Report the Costs Act

Bill: 113-hr-5717
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Stockman, Steve [R-TX-36]
Introduced: 2014-11-14
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Accounting and auditing

Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Foreign language and bilingual programs

Government information and archives

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Latest action: action_date: 2014-11-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Summaries:
action_date: 2014-11-14
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>Report the Costs Act - Requires the annual reports of federal agency chief financial officers&nbsp;to include the cost of multilingual services provided or performed by federal agencies, including the cost of hiring interpreters and producing materials in a language other than English. </p> <p>Requires&nbsp;the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to: (1)&nbsp;include in its financial status management reports a Multilingual Services Expense Report, and (2) issue guidance for agency chief financial officers in compiling&nbsp;reports on the cost of multilingual services. </p>

tv_txt: I 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5717 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 14, 2014 Mr. Stockman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform A BILL To amend title 31, United States Code, to require annual reports from agencies detailing the cost of multilingual services, to end speculation about the cost of multilingual services provided by the Federal Government, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Report the Costs Act . 2. Report on cost of multilingual services (a) In general 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) a report detailing the annual cost of multilingual services, described by section 904, in accordance with guidance issued under section 3517; and ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: 904. Cost of multilingual services defined. In this chapter, the term cost of multilingual services means the costs to the agency associated with— (1) hiring interpreters; (2) helping agency employees or contractors learn a language other than English; (3) preparing or producing agency materials in a language other than English; (4) compensating an employee or a contractor for the ability of the employee or contractor to speak a language other than English; and (5) any other services provided or performed by an agency in a language other than English that incur additional cost to the agency. . (b) Applicability The amendments made by this section apply with respect to any reports prepared under section 902(a)(6) of title 31, United States Code, for a fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2016. (c) Conforming amendment The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 9 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 903 the following: 904. Cost of multilingual services. . 3. 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) a Multilingual Services Expense Report that includes— (i) a summary and analysis of the cost of multilingual services (as described in section 904) detailed in reports prepared under section 902(a)(6)(E); (ii) a description of any changes needed to report accurately the cost of multilingual services for each agency; and (iii) any other information the Director considers appropriate to fully inform the Congress of the costs of all multilingual services provided by the Federal Government; and ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: 3517. Multilingual services guidelines. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall issue guidance that each agency Chief Financial Officer shall follow in compiling a report required under section 902(a)(6)(E) on the cost of multilingual services. . (b) Applicability The amendments made by this section apply to any reports prepared under title 3512(a) of title 31, United States Code, for a fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2016. (c) Deadline for guidance Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall issue guidance under section 3517 of title 31, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). (d) Conforming amendment The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 35 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 3516 the following: 3517. Multilingual Services Accounting Guidelines. .