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 
improve public services provided by the Federal Gov-
ernment based on customer feedback; 
(2) the people of the United States deserve a 
Federal Government that provides efficient, effec-
tive, and high-quality services across multiple chan-
nels; 
(3) many agencies, offices, programs, and Fed-
eral employees provide excellent service to individ-
uals, however many parts of the Federal Govern-
ment still fall short on delivering the customer serv-
ice 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; 
(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, 
leverage technology, collect and share standardized 
data, and develop customer-centered mindsets and 
service strategies. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that all agencies should strive to provide high-qual-
ity, courteous, effective, and efficient services to the people 
of the United States and seek to measure, collect, report, 
and utilize metrics relating to the experience of individuals 
interacting 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 Serv-
ices. 
(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 3502 of title 44, 
United States Code. 
(3) COVERED
AGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered 
agency’’ means an agency or component of an agen-
cy that is designated as a ‘‘covered agency’’ pursu-
ant to section 5(a). 
(4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
et. 
(5) VOLUNTARY
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
FEED-
BACK.—The term ‘‘voluntary customer service feed-
back’’ means a response to a collection of informa-
tion 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 
number of interactions with individuals or entities. Based 
on the assessment, the Director shall designate agencies,
agency 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 
customer 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 
opportunity for the respondent to provide informa-
tion that could identify such respondent, and any re-
sponse 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 
service feedback shall not be treated differently by 
the agency for purposes of providing services or in-
formation; 
(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;
(6) any solicitation of voluntary customer serv-
ice feedback is limited to 1 solicitation per inter-
action 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 indi-
vidual 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 con-
sultation with the Performance Improvement Officer or 
other senior accountable official for customer service of 
the covered agency, shall collect voluntary customer serv-
ice feedback 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 ac-
cordance with the guidance issued by the Director under 
section 5. 
(b) CONTENT OF QUESTIONS.— 
(1) STANDARDIZED QUESTIONS.—The Director, 
in consultation with the Administrator, shall develop 
a set of standardized questions for use by each cov-
ered agency in collecting voluntary customer service 
feedback under this section that address— 
(A) overall satisfaction of individuals or 
entities with the specific interaction or service 
received; 
(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 be-
lieves they were served in a timely manner; and 
(E) any additional metrics as determined 
by the Director, in consultation with the Ad-
ministrator. 
(2) ADDITIONAL
QUESTIONS.—In addition to 
the questions developed pursuant to paragraph (1), 
the Director shall consult with the Performance Im-
provement Council to develop additional questions
(II) descriptions of how the cov-
ered agency has used and plans to use 
such feedback; and 
(ii) a machine readable dataset that 
includes— 
(I) the the standardized ques-
tions or additional questions described 
in subsection (b) and the response 
choices for such questions; and 
(II) the response rate for each 
collection of voluntary customer serv-
ice feedback for the previous year. 
(B) CENTRALIZED WEBSITE.—The Direc-
tor shall— 
(i) include and maintain on a publicly 
available website links to the information 
provided on the websites of covered agen-
cies under subparagraph (A); and 
(ii) for purposes of clause (i), estab-
lish 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 up-
date on a regular basis an aggregated report on the 
solicitation and use of voluntary customer service 
feedback, which shall include— 
(A) the intended purpose of each solicita-
tion of voluntary customer service feedback con-
ducted by the covered agency; 
(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 
submitted to members of the public as part of 
the solicitation of voluntary customer service 
feedback; and 
(D) a description of how the covered agen-
cy uses the voluntary customer service feedback 
received by the covered agency to improve the 
customer 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 Govern-
mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Over-
sight and Government Reform of the House of Represent-
atives a scorecard report assessing the data collected and 
reported by the covered agencies and each instrument used 
to collect voluntary customer service feedback. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub-
section (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 
funding is needed to ensure agency staffing levels that can 
provide the public with appropriate customer service lev-
els. 
Passed the House of Representatives November 29, 
2018. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2846 
AN ACT 
To require the collection of voluntary customer 
service feedback on services provided by agencies, 
and for other purposes.