116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3941 
AN ACT 
To enhance the innovation, security, and availability of cloud 
computing services used in the Federal Government by 
establishing the Federal Risk and Authorization Manage-
ment Program within the General Services Administra-
tion and by establishing a risk management, authoriza-
tion, and continuous monitoring process to enable the 
Federal Government to leverage cloud computing services 
using a risk-based approach consistent with the Federal 
Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 and 
cloud-based operations, 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 ‘‘Federal Risk and Au-
thorization Management Program Authorization Act of 
2019’’ or the ‘‘FedRAMP Authorization Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CODIFICATION OF THE FEDRAMP PROGRAM. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 36 of title 44, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new sections: 
‘‘§ 3607. Federal Risk and Authorization Management 
Program 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 
the General Services Administration the Federal Risk and 
Authorization Management Program. The Administrator 
of General Services, in accordance with the guidelines es-
tablished pursuant to section 3612, shall establish a gov-
ernmentwide program that provides the authoritative 
standardized approach to security assessment and author-
ization for cloud computing products and services that 
process unclassified information used by agencies. 
‘‘(b) COMPONENTS OF FEDRAMP.—The Joint Au-
thorization Board and the FedRAMP Program Manage-
ment Office are established as components of FedRAMP.
‘‘§ 3608. FedRAMP Program Management Office 
‘‘(a) GSA DUTIES.— 
‘‘(1) ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Ad-
ministrator of General Services shall— 
‘‘(A) determine the categories and charac-
teristics of cloud computing information tech-
nology goods or services that are within the ju-
risdiction of FedRAMP and that require 
FedRAMP authorization from the Joint Au-
thorization Board or the FedRAMP Program 
Management Office; 
‘‘(B) develop, coordinate, and implement a 
process for the FedRAMP Program Manage-
ment Office, the Joint Authorization Board, 
and agencies to review security assessments of 
cloud computing services pursuant to sub-
sections (b) and (c) of section 3611, and appro-
priate oversight of continuous monitoring of 
cloud computing services; and 
‘‘(C) ensure the continuous improvement of 
FedRAMP. 
‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Administrator 
shall oversee the implementation of FedRAMP, in-
cluding—
‘‘(8) Establish a centralized and secure reposi-
tory to collect and share necessary data, including 
security authorization packages, from the Joint Au-
thorization Board and agencies to enable better 
sharing and reuse to such packages across agencies. 
‘‘(c) EVALUATION OF AUTOMATION PROCEDURES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The FedRAMP Program 
Management Office shall assess and evaluate avail-
able automation capabilities and procedures to im-
prove the efficiency and effectiveness of the issuance 
of provisional authorizations to operate issued by the 
Joint Authorization Board and FedRAMP author-
izations, including continuous monitoring of cloud 
environments and among cloud environments. 
‘‘(2) MEANS FOR AUTOMATION.—Not later than 
1 year after the date of the enactment of this section 
and updated annually thereafter, the FedRAMP 
Program Management Office shall establish a means 
for the automation of security assessments and re-
views. 
‘‘(d) 
METRICS
FOR
AUTHORIZATION.—The 
FedRAMP Program Management Office shall establish 
annual metrics regarding the time and quality of the as-
sessments necessary for completion of a FedRAMP au-
thorization process in a manner that can be consistently
tracked over time in conjunction with the periodic testing 
and evaluation process pursuant to section 3554 in a man-
ner that minimizes the agency reporting burden. 
‘‘§ 3609. Joint Authorization Board 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 
Joint Authorization Board which shall consist of cloud 
computing experts, appointed by the Director in consulta-
tion with the Administrator, from each of the following: 
‘‘(1) The Department of Defense. 
‘‘(2) The Department of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(3) The General Services Administration. 
‘‘(4) Such other agencies as determined by the 
Director, in consultation with the Administrator. 
‘‘(b) ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORIZATIONS 
TO OPERATE.—The Joint Authorization Board shall con-
duct security assessments of cloud computing services and 
issue provisional authorizations to operate to cloud service 
providers that meet FedRAMP security guidelines set 
forth in section 3608(b)(1). 
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Joint Authorization Board 
shall— 
‘‘(1) develop and make publicly available on a 
website, determined by the Administrator, criteria 
for prioritizing and selecting cloud computing serv-
ices to be assessed by the Joint Authorization 
Board; 
‘‘(2) provide regular updates on the status of 
any cloud computing service during the assessment 
and authorization process of the Joint Authorization 
Board; 
‘‘(3) review and validate cloud computing serv-
ices and independent assessment organization secu-
rity packages or any documentation determined to 
be necessary by the Joint Authorization Board to 
evaluate the system security of a cloud computing 
service; 
‘‘(4) in consultation with the FedRAMP Pro-
gram Management Office, serve as a resource for 
best practices to accelerate the FedRAMP process; 
‘‘(5) establish requirements and guidelines for 
security assessments of cloud computing services, 
consistent with standards defined by the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, to be used 
by the Joint Authorization Board and agencies; 
‘‘(6) perform such other roles and responsibil-
ities as the Administrator may assign, in consulta-
tion with the FedRAMP Program Management Of-
fice and members of the Joint Authorization Board; 
and
‘‘(7) establish metrics and goals for reviews and 
activities associated with issuing provisional author-
izations to operate and provide to the FedRAMP 
Program Management Office. 
‘‘(d) DETERMINATIONS
OF DEMAND
FOR CLOUD 
COMPUTING SERVICES.—The Joint Authorization Board 
shall consult with the Chief Information Officers Council 
established in section 3603 to establish a process for 
prioritizing and accepting the cloud computing services to 
be granted a provisional authorization to operate through 
the Joint Authorization Board, which shall be made avail-
able on a public website. 
‘‘(e) DETAIL OF PERSONNEL.—To assist the Joint 
Authorization Board in discharging the responsibilities 
under this section, personnel of agencies may be detailed 
to the Joint Authorization Board for the performance of 
duties described under subsection (c). 
‘‘§ 3610. Independent assessment organizations 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
ACCREDITATION.—The 
Joint Authorization Board shall determine the require-
ments for certification of independent assessment organi-
zations pursuant to section 3609. Such requirements may 
include developing or requiring certification programs for 
individuals employed by the independent assessment orga-
nizations who lead FedRAMP assessment teams.
‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT.—Accredited independent assess-
ment organizations may assess, validate, and attest to the 
quality and compliance of security assessment materials 
provided by cloud service providers. 
‘‘§ 3611. Roles and responsibilities of agencies 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In implementing the require-
ments of FedRAMP, the head of each agency shall, con-
sistent with guidance issued by the Director pursuant to 
section 3612— 
‘‘(1) create policies to ensure cloud computing 
services used by the agency meet FedRAMP security 
requirements and other risk-based performance re-
quirements as defined by the Director; 
‘‘(2) issue agency-specific authorizations to op-
erate for cloud computing services in compliance 
with section 3554; 
‘‘(3) confirm whether there is a provisional au-
thorization to operate in the cloud security reposi-
tory established under section 3608(b)(10) issued by 
the Joint Authorization Board or a FedRAMP au-
thorization issued by the FedRAMP Program Man-
agement Office before beginning an agency author-
ization for a cloud computing product or service; 
‘‘(4) to the extent practicable, for any cloud 
computing product or service the agency seeks to au-
thorize that has received either a provisional author-
ization to operate by the Joint Authorization Board 
or a FedRAMP authorization by the FedRAMP Pro-
gram Management Office, use the existing assess-
ments of security controls and materials within the 
authorization package; and 
‘‘(5) provide data and information required to 
the Director pursuant to section 3612 to determine 
how agencies are meeting metrics as defined by the 
FedRAMP Program Management Office. 
‘‘(b) SUBMISSION
OF POLICIES REQUIRED.—Not 
later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of 
this section, the head of each agency shall submit to the 
Director the policies created pursuant to subsection (a)(1) 
for review and approval. 
‘‘(c) SUBMISSION OF AUTHORIZATIONS TO OPERATE 
REQUIRED.—Upon issuance of an authorization to oper-
ate or a provisional authorization to operate issued by an 
agency, the head of each agency shall provide a copy of 
the authorization to operate letter and any supplementary 
information required pursuant to section 3608(b) to the 
FedRAMP Program Management Office. 
‘‘(d) PRESUMPTION OF ADEQUACY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The assessment of security 
controls and materials within the authorization
package for provisional authorizations to operate 
issued by the Joint Authorization Board and agency 
authorizations to operate that receive FedRAMP au-
thorization from the FedRAMP Program Manage-
ment Office shall be presumed adequate for use in 
agency authorizations of cloud computing products 
and services. 
‘‘(2) 
INFORMATION
SECURITY
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The presumption under paragraph (1) 
does not modify or alter the responsibility of any 
agency to ensure compliance with subchapter II of 
chapter 35 for any cloud computing products or 
services used by the agency. 
‘‘§ 3612. Roles and responsibilities of the Office of 
Management and Budget 
‘‘The Director shall have the following duties: 
‘‘(1) Issue guidance to ensure that an agency 
does not operate a Federal Government cloud com-
puting service using Government data without an 
authorization to operate issued by the agency that 
meets the requirements of subchapter II of chapter 
35 and FedRAMP. 
‘‘(2) Ensure agencies are in compliance with 
any guidance or other requirements issued related to 
FedRAMP.
‘‘(1) The status, efficiency, and effectiveness of 
FedRAMP Program Management Office and agen-
cies during the preceding year in supporting the 
speed, effectiveness, sharing, reuse, and security of 
authorizations to operate for cloud computing prod-
ucts and services, including progress towards meet-
ing the metrics adopted by the FedRAMP Program 
Management Office pursuant to section 3608(d) and 
the Joint Authorization Board pursuant to section 
3609(c)(5). 
‘‘(2) Data on agency use of provisional author-
izations to operate issued by the Joint Authorization 
Board and agency sponsored authorizations that re-
ceive FedRAMP authorization by the FedRAMP 
Program Management Office. 
‘‘(3) The length of time for the Joint Author-
ization Board to review applications for and issue 
provisional authorizations to operate. 
‘‘(4) The length of time for the FedRAMP Pro-
gram Management Office to review agency applica-
tions for and issue FedRAMP authorization. 
‘‘(5) The number of provisional authorizations 
to operate issued by the Joint Authorization Board 
and 
FedRAMP 
authorizations 
issued 
by 
the
FedRAMP Program Management Office for the pre-
vious year. 
‘‘(6) A review of progress made during the pre-
ceding year in advancing automation techniques to 
securely automate FedRAMP processes and to accel-
erate reporting as described in this section. 
‘‘(7) The number and characteristics of author-
ized cloud computing services in use at each agency 
consistent with guidance provided by the Director in 
section 3612. 
‘‘§ 3615. Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT, PURPOSES, AND DUTIES.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 
Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee (referred 
to in this section as the ‘Committee’) to ensure ef-
fective and ongoing coordination of agency adoption, 
use, authorization, monitoring, acquisition, and secu-
rity of cloud computing products and services to en-
able agency mission and administrative priorities. 
‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Com-
mittee are the following: 
‘‘(A) 
To 
examine 
the 
operations 
of 
FedRAMP and determine ways that authoriza-
tion processes can continuously be improved, in-
cluding the following:
‘‘(i) Measures to increase agency re- 
use of provisional authorizations to operate 
issued by the Joint Authorization Board. 
‘‘(ii) Proposed actions that can be 
adopted to reduce the cost of provisional 
authorizations to operate and FedRAMP 
authorizations for cloud service providers. 
‘‘(iii) Measures to increase the num-
ber of provisional authorizations to operate 
or FedRAMP authorizations for cloud 
computing services offered by small busi-
nesses (as defined by section 3(a) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)). 
‘‘(B) Collect information and feedback on 
agency compliance with and implementation of 
FedRAMP requirements. 
‘‘(C) Serve as a forum that facilitates com-
munication 
and 
collaboration 
among 
the 
FedRAMP stakeholder community. 
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The duties of the Committee 
are, at a minimum, the following: 
‘‘(A) Provide advice and recommendations 
to the Administrator, the Joint Authorization 
Board, and to agencies on technical, financial,
programmatic, and operational matters regard-
ing secure adoption of cloud computing services. 
‘‘(B) Submit reports as required. 
‘‘(b) MEMBERS.— 
‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall be 
comprised of not more than 15 members who are 
qualified representatives from the public and private 
sectors, appointed by the Administrator, in consulta-
tion with the Administrator of the Office of Elec-
tronic Government, as follows: 
‘‘(A) The Administrator or the Administra-
tor’s designee, who shall be the Chair of the 
Committee. 
‘‘(B) At least one representative each from 
the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 
Agency and the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology. 
‘‘(C) At least two officials who serve as the 
Chief Information Security Officer within an 
agency, who shall be required to maintain such 
a position throughout the duration of their serv-
ice on the Committee. 
‘‘(D) At least one official serving as Chief 
Procurement Officer (or equivalent) in an agen-
cy, who shall be required to maintain such a po-
sition throughout the duration of their service 
on the Committee. 
‘‘(E) At least one individual representing 
an independent assessment organization. 
‘‘(F) No fewer than five representatives 
from unique businesses that primarily provide 
cloud computing services or products, including 
at least two representatives from a small busi-
ness (as defined by section 3(a) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a))). 
‘‘(G) At least two other government rep-
resentatives as the Administrator determines to 
be necessary to provide sufficient balance, in-
sights, or expertise to the Committee. 
‘‘(2) DEADLINE
FOR
APPOINTMENT.—Each 
member of the Committee shall be appointed not 
later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
‘‘(3) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Each non-Federal 
member of the Committee shall be appointed 
for a term of 3 years, except that the initial 
terms for members may be staggered 1, 2, or 
3 year terms to establish a rotation in which 
one-third of the members are selected each
year. Any such member may be appointed for 
not more than 2 consecutive terms. 
‘‘(B) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the 
Committee shall not affect its powers, but shall 
be filled in the same manner in which the origi-
nal appointment was made. Any member ap-
pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the 
expiration of the term for which the member’s 
predecessor was appointed shall be appointed 
only for the remainder of that term. A member 
may serve after the expiration of that member’s 
term until a successor has taken office. 
‘‘(c) MEETINGS AND RULES OF PROCEDURES.— 
‘‘(1) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall hold 
not fewer than three meetings in a calendar year, at 
such time and place as determined by the Chair. 
‘‘(2) INITIAL
MEETING.—Not later than 120 
days after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Committee shall meet and begin the operations 
of the Committee. 
‘‘(3) RULES OF PROCEDURE.—The Committee 
may establish rules for the conduct of the business 
of the Committee, if such rules are not inconsistent 
with this section or other applicable law. 
‘‘(d) EMPLOYEE STATUS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A member of the Com-
mittee (other than a member who is appointed to the 
Committee in connection with another Federal ap-
pointment) shall not be considered an employee of 
the Federal Government by reason of any service as 
such a member, except for the purposes of section 
5703 of title 5, relating to travel expenses. 
‘‘(2) PAY NOT PERMITTED.—A member of the 
Committee covered by paragraph (1) may not receive 
pay by reason of service on the panel. 
‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY TO THE FEDERAL ADVISORY 
COMMITTEE ACT.—Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 
App.) shall apply to the Committee, except that section 
14 of such Act shall not apply. 
‘‘(f) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Committee, or 
on the authority of the Committee, any subcommittee, 
may, for the purposes of carrying out this section, hold 
hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take testi-
mony, receive evidence, and administer oaths. 
‘‘(g) CONTRACTING.—The Committee, may, to such 
extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria-
tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Committee 
to discharge its duties under this section. 
‘‘(h) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee is author-
ized to secure directly from any executive depart-
ment, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, 
independent establishment, or instrumentality of the 
Government, information, suggestions, estimates, 
and statistics for the purposes of the Committee. 
Each department, bureau, agency, board, commis-
sion, office, independent establishment, or instru-
mentality shall, to the extent authorized by law, fur-
nish such information, suggestions, estimates, and 
statistics directly to the Committee, upon request 
made by the Chair, the Chair of any subcommittee 
created by a majority of the Committee, or any 
member designated by a majority of the Committee. 
‘‘(2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS-
SEMINATION.—Information may only be received, 
handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 
the Committee and its staff consistent with all appli-
cable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 
‘‘(i) DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES.—Any Federal Govern-
ment employee may be detailed to the Committee without 
reimbursement from the Committee, and such detailee 
shall retain the rights, status, and privileges of his or her 
regular employment without interruption.
‘‘(j) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Committee may use 
the United States mails in the same manner and under 
the same conditions as agencies. 
‘‘(k) EXPERT
AND CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The 
Committee is authorized to procure the services of experts 
and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 
5, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a person 
occupying a position at Level IV of the Executive Schedule 
under section 5315 of title 5. 
‘‘(l) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Committee may 
submit to the Administrator and Congress interim 
reports containing such findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations as have been agreed to by the 
Committee. 
‘‘(2) ANNUAL
REPORTS.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion, and annually thereafter, the Committee shall 
submit to the Administrator and Congress a final re-
port containing such findings, conclusions, and rec-
ommendations as have been agreed to by the Com-
mittee.
‘‘§ 3616. Definitions 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub-
section (b), the definitions under sections 3502 and 3552 
apply to sections 3607 through this section. 
‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—In sections 3607 
through this section: 
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis-
trator’ means the Administrator of General Services. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION
PACKAGE.—The term 
‘authorization package’— 
‘‘(A) means the essential information used 
to determine whether to authorize the operation 
of an information system or the use of a des-
ignated set of common controls; and 
‘‘(B) at a minimum, includes the informa-
tion system security plan, privacy plan, security 
control assessment, privacy control assessment, 
and any relevant plans of action and milestones. 
‘‘(3) CLOUD
COMPUTING.—The term ‘cloud 
computing’ has the meaning given that term by the 
National Institutes of Standards and Technology in 
NIST Special Publication 800–145 and any amend-
atory or superseding document thereto. 
‘‘(4) CLOUD
SERVICE
PROVIDER.—The term 
‘cloud service provider’ means an entity offering 
cloud computing services to agencies.
‘‘(5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
et. 
‘‘(6) FEDRAMP.—The term ‘FedRAMP’ means 
the Federal Risk and Authorization Management 
Program established under section 3607(a). 
‘‘(7) FEDRAMP
AUTHORIZATION.—The term 
‘FedRAMP authorization’ means a cloud computing 
product or service that has received an agency au-
thorization to operate and has been approved by the 
FedRAMP Program Management Office to meet re-
quirements and guidelines established by the 
FedRAMP Program Management Office. 
‘‘(8) FEDRAMP
PROGRAM
MANAGEMENT
OF-
FICE.—The term ‘FedRAMP Program Management 
Office’ means the office that administers FedRAMP 
established under section 3608. 
‘‘(9) INDEPENDENT
ASSESSMENT
ORGANIZA-
TION.—The term ‘independent assessment organiza-
tion’ means a third-party organization accredited by 
the Program Director of the FedRAMP Program 
Management Office to undertake conformity assess-
ments of cloud service providers. 
‘‘(10) JOINT
AUTHORIZATION
BOARD.—The 
term ‘Joint Authorization Board’ means the Joint
Authorization Board established under section 
3609.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections for chapter 36 of title 44, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new items: 
‘‘3607. Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program. 
‘‘3608. FedRAMP Program Management Office. 
‘‘3609. Joint Authorization Board. 
‘‘3610. Independent assessment organizations. 
‘‘3611. Roles and responsibilities of agencies. 
‘‘3612. Roles and responsibilities of the Office of Management and Budget. 
‘‘3613. Authorization of appropriations for FEDRAMP. 
‘‘3614. Reports to Congress. 
‘‘3615. Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee. 
‘‘3616. Definitions.’’. 
(c) SUNSET.—This Act and any amendment made by 
this Act shall be repealed on the date that is 10 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 
or any amendment made by this Act shall be construed 
as altering or impairing the authorities of the Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget or the Secretary 
of Homeland Security under subchapter II of chapter 35 
of title 44, United States Code. 
Passed the House of Representatives February 5, 
2020. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3941 
AN ACT 
To enhance the innovation, security, and avail-
ability of cloud computing services used in the 
Federal Government by establishing the Federal 
Risk and Authorization Management Program 
within the General Services Administration and 
by establishing a risk management, authoriza-
tion, and continuous monitoring process to en-
able the Federal Government to leverage cloud 
computing services using a risk-based approach 
consistent with the Federal Information Security 
Modernization Act of 2014 and cloud-based oper-
ations, and for other purposes.