Title: Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2022
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2022
This bill requires federal agencies to include a list of outdated or duplicative reporting requirements in their annual budget justifications. The agencies must also include recommendations for ending, modifying, consolidating, or reducing the frequency of each of the outdated or duplicative reports.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4477 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4477

To amend title 31, United States Code, to require agencies to include a 
list of outdated or duplicative reporting requirements in annual budget 
                justifications, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 23, 2022

Mr. Ossoff (for himself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 31, United States Code, to require agencies to include a 
list of outdated or duplicative reporting requirements in annual budget 
                justifications, 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 ``Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. SUNSETS FOR AGENCY REPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1125 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d);
            (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Budget justification materials.--The term `budget 
        justification materials' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 3(b)(2) of the Federal Funding Accountability and 
        Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note; Public Law 109-
        282).
            ``(2) Recurring plan or report.--The term `recurring plan 
        or report' mean any plan or report submitted to Congress by not 
        less than 1 agency on a recurring basis--
                    ``(A) in accordance with Federal law; or
                    ``(B) at the direction of a congressional report.
            ``(3) Relevant congressional committee.--In this section, 
        the term `relevant congressional committee' means a 
        congressional committee to which a recurring plan or report is 
        required to be submitted.
    ``(b) Agency Identification of Unnecessary Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--The head of each agency shall include in 
        the budget justification materials of the agency--
                    ``(A) subject to paragraph (2), a list of each 
                recurring plan or report submitted by the agency that 
                the head of the agency determines to be outdated or 
                duplicative;
                    ``(B) with respect to each recurring plan or report 
                described in subparagraph (A)--
                            ``(i) a recommendation on whether to 
                        sunset, modify, consolidate, or reduce the 
                        frequency of the submission of the recurring 
                        plan or report;
                            ``(ii) a citation to each provision of law 
                        that requires or requests the submission of the 
                        recurring plan or report; and
                            ``(iii) a list of the relevant 
                        congressional committees for the recurring plan 
                        or report; and
                    ``(C) a justification explaining, with respect to 
                each recommendation described in subparagraph (B)(i) 
                relating to a recurring plan or report--
                            ``(i) why the head of the agency made the 
                        recommendation, which may include an estimate 
                        of the resources expended by the agency to 
                        prepare and submit the recurring plan or 
                        report; and
                            ``(ii) the understanding of the head of the 
                        agency of the purpose of the recurring plan or 
                        report.
            ``(2) Agency consultation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In preparing the list required 
                under paragraph (1)(A), if, in submitting a recurring 
                plan or report, an agency is required to coordinate or 
                consult with another agency or entity, the head of the 
                agency submitting the recurring plan or report shall 
                consult with the head of each agency or entity with 
                whom consultation or coordination is required.
                    ``(B) Inclusion in list.--If, after a consultation 
                under subparagraph (A), the head of each agency or 
                entity consulted under that subparagraph agrees that a 
                recurring plan or report is outdated or duplicative, 
                the head of the agency required to submit the recurring 
                plan or report shall--
                            ``(i) include the recurring plan or report 
                        in the list described in paragraph (1)(A); and
                            ``(ii) identify each agency or entity with 
                        which the head of the agency is required to 
                        coordinate or consult in submitting the 
                        recurring plan or report.
                    ``(C) Disagreement.--If the head of any agency or 
                entity consulted under subparagraph (A) does not agree 
                that a recurring plan or report is outdated or 
                duplicative, the head of the agency required to submit 
                the recurring plan or report shall not include the 
                recurring plan or report in the list described in 
                paragraph (1)(A).
    ``(c) Disposition of Recommendations.--
            ``(1) In general.--With respect to a recommendation on a 
        recurring plan or report included in budget justification 
        materials by the head of an agency under subsection 
        (b)(1)(B)(i), the chair and ranking member of each relevant 
        congressional committee may--
                    ``(A) in coordination with any other relevant 
                congressional committee, as necessary, agree or 
                disagree with the recommendation or postpone a decision 
                on the recommendation; and
                    ``(B) notify each agency that submits a 
                recommendation of the disposition of the recommendation 
                under subparagraph (A).
            ``(2) Legislative steps.--If a relevant congressional 
        committee agrees with an agency recommendation submitted under 
        subsection (b)(1)(B)(i), the relevant congressional committee 
        may take the necessary legislative steps to accomplish the 
        recommendation, which may include consulting with the agency 
        that submits the recurring plan or report that is the subject 
        of the recommendation to prepare appropriate legislation.
            ``(3) Agency requirements.--Nothing in this section shall 
        be construed to relieve the head of an agency from a 
        requirement to submit a recurring plan or report.''; and
            (3) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by striking 
        ``the budget of the United States Government, as provided by 
        section 1105(a)(37)'' and inserting ``in the budget 
        justification materials of each agency''.
    (b) Budget Contents.--Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 
Code, is amended by striking paragraph (39).
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