Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act

II Calendar No. 67 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 195 [Report No. 116–31] To require the Director of the Government Publishing Office to establish and maintain a website accessible to the public that allows the public to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one place, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 19, 2019 Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs APRIL 10, 2019 Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment [Insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To require the Director of the Government Publishing Office to establish and maintain a website accessible to the public that allows the public to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one place, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 195 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to Congression- 2 ally Mandated Reports Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED REPORT.— 6 The term ‘‘congressionally mandated report’’— 7 (A) means a report that is required to be 8 submitted to either House of Congress or any 9 committee of Congress, or subcommittee there- 10 of, by a statute, resolution, or conference report 11 that accompanies legislation enacted into law; 12 and 13 (B) does not include a report required 14 under part B of subtitle II of title 36, United 15 States Code. 16 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 17 the Director of the Government Publishing Office. 18 (3) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 19 agency’’ has the meaning given that term under sec- 20 tion 102 of title 40, United States Code, but does 21 not include the Government Accountability Office. 22 (4) OPEN FORMAT.—The term ‘‘open format’’ 23 means a file format for storing digital data based on 24 an underlying open standard that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 195 RS (A) is not encumbered by any restrictions 1 that would impede reuse; and 2 (B) is based on an underlying open data 3 standard that is maintained by a standards or- 4 ganization. 5 (5) REPORTS WEBSITE.—The term ‘‘reports 6 website’’ means the website established under section 7 3(a). 8 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF WEBSITE FOR CONGRESSION- 9 ALLY MANDATED REPORTS. 10 (a) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH WEBSITE.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 13 establish and maintain a website accessible by the 14 public that allows the public to obtain electronic cop- 15 ies of all congressionally mandated reports in one 16 place. The Director may publish other reports on the 17 website. 18 (2) EXISTING FUNCTIONALITY.—To the extent 19 possible, the Director shall meet the requirements 20 under paragraph (1) by using existing websites and 21 functionality under the authority of the Director. 22 (3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this Act, 23 the Director shall consult with the Clerk of the 24 House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Sen- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 195 RS ate, and the Librarian of Congress regarding the re- 1 quirements for and maintenance of congressionally 2 mandated reports on the reports website. 3 (b) CONTENT AND FUNCTION.—The Director shall 4 ensure that the reports website includes the following: 5 (1) Subject to subsection (c), with respect to 6 each congressionally mandated report, each of the 7 following: 8 (A) A citation to the statute, conference 9 report, or resolution requiring the report. 10 (B) An electronic copy of the report, in- 11 cluding any transmittal letter associated with 12 the report, in an open format that is platform 13 independent and that is available to the public 14 without restrictions, including restrictions that 15 would impede the re-use of the information in 16 the report. 17 (C) The ability to retrieve a report, to the 18 extent practicable, through searches based on 19 each, and any combination, of the following: 20 (i) The title of the report. 21 (ii) The reporting Federal agency. 22 (iii) The date of publication. 23 (iv) Each congressional committee re- 24 ceiving the report, if applicable. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 195 RS (v) The statute, resolution, or con- 1 ference report requiring the report. 2 (vi) Subject tags. 3 (vii) A unique alphanumeric identifier 4 for the report that is consistent across re- 5 port editions. 6 (viii) The serial number, Super- 7 intendent of Documents number, or other 8 identification number for the report, if ap- 9 plicable. 10 (ix) Key words. 11 (x) Full text search. 12 (xi) Any other relevant information 13 specified by the Director. 14 (D) The date on which the report was re- 15 quired to be submitted, and on which the report 16 was submitted, to the reports website. 17 (E) Access to the report not later than 30 18 calendar days after its submission to Congress. 19 (F) To the extent practicable, a permanent 20 means of accessing the report electronically. 21 (2) A means for bulk download of all congres- 22 sionally mandated reports. 23 (3) A means for downloading individual reports 24 as the result of a search. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 195 RS (4) An electronic means for the head of each 1 Federal agency to submit to the reports website each 2 congressionally mandated report of the agency, as 3 required by section 4. 4 (5) In tabular form, a list of all congressionally 5 mandated reports that can be searched, sorted, and 6 downloaded by— 7 (A) reports submitted within the required 8 time; 9 (B) reports submitted after the date on 10 which such reports were required to be sub- 11 mitted; and 12 (C) reports not submitted. 13 (c) NONCOMPLIANCE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 14 (1) REPORTS NOT SUBMITTED.—If a Federal 15 agency does not submit a congressionally mandated 16 report to the Director, the Director shall to the ex- 17 tent practicable— 18 (A) include on the reports website— 19 (i) the information required under 20 clauses (i), (ii), (iv), and (v) of subsection 21 (b)(1)(C); and 22 (ii) the date on which the report was 23 required to be submitted; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 195 RS (B) include the congressionally mandated 1 report on the list described in subsection 2 (b)(5)(C). 3 (2) REPORTS NOT IN OPEN FORMAT.—If a Fed- 4 eral agency submits a congressionally mandated re- 5 port that is not in an open format, the Director shall 6 include the congressionally mandated report in an- 7 other format on the reports website. 8 (d) FREE ACCESS.—The Director may not charge a 9 fee, require registration, or impose any other limitation 10 in exchange for access to the reports website. 11 (e) UPGRADE CAPABILITY.—The reports website 12 shall be enhanced and updated as necessary to carry out 13 the purposes of this Act. 14 SEC. 4. FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES. 15 (a) SUBMISSION OF ELECTRONIC COPIES OF RE- 16 PORTS.—Concurrently with the submission to Congress of 17 each congressionally mandated report, the head of the 18 Federal agency submitting the congressionally mandated 19 report shall submit to the Director the information re- 20 quired under subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 21 3(b)(1) with respect to the congressionally mandated re- 22 port. Nothing in this Act shall relieve a Federal agency 23 of any other requirement to publish the congressionally 24 mandated report on the website of the Federal agency or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 195 RS otherwise submit the congressionally mandated report to 1 Congress or specific committees of Congress, or sub- 2 committees thereof. 3 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 240 days after the 4 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office 5 of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Di- 6 rector, shall issue guidance to agencies on the implementa- 7 tion of this Act. 8 (c) STRUCTURE OF SUBMITTED REPORT DATA.— 9 The head of each Federal agency shall ensure that each 10 congressionally mandated report submitted to the Director 11 complies with the open format criteria established by the 12 Director in the guidance issued under subsection (b). 13 (d) POINT OF CONTACT.—The head of each Federal 14 agency shall designate a point of contact for congression- 15 ally mandated reports. 16 (e) LIST OF REPORTS.—The Librarian of Congress, 17 in consultation with the Clerk of the House of Representa- 18 tives, shall submit to the Director a list of congressionally 19 mandated reports that are required to be submitted during 20 a year as soon as is practicable, including, whenever fea- 21 sible, on rolling basis throughout the year, but in any 22 event not later than April 1 of the following year, which 23 shall— 24 (1) be provided in an open format; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 195 RS (2) include the information required under 1 clauses (i), (ii), (iv), and (v) of section 3(b)(1)(C) 2 for each report; 3 (3) include the frequency of the report; 4 (4) include a unique alphanumeric identifier for 5 the report that is consistent across report editions; 6 (5) include the date on which each report is re- 7 quired to be submitted; and 8 (6) be updated and provided to the Director, as 9 necessary. 10 SEC. 5. REMOVING AND ALTERING REPORTS. 11 A report submitted to be published to the reports 12 website may only be changed or removed, with the excep- 13 tion of technical changes, by the head of the Federal agen- 14 cy concerned if— 15 (1) the head of the Federal agency consults 16 with each congressional committee to which the re- 17 port is submitted; and 18 (2) Congress enacts a joint resolution author- 19 izing the changing or removal of the report. 20 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMA- 21 TION ACT. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be con- 23 strued to require the disclosure of information or records 24 that are exempt from public disclosure under section 552 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 195 RS of title 5, United States Code, or to impose any affirmative 1 duty on the Director to review congressionally mandated 2 reports submitted for publication to the reports website 3 for the purpose of identifying and redacting such informa- 4 tion or records. 5 (b) REDACTION OF REPORT.—With respect to each 6 congressionally mandated report, the head of each relevant 7 Federal agency— 8 (1) shall redact any information that may not 9 be publicly released under section 552(b) of title 5, 10 United States Code, before submission for publica- 11 tion on the reports website; and 12 (2) shall— 13 (A) redact only such information from the 14 report; 15 (B) identify where any such redaction is 16 made in the report; and 17 (C) identify the exemption under which 18 each such redaction is made. 19 (c) WITHHOLDING INFORMATION.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Federal agency— 21 (A) may withhold information otherwise re- 22 quired to be disclosed under this Act only if— 23 (i) the Federal agency reasonably 24 foresees that disclosure would harm an in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 195 RS terest protected by an exemption described 1 in section 552(b) of title 5, United States 2 Code; or 3 (ii) disclosure is prohibited by law; 4 and 5 (B) shall— 6 (i) consider whether partial disclosure 7 of information otherwise required to be dis- 8 closed under this Act is possible whenever 9 the Federal agency determines that a full 10 disclosure of the information is not pos- 11 sible; and 12 (ii) take reasonable steps necessary to 13 segregate and release nonexempt informa- 14 tion. 15 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 16 subsection requires disclosure of information that is 17 otherwise prohibited from disclosure by law, or oth- 18 erwise exempted from disclosure under section 19 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code. 20 SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION. 21 Except as provided in section 4(b), this Act shall be 22 implemented not later than 1 year after the date of enact- 23 ment of this Act and shall apply with respect to congres- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 195 RS sionally mandated reports submitted to Congress on or 1 after the date that is 1 year after such date of enactment. 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 67 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 195 [Report No. 116–31] A BILL To require the Director of the Government Pub- lishing Office to establish and maintain a website accessible to the public that allows the public to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one place, and for other purposes. APRIL 10, 2019 Reported with an amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S195.RS S195 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS