The Watchdog Act

Bill: 117-s-3836
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA]
Introduced: 2022-03-15
Policy area: Taxation
Latest action: action_date: 2022-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1179-1180)

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-03-15
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>The Watchdog Act</strong></p> <p>This bill establishes in the Executive Office of the President the Taxpayer Watchdog Office. The office shall (1) oversee the implementation of federal transparency laws (i.e., laws requiring disclosure of how federal funds are spent), (2) accept and review complaints about a failure of a federal agency to comply with a transparency law, (3) evaluate the compliance of federal agencies with such laws, (4) provide information on transparency to the public on a searchable public website, and (5) make annual reports to the public listing each federal transparency law and on the evaluation of federal agency compliance with such laws.</p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3836 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 15, 2022 Ms. Ernst introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To establish within the Executive Office of the President the Taxpayer Watchdog Office.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as The Watchdog Act . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Agency The term agency means— (A) an Executive agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code; and (B) an independent regulatory agency, as defined in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code. (2) Director The term Director means the Director of Openness in Government appointed under section 3(b). (3) Federal transparency laws The term Federal transparency laws means transparency laws of the Federal Government, including— (A) section 552 of title 5, United States Code; (B) section 552b of title 5, United States Code; (C) the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 ( 31 U.S.C. 6101 note); (D) the program inventory of each Federal agency required under section 1122(a) of title 31, United States Code; (E) section 2374b of title 10, United States Code; (F) section 11319 of title I of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( Public Law 117–58 ); and (G) any requirement included in an annual appropriations Act for a grant recipient of Federal funds to include in statements, press releases, requests for proposals, bid solicitations, or other documents describing projects or programs funded in whole or in part with Federal money— (i) the percentage of the total costs of the program or project which will be financed with Federal money; (ii) the dollar amount of Federal funds for the project or program; or (iii) the percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the project or program that will be financed by non-governmental sources. (4) Office The term Office means the Taxpayer Watchdog Office established under section 3(a). 3. Establishment of Taxpayer Watchdog Office (a) Establishment There is established within the Executive Office of the President the Taxpayer Watchdog Office. (b) Director The Director shall be the head of the Office and shall be appointed by the President. (c) Staff resources The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall ensure that the Office has sufficient staff resources to enable the Director to fulfill the duties described in section 4. 4. Duties of the Office (a) Oversight (1) Implementation of Government Transparency Laws The Director shall oversee the implementation of Federal transparency laws. (2) Complaints The Director shall accept and review complaints about a failure of an agency to comply with a Federal transparency law. (3) Evaluation The Director shall develop a standard compliance and performance scoring methodology using a 100-point scale and shall evaluate and grade each agency according to the scale by considering— (A) the compliance of the agency with Federal transparency laws, including the accuracy, thoroughness, and timeliness of the agency in providing the public the information required by those laws; and (B) any other action taken by the agency to increase openness in the Federal Government. (4) Cooperation (A) In general The Director may collect necessary information from agencies to determine whether an agency is in compliance with Federal transparency laws. (B) Agency cooperation Each agency shall cooperate with the Office to provide information necessary to complete the evaluation required under paragraph (3). (b) Information to the Public The Director shall— (1) with respect to information to which the public is required to be provided access under Federal transparency laws— (A) compile and maintain on a searchable public website an up-to-date summary of the information and the manner in which the information may be accessed; and (B) compile a summary of the legal limitations to accessing the information, including limitations relating to personal privacy, national security, law enforcement, and privileged communications; and (2) compile case law on the interpretation of Federal transparency laws. (c) Report and Recommendations (1) Annual report Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director shall make available to the public a report— (A) listing— (i) each Federal transparency law; and (ii) the compilation of information relating to Federal transparency laws required under subsection (b)(1); (B) summarizing the evaluations required under subsection (a)(3); (C) detailing how the Federal transparency laws apply to— (i) each agency; and (ii) each entity receiving Federal financial assistance, including grants, subgrants, loans, contracts, and tax expenditures; (D) providing statistics on the timeliness and completeness of agency reporting and disclosure of information required to be provided or disclosed under Federal transparency laws; and (E) including any agency response to the evaluation in the report. (2) Recommendations Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than every 2 years thereafter, the Director shall submit to the President, the heads of agencies, and Congress recommendations for improvements to increase transparency in the activities and missions of, and supported by, the Federal Government. 5. Officers and Employees The Director may appoint and terminate such officers and employees as may be necessary to enable the Office to perform the duties of the Office. 6. Funding The Office shall be funded through the Office of Management and Budget.