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H.R. 2061 — what changed

Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013

From Reported in House to Engrossed in House. 2 sections amended and 1 added between Reported in House and Engrossed in House.

Sec. 4 Pilot program to evaluate consolidated recipient reporting

(a)
In general— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall establish a pilot program relating to reporting by recipients of Federal funds (in this section referred to as the “pilot program”) for the purpose of increasing financial transparency to—
(1)
display the full cycle of Federal funds;
(2)
improve the accuracy of Federal financial data; and
(3)
develop recommendations for reducing reporting required of recipients of Federal funds by consolidating and automating financial reporting requirements across the Federal Government.
(b)
Requirements— The pilot program shall—
(1)
changed include a combination of recipients that collectively receive of Federal contracts, grants, and subawards, the aggregate value of which is not less than $1,000,000,000 in Federal funds each fiscal year;$1,000,000,000;
(2)
changed include a diverse group of recipients that receive of Federal funds under multiple programs across multiple agencies; awards; and
(3)
changed to the extent practicable, include recipients that collectively receive Federal funds under contracts, grants, and subawards.awards from multiple programs across multiple agencies.
(c)
Reporting and evaluation requirements— Each recipient of Federal funds participating in the pilot program shall submit to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board reports on the finances of the selected Federal awards.
(d)
Publication of information— All the information collected by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board under the pilot program shall be made publicly available and searchable on the website established under section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).
(e)
Termination— The pilot program shall terminate on the date that is 3 years after the date on which the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board establishes the pilot program.
(f)
Report— Not later than 90 days after the date on which the pilot program terminates under subsection (e), the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board shall submit to the Office of Management and Budget, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives a report on the pilot program, which shall include—
(1)
a description of financial data collected under the pilot program, the accuracy of the data provided, and the cost to collect the data from recipients; and
(2)
recommendations for—
(A)
consolidating some or all aspects of Federal financial reporting to reduce the costs to recipients of Federal funds;
(B)
automating some or all aspects of Federal financial reporting to increase efficiency and reduce the costs to recipients of Federal funds; and
(C)
improving financial transparency.
(g)
Government-wide implementation— Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Office of Management and Budget receives the report required by subsection (f), the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine whether to authorize the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board to extend the recipient reporting requirements of the pilot program to all Federal funds. The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board shall begin requiring Government-wide recipient reporting at the start of the fiscal year that commences after the fiscal year during which such authorization is granted, and under such terms and conditions that the Board shall determine, in consultation with the Director.

Sec. 6 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 amendments

Division A of Public Law 111–5 is amended—

(1)
in section 1501 of title XV, by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:

“(4) Covered funds—The term “covered funds”—

“(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), means any funds that are expended or obligated from appropriations made under this Act; and

“(B) for purposes of sections 1522 and 1524, means funds that are expended or obligated by an agency from appropriations made under this or any other Act.”

(2)
in section 1512 of title XV, by adding at the end the following:

changed “(i) Expiration—The requirements in this section shall expire on September December 30, 2013.”

(3)
in section 1523 of title XV, by adding at the end the following:

changed “(d) Expiration—The requirements in this section shall expire on September December 30, 2013.”

(4)
in section 1526 of title XV, by adding at the end the following:

changed “(e) Expiration—The requirements in this section shall expire on September December 30, 2013.”

(5)
in section 1530 of title XV, by striking “September 30, 2013.” and inserting “September 30, 2017.”.

Sec. 9 Limits and transparency for conference and travel spending

added
(a)
added Amendment— Chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5711 the following:

added “5712. Limits and transparency for conference and travel spending

added “(a) Conference transparency and spending limits

added “(1) Public availability of conference materials—Each agency shall post on the public website of that agency detailed information on any presentation made by any employee of that agency at a conference (except to the extent the head of an agency excludes such information for reasons of national security or information described under section 552(b)) including—

added “(A) the prepared text of any verbal presentation made; and

added “(B) any visual, digital, video, or audio materials presented, including photographs, slides, and audio-visual recordings.

added “(2) Limits on amount expended on a conference

added “(A) In general—Except as provided under subparagraph (B), an agency may not expend more than $500,000 to support a single conference.

added “(B) Exception—The head of an agency may waive the limitation under subparagraph (A) for a specific conference after making a determination that the expenditure is justified as the most cost-effective option to achieve a compelling purpose. The head of an agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on any waiver granted under this subparagraph, including the justification for such waiver.

added “(C) Rule of construction—Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to preclude an agency from receiving financial support or other assistance from a private entity to pay or defray the costs of a conference the total cost of which exceeds $500,000.

added “(b) International conference rule—An agency may not pay the travel expenses for more than 50 employees of that agency who are stationed in the United States, for any international conference, unless the Secretary of State determines that attendance for such employees is in the national interest, or the head of the agency determines that attendance for such employees is critical to the agency’s mission. The Secretary of State and the head of an agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on any waiver granted under this subsection, including the justification for such waiver.

added “(c) Reporting on travel and conference expenses required—At the beginning of each quarter of each fiscal year, each agency shall post on the public website of that agency a report on each conference that costs more than $10,000 for which the agency paid travel expenses during the preceding 3 months that includes—

added “(1) the itemized expenses paid by the agency, including travel, lodging, and meal expenses, and any other agency expenditures to otherwise support the conference;

added “(2) the primary sponsor of the conference;

added “(3) the location of the conference;

added “(4) the date of the conference;

added “(5) a brief explanation of how the participation of employees from such agency at the conference advanced the mission of the agency;

added “(6) the title of any employee, or any individual who is not a Federal employee, whose travel expenses or other conference expenses were paid by the agency;

added “(7) the total number of individuals whose travel expenses or other conference expenses were paid by the agency; and

added “(8) in the case of a conference for which that agency was the primary sponsor, a statement that—

added “(A) describes the cost to the agency of selecting the specific conference venue;

added “(B) describes why the location was selected, including a justification for such selection;

added “(C) demonstrates the cost efficiency of the location;

added “(D) provides a cost benefit analysis of holding a conference rather than conducting a teleconference; and

added “(E) describes any financial support or other assistance from a private entity used to pay or defray the costs of the conference, and for each case where such support or assistance was used, the head of the agency shall include a certification that there is no conflict of interest resulting from such support or assistance.

added “(d) Format and publication of reports—Each report posted on the public website under subsection (c) shall—

added “(1) be in a searchable electronic format; and

added “(2) remain on that website for at least 5 years after the date of posting.

added “(e) Definitions—In this section:

added “(1) Agency—The term agency has the meaning given that term under section 5701, but does not include the government of the District of Columbia.

added “(2) Conference—The term conference means a meeting, retreat, seminar, symposium, or event that—

added “(A) is held for consultation, education, discussion, or training; and

added “(B) is not held entirely at a Government facility.

added “(3) International conference—The term international conference means a conference occurring outside the United States attended by representatives of—

added “(A) the Government of the United States; and

added “(B) any foreign government, international organization, or foreign nongovernmental organization.”

(b)
added Technical and conforming amendment— The table of sections for chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 5711 the following:
(c)
added Annual travel expense limits—
(1)
added In general— In the case of each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, an agency (as defined under section 5712(e) of title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)) may not make, or obligate to make, expenditures for travel expenses, in an aggregate amount greater than 70 percent of the aggregate amount of such expenses for fiscal year 2010.
(2)
added Exemptions— The agency may exclude certain travel expenses from the limitation under paragraph (1) only if the agency head determines that inclusion of such expenses would undermine national security, international diplomacy, health and safety inspections, law enforcement, or site visits required for oversight or investigatory purposes.
(3)
added Report to Congress— In each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the head of each agency shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report containing—
(A)
added the justification for any expenses excluded (under paragraph (2)) from the limitation under paragraph (1); and
(B)
added the positive or negative impacts, if any, of the limitation under paragraph (1) on the agency’s mission, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and ability to perform core functions.
(4)
added Identification of travel expenses—
(A)
added Responsibilities— Not later than January 1, 2014, and after consultation with the Administrator of General Services and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall establish guidelines for the determination of what expenses constitute travel expenses for purposes of this subsection. The guidelines shall identify specific expenses, and classes of expenses, that are to be treated as travel expenses.
(B)
added Exemption for military travel— The guidelines required under subparagraph (A) shall exclude military travel expenses in determining what expenses constitute travel expenses. Military travel expenses shall include travel expenses involving military combat, the training or deployment of uniformed military personnel, and such other travel expenses as determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.