zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Improving All Government Efficiency Act of 2015 or the IMAGE Act of 2015 

This bill directs the Office of Management and Budget to coordinate with the heads of relevant federal departments or agencies to: (1) use available administrative authority to eliminate, consolidate, or streamline programs and agencies with duplicative and overlapping missions as identified in specified Government Accountability Office reports released between 2013 and 2015; (2) identify and report to Congress any legislative changes required to further eliminate, consolidate, or streamline duplicative or overlapping missions identified in such reports; (3) estimate the total cost savings from such activities; and (4) rescind from amounts made available to such departments and agencies the total estimated cost savings.

The bill imposes a monetary penalty on any department or agency that does not meet the requirements of this Act before September 30, 2015.

Date: 2015-09-25
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Financial Regulatory Clarity Act of 2015

 Requires the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the National Credit Union Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, before issuing a regulation or order, to assess other federal regulations and orders to determine whether: (1) the agency's proposal is in conflict with, inconsistent with, or duplicative of such regulations or orders; and (2) such other federal regulations or orders are outdated.

Date: 2015-10-07
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Securing Every Relevant and Vital Electronic Record Act of 2015 or the SERVER Act

This bill prohibits the Secretary of a cabinet-level executive department from maintaining a private email server to conduct official government business. The Inspector General of each such department shall ensure compliance with such prohibition.  A Secretary who violates such prohibition is subject to a fine and/or prison term and shall forfeit his or her office and be disqualified from holding any U.S. government office.

Date: 2015-10-09
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Preventing Government Publishing Overreach Act of 2015

 This bill prohibits the Government Publishing Office from assembling or manufacturing any secure credentials or the component parts of any such credential.

Such prohibition is inapplicable to the following activities:

 stitching security paper into an already assembled eCover for the Department of State; manufacturing NEXUS and SENTRI cards pursuant to any existing contract or purchase order until the earlier of the date on which such contract expires or such purchase order is filled, or December 31, 2016; assembling or manufacturing any secure credentials specifically at the request of the Central Intelligence Agency or the National Security Agency for use in classified programs or activities; and manufacturing identification badges for the presidential inauguration. The term "secure credential" is defined as an identification document that includes component security parts designed to authenticate the document or reduce the risk of the unauthorized replication or alteration of the document.

Date: 2015-10-20
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Fix the Footnotes Act of 2015

This bill amends the federal criminal code to make technical corrections, including grammar, and other corrections.

Date: 2015-11-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Regulatory Reporting Act of 2015

This bill requires each federal agency, in consultation with the Department of Justice, to submit a report to Congress that lists each agency rule enforceable by criminal penalties. For each rule, the report must justify criminal penalties based on specified criteria.

Date: 2015-11-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Statutes at Large Modernization Act 

This bill requires the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to make the U.S. Statutes at Large available to the public at no cost on a website in a searchable, non-proprietary format. In making such information available to the public, NARA shall work with other federal agencies, including the Library of Congress, the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the House of Representatives, the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, the Congressional Research Service, the Government Publishing Office, and such other entities that NARA considers appropriate.

The Library of Congress shall incorporate Statutes at Large data into its legislative information retrieval system.

Date: 2015-11-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(Sec. 1) This bill requires the Office of Personnel Management to submit an annual report to Congress on the use of official time by federal employees. The bill defines "official time" as any period of time granted to a federal employee to perform representational or consultative functions and during which the employee would otherwise be in a duty status.

Each such report shall include, for each agency and for all agencies:

 the total amount of official time granted to employees; the average amount of official time expended per bargaining unit employee; the specific types of activities or purposes for which official time was granted and the impact which the granting of such official time had on agency operations; the total number of employees to whom official time was granted and, of that total, the number who were not engaged in any activities or purposes except those involving the use of official time; the total amount of compensation (including fringe benefits) afforded to employees in connection with activities or purposes for which they were granted official time; and a description of any room or space designated at the agency where official time activities will be conducted.

Date: 2016-01-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Whistleblower Augmented Reward and Nonretaliation Act of 2016 or the WARN Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Financial Institutions Anti-Fraud Enforcement Act of 1990 governing the rights of a private person (declarant) who files a declaration of a violation giving rise to a federal action for civil penalties with respect to fraud crimes involving federally insured financial institutions.

The bill revises the minimum and maximum percentage of a declarant's entitlement to share in the recovery by the United States from a judgment, order, or settlement that was based in whole or in part on the information contained in a valid declaration, and allows a 30-day window in which to appeal any award determination.

The bill prescribes specified relief in a civil action intended to protect declarants from employer reprisals including reinstatement with the same seniority status.

The Department of Justice shall require employers to provide education and training to employees regarding declarant rights and remedies.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Act is amended to extend similar protections to employees of banking agencies, together with the same minimum and maximum rewards for information leading to recoveries or civil penalties.

Both the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Commodity Exchange Act are amended to: (1) remove the definition of whistleblower, and (2) prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commody Futures Trading Commission (Commissions) from denying eligibility for an award if the information basic to the award is submitted within 90 days after obtaining knowledge of the disclosed misconduct.

The Commissions shall also presume that reports are timely and shall not reduce an award due to delay, unless disclosure was deliberately postponed either because of culpability, interference with internal investigative processes, or attempts at self-enrichment.

The prohibition against employer retaliation shall cover acts by the whistleblower in: (1) objecting to, or refusing to participate in, any activity, policy, practice which the whistleblower reasonably believed to be in violation of Commission-enforceable law, rule, order, standard, or prohibition; or (2) providing information relating to any violation within Commission jurisdiction.

Relief for an individual prevailing in an enforcement action shall include compensatory damages and up to $250,000 in punitive damages.

The bill prohibits employers from: (1) taking specified actions to impede an individual who undertakes a protected activity, or (2) engaging in any other discrimination that would chill the exercise of a protected activity.

The Commissions shall promulgate regulations requiring each employer to maintain internal compliance programs.

 The bill makes conforming amendments to federal criminal law.

Date: 2016-02-25
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Preventing Overreach Within the Executive Rulemaking System Act of 2016 or the POWERS Act of 2016

This bill prohibits publication or service of a rule for 60 days following the date of the publication of the notice of proposed rulemaking for such rule.

If, during such period, a House or Senate committee that has jurisdiction over the provision of law authorizing the rule submits written data, views, or arguments to the agency, it shall, within 10 days, publish a response in the Federal Register. (The period beginning on the date of such submission and ending on the date of such publication shall not count as part of the 60-day period during which publication or service of the rule is prohibited.)

The 10-day response requirement shall not apply to a subsequent committee submission if the agency: (1) determines that such subsequent submission fails to address the content of such response or raises issues that were not raised in the initial submission or the response, and (2) notifies the committee of such determination.

Date: 2016-02-26
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act 

This bill establishes a three-year reauthorization, rescission, and termination schedule for unauthorized programs funded through the annual appropriations process.

The schedule applies to programs included in the Congressional Budget Office's annual report listing programs that are funded through the appropriations process and have an authorization of appropriations that has either expired or will expire during the year.

After a program's authorization has expired, the bill limits the program's funding in the first year to 90% of the funds provided in the expiring year, reduces the limit to 85% for the second and third years, and terminates the program at the end of the third year. The bill enforces the limits by rescinding any funds that exceed the limit. The Office of Management and Budget must reduce discretionary spending limits by the amount of any rescissions.

Programs that are reauthorized during the three-year period are exempt from the limits, rescissions, and termination if the reauthorization includes a provision limiting the authorization of appropriations period to no more than three years.

The bill establishes the Spending and Accountability Commission to recommend a reauthorization schedule for discretionary spending programs and review all mandatory spending programs. The commission may recommend legislation to replace the funding limits and rescissions required by this bill with reductions in mandatory spending.

The commission's reauthorization schedule must limit reauthorizations to three years, include the funding limits and rescissions established by this bill, and establish a mechanism for replacing the limitations and rescissions with reductions to mandatory spending programs. The House of Representatives must consider the proposal using expedited legislative procedures.

Date: 2016-03-14
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Economics and public finance
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on June 14, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2016

This bill modifies the scope of judicial review of agency actions to authorize courts reviewing agency actions to decide de novo (without giving deference to the agency's interpretation) all relevant questions of law, including the interpretation of: (1) constitutional and statutory provisions, and (2) rules made by agencies.

No law may exempt such a civil action from the application of the amendments made by this bill except by specific reference to these provisions.

Date: 2016-03-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Title X Transparency Act

This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the medical items and services offered by recipients of federal family planning assistance or their affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, or clinics.

Date: 2016-03-17
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Health
Information Technology Modernization Act

This bill establishes in the Treasury an Information Technology Modernization Fund for technology related activities, to improve information technology, and to enhance cybersecurity across the federal government.

The Fund shall be administered by the General Services Administration (GSA). The GSA may:

 transfer amounts from the Fund to an agency to improve, retire, or replace existing information technology systems to enhance cybersecurity and improve efficiency and effectiveness; use amounts in the Fund for the development, operation, and procurement of information technology products, services, and acquisition vehicles for use by agencies to improve efficiency and cybersecurity; and use amounts in the Fund to provide services or work performed in support of such activities. An agency shall: (1) reimburse the Fund for any such transfer, and (2) pay a price to be fixed by the GSA for any such product or service the agency uses.

The bill establishes an Information Technology Modernization Board, which shall: (1) evaluate proposals for modernization submitted by agencies; (2) make recommendations to the GSA to assist agencies in the further development and refinement of select proposals; and (3) monitor progress and performance in executing approved projects and, if necessary, recommend the suspension or termination of funding.

The GSA shall support Board activities and provide technical support to, and oversight of, agencies that receive transfers from the Fund.

Date: 2016-04-11
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Ditto Act of 2016 

(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to maintain preserved records for at least three years after obtaining the record. A preserved record is any record maintained by a person other than the federal government pursuant to a rule, guidance, or other directive from the IRS recommending or requiring that the person maintain records for a particular period of time on a particular matter.

Date: 2016-04-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Taxation
End Executive Overreach Act

This bill prohibits, until January 21, 2017, the use of federal funds, fees, or resources to implement an executive order issued on or after the enactment of this bill.

The bill prohibits any agency, until such date, from making or finalizing:

 a major rule (a rule that is likely to result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more); a rule that may raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in Executive Order 12866 (which requires that significant regulatory actions be submitted for review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget); or a rule that may create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency.

Date: 2016-04-15
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Preserving Public Access to Federal Buildings Act of 2016

This bill requires an executive agency to provide notice and an opportunity for public comment before relocating any agency office that has regular contact with the public. Such requirement shall apply to a relocation proposed by the agency or a reassignment of agency office space by the General Services Administration.

Before providing notice, an agency shall determine if it expects the relocation to impact the ability of the office's clientele to access its services. If so, the agency shall develop an initial plan to address the impact.

If the announced relocation receives substantial public interest, the agency shall:

 conduct an in-depth evaluation of the potential impact of the relocation on the ability of the office's clientele to access services; develop a plan to address such impact or revise the initial plan; and publish the results of the evaluation and a description of the plan on the agency's website. The Office of Management and Budget must issue guidance for agencies on the meaning of "regular contact with the public" and "substantial public interest."

Date: 2016-04-15
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary Government Data Act or the OPEN Government Data Act 

This bill requires government data assets made available by federal agencies (excluding the Government Accountability Office, the Federal Election Commission, and certain other government entities) to be published as machine-readable data. When not otherwise prohibited by law, the data must be available: (1) in an open format that does not impede use or reuse and that has standards maintained by a standards organization; and (2) under open licenses with a legal guarantee that the data be available at no cost to the public with no restrictions on copying, publication, distribution, transmittal, citing, or adaptation.

 If published government data assets are not available under an open license, the data must be considered part of the worldwide public domain. Agencies may engage with outside organizations and citizens to leverage public data assets for innovation in public and private sectors.

 The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must oversee the completeness and public availability of an enterprise data inventory that agencies must develop to account for any data assets that they create, collect, control, or maintain.

Agencies must: (1) make their enterprise data inventories available to the public on Data.gov, and (2) designate a point of contact to assist the public and respond to complaints about adherence to open data requirements. For privacy, security, confidentiality, or regulatory reasons, agencies may maintain a nonpublic portion of their inventories.

The OMB's Office of Electronic Government is renamed the Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer.

Agencies are not required to publish notices in the Federal Register about information collection that is focused on gathering input about the performance of, or public satisfaction with, the agency's service if the collection is: (1) online and electronic, (2) voluntary with no benefit to the provider of the information, and (3) an extremely low burden that is typically completed in five minutes or less. But agencies must publish representative summaries of such information collections.

The General Services Administration must maintain a single public interface online as a point of entry dedicated to sharing open government data with the public.

The Chief Information Officers Council must work with the Office of Government Information Services and the Office of Science and Technology Policy to promote data interoperability and comparability of data assets across the government.

The OMB must assess the extent of each agency's use of data assets to support decisionmaking, cost savings, and performance.

Date: 2016-04-26
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Corps' Obligation to Assist in Safeguarding Texas Act or the COAST Act

This bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expedite the: (1) completion of the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Study by taking into consideration information developed by the Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District, (2) completion of the reports for the study, and (3) congressional approval process of coastal protection projects along the Texas coast by allowing projects that are justified by the Corps of Engineers in the reports to proceed directly to project preconstruction, engineering, and design. (The study will evaluate the feasibility of developing a comprehensive plan for flood risk management, hurricane and storm risk management, and ecosystem restoration for Texas coastal areas.)

Date: 2016-05-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Regulatory Integrity Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill directs each executive agency to make publicly available on the agency website or in the rule making docket on Regulations.gov a list of pending agency regulatory actions and for each such action:

 the date the agency began to develop or consider the action, its status, an estimate of the date it will be final and in effect, and a brief description of such action; a list of any duplicative or overlapping regulatory actions issued by the same or any other agency; if a regulatory impact analysis has been conducted, the findings of such analysis, including any data or formula used for purposes of such analysis; and a list of each public communication about the action issued by the agency, including the date of the communication, its intended audience, the method of communication, and a copy of the original communication. Each agency shall publish the information required within 24 hours after such communication is issued and maintain the public availability of such information for at least 5 years after the action is finalized.

Any public communication issued by an agency that refers to a pending agency regulatory action:

 shall specify whether the agency is considering alternatives and accepting comments; shall expressly disclose that the agency is the source of the information to the intended recipients; and may not solicit support for or promote the action, be sent through the private email account of an agency officer or employee, or include statements of aggrandizement for the agency, any federal employee, or the action. An agency that communicated about a pending agency regulatory action during the previous fiscal year shall submit to each congressional committee with jurisdiction over the agency's activities, by January 15 of each year, a report indicating:

 the number of pending agency regulatory actions the agency issued public communications about during that fiscal year, the average number of public communications issued by the agency for each such action, and the five pending actions with the highest number of public communications issued by the agency in that fiscal year and a copy of each such communication. The report shall be made publicly available on the agency's website.

Date: 2016-05-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Energy Consumer Advocacy Act of 2016

This bill requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to use specified funds in FY2017 for its Office of Public Participation.

Date: 2016-05-25
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Energy
Federal Agency Complete Transparency Act of 2016 or the FACT Act of 2016

This bill amends the Administrative Procedure Act to require a general notice of proposed rule making for a major rule (e.g., a rule that has an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more) to include a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed rule.

Date: 2016-05-25
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
This bill requires guidance documents of federal agencies to be considered rules that are subject to the congressional review process, which Congress can use to overturn certain agency actions through a joint resolution of disapproval. "Guidance document" is defined as a statement of general applicability and future effect, other than a regulatory action, issued by a federal agency that sets forth: (1) a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or technical issue; or (2) an interpretation of a statutory or regulatory issue.

Significant guidance documents are subject to review as major rules, which delays their effective date and requires the Government Accountability Office to review the agency's compliance with the regulatory process. A "significant guidance document" is a guidance document disseminated to regulated entities or the general public that may reasonably be anticipated to: (1) lead to an annual effect of at least $100 million or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, employment, the environment, public health or safety, or state, local, or tribal governments or communities; (2) create a serious inconsistency, or otherwise interfere, with an action taken or planned by another federal agency; (3) materially alter the budgetary impact of any entitlement, grant, user fees, or loan programs or the rights or obligations of recipients; or (4) raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates.

 A guidance document is not considered to be significant if it: (1) concerns regulations issued in accordance with administrative procedures for rules required by statute to be made on record after opportunity for an agency hearing; (2) pertains to a U.S. military or foreign affairs function other than procurement regulations and regulations involving the import or export of non-defense articles and services; (3) concerns regulations that are limited to the organization, management, or personnel matters of a federal agency; or (4) belongs to a category of guidance documents exempted by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

Date: 2016-05-27
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill bars the Government Publishing Office, effective January 1, 2017, from furnishing a printed copy of the Federal Register without charge to any Member of Congress or any other office of the United States during a year unless:

 the Member or office requests a printed copy of a specific issue of the Federal Register; or during that year or the previous year, the Member or office requested a subscription to printed copies of the Federal Register for that year.

Date: 2016-06-03
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Congress
Providing Retrospective Observations Validating Economics and Increasing Transparency Act of 2016 or the PROVE IT Act of 2016

This bill requires a federal agency that publishes a final major rule in the Federal Register to publish, biannually while the rule remains in effect, a report on the benefits and costs of such rule to regulated entities. The report shall:

 assess the impacts of the rule on such entities, include a determination about how the actual benefits and costs of the rule have varied from those anticipated when the rule was issued, assess the effectiveness and benefits of the rule in producing its regulatory objectives, and be reviewed by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) when required under executive order. The agency shall: (1) within 90 days after determining that the cost of a rule to regulated entities has exceeded the cost anticipated, report to Congress on the effectiveness and necessity of, and lower-cost alternatives to, the rule; and (2) reopen the public docket to receive additional comments and consider modifications or alternatives that reduce costs and increase benefits to regulated entities.

The bill defines "major rule" as any rule that OIRA finds has resulted in or is likely to result in:

 an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies, or geographic regions; or significant adverse effects on competition, employment investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.

Date: 2016-06-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.)

GAO Mandates Revision Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill eliminates provisions that require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to:

 review reported legislation that requires financial audits of nonfederal entities receiving federal awards; evaluate the extent to which premium levels for Medicare supplemental policies reflect reductions in coinsurance for hospital outpatient services made by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for Aged and Disabled) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct); report on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) pilot program under the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 for alternative resolution for major disaster assistance disputes involving amounts of at least $1 million; and conduct a biennial satisfaction survey of recipients of transportation intelligence reports under the Department of Homeland Security's transportation security information sharing plan. (Sec. 3) The GAO must report annually (currently, every 60 days) on its oversight of the Troubled Asset Relief Program under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is amended to terminate the GAO's annual reporting after 2020, but require GAO reports in 2022 and 2024, about the effectiveness of disclosures relating to conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or adjoining countries on the rate of sexual- and gender-based violence and the promotion of peace and security in such areas.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 is amended to extend until December 31, 2023, the GAO's deadline for updating a report under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with an analysis of how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has addressed GAO recommendations for the implementation of payment for oral-only ESRD (end-stage renal disease)-related drugs in the bundled prospective payment system under SSAct title XVIII provisions regarding Medicare coverage for ESRD patients.

The Public Health Service Act is amended to transfer from the GAO to HHS the responsibility to provide information, personnel, and administrative assistance to the review panel that consults with HHS about applications for demonstration grants that HHS awards to states for the development of alternatives to tort litigation for resolving disputes over injuries allegedly caused by health care providers or organizations.

Date: 2016-07-08
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here

GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill authorizes the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to obtain federal agency records required to discharge the GAO's duties (including audit, evaluation, and investigative duties), including through bringing civil actions to require an agency to produce a record.

No provision of the Social Security Act shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the GAO's authority to: (1) obtain information or inspect records about an agency's duties, powers, activities, organization, or financial transactions; or (2) obtain other agency records that the GAO requires to discharge its duties.

Agency statements on actions taken or planned in response to GAO recommendations must be submitted to: (1) the congressional committees with jurisdiction over the pertinent agency program or activity, and (2) the GAO.

Date: 2016-07-08
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Nonessential Government Printing Reduction Act of 2016

This bill requires the Government Publishing Office (GPO) to make the Federal Register available to any congressional office only in an electronic format, unless: (1) an office requests a printed copy of a specific issue and reimburses the GPO for printing and distributing costs, or (2) an office enters into a subscription agreement to receive a printed copy of all issues for a year and pays the GPO in advance for printing and distributing costs.

Date: 2016-07-12
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Searchable Legislation Act of 2016

This bill requires Congress to ensure that all congressional documents and all votes cast in Congress and congressional committees are created, transmitted, and published in searchable electronic formats, consistent with data standards recommended by such advisory bodies as Congress may establish.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate, acting jointly, shall establish the Congressional Data Task Force (an advisory body) for the creation, transmission, and publication of information and congressional documents, including bills, resolutions, amendments, reports, laws, and records, in such formats for purposes of this bill.

Date: 2016-07-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Congress
Modernizing Outdated and Vulnerable Equipment and Information Technology Act of 2016 or MOVE IT Act

This bill prohibits a covered agency (specified agencies for which there are Chief Financial Officers) from storing or processing government information on a federal information system with any cloud service provider unless the provider has an authorization to operate a cloud computing service from the agency or the Joint Authorization Board.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) may waive the applicability of such prohibition to any national security system in the interest of national security and shall submit a statement justifying such waiver.

The ODNI shall: (1) coordinate with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program Office (FRAMPO) to establish mandatory guidelines for the submission of an application for such an authorization that shall streamline and accelerate the accreditation process; (2) host a public-private industry cloud commercial working group representing cloud service providers, which shall provide recommendations directly to FRAMPO's Program Management Office and Joint Authorization Board regarding their operations, processes improvements, and best practices; (3) establish key performance metrics for FRAMPO; (4) report on the effectiveness and efficiency of FRAMPO; and (5) assess cloud computing opportunities and issue policies and guidelines for the adoption of government-wide programs providing for a standardized approach to security assessment and operational authorization for cloud computing products and services.

There is established in each such agency an information technology system modernization and working capital fund for necessary expenses:

 for the replacement of a legacy information technology system; for the transition to cloud computing and innovative platforms and technologies; to assist and support efforts to provide information technology capabilities that address evolving threats to information security; and for developmental, modernization, and enhancement activities of information technology. Each agency shall prioritize amounts within such fund to be used initially for cost savings activities approved by the Federal Chief Information Officer.

The Government Accountability Office shall report on the implementation and operation of each such fund, current practices compared with industry best practices for the effective oversight and governance of a cloud computing working capital fund, the basis for the fund's use and operation, the fund's efficacy to accelerate technology transitions, and recommendations for improvement.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act of 2016

This bill amends the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 to require the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council and each of the federal financial regulators to conduct, at least once every five years, a comprehensive review of all regulations prescribed by the council or the regulator, including all regulations issued after December 31, 2006, in order to identify outdated or otherwise unnecessary regulatory requirements imposed on covered persons. "Covered persons" are those that engage in offering or providing a consumer financial product or service and affiliates who provide services to them.

Under the process for conducting such a review, the council and the appropriate regulator shall also:

 consider the impact of the regulations on the financial safety and soundness, as well as on the risk profile and business models, of the covered persons; and determine the necessity, appropriateness, and impact of continuing to apply the regulatory action. The bill requires the council and the appropriate regulator to ensure that the notice and comment period with respect to the regulations reviewed is conducted at least once every 5 years (rather than, as currently, 10 years).

The council and the appropriate regulator shall eliminate or tailor unnecessary regulations so as to limit the regulatory compliance burdens.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2016

This bill prohibits the word "sex" or "gender" from being interpreted to mean "gender identity," and requires "man" or "woman" to be interpreted to refer exclusively to a person's sex, for purposes determining the meaning of federal civil rights laws or related federal administrative agency regulations or guidance.

No federal civil rights law shall be interpreted to treat gender identity or transgender status as a protected class, unless it expressly designates "gender identity" or "transgender status" as a protected class.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Public Online Information Act of 2016

This bill establishes a Public Online Information Advisory Committee to: (1) coordinate the government's efforts to make information from all three branches of government available on the Internet, and (2) issue nonbinding guidelines on how the government should make public information available.

The government must make public records available on the Internet at no charge, except as imposed by federal law before this bill's enactment. The bill requires: (1) public records to be permanently available on the Internet; (2) current information technology to be applied to the formats and means through which records are made available; and (3) each agency to publish on the Internet a searchable, machine-processable list of all records it makes publicly available.

The bill delineates the roles of the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Electronic Government, and the chief information officers of independent regulatory agencies. It allows exceptions to the Internet publication requirement, including a process for an agency's request for an exception to be granted if: (1) there is a clear and convincing reason for the record to not be made available on the Internet, and (2) the harm caused by disclosure significantly outweighs the public's interest in having the record available on the Internet.

Inspectors general must periodically review agency compliance. Private individuals or organizations may file a complaint in federal court if an agency denies a request to place public records on the Internet.

The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) judicial and legislative agencies adopt or adapt the advisory committee's recommendations, and (2) the Government Publishing Office make all of its publications permanently available on the Internet in a multiplicity of formats.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
LGBT Pride Act

This bill directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take measures to increase the frequency of collection of information on the sexual orientation and gender identity of deceased individuals through the National Violent Death Reporting System.

The bill authorizes appropriations to expand participation in the National Violent Death Reporting System to all states.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Health
Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act

 This bill requires the Government Publishing Office (GPO) to establish and maintain a website that provides the public free electronic access to all congressionally mandated reports within 30 calendar days after submission to Congress.

Each federal agency shall publish congressionally mandated reports on such website. A report submitted for publication may only be changed or removed, with the exception of technical changes, by the agency concerned with the express, written consent of the chairman of each congressional committee to which the report is submitted. Each agency: (1) must redact from such a report any information that may not be publicly released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), (2) may withhold information otherwise required to be disclosed pursuant to this bill only if the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by FOIA exemptions or if disclosure is prohibited by law, and (3) shall consider whether partial disclosure of information is possible whenever full disclosure is not and take reasonable steps necessary to segregate and release nonexempt information.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Saving Federal Dollars Through Better Use of Government Purchase and Travel Cards Act of 2016

This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to develop a strategy to expand the use of data analytics in managing government purchase and travel charge card programs for the purpose of:

 identifying questionable transactions and developing enhanced tools and methods for agency use in identifying questionable transactions and recovering improper payments; identifying potential opportunities for agencies to further leverage administrative process streamlining and cost reduction from purchase and travel card use; developing a set of purchase and travel card metrics and benchmarks for high risk activities to assist agency purchase and travel card management and oversight activities; and developing a plan to create a library of analytics tools and data sources for use by agencies. The OMB must issue guidance on improving information sharing by government agencies, including by: (1) requiring relevant officials to identify and communicate information about high-risk activities; (2) requiring appropriate agency officials to review the reports issued by charge card-issuing banks on questionable transaction activity and suspicious timing or amounts of cash withdrawals or advances; and (3) providing for the appropriate sharing of information related to potential questionable transactions, fraud schemes, and high risk activities with GSA's Office of Charge Card Management and appropriate federal officials.

The GSA and the OMB must establish a purchase and travel charge card data management group to develop and share best practices.

The GSA shall report on further potential savings opportunities for government agencies under the federal charge card programs.

Date: 2016-07-21
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.)

Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Congressional Review Act to allow Congress to consider a joint resolution to disapprove multiple regulations that federal agencies have submitted for congressional review within the last 60 legislative days of a session of Congress during the final year of a President's term. Congress may disapprove a group of such regulations together (i.e., "en bloc") instead of the current procedure of considering only one regulation at a time.

Date: 2016-09-09
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Accountability in Rulemaking Act

This bill requires each federal agency to submit to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), by December 31, March 31, June 30, and September 30 of each year, a unified regulatory agenda listing each regulation under development or review by such agency. The agenda shall include a brief summary of, and the legal authority for, such regulation and a statement of whether the OIRA has declared the regulation to be a significant regulatory action.

A "significant regulatory action" is defined as any regulatory action that is likely to result in a regulation that may:

 have an annual effect on the economy of $167 million or more; adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or state, local, or tribal governments or communities; create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action of another agency; materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients; or raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates. The OIRA shall: (1) make each such agenda available on a public website, and (2) review each significant regulatory action listed within 90 days of its submission to ensure such action is consistent with applicable law. The bill sets forth limitations on third-party communication during the review process.

The OIRA shall: (1) document any change made by it to a significant regulatory action during the review process and make such change available on a public website; and (2) for each such action the OIRA returns to an agency for further consideration, it shall provide a written explanation of why further consideration is necessary.

Date: 2016-09-27
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Regulatory Fingerprints Act of 2016

This bill requires a federal agency to include in each publication in the Federal Register pertaining to a rule: (1) the specific legal authority for the rule, and (2) the name and title of each agency officer or employee who participated in the rule making and each person performing any work pertaining to the rule under an agency contract.

Each such officer, employee, or person shall, during the the rule making period, file a report (which the agency shall make available online) of each financial transaction required to be reported by a person under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics