I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2689 
To improve the service delivery of agencies and public perception of agency 
interactions, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 18, 2023 
Ms. PORTER (for herself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. MFUME, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
TITUS, Mr. KILMER, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. CASE, Ms. JAYAPAL, 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT, and Mr. PHILLIPS) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in 
addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, Natural 
Resources, Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, Education and the Work-
force, Veterans’ Affairs, Homeland Security, Small Business, and Armed 
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To improve the service delivery of agencies and public 
perception of agency interactions, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trust in Government 
Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF SERVICE DELIVERY OF AGEN-
CIES AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF AGENCY 
INTERACTIONS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the agencies subject to the requirements of 
this Act should— 
(A) improve their understanding of cus-
tomers; 
(B) reduce administrative hurdles and pa-
perwork burdens to minimize the time it takes 
to process benefits, enhance transparency, and 
create greater efficiencies across Government; 
(C) improve public perception of agency 
interactions by systematically identifying and 
resolving the root causes of any challenge expe-
rienced by the public with respect to such inter-
actions, regardless of whether the source of any 
such challenge is statutory, regulatory, budg-
etary, technological, or process-based; and 
(D) to engender public trust, ensure that 
the efforts of the agency appropriately maintain 
or enhance protections afforded under law and 
the policies of the agency, including protections 
related to civil rights, civil liberties, privacy, 
confidentiality, and information security; and 
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(2) the Federal Government should— 
(A) make improving service deliveries and 
public perception of agency interactions funda-
mental priorities; and 
(B) measure performance empirically and 
by on-the-ground results for the people of the 
United States, especially for experiences of the 
people of the United States with services deliv-
ered by agencies. 
(b) REFORMS TO IMPROVE AGENCY SERVICE DELIV-
ERY AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.— 
(1) REFORMS.—In order to improve the overall 
economy, efficiency, and management of government 
operations and activities, reduce the paperwork of 
agencies, and provide high-quality services to the 
public— 
(A) the Secretary of State shall redesign 
the passport renewal process to allow for a fully 
online renewal application that does not require 
any physical documents to be mailed; 
(B) the Secretary of the Treasury shall de-
sign and deliver new online tools and services of 
the Internal Revenue Service to— 
(i) expand electronic filing options for 
taxpayers; 
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(ii) provide the option for taxpayers to 
receive customer support via secure email; 
and 
(iii) provide the option for taxpayers 
to schedule customer support telephone 
call-backs; 
(C) the Secretary of the Interior shall de-
sign and deliver a centralized, modernized elec-
tronic permitting system to accept and process 
applications for permits; 
(D) the Secretary of Agriculture shall de-
sign and deliver new online tools and services— 
(i) for online purchasing under the 
special supplemental nutrition program for 
women, infants, and children under section 
17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
U.S.C. 1786); 
(ii) to simplify enrollment and recer-
tification for nutrition assistance programs 
such as the supplemental nutrition assist-
ance program (commonly known as SNAP) 
and the program described in clause (i), in-
cluding expanding the use of direct certifi-
cation; and 
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(iii) for a simplified process for apply-
ing for direct loans under subtitle A or B 
of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De-
velopment Act; 
(E) the Secretary of Labor shall— 
(i) update existing rules and policies, 
consistent with applicable law and to the 
extent practicable, to allow individuals en-
titled to medical treatment under any Fed-
eral workers’ compensation program to 
conduct their routine medical treatment 
appointments using telehealth platforms; 
and 
(ii) update rules, policies, and proce-
dures to eliminate, consistent with applica-
ble law and to the extent practicable, re-
quirements 
for 
workers’ 
compensation 
claimants to submit physical documents, 
but to retain the option for physical sub-
mission for claimants who cannot other-
wise submit them; 
(F) the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall— 
(i) continue to design and deliver new, 
personalized online tools and expanded 
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customer support options for individuals 
entitled to benefits under part A of title 
XVIII of the Social Security Act or en-
rolled under part B of such title; 
(ii) strengthen requirements for ma-
ternal health quality measurement, includ-
ing— 
(I) measuring perinatal quality 
and patient care experiences; and 
(II) evaluating the measurements 
by race and ethnicity to better identify 
inequities in maternal health care de-
livery and outcomes; 
(iii) to the maximum extent permitted 
by law, support coordination between the 
Medicare program under title XVIII of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et 
seq.), the Medicaid program under title 
XIX of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), 
the Children’s Health Insurance Program 
under title XXI of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
1397aa et seq.); 
(iv) to the maximum extent permitted 
by law, propose ways to streamline State 
benefit program enrollment and renewal 
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processes in order to reduce administrative 
burden on customers and remove barriers 
to enrollment and renewal, including by 
eliminating face-to-face interview require-
ments and requiring prepopulated elec-
tronic renewal forms, to ensure eligible in-
dividuals are automatically enrolled in and 
retain access to such benefit programs; 
(v) develop guidance for covered enti-
ties and business associates of such entities 
as such terms are defined in section 
160.103 of title 45, Code of Federal Regu-
lations, on providing telehealth in compli-
ance with HIPAA privacy regulation (as 
defined in section 1180(b)(3) of the Social 
Security Act) to improve patient experience 
and convenience following the end of the 
COVID–19 public health emergency; and 
(vi) test methods to automate patient 
access to electronic prenatal, birth, and 
postpartum health records (including lab-
oratory results, genetic tests, ultrasound 
images, and clinical notes) to improve pa-
tient experiences in maternity care and 
health outcomes; 
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(G) the Secretary of Education shall— 
(i) submit to Congress a plan for pro-
viding eligible recipients of Federal finan-
cial aid under title IV of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 
seq.), with the option to receive informa-
tion about relevant recommendations for 
benefits and services provided by the Fed-
eral Government that such recipients may 
qualify for (including healthcare subsidies, 
broadband support, and food assistance) to 
connect such recipients with support to 
lower additional economic barriers to post-
secondary education completion; and 
(ii) design and make available to the 
public a centralized loan repayment portal 
through the website of the Department of 
Education that enables a borrower of any 
loan made under part D of title IV of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087a et seq.), regardless of loan servicer, 
to make payments on such loan; 
(H) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
provide digital services through a single, inte-
grated, and equitable digital platform on 
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VA.gov and an appropriate mobile application 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs; 
(I) the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall design and deliver— 
(i) innovative technologies at airport 
security checkpoints to reduce passenger 
wait times; 
(ii) new opportunities for customers to 
connect with the Transportation Security 
Administration, including as appropriate, 
through— 
(I) online chat; 
(II) 
improved 
communications 
during additional screenings; and 
(III) additional mechanisms to 
provide customer feedback; and 
(iii) a streamlined, online disaster as-
sistance application; 
(J) the Administrator of the Small Busi-
ness Administration shall develop and imple-
ment a streamlined, online disaster assistance 
application; 
(K) the Commissioner of Social Security 
shall— 
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(i) develop a mobile-accessible, online 
process so that any individual applying for 
or receiving services from the Social Secu-
rity Administration can upload forms, doc-
umentation, evidence, or correspondence 
associated with their transaction without 
the need for service-specific tools or trav-
eling to a field office; 
(ii) consistent with applicable law and 
to the extent practicable, maintain a public 
policy of technology neutrality with respect 
to acceptable forms of electronic signa-
tures; 
(iii) consistent with applicable law and 
to the extent practicable, revise any nec-
essary regulations, forms, instructions, or 
other sources of guidance (to include the 
Program Operations Manual System of the 
Social Security Administration) to remove 
requirements that members of the public 
provide physical signatures; and 
(iv) to the maximum extent permitted 
by law, support applicants and bene-
ficiaries to identify other benefits for which 
they may be eligible and integrate Social 
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Security Administration data and proc-
esses with those of other Federal and State 
entities whenever possible; 
(L) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and 
the Administrator of General Services shall col-
laborate to provide seamless integration of 
Login.gov accounts to allow customers to access 
any websites and applications of the Depart-
ment, and other customer-facing digital prod-
ucts and to eliminate outdated and duplicate 
customer sign-in options; 
(M) the Secretary of the Treasury, the 
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Edu-
cation, and the Director of the Office of Per-
sonnel Management shall collaborate to enable 
a more streamlined Public Service Loan For-
giveness process for eligible borrowers, includ-
ing those who serve in the United States Armed 
Forces or as civil servants, or who work for eli-
gible nonprofit organizations; 
(N) the Director of OMB, acting through 
the Administrator of the United States Digital 
Service, shall collaborate with agencies in the 
executive branch and Tribal governments to 
conduct research and document challenges re-
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lated to accessing grant programs to which the 
Tribal governments are entitled, and shall pro-
pose ways to streamline processes and reduce 
administrative burdens for Tribal government 
customers; and 
(O) the Director of OMB, acting through 
the Administrator of the United States Digital 
Service, the Administrator of General Services, 
and the Postmaster General, shall develop ways 
to update mailing address records across Gov-
ernment so that members of the public may 
change their respective mailing addresses for 
purposes of all Government services only once, 
through the United States Postal Service. 
(2) ONGOING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR IMPROVING 
FEDERAL
SERVICE
DELIVERY
AND
IMPROVING 
TRUST IN GOVERNMENT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
every 90 days thereafter— 
(A) the head of each agency subject to a 
requirement under subsection (a) shall certify 
in writing to the Director of OMB that the re-
quirement has been satisfied; and 
(B) the Director of OMB shall— 
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(i) in coordination with each head of 
an agency identified under paragraph (1), 
submit in writing to Congress, reports on 
the status of the progress of agencies in 
satisfying the requirements required by 
subsection (a), until such time as those re-
quirements have been satisfied; and 
(ii) with respect to each agency sub-
ject to a requirement under subsection (a), 
certify in writing to Congress that the 
head of each agency has satisfied the re-
quirement. 
(c) OMB GUIDANCE.— 
(1) AGENCY
CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
INITIA-
TIVES.—Not later than 270 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Director of OMB 
shall designate a team of individuals within the Of-
fice of Management and Budget to lead and support 
agencies initiatives to improve public perception of 
agency interactions, including by facilitating the de-
cision-making processes of such agencies that are 
needed to— 
(A) achieve the purposes of this Act; 
(B) coordinate the activities of high impact 
service providers as described in this Act; and 
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(C) develop strategies for the integration 
of services and development of products involv-
ing multiple agencies as described in this Act. 
(2) GUIDANCE OF OMB.—Not later than 1 year 
after the enactment of this Act, the Director of 
OMB shall update guidance issued by the Director 
and supporting processes (such as information col-
lection reviews or data sharing approvals) as nec-
essary and applicable, to implement the provisions of 
this Act. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) CUSTOMER.—The term ‘‘customer’’ means 
any person or governmental entity that interacts 
with an agency of the executive branch, either di-
rectly or through a federally funded program admin-
istered by a contractor, nonprofit, State or local gov-
ernment, or other entity of the Federal Government/ 
executive branch. 
(2) PUBLIC
PERCEPTION
OF
AGENCY
INTER-
ACTIONS.—The term ‘‘public perception of agency 
interactions’’ means the perception of the public re-
garding interactions with the agency, including 
interactions with the agency through a contractor, 
non-profit, or other Federal entity, and the overall 
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satisfaction of the public regarding such inter-
actions. 
(3) DIRECTOR OF OMB.—The term ‘‘Director of 
OMB’’ means the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget. 
(4) SERVICE DELIVERY.—The term ‘‘service de-
livery’’ means, with respect to all points of the agen-
cy-to-customer delivery process, an action of the 
agency related to providing a benefit or service to a 
customer of such entity, including providing a ben-
efit or service to a customer that is related to an ap-
plication for a benefit or loan, health care or small 
business counseling, requests for documents, such as 
a passport or Social Security card, filing taxes or de-
claring a good, using resources such as a park or 
historical site, or seeking information such as notices 
about public health or consumer protection. 
Æ 
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