Title: COST Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Cost of Services and Translations Act or the COST Act
This bill requires federal agency financial offices to include multilingual services accounting information in their mandatory annual reports to the agency head and to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The bill defines multilingual service to include (1) services provided by interpreters hired by an agency; (2) services resulting in additional expenses which an agency provides to assist its employees or contractors to learn a non-English language; (3) agency preparation, translation, printing, or recordation of materials in a language other than English; and (4) services provided or performed for the federal government by agency employees or contractors that require speaking a non-English language that result in wage differentials or benefits provided by the agency.
The bill requires the annual financial management status report of the OMB to certain congressional committees to contain a Multilingual Services Expenses Report.
The OMB shall issue guidance that an agency financial office must follow in compiling multilingual services accounting information.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1728 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1728

   To amend title 31, United States Code, to end speculation on the 
     current cost of multilingual services provided by the Federal 
                  Government, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 13, 2019

    Mr. Graves of Missouri introduced the following bill; which was 
           referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 31, United States Code, to end speculation on the 
     current cost of multilingual services provided by the Federal 
                  Government, 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 ``Cost of Services and Translations 
Act'' or the ``COST Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to create a new appendix within each agency's annual 
        performance and accountability report detailing any cost 
        associated with providing multilingual services, such as 
        verbal, written, or other services in languages other than 
        English;
            (2) to end speculation on the current cost of providing 
        multilingual services;
            (3) to provide for more transparency in the Federal 
        Government's accounting practices, and to determine the 
        effectiveness of agency programs, policies, and procedures; and
            (4) to provide for more accountability with the use of 
        taxpayer money.

SEC. 3. MULTILINGUAL SERVICES ACCOUNTING INFORMATION REQUIREMENT.

    (a) Multilingual Services Accounting Information.--Chapter 9 of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 902(a)(6)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (D);
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 
                subparagraph (F); and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the 
                following:
                    ``(E) effective for each of the fiscal years 
                beginning on or after October 1, 2019, the multilingual 
                services accounting information of the agency for such 
                fiscal year in accordance with the guidance issued 
                under section 3517 of this title and the procedures of 
                OMB Circular No. A-11, part 6 (as in effect on the date 
                of the enactment of this subparagraph) and OMB Circular 
                No. A-136 (as in effect on the date of the enactment of 
                this subparagraph); and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 904. Definitions.
    ``In this chapter:
            ``(1) Multilingual services.--The term `multilingual 
        services' includes--
                    ``(A) the services provided by interpreters hired 
                by an agency;
                    ``(B) the services provided by an agency associated 
                with assisting agency employees or contractors learn a 
                language other than English that result in additional 
                expenses, wages, or salaries, or changes to expenses, 
                wages, or salaries, for the agency or agency employees 
                or contractors;
                    ``(C) agency preparation, translation, printing, or 
                recordation of documents, records, Web sites, 
                brochures, pamphlets, flyers, or other materials in a 
                language other than English;
                    ``(D) the services provided or performed for the 
                Federal Government by agency employees or contractors 
                that require speaking a language other than English 
                that result in wage differentials or benefits provided 
                by the agency; and
                    ``(E) any other services provided or performed by 
                an agency which utilize languages other than English 
                and that incur additional costs to the agency.
            ``(2) Multilingual services accounting information.--The 
        term `multilingual services accounting information' means any 
        accounting information related to multilingual services.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning 
of chapter 9 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
after the item relating to section 903 the following:

        ``904. Definitions.''.

SEC. 4. MULTILINGUAL SERVICES EXPENSES REPORT.

    (a) Multilingual Services Expenses Report.--Subchapter II of 
chapter 35 of title 31, United States Code is amended--
            (1) in section 3512(a)(2)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (E);
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as 
                subparagraph (G); and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the 
                following:
                    ``(F) effective for the first full calendar year 
                beginning after December 31, 2019, and for each 
                calendar year thereafter, a Multilingual Services 
                Expenses Report, which shall include--
                            ``(i) a summary and analysis of the 
                        multilingual services accounting information 
                        (as defined in section 904 of this title) 
                        prepared by each agency Chief Financial Officer 
                        under section 902(a)(6)(E) of this title;
                            ``(ii) a description of any changes to the 
                        existing financial management structure of the 
                        Federal Government needed to establish an 
                        integrated individual agency accounting of all 
                        multilingual services (as defined in section 
                        904 of this title) conducted by each agency; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) any other information the Director 
                        considers appropriate to fully inform the 
                        Congress and the agency Chief Financial 
                        Officers regarding the accounting of all 
                        multilingual services provided by the Federal 
                        Government; and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3517. Multilingual services accounting guidelines.
    ``Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
section, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
issue guidance that each agency Chief Financial Officer shall follow in 
compiling the multilingual services accounting information required 
under section 902(a)(6)(E) of this title.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning 
of chapter 35 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
after the item relating to section 3516 the following:

``3517. Multilingual services accounting guidelines.''.
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