Description:
As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on November 6, 2013
S. 944 aims to make information on federal expenditures more easily accessible and transparent. The bill would require the U.S. Department of the Treasury to establish common standards for financial data provided by all government agencies and to expand the amount of data that agencies must provide to the government website, USASpending. In addition, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would be required to conduct a two-year pilot program to make it easier for federal contractors and grant recipients to comply with federal reporting requirements. S. 944 also would require OMB, the Government Accountability Office, and the agencies’ Inspectors General to submit additional reports to the Congress. Finally, the legislation would designate the Treasury Franchise Fund as the source of funding for the bill’s implementation.
CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $300 million over the 2014-2018 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. The legislation also could affect direct spending by agencies not funded through annual appropriations; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that any net increase in spending by those agencies would not be significant. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
S. 944 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act; any costs to state, local, or tribal governments would result from complying with conditions for receiving federal assistance.
