Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act

Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act - (Sec. 2) Sets forth additional information relating to a federal program that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is required to include on its website and update at least annually, including: (1) the total administrative cost of the program and the expenditures for services for the program for the previous fiscal year; (2) an estimate of the number of clients served by the program and beneficiaries who received assistance under the program for the previous fiscal year; (3) an estimate, for the previous fiscal year, of the number of full-time federal employees who administer the program and the number of full-time employees whose salary is paid in part or in full by the federal government through a grant or contract or other form of financial assistance; (4) an identification of the specific statute that authorizes the program and whether such authorization is expired; (5) any finding of duplication or overlap; and (6) any program performance reviews for such program.

Requires the OMB Director, not later than February 1 of each fiscal year, to publish on the OMB website the total amount of undisbursed grant funding remaining in grant accounts for which the period of availability to the grantee has expired.

(Sec. 3) Amends the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 to require the Comptroller General (GAO) to maintain and provide regular annual updates to a publicly available website that tracks the status of agency responses to recommendations by the Comptroller General for identifying duplicative government programs.

(Sec. 4) Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the disclosure of classified information.

(Sec. 5) Requires the OMB Director to implement this Act not later than one year after its enactment. Prohibits the authorization of additional funds to carry out the requirements of this Act.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1423 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1423

  To provide taxpayers with an annual report disclosing the cost and 
performance of Government programs and areas of duplication among them, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 9, 2013

  Mr. Lankford (for himself and Mr. Cooper) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government 
                                 Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide taxpayers with an annual report disclosing the cost and 
performance of Government programs and areas of duplication among them, 
                        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 ``Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act''.

SEC. 2. AGENCY REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ANNUAL REPORT ON THE COST AND 
              PERFORMANCE OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS AND AREAS OF 
              DUPLICATION AMONG PROGRAMS.

    (a) Requirement To Identify and Describe Programs.--On an annual 
basis, for purposes of the report required by subsection (b), the head 
of each agency shall--
            (1) identify and describe every program administered by the 
        agency;
            (2) for each such program--
                    (A) determine the total administrative costs of the 
                program;
                    (B) determine the expenditures for services for the 
                program;
                    (C) estimate the number of clients served by the 
                program and beneficiaries who received assistance under 
                the program (if applicable); and
                    (D) estimate--
                            (i) the number of full-time employees who 
                        administer the program; and
                            (ii) the number of full-time equivalents 
                        (whose salary is paid in part or full by the 
                        Federal Government through a grant or contract, 
                        a subaward of a grant or contract, a 
                        cooperative agreement, or another form of 
                        financial award or assistance) who assist in 
                        administering the program; and
            (3) identify programs within the agency with duplicative or 
        overlapping missions, services, and allowable uses of funds.
    (b) Report.--Not later than February 1 of each fiscal year, the 
head of each agency shall create a link on the homepage of the official 
public website of the agency to a report containing the following:
            (1) Identification and description of programs.--The 
        information required under subsection (a) with respect to the 
        preceding fiscal year.
            (2) Performance reviews.--The latest performance reviews 
        (including the program performance reports required under 
        section 1116 of title 31, United States Code) of each program 
        of the agency identified under subsection (a)(1), including 
        performance indicators, performance goals, output measures, and 
        other specific metrics used to review the program and how the 
        program performed on each.
            (3) Improper payment information.--For all programs and 
        activities that may be susceptible to significant improper 
        payments, as identified by the head of the agency under section 
        2(a) of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (31 
        U.S.C. 321 note), the latest improper payment rate and the 
        total estimated amount of improper payments during the 
        preceding fiscal year, including fraudulent payments and 
        overpayments.
            (4) Expired grant funding.--The total amount of undisbursed 
        grant funding remaining in grant accounts for which the period 
        of availability to the grantee has expired.
            (5) Recommendations.--Such recommendations as the head of 
        the agency considers appropriate--
                    (A) to consolidate programs within the agency that 
                are duplicative or overlapping;
                    (B) to eliminate waste and inefficiency; and
                    (C) to terminate lower priority, outdated, and 
                unnecessary programs and initiatives.
    (c) Relationship to Catalog of Domestic Financial Assistance.--With 
respect to the requirements of subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2)(B), the 
head of an agency may use the same information provided in the Catalog 
of Domestic Financial Assistance if applicable.
    (d) Format.--Each agency shall make reports required by subsection 
(b) available in a searchable, machine-readable format, and shall 
expend no funds for the printing of such reports, except when providing 
such documents to the Congress.

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ANNUAL 
              REPORT ON THE COST AND PERFORMANCE OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS 
              AND AREAS OF DUPLICATION AMONG PROGRAMS.

    (a) Report by Office of Management and Budget.--Not later than 
February 1 of each fiscal year, the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall publish on the official public website of 
the Office of Management and Budget a report containing the following:
            (1) Identification of duplicative programs.--An 
        identification of programs across agencies with duplicative or 
        overlapping missions, services, and allowable uses of funds.
            (2) Recommendations.--Such recommendations as the Director 
        considers appropriate--
                    (A) to consolidate programs across agencies that 
                are duplicative or overlapping;
                    (B) to eliminate waste and inefficiency; and
                    (C) to terminate lower priority, outdated, and 
                unnecessary programs and initiatives.
    (b) Relationship to President's Budget.--With respect to the 
requirements of subsection (a)(2), the Director may use the same 
information provided in the President's annual budget submission, if 
applicable.
    (c) Database Required.--The Director shall maintain a database of 
information--
            (1) used to create the report required by subsection (a); 
        and
            (2) obtained through meeting the requirements of section 21 
        of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (31 U.S.C. 712 
        note).

SEC. 4. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO 
              IDENTIFICATION, CONSOLIDATION, AND ELIMINATION OF 
              DUPLICATIVE GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS.

    Section 21 of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (31 U.S.C. 
712 note) is amended by inserting ``(a)'' before the first sentence and 
by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) The Comptroller General shall maintain and provide regular 
updates, on not less than an annual basis to a publicly available 
website that tracks the status of responses by Departments and the 
Congress to suggested actions that the Comptroller General has 
previously identified in annual reports under subsection (a). The 
status of these suggested actions shall be tracked for an appropriate 
period to be determined by the Comptroller General. The requirements of 
this subsection shall apply during the effective period of subsection 
(a).''.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrative costs.--The term ``administrative 
        costs'' has the meaning as determined by the Director of the 
        Office of Management and Budget under section 504(b)(2) of 
        Public Law 111-85 (31 U.S.C. 1105 note), except the term shall 
        also include, for purposes of that section and this section, 
        with respect to an agency--
                    (A) costs incurred by the agency as well as costs 
                incurred by grantees, subgrantees, and other recipients 
                of funds from a grant program or other program 
                administered by the agency; and
                    (B) expenses related to personnel salaries and 
                benefits, property management, travel, program 
                management, promotion, reviews and audits, case 
                management, and communication about, promotion of, and 
                outreach for programs and program activities 
                administered by the agency.
            (2) Services.--The term ``services'' has the meaning 
        provided by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
        and shall be limited to only activities, assistance, and aid 
        that provide a direct benefit to a recipient, such as the 
        provision of medical care, assistance for housing or tuition, 
        or financial support (including grants and loans).
            (3) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the same meaning given 
        that term in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code, 
        except that the term also includes offices in the legislative 
        branch other than the Government Accountability Office.
            (4) Performance indicator, performance goal, output 
        measure.--The terms ``performance indicator'', ``performance 
        goal'', and ``output measure'' have the meanings provided those 
        terms by section 1115 of title 31, United States Code.
            (5) Program.--The term ``program'' has the meaning provided 
        by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and 
        shall include, with respect to an agency, any organized set of 
        activities directed toward a common purpose or goal undertaken 
        by the agency that includes services, projects, processes, or 
        financial or other forms of assistance, including grants, 
        contracts, cooperative agreements, compacts, loans, leases, 
        technical support, consultation, or other guidance.

SEC. 6. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the disclosure of 
classified information.

SEC. 7. REGULATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION.

    (a) Regulations.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall prescribe regulations to implement this Act.
    (b) Implementation.--This Act shall be implemented not later than 
one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>