H. R. 5301 

One Hundred Eighteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-four 

An Act 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to require agencies to include a list of 

outdated or duplicative reporting requirements in annual budget justifications, 

and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Eliminate Useless Reports Act 

of 2024’’. 

SEC. 2. SUNSETS FOR AGENCY REPORTS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1125 of title 31, United States Code, 

is amended— 

(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); 

(2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 

following: 

‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

‘‘(1) BUDGET JUSTIFICATION MATERIALS.—The term ‘budget 

justification materials’ has the meaning given the term in section 3(b)(2) of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note; Public Law 109– 

282). 

‘‘(2) PLAN OR REPORT.—The term ‘plan or report’ means 

any plan or report submitted to Congress, any committee of 

Congress, or subcommittee thereof, by not less than 1 agency— 

‘‘(A) in accordance with Federal law; or 

‘‘(B) at the direction or request of a congressional 

report. 

‘‘(3) RECURRING PLAN OR REPORT.—The term ‘recurring plan 

or report’ means a plan or report submitted on a recurring 

basis. 

‘‘(4) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE.—The term ‘relevant congressional committee’— 

‘‘(A) means a congressional committee to which a recurring plan or report is required to be submitted; and 

‘‘(B) does not include any plan or report that is required 

to be submitted solely to the Committee on Armed Services 

of the House of Representatives or the Senate. 

‘‘(b) AGENCY IDENTIFICATION OF UNNECESSARY REPORTS.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each agency shall include 

in the budget justification materials of the agency the following: 

‘‘(A) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the following: 

‘‘(i) A list of each recurring plan or report submitted by the agency. 
H. R. 5301—2 

‘‘(ii) An identification of whether the recurring plan 

or report listed in clause (i) was included in the most 

recent report issued by the Clerk of the House of 

Representatives concerning the reports that any agency 

is required by law or directed or requested by a committee report to make to Congress, any committee 

of Congress, or subcommittee thereof. 

‘‘(iii) If applicable, the unique alphanumeric identifier for the recurring plan or report as required by 

section 7243(b)(1)(C)(vii) of the James M. Inhofe 

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

2023 (Public Law 117–263). 

‘‘(iv) The identification of any recurring plan or 

report the head of the agency determines to be outdated 

or duplicative. 

‘‘(B) With respect to each recurring plan or report 

identified in subparagraph (A)(iv), the following: 

‘‘(i) A recommendation on whether to sunset, 

modify, consolidate, or reduce the frequency of the 

submission of the recurring plan or report. 

‘‘(ii) A citation to each provision of law or directive 

or request in a congressional report that requires or 

requests the submission of the recurring plan or report. 

‘‘(iii) A list of the relevant congressional committees for the recurring plan or report. 

‘‘(C) A justification explaining, with respect to each 

recommendation described in subparagraph (B)(i) relating 

to a recurring plan or report— 

‘‘(i) why the head of the agency made the recommendation, which may include an estimate of the 

resources expended by the agency to prepare and 

submit the recurring plan or report; and 

‘‘(ii) the understanding of the head of the agency 

of the purpose of the recurring plan or report. 

‘‘(2) AGENCY CONSULTATION.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In preparing the list required under 

paragraph (1)(A), if, in submitting a recurring plan or 

report, an agency is required to coordinate or consult with 

another agency or entity, the head of the agency submitting 

the recurring plan or report shall consult with the head 

of each agency or entity with whom consultation or 

coordination is required. 

‘‘(B) INCLUSION IN LIST.—If, after a consultation under 

subparagraph (A), the head of each agency or entity consulted under that subparagraph agrees that a recurring 

plan or report is outdated or duplicative, the head of the 

agency required to submit the recurring plan or report 

shall— 

‘‘(i) include the recurring plan or report in the 

list described in paragraph (1)(A); and 

‘‘(ii) identify each agency or entity with which the 

head of the agency is required to coordinate or consult 

in submitting the recurring plan or report. 

‘‘(C) DISAGREEMENT.—If the head of any agency or 

entity consulted under subparagraph (A) does not agree 

that a recurring plan or report is outdated or duplicative, 

the head of the agency required to submit the recurring 
H. R. 5301—3 

plan or report shall not include the recurring plan or report 

in the list described in paragraph (1)(A). 

‘‘(3) GOVERNMENT-WIDE OR MULTI-AGENCY PLAN AND REPORT

SUBMISSIONS.—With respect to a recurring plan or report 

required to be submitted by not less than 2 agencies, the 

Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall— 

‘‘(A) determine whether the requirement to submit the 

recurring plan or report is outdated or duplicative; and 

‘‘(B) make recommendations to Congress accordingly. 

‘‘(4) PLAN AND REPORT SUBMISSIONS CONFORMITY TO THE

ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED REPORTS ACT.—With 

respect to an agency recommendation, citation, or justification 

made under subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1) or a 

recommendation by the Director of the Office of Management 

and Budget under paragraph (3), the agency or Director, as 

applicable, shall also provide this information to the Director 

of the Government Publishing Office in conformity with the 

agency submission requirements under section 7244(a) of the 

James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263; chapter 41 of title 44 note) 

in conformity with guidance issued by the Director of the Office 

of Management and Budget under section 7244(b) of such Act. 

‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION ON AGENCY REQUIREMENTS.— 

Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt the head 

of an agency from a requirement to submit a recurring plan or 

report.’’; and 

(3) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘in 

the budget of the United States Government, as provided by 

section 1105(a)(37)’’ and inserting ‘‘in the budget justification 

materials of each agency’’. 

(b) BUDGET CONTENTS.—Section 1105(a) of title 31, United 

States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (39). 

(c) CONFORMITY TO THE ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED REPORTS ACT.— 

(1) AMENDMENT.—Subsections (a) and (b) of section 7244 

of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act 

for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263; chapter 41 of title 

44, United States Code, note), are amended to read as follows: 

‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF ELECTRONIC COPIES OF REPORTS.—Not earlier than 30 days or later than 60 days after the date on which 

a congressionally mandated report is submitted to either House 

of Congress or to any committee of Congress or subcommittee 

thereof, the head of the Federal agency submitting the congressionally mandated report shall submit to the Director the information 

required under subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 7243(b)(1) 

with respect to the congressionally mandated report. Notwithstanding section 7246, nothing in this subtitle shall relieve a Federal agency of any other requirement to publish the congressionally 

mandated report on the online portal of the Federal agency or 

otherwise submit the congressionally mandated report to Congress 

or specific committees of Congress, or subcommittees thereof. 

‘‘(b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

the enactment of this subsection and periodically thereafter as 

appropriate, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 

in consultation with the Director, shall issue guidance to agencies 

on the implementation of this subtitle as well as the requirements 

of section 1125(b) of title 31, United States Code.’’. 
H. R. 5301—4 

(2) UPDATED OMB GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days 

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

the Office of Management and Budget shall issue updated 

guidance to agencies to ensure that the requirements under 

subsections (a) and (b) of section 1125 of title 31, United States 

Code, as amended by this Act, for agency submissions of recommendations and justifications for plans and reports to sunset, 

modify, consolidate, or reduce the frequency of the submission 

of are also submitted as a separate attachment in conformity 

with the agency submission requirements of electronic copies 

of reports submitted by agencies under section 7244(a) of the 

James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263; chapter 41 of title 44, United 

States Code, note) for publication on the online portal established under section 7243 of such Act. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.