The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) is a law that aims to make information on
federal expenditures more easily accessible and transparent.
The law requires the
U.S. Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
to establish common standards for financial data provided by all government agencies and to expand the amount of data that agencies must provide to the government website, USASpending.
The goal of the law is to improve the ability of Americans to track and understand how the government is spending their tax dollars.
The law was introduced into the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
during the
113th United States Congress
The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Presidency of Barack Obama, Barack Obama's presiden ...
. A similar bill, the
, was introduced at the same time in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
.
There was also a previous version of the bill () that passed in the House during the
112th United States Congress
The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...
, but did not become law.
On May 9, 2014, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
signed this version of the bill into law.
Provisions of the bill
''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the
Congressional Research Service
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a c ...
, a
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
source.''
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) stated its purposes to be to:
:*expand the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (S. 2590) is an Act of Congress that requires the full disclosure to the public of all entities or organizations receiving federal funds beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2007. The websit ...
by disclosing direct federal agency expenditures and linking federal contract, loan, and grant spending information to federal programs to enable taxpayers and policy makers to track federal spending more effectively;
:*establish government-wide data standards for financial data and provide consistent, reliable, searchable, and usable government-wide spending data o
USASpending.govfor taxpayers and policy makers;
:*simplify reporting for entities receiving federal funds by streamlining reporting requirements and reducing compliance costs while improving transparency;
:*improve the quality of data submitted t
USASpending.govby holding federal agencies accountable for the completeness and accuracy of the data submitted; and
:*apply approaches developed by the
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board was an agency of the United States federal government, which managed the Recovery.gov website and oversaw spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Recovery.gov was the U ...
to spending across the federal government.
Section 3 of the bill amended the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to define "
federal agency," for the bill's purposes, to mean an executive department, a government corporation, or an independent establishment.
The bill directed the
Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
to ensure that information on funds made available to or expended by a federal agency would be posted online quarterly and when practical monthly, in a searchable, downloadable format.
The bill directed the Secretary and the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
(OMB) to establish government-wide financial data standards for federal funds and entities receiving such funds. Requires such data standards, to the extent reasonable and practicable, to: (1) incorporate widely accepted common data elements and a widely accepted, nonproprietary, searchable, platform-independent, computer-readable format; (2) include government-wide universal identifiers for federal awards and entities; (3) be consistent with and implement applicable accounting principles; (4) be capable of being continually updated; (5) produce consistent and comparable data; and (6) establish a standard method of conveying the reporting period, reporting entity, unit of measure, and other associated attributes.
The bill required the Secretary and the Director to issue guidance to federal agencies on such data standards and consult with public and private stakeholders in establishing such standards.
The bill required the Director to review the information required to be reported by recipients of federal awards to identify: (1) common reporting elements across the federal government, (2) unnecessary duplication in financial reporting, and (3) unnecessarily burdensome reporting requirements for recipients of federal awards.
The bill required the Director to establish a two-year pilot program to develop recommendations for: (1) standardized reporting elements across the federal government, (2) the elimination of unnecessary duplication in financial reporting, and (3) the reduction of compliance costs for recipients of federal awards. Requires such pilot program to include: (1) a combination of federal contracts, grants, and subawards, with an aggregate value of not less than $1 billion and not more than $2 billion; (2) a diverse group of recipients of federal awards; (3) recipients who receive awards from multiple programs across multiple agencies; and (4) data collected during a 12-month reporting cycle.
The bill would require the Director, not later than 90 days after the termination of the pilot program, to submit a report to the House Committees on
the Budget and
Oversight and Government Reform and the Senate Committees on
the Budget and
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that includes: (1) a description of the data collected under the pilot program, its usefulness, and the cost to collect the data from other recipients; and (2) recommendations.
The bill directed the Inspector General of each federal agency to: (1) review a statistically valid sampling of the spending data submitted under this Act by the federal agency; and (2) submit to Congress and make publicly available a report assessing the completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data sampled and the implementation and use of data standards by the federal agency.
The bill would direct the Comptroller General (GAO) to submit a publicly available report to Congress assessing and comparing the data completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data submitted under this Act by federal agencies and the implementation and use of data standards by federal agencies.
The bill would authorize the Secretary to establish a data analysis center, or expand an existing service, to provide data, analytic tools, and data management techniques to support: (1) the prevention and reduction of improper payments, and (2) the improvement of efficiency and transparency in federal spending. Transfers assets of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board to the Department of the Treasury upon the establishment of the data analysis center.
The bill declared that nothing in this Act: (1) shall require disclosure to the public of information protected from disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
(FOIA) or information protected under the
Privacy Act of 1974
The Privacy Act of 1974 (, ), a United States federal law, establishes a Code of Fair Information Practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintaine ...
or the
Internal Revenue Code
The Internal Revenue Code (IRC), formally the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 ...
; and (2) shall be construed to create a private right of action.
Section 4 would require the OMB Director to make available on the OMB website a financial management status report and government-wide five-year financial management plan.
Section 5 would require a federal agency to notify the Secretary of the Treasury of any legally enforceable non-tax debt owed to such agency that is over 120 (currently, 180) days delinquent so that the Secretary can offset such debt administratively. Requires the Secretary to notify Congress of any instance in which an agency fails to notify the Secretary of such a debt.
Congressional Budget Office report
''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress.
Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages ...
, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on November 6, 2013. This is a
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
source.''
S. 994 aims to make information on
federal expenditures more easily accessible and transparent. The bill would require the
U.S. Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
to establish common standards for financial data provided by all government agencies and to expand the amount of data that agencies must provide to the government website, USASpending. In addition, the
Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
(OMB) would be required to conduct a two-year pilot program to make it easier for federal contractors and grant recipients to comply with federal reporting requirements. S. 994 also would require OMB, the
Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...
, and the agencies’ Inspectors General to submit additional reports to the Congress. Finally, the legislation would designate the
Treasury Franchise Fund as the source of funding for the bill's implementation.
The
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress.
Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages ...
(CBO) estimates that implementing the bill would cost $300 million over the 2014-2018 period, assuming
appropriation of the necessary amounts. The legislation also could affect direct spending by agencies not funded through annual appropriations; therefore,
pay-as-you-go
Pay as you go or PAYG may refer to:
Finance
* Pay-as-you-go tax, or pay-as-you-earn tax
* Pay-as-you-go pension plan
* PAYGO, the practice in the US of financing expenditures with current funds rather than borrowing
* PAUG, a structured financia ...
procedures apply. The CBO estimates, however, that any net increase in spending by those agencies would not be significant. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
S. 994 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA''(pdf)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1995-title2/html/USCODE-1995-title2-chap25.htm (text)] restricts the federal government of the United States, federal imposition of unfunded mandates on ...
; any costs to state, local, or tribal governments would result from complying with conditions for receiving federal assistance.
Procedural history
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 was introduced into the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on May 21, 2013, by
Mark Warner, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D, VA).
It was referred to the
. It was reported on March 27, 2014, alongsid
Senate Report 113-139 On April 10, 2014, the Senate voted to pass the bill by
unanimous consent
In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a prop ...
.
On April 28, 2014, the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
voted in a
voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
to pass the bill.
On May 9, 2014, President Barack Obama signed the bill into law.
Debate and discussion
Rep.
Darrell Issa
Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for California's 50th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served i ...
(R-CA), a major supporter of the bill, said that "the DATA Act is but a first shot of a technological revolution that will transform the way we govern."
Issa also thought that "the American people deserve to know if their taxpayer dollars are being wasted or if they are being spent wisely."
Delegate
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a delegate to the United States House of Representatives, representing the District of Columbia since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Earl ...
(D-DC) said that "this will improve the quality of data that agencies make available about their spending."
The
National Taxpayers Union
The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is a fiscally conservative taxpayer advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1977 by James Dale Davidson. NTU says that it is the oldest taxpayer advocacy organization in the ...
(NTU) urged Representatives to vote in favor of the bill, saying that "this legislation would take an important step toward greater accountability to taxpayers by providing more information on how their hard-earned dollars are spent."
The NTU argued that "the DATA Act would bring increased transparency to a system that is too often rife with favoritism, waste, and fraud. As the federal government continues to make heavy demands on the public's paychecks, taxpayers deserve the opportunity to find out more details about how the money they send to Washington is being spent."
Th
Data Coalitionand the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants supported the bill.
Th
Data Foundationpublished two research reports related to the Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act. "The Data Act: Vision & Value", co-published b
MorganFranklin describes the law's history and mandates, surveys its benefits, and outlines the challenges it faces. A second report, published in May 2017, lays out a comprehensive long-term vision for the DATA Act, and discusses how the law is set to evolve beyond its statutory implementation deadline of November 2021.
"DATA Act 2022:
Changing Technology, Changing Culture." Data Foundation.
See also
*List of bills in the 113th United States Congress
The bills of the 113th United States Congress list includes proposed federal laws that were introduced in the 113th United States Congress. This Congress lasted from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015.
The United States Congress is the bicamer ...
*Acts of the 113th United States Congress
The acts of the 113th United States Congress includes all Acts of Congress and ratified treaties by the 113th United States Congress, which lasted from January 3, 2013 to January 3, 2015.
Acts include public and private laws, which are enacted ...
*List of United States federal agencies
Legislative definitions of a federal agency are varied, and even contradictory. The official '' United States Government Manual'' offers no definition. While the Administrative Procedure Act definition of "agency" applies to most executive branc ...
References
External links
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014
PDFdetails
as amended in the GPO GPO may refer to:
Government and politics
* General Post Office, Dublin
* General Post Office, in Britain
* Social Security Government Pension Offset, a provision reducing benefits
* Government Pharmaceutical Organization, a Thai state enterpris ...
br>Statute Compilations collection
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014
PDF
as enacted in the US Statutes at Large
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
PDFdetails
as amended in the GPO GPO may refer to:
Government and politics
* General Post Office, Dublin
* General Post Office, in Britain
* Social Security Government Pension Offset, a provision reducing benefits
* Government Pharmaceutical Organization, a Thai state enterpris ...
br>Statute Compilations collection
S. 994
on Congress.gov
S. 994
on GovTrack
WashingtonWatch.com S. 994
Congressional Budget Office's report on S. 994
Senate report 113-139 on S. 994
ACT-IAC DATA Act Transparency in Federal Financials
{{DEFAULTSORT:Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014
United States federal government administration legislation
Acts of the 113th United States Congress