IB 
Union Calendar No. 810 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2846 
[Report No. 115–1043] 
To require the collection of voluntary feedback on services provided by 
agencies, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 8, 2017 
Mr. FARENTHOLD (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform 
NOVEMBER 27, 2018 
Additional sponsor: Ms. SINEMA 
NOVEMBER 27, 2018 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 8, 2017] 
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A BILL 
To require the collection of voluntary feedback on services 
provided by agencies, and for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘Federal Agency Cus-
tomer Experience Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) the Federal Government serves the people of 
the United States and should seek to continually im-
prove public services provided by the Federal Govern-
ment based on customer feedback; 
(2) the people of the United States deserve a Fed-
eral Government that provides efficient, effective, and 
high-quality services across multiple channels; 
(3) many agencies, offices, programs, and Fed-
eral employees provide excellent service to individuals, 
however many parts of the Federal Government still 
fall short on delivering the customer service experience 
that individuals have come to expect from the private 
sector; 
(4) according to the 2016 American Customer 
Satisfaction Index, the Federal Government ranks 
among the bottom of all industries in the United 
States in customer satisfaction; 
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(5) providing quality services to individuals im-
proves the confidence of the people of the United 
States in their government and helps agencies achieve 
greater impact and fulfill their missions; and 
(6) improving service to individuals requires 
agencies to work across organizational boundaries, le-
verage technology, collect and share standardized 
data, and develop customer-centered mindsets and 
service strategies. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 
that all agencies should strive to provide high-quality, cour-
teous, effective, and efficient services to the people of the 
United States and seek to measure, collect, report, and uti-
lize metrics relating to the experience of individuals inter-
acting with agencies to continually improve services to the 
people of the United States. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 
ADMINISTRATOR.—The 
term 
‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of General Services. 
(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 3502 of title 44, United 
States Code. 
(3) COVERED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered agen-
cy’’ means an agency or component of an agency that 
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is designated as a ‘‘covered agency’’ pursuant to sec-
tion 5(a). 
(4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget. 
(5) VOLUNTARY
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
FEED-
BACK.—The term ‘‘voluntary customer service feed-
back’’ means a response to a collection of information 
conducted by a covered agency in accordance with 
this Act. 
SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE PA-
PERWORK REDUCTION ACT TO COLLECTION 
OF VOLUNTARY CUSTOMER SERVICE FEED-
BACK. 
Sections 3506(c) and 3507 of title 44, United States 
Code (provisions of what is commonly known as the ‘‘Pa-
perwork Reduction Act’’) shall not apply to a collection of 
voluntary customer service feedback. 
SEC. 5. GUIDELINES FOR VOLUNTARY CUSTOMER SERVICE 
FEEDBACK. 
(a) EVALUATION
AND DESIGNATION.—The Director 
shall assess agencies, agency components, and agency pro-
grams to identify which have the highest impact on or num-
ber of interactions with individuals or entities. Based on 
the assessment, the Director shall designate agencies, agency 
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components, or programs as covered agencies for purposes 
of this Act. 
(b) GUIDANCE.—The Director shall issue guidance that 
requires each covered agency that solicits voluntary cus-
tomer service feedback to ensure that— 
(1) any response to the solicitation of voluntary 
customer service feedback remains anonymous, the 
collection method does not include a request for or op-
portunity for the respondent to provide information 
that could identify such respondent, and any response 
is not traced to a specific individual or entity; 
(2) any individual or entity who declines to par-
ticipate in the solicitation of voluntary customer serv-
ice feedback shall not be treated differently by the 
agency for purposes of providing services or informa-
tion; 
(3) the solicitation does not include more than 
10 questions; 
(4) the voluntary nature of the solicitation is 
clear; 
(5) the collection of voluntary customer service 
feedback is only used to improve customer service and 
will not be used for any other purpose; 
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(6) any solicitation of voluntary customer service 
feedback is limited to 1 solicitation per interaction 
with an individual or entity; 
(7) to the extent practicable, the solicitation of 
voluntary customer service feedback is made at the 
point of service with an individual or entity; 
(8) any instrument for collecting voluntary cus-
tomer service feedback is accessible to individuals 
with disabilities in accordance with section 508 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d); and 
(9) internal agency data governance policies re-
main in effect with respect to the collection of vol-
untary customer service feedback from any individual 
or entity. 
SEC. 6. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DATA COLLECTION. 
(a) COLLECTION OF RESPONSES.—The head of each 
covered agency (or a designee), assisted by and in consulta-
tion with the Performance Improvement Officer or other 
senior accountable official for customer service of the cov-
ered agency, shall collect voluntary customer service feed-
back with respect to any service of or transaction with the 
covered agency that has been identified by the Director, in 
consultation with the Administrator, in accordance with the 
guidance issued by the Director under section 5. 
(b) CONTENT OF QUESTIONS.— 
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(1) STANDARDIZED QUESTIONS.—The Director, 
in consultation with the Administrator, shall develop 
a set of standardized questions for use by each covered 
agency in collecting voluntary customer service feed-
back under this section that address— 
(A) overall satisfaction of individuals or en-
tities with the specific interaction or service re-
ceived; 
(B) the extent to which individuals or enti-
ties were able to accomplish their intended task 
or purpose; 
(C) whether the individual or entity was 
treated with respect and professionalism; 
(D) whether the individual or entity believes 
they were served in a timely manner; and 
(E) any additional metrics as determined 
by the Director, in consultation with the Admin-
istrator. 
(2) ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.—In addition to the 
questions developed pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
Director shall consult with the Performance Improve-
ment Council to develop additional questions relevant 
to the operations or programs of covered agencies. 
(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—To the extent prac-
ticable— 
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(1) each covered agency shall collect voluntary 
customer service feedback across all platforms or 
channels through which the covered agency interacts 
with individuals or other entities to deliver informa-
tion or services; and 
(2) voluntary customer service feedback collected 
under this section shall be tied to specific transactions 
or interactions with customers of the covered agency. 
(d) REPORTS.— 
(1) ANNUAL REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
not less frequently than annually thereafter, each 
covered agency shall publish on the website of the 
covered agency and submit to the Director, in a 
manner determined by the Director— 
(i) a report that includes— 
(I) the voluntary customer service 
feedback for the previous year; and 
(II) descriptions of how the cov-
ered agency has used and plans to use 
such feedback; and 
(ii) a machine readable dataset that 
includes— 
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(I) the the standardized questions 
or additional questions described in 
subsection (b) and the response choices 
for such questions; and 
(II) the response rate for each col-
lection of voluntary customer service 
feedback for the previous year. 
(B) CENTRALIZED WEBSITE.—The Director 
shall— 
(i) include and maintain on a publicly 
available website links to the information 
provided on the websites of covered agencies 
under subparagraph (A); and 
(ii) for purposes of clause (i), establish 
a website or make use of an existing 
website, such as the website required under 
section 1122 of title 31, United States Code. 
(2) AGGREGATED REPORT.—Each covered agency 
shall publish in an electronic format and update on 
a regular basis an aggregated report on the solicita-
tion and use of voluntary customer service feedback, 
which shall include— 
(A) the intended purpose of each solicitation 
of voluntary customer service feedback conducted 
by the covered agency; 
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(B) the appropriate point of contact within 
each covered agency for each solicitation of vol-
untary customer service feedback conducted; 
(C) the questions or survey instrument sub-
mitted to members of the public as part of the 
solicitation of voluntary customer service feed-
back; and 
(D) a description of how the covered agency 
uses the voluntary customer service feedback re-
ceived by the covered agency to improve the cus-
tomer service of the covered agency. 
SEC. 7. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE SCORECARD REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 months after the 
date on which all covered agencies have submitted the first 
annual reports to the Director required under section 
6(d)(1), and every 2 years thereafter until the date that is 
10 years after such date, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall make publicly available and 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 a score-
card report assessing the data collected and reported by the 
covered agencies and each instrument used to collect vol-
untary customer service feedback. 
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(b) CONTENTS.—The report required under subsection 
(a) shall include— 
(1) a summary of the information required to be 
published by covered agencies under section 6(d); 
(2) a description of how each covered agency 
plans to use and has used the voluntary customer 
service feedback received by the covered agency; and 
(3) an evaluation of each covered agency’s com-
pliance with this Act. 
SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that adequate Federal fund-
ing is needed to ensure agency staffing levels that can pro-
vide the public with appropriate customer service levels. 
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to require the 
collection of voluntary customer service feedback on serv-
ices provided by agencies, and for other purposes.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 810 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2846 
[Report No. 115–1043] 
A BILL 
To require the collection of voluntary feedback on 
services provided by agencies, and for other pur-
poses. 
NOVEMBER 27, 2018 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed 
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