H. R. 4174 
One Hundred Fifteenth 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 eighteen 
An Act 
To amend titles 5 and 44, United States Code, to require Federal evaluation activi-
ties, improve Federal data management, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foundations 
for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act 
is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
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. Use of existing resources. 
Sec. 403. Effective date. 
TITLE I—FEDERAL EVIDENCE– 
BUILDING ACTIVITIES 
SEC. 101. FEDERAL EVIDENCE-BUILDING ACTIVITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of part I of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(1) by inserting before section 301 the following: 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS’’; AND 
(2) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—FEDERAL EVIDENCE-BUILDING 
ACTIVITIES 
‘‘§ 311. Definitions 
‘‘In this subchapter: 
‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ means an agency referred 
to under section 901(b) of title 31. 
‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means the Director 
of the Office of Management and Budget. 
‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—The term ‘evaluation’ means an assess-
ment using systematic data collection and analysis of one or 
more programs, policies, and organizations intended to assess 
their effectiveness and efficiency. 
‘‘(4) EVIDENCE.—The term ‘evidence’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 3561 of title 44. 
‘‘(5) 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 governing 
body of any Indian Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other orga-
nized group or community which is recognized as eligible for 
the special programs and services provided by the United States 
to Indians because of their status as Indians. 
‘‘(6) STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES; STATISTICAL AGENCY OR UNIT; 
STATISTICAL PURPOSE.—The terms ‘statistical activities’, ‘statis-
tical agency or unit’, and ‘statistical purpose’ have the meanings 
given those terms in section 3561 of title 44. 
‘‘§ 312. Agency evidence-building plan 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—The head of each agency shall include 
in the strategic plan required under section 306 a systematic plan 
for identifying and addressing policy questions relevant to the pro-
grams, policies, and regulations of the agency. Such plan shall 
contain the following: 
‘‘(1) A list of policy-relevant questions for which the agency 
intends to develop evidence to support policymaking. 
‘‘(2) A list of data the agency intends to collect, use, or 
acquire to facilitate the use of evidence in policymaking. 
‘‘(3) A list of methods and analytical approaches that may 
be used to develop evidence to support policymaking. 
‘‘(4) A list of any challenges to developing evidence to 
support policymaking, including any statutory or other restric-
tions to accessing relevant data. 
‘‘(5) A description of the steps the agency will take to 
accomplish paragraphs (1) and (2). 
‘‘(6) Any other information as required by guidance issued 
by the Director. 
‘‘(b) EVALUATION PLAN.—The head of each agency shall issue 
in conjunction with the performance plan required under section 
1115(b) of title 31, an evaluation plan describing activities the 
agency plans to conduct pursuant to subsection (a) of this section 
during the fiscal year following the year in which the performance 
plan is submitted. Such plan shall— 
‘‘(1) describe key questions for each significant evaluation 
study that the agency plans to begin in the next fiscal year; 
‘‘(2) describe key information collections or acquisitions the 
agency plans to begin in the next fiscal year; and
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‘‘(3) any other information included in guidance issued 
by the Director under subsection (a)(6). 
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan required under 
subsection (a), the head of an agency shall consult with stake-
holders, including the public, agencies, State and local governments, 
and representatives of non-governmental researchers. 
‘‘§ 313. Evaluation Officers 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The head of each agency shall designate 
a senior employee of the agency as the Evaluation Officer of the 
agency. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Evaluation Officer of an agency 
shall be appointed or designated without regard to political affili-
ation and based on demonstrated expertise in evaluation method-
ology and practices and appropriate expertise to the disciplines 
of the agency. 
‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—The Evaluation Officer of an agency shall, 
to the extent practicable, coordinate activities with agency officials 
necessary to carry out the functions required under subsection 
(d). 
‘‘(d) FUNCTIONS.—The Evaluation Officer of each agency shall— 
‘‘(1) continually assess the coverage, quality, methods, 
consistency, effectiveness, independence, and balance of the 
portfolio of evaluations, policy research, and ongoing evaluation 
activities of the agency; 
‘‘(2) assess agency capacity to support the development 
and use of evaluation; 
‘‘(3) establish and implement an agency evaluation policy; 
and 
‘‘(4) coordinate, develop, and implement the plans required 
under section 312. 
‘‘§ 314. Statistical expertise 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of each agency shall designate 
the head of any statistical agency or unit within the agency, or 
in the case of an agency that does not have a statistical agency 
or unit, any senior agency official with appropriate expertise, as 
a statistical official to advise on statistical policy, techniques, and 
procedures. Agency officials engaged in statistical activities may 
consult with any such statistical official as necessary. 
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP ON INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON STATISTICAL 
POLICY.—Each statistical official designated under subsection (a) 
shall serve as a member of the Interagency Council on Statistical 
Policy established under section 3504(e)(8) of title 44. 
‘‘§ 315. Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director, or the head of an agency 
designated by the Director, shall establish an Advisory Committee 
on Data for Evidence Building (in this section referred to as the 
‘Advisory Committee’) to review, analyze, and make recommenda-
tions on how to promote the use of Federal data for evidence 
building. 
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Advisory Committee 
shall consist of the Chief Statistician of the United States, who 
shall serve as the Chair of the Advisory Committee, and other 
members appointed by the Director as follows:
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‘‘(1) One member who is an agency Chief Information 
Officer. 
‘‘(2) One member who is an agency Chief Privacy Officer. 
‘‘(3) One member who is an agency Chief Performance 
Officer. 
‘‘(4) Three members who are agency Chief Data Officers. 
‘‘(5) Three members who are agency Evaluation Officers. 
‘‘(6) Three members who are members of the Interagency 
Council for Statistical Policy established under section 
3504(e)(8) of title 44. 
‘‘(7) At least 10 members who are representatives of State 
and local governments and nongovernmental stakeholders with 
expertise in government data policy, privacy, technology, trans-
parency policy, evaluation and research methodologies, and 
other relevant subjects, of whom— 
‘‘(A) at least one shall have expertise in transparency 
policy; 
‘‘(B) at least one shall have expertise in privacy policy; 
‘‘(C) at least one shall have expertise in statistical 
data use; 
‘‘(D) at least one shall have expertise in information 
management; 
‘‘(E) at least one shall have expertise in information 
technology; and 
‘‘(F) at least one shall be from the research and evalua-
tion community. 
‘‘(c) TERM OF SERVICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Advisory Committee 
shall serve for a term of 2 years. 
‘‘(2) VACANCY.—Any member appointed to fill a vacancy 
occurring before the expiration of the term for which the mem-
ber’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for 
the remainder of that term. A vacancy in the Commission 
shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment 
was made. 
‘‘(d) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Advisory Committee shall 
serve without compensation. 
‘‘(e) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall— 
‘‘(1) assist the Director in carrying out the duties of the 
Director under part D of subchapter III of chapter 35 of title 
44; 
‘‘(2) evaluate and provide recommendations to the Director 
on how to facilitate data sharing, enable data linkage, and 
develop privacy enhancing techniques; and 
‘‘(3) review the coordination of data sharing or availability 
for evidence building across all agencies. 
‘‘(f) REPORTS.—The Advisory Committee shall submit to the 
Director and make publicly available an annual report on the activi-
ties and findings of the Advisory Committee. 
‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Committee shall terminate 
not later than two years after the date of the first meeting.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of 
sections for chapter 3 of part I of title 5, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) by inserting before the item relating to section 301 
the following:
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‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS’’; AND 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—FEDERAL EVIDENCE-BUILDING ACTIVITIES 
‘‘311. Definitions. 
‘‘312. Agency evidence-building plan. 
‘‘313. Evaluation Officers. 
‘‘314. Statistical expertise. 
‘‘315. Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building.’’. 
(c) AGENCY STRATEGIC PLANS.—Section 306(a) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (8), by— 
(A) striking the period at the end; and 
(B) inserting after ‘‘to be conducted’’ the following: 
‘‘, and citations to relevant provisions of the plans required 
under section 312; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) an assessment of the coverage, quality, methods, 
effectiveness, and independence of the statistics, evaluation, 
research, and analysis efforts of the agency, including— 
‘‘(A) a list of the activities and operations of the agency 
that are currently being evaluated and analyzed; 
‘‘(B) the extent to which the evaluations, research, 
and analysis efforts and related activities of the agency 
support the needs of various divisions within the agency; 
‘‘(C) the extent to which the evaluation research and 
analysis efforts and related activities of the agency address 
an appropriate balance between needs related to organiza-
tional learning, ongoing program management, perform-
ance management, strategic management, interagency and 
private sector coordination, internal and external oversight, 
and accountability; 
‘‘(D) the extent to which the agency uses methods 
and combinations of methods that are appropriate to agency 
divisions and the corresponding research questions being 
addressed, including an appropriate combination of forma-
tive and summative evaluation research and analysis 
approaches; 
‘‘(E) the extent to which evaluation and research 
capacity is present within the agency to include personnel 
and agency processes for planning and implementing 
evaluation activities, disseminating best practices and 
findings, and incorporating employee views and feedback; 
and 
‘‘(F) the extent to which the agency has the capacity 
to assist agency staff and program offices to develop the 
capacity 
to 
use 
evaluation 
research 
and 
analysis 
approaches and data in the day-to-day operations.’’. 
(d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date on 
which each strategic plan required under section 306(a) of title 
5, United States Code, is published, the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit to Congress a report that— 
(1) summarizes agency findings and highlights trends in 
the assessment conducted pursuant to subsection (a)(9) of sec-
tion 306 of title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(c); and
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(2) if appropriate, recommends actions to further improve 
agency capacity to use evaluation techniques and data to sup-
port evaluation efforts. 
(e) EVALUATION AND PERSONNEL STANDARDS.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, in consultation with any interagency council 
relating to evaluation, shall— 
(A) issue guidance for program evaluation for agencies 
consistent with widely accepted standards for evaluation; 
and 
(B) identify best practices for evaluation that would 
improve Federal program evaluation. 
(2) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days after the date on 
which the guidance under paragraph (1) is issued, the head 
of each agency shall oversee the implementation of such guid-
ance. 
(3) OPM GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date on which the guidance under paragraph (1) is issued, 
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consulta-
tion with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
shall— 
(A) identify key skills and competencies needed for 
program evaluation in an agency; 
(B) establish a new occupational series, or update and 
improve an existing occupational series, for program 
evaluation within an agency; and 
(C) establish a new career path for program evaluation 
within an agency. 
(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(A) AGENCY.—Except as otherwise provided, the term 
‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘Executive 
agency’’ under section 105. 
(B) EVALUATION.—The term ‘‘evaluation’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 311 of title 5, United 
States Code, as added by subsection (a). 
TITLE II—OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA 
ACT 
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Open, Public, Electronic, and 
Necessary Government Data Act’’ or the ‘‘OPEN Government Data 
Act’’. 
SEC. 202. OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3502 of title 44, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end 
and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(15) the term ‘comprehensive data inventory’ means the 
inventory created under section 3511(a), but does not include 
any underlying data asset listed on the inventory;
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‘‘(16) the term ‘data’ means recorded information, regard-
less of form or the media on which the data is recorded; 
‘‘(17) the term ‘data asset’ means a collection of data ele-
ments or data sets that may be grouped together; 
‘‘(18) the term ‘machine-readable’, when used with respect 
to data, means data in a format that can be easily processed 
by a computer without human intervention while ensuring 
no semantic meaning is lost; 
‘‘(19) the term ‘metadata’ means structural or descriptive 
information about data such as content, format, source, rights, 
accuracy, provenance, frequency, periodicity, granularity, pub-
lisher or responsible party, contact information, method of 
collection, and other descriptions; 
‘‘(20) the term ‘open Government data asset’ means a public 
data asset that is— 
‘‘(A) machine-readable; 
‘‘(B) available (or could be made available) in an open 
format; 
‘‘(C) not encumbered by restrictions, other than 
intellectual property rights, including under titles 17 and 
35, that would impede the use or reuse of such asset; 
and 
‘‘(D) based on an underlying open standard that is 
maintained by a standards organization; 
‘‘(21) the term ‘open license’ means a legal guarantee that 
a data asset is made available— 
‘‘(A) at no cost to the public; and 
‘‘(B) with no restrictions on copying, publishing, distrib-
uting, transmitting, citing, or adapting such asset; 
‘‘(22) the term ‘public data asset’ means a data asset, 
or part thereof, maintained by the Federal Government that 
has been, or may be, released to the public, including any 
data asset, or part thereof, subject to disclosure under section 
552 of title 5; and 
‘‘(23) the term ‘statistical laws’ means subchapter III of 
this chapter and other laws pertaining to the protection of 
information collected for statistical purposes as designated by 
the Director.’’. 
(b) GUIDANCE
TO MAKE DATA OPEN
BY DEFAULT.—Section 
3504(b) of title 44, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 
a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(6) issue guidance for agencies to implement section 
3506(b)(6) in a manner that takes into account— 
‘‘(A) risks and restrictions related to the disclosure 
of personally identifiable information, including the risk 
that an individual data asset in isolation does not pose 
a privacy or confidentiality risk but when combined with 
other available information may pose such a risk; 
‘‘(B) security considerations, including the risk that 
information in an individual data asset in isolation does 
not pose a security risk but when combined with other 
available information may pose such a risk;
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‘‘(C) the cost and benefits to the public of converting 
a data asset into a machine-readable format that is acces-
sible and useful to the public; 
‘‘(D) whether the application of the requirements 
described in such section to a data asset could result in 
legal liability; 
‘‘(E) a determination of whether a data asset— 
‘‘(i) is subject to intellectual property rights, 
including rights under titles 17 and 35; 
‘‘(ii) contains confidential business information, 
that could be withheld under section 552(b)(4) of title 
5; or 
‘‘(iii) is otherwise restricted by contract or other 
binding, written agreement; 
‘‘(F) the requirement that a data asset be disclosed, 
if it would otherwise be made available under section 552 
of title 5 (commonly known as the ‘Freedom of Information 
Act’); and 
‘‘(G) any other considerations that the Director deter-
mines to be relevant.’’. 
(c) FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES TO MAKE DATA OPEN 
BY DEFAULT.— 
(1) AMENDMENTS.—Section 3506 of title 44, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(A) in subsection (b)— 
(i) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) in accordance with guidance by the Director, develop 
and maintain a strategic information resources management 
plan that, to the extent practicable— 
‘‘(A) describes how information resources management 
activities help accomplish agency missions; 
‘‘(B) includes an open data plan for data that does 
not concern monetary policy that— 
‘‘(i) requires the agency to develop processes and 
procedures that— 
‘‘(I) require data collection mechanisms created 
on or after the date of the enactment of the OPEN 
Government Data Act to be available in an open 
format; and 
‘‘(II) facilitate collaboration with non-Govern-
ment entities (including businesses), researchers, 
and the public for the purpose of understanding 
how data users value and use government data; 
‘‘(ii) identifies and implements methods for col-
lecting and analyzing digital information on data asset 
usage by users within and outside of the agency, 
including designating a point of contact within the 
agency to assist the public and to respond to quality 
issues, usability issues, recommendations for improve-
ments, and complaints about adherence to open data 
requirements within a reasonable period of time; 
‘‘(iii) develops and implements a process to 
evaluate and improve the timeliness, completeness, 
consistency, accuracy, usefulness, and availability of 
open Government data assets; 
‘‘(iv) includes requirements for meeting the goals 
of the agency open data plan, including the acquisition
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of technology, provision of training for employees, and 
the implementation of procurement standards, in 
accordance with existing law, regulation, and policy, 
that allow for the acquisition of innovative solutions 
from public and private sectors; 
‘‘(v) identifies as priority data assets any data asset 
for which disclosure would be in the public interest 
and establishes a plan to evaluate each priority data 
asset for disclosure on the Federal Data Catalogue 
under section 3511 and for a determination under 
3511(a)(2)(A)(iii)(I)(bb), including an accounting of 
which priority data assets have not yet been evaluated; 
and 
‘‘(vi) requires the agency to comply with require-
ments under section 3511, including any standards 
established by the Director under such section, when 
disclosing a data asset pursuant to such section; and 
‘‘(C) is updated annually and made publicly available 
on the website of the agency not later than 5 days after 
each such update;’’; 
(ii) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(iii) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(iv) by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(6) in accordance with guidance by the Director— 
‘‘(A) make each data asset of the agency available 
in an open format; and 
‘‘(B) make each public data asset of the agency avail-
able— 
‘‘(i) as an open Government data asset; and 
‘‘(ii) under an open license.’’; and 
(B) in subsection (d)— 
(i) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the following new para-
graphs: 
‘‘(5) ensure that any public data asset of the agency is 
machine-readable; and 
‘‘(6) engage the public in using public data assets of the 
agency and encourage collaboration by— 
‘‘(A) publishing on the website of the agency, on a 
regular basis (not less than annually), information on the 
usage of such assets by non-Government users; 
‘‘(B) providing the public with the opportunity to 
request specific data assets to be prioritized for disclosure 
and to provide suggestions for the development of agency 
criteria with respect to prioritizing data assets for disclo-
sure; 
‘‘(C) assisting the public in expanding the use of public 
data assets; and 
‘‘(D) hosting challenges, competitions, events, or other 
initiatives designed to create additional value from public 
data assets of the agency.’’.
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(2) USE
OF
OPEN
DATA
ASSETS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each 
agency (as defined in section 3502 of title 44, United States 
Code) shall ensure that any activity by the agency meets the 
requirements of section 3506 of title 44, United States Code, 
as amended by this subsection. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this sub-
section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(d) DATA INVENTORY AND FEDERAL DATA CATALOGUE.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—Section 3511 of title 44, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 3511. Data inventory and Federal data catalogue 
‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE DATA INVENTORY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with the Director and 
in accordance with the guidance established under paragraph 
(2), the head of each agency shall, to the maximum extent 
practicable, develop and maintain a comprehensive data inven-
tory that accounts for all data assets created by, collected 
by, under the control or direction of, or maintained by the 
agency. The head of each agency shall ensure that such inven-
tory provides a clear and comprehensive understanding of the 
data assets in the possession of the agency. 
‘‘(2) GUIDANCE.—The Director shall establish guidance for 
agencies to develop and maintain comprehensive data inven-
tories under paragraph (1). Such guidance shall include the 
following: 
‘‘(A) A requirement for the head of an agency to include 
in the comprehensive data inventory metadata on each 
data asset of the agency, including, to the maximum extent 
practicable, the following: 
‘‘(i) A description of the data asset, including all 
variable names and definitions. 
‘‘(ii) The name or title of the data asset. 
‘‘(iii) An indication of whether or not the agency— 
‘‘(I) has determined or can determine if the 
data asset is— 
‘‘(aa) an open Government data asset; 
‘‘(bb) subject to disclosure or partial disclo-
sure or exempt from disclosure under section 
552 of title 5; 
‘‘(cc) a public data asset eligible for disclo-
sure under subsection (b); or 
‘‘(dd) a data asset not subject to open for-
mat or open license requirements due to 
existing limitations or restrictions on govern-
ment distribution of the asset; or 
‘‘(II) as of the date of such indication, has 
not made such determination. 
‘‘(iv) Any determination made under section 3582, 
if available. 
‘‘(v) A description of the method by which the 
public may access or request access to the data asset. 
‘‘(vi) The date on which the data asset was most 
recently updated.
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‘‘(vii) Each agency responsible for maintaining the 
data asset. 
‘‘(viii) The owner of the data asset. 
‘‘(ix) To the extent practicable, any restriction on 
the use of the data asset. 
‘‘(x) The location of the data asset. 
‘‘(xi) Any other metadata necessary to make the 
comprehensive data inventory useful to the agency and 
the public, or otherwise determined useful by the 
Director. 
‘‘(B) A requirement for the head of an agency to exclude 
from the comprehensive data inventory any data asset 
contained on a national security system, as defined in 
section 11103 of title 40. 
‘‘(C) Criteria for the head of an agency to use in deter-
mining which metadata required by subparagraph (A), if 
any, in the comprehensive data inventory may not be made 
publicly available, which shall include, at a minimum, a 
requirement to ensure all information that could not other-
wise be withheld from disclosure under section 552 of title 
5 is made public in the comprehensive data inventory. 
‘‘(D) A requirement for the head of each agency, in 
accordance with a procedure established by the Director, 
to submit for inclusion in the Federal data catalogue main-
tained under subsection (c) the comprehensive data inven-
tory developed pursuant to subparagraph (C), including 
any real-time updates to such inventory, and data assets 
made available in accordance with subparagraph (E) or 
any electronic hyperlink providing access to such data 
assets. 
‘‘(E) Criteria for the head of an agency to use in deter-
mining whether a particular data asset should not be made 
publicly available in a manner that takes into account— 
‘‘(i) risks and restrictions related to the disclosure 
of personally identifiable information, including the 
risk that an individual data asset in isolation does 
not pose a privacy or confidentiality risk but when 
combined with other available information may pose 
such a risk; 
‘‘(ii) security considerations, including the risk that 
information in an individual data asset in isolation 
does not pose a security risk but when combined with 
other available information may pose such a risk; 
‘‘(iii) the cost and benefits to the public of con-
verting the data into a format that could be understood 
and used by the public; 
‘‘(iv) whether the public dissemination of the data 
asset could result in legal liability; 
‘‘(v) whether the data asset— 
‘‘(I) is subject to intellectual property rights, 
including rights under titles 17 and 35; 
‘‘(II) contains confidential business informa-
tion, that could be withheld under section 552(b)(4) 
of title 5; or 
‘‘(III) is restricted by contract or other binding, 
written agreement;
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‘‘(vi) whether the holder of a right to such data 
asset has been consulted; 
‘‘(vii) the expectation that all data assets that 
would otherwise be made available under section 552 
of title 5 be disclosed; and 
‘‘(viii) any other considerations that the Director 
determines to be relevant. 
‘‘(F) Criteria for the head of an agency to use in 
assessing the indication of a determination under subpara-
graph (A)(iii) and how to prioritize any such subsequent 
determinations in the strategic information management 
plan under section 3506, in consideration of the existing 
resources available to the agency. 
‘‘(3) REGULAR UPDATES REQUIRED.—With respect to each 
data asset created or identified by an agency, the head of 
the agency shall update the comprehensive data inventory of 
the agency not later than 90 days after the date of such creation 
or identification. 
‘‘(b) PUBLIC DATA ASSETS.—The head of each agency shall 
submit public data assets, or links to public data assets available 
online, as open Government data assets for inclusion in the Federal 
data catalogue maintained under subsection (c), in accordance with 
the guidance established under subsection (a)(2). 
‘‘(c) FEDERAL DATA CATALOGUE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of General Services 
shall maintain a single public interface online as a point of 
entry dedicated to sharing agency data assets with the public, 
which shall be known as the ‘Federal data catalogue’. The 
Administrator and the Director shall ensure that agencies can 
submit public data assets, or links to public data assets, for 
publication and public availability on the interface. 
‘‘(2) REPOSITORY.—The Director shall collaborate with the 
Office of Government Information Services and the Adminis-
trator of General Services to develop and maintain an online 
repository of tools, best practices, and schema standards to 
facilitate the adoption of open data practices across the Federal 
Government, which shall— 
‘‘(A) include any definitions, regulations, policies, 
checklists, and case studies related to open data policy; 
‘‘(B) facilitate collaboration and the adoption of best 
practices across the Federal Government relating to the 
adoption of open data practices; and 
‘‘(C) be made available on the Federal data catalogue 
maintained under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) ACCESS TO OTHER DATA ASSETS.—The Director shall 
ensure the Federal data catalogue maintained under paragraph 
(1) provides information on how the public can access a data 
asset included in a comprehensive data inventory under sub-
section (a) that is not yet available on the Federal data cata-
logue, including information regarding the application process 
established under section 3583 of title 44. 
‘‘(d) DELEGATION.—The Director shall delegate to the Adminis-
trator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and 
the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government the 
authority to jointly issue guidance required under this section.’’. 
(2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
H. R. 4174—13 
(A) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The item relating to section 
3511 of the table of sections at the beginning of chapter 
35 of title 44, United States Code, is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘3511. Data inventory and Federal data catalogue.’’. 
(B) CROSS-REFERENCE.—Section 3504(b)(2)(A) of title 
44, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the use 
of the Government Information Locator Service’’ and 
inserting ‘‘the use of comprehensive data inventories and 
the Federal data catalogue under section 3511’’. 
(e) CHIEF DATA OFFICERS.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—Section 3520 of title 44, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 3520. Chief Data Officers 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The head of each agency shall designate 
a nonpolitical appointee employee in the agency as the Chief Data 
Officer of the agency. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Data Officer of an agency 
shall be designated on the basis of demonstrated training and 
experience in data management, governance (including creation, 
application, and maintenance of data standards), collection, anal-
ysis, protection, use, and dissemination, including with respect to 
any statistical and related techniques to protect and de-identify 
confidential data. 
‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Chief Data Officer of an agency shall— 
‘‘(1) be responsible for lifecycle data management; 
‘‘(2) coordinate with any official in the agency responsible 
for using, protecting, disseminating, and generating data to 
ensure that the data needs of the agency are met; 
‘‘(3) manage data assets of the agency, including the 
standardization of data format, sharing of data assets, and 
publication of data assets in accordance with applicable law; 
‘‘(4) in carrying out the requirements under paragraphs 
(3) and (5), consult with any statistical official of the agency 
(as designated under section 314 of title 5); 
‘‘(5) carry out the requirements of the agency under sub-
sections (b) through (d), (f), and (i) of section 3506, section 
3507, and section 3511; 
‘‘(6) ensure that, to the extent practicable, agency data 
conforms with data management best practices; 
‘‘(7) engage agency employees, the public, and contractors 
in using public data assets and encourage collaborative 
approaches on improving data use; 
‘‘(8) support the Performance Improvement Officer of the 
agency in identifying and using data to carry out the functions 
described in section 1124(a)(2) of title 31; 
‘‘(9) support the Evaluation Officer of the agency in 
obtaining data to carry out the functions described in section 
313(d) of title 5; 
‘‘(10) review the impact of the infrastructure of the agency 
on data asset accessibility and coordinate with the Chief 
Information Officer of the agency to improve such infrastructure 
to reduce barriers that inhibit data asset accessibility; 
‘‘(11) ensure that, to the extent practicable, the agency 
maximizes the use of data in the agency, including for the
H. R. 4174—14 
production of evidence (as defined in section 3561), cybersecu-
rity, and the improvement of agency operations; 
‘‘(12) identify points of contact for roles and responsibilities 
related to open data use and implementation (as required by 
the Director); 
‘‘(13) serve as the agency liaison to other agencies and 
the Office of Management and Budget on the best way to 
use existing agency data for statistical purposes (as defined 
in section 3561); and 
‘‘(14) comply with any regulation and guidance issued under 
subchapter III, including the acquisition and maintenance of 
any required certification and training. 
‘‘(d) DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent necessary to comply with 
statistical laws, the Chief Data Officer of an agency shall dele-
gate any responsibility under subsection (c) to the head of 
a statistical agency or unit (as defined in section 3561) within 
the agency. 
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—To the extent permissible under law, 
the individual to whom a responsibility has been delegated 
under paragraph (1) shall consult with the Chief Data Officer 
of the agency in carrying out such responsibility. 
‘‘(3) DEFERENCE.—The Chief Data Officer of the agency 
shall defer to the individual to whom a responsibility has 
been delegated under paragraph (1) regarding the necessary 
delegation of such responsibility with respect to any data 
acquired, maintained, or disseminated by the agency under 
applicable statistical law. 
‘‘(e) REPORTS.—The Chief Data Officer of an agency shall submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform of the House of Representatives an annual report on the 
compliance of the agency with the requirements of this subchapter, 
including information on each requirement that the agency could 
not carry out and, if applicable, what the agency needs to carry 
out such requirement.’’. 
(2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item 
relating to section 3520 of the table of sections at the beginning 
of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘3520. Chief Data Officers.’’. 
(f) CHIEF DATA OFFICER COUNCIL.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting before section 
3521 the following new section: 
‘‘§ 3520A. Chief Data Officer Council 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the Office of 
Management and Budget a Chief Data Officer Council (in this 
section referred to as the ‘Council’). 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS.—The Council shall— 
‘‘(1) establish Governmentwide best practices for the use, 
protection, dissemination, and generation of data; 
‘‘(2) promote and encourage data sharing agreements 
between agencies;
H. R. 4174—15 
‘‘(3) identify ways in which agencies can improve upon 
the production of evidence for use in policymaking; 
‘‘(4) consult with the public and engage with private users 
of Government data and other stakeholders on how to improve 
access to data assets of the Federal Government; and 
‘‘(5) identify and evaluate new technology solutions for 
improving the collection and use of data. 
‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Data Officer of each agency 
shall serve as a member of the Council. 
‘‘(2) CHAIR.—The Director shall select the Chair of the 
Council from among the members of the Council. 
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL
MEMBERS.—The Administrator of the 
Office of Electronic Government shall serve as a member of 
the Council. 
‘‘(4) EX OFFICIO MEMBER.—The Director shall appoint a 
representative for all Chief Information Officers and Evaluation 
Officers, and such representative shall serve as an ex officio 
member of the Council. 
‘‘(d) REPORTS.—The Council shall submit to the Director, the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
the Senate, and the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform of the House of Representatives a biennial report on the 
work of the Council. 
‘‘(e) EVALUATION AND TERMINATION.— 
‘‘(1) GAO EVALUATION OF COUNCIL.—Not later than 4 years 
after date of the enactment of this section, the Comptroller 
General shall submit to Congress a report on whether the 
additional duties of the Council improved the use of evidence 
and program evaluation in the Federal Government. 
‘‘(2) TERMINATION OF COUNCIL.—The Council shall termi-
nate and this section shall be repealed upon the expiration 
of the 2-year period that begins on the date the Comptroller 
General submits the report under paragraph (1) to Congress.’’. 
(2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table 
of sections at the beginning of chapter 35 of title 44, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting before the item relating 
to section 3521 the following new item: 
‘‘3520A. Chief Data Officer Council.’’. 
(g) REPORTS.— 
(1) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
of Representatives a report that identifies, to the extent prac-
ticable— 
(A) the value of information made available to the 
public as a result of this Act and the amendments made 
by this Act; 
(B) whether the public availability of any information 
that has not yet been made so available would be valuable 
to the public; and 
(C) the completeness of each comprehensive data inven-
tory developed under section 3511 of title 44, United States 
Code, as amended by subsection (d).
H. R. 4174—16 
(2) BIENNIAL OMB REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 
date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
electronically publish a report on agency performance and 
compliance with this Act and the amendments made by this 
Act. 
TITLE 
III—CONFIDENTIAL 
INFORMA-
TION PROTECTION AND STATISTICAL 
EFFICIENCY 
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Confidential Information Protec-
tion and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 302. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION AND STATIS-
TICAL EFFICIENCY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subchapter: 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 
PROTECTION AND STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY 
‘‘PART A—GENERAL 
‘‘§ 3561. Definitions 
‘‘In this subchapter: 
‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ means any entity that 
falls within the definition of the term ‘executive agency’, as 
defined in section 102 of title 31, or ‘agency’, as defined in 
section 3502. 
‘‘(2) AGENT.—The term ‘agent’ means an individual— 
‘‘(A)(i) who is an employee of a private organization 
or a researcher affiliated with an institution of higher 
learning (including a person granted special sworn status 
by the Bureau of the Census under section 23(c) of title 
13), and with whom a contract or other agreement is 
executed, on a temporary basis, by an executive agency 
to perform exclusively statistical activities under the con-
trol and supervision of an officer or employee of that 
agency; 
‘‘(ii) who is working under the authority of a govern-
ment entity with which a contract or other agreement 
is executed by an executive agency to perform exclusively 
statistical activities under the control of an officer or 
employee of that agency; 
‘‘(iii) who is a self-employed researcher, a consultant, 
a contractor, or an employee of a contractor, and with 
whom a contract or other agreement is executed by an 
executive agency to perform a statistical activity under 
the control of an officer or employee of that agency; or 
‘‘(iv) who is a contractor or an employee of a contractor, 
and who is engaged by the agency to design or maintain 
the systems for handling or storage of data received under 
this subchapter; and
H. R. 4174—17 
‘‘(B) who agrees in writing to comply with all provisions 
of law that affect information acquired by that agency. 
‘‘(3) BUSINESS DATA.—The term ‘business data’ means oper-
ating and financial data and information about businesses, 
tax-exempt organizations, and government entities. 
‘‘(4) DATA ASSET.—The term ‘data asset’ has the meaning 
given that term in section 3502. 
‘‘(5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means the Director 
of the Office of Management and Budget. 
‘‘(6) EVIDENCE.—The term ‘evidence’ means information 
produced as a result of statistical activities conducted for a 
statistical purpose. 
‘‘(7) IDENTIFIABLE
FORM.—The term ‘identifiable form’ 
means any representation of information that permits the 
identity of the respondent to whom the information applies 
to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means. 
‘‘(8) NONSTATISTICAL
PURPOSE.—The term ‘nonstatistical 
purpose’— 
‘‘(A) means the use of data in identifiable form for 
any purpose that is not a statistical purpose, including 
any administrative, regulatory, law enforcement, adjudica-
tory, or other purpose that affects the rights, privileges, 
or benefits of a particular identifiable respondent; and 
‘‘(B) includes the disclosure under section 552 of title 
5 of data that are acquired for exclusively statistical pur-
poses under a pledge of confidentiality. 
‘‘(9) RESPONDENT.—The term ‘respondent’ means a person 
who, or organization that, is requested or required to supply 
information to an agency, is the subject of information 
requested or required to be supplied to an agency, or provides 
that information to an agency. 
‘‘(10) STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘statistical activi-
ties’— 
‘‘(A) means the collection, compilation, processing, or 
analysis of data for the purpose of describing or making 
estimates concerning the whole, or relevant groups or 
components within, the economy, society, or the natural 
environment; and 
‘‘(B) includes the development of methods or resources 
that support those activities, such as measurement 
methods, models, statistical classifications, or sampling 
frames. 
‘‘(11) STATISTICAL AGENCY OR UNIT.—The term ‘statistical 
agency or unit’ means an agency or organizational unit of 
the executive branch whose activities are predominantly the 
collection, compilation, processing, or analysis of information 
for statistical purposes, as designated by the Director under 
section 3562. 
‘‘(12) STATISTICAL
PURPOSE.—The term ‘statistical pur-
pose’— 
‘‘(A) means the description, estimation, or analysis of 
the characteristics of groups, without identifying the 
individuals or organizations that comprise such groups; 
and
H. R. 4174—18 
‘‘(B) includes the development, implementation, or 
maintenance of methods, technical or administrative proce-
dures, or information resources that support the purposes 
described in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘§ 3562. Coordination and oversight of policies 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall coordinate and oversee 
the confidentiality and disclosure policies established by this sub-
chapter. The Director may promulgate rules or provide other guid-
ance to ensure consistent interpretation of this subchapter by the 
affected agencies. The Director shall develop a process by which 
the Director designates agencies or organizational units as statis-
tical agencies and units. The Director shall promulgate guidance 
to implement such process, which shall include specific criteria 
for such designation and methods by which the Director will ensure 
transparency in the process. 
‘‘(b) AGENCY RULES.—Subject to subsection (c), agencies may 
promulgate rules to implement this subchapter. Rules governing 
disclosures of information that are authorized by this subchapter 
shall be promulgated by the agency that originally collected the 
information. 
‘‘(c) REVIEW
AND APPROVAL
OF RULES.—The Director shall 
review any rules proposed by an agency pursuant to this subchapter 
for consistency with the provisions of this chapter and such rules 
shall be subject to the approval of the Director. 
‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) The head of each agency shall provide to the Director 
such reports and other information as the Director requests. 
‘‘(2) Each Designated Statistical Agency (as defined in sec-
tion 3576(e)) shall report annually to the Director, the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
of Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate on the actions it has 
taken to implement section 3576. The report shall include copies 
of each written agreement entered into pursuant to section 
3576(c)(1) for the applicable year. 
‘‘(3) The Director shall include a summary of reports sub-
mitted to the Director under this subsection and actions taken 
by the Director to advance the purposes of this subchapter 
in the annual report to Congress on statistical programs pre-
pared under section 3504(e)(2). 
‘‘§ 3563. Statistical agencies 
‘‘(a) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each statistical agency or unit shall— 
‘‘(A) produce and disseminate relevant and timely 
statistical information; 
‘‘(B) conduct credible and accurate statistical activities; 
‘‘(C) conduct objective statistical activities; and 
‘‘(D) protect the trust of information providers by 
ensuring the confidentiality and exclusive statistical use 
of their responses. 
‘‘(2) POLICIES, BEST
PRACTICES, AND
PROCEDURES.—Each 
statistical agency or unit shall adopt policies, best practices, 
and appropriate procedures to implement the responsibilities 
described in paragraph (1).
H. R. 4174—19 
‘‘(b) SUPPORT FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—The head of each agency 
shall enable, support, and facilitate statistical agencies or units 
in carrying out the responsibilities described in subsection (a)(1). 
‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Director shall prescribe regulations to 
carry out this section. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ACCURATE.—The term ‘accurate’, when used with 
respect to statistical activities, means statistics that consist-
ently match the events and trends being measured. 
‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The term ‘confidentiality’ means a 
quality or condition accorded to information as an obligation 
not to disclose that information to an unauthorized party. 
‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE.—The term ‘objective’, when used with 
respect to statistical activities, means accurate, clear, complete, 
and unbiased. 
‘‘(4) RELEVANT.—The term ‘relevant’, when used with 
respect to statistical information, means processes, activities, 
and other such matters likely to be useful to policymakers 
and public and private sector data users. 
‘‘§ 3564. Effect on other laws 
‘‘(a) TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE.—This subchapter does 
not diminish the authority under section 3510 of the Director to 
direct, and of an agency to make, disclosures that are not incon-
sistent with any applicable law. 
‘‘(b) TITLE 13 AND TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE.—This sub-
chapter does not diminish the authority of the Bureau of the Census 
to provide information in accordance with sections 8, 16, 301, and 
401 of title 13 and section 2108 of this title. 
‘‘(c) TITLE 13, UNITED STATES CODE.—This subchapter shall 
not be construed as authorizing the disclosure for nonstatistical 
purposes of demographic data or information collected by the 
Bureau of the Census pursuant to section 9 of title 13. 
‘‘(d) VARIOUS ENERGY STATUTES.—Data or information acquired 
by the Energy Information Administration under a pledge of con-
fidentiality and designated by the Energy Information Administra-
tion to be used for exclusively statistical purposes shall not be 
disclosed in identifiable form for nonstatistical purposes under— 
‘‘(1) section 12, 20, or 59 of the Federal Energy Administra-
tion Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 771, 779, 790h); 
‘‘(2) section 11 of the Energy Supply and Environmental 
Coordination Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 796); or 
‘‘(3) section 205 or 407 of the Department of Energy 
Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7135, 7177). 
‘‘(e) SECTION 201 OF CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT OF 1974.— 
This subchapter shall not be construed to limit any authorities 
of the Congressional Budget Office to work (consistent with laws 
governing the confidentiality of information the disclosure of which 
would be a violation of law) with databases of Designated Statistical 
Agencies (as defined in section 3576(e)), either separately or, for 
data that may be shared pursuant to section 3576(c) or other 
authority, jointly in order to improve the general utility of these 
databases for the statistical purpose of analyzing pension and health 
care financing issues. 
‘‘(f) PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.—Nothing in this subchapter 
shall preempt applicable State law regarding the confidentiality 
of data collected by the States.
H. R. 4174—20 
‘‘(g) STATUTES
REGARDING
FALSE
STATEMENTS.—Notwith-
standing section 3572, information collected by an agency for exclu-
sively statistical purposes under a pledge of confidentiality may 
be provided by the collecting agency to a law enforcement agency 
for the prosecution of submissions to the collecting agency of false 
statistical information under statutes that authorize criminal pen-
alties (such as section 221 of title 13) or civil penalties for the 
provision of false statistical information, unless such disclosure 
or use would otherwise be prohibited under Federal law. 
‘‘(h) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subchapter shall be con-
strued as restricting or diminishing any confidentiality protections 
or penalties for unauthorized disclosure that otherwise apply to 
data or information collected for statistical purposes or nonstatis-
tical purposes, including, but not limited to, section 6103 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(i) AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS.—Nothing in this subchapter shall 
be construed to affect the authority of the Congress, including 
its committees, members, or agents, to obtain data or information 
for a statistical purpose, including for oversight of an agency’s 
statistical activities. 
‘‘PART B—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 
PROTECTION 
‘‘§ 3571. Findings 
‘‘The Congress finds the following: 
‘‘(1) Individuals, businesses, and other organizations have 
varying degrees of legal protection when providing information 
to the agencies for strictly statistical purposes. 
‘‘(2) Pledges of confidentiality by agencies provide assur-
ances to the public that information about individuals or 
organizations or provided by individuals or organizations for 
exclusively statistical purposes will be held in confidence and 
will not be used against such individuals or organizations in 
any agency action. 
‘‘(3) Protecting the confidentiality interests of individuals 
or organizations who provide information under a pledge of 
confidentiality for Federal statistical programs serves both the 
interests of the public and the needs of society. 
‘‘(4) Declining trust of the public in the protection of 
information provided under a pledge of confidentiality to the 
agencies adversely affects both the accuracy and completeness 
of statistical analyses. 
‘‘(5) Ensuring that information provided under a pledge 
of confidentiality for statistical purposes receives protection 
is essential in continuing public cooperation in statistical pro-
grams. 
‘‘§ 3572. Confidential information protection 
‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are the following: 
‘‘(1) To ensure that information supplied by individuals 
or organizations to an agency for statistical purposes under 
a pledge of confidentiality is used exclusively for statistical 
purposes. 
‘‘(2) To ensure that individuals or organizations who supply 
information under a pledge of confidentiality to agencies for 
statistical purposes will neither have that information disclosed
H. R. 4174—21 
in identifiable form to anyone not authorized by this subchapter 
nor have that information used for any purpose other than 
a statistical purpose. 
‘‘(3) To safeguard the confidentiality of individually identifi-
able information acquired under a pledge of confidentiality 
for statistical purposes by controlling access to, and uses made 
of, such information. 
‘‘(b) USE
OF STATISTICAL DATA
OR INFORMATION.—Data or 
information acquired by an agency under a pledge of confidentiality 
and for exclusively statistical purposes shall be used by officers, 
employees, or agents of the agency exclusively for statistical pur-
poses and protected in accordance with such pledge. 
‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE OF STATISTICAL DATA OR INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) Data or information acquired by an agency under a 
pledge of confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes shall 
not be disclosed by an agency in identifiable form, for any 
use other than an exclusively statistical purpose, except with 
the informed consent of the respondent. 
‘‘(2) A disclosure pursuant to paragraph (1) is authorized 
only when the head of the agency approves such disclosure 
and the disclosure is not prohibited by any other law. 
‘‘(3) This section does not restrict or diminish any confiden-
tiality protections in law that otherwise apply to data or 
information acquired by an agency under a pledge of confiden-
tiality for exclusively statistical purposes. 
‘‘(d) RULE FOR USE OF DATA OR INFORMATION FOR NONSTATIS-
TICAL PURPOSES.—A statistical agency or unit shall clearly distin-
guish any data or information it collects for nonstatistical purposes 
(as authorized by law) and provide notice to the public, before 
the data or information is collected, that the data or information 
could be used for nonstatistical purposes. 
‘‘(e) DESIGNATION OF AGENTS.—A statistical agency or unit may 
designate agents, by contract or by entering into a special agreement 
containing the provisions required under section 3561(2) for treat-
ment as an agent under that section, who may perform exclusively 
statistical activities, subject to the limitations and penalties 
described in this subchapter. 
‘‘(f) FINES
AND
PENALTIES.—Whoever, being an officer, 
employee, or agent of an agency acquiring information for exclu-
sively statistical purposes, having taken and subscribed the oath 
of office, or having sworn to observe the limitations imposed by 
this section, comes into possession of such information by reason 
of his or her being an officer, employee, or agent and, knowing 
that the disclosure of the specific information is prohibited under 
the provisions of this subchapter, willfully discloses the information 
in any manner to a person or agency not entitled to receive it, 
shall be guilty of a class E felony and imprisoned for not more 
than 5 years, or fined not more than $250,000, or both. 
‘‘PART C—STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY 
‘‘§ 3575. Findings 
‘‘The Congress finds the following: 
‘‘(1) Federal statistics are an important source of informa-
tion for public and private decision-makers such as policy-
makers, consumers, businesses, investors, and workers.