Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act

II Calendar No. 154 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 736 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 18, 2019 Received; read twice and placed on the calendar AN ACT To require the Director of the Government Publishing Office to establish and maintain an online portal 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to Congression- 4 ally Mandated Reports Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED REPORT.— 8 The term ‘‘congressionally mandated report’’— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 736 PCS (A) means a report that is required by 1 statute to be submitted to either House of Con- 2 gress or any committee of Congress or sub- 3 committee thereof; and 4 (B) does not include a report required 5 under part B of subtitle II of title 36, United 6 States Code. 7 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 8 the Director of the Government Publishing Office. 9 (3) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 10 agency’’ has the meaning given that term under sec- 11 tion 102 of title 40, United States Code, but does 12 not include the Government Accountability Office. 13 (4) OPEN FORMAT.—The term ‘‘open format’’ 14 means a file format for storing digital data based on 15 an underlying open standard that— 16 (A) is not encumbered by any restrictions 17 that would impede reuse; and 18 (B) is based on an underlying open data 19 standard that is maintained by a standards or- 20 ganization. 21 (5) REPORTS ONLINE PORTAL.—The term ‘‘re- 22 ports online portal’’ means the online portal estab- 23 lished under section (3)(a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 736 PCS SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ONLINE PORTAL FOR CON- 1 GRESSIONALLY MANDATED REPORTS. 2 (a) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH ONLINE POR- 3 TAL.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 6 establish and maintain an online portal accessible by 7 the public that allows the public to obtain electronic 8 copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one 9 place. The Director may publish other reports on the 10 online portal. 11 (2) EXISTING FUNCTIONALITY.—To the extent 12 possible, the Director shall meet the requirements 13 under paragraph (1) by using existing online portals 14 and functionality under the authority of the Direc- 15 tor. 16 (3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this Act, 17 the Director shall consult with the Clerk of the 18 House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Sen- 19 ate, and the Librarian of Congress regarding the re- 20 quirements for and maintenance of congressionally 21 mandated reports on the reports online portal. 22 (b) CONTENT AND FUNCTION.—The Director shall 23 ensure that the reports online portal includes the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 736 PCS (1) Subject to subsection (c), with respect to 1 each congressionally mandated report, each of the 2 following: 3 (A) A citation to the statute requiring the 4 report. 5 (B) An electronic copy of the report, in- 6 cluding any transmittal letter associated with 7 the report, in an open format that is platform 8 independent and that is available to the public 9 without restrictions, including restrictions that 10 would impede the re-use of the information in 11 the report. 12 (C) The ability to retrieve a report, to the 13 extent practicable, through searches based on 14 each, and any combination, of the following: 15 (i) The title of the report. 16 (ii) The reporting Federal agency. 17 (iii) The date of publication. 18 (iv) Each congressional committee or 19 subcommittee receiving the report, if appli- 20 cable. 21 (v) The statute requiring the report. 22 (vi) Subject tags. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 736 PCS (vii) A unique alphanumeric identifier 1 for the report that is consistent across re- 2 port editions. 3 (viii) The serial number, Super- 4 intendent of Documents number, or other 5 identification number for the report, if ap- 6 plicable. 7 (ix) Key words. 8 (x) Full text search. 9 (xi) Any other relevant information 10 specified by the Director. 11 (D) The date on which the report was re- 12 quired to be submitted, and on which the report 13 was submitted, to the reports online portal. 14 (E) To the extent practicable, a permanent 15 means of accessing the report electronically. 16 (2) A means for bulk download of all congres- 17 sionally mandated reports. 18 (3) A means for downloading individual reports 19 as the result of a search. 20 (4) An electronic means for the head of each 21 Federal agency to submit to the reports online por- 22 tal each congressionally mandated report of the 23 agency, as required by section 4. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 736 PCS (5) In tabular form, a list of all congressionally 1 mandated reports that can be searched, sorted, and 2 downloaded by— 3 (A) reports submitted within the required 4 time; 5 (B) reports submitted after the date on 6 which such reports were required to be sub- 7 mitted; and 8 (C) reports not submitted. 9 (c) NONCOMPLIANCE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 10 (1) REPORTS NOT SUBMITTED.—If a Federal 11 agency does not submit a congressionally mandated 12 report to the Director, the Director shall to the ex- 13 tent practicable— 14 (A) include on the reports online portal— 15 (i) the information required under 16 clauses (i), (ii), (iv), and (v) of subsection 17 (b)(1)(C); and 18 (ii) the date on which the report was 19 required to be submitted; and 20 (B) include the congressionally mandated 21 report on the list described in subsection 22 (b)(5)(C). 23 (2) REPORTS NOT IN OPEN FORMAT.—If a Fed- 24 eral agency submits a congressionally mandated re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 736 PCS port that is not in an open format, the Director shall 1 include the congressionally mandated report in an- 2 other format on the reports online portal. 3 (d) DEADLINE.—The Director shall ensure that in- 4 formation required to be published on the online portal 5 under this Act with respect to a congressionally mandated 6 report or information required under subsection (c) is pub- 7 lished— 8 (1) not later than 30 calendar days after the in- 9 formation is received from the Federal agency in- 10 volved; or 11 (2) in the case of information required under 12 subsection (c), not later than 30 calendar days after 13 the deadline under this Act for the Federal agency 14 involved to submit information with respect to the 15 congressionally mandated report involved. 16 (e) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN REPORTS.— 17 (1) EXCEPTION DESCRIBED.—A congressionally 18 mandated report which is required by statute to be 19 submitted to a committee of Congress or a sub- 20 committee thereof, including any transmittal letter 21 associated with the report, shall not be submitted to 22 or published on the reports online portal if the chair 23 of a committee or subcommittee to which the report 24 is submitted notifies the Director in writing that the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 736 PCS report is to be withheld from submission and publi- 1 cation under this Act. 2 (2) NOTICE ON PORTAL.—If a report is with- 3 held from submission to or publication on the re- 4 ports online portal under paragraph (1), the Direc- 5 tor shall post on the portal— 6 (A) a statement that the report is withheld 7 at the request of a committee or subcommittee 8 involved; and 9 (B) the written notification specified in 10 paragraph (1). 11 (f) FREE ACCESS.—The Director may not charge a 12 fee, require registration, or impose any other limitation 13 in exchange for access to the reports online portal. 14 (g) UPGRADE CAPABILITY.—The reports online por- 15 tal shall be enhanced and updated as necessary to carry 16 out the purposes of this Act. 17 SEC. 4. FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES. 18 (a) SUBMISSION OF ELECTRONIC COPIES OF RE- 19 PORTS.—Not earlier than 30 calendar days or later than 20 45 calendar days after the date on which a congressionally 21 mandated report is submitted to either House of Congress 22 or to any committee of Congress or subcommittee thereof, 23 the head of the Federal agency submitting the congres- 24 sionally mandated report shall submit to the Director the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 736 PCS information required under subparagraphs (A) through 1 (D) of section 3(b)(1) with respect to the congressionally 2 mandated report. Nothing in this Act shall relieve a Fed- 3 eral agency of any other requirement to publish the con- 4 gressionally mandated report on the online portal of the 5 Federal agency or otherwise submit the congressionally 6 mandated report to Congress or specific committees of 7 Congress, or subcommittees thereof. 8 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 240 calendar days 9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 10 the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation 11 with the Director, shall issue guidance to agencies on the 12 implementation of this Act. 13 (c) STRUCTURE OF SUBMITTED REPORT DATA.— 14 The head of each Federal agency shall ensure that each 15 congressionally mandated report submitted to the Director 16 complies with the open format criteria established by the 17 Director in the guidance issued under subsection (b). 18 (d) POINT OF CONTACT.—The head of each Federal 19 agency shall designate a point of contact for congression- 20 ally mandated reports. 21 SEC. 5. CHANGING OR REMOVING REPORTS. 22 (a) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO CHANGE OR RE- 23 MOVE REPORTS.—Except as provided in subsection (b), 24 the head of the Federal agency concerned may change or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 736 PCS remove a congressionally mandated report submitted to be 1 published on the reports online portal only if— 2 (1) the head of the Federal agency consults 3 with each committee of Congress or subcommittee 4 thereof to which the report is required to be sub- 5 mitted (or, in the case of a report which is not re- 6 quired to be submitted to a particular committee of 7 Congress or subcommittee thereof, to each com- 8 mittee with jurisdiction over the agency, as deter- 9 mined by the head of the agency in consultation with 10 the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 11 President pro tempore of the Senate) prior to chang- 12 ing or removing the report; and 13 (2) a joint resolution is enacted to authorize the 14 change in or removal of the report. 15 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 16 the head of the Federal agency concerned— 17 (1) may make technical changes to a report 18 submitted to or published on the online portal; and 19 (2) may remove a report from the online portal 20 if the report was submitted to or published on the 21 online portal in error. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 736 PCS SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMA- 1 TION ACT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be con- 3 strued to— 4 (1) require the disclosure of information, 5 records, or reports that are exempt from public dis- 6 closure under section 552 of title 5, United States 7 Code; or 8 (2) impose any affirmative duty on the Director 9 to review congressionally mandated reports sub- 10 mitted for publication to the reports online portal 11 for the purpose of identifying and redacting such in- 12 formation or records. 13 (b) REDACTION OF INFORMATION.—The head of a 14 Federal agency may redact information required to be dis- 15 closed under this Act if the information would be properly 16 withheld from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, 17 United States Code, and shall— 18 (1) redact information required to be disclosed 19 under this Act if disclosure of such information is 20 prohibited by law; 21 (2) redact information being withheld under 22 this subsection prior to submitting the information 23 to the Director; 24 (3) redact only such information properly with- 25 held under this subsection from the submission of 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 736 PCS information or from any congressionally mandated 1 report submitted under this Act; 2 (4) identify where any such redaction is made 3 in the submission or report; and 4 (5) identify the exemption under which each 5 such redaction is made. 6 SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION. 7 (a) REPORTS SUBMITTED TO CONGRESS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall apply with re- 9 spect to any congressionally mandated report 10 which— 11 (A) is required by statute to be submitted 12 to the House of Representatives or Senate at 13 any time before, on, or after the date of the en- 14 actment of this Act; or 15 (B) is included by the Clerk of the House 16 of Representatives or the Secretary of the Sen- 17 ate (as the case may be) on the list of reports 18 received by the House of Representatives or 19 Senate (as the case may be) at any time before 20 the date of the enactment of this Act. 21 (2) TRANSITION RULE FOR PREVIOUSLY SUB- 22 MITTED REPORTS.—The Director shall ensure that 23 any congressionally mandated report described in 24 paragraph (1) which was required to be submitted to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:43 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H736.PCS H736 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 HR 736 PCS Congress by a s [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]