[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4524 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4524
To amend titles 5, 31, and 44, United States Code, to improve the
equitable provision of services to underserved communities and
individuals, to establish an Agency Equity Advisory Team, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 17, 2025
Ms. Pressley (for herself, Mr. Garcia of California, Ms. Adams, Mrs.
Beatty, Mr. Bishop, Ms. Brown, Mr. Carson, Mr. Clyburn, Ms. Crockett,
Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Fields, Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Frost, Ms. Garcia
of Texas, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Jayapal, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr.
Kennedy of New York, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lynch, Mrs. McIver,
Mr. Meeks, Mr. Mfume, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Omar, Ms.
Plaskett, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Simon, Mr. Soto, Ms. Stansbury,
Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Velazquez, Mrs. Watson Coleman, and Ms. Williams of
Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend titles 5, 31, and 44, United States Code, to improve the
equitable provision of services to underserved communities and
individuals, to establish an Agency Equity Advisory Team, 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 ``Equity in Government Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.
(a) Agency Strategic Plans.--Section 306 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting after ``of the
agency'' the following: ``, with at least one goal, or 20
percent of the total number of goals, whichever is greater,
relating to improving the equitable provision of services to
underserved communities and individuals'';
(2) in subsection (d), by inserting after ``in such a
plan'' the following: ``, including nongovernmental
organizations and other stakeholders, including academic and
research partners, State and local governments, and community
and advocacy groups, that can address how to improve the
equitable provision of services to underserved communities and
individuals''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Additional Definitions.--In this section and sections 1115
and 1120 of title 31:
``(1) State.--The term `State' means each State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, each commonwealth,
territory, or possession of the United States, and each
federally recognized Indian Tribe.
``(2) Underserved communities.--The term `underserved
communities' means populations sharing a particular
characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have
been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in
aspects of economic, social, and civic life.
``(3) Underserved individual.--The term `underserved
individual' means a member of any underserved communities.''.
(b) Agency Performance Plans.--Section 1115(b) of title 31, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after ``and the next
fiscal year'' the following: ``, with at least one performance
goal, or 20 percent of the total number of performance goals,
whichever is greater, relating to improving the equitable
provision of services to underserved communities and
individuals''; and
(2) in paragraph (5)(E), by inserting after ``other
agencies'' the following: ``, nongovernmental organizations,
and other stakeholders, including academic and research
partners, State and local governments, and community and
advocacy groups,''.
(c) Agency Priority Goals.--Section 1120(b)(1) of title 31, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after the first sentence the
following: ``At least one of the priority goals of each agency, or 20
percent of the priority goals of the agency, whichever is greater,
shall be related to improving the equitable provision of services to
underserved communities and individuals.''.
SEC. 3. PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT OFFICERS.
Section 1124 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(B) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by inserting at the end the following:
``(G) establish and serve as the head of an Agency
Equity Advisory Team, with at least 10 members, that
includes representation from at least 10 of the
following:
``(i) The head of the agency.
``(ii) Regulatory affairs senior designee.
``(iii) Counsel.
``(iv) Civil rights enforcement senior
designee.
``(v) Policy development senior designee.
``(vi) Chief Financial Officer, Controller,
or senior designee.
``(vii) Chief Data Officer or senior
designee.
``(viii) Chief Science Officer or senior
designee.
``(ix) Chief Human Capital Officer or
senior designee.
``(x) Evaluation Officer or senior
designee.
``(xi) Statistical official.
``(xii) Procurement senior designee.
``(xiii) Customer or user experience
leadership.
``(xiv) Communications or public affairs
senior designee.
``(xv) Public engagement senior
designee.''; and
(2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(4) Equity subcommittee.--
``(A) Establishment.--There is established an
Equity Subcommittee of the Performance Improvement
Council, consisting of members of that Council, to be
selected by the Council.
``(B) Functions.--The Equity Subcommittee of the
Performance Improvement Council shall--
``(i) assist the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget in identifying guidance
agencies need on how to provide services more
equitably and developing such guidance;
``(ii) facilitate the sharing of
information across agencies regarding practices
that have led to the more equitable provision
of services;
``(iii) coordinate with the Equitable Data
Working Group of the Chief Data Officer Council
(established pursuant to section 3520A of title
44) to ensure that agencies share best
practices related to the equitable collection
and use of data; and
``(iv) solicit input from nongovernmental
organizations, State and local governments, and
recipients of government services to determine
best practices for providing government
services equitably.''.
SEC. 4. CHIEF DATA OFFICERS.
Title 44, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in section 3520(c)--
(A) in paragraph (13), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (14) by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by inserting at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(15) ensure the agency applies the recommendations of the
Chief Data Officer Council developed pursuant to paragraphs (1)
through (5) of section 3520A(b).''; and
(2) in section 3520A--
(A) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``the
use'' and inserting ``the equitable use'';
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking
``between agencies'' and inserting ``between
agencies, academic and research partners, State
and local governments, community and advocacy
groups, and other stakeholders'';
(iii) in paragraph (3), by striking
``policymaking'' and inserting ``equitable
policymaking'';
(iv) in paragraph (4), by striking
``access'' and inserting ``equitable access'';
and
(v) in paragraph (5), by striking
``collection'' and inserting ``equitable
collection'';
(B) in subsection (d), by striking ``the Council.''
and inserting ``the Council, including the work of the
Equitable Data Working Group.'';
(C) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
``(e) Evaluation and Termination.--
``(1) GAO evaluation of council.--Not later than 4 years
after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the
Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report on
whether the additional duties of the Council, including the
Equitable Data Working Group, improved the equitable collection
and use of evidence, including for program evaluation, in the
Federal Government.
``(2) Termination of council.--The Council, including the
Equitable Data Working Group, shall not terminate until at
least two years after the date on which the Comptroller General
submits the report under paragraph (1) to Congress.''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following new
subsections:
``(f) Equitable Data Working Group.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established within the
Council an Equitable Data Working Group.
``(2) Purpose and functions.--The Equitable Data Working
Group shall ensure that the Council prioritizes equity when
carrying out the functions of the Council described in
paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (b).
``(3) Meetings; reports.--Not less frequently than once per
quarter, the Equitable Data Working Group shall meet submit to
the Chief Data Officer Council a written report with
recommendations on how to execute the functions described in
paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (b) to better achieve
equitable methods and outcomes.
``(4) Membership.--
``(A) In general.--The Council shall select a
subset of the members of the Council to serve as
members of the Equitable Data Working Group.
``(B) Chair.--The Chair of the Council shall select
the Chair of the Equitable Data Working Group from
among the members of the Equitable Data Working Group.
``(g) State Defined.--In this section and section 1124 of title 31,
the term `State' means each State of the United States, the District of
Columbia, each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United
States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe.''.
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