Number: 116-5
Date: August 1, 2019 

House Passes H.R. 736, the
“Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act”

On July 17, 2019, the House passed H.R. 736, Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, as amended, under suspension of the rules by voice vote.  Introduced by Representative Mike Quigley on January 23, 2019, the bill seeks to improve government transparency by making Federal agency (agency) reports to Congress available on one website at no cost to the public.  The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.  The bill contains the following provisions of interest to SSA:

GPO Responsibilities

  • Would require, not later than 1 year after enactment, the Director of the Government Publishing Office (GPO) to establish and maintain an online portal accessible by the public that allows the public to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated reports (reports).
  • To the extent possible, would require GPO to use existing online portals and functionality under its authority to establish such portal.
  • Would require GPO to ensure the portal provides:
    • A permanent means of accessing reports electronically, to the extent practicable.
    • A means for bulk download of all congressionally mandated reports.
    • A means for downloading individual reports as the result of a search.
    • An electronic means for the head of each agency to submit reports to the portal.
    • In tabular form, a list of all congressionally mandated reports that can be searched, sorted, and downloaded by reports submitted on-time, late, or not submitted.
    • The ability to retrieve a report, to the extent practicable, through searches based on each and any combination of information agencies provide.

  • Would require GPO to publish required information on the portal not later than 30 calendar days 1) after agency submits it, or 2) after the report submission deadline.
  • Would except a report from submission and publication if the chair of the committee or subcommittee that receives the report notifies GPO in writing to withhold it.
  • Would require GPO to post a notice of reports withheld from submission or publication.

Federal Agency Responsibilities

  • Would require agencies to submit to GPO, not earlier than 30 calendar days or later than 45 calendar days after submitting such report to Congress, the following:
    • Citation to the statute requiring the report.
    • Required report submission date and the date submitted to the portal.
    • Electronic copy of the report, including any transmittal letter associated with the report, in an open format that is platform independent and that is available to the public without restrictions, including restrictions that would impede the re-use of the information in the report.
    • Information needed to allow online searches, including: report title; reporting agency; publication date; committee receiving the report; statute requiring the report; subject tags; unique alphanumeric report identifier consistent across report editions; serial number; key words; full text; and any other relevant information.
  • Would still require agencies to publish such reports on individual agency websites and/or submit reports to Congress and congressional committees, as otherwise required.
  • Would require OMB to issue guidance to agencies on implementation no later than 240 calendar days after enactment.
  • Would require agencies to designate a point of contact for each report.
  • To change or remove a report submitted to the portal, would require agencies to consult with each Committee that received the report and obtain congressional authorization via joint resolution unless—
    • the changes are technical; or
    • the report was submitted to or published on the portal in error.
  • Would require agencies to redact information from reports submitted to the portal if disclosure would be prohibited by law. In such cases, agencies shall redact information prior to submitting the information to GPO, identify for GPO what information is being redacted in the report, and provide the related exemption under which the information should be withheld.

Implementation

  • Would apply to statutorily-required, congressionally mandated reports that 1) must be submitted to the House or Senate before, on, or after the date enactment; or 2) reports included by the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate on the list of reports received by the House or Senate at any time before enactment.
  • Would require GPO to ensure that any reports submitted to Congress by a statue enacted before the date of the enactment of this Act be published on the portal not later than 1 year after enactment.