Title: Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance

Summary:
Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021
This bill requires federal agencies to post budget justification materials on certain public websites, including a single searchable website (e.g., USAspending.gov) and each agency's website.
The materials most be posted in an open format that enables users to download individual reports, all reports in bulk, and the results of a search. In addition, the materials must be posted no later than two weeks after they are first submitted to Congress.
The bill also requires the Office of Management and Budget to maintain a public website that includes details regarding the materials, including a list of the agencies that submit budget justification materials to Congress, the dates that the materials were submitted to Congress and posted online, and links to the materials.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 272 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 272

  To amend the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 
 2006, to require the budget justifications and appropriation requests 
                of agencies be made publicly available.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 8, 2021

 Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Carper, Mr. Cornyn, and Ms. 
Ernst) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
     to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 
 2006, to require the budget justifications and appropriation requests 
                of agencies be made publicly available.

    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 ``Congressional Budget Justification 
Transparency Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF BUDGET JUSTIFICATIONS AND APPROPRIATION 
              REQUESTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 3 of the Federal Funding Accountability 
and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended to read 
as follows:

``SEC. 3. FULL DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.

    ``(a) In General.--Not less frequently than monthly when 
practicable, and in any event not less frequently than quarterly, the 
Secretary (in consultation with the Director and, with respect to 
information described in subsection (b)(2), the head of the applicable 
agency (as defined in subsection (b)(1))) shall ensure that updated 
information with respect to the information described in subsection (b) 
is posted on the website established under section 2.
    ``(b) Information To Be Posted.--
            ``(1) Funds.--For any funds made available to or expended 
        by a Federal agency or component of a Federal agency, the 
        information to be posted shall include--
                    ``(A) for each appropriations account, including an 
                expired or unexpired appropriations account, the 
                amount--
                            ``(i) of budget authority appropriated;
                            ``(ii) that is obligated;
                            ``(iii) of unobligated balances; and
                            ``(iv) of any other budgetary resources;
                    ``(B) from which accounts and in what amount--
                            ``(i) appropriations are obligated for each 
                        program activity; and
                            ``(ii) outlays are made for each program 
                        activity;
                    ``(C) from which accounts and in what amount--
                            ``(i) appropriations are obligated for each 
                        object class; and
                            ``(ii) outlays are made for each object 
                        class; and
                    ``(D) for each program activity, the amount--
                            ``(i) obligated for each object class; and
                            ``(ii) of outlays made for each object 
                        class.
            ``(2) Budget justifications.--
                    ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
                            ``(i) the term `agency' has the meaning 
                        given that term in section 101 of title 31, 
                        United States Code;
                            ``(ii) the term `budget justification 
                        materials' means the annual budget 
                        justification materials of an agency that are 
                        submitted, in conjunction with the budget of 
                        the United States Government submitted under 
                        section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 
                        Code; and
                            ``(iii) the term `open Government data 
                        asset' has the meaning given that term in 
                        section 3502 of title 44, United States Code).
                    ``(B) Information.--The information to be posted--
                            ``(i) shall include any budget 
                        justification materials--
                                    ``(I) for the second fiscal year 
                                beginning after the date of enactment 
                                of this paragraph, and each fiscal year 
                                thereafter; and
                                    ``(II) to the extent practicable, 
                                that were released for any fiscal year 
                                before the date of enactment of this 
                                paragraph; and
                            ``(ii) shall not include any portion of the 
                        budget justification materials the disclosure 
                        of which is prohibited by law, that contains 
                        classified information, or that is exempt from 
                        disclosure under paragraph (1) of section 
                        552(b) of title 5, United States Code.
                    ``(C) Format.--Budget justification materials shall 
                be posted under subparagraph (B)--
                            ``(i) as an open Government data asset;
                            ``(ii) in a manner that enables users to 
                        download individual reports, download all 
                        reports in bulk, and download in bulk the 
                        results of a search, to the extent practicable; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) in a structured data format, to the 
                        extent practicable.
                    ``(D) Deadline.--The budget justification materials 
                required to be posted under subparagraph (B)(i) shall 
                be posted not later than 2 weeks after the date on 
                which the budget justification materials are first 
                submitted to Congress.
                    ``(E) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
                paragraph shall be construed to authorize an agency to 
                destroy any budget justification materials relating to 
                a fiscal year before the fiscal year described in 
                subparagraph (B)(i).''.
    (b) Information Regarding Agency Budget Justifications.--Section 
1105 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(i)(1) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
make publicly available on a website, and continuously update, a 
tabular list for each fiscal year of each agency that submits budget 
justification materials, which shall include--
            ``(A) the name of the agency;
            ``(B) a unique identifier that identifies the agency;
            ``(C) to the extent practicable, the date on which the 
        budget justification materials of the agency are first 
        submitted to Congress;
            ``(D) the date on which the budget justification materials 
        of the agency are posted online under section 3 of the Federal 
        Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 
        6101 note);
            ``(E) the uniform resource locator where the budget 
        justification materials are published on the website of the 
        agency; and
            ``(F) a single data set that contains the information 
        described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) with respect to the 
        agency for all fiscal years for which budget justifications of 
        the agency are made available under section 3 of the Federal 
        Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 
        6101 note) in a structured data format.
    ``(2)(A) Each agency that submits budget justification materials 
shall make the materials available on the website of the agency, in 
accordance with the policies established by the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget under subparagraph (B).
    ``(B) Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this 
subsection, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in 
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall establish 
policies for agencies relating to making available materials under 
subparagraph (A), which shall include guidelines for making budget 
justification materials available in a format aligned with the 
requirements of section 3(b)(2)(C) of the Federal Funding 
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) and 
using a uniform resource locator that is in a consistent format across 
agencies and is descriptive, memorable, and pronounceable, such as the 
format of `agencyname.gov/budget'.
    ``(C) If the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
maintains a public website that contains the budget of the United 
States Government submitted under subsection (a) and any related 
materials, such website shall also contain a link to the tabular list 
required under paragraph (1).
    ``(3) In this subsection, the term `budget justification materials' 
has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Federal Funding 
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).''.

SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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