Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Improving Intergovernmental Cooperation and Reducing Duplication Act of 2022”.
Improving Intergovernmental Cooperation and Reducing Duplication Act of 2022
A BILL
To improve intergovernmental cooperation and reduce duplicative spending, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
It remains the policy of the United States Government to rely on the private sector enterprise system to provide services reasonably and quickly through ordinary business channels.
However, over the past half century, the substantial investment in unique, scalable, purposeful, and well-functioning government products and services, including those reliant on the private sector for support, has grown substantially and contributed to the successful delivery of important benefits, services, and programs to taxpayers while reducing waste, fraud, and abuse.
While the United States remains, as it always shall, a Federal system, when Congress makes sustained and significant investments in inherently governmental functions, Congress must seek to ensure that arbitrary restrictions are not in place that encourage other instances of waste, fraud, and abuse by allowing government agencies at all levels to create bespoke, independent systems, studies, and development projects in an independent and uncoordinated manner.
In respecting the leadership and ingenuity of the private sector, Congress must not allow agencies at various levels of government to operate in completely independent silos, especially when Federal benefits and programs are being administered at the State, local, territorial, and Tribal levels, which, in doing so, requires far greater taxpayer resources to be spent developing and maintaining systems, programs, projects, and other services that can be better delivered and managed cooperatively between jurisdictions.
State, local, territorial, and Tribal entities should have the option, without being coerced or required, to adopt and use important information, infrastructure, capabilities, and services from the Federal Government if such offerings are made to benefit taxpayers and the constituents served by those offerings.
Sec. 3 Definitions
In this Act:
Director— The term Director means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Executive agency— The term executive agency has the meaning given the term in section 102 of title 31, United States Code.
Territorial government— The term territorial government has the meaning given the term in section 5 of PROMESA (48 U.S.C. 2104).
Tribal government— The term Tribal government means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, component band, or component reservation, individually identified (including parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the date of enactment of this paragraph pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).
Sec. 4 Specialized or technical services
Section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, is amended—
in subsection (a)—
by inserting “information technology products and platforms,” after “documents,”;
by inserting “or supporting” after “similar”; and
by striking the second sentence;
in subsection (b)—
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “State or local” and inserting “State, local, territorial, or Tribal”;
by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
“(1) a request is made by a representative of the State, local, territorial or Tribal government; and”
in paragraph (2), by striking “State or local” and inserting “State, local, territorial, or Tribal”;
by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (f);
by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
“(d) When providing services prescribed by the President under this section to a State, local, territorial, or Tribal government, the head of an executive agency shall take all available necessary and appropriate steps to increase cooperation and reduce administrative burden between the State, local, territorial, or Tribal government requesting the service and the executive agency.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(g) In this section—
“(1) the term territorial government has the meaning given the term in section 5 of PROMESA (48 U.S.C. 2104); and
“(2) the term Tribal government means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, component band, or component reservation, individually identified (including parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the date of enactment of this paragraph pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).”
Sec. 5 Strategic plan
In general— Not later than 150 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, shall publish a strategic plan to improve cooperation between and support greater harmonization, effectiveness, and the reduction of burdens and costs between the Federal Government and State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments.
Contents— The plan required under subsection (a)—
shall include coordination with and input from State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments and other relevant stakeholders;
shall include, at a minimum, actions and activities the Federal Government shall take to strengthen and improve the delivery of Federal services, benefits, and programs administered by State and local governments, including specific actions to increase harmonization between the Federal Government and State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments through increased availability and use of specialized or technical services provided by executive agencies pursuant to section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by section 4 of this Act; and
may include additional elements, data, plans, and actions, and may be updated from time to time, as the Director and the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs determine necessary.
Sec. 6 Office of Management and Budget guidance
Guidance required by the director—
In general— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue guidance implementing section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by section 4 of this Act.
Contents— The guidance issued under paragraph (1)—
may not preclude any executive agency offering specialized services pursuant to section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by section 4 of this Act, from utilizing employees or hiring employees to support the development and offering of specialized or technical services identified by the executive agency under such section 6505;
shall set requirements for executive agencies to routinely identify, scope, and, where approved, provide specialized or technical services to State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments;
shall ensure that executive agencies are not unreasonably restricted from offering specialized or technical services to State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments, especially when doing so would improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and successful delivery of Federal programs or benefits to United States citizens; and
shall include any other measures identified by the Director to implement section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by section 4 of this Act.
Rescission of current guidance by the director— Upon issuance of the guidance required by subsection (a), the Director shall rescind Office of Management and Budget Circular A–97, dated August 29, 1969.
Sec. 7 Report
In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter, the Director, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives a report on actions and activities taken by executive agencies pursuant to section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by section 4 of this Act.
Contents— The report required under subsection (a) shall include—
a detailed list of the types of specialized or technical services provided by each executive agency under section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by section 4 of this Act, including the costs of each service provided to each State, local, territorial, and Tribal government;
measures of State, local, territorial, and Tribal government satisfaction, including an assessment of any such measures, with the specialized or technical services provided by executive agencies under such section 6505, including any cost savings to taxpayers;
in coordination with State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments, recommendations for the continued improvement of cooperation between the Federal Government and State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments, including legislative recommendations where appropriate, to reduce unnecessary duplication and costs, improve service delivery, and strengthen accountability and oversight of Federal programs, services, and benefits primarily delivered by State, local, territorial, or Tribal governments; and
other information, assessments, and matters that the Director and the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs may determine necessary.
Format— The report required under subsection (a) may be published in a machine readable format on a website chosen by the Director.
Sec. 8 Authorities of the Administrator of General Services
In general— Subchapter III of chapter III of subtitle I of title 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“324. Support for State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments
“(a) Definitions—In this section—
“(1) the term local government and State have the meanings given those terms in section 6501 of title 31;
“(2) the term territorial government has the meaning given the term in section 5 of PROMESA (48 U.S.C. 2104); and
“(3) the term Tribal government means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, component band, or component reservation, individually identified (including parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the date of enactment of this paragraph pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).
“(b) Authority To provide services to State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments—In addition to any authorities provided to the Administrator in this title or any other title of the United States Code, the Administrator may provide specialized or technical services described in section 6505 of title 31 on a reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis to a State, local, territorial, or Tribal government.
“(c) Use of funds—The Administrator is authorized to use monies deposited into or otherwise made available to funds authorized under this chapter to provide the services described in subsection (b).
“(d) Use of authority—The authorities provided under this section shall be in addition to any other authorities provided to the Administrator by law.”
Technical and conforming amendment— The table of sections for title 40, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 323 the following: