Open Government Plan 2.1

Department of the Treasury

September 2012
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Table of Contents

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

II. TREASURY’S MISSION AND OPEN GOVERNMENT GOALS 2

Treasury’s Mission 2

Treasury’s Goal Statement for Open Government 2

III. A LOOK BACK AT VERSION 1.0 OF THE OPEN GOVERNMENT PLAN 3

Overview 3

Treasury’s Strategic Goals from Open Government Plan 1.0 3

Department-wide Leadership and Established Governance Structure 3

Alignment of Open Government Goals and Outcomes with the Treasury Strategic Plan and Core Mission Areas 3

Strategic Action Plan for Data Quality and Transparency of the Treasury Data Inventory 3

Enhance the role of Public Feedback, Participation, and Collaboration in Key Mission Areas 3

Enhance External and Internal Collaboration with Innovative Methods 4

Educate Treasury Employees on the Principles of Open Government 4

Plan 1.0 Performance Measures 4

Governance Strategy 4

Transparency 6

Transparency Accomplishments 6

Ongoing Efforts – Transparency 8

Examples of Successful Transparency Initiatives 9

Strategic Action Plan for Data Quality and Transparency of the Treasury Data Inventory 13

Participation 15

Participation Accomplishments 15

Participation Ongoing Efforts 15

Examples of Successful Participation Initiatives 17

Collaboration 18

Collaboration Accomplishments 18

Collaboration – Ongoing Activities 19

Examples of Successful Collaboration Initiatives 20

Collaboration Efforts by TTB 22

Privacy and Security Considerations in Collaboration with the Public 23

Update on Current Flagship Initiative: Moving to a Paperless Treasury 23
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IV. TREASURY’S OPEN GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATIVE EFFORTS 29

V. OPEN GOVERNMENT PLAN VERSION 2.1 30

Overview 30

Goals 30

Open Government Leadership and Governance 32

Revised Governance Structure 32

Performance Measures and Accountability 33

Participation in United States National Action Plan Initiatives 33

Modernize Management of Government Records 33

Continue to Improve Freedom of Information Act Administration 34

Increase Transparency of Legal Entities Formed in the U.S. 34

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) 34

Foreign Assistance Dashboard New Initiative 34

Smart Disclosure New Initiative 35

Flagship Initiative: Treasury.gov Accessibility Portal 35

Performance Measurement for New Flagship Initiative 35

New Initiatives 36

Enhanced FOIA Library 36

Library Materials Online 36

Office of Financial Research (OFR) 36

Customer Service Plan New Initiatives 37

On-Going Activities – 2011-2014 38

Treasury Success Stories for Bureau Specific Activities and Flagship Initiative “Moving to a Paperless Treasury” 40

VI. CONCLUSION 40

APPENDICES 41

Appendix A: Treasury Bureaus 43

Appendix B: Updated List of Treasury Datasets on Data.gov’s Raw Data Catalog 45

Appendix C: Updated List of Treasury Datasets on Data.gov’s Raw Tools Catalog 49

Appendix D: Treasury Success Stories 50
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I. Executive Summary

The Obama Administration’s continued commitment to transparency reinforces a system of public 

participation and collaboration in government. Treasury continues to embrace the three pillars of open 

government – transparency, participation, and collaboration – to help further the Department’s mission, 

vision, values, and goals.

In terms of mission, the Department of the Treasury manages the public purse. The nation looks to 

Treasury for financial guidance, resources, and opportunity. While safeguarding privacy and security, 

Treasury has taken a number of steps over the past three years to share information with the world. To 

date, Treasury has designated staff to advocate open government within and beyond Treasury, established 

a web site devoted to open government at http://www.treasury.gov/open/, and brought a renewed focus on 

process improvement to Freedom of Information Act requests. Treasury’s goal is to reinforce a culture of 

transparency throughout all of its functions and activities, so that the concept of open government 

becomes integral to the Department’s work. 

Treasury’s initial Open Government Plan was published in April 2010 with updates in May 2010. In 

April 2012, Treasury published its second version of the Open Government Plan (2.0). The Plan served 

as a roadmap describing how Treasury will continue to implement the principles of open government. 

The Plan describes recent accomplishments, provides narrative explanations for any items identified by 

the first plan that are ongoing, and outlines a future plan of action with milestone dates when each 

achievement will be accomplished. The Plan also describes accomplishments on Treasury’s flagship 

administrative initiative – Moving to a Paperless Treasury – and identifies challenges and lessons learned. 

This Open Government Plan version 2.1 takes Treasury beyond the implementation of the principles of 

open government; it identifies the framework to put these principles into operation in the Department’s 

everyday activities. 
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II. Treasury’s Mission and Open Government Goals

Treasury’s Mission

Maintain a strong economy and create economic and job opportunities by promoting conditions that 

enable economic growth and stability at home and abroad, strengthen national security by combating 

threats and protecting the integrity of the financial system, and manage the U.S. Government’s finances 

and resources effectively. 

Treasury’s Goal Statement for Open Government

Treasury remains committed to promoting the principles of open government (transparency, participation,

and collaboration) throughout the Department. By setting the standard for the protection, access, and 

disclosure of information, Treasury can better communicate to and consult with the public about the 

policies and programs it implements or administers.
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III. A Look Back at Version 1.0 of the Open Government Plan

Overview

The Open Government Plan version 1.0, published in 2010, included existing initiatives that supported

the core principles of open government (transparency, participation, and collaboration) and identified new 

activities to further these goals. The following sections review Treasury’s approach, achievements, and 

work which continue from version 1.0.

Treasury’s Strategic Goals from Open Government Plan 1.0

Goal 1: Increase Transparency Efforts 

Goal 2: Expand Participation and Collaboration Efforts

Goal 3: Continue Ongoing Efforts on Treasury’s Current Flagship Initiative – Moving to a Paperless 

Treasury

Department-wide Leadership and Established Governance Structure 

In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Open Government Directive,1

Treasury appointed the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records (DASPTR) 

the Senior Agency Official for implementing and establishing a governance structure that provides 

leadership and guidance. The DASPTR chartered the Treasury Open Government Steering Committee to 

implement open government activities throughout the Department. (The Steering Committee is discussed 

on page 4 under the section titled “Treasury-Wide Open Government Steering Committee.”)

Alignment of Open Government Goals and Outcomes with the Treasury Strategic Plan and Core 

Mission Areas 

Treasury aligned its open government strategy with the agency’s strategic plan, particularly with respect 

to Treasury’s strategic goal of management and organizational excellence. Treasury has demonstrated its 

thorough commitment to open government by tying the goals of transparency, participation, and 

collaboration to the mission and strategic goals of the Department.

Strategic Action Plan for Data Quality and Transparency of the Treasury Data Inventory

Treasury’s current Strategic Action Plan for Data Quality, developed in May 2010, focuses on the internal 

controls implemented over information quality, system process improvements, and integration of the 

controls within the existing information technology and strategic planning processes. (For more detail on 

data quality and accessibility, see page 13, et seq.) 

Enhance the role of Public Feedback, Participation, and Collaboration in Key Mission Areas

The Department of the Treasury has embraced e-rulemaking by posting proposed rules for public 

comment and final rules on Regulations.gov on a regular basis. This is an e-government initiative that 

promotes public participation and provides public access to the development of rules and regulations that 

impact American citizens. E-rulemaking promotes more effective and efficient rulemaking through 

public participation. (For examples of e-rulemaking postings see “Examples of Successful Participation 

Initiatives” on page 17.)

 

1 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-10-06, “Open Government Directive,” December 8, 

2009.
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Enhance External and Internal Collaboration with Innovative Methods

Treasury enhanced its internal collaboration efforts with the implementation and production of the 

Enterprise Content Management platform (ECM) in Fiscal Year 2011. The ECM platform allows 

Treasury employees to share content and collaborate more effectively across the Department, and better 

links Treasury’s internal and external platforms. The public is also able to connect with Treasury for 

information and services through the www.treasury.gov website. Treasury’s social media hub includes a 

Twitter account (@USTreasuryDept) with over 34,000 followers, Facebook, YouTube, and other forms 

of communication, all available from the Treasury Notes Blog. 

Educate Treasury Employees on the Principles of Open Government

In accordance with the Open Government Directive, Treasury developed the first version of the Open 

Government Plan to inform the public on how the Department will implement the principles of open 

government. Treasury developed a training module titled “Transparency and Open Government 

Awareness,” which Treasury staff are required to complete on an annual basis. This online training 

module assists Treasury employees in understanding the open government principles reflected in the 

President’s memorandum on transparency, open government, and the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) and how these concepts affect Treasury employees in the performance of their daily work 

activities. This training also addresses how Treasury conducts all business, including the administration 

of its FOIA-related activities, with the presumption of openness. Training is also conducted at Treasury’s 

Annual Records and Information Management Month (RIMM) event. This event is open to all Federal 

government agencies. Treasury will continue to identify accomplishments in open government initiatives 

and identify new opportunities to continue supporting the initiative in compliance with the Directive. 

Plan 1.0 Performance Measures

To ensure success in promoting open government across the Department, Treasury established open 

government performance measures as follows: 

1. Release a minimum of three datasets per quarter

2. Track and increase stakeholder outreach efforts

3. Reduce FOIA backlog by a minimum of 10 percent

4. Identify cost savings resulting from open government initiatives

Governance Strategy

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Treasury Records (DASPTR) was 

designated as the senior agency official for implementing the Open Government Directive. The Assistant 

Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer was designated by the Secretary of the Treasury to 

serve as senior accountable official for data quality. In accordance with the Open Government Directive, 

this official is accountable for the quality and objectivity of, and internal controls over, the Federal 

spending information publicly disseminated through such public venues as USAspending.gov or other 

similar websites. The Deputy Chief Financial Officer was designated to develop and implement the 

framework for data quality. Together, these senior officials lead Treasury’s work toward a sustainable 

culture of open government. 

Treasury-Wide Open Government Steering Committee

The DASPTR established a steering committee to develop guidance and provide leadership on activities 

across the Department and identify existing data and resources to enable Treasury to provide the public 

with greater transparency, increased participation, and more collaboration opportunities. The committee 

is comprised of representatives from each of Treasury’s bureaus. Additional members of the committee 

include representatives from the offices of Public Affairs, General Counsel, Inspectors General, 

Management and Budget, Privacy and Records, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information 

Officer, Procurement Executive, and Human Resources. 
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The DASPTR serves as chairperson of the committee and engages with key Department partners to assist 

with the development and implementation of effective strategies and activities for implementing open 

government principles. In addition, the steering committee developed a reporting framework to ensure 

accountability to the Department and the public. This Treasury-wide governance structure developed

processes and identified activities that enabled Treasury to nurture and institutionalize a culture of 

transparency and openness in the conduct of Treasury mission activities, and to support the quality of 

Treasury information as well as the presumption of disclosure. Examples of Treasury-wide participation 

in this structure include:

• The office of Public Affairs works with offices across the Department to communicate with the 

public, advocacy groups, and key stakeholders concerning the Department's priorities across issues, 

including its commitment to open government, and actively engages these communities to learn how 

the Department can better provide information of high interest and value to the public. 

• The Office of the Chief 

Information Officer determines

the most effective use of 

technology for creative 

solutions and active stakeholder 

engagement, including support 

of the open government 

webpage 

www.treasury.gov/open and 

other websites available to the 

public. 

• The offices within the Office of 

Privacy, Transparency, and 

Records continue to collaborate

with both the steering 

committee and the data quality 

official to support maximum 

disclosure of Treasury 

information while ensuring 

appropriate protections for 

individual privacy and security. 

New governance councils will be 

created as needed, and existing 

governance bodies that have been 

formally charged with driving and

overseeing open government efforts 

on an ongoing basis will ensure that 

open government remains a priority and is integrated into the strategic goals of the Department into the 

future.

Subcommittees

In Treasury’s Open Government Plan version 1.0, six subcommittees were formed to oversee specific 

lines of activities for the Department to construct and implement the open government strategy. Figure 1 

provides an organizational chart of the reporting structure and function of these subcommittees. (Note: In 

version 2.0, the subcommittees were consolidated to three to combine functions, focus efforts, and 

strengthen Treasury’s open government outcomes.)

Figure 1
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Transparency

Transparency Accomplishments 

Figure 2 shows the status of the transparency commitments contained in the Open Government 

Implementation Tracking Matrix from version 1.0. Below are accomplishments on transparency where 

Treasury made information to the public readily available online, in machine readable, platform 

independent formats on various public websites such as Data.gov, Federal IT Dashboard, etc. 

Open Government Commitment Type of 

Commitment

Page in 

Plan 1.0 Status

Identify current policies impacted 

and in need of revision, as well as 

new policies needed, to support and 

enable transparency, collaboration 

and participation activities in 

support of the Open Government 

Directive

General Pg. 5 The following Treasury orders and directives 

have been identified and are being revised to 

address cloud computing, social media, and 

collaborative work tools: 

• TD 80-05, Records and Information 

Management;

• TD 25-05, Freedom of Information Act 

Program;

• TD 25-20, Ensuring Compliance with 

Privacy and Records Management 

Requirements using social media websites;

• TO 105-19, Declassification Program;

• TD 27-09, Organization and Functions of the 

Office the Assistant Secretary (Legislative 

Affairs);

• TD 87-06, Electronic and Information 

Technology Accessibility under Section 508 

of the Rehabilitation Act.

Develop a Treasury-wide strategy 

and network for both disseminating 

and receiving key information 

pertaining to Treasury’s 

implementation of the Open 

Government Directive activities.

Transparency Pg. 5 Treasury has developed a Communications Plan

for internal use.

Revise Data quality plan and process 

to ensure that security and privacy 

requirements identified by the 

Privacy and Security Steering 

committee are incorporated.

Transparency Pg. 5 Treasury published its first plan in Version 1.0 of 

its Open Government Plan. 

Develop a framework for the 

structure and content of Treasury’s 

Open Government Plan to describe 

how the agency will foster a culture 

of openness by incorporating the 

principles of transparency, 

participation, and collaboration into 

all facets of the Department’s 

operations.

Transparency Pg. 5 Treasury completed the framework of the Open 

Government Plan in May of 2010.

Identify current datasets and 

information to make available to the 

public and possibilities for 

partnerships with other agencies to 

Transparency Pg. 5 Treasury exceeded its target of publishing 3 

datasets per quarter on Data.gov for a total of 19 

datasets added to Data.gov in FY2011.

Figure 2
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Open Government Commitment Type of 

Commitment

Page in 

Plan 1.0 Status

provide and/or create 

complementary datasets.

Implement an option for requesters 

to submit FOIA requests to 

Departmental Offices online

Transparency Pg. 23 goFOIA was launched on April 29, 2011, and 

provides the public the ability to submit FOIA 

requests and check the status of their requests via 

www.treasury.gov. 

Implementation of a permanent 

process for continuous, proactive 

identification, preparation, and 

release of data on an ongoing basis.

Transparency Pg. 24 Treasury’s process for identification, preparation,

and release of data on an ongoing basis is 

included in the revision of Treasury’s Data 

Quality Plan in May, 2012.

Make available in raw, 

downloadable format the following 

legal materials: 

• Comptroller of the Currency 

Enforcement Actions

• IRS Actions on Decisions

• IRS Internal Revenue Bulletin

• IRS General Counsel 

Memoranda

• IRS Private Letter Rulings and 

Technical Advice Memoranda

• IRS Revenue Bulletin

• IRS Written Determinations

• Office of Foreign Assets 

Control Interpretive Rulings on 

OFAC Policy

• Office of Thrift Supervision

Enforcement Actions

Transparency Pg. 36 These datasets were submitted to Data.gov for

FY 2011. 

Provide greater search capabilities 

across the Department’s FOIA 

reading rooms and incorporate 

public feedback mechanisms.

Transparency Pg. 23 The Department’s online FOIA reading room 

currently employs enhanced search capabilities 

such as keyword search, which was deployed in 

January 2012.

Development of a training module 

entitled “Transparency and Open 

Government Awareness” which will 

help Treasury employees understand 

the open government principles 

reflected in the President’s 

memorandum on transparency, open 

government, and FOIA; how these 

concepts affect Treasury employees’ 

daily work activities; and how 

Treasury conducts business with the 

presumption of openness, including 

the administration of its FOIA 

related activities.

General Pg. 8 This training module was completed and 

launched on the Treasury Learning Management 

System (TLMS) in Spring of 2010. 
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Ongoing Efforts – Transparency

Figure 3 illustrates ongoing transparency efforts in the Open Government Implementation Tracking 

Matrix. 

 

Open Government Commitment Type of 

Commitment

Page in 

Plan 1.0 Status

Identify current datasets and 

information to make available to the 

public and possibilities for 

partnerships with other agencies to 

provide and/or create 

complementary datasets to help 

drive economic change.

Transparency Pg. 5 Treasury continues to identify current datasets to 

make available to the public and partner with 

other agencies to create complementary datasets. 

This will be an ongoing effort to identify new 

datasets and information that can be made 

available to the public and possible partnerships 

with other agencies.

Eliminate the backlog of FOIA 

requests in order to ensure the 

American public has access to as 

much information as possible.

Transparency Pp. 21-2 The Department completed a Lean Six Sigma 

review of the FOIA process from end to end to 

identify strategies to improve the response time 

for FOIA processing and reduce the backlog.

Backlog reduction continues. 

Post data quality information online, 

with an emphasis on the contracts 

and grants data.

Transparency Pg. 24 The Department has been and will continue to 

post data quality information online with an 

emphasis on contracts and grants data via 

USAspending.gov and Grants.gov. This is an ongoing initiative because the information will be 

continually updated as new contracts and grants 

are awarded. 

Engagement in identifying and 

planning for the use of new 

technologies as opportunities arise 

for alignment with mission 

objectives and open government 

activities.

Transparency Pg. 32 The Department’s electronic content management 

(ECM) initiative has provided the Department 

with improved technologies to support Treasury’s 

mission, objectives, and open government 

activities. This will continue as new tools are 

added to the ECM platform to improve the 

functionality.

Figure 3
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Examples of Successful Transparency Initiatives

Grants.gov 

The Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund publishes its

grant opportunities on Grants.gov here.

2

 This website, linked from www.treasury.gov/open, allows users 

to search for Treasury grant opportunities. 

Data.gov

Treasury exceeded its Plan version 1.0 goal to submit three datasets per quarter to Data.gov. During FY

2011, the Department submitted 19 datasets to Data.gov in addition to the wealth of information available 

from other Treasury and bureau public websites. Figure 4 shows the datasets posted in FY 2011. These

datasets are considered high value because they accomplish one or more of these criteria: increase agency 

accountability and responsiveness, improve public knowledge of agency and its operations, further the 

core mission of agency, create economic opportunity, or respond to an identified public need and demand.

Datasets published in the year following Treasury’s Open Government Plan 1.0

1. Bureau of the Public Debt – Debt Position and Activity Report

2. Bureau of the Public Debt – Interest Cost on Outstanding Debt

3. Bureau of the Public Debt – Monthly Statement of the Public Debt

4. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) – SAR Activity Review - By the Numbers (Issue 15)

5. IRS – Actions on Decisions

6. IRS – General Counsel Memoranda

7. IRS – Private Letter Rulings and Technical Advice Memoranda

8. IRS – Written Determinations

9. IRS – Internal Revenue Bulletin

10. Bureau of the Public Debt – Average Interest Rate for Treasury Securities

11. TARP – TARP Transaction Report, Capital Purchase Program (Investments)

12. Interest Rate Statistics -Daily Treasury Bill Rates (Current Year)

13. FinCEN – Enforcement Actions for Violations of the Bank Secrecy Act

14. IRS – Individual Income and Tax Statistics, 1916 – 2005

15. IRS – Internal Revenue Collections by Type of Tax and State

16. Bureau of Engraving and Printing – Annual Production Report (1980 – 2010)

17. Financial Management Service – Financial Report of the US Government

18. Treasury Recovery Act Data (September 2010)

19. Financial Management Service – US Treasury Owned Gold

USASpending.gov 

In alignment with the Open Government Directive, which calls for publishing information online to 

increase accountability and enable the public to stay informed about the use of taxpayer dollars, the 

Department posts its award information on OMB’s USASpending.gov. USASpending.gov includes the 

following information for each Federal award posted:

1. Name of the entity receiving the award;

2. Amount of the award;

 

2

http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=9JycPh8GHd35hgLfDYcYZKb4Pxc3xLS2QzhhJb8G6pYDs1W

LC9dt!-408580364 

Figure 4
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3. Information on the award including transaction type, funding agency, etc.;

4. Location of the entity receiving the award; and

5. A unique identifier of the entity receiving the award.

Federal IT Dashboard 

The Treasury Department uses OMB’s IT Dashboard, a website where the public can track the progress 

of the Department’s information technology (IT) investments. The Dashboard, located at 

http://it.usaspending.gov/, is a public-facing website that contains performance measures on multiple 

dimensions of the IT portfolio – e.g., cost and schedule – and is updated monthly with new IT 

investments by Treasury’s Office of the Chief Information Officer.

FOIA

Treasury is committed to ensuring that the President’s directive regarding the presumption of disclosure is 

applied to all decisions involving FOIA, including the increased proactive disclosures and discretionary 

releases consistent with its legal responsibility to protect national security, personal privacy, privileged 

records, and other protected interests. Treasury is further committed to an open and transparent 

government, to provide the American public with access to as much information as possible. Treasury’s 

FOIA activities will be fully integrated into the Department’s Open Government Plan and implementation 

efforts. 

The Department's FOIA 

Improvement Plan targets at 

least a 10 percent reduction 

in the backlog each year. 

Treasury’s Chief FOIA 

Officer Reports include 

discussions of how Treasury 

will continue to improve the 

FOIA database, better utilize 

emerging technology, 

support more proactive 

disclosure, and continue to 

eliminate the backlog of 

requests.

The website, 

www.Treasury.gov/FOIA

provides links to Instructions 

on how to file a FOIA request with the Department, a listing of all the Bureau FOIA Requester Service 

Centers and FOIA Public Liaisons, Treasury’s FOIA Improvement Plan update, the Department’s Annual 

FOIA Reports to the Department of Justice, the Chief FOIA Officer reports, and other items of interest 

such as frequently requested records. These plans and reports are also available on Treasury’s open 

government web page (www.treasury.gov/open) under the heading "Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA)." 

Reduction of FOIA Backlogs Figure 6

Figure 5
11

From FY 2009 to FY 2011 Treasury reduced its 

FOIA backlog by over 43 percent (Figure 6). This 

accomplishment far exceeds the requirements 

contained in the Open Government Directive to 

reduce pending backlogs by ten percent per year. 

Treasury is committed to continuing process 

improvements to achieve total elimination of the 

backlog. Indeed one bureau, the Alcohol and 

Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB),

successfully lowered its backlog to zero in FY2011. 

In addition, the Department continues to 

proactively disclose useful and relevant 

information about activities to the public such as: 

FOIA request logs, the Secretary’s and other key 

officials’ calendars, and Dodd-Frank 

implementation meetings with senior officials, to 

name just a few. 

FOIA Process Improvement

The Department completed a review of its entire FOIA process from end to end to identify how we can 

continue to improve its response time for FOIA requests. The review process assisted in finding

opportunities to eliminate redundancies and process gaps and identifying technology solutions that will 

enable Treasury to respond more quickly to FOIA requests. Treasury’s FOIA improvement process 

consisted of these concrete steps:

• Conducted a systemic review of the entire FOIA process within the agency to identify roadblocks 

and to improve timeliness;

• Analyzed the workload involved in responding to FOIA requests and determining the appropriate 

resource levels and then allocating those resources;

• Relied on a broad range of senior-level agency 

personnel, including Legislative Affairs, Public Affairs, 

legal and policy staff, and relevant subject-matter 

experts, to identify material for proactive release; 

• Established regular meetings between FOIA 

professionals and Treasury’s Chief FOIA Officer to 

ensure an established dialogue between those officials, 

so that the Chief FOIA Officer can troubleshoot 

problems and facilitate timely responses; and

• Deployed a cloud-based tracking and reporting

tool Treasury-wide that provides ongoing status of FOIA 

requests at various stages of the process.

Electronic Services Delivery

Even prior to the completion of version 1.0 of Treasury’s 

Open Government Plan, two key areas of the FOIA 

process were already under review with the intent to 

improve the electronic delivery of service to the public. 

The first process implemented was the option for requesters to submit FOIA requests to Departmental 

Offices online in addition to continuing the option of submitting FOIA requests in hard copy. The Citizen 

Web Portal (Figure 7) went live on April 30, 2011. The second improvement created the electronic 

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011

585

419

333

FOIA Request Backlog Trend

Figure 7

Figure 7
12

reading room, a repository of previously released information, including frequently requested items. The 

Department is now investigating cloud technologies to provide greater search capability across the 

Department’s FOIA reading rooms and to incorporate public feedback mechanisms.

Treasury utilizes GovDelivery to improve its digital communication with the public and improve 

transparency, participation, and collaboration opportunities. Treasury currently offers over 370 specific 

topics by subscription at no cost including Accounting & Budget News, Budget in Briefs, Currency & 

Coins News, and Daily Treasury Bills Rates for subscribers that receive updates via email.

Records Management Program

Treasury’s open government webpage has linked to the National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA) website to show how the 

Department is meeting its existing 

records management requirements

(Figure 8). These requirements 

serve as the foundation for the 

Department’s records 

management program, which 

includes such activities as 

identifying and scheduling all 

electronic records and ensuring 

the timely transfer of all 

permanently valuable records to 

the National Archives. 

Congressional Requests for 

Information

Treasury’s Office of Legislative Affairs serves as the principal contact and coordinator for all Department 

interaction with Congress and the Congressional relations offices in the White House and other 

Departments and agencies. Legislative Affairs develops strategies to implement initiatives that require 

legislation, communicates Treasury’s positions to Congress, and keeps the Department informed of 

Congressional objectives, concerns, activities, and interests. In addition, Legislative Affairs responds 

directly to Congressional inquiries and facilitates replies from other offices in the Department, monitors 

the flow of Congressional correspondence to ensure accurate and prompt response, coordinates officials’ 

testimony before Congressional Committees and advises the Department on Congressional concerns 

during policy formation. The Open Government webpage links to the Treasury webpage with links to all 

testimony from senior Treasury officials. All Congressional correspondence addressed to the Secretary or 

Deputy Secretary is routed through the Office of the Executive Secretariat and the Office of Legislative 

Affairs prior to creation of a record in Treasury’s correspondence database and transmittal to the 

appropriate office or program for response. Information on the mission and functions of this office can be 

found at http://www.treasury.gov/about/organizational-structure/offices/Pages/Legislative-Affairs.aspx

and a link to Congressional testimony is on www.treasury.gov/open under Most Requested.

Declassification Program

Treasury Order 105-19, “Delegation of Original Classification Authority; Requirements for Downgrading 

and Declassification,” was updated in 2011 to reflect delegations of both original classification authority 

and downgrading and declassification authority. Declassification of government information that no 

longer needs protection, in accordance with established procedures, is essential to the free flow of 

information. Treasury completed significant declassification activities over the past several years, 

Figure 8
13

including allowing, with certain exceptions, classified information to be automatically declassified at 25 

years of age. It is important to remember that declassification does not equate to automatic release of the 

information since there may still be reasons to withhold particular material. Declassification activities are 

ongoing.

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Information Collection

The PRA requires OMB approval for certain information collection efforts. The approval process 

requires the Department and its bureaus and offices to provide a detailed explanation of why the

information requested from the public is critical to their mission requirements. The request for collection 

is published in the Federal Register with two opportunities for public comments. 

Treasury has created a website to 

provide an additional, easy-to-use tool 

to elicit ideas from the public on 

Treasury’s forms and information 

collections. Treasury implemented 

www.PRAComment.gov (Figure 9) to 

engage the public further in the PRA 

process and to solicit comments on all 

Treasury information collection 

activities. 

The pilot Treasury form for 

www.PRAComment.gov was Internal 

Revenue Service (IRS) form 

“Application for Recognition of 

Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of 

the Internal Revenue Code,” also called Form 1023. The pilot was very successful so Treasury now 

allows public comment on 100 percent of its information collection activities on 

www.PRAComment.gov. 

Strategic Action Plan for Data Quality and Transparency of the Treasury Data Inventory

Among its many initiatives to promote transparency, participation, and collaboration, the Open 

Government Directive requires agencies to address the quality of Federal spending information. 

Treasury’s plan will address the quality of both financial and non-financial data to be made available to 

the public.

Data Quality

Treasury submitted its first Open Government Data Quality Plan to OMB in May 2010. This document is 

being revised to incorporate new guidance from OMB. The current version of this document is used for 

internal information sharing and process improvements. The Data Quality Plan describes the current 

processes used within Treasury to ensure the quality of the data posted online, with an emphasis on the 

contracts and grants data on USASpending.gov. The Data Quality Plan also lays out the additional

actions Treasury is taking to improve the quality of Treasury data released to the public.

Treasury’s Data and Information Identification, Integrity and Partnerships subcommittee developed a 

robust framework to ensure datasets are evaluated and verified for usefulness, accuracy, and 

completeness. Treasury has developed an internal online Data Quality Checklist for dataset evaluation 

that supports the “Moving to a Paperless Treasury” initiative. The Records Management office will 

ensure that the information is retained and archived.

Figure 9
14

Other Data Activities

Ongoing Data Prioritization and Release Process

Treasury implemented a permanent process for continuous, proactive identification, preparation, and 

release of data on an ongoing basis – a pipeline which is explicitly incorporated into the strategic 

planning, IT planning, and budget formulation processes of the agency. Treasury developed a data 

release process that clearly outlines how security, privacy, quality, and confidentiality risks will be 

managed before release. The data prioritization process will describe the criteria used to determine how 

the data is prioritized for release. Criteria may include value of the data with respect to a number of 

specific dimensions: FOIA requests for data, public interest in the data, resources required to release the 

data, timeliness of the data, and other similar factors. The process also may provide for a mechanism for 

agency employees to suggest high-value data sets for release. Treasury’s Office of the Chief Information 

Officer (OCIO) is working to better coordinate its data and systems to conform to ISO (International 

Standards Organization) 19115, 11179, 704, 1087, 11404, 19773, and 17442 (Legal Identity Identifiers) 

standards along with recommendations by the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) and the Federal 

Enterprise Architecture Reference Models (FEA RM). The FEA RMs can be mapped to planning and 

control processes and other data management functions within the databases and systems across Treasury. 

By understanding the internal data architecture, Treasury can better discover and prioritize the potential 

release of machine-readable and mashable public datasets. The Data and Information Identification, 

Integrity, and Partnerships subcommittee processed the following initiatives:

• Provided guidance on datasets to bureaus. Treasury has provided guidance on datasets to the 

bureaus by providing instructions on how to complete the Data Quality Checklist in order to 

submit datasets to data.gov. 

• Sent quarterly requests to all bureaus and offices for new datasets via the mechanisms outlined in 

Treasury’s Data Quality Plan.

• Worked with the communications subcommittee to cull information and needs about potential 

new datasets from internal and external stakeholders. 

o Treasury’s Open Government Steering Committee has solicited ideas from the 

communications subcommittee to identify potential new datasets from internal and 

external stakeholders by engaging the communications subcommittee directly in 

discussions held in the monthly Open Government Steering Committee meetings. The 

data and information subcommittee has contributed its expertise to analyze the 

information collected by the communications subcommittee. 

• Released a minimum of three new datasets per quarter to Data.gov totaling 19 new datasets in 

FY2011.

• Made available to all bureaus the Data Quality Plan, including guidance for timely publication of 

underlying data for public information maintained in electronic format. 

• Identified key audiences for information and their needs, with a goal of publishing high value 

information for each of those audiences in the most accessible forms and formats. Treasury has 

accomplished this task by obtaining the most requested information from internal Library, FOIA,

and open government communities as well as its public-facing open government website. The 

information obtained from these sources will guide the publication of Treasury’s high value data. 

This data is available on the FOIA Library reading room. 
15

Participation

Participation Accomplishments

Figures 10 and 11 show the status of the participation commitments contained in the Open Government 

Implementation Tracking Matrix. Accomplishments in the area of participation are circumstances where 

the government promotes the public to participate throughout the decision-making process. 

Open Government 

Commitment

Type of 

Commitment

Page in 

Plan 1.0 Status

Develop and implement 

Treasury’s open 

government website

Participation Pg. 5

Treasury’s open government website was launched in 

February 2010. While not required, several other 

Treasury bureaus have launched their own open 

government websites as well. 

Implementation of a 

permanent process for 

continuous proactive 

identification, 

preparation, and release 

of data on an ongoing 

basis.

Participation Pg. 24 A permanent process for continuous, proactive 

identification, preparation, and release of data on an 

ongoing basis was implemented in Treasury’s Data 

Quality Plan and Data Quality Checklist to ensure that 

privacy, security, and confidentiality concerns were 

addressed. 

Implement an effective 

internal control and 

review process of 

information and 

datasets to be made 

public to ensure the 

accuracy, timeliness, 

and usefulness of this 

data, including proper 

review for privacy and 

disclosure compliance 

before release.

Participation Pg. 5 Treasury’s Data Quality Plan and processes enabled 

Treasury to exceed the target of 3 datasets per quarter 

for posting on Data.gov.

Provide greater search 

capabilities across the 

Department’s FOIA 

reading rooms and 

incorporate public 

feedback mechanisms.

Participation Pg. 23 The Department’s treasury.gov website redesign and 

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) projects 

included requirements for on FOIA and eDiscovery 

along with the discovery tools for datasets inventory 

compilation. TTB has developed an online FOIA 

request tool and a FOIA reading room. DO’s FOIA elibrary was originally launched in 1996, accessible to all 

bureaus and the public, and upgrades were completed 

during the summer of 2011.

Development of an 

infrastructure to support 

employees participating 

in open government 

activities at all levels of 

the Department.

Participation Pg. 34 Treasury developed the ECM platform in fiscal year 

2011 which provides a department wide collaboration 

workspace. In September 2011 Treasury launched 

“theGreen”, the ECM based Department wide 

collaboration platform. The Assistant Secretary for 

Management implemented the “IdeaXchange” platform 

where DO employees can participate by contributing 

ideas for solutions of various Departmental challenges.

Participation Ongoing Efforts

Figure 10

Figure 11
16

Open Government 

Commitment

Type of 

Commitment

Page in 

Plan Status

Increase open 

government public 

participation through 

vendor outreach 

sessions.

Participation

Pg. 5 Treasury’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business 

Utilization Programs will continue to conduct vendor 

outreach sessions to educate the public on Treasury’s 

procurement requirements. This will be an ongoing

effort to advertise procurement requirements to the 

public.

Elicit innovative ideas 

for promoting openness 

and transparency

Participation Pg. 5 Treasury will continue to promote open government to 

employees by continuing the open government “Road 

Show” to communicate the plan, activities and key 

principles of open government to all Treasury bureaus. 

This is an ongoing effort to educate the Treasury 

employees about the principles of open government. 

Implementation of a 

series of open work 

sessions with various 

stakeholder segments 

and the public to share 

information with the 

public regarding their 

concerns and areas of 

interest.

Participation Pg. 29 Treasury will continue conducting press conferences and 

making them available at 

http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases. A 

table of Stakeholder outreach sessions is also available 

in the appendix E of this document.

Conduct outreach to 

key segments of the 

public via a number of 

other means, including 

periodic outreach to 

members of the open 

government advocacy 

groups and library 

communities regarding 

information they would 

like to have Treasury 

make publicly 

available.

Participation Pg. 13 Treasury will continue outreach efforts to key segments 

of the public and post the information on Treasury’s 

open government public facing website at 

www.treasury.gov/open. . BPD has enhanced the 

Treasury Direct application to add entity accounts and a 

payroll savings plan module to make it easier for 

individuals to purchase electronic securities using funds 

from their pay. BPD will continue to communicate to a 

broader audience by maintaining their Twitter accounts.

Build on existing prizes 

and challenges 

experiences to develop 

an inter-departmental 

proposal centered on 

the challenges of 

maintaining a historic 

structure.

Participation Pg. 18 Treasury will continue to build on relationships with 

different offices to develop challenges and experiences 

to the employees.

Participation in several 

interagency work 

groups to analyze how 

the various datasets and 

information provided 

by each agency can be 

leveraged to help 

develop greater benefits 

to the public in key 

areas.

Participation Pg. 30 Treasury will continue participating in job initiative 

interagency working groups to analyze how various 

datasets and information provided by agencies can be 

leveraged to help provide greater benefits to the public 

in key areas. Treasury is currently participating in the 

jobs initiatives interagency working group with 

Commerce. Treasury will also continue participating in 

leading practices interagency working groups to help 

evaluate federal agencies open government plans. 
17

Examples of Successful Participation Initiatives

Regulations.gov

E-rulemaking is an e-Government initiative that promotes public participation and provides public access 

to the development of rules and regulations that impact American citizens. E-rulemaking promotes more 

effective and efficient rulemaking through public participation. The Department of the Treasury has been 

in compliance with the e-rulemaking requirement by posting proposed and interim rules for public 

comment on Regulations.gov on a regular basis. Treasury links to regulations.gov in the footer on every 

page of Treasury.gov. 

Title Document Agency ID Posted Date

Acquisition Regulations Rule TREAS TREAS_F

RDOC_00

01-0130

7/18/2011

Amendment to the Bank Secrecy 

Act Regulations: Defining 

Mutual Funds as Financial 

Institutions

Rule TREAS TREAS_F

RDOC_00

01-0091

4/14/2010

Analysis by the President’s Group 

on Financial Markets on Longterm Availability and 

Affordability of Insurance for 

Terrorism Risk – Comments due 

August 2, 2010, 11:59 p.m.

Notice TREAS TREASDO-2010-

0004-0001

6/17/2010

Figure 12
18

Opportunities to Participate in Existing Treasury Efforts

Treasury incorporated the strategic goals and objectives of its Open Government Plan into the existing 

Strategic Plan Framework. The performance measures framework for open government initiatives is 

aligned with the agency’s overall performance framework, enabling specific open government activities 

to be assessed. As Treasury moves forward with the next strategic plan update process (Figure 11), Open 

Government questions will be included in the senior leadership interview process to ensure the 

Department's open government activities are aligned with the Department's overall strategic objectives.

Existing Measure Incorporation of Open Government Objectives

Routinely scheduled Q&A with top management Include questions on definition and level of priority of 

open government initiatives

Quarterly reviews of departmental offices and bureaus 

by top management

Require quarterly reporting of open government 

measures, such as number of datasets produced for 

open government disclosure, etc.

Communication channels with public stakeholders Invite comments re: open government 

initiatives/issues/concerns

Collaboration 

Collaboration Accomplishments 

Figures 14 and 15 show the status of the collaboration commitments contained in the Open Government 

Implementation Tracking Matrix. In this section of the Open Government Plan Treasury will highlight 

the Open Government accomplishments in the area of collaboration where the government cooperates 

with Federal and non-Federal governmental agencies, the public, non-profit and commercial entities in 

fulfilling the agency’s core mission activities.

Open Government 

Commitment

Type of 

Commitment

Page in 

Plan Status

Identify needed 

functionality to enable 

collaboration and 

participation

Collaboration

Pg.5 Treasury launched a website utilizing enhanced 

technology allowing for greater use of social media 

tools such as blogs, twitter and YouTube. Treasury 

deployed an electronic content management tool to 

electronically capture, store search/analyze, 

collaborate, share and manage documents. A Treasurywide portal, theGreen was launched in October 2011 

and Treasury’s re-designed and more user-friendly 

public-facing web page was launched in the first 

quarter of 2010.

Identify current datasets 

and information to make 

available to the public 

and possibilities for 

partnerships with other 

agencies to provide 

and/or create 

complementary datasets 

to help drive economic 

change.

Collaboration

Pg.5 Treasury compiled dataset inventory utilizing 

technology and determined partnership opportunities 

with other agencies to leverage existing tools to publish 

datasets. Treasury published 19 datasets in FY 2011. 

Figure 13

Figure 14
19

Open Government 

Commitment

Type of 

Commitment

Page in 

Plan Status

Implementation of a 

permanent process for 

continuous, proactive 

identification, 

preparation and release 

of data on an ongoing 

basis.

Collaboration Pg. 24

Para 2

A permanent process for continuous, proactive 

identification, preparation and release of data on an 

ongoing basis was implemented. The process will 

remain manual until an appropriate technology solution 

is evaluated and selected that will assist with 

continuous identification, preparation for release and 

provide a comprehensive dataset inventory.

Development of an 

infrastructure to 

stimulate and support 

employees participating 

in open government 

activities at all levels of 

the Department

Collaboration Pg. 34

Para 1

Treasury deployed a Department wide electronic 

content management tool to electronically capture, 

store search/analyze, collaborate, share and manage 

documents in FY 2011. In September 2011, Treasury 

launched “theGreen,” a department wide collaboration 

platform. BPD launched an enterprise wiki on 

September 30, 2011 to increase collaboration within 

Public Debt by allowing document sharing, blogs by 

Senior Executives and information on the Bureau’s

history. The Public Debt History Center keeps track 

of items of historical significance and employees can 

add items as necessary. A blog by the BPD 

Commissioner was created to keep employees 

informed of upcoming events. The Assistant Secretary 

for Management implemented the “IdeaXchange” 

platform where Treasury employees can contribute 

ideas to help provide ideas and solution for various 

Departmental challenges.

Collaboration – Ongoing Activities

Open Government 

Commitment

Type of 

Commitment

Page in 

Plan Status

Formalize processes for 

accepting input, 

providing data review 

and approving website 

content.

Collaboration Pg. 5

Standard operating procedures will continuously be 

revised for posting information to the websites. 

Identify current datasets 

and information to make 

available to the public 

and possibilities for 

partnerships with other 

agencies to provide 

and/or create 

complementary datasets 

to help drive economic 

change.

Collaboration

Pg. 5 Treasury’s Data Quality subcommittee will continue 

evaluating options for compiling datasets. 

Implementation of a 

series of open work 

sessions with various 

stakeholder segments 

and the public to share 

information with the 

Collaboration

Pg. 29

Para 2

Treasury will continue to conduct meetings with the 

public to release current information. Treasury will 

also continue to post information on websites that the 

public can easily access.

Figure 15
20

Open Government 

Commitment

Type of 

Commitment

Page in 

Plan Status

public regarding their 

concerns and areas of 

interest.

Conduct outreach to key 

segments of the public 

via a number of other 

means, including 

periodic outreach to 

members of the open 

government advocacy 

groups and library 

communities regarding 

information they would 

like to have Treasury 

make publicly available.

Collaboration

Pg. 13

Para 1

Treasury will continue outreach efforts to key segments 

of the public via websites such as 

www.treasury.gov/open, and other Bureau websites 

such as the TreasuryDirect KIDS website at the Bureau 

of the Public Debt. Other Bureaus will also continue 

outreach efforts to make collaboration easier with the 

public.

Build on its existing 

prizes and challenges 

experience to develop an 

inter-departmental 

proposal centered on the 

challenges of 

maintaining a historic 

structure.

Collaboration Pg. 18

Para 3

The Office of the Curator will continue to work with 

the Facilities Management Office to maintain the 

historic fabric of the Main Treasury Building as a 

resource.

Treasury will continue to promote Collaboration Activities including:

• Proposals to use technology platforms to improve collaboration among people within and outside 

the agency.

• Descriptions of and links to appropriate websites where the public can learn about existing 

collaboration efforts of the agency.

• Innovative methods, such as prizes and competitions, to obtain ideas from and to increase 

collaboration with those in the private sector, non-profit, and academic communities.

The open government team is also leveraging the existing networks within Treasury to enhance the 

communication of Treasury's open government values and efforts, such as the various executive councils 

(e.g., CIO, CFO, Privacy, FOIA, and Human Capital Councils), and intra-agency work committees. 

Through these collaboration efforts within the Department, Treasury effectively combines available

resources to present a uniform effort toward open government. Highlights of some of these efforts 

include: 

FinCEN continuously reaches out to a variety of industries that fall under its regulatory requirements. 

FinCEN’s ongoing outreach assists the financial industry as institutions strive to comply with their 

responsibility to report certain information and suspicious activities to FinCEN, as well as FinCEN’s 

responsibility to ensure this useful information is made available to law enforcement, as appropriate. 

FinCEN issued a public report on its meetings with the prepaid access industry in July 2012. FinCEN’s 

reports on its outreach to the different sectors of the financial industry are published at 

http://www.fincen.gov/news_room/rp/financial_institutions_outreach_initiative.html

Examples of Successful Collaboration Initiatives

In accordance with the Open Government Directive, Treasury has dedicated a website to highlight 

Treasury’s Open Government efforts at: http://www.treasury.gov/open/. The website invites the public to 
21

contact Treasury and provides contact information for key officials responsible for the Open Government 

effort. The website offers e-mail subscriptions and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feed, a method of 

receiving web updates on topics of choice as an alternative to email subscriptions.

Treasury also conducted outreach to key segments of the public via a number of other means, including 

periodic outreach to members of the open government advocacy groups and library communities 

regarding information they would like to have Treasury make publicly available. Treasury's Office of 

Public Liaison is a key partner in identifying specific interest groups for Treasury's various program 

activities.

The Treasury bureaus also have identified key segments of the public that are interested in the bureauspecific program activities. A variety of interest groups such as the financial institutions and currency 

exchanges, gaming industry, journalists, banknote equipment manufacturers, law enforcement, and the 

retail industry, are targeted through various program specific websites such as www.newmoney.gov. 

Figure 16 includes other key examples from several of Treasury’s bureaus.

Bureau Description

Bureau of the Public 

Debt (BPD)

Provides information to public on how to do business with BPD at 

http://www.publicdegt.treas/gov/vendorinfo/vendor_info.htm and how to invest in 

Treasury securities at http://www.treasurydirect.gov

Financial Management 

Service (FMS)

Provides ongoing training opportunities to federal employees and the public at 

http://www.fms.treas.gov/calendar.html

FinCEN FinCEN actively collaborates with the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force 

(FFETF). The FFETF was established in November 2009 to hold accountable those 

who helped bring about the last financial crisis and to prevent another crisis from 

happening. It is comprised of more than 20 Federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys 

Offices and state and local partners, and is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, 

investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. FinCEN 

continues to engage heavily within the FFETF as co-chair of the Training and 

Information Sharing Committee and at the working group level. The FFETF’s 

Website is www.stopfraud.gov. More information on FinCEN’s role within the 

FFETF can be found at http://www.fincen.gov/fraudenftaskforce.html .

FinCEN FinCEN collaborates with other agencies to combat mortgage fraud. FinCEN 

analysts work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on major initiatives involving 

mortgage fraud investigations. They also work closely with the Department of 

Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General to raise 

awareness of an apparent increase in fraudulent activity involving reverse mortgages. 

Information on FinCEN’s efforts to combat mortgage fraud can be found at 

http://www.fincen.gov/newsroom/rp/mortgagefraud.html.

FinCEN FinCEN is actively engaged in identifying and planning for the use of new 

innovative technologies. Examples include FinCEN’s Webinar service, which 

presents a time efficient and cost effective way to facilitate online communication 

with up to 1,000 participants. 

Treasury, Federal 

Reserve and U.S. Secret 

Service

The advanced Counterfeit Deterrence (ACD) Steering committee coordinated 

counterfeit deterrence activities of the government agencies involved in U.S. 

currency efforts. New designs are introduced every 7 – 10 years.

Figure 16
22

Bureau Description

Office of the 

Comptroller of the 

Currency (OCC)

OCC’s Public Affairs office promotes public awareness of OCC’s mission of 

ensuring the safety and soundness of America’s national banks and federal savings 

associations by conducting, producing and distributing public service advertisements, 

maintaining online subscription-based email service and operating two public web 

sites – http://www.OCC.gov and http://www.HelpWithMyBank.gov

U.S. Mint The Mint provides information for the public as well as businesses at: 

http://www.usmint.gov/consumer. They also provide information for educators and 

students at http://www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers

Office of Financial 

Stability (OFS)

This office was established under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act for the 

Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to purchase troubled assets after the 

financial crisis. To maintain transparency and accountability the redacted investment 

contracts for future transactions are listed on the following website: 

http://www.officeoffinancialStability.gov

Office of Financial 

Research (OFR)

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act established the 

Office of Financial Research (OFR) within the Treasury Department to improve the 

quality of financial data available to policymakers and facilitate more robust and 

sophisticated analysis of the financial system. OFR’s mission, goals, and objectives 

are available at: http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/Treasurys-Office-ofFinancial-Research-Releases-FY-2012-2014-Strategic-Framework.aspx

OFR The OFR Working Paper Series offers staff and their co-authors an opportunity to 

disseminate their preliminary research findings in a format intended to generate 

discussion and critical comments. The goal is to inform and improve the quality of 

the analysis conducted by the OFR.

Collaboration Efforts by TTB

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) serves as the Nation’s primary federal authority 

in the regulation of the alcohol and tobacco industries. TTB is responsible for the administration and 

enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code associated with the collection of excise taxes on alcohol, 

tobacco, firearms, and ammunition, and the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, which provides for the 

regulation of those engaged in the alcohol beverage industry and the protection of consumers of alcohol 

beverages. Here are a few examples: 

Bureau Description

TTB TTB entered into an interagency agreement in FY2011 to reimburse the Internal 

Revenue Service (IRS) for agent services to enforce the criminal provisions of TTB’s 

jurisdiction. In FY 2011, IRS assigned a Special Agent In Charge and five special 

agents to TTB full-time. In its eight months of activity opening new investigations, 

this program resulted in the initiation of 21 cases with a total estimated federal excise 

tax liability of over $20 million and combined seizures and forfeitures totaling 

approximately $1.7 million.

TTB TTB works with industry, foreign and state governments and other interested parties to 

protect the integrity of the alcohol beverage trade, ensuring that all businesses are 

operating in compliance with federal laws and regulations, and that U.S. industry can 

penetrate foreign markets. 

TTB TTB has a Floor Stocks Tax (FST) examination program, which conducts FST 

examinations of tobacco manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers. TTB 

uses an interagency approach in applying these enforcement strategies that involves 

cooperation with local, state, federal and foreign government counterpart agencies to 

maximize the deterrent impact of enforcement actions. In just over two years, TTB 
23

auditors and investigators have completed 465 FST examinations, identifying $16.3 

million and collecting $8.5 million of potential tax penalties and interest to date.

TTB In FY2011, TTB participated in the Fraud Investigative Strike Team (FIST), an 

interagency collaborative effort lead by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 

to address smuggling and fraud associated with activity along U.S. borders, primarily 

at Customs Bonded Warehouses (CBWs) and Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs), which are 

known points for diversion activity.

TTB TTB collaborates with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) on enforcing the Prevent All 

Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, a law enacted in 2010 to prevent tobacco smuggling 

and to ensure the collection of all tobacco taxes. Under the PACT Act, shipments of 

tobacco products via USPS are prohibited. The vast majority of the illegal importers 

are individuals purchasing tobacco products in small quantities for personal 

consumption through online tobacco outlets via the USPS.

TTB TTB collaborates with several Federal agencies, international organizations, and other 

stakeholders in ensuring collection of the revenue due on imported alcohol and tobacco 

products. Through its partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and by 

effectively leveraging data available to TTB from CBP’s International Trade Data 

System, TTB identified 47 entities (14 percent of those who imported cigarettes or 

other tobacco products in FY2011) as having imported tobacco products without a 

Federal permit.

TTB In FY2011, TTB expanded the e-filing program to allow all excise taxpayers to file 

and pay taxes and file monthly operational reports electronically through the Pay.gov 

system. The total number of Pay.gov registrants increased over the prior year by 12 

percent in FY2011, bringing the total to nearly 7,200.

TTB To assure compliance in the importer community that TTB regulates, TTB participates 

in joint Federal agency initiatives designed to trace alcohol and tobacco product 

through the Customs bonded warehouse to ensure alcohol and tobacco products 

moving into domestic commerce are properly tax paid and meet packaging and 

marking requirements.

TTB TTB is also involved in multiple ongoing criminal investigations of illegal activity in 

the industries TTB regulates. Using an integrated enforcement approach, auditors 

follow up on referrals provided by the TTB Intelligence Division to address suspected 

illegal activity. TTB auditors and investigators use partnerships cultivated with the 

United States Attorneys’ Offices (USAO) and other law enforcement agencies, 

including the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), to effectuate 

TTB’s criminal enforcement operations.

Privacy and Security Considerations in Collaboration with the Public

Regardless of the method or technology used, Treasury adheres to sound policies and practices to ensure 

that security, privacy, and confidentiality risks are identified and mitigation strategies developed for all 

information handling. Part of the strategy for each method will include how Treasury will provide 

feedback to the public regarding how the input is evaluated and/or incorporated into Treasury operations. 

The efficacy of the various methods for engagement will also be measured.

Update on Current Flagship Initiative: Moving to a Paperless Treasury

Treasury's flagship administrative initiative, Moving to a Paperless Treasury, is designed to improve the 

public's experience interacting with Treasury while effecting operational efficiencies of several key 

Treasury activities. These activities range from disbursement and collection of select federal government 

payments and receipts, to improving electronic tax return filing capabilities. The desired outcome of 

paperless disbursement and collection activities are cost savings or avoidance for the government and 

improved flexibility and response to customers.
24

• Completed – Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) - Requires businesses to pay taxes 

electronically. Effective January 1, 2011, businesses with quarterly tax payments greater than 

$2,500 that were previously permitted to use paper Federal Tax Deposit (FTD) coupons are 

required to make deposits electronically through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System 

(EFTPS). 

• Completed – Electronic issuance of Treasury Savings Bonds – Eliminates new issues of paper 

savings bonds. The Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) eliminated the sale of paper savings bonds 

through employer –sponsored payroll savings plans on January 1, 2011. The Bureau of the 

Public Debt stopped issuing paper savings bonds sold over-the-counter at financial institutions on 

December 31, 2011. The web-based TreasuryDirect® portal has become the primary retail 

system for investors to buy marketable securities and conduct business electronically. 

• Completed – BPD TreasuryDirect® - Internet-accessed, account-based system through which the 

public can purchase and hold any of Treasury’s retail securities products in electronic form. 

These products include savings bonds, Treasury bills, notes, and Treasury inflation protected 

securities (TIPS). This project was enhanced in 2011 to improve two factor authentication 

processes for security. Benefits include: providing a more user-friendly interface, increasing

communication with customers, and improving security measures (security enhancement was 

completed in November 2011).

• Completed – BPD “Kids” web site - Launched a web site in 2010 for 6th to 12th graders to 

educate them on BPD, the role of borrowing to fund the federal government, and saving and 

investing with Treasury securities. Benefits include: educating the public in fun and interactive 

ways. Project was completed in August 2010.

• Completed – BPD RSS Feeds for Treasury Auction Announcements and Treasury Auction Results

-Implemented in January 2010 to promote transparency and the use of social media and to 

provide customers with an alternative method for obtaining auction data. Benefits include: 

lowering costs and increasing communication with customers.

• Completed – Departmental Offices (DO)Wiki Pilot for Paperwork Reduction Act Information 

Collection - Encourages public participation via a wiki with the IRS information collection 1545-

0056, Application for Recognition of Exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

Code. Public comments for information collections via the Federal Register process are minimal 

to none. Benefits include: increasing participation from the public, reducing paperwork burden 

hours, reducing cost of publishing Federal Register notices, and reducing cost of producing and 

distributing the form.

• Completed – DO Office of Financial Stability (OFS)Financial Recovery Information 

Transparency - Provides the public with information on financial stability programs through 

www.financialstability.gov, www.makinghomeaffordable.gov, and an upcoming presence on 

YouTube. Benefits include: increasing communication with the public, and improving

transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of programs.

• Completed – TTB Online Tutorial: How to Get Started in a TTB-Regulated Industry Online Tool -

The tool went live on October 6, 2010, and it gives step-by-step instructions and illustrations for 

getting started in any of the TTB regulated industries. Benefits include: reducing telephone calls 

and other inquiries to Bureau personnel on the process for starting a business, simplifying

industry members’ process by providing instructions in plain language on how to start a business,

and increasing public knowledge of TTB requirements.

• Completed – TTB Formulas Online Webinar Series - Free online Web seminar (Webinar) to 

demonstrate the Formulas Online system and provide a high-level overview of its features. The 
25

first webinar was held on May 12, 2011. TTB trained more than100 people on the new system. 

Benefits include: opening lines of communication between TTB and the industry, increasing

taxpayer compliance, promoting e-government, and supporting open government initiatives.

• Completed – IRS Preparer Taxpayer Identification Number - Implements a web-based program to 

require paid tax return preparers to register. Completed September 2010. Benefits include: 

increasing taxpayer compliance and ensuring uniform ethical standards for preparers.

• Completed – IRS Federal Student Aid (FSA) Datashare - Supports the simplification of the 

Department of Education’s online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process by 

providing applicants with 14 IRS data elements needed to complete the FSA forms. Completed 

January 2010. Benefits include: improving accuracy, reducing applicant burden, and reducing

program costs.

• Completed – IRS Web-Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) - Online web application for taxpayers to 

obtain their AGI information for multiple purposes, such as filing electronically and mortgage 

verification. Completed January 2010. Benefits include: streamlining taxpayer ability to obtain 

AGI tax information, reducing call center wait times for taxpayers, providing information in 

English and Spanish, and rolling project into electronic filing pin. 

• Completed - Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Registrant Search Page - 

FinCEN launched a new Web 

page;http://www.fincen.gov/financial_institutions/msb/msbstateselector.html, in January 2012 

that provides a listing of entities registered with FinCEN as money services businesses (MSBs). 

FinCEN’s MSB Registrant Search Web page allows MSBs, banks, regulators, law enforcement, 

and the general public to more efficiently access, search, verify, download, and print MSB 

registration information. With its launch, FinCEN has discontinued the mailing of paper letters to 

MSBs to confirm their registration. Benefits of the new system include greater accessibility of 

MSB registration information to financial institutions as well as the public and reduction of paper 

flow and associated costs.

• Completed -Paperless Statements of Earnings and Leave (SELs) – The Department of the 

Treasury has eliminated paper documents sent to its employees serviced by the National Finance 

Center (NFC). 

• Completed – Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) MoneyFactoryStore.gov - New web site 

launched in November 2009 that was developed and deployed using the Software as a Service 

(SAAS) cloud computing model, including a Pay.gov payment gateway that allows the public to 

easily and securely buy products from BEP using credit cards. Benefits include: increasing

online orders for products and decreasing transaction costs.

• Completed – Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Online Customer Complaint 

(OLCC) - Provides consumers with the option of submitting complaints via the internet. Prior to 

the launch of OLCC, complaints were received via U.S. mail, fax, and email only. Benefits 

include: reducing paper processing, reducing data entry errors, reducing personally identifiable 

information (PII) required to file a complaint, reducing costs, and promoting a paperless 

Treasury.

• In Progress – Permits Online - Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) launched a 

new online system on February 14, 2011, that allows applicants to draft, submit and track original 

and amended applications to operate alcohol and tobacco businesses and to register to make tax 

free sales of firearms and ammunition. TTB has replaced its paper intensive manual permit 

application process with a new electronic filing system. Keeping development costs low by 

investing in a commercial, web-based product, TTB released the Permits Online electronic filing 
26

solution for permit applications in February 2011. Prior to the system’s release, limited staffing 

and the rising volume of applications had reached a critical point, with the average processing 

time for original permit applications projected to reach 90 days. Since its release, TTB has 

achieved a 15 percent reduction in processing times for the eligible application types, issuing 

original permits to businesses in 48 days compared to 57 days for the same application type 

submitted on paper. The customer response to Permits Online has been extremely positive, with 

nearly 60 percent of permit applicants electing to file electronically.

• In Progress – Formulas Online - TTB released Formulas Online in January 2011, a web-based 

system that members of the alcohol industry can use to draft and submit alcohol product formulas 

for TTB approval. The review of formulations is both critical in terms of applying the 

appropriate tax rate and in terms of properly labeling an alcohol beverage product. This e-Gov 

system also met with customer approval, with more than 500 industry members registering to use 

Formulas Online within the first weeks of operation. Registrations continue to rise and, to date, 

more than 30 percent of formulas are received electronically, saving both the industry and TTB 

time and resources in fulfilling this regulatory requirement. The Bureau reported increases in the 

percent of electronically filed COLA applications, which in FY 2011 reached 88 percent of all 

applications. 

• In Progress – Electronic Benefits Payments - The Financial Management Service have taken 

steps to eliminate paper check payments. By March 1, 2013, federal beneficiaries and retirees 

will receive payments electronically, either through direct deposit into a bank account or 

Treasury’s Direct Express debit card. The elimination of paper checks will provide timely, 

accurate, and efficient disbursement of federal government payments, minimize the costs 

associated with postage and the re-issuance of lost or stolen checks, and protect against fraud and 

identity theft. 

• In Progress – E-file - The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has focused on better ways to do 

business by eliminating paper processes. IRS will continue to encourage more taxpayers to file 

their returns electronically through e-file.

• In Progress – Paperless Statements of Earnings and Leave (SELs) - IRS is eliminating paper 

documents sent to its employees serviced by the National Finance Center (NFC). On February 

22, 2011, NFC converted 60,994 employees to paperless Statements of Earnings and Leave 

(SELs) and is working to convert the remaining 52,000 employees that continue to receive paper 

SELs, which will eliminate 2.8 million paper forms by enhancing its Single Entry Time Reporting 

(SETR) system and by automating its Leave Bank and Leave Transfer Programs.

• In Progress – UNAX electronic certification process - Allows employees to digitally and securely 

confirm completion of the mandated training and eliminates more than 180,000 pieces of paper 

per year. IRS is considering extending this process to their contractors.

• In Progress – Treasury Library Digitization - In support of Treasury’s flagship initiative and in 

the spirit of open government, the Departmental Offices Treasury Library began digitizing over 

two million pages of library documents in July of 2010. The digitized library documents are 

comprised of legislative histories and historical reports and documents that were originally 

published by Treasury. The goal is to make every page both available online and searchable by 

the general public. To accomplish this goal, the Treasury Library is collaborating with Treasury’s 

FOIA office to make all documents available to the public through Treasury’s FOIA reading 

room website located at http://www.treasury.gov/FOIA/Pages/reading_room.aspx. The Library 

digitization efforts came to a halt in fiscal year 2011 due to lack of funding. These efforts will 

resume in fiscal year 2013 pending availability of fiscal year 2013 funding. 
27

• In Progress – Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) Do Not Pay (previously GOVerify) - The Do 

Not Pay business center provides automated tools, including a web-based single entry access 

portal, that federal agencies can use to gain access to an array of data sources to assist in 

determining whether an individual or entity is eligible to receive federal payments or engage in 

federal contracts or grants. This initiative was developed in 2011 and became available to federal 

agencies in January 2012. Do Not Pay will benefit any federal agency that enters into a financial 

transaction with a person. During the pre-award process Do Not pay allows agencies to verify 

benefit program eligibility and ensure contract or grant eligibility. During the pre-payment 

process agencies can re-verify program eligibility for recurring payments and research 

irregularities based on the match results. During the post payment process agencies can utilize 

the Do Not Pay Data Analytics Services to perform analytics, fraud detection and payment 

recaptures. In April 2012, the GoVerify Business Center was renamed "Do Not Pay Business 

Center" to be consistent with the President's memorandum about the "Do Not Pay List" and other 

communications from the White House and OMB that use the Do Not Pay terminology. Within 

one week of the notification about the change to Do Not Pay, BPD changed its website for this 

initiative to donotpay.treas.gov and changed all materials to the new name. To increase 

awareness and participation by government agencies, BPD participated in a Town Hall with 

OMB and held various informational webinars. BPD expanded the donotpay.treas.gov website to

include information about the portal, available data sources, data analytics services, and the 

support services provided by the agency support center. The website also provides resources and 

FAQs and information about the enrollment process. The Do Not Pay Business Center currently 

has 28 unique agency programs enrolled and 54 agency programs in progress. BPD’s 

donotpay.treas.gov home page has had over 50,000 page views since early April and there have 

been over 37,000 downloads of the presentations and user guide for the program. 

• In Progress – BPD Summary Debt Accounting Modernization - The purpose of summary Debt 

Accounting (SDA) modernization project is to increase governance over the debt accounting 

environment to ensure the collection, verification, and dissemination of all debt accounting 

information is accurate, appropriate, flexible and standardized and that more data is available to 

the public. This initiative started October 1, 2010 and is scheduled to be completed by October 1, 

2013. Benefits include: providing real time data retrieval options, increasing collaboration and 

operational integration, improving customer service due to the flexibility of shared service 

solutions, producing 100 percent of daily financial statements within three business days, and 

leveraging best practices and common functions across system users. Scheduled for completion 

by October 1, 2013.

• In Progress – Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Electronic processing for license 

applications pursuant to the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 

(TSRA) - To respond to the increase in the number and complexity of applications submitted to 

OFAC pursuant to TSRA, OFAC is upgrading the technology and remodeling the software 

application logic. This initiative introduces a public-facing electronic license application. 

Benefits include: increasing in the number of applications processed annually, increasing ease of 

use by the public, and moving away from paper based process.

• In Progress – FinCEN Mandatory E-Filing Initiative – Nearly all FinCEN reports must be 

electronically filed (E-Filed) from July 1, 2012. Benefits of e-filing include improved efficiency; 

decreased government and industry costs due to significant reduction in paper flow; and enhanced 

ability of investigators, analysts, and examiners to gain better and more timely access to 

important financial information.

• In Progress – FinCEN Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Information Technology (IT) Modernization - IT 

modernization will improve the efficient capture, dissemination, and proactive/reactive analysis 
28

of FinCEN data, which is critical to assuring the stability of the nation’s financial system. This 

quickens the response to changes in the financial industry and patterns of criminal activity. 

Further benefits will include reducing costs and simplifying stakeholder interaction for filing.
29

IV. Treasury’s Open Government Administrative Efforts

The open government initiative is a major effort to bring together federal agencies, state and local 

agencies, financial institutions, and the business community, to participate in sharing information. These

efforts include:

• Creating technologies that are compatible and improve the flow of information.

• Obtaining resources in the form of funding and human capital to design, test, and put into 

production the equipment required to allow the flow of information across a spectrum of agencies 

or businesses.

• Ensuring that information and data released to the public does not create unintentional exposure 

of personally identifiable information and does not present a national security risk, while ensuring 

that we are able to release as much information as possible.

• Having defined social media usage policies in place for information governance.

• Updating the information technology manual to include accessibility information ensuring that all 

people have access to information posted on websites and social media, including those with 

disabilities.

• Updating Treasury websites to ensure that non-English speaking individuals will be able to access 

information and that the information on the websites is useful to them.

• Establishing a culture of open government and communicating the three principles of open 

government to senior management executives by continuing road shows to all bureaus.

• Continuing to build out and enhance the electronic content management platform so that all 

Department employees can participate and collaborate using records management and other, more 

efficient workflows.
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V. Open Government Plan Version 2.1

Overview

Goals

Treasury’s goals for version 2.0 of the open government plan build on those in version 1.0 to strengthen 

the framework and practices for incorporating open government initiatives into Treasury’s day-to-day 

activities. 

The goals include: 

Goal 1: Continue to increase transparency

Goal 2: Continue to expand participation and collaboration

Goal 3: Continue flagship initiative one: Moving to a Paperless Treasury

Goal 4: Implement Treasury’s new flagship initiative: www.Treasury.gov Accessibility Portal

Treasury continues to receive public feedback via OPEN@do.treas.gov e-mail address and for 60 days 

following the report, will use a public collaboration tool linked from Treasury’s Open Government 

webpage – IdeaScale – for feedback on version 2.0. For programs and activities that require detailed 

feedback, we will utilize additional forms of engagement, including discussions with key stakeholder 

groups, panel discussions, and interactive forums. In an effort to update the current Open Government 

Plan and promote collaboration and participation at Treasury, the Open Government Plan 2.0 version will 

be made available on Treasury’s internal collaboration site for all Treasury employees to provide input 

across the Department. 

Treasury will continue to support and drive open government principles throughout the Department. 

Version 2.0 of Treasury’s Open Government Plan is a renewal of the Open Government commitments. 

This plan will focus on incorporating the open government principles into the daily activities of all 

Treasury employees. Treasury will also strengthen efforts to identify activities that employees are already 

doing in their daily jobs that promote the principles of open government.

Objectives - Goal 1: Continue to Increase Transparency

• Enhance Participation in Data.gov and Increase High-Value Datasets 

Treasury is in compliance with Data.gov requirements. Treasury publishes a minimum of three datasets 

per quarter on Data.gov. In fiscal year 2011, Treasury exceeded this target by publishing 19 new datasets 

on Data.gov. Treasury is aspiring to increase the number of datasets published per quarter.

• Develop a Plan for Future Publication of High-Value Datasets

Treasury has developed a plan to publish future high-value datasets by targeting specific program offices 

to publish its data of ongoing operations on Data.gov.

• Develop a Plan for Future Publication of High-Value Datasets Using API Technology

Treasury developed a plan to publish current and future high-value datasets using API (Application 

Program Interface) in accordance with OMB Guidance on the Digital Strategy. It is developing a timeline 

with action items to implement the digital strategy.

• Continued Publication on Grants.gov

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI is a grant-issuing entity within 

Treasury). CDFI’s mission is to provide grant resources to underserved communities to stimulate 
31

economic growth and to create jobs. Grants are also extended for Native American assistance. CDFI 

announces grants through the Department of Health and Human Services Grant.Gov initiative.

• Continued Publication on USAspending.gov

Treasury published contract and grants information regarding each award, providing the amount, name 

and location of the receiving entity, transaction type, and funding agency.

• Continued Publication on Federal IT Dashboard

Treasury used OMB’s IT Dashboard to allow the public to track the progress of investments. The 

Dashboard (http://it.usaspending.gov/) is a public-facing website to gauge the health of its portfolio. Each 

month, the Office of the Chief Information Officer evaluates the Department’s 49 major investments on 

cost and schedule performance metrics.

Objectives - Goal 2: Continue to Expand Participation and Collaboration

• Enhance feedback tools and practices for public engagement 

Treasury will explore more advanced feedback tools and reviewing existing policies to increase or 

enhance the use of more robust feedback tools and practices.

• Enhance Participation in e-Rulemaking

The Department was an early participant in the e-rulemaking initiative, Regulations.Gov, and has 

numerous proposed and interim rules and other materials posted for public comment and review on that 

site. The Department uses the Federal Register to publish notices on its rulemaking activities. In 

addition, it posts its proposed and final rules to Regulations.Gov, the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. The 

public can review, read, and comment on all the Departments postings on the Portal. 

• Use technology platforms to improve collaboration among people within and outside of the agency 

Treasury implemented the Electronic Content Management (ECM) technology to improve collaboration 

capabilities and functionality within and outside the department.

• Enhance description and links to websites for public participation

Treasury is re-designing the public facing website as well as the internal Treasury collaboration site to 

include more descriptions and links to information regarding participation efforts. 

• Continue Ongoing Training and Education on Principles of Open Government

Continue conducting Open Government Road Shows with the remaining bureaus. Treasury is also 

involved in making the “Open Government and Transparency Awareness” training within Treasury’s 

Learning Management System available to other federal agencies. 

• Multi-Agency FOIA Module

Treasury will be a participating agency within the multi-agency FOIA Module to facilitate the public’s 

submission of FOIA requests to Treasury. This website will replace the previous Treasury only web 

submission page. The new service will also be via web services using a username and password. User 

credentials will be authenticated to Treasury. 

• goFOIA 2.0 Launch

Treasury will be launching its internal goFOIA 2.0 system on October 1, 2012. goFOIA 2.0 will include 

an enhanced process for managing FOIA requests and improved internal reporting capabilities to support 

Treasury’s effort to continue to reduce cycle time for responding to FOIA requests. Treasury will 

continue to make improvements to our process for managing FOIA requests. 
32

Objectives - Goal 3: Continue Flagship Initiative One – Moving to a Paperless Treasury

• Identify additional paper-based processes for conversion to electronic workflows

Treasury will utilize the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) review process to identify suitable 

candidates for conversion from paper-based to electronic workflows.

• Continue to track progress of previously identified paperless efforts

The Paperless initiative is designed to improve the public's experience interacting with Treasury while 

effecting operational efficiencies of several key Treasury activities. These activities range from 

disbursement and collection of select federal government payments and receipts, to improving electronic 

tax return filing capabilities. The desired outcome of paperless disbursement and collection activities are 

cost savings/avoidance for the government and improved flexibility and response to customers. Treasury 

currently monitors the progress of multiple paperless and electronic service delivery efforts across the 

department.

Objectives - Goal 4: Implement Treasury’s New Flagship Initiative: Treasury.gov Accessibility Portal

• Create a one-stop portal for both language and disability accessibility for Treasury information

Treasury has outlined a two-year plan for implementing the accessibility portal as described later in this 

Plan.

Open Government Leadership and Governance

The Senior Agency Official for implementing the Open Government Directive continues to provide 

leadership and direction of the open government efforts Treasury-wide. The senior official continues to 

chair the Open Government Steering Committee, which has oversight over the various open government 

subcommittees, including Open Government Communications, Data and Information Identification 

Integrity and Partnerships, and the Policy and Guidance subcommittees. 

Revised Governance Structure

In version 1.0 of the Open 

Government Plan, six subcommittees 

were formed to oversee specific lines 

of activities for the Department. 

These subcommittees report progress 

on open government actions to the 

Treasury-Wide Open Government 

Steering Committee. In this new

version of the plan, these 

subcommittees have been reduced 

from six to three (Figure 17) to 

combine functions and strengthen 

open government efforts. 

Open Government 

Communications

This subcommittee enhances and 

implements a Treasury-wide strategy and network for both disseminating and receiving key information 

pertaining to Treasury’s implementation of the Open Government Directive activities, elicits innovative 

ideas for promoting openness and transparency, and provides status reports on progress. Through 

outreach, education, and engagement, the subcommittee ensures that Treasury employees at every level 

Figure 17
33

incorporate transparency, accountability, public participation, and collaboration into their daily work. 

This subcommittee identifies necessary tools to enable collaboration and participation; and it also 

formalizes the process for accepting input, providing data review, and approving website content.

Data and Information Identification, Integrity, and Partnerships

This subcommittee continues to identify information to make available to the public, as well as

opportunities for partnerships with other agencies to provide and create complementary datasets to

promote efficiency. They have implemented an effective internal control and review process of 

information and datasets to be made public to ensure the accuracy, timeliness, and usefulness of this data, 

including proper review for privacy and disclosure compliance before release by following the 

requirements outlined in Treasury’s Data Quality Plan and Checklist for submitting datasets to Data.gov. 

These documents are currently being revised to incorporate the requirements of the new digital strategy. 

Policy and Guidance

This subcommittee identifies current policies impacted, as well as new policies needed, to support and 

enable transparency, collaboration, and participation activities in support of the Open Government 

Directive. This subcommittee will also update the Open Government Plan every two years at a minimum. 

Performance Measures and Accountability

Treasury’s Open Government performance measures remain the same as they were in Open Government 

Plan 1.0, but the targets have been updated:

• Increase the number of datasets released per quarter by 2 beginning in July 2012

• Identify stakeholder outreach efforts by December 30, 2012

• Reduce in FOIA backlog by 30 percent by December 30, 2012

• Identify cost savings resulting from open government initiatives by December 30, 2012

Tracking, reporting, and accountability will be monitored closely via the Open Government Tracking 

Matrix and the Open Government Steering Committee meetings. Results will be reported monthly in 

those meetings via the assigned subcommittees responsible for reporting the required information.

Participation in United States National Action Plan Initiatives

Treasury will be involved in several projects stemming from President Obama’s National Action Plan for 

Open Government (National Action Plan), including the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative 

(EITI), the Smart Disclosure New Initiative, and the Foreign Assistance Dashboard. 

Modernize Management of Government Records

The senior official for open government has also been designated as the senior agency official for 

implementing the records management initiative in support of the President’s memorandum dated 

November 28, 2011, Managing Government Records, which mandates agency-wide review of current 

records management practices. This effort also builds on Executive Order 13589 of November 9, 2011 

(Promoting Efficient Spending), which directed agencies to reduce spending and focus on mission critical 

functions. Having the same senior official managing both of these important efforts provides increased 

opportunities to ensure effective records management practices enhance Treasury’s transparency.
34

The SAO sponsors the Department’s Records and Information Management Month (RIMM)3 activities 

every April and provides a broad range of Treasury-wide training and education sessions to increase 

employee understanding of the full information management life cycle, including records management, 

disclosure, and transparency. Managing records effectively and efficiently facilitates the completion of 

Treasury’s work, preserves official agency records, and ensures access to Treasury information. Previous 

RIMM events were successful in providing education and awareness to over 2100 Treasury and other 

Federal government employees. This year’s event is entitled “Records Modernization: Reducing Our 

Carbon Footprint,” and is designed for participants to learn about the objectives as outlined in the 

Presidential Memorandum.

In summer 2011, the Office of Privacy, Transparency, and Records conducted a triennial assessment of 

Treasury bureau records management programs. These assessments will be used to identify gaps between 

practices and generally accepted recordkeeping principles, assess risks based on identified gaps, 

determine whether additional information or analysis is necessary, develop priorities, and assign 

accountability for further program development.

Continue to Improve Freedom of Information Act Administration

Treasury launched goFOIA 1.0, its case and document management system, in spring 2011. In fall 2012, 

goFOIA 2.0 will be released. It will include an enhanced process for managing FOIA requests and 

improved internal reporting capabilities. Treasury will continue to make improvements to our process for 

managing FOIA requests. Additionally, Treasury will utilize the FOIA Module, a multi-agency FOIA 

tracking and processing tool, for citizens’ online submissions in fall 2012. Treasury also continues 

working to include a FOIA virtual library with enhanced search capability and links to the Treasury 

Library’s digitized information collection. 

Increase Transparency of Legal Entities Formed in the U.S. 

Efforts to promote access to the beneficial ownership information of legal entities is one key element of 

Treasury’s strategy to enhance financial transparency in order to strengthen efforts to combat financial 

crime, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax evasion. To that end, in March 2012, 

FinCEN issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit public comment on a 

wide range of issues related to the possible application of an explicit Customer Due Diligence (CDD) 

obligation for financial institutions, including a requirement to collect the beneficial ownership 

information of their accountholders. 

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

Consistent with the requirements stated in the National Action Plan, Treasury will collaborate with the 

Department of the Interior and other federal agencies to work with industry and citizens to develop a 

sensible plan for disclosing relevant information and enhance the accountability and transparency of 

revenue collection efforts.

Foreign Assistance Dashboard New Initiative 

As part of the National Action Plan for providing greater transparency of foreign aid, Treasury is 

collaborating with the Department of State and USAID in order to produce datasets to communicate 

 

3 RIMM is an international event that has been put on for the last several years by federal agencies and 

internationally to emphasize the impact that records and information have on organizations. It is designed to 

highlight the value and importance of organizing and maintaining records in any format – paper, electronic, 

microfilm, magnetic, and audiovisual – for the efficient and effective management of any organization.
35

information to the public about international aid. Foreign aid transparency empowers citizens to hold 

their government accountable for the use of foreign assistance funding. Agencies will be responsible for 

providing timely and detailed datasets regarding budgets, disbursements, and project implementation. 

The data will be released in an open platform and made available on a central portal known as the Foreign 

Assistance Dashboard. Treasury anticipates providing a link to the Foreign Assistance Dashboard from 

Treasury’s public facing Open Government web page. 

Smart Disclosure New Initiative

Treasury is currently participating in an interagency task force on “Smart Disclosure” in support of the

National Action Plan and to comply with OMB guidance on disclosing data to the public to encourage 

informed decision-making in areas such as searching for insurance options for an individual’s specific 

needs. Over the next year, Treasury will work to provide standardized data in machine-readable formats 

that enable consumers to make informed decisions. Several Treasury employees attended a conference on 

Smart Disclosure to learn about ways to further this initiative.

Flagship Initiative: Treasury.gov Accessibility Portal

Treasury’s objective is to create a one-stop portal that will provide both language accessibility and 

disability accessibility for public facing Treasury information. The language disability portion will have 

different language interpretations for the Limited English speaking individuals to access information from 

Treasury’s website. The site will contain information regarding access to low-vision IRS forms (with a 

link), information about the money readers for the blind, and information about how to request an 

interpreter when visiting an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center. The initiative will result in improved 

access to Treasury’s information by Limited English proficient (LEP) individuals and persons with 

disabilities by providing a one-point access portal.

Transparency: This initiative will increase transparency by providing additional access to LEP 

individuals and persons with disabilities who otherwise will have problems accessing the information. As 

part of the initiative Treasury will determine the information of interest to the key groups and make it 

available on the portal. Relevant information will be published in appropriate languages and in accessible 

formats.

Participation: This initiative addresses participation by ensuring that LEP individuals and persons with 

disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in Treasury’s open initiative. The initiative will result 

in an increase of the availability of information in accessible formats and languages. The portal will 

provide a contact e-mail address to a dedicated mailbox, to ensure LEP individuals and persons with 

disabilities have the ability to contribute ideas and comments about the initiative and Treasury’s programs 

and services.

Collaboration: This initiative will address improving collaboration between Treasury and the public by 

providing LEP individuals and persons with disabilities with an accessible way to provide feedback to the 

agency about the information available, and the types of information relevant to them. 

Performance Measurement for New Flagship Initiative

Treasury will track the progress toward completion according to the following timelines:

First Year

Phase 1 – Began February 14, 2012 - Determine vision and mission of this initiative and conduct 

inventory of current language and accessibility information available from all Treasury bureaus –

projected timeline 60 days – to be completed by April 15, 2012. The vision and mission of this initiative 
36

were determined in February 2012. In April 2012, Treasury completed an inventory of current language 

and accessibility information needed for the accessibility team to meet and discuss portal design options. 

Phase 2 – Began March 1, 2012 - Determine additional information that needs to be available to the key 

groups (limited English proficient (LEP) individuals and persons with disabilities) – 90 days – to be 

completed by June 3, 2012.

Phase 3 – Began February 29, 2012 - Develop additional content. Content will be offered in alternative 

accessible formats and in Spanish – 120 days – to be completed by September 30, 2012. Translation of 

content to Spanish is underway. 

Phase 4 – Beginning July 29, 2012 - Design web portal – 90 days – to be completed by October 30, 2012

Second Year

Phase 5 – Beginning September 30, 2012 - Determine and develop structure to regularly maintain and 

review content – 90 days – to be completed by December 30, 2012.

Phase 6 – Beginning February 1, 2013 - Develop solutions to make existing content available in the top 

five LEP languages – 150 days (June 30, 2013).

New Initiatives

Enhanced FOIA Library

After analysis, design, and update of the existing FOIA Reading Room powered by Share Point, an

enhanced FOIA online library went into production January 2012. The Department can generate usage 

metrics for on-demand and periodic reporting to management in an effort to identify high value document 

sets. The design facilitates access in an independent open standard, FOIA records in a publicly available 

information exchange reading room which readers can access and search for recent releases by the 

agency. 

Enhancements include public search and easy download of FOIA documents via the web. The 

Department of the Treasury can generate usage metrics for on-demand and periodic reporting to 

management in an effort to identify high-value data sets. The new design facilitates access to an 

independent open standard, FOIA records in a publicly available information exchange (reading room) 

which readers can access and search for recent releases by the agency. 

Library Materials Online

Treasury’s library has been making progress on the digitization project of key items from their collection 

and has been able to make some of their print materials available online for public access. The 

Statements of the Public Debt are now available online in a text searchable format starting with the year 

1869 through the present at http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/mspd/mspd.htm. Future 

releases of information will include legislative histories and the historical exchange rates. The library is 

developing a public facing portal to be launched by summer 2012.

Office of Financial Research (OFR) 

The OFR’s mission is to serve the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), FSOC member 

agencies, and the public by improving the quality, transparency, and accessibility of financial data and 

information, by conducting and sponsoring research related to financial stability, and by promoting best 

practices in risk management. 
37

In the spirit of open government, OFR will provide the public with key data and analysis, while protecting 

sensitive information.

The OFR continues to expand its Working Paper Series, available on its website, which offers an 

opportunity to disseminate preliminary research findings in a format intended to generate discussion and 

critical comments. The goal is to inform and improve the quality of the analysis conducted by the OFR. 

Customer Service Plan New Initiatives

As part of its mission managing the U.S. Government’s finances, the Department of the Treasury serves 

millions of customers. As required by Executive Order 13571 on Streamlining Service Delivery and 

Improving Customer Service, the Department has developed this plan, which identifies specific actions 

and initiatives which will further advance Treasury’s customer service over the next year, focusing on one 

signature initiative and three key service areas. Treasury strives to be a citizen-centered organization and 

serve customers in the most efficient, expedient, and convenient manner possible.

Electronic transcript Delivery Application on IRS.gov

This initiative enables a taxpayer to securely send a transcript to an authorized third party from an online 

application on IRS.gov. As a result of this effort, taxpayers will gain access to their tax records with 

greater efficiency and decreased burden. 

Participation: Third parties such as banks, credit unions and other financial institutions have been 

integral partners in the planning and development of this service. Once the service is deployed, third 

parties will be able to introduce better processes that serve their end customers with easier access to 

Agency services.

Collaboration: Treasury will maintain a dialogue with stakeholders through discussions, webinars, 

electronic communications, and other public forums. Treasury will be collaborating directly with 

mortgage lenders, banking associations and Income Verification Express Services (IVES) vendors to 

iteratively add functionality.

Electronic Payments to Beneficiaries – Financial Management Service

The Financial Management Service (FMS) is supporting the effort by fostering a prudent use of taxpayer 

resources by providing timely, accurate, and efficient disbursements of federal payments. FMS is 

working to pay federal beneficiaries electronically rather than via paper checks. This is called the 

GoDirect campaign.

Participation: FMS will foster participation by working with the federal beneficiaries to ensure they have 

accounts set-up and understand how to convert from paper checks to electronic payments.

Collaboration: FMS will continue nationwide GoDirect campaign to convert current check recipients to 

direct deposit. Additionally, FMS will enable the GoDirect call center to process both direct deposit and 

Direct Express enrollments via a single toll free telephone number or a single website and expand the 

Direct Express card to multiple benefit payment types. 

Video Communications Technology as a Service Delivery Alternative – IRS

The IRS will test the use of video communications technology to provide a service delivery alternative 

outside of IRS facilities. This service will increases access to face-to-face service where it is currently 

unavailable and improve the timely delivery of services and case resolution for taxpayers.
38

Participation: The IRS will deploy the video communications technology to a segment of the taxpaying 

population who has become accustomed to an in-person channel of service. This will test the viability of 

interacting with taxpayers in a virtual environment.

Collaboration: The video communications technology will be deployed in more than a dozen customerfacing locations where taxpayers can walk-in to receive services. The customer facing locations will be 

supported by 27 locations where IRS employees will deliver services. This will leverage established 

partner sites as an alternate service delivery location. It will establish a virtual presence in geographic 

areas with no staff or few staff. It will also supplement with virtual service delivery option at sites that 

are understaffed and sites that have high taxpayer traffic.

On-Going Activities – 2011-2014

The open government team is continuing to leverage the existing networks within Treasury to enhance the 

communication of Treasury's open government values and efforts, such as the various executive councils 

(e.g., CIO, CFO, Privacy, FOIA, and Human Capital Councils), and intra-agency work committees. 

Through these collaboration efforts within the Department, Treasury effectively combines available 

resources to present a uniform effort toward open government.

Various bureaus already have taken the initiative to use technology to promote open government goals. 

The chart below highlights some of Treasury’s Bureau specific new innovative projects. 

Grants.gov

The Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund will continue to 

publish grant opportunities at this link: 

http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=9JycPh8GHd35hgLfDYcYZKb4Pxc3xLS2QzhhJb

8G6pYDs1WLC9dt!-408580364. This link provides search capabilities for Treasury grant opportunities. 

Figure 18 includes some of the opportunities that exist for Treasury on the Grants.gov website for 

FY2012 to date.

Open Date Opportunity Title Agency Funding Number

11/14/2011 FY 2012 Native American CDFI 

Assistance Program 

CDFI CDFI-2012-NACA 

11/03/2011 FY 2012 CDFI Program - Financial 

Assistance & Technical Assistance 

Awards 

CDFI CDFI-2012-FATA 

Data.gov

During FY 2011, the Department of the Treasury submitted 19 datasets to Data.gov. Treasury exceeded 

its goal to submit three datasets per quarter to Data.gov. Treasury has already submitted seven datasets to 

Data.gov in the first two quarters of FY 2012. Figure 19 lists the datasets submitted in FY 2012 to date.

FY2012 Treasury Dataset Status

Bureau Dataset Status Qtr Qtr Total

FMS Treasury Daily Statement Posted to 

Data.gov

1 1

FMS Monthly Treasury Statement Posted to 

Data.gov

1 1

FMS Combined Statements of Outlays, Receipts and Balances Posted to 

Data.gov

1 1

Total for Quarter 1 3

Figure 19

Figure 18
39

FY2012 Treasury Dataset Status

FINCEN Mortgage Fraud Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Data Tables 

by Urban Area

Posted to 

Data.gov

2 1

FINCEN Mortgage Fraud Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Data Tables 

by County

Posted to 

Data.gov

2 1

FINCEN Mortgage Fraud Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Data Tables 

by State

Posted to 

Data.gov

2 1

TTB Listings of alcohol industry members who hold permits under 

the Federal Alcohol Administration Act

Posted to 

Data.gov

2 1

Total for Quarter 2 4

IRS2Go 

IRS2Go is a smartphone application that lets individuals interact with the IRS using mobile devices. This 

mobile application provides a convenient way of checking the status of federal refund status and getting 

easy-to-understand tax tips. Several new tools for IRS2Go are scheduled this filing season. They include 

You Tube videos and IRS latest news. Completion Date: February 2012

Exempt Organizations Select Check (New)

Exempt Organizations Select Check is an online search tool that allows users to select an exempt 

organization and check certain information about its federal tax status and filings. It consolidates three 

former search sites into one, providing expanded search capability and a more efficient way to search for 

organizations that:

• Are eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions (Publication 78 data), 

• Have had their tax-exempt status automatically revoked because they have not filed Form 990 series 

returns or notices annually as required for three consecutive years (Auto-Revocation List), or

• Have filed a Form 990-N annual electronic notice (e-Postcard). 

Completion Date: January 2012.

IRS.gov – Improved Search capability

IRS plans to implement a new search capability for the public facing website, IRS.gov. At the core will 

be an enhanced search appliance, which will rely on greater use of tags within the content to deliver better 

search results. The new search will feature auto-correct capability to address potential typos. In addition, 

IRS will be able to have more control over the tool's configuration to perpetually improve search 

functionality. Visitors will be able to refine their searches, making it easier to find information. 

Projected Completion Date: January 2013.

IRS AFOIA (New)

The new IRS AFOIA system has the capability to respond to FOIA requests in paperless formats. IRS 

currently responds to FOIA requests on CDs or flash drives when the requester is willing to accept it in 

that format. The IRS Information Technology function is moving toward the point where it could 

potentially provide secure email FOIA responses.

Projected Completion Date: September 2014. 
40

Treasury Success Stories for Bureau Specific Activities and Flagship Initiative “Moving to a 

Paperless Treasury”

Please refer to appendix D to view Treasury Success Stories. 

VI. Conclusion

The Department of the Treasury enthusiastically supports open government. The Department 

successfully increased its transparency, participation, and collaboration with the public through the 

initiatives laid out in Open Government Plan 1.0. Open Government Plan 2.0 builds on the achievements 

of 1.0 by presenting innovative methods to increase public accessibility and participation, while 

simultaneously improving the security of sensitive information. Open Government Plan 2.1 provides an 

update on Treasury’s open government commitments, flagship initiatives, and other on-going efforts in 

the areas of transparency, participation, and collaboration. The Department will continue to harness new 

ideas and technologies to improve the quality of information it provides to the public and actively engage 

the people it serves in its everyday operations.
41

Appendices
42

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43

Appendix A: Treasury Bureaus

The Treasury Bureaus make up 98 percent of the Treasury work force and are responsible for carrying out 

specific operations assigned to the Department.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is responsible for enforcing 

and administering laws covering the production, use, and distribution of alcohol and 

tobacco products. TTB also collects excise taxes for firearms and ammunition.

The Bureau of Engraving & Printing (BEP) designs and manufactures U.S. currency, 

securities, and other official certificates and awards.

The Bureau of the Public Debt borrows the money needed to operate the Federal 

Government. It administers the public debt by issuing and servicing U.S. Treasury 

marketable, savings and special securities. It also provides reimbursable support 

services to other government agencies through its Administrative Resource Center.

The Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund was created to 

expand the availability of credit, investment capital, and financial services in distressed 

urban and rural communities.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) supports law enforcement 

investigative efforts and fosters interagency and global cooperation against domestic 

and international financial crimes. It also provides U.S. policy makers with strategic 

analyses of domestic and worldwide trends and patterns.

The Financial Management Service (FMS) receives and disburses all public monies, 

maintains government accounts, and prepares daily and monthly reports on the status 

of government finances.

The Inspector General conducts independent audits, investigations and reviews to help 

the Treasury Department accomplish its mission; improve its programs and operations; 

promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness; and prevent and detect fraud and 

abuse.
44

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) provides leadership 

and coordination and recommends policy for activities designed to promote economy, 

efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of the internal revenue laws. TIGTA 

also recommends policies to prevent and detect fraud and abuse in the programs and 

operations of the IRS and related entities.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the largest of Treasury's bureaus. It is 

responsible for determining, assessing, and collecting internal revenue in the United 

States.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) charters, regulates, and 

supervises national banks to ensure a safe, sound, and competitive banking system that 

supports the citizens, communities, and economy of the United States. In July of 2011, 

the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) was merged with OCC. The OCC now perform 

the functions previously handled by OTS such as: regulating federal and statechartered thrift institutions, including savings banks and savings and loans associations. 

The U.S. Mint designs and manufactures domestic, bullion and foreign coins as well as 

commemorative medals and other numismatic items. The Mint also distributes U.S. 

coins to the Federal Reserve banks as well as maintains physical custody and protection 

of the nation's silver and gold assets.
45

Appendix B: Updated List of Treasury Datasets on Data.gov’s Raw Data Catalog

Number Title Treasury Office or 

Bureau

1. Bureau of Engraving and Printing 1980-2010 Annual Production 

Report

Bureau of Engraving 

and Printing

2. Debt Position and Activity Report Bureau of the Public 

Debt

3. Federal Borrowings Program Reports: Detail Principal and Accrued 

Balances and Summary General Ledger Balances

Bureau of the Public 

Debt

4. Interest Cost on the Debt Outstanding Bureau of the Public 

Debt

5. Monthly Statement of the Public Debt Bureau of the Public 

Debt

6. Trust Fund Financial Reports Bureau of the Public 

Debt

7. Marketable securities and savings bonds issued in TreasuryDirect Bureau of the Public 

Debt

8. Marketable securities and savings bonds issued in TreasuryDirect Bureau of the Public 

Debt

9. Savings Bond Issues, Redemptions, and Maturities by Series Bureau of the Public 

Debt

10. SAR Activity Review - By the Numbers (Issue 15) Financial Crimes 

Enforcement Network

11. Tax Year 2007 County Income Data Internal Revenue 

Service

12. 2007-2008 County-to-County Migration Inflow Internal Revenue 

Service

13. 2007-2008 County-to-County Migration Outflow Internal Revenue 

Service

14. 2007-2008 State-to-State Migration Inflow Internal Revenue 

Service

15. 2007-2008 State-to-State Migration Outflow Internal Revenue 

Service

16. Tax Year 1992 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

17. Tax Year 1992 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

18. Tax Year 1993 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

19. Tax Year 1993 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

20. Tax Year 1994 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

21. Tax Year 1994 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

22. Tax Year 1995 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

23. Tax Year 1995 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

24. Tax Year 1996 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

25. Tax Year 1996 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service
46

Number Title Treasury Office or 

Bureau

26. Tax Year 1997 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

27. Tax Year 1997 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

28. Tax Year 1998 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

29. Tax Year 1998 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

30. Tax Year 1999 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

31. Tax Year 1999 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

32. Tax Year 2000 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue

Service

33. Tax Year 2000 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

34. Tax Year 2001 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

35. Tax Year 2001 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

36. Tax Year 2002 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

37. Tax Year 2002 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

38. Tax Year 2003 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

39. Tax Year 2003 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

40. Tax Year 2004 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

41. Tax Year 2004 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

42. Tax Year 2005 Private Foundations Study Internal Revenue 

Service

43. Quarterly Report on Bank Derivatives Activities Treasury Departmental 

Offices

44. TARP Transactions Report, Capital Purchase Program (Investments) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

45. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Bills Rates (2002) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

46. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Bills Rates (2003) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

47. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Bills Rates (2004) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

48. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Bills Rates (2005) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

49. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Bills Rates (2006) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

50. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Bills Rates (2007) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

51. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Bills Rates (2008) Treasury Departmental 

Offices
47

Number Title Treasury Office or 

Bureau

52. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Bills Rates (Current month) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

53. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Bills Rates (Current year) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

54. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Long-Term Rates (2000 -

Current year)

Treasury Departmental 

Offices

55. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Long-Term Rates (Current 

month)

Treasury Departmental 

Offices

56. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Real Long Term Rates (2003 

- Current Year)

Treasury Departmental 

Offices

57. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Real Long Term Rates 

(Current month)

Treasury Departmental 

Offices

58. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Real Yield Curve Rates 

(2003 - Current year)

Treasury Departmental 

Offices

59. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Real Yield Curve Rates 

(Current month)

Treasury Departmental 

Offices

60. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (1990) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

61. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (1991) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

62. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (1992) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

63. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (1993) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

64. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (1994) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

65. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (1995) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

66. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (1996) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

67. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (1997) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

68. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (1998) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

69. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (1999) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

70. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (2000) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

71. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (2001) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

72. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (2002) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

73. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (2003) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

74. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (2004) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

75. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (2005) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

76. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (2006) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

77. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (2007) Treasury Departmental 

Offices
48

Number Title Treasury Office or 

Bureau

78. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (2008) Treasury Departmental 

Offices

79. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (Current 

month)

Treasury Departmental 

Offices

80. Interest Rate Statistics - Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates (Current 

year)

Treasury Departmental 

Offices

81. Treasury Recovery Act Data (September 2010 Treasury Departmental 

Offices

82. Mortgage Fraud Suspicious Activity (SAR) Data by County FinCEN

83. Mortgage Fraud Suspicious Activity (SAR) Data by State FinCEN

84. Mortgage Fraud Suspicious Activity (SAR) Data by Urban Area FinCEN
49

Appendix C: Updated List of Treasury Datasets on Data.gov’s Raw Tools Catalog

Number Title Subagency

1. Average Interest Rate for Treasury Securities Bureau of the Public 

Debt

2. Combined Statement of Receipts, Outlays and Balances Financial Management 

Service

3. Daily Treasury Statement (DTS) Financial Management 

Service

4. Financial Report (FR) of the United States Government Financial Management 

Service

5. FinCEN Enforcement Actions for Violations of the Bank Secrecy Act FinCEN

6. Individual Income and Tax Statistics, 1916-2005 Internal Revenue 

Service

7. Internal Revenue Collections by Type of Tax and State Internal Revenue 

Service

8. List of Permittees Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax 

and Trade Bureau

9. Monthly Treasury Statement (MTS) Financial Management 

Service

10. Title XII Advance Activities Schedule Bureau of the Public 

Debt

11. U.S. Treasury-Owned Gold Financial Management 

Service

12. IRS Actions on Decisions Internal Revenue 

Service

13. IRS General Counsel Memoranda Internal Revenue 

Service

14. IRS Internal Revenue Bulletin Internal Revenue 

Service

15. IRS Private Letter Rulings and Technical Advice Memoranda Internal Revenue 

Service

16. IRS Written Determinations Internal Revenue 

Service

17. Record Setting Auction Data Bureau of the Public 

Debt

18. Tax Year 2005 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

19. Tax Year 2006 SOI Exempt Organization Study Internal Revenue 

Service

20. Tax Year 2006 SOI Private Foundation Study Internal Revenue 

Service

21. Treasury Securities Auction Results Bureau of the Public 

Debt
50

Appendix D: Treasury Success Stories

Agency: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

Issue area or challenge: Paper forms that financial institutions file with FinCEN are costly to the institutions 

and to the U.S. government, and thus, costly to the taxpayer. Paper forms also take 

much longer than electronic forms to be accessible to law enforcement agencies for 

their use in investigations. 

Open Gov initiative (name 

only):

FinCEN’s Bank Secrecy Act Electronic Filing System (BSA E-Filing)

Open Gov Initiative 

description:

Several years ago, FinCEN initiated a phased approach to directly encourage 

financial institutions that must file FinCEN reports to use FinCEN's electronic filing 

system in lieu of submitting paper reports. BSA E-Filing is a free, Web-based 

system that allows financial institutions to file FinCEN reports electronically. 

FinCEN is continually enhancing its E-Filing system to ensure data quality. E-Filing 

supports Treasury’s flagship initiative of moving toward a paperless Treasury. 

Accomplishment/result 

(Narrative - What does 

this actually mean for the 

public and your 

stakeholders? What can 

they do or how does your 

agency serve them better 

as a result of the 

initiative?):

This initiative positively impacts the public by reducing government and industry 

costs to produce paper forms. It also improves efficiency and enhances the ability of 

investigators, analysts, and examiners to gain better and more timely access to 

important financial information. 

Accomplishment/result 

(Quantifiable metrics if 

applicable):

As of April 2012, 89 percent of the reports that FinCEN received under its 

regulations were E-Filed. This is a 6 percent increase since the conclusion of fiscal 

year 2011, at which time 83 percent of FinCEN forms were E-Filed. Each year, 

financial institutions and certain individuals file more than 15 million reports with 

FinCEN. 
51

What's next? (What are 

the planned next steps or 

continued development of 

the initiative? If only 

implementation is planned, 

then describe how the 

initiative will be 

sustained.)

In September 2011, FinCEN proposed that all FinCEN reports, with some extensions 

and exemptions allowed, be electronically filed after June 30, 2012. In February 

2012, FinCEN reaffirmed this requirement with the publication of a final notice in 

the Federal Register. As part of its overall technology improvement efforts, 

FinCEN also is developing new universal suspicious activity and currency 

transaction reports to replace the current industry specific reports. 
52

Agency: Bureau of the Public Debt

Issue area or challenge: Continue to make it easier for the public to purchase Treasury securities directly from 

Treasury using the TreasuryDirect application. Also communicate with a broader 

audience using the website, Twitter, and YouTube.

Open Gov initiative 

(name only):

Increase participation in TreasuryDirect

Open Gov Initiative 

description:

Conduct outreach to key segments of the public via a number of other means 

regarding information they would like Treasury to make publicly available. Increase 

public participation in funding the federal government through the sale of Treasury 

securities in TreasuryDirect. Public Debt has ended over-the-counter (OTC) sales of 

paper savings bonds at financial institutions. This is in support of Treasury's Flagship 

Initiative "Moving to a Paperless Treasury" announced in April 2010 in Treasury's 

first version of its Open Government Plan. As part of the initiative, Treasury stopped 

the sale of paper bonds through traditional payroll plans, effective December 31, 

2010. It is estimated that ending the sales of paper payroll and new issues of OTC 

bonds will save a total of $120 million over the next five years in areas such as 

printing, mailing, storing bond stock, and fees paid to financial institutions for 

processing bond applications.

Accomplishment/result 

(Narrative - What does 

this actually mean for the 

public and your 

stakeholders? What can 

they do or how does your 

agency serve them better 

as a result of the 

initiative?):

BPD has launched a public education campaign entitled “Ready.Save.Grow.” to help 

people save money using Treasury securities and take control of their future. A major 

part of the campaign was the launch on March 27, 2012, of a microsite off of the main 

TreasuryDirect.gov website, www.treasurydirect.gov/readysavegrow. The microsite 

has information about Treasury savings options and helpful resources such as tip 

sheets on how to open a TreasuryDirect account, how to buy gift savings bonds in 

TreasuryDirect, how to convert paper savings bonds to digital bonds in 

TreasuryDirect, and how to use payroll direct deposit to save with Treasury securities. 

In addition to the tip sheets, Public Debt has worked with the Federal Reserve Bank 

of Minneapolis to develop demos on how to login to TreasuryDirect and how to buy a 

gift savings bond in TreasuryDirect. BPD is also planning to develop how-to videos 

to be posted on its website and on YouTube. The Ready.Save.Grow. campaign also 

has a Twitter account to promote Treasury savings options and to link to resources on 

the microsite. In addition to the Ready.Save.Grow Twitter account, Public Debt

maintains a Twitter account for tweets about auction announcements and results, the 

Daily Debt Schedule, the latest debt to the penny, the Monthly Statement of the 

Public Debt, record setting auction data, monthly and quarterly interest rate data, and 

other information from BPD’s main websites.

Accomplishment/result 

(Quantifiable metrics if 

applicable):

Both active TreasuryDirect accounts and accounts that are funded have increased in 

April 2012 compared with April 2011. New TreasuryDirect accounts increased from 

21,883 in January through March 2011 to 154,941 in January-March 2012. Page 

views for www.treasurydirect.gov increased from 252,049 in the January-March 2011 

time period to 501,123 in January - March 2012.
53

What's next? (What are 

the planned next steps or 

continued development of 

the initiative? If only 

implementation is 

planned, then describe 

how the initiative will be 

sustained.)

Public Debt will continue to develop how-to videos, demos, and tip sheets to help 

customers use TreasuryDirect. A Facebook page for the Ready.Save.Grow. campaign 

will be launched in the fall of 2012, which will include ways to engage the public by 

sharing savings stories, developing contests on savings themes, and similar initiatives.
54

Agency: Bureau of the Public Debt

Issue area or challenge: Increase awareness of the Do Not Pay Business Center solution for use by federal, 

state, and local governments to prevent, reduce, and stop improper payments. 

Identify and mitigate fraud, waste, and abuse.

Open Gov initiative (name 

only):

Do Not Pay (formerly GOVerify)

Open Gov Initiative 

description:

The Do Not Pay Business Center provides automated tools, including a web-based 

single entry access portal that federal agencies can use to gain access to an array of 

data sources to assist in determining whether an individual or entity is eligible to 

receive federal payments or engage in federal contracts or grants. During the preaward process, Do Not Pay allows agencies to verify benefit program eligibility and 

to ensure contract or grant eligibility. During the pre-payment process agencies can 

re-verify program eligibility for recurring payments and research irregularities based 

on the match results. During the post-payment process, agencies can utilize the Do 

Not Pay Data Analytics Services to perform analysis, fraud detection and payment 

recaptures.

Accomplishment/result 

(Narrative - What does 

this actually mean for the 

public and your 

stakeholders? What can 

they do or how does your 

agency serve them better 

as a result of the 

initiative?):

In March 2012, the GoVerify Business Center was renamed "Do Not Pay Business 

Center" to be consistent with the President's memorandum about the "Do Not Pay 

List" and other communications from the White House and OMB that use the Do 

Not Pay terminology. Within one week of the notification about the change to Do 

Not Pay, Public Debt changed its website for this initiative to donotpay.treas.gov and 

changed all materials to the new name. To increase awareness and participation by 

government agencies, Public Debt held an informational webinar, participated in a 

Town Hall with OMB, as well as a presentation by the Joint Financial Management 

Improvement Program. The donotpay.treas.gov website has been expanded to 

include information about the portal, available data sources, data analytics services 

and the support services provided by the agency support center. The website also 

provides resources and FAQs and information about the enrollment process. 

Accomplishment/result 

(Quantifiable metrics if 

applicable):

The Do Not Pay Business Center has enrolled nine major agencies and expects to 

bring another 8 agencies on in the near future. Also, the donotpay.treas.gov home 

page has had over 20,000 page views since early April and there have been over 

5,000 downloads of the presentations and user guide for the program.

What's next? (What are 

the planned next steps or 

continued development of 

the initiative? If only 

implementation is planned, 

then describe how the 

initiative will be 

sustained.)

The Do Not Pay Business Center is reaching out to new agencies every week. Also, 

Public Debt is working with the Federal Reserve Bank and its contractor to improve 

the messaging and develop outreach materials, as well as improve the website.
55

Agency: Internal Revenue Service

Issue area or challenge: IRS2go is a smart phone app that reflects our commitment to modernizing the agency 

and engaging taxpayers where they want and when they want it.

Open Gov initiative 

(name only):

IRS2Go mobile app

Open Gov Initiative 

description:

As technology evolves and younger taxpayers get their information in new ways, the 

IRS will keep innovating to make it easy for all taxpayers to access helpful 

information. The IRS2Go phone app gives people a convenient way of checking on 

their federal refund. It also gives people a quick way of obtaining easy-to-understand 

tax tips.

Accomplishment/result 

(Narrative - What does 

this actually mean for the 

public and your 

stakeholders? What can 

they do or how does your 

agency serve them better 

as a result of the 

initiative?):

The four existing features, which allow a taxpayer to check their refund status, follow 

the IRS on Twitter, get contact information, or subscribe to filing season updates, are 

still a part of the tool. 

For 2012, IRS2Go was launched in February 2012 with the following three new 

features:

1) “Watch Us” allows taxpayers to view IRS YouTube videos; 

2) “Get the latest news” allows IRS to push press releases as they go live on IRS.gov; 

and 

3) “Get My Tax Record” allows the user to order his/her tax account or tax return 

transcript using a mobile device. 

Accomplishment/result 

(Quantifiable metrics if 

applicable):

The successful IRS2Go mobile app was downloaded over 300,000 times in FY2011 

since its January 2011 launch. The new version of IRS2Go, which launched in 

February 2012, was downloaded over 439,000 times between February and May 

2012.

What's next? (What are 

the planned next steps or 

continued development of 

the initiative? If only 

implementation is 

planned, then describe 

how the initiative will be 

sustained.)

The IRS continues to evaluate the IRS2Go phone app and assess future releases.
56

Agency: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

Issue area or challenge: TTB's dependence on paper based administrative processes

Open Gov initiative 

(name only):

Permits Online and Formulas Online

Open Gov Initiative 

description:

TTB launched two e-Gov systems—Permits Online and Formulas Online—in FY 

2011. Keeping development costs low by investing in a commercial, Web-based 

product, TTB released the Permits Online electronic filing solution for permit 

applications in February 2011. In January 2011, TTB also released Formulas Online, 

a Web-based system that members of the alcohol industry can use to draft and submit 

alcohol product formulas for TTB approval. This initiative is also in support of 

Treasury's Flagship Initiative "Moving to a Paperless Treasury." This initiative 

provides Treasury with an electronic means of conducting business with members of 

the public instead of relying on paper-based processes.

Accomplishment/result 

(Narrative - What does

this actually mean for the 

public and your 

stakeholders? What can 

they do or how does your 

agency serve them better 

as a result of the 

initiative?):

Prior to Permits Online’s release, reduced staffing levels and the rising volume of 

applications had reached a critical point, with the average processing time for original 

permit applications projected to reach 90 days. With Permits Online, TTB is better 

able to process permits more efficiently with less staff and reduce the number of days 

to process permit applications. TTB’s release of Formulas Online was important 

because the review of formulations is both critical in terms of applying the 

appropriate tax rate and properly labeling an alcohol beverage product. Formulas 

received electronically save the industry and TTB time and resources in complying 

with the regulatory requirements. 

Accomplishment/result 

(Quantifiable metrics if 

applicable):

Since the release of Permits Online, TTB has achieved a 15 percent reduction in 

processing times for the eligible application types, issuing original permits to 

businesses in 48 days compared to 57 days for the same application types submitted 

on paper. The customer response to Permits Online has been extremely positive, with 

nearly 60 percent of permit applicants electing to file electronically. Formulas Online 

was also met with customer approval, with more than 500 industry members 

registering to use Formulas Online within the first weeks of operation. Registrations 

continue to rise and, to date, more than 30 percent of formulas are received 

electronically, saving both the industry and TTB time and resources in fulfilling this 

regulatory requirement. The Bureau reported increases in the percent of 

electronically filed Certificates Of Label Approval applications, which in FY 2011 

reached 88 percent of all applications.

What's next? (What are 

the planned next steps or 

continued development of 

the initiative? If only 

implementation is 

planned, then describe 

how the initiative will be 

sustained.)

The Bureau will continue to monitor the usage rates of both Permits Online and 

Formulas Online. TTB also will make process improvements in response to customer 

feedback and through upgrades in the technology.
57

Agency: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

Issue area or challenge: Strengthening and opening new lines of communication between TTB and Industry 

Open Gov initiative 

(name only):

TTB Webinar Series 

Open Gov Initiative 

description:

The Bureau sponsors online, virtual seminars and workshops to educate industry on 

Federal Government requirements in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, 

importing and exporting, and paying taxes on alcohol and tobacco products.

Accomplishment/result 

(Narrative - What does 

this actually mean for the 

public and your 

stakeholders? What can 

they do or how does your 

agency serve them better 

as a result of the 

initiative?):

This initiative opens and improves the lines of communication between TTB and the 

alcohol and tobacco industries, increases taxpayer compliance, promotes eGovernment, and supports open Government initiatives.

Accomplishment/result 

(Quantifiable metrics if 

applicable):

In FY 2011 and thus far in FY 2012, TTB has hosted and moderated 10 live Formulas 

Online Webinars for industry. The training sessions covered topics such as system 

registration; the basics of drafting, submitting, and tracking formula applications for 

domestic and imported alcohol beverages; and common pitfalls to avoid when 

submitting electronic formula applications. The Bureau also developed an online 

guide for Formulas Online users. TTB plans to hold additional Webinars in FY 2012, 

focusing on formula submissions by commodity. TTB also held several live Permits 

Online Webinars, with many more planned in the coming months. All sessions lasted 

approximately one hour, with on average 20-35 participants attending each live 

session. 

What's next? (What are 

the planned next steps or 

continued development of 

the initiative? If only 

implementation is 

planned, then describe 

how the initiative will be 

sustained.)

TTB intends to leverage the TTB.gov site and other Web-based capabilities to 

provide more live and virtual online seminars and tutorials so that industry members 

will have easy access to additional on-demand resources and answers to their 

questions related to tax and regulatory compliance. 
58

Agency: Financial Management Service

Issue area or challenge: Traditionally, federal government vendors mailed invoices to their customers. The 

process worked well, but the paperwork was cumbersome and invoices sometimes 

were lost. Another key challenge the companies faced when working with 

government customers was a lack of detailed payment information. When 

payments arrived from federal agencies, vendors often had difficulty discerning 

which agency sent the payment and which projects it covered. “We’d have to wait 

for a detailed list to arrive so we could match the payments with the projects,” one 

vendor explained. “We’d get 15 payments a week, but it would be four or five days 

before we knew where the money came from.” Additionally, when that company 

manually submitted invoices to government customers, the payment cycle was 

unpredictable. The company eagerly sought to improve this process so it could 

more accurately manage its cash flow and provide better customer service.

Open Gov initiative (name 

only):

Internet Payment Platform

Open Gov Initiative 

description:

The Internet Payment Platform (IPP) is a Web-based system that more efficiently 

manages government invoicing from purchase order (PO) through payment 

notification. IPP is designed for federal agencies and their vendors. IPP is a secure 

online platform outside federal agencies’ core financial systems that centralizes all 

invoice transaction data and documents in one place. It is configurable to support 

agency business rules and complements existing agency systems. IPP saves time 

and money while improving your financial management. IPP also makes it easier 

for vendors to do business with government, delivering visibility and transparency 

into the purchase order, invoice, and payment processes and making the payment 

process more open. This initiative also supports Treasury's Flagship initiative 

"Moving To A Paperless Treasury." This initiative moves Treasury further away 

from paper-based administrative processes into electronic processes.

Accomplishment/result 

(Narrative - What does this 

actually mean for the public 

and your stakeholders? 

What can they do or how 

does your agency serve 

them better as a result of 

the initiative?):

IPP provides electronic submission of invoices from vendors to government 

customers and ensures the payment cycle is structured and predictable. For 

Treasury stakeholders as well as other stakeholders, this means that vendors are 

able to manage their cash flow more accurately and provide better customer service 

to the government. IPP provides invoice tracking every step of the way and also 

provides visibility to ensure that everything is being processed correctly. IPP also 

provides the vendors with confidence in knowing that they are going to get paid and 

that nothing is going to get lost. 
59

Accomplishment/result 

(Quantifiable metrics if 

applicable):

IPP delivers visibility from purchase orders to payment, helping companies manage 

their government receivables more easily. Since enrolling in IPP, the vendor 

quoted above in the Issues and Challenges section improved the accuracy of its 

payments and reduced the time it takes to reconcile payments from government 

customers with individual invoices by three to four days. It also reduced postage 

costs by sending invoices electronically. IPP has also saved this vendor and the 

government money on paper expenditures to print invoices.

What's next? (What are 

the planned next steps or 

continued development of 

the initiative? If only 

implementation is planned, 

then describe how the 

initiative will be sustained.)

IPP's electronic invoicing capabilities support one of Treasury's twelve initiatives to 

improve financial management government-wide. Forty-one federal agencies are 

now using IPP. Treasury's goal is to expand e-Invoicing to all federal agencies. It 

is estimated that if e-invoicing is implemented throughout the federal government 

that savings of $450 million annually would accrue. 
60

Agency: Departmental Offices

Issue area or challenge: Managing the information life cycle effectively and efficiently to preserve official 

agency records and ensure access to Treasury information. 

Open Gov initiative (name 

only):

Records and Information Management Month (RIMM)

Open Gov Initiative 

description:

RIMM is an international event celebrated by federal agencies and foreign 

governments to emphasize the impact that effective records and information 

management has on organizational success. It highlights the many aspects and 

challenges that impact records and the management of the information life cycle. 

Accomplishment/result 

(Narrative - What does 

this actually mean for the 

public and your 

stakeholders? What can 

they do or how does your 

agency serve them better 

as a result of the 

initiative?):

This year’s event, entitled “Records Modernization: Reducing Our Carbon 

Footprint,” was a direct reflection of Treasury’s records management goals and 

objectives – to improve effectiveness and operational efficiency. In addition to 

Records Management, the RIMM sessions covered multiple program areas such as 

Privacy, Open Government, Order and Directives, Library Services, and the 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This year’s event was based on the focus of 

this year’s records management goals and objectives – to improve effectiveness and 

operational efficiency. 

Accomplishment/result 

(Quantifiable metrics if 

applicable):

The RIMM events were successful in providing education, best practices, and 

awareness to over 500 Treasury and other federal government employees.

What's next? (What are 

the planned next steps or 

continued development of 

the initiative? If only 

implementation is planned, 

then describe how the 

initiative will be 

sustained.)

Treasury’s RIMM training has become highly recognized and anticipated by other 

government agencies. It is anticipated this event will be sustained on an annual or 

bi-annual basis.