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103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2995
To further the goals of the Paperwork Reduction Act to have Federal agencies
become more responsible and publicly accountable for reducing the bur-
den of Federal paperwork on the public, to establish the Commission
on Information Technology and Paperwork Reduction, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 6, 1993
Mr. SISISKY (for himself, Mr. CLINGER, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. MICHEL, Mr.
MAZZOLI, Mr. MCDADE, Mr. WISE, Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas, Mr. SKEL-
TON, Mr. BACHUS of Alabama, Mr. BAKER of California, Mr. MORAN,
Mr. BATEMAN, Mr. COOPER, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mrs. LLOYD, Mr.
BLUTE, Ms. BYRNE, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. VALENTINE, Mr.
BONILLA, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. BUNNING, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. BURTON of
Indiana, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. PAYNE of Virginia, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. STEN-
HOLM, Mr. COMBEST, Mr. LANCASTER, Mr. DELAY, Mr. MCCURDY, Mr.
DOOLITTLE, Mr. PICKETT, Mr. EMERSON, Ms. LAMBERT, Mr. FAWELL,
Mr. PETE GREEN of Texas, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. ORTON, Mr. GOOD-
LING, Mr. JACOBS, Mr. GUNDERSON, Mr. MONTGOMERY, Mr. GREEN-
WOOD, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. DARDEN, Mr. INGLIS of South
Carolina, Mr. KIM, Mr. SARPALIUS, Mr. KINGSTON, Ms. HARMAN, Mr.
KOLBE, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. MACHTLEY, Mr. HEFNER, Mr. MCCAND-
LESS, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HUGHES, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. JOHNSON of South
Dakota, Mr. PETRI, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. PARKER, Mr. PORTER, Mr.
POSHARD, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. ROWLAND, Mr. RIDGE, Ms. SHEPHERD,
Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. FINGERHUT, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. ROTH, Mr. SCHIFF,
Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SKEEN, Mr. SUNDQUIST, Mr.
TALENT, Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming, Mr. TORKILDSEN, Mr. UPTON, Mr.
WALSH, Mr. WELDON, Mr. ZELIFF, Mr. ZIMMER, and Mr. SAM JOHNSON
of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Government Operations
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A BILL
To further the goals of the Paperwork Reduction Act to
have Federal agencies become more responsible and pub-
licly accountable for reducing the burden of Federal pa-
perwork on the public, to establish the Commission on
Information Technology and Paperwork Reduction, 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 ‘‘Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The contents of this Act are as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE II—REDUCING THE BURDEN OF FEDERAL PAPERWORK
ON THE PUBLIC
Sec. 201. Reemphasizing the need to reduce the burden of Federal paperwork
on the public.
Sec. 202. Coverage of all federally sponsored paperwork burdens.
Sec. 203. Paperwork reduction goals.
TITLE III—ENHANCING FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY AND
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR REDUCING THE BURDEN OF FEDERAL
PAPERWORK
Sec. 301. Designating an agency official responsible and publicly accountable
for reducing the burden of Federal paperwork.
Sec. 302. Agency responsibilities for controlling and reducing the burden of
Federal paperwork.
TITLE 
IV—ENHANCING 
GOVERNMENT 
RESPONSIBILITY 
AND
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR REDUCING THE BURDEN OF FEDERAL
PAPERWORK
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Sec. 401. Reemphasizing the responsibility of the director to control the burden
of Federal paperwork.
Sec. 402. Enhancing agency responsibility to obtain public review of proposed
paperwork burdens.
Sec. 403. Expediting review at the Office of Management and Budget.
Sec. 404. Improving public and agency scrutiny of paperwork burdens proposed
for renewal.
Sec. 405. Protection for whistleblowers of unauthorized paperwork burden.
Sec. 406. Enhancing public participation.
Sec. 407. Expediting review of an agency information collection request with a
reduced burden.
TITLE V—ENHANCING AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY FOR SHARING
AND DISSEMINATING PUBLIC INFORMATION
Sec. 501. Prescribing governmentwide standards for sharing and disseminating
public information.
Sec. 502. Agency responsibilities for sharing and disseminating public informa-
tion.
Sec. 503. Agency information inventory/locator system.
TITLE VI—ADDITIONAL GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY
Sec. 601. Strengthening the statistical policy and coordination functions of the
Director.
Sec. 602. Use of electronic information collection and dissemination techniques
to reduce burden.
Sec. 603. Agency implementation.
Sec. 604. Automatic data processing equipment plan.
Sec. 605. Technical and conforming amendments.
TITLE VII—EFFECTIVE DATES
Sec. 701. Effective dates.
TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF
APPROPRIATIONS
SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 3520(a) of title 44, United States Code, is
amended by striking out ‘‘$5,500,000 for each of the fiscal
years 1987, 1988, and 1989.’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘$7,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, $7,500,000 for fiscal
year 1995, $8,000,000 for fiscal year 1996, $8,500,000
for fiscal year 1997, and $9,000,000 for fiscal year
1998.’’.
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TITLE II—REDUCING THE BUR-
DEN 
OF 
FEDERAL 
PAPER-
WORK ON THE PUBLIC
SEC. 201. REEMPHASIZING THE NEED TO REDUCE THE
BURDEN OF FEDERAL PAPERWORK ON THE
PUBLIC.
Section 3501 of title 44, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 3501. Purposes
‘‘The purposes of this chapter are to—
‘‘(1) minimize the Federal paperwork burden
for individuals, small businesses, educational and
nonprofit institutions, Federal contractors, State
and local governments, and other persons;
‘‘(2) minimize the cost to the Federal Govern-
ment of collecting, maintaining, using, retaining,
sharing, and disseminating information;
‘‘(3) maximize the usefulness of information
collected, maintained, used, retained and shared by
the Federal Government;
‘‘(4) coordinate, integrate and, to the extent
practicable and appropriate, make uniform Federal
information policies and practices;
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‘‘(5) ensure that government information re-
sources management is conducted in an efficient and
cost effective manner to—
‘‘(A) improve the quality of decisionmaking
and program management and administration;
‘‘(B) improve the quality and timeliness of
services delivered to the public;
‘‘(C) increase productivity;
‘‘(D) reduce waste and fraud;
‘‘(E) facilitate the sharing of information;
‘‘(F) ensure the integrity, quality and util-
ity of the Federal statistical system; and
‘‘(G) reduce burden upon the public;
‘‘(6) ensure that the collection, maintenance,
use, retention, sharing, and disseminating of infor-
mation by or for the Federal Government is consist-
ent with applicable laws;
‘‘(7) establish the responsibility and public ac-
countability of Federal agencies for implementing
the information collection review process, informa-
tion resources management, and related policies and
guidance established pursuant to this chapter;
‘‘(8) ensure that automatic data processing,
telecommunications and other information tech-
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nologies are acquired and used by the Federal Gov-
ernment in an effective and efficient manner that—
‘‘(A) improves service delivery and pro-
gram management;
‘‘(B) increases productivity;
‘‘(C) improves the quality of decisionmak-
ing;
‘‘(D) reduces waste and fraud;
‘‘(E) maximizes the return on investment
from the application of Government information
and information technology resources over their
life cycle; and
‘‘(F) wherever practicable and appropriate,
reduces the information processing burden for
the Federal Government and for persons who
provide information, keep records and otherwise
disclose information to and for the Federal
Government; and
‘‘(9) strengthen the partnership between the
Federal Government with State and local govern-
ments by minimizing the burden and maximizing the
utility of information collected and shared.’’.
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SEC. 202. COVERAGE OF ALL FEDERALLY SPONSORED PA-
PERWORK BURDENS.
Section 3502 of title 44, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by amending paragraph (3) to read as
follows:
‘‘(3) the term ‘burden’ means the time, effort,
financial resources, and opportunity costs imposed
on persons to generate, capture, assemble, process,
maintain, and report information to or for a Federal
agency, including—
‘‘(A) the resources expended for obtaining,
reviewing and understanding applicable instruc-
tions and requirements;
‘‘(B) developing a way to comply with the
applicable instructions and requirements;
‘‘(C) adjusting the existing ways to comply
with any previously applicable instructions and
requirements;
‘‘(D) searching existing data sources;
‘‘(E) obtaining, compiling and maintaining
the necessary data;
‘‘(F) implementing recordkeeping require-
ments;
‘‘(G) completing and reviewing the collec-
tion of information;
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‘‘(H) retaining, sharing, notifying, report-
ing, transmitting, labeling, or otherwise disclos-
ing to third parties or the public the informa-
tion involved; and
‘‘(I) carrying out any other information
transaction which occurs as a result of the
collection of information;’’;
(2) in paragraph (4) by striking out ‘‘of facts
or opinions by’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘(through maintenance, retention, notifying, report-
ing, labeling or disclosure to third parties or the
public) of facts or opinions by or for’’; and
(3) in paragraph (17) by inserting ‘‘, including
the retention, reporting, notifying, or disclosure to
third parties or the public of such records’’ before
the period.
SEC. 203. PAPERWORK REDUCTION GOALS.
Section 3505 of title 44, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 3505. Assignment of tasks and deadlines
‘‘In carrying out the functions under this chapter, the
Director shall—
‘‘(1) set a Governmentwide goal, consistent with
improving agency management of the process for the
review of each collection of information established
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under section 3506(e), to reduce by September 30,
1994, the burden of Federal collections of informa-
tion existing on September 30, 1993, by at least 5
percent;
‘‘(2) for the fiscal year beginning on October 1,
1994, and the following 3 fiscal years, set a Govern-
mentwide goal, consistent with improving agency
management of the process for the review of each
collection of information established under section
3506(e), to reduce the burden of Federal collections
of information existing at the end of the immediately
preceding fiscal year by at least 5 percent;
‘‘(3) in establishing the Governmentwide goal
pursuant to paragraph (2), establish a goal for each
agency that—
‘‘(A) represents the maximum practicable
opportunity to reduce the paperwork burden
imposed upon the public by such agency’s col-
lections of information, after considering the
recommendations of the senior agency official
designated under section 3506(b)(1); and
‘‘(B) permits the attainment of the Gov-
ernmentwide goal when such agency’s goal is
aggregated with the individual goals of all other
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agencies included in the Governmentwide goal;
and
‘‘(4) in each report issued under section 3514,
beginning with the report relating to fiscal year
1994, identify any agency initiatives to reduce the
burden of the Federal collections of information as-
sociated with—
‘‘(A) businesses, especially small businesses
and those engaged in international competition;
‘‘(B) State and local governments; and
‘‘(C) educational institutions.’’.
TITLE 
III—ENHANCING 
FED-
ERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBIL-
ITY 
AND 
ACCOUNTABILITY
FOR REDUCING THE BURDEN
OF FEDERAL PAPERWORK
SEC. 301. DESIGNATING AN AGENCY OFFICIAL RESPON-
SIBLE AND PUBLICLY ACCOUNTABLE FOR
REDUCING THE BURDEN OF FEDERAL PA-
PERWORK.
Section 3506 of title 44, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
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(A) by striking ‘‘Each agency’’ and insert-
ing in lieu thereof ‘‘The head of each agency’’;
and
(B) by inserting ‘‘resources’’ after ‘‘its in-
formation’’;
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The head of
each agency’’; and
(B) by adding at the end thereof the fol-
lowing new paragraphs:
‘‘(2) The senior official designated under para-
graph (1) shall be the head of an office, established
by the head of the agency, responsible for assuring
agency compliance with and prompt, efficient, and
effective implementation of the information collection
review process, information resources management,
and related policies and guidance established pursu-
ant to this chapter.
‘‘(3) Staff to such office shall be well qualified
through experience or training to carry out the in-
formation collection review process, information re-
sources management, and related policies and guid-
ance established under this chapter.’’; and
(3) in subsection (c)—
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(A) by striking out ‘‘and’’ after the semi-
colon at the end of paragraph (7);
(B) by striking out the period at the end
of paragraph (8) and inserting in lieu thereof
a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end thereof the fol-
lowing new paragraphs:
‘‘(9) prepare estimates of burden that will re-
sult from proposed collections of information;
‘‘(10) develop and maintain a strategic Infor-
mation Resources Management Plan, in accordance
with guidance from the Director, for the application
of information resources to support the agency’s
specified mission goals as articulated through its
strategic mission planning process;
‘‘(11) establish oversight procedures, in accord-
ance with guidance provided by the Director, to im-
prove the life cycle management of the agency’s
major information systems; and
‘‘(12) assess the agency’s efforts to have pro-
gram offices manage Government information re-
sources by using performance measures that exam-
ine such factors as quality and timeliness of service
delivery to the public, productivity of program ad-
ministration, ability to prevent or reduce fraud, and
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the burden of Government’s information collection
practices on the public.’’.
SEC. 302. AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES FOR CONTROLLING
AND REDUCING THE BURDEN OF FEDERAL
PAPERWORK.
Section 3506 of title 44, United States Code (as
amended by section 301 of this Act) is further amended
by adding at the end thereof the following new sub-
sections:
‘‘(e) The head of each agency, acting through the sen-
ior official designated under subsection (b)(1), shall estab-
lish an efficient, and effective process for the prompt re-
view of each information collection request before it is sub-
mitted to the Director for review and approval under this
chapter. At a minimum, this review process shall—
‘‘(1) be sufficiently independent of program re-
sponsibilities to evaluate whether each information
collection request should be carried out;
‘‘(2) be provided sufficient personnel and other
resources to carry out such review responsibility ef-
fectively; and
‘‘(3) have authority (independent of agency pro-
gram officers) to approve, disapprove, and make
needed improvements in any agency collection of in-
formation.
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‘‘(f) Under the process established under subsection
(e), the senior official designated under subsection (b)(1)
shall certify (and provide a record supporting such certifi-
cation, including any pertinent public comments received
by the agency) to the Director that—
‘‘(1) the collection of information and any appli-
cable instructions and requirements—
‘‘(A) are necessary for the proper perform-
ance of the agency’s functions and are the least
burdensome necessary;
‘‘(B) are not unnecessarily duplicative of
information otherwise reasonably accessible to
the agency;
‘‘(C) have practical utility;
‘‘(D) are written using plain, coherent, and
unambiguous terminology;
‘‘(E) are to be implemented in ways con-
sistent and compatible, to the maximum extent
practicable, with the existing reporting and rec-
ordkeeping practices of those who are to
respond;
‘‘(F) are understandable to those who are
to respond;
‘‘(G) display on the information collection
request, to the extent practicable, the agency
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estimate of the burden for each response, cal-
culated in accordance with the procedures es-
tablished 
by 
the 
Director 
under 
section
3504(c)(5);
‘‘(H) use information technology to reduce
burden and improve agency responsiveness to
the public;
‘‘(I) use effective and efficient statistical
survey methodology appropriate to the need for
which the information is to be collected; and
‘‘(J) explain the need and ultimate use of
the information to be collected, and the impor-
tance of an accurate and timely response; and
‘‘(2) the agency has taken necessary steps to—
‘‘(A) except as provided in section 3507 (g)
and (k), give 60-day notice to, and consult with
members of the public and interested agencies,
in order to—
‘‘(i) enhance the clarity of the pro-
posed collection of information;
‘‘(ii) solicit comment on the agency es-
timate of the burden for each response for
such collection of information; and
‘‘(iii) minimize the burden of such col-
lection of information on those who are to
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respond, including the appropriate use of
automated collection technics or other
forms of information technology;
‘‘(B) evaluate the proposed collection of in-
formation and any applicable instructions and
requirements, by developing and conducting—
‘‘(i) an assessment of need;
‘‘(ii) a functional description of the in-
formation to be collected;
‘‘(iii) a plan for the practical collec-
tion of information;
‘‘(iv) a specific, objectively supported
estimation of burden, including each trans-
action involved; and
‘‘(v) a test of the collection of infor-
mation through a pilot or prototype pro-
gram, if appropriate;
‘‘(C) plan and allocate resources for the ef-
ficient and effective management and use of the
information to be solicited; and
‘‘(D) reduce burdens on businesses (espe-
cially small businesses and those engaged in
international competition), State and local gov-
ernments, and educational institutions, through
consideration of such alternatives as—
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‘‘(i) establishing differing compliance
or reporting requirements or timetables in
recognition of the resources available to
those who are to respond;
‘‘(ii) the clarification, consolidation, or
simplification of compliance and reporting
requirements; and
‘‘(iii) an exemption from coverage of
the collection of information, or any part
thereof.’’.
TITLE IV—ENHANCING GOVERN-
MENT RESPONSIBILITY AND
ACCOUNTABILITY 
FOR 
RE-
DUCING 
THE 
BURDEN 
OF
FEDERAL PAPERWORK
SEC. 401. REEMPHASIZING THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE
DIRECTOR TO CONTROL THE BURDEN OF
FEDERAL PAPERWORK.
Section 3504(c) of title 44, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (3) by redesignating subpara-
graphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D),
respectively, and inserting after subparagraph (A)
the following new subparagraph:
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‘‘(B) display, to the extent practicable, an
estimate of the burden for each response;’’;
(2) by amending paragraphs (5) and (6) to
read as follows:
‘‘(5) establishing procedures under which an
agency is to estimate the burden under this chapter
to comply with the proposed collection of informa-
tion;
‘‘(6) coordinating with the Office of Federal
Procurement Policy to eliminate paperwork burdens
associated with procurement and acquisition;’’;
(3) by striking out the period at the end of
paragraph (7) and inserting in lieu thereof a semi-
colon; and
(4) by adding at the end thereof the following
new paragraphs:
‘‘(8) minimizing the Federal paperwork burden
imposed through Federal collection of information,
with particular emphasis on those individuals or en-
tities most adversely affected, including—
‘‘(A) businesses, especially small businesses
and those engaged in international competition;
‘‘(B) State and local governments; and
‘‘(C) educational institutions; and
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‘‘(9) initiating and conducting, with selected
agencies and non-Federal entities on a voluntary
basis, pilot projects to test or demonstrate the fea-
sibility and benefit of changes or innovations in Fed-
eral policies, rules, regulations, and agency proce-
dures to improve information management practices
and related management activities (including author-
ity for the Director to waive the application of des-
ignated agency regulations or administrative direc-
tives after giving timely notice to the public and
Congress regarding the need for such waiver).’’.
SEC. 402. ENHANCING AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY TO OB-
TAIN PUBLIC REVIEW OF PROPOSED PAPER-
WORK BURDENS.
Section 3507(a) of title 44, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (2)(B) by inserting ‘‘a sum-
mary of the request,’’ after ‘‘title for the information
collection request,’’;
(2) by striking out ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (2); and
(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (4) and inserting after paragraph (2) the
following:
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‘‘(3) the agency provides at least 30 days for
public comment to the agency and the Office of
Management and Budget after publication of the no-
tice in the Federal Register, except as provided
under section 3507 (g) and (k), and the agency head
and the Director consider comments received regard-
ing the proposed collection of information; and’’.
SEC. 403. EXPEDITING REVIEW AT THE OFFICE OF MAN-
AGEMENT AND BUDGET.
Section 3507(b) of title 44, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by striking out the first sentence and insert-
ing in lieu thereof ‘‘The Director shall within 30
days after publication of the notice under subsection
(a)(3) that is applicable to a proposed information
collection request not contained in a proposed rule,
notify the agency involved of the decision to approve
or disapprove the proposed information collection re-
quest and shall make such decisions publicly avail-
able. Any decision to disapprove an information col-
lection request shall include an explanation of the
reasons for such decision.’’;
(2) by striking out ‘‘sixty’’ each place it appears
and inserting ‘‘30’’ in each such place;
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(3) by striking out ‘‘thirty’’ and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘30’’; and
(4) by striking out ‘‘one’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘1’’.
SEC. 404. IMPROVING PUBLIC AND AGENCY SCRUTINY OF
PAPERWORK BURDENS PROPOSED FOR RE-
NEWAL.
(a) APPROVAL OF INFORMATION COLLECTION RE-
QUEST.—Section 3507(d) of title 44, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’; and
(2) by adding at the end thereof the following:
‘‘(2)(A) If the head of the agency, or the senior offi-
cial designated under section 3506(b)(1), decides to seek
extension of the Director’s approval granted for a cur-
rently approved information collection request, the agency
shall, through the notice prescribed in subsection
(a)(2)(B) and such other practicable steps as may be rea-
sonable, seek comment from the agencies, and the public
on the continued need for, and burden imposed by, the
collection of information.
‘‘(B) The agency, after having made a reasonable ef-
fort to seek comment under subparagraph (A), but no
later than 60 days before the expiration date of the control
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number assigned by the Director for the currently ap-
proved information collection request, shall—
‘‘(i) evaluate the public comments received;
‘‘(ii) conduct the review established under sec-
tion 3506(e); and
‘‘(iii) provide to the Director the certification
required by section 3506(f), including the text of the
certification and any additional relevant information
regarding how the information collection request
comports with the principles and requirements of
this chapter.
‘‘(C) Upon receipt of such certification, and prior to
the expiration of the control number for that information
collection request, the Director shall—
‘‘(i) ensure that the agency has taken the ac-
tions specified under section 3506(f)(2);
‘‘(ii) evaluate the public comments received by
the agency or by the Director;
‘‘(iii) determine whether the agency certification
complies 
with 
the 
standards 
under 
section
3506(f)(1); and
‘‘(iv) approve or disapprove the information col-
lection request under this chapter.
‘‘(3) If a certification is not provided to the Director
prior to the beginning of the 60-day period before the expi-
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ration of the control number as provided under paragraph
(2)(B), the agency shall submit the information collection
request for review and approval or disapproval under this
chapter.
‘‘(4) An agency may not make a substantive or mate-
rial modification to an information collection request after
it has been approved by the Director, unless the modifica-
tion has been submitted to the Director for review and
approval or disapproval under this chapter.’’.
(b) APPROVAL OF INFORMATION COLLECTION RE-
QUIREMENTS.—Section 3507 of title 44, United States
Code, is further amended by adding at the end thereof
the following new subsections:
‘‘(i)(1) As soon as practicable, but no later than pub-
lication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal
Register, each agency shall forward to the Director a copy
of any proposed rule which contains a collection of infor-
mation requirement and upon request, information nec-
essary to make the determination required under this
chapter.
‘‘(2) Within 60 days after the notice of proposed rule-
making is published in the Federal Register, the Director
may file public comments under the standards set forth
in section 3508 on the collection of information require-
ment contained in the proposed rule.
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‘‘(3) When a final rule is published in the Federal
Register, the agency shall explain how any collection of
information requirement contained in the final rule re-
sponds to the comments, if any, filed by the Director or
the public, or explain the reasons such comments were re-
jected.
‘‘(4) The Director has no authority to disapprove any
collection of information requirement specifically con-
tained in an agency rule, if the Director has received no-
tice and failed to comment on the rule within 60 days after
the notice of proposed rulemaking.
‘‘(5) No provision in this section shall be construed
to prevent the Director, at the discretion of such officer,
from—
‘‘(A) disapproving any information collection re-
quest which was not specifically required by an
agency rule;
‘‘(B) disapproving any collection of information
requirement contained in an agency rule, if the
agency failed to comply with the requirements of
paragraph (1) of this subsection;
‘‘(C) disapproving any collection of information
requirement contained in a final agency rule, if the
Director finds within 60 days after the publication
of the final rule that such a collection of information
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tained in an agency rule shall not be subject to judicial
review.
‘‘(j)(1) If the head of the agency, or the senior official
designated under section 3506(b)(1), decides to seek ex-
tension of the Director’s approval granted for a currently
approved collection of information requirement, the agency
shall, through the notice prescribed in subsection
(a)(2)(B) and such other practicable steps as may be rea-
sonable, seek comment from the agencies, and the public
on the continued need for, and burden imposed by, the
collection of information requirement.
‘‘(2) The agency, after having made a reasonable ef-
fort to seek comment under paragraph (1), but no later
than 60 days before the expiration date of the control
number assigned by the Director for the currently ap-
proved collection of information requirement, shall—
‘‘(A) evaluate the public comments received;
‘‘(B) conduct the review established under sec-
tion 3506(e); and
‘‘(C) provide to the Director the certification re-
quired by section 3506(f), including the text of the
certification and any additional relevant information
regarding how the collection of information require-
ment comports with the principles and requirements
of this chapter.
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‘‘(C) result in a written determination by the
Director, that shall be—
‘‘(i) furnished to the person making the re-
quest; and
‘‘(ii) made available to the public upon re-
quest (and listed and summarized in the annual
report required under section 3514), unless con-
fidentiality is requested by the person making
the request.’’.
SEC. 407. EXPEDITING REVIEW OF AN AGENCY INFORMA-
TION COLLECTION REQUEST WITH A RE-
DUCED BURDEN.
Section 3507 of title 44, United States Code (as
amended by section 404(b) of this Act) is further amended
by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
‘‘(k) Upon request by the head of an agency, the Di-
rector shall approve a proposed change to an existing in-
formation collection request (unless such proposed change
is subject to subsection (i)) within 30 days after the Direc-
tor receives the proposed change. The information collec-
tion request shall thereafter remain in effect at least for
the remainder of the period for which it was previously
approved by the Director, if—
‘‘(1) the information collection request has a
current control number; and
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‘‘(2) the Director determines that the revi-
sion—
‘‘(A) reduces the burden resulting from the
information collection request; and
‘‘(B) does not substantially change the in-
formation collection request.’’.
TITLE V—ENHANCING AGENCY
RESPONSIBILITY FOR SHAR-
ING 
AND 
DISSEMINATING
PUBLIC INFORMATION
SEC. 501. PRESCRIBING GOVERNMENTWIDE STANDARDS
FOR SHARING AND DISSEMINATING PUBLIC
INFORMATION.
Section 3504(h) of title 44, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(h) The functions of the Director related to agency
dissemination and sharing of public information shall in-
clude—
‘‘(1) developing policies and practices for agen-
cy dissemination and sharing of public information
consistent with the agency responsibilities under sec-
tion 3506(g); and
‘‘(2) developing policy guidelines that instruct
Federal agencies on ways to fulfill agency respon-
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sibilities to disseminate and share information that,
to the extent appropriate and practicable—
‘‘(A) make information dissemination prod-
ucts available on timely, equitable and cost
effective terms;
‘‘(B) encourage a diversity of public and
private information dissemination products;
‘‘(C) avoid establishing, or permitting oth-
ers to establish, exclusive, restricted, or other
distribution arrangements that interfere with
the availability of information dissemination
products on a timely and equitable basis; and
‘‘(D) avoid establishing restrictions or reg-
ulations, including the charging of fees or royal-
ties, on the reuse, resale, or redissemination of
Federal information dissemination products by
the public; and
‘‘(E) set user charges for information dis-
semination products at a level sufficient to re-
cover the cost of dissemination, except—
‘‘(i) where otherwise required by stat-
ute;
‘‘(ii) where the information is col-
lected, processed, and disseminated for the
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benefit of a specific identifiable group be-
yond the benefit to the general public; or
‘‘(iii) where user charges are estab-
lished at less than cost of dissemination
because of a determination that higher
charges would interfere with the proper
performance of the agency’s functions.’’.
SEC. 502. AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES FOR SHARING AND
DISSEMINATING PUBLIC INFORMATION.
Section 3506 of title 44, United States Code (as
amended by sections 301 and 302 of this Act) is further
amended by adding at the end thereof the following new
subsection:
‘‘(g) The head of each agency shall, to the extent ap-
propriate and practicable, and in conformance with the
policy guidelines established under section 3504(h), estab-
lish and maintain a management system for the dissemi-
nation and sharing of information that—
‘‘(1) ensures that the public has timely, equi-
table and cost-effective access to the agency’s infor-
mation dissemination products;
‘‘(2) disseminates and shares information in a
manner that achieves the best balance between maxi-
mizing the usefulness of the information and mini-
mizing the cost to the Government and the public;
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‘‘(3) takes advantage of all appropriate chan-
nels, Federal and non-Federal, including State and
local governments, libraries and private sector enti-
ties, in discharging agency responsibilities for the
dissemination and sharing of information;
‘‘(4) considers whether an information dissemi-
nation product available from other Federal or non-
Federal sources is equivalent to an agency informa-
tion dissemination product and reasonably achieves
the objectives of the agency;
‘‘(5) establishes and maintains inventories of all
agency information dissemination products in con-
formance with the requirements of section 3511;
‘‘(6) establishes and maintains communications
with members of the public and with State and local
governments so that the agency shares information
and otherwise creates information dissemination
products that meet their respective needs; and
‘‘(7) provides adequate notice when initiating,
substantially modifying, or terminating significant
information dissemination products.’’.
SEC. 503. AGENCY INFORMATION INVENTORY/LOCATOR
SYSTEM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3511 of title 44, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
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‘‘§ 3511. Inventory systems of information dissemina-
tion products
‘‘(a) Each agency having significant information dis-
semination products shall establish and maintain a com-
prehensive inventory of such products, which shall include,
at a minimum, the title of each such product, an abstract
of the contents of each product, the media in which each
product is available, and the cost, if any, of each product,
subject to any requirements promulgated pursuant to sub-
section (c).
‘‘(b) The inventory created pursuant to subsection (a)
shall be made available for public access by electronic
means, and in such other media as are appropriate and
practicable, at no charge to the public.
‘‘(c) The Director, in consultation with the Secretary
of Commerce, the Archivist of the United States, the Pub-
lic Printer, and the Librarian of Congress, may establish
a mechanism for developing technical standards and other
minimum requirements for the agency inventory systems
created under subsection (a).’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—
The table of sections for chapter 35 of title 44, United
States Code, is amended by amending the item relating
to section 3511 to read as follows:
‘‘3511. Inventory systems of information dissemination products.’’.