II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2046 

To amend titles 5 and 44, United States Code, to require Federal evaluation 

activities, improve Federal data management, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 31, 2017 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend titles 5 and 44, United States Code, to require 

Federal evaluation activities, improve Federal data management, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 

6 2017’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—FEDERAL EVIDENCE-BUILDING ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 101. Federal evidence-building activities. 

TITLE II—OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. OPEN Government Data. 

TITLE III—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION AND 

STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Confidential information protection and statistical efficiency. 

Sec. 303. Increasing access to data for evidence. 

TITLE IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. Rule of construction. 

Sec. 402. Effective date. 

1 TITLE I—FEDERAL EVIDENCE2 BUILDING ACTIVITIES 

3 SEC. 101. FEDERAL EVIDENCE-BUILDING ACTIVITIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of part I of title 5, 

5 United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) before section 301, by inserting the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS’’; AND

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—FEDERAL EVIDENCE11 BUILDING ACTIVITIES 

12 ‘‘§ 311. Definitions 

13 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

14 ‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ means an 

15 agency referred to under section 901(b) of title 31. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

2 the Director of the Office of Management and Budg3 et. 

4 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—The term ‘evaluation’ 

5 means an assessment using systematic data collec6 tion and analysis of one or more programs, policies, 

7 and organizations intended to assess their effective8 ness and efficiency. 

9 ‘‘(4) EVIDENCE.—The term ‘evidence’ means 

10 evaluation, policy research and analysis, and infor11 mation produced as a result of statistical activities 

12 conducted for a statistical purpose. 

13 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

14 the several States, the District of Columbia, each 

15 territory or possession of the United States, and 

16 each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 

17 ‘‘(6) STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES; STATISTICAL

18 AGENCY OR UNIT; STATISTICAL PURPOSE.—The 

19 terms ‘statistical activities’, ‘statistical agency or 

20 unit’, and ‘statistical purpose’ have the meanings 

21 given those terms in section 3561 of title 44. 

22 ‘‘§ 312. Agency evidence-building plan 

23 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than the first Mon24 day in February of each year, the head of each agency 

25 shall submit to the Director and Congress a systematic 


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1 plan for identifying and addressing policy questions rel2 evant to the programs, policies, and regulations of the 

3 agency. Such plan shall be made available on the public 

4 website of the agency and shall cover at least a 4-year 

5 period beginning with the first fiscal year following the 

6 fiscal year in which the plan is submitted and published 

7 and contain the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) A list of policy-relevant questions for 

9 which the agency intends to develop evidence to sup10 port policymaking. 

11 ‘‘(2) A list of data the agency intends to collect, 

12 use, or acquire to facilitate the use of evidence in 

13 policymaking. 

14 ‘‘(3) A list of methods and analytical ap15 proaches that may be used to develop evidence to 

16 support policymaking. 

17 ‘‘(4) A list of any challenges to developing evi18 dence to support policymaking, including any statu19 tory or other restrictions to accessing relevant data. 

20 ‘‘(5) A description of the steps the agency will 

21 take to accomplish paragraphs (1) and (2). 

22 ‘‘(6) Any other information as required by guid23 ance issued by the Director. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan re2 quired under subsection (a), the head of an agency shall 

3 consult with the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) The public. 

5 ‘‘(2) Any evaluation or analysis unit and per6 sonnel of the agency. 

7 ‘‘(3) Agency officials responsible for imple8 menting privacy policy. 

9 ‘‘(4) The Chief Data Officer of the agency. 

10 ‘‘(5) The officials of the agency designated 

11 under section 315. 

12 ‘‘(6) The Performance Improvement Officer of 

13 the agency. 

14 ‘‘(7) Program administrators of the agency. 

15 ‘‘(8) The committees of the House of Rep16 resentatives and Senate with oversight jurisdiction 

17 over the agency. 

18 ‘‘§ 313. Governmentwide evidence-building coordina19 tion 

20 ‘‘(a) UNIFIED EVIDENCE-BUILDING COORDINA21 TION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall consoli23 date the plans submitted under section 312 in a uni24 fied evidence-building plan. The Director shall notify 

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1 sary duplicative data acquisition plans and facilitate 

2 interagency evidence gathering and sharing. The 

3 head of the agency may incorporate the results of 

4 any interagency coordination by updating the plan 

5 required under section 312. The Director shall incor6 porate any such agency update in the unified evi7 dence-building plan. 

8 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the uni9 fied evidence-building plan required under paragraph 

10 (1), the Director shall consult with the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) The public. 

12 ‘‘(B) The Interagency Council on Evalua13 tion Policy established under subsection (b). 

14 ‘‘(C) The Interagency Council on Statis15 tical Policy established under section 3504(e)(8) 

16 of title 44. 

17 ‘‘(D) Any other relevant interagency coun18 cil. 

19 ‘‘(E) The head of each agency. 

20 ‘‘(b) INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON EVALUATION POL21 ICY.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an 

23 Interagency Council on Evaluation Policy (in this 

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1 sist the Director in supporting Governmentwide eval2 uation activities and policies. 

3 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE AND FUNCTION.—The Council 

4 shall act as the principal interagency forum for co5 ordinating cross-agency evaluation activities and im6 proving agency practices related to program evalua7 tion. The Council shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) advise and assist the Director in sup9 porting Governmentwide evaluation activities 

10 and policies; 

11 ‘‘(B) foster capacity for program evalua12 tion across agencies by collaborating on a set of 

13 Governmentwide human capital strategies that 

14 develop and maintain agencies’ capacity for pro15 gram evaluation; 

16 ‘‘(C) advise on the development of depart17 ment-wide evaluation policies and the system18 atic plans for identifying and addressing pri19 ority policy questions described in agency evi20 dence-building plans under section 312; and 

21 ‘‘(D) serve as a forum in which members 

22 may engage in collective learning and sharing of 

23 information to strengthen and promote high24 quality program evaluation practices across the 

25 Government. 


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1 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the 

2 Council shall be the Chief Evaluation Officers ap3 pointed or designated under section 314. The Direc4 tor shall designate a Chair of the Council. Additional 

5 members may be designated by the Chair. 

6 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet not 

7 less than twice per fiscal year and may meet at the 

8 call of the Chair or a majority of the members of the 

9 Council. 

10 ‘‘(5) SUPPORT.—The head of each agency with 

11 a Chief Evaluation Officer serving on the Council 

12 shall, as appropriate and to the extent permitted by 

13 law, provide support in operating the Council, upon 

14 the request of the Chair. 

15 ‘‘(6) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Chair of the 

16 Council shall submit an annual report on the Coun17 cil’s work under paragraph (2) to the Committee on 

18 Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 

19 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 

20 Security and Government Affairs of the Senate. The 

21 Director shall make such report publicly available 

22 online. 

23 ‘‘(7) REPORT AND TERMINATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) EVALUATION OF COUNCIL.—Not later 

25 than four years after the date of the enactment 


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1 of this subsection, the Comptroller General of 

2 the United States shall submit a report to Con3 gress on whether the Council improved the use 

4 of evidence and program evaluation in the Fed5 eral Government. 

6 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF COUNCIL.—The 

7 Council shall terminate and this subsection 

8 shall be repealed upon the expiration of the 

9 two-year period that begins on the date the 

10 Comptroller General of the United States sub11 mits the evaluation under subparagraph (A) to 

12 Congress. 

13 ‘‘§ 314. Chief Evaluation Officers 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The head of each agency 

15 shall appoint or designate an employee of the agency as 

16 the Chief Evaluation Officer of the agency. 

17 ‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Evaluation Offi18 cer of an agency shall be appointed or designated without 

19 regard to political affiliation and based on demonstrated 

20 expertise in evaluation methodology, practices, and appro21 priate expertise to the disciplines of the agency. 

22 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—The Chief Evaluation Officer of 

23 an agency may not simultaneously serve as any of the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(1) The Chief Financial Officer of any agency. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Chief Information Officer of any 

2 agency. 

3 ‘‘(3) The Chief Human Capital Officer of any 

4 agency. 

5 ‘‘(4) The Chief Acquisition Officer of any agen6 cy. 

7 ‘‘(5) The Inspector General of any agency. 

8 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION.—The Chief Evaluation Officer 

9 of an agency shall, to the extent practicable, coordinate 

10 activities with agency officials, including the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) Agency officials responsible for imple12 menting privacy policy regarding privacy and con13 fidentiality issues. 

14 ‘‘(2) The Chief Data Officer of the agency. 

15 ‘‘(3) Agency officials designated under section 

16 315. 

17 ‘‘(4) Any evaluation or analysis unit and per18 sonnel of the agency on the needs for evaluation and 

19 analysis. 

20 ‘‘(5) The Performance Improvement Officer of 

21 the agency. 

22 ‘‘(6) Program administrators of the agency. 

23 ‘‘(7) The Chief Evaluation Officers of other 

24 agencies. 


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1 ‘‘(e) FUNCTIONS.—The Chief Evaluation Officer of 

2 each agency shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) continually assess the coverage, quality, 

4 methods, consistency, effectiveness, independence, 

5 and balance of the portfolio of evaluations, policy re6 search, and ongoing evaluation activities of the agen7 cy; 

8 ‘‘(2) assess agency capacity to support the de9 velopment and use of evaluation; 

10 ‘‘(3) establish and implement an agency evalua11 tion policy; and 

12 ‘‘(4) coordinate, develop, and implement the 

13 plan required under section 312. 

14 ‘‘§ 315. Statistical expertise 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of each agency shall 

16 designate the head of any statistical agency or unit within 

17 the agency, or in the case of an agency that does not have 

18 a statistical agency or unit, any senior agency official with 

19 appropriate expertise, as a statistical official to advise on 

20 statistical policy, techniques, and procedures. Agency offi21 cials engaged in statistical activities may consult with any 

22 such statistical official as necessary. 

23 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP ON INTERAGENCY COUNCIL FOR

24 STATISTICAL POLICY.—Each statistical official designated 

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1 agency Council for Statistical Policy established under sec2 tion 3504(e)(8) of title 44. 

3 ‘‘§ 316. Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence 

4 Building 

5 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director, or the head of 

6 an agency head designated by the Director, shall establish 

7 an Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building (in 

8 this section referred to as the ‘Advisory Committee’) to 

9 review, analyze, and make recommendations on how to ex10 pand access to and use of Federal data for evidence build11 ing. 

12 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Advisory 

13 Committee shall consist of the Chief Statistician of the 

14 United States, who shall serve as the Chair of the Advi15 sory Committee, and other members appointed by the Di16 rector as follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) One member who is an agency Chief Infor18 mation Officer. 

19 ‘‘(2) One member who is an agency Chief Pri20 vacy Officer. 

21 ‘‘(3) One member who is an agency Chief Per22 formance Officer. 

23 ‘‘(4) Three members who are agency Chief 

24 Data Officers. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Three members who are agency Chief 

2 Evaluation Officers. 

3 ‘‘(6) Three members who are members of the 

4 Interagency Council for Statistical Policy established 

5 under section 3504(e)(8) of title 44. 

6 ‘‘(7) At least 10 members who are representa7 tives of State and local governments and nongovern8 mental stakeholders with expertise in government 

9 data policy, privacy, technology, transparency policy, 

10 evaluation and research methodologies, and other 

11 relevant subjects, of whom— 

12 ‘‘(A) at least one shall have expertise in 

13 transparency policy; 

14 ‘‘(B) at least one shall have expertise in 

15 privacy policy; 

16 ‘‘(C) at least one shall have expertise in 

17 statistical data use; 

18 ‘‘(D) at least one shall have expertise in in19 formation management; 

20 ‘‘(E) at least one shall have expertise in in21 formation technology; 

22 ‘‘(F) at least one shall be from the re23 search and evaluation community; and 


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1 ‘‘(G) if practicable, at least one shall be a 

2 former member of the Commission on Evidence3 Based Policymaking. 

4 ‘‘(c) TERM OF SERVICE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Advi6 sory Committee (other than the Chair) shall serve 

7 for a term of two years. 

8 ‘‘(2) VACANCY.—Any member appointed to fill 

9 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 

10 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap11 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 

12 that term. A vacancy in the Commission shall be 

13 filled in the manner in which the original appoint14 ment was made. 

15 ‘‘(d) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Advisory 

16 Committee shall serve without compensation. 

17 ‘‘(e) DUTIES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) FIRST YEAR.—During the first year of the 

19 Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) assist the Director in carrying out the 

22 duties of the Director under part D of sub23 chapter III of chapter 35 of title 44; and 

24 ‘‘(B) evaluate and provide recommenda25 tions to the Director on the establishment of a 


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1 shared service to facilitate data sharing, enable 

2 data linkage, and develop privacy enhancing 

3 techniques, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) the specific capabilities, needs, 

5 and necessary assets of such service, and 

6 the extent to which assets should be trans7 ferred from existing agencies; 

8 ‘‘(ii) any prospective location for such 

9 service; 

10 ‘‘(iii) best practices for transparency 

11 and interagency coordination; 

12 ‘‘(iv) best practices for monitoring 

13 and auditing of privacy, data linkage, and 

14 confidentiality of data accessed through 

15 such service; and 

16 ‘‘(v) necessary administrative and fi17 nancial authorities to support the activities 

18 of such service. 

19 ‘‘(2) SECOND YEAR.—During the second and 

20 any subsequent year of the Advisory Committee, the 

21 Advisory Committee shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) if determined necessary by the Direc23 tor, carry out the duties described in paragraph 

24 (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) review the coordination of data shar2 ing or availability for evidence building across 

3 all agencies. 

4 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—For each year of the existence of the 

5 Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee shall submit 

6 to the Director and make publicly available an annual re7 port on the activities and findings of the Advisory Com8 mittee.’’. 

9 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 The table of sections for chapter 3 of part I of title 5, 

11 United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) by inserting before the item relating to sec13 tion 301 the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS’’; 

14 and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—FEDERAL EVIDENCE-BUILDING ACTIVITIES

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘311. Definitions. 

‘‘312. Agency evidence-building plan. 

‘‘313. Governmentwide evidence-building coordination. 

‘‘314. Chief Evaluation Officers. 

‘‘315. Statistical expertise. 

‘‘316. Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building.’’. 

16 (c) AGENCY STRATEGIC PLANS.—Section 306 of title 

17 5, United States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

20 at the end and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (8), by— 

2 (i) striking the period at the end; and 

3 (ii) inserting after ‘‘to be conducted’’ 

4 the following: ‘‘, and citations to relevant 

5 provisions of the plan required under sec6 tion 312; and’’; and 

7 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(9) an assessment of the coverage, quality, 

9 methods, effectiveness, and independence of the sta10 tistics, evaluation, research, and analysis efforts of 

11 the agency, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) a list of the activities and operations 

13 of the agency that are currently being evaluated 

14 and analyzed; 

15 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the evaluations, 

16 research, and analysis efforts and related activi17 ties of the agency support the needs of various 

18 divisions within the agency; 

19 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the evaluation re20 search and analysis efforts and related activities 

21 of the agency address an appropriate balance 

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1 agency and private sector coordination, internal 

2 and external oversight, and accountability; 

3 ‘‘(D) the extent to which the agency uses 

4 methods and combinations of methods that are 

5 appropriate to agency divisions and the cor6 responding research questions being addressed, 

7 including an appropriate combination of forma8 tive and summative evaluation research and 

9 analysis approaches; 

10 ‘‘(E) the extent to which evaluation and re11 search capacity is present within the agency to 

12 include personnel and agency processes for 

13 planning and implementing evaluation activities, 

14 disseminating best practices and findings, and 

15 incorporating employee views and feedback; and 

16 ‘‘(F) the extent to which the agency has 

17 the capacity to assist agency staff and program 

18 offices to develop the capacity to use evaluation 

19 research and analysis approaches and data in 

20 the day-to-day operations.’’; 

21 (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub22 section (g); and 

23 (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol24 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(f) Not later than two years after the date on which 

2 each strategic plan required under subsection (a) is pub3 lished, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

4 submit to Congress a report that— 

5 ‘‘(1) summarizes agency findings and highlights 

6 trends in the assessment conducted pursuant to sub7 section (a)(9); and 

8 ‘‘(2) if appropriate, recommends actions to fur9 ther improve agency capacity to use evaluation tech10 niques and data to support evaluation efforts.’’. 

11 TITLE II—OPEN GOVERNMENT 

12 DATA ACT 

13 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This title may be cited as the ‘‘ ‘Open, Public, Elec15 tronic, and Necessary Government Data Act’ ’’ or the 

16 ‘‘OPEN Government Data Act’’. 

17 SEC. 202. OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3502 of title 44, United 

19 States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘; and’’ at 

21 the end and inserting a semicolon; 

22 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

23 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

25 paragraphs: 


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1 ‘‘(15) the term ‘data’ means recorded informa2 tion, regardless of form or the media on which the 

3 data is recorded; 

4 ‘‘(16) the term ‘data asset’ means a collection 

5 of data elements or data sets that may be grouped 

6 together; 

7 ‘‘(17) the term ‘machine-readable’, when used 

8 with respect to data, means data in a format that 

9 can be easily processed by a computer without 

10 human intervention while ensuring no semantic 

11 meaning is lost; 

12 ‘‘(18) the term ‘metadata’ means structural or 

13 descriptive information about data such as content, 

14 format, source, rights, accuracy, provenance, fre15 quency, periodicity, granularity, publisher or respon16 sible party, contact information, method of collec17 tion, and other descriptions; 

18 ‘‘(19) the term ‘open Government data asset’ 

19 means a public data asset that is— 

20 ‘‘(A) machine-readable; 

21 ‘‘(B) available (or could be made available) 

22 in an open format; 

23 ‘‘(C) not encumbered by restrictions that 

24 would impede the use or reuse of such asset; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) based on an underlying open stand2 ard that is maintained by a standards organiza3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(20) the term ‘open license’ means a legal 

5 guarantee that a data asset is made available— 

6 ‘‘(A) at no cost to the public; and 

7 ‘‘(B) with no restrictions on copying, pub8 lishing, distributing, transmitting, citing, or 

9 adapting such asset; 

10 ‘‘(21) the term ‘public data asset’ means a data 

11 asset maintained by the Federal Government that 

12 has been, or may be, released to the public, includ13 ing any data asset subject to disclosure under sec14 tion 552 of title 5; and 

15 ‘‘(22) the term ‘statistical laws’ means sub16 chapter III of this chapter and other laws pertaining 

17 to the protection of information collected for statis18 tical purposes as designated by the Director.’’. 

19 (b) GUIDANCE TO MAKE DATA OPEN BY DE20 FAULT.—Section 3504(b) of title 44, United States Code, 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

23 inserting a semicolon; 

24 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

25 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(6) issue guidance for agencies to implement 

4 section 3506(b)(6) in a manner that takes into ac5 count— 

6 ‘‘(A) risks and restrictions related to the 

7 disclosure of personally identifiable information, 

8 including the risk that an individual data asset 

9 in isolation does not pose a privacy or confiden10 tiality risk but when combined with other avail11 able information may pose such a risk; 

12 ‘‘(B) security considerations, including the 

13 risk that information in an individual data asset 

14 in isolation does not pose a security risk but 

15 when combined with other available information 

16 may pose such a risk; 

17 ‘‘(C) the cost and benefits to the public of 

18 converting a data asset into a machine-readable 

19 format that is accessible and useful to the pub20 lic; 

21 ‘‘(D) whether a data asset— 

22 ‘‘(i) is protected by intellectual prop23 erty rights; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) contains confidential business in2 formation, that could be withheld under 

3 section 552(b)(4) of title 5; or 

4 ‘‘(iii) is otherwise restricted by con5 tract or other binding, written agreement; 

6 ‘‘(E) the requirement that a data asset be 

7 disclosed, if it would otherwise be made avail8 able under section 552 of title 5 (commonly 

9 known as the Freedom of Information Act); and 

10 ‘‘(F) any other considerations that the Di11 rector determines to be relevant.’’. 

12 (c) FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES TO MAKE

13 DATA OPEN BY DEFAULT.— 

14 (1) AMENDMENTS.—Section 3506 of title 44, 

15 United States Code, is amended— 

16 (A) in subsection (b)— 

17 (i) by amending paragraph (2) to read 

18 as follows: 

19 ‘‘(2) in accordance with guidance by the Direc20 tor, develop and maintain a strategic information re21 sources management plan that— 

22 ‘‘(A) describes how information resources 

23 management activities help accomplish agency 

24 missions; 

25 ‘‘(B) includes an open data plan that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) requires the agency to develop 

2 processes and procedures that— 

3 ‘‘(I) require data collection mech4 anisms created on or after the date of 

5 the enactment of the OPEN Govern6 ment Data Act to be available in an 

7 open format; and 

8 ‘‘(II) facilitate collaboration with 

9 non-Government entities (including 

10 businesses), researchers, and the pub11 lic for the purpose of understanding 

12 how data users value and use govern13 ment data; 

14 ‘‘(ii) identifies and implements meth15 ods for collecting and analyzing digital in16 formation on data asset usage by users 

17 within and outside of the agency, including 

18 designating a point of contact within the 

19 agency to assist the public and to respond 

20 to quality issues, usability issues, rec21 ommendations for improvements, and com22 plaints about adherence to open data re23 quirements within a reasonable period of 

24 time; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) develops and implements a proc2 ess to evaluate and improve the timeliness, 

3 completeness, consistency, accuracy, use4 fulness, and availability of open Govern5 ment data assets; 

6 ‘‘(iv) includes requirements for meet7 ing the goals of the agency open data plan, 

8 including the acquisition of technology, 

9 provision of training for employees, and 

10 the implementation of procurement stand11 ards, in accordance with existing law, regu12 lation, and policy, that allow for the acqui13 sition of innovative solutions from public 

14 and private sectors; and 

15 ‘‘(v) requires the agency to comply 

16 with requirements under section 3511, in17 cluding any standards established by the 

18 Director under such section, when dis19 closing a data asset pursuant to such sec20 tion; and 

21 ‘‘(C) is updated annually and made pub22 licly available on the website of the agency not 

23 later than five days after each such update;’’; 

24 (ii) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; 

25 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (iii) in paragraph (5), by striking the 

2 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

3 and 

4 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

5 new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(6) in accordance with guidance by the Direc7 tor— 

8 ‘‘(A) make each data asset of the agency 

9 available in an open format and under an open 

10 license; 

11 ‘‘(B) make each public data asset of the 

12 agency available as an open Government data 

13 asset; and 

14 ‘‘(C) make each open Government data 

15 asset created by or for the agency available 

16 under an open license.’’; and 

17 (B) in subsection (d)— 

18 (i) in paragraph (3), by striking 

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (ii) in paragraph (4), by striking the 

21 period at the end and inserting a semi22 colon; and 

23 (iii) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new paragraphs: 


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1 ‘‘(5) ensure that any public data asset of the 

2 agency is machine-readable; and 

3 ‘‘(6) engage the public in using public data as4 sets of the agency and encourage collaboration by— 

5 ‘‘(A) publishing on the website of the agen6 cy, on a regular basis (not less than annually), 

7 information on the usage of such assets by non8 Government users; 

9 ‘‘(B) providing the public with the oppor10 tunity to request specific data assets to be 

11 prioritized for disclosure and to provide sugges12 tions for the development of agency criteria 

13 with respect to prioritizing data assets for dis14 closure; 

15 ‘‘(C) assisting the public in expanding the 

16 use of public data assets; and 

17 ‘‘(D) hosting challenges, competitions, 

18 events, or other initiatives designed to create 

19 additional value from public data assets of the 

20 agency.’’. 

21 (2) USE OF OPEN DATA ASSETS.—Not later 

22 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act, the head of each agency shall ensure that any 

24 activities by the agency or any new contract entered 

25 into by the agency meet the requirements of section 


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1 3506 of title 44, United States Code, as amended by 

2 this subsection. 

3 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

4 by this subsection shall take effect on the date that 

5 is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act 

6 and shall apply with respect to any contract entered 

7 into by an agency on or after such effective date. 

8 (d) DATA INVENTORY AND FEDERAL DATA CATA9 LOGUE.— 

10 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 3511 of title 44, 

11 United States Code, is amended to read to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘§ 3511. Data inventory and Federal data catalogue 

14 ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE DATA INVENTORY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with the 

16 Director and in accordance with the guidance estab17 lished under paragraph (2), the head of each agency 

18 shall develop and maintain a comprehensive data in19 ventory that accounts for all data assets created by, 

20 collected by, under the control or direction of, or 

21 maintained by the agency. The head of each agency 

22 shall ensure that such inventory provides a clear and 

23 comprehensive understanding of the data assets in 

24 the possession of the agency. 


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1 ‘‘(2) GUIDANCE.—The Director shall establish 

2 guidance for agencies to develop and maintain com3 prehensive data inventories under paragraph (1). 

4 Such guidance shall include the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) A requirement for the head of an 

6 agency to include in the comprehensive data in7 ventory metadata on each data asset of the 

8 agency, including the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) A description of the data asset, 

10 including all variable names and defini11 tions. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The name or title of the data 

13 asset. 

14 ‘‘(iii) An indication of whether the 

15 agency— 

16 ‘‘(I) has determined if the data 

17 asset is an open Government data 

18 asset, available by request under sec19 tion 552 of title 5, or a public data 

20 asset eligible for disclosure under sub21 section (b); or 

22 ‘‘(II) as of the date of such indi23 cation, has not made such determina24 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Any determination made under 

2 section 3582, if available. 

3 ‘‘(v) A description of the method by 

4 which the public may access or request ac5 cess to the data asset. 

6 ‘‘(vi) The date on which the data 

7 asset was most recently updated. 

8 ‘‘(vii) Each agency responsible for 

9 maintaining the data asset. 

10 ‘‘(viii) The owner of the data asset. 

11 ‘‘(ix) Any restrictions on the use of 

12 the data asset. 

13 ‘‘(x) The location of the data asset. 

14 ‘‘(xi) Any other metadata necessary to 

15 make the comprehensive data inventory 

16 useful to the agency and the public, or oth17 erwise determined useful by the Director. 

18 ‘‘(B) A requirement for the head of an 

19 agency to exclude from the comprehensive data 

20 inventory any data asset contained on a na21 tional security system, as defined in section 

22 11103 of title 40. 

23 ‘‘(C) Criteria for the head of an agency to 

24 use in determining which information, if any, in 

25 the comprehensive data inventory shall not be 


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1 made publicly available, which shall include, at 

2 a minimum, a requirement to ensure all infor3 mation in the inventory that would be subject 

4 to disclosure under section 552 of title 5 is 

5 made publicly available. 

6 ‘‘(D) A requirement for the head of each 

7 agency, in accordance with a procedure estab8 lished by the Director, to submit for inclusion 

9 in the Federal data catalogue maintained under 

10 subsection (c) the data inventory developed pur11 suant to subparagraph (C), including any real12 time updates to such inventory and data assets, 

13 or any electronic hyperlink providing access to 

14 such data assets, made available in accordance 

15 with subparagraph (E), listed on such inven16 tory. 

17 ‘‘(E) Criteria for the head of an agency to 

18 use in determining whether a particular data 

19 asset should not be made publicly available in 

20 a manner that takes into account— 

21 ‘‘(i) risks and restrictions related to 

22 the disclosure of personally identifiable in23 formation, including the risk that an indi24 vidual data asset in isolation does not pose 

25 a privacy or confidentiality risk but when 


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1 combined with other available information 

2 may pose such a risk; 

3 ‘‘(ii) security considerations, including 

4 the risk that information in an individual 

5 data asset in isolation does not pose a se6 curity risk but when combined with other 

7 available information may pose such a risk; 

8 ‘‘(iii) the cost and benefits to the pub9 lic of converting the data into a manner 

10 that could be understood and used by the 

11 public; 

12 ‘‘(iv) whether the data asset— 

13 ‘‘(I) is protected by intellectual 

14 property rights; 

15 ‘‘(II) contains confidential busi16 ness information, that could be with17 held under section 552(b)(4) of title 

18 5; or 

19 ‘‘(III) is restricted by contract or 

20 other binding, written agreement; 

21 ‘‘(v) the expectation that all data as22 sets that would otherwise be made avail23 able under section 552 of title 5 be dis24 closed; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) any other considerations that the 

2 Director determines to be relevant. 

3 ‘‘(3) REGULAR UPDATES REQUIRED.—With re4 spect to each data asset created or identified by an 

5 agency, the head of the agency shall update the com6 prehensive data inventory of the agency not later 

7 than 90 days after the date of such creation or iden8 tification. 

9 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC DATA ASSETS.—The head of each agen10 cy shall submit public data assets, or links to public data 

11 assets available online, as open Government data assets 

12 for inclusion in the Federal data catalogue in accordance 

13 with the guidance established in subsection (a)(2). 

14 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL DATA CATALOGUE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of Gen16 eral Services shall maintain a single public interface 

17 online as a point of entry dedicated to sharing agen18 cy data assets with the public which shall be known 

19 as the ‘Federal data catalogue’. The Administrator 

20 and the Director shall ensure that agencies can sub21 mit public data assets or links to public data assets 

22 to be published and made publicly available on the 

23 interface. 

24 ‘‘(2) REPOSITORY.—The Director shall collabo25 rate with the Office of Government Information 


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1 Services and the Administrator of General Services 

2 to develop and maintain an online repository of 

3 tools, best practices, and schema standards to facili4 tate the adoption of open data practices across the 

5 Federal Government, which shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) include any definitions, regulations, 

7 policies, checklists, and case studies related to 

8 open data policy; 

9 ‘‘(B) facilitate collaboration and the adop10 tion of best practices across the Federal Gov11 ernment relating to the adoption of open data 

12 practices; and 

13 ‘‘(C) be made available on the Federal 

14 data catalogue developed under paragraph (1). 

15 ‘‘(3) ACCESS TO OTHER DATA ASSETS.—The 

16 Director shall ensure the Federal data catalogue 

17 maintained under paragraph (1) provides informa18 tion on how the public can access data assets in19 cluded in the public data inventory that are not yet 

20 available on the Federal data catalogue, including 

21 information regarding the application process estab22 lished under section 3583 of title 44. 

23 ‘‘(d) DELEGATION.—The Director shall delegate to 

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1 tronic Government the authority to jointly issue guidance 

2 required under this section. 

3 ‘‘(e) USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES.—To the extent 

4 practicable, the head of each agency shall use existing pro5 cedures and systems to carry out agency requirements 

6 under this section.’’. 

7 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND8 MENTS.— 

9 (A) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The item relat10 ing to section 3511 of the table of sections at 

11 the beginning of chapter 35 of title 44, United 

12 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘3511. Data inventory and Federal data catalogue.’’. 

13 (B) CROSS-REFERENCE.—Section 

14 3504(b)(2)(A) of title 44, United States Code, 

15 is amended by striking ‘‘the use of the Govern16 ment Information Locator Service’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘the use of the comprehensive data inven18 tory and Federal data catalogue described 

19 under section 3511’’. 

20 (e) CHIEF DATA OFFICERS.— 

21 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 3520 of title 44, 

22 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘§ 3520. Chief Data Officers 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The head of each agency 

3 shall designate a career appointee (as defined in section 

4 3132 of title 5) in the agency as the Chief Data Officer. 

5 ‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Data Officer of 

6 an agency shall be designated on the basis of dem7 onstrated training and experience in data management, 

8 collection, analysis, protection, use, and dissemination, in9 cluding with respect to any statistical and related tech10 niques to protect and de-identify confidential data. 

11 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—The Chief Data Officer of an 

12 agency may not simultaneously serve as any of the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(1) The Chief Financial Officer of any agency. 

15 ‘‘(2) The Chief Human Capital Officer of any 

16 agency. 

17 ‘‘(3) The Chief Acquisition Officer of any agen18 cy. 

19 ‘‘(4) The Inspector General of any agency. 

20 ‘‘(5) The Performance Improvement Officer of 

21 any agency. 

22 ‘‘(d) FUNCTIONS.—The Chief Data Officer of an 

23 agency shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) be responsible for lifecycle data manage25 ment; 


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1 ‘‘(2) coordinate with any official in the agency 

2 responsible for using, protecting, disseminating, and 

3 generating data to ensure that the data needs of the 

4 agency are met; 

5 ‘‘(3) manage data assets of the agency, includ6 ing the standardization of data format, sharing of 

7 data assets, and publication of data assets in accord8 ance with applicable law; 

9 ‘‘(4) in carrying out the requirement under 

10 paragraphs (3) and (5), consult with any statistical 

11 official of the agency (as designated under section 

12 315 of title 5); 

13 ‘‘(5) carry out the requirements of the agency 

14 under subsections (b) through (d), (f), and (i) of 

15 section 3506, section 3507, and section 3511; 

16 ‘‘(6) ensure that agency data conforms with 

17 data management best practices; 

18 ‘‘(7) engage agency employees, the public, and 

19 contractors in using public data assets and encour20 age collaborative approaches on improving data use; 

21 ‘‘(8) support the Performance Improvement Of22 ficer of the agency in identifying and using data to 

23 carry out the functions described in section 

24 1124(a)(2) of title 31; 


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1 ‘‘(9) support the Chief Evaluation Officer of the 

2 agency in obtaining data to carry out the functions 

3 described in section 314 of title 5; 

4 ‘‘(10) review the impact of the infrastructure of 

5 the agency on data asset accessibility and coordinate 

6 with the Chief Information Officer of the agency to 

7 improve such infrastructure to reduce barriers that 

8 inhibit data asset accessibility; 

9 ‘‘(11) ensure that, to the extent practicable, the 

10 agency maximizes the use of data in the agency, in11 cluding for the production of evidence (as defined in 

12 section 3561), cybersecurity, and the improvement of 

13 agency operations; 

14 ‘‘(12) identify points of contact for roles and re15 sponsibilities related to open data use and implemen16 tation (as required by the Director); 

17 ‘‘(13) serve as the agency liaison to other agen18 cies and the Office of Management and Budget on 

19 the best way to use existing agency data for statis20 tical purposes (as defined in section 3561); and 

21 ‘‘(14) comply with any regulation and guidance 

22 issued under subchapter III, including the acquisi23 tion and maintenance of any required certification 

24 and training. 

25 ‘‘(e) DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent necessary to 

2 comply with statistical laws, the Chief Data Officer 

3 of an agency shall delegate any responsibility under 

4 subsection (d) to the head of a statistical agency or 

5 unit (as defined in section 3561) within the agency. 

6 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—To the extent permis7 sible under law, the individual to whom a responsi8 bility has been delegated under paragraph (1) shall 

9 consult with the Chief Data Officer of the agency in 

10 carrying out such responsibility. 

11 ‘‘(3) DEFERENCE.—The Chief Data Officer of 

12 the agency shall defer to the individual to whom a 

13 responsibility has been delegated under paragraph 

14 (1) regarding the necessary delegation of such re15 sponsibility with respect to any data acquired, main16 tained, or disseminated by the agency under applica17 ble statistical law. 

18 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—The Chief Data Officer of an agency 

19 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

20 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

21 on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 

22 Representatives an annual report on the compliance of the 

23 agency with the requirements of this subchapter, including 

24 information on each requirement that the agency could not 


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1 carry out and, if applicable, what the agency needs to 

2 carry out such requirement.’’. 

3 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND4 MENT.—The item relating to section 3520 of the 

5 table of sections at the beginning of chapter 35 of 

6 title 44, United States Code, is amended to read as 

7 follows: 

‘‘3520. Chief Data Officers.’’. 

8 (f) CHIEF DATA OFFICER COUNCIL.— 

9 (1) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 

10 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by in11 serting before section 3521 the following new sec12 tion: 

13 ‘‘§ 3520A. Chief Data Officer Council 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

15 Office of Management and Budget a Chief Data Officer 

16 Council (in this section referred to as the ‘Council’). 

17 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS.—The Council 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) establish Governmentwide best practices 

20 for the use, protection, dissemination, and genera21 tion of data; 

22 ‘‘(2) promote and encourage data sharing 

23 agreements between agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(3) identify ways in which agencies can im2 prove upon the production of evidence for use in pol3 icymaking; 

4 ‘‘(4) consult with the public and engage with 

5 private users of Government data and other stake6 holders on how to improve access to data assets of 

7 the Federal Government; and 

8 ‘‘(5) identify and evaluate new technology solu9 tions for improving the collection and use of data. 

10 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Data Officer of 

12 each agency shall serve as a member of the Council. 

13 ‘‘(2) CHAIR.—The Director shall select the 

14 Chair of the Council from among the members of 

15 the Council. 

16 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—The Adminis17 trator of the Office of Electronic Government shall 

18 serve as a member of the Council. 

19 ‘‘(4) EX OFFICIO MEMBER.—The Director shall 

20 appoint a representative for all Chief Information 

21 Officers and Chief Evaluation Officers, and such 

22 representative shall serve as an ex officio member of 

23 the Council. 

24 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—The Council shall submit to the Di25 rector, the Committee on Homeland Security and GovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Nov 02, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2046.IS S2046

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1 mental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Over2 sight and Government Reform of the House of Represent3 atives a biennial report on the work of the Council. 

4 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION AND TERMINATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) GAO EVALUATION OF COUNCIL.—Not 

6 later than 4 years after date of the enactment of 

7 this section, the Comptroller General shall submit to 

8 Congress a report on whether the additional duties 

9 of the Council improved the use of evidence and pro10 gram evaluation in the Federal Government. 

11 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION OF COUNCIL.—The Council 

12 shall terminate and this section shall be repealed 

13 upon the expiration of the two-year period that be14 gins on the date the Comptroller General submits 

15 the evaluation under paragraph (1) to Congress.’’. 

16 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND17 MENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of 

18 chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is 

19 amended by inserting before the item relating to sec20 tion 3521 the following new item: 

‘‘3520A. Chief Data Officer Council.’’. 

21 (g) REPORTS.— 

22 (1) GAO REPORT.—Not later than three years 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

24 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub25 mit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 


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1 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com2 mittee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 

3 House of Representatives a report that identifies, to 

4 the extent practicable— 

5 (A) the value of information made avail6 able to the public as a result of this Act and 

7 the amendments made by this Act; 

8 (B) whether the public availability of any 

9 information that has not yet been made so 

10 available would be valuable to the public; and 

11 (C) the completeness of each comprehen12 sive data inventory developed under section 

13 3511 of title 44, United States Code. 

14 (2) BIENNIAL OMB REPORT.—Not later than 

15 one year after date of the enactment of this Act, and 

16 biennially thereafter, the Director of the Office of 

17 Management and Budget shall electronically publish 

18 a report on agency performance and compliance with 

19 this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 


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1 TITLE III—CONFIDENTIAL IN2 FORMATION PROTECTION 

3 AND STATISTICAL EFFI4 CIENCY 

5 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Confidential Informa7 tion Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2017’’. 

8 SEC. 302. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION AND 

9 STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 35 of title 44, United 

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing new subchapter: 

13 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMA14 TION PROTECTION AND STATISTICAL EFFI15 CIENCY 

16 ‘‘PART A—GENERAL 

17 ‘‘§ 3561. Definitions 

18 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

19 ‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ means any 

20 entity that falls within the definition of the term ‘ex21 ecutive agency’, as defined in section 102 of title 31, 

22 or ‘agency’, as defined in section 3502. 

23 ‘‘(2) AGENT.—The term ‘agent’ means an indi24 vidual— 


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1 ‘‘(A)(i) who is an employee of a private or2 ganization or a researcher affiliated with an in3 stitution of higher learning (including a person 

4 granted special sworn status by the Bureau of 

5 the Census under section 23(c) of title 13), and 

6 with whom a contract or other agreement is ex7 ecuted, on a temporary basis, by an executive 

8 agency to perform exclusively statistical activi9 ties under the control and supervision of an of10 ficer or employee of that agency; 

11 ‘‘(ii) who is working under the author12 ity of a government entity with which a 

13 contract or other agreement is executed by 

14 an executive agency to perform exclusively 

15 statistical activities under the control of an 

16 officer or employee of that agency; 

17 ‘‘(iii) who is a self-employed re18 searcher, a consultant, a contractor, or an 

19 employee of a contractor, and with whom 

20 a contract or other agreement is executed 

21 by an executive agency to perform a statis22 tical activity under the control of an officer 

23 or employee of that agency; or 

24 ‘‘(iv) who is a contractor or an em25 ployee of a contractor, and who is engaged 


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1 by the agency to design or maintain the 

2 systems for handling or storage of data re3 ceived under this subchapter; and 

4 ‘‘(B) who agrees in writing to comply with 

5 all provisions of law that affect information ac6 quired by that agency. 

7 ‘‘(3) BUSINESS DATA.—The term ‘business 

8 data’ means operating and financial data and infor9 mation about businesses, tax-exempt organizations, 

10 and government entities. 

11 ‘‘(4) DATA ASSET.—The term ‘data asset’ has 

12 the meaning given that term in section 3502. 

13 ‘‘(5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

14 the Director of the Office of Management and Budg15 et. 

16 ‘‘(6) EVIDENCE.—The term ‘evidence’ means 

17 information produced as a result of statistical activi18 ties conducted for a statistical purpose. 

19 ‘‘(7) IDENTIFIABLE FORM.—The term ‘identifi20 able form’ means any representation of information 

21 that permits the identity of the respondent to whom 

22 the information applies to be reasonably inferred by 

23 either direct or indirect means. 

24 ‘‘(8) NONSTATISTICAL PURPOSE.—The term 

25 ‘nonstatistical purpose’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) means the use of data in identifiable 

2 form for any purpose that is not a statistical 

3 purpose, including any administrative, regu4 latory, law enforcement, adjudicatory, or other 

5 purpose that affects the rights, privileges, or 

6 benefits of a particular identifiable respondent; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) includes the disclosure under section 

9 552 of title 5 of data that are acquired for ex10 clusively statistical purposes under a pledge of 

11 confidentiality. 

12 ‘‘(9) RESPONDENT.—The term ‘respondent’ 

13 means a person who, or organization that, is re14 quested or required to supply information to an 

15 agency, is the subject of information requested or re16 quired to be supplied to an agency, or provides that 

17 information to an agency. 

18 ‘‘(10) STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES.—The term 

19 ‘statistical activities’— 

20 ‘‘(A) means the collection, compilation, 

21 processing, or analysis of data for the purpose 

22 of describing or making estimates concerning 

23 the whole, or relevant groups or components 

24 within, the economy, society, or the natural en25 vironment; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) includes the development of methods 

2 or resources that support those activities, such 

3 as measurement methods, models, statistical 

4 classifications, or sampling frames. 

5 ‘‘(11) STATISTICAL AGENCY OR UNIT.—The 

6 term ‘statistical agency or unit’ means an agency or 

7 organizational unit of the executive branch whose ac8 tivities are predominantly the collection, compilation, 

9 processing, or analysis of information for statistical 

10 purposes, as designated by the Director under sec11 tion 3562. 

12 ‘‘(12) STATISTICAL PURPOSE.—The term ‘sta13 tistical purpose’— 

14 ‘‘(A) means the description, estimation, or 

15 analysis of the characteristics of groups, with16 out identifying the individuals or organizations 

17 that comprise such groups; and 

18 ‘‘(B) includes the development, implemen19 tation, or maintenance of methods, technical or 

20 administrative procedures, or information re21 sources that support the purposes described in 

22 subparagraph (A). 

23 ‘‘§ 3562. Coordination and oversight of policies 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall coordinate 

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1 tablished by this subchapter. The Director may promul2 gate rules or provide other guidance to ensure consistent 

3 interpretation of this subchapter by the affected agencies. 

4 The Director shall develop a process by which the Director 

5 designates agencies or organizational units as statistical 

6 agencies and units. The Director shall promulgate guid7 ance to implement such process, which shall include spe8 cific criteria for such designation and methods by which 

9 the Director will ensure transparency in the process. 

10 ‘‘(b) AGENCY RULES.—Subject to subsection (c), 

11 agencies may promulgate rules to implement this sub12 chapter. Rules governing disclosures of information that 

13 are authorized by this subchapter shall be promulgated by 

14 the agency that originally collected the information. 

15 ‘‘(c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF RULES.—The Di16 rector shall review any rules proposed by an agency pursu17 ant to this subchapter for consistency with the provisions 

18 of this chapter and such rules shall be subject to the ap19 proval of the Director. 

20 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) The head of each agency shall provide to 

22 the Director such reports and other information as 

23 the Director requests. 

24 ‘‘(2) Each Designated Statistical Agency (as 

25 defined in section 3576(e)) shall report annually to 


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1 the Director, the Committee on Oversight and Gov2 ernment Reform of the House of Representatives, 

3 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov4 ernmental Affairs of the Senate on the actions it has 

5 taken to implement section 3576. The report shall 

6 include copies of each written agreement entered 

7 into pursuant to section 3576(c)(1) for the applica8 ble year. 

9 ‘‘(3) The Director shall include a summary of 

10 reports submitted to the Director under this sub11 section and actions taken by the Director to advance 

12 the purposes of this subchapter in the annual report 

13 to Congress on statistical programs prepared under 

14 section 3504(e)(2). 

15 ‘‘§ 3563. Federal statistical agencies 

16 ‘‘(a) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each statistical agency or 

18 unit shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) produce and disseminate relevant and 

20 timely statistical information; 

21 ‘‘(B) conduct credible and accurate statis22 tical activities; 

23 ‘‘(C) conduct objective statistical activities; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) protect the trust of information pro2 viders by ensuring the confidentiality and exclu3 sive statistical use of their responses 

4 ‘‘(2) POLICIES, BEST PRACTICES, AND PROCE5 DURES.—Each statistical agency or unit shall adopt 

6 policies, best practices, and appropriate procedures 

7 to implement the responsibilities described in para8 graph (1). 

9 ‘‘(b) SUPPORT FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—The head 

10 of each agency shall enable, support, and facilitate statis11 tical agencies or units in carrying out the responsibilities 

12 described in subsection (a)(1). 

13 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Director shall prescribe 

14 regulations to carry out this section. 

15 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) ACCURATE.—The term ‘accurate’, when 

17 used with respect to statistical activities, means sta18 tistics that consistently match the events and trends 

19 being measured. 

20 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The term ‘confiden21 tiality’ means a quality or condition accorded to in22 formation as an obligation not to disclose that infor23 mation to an unauthorized party. 


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1 ‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE.—The term ‘objective’, when 

2 used with respect to statistical activities, means ac3 curate, clear, complete, and unbiased. 

4 ‘‘(4) RELEVANT.—The term ‘relevant’, when 

5 used with respect to statistical information, means 

6 processes, activities, and things that matter to pol7 icymakers and public and private sector data users. 

8 ‘‘§ 3564. Effect on other laws 

9 ‘‘(a) TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE.—This sub10 chapter does not diminish the authority under section 

11 3510 of the Director to direct, and of an agency to make, 

12 disclosures that are not inconsistent with any applicable 

13 law. 

14 ‘‘(b) TITLE 13 AND TITLE 44, UNITED STATES

15 CODE.—This subchapter does not diminish the authority 

16 of the Bureau of the Census to provide information in ac17 cordance with sections 8, 16, 301, and 401 of title 13 and 

18 section 2108 of this title. 

19 ‘‘(c) TITLE 13, UNITED STATES CODE.—This sub20 chapter shall not be construed as authorizing the disclo21 sure for nonstatistical purposes of demographic data or 

22 information collected by the Bureau of the Census pursu23 ant to section 9 of title 13. 

24 ‘‘(d) VARIOUS ENERGY STATUTES.—Data or infor25 mation acquired by the Energy Information AdministraVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Nov 02, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2046.IS S2046

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1 tion under a pledge of confidentiality and designated by 

2 the Energy Information Administration to be used for ex3 clusively statistical purposes shall not be disclosed in iden4 tifiable form for nonstatistical purposes under— 

5 ‘‘(1) section 12, 20, or 59 of the Federal En6 ergy Administration Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 771, 

7 779, 790h); 

8 ‘‘(2) section 11 of the Energy Supply and Envi9 ronmental Coordination Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 

10 796); or 

11 ‘‘(3) section 205 or 407 of the Department of 

12 Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7135, 7177). 

13 ‘‘(e) SECTION 201 OF CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

14 OF 1974.—This subchapter shall not be construed to limit 

15 any authorities of the Congressional Budget Office to 

16 work (consistent with laws governing the confidentiality 

17 of information the disclosure of which would be a violation 

18 of law) with databases of Designated Statistical Agencies 

19 (as defined in section 3576(e)), either separately or, for 

20 data that may be shared pursuant to section 3576(c) or 

21 other authority, jointly in order to improve the general 

22 utility of these databases for the statistical purpose of ana23 lyzing pension and health care financing issues. 


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1 ‘‘(f) PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.—Nothing in this 

2 subchapter shall preempt applicable State law regarding 

3 the confidentiality of data collected by the States. 

4 ‘‘(g) STATUTES REGARDING FALSE STATEMENTS.— 

5 Notwithstanding section 3572, information collected by an 

6 agency for exclusively statistical purposes under a pledge 

7 of confidentiality may be provided by the collecting agency 

8 to a law enforcement agency for the prosecution of submis9 sions to the collecting agency of false statistical informa10 tion under statutes that authorize criminal penalties (such 

11 as section 221 of title 13) or civil penalties for the provi12 sion of false statistical information, unless such disclosure 

13 or use would otherwise be prohibited under Federal law. 

14 ‘‘(h) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subchapter 

15 shall be construed as restricting or diminishing any con16 fidentiality protections or penalties for unauthorized dis17 closure that otherwise apply to data or information col18 lected for statistical purposes or nonstatistical purposes, 

19 including, but not limited to, section 6103 of the Internal 

20 Revenue Code of 1986. 

21 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS.—Nothing in this 

22 subchapter shall be construed to affect the authority of 

23 the Congress, including its committees, members, or 

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1 pose, including for oversight of an agency’s statistical ac2 tivities. 

3 ‘‘PART B—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 

4 PROTECTION 

5 ‘‘§ 3571. Findings 

6 ‘‘The Congress finds the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) Individuals, businesses, and other organi8 zations have varying degrees of legal protection 

9 when providing information to the agencies for 

10 strictly statistical purposes. 

11 ‘‘(2) Pledges of confidentiality by agencies pro12 vide assurances to the public that information about 

13 individuals or organizations or provided by individ14 uals or organizations for exclusively statistical pur15 poses will be held in confidence and will not be used 

16 against such individuals or organizations in any 

17 agency action. 

18 ‘‘(3) Protecting the confidentiality interests of 

19 individuals or organizations who provide information 

20 under a pledge of confidentiality for Federal statis21 tical programs serves both the interests of the public 

22 and the needs of society. 

23 ‘‘(4) Declining trust of the public in the protec24 tion of information provided under a pledge of conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Nov 02, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2046.IS S2046

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1 fidentiality to the agencies adversely affects both the 

2 accuracy and completeness of statistical analyses. 

3 ‘‘(5) Ensuring that information provided under 

4 a pledge of confidentiality for statistical purposes re5 ceives protection is essential in continuing public co6 operation in statistical programs. 

7 ‘‘§ 3572. Confidential information protection 

8 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) To ensure that information supplied by in11 dividuals or organizations to an agency for statistical 

12 purposes under a pledge of confidentiality is used ex13 clusively for statistical purposes. 

14 ‘‘(2) To ensure that individuals or organizations 

15 who supply information under a pledge of confiden16 tiality to agencies for statistical purposes will neither 

17 have that information disclosed in identifiable form 

18 to anyone not authorized by this subchapter nor 

19 have that information used for any purpose other 

20 than a statistical purpose. 

21 ‘‘(3) To safeguard the confidentiality of individ22 ually identifiable information acquired under a 

23 pledge of confidentiality for statistical purposes by 

24 controlling access to, and uses made of, such infor25 mation. 


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1 ‘‘(b) USE OF STATISTICAL DATA OR INFORMA2 TION.—Data or information acquired by an agency under 

3 a pledge of confidentiality and for exclusively statistical 

4 purposes shall be used by officers, employees, or agents 

5 of the agency exclusively for statistical purposes and pro6 tected in accordance with such pledge. 

7 ‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE OF STATISTICAL DATA OR INFOR8 MATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) Data or information acquired by an agency 

10 under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively sta11 tistical purposes shall not be disclosed by an agency 

12 in identifiable form, for any use other than an exclu13 sively statistical purpose, except with the informed 

14 consent of the respondent. 

15 ‘‘(2) A disclosure pursuant to paragraph (1) is 

16 authorized only when the head of the agency ap17 proves such disclosure and the disclosure is not pro18 hibited by any other law. 

19 ‘‘(3) This section does not restrict or diminish 

20 any confidentiality protections in law that otherwise 

21 apply to data or information acquired by an agency 

22 under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively sta23 tistical purposes. 

24 ‘‘(d) RULE FOR USE OF DATA OR INFORMATION FOR

25 NONSTATISTICAL PURPOSES.—A statistical agency or 


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1 unit shall clearly distinguish any data or information it 

2 collects for nonstatistical purposes (as authorized by law) 

3 and provide notice to the public, before the data or infor4 mation is collected, that the data or information could be 

5 used for nonstatistical purposes. 

6 ‘‘(e) DESIGNATION OF AGENTS.—A statistical agency 

7 or unit may designate agents, by contract or by entering 

8 into a special agreement containing the provisions re9 quired under section 3561(2) for treatment as an agent 

10 under that section, who may perform exclusively statistical 

11 activities, subject to the limitations and penalties de12 scribed in this subchapter. 

13 ‘‘(f) FINES AND PENALTIES.—Whoever, being an of14 ficer, employee, or agent of an agency acquiring informa15 tion for exclusively statistical purposes, having taken and 

16 subscribed the oath of office, or having sworn to observe 

17 the limitations imposed by this section, comes into posses18 sion of such information by reason of his or her being an 

19 officer, employee, or agent and, knowing that the disclo20 sure of the specific information is prohibited under the 

21 provisions of this subchapter, willfully discloses the infor22 mation in any manner to a person or agency not entitled 

23 to receive it, shall be guilty of a class E felony and impris24 oned for not more than five years, or fined not more than 

25 $250,000, or both. 


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1 ‘‘PART C—STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY 

2 ‘‘§ 3575. Findings 

3 ‘‘The Congress finds the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) Federal statistics are an important source 

5 of information for public and private decision-mak6 ers such as policymakers, consumers, businesses, in7 vestors, and workers. 

8 ‘‘(2) Federal statistical agencies should continu9 ously seek to improve their efficiency. Statutory con10 straints limit the ability of these agencies to share 

11 data and thus to achieve higher efficiency for Fed12 eral statistical programs. 

13 ‘‘(3) The quality of Federal statistics depends 

14 on the willingness of businesses to respond to statis15 tical surveys. Reducing reporting burdens will in16 crease response rates, and therefore lead to more ac17 curate characterizations of the economy. 

18 ‘‘(4) Enhanced sharing of business data among 

19 the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic 

20 Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics for ex21 clusively statistical purposes will improve their abil22 ity to track more accurately the large and rapidly 

23 changing nature of United States business. In par24 ticular, the statistical agencies will be able to better 

25 ensure that businesses are consistently classified in 

26 appropriate industries, resolve data anomalies, 


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1 produce statistical samples that are consistently ad2 justed for the entry and exit of new businesses in a 

3 timely manner, and correct faulty reporting errors 

4 quickly and efficiently. 

5 ‘‘(5) Congress enacted the International Invest6 ment and Trade in Services Survey Act (Public Law 

7 94–472), which allowed the Bureau of the Census, 

8 the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bureau 

9 of Labor Statistics to share data on foreign-owned 

10 companies. The Act not only expanded detailed in11 dustry coverage from 135 industries to over 800 in12 dustries with no increase in the data collected from 

13 respondents but also demonstrated how data sharing 

14 can result in the creation of valuable data products. 

15 ‘‘(6) With part B of this subchapter, the shar16 ing of business data among the Bureau of the Cen17 sus, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bu18 reau of Labor Statistics continues to ensure the 

19 highest level of confidentiality for respondents to 

20 statistical surveys. 

21 ‘‘§ 3576. Designated Statistical Agencies 

22 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) To authorize the sharing of business data 

25 among the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of 


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1 Economic Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statis2 tics for exclusively statistical purposes. 

3 ‘‘(2) To reduce the paperwork burdens imposed 

4 on businesses that provide requested information to 

5 the Federal Government. 

6 ‘‘(3) To improve the comparability and accu7 racy of Federal economic statistics by allowing the 

8 Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic 

9 Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to up10 date sample frames, develop consistent classifica11 tions of establishments and companies into indus12 tries, improve coverage, and reconcile significant dif13 ferences in data produced by the three agencies. 

14 ‘‘(4) To increase understanding of the United 

15 States economy, especially for key industry and re16 gional statistics, to develop more accurate measures 

17 of the impact of technology on productivity growth, 

18 and to enhance the reliability of the Nation’s most 

19 important economic indicators, such as the National 

20 Income and Product Accounts. 

21 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED STATIS22 TICAL AGENCIES.—The head of each of the Designated 

23 Statistical Agencies shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) identify opportunities to eliminate duplica25 tion and otherwise reduce reporting burden and cost 


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1 imposed on the public in providing information for 

2 statistical purposes; 

3 ‘‘(2) enter into joint statistical projects to im4 prove the quality and reduce the cost of statistical 

5 programs; and 

6 ‘‘(3) protect the confidentiality of individually 

7 identifiable information acquired for statistical pur8 poses by adhering to safeguard principles, includ9 ing— 

10 ‘‘(A) emphasizing to their officers, employ11 ees, and agents the importance of protecting 

12 the confidentiality of information in cases where 

13 the identity of individual respondents can rea14 sonably be inferred by either direct or indirect 

15 means; 

16 ‘‘(B) training their officers, employees, and 

17 agents in their legal obligations to protect the 

18 confidentiality of individually identifiable infor19 mation and in the procedures that must be fol20 lowed to provide access to such information; 

21 ‘‘(C) implementing appropriate measures 

22 to assure the physical and electronic security of 

23 confidential data; 

24 ‘‘(D) establishing a system of records that 

25 identifies individuals accessing confidential data 


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1 and the project for which the data were re2 quired; and 

3 ‘‘(E) being prepared to document their 

4 compliance with safeguard principles to other 

5 agencies authorized by law to monitor such 

6 compliance. 

7 ‘‘(c) SHARING OF BUSINESS DATA AMONG DES8 IGNATED STATISTICAL AGENCIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Designated Statistical 

10 Agency may provide business data in an identifiable 

11 form to another Designated Statistical Agency under 

12 the terms of a written agreement among the agen13 cies sharing the business data that specifies— 

14 ‘‘(A) the business data to be shared; 

15 ‘‘(B) the statistical purposes for which the 

16 business data are to be used; 

17 ‘‘(C) the officers, employees, and agents 

18 authorized to examine the business data to be 

19 shared; and 

20 ‘‘(D) appropriate security procedures to 

21 safeguard the confidentiality of the business 

22 data. 

23 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES OF AGENCIES UNDER

24 OTHER LAWS.—The provision of business data by an 

25 agency to a Designated Statistical Agency under this 


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1 section shall in no way alter the responsibility of the 

2 agency providing the data under other statutes (in3 cluding sections 552 and 552b of title 5) with re4 spect to the provision or withholding of such infor5 mation by the agency providing the data. 

6 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS, EMPLOY7 EES, AND AGENTS.—Examination of business data 

8 in identifiable form shall be limited to the officers, 

9 employees, and agents authorized to examine the in10 dividual reports in accordance with written agree11 ments pursuant to this section. Officers, employees, 

12 and agents of a Designated Statistical Agency who 

13 receive data pursuant to this section shall be subject 

14 to all provisions of law, including penalties, that re15 late— 

16 ‘‘(A) to the unlawful provision of the busi17 ness data that would apply to the officers, em18 ployees, and agents of the agency that originally 

19 obtained the information; and 

20 ‘‘(B) to the unlawful disclosure of the busi21 ness data that would apply to officers, employ22 ees, and agents of the agency that originally ob23 tained the information. 

24 ‘‘(4) NOTICE.—Whenever a written agreement 

25 concerns data that respondents were required by law 


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1 to report and the respondents were not informed 

2 that the data could be shared among the Designated 

3 Statistical Agencies, for exclusively statistical pur4 poses, the terms of such agreement shall be de5 scribed in a public notice issued by the agency that 

6 intends to provide the data. Such notice shall allow 

7 a minimum of 60 days for public comment. 

8 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF BUSINESS DATA PRO9 VIDED BY DESIGNATED STATISTICAL AGENCIES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) GENERAL USE.—Business data provided 

11 by a Designated Statistical Agency pursuant to this 

12 section shall be used exclusively for statistical pur13 poses. 

14 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—Publication of business 

15 data acquired by a Designated Statistical Agency 

16 shall occur in a manner whereby the data furnished 

17 by any particular respondent are not in identifiable 

18 form. 

19 ‘‘(e) DESIGNATED STATISTICAL AGENCY DE20 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘Designated Statistical 

21 Agency’ means each of the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) The Census Bureau of the Department of 

23 Commerce. 

24 ‘‘(2) The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the 

25 Department of Commerce. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the De2 partment of Labor.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 at the beginning of chapter 35 of title 44, United States 

5 Code, as amended by section 202(g), is further amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION AND

STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY

‘‘PART A—GENERAL

‘‘3561. Definitions. 

‘‘3562. Coordination and oversight of policies. 

‘‘3563. Federal statistical agencies. 

‘‘3564. Effect on other laws. 

‘‘PART B—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION

‘‘3571. Findings. 

‘‘3572. Confidential information protection. 

‘‘PART C—STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY

‘‘3575. Findings. 

‘‘3576. Designated Statistical Agencies.’’. 

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) REPEAL OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

9 PROTECTION AND STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY ACT OF

10 2002.—Title V of the E–Government Act of 2002 

11 (Public Law 107–347; 44 U.S.C. 3501 note) is re12 pealed (and by conforming the table of contents ac13 cordingly). 

14 (2) TITLE 13, UNITED STATES CODE.—Section 

15 402 of title 13, United States Code, is amended by 

16 striking ‘‘the Confidential Information Protection 


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1 and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘section 3576(e) of title 44’’. 

3 (3) TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.—Title 

4 49, United States Code, is amended as follows: 

5 (A) In section 6302(d)(4), strike ‘‘the Con6 fidential Information’’ and all that follows 

7 through the period and insert ‘‘section 3572 of 

8 title 44.’’. 

9 (B) In section 6314(d)(2), strike ‘‘the Con10 fidential Information’’ and all that follows 

11 through the period and insert ‘‘section 3572 of 

12 title 44.’’. 

13 (4) ACT OF JANUARY 27, 1938.—The first sec14 tion of the Act of January 27, 1938, entitled ‘‘An 

15 Act to make confidential certain information fur16 nished to the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com17 merce, and for other purposes’’ (52 Stat. 8, chapter 

18 11; 15 U.S.C. 176a), is amended by striking ‘‘the 

19 Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 

20 Efficiency Act of 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘subchapter 

21 III of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code’’. 

22 (5) FIXING AMERICA’S SURFACE TRANSPOR23 TATION ACT.—Section 7308(e)(2) of the Fixing 

24 America’s Surface Transportation Act (Public Law 

25 114–94; 49 U.S.C. 20155 note) is amended by strikVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Nov 02, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2046.IS S2046

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1 ing ‘‘the Confidential Information Protection and 

2 Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

3 note)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3572 of title 44, 

4 United States Code’’. 

5 (d) TRANSITIONAL AND SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 

6 (1) CUTOFF DATE.—This title replaces certain 

7 provisions of law enacted on December 17, 2002. If 

8 a law enacted after that date amends or repeals a 

9 provision replaced by this title, that law is deemed 

10 to amend or repeal, as the case may be, the cor11 responding provision enacted by this title. If a law 

12 enacted after that date is otherwise inconsistent with 

13 this title, it supersedes this title to the extent of the 

14 inconsistency. 

15 (2) ORIGINAL DATE OF ENACTMENT UN16 CHANGED.—For purposes of determining whether 

17 one provision of law supersedes another based on en18 actment later in time, the date of the enactment of 

19 a provision enacted by this title is deemed to be the 

20 date of the enactment of the provision it replaced. 

21 (3) REFERENCES TO PROVISIONS REPLACED.— 

22 A reference to a provision of law replaced by this 

23 title, including a reference in a regulation, order, or 

24 other law, is deemed to refer to the corresponding 

25 provision enacted by this title. 


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1 (4) REGULATIONS, ORDERS, AND OTHER AD2 MINISTRATIVE ACTIONS.—A regulation, order, or 

3 other administrative action in effect under a provi4 sion of law replaced by this title continues in effect 

5 under the corresponding provision enacted by this 

6 title. 

7 (5) ACTIONS TAKEN AND OFFENSES COM8 MITTED.—An action taken or an offense committed 

9 under a provision of law replaced by this title is 

10 deemed to have been taken or committed under the 

11 corresponding provision enacted by this title. 

12 SEC. 303. INCREASING ACCESS TO DATA FOR EVIDENCE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 35 of 

14 title 44, United States Code, as added by section 302, is 

15 amended by adding at the end the following new part: 

16 ‘‘PART D—ACCESS TO DATA FOR EVIDENCE 

17 ‘‘§ 3581. Presumption of accessibility for statistical 

18 agencies and units 

19 ‘‘(a) ACCESSIBILITY OF DATA ASSETS.—The head of 

20 an agency shall, to the extent practicable, make any data 

21 asset maintained by the agency available, upon request, 

22 to any statistical agency or unit for purposes of developing 

23 evidence. 

24 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—Subsection (a) does not apply to 

25 any data asset that is subject to a statute that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) prohibits the sharing or intended use of 

2 such asset in a manner as to leave no discretion on 

3 the issue; or 

4 ‘‘(2) if enacted after the date of the enactment 

5 of this section, specifically cites to this paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Director shall prescribe 

7 regulations for agencies to carry out this section. Such 

8 regulations shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) require the timely provision of data assets 

10 under subsection (a); 

11 ‘‘(2) provide a list of statutes that exempt agen12 cies from the requirement under subsection (a) pur13 suant to subsection (b)(1); and 

14 ‘‘(3) require a transparent process for statis15 tical agencies and units to request data assets from 

16 agencies and for agencies to respond to such re17 quests. 

18 ‘‘§ 3582. Expanding secure access to CIPSEA data as19 sets 

20 ‘‘(a) STATISTICAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—To 

21 the extent practicable, each statistical agency or unit shall 

22 expand access to data assets of such agency or unit ac23 quired or accessed under this subchapter to develop evi24 dence while protecting such assets from inappropriate acVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Nov 02, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2046.IS S2046

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1 cess and use, in accordance with the regulations promul2 gated under subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS FOR ACCESSIBILITY OF NON4 PUBLIC DATA ASSETS.—The Director shall promulgate 

5 regulations, in accordance with applicable law, for statis6 tical agencies and units to carry out the requirement 

7 under subsection (a). Such regulations shall include the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(1) Standards for each statistical agency or 

10 unit to assess each data asset owned or accessed by 

11 the statistical agency or unit for purposes of catego12 rizing the sensitivity level of each such asset and 

13 identifying the corresponding level of accessibility to 

14 each such asset. Such standards shall include— 

15 ‘‘(A) common sensitivity levels and cor16 responding levels of accessibility that may be 

17 assigned to a data asset, including a requisite 

18 minimum and maximum number of sensitivity 

19 levels for each statistical agency or unit to use; 

20 ‘‘(B) criteria for determining the sensi21 tivity level and corresponding level of accessi22 bility of each data asset; and 

23 ‘‘(C) criteria for determining whether a 

24 less sensitive and more accessible version of a 

25 data asset can be produced. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Standards for each statistical agency or 

2 unit to improve access to a data asset pursuant to 

3 paragraph (1) or (3) by removing or obscuring infor4 mation in such a manner that the identity of the 

5 data subject is less likely to be reasonably inferred 

6 by either direct or indirect means. 

7 ‘‘(3) A requirement for each statistical agency 

8 or unit to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment 

9 of any data asset acquired or accessed under this 

10 subchapter prior to any public release of such asset, 

11 including standards for such comprehensive risk as12 sessment and criteria for making a determination of 

13 whether to release the data. 

14 ‘‘(4) Requirements for each statistical agency or 

15 unit to make any process or assessment established, 

16 produced, or conducted pursuant to this section 

17 transparent and easy to understand, including the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(A) A requirement to make information 

20 on the assessment of the sensitivity level of 

21 each data asset conducted pursuant to para22 graph (1) available on the Federal data cata23 logue established under section 3511(c)(1). 

24 ‘‘(B) A requirement to make any com25 prehensive risk assessment, and associated deVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Nov 02, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2046.IS S2046

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1 terminations, conducted under paragraph (3) 

2 available on the Federal data catalogue estab3 lished under section 3511(c)(1). 

4 ‘‘(C) A requirement to make any standard 

5 or policy established by the statistical agency or 

6 unit to carry out this section and any assess7 ment conducted under this section easily acces8 sible on the public website of such agency or 

9 unit. 

10 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTOR.—The 

11 Director shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) make public all standards and policies es13 tablished under this section; and 

14 ‘‘(2) ensure that statistical agencies and units 

15 have the ability to make information public on the 

16 Federal data catalogue established under section 

17 3511(c)(1), in accordance with requirements estab18 lished pursuant to subsection (b). 

19 ‘‘§ 3583. Application to access data assets for devel20 oping evidence 

21 ‘‘(a) STANDARD APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Di22 rector shall establish a process through which agencies, 

23 the Congressional Budget Office, State, local, and Tribal 

24 governments, researchers, and other individuals, as appro25 priate, may apply to access the data assets accessed or 


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1 acquired under this subchapter by a statistical agency or 

2 unit for purposes of developing evidence. The process shall 

3 include the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) Sufficient detail to ensure that each statis5 tical agency or unit establishes an identical process. 

6 ‘‘(2) A common application form. 

7 ‘‘(3) Criteria for statistical agencies and units 

8 to determine whether to grant an applicant access to 

9 a data asset. 

10 ‘‘(4) Timeframes for prompt determinations by 

11 each statistical agency or unit. 

12 ‘‘(5) An appeals process for adverse decisions 

13 and noncompliance with the process established 

14 under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(6) Standards for transparency, including re16 quirements to make the following information pub17 licly available: 

18 ‘‘(A) Each application received. 

19 ‘‘(B) The status of each application. 

20 ‘‘(C) The determination made for each ap21 plication. 

22 ‘‘(D) Any other information, as appro23 priate, to ensure full transparency of the proc24 ess established under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the process re2 quired under subsection (a), the Director shall consult 

3 with stakeholders, including the public, agencies, State 

4 and local governments, and representatives of non-govern5 mental researchers. 

6 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The head of each statistical 

7 agency or unit shall implement the process established 

8 under subsection (a).’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

10 at the beginning of chapter 35 of title 44, United States 

11 Code, as amended by sections 202(g) and 302(b), is fur12 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘PART D—ACCESS TO DATA FOR EVIDENCE

‘‘3581. Presumption of accessibility for statistical agencies and units. 

‘‘3582. Expanding secure access to nonpublic data assets. 

‘‘3583. Application to access data assets for developing evidence.’’. 

13 (c) DEADLINE FOR GUIDANCE AND IMPLEMENTA14 TION.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Manage16 ment and Budget shall promulgate any regulation or guid17 ance required by subchapter III of title 44, United States 

18 Code, as amended by this section, with a requirement to 

19 implement such regulation or guidance not later than 1 

20 year after the date on which such regulation or guidance 

21 issues. 


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1 TITLE IV—GENERAL 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 401. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

4 Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 

5 Act, may be construed— 

6 (1) to require the disclosure of information or 

7 records that are exempt from disclosure under sec8 tion 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly 

9 known as the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’); or 

10 (2) to create or expand an exemption from dis11 closure under such section. 

12 SEC. 402. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 Except as otherwise provided, this Act, and the 

14 amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on the 

15 date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

16 this Act. 

Æ 


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