II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1404

To establish a Federal Commission on Statistical Policy to study the reorganization of the Federal statistical system, to provide uniform safeguards

for the confidentiality of information acquired for exclusively statistical

purposes, and to improve the efficiency of Federal statistical programs

and the quality of Federal statistics by permitting limited sharing of

records among designated agencies for statistical purposes under strong

safeguards.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 7, 1997

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. THOMPSON, and Mr.

KERREY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To establish a Federal Commission on Statistical Policy to

study the reorganization of the Federal statistical system, to provide uniform safeguards for the confidentiality

of information acquired for exclusively statistical purposes, and to improve the efficiency of Federal statistical

programs and the quality of Federal statistics by permitting limited sharing of records among designated agencies for statistical purposes under strong safeguards.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

3 ‘‘Federal Statistical System Act of 1997’’.

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

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Sense of the Congress.

TITLE I—FEDERAL COMMISSION ON STATISTICAL POLICY

Sec. 101. Establishment.

Sec. 102. Duties of Commission.

Sec. 103. Powers.

Sec. 104. Commission procedures.

Sec. 105. Personnel matters.

Sec. 106. Other administrative provisions.

Sec. 107. Termination.

Sec. 108. Fast-track procedures for statistical reorganization bill.

TITLE II—EFFICIENCY AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF FEDERAL

STATISTICAL SYSTEMS

Sec. 201. Purposes.

Sec. 202. Definitions.

Sec. 203. Designation of Statistical Data Centers.

Sec. 204. Statistical Data Center responsibilities.

Sec. 205. Limitations on use and disclosure of data and information by Statistical Data Centers.

Sec. 206. Disclosure of data or information by Federal agencies to Statistical

Data Centers.

Sec. 207. Statistical Data Center successors.

Sec. 208. Coordination and oversight by Office of Management and Budget.

Sec. 209. Effect on other laws.

Sec. 210. Proposed changes in law.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress, recognizing the importance of statis8 tical information in the development of national priorities

9 and policies and in the administration of public programs,

10 hereby finds the following:

11 (1) While the demand for statistical information

12 has grown substantially during the last 30 years, the
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1 difficulty of coordinating planning within the decen2 tralized Federal statistical system has limited the

3 usefulness of statistics in defining problems and de4 termining national policies to deal with complex so5 cial and economic issues.

6 (2) Coordination and planning among the sta7 tistical programs of the Government are necessary to

8 strengthen and improve the quality and utility of

9 Federal statistics and to reduce duplication and

10 waste in information collected for statistical pur11 poses.

12 (3) High-quality Federal statistical products

13 and programs are essential for sound business and

14 public policy decisions.

15 (4) The challenge of providing high-quality sta16 tistics has increased because our economy and soci17 ety are more complex, new technologies are avail18 able, and decisionmakers need more complete and

19 accurate data.

20 (5) Maintaining quality of Federal statistical

21 products requires full cooperation between Federal

22 statistical agencies and those persons and organiza23 tions that respond to their requests for information.

24 (6) Federal statistical products and programs

25 can be improved, without reducing respondent co-
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1 operation, by permitting carefully controlled sharing

2 of data with statistical agencies in a manner that is

3 consistent with confidentiality commitments made to

4 respondents.

5 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

6 It is the sense of the Congress that—

7 (1) a more centralized statistical system is inte8 gral to efficiency;

9 (2) with increased efficiency comes better inte10 gration of research methodology, survey design, and

11 economies of scale;

12 (3) the Chief Statistician must have the author13 ity, personnel, and other resources necessary to

14 carry out the duties of that office effectively, includ15 ing duties relating to statistical forms clearance; and

16 (4) statistical forms clearance at the Office of

17 Management and Budget should be better distin18 guished from regulatory forms clearance.

19 TITLE I—FEDERAL COMMISSION

20 ON STATISTICAL POLICY

21 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com23 mission to be known as the ‘‘Federal Commission on Sta24 tistical Policy’’ (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Commis25 sion’’).
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1 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be com2 posed of 15 members as follows:

3 (1) The Chief Statistician of the Office of Man4 agement and Budget.

5 (2)(A) One member appointed by the President

6 who—

7 (i) is a Cabinet officer, an officer of Cabi8 net rank, the Chairman of the Board of Gov9 ernors of the Federal Reserve System, the

10 Comptroller General, or the Chairman of the

11 Council of Economic Advisers; and

12 (ii) shall serve as Chairman of the Com13 mission.

14 (B) Five members appointed by the President

15 from among individuals who—

16 (i) are not officers or employees of the

17 United States; and

18 (ii) are qualified to serve on the Commis19 sion by virtue of experience relating to the Bu20 reau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic

21 Analysis, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

22 (3) Four members appointed by the Speaker of

23 the House of Representatives, in consultation with

24 the majority leader and minority leader of the House

25 of Representatives, from among individuals who—
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1 (A) are not officers or employees of the

2 United States; and

3 (B) are qualified to serve on the Commis4 sion by virtue of experience relating to one or

5 more of the bureaus referred to in paragraph

6 (2)(B)(ii).

7 (4) Four members appointed by the President

8 pro tempore of the Senate, in consultation with the

9 majority leader and minority leader of the Senate,

10 from among individuals who—

11 (A) are not officers or employees of the

12 United States; and

13 (B) are qualified to serve on the Commis14 sion by virtue of experience relating to one or

15 more of the bureaus referred to in paragraph

16 (2)(B)(ii).

17 (c) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—Members shall

18 be appointed to the Commission not later than four

19 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

20 (d) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—(1) Of the members of

21 the Commission appointed under subsection (b)(2)(B), not

22 more than three may be of the same political party.

23 (2) Of the members of the Commission appointed

24 under subsection (b)(3), not more than two may be of the

25 same political party.
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1 (3) Of the members of the Commission appointed

2 under subsection (b)(4), not more than two may be of the

3 same political party.

4 (e) CONSULTATION BEFORE APPOINTMENTS.—In

5 making appointments under subsection (b), the President,

6 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the

7 President pro tempore of the Senate shall consult with ap8 propriate professional organizations, including the Amer9 ican Economic Association, the American Statistical Asso10 ciation, the National Academy of Sciences, the National

11 Academy of Public Administration, the American Public

12 Health Association, the American Sociological Association,

13 the American Political Science Association, the National

14 Governors Association, the United States Conference of

15 Mayors, and the Conference Board.

16 (f) TERMS.—(1) Each member appointed under sub17 section (b)(2) shall be so appointed for a term of four

18 years, except that, of the members first appointed under

19 subsection (b)(2)(B), two (who shall be of different politi20 cal parties) shall be appointed for a term of two years.

21 (2) Each member appointed under subsection (b)(3)

22 shall be so appointed for a term of four years, except that,

23 of the members first appointed, two (who shall be of dif24 ferent political parties) shall be appointed for a term of

25 two years.
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1 (3) Each member appointed under subsection (b)(4)

2 shall be so appointed for a term of four years, except that,

3 of the members first appointed, two (who shall be of dif4 ferent political parties) shall be appointed for a term of

5 two years.

6 SEC. 102. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

7 (a) STUDY AND REPORT.—The Commission shall

8 study and, not later than 18 months after the date of the

9 enactment of this Act, submit to Congress a written report

10 on the Federal statistical system including—

11 (1) recommendations on how the Federal statis12 tical system could be reorganized by consolidating

13 the statistical functions of agencies that carry out

14 statistical programs;

15 (2) recommendations on how to consolidate the

16 Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of the Cen17 sus, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis by Octo18 ber 1, 2001 (or by a date after that date), in a Fed19 eral Statistical Service;

20 (3) recommendations on how the consolidation

21 described in paragraph (2) may be achieved without

22 disruption in the release of statistical products;

23 (4) recommendations on whether the functions

24 of other agencies that carry out statistical programs
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1 should be transferred to a Federal Statistical Serv2 ice;

3 (5) recommendations on whether the functions

4 of the Bureau of the Census relating to decennial

5 censuses of population should be delineated from the

6 other functions of the Bureau and, if so, rec7 ommendations on how such a delineation of func8 tions might be achieved;

9 (6) any other recommendations regarding how

10 the Federal statistical system could be reorganized

11 to achieve greater efficiency in carrying out Federal

12 statistical programs; and

13 (7) recommendations on possible improvements

14 to procedures for the release of major economic and

15 social indicators by the United States.

16 (b) STATISTICAL REORGANIZATION BILL.—(1) If the

17 written report submitted to Congress under subsection (a)

18 contains recommendations on the consolidation of the Bu19 reau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of the Census, and

20 the Bureau of Economic Analysis in a Federal Statistical

21 Service, the report shall contain draft legislation incor22 porating such recommendations.

23 (2) Draft legislation submitted to Congress under

24 this subsection shall be limited to implementation of rec-
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1 ommendations for the consolidation or reorganization of

2 the functions of such bureaus.

3 (3) Draft legislation submitted to Congress under

4 this subsection that would establish a Federal Statistical

5 Service shall—

6 (A) provide for an Administrator and Deputy

7 Administrator of the Federal Statistical Service, and

8 the creation of other officers as appropriate; and

9 (B) contain a provision designating the Admin10 istrator as a member of the Interagency Council on

11 Statistical Policy established under section

12 3504(e)(8) of title 44, United States Code.

13 (c) PERMANENT FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.—If

14 legislation establishing a Federal Statistical Service is en15 acted by the Congress on or before the date that is 18

16 months after the date that the Commission submits its

17 report to Congress under section 102(a), the Commission

18 shall—

19 (1) make recommendations for nominations for

20 the appointment of an Administrator and Deputy

21 Administrator, and make recommendations with re22 spect to the creation of, and nominations for, other

23 positions in the Federal Statistical Service;
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1 (2) serve as an advisory body to the Federal

2 Statistical Service on confidentiality issues relating

3 to—

4 (A) the collection by, or sharing of data for

5 statistical purposes among, Federal agencies;

6 and

7 (B) the sharing of data for statistical pur8 poses by States and local governments with the

9 United States; and

10 (3) conduct comprehensive studies and submit

11 reports to Congress on all matters relating to the

12 Federal statistical infrastructure, including longitu13 dinal surveys conducted by private agencies and par14 tially funded by the Federal Government for the

15 purpose of identifying opportunities to improve the

16 quality of statistics in the United States. Such stud17 ies shall include—

18 (A) an evaluation of the accuracy and ap19 propriateness of key statistical indicators and

20 recommendations on ways to improve such ac21 curacy and appropriateness so that the indica22 tors better serve the major purposes for which

23 they were intended;

24 (B) an examination of multipurpose statis25 tical agencies that collect and analyze data of
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1 broad interest across department and function

2 areas, such as the Bureau of Economic Analy3 sis, the Bureau of the Census, and the Bureau

4 of Labor Statistics, for the purpose of under5 standing the interrelationship and flow of data

6 among agencies;

7 (C) a review and evaluation of the collec8 tion of data for purposes of administering such

9 programs as Old-Age, Survivors and Disability

10 Insurance and Unemployment Insurance under

11 the Social Security Act;

12 (D) a review and evaluation of the mission

13 and organization of various statistical agencies,

14 including—

15 (i) recommendations with respect to

16 statistical activities that should be ex17 panded or eliminated;

18 (ii) the order of priority such activities

19 should be carried out; and

20 (iii) a review of the advantages and

21 disadvantages of a centralized statistical

22 agency of additional consolidation of Fed23 eral statistical agencies;

24 (E) an examination of the methodology in25 volved in producing official data and rec-
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1 ommendations for technical changes to improve

2 statistics;

3 (F) a review of interagency coordination of

4 statistical data and recommendations of meth5 ods to standardize collection procedures and

6 surveys, as appropriate, and presentation of

7 data throughout the Federal system;

8 (G) a review of information technology and

9 recommendations of appropriate methods for

10 disseminating statistical data, with special em11 phasis on resources such as the Internet that

12 allow the public to obtain information in a time13 ly and cost-effective manner;

14 (H) an identification and examination of

15 issues regarding individual privacy in the con16 text of statistical data;

17 (I) a comparison of the United States sta18 tistical system to statistical systems of other

19 nations for the purposes of identifying best

20 practices and developing a system of maintain21 ing best practices over time;

22 (J) a consideration of the coordination of

23 statistical data with other nations and inter24 national agencies, such as the Organization for

25 Economic Cooperation and Development;
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1 (K) a recommendation of a strategy for

2 maintaining a modern and efficient Federal sta3 tistical infrastructure to produce meaningful in4 formation as the needs of the United States so5 ciety and economy change; and

6 (L) recommendations regarding the use of

7 statistical data in Federal funding formulas, the

8 presentation to the public of statistical data col9 lected by Federal agencies, and standards of ac10 curacy for statistical data used by Federal

11 agencies, including statistical data relating to—

12 (i) the national poverty level and

13 county poverty levels in the United States;

14 (ii) the Consumer Price Index;

15 (iii) the gross national product;

16 (iv) other indicators of economic and

17 social activity; and

18 (v) the decennial census.

19 (d) DEFINITION OF FEDERAL STATISTICAL SERV20 ICE.—As used in this section, the term ‘‘Federal Statis21 tical Service’’ means an entity established after the date

22 of the enactment of this Act as an independent establish23 ment in the executive branch, the purpose of which is to

24 carry out Federal statistical programs and to which the

25 statistical functions of the Bureau of Economic Analysis,
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1 the Bureau of the Census, or the Bureau of Labor Statis2 tics are transferred.

3 SEC. 103. POWERS.

4 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

5 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hear6 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and

7 receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate.

8 (b) OBTAINING INFORMATION.—The Commission

9 may secure directly from any department or agency of the

10 United States information necessary to enable it to carry

11 out this Act. Upon request of the Chairman of the Com12 mission, the head of that department or agency shall fur13 nish that information to the Commission.

14 (c) IMMUNITY.—The Commission is an agency of the

15 United States for purposes of part V of title 18, United

16 States Code (relating to immunity of witnesses).

17 (d) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Commission may

18 contract with and compensate government and private

19 agencies or persons without regard to section 3709 of the

20 Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5).

21 SEC. 104. COMMISSION PROCEDURES.

22 (a) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

23 call of the Chairman or a majority of its members.
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1 (b) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Commission

2 shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number may hold

3 hearings.

4 (c) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—Any member or

5 agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the Com6 mission, take any action which the Commission is author7 ized to take by this Act.

8 SEC. 105. PERSONNEL MATTERS.

9 (a) PAY OF MEMBERS.—Members of the Commission

10 appointed under paragraphs (2)(B), (3), or (4) of section

11 101(b) shall be entitled to receive the daily equivalent of

12 the rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule

13 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each

14 day (including travel time) during which they are engaged

15 in the actual performance of duties vested in the Commis16 sion.

17 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com18 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem

19 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702

20 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

21 (c) STAFF.—The Commission may appoint and fix

22 the pay of personnel as it considers appropriate.

23 (d) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

24 LAWS.—Staff of the Commission may be appointed with25 out regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code,
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1 governing appointments in the competitive service, and

2 may be paid without regard to the provisions of chapter

3 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating

4 to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except

5 that an individual so appointed may not receive pay in

6 excess of the highest basic rate of pay established for the

7 Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of such title.

8 SEC. 106. OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

9 (a) POSTAL AND PRINTING SERVICES.—The Com10 mission may use the United States mails and obtain print11 ing and binding services in the same manner and under

12 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

13 the United States.

14 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon

15 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen16 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim17 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec18 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities

19 under this Act.

20 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission

21 may procure temporary and intermittent services under

22 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code.

23 SEC. 107. TERMINATION.

24 (a) INAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM25 MITTEE ACT.—Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Advi-
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1 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), relating to the termi2 nation of advisory committees, shall not apply to the Com3 mission.

4 (b) CONTINGENCY OF TERMINATION.—If legislation

5 establishing a Federal Statistical Service (as that term is

6 defined in section 102(d)) is not enacted by the Congress

7 on or before the date that is 18 months after the date

8 that the Commission submits its report under section

9 102(a), the Commission shall terminate upon expiration

10 of that period.

11 SEC. 108. FAST-TRACK PROCEDURES FOR STATISTICAL RE12 ORGANIZATION BILL.

13 (a) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND

14 SENATE.—This section is enacted by the Congress—

15 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

16 the House of Representatives and the Senate, re17 spectively, and as such it shall be considered as part

18 of the rules of each House, respectively, or of that

19 House to which it specifically applies, and shall su20 persede other rules only to the extent that they are

21 inconsistent with this section; and

22 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

23 right of either House to change the rules (so far as

24 relating to such House) at any time, in the same
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1 manner and to the same extent as in the case of

2 any other rule of that House.

3 (b) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term

4 ‘‘statistical reorganization bill’’ means only a bill of either

5 House of Congress—

6 (1) that is substantially identical to the draft

7 legislation submitted to Congress by the Commission

8 under section 102(b); and

9 (2) that is introduced as provided in subsection

10 (c).

11 (c) INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL.—Within 15 leg12 islative days after the Commission submits to Congress

13 draft legislation under section 102(b), legislation that is

14 substantially identical to the draft legislation shall be in15 troduced (by request) in the House by the majority leader

16 of the House of Representatives and shall be introduced

17 (by request) in the Senate by the majority leader of the

18 Senate. Such bills shall be referred to the appropriate

19 committees.

20 (d) CERTAIN AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED.—No

21 amendment to a statistical reorganization bill other than

22 a technical amendment shall be in order in either the

23 House of Representatives or the Senate, and no motion

24 to suspend the application of this subsection shall be in

25 order in either House, nor shall it be in order in either
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1 House to entertain a request to suspend the application

2 of this subsection by unanimous consent.

3 (e) PERIOD FOR COMMITTEE AND FLOOR CONSIDER4 ATION.—

5 (1) If the committee of either House to which

6 a statistical reorganization bill has been referred has

7 not reported it at the close of the 20th day after its

8 introduction, such committee shall be automatically

9 discharged from further consideration of the bill and

10 it shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. If

11 prior to the passage by one House of a statistical re12 organization bill of that House, that House receives

13 the same statistical reorganization bill from the

14 other House, then—

15 (A) the procedure in that House shall be

16 the same as if no statistical reorganization bill

17 had been received from the other House; but

18 (B) the vote on final passage shall be on

19 the statistical reorganization bill of the other

20 House.

21 (2) A vote on final passage of a statistical reor22 ganization bill shall be taken in each House on or

23 before the close of the 15th day after the bill is re24 ported by the committee or committees of that

25 House to which the bill was referred, or the 15th
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1 day after such committee or committees have been

2 discharged from further consideration of the bill.

3 (3) For purposes of this subsection, in comput4 ing a number of days in either House, there shall be

5 excluded the days on which that House is not in ses6 sion because of an adjournment of more than 3 days

7 to a day certain or an adjournment of the Congress

8 sine die.

9 (f) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE.—

10 (1) A motion in the House of Representatives

11 to proceed to the consideration of a statistical reor12 ganization bill shall be highly privileged except that

13 a motion to proceed to consider may only be made

14 on the second legislative day after the calendar day

15 on which the Member making the motion announces

16 to the House his intention to do so. The motion to

17 proceed to consider is not debatable. An amendment

18 to the motion shall not be in order, nor shall it be

19 in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the

20 motion is agreed to or disagreed to.

21 (2) Debate on a statistical reorganization bill in

22 the House of Representatives shall be limited to not

23 more than 4 hours, which shall be divided equally

24 between those favoring and those opposing the bill.

25 The previous question on the statistical reorganiza-
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1 tion bill shall be considered as ordered to final pas2 sage without intervening motion. It shall not be in

3 order to move to recommit a statistical reorganiza4 tion bill or to reconsider the vote by which a statis5 tical reorganization bill is agreed to or disagreed to.

6 (3) All appeals from the decisions of the Chair

7 relating to the application of the Rules of the House

8 of Representatives to the procedure relating to a sta9 tistical reorganization bill shall be decided without

10 debate.

11 (g) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.—

12 (1) A motion in the Senate to proceed to the

13 consideration of a statistical reorganization bill shall

14 be privileged and not debatable. An amendment to

15 the motion shall not be in order, nor shall it be in

16 order to move to reconsider the vote by which the

17 motion is agreed to or disagreed to.

18 (2) Debate in the Senate on a statistical reorga19 nization bill, and all debatable motions and appeals

20 in connection therewith, shall be limited to not more

21 than 10 hours. The time shall be equally divided be22 tween, and controlled by, the majority leader and the

23 minority leader or their designees.

24 (3) Debate in the Senate on any debatable mo25 tion or appeal in connection with a statistical reorga-
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1 nization bill shall be limited to not more than 1

2 hour, to be equally divided between, and controlled

3 by, the mover and the manager of the bill, except

4 that in the event the manager of the bill is in favor

5 of any such motion or appeal, the time in opposition

6 thereto shall be controlled by the minority leader or

7 his designee. Such leaders, or either of them, may,

8 from time under their control on the passage of a

9 statistical reorganization bill, allot additional time to

10 any Senator during the consideration of any debat11 able motion or appeal.

12 (4) A motion in the Senate to further limit de13 bate is not debatable. A motion to recommit a statis14 tical reorganization bill is not in order.

15 SEC. 109. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 There is authorized to be appropriated for the Com17 mission such sums as may be necessary to carry out the

18 functions of the Commission.

19 TITLE II—EFFICIENCY AND CON20 FIDENTIALITY OF FEDERAL

21 STATISTICAL SYSTEMS

22 SEC. 201. PURPOSES.

23 The purposes of this title are the following:

24 (1) To provide that individually identifiable in25 formation furnished either directly or indirectly to
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1 designated statistical agencies for exclusively statis2 tical purposes shall not be disclosed in individually

3 identifiable form by such agencies for any other pur4 pose without the informed consent of the respond5 ent.

6 (2) To prohibit the use by such agencies, in in7 dividually identifiable form, of any information col8 lected, compiled, or maintained solely for statistical

9 purposes under Federal authority, to make any deci10 sion or take any action directly affecting the rights,

11 benefits, and privileges of the person to whom the

12 information pertains, except with the person’s con13 sent.

14 (3) To reduce the reporting burden, duplication,

15 and expense imposed on the public by permitting

16 interagency exchange, solely for statistical purposes,

17 of individually identifiable information needed for

18 statistical programs, and to establish secure condi19 tions for such exchanges.

20 (4) To reduce the cost and improve the accu21 racy of statistical programs by facilitating coopera22 tive projects between statistical agencies, and to cre23 ate a secure environment where expertise and data

24 resources that reside in different agencies can be
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1 brought together to address the information needs of

2 the public.

3 (5) To reduce the risk of unauthorized disclo4 sure of information maintained solely for statistical

5 purposes by designating specific statistical agencies

6 that are authorized to receive otherwise privileged

7 information for such purposes from other agencies,

8 and to prescribe specific conditions and procedures

9 that must be complied with in any such exchange.

10 (6) To establish a consistent basis under the re11 quirements of section 552 of title 5, United States

12 Code (popularly known as the ‘‘Freedom of Informa13 tion Act’’) for exempting a defined class of statis14 tical information from compulsory disclosure.

15 (7) To ensure that existing avenues for public

16 access to administrative data or information under

17 section 552a of title 5, United States Code (popu18 larly known as the ‘‘Privacy Act’’) or the Freedom

19 of Information Act are retained without change.

20 (8) To establish consistent procedural safe21 guards for records disclosed exclusively for statistical

22 purposes, including both public input and an over23 sight process to ensure fair information practices.

24 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

25 As used in this title:
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1 (1) The term ‘‘agency’’ means any Federal or2 ganization that falls within the definition of ‘‘execu3 tive agency’’ in section 102 of title 31, United States

4 Code, or within the definition of ‘‘agency’’ in section

5 3502 of title 44, United States Code.

6 (2) The term ‘‘agent’’ means a person des7 ignated by a Statistical Data Center (as designated

8 in section 203) to perform, either in the capacity of

9 a Federal employee or otherwise, exclusively statis10 tical activities authorized by law under the super11 vision or control of an officer or employee of that

12 Statistical Data Center, and who has agreed in writ13 ing to comply with all provisions of law that affect

14 information acquired by that Statistical Data Cen15 ter.

16 (3) The term ‘‘identifiable form’’ means any

17 representation of information that permits informa18 tion concerning an individual to be reasonably in19 ferred by either direct or indirect means.

20 (4) The term ‘‘nonstatistical purpose’’ means

21 any purpose that is not a statistical purpose, and in22 cludes any administrative, regulatory, adjudicatory,

23 or other purpose that affects the rights, privileges,

24 or benefits of a particular identifiable respondent.
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1 (5) The term ‘‘respondent’’ means a person who

2 is requested or required to supply information to an

3 agency, who is the subject of information requested

4 or required to be supplied to an agency, or who pro5 vides that information to an agency.

6 (6) The term ‘‘statistical activities’’—

7 (A) means the collection, compilation,

8 processing, or analysis of data for the purpose

9 of describing or making estimates concerning

10 the whole of, or relevant groups or components

11 within, the economy, society, or the natural en12 vironment; and

13 (B) includes the development of methods

14 or resources that support those activities, such

15 as measurement methods, models, statistical

16 classifications, or sampling frames.

17 (7) The term ‘‘statistical purpose’’—

18 (A) means the description, estimation, or

19 analysis of the characteristics of groups without

20 regard to the identities of persons that comprise

21 such groups; and

22 (B) includes the development, implementa23 tion, or maintenance of methods, technical or

24 administrative procedures, or information re25 sources that support such purposes.
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1 SEC. 203. DESIGNATION OF STATISTICAL DATA CENTERS.

2 Each of the following is hereby designated as a Sta3 tistical Data Center:

4 (1) The Bureau of Economic Analysis in the

5 Department of Commerce.

6 (2) The Bureau of the Census in the Depart7 ment of Commerce.

8 (3) The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the De9 partment of Labor.

10 (4) The National Agricultural Statistics Service

11 in the Department of Agriculture.

12 (5) The National Center for Education Statis13 tics in the Department of Education.

14 (6) The National Center for Health Statistics

15 in the Department of Health and Human Services.

16 (7) The Energy End Use and Integrated Statis17 tics Division of the Energy Information Administra18 tion in the Department of Energy.

19 (8) The Division of Science Resources Studies

20 in the National Science Foundation.

21 SEC. 204. STATISTICAL DATA CENTER RESPONSIBILITIES.

22 The Statistical Data Centers designated in section

23 203 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 by sharing information for ex2 clusively statistical purposes;

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

5 programs;

6 (3) safeguard the confidentiality of individually

7 identifiable information acquired for statistical pur8 poses by assuring its physical security and by con9 trolling access to, and uses made of, such informa10 tion; and

11 (4) respect the rights and privileges of the pub12 lic by observing and promoting fair information

13 practices.

14 SEC. 205. LIMITATIONS ON USE AND DISCLOSURE OF DATA

15 AND INFORMATION BY STATISTICAL DATA

16 CENTERS.

17 (a) USE OF STATISTICAL DATA OR INFORMATION.—

18 A Statistical Data Center may use data or information

19 acquired for exclusively statistical purposes only for statis20 tical purposes.

21 (b) DISCLOSURE OF STATISTICAL DATA OR INFOR22 MATION.—A Statistical Data Center may not disclose data

23 or information acquired for exclusively statistical purposes

24 in identifiable form for any purpose other than a statis-
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1 tical purpose without the informed consent of the respond2 ent.

3 (c) RULE FOR USE OF DATA OR INFORMATION FOR

4 NONSTATISTICAL PURPOSES.—A Statistical Data Center

5 shall clearly distinguish any data or information collected

6 for nonstatistical purposes (as authorized by law) by the

7 Statistical Data Center by a rule that provides that the

8 respondent supplying the data or information is fully in9 formed, before the data or information is collected, that

10 the data or information will be used for nonstatistical pur11 poses.

12 SEC. 206. DISCLOSURE OF DATA OR INFORMATION BY FED13 ERAL AGENCIES TO STATISTICAL DATA CEN14 TERS.

15 (a) AGENCIES THAT MAY DISCLOSE DATA OR IN16 FORMATION TO A STATISTICAL DATA CENTER.—Subject

17 to subsection (b), the following agencies may disclose data

18 or information to a Statistical Data Center for statistical

19 purposes:

20 (1) A Statistical Data Center.

21 (2) The Department of Commerce.

22 (3) The Department of Labor.

23 (4) The Department of Agriculture.

24 (5) The Department of Education.
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1 (6) The Department of Health and Human

2 Services.

3 (7) The Department of Energy.

4 (8) The National Science Foundation.

5 (9) The Internal Revenue Service.

6 (b) LIMITATIONS ON DISCLOSURE.—Data or infor7 mation may be disclosed to a Statistical Data Center

8 under subsection (a) only if—

9 (1) the data or information is to be used exclu10 sively for statistical purposes by the Statistical Data

11 Center;

12 (2) the disclosure to, and proposed use by, the

13 data or information by the Statistical Data Center

14 is not inconsistent with any provisions of law or Ex15 ecutive order that explicitly limit the statistical pur16 poses for which such data or information may be

17 used;

18 (3) the disclosure is not prohibited by law or

19 Executive order in the interest of national security;

20 (4) the disclosure is made under the terms of

21 a written agreement between the Statistical Data

22 Center and the agency or unit supplying the data or

23 information that specifies—

24 (A) the data or information to be disclosed;
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1 (B) the purposes for which the data or in2 formation is to be used; and

3 (C) appropriate security procedures to

4 safeguard the confidentiality of the data or in5 formation; and

6 (5) the data or information is not disclosed in

7 identifiable form (except in a case in which the data

8 or information was collected directly by a party to

9 the agreement and the agreement specifies that the

10 data or information may be so disclosed to another

11 party to the agreement for exclusively statistical

12 purposes).

13 (c) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The public notice and

14 comment procedures for data collections described in sec15 tion 3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44, United States Code, and

16 the provisions relating to review of data collections by the

17 Director of the Office of Management and Budget in sec18 tion 3507 of such title, shall apply to each written agree19 ment entered into under subsection (b)(4). The scope of

20 any public notice and comment with respect to any such

21 written agreement shall extend to all issues relating to the

22 requirements of this section.

23 (d) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.—(1) The dis24 closure of data or information by an agency to a Statistical

25 Data Center under this section shall in no way alter the
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1 responsibility of that agency under other statutes (includ2 ing the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act)

3 with respect to the disclosure or withholding of such infor4 mation by that agency.

5 (2) If data or information obtained by an agency is

6 disclosed to a Statistical Data Center pursuant to this sec7 tion, all provisions of law (including penalties) that relate

8 to the unlawful disclosure of the data or information apply

9 to the officers, employees, or agents of the Statistical Data

10 Center to which information is disclosed to the same ex11 tent and in the same manner as the provisions apply to

12 the officers and employees of the agency which originally

13 obtained the information.

14 (3) The officers, employees, and agents of the agency

15 to which the information is released, in addition, shall be

16 subject to the same provisions of law, including penalties,

17 relating to the unlawful disclosure of information that

18 would apply to officers and employees of that agency, if

19 the information had been collected directly by that agency.

20 SEC. 207. STATISTICAL DATA CENTER SUCCESSORS.

21 (a) DESIGNATION.—In the case of a reorganization

22 that eliminates, or substantially alters the mission or func23 tions of, an agency listed in section 206(a), the Director

24 of the Office of Management and Budget, after consulta25 tion with the head of the agency proposing the reorganiza-
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1 tion, may designate an agency or unit that shall serve as

2 a successor Statistical Data Center under the terms of this

3 title, if the Director determines that—

4 (1) the primary activities of the proposed Sta5 tistical Data Center are statistical activities specifi6 cally authorized by law;

7 (2) the proposed Statistical Data Center would

8 participate in data sharing activities that signifi9 cantly improve Federal statistical programs or prod10 ucts;

11 (3) the proposed Statistical Data Center has

12 demonstrated its capability to protect the individual

13 confidentiality of any shared data; and

14 (4) the statutes that apply to the proposed Sta15 tistical Data Center are not inconsistent with this

16 title.

17 (b) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The head of an agency

18 seeking designation as a successor Statistical Data Center

19 under this subsection shall, after consultation with the Di20 rector of the Office of Management and Budget, provide

21 public notice and an opportunity to comment on the con22 sequences of such designation and on those determinations

23 upon which the designation is proposed to be based.

24 (c) PROHIBITION AGAINST INCREASE IN NUMBER OF

25 CENTERS.—No action taken under this section shall in-
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1 crease the number of Statistical Data Centers authorized

2 by this title.

3 SEC. 208. COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT BY OFFICE OF

4 MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of

6 Management and Budget shall coordinate and oversee the

7 confidentiality and disclosure policies established by this

8 title.

9 (b) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—The Director of

10 the Office of Management and Budget may promulgate

11 such rules as may be necessary to implement this title.

12 (c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF RULES.—The Direc13 tor of the Office of Management and Budget shall review

14 and approve any rules proposed pursuant to this title for

15 consistency with this title and chapter 35 of title 44, Unit16 ed States Code.

17 (d) REPORT OF DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS.—(1)

18 The head of a Statistical Data Center shall report to the

19 Office of Management and Budget—

20 (A) each disclosure agreement entered into pur21 suant to section 206(b)(4);

22 (B) the results of any review of information se23 curity undertaken at the request of the Office of

24 Management and Budget; and
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1 (C) the results of any similar review undertaken

2 on the initiative of the Statistical Data Center or an

3 agency supplying data or information to a Statistical

4 Data Center.

5 (2) The Director of the Office of Management and

6 Budget shall include a summary of all reports submitted

7 to the Director under this subsection and any actions

8 taken by the Director to advance the purposes of this title

9 in its annual report to the Congress on statistical pro10 grams.

11 SEC. 209. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

12 (a) 44 U.S.C. 3510.—This title, including the amend13 ments made herein, does not diminish the authority under

14 section 3510 of title 44, United States Code, of the Direc15 tor of the Office of Management and Budget to direct,

16 and of an agency to make, disclosures that are not incon17 sistent with any applicable law.

18 (b) 5 U.S.C. 552.—Data or information acquired for

19 exclusively statistical purposes as provided in section 205

20 is exempt from mandatory disclosure under section 552

21 of title 5, United States Code, pursuant to section

22 552(b)(3) of such title.

23 SEC. 210. PROPOSED CHANGES IN LAW.

24 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress
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1 a description of any changes in Federal law necessary to

2 reflect any measures under this Act.

Æ