I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6777 
To amend chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, to require the publication 
of settlement agreements, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 
Mr. PALMER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To amend chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, to require 
the publication of settlement agreements, 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 ‘‘Settlement Agreement 
Information Database Act of 2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. INFORMATION REGARDING SETTLEMENT AGREE-
MENTS ENTERED INTO BY FEDERAL AGEN-
CIES. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
SETTLEMENT
AGREE-
MENTS.—Chapter 3 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 307. Information regarding settlement agreements 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) LOCAL
GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘local 
government’ has the meaning given that term in sec-
tion 6501 of title 31. 
‘‘(2) ORDER
TYPE.—The term ‘order type’ 
means the type of action or instrument used to set-
tle a civil or criminal judicial action. 
‘‘(3) SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT.—The term 
‘settlement agreement’ means a settlement agree-
ment (including a consent decree) that— 
‘‘(A) is entered into by an Executive agen-
cy; and 
‘‘(B) relates to an alleged violation of Fed-
eral civil or criminal law. 
‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 
the several States, the District of Columbia, each 
territory or possession of the United States, and 
each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 
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‘‘(b) 
SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT
INFORMATION 
DATABASE.— 
‘‘(1) EXECUTIVE AGENCY REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the head of each Executive agency 
shall, in accordance with guidance issued pursu-
ant to paragraph (2), submit the following in-
formation to the database established under 
paragraph (3): 
‘‘(i) A list of each settlement agree-
ment, in a categorized and searchable for-
mat, entered into by the Executive agency, 
as a party to a lawsuit, which shall in-
clude, for each settlement agreement— 
‘‘(I) the order type of the settle-
ment agreement; 
‘‘(II) the date on which the par-
ties entered into the settlement agree-
ment; 
‘‘(III) a list of specific violations 
that specify the basis for the action 
taken, with a description of the claims 
each party settled under the settle-
ment agreement; 
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‘‘(IV) the amount of attorneys’ 
fees and other litigation costs award-
ed, if any, including a description of 
the statutory basis for such an award; 
‘‘(V) the amount each party set-
tling a claim under the settlement 
agreement is obligated to pay under 
the settlement agreement; 
‘‘(VI) the total amount the set-
tling parties are obligated to pay 
under the settlement agreement; 
‘‘(VII) the amount, if any, the 
settling party is obligated to pay that 
is expressly specified under the settle-
ment agreement as a civil or criminal 
penalty or fine; 
‘‘(VIII) any payment made under 
the settlement agreement, including a 
description of any payment made to 
the Federal Government; 
‘‘(IX) the projected duration of 
the settlement agreement, if available; 
‘‘(X) a list of State or local gov-
ernments that may be directly af-
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fected by the terms of the settlement 
agreement; 
‘‘(XI) a brief description of any 
economic data and methodology used 
to justify the terms of the settlement 
agreement; 
‘‘(XII) any modifications to the 
settlement agreement, when applica-
ble; 
‘‘(XIII) notice and comments, 
when applicable; and 
‘‘(XIV) whether the settlement 
agreement is still under judicial en-
forcement and any period of time by 
which the parties agreed to have cer-
tain conditions met. 
‘‘(ii) A copy of each— 
‘‘(I) settlement agreement en-
tered into by the Executive agency; 
and 
‘‘(II) statement issued under 
paragraph (4). 
‘‘(B) NONDISCLOSURE.—The requirement 
to submit information or a copy of a settlement 
agreement under subparagraph (A) shall not 
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apply to the extent the information or copy (or 
portion thereof)— 
‘‘(i) is subject to a confidentiality pro-
vision that prohibits disclosure of the infor-
mation or copy (or portion thereof); and 
‘‘(ii) would not be disclosed under sec-
tion 552, if the Executive agency provides 
a citation to the applicable exemption. 
‘‘(C) CLARIFICATION
OF
RESPONSIBLE 
AGENCY.—In a case in which an Executive 
agency is acting at the request or on behalf of 
another Executive agency (referred to as the 
originating agency), the originating agency is 
responsible for submitting information under 
subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(2) GUIDANCE.—The Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall issue guidance for 
Executive agencies to implement paragraph (1). 
Such guidance shall include the following: 
‘‘(A) Specific dates by which submissions 
must be made, not less than twice a year. 
‘‘(B) Data standards, including common 
data elements and a common, nonproprietary, 
searchable, machine-readable, platform inde-
pendent format. 
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‘‘(C) A requirement that the information 
and documents required under paragraph (1) 
are publicly available for a period starting on 
the date of the settlement through not less than 
5 years after the termination of the settlement 
agreement. 
‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF DATABASE.—The Di-
rector of the Office of Management and Budget, or 
the head of an Executive agency designated by the 
Director, shall establish and maintain a public, 
searchable, downloadable database for Executive 
agencies to directly upload and submit the informa-
tion and documents required under paragraph (1) 
for immediate publication online. 
‘‘(4) STATEMENT
OF
CONFIDENTIALITY.—If 
the head of an Executive agency determines that a 
confidentiality provision in a settlement agreement, 
or the sealing of a settlement agreement, is required 
to protect the public interest of the United States, 
the head of the Executive agency may except the 
settlement agreement from the requirement in para-
graph (1) and shall issue a written public statement 
stating why such action is required to protect the 
public interest of the United States, which shall ex-
plain— 
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‘‘(A) what interests confidentiality pro-
tects; and 
‘‘(B) why the interests protected by con-
fidentiality outweigh the public’s interest in 
knowing about the conduct of the Federal Gov-
ernment and the expenditure of Federal re-
sources.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections for chapter 3 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘307. Information regarding settlement agreements.’’. 
(c) DEADLINE TO ESTABLISH DATABASE.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
shall issue guidance required by section 307(b)(2) of title 
5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), and 
establish the settlement agreement information database 
required by section 307(b)(3) of title 5, United States 
Code, as added by subsection (a). 
(d) DEADLINE FOR FIRST SUBMISSION.—Not later 
than 90 days after the Director issues guidance under sec-
tion 307(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, as added 
by subsection (a), the head of each Executive agency (as 
defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) shall 
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begin submitting information to the database established 
under such section 307. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 
ACT. 
Section 552(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) 
by 
redesignating 
subparagraphs 
(B) 
through (E) as subparagraphs (C) through (F), re-
spectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(B) each settlement agreement (as defined in 
section 307) entered into by an Executive agency, 
with redactions for information that the agency may 
withhold under paragraph (8) and subsections (b) 
and (c) of this section;’’. 
SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 
Act, shall be construed to require the disclosure of infor-
mation or records that any agency may properly withhold 
from public disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United 
States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of Infor-
mation Act’’). 
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SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 
This Act shall be effective 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act and shall apply— 
(1) with respect to any settlement agreement 
(as such term is defined in section 307 of title 5, 
United States Code, as added by section 2), entered 
into on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act; and 
(2) to the extent practicable, any such settle-
ment agreement (as such term is defined in section 
307 of title 5, United States Code, as added by sec-
tion 2) that remains in effect on or after the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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