

4 the frequency shall not be less than once each 

5 quarter. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONTINUOUS OR AUTOMATIC REPORT7 ING.—To the extent practicable, the Board shall 

8 require continuous or automatic reporting for 

9 compliance with this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONTENT OF REPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) The Board shall designate, by rule, the 

12 content of reports to be submitted by agencies 

13 under subsection (a). 

14 ‘‘(B) To the extent practicable, reports sub15 mitted by agencies under subsection (a) shall 

16 identify the programs and budget functions pur17 suant to which Federal funds are obligated or ex18 pended. 

19 ‘‘(C) To the extent practicable, the Board 

20 shall permit agencies to comply with subsection 

21 (a) by submitting the same information that 

22 they submit or contribute for other government23 wide reporting requirements, including the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(i) For information about Federal 

2 awards— 

3 ‘‘(I) the Federal assistance awards 

4 data system established pursuant to 

5 section 6102a of title 31, United States 

6 Code; 

7 ‘‘(II) the Federal procurement 

8 data system established pursuant to 

9 section 1122(a)(4) of title 41, United 

10 States Code; 

11 ‘‘(III) the common application 

12 and reporting system established pur13 suant to section 6 of the Federal Fi14 nancial Assistance Management Im15 provement Act of 1999 (31 U.S.C. 6101 

16 note); or 

17 ‘‘(IV) such systems as may be es18 tablished to replace or supplement the 

19 systems identified in this clause. 

20 ‘‘(ii) For information about internal 

21 expenditures and accounting, the Federal 

22 Agencies’ Centralized Trial-Balance Sys23 tems (FACTS I and FACTS II), the Gov24 ernmentwide Financial Report System 

25 (GFRS), the Intragovernmental Fiduciary 


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1 Confirmation System (IFCS), or such sys2 tems as may be established to replace or 

3 supplement such systems. 

4 ‘‘(3) USE OF DATA STANDARDS.—The reports 

5 submitted under this section shall use the common 

6 data elements and data reporting standards des7 ignated by the Board under section 3611. 

8 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION ALSO SUBJECT TO RECIPIENT

9 REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—In complying with this 

10 section, each Executive agency shall identify, to the 

11 extent practicable, Federal awards made by the agen12 cy that are subject to the recipient reporting require13 ment of section 3602 so that information reported by 

14 recipients and information reported by the agency 

15 can be directly compared. 

16 ‘‘(c) GUIDANCE BY BOARD.—The Board shall issue 

17 guidance to Executive agencies on compliance with this sec18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(d) BOARD TO MONITOR COMPLIANCE.—The Board 

20 shall regularly report to Congress on each Executive agen21 cy’s compliance with this section, including the timeliness, 

22 completeness, accuracy, and interoperability of the data 

23 submitted by each Executive agency. The Board shall make 

24 these reports publicly available contemporaneously online. 


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1 ‘‘§ 3604. Exemptions from recipient reporting require2 ment 

3 ‘‘(a) EXEMPTION.—A recipient is exempt from the re4 porting requirement of section 3602 with respect to funds 

5 received pursuant to a Federal award if— 

6 ‘‘(1) the recipient is an individual; and 

7 ‘‘(2) either— 

8 ‘‘(A) the total amount of Federal funds re9 ceived by the recipient does not exceed $100,000 

10 in the current calendar year or fiscal year; or 

11 ‘‘(B) no transaction in which the recipient 

12 has received Federal funds during the current 

13 calendar year or fiscal year has exceeded 

14 $24,999. 

15 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO GRANT ADDITIONAL EXEMP16 TIONS.—The Board may, by rule, grant additional exemp17 tions under this section for classes or categories of recipi18 ents.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters at 

20 the beginning of subtitle III of title 31, United States Code, 

21 is amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 

22 35 the following new item: 

‘‘36. Accountability and Transparency in Federal Spending ...................... 3601’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. DATA STANDARDIZATON FOR ACCOUNTABILITY 

2 AND TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING. 

3 Chapter 36 of title 31, United States Code, as added 

4 by section 101, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new subchapter: 

6 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—DATA STANDARDIZATION 

7 ‘‘§ 3611. Data standardization for reporting informa8 tion 

9 ‘‘(a) COMMON DATA ELEMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Board shall, by rule, 

11 designate common data elements, such as codes, iden12 tifiers, and fields, for information required to be re13 ported by recipients or agencies under this chapter. 

14 ‘‘(2) CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON DATA ELE15 MENTS.—The common data elements designated 

16 under paragraph (1) shall, to the extent practicable, 

17 be nonproprietary. 

18 ‘‘(3) EXISTING COMMON DATA ELEMENTS.—In 

19 designating common data elements under this sub20 section, the Board shall, to the extent practicable, in21 corporate the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) Common data elements developed and 

23 maintained by an international voluntary con24 sensus standards body, as defined by the Office 

25 of Management and Budget, such as the Inter26 national Organization for Standardization. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Common data elements developed and 

2 maintained by intragovernmental partnerships, 

3 such as the National Information Exchange 

4 Model. 

5 ‘‘(C) Common data elements developed and 

6 maintained by Federal entities with authority 

7 over contracting and financial assistance, such 

8 as the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council. 

9 ‘‘(D) Common data elements developed and 

10 maintained by accounting standards organiza11 tions. 

12 ‘‘(b) DATA REPORTING STANDARDS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Board shall, by rule, 

14 designate data reporting standards to govern the re15 porting required to be performed by recipients and 

16 agencies under this title. 

17 ‘‘(2) CHARACTERISTICS OF DATA REPORTING

18 STANDARDS.—The data reporting standards required 

19 by paragraph (1) shall, to the extent practicable— 

20 ‘‘(A) incorporate a widely accepted, non21 proprietary, searchable, platform-independent 

22 computer-readable format; 

23 ‘‘(B) be consistent with and implement ap24 plicable accounting principles; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) be capable of being continually up2 graded as necessary. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXISTING DATA REPORTING STANDARDS.— 

4 In designating reporting standards under this sub5 section, the Board shall, to the extent practicable, in6 corporate existing nonproprietary standards, such as 

7 the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). 

8 ‘‘§ 3612. Full disclosure of information 

9 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Board shall publish online 

10 all information submitted by recipients and agencies pursu11 ant to sections 3602 and 3603. 

12 ‘‘(b) AGGREGATION OF INFORMATION THAT IS EX13 EMPT FROM RECIPIENT REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The 

14 Board shall publish, online and in the aggregate, informa15 tion that is exempt from recipient reporting under section 

16 3604 but that is reported by an Executive agency under 

17 section 3603 in the aggregate. 

18 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE WITH OPEN DATA PRINCIPLES AND

19 BEST PRACTICES.—To the extent practicable, the Board 

20 shall publish data under this section in a manner that com21 plies with applicable principles and best practices in the 

22 private sector for the publication of open government data. 

23 ‘‘(d) ONLINE PUBLICATION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall, in accord25 ance with this section and section 204 of the E–GovVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:18 Oct 25, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2146.RH H2146

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1 ernment Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note), establish 

2 and maintain one or more websites for the publica3 tion of data required to be published online under this 

4 section. 

5 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE OF WEBSITE OR WEBSITES.—The 

6 website or websites established and maintained under 

7 this subsection shall serve as a public portal for Fed8 eral financial information, including information 

9 concerning all Federal awards and information con10 cerning the expenditure of all Federal funds. 

11 ‘‘(3) CONTENT AND FUNCTION OF WEBSITE OR

12 WEBSITES.—The Board shall ensure that the website 

13 or websites established and maintained under this 

14 subsection: 

15 ‘‘(A) Makes available all information pub16 lished under subsection (a) in a reasonably time17 ly manner. 

18 ‘‘(B) Makes available all information pub19 lished under subsection (a) in its original for20 mat. 

21 ‘‘(C) Makes available all information pub22 lished under subsection (a) without charge, li23 cense, or registration requirement. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Permits all information published 

2 under subsection (a) to be searched and aggre3 gated. 

4 ‘‘(E) Permits all information published 

5 under subsection (a) to be downloaded in bulk. 

6 ‘‘(F) To the extent practicable, disseminates 

7 information published under subsection (a) via 

8 automatic electronic means. 

9 ‘‘(G) To the extent practicable, permits in10 formation published under subsection (a) to be 

11 freely shared by the public, such as by social 

12 media. 

13 ‘‘(H) To the extent practicable, uses perma14 nent uniform resource locators for information 

15 published under subsection (a). 

16 ‘‘(I) Provide an opportunity for the public 

17 to provide input about the usefulness of the site 

18 and recommendations for improvements. 

19 ‘‘(e) AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—The 

20 Board may make contracts or agreements with any Federal 

21 agency (within or outside the executive branch) to publish 

22 data maintained by such agency on the website or websites 

23 established and maintained under this section. 

24 ‘‘(f) NEW TECHNOLOGIES.—Notwithstanding any 

25 other provision in this section, the Board may comply with 


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1 the requirements of this section using such new technologies 

2 as may replace websites for data publication and dissemi3 nation. 

4 ‘‘(g) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS OF

5 USASPENDING.GOV.—The Board and the Office of Manage6 ment and Budget shall transfer the functions of 

7 USASpending.gov to the website or websites established 

8 under this section. 

9 ‘‘§ 3613. Federal accountability portal 

10 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Board shall establish and 

11 maintain an integrated Internet-based system, consisting of 

12 one or more websites and to be known as a ‘Federal account13 ability portal’, to carry out the functions described in sub14 section (b). 

15 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Federal accountability portal 

16 shall be designed and operated to carry out the following 

17 functions: 

18 ‘‘(1) Combine information submitted by recipi19 ents and agencies under sections 3602 and 3603 with 

20 other compilations of information, such as Govern21 ment databases and other proprietary and nonpropri22 etary databases. 

23 ‘‘(2) Permit Executive agencies to verify the eli24 gibility of recipients to receive Federal funds and to 


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1 access information relevant to the responsibility of re2 cipients. 

3 ‘‘(3) Permit Executive agencies, Inspectors Gen4 eral, and law enforcement agencies to track Federal 

5 awards and recipients to detect and prevent waste, 

6 fraud, and abuse. 

7 ‘‘(c) GUIDANCE BY BOARD.—The Board shall issue 

8 guidance on the use of and access to the Federal account9 ability portal. 

10 ‘‘§ 3614. Agency responsibilities 

11 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—As a condition of receipt of Fed12 eral funds of an Executive agency pursuant to any Federal 

13 award, the Executive agency shall require any recipient of 

14 such funds to provide the information required under sec15 tion 3602. 

16 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES FOR RECIPIENTS’ NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an Executive 

18 agency may impose a civil penalty in an amount not 

19 more than $250,000 on a recipient of Federal funds 

20 from that Executive agency that does not provide the 

21 information required under section 3602 or provides 

22 information that contains a material omission or 

23 misstatement. 

24 ‘‘(2) NONPRECLUSION.—The imposition of a 

25 civil penalty under this subsection does not preclude 


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1 any other criminal or civil statutory, common law, or 

2 administrative remedy that is available by law to the 

3 United States or any other person. Any amounts re4 ceived from a civil penalty under this subsection shall 

5 be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to 

6 the credit of the appropriation or appropriations 

7 from which the award is made. 

8 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION.—The head of an Executive 

9 agency shall provide a written notification to a re10 cipient that fails to provide the information required 

11 under section 3602 or provides information that con12 tains a material omission or misstatement. Such no13 tification shall provide the recipient with information 

14 on how to comply with the requirements of section 

15 3602 and notice of the penalties for failing to do so. 

16 The head of the Executive agency may not impose a 

17 civil penalty under paragraph (1) until 30 days after 

18 the date of the notification. 

19 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE WITH BOARD GUIDANCE.—Execu20 tive agencies shall comply with the instructions and guid21 ance issued by the Board under this Act. 

22 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the Board 

24 for information or assistance from any Executive 

25 agency or other entity of the Federal Government, the 


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1 head of such entity shall, insofar as is practicable and 

2 not in contravention of any existing law, furnish such 

3 information or assistance to the Board, or an author4 ized designee. 

5 ‘‘(2) REPORT OF REFUSALS.—Whenever informa6 tion or assistance requested by the Board is, in the 

7 judgment of the Board, unreasonably refused or not 

8 provided, the Board shall report the circumstances to 

9 Congress. 

10 ‘‘(e) USE OF DATA STANDARDS.—After the Board des11 ignates any common data element or data reporting stand12 ard under section 3611, each Executive agency shall issue 

13 guidance that requires every recipient of Federal funds 

14 under any of its Federal awards to use that common data 

15 element or data reporting standard for any information re16 ported to that Executive agency to which the common data 

17 element or data reporting standard is applicable. 

18 ‘‘§ 3615. Office of Management and Budget respon19 sibilities 

20 ‘‘After the Board designates any common data element 

21 or data reporting standard under section 3611, the Director 

22 of the Office of Management and Budget shall issue guid23 ance that requires Executive agencies to use that common 

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1 ment and Budget to which the common data element or 

2 data reporting standard is applicable. 

3 ‘‘§ 3616. Treasury responsibilities 

4 ‘‘After the Board designates any common data element 

5 or data reporting standard under section 3611, the Sec6 retary of the Treasury shall issue guidance that requires 

7 Executive agencies to use that common data element or data 

8 reporting standard for any information reported by Execu9 tive agencies to the Department of the Treasury to which 

10 the common data element or data reporting standard is ap11 plicable. 

12 ‘‘§ 3617. General Services Administration responsibil13 ities 

14 ‘‘After the Board designates any common data element 

15 or data reporting standard under section 3611, the Admin16 istrator of General Services shall apply that common data 

17 element or data reporting standard for any information 

18 contained in acquisition-related databases maintained by 

19 the General Services Administration to which the common 

20 data element or data reporting standard is applicable.’’. 

21 SEC. 103. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEADLINES FOR AC22 COUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN FED23 ERAL SPENDING. 

24 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE AND SUNSET.—Chapter 36 of 

25 title 31, United States Code, as added by section 101, is 


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1 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 subchapter: 

3 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

4 ‘‘§ 3641. Independence of Inspectors General 

5 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall affect the independent 

6 authority of an inspector general to determine whether to 

7 conduct an audit or investigation. 

8 ‘‘§ 3642. Effective date 

9 ‘‘This chapter takes effect on October 1, 2011. 

10 ‘‘§ 3643. Sunset 

11 ‘‘This chapter shall cease to be in effect after September 

12 30, 2018.’’. 

13 (b) DEADLINES FOR IMPLEMENTATION.— 

14 (1) BOARD DEADLINES.—Within 180 days after 

15 the effective date of this Act, the Board shall— 

16 (A) issue guidance under sections 3602(d) 

17 and 3603(c) of title 31, United States Code, as 

18 added by this Act; 

19 (B) designate common data elements under 

20 section 3611(a) of such title and data reporting 

21 standards under section 3611(b) of such title, as 

22 so added; and 

23 (C) establish one or more websites under 

24 section 3612(d) of such title, as so added. 

25 (2) AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT DEADLINES.— 


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1 (A) Within one year after the effective date 

2 of this Act, each Executive agency shall imple3 ment section 3614(a) of title 31, United States 

4 Code, as added by this Act. 

5 (B) Within two years after the Board des6 ignates any common data element or data re7 porting standard under section 3611(a) of such 

8 title, as so added— 

9 (i) each Executive agency shall issue 

10 guidance under section 3614(e) of such title, 

11 as so added; 

12 (ii) the Director of the Office of Man13 agement and Budget shall issue guidance 

14 under section 3615 of such title, as so 

15 added; 

16 (iii) the Secretary of the Treasury 

17 shall issue guidance under section 3616 of 

18 such title, as so added; and 

19 (iv) the Administrator of General Serv20 ices shall take the actions required under 

21 section 3617 of such title, as so added. 


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1 TITLE II—FEDERAL ACCOUNT2 ABILITY AND SPENDING 

3 TRANSPARENCY BOARD 

4 SEC. 201. FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPENDING 

5 TRANSPARENCY BOARD. 

6 Chapter 36 of title 31, United States Code, as added 

7 by section 101, is further amended by inserting after sub8 chapter II the following new subchapter: 

9 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY 

10 AND SPENDING TRANSPARENCY BOARD 

11 ‘‘§ 3621. Establishment 

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Fed13 eral Accountability and Spending Transparency Board as 

14 an independent agency in the Executive Branch. 

15 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS AND POWERS TRANSFERRED.— 

16 ‘‘(1) FUNCTIONS TRANSFERRED.—Except as pro17 vided in this section, there are transferred to the 

18 Board all functions of the Recovery Accountability 

19 and Transparency Board. 

20 ‘‘(2) POWERS, AUTHORITIES, RIGHTS, AND DU21 TIES.—The Federal Accountability and Spending 

22 Transparency Board shall succeed to all powers, au23 thorities, rights, and duties that were vested in the 

24 Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board on 

25 the day before the effective date of this chapter. 


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1 ‘‘§ 3622. Composition of the board 

2 ‘‘(a) CHAIRPERSON.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is a Chairperson of 

4 the Board, who shall be appointed by the President, 

5 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

6 ‘‘(2) HEAD OF BOARD.—The Chairperson is the 

7 head of the Board and shall have direction, authority, 

8 and control over it. 

9 ‘‘(3) COMMISSION ESTABLISHED.—When a va10 cancy occurs in the office of the Chairperson of the 

11 Board, a commission is established to recommend in12 dividuals to the President for appointment to the va13 cant office. The commission shall be composed of— 

14 ‘‘(A) the Speaker of the House of Represent15 atives; 

16 ‘‘(B) the President pro tempore of the Sen17 ate; 

18 ‘‘(C) the majority and minority leaders of 

19 the House of Representatives and the Senate; and 

20 ‘‘(D) the chairmen and ranking minority 

21 members of the Committee on Homeland Secu22 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 

23 the Committee on Oversight and Government Re24 form of the House of Representatives. 

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1 person of the Board shall recommend at least three 

2 individuals. The President may ask the commission to 

3 recommend additional individuals. 

4 ‘‘(5) TERM.—The term of service of the Chair5 person of the Board shall be 5 years, but the Chair6 person may serve after the expiration of the Chair7 person’s term until a successor has taken office. 

8 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION ON TERMS.—No person may 

9 serve as the Chairperson of the Board for more than 

10 2 terms, whether or not such terms of service are con11 secutive. 

12 ‘‘(7) COMPENSATION.—An individual appointed 

13 as Chairperson under paragraph (1) shall be com14 pensated at the rate of basic pay prescribed for level 

15 III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of 

16 title 5, United States Code. 

17 ‘‘(b) MEMBERS.—The members of the Board shall in18 clude— 

19 ‘‘(1) the Inspectors General of the Department of 

20 the Treasury, the Department of Defense, the Depart21 ment of Agriculture, the Department of Health and 

22 Human Services, the Department of Transportation, 

23 the Department of Energy, the Department of Edu24 cation, and the Department of Homeland Security; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the Deputy Secretary of the Department of 

2 the Treasury, the Chief Management Officer of the De3 partment of Defense, the Deputy Secretaries of the 

4 Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health 

5 and Human Services, the Department of Transpor6 tation, the Department of Energy, the Department of 

7 Education, and the Undersecretary for Management 

8 of the Department of Homeland Security; and 

9 ‘‘(3) the Controller of the Office of Federal Fi10 nancial Management and the Deputy Director for 

11 Management of the Office of Management and Budget. 

12 ‘‘§ 3623. Functions 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) be responsible for the collection, storage, and 

15 public disclosure of information about Federal spend16 ing; 

17 ‘‘(2) serve as the authoritative government source 

18 for the information about Federal spending that it 

19 collects; and 

20 ‘‘(3) coordinate and conduct oversight of Federal 

21 funds in order to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. 

22 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the 

23 Board shall include each of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Receiving, storing, and publicly dissemi2 nating all of the information that is reported to it 

3 under this Act. 

4 ‘‘(2) Reviewing whether reporting under section 

5 3602 meets applicable standards and specifies the 

6 purpose of the Federal award and measures of per7 formance. 

8 ‘‘(3) Auditing, investigating, or reviewing Fed9 eral funds to determine whether fraud, wasteful 

10 spending, poor contract or grant management, or 

11 other abuses are occurring and referring matters it 

12 considers appropriate for further investigation to the 

13 inspector general for the Executive agency that dis14 bursed the Federal funds. 

15 ‘‘(4) Regularly auditing the quality of the data 

16 submitted to it under sections 3602 and 3603. 

17 ‘‘(5) Standardizing common data elements and 

18 data reporting standards to foster transparency and 

19 accountability for Federal spending, as required by 

20 section 3611. 

21 ‘‘(6) Reviewing whether there are appropriate 

22 mechanisms for interagency collaboration relating to 

23 Federal funds, including coordinating and collabo24 rating to the extent practicable with the Inspectors 

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1 lished by the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 

2 (Public Law 110–409). 

3 ‘‘(7) Issuing a report in accordance with sub4 section (e) on the feasibility of collecting and pub5 lishing online tax expenditures data. 

6 ‘‘(c) PRIORITIES IN AUDITS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND

7 REVIEWS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent practicable, the 

9 Board shall give high priority to auditing, inves10 tigating, or reviewing Federal funds— 

11 ‘‘(A) awarded without the use of competitive 

12 procedures; or 

13 ‘‘(B) awarded to any contractor found to be 

14 in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 

15 of 1977. 

16 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION.—The Board shall identify 

17 any contractor found to be in violation of the Foreign 

18 Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 as a violator of such 

19 Act in any contract information related to such con20 tractor published online under section 3612. 

21 ‘‘(d) REPORT REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) REPORTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) REGULAR REPORTS ON DATA QUALITY

24 AUDITS.—The Board shall regularly submit to 

25 the President and Congress reports on its audits 


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1 of the quality of the data submitted to it under 

2 sections 3602 and 3603. 

3 ‘‘(B) SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS ON ACTIVI4 TIES.—The Board shall submit semi-annual re5 ports to the President and Congress, summa6 rizing the activities and findings of the Board 

7 and the findings of inspectors general of Execu8 tive agencies. 

9 ‘‘(C) REPORT ON SAVINGS.—Not later than 

10 five years after the effective date of this chapter, 

11 the Board shall submit to the President, Con12 gress, and the Comptroller General of the United 

13 States a report containing estimates of the direct 

14 and indirect cost savings to the Treasury 

15 achieved as a result of the Board’s activities. 

16 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Board shall 

17 make all reports submitted under paragraph (1) pub18 licly available contemporaneously online. 

19 ‘‘(3) GAO EVALUATION.—Upon receipt of the re20 port submitted by the Board under paragraph (1)(C), 

21 the Comptroller General shall conduct an evaluation 

22 of the report and submit the evaluation to Congress 

23 within six months after receipt of the report, with 

24 such findings and recommendations as the Comp25 troller General considers appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(e) TAX EXPENDITURES REPORT.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

3 (b)(7), not later than one year after the effective date 

4 of this chapter, the Board shall submit to the appro5 priate congressional committees a report on tax ex6 penditures data that includes the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) A description of processes that could be 

8 put in place to collect and disseminate tax ex9 penditures data, and the potential effects of mak10 ing such data publicly available on the Internal 

11 Revenue Service, taxpayers, and other relevant 

12 parties determined by the Board. 

13 ‘‘(B) Any changes in law that are needed to 

14 make such tax expenditures data publicly avail15 able. 

16 ‘‘(2) TAX EXPENDITURES DEFINED.—In this sec17 tion, the term ‘tax expenditures’ has the meaning 

18 given that term in section 3(3) of the Congressional 

19 Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 

20 U.S.C. 622(3)). 

21 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Board shall 

22 make the report submitted under paragraph (1) pub23 licly available. 

24 ‘‘(f) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall make rec2 ommendations to Executive agencies on measures to 

3 prevent fraud, waste, and abuse relating to Federal 

4 funds. 

5 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIVE REPORTS.—Not later than 30 

6 days after receipt of a recommendation under para7 graph (1), an Executive agency shall submit a report 

8 to the President, the congressional committees of juris9 diction, and the Board on whether the Executive 

10 agency agrees or disagrees with the recommendations 

11 and any actions the Executive agency will take to im12 plement the recommendations. The Board shall make 

13 all reports submitted to it under this paragraph pub14 licly available contemporaneously online. 

15 ‘‘§ 3624. Powers 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall conduct audits, 

17 investigations, and reviews of spending of Federal funds 

18 and coordinate on such activities with the inspectors gen19 eral of the relevant Executive agency to avoid duplication 

20 and overlap of work. 

21 ‘‘(b) AUDITS AND REVIEWS.—The Board may— 

22 ‘‘(1) conduct its own independent audits, inves23 tigations, and reviews relating to Federal funds; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) collaborate on audits, investigations, and 

2 reviews relating to Federal funds with any inspector 

3 general of an Executive agency. 

4 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITIES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) AUDITS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND REVIEWS.— 

6 In conducting audits, investigations, and reviews, the 

7 Board shall have the authorities provided under sec8 tion 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

9 App.). 

10 ‘‘(2) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the au12 thorities provided pursuant to paragraph (1) 

13 and subject to subparagraph (B), the Board may 

14 issue subpoenas to compel the testimony of per15 sons who are not Federal officers or employees 

16 and may enforce such subpoenas in the same 

17 manner as provided for inspector general sub18 poenas under section 6 of the Inspector General 

19 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

20 ‘‘(B) BOARD APPROVAL FOR SUBPOENA.— 

21 No subpoena may be issued under this subsection 

22 without the approval, by vote, of a majority of 

23 the Board. 

24 ‘‘(3) MATCHING PROGRAM AUTHORITY WITH RE25 SPECT TO EVALUATIONS AND REVIEWS.—The authoriVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:18 Oct 25, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2146.RH H2146

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1 ties provided under section 6(a)(9) of the Inspector 

2 General Act of 1978 (provided to the Board pursuant 

3 to paragraph (1)) may be used by the Board while 

4 conducting an evaluation or other review authorized 

5 under such Act. 

6 ‘‘(d) CONTRACTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may enter into 

8 contracts to enable the Board to discharge its duties 

9 under this chapter, including contracts and other ar10 rangements for audits, studies, analyses, and other 

11 services with public agencies and with private per12 sons, and make such payments as may be necessary 

13 to carry out the duties of the Board. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTING FOR MISSIONS OF OTHER

15 AGENCIES.—The Board may enter into contracts with 

16 any Federal agency (within or outside the executive 

17 branch) to enable such agency to identify waste, 

18 fraud, and abuse, including contracts and other ar19 rangements for audits, studies, analyses, and other 

20 services. 

21 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.—The Board shall 

22 carry out the authorities provided under subsections (a) and 

23 (b) in accordance with section 4(b)(1) of the Inspector Gen24 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 


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1 ‘‘(f) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Board may transfer 

2 funds appropriated to the Board for expenses to support 

3 administrative support services and audits, reviews, or 

4 other activities related to oversight by the Board of covered 

5 funds to any office of inspector general, the Office of Man6 agement and Budget, and the General Services Administra7 tion. 

8 ‘‘§ 3625. Employment, personnel, and related authori9 ties 

10 ‘‘(a) SELECTION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—On be11 half of the Board, the Chairperson shall appoint an Execu12 tive Director who shall be the chief executive officer of the 

13 Board and who shall carry out the functions of the Board 

14 subject to the supervision and direction of the Board. The 

15 position of Executive Director shall be a career reserved po16 sition in the Senior Executive Service, as that position is 

17 defined under section 3132 of title 5, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The General Serv19 ices Administration shall provide the Board with adminis20 trative support services, including the provision of office 

21 space and facilities. 

22 ‘‘§ 3626. Rulemaking authority 

23 ‘‘The Board shall promulgate regulations to carry out 

24 this chapter. 


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1 ‘‘§ 3627. Transfer of certain personnel 

2 ‘‘(a) RECOVERY ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

3 BOARD EMPLOYEES.—The Chairperson or Executive Direc4 tor, or both, shall identify employees of the Recovery Ac5 countability and Transparency Board for transfer to the 

6 Board, and such identified employees shall be transferred 

7 to the Board for employment. 

8 ‘‘(b) PAY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each 

10 transferred employee shall, during the 2-year period 

11 beginning on the effective date of this chapter, receive 

12 pay at a rate equal to not less than the basic rate of 

13 pay (including any geographic differential) that the 

14 employee received during the pay period immediately 

15 preceding the date of transfer. 

16 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) does not limit the right of 

17 the Board to reduce the rate of basic pay of a trans18 ferred employee for cause, for unacceptable perform19 ance, or with the consent of the employee. 

20 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) applies to a transferred em21 ployee only while that employee remains employed by 

22 the Board. 

23 ‘‘§ 3628. Authorization and availability of appropria24 tions 

25 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

26 authorized to be appropriated $51,000,000 for each of fiscal 


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1 years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 to 

2 carry out the functions of the Board. 

3 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—If the Re4 covery Accountability and Transparency Board has unobli5 gated appropriations as of the effective date of this chapter, 

6 such appropriations shall remain available to the Board 

7 until September 30, 2015.’’. 

8 SEC. 202. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO COM9 PENSATION OF CHAIRPERSON. 

10 Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following new item: 

12 ‘‘Chairperson of the Federal Accountability and 

13 Spending Transparency Board.’’. 

14 SEC. 203. AMENDMENTS AND REPEAL OF RECOVERY AC15 COUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD. 

16 (a) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO NAME OF BOARD.— 

17 Section 1501(2) of the American Recovery and Reinvest18 ment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 287) is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘Recovery Accountability and Trans20 parency Board’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal Accountability and 

21 Spending Transparency Board’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO SUBTITLE B OF

23 TITLE XV OF PUBLIC LAW 111–5.—Subtitle B of title XV 

24 of division A of such Act is amended by striking sections 

25 1521, 1522, 1525(a), and 1529. 


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1 (c) REPEAL OF SUBTITLE B OF TITLE XV OF PUBLIC

2 LAW 111–5.—Effective on October 1, 2013, subtitle B of 

3 title XV of division A of such Act is repealed. 

4 (d) REFERENCES IN FEDERAL LAW TO BOARD.—On 

5 and after the effective date of this Act, any reference in Fed6 eral law to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency 

7 Board is deemed to be a reference to the Federal Account8 ability and Spending Transparency Board. 

9 TITLE III—ADDITIONAL 

10 PROVISIONS 

11 SEC. 301. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. 

12 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

13 Act shall be construed to require the disclosure of classified 

14 information. 

15 SEC. 302. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT EXEMPTION. 

16 Section 3518(c) of title 44, United States Code, is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

19 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; 

20 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para21 graph (3); and 

22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol23 lowing new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), this sub25 chapter shall not apply to the collection of informaVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:18 Oct 25, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2146.RH H2146

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1 tion during the conduct of any audit, investigation, 

2 inspection, evaluation, or other review conducted by 

3 the Federal Accountability and Spending Trans4 parency Board, the Council of Inspectors General on 

5 Integrity and Efficiency, or any Federal office of In6 spector General, including any office of Special In7 spector General.’’. 

8 SEC. 303. MATCHING PROGRAM. 

9 Section 6(a) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

10 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para13 graph (10); and 

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol15 lowing new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(9) notwithstanding subsections (o), (p), (q), 

17 (r), and (u) of section 552a of title 5, United States 

18 Code, to compare, through a matching program (as 

19 defined in such section), any Federal records with 

20 other Federal or non-Federal records, while con21 ducting an audit, investigation, or inspection author22 ized under this Act to identify weaknesses that may 

23 lead to fraud, waste, or abuse and to detect improper 

24 payments and fraud; and’’. 


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1 SEC. 304. TRANSFER OF CONSOLIDATED FEDERAL FUNDS 

2 REPORT. 

3 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—The Federal Account4 ability and Spending Transparency Board and the Sec5 retary of Commerce shall transfer the functions of the Con6 solidated Federal Funds Report to the website or websites 

7 established under section 3612 of title 31, United States 

8 Code, as added by this Act. 

9 (b) INFORMATION.—The Board shall ensure that the 

10 website or websites established under such section 3612 per11 mits users to determine the following information: 

12 (1) For each fiscal year, the total amount of Fed13 eral funds that were obligated in each State, county 

14 or parish, congressional district, and municipality of 

15 the United States. 

16 (2) For each fiscal year, the total amount of Fed17 eral funds that were actually expended in each State, 

18 county or parish, congressional district, and munici19 pality of the United States. 

20 (c) CONFORMING REPEALS OF SUPERSEDED PROVI21 SIONS.—Chapter 62 of subtitle V of title 31, United States 

22 Code, is repealed. The item relating to that chapter in the 

23 table of chapters at the beginning of subtitle V of such title 

24 is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 305. REPEAL OF FEDERAL FUNDING ACCOUNTABILITY 

2 AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006. 

3 The Federal Funding Accountability and Trans4 parency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–282; 31 U.S.C. 6101 

5 note) is repealed. 

6 SEC. 306. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IM7 PROVEMENT. 

8 (a) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INFORMATION.— 

9 (1) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN RECORDS.—Section 

10 716 of title 31, United States Code, is amended in 

11 subsection (a)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)’’; 

13 and 

14 (B) by inserting after the section heading 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(a)(1) The Comptroller General is authorized to ob17 tain such agency records as the Comptroller General re18 quires to discharge his duties (including audit, evaluation, 

19 and investigative duties), including through the bringing 

20 of civil actions under this section. In reviewing a civil ac21 tion under this section, the court shall recognize the con22 tinuing force and effect of the authorization in the pre23 ceding sentence until such time as the authorization is re24 pealed pursuant to law.’’. 

25 (2) COPIES.—Section 716(a) of title 31, United 

26 States Code, as amended by subsection (a), is further 


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1 amended in the second sentence of paragraph (2) by 

2 striking ‘‘inspect an agency record’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘inspect, and make and retain copies of, an agency 

4 record’’. 

5 (b) ADMINISTERING OATHS.—Section 711 of title 31, 

6 United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (4) 

7 and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(4) administer oaths to witnesses when auditing 

9 and settling accounts and, with the prior express ap10 proval of the Comptroller General, when investigating 

11 fraud or attempts to defraud the United States, or ir12 regularity or misconduct of an employee or agent of 

13 the United States.’’. 

14 (c) ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 

15 (1) ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.—Sub16 chapter II of chapter 7 of title 31, United States 

17 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘§ 721. Access to certain information 

19 ‘‘(a) No provision of the Social Security Act, including 

20 section 453(l) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 653(l)), shall be con21 strued to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the 

22 Comptroller General to obtain any information or to in23 spect or copy any record under section 716 of this title. 

24 ‘‘(b) No provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos25 metic Act, including section 301(j) of that Act (21 U.S.C. 


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1 331(j)), shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the 

2 authority of the Comptroller General to obtain any infor3 mation or to inspect or copy any record under section 716 

4 of this title. 

5 ‘‘(c) No provision of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust 

6 Improvements Act of 1976 (Public Law 94–435) and the 

7 amendments made by that Act shall be construed to limit, 

8 amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller Gen9 eral to obtain any information or to inspect or copy any 

10 record under section 716 of this title, including with respect 

11 to any information disclosed to the Assistant Attorney Gen12 eral of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice 

13 or the Federal Trade Commission for purposes of pre-merg14 er review under section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 18a). 

16 ‘‘(d)(1) The Comptroller General shall prescribe such 

17 policies and procedures as are necessary to protect from 

18 public disclosure proprietary or trade secret information 

19 obtained consistent with this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to— 

21 ‘‘(A) alter or amend the prohibitions against the 

22 disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive informa23 tion prohibited by section 1905 of title 18 and other 

24 applicable laws; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) affect the applicability of section 716(e) of 

2 this title, including the protections against unauthor3 ized disclosure contained in that section, to informa4 tion obtained consistent with this section. 

5 ‘‘(e) Specific references to statutes in this section shall 

6 not be construed to affect access by the Government Account7 ability Office to information under statutes that are not 

8 so referenced.’’. 

9 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND10 MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 7 of title 31, 

11 United States Code, is amended by inserting after the 

12 item relating to section 720 the following: 

‘‘721. Access to certain information.’’. 

13 (d) AGENCY REPORTS.—Section 720(b) of title 31, 

14 United States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

16 inserting ‘‘or planned’’ after ‘‘action taken’’; and 

17 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

20 Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on 

21 Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 

22 Representatives, the congressional committees with ju23 risdiction over the agency program or activity that is 

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1 ment Accountability Office before the 61st day after 

2 the date of the report; and’’. 

3 SEC. 307. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

4 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

5 take effect on October 1, 2011. 


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Union Calendar No. 174 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2146 

[Report No. 112–260] 

A BILL 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to require 

spending, and for other purposes. accountability and transparency in Federal 

OCTOBER 25, 2011 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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