[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8597 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8597
To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, the Duncan Hunter National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, the
Financial Stability Act of 2010, and the Federal Funding Accountability
and Transparency Act of 2006 to improve access to information in the
legislative and executive branches of the Government, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 3, 2024
Mr. Quigley (for himself and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability,
and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, the
Judiciary, Ethics, Financial Services, and Rules, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, the Duncan Hunter National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, the
Financial Stability Act of 2010, and the Federal Funding Accountability
and Transparency Act of 2006 to improve access to information in the
legislative and executive branches of the Government, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Transparency in Government Act of
2024''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I--IMPROVING ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND
CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES
Sec. 101. Greater disclosure and electronic filing of personal
financial information.
Sec. 102. Greater disclosure of travel reports.
Sec. 103. Greater disclosure of gift reports.
Sec. 104. Greater disclosure of earmarks.
Sec. 105. GAO study and report on effects of written requests by
members of Congress for funding of
projects.
TITLE II--ENHANCING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE WORK OF CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEES, LEGISLATION, AND VOTES
Sec. 201. Increased transparency of committee work.
Sec. 202. Increased transparency of recorded votes.
Sec. 203. Electronic format.
Sec. 205. Use of data standards by congressional support offices.
Sec. 206. Inclusion of digital version of funding tables in reports
accompanying appropriations bills.
Sec. 207. Select committee on the modernization of congress.
Sec. 208. Expanded information in house staff directory.
TITLE III--EXPANDING ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE REPORTS
ON LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WEBSITE
Sec. 301. Inclusion of reports from archive.
Sec. 302. Availability of reports in structured format.
Sec. 303. Report on making other materials available.
Sec. 304. Effective date.
TITLE IV--LOBBYING DISCLOSURE
Sec. 401. Short title.
Sec. 402. Modifications to enforcement.
Sec. 403. Definition of lobbyist.
Sec. 404. Expedited online registration of lobbyists; thresholds for
certain organizations whose employees are
lobbyists.
Sec. 405. Disclosure of political contributions.
Sec. 406. Identification numbers for lobbyists.
Sec. 407. Ethics training for lobbyists.
Sec. 408. Repeal of exemption of reporting lobbying contacts reported
under Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Sec. 409. Repeal of use of estimates based on tax reporting system.
TITLE V--TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL AWARDS
Sec. 501. Improving application programming interface and website data
elements.
Sec. 502. Improving data quality.
Sec. 503. Requirements relating to reporting of award data.
Sec. 504. Recipient performance transparency.
Sec. 505. Improvement of responsibility/qualification information.
Sec. 506. Federal contractor compliance.
Sec. 507. Improving access to information disclosed on lobbying
activities.
Sec. 508. Inclusion of narratives on USASpending.gov.
Sec. 509. Suspension and debarment database.
TITLE VI--EXECUTIVE BRANCH TRANSPARENCY
Subtitle A--Public Availability of Information
Sec. 601. Agency defined.
Sec. 602. Requirement for disclosure of Federal sponsorship of all
Federal advertising or other
communications.
Sec. 603. Improving access to influential executive branch official's
visitor access records.
Sec. 604. Improving rulemaking disclosure for the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs.
Sec. 605. Improving registration information from agents of foreign
principals.
Sec. 606. Government-wide entity identifier.
Sec. 607. Grants transparency requirements.
Subtitle B--Publication of Opinions of Office of Legal Counsel
Sec. 611. Short title.
Sec. 612. Schedule of publication for final OLC opinions.
Sec. 613. Exceptions and limitation on public availability of final OLC
opinions.
Sec. 614. Method of publication.
Sec. 615. Index of opinions.
Sec. 616. Private right of action.
Sec. 617. Severability.
Sec. 618. Definitions.
Subtitle C--Contempt of Congress Procedures and Enforcement
Sec. 621. Availability of civil action to enforce House of
Representatives subpoenas.
Sec. 622. Alternate procedures for enforcement of criminal contempt of
Congress.
Sec. 623. Increase in penalty for contempt of Congress.
Sec. 624. Authority of United States Capitol Police to enforce
citations.
Sec. 625. Collection of penalties imposed by the House of
Representatives on persons cited for
contempt of House.
Sec. 626. No effect of expiration of Congress on pending actions.
Subtitle D--Promoting Accountability and Security in Transitions
Sec. 631. Short title.
Sec. 632. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 633. Definitions.
Sec. 634. Management and custody of Presidential records.
Sec. 635. Restrictions on access to Presidential records.
Sec. 636. Exceptions to restricted access.
Sec. 637. Regulations.
Sec. 638. Disclosure requirement for official business conducted using
non-official electronic messaging accounts.
Sec. 639. Presidential Transition Act of 1963.
Sec. 640. Former Presidents.
Sec. 641. Presidential archival depository.
TITLE VII--STRENGTHENING THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
Sec. 701. Digital access to records made available under the Freedom of
Information Act.
Sec. 702. Freedom of Information Act Amendments.
Sec. 703. Other matters.
TITLE VIII--IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY WITHIN THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
Sec. 801. Televising Supreme Court proceedings.
Sec. 802. Audio recording of Supreme Court proceedings.
Sec. 803. Availability on the internet of financial disclosure reports
of judicial officers.
Sec. 804. GAO audit of pacer.
Sec. 805. Electronic court records reform.
TITLE IX--ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 901. Report by the Government Accountability Office.
TITLE X--MISCELLANEOUS
Sec. 1001. Transfer of certain records to archivist of United States.
Sec. 1002. Data standards.
TITLE I--IMPROVING ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND
CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES
SEC. 101. GREATER DISCLOSURE AND ELECTRONIC FILING OF PERSONAL
FINANCIAL INFORMATION.
(a) Additional Financial Disclosure Requirements.--(1) Section
102(a)(1)(B) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.
102(a)(1)(B)) is amended in clause (iv) by striking ``$15,000'' and
inserting ``$25,000'' and by striking clauses (v) through (ix) and
inserting the following new clauses:
``(v) greater than $25,000 but not more
than $100,000, rounded to the nearest $10,000,
``(vi) greater than $100,000 but not more
than $1,000,000, rounded to the nearest
$100,000, or
``(vii) greater than $1,000,000, rounded to
the nearest $1,000,000.''.
(2) Section 102(d)(1) of such Act (5 U.S.C. App. 102(d)(1)) is
amended by striking ``(3), (4), (5), and (8)'' and inserting ``(5) and
(8)''.
(3) Section 102(d) of such Act (5 U.S.C. App. 102(d)) is amended by
redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3) and by inserting after
paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:
``(2) The categories for reporting the amount or value of
the items covered in paragraphs (3) or (4) of subsection (a)
are as follows:
``(A) Not more than $15,000.
``(B) Greater than $15,000 but not more than
$25,000.
``(C) Greater than $25,000 but not more than
$100,000, rounded to the nearest $10,000.
``(D) Greater than $100,000 but not more than
$1,000,000, rounded to the nearest $100,000.
``(E) Greater than $1,000,000, rounded to the
nearest $1,000,000.''.
(b) More Frequent Disclosure of Financial Transactions Involving
Large Sums of Money.--
(1) Section 101 of such Act (5 U.S.C. App. 101) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(j) In addition to any other report required to be filed by a
Member of Congress or officer or employee of the Congress, each such
individual is required to file a quarterly report on April 30, July 30,
October 30, and January 30 of each year covering the preceding calendar
quarter if that individual (or the spouse or any dependent child of
that individual) purchased, sold, or exchanged any property described
in subsection (a)(5) valued at not less than $250,000 during that
calendar quarter. For any such transaction of not less than $250,000,
such report shall contain all of the information required under
subsection (a)(5).''.
(2)(A) Clause 1 of rule XXVI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is amended by inserting ``(a)'' after ``1.''
and by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(b) If any report is filed with the Clerk for a calendar quarter
pursuant to section 101(i) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the
Clerk shall compile all such reports sent to the Clerk by Members and
have them printed as a House document, which shall be made available to
the public, as soon as practicable.
``(c) Each individual required to file a report with the Clerk
under title I under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 shall file and
maintain such report in electronic form.''.
(B) Comparable language to be added by the Senate.
(c) Availability on the Internet of Reports Filed Under This Title
With the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate.--Section
103 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 103) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(m) The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary
of the Senate shall each make available any report filed with them
under this title (whether the report is filed in paper or electronic
form) within 48 hours of the applicable submission deadline on the
website of the Clerk or the Secretary, as applicable, in a searchable,
sortable, downloadable, machine-readable format.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to reports filed for calendar years or calendar quarters
beginning after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 102. GREATER DISCLOSURE OF TRAVEL REPORTS.
(a) Foreign Travel.--Clause 8(b)(3) of rule X of the Rules of the
House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following
new sentence: ``Within 48 hours after any such report is filed with the
chair of a committee, the chair shall post the report on the Internet
site of the committee in a searchable, sortable, downloadable, machine-
readable format.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply to travel commencing after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 103. GREATER DISCLOSURE OF GIFT REPORTS.
(a) Requiring Clerk of the House To Post Reports on Internet Not
Later Than 48 Hours After Receipt.--(1) Clause 5(b)(5) of rule XXV of
the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended--
(A) by striking ``shall make available'' and inserting
``shall post on the public Internet site of the Clerk and
otherwise make available''; and
(B) by striking ``as possible'' and inserting the
following: ``as possible, but in no event later than 48
hours,''.
(2) Comparable language to be added by the Senate.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to reports filed on or after the date of the
adoption of this resolution.
SEC. 104. GREATER DISCLOSURE OF EARMARKS.
(a) Electronic Disclosure by Members.--(1) Rule XXIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives is amended by redesignating clause 22
as clause 23 and by inserting after clause 21 the following:
``22. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who requests a
congressional earmark, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff
benefit shall, within 24 hours after making such request--
``(1) post on his or her public website for the remainder
of the Congress the following--
``(A) the name and address of the intended
recipient;
``(B) whether the intended recipient is a for-
profit or not-for-profit entity;
``(C) the requested amount (only in the case of
congressional earmarks); and
``(D) an explanation of the request, including the
purpose, and why it is a valuable use of taxpayer
funds;
``(2) electronically submit to the committee of subject-
matter jurisdiction the webpage address where such information
is posted;
``(3) identify each request as having been submitted to the
committee of subject-matter jurisdiction; and
``(4) display on the homepage of such website a hypertext
link that contains the words `Earmarks', `Appropriations
Requests', `Limited Tax Benefits', or `Limited Tariff Benefits'
and that directs to such webpage address, and maintain that
link for at least 30 calendar days after the last such request
is made during the Congress.''.
(2) The last sentence of clause 16 of rule XXIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives is amended by striking ``and clause 17''
and inserting ``, clause 17, and clause 22''.
(b) Electronic Disclosure by Committees.--Rule XI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the
following new clause:
``Earmark disclosure websites
``(a) Any committee that accepts any request of a Member, Delegate,
or Resident Commissioner for a congressional earmark, a limited tax
benefit, or a limited tariff benefit shall maintain a public website
with an earmark disclosure webpage that contains the following for each
such request--
``(1) the bill name;
``(2) the name, State, and district of that individual;
``(3) the name and address of the intended recipient;
``(4) whether the intended recipient is a for-profit or
not-for-profit entity;
``(5) the requested amount (only in the case of
congressional earmarks);
``(6) a brief description; and
``(7) the applicable department or agency of the
Government, and the account or program (if provided to the
committee in the request);
and
``is in a downloadable format that is searchable and
sortable by such characteristics.
``(b) Any written statement received by a committee under clause
17(a) of rule XXIII shall be posted on the earmark disclosure webpage
of the committee.
``(c) The earmark disclosure webpage of a committee shall list the
names of any Member, Delegate, and Resident Commissioner who requests a
congressional earmark, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff
benefit and link directly to their webpage addresses referred to in
clause 18(2) of rule XXIII.
``(d) The earmark disclosure webpage of a committee shall post the
information required under paragraphs (a) through (c) within one week
of receipt, and shall maintain that information on that webpage for the
remainder of the Congress.
``(e) For purposes of this clause, the terms `congressional
earmark', `limited tax benefit', and `limited tariff benefit' shall
have the meaning given them in clause 9 of rule XXI.''.
(c) Point of Order.--Clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives is amended by redesignating paragraphs (e), (f), and
(g) as paragraphs (f), (g), and (h), respectively, and by inserting
after paragraph (d) the following:
``(e) It shall not be in order to consider any bill or joint
resolution, or an amendment thereto or conference report thereon, that
carries a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff
benefit for which a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner failed
to comply with any applicable requirement of clause 18 of rule
XXIII.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to requests for congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, and
limited tariff benefits made after the date this resolution is agreed
to.
(e) Centralized Database for Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and
Limited Tariff Benefits.--(1) The Clerk of the House of
Representatives, the Secretary of the Senate, and the chairs of the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Senate shall collaborate to create one centralized database where all
requests for earmark, limited tax benefits, and limited tariff benefits
are available on the Internet in a searchable, sortable, downloadable
format to the public. The data available to the public for each earmark
should include--
(A) an identification of the bill into which the earmark is
to be inserted;
(B) the name, State, and district of the Member of Congress
requesting the earmark;
(C) the name and address of the intended recipient;
(D) whether the intended recipient is a for-profit or not-
for-profit entity;
(E) the requested amount (only in the case of congressional
earmarks);
(F) a brief description of the earmark; and
(G) the applicable department or agency of the Government,
and the account or program (if provided to the committee in the
request).
(2) The centralized database for earmarks referred to in paragraph
(1) shall be implemented within six months after the date of enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 105. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON EFFECTS OF WRITTEN REQUESTS BY
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FOR FUNDING OF PROJECTS.
(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct a study of the effect of written requests to carry out and
provide funding for projects and activities which are submitted to
offices of the executive branch by Members of Congress on the decisions
made by such offices regarding the funding of those projects and
activities.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report
on the study conducted under subsection (a).
TITLE II--ENHANCING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE WORK OF CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEES, LEGISLATION, AND VOTES
SEC. 201. INCREASED TRANSPARENCY OF COMMITTEE WORK.
(a) In the House of Representatives.--Clause 1 of rule XI of the
Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
``(e)(1) Each committee shall post on its Internet website the
public hearings and markup schedules of the committee and each of its
subcommittees at the same time that information is made available to
members of the committee.
``(2) For each hearing and markup for which information is posted
under subparagraph (1), the committee shall post on its Internet
website within 45 days the following: the topic, related legislation,
testimony of witnesses, opening statements of the chair and ranking
minority member, transcripts, and audio and video recordings.
``(3) Within 24 hours after a committee or subcommittee orders any
bill or resolution to be reported, the committee or subcommittee, as
applicable, shall post on its Internet website all amendments that were
agreed to, except for technical and conforming changes authorized by
the committee or subcommittee, as well as all votes taken on the bill
or resolution and on any amendment offered to the bill or
resolution.''.
(b) In the Senate.--Comparable language to be added by the Senate.
SEC. 202. INCREASED TRANSPARENCY OF RECORDED VOTES.
(a) Additional Duties of the Clerk of the House and the Secretary
of the Senate.--The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the
Secretary of the Senate shall post on the public Internet site of the
Office of the Clerk or of the Secretary, respectively, a record,
organized by the name of each Member or Senator, in a structured data
format, of the recorded votes of that Member or Senator, including the
roll, date, issue, question, result, and title or description of the
vote, and any cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office related
to the vote.
(b) Web Link.--Each Member shall provide a link to the Clerk of the
House of Representatives of a list of recorded votes from that Member's
website, and each Senator shall provide a link to the Secretary of the
Senate of a list of recorded votes from that Senator's website.
(c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``Member'' means
a Representative in Congress, a delegate to Congress, or the Resident
Commissioner from Puerto Rico.
(d) Effective Date.--This section shall apply to recorded votes
occurring after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 203. ELECTRONIC FORMAT.
(a) In General.--Chapter 2 of title 1 of the United States Code is
amended by inserting after section 107 the following new section:
``Sec. 107a. Electronic format
``To the extent practicable, all bills, resolutions, orders, and
votes shall be created, exchanged, and published in searchable
electronic formats, consistent with data standards recommended by such
advisory bodies as Congress may establish.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning
of chapter 2 of title 1 of the United States Code is amended by adding
after the item relating to section 107 the following new item:
``107a. Electronic format.''.
SEC. 205. USE OF DATA STANDARDS BY CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT OFFICES.
All congressional support offices shall, to the extent practicable,
use the data standards recommended by the Congressional Data Task Force
for the congressional information that they create, exchange, and/or
publish.
SEC. 206. INCLUSION OF DIGITAL VERSION OF FUNDING TABLES IN REPORTS
ACCOMPANYING APPROPRIATIONS BILLS.
(a) Inclusion.--The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the
Secretary of the Senate shall ensure that each report accompanying any
appropriations bill reported by the Committees on Appropriations of the
House or Senate (as the case may be) includes a formatted spreadsheet
showing the amounts made available by the bill, in a tabular, digital
format that shows separate entries for each fiscal year covered by the
bill.
(b) Effective Date.--Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to any
appropriations bill making funds available for fiscal year 2024 or any
succeeding fiscal year.
SEC. 207. SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE MODERNIZATION OF CONGRESS.
Regular Modernization Select Committees: The House should authorize
a Modernization Select Committee at least every fourth Congress. Prior
to the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress being
established in 2019, the Joint Committee on the Organization of
Congress in 1993 was the last organized reform entity. As the pace of
change accelerates, Congress needs to evaluate itself at more regular
intervals. The House, with or without the Senate, should authorize a
Select Committee with a mandate to evaluate the operations and
efficiency of the institution.
SEC. 208. EXPANDED INFORMATION IN HOUSE STAFF DIRECTORY.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall submit a report to the
Committees on Appropriations and House Administration of the House of
Representatives on the feasibility of expanding the information
included in the directory of employees of the House to include
information on the position held and the areas of responsibility
assigned to each employee.
TITLE III--EXPANDING ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE REPORTS
ON LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WEBSITE
SEC. 301. INCLUSION OF REPORTS FROM ARCHIVE.
Section 154(a)(2) of Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2018 (2
U.S.C. 166a(a)(2)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C);
and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new
subparagraph:
``(B) Inclusion of archived material.--The term
`CRS Report' includes any report or product described
in subparagraph (A) which is produced prior to the
effective date of this section, including any report or
product maintained in a CRS archive.''.
SEC. 302. AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS IN STRUCTURED FORMAT.
Section 154(b)(1)(B) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act,
2018 (2 U.S.C. 166a(b)(1)(B)) is amended by striking the period at the
end and inserting the following: ``, and shall be available in a
structured data format''.
SEC. 303. REPORT ON MAKING OTHER MATERIALS AVAILABLE.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Director of the Congressional Research Service shall submit a
report to Congress describing the steps the Director would be required
to take in order to make materials and publications of the Service
which are not treated as CRS Reports under section 154 of the
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2018 (2 U.S.C. 166a) available
through the website established and maintained by the Librarian of
Congress under such section.
SEC. 304. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by sections 301 and 302 shall take effect as if
included in the enactment of section 154 of the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act, 2018 (2 U.S.C. 166a).
TITLE IV--LOBBYING DISCLOSURE
SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Lobbyist Disclosure Enhancement
Act''.
SEC. 402. MODIFICATIONS TO ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Lobbying Disclosure Act Task Force.--Section 6 of the Lobbying
Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
``(c) Lobbying Disclosure Act Task Force.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Attorney General shall establish
the Lobbying Disclosure Act Enforcement Task Force (in this
subsection referred to as the `Task Force').
``(2) Functions.--The Task Force shall--
``(A) have primary responsibility for investigating
and prosecuting each case referred to the Attorney
General under section 6(a)(8);
``(B) collect and disseminate information to the
public with respect to the enforcement of this Act;
``(C) audit, as frequently as the Task Force
determines to be necessary but not less frequently than
once each calendar year, the extent of compliance or
noncompliance with the requirements of this Act by
lobbyists, lobbying firms, and registrants through a
random sampling of lobbying registrations and reports
filed under that Act during the year;
``(D) establish, publicize, and operate a toll-free
telephone number to serve as a hotline for members of
the public to report noncompliance with the
requirements of this Act; and
``(E) develop a mechanism to allow members of the
public to report such noncompliance online.''.
(b) Referral of Cases to the Attorney General.--Section 6(a) of
such Act (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``United States Attorney
for the District of Columbia'' and inserting ``Attorney
General''; and
(2) in paragraph (11), by striking ``United States Attorney
for the District of Columbia'' and inserting ``Attorney
General''.
(c) Information in Enforcement Reports.--Section 6(b)(1) of such
Act (2 U.S.C. 1605(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``by case'' and all
that follows through ``public record'' and inserting ``by case and name
of the individual lobbyists or lobbying firms involved, any sentences
imposed''.
(d) Recommendations for Improved Enforcement.--The Attorney General
may make recommendations to Congress with respect to--
(1) the enforcement of and compliance with the Lobbying
Disclosure Act of 1995; and
(2) the need for resources available for the enhanced
enforcement of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, taking into
consideration the recommendations of the Comptroller General in
reports submitted under section 26 of such Act.
(e) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made by this
section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 90-day period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 403. DEFINITION OF LOBBYIST.
(a) Repeal of 20 Percent Threshold for Inclusion of Lobbying
Activities.--Section 3(10) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2
U.S.C. 1602(10)) is amended by striking ``, other than an individual''
and all that follows through ``period''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on the first day of the first quarterly period described in
section 5(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(a))
that begins after the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 404. EXPEDITED ONLINE REGISTRATION OF LOBBYISTS; THRESHOLDS FOR
CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE EMPLOYEES ARE LOBBYISTS.
(a) Expedited Registration.--Section 4(a) of the Lobbying
Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``45 days'' and inserting ``10
days'';
(B) by striking ``, or on the first business day
after such 45th day if the 45th day is not a business
day,'' and inserting ``, or on the first business day
occurring after such 10th day if such 10th day does not
occur on a business day,''; and
(C) by inserting ``online'' after ``shall
register''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by striking ``Any organization'' and inserting
the following:
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), any
organization''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Threshold for certain organizations.--In the
case of an organization with an employee who engages in
lobbying activities solely on behalf of the
organization, the requirement to register under this
subsection shall apply only if the lobbying activities
of such employee include or are expected to include
more than one lobbying contact.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the first day of the first quarterly period described in
section 5(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(a))
that begins after the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 405. DISCLOSURE OF POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.
(a) Expedited Disclosure.--Section 5(d)(1) of the Lobbying
Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(d)(1)) is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``30 days after'' and all that follows through ``30th day is
not'' and inserting ``20 days after the end of the quarterly
period beginning on the first day of January, April, July, and
October of each year, or on the first business day after such
20th day if such 20th day is not''; and
(2) by striking ``semiannual period'' each place it appears
and inserting ``quarterly period''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on the first day of the first quarterly period described in
section 5(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(a))
that begins after the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 406. IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS FOR LOBBYISTS.
(a) Requiring Assignment of Unique Identification Number.--
(1) Requirement.--Section 6(a)(3) of the Lobbying
Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)(3)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph
(A);
(B) by adding ``and'' after the semicolon the end
of subparagraph (B); and
(C) by adding after subparagraph (B) the following:
``(C) a system that assigns a unique identification
number for each lobbyist for whom a registration or
report is filed under this Act;''.
(2) Section 406.--The amendments made by paragraph (1)
shall apply to any registration or report that is filed under
section 4 or 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995--
(A) on or after the 90th day after the date of the
enactment of this Act; or
(B) before such 90th day, if such registration or
report is, as of such 90th day, being retained under
section 6(a)(5) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
(2 U.S.C. 1605(a)(5)).
(b) Report on Implementation.--Not later than 60 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall submit a report
to Congress on the progress made by the Clerk and the Secretary in
implementing the amendment made by subsection (a), and shall include in
the report an analysis of the progress made in including the unique
identification number assigned to a lobbyist in the statements and
reports filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 in a structured
data format.
SEC. 407. ETHICS TRAINING FOR LOBBYISTS.
(a) Requiring Completion of Training.--The Lobbying Disclosure Act
of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``SEC. 27. ETHICS TRAINING FOR LOBBYISTS.
``(a) Required Ethics Training.--Any individual who is a lobbyist
registered or required to register under section 4 shall--
``(1) complete ethics training described in subsection
(b)--
``(A) not later than 6 months after the individual
is first employed or retained for services that include
one or more lobbying contacts; and
``(B) at least once in each 5-year period during
which the individual is registered or required to
register under section 4; and
``(2) submit to the Clerk of the House of Representatives
and the Secretary of the Senate certification of the training
completed under paragraph (1).
``(b) Qualified Training.--The Ethics Committee of the House of
Representatives and the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate shall
jointly--
``(1) determine the curriculum and certification
requirements for the ethics training for individuals described
in subsection (a);
``(2) approve those educational institutions, professional
associations, or other persons who are qualified to provide
such ethics training;
``(3) determine the maximum fee that may be charged for the
ethics training; and
``(4) provide oversight of the ethics training program
established under this section in order to determine the
quality of instruction in, and the administration of, the
training program.
``(c) Responsibilities of Clerk and Secretary.--The Clerk of the
House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall--
``(1) collect and review for completion and accuracy the
certifications of ethics training submitted under subsection
(a)(2); and
``(2) post on the websites of the Clerk and the Secretary,
with respect to each individual required to complete ethics
training under this section--
``(A) whether the individual has complied with such
requirement; and
``(B) the certifications submitted by the
individual under subsection (a)(2).''.
(b) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
take effect upon the expiration of the 1-year period beginning
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Lobbyists registered as of date of enactment.--In the
case of individuals who are registered under section 4 of the
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603) as of the
effective date under paragraph (1), the ethics training
required under section 27(a)(1) of such Act (as added by
subsection (a)) shall be completed not later than the end of
the 6-month period beginning on the effective date under
paragraph (1).
SEC. 408. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF REPORTING LOBBYING CONTACTS REPORTED
UNDER FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION ACT.
(a) Repeal.--Section 3(8)(B) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
(2 U.S.C. 1602(8)(B)) is amended by striking clause (iv).
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on the first day of the first quarterly period described in
section 5(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(a))
that begins after the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 409. REPEAL OF USE OF ESTIMATES BASED ON TAX REPORTING SYSTEM.
Section 15 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1610)
is repealed.
TITLE V--TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL AWARDS
SEC. 501. IMPROVING APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE AND WEBSITE DATA
ELEMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability
and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-282; 31 U.S.C. 6101 note)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (4)(A)(ii), by striking ``and
delivery orders'' and inserting ``lease agreements and
assignments, and delivery orders'';
(B) in paragraph (7)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``paragraph (2)(A)(i)'' and inserting
``paragraph (5)(A)(i)'';
(ii) in subparagraph (C)--
(I) by striking ``paragraph
(2)(A)(ii)'' and inserting ``paragraph
(5)(A)(ii)''; and
(II) by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(E) programmatically search and access all data
in a serialized machine-readable format (such as XML)
via a web-services application programming
interface.'';
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (8) as
paragraphs (2) through (9), respectively; and
(D) by inserting before paragraph (2) the following
new paragraph:
``(1) Congressionally directed spending item.--The term
`congressionally directed spending item' means a provision or
report language included primarily at the request of a Member
of Congress providing, authorizing, or recommending a specific
amount of discretionary budget authority, credit authority, or
other spending authority for a contract, loan, loan guarantee,
grant, loan authority, or other expenditure with or to an
entity, or targeted to a specific State, locality, or
congressional district, other than through a statutory or
administrative formula-driven or competitive award process.'';
(2) in subsection (b)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period at
the end and inserting a semicolon;
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as
subparagraph (Q); and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the
following new subparagraphs:
``(G) to the extent possible, the Federal agency,
including the bureau, office, or subdivision, that
authorized the Federal award;
``(H) the number of full-time equivalent employees
for any entity that receives an award;
``(I) the estimated number of people who will
benefit from the award;
``(J) after January 1, 2024, for each contract,
subcontract, purchase order, task order, lease
agreement and assignment, and delivery order--
``(i) information about the extent of
competition in awarding the contract, including
the number of bids or proposals determined to
be responsive during the competitive process,
and if the award was not competitive, the legal
authority and specific rationale for awarding
the contract without full and open competition
(as defined in section 107 of title 41, United
States Code);
``(ii) the full amount awarded under the
contract or, in the case of lease agreements or
assignments, the amount paid to the Government,
and the full amount of any option to expand or
extend under the contract;
``(iii) the amount of the profit incentive,
such as an award fee;
``(iv) the type of contract, such as fixed
price, cost plus pricing, labor hour contract,
and time and materials contract;
``(v) a permanent link to the original
solicitation or notice and the solicitation ID;
``(vi) an indication if the contract is the
result of a legislative mandate, set-aside,
preference program requirement, or other
criteria, and whether the contract is multi-
year, consolidated, or performance-based; and
``(vii) an indication if the contract is a
congressionally directed spending item;
``(K) after January 1, 2024, for any grant,
subgrant, loan, award, cooperative agreement, and other
form of financial assistance, an indication if the
Federal award is a congressionally directed spending
item;
``(L) the North American Industry Classification
System code for any entity that receives a Federal
award;
``(M) data on whether a business that receives a
Federal award is a small business concern owned and
controlled by women, a small business concern owned and
controlled by veterans (as such terms are defined,
respectively, in section 3 of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 632)), or a small business concern owned and
controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged
individuals (as defined in section 8(d)(3)(C) of such
Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C)));
``(N) data on if a business that receives an
assistance award serves an underserved community, such
as a HUBZone (as defined in section 31(b)(1) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657a(b)(1))) or a labor
surplus area (as determined by the Secretary of Labor),
or if a business participates in the program
established under section 8(a) of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)) or another contracting
assistance program of the Federal Government;
``(O) the relevant National Interest Action Code,
which tracks cross agency spending on events of
national interest; and
``(P) after January 1, 2024, for any loan and loan
guarantee, data on the name, address, and parent
company of any private lender participating in the
award; and''; and
(3) in subsection (c)(5)--
(A) by striking ``subsection (a)(2)(A)(i)'' and
inserting ``subsection (a)(5)(A)(i)''; and
(B) by striking ``subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii)'' and
inserting ``subsection (a)(5)(A)(ii)''.
(b) Effective Date.--Except as otherwise provided, the amendments
made by subsection (a) shall be implemented not later than 6 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 502. IMPROVING DATA QUALITY.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
(Public Law 109-282; 31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended by adding at the
end the following new section:
``SEC. 9. IMPROVING DATA QUALITY.
``(a) Inspector General Data Audit.--Each Inspector General shall
annually audit for the previous fiscal year the data used on the
website established under section 2 for the relevant Federal agency of
the Inspector General, in compliance with generally accepted Government
auditing standards, and submit a report on such audit to the Director
that includes at least the following:
``(1) A review of data used for the website to verify
accuracy of the data and assess the process used for improving
data quality.
``(2) A review of a statistically representative sample of
Federal awards to determine whether the Federal agency of the
Inspector General has appropriate measures in place to review
data submissions under this Act for accuracy and completeness.
``(3) An identification of and report on new standards that
the Inspector General recommends for implementation by the
Federal agency of the Inspector General to improve data
quality.
``(4) A review of subaward data used for the website to
assess completeness and accuracy of the data as best as
possible and assess the process used to collect subaward data
for changes that could improve data quality.
``(b) OMB Report.--Not later than April 1 of each year, the
Director shall make each report submitted under subsection (a) for the
previous fiscal year available to the public, including a review of the
findings of the audit and recommendations to improve data quality,
through the website established under section 2.
``(c) Federal Subaward Reporting System.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this section, the Inspector General
of the General Services Administration shall submit to Congress a
report that includes the results of a comprehensive review of the FFATA
Subaward Reporting System that identifies problems within the system
that contribute to inaccurate and incomplete subaward reporting and
provide specific recommendations for improvements. The review shall
include an assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of the
system, including the following:
``(1) The accuracy and completeness of subaward data
reported through the system.
``(2) The consistency of reporting requirements across
Federal agencies.
``(3) The burden on Federal award recipients to comply with
reporting requirements.
``(4) The accessibility and availability of subaward data
to the public and stakeholders.
``(5) The adequacy of enforcement mechanisms to ensure
compliance with reporting requirements.
``(d) Data Verification Systems Prior to Award Distribution.--
Before making a Federal award to a recipient, the Federal agency shall
verify the accuracy and completeness of the information of the
recipient. To carry out this subsection, a Federal agency may use any
available verification tools, including the System for Award Management
database, the Do Not Pay system of the Department of the Treasury, and
any other database designated by the Office of Management and Budget
for verification purposes. Recipient data that must be verified
includes the following:
``(1) The legal name of the recipient.
``(2) The street address.
``(3) A taxpayer identification number.
``(4) The number of employees of an entity, if
applicable.''.
SEC. 503. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO REPORTING OF AWARD DATA.
(a) Revision of Guidance.--The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget shall revise the guidance to Federal agencies by the Office
on reporting Federal awards to clarify--
(1) the requirement for award description entries to
include sufficient information to convey the scope and purpose
of the award; and
(2) requirements for validating and documenting agency
award data submitted by Federal agencies.
(b) Inclusion of City Information.--The Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall include information on the city in which
work is performed in the public reporting of the completeness of agency
data submissions by the Office.
(c) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``Federal agency'' and
``Federal award'' have the meanings given those terms in section 2(a)
of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
(Public Law 109-282; 31 U.S.C. 6101 note), as amended by this Act.
SEC. 504. RECIPIENT PERFORMANCE TRANSPARENCY.
(a) In General.--The Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-282; 31 U.S.C. 6101 note), as
amended by the preceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 10. RECIPIENT PERFORMANCE TRANSPARENCY AND PAST PERFORMANCE.
``The Director shall ensure that the unique identifier required in
section 2(b)(1)(E), which is used to link information about an entity
receiving an award on the website established under such section, is
also used to link information about such entity in the responsibility/
qualification information on the System for Award Management.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be
implemented not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 505. IMPROVEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY/QUALIFICATION INFORMATION.
Section 872(c) of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110-417; 122 Stat. 4556) is
amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``5-
year period'' and inserting ``10-year period''; and
(2) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following
new subparagraphs:
``(E) In an administrative proceeding, any
administrative judgment that does not contain an
explicit finding or acknowledgment of fault.
``(F) In a civil proceeding, any settlement that
does not contain an explicit finding or acknowledgment
of fault.''.
SEC. 506. FEDERAL CONTRACTOR COMPLIANCE.
(a) Periodic Inspection or Review of Contract Files.--Section
2313(e)(2) of title 41, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new subparagraph:
``(C) Periodic inspection or review.--The Inspector
General of each Federal agency shall periodically--
``(i) conduct an inspection or review of
each contract file described in subparagraph
(B) to determine if the agency is providing
appropriate consideration of the information
included in the database established under
subsection (a); and
``(ii) submit to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate
and the Committee on Oversight and
Accountability of the House of Representatives
a report containing the results of the
inspection or review conducted under clause
(i).''.
(b) Self-Reporting Requirement.--Subsection (f) of section 2313 of
such title is amended to read as follows:
``(f) Self-Reporting Requirement.--
``(1) Contracts in excess of simplified acquisition
threshold.--No funds appropriated or otherwise made available
by any Act may be used for any Federal contract for the
procurement of property or services in excess of the simplified
acquisition threshold unless the contractor has first made the
certifications set forth in section 52.209-5 of the Federal
Acquisition Regulation.
``(2) Contracts in excess of $500,000.--No funds
appropriated or otherwise made available by any Act may be used
for any Federal contract for the procurement of property or
services in excess of $500,000 unless the contractor--
``(A) certifies that the contractor has submitted
to the Administrator of General Services the
information required under subsection (c) and that such
information is current as of the date of such
certification; or
``(B) certifies that the contractor has cumulative
active Federal contracts and grants with a total value
of less than $10,000,000.''.
(c) Annual Report.--Not later than November 30 for the previous
fiscal year, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
annually submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees
describing the extent to which suspended or debarred contractors on the
Excluded Parties List System--
(1) are identified as having received Federal contracts on
USAspending.gov; or
(2) were granted waivers from Federal agencies from
suspension or debarment for purposes of entering into Federal
contracts.
SEC. 507. IMPROVING ACCESS TO INFORMATION DISCLOSED ON LOBBYING
ACTIVITIES.
(a) Information Filed With the Administrator of General Services.--
Section 1352(b) of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``file with that agency''
and inserting ``file electronically with the Administrator of
General Services''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(7) The Administrator of General Services shall establish and
maintain an online database that--
``(A) is available to each agency and the public;
``(B) contains information disclosed pursuant to this
subsection; and
``(C) is searchable, sortable, machine-readable, and
downloadable.''.
(b) Deadline for Database.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services
shall establish the database required by paragraph (7) of section
1352(b) of title 31, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).
SEC. 508. INCLUSION OF NARRATIVES ON USASPENDING.GOV.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall allow any agency, in reporting a Federal award to
USASpending.gov (or a successor website), to upload a narrative for
such award.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meanings given
that term in section 6101 of title 31, United States Code.
(2) Federal award.--The term ``Federal award'' has the
meaning given that term in section 2(a) of the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-
282; 31 U.S.C. 6101 note).
SEC. 509. SUSPENSION AND DEBARMENT DATABASE.
(a) Expansion of Required Data; Publication of Contractor
Evaluation Ratings.--Subsection (c) of section 2313 of title 41, United
States Code is amended--
(1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by striking ``5-
year period'' and inserting ``10-year period'';
(2) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``in connection with the award or
performance of a contract or grant with the Federal
Government'';
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``$5,000'' and
inserting ``$1,000''; and
(C) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking ``$5,000''
and inserting ``$1,000'';
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking
``$100,000'' and inserting ``$10,000''; and
(3) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:
``(9) Contractor evaluation ratings as provided for in
subsection (b)(4) of section 42.1503 of title 48, Code of
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of the enactment
of this paragraph.''.
(b) Public Availability of Ratings.--Section 3010 of the
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010 (41 U.S.C. 2313 note; Public Law
111-212), is amended by adding after ``website'' the following:
``Contractor evaluation ratings shall not be considered past
performance reviews for the purposes of this section.''.
(c) Eliminate Loophole.--Subsection (d)(3) of section 2313 of title
41, United States Code is amended by striking ``, to the extent
practicable,''.
(d) Lower Disclosure and Beneficial Ownership Threshold.--
Subsection (f) of section 2313 of title 41, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by striking
``$10,000,000'' and inserting ``$5,000,000''; and
(2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subsection (c)'' and
inserting ``subsections (c) and (d)''.
(e) Liability; Audits.--Section 2313 of title 41, United States
Code, is amended by adding at th end the following new subsections:
``(h) Enforcement.--A knowing and willful failure to disclose or
update information in accordance with subsection (f) may result in one
or more of the following:
``(1) Entry of the violation in the database described by
this section.
``(2) A civil fine not exceeding $200,000.
``(3) Referral for suspension or debarment.
``(i) Periodic Auditing.--
``(1) Audit process.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this subsection, the Comptroller
General of the United States shall develop a process to audit
the following:
``(A) Any data reported under this section for
compliance with this section and any regulation
promulgated under this section.
``(B) The online presentation on the System for
Award Management for compliance with the 21st Century
Integrated Digital Experience Act (10 U.S.C. 3501 note;
Public Law 115-336) and any other applicable law.
``(C) Compliance with section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d).
``(2) Biennial audits.--Upon completion of the process
required pursuant to paragraph (1), and every other year
thereafter, the Comptroller General shall conduct an audit
pursuant to that process.
``(3) Audit reports.--Upon completion of each audit
required pursuant to paragraph (2), the Comptroller General
shall submit a report that details the findings of the audit to
the following:
``(A) The Committee on Oversight and Accountability
of the House of Representatives.
``(B) The Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
``(C) The public through the Government
Accountability Office website.''.
(f) Reporting Standards.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator for Federal Procurement
Policy shall revise the Federal Acquisition Regulation maintained under
section 1303(a)(1) of title 41, United States Code, to prescribe
minimum data quality standards requiring that information entered into
the database required by section 2313 of title 41, United States Code,
is reasonably informative and particular.
TITLE VI--EXECUTIVE BRANCH TRANSPARENCY
Subtitle A--Public Availability of Information
SEC. 601. AGENCY DEFINED.
In this subtitle (except as provided for in section 606), the term
``agency'' has the meaning given that term under section 551 of title
5, United States Code.
SEC. 602. REQUIREMENT FOR DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL SPONSORSHIP OF ALL
FEDERAL ADVERTISING OR OTHER COMMUNICATIONS.
(a) Requirement.--Except as provided for in subsection (b), each
advertisement or other communication paid for by an agency, either
directly or through a contract awarded by the agency, shall include a
prominent notice informing the target audience that the advertisement
or other communication is paid for by that agency.
(b) Exceptions.--The requirement in subsection (a) shall not apply
to an advertisement or other communication--
(1) that is 200 characters or less; or
(2) that is distributed through a short message service.
(c) Advertisement or Other Communications Defined.--In this
section, the term ``advertisement or other communication'' includes--
(1) an advertisement disseminated in any form, including
print or by any electronic means; and
(2) a communication by an individual in any form, including
speech, print, or by any electronic means.
SEC. 603. IMPROVING ACCESS TO INFLUENTIAL EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIAL'S
VISITOR ACCESS RECORDS.
(a) Disclosure of White House Visitor Access Records.--Not later
than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and monthly
thereafter, the President shall disclose to the public all White House
visitor access records and any meeting log for a virtual business
meeting for the previous month that are redacted in accordance with
subsection (c).
(b) Disclosure of Agency Visitor Access Records.--Not later than 30
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and monthly
thereafter, the head of each agency shall disclose to the public all
visitor access records for the previous month for such agency that are
redacted in accordance with subsection (c).
(c) Information Not Disclosed.--The President under subsection (a)
and the head of the relevant agency under subsection (b), as the case
may be, may determine to not disclose the following information
pursuant to this section:
(1) Any information--
(A) that implicates personal privacy or law
enforcement concerns (such as date of birth, social
security number, and contact phone number);
(B) that implicates the personal safety of White
House staff (including daily arrival and departure); or
(C) whose release would so threaten national
security interests that it outweighs a strong
presumption in favor of the public interest in
disclosure.
(2) For a non-renewable period of up to a year, any
information related to purely personal guests, but only if the
interest of the executive branch in protecting an unfettered
consultation conducted in secret strongly outweighs the public
interest in an accountable government free of corruption and
political influence.
(3) Any information related to a small group of
particularly sensitive meetings (such as visits of potential
Supreme Court nominees).
SEC. 604. IMPROVING RULEMAKING DISCLOSURE FOR THE OFFICE OF INFORMATION
AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS.
(a) Inclusion in the Rulemaking Docket of Documents and
Communications Related to the Implementation of Centralized Regulatory
Review.--As soon as practicable and not later than 15 days after the
conclusion of a centralized regulatory review for a draft proposed or
draft final rule, the Administrator of the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs shall include in the rulemaking docket the
following:
(1) A copy of the draft proposed or draft final rule and
supporting analyses submitted to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs for review.
(2) A copy of the draft proposed or draft final rule that
incorporates substantive changes, if any, made to the rule as
part of implementing centralized regulatory review.
(3) A document describing in a complete, clear, and simple
manner any substantive change made by the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs to the draft proposed or draft final
rule submitted by the agency to the Office for review.
(4) A copy of any document and written communication
(including any electronic mail and electronic mail file
attachment), and a summary of any oral communication (including
any phone call, phone conference, and meeting), exchanged as
part of the implementation of the centralized regulatory review
between or among any of the following:
(A) The agency responsible for the rule.
(B) The Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs.
(C) Any other office or entity within the Executive
Office of the President.
(D) An agency that is not the agency responsible
for the rule.
(E) An individual who is not employed by--
(i) the executive branch of the Federal
Government; or
(ii) an agency that is not the agency
responsible for the rule.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Centralized regulatory review.--The term ``centralized
regulatory review'' means the institutional process of
Presidential oversight of individual agency rules governed by
Executive Order 12866 (58 Fed. Reg. 51735; relating to
regulatory planning and review), or any successor to such
Executive order.
(2) Rule.--The term ``rule'' has the meaning given that
term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to preempt or displace the disclosure requirements under any
other provision of law affecting administrative procedure, if such
requirements are not inconsistent with the requirements of this
section.
SEC. 605. IMPROVING REGISTRATION INFORMATION FROM AGENTS OF FOREIGN
PRINCIPALS.
(a) Improving Online Access to Registration Information.--Section
6(d)(1) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C.
616(d)(1)) is amended by striking ``in a searchable, sortable, and
downloadable manner'' and inserting ``in a format which is directly
searchable, sortable, downloadable, and machine-readable''.
(b) Repealing Exemption From Registration Under Foreign Agents
Registration Act of 1938 for Persons Filing Disclosure Reports Under
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.--
(1) Repeal of exemption.--Section 3 of the Foreign Agents
Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 613) is amended by striking
subsection (h).
(2) Timing of filing of registration statements.--Section 2
of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 612)
is amended--
(A) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding
paragraph (1), in the fourth sentence, by striking
``The registration statement shall include'' and
inserting ``Except as provided in subsection (h), the
registration statement shall include''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(h) Timing for Filing of Statements by Persons Registered Under
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.--In the case of an agent of a person
described in section 1(b)(2) or an entity described in section 1(b)(3)
who has registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.), after the agent files the first registration required
under subsection (a) in connection with the agent's representation of
such person or entity, the agent shall file all subsequent statements
required under this section at the same time, and in the same
frequency, as the reports filed with the Clerk of the House of
Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate (as the case may be)
under section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604)
in connection with the agent's representation of such person or
entity.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect upon the expiration of the 30-day period which begins on the
date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 606. GOVERNMENT-WIDE ENTITY IDENTIFIER.
(a) Agency Defined.--In this section, the term ``agency'' has the
meaning given the term ``Executive agency'' under section 105 of title
5, United States Code.
(b) Requirement for All Agencies to Use a Government-Wide Entity
Identifier.--The head of each agency shall, to the extent practicable,
require each private sector entity from which the agency regularly
collects reports, filings, forms, disclosures, or other regularized
information to obtain a unique entity identifier that allows the
private sector entity to be identified uniquely across all Federal
regulatory, procurement, assistance, and other reporting regimes.
(c) Publication of Information Categorized Using Government-Wide
Entity Identifier.--The head of each agency shall, to the extent
practicable, publish any public regulatory, procurement, assistance,
and other reported information categorized using the unique entity
identifier required under this section.
(d) Governance.--The unique entity identifier required under this
section shall be based on the global entity identifier issued by--
(1) utilities endorsed by the Regulatory Oversight
Committee, whose charter was set forth by the Finance Ministers
and Central Bank Governors of the Group of Twenty and the
Financial Stability Board; or
(2) utilities endorsed or otherwise governed by the Global
LEI Foundation so long as that Foundation remains recognized by
the Regulatory Oversight Committee or any successor global
public oversight body.
SEC. 607. GRANTS TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--Subtitle V of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after chapter 73 the following:
``CHAPTER 74--GRANTS TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS
``Sec.
``Sec. 7401. Definitions.
``Sec. 7402. Pre-award evaluation requirements.
``Sec. 7403. Website relating to federal grants.
``Sec. 7404. Postdecision explanation for failed applicants.
``Sec. 7401. Definitions
``In this chapter:
``(1) Applicant.--The term `applicant' means an entity that
submits a proposal or application for a grant.
``(2) Competitive grant.--The term `competitive grant'
means a discretionary grant entered into through the use of
merit-based selection procedures for the purpose of allocating
funds authorized under a grant program of an Executive agency.
``(3) Executive agency.--The term `Executive agency' has
the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 5, except
the term does not include the Government Accountability Office.
``(4) Grant.--The term `grant' means an award of Federal
financial assistance through a grant agreement or cooperative
agreement making payment in cash or in kind to a recipient to
carry out a public purpose authorized by law.
``(5) Grant reviewer.--The term `grant reviewer', with
respect to a grant--
``(A) means any individual who reviews, evaluates,
or participates in the decision to select an applicant
for award of the grant; and
``(B) includes--
``(i) a peer reviewer;
``(ii) a merit reviewer; and
``(iii) a member of a technical evaluation
panel or board or a special emphasis panel.
``Sec. 7402. Pre-award evaluation requirements
``(a) Evaluation Required.--
``(1) In general.--Before awarding a competitive grant and
after determining eligibility and conducting a merit-based
review, the head of an Executive agency shall conduct an
evaluation of the risk posed by an applicant to successfully
carry out the grant in accordance with section 200.205 of title
2, Code of Federal regulations (or any successor thereto).
``(2) Review of interagency duplication.--To the extent
practicable, each evaluation conducted under paragraph (1)
shall include a review of any interagency duplication of
efforts for research grants, which may be completed through a
text-similarity detection process.
``(b) Simplified Evaluation Procedure for Certain Applicants.--
``(1) Covered applicant defined.--In this subsection, the
term `covered applicant' means an applicant that, based on a
risk assessment conducted by the Executive agency, is
determined to pose a relatively low risk of failing to execute
the grant successfully and properly.
``(2) Procedure.--In conducting the evaluation required
under subsection (a) with respect to a covered applicant, the
head of an Executive agency shall--
``(A) minimize the burden on the covered applicant;
and
``(B) consider any existing findings with respect
to the covered applicant under the single audit process
under chapter 75 of this title.
``Sec. 7403. Website relating to Federal grants
``(a) Requirement.--The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall consult with the head of each Executive agency to upgrade
grants.gov or any proposed successor public website for finding Federal
grant opportunities and applying for those grants so that the website--
``(1) may serve as a central point of information and
provide full access for applicants for competitive grants; and
``(2) shall capture in one site, or provide electronic
links to, other relevant databases.
``(b) Notice of Competitive Grant Funds Availability.--At the time
the head of an Executive agency issues a solicitation or otherwise
announces the availability of funds for a competitive grant, the head
of the Executive agency shall post on the grants website maintained
under this section, in a searchable electronic format, relevant
information about the grant opportunity, including the following:
``(1) The grant announcement and purpose of the grant.
``(2) The anticipated period of performance for any new
award and whether the Executive agency anticipates that the
grant will be continued.
``(3) In the case of an announcement with respect to which
a specific sum is reserved, the amount of funds available for
the grant.
``(4) A statement of eligibility requirements for the
grant.
``(5) Contact information for the Executive agency,
including the name, telephone number, and electronic mail
address of a specific person or persons responsible for
answering questions about the grant and the application process
for the grant.
``(6) A clear statement of the evaluation factors or
criteria that the Executive agency intends to use to evaluate
and rank grant applications or proposals submitted, including
the weight to be applied to each factor or criterion.
``(7) A description of the process and standards to be used
by the Executive agency to determine that each grant reviewer
does not have a prohibited conflict of interest, as defined by
applicable statute or regulation, with respect to the
evaluation or review of a grant application or proposal, or the
decision to award a grant.
``(8) The anticipated deadline for submission of grant
applications or proposals.
``(9) A set of sample winning grant proposals awarded under
the same or similar program within the last 3 years.
``(c) Use by Applicants.--The grants website maintained under this
section shall, to the greatest extent practicable, allow applicants
to--
``(1) use the website with any widely-used computer
platform;
``(2) search the website for any competitive grant by
purpose, funding agency, program source, and other relevant
criteria; and
``(3) apply for a competitive grant using the website.
``(d) Technical Assistance for Grantees.--
``(1) In general.--The head of each Executive agency shall
make available on the grants website maintained under this
section detailed grant guidance and written technical
assistance for applicants.
``(2) Grant award process information posted.--With respect
to each grant awarded by an Executive agency, the head of the
Executive agency shall, not later than 30 days after the date
on which the grant is awarded, post on the grants website
maintained under this section--
``(A) documentation explaining the basis for the
selection decision for the grant, the number of
proposals received for the grant, and, with respect to
the proposal that resulted in the grant award, whether
the grant was awarded consistent with a numerical
ranking or other recommendations by grant reviewers;
and
``(B) in any case in which the award of the grant
is not consistent with the numerical rankings or any
other recommendations made by grant reviewers, a
written justification explaining the rationale for the
decision not to follow the rankings or recommendations.
``(3) Sensitive information.--
``(A) Personally identifiable information.--The
head of each Executive agency may redact any personally
identifiable information from a post on the grants
website maintained under this section.
``(B) Adverse information.--An Executive agency may
not post on the grants website maintained under this
section any sensitive information that the head of the
Executive agency determines would adversely affect an
applicant.
``(e) Submission and Publication of Grant Solicitation Forecast on
the Grants Website.--
``(1) Requirement.--Not later than November 30 of each
fiscal year or not later than 60 days after the date on which
amounts are appropriated to an Executive agency for a fiscal
year, whichever is later, the head of the Executive agency
shall post a forecast, in accordance with paragraph (2), of any
nonemergency grant solicitation that the Executive agency
expects to issue for the following calendar year, which--
``(A) shall be based on the best information
available; and
``(B) shall not be binding on the Executive agency.
``(2) Matters included.--The forecast required under
paragraph (1) shall include, to the extent practicable, for
each expected grant solicitation in a machine-readable format
the following:
``(A) A brief description of the subject and
purpose of the grant, organized by the organizational
unit of the Executive agency.
``(B) Contact information for the organizational
unit or individual responsible for the grant, if known,
including name, telephone number, and electronic mail
address.
``(C) Each expected or actual date for the issuance
of the grant solicitation and application and the grant
application submission deadline.
``(D) The estimated amount of the average grant
award, the estimated maximum and minimum amounts of the
grant award, if applicable, and the estimated total
number of grant awards to be made.
``(E) A description of the total amount available
to be awarded.
``(f) Publication of Information.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
nothing in this section shall be construed to require the
publication of information otherwise exempt from disclosure
under section 552 of title 5 (commonly referred to as the
`Freedom of Information Act').
``(2) Limitation.--The exemption under section 552(b)(5) of
title 5 shall not exempt from publication predecisional
documents required to be posted pursuant to the requirements
under subsection (d)(2).
``(g) Transparency of Information.--To the extent practicable, the
grants website maintained under this section shall do the following:
``(1) Make available information described in this
section--
``(A) in its original format; and
``(B) without charge, license, or registration
requirement.
``(2) Permit the information described in this section to
be--
``(A) searched;
``(B) downloaded in bulk;
``(C) disseminated via automatic electronic means;
and
``(D) freely shared by the public, such as by
social media.
``(3) Use permanent uniform resource locators for the
information described in this section.
``(4) Provide an opportunity for the public to provide
input about the usefulness of the site and recommendations for
improvements.
``Sec. 7404. Postdecision explanation for failed applicants
``If requested by an applicant for a competitive grant, for each
grant award made in an amount in excess of $100,000 pursuant to a
merit-based selection procedure, an Executive agency shall provide the
applicant with a timely direct interaction describing the basis for the
award decision of the Executive agency, including, if applicable, the
decision not to award a grant to the applicant.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the beginning of
subtitle V of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting
after the item relating to chapter 73 the following:
``74. Grant transparency requirements....................... 7401''.
(c) Inspector General Review of Peer Review Process.--
(1) Review.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of each Executive
agency that awards competitive grants shall conduct a review of
the effectiveness of the conflicts of interest policy of the
Executive agency, including a review of a random selection of
peer review processes, with respect to the peer review process
for competitive grants in order to detect favoritism.
(2) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms
``competitive grant'' and ``Executive agency'' have the meaning
given those terms in section 7401 of title 31, United States
Code, as added by subsection (a).
(d) Grants Workforce Report.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive
agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 105
of title 5, United States Code, except the term does
not include the Government Accountability Office.
(B) Federal grants workforce.--The term ``Federal
grants workforce'', with respect to an Executive
agency, means each employee of the Executive agency who
spends some or all of their time engaged in any of the
following:
(i) Grant planning, including any
programmatic activity.
(ii) Preparing grant solicitations, Notices
of Funding Opportunity, Notices Inviting
Applications, or other requests for grant
proposals.
(iii) Evaluating or reviewing grant
applications, including serving on a peer
review board.
(iv) Monitoring or administering grant
performance by grantees.
(v) Preparing the Notice of Award and
negotiating terms and conditions.
(vi) Post-award closeout activities,
including final technical and financial
reports.
(2) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives a
report on the Federal grants workforce, which shall address the
following:
(A) The size of the Federal grants workforce and
expected trends in Federal employment for the Federal
grants workforce.
(B) The adequacy of training opportunities for the
Federal grants workforce.
(C) Whether the Federal Acquisition Institute or
any other existing entity engaged in acquisition
workforce training should be made available for grant
training.
(D) Whether a warrant system similar to that used
in the Federal acquisition system should be established
for Federal officials authorized to award grants.
(E) The use by Executive agencies of suspension and
debarment actions taken against grantees during the 3-
year period preceding the date on which the report is
submitted, and the level of agency resources assigned
to the suspension and debarment functions.
(F) Any recommendations for improving the Federal
grants workforce.
Subtitle B--Publication of Opinions of Office of Legal Counsel
SEC. 611. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``See UNdisclosed Legal
Interpretations and Get Honest Transparency Act of 2024'' or as the
``SUNLIGHT Act of 2024''.
SEC. 612. SCHEDULE OF PUBLICATION FOR FINAL OLC OPINIONS.
Each final opinion issued by the Office of Legal Counsel must be
made publicly available in its entirety as soon as is practicable,
but--
(1) not later than 30 days after the opinion is issued or
updated if such action takes place on or after the date of
enactment of this Act;
(2) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act for an opinion issued on or after January 20, 1993;
(3) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act for an opinion issued on or after January 20, 1981 and
before or on January 19, 1993;
(4) not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of
this Act for an opinion issued on or after January 20, 1969 and
before or on January 19, 1981; and
(5) not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of
this Act for all other opinions.
SEC. 613. EXCEPTIONS AND LIMITATION ON PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF FINAL OLC
OPINIONS.
(a) In General.--A final OLC opinion or part thereof may be
withheld only to the extent--
(1) information contained in the opinion was--
(A) specifically authorized to be kept secret,
under criteria established by an Executive order, in
the interest of national defense or foreign policy;
(B) in fact properly classified, including all
procedural and marking requirements, pursuant to such
Executive order;
(C) the Attorney General determines that the
national defense or foreign policy interests protected
outweigh the public's interest in access to the
information; and
(D) has been put through declassification review
within the past two years.
(2) information contained in the opinion relates to the
appointment of a specific individual not confirmed to Federal
office;
(3) information contained in the opinion is specifically
exempted from disclosure by statute (other than sections 552
and 552b of title 5, United States Code), provided that such
statute--
(A) requires that the material be withheld in such
a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue; or
(B) establishes particular criteria for withholding
or refers to particular types of material to be
withheld;
(4) information in the opinion includes trade secrets and
commercial or financial information obtained from a person and
privileged or confidential whose disclosure would likely cause
substantial harm to the competitive position of the person from
whom the information was obtained;
(5) the President, in his or her sole and nondelegable
determination, formally and personally claims in writing that
executive privilege prevents the release of the information and
disclosure would cause specific identifiable harm to an
interest protected by an exception or the disclosure is
prohibited by law; or
(6) information in the opinion includes personnel and
medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would
constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
(b) Determination To Withhold.--Any determination under this
section to withhold information contained in a final OLC opinion must
be made by the Attorney General or a designee of the Attorney General.
The determination shall be--
(1) in writing;
(2) made available to the public within the same timeframe
as is required of a formal OLC opinion;
(3) sufficiently detailed as to inform the public of what
kind of information is being withheld and the reason therefore;
and
(4) effective only for a period of 3 years, subject to
review and reissuance, with each reissuance made available to
the public.
(c) Final Opinions.--For final OLC opinions for which the text is
withheld in full or in substantial part, a detailed unclassified
summary of the opinion must be made available to the public, in the
same timeframe as required of the final OLC opinion, that conveys the
essence of the opinion, including any interpretations of a statute, the
Constitution, or other legal authority. A notation must be included in
any published list of OLC opinions regarding the extent of the
withholdings.
(d) No Limitation on Relief.--A decision by the Attorney General to
release or withhold information pursuant to this Act shall not preclude
any action or relief conferred by statutory or regulatory regime that
empowers any person to request or demand the release of information.
(e) Reasonably Segregable Portions of Opinions to Be Published.--
Any reasonably segregable portion of an opinion shall be provided after
withholding of the portions which are exempt under this subsection. The
amount of information withheld, and the exemption under which the
withholding is made, shall be indicated on the released portion of the
opinion, unless including that indication would harm an interest
protected by the exemption in this subsection under which the
withholding is made. If technically feasible, the amount of the
information withheld, and the exemption under which the withholding is
made, shall be indicated at the place in the opinion where such
withholding is made.
SEC. 614. METHOD OF PUBLICATION.
The Attorney General shall publish each final OLC opinion to the
extent the law permits, including by publishing the opinions on a
publically accessible website that--
(1) with respect to each opinion--
(A) contains an electronic copy of the opinion,
including any transmittal letter associated with the
opinion, in an open format that is platform independent
and that is available to the public without
restrictions;
(B) provides the public the ability to retrieve an
opinion, to the extent practicable, through searches
based on--
(i) the title of the opinion;
(ii) the date of publication or revision;
or
(iii) the full text of the opinion; and
(C) identifies the time and date when the opinion
was required to be published, and when the opinion was
transmitted for publication; and
(D) provides a permanent means of accessing the
opinion electronically;
(2) includes a means for bulk download of all OLC opinions
or a selection of opinions retrieved using a text-based search;
(3) provides free access to the opinions, and does not
charge a fee, require registration, or impose any other
limitation in exchange for access to the website; and
(4) is capable of being upgraded as necessary to carry out
the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 615. INDEX OF OPINIONS.
(a) Publication of Index.--
(1) In general.--The Office of Legal Counsel shall publish
a complete list of final OLC opinions, arranged
chronologically, within 90 days of the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(2) Updates and revisions.--The list of opinions shall be
updated immediately every time an OLC opinion becomes final,
and a revision to an opinion shall be listed as if it were a
new opinion.
(b) Requirements for List.--Each list under subsection (a) shall
comply with the following:
(1) The list must be made available to the public by
publication on the website under section 614.
(2) The list shall--
(A) include, for each opinion--
(i) the full name of the opinion;
(ii) the date it was finalized or revised;
(iii) each author's name;
(iv) each recipient's name;
(v) a summary of the opinion;
(vi) a unique identifier assigned to each
final or revised opinion; and
(vii) whether an opinion has been
withdrawn; and
(B) be published in both human-readable and
machine-readable formats.
SEC. 616. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.
On complaint, the district court of the United States in the
district in which the complainant resides, or has his principal place
of business, or in the District of Columbia, has jurisdiction to enjoin
the agency from withholding information contained in a final OLC
opinion and to order the production of information improperly withheld
from the complainant. In such a case the court shall determine the
matter de novo, and may examine the contents of such OLC opinion in
camera to determine whether such information or any part thereof shall
be withheld under any of the exemptions set forth in section 613, and
the burden is on the agency to sustain its action.
SEC. 617. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this subtitle, any amendment made by this
subtitle, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is
held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this subtitle, of any
such amendments, and of the application of such provisions to other
persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
SEC. 618. DEFINITIONS.
(a) OLC Opinion.--The term ``OLC opinion'' means views on a matter
of legal interpretation communicated by the Office of Legal Counsel of
the Department of Justice to any other office or agency, or person in
an office or agency, in the Executive Branch, including any office in
the Department of Justice, the White House, or the Executive Office of
the President, and rendered in accordance with sections 511-513 of
title 28, United States Code. Where the communication of the legal
interpretation takes place verbally, a memorialization of that
communication qualifies as an ``OLC opinion''.
(b) Final OLC Opinion.--The term ``final OLC opinion'' means an OLC
opinion that--
(1) the Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General for
OLC, or a Deputy Assistant General for OLC, has determined is
final;
(2) government officials or government contractors are
relying on;
(3) is relied upon to formulate legal guidance; or
(4) is directly or indirectly cited in another Office of
Legal Counsel opinion.
(c) Revised OLC Opinion.--The term ``revised OLC opinion'' means an
OLC opinion that is withdrawn, information is added to, or information
is removed from.
Subtitle C--Contempt of Congress Procedures and Enforcement
SEC. 621. AVAILABILITY OF CIVIL ACTION TO ENFORCE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES SUBPOENAS.
(a) Civil Action.--The House of Representatives may in a civil
action obtain any appropriate relief to enforce compliance with a
subpoena or order of the House, or to enforce compliance with a
subpoena or order issued by a committee or subcommittee of the House
authorized to issue a subpoena or order, if the House by resolution
authorizes the commencement of that civil action.
(b) Representation by General Counsel.--Unless the House otherwise
provides, the Office of the General Counsel of the House of
Representatives shall represent the House in the civil action.
(c) Personal Jurisdiction.--Personal jurisdiction of the court over
a defendant in a civil action under this section extends outside the
territorial jurisdiction of the court if the claim--
(1) arose out of conduct by the defendant--
(A) within that territorial jurisdiction, or
(B) causing any injury, including informational
injury to the right of the House to make an
investigation, within that territorial jurisdiction; or
(2) otherwise has a reasonable relationship to contacts of
the defendant with the territorial jurisdiction.
(d) Assessment of Competing Interests.--
(1) In general.--In any civil action brought under this
section, if the court has determined that the information or
material which is the subject of the subpoena or order involved
is presumptively privileged based upon the President's
generalized interest in confidentiality, the House may overcome
this presumption by showing that--
(A) the House, or a committee or subcommittee
thereof, has a specific need for the information or
material in order to carry out its constitutional
obligations; and
(B) the information is not otherwise available.
(2) Enforcement.--If the court determines that the House,
or a committee or subcommittee thereof, has made the showing
described in paragraph (1), it shall enforce the subpoena or
order involved.
(e) Expedition of Trial and Appellate Proceedings.--The court shall
hear and determine a civil action under this section as expeditiously
as possible, and to the maximum extent practicable during the Congress
in which the action is commenced. Any appellate proceedings relating to
such a civil action shall similarly be expedited to assure to the
extent possible that the matter is fully resolved during the Congress
in which the action was commenced.
SEC. 622. ALTERNATE PROCEDURES FOR ENFORCEMENT OF CRIMINAL CONTEMPT OF
CONGRESS.
(a) Alternate Procedure.--
(1) Scope of application.--If the House of Representatives
finds a current or former officer or employee of the Executive
branch has violated section 102 of the Revised Statutes of the
United States (2 U.S.C. 192) or that any person has violated
such section at the direction of the President or another
officer of the Executive branch, the procedures of this section
apply.
(2) Certification by speaker.--In accordance with section
104 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C.
194), upon the finding by the House of Representatives of a
violation to which this section applies, the Speaker shall
certify that finding to the appropriate United States attorney,
whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand
jury for its action.
(3) Circumstances leading to appointment of special
counsel.--If--
(A) the Attorney General or the United States
attorney to whom the finding was certified informs the
court or the House that the Department of Justice will
not prosecute the case; or
(B) by the end of the 30th day after the date of
receipt of a certification made under paragraph (2) a
grand jury has not returned an indictment based on the
violation alleged in the certification;
the Special Division established under subsection (b)
(hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ``Special
Division'') shall appoint a special counsel under subsection
(c). It shall be the duty of the Attorney General to inform
that court and the House if a grand jury does not return an
indictment by the end of the 30-day period. The Speaker of the
House, or any interested congressional party, may file with the
Special Division a suggestion that circumstances giving rise to
a duty to appoint a special counsel have occurred after the 30-
day period ends without the return of an indictment.
(b) Special Division.--
(1) Establishment.--There is hereby established within the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia a
Special Division to carry out the appointment of special
counsels under this section.
(2) Designation.--
(A) In general.--The Chief Justice of the United
States shall designate three judges or justices of the
United States, one of whom shall be an active judge of
the United States Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia, to serve on the Special Division, except that
none of the judges or justices serving on the Special
Division may serve or have served on the same court.
(B) Priority.--In designating judges and justices
to serve on the Special Division, the Chief Justice
shall give priority to senior circuit judges and
retired justices of the United States Supreme Court.
(C) Deadline.--The Chief Justice shall make the
first such designation not later than 45 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(3) Term of service.--Each designation to the Special
Division shall be for a term of 2 years, but the Chief Justice
may fill any vacancy arising before the end of a term for the
remainder of that term.
(c) Appointment, Qualifications, and Prosecutorial Jurisdiction of
Special Counsel, and Administrative Matters Relating to the Special
Counsel.--
(1) Appointment, qualifications, and prosecutorial
jurisdiction of special counsel.--
(A) Appointment and qualifications.--The Special
Division shall appoint the special counsel, who must be
an attorney in good standing with substantial
prosecutorial experience--
(i) who has not served in any capacity in
the administration of the President who is or
who was in office at the time the Speaker of
the House certified the finding of a violation;
and
(ii) who is or who was not a Member,
officer, or employee of Congress at the time
the Speaker of the House certified the finding
of a violation.
(B) Prosecutorial jurisdiction.--The Special
Division shall define the special counsel's
prosecutorial jurisdiction as comprising the
investigation and prosecution of the alleged violation,
any conspiracy to commit the alleged violation, and any
perjury, false statement, or obstruction of justice
occurring in relation to such investigation and
prosecution.
(2) Authority of special counsel with respect to matters
within prosecutorial jurisdiction.--With respect to all matters
in that special counsel's prosecutorial jurisdiction, a special
counsel appointed under this section shall have full power and
independent authority to exercise all prosecutorial functions
and powers, and any other functions and powers normally
ancillary thereto, of the Department of Justice, the Attorney
General, and any other officer or employee of the Department of
Justice, except that the Attorney General shall exercise
direction or control as to those matters that specifically
require the Attorney General's personal action under section
2516 of title 18, United States Code.
(3) Compliance with policies of the department of
justice.--
(A) In general.--A special counsel shall, except to
the extent that to do so would be inconsistent with the
purposes of this section, comply with the written or
other established policies of the Department of Justice
respecting enforcement of the criminal laws.
(B) National security.--A special counsel shall
comply with guidelines and procedures used by the
Department in the handling and use of classified
material.
(4) Salary.--The special counsel shall receive a salary
equivalent to the salary of the United States Attorney for the
District of Columbia.
(5) Staff.--The special counsel may appoint and fix the
salaries of such staff, not to exceed 12 in number, as the
special counsel deems necessary to carry out the functions of
the special counsel under this section. However, no salary of a
member of such staff may exceed the salary of the special
counsel.
(6) Expenses.--The Department of Justice shall pay all
costs relating to the establishment and operation of any office
of special counsel. The Attorney General shall submit to the
Congress, not later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal
year, a report on amounts paid during that fiscal year for
expenses of investigations and prosecutions the special
counsel.
(7) Report to congress.--Each special counsel shall report
to Congress annually on the special counsel's activities under
this section. The report shall include a description of the
progress of any investigation or prosecution conducted by the
special counsel and provide information justifying the costs of
the activities reported on.
(d) Removal of Special Counsel.--
(1) In general.--A special counsel may be removed from
office, other than by impeachment and conviction, only by the
personal action of the Attorney General, and only for good
cause, physical or mental disability, or any other condition
that substantially impairs the performance of that special
counsel's duties.
(2) Report upon removal.--If a special counsel is removed
from office, the Attorney General shall promptly submit to the
Special Division and to Congress a report specifying the facts
found and the ultimate grounds for the removal.
(3) Judicial review of removal.--A special counsel removed
from office may obtain judicial review of the removal in a
civil action. The Special Division may not hear or determine
any appeal of a decision in any such civil action. The special
counsel may be reinstated or granted other appropriate relief
by order of the court.
(4) Appointment of replacement.--Upon removal of a special
counsel, the Special Division shall appoint a similarly
qualified individual to continue the functions of the special
counsel.
(e) Termination of Special Counsel's Authority.--
(1) In general.--The authority of the special counsel shall
cease 2 years after the date of the special counsel's
appointment, but the Special Division may extend that authority
for an additional period not to exceed one year, if the Special
Division finds good cause to do so. Good cause to do so
includes that the investigation or prosecution undertaken by
the special counsel has been delayed by dilatory tactics by
persons who could provide evidence that would significantly
assist the investigation or prosecution, and also includes the
need to allow the special counsel to participate in any
appellate proceedings related to prosecutions engaged in by the
special counsel.
(2) Termination by court.--The Special Division, either on
the Special Division's own motion or upon the request of the
Attorney General, may terminate an office of special counsel at
any time, on the ground that the investigation of all matters
within the prosecutorial jurisdiction of such special counsel,
and any resulting prosecutions, have been completed or so
substantially completed that it would be appropriate for the
Department of Justice to complete such investigations and
prosecutions.
SEC. 623. INCREASE IN PENALTY FOR CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS.
Section 102 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C.
192) is amended by striking ``deemed'' and all that follows through
``twelve months'' and inserting ``fined not more than $1,000,000 or
imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both''.
SEC. 624. AUTHORITY OF UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE TO ENFORCE
CITATIONS.
(a) Authority.--Section 9B(a) of the Act entitled ``An Act to
define the area of the United States Capitol Grounds, to regulate the
use thereof, and for other purposes'', approved July 31, 1946 (2 U.S.C.
1967(a)), is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (4);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (5) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(6) within any area, to enforce a citation issued with
respect to a violation of section 102 of the Revised Statutes
of the United States which relates to the House of
Representatives, or any citation issued with respect to a
resolution adopted by the House citing a person for contempt of
the House.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to citations issued on or after the expiration of
the 90-day period which begins on the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 625. COLLECTION OF PENALTIES IMPOSED BY THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES ON PERSONS CITED FOR CONTEMPT OF HOUSE.
(a) Civil Action.--If the House of Representatives adopts a
resolution citing a person for contempt of the House, the House may
commence a civil action to collect a monetary penalty from the person
if the House by subsequent resolution authorizes the commencement of
that civil action.
(b) Representation by General Counsel.--Unless the House otherwise
provides, the Office of the General Counsel of the House of
Representatives shall represent the House in the civil action.
(c) Personal Jurisdiction.--Personal jurisdiction of the court over
a defendant in a civil action under this section extends outside the
territorial jurisdiction of the court if the claim--
(1) arose out of conduct by the defendant--
(A) within that territorial jurisdiction; or
(B) causing any injury, including informational
injury to the right of the House to make an
investigation, within that territorial jurisdiction; or
(2) otherwise has a reasonable relationship to contacts of
the defendant with the territorial jurisdiction.
(d) Expedition of Trial and Appellate Proceedings.--The court shall
hear and determine a civil action under this section as expeditiously
as possible, and to the maximum extent practicable during the Congress
in which the action is commenced. Any appellate proceedings relating to
such a civil action shall similarly be expedited to assure to the
extent possible that the matter is fully resolved during the Congress
in which the action was commenced.
SEC. 626. NO EFFECT OF EXPIRATION OF CONGRESS ON PENDING ACTIONS.
Any civil action commenced by the House of Representatives pursuant
to this subtitle, and the authority of the Office of the General
Counsel of the House of Representatives with respect to the action,
shall not be rendered moot or otherwise affected as the result of the
expiration of the Congress in which the House commenced the action.
Subtitle D--Promoting Accountability and Security in Transitions
SEC. 631. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Promoting Accountability and
Security in Transitions Act of 2024'' or the ``PAST Act of 2024''.
SEC. 632. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
The sense of Congress is the following:
(1) The preservation of Presidential records (as defined in
section 2201 of title 44, United States Code) is a legal
obligation for every Presidential administration, as
Presidential records are the most important and widely used
source for studying how the executive branch of the Federal
Government works, how it has changed over time, and how it
might evolve to serve the needs of a new era.
(2) The preservation of Presidential records is therefore
vital for--
(A) the public to be able to understand and learn
from the past;
(B) future policymaking to build on the past
administration's successes and experience;
(C) ensuring accountability for results,
performance, and conduct; and
(D) other purposes that serve to strengthen
American democracy.
(3) Any effort to destroy, alter, or remove Presidential
records in violation of chapter 22 of title 44, United States
Code--
(A) threatens the values described in paragraph
(2); and
(B) may subject a person engaging in such efforts
to other criminal penalties under section 641 or 2071
of title 18, United States Code.
(4) The lawful disposal of Presidential records that no
longer have administrative, historical, informational, or
evidentiary value must follow a process as described in section
2203 of title 44, United States Code.
(5) What constitutes a Presidential record is determined
solely by whether the record relates to the ``carrying out of
constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial
duties of the President'', as indicated in the definition of
the term ``Presidential records'' in section 2201 of title 44,
United States Code, and by the content of the information
contained in the record.
(6) For communication between agencies and the Executive
Office of the President, the copy of the record belonging to
the agency is retained as an agency record pursuant to section
3301 of title 44, United States Code.
(7) Consistent with section 2203 of title 44, United States
Code, any Presidential records created with non-official
electronic media shall be ``preserved'', which includes a
comprehensive documentation of all records and associated
metadata and attachments.
(8) Applications or software with an automatic deleting
functionality are antithetical to the legal and historical
obligations described under chapter 22 of title 44, United
States Code.
(9) Periods of Presidential transition are moments where
the national security of the United States is most vulnerable,
necessitating an early, good faith, and consistent commitment
by the outgoing administration to ensure continuity of
operations as it relates to national security and protecting
critical infrastructure, among other reasons.
(10) Agencies and the Executive Office of the President are
required by law to cooperate with the Archivist of the United
States and the Federal Transition Coordinator of the General
Service Administration, who is tasked with ensuring agencies
comply with all statutory requirements relating to transition
planning under section 4(c) of the Presidential Transition Act
of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note).
(11) During a Presidential transition, Presidential
records, which contain valuable information regarding
agreements or negotiations with foreign governments and
international organizations and the actions and beliefs of
foreign nations or actors are of enormous value to the national
security.
(12) Any effort to delay briefings, coordination, and
sharing information regarding key national security
relationships, threats, and operations with an incoming
administration or the destruction, removal, or alteration of
Presidential records that attest to the information described
in this section could pose a grave danger to the national
security.
(13) An expeditious ascertainment of the plausible
President-elect and Vice-President-elect by the Administrator
of General Services plays a vital role in ensuring continuity
of Government and protecting national security such that the
risk of redundant expenditure is overwhelmed by the advantages
of an early access to transition resources to allow for
transition planning.
(14) The National Archives and Records Administration plays
an essential role in ensuring the official proceedings of
Government are documented to improve democracy in the United
States, protect national security, provide continuity of
Government during a transition, and promote accountability for
actions taking during a Presidency.
(15) The robust funding of the National Archives and
Records Administration and protection of its officers and
employees from political interference is a national imperative
and must be a priority for Congress.
SEC. 633. DEFINITIONS.
Section 2201 of title 44, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, and includes the
metadata associated with all such material'' before the period;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) The term `electronic messaging account' includes
electronic mail, chat or instant messaging, text messaging,
voicemail messaging, and other messaging platforms or apps,
such as social media or mobile applications, among other
applications.
``(7) The term `official electronic messaging account'
includes electronic messaging accounts provided by an executive
agency or the Executive Office of the President.
``(8) The term `dispose', with respect to documentary
material, means to remove, deface, alter, corrupt, delete,
erase, or otherwise destroy the documentary material.''.
SEC. 634. MANAGEMENT AND CUSTODY OF PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS.
(a) In General.--Section 2203 of title 44, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and (g) as
subsections (g), (h), and (i), respectively;
(2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);
(3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
``(c) The President shall obtain the advice of the Archivist in
applying standards, procedures, and techniques designed to--
``(1) improve the management of records;
``(2) promote the maintenance and security of records
determined appropriate for preservation; and
``(3) facilitate the segregation and disposal of records of
temporary value.
``(d)(1) During the President's term of office, if the President
wishes to dispose of those Presidential records of such President that
no longer have administrative, historical, informational, or
evidentiary value--
``(A) the President shall request, in writing, the views of
the Archivist concerning the proposed disposal of such
Presidential records; and
``(B) the Archivist shall indicate, in writing, whether the
Archivist intends to take any action under subsection (g) of
this section with respect to the Presidential records.
``(2) Not later than 5 business days after the date on which the
Archivist provides a written indication under paragraph (1)(B), the
Archivist shall make publicly available on a website any communications
received or sent by the Archivist regarding the potential disposal of
Presidential records under paragraph (1).'';
(4) in subsection (e), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``subsection (c)'' and inserting
``subsection (d)''; and
(B) by striking ``subsection (e)'' and inserting
``subsection (g)''; and
(5) by inserting after subsection (e), as so redesignated,
the following:
``(f) In January of each even-numbered year, the Archivist shall,
in coordination with the Office of Administration of the Executive
Office of the President, submit to the Chairman and Ranking Member of
each committee of jurisdiction of either House of Congress, of the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and of the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and to the President a
report that--
``(1) is based on inspections conducted by the Archivist,
in coordination with the Office of Administration of the
Executive Office of the President, of the Presidential records
management programs of the Executive Office of the President;
and
``(2) evaluates--
``(A) the records management activities and
training conducted and standard operating procedures
and guidance issued pursuant to this section; and
``(B) responses to any recommendations resulting
from inspections or studies conducted under this
section.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 2105(a)(2) of title 44, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``paragraph (f)(2)'' and inserting
``subsection (i)(2)''.
(2) Chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, is
amended--
(A) in section 2204(b)(2)(A), by striking ``section
2203(d)(1)'' and inserting ``2203(i)(1)''; and
(B) in section 2206(1), by striking ``section
2203(f)(3)'' and inserting ``section 2203(i)(4)''.
SEC. 635. RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS TO PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS.
Section 2204 of title 44, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ``shall not be
subject to judicial review, except as provided'' and inserting
``shall be subject to judicial review, including as provided'';
and
(2) in subsection (e)--
(A) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``The United
States''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2)(A) A person seeking access to a Presidential record to which
access is restricted under subsection (a) may file an action in the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia seeking
release of the Presidential record.
``(B) In an action filed under subparagraph (A), the court shall
direct the release of a Presidential record, or a reasonably segregable
portion thereof, if the court determines that the Presidential record,
or the reasonably segregable portion thereof, is not within any of the
categories specified in subsection (a) and there is not a valid claim
of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure.''.
SEC. 636. EXCEPTIONS TO RESTRICTED ACCESS.
Section 2205(2)(C) of title 44, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``to any committee or subcommittee
thereof'' and inserting ``upon request by the Chairman or
Ranking Member of a committee or subcommittee thereof, to such
Chairman or ranking member,''; and
(2) by striking ``its business'' and inserting ``the
business of the committee or subcommittee''.
SEC. 637. REGULATIONS.
Section 2206 of title 44, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``The Archivist'';
(2) in subsection (a), as so designated--
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and
inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) provisions--
``(A) for what constitutes official and non-
official electronic messaging accounts; and
``(B) establishing procedures for documenting--
``(i) Presidential records created on non-
official electronic messaging accounts
(including emerging technologies, applications,
and platforms); and
``(ii) required metadata;
``(6) provisions for the preservation of digital media,
including from social media accounts, that may appear to be
personal records or private property but the preservation of
which may be required under this chapter; and
``(7) provisions for the appropriate circumstances and
controls for the use of messaging applications and software
with automatic deleting or other similar functionalities.'';
and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) The Archivist shall issue, and shall annually update,
implementation guidance with respect to the regulations described in
paragraphs (5) and (6) of subsection (a).''.
SEC. 638. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT FOR OFFICIAL BUSINESS CONDUCTED USING
NON-OFFICIAL ELECTRONIC MESSAGING ACCOUNTS.
(a) In General.--Section 2209(a) of title 44, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``create or send'' and inserting ``create, send, or receive'';
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and adjusting the
margin accordingly; and
(3) by striking ``The President,'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) Limitations.--Not later than 90 days after assuming
office, the President shall publicly release guidelines for
officers and employees of the Executive Office of the President
who create or receive documentary material that--
``(A) prohibit the use of non-official electronic
messaging accounts that cannot be easily copied or
forwarded to an official electronic messaging account
for official business; and
``(B) prohibit the use of messaging accounts or
software with automatic deleting or other similar
functionalities.
``(2) Requirements for use.--The President,''.
SEC. 639. PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION ACT OF 1963.
The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is
amended--
(1) in section 3--
(A) in subsection (a)(8)(A), by striking clause (v)
and inserting the following:
``(v)(I)(aa) Activities under this paragraph shall include the
preparation of a detailed classified, compartmented summary by the
relevant outgoing executive branch officials of--
``(AA) specific strategic, tactical, and operational
threats to national security;
``(BB) major military or covert operations; and
``(CC) pending decisions on possible uses of military force
or covert actions.
``(bb) The summary prepared under item (aa) shall be
provided to the President-elect and members of office staff
with appropriate clearances that are designated by the
President-elect as soon as possible after the date of the
general elections held to determine the electors of President
and Vice President under section 1 or 2 of title 3, United
States Code.
``(II) The Archivist of the United States shall collaborate with
the Federal Transition Coordinator and agencies, including the
Executive Office of the President, to ensure that the President-elect
and members of office staff with appropriate clearances that are
designated by the President-elect can easily access national security
information (including documents, videos, audio, and briefings) created
by the previous administration after the inauguration of the President-
elect.
``(III) The Archivist of the United States shall submit to the
Chairman and Ranking Member of each committee of jurisdiction of either
House of Congress, of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate,
and of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
a report if the Archivist of the United States believes there appears
to be noncompliance with the requirements under this clause.''; and
(B) in subsection (c)--
(i) by redesignating paragraph (3) as
paragraph (4); and
(ii) by inserting after paragraph (2) the
following:
``(3)(A) Not later than 6 days after the date of a general election
described in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall make the
ascertainment described in paragraph (1) without any interference or
undue pressure from the President or a candidate for President, or any
representative thereof, based on provisional results from State
election officials and expert analysis of results.
``(B) Given the imperatives of an orderly transition, if there is a
plausible chance that the apparent successful candidate for the office
of President and Vice President, respectively, are not the incumbent,
or if the incumbent was not a candidate, the Administrator shall
provide a portion of the services and facilities authorized to be
provided under this section to all parties with a plausible chance of
being the successful candidate.''; and
(2) in section 4--
(A) in subsection (d)--
(i) in paragraph (2)--
(I) in subparagraph (B), by
striking ``and'' at the end;
(II) in subparagraph (C), by
striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(III) by adding at the end the
following:
``(D) under the guidance of the Archivist of the
United States, monitor compliance with chapter 22 of
title 44, United States Code, including the
preservation of all records and prevention of any
records from being disposed unless done in accordance
with such chapter.'';
(ii) in paragraph (3)--
(I) by redesignating subparagraphs
(C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and
(E), respectively; and
(II) by inserting after
subparagraph (B) the following:
``(C) the Archivist of the United States;''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Role of the archivist.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 120 days before
the date of a Presidential election, the Archivist of
the United States shall send a written communication to
all officers and employees of the Executive Office of
the President who create or receive documentary
material (as defined under section 2201 of title 44,
United States Code)--
``(i) describing the requirements under
chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code; and
``(ii) establishing a timeline for
cooperation with the Archivist of the United
States to ensure an orderly and timely
transition of records subject to such chapter
if there is a Presidential transition.
``(B) Reporting.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than 30 days
after the date of a Presidential election which
results in a Presidential transition, the
Archivist of the United States, in coordination
with the Federal Transition Coordinator, shall
submit to the Chairman and Ranking Member of
each committee of jurisdiction of either House
of Congress, of the Committee on Appropriations
of the Senate, and of the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives
a report discussing the status of the
transition activities of the White House
Transition Coordinating Council and identifying
concerns, if any, regarding compliance with
chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code.
``(ii) Noncompliance.--The Archivist of the
United States shall submit to the Chairman and
Ranking Member of each committee of
jurisdiction of either House of Congress, of
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate,
and of the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives a report if the
Archivist of the United States believes there
appears to be noncompliance with the
requirements or timeline described in
subparagraph (A).'';
(B) in subsection (e)(2)--
(i) in subparagraph (D), by striking
``and'' at the end;
(ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(F) under the guidance of the Archivist of the
United States, monitor compliance with chapter 22 of
title 44, United States Code, including the
preservation of all records and prevention of any
records from being disposed unless done in accordance
with such chapter.'';
(C) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection
(j); and
(D) by inserting after subsection (h) the
following:
``(i) Role of the Archivist.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days before the date
of a Presidential election, the Archivist of the United States
shall send a written communication to the head of each agency--
``(A) describing the requirements under chapter 33
of title 44, United States Code; and
``(B) establishing a timeline for cooperation with
the Archivist of the United States to ensure an orderly
and timely transition of records subject to such
chapter if there is a Presidential transition.
``(2) Reporting.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the
date of a Presidential election which results in a
Presidential transition, the Archivist of the United
States, in coordination with the Federal Transition
Coordinator, shall submit to the Chairman and Ranking
Member of each committee of jurisdiction of either
House of Congress, of the Committee on Appropriations
of the Senate, and of the Committee on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives a report discussing the
status of the transition activities of agencies and
identifying concerns, if any, regarding compliance with
chapter 33 of title 44, United States Code.
``(B) Noncompliance.--The Archivist of the United
States shall submit to the Chairman and Ranking Member
of each committee of jurisdiction of either House of
Congress, of the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate, and of the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives a report if the Archivist of
the United States believes there appears to be
noncompliance with the requirements or timeline
described in paragraph (1).''.
SEC. 640. FORMER PRESIDENTS.
The Act entitled ``An Act to provide retirement, clerical
assistants, and free mailing privileges to former Presidents of the
United States, and for other purposes'', approved August 25, 1958
(commonly known as the ``Former Presidents Act of 1958'') (3 U.S.C. 102
note), is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(h) If the Archivist of the United States determines that a
former President did not comply with major requirements under chapter
22 of title 44, United States Code, or the Presidential Transition Act
of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note), the monetary amounts described in
subsections (a) and (b) shall be withheld until the later of--
``(1) 1 year after the date on which the Archivist makes
that determination; or
``(2) the date on which the Archivist determines the former
President has adequately complied with the requirements.''.
SEC. 641. PRESIDENTIAL ARCHIVAL DEPOSITORY.
Section 2112 of title 44, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``When the Archivist'' and
inserting ``(1) Subject to paragraph (2), when the
Archivist''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) The Archivist may not deposit papers, documents, or
other historical materials accepted under section 2111 of this
title or other Federal records appropriate for preservation in
a Presidential archival depository relating to a former
President under paragraph (1) until after the date on which the
Archivist determines that the former President has adequately
complied with the requirements under chapter 22 relating to
Presidential records (as defined in section 2201).'';
(2) in subsection (g), by adding at the end the following:
``(6)(A) Notwithstanding paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) (to the
extent that such paragraphs are inconsistent with this paragraph), this
subsection shall be administered in accordance with this paragraph with
respect to any Presidential archival depository created as a depository
for the papers, documents, and other historical materials and
Presidential records pertaining to any President who takes any action,
including destruction, alteration, concealment, or removal, that
threatens or damages the integrity and statutory preservation
requirements under chapter 22 for Presidential records (as defined in
section 2201).
``(B) For purposes of subparagraphs (A)(ii), (B)(i)(II), and
(B)(ii)(II) of paragraph (3) the percentage of 100 percent shall apply
instead of 60 or 20 percent.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(h) None of the funds in the account in the National Archives
Trust Fund that may be expended for the benefit and in the interest of
a Presidential archival depository relating to a former President may
be used for the cost of digitizing records the former President wishes
to deposit in and make available through the Presidential archival
depository.''.
TITLE VII--STRENGTHENING THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
SEC. 701. DIGITAL ACCESS TO RECORDS MADE AVAILABLE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT.
Section 552(a)(3) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(F) Not later than two months after the date on
which the head of an agency makes a record available to
a person under this paragraph, the head of the agency
shall make available on the website of the agency, at
no cost to the public and in a searchable, sortable,
downloadable, and machine-readable format, electronic
copies of the request for the record and any response
provided to the person that made the request for the
record (including the record made available to the
person), unless the head of the agency determines that
the excessive cost of making such copies available on
the website would place an undue burden on the
agency.''.
SEC. 702. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AMENDMENTS.
(a) Disclosure of Certain Records.--Section 552(a)(2) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(F)(i) materials related to the operations and establishment of
advisory committees (as defined in section 1001) and any subcommittee
thereof, including events, timelines, agendas, minutes, transcripts,
recordings, committee member names and biographies, conflict of
interest waivers, committee charters, and any other related materials;
``(ii) unclassified reports submitted to Congress by the
head of the agency;
``(iii) unclassified testimony submitted to Congress by the
head of the agency;
``(iv) agency organization charts and directories with the
contact information for all offices of the agency;
``(v) any log relating to a request for a record under
paragraph (3), including any tracking number assigned to the
request, the date the request was received by the head of the
agency, the subject of the request, and the disposition of the
request;
``(vi) any record that reflects the official calendar of
the head of the agency, including a record that reflects an
event, meeting, or telephone call scheduled for the head of the
agency;
``(vii) a list--
``(I) identifying--
``(aa) each contract or grant of the agency
with a value exceeding $100,000,000; or
``(bb) the 10 contracts or grants of the
agency with the highest value if fewer than 10
contracts or grants have a value exceeding
$100,000,000;
``(II) the award ID for each such contract or
grant;
``(III) a description of each such contract or
grant, including the award type of the contract or
grant;
``(IV) the recipient of each such contract or
grant;
``(V) the start and end date each such contract or
grant; and
``(VI) the total obligations related to the
contract or grant;
``(viii) final reports or memoranda created by an entity
other than the agency, including other Governmental entities,
at the request of the head of the agency and used to make a
final policy decision;
``(ix) any memorandum from the Office of Legal Council of
the Department of Justice provided to the head of the agency;
``(x) any documents containing legal analysis relied upon
formally or informally by the head of the agency to respond to
the public;
``(xi) any documents containing legal analysis relied upon
formally or informally by the head of the agency to inform
policy analysis or policy determinations; and
``(xii) unclassified reports of the Inspector General of
the agency.''.
(b) Access to Electronic Records by FOIA Officers.--Section
552(a)(3)(C) of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
``(C) In responding under this paragraph to a request for a record
originally created in an electronic form or format, an agency shall
make a reasonable effort to produce the record in that form or format,
except when such an effort would significantly interfere with the
operation of the automated information system of the agency.
``(D) For the purpose of responding under this paragraph to a
request for a record, the Chief FOIA Officer of the agency may access
and retrieve any such record without making a request to a document
custodian of the agency for such access or retrieval.''.
(c) Clarifying Authorization for Court Order Compliance.--Section
552(a)(4)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
``(B)(i) A person aggrieved by a failure of an agency to comply
with any requirement of this section may bring an action against the
agency in a district court of the United States. The district courts
shall have original jurisdiction of all actions arising under this
section. Venue over such an action is proper in the district in which
the complainant resides, or has his principal place of business, or in
which the agency records that are the subject of the action are
situated, or in the District of Columbia. The court in such an action
may--
``(I) enjoin the agency from withholding an agency
record;
``(II) order the agency to publish records in the
Federal Register as required by paragraph (1), and to
require such publication on a continuing basis;
``(III) order the agency to make records available
for public inspection in an electronic format as
required by paragraph (2), and to require such public
access on a continuing basis;
``(IV) order the agency to produce agency records
in response to a request under paragraph (3);
``(V) provide relief to resolve any dispute over--
``(aa) the validity of a request under
paragraph (3), including whether a request
reasonably describes the records sought or has
been submitted in accordance with an agency's
published rules and procedures;
``(bb) an agency's interpretation of the
scope of a request under paragraphs (1), (2),
or (3);
``(cc) the validity of an agency
determination under paragraph (6);
``(dd) the reasonableness of an agency's
search for records;
``(ee) the ability of an agency to
reproduce a record in a particular form or
format;
``(ff) the treatment of a record under
paragraph (2) of subsection (f);
``(gg) any fee issue, including an agency's
denial of a request for the waiver or reduction
fees; and
``(hh) the denial of a request for
expedited processing;
``(VI) enjoin the agency from maintaining or
applying any policy or practice that impairs lawful
access to records or otherwise fails to abide by the
terms of this section;
``(VII) issue a declaratory judgment, to the extent
authorized by section 2201 of title 28; and
``(VIII) provide any other appropriate equitable
relief to remedy a violation of this section.
``(ii) In any action brought under this section, the court
shall determine the matter de novo. The court, may examine the
contents of agency records in camera to determine whether such
records or any part thereof shall be withheld under any of the
exemptions set forth in subsection (b) of this section. The
burden is on the agency to sustain its action. In addition to
any other matters to which a court accords substantial weight,
a court shall accord substantial weight to an affidavit of an
agency concerning the agency's determination as to technical
feasibility under paragraph (2)(C) and subsection (b), and
reproducibility under paragraph (3)(B).''.
(d) Disclosure of Certain Commercial or Financial Information Under
FOIA.--Section 552(b)(4) of the United States Code is amended by
inserting after ``confidential'' the following: ``except for commercial
or financial information the disclosure of which under this subsection
would not cause substantial harm to the person from any competitor of
the person''.
(e) Additional Matters To Be Included in Annual Report.--Section
552(e)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (P), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (Q), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(R) a detailed description of any steps taken by the
agency to design or format information or records, such that
such information or records may be made available to the public
under subsection (a);
``(S) the number of requests for records the agency found
to be not reasonably described or unduly burdensome; and
``(T) the number of requests for records with respect to
which the agency could neither confirm nor deny the existence
of the records.''.
SEC. 703. OTHER MATTERS.
(a) Presumption of Openness.--
(1) Amendments.--Section 552(b) of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) in paragraph (3)(B), by inserting ``with an
explanation for the exemption'' after ``specifically
cites to this paragraph'';
(B) in paragraph (5), by inserting before the
semicolon at the end the following: ``, except for
inter-agency and intra-agency memorandums or letters
required to be disclosed under subsection (a),
including--
``(A) opinions that are controlling interpretations
of law;
``(B) final reports or memoranda created by an
entity other than the agency, including other
Governmental entities, at the request of the agency and
used to make a final policy decision; or
``(C) guidance documents used by the agency to
respond to the public.'';
(C) in paragraph (6), by striking ``similar files''
and inserting ``files that contain personal information
(such as contact information or financial information
of a person)''; and
(D) in the matter following paragraph (9)--
(i) by inserting before ``Any reasonably
segregable portion'' the following: ``An agency
may not withhold information under this
subsection unless such agency reasonably
foresees that disclosure would cause specific
identifiable harm to an interest protected by
an exemption''; and
(ii) by inserting before ``If technically
feasible,'' the following: ``For each record
not released in whole or in part pursuant to
the exemption under paragraph (3), the agency
shall, at the time the agency provides the
record or a response to the request for such
record, identify that the record was not
released in whole or in part pursuant to such
exemption''.
(2) Exemption decision transparency.--Section
552(a)(6)(C)(i) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
striking the fourth sentence and inserting at the end the
following: ``Any notification of denial or partial denial of
any request for records under this subsection shall set forth
each name and title or position of each person responsible for
the denial or partial denial or any decision to withhold a
responsive record under subsection (b).''.
(3) Provisions relating to the office of government
information services.--Section 552(h) of title 5, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Access to Agency Records.--The head of an administrative
agency shall provide to the Director of the Office of Government
Information Services any record requested by the Director for the
purpose of carrying out mediation services pursuant to paragraph
(3).''.
(b) Government Accountability Office.--Subsection (i) of section
552 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(i) The Comptroller General shall--
``(2) not later than one year following enactment of this
clause, and every 2 years thereafter, audit each agency to
determine compliance with and implementation of the
requirements of this section and issue reports to the Committee
on Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate on
the result of such audit;
``(3) catalog the matters specifically exempted from
disclosure by statute pursuant to subsection (b)(3), and any
use of such exemptions by agencies; and
``(4) review and prepare a report on the processing of
requests by agencies for information pertaining to an entity
that has received assistance under title I of the Emergency
Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211 et seq.)
during any period in which the Federal Government owns or owned
more than 50 percent of the stock of such entity.''.
(c) Annual Report by Congressional Research Service.--Section 552
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(n) Annual Report by Congressional Research Service.--The
Congressional Research Service shall, on an annual basis--
``(1) compile a list of statutes that specifically exempt
records from disclosure pursuant to subsection (b)(3); and
``(2) make such list available to--
``(A) the Committee on Oversight and Accountability
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the
Senate; and
``(B) the public.''.
(d) Public Interest Balancing Test.--Section 552(a)(8)(A)(i)(I) of
title 5, United States Code is amended by inserting ``, and such harm
outweighs the public interest (including the interest in furthering
public understanding of the operations or decision making of an
official or employee of an agency, facilitating the ability of the
public to make informed decisions with respect to electoral or
democratic processes, investigating any reasonable suspicion of
governmental wrongdoing, and furthering public health or safety) in
making available such information'' after ``described in subsection
(b)''.
TITLE VIII--IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY WITHIN THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
SEC. 801. TELEVISING SUPREME COURT PROCEEDINGS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 678. Televising supreme court proceedings
``The Supreme Court shall permit television coverage of all open
sessions of the Court unless the Court decides, by a vote of the
majority of justices, that allowing such coverage in a particular case
would constitute a violation of the due process rights of one or more
of the parties before the Court.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 45 of
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``678. Televising Supreme Court proceedings.''.
SEC. 802. AUDIO RECORDING OF SUPREME COURT PROCEEDINGS.
The Chief Justice of the United States shall ensure that the audio
of an oral argument before the Supreme Court of the United States is
recorded and is made publicly available on the internet website of the
Supreme Court at the same time that it is recorded.
SEC. 803. AVAILABILITY ON THE INTERNET OF FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS
OF JUDICIAL OFFICERS.
Section 103 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.
103), as amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting at the
end the following:
``(n) The Judicial Conference shall make available any report filed
with it under this title by a judicial officer within 48 hours of the
applicable submission deadline on the website of the Judicial
Conference in a searchable, sortable, downloadable, machine-readable
format.''.
SEC. 804. GAO AUDIT OF PACER.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an
audit of the public access to court electronic records system
maintained by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts,
and shall submit to Congress, the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts, and any other appropriate Federal agency or office, a
report that contains the results of the audit, along with any
recommendations for improving the public access to court electronic
records system.
SEC. 805. ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS REFORM.
(a) Consolidation of the Case Management/Electronic Case Files
System.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts, in coordination with the
Administrator of General Services, shall consolidate the Case
Management/Electronic Case Files system, and shall develop one
system for all filings with courts of the United States, which
shall be administered by the Administrative Office of the
United States Courts.
(2) Use of technology.--In developing the system under
paragraph (1), the Director shall use modern technology in
order--
(A) to improve security, data accessibility,
affordability, and performance; and
(B) to minimize the burden on pro se litigants.
(3) Availability to states.--
(A) In general.--A State may choose to participate
in the system developed under this subsection.
(B) Fee.--The Director shall charge a fee to a
State that chooses to participate in the system, which
is set at a level to recover the cost of providing the
services associated with the administration and
maintenance of the system to the State.
(b) Public Access to Court Electronic Records System
Requirements.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts, in coordination with the
Administrator of General Services, shall update the Public
Access to Court Electronic Records system, which shall be
subject to the following requirements:
(A) A document filed with a court shall be made
publicly accessible upon filing, except as ordered by a
court or by rule of the Judicial Conference.
(B) All documents on the system shall be available
to the public and to parties before the court free of
charge.
(C) Any information that is prohibited from public
disclosure by law or court order shall be redacted.
(D) All documents shall be text-searchable and
machine-readable.
(E) To the extent practicable, external websites
shall be able to link to documents on the system.
(F) The system shall include digital audio and
visual files of court recordings, when such files are
available.
(G) The system shall provide search functions for
public use.
(2) Minimizing the burden on pro se litigants.--In
developing the system to comply with the requirements under
paragraph (1), the Director shall, to the extent practicable,
not impose a disproportionate impact on pro se litigants.
(3) Use of technology.--In developing the system under
paragraph (1), the Director shall use modern technology in
order--
(A) to improve security, data accessibility,
affordability, and performance; and
(B) to minimize the burden on pro se litigants.
(4) Authority to exempt certain documents.--The Director
may identify categories of documents which are not made
publicly accessible under subsection (a)(1), and categories of
court proceedings, the recordings of which are not made
available under paragraph (1)(F).
(c) Definition of Machine-Readable.--In this section, the term
``machine-readable'' means a format in which information or data can be
easily processed by a computer without human intervention while
ensuring no semantic meaning is lost.
TITLE IX--ENFORCEMENT
SEC. 901. REPORT BY THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.
(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct an annual audit of the activities of agencies in the
legislative and executive branch to determine, with respect to in the
year prior to the study--
(1) whether data required by law to be provided to the
public through the Internet by an agency in the legislative or
executive branch of the Federal Government was--
(A) made available in accordance with the law,
except for data that is subject to privacy, security,
or privilege exemptions;
(B) collected at the source, with the highest
possible level of granularity, not in aggregate or
modified forms;
(C) made available as quickly as necessary to
preserve the value of the data;
(D) available to the widest range of users for the
widest range of purposes;
(E) reasonably structured to allow automated
processing;
(F) available to anyone, with no registration
requirement;
(G) available in a format over which no person has
exclusive control; and
(H) subject to any copyright, patent, trademark, or
trade secret protections (with reasonable privacy,
security, and privilege restrictions); and
(2) determine whether the data provided to the public under
this Act is produced and maintained using any standard for data
publication required by a law, regulation, executive order, or
policy of the Federal Government, including any such standard
established by the National Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (Public law 104-113), the DATA Act (Public Law 101-
113), or OMB Circular A-119.
(b) Report.--The Comptroller General shall submit a report on the
results of each audit required by subsection (a) to the Committee on
Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
TITLE X--MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 1001. TRANSFER OF CERTAIN RECORDS TO ARCHIVIST OF UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General of
the United States shall transfer to the Archivist of the United States
each record--
(1) created during the period beginning on January 1, 1981,
and ending December 31, 1986; and
(2) subject to Item 7 of Records Schedule N1-60-10-31 of
the National Archives and Records Administration.
(b) Retention.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General of the United
States may submit to the Archivist of the United States a
written request to retain any record described in subsection
(a), in accordance with section 1235.14 of title 36, Code of
Federal Regulations. The Archivist shall approve or deny each
such request not later than 60 days after receiving the
request.
(2) Transfer of records after denial.--Not later than 30
days after the Archivist of the United States denies a request
under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall transfer to the
Archivist each record for which the request for retention has
been denied.
(c) Enforcement.--If the Attorney General fails to comply with the
requirements of this section, the Archivist of the United States may
bring an action in the proper district court of the United States to
enforce compliance with this section.
SEC. 1002. DATA STANDARDS.
(a) In General.--Subtitle A of title I of the Financial Stability
Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5311 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``SEC. 124. DATA STANDARDS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall, by rule,
promulgate data standards for the information reported to member
agencies by financial entities under the jurisdiction of the member
agency and the data collected from member agencies on behalf of the
Council.
``(b) Standardization.--Member agencies, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Treasury, shall implement regulations promulgated by
the Secretary of the Treasury under subsection (a) to standardize the
types and formats of data reported to member agencies or collected on
behalf of the Council, as described under subsection (a). If a member
agency fails to implement such regulations prior to the expiration of
the 3-year period following the date of publication of final
regulations, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
Chairperson, may implement such regulations with respect to the
financial entities under the jurisdiction of the member agency.
``(c) Data Standards.--
``(1) Common identifiers and data formats.--The data
standards promulgated under subsection (a) shall include--
``(A) common identifiers for information reported
to member agencies or collected on behalf of the
Council, including a common legal entity identifier for
all entities required to report to member agencies; and
``(B) common data formats for information reported
to member agencies or collected on behalf of the
Council.
``(2) Data standard requirements.--The data standards
promulgated under subsection (a) shall, to the extent
practicable--
``(A) render information fully searchable and
machine-readable;
``(B) be nonproprietary;
``(C) incorporate standards developed and
maintained by voluntary consensus standards bodies; and
``(D) be consistent with and implement applicable
accounting and reporting principles.
``(3) Consultation.--In promulgating data standards under
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall consult
with other Federal departments and agencies and multi-agency
initiatives responsible for Federal data standards.
``(4) Interoperability of data.--In promulgating data
standards under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury
shall seek to promote interoperability of financial regulatory
data across members of the Council.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents under section 1(b)
of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 123 the
following:
``Sec. 124. Data standards.''.
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