I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2846 
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 
A BILL 
To require the collection of voluntary feedback on services 
provided by agencies, 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 Agency Cus-
tomer Experience Act of 2017’’. 
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 
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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. 
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(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 required by the Director to collect vol-
untary feedback under section 6, based on an assess-
ment of the components and programs of the agency 
with the highest impact on or number of interactions 
with individuals or entities. 
(4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
et. 
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(5) VOLUNTARY
FEEDBACK.—The term ‘‘vol-
untary feedback’’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 3502 of title 44, United States Code, as 
added by section 4 of this Act. 
SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION 
ACT TO COLLECTION OF VOLUNTARY FEED-
BACK. 
Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States 
Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 
Act’’), is amended— 
(1) in section 3502— 
(A) in paragraph (13)(D), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) in paragraph (14), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(15) the term ‘voluntary feedback’ means any 
submission of information, opinion, or concern that 
is— 
‘‘(A) voluntarily made by a specific indi-
vidual or other entity relating to a particular 
service of or transaction with an agency; and 
‘‘(B) specifically solicited by that agency.’’; 
and 
(2) in section 3518(c)(1)— 
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(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) by an agency that is voluntary feedback.’’. 
SEC. 5. GUIDELINES FOR VOLUNTARY FEEDBACK. 
Each agency that solicits voluntary feedback shall en-
sure that— 
(1) responses to the solicitation of voluntary 
feedback remain anonymous and shall not be traced 
to specific individuals or entities; 
(2) individuals who decline to participate in the 
solicitation of voluntary feedback shall not be treated 
differently by the agency for purposes of providing 
services or information; 
(3) the solicitation does not include more than 
10 questions; 
(4) the voluntary nature of the solicitation is 
clear; 
(5) the proposed solicitation of voluntary feed-
back will contribute to improved customer service; 
(6) solicitations of voluntary feedback are lim-
ited to 1 solicitation per interaction with an indi-
vidual or entity; 
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(7) to the extent practicable, the solicitation of 
voluntary feedback is made at the point of service 
with an individual or entity; 
(8) instruments for collecting voluntary feed-
back are 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 feedback from individuals and entities. 
SEC. 6. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DATA COLLECTION. 
(a) COLLECTION OF RESPONSES.—The head of each 
covered agency (or a designee), assisted by and in coordi-
nation with the Chief Performance Officer or other senior 
accountable official for customer service of the covered 
agency, shall collect voluntary feedback with respect to 
services of or transactions with the covered agency. 
(b) CONTENT OF QUESTIONS.— 
(1) STANDARDIZED QUESTIONS.—The Director, 
in coordination with the Administrator, shall develop 
a set of standardized questions for use by covered 
agencies in collecting voluntary feedback under this 
section that address— 
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(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 coordination with the Ad-
ministrator. 
(2) ADDITIONAL
QUESTIONS.—In addition to 
the questions developed under paragraph (1), the 
Chief Performance Officer or other senior account-
able official for customer service at a covered agency 
may develop questions relevant to the specific oper-
ations or programs of the covered agency. 
(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—To the extent 
practicable— 
(1) each covered agency shall collect voluntary 
feedback across all platforms or channels through 
which the covered agency interacts with individuals 
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or other entities to deliver information or services; 
and 
(2) voluntary feedback collected under this sec-
tion shall be tied to specific transactions or inter-
actions 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 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, a re-
port that includes the voluntary feedback re-
quired to be collected under this section. 
(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 
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section 1122 of title 31, United States 
Code. 
(2) 
AGGREGATED
REPORT.—Each 
covered 
agency shall publish, on a regular basis, an aggre-
gated report on the solicitation of voluntary feedback 
sent to individuals or entities, which shall include— 
(A) the intended purpose of each solicita-
tion of voluntary feedback conducted by the 
covered agency; 
(B) the appropriate point of contact within 
each covered agency for each solicitation of vol-
untary feedback conducted; 
(C) the questions or survey instrument 
submitted to members of the public as part of 
the solicitation of voluntary information; and 
(D) a description of how the covered agen-
cy uses the voluntary 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 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 
for 10 years, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall make publicly available and submit to the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
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Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform of the House of Representatives a scorecard report 
assessing the quality of services provided to the public by 
each covered agency. 
(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); 
and 
(2) an analysis of administrative and legislative 
barriers to improving service delivery by covered 
agencies. 
Æ 
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