Title: Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act
This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to expand the information it publishes in its inventory of agency programs. The inventory must include information such as links to program performance reviews and details regarding financial assistance.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2177 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2177

   To provide taxpayers with an improved understanding of Government 
  programs through the disclosure of cost, performance, and areas of 
duplication among them, leverage existing data to achieve a functional 
           Federal program inventory, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 18, 2019

   Mr. Lankford (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Ms. Sinema, Ms. Ernst, Mr. 
Johnson, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Paul, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Tester) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide taxpayers with an improved understanding of Government 
  programs through the disclosure of cost, performance, and areas of 
duplication among them, leverage existing data to achieve a functional 
           Federal program inventory, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act''.

SEC. 2. INVENTORY OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS.

    Section 1122(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs 
        (2) and (3), respectively;
            (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 
        the following:
            ``(1) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `Federal financial assistance' has 
                the meaning given that term under section 7501;
                    ``(B) the term `open Government data asset' has the 
                meaning given that term under section 3502 of title 44;
                    ``(C) the term `program' means a single program 
                activity or an organized set of aggregated, 
                disaggregated, or consolidated program activities by 1 
                or more agencies directed toward a common purpose or 
                goal; and
                    ``(D) the term `program activity' has the meaning 
                given that term in section 1115(h).'';
            (3) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated--
                    (A) by striking ``In general.--Not later than 
                October 1, 2012, the Office of Management and Budget 
                shall'' and inserting ``Website and program 
                inventory.--The Director of the Office of Management 
                and Budget shall'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``that 
                includes the information required under subsections (b) 
                and (c)'' after ``a single website''; and
                    (C) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) and 
                inserting the following:
                    ``(B) include on the website described in 
                subparagraph (A), or another appropriate Federal 
                Government website where related information is made 
                available, as determined by the Director--
                            ``(i) a program inventory that shall 
                        identify each program; and
                            ``(ii) for each program identified in the 
                        program inventory, the information required 
                        under paragraph (3);
                    ``(C) make the information in the program inventory 
                required under subparagraph (B) available as an open 
                Government data asset; and
                    ``(D) at a minimum--
                            ``(i) update the information required to be 
                        included on the single website under 
                        subparagraph (A) on a quarterly basis; and
                            ``(ii) update the program inventory 
                        required under subparagraph (B) on an annual 
                        basis.'';
            (4) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``described under paragraph (1) shall 
                include'' and inserting ``identified in the program 
                inventory required under paragraph (2)(B) shall 
                include, for each program activity that is a part of a 
                program'';
                    (B) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (C);
                    (C) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
                subparagraph (A);
                    (D) in subparagraph (A), as so redesignated--
                            (i) by striking ``program'' each place it 
                        appears and inserting ``program activity''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``and'' at the end; and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) a consolidated view for the current fiscal 
                year and each of the 2 fiscal years before the current 
                fiscal year of--
                            ``(i) the amount appropriated;
                            ``(ii) the amount obligated; and
                            ``(iii) the amount outlayed;
                    ``(C) to the extent practicable and permitted by 
                law, links to any related evaluation, assessment, or 
                program performance review by the agency, an inspector 
                general, or the Government Accountability Office 
                (including program performance reports required under 
                section 1116), and other related evidence assembled in 
                response to implementation of the Foundations for 
                Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Public Law 
                115-435; 132 Stat. 5529);
                    ``(D) an identification of the statutes that 
                authorize the program activity or the authority under 
                which the program activity was created or operates;
                    ``(E) an identification of any major regulations 
                specific to the program activity;
                    ``(F) any other information that the Director of 
                the Office of Management and Budget determines relevant 
                relating to program activity data in priority areas 
                most relevant to Congress or the public to increase 
                transparency and accountability; and
                    ``(G) for assistance listings under which Federal 
                financial assistance is provided, for the current 
                fiscal year and each of the 2 fiscal years before the 
                current fiscal year and consistent with existing law 
                relating to the protection of personally identifiable 
                information--
                            ``(i) a linkage to the relevant program 
                        activities that fund Federal financial 
                        assistance by assistance listing;
                            ``(ii) information on the population 
                        intended to be served by the assistance listing 
                        based on the language of the solicitation, as 
                        required under section 6102;
                            ``(iii) to the extent practicable based on 
                        data reported to the agency providing the 
                        Federal financial assistance, the results of 
                        the Federal financial assistance awards 
                        provided by assistance listing;
                            ``(iv) to the extent practicable, the 
                        percentage of the amount appropriated for the 
                        assistance listing that is used for management 
                        and administration;
                            ``(v) the identification of each award of 
                        Federal financial assistance and, to the extent 
                        practicable, the name of each direct or 
                        indirect recipient of the award; and
                            ``(vi) any information relating to the 
                        award of Federal financial assistance that is 
                        required to be included on the website 
                        established under section 2(b) of the Federal 
                        Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 
                        2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Archiving.--The Director of the Office of Management 
        and Budget shall--
                    ``(A) archive and preserve the information included 
                in the program inventory required under paragraph 
                (2)(B) after the end of the period during which such 
                information is required to be made available under 
                paragraph (3); and
                    ``(B) make information archived in accordance with 
                subparagraph (A) available for research via an 
                archiving process that results in self-service of data 
                access.''.

SEC. 3. GUIDANCE, IMPLEMENTATION, REPORTING, AND REVIEW.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office 
        of Management and Budget;
            (2) the term ``program'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 1122(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, as amended 
        by section 2 of this Act; and
            (3) the term ``program activity'' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 1115(h) of title 31, United States Code.
    (b) Plan for Implementation and Reconciling Program Definitions.--
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Director shall submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) includes plan that--
                    (A) discusses how making available on a website the 
                information required under subsection (a) of section 
                1122 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by 
                section 2, will leverage existing data sources while 
                avoiding duplicative or overlapping information in 
                presenting information relating to program activities 
                and programs;
                    (B) indicates how any gaps in data will be assessed 
                and addressed;
                    (C) indicates how the Director will display such 
                data; and
                    (D) discusses how the Director will expand the 
                information collected with respect to program 
                activities to incorporate the information required 
                under the amendments made by section 2;
            (2) sets forth details regarding a pilot program, developed 
        in accordance with best practices for effective pilot 
        programs--
                    (A) to develop and implement a functional program 
                inventory that could be limited in scope; and
                    (B) under which the information required under the 
                amendments made by section 2 with respect to program 
                activities shall be made available on the website 
                required under section 1122(a) of title 31, United 
                States Code;
            (3) establishes an implementation timeline for--
                    (A) gathering and building program activity 
                information;
                    (B) developing and implementing the pilot program;
                    (C) seeking and responding to stakeholder comments;
                    (D) developing and presenting findings from the 
                pilot program to Congress;
                    (E) notifying Congress regarding how program 
                activities will be aggregated, disaggregated, or 
                consolidated as part of identifying programs; and
                    (F) implementing a Governmentwide program inventory 
                through an iterative approach; and
            (4) including recommendations, if any, to reconcile the 
        conflicting definitions of the term ``program'' in relevant 
        Federal statutes, as it relates to the purpose of this Act.
    (c) Implementation.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director shall make available online 
        all information required under the amendments made by section 2 
        with respect to all programs.
            (2) Extensions.--The Director may, based on an analysis of 
        the costs of implementation, and after submitting to Congress a 
        notification of the action by the Director, extend the deadline 
        for implementation under paragraph (1) by not more than a total 
        of 1 year.
    (d) Reporting.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which the 
Director makes available online all information required under the 
amendments made by section 2 with respect to all programs, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 
report regarding the implementation of this Act and the amendments made 
by this Act, which shall--
            (1) review how the Director and agencies determined how to 
        aggregate, disaggregate, or consolidate program activities to 
        provide the most useful information for an inventory of 
        Government investments;
            (2) evaluate the extent to which the program inventory 
        required under section 1122 of title 31, United States Code, as 
        amended by this Act, provides useful information for 
        transparency, decision-making, and oversight;
            (3) evaluate the extent to which the program inventory 
        provides a coherent picture of the scope of Federal investments 
        in particular areas; and
            (4) include the recommendations of the Comptroller General, 
        if any, for improving implementation of this Act and the 
        amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1122 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by inserting ``described in subsection (a)(2)(A)'' after 
        ``the website'' each place it appears;
            (2) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by inserting ``described in subsection (a)(2)(A)'' after 
        ``the website''; and
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``on 
                Website''; and
                    (B) in the first sentence, by striking ``on the 
                website''.
    (b) Other Amendments.--
            (1) Section 1115(a) of title 31, United States Code, is 
        amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking ``the 
        website provided under'' and inserting ``a website described 
        in''.
            (2) Section 10 of the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (31 
        U.S.C. 1115 note) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ``the website 
                described under'' and inserting ``a website described 
                in''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``the 
                        website described under'' and inserting ``a 
                        website described in''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``the 
                        website as required under'' and inserting ``a 
                        website described in''.
            (3) Section 1120(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code, is 
        amended by striking ``the website described under'' and 
        inserting ``a website described in''.
            (4) Section 1126(b)(2)(E) of title 31, United States Code, 
        is amended by striking ``the website of the Office of 
        Management and Budget pursuant to'' and inserting ``a website 
        described in''.
            (5) Section 3512(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is 
        amended by striking ``the website described under'' and 
        inserting ``a website described in''.
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