The Opportunity Project Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3528 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to carry out a program to facilitate the development of digital products for the public, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 27, 2019 Mr. LIPINSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To direct the Secretary of Commerce to carry out a program to facilitate the development of digital products for the public, 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 Opportunity Project 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The Opportunity Project of the Department 8 of Commerce is based on a process that engages the 9 technology industry to create digital products that 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3528.IH H3528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3528 IH expand economic opportunity for the people of the 1 United States. 2 (2) The Opportunity Project facilitates cross- 3 sector collaboration, makes Federal Government 4 data more usable and accessible, and creates a posi- 5 tive impact for families, communities, and busi- 6 nesses. 7 (3) Since launching in 2016, The Opportunity 8 Project has yielded dozens of new digital products, 9 including products that connect veterans and their 10 families with jobs, connect people experiencing 11 homelessness with services and shelter, and rebuild 12 rural economies. 13 (4) The Opportunity Project provides Federal 14 agencies with new ways to use existing Federal data 15 to solve problems and create innovative products by 16 combining the skills and knowledge of Federal agen- 17 cy personnel, end users, and technology experts. 18 (5) The process used by The Opportunity 19 Project can be adopted by any Federal agency or 20 non-Federal entity interested in transforming data 21 into digital products for the public. 22 (6) The Opportunity Project is consistent with 23 the President’s cross-agency priority goal of 24 leveraging data as a strategic asset. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3528.IH H3528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3528 IH SEC. 3. THE OPPORTUNITY PROJECT. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 2 program, to be known as ‘‘The Opportunity Project’’, to 3 facilitate the development of digital products for the public 4 through collaboration between Federal agency personnel, 5 end users, and technology experts. 6 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out The Oppor- 7 tunity Project, the Secretary shall— 8 (1) provide regularly updated guidance on pri- 9 orities for digital product development and objectives 10 to be accomplished by the products developed; and 11 (2) facilitate— 12 (A) the identification of data that may be 13 useful in the development of such products; 14 (B) the formation of teams of Federal 15 agency personnel, end users, and technology ex- 16 perts to develop such products; and 17 (C) a process that leads the teams through 18 the development of a digital product or a min- 19 imum viable technology product as a main com- 20 ponent of the work associated with The Oppor- 21 tunity Project as a program. 22 (c) SOURCES OF DATA.—Data identified under sub- 23 section (b)(2)(A) may include the data of Federal agen- 24 cies, States, political subdivisions of States, and private- 25 sector entities. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3528.IH H3528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3528 IH (d) TOPIC SUBMISSIONS.—The Secretary shall estab- 1 lish a process for a Federal agency to submit for consider- 2 ation under The Opportunity Project a priority for digital 3 product development or an objective to be accomplished 4 by a digital product developed. 5 (e) AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES 6 AND STATES.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 8 into an agreement (written, verbal, or informal) with 9 a Federal agency, State, or political subdivision of a 10 State to— 11 (A) provide for participation by employees 12 of such agency, State, or political subdivision in 13 digital product development conducted through 14 The Opportunity Project; or 15 (B) make available employees of the De- 16 partment of Commerce to assist in teaching and 17 implementing the processes of The Opportunity 18 Project for use in digital product development 19 by such agency, State, or political subdivision. 20 (2) REIMBURSEMENT.—An agreement entered 21 into under paragraph (1) may provide for the reim- 22 bursement to the Secretary for the services provided 23 by employees of the Bureau of the Census under 24 such agreement, as the Secretary and the Federal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3528.IH H3528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3528 IH agency, State, or political subdivision of a State (as 1 the case may be) deems appropriate. 2 (f) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—The Secretary shall— 3 (1) develop metrics to track the performance of 4 The Opportunity Project and the resulting products; 5 and 6 (2) collect data to enable ongoing assessment of 7 The Opportunity Project. 8 (g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 10 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 11 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 12 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- 13 tation of the Senate a report on the performance of The 14 Opportunity Project, including an assessment of the effec- 15 tiveness of The Opportunity Project in— 16 (1) increasing the usability and accessibility of 17 Federal data by the public; and 18 (2) increasing the use of Federal data by the 19 public. 20 (h) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the 21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 22 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 23 assessing the effectiveness of The Opportunity Project 24 in— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3528.IH H3528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3528 IH (1) increasing the usability and accessibility of 1 Federal data by the public; 2 (2) increasing the use of Federal data by the 3 public; and 4 (3) the impact of the resulting products on 5 members of the public. 6 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 8 agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency’’ 9 in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 10 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of Commerce. 12 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 13 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 14 each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 15 United States, and each federally recognized Indian 16 Tribe. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3528.IH H3528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS