WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) followed up on his request to more than three-dozen federal agencies to provide Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act implementation plans, and requested updated plans from the agencies. The DATA Act is the 2014 bipartisan federal financial management and transparency legislation authored by Warner and signed into law, which has been described as the most significant open-government initiative since the Freedom of Information Act of 1966 and is the nation’s first open data law.                      

“The DATA Act presents both challenges and opportunities for your agency, and when fully implemented will create transparency for federal funds, set government-wide financial data standards, reduce reporting requirements of federal award recipients, and improve overall data quality,” said Sen. Warner in the letter. “The efforts of each agency are essential to achieving the aims of this law. As I introduced this law in Congress, I remain strongly committed to robust oversight of DATA Act implementation and to ensuring that federal agencies are able to fully implement this crucial law.”

The request follows up on a letter sent by Sen. Warner in April of this year. The agencies’ responses to that letter came prior to final issued implementation guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Treasury. With the publication of data standards by Treasury on April 29th, and the release of final implementation guidance by OMB on May 3rd, agencies have the necessary information to begin converting their spending information into open data. Today’s letter by Warner notes some common challenges identified by the agencies in their initial responses, and requests each agency’s resubmitted plan based on this new guidance.

Sen. Warner is a former business executive, governor of Virginia, and chairman of the Budget Committee’s bipartisan Government Performance Task Force from 2010-15. His bipartisan DATA Act was cosponsored in the Senate by Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, and the House companion was sponsored by California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa and Maryland Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings. 

Identical letters were sent to: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Agency for International Development, Environmental Protection Agency,  General Services Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Personnel Management, Small Business Administration, Social Security Administration, Corporation for National and Community Service, Federal Election Commission, Federal Maritime Commission, Merit Systems Protection Board, Millennium Challenge Corporation, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Labor Relations Board, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, Securities & Exchange Commission, U.S. International Trade Commission, National Credit Union Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Communications Commission.

The full text of the letter sent to executive branch agencies by Sen. Warner can be found below:

Dear XXX,

On May 9, 2014 President Obama signed into law the Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act of 2014 (Pub.L. 113–101). The DATA Act presents both challenges and opportunities for your agency, and when fully implemented will create transparency for federal funds, set government-wide financial data standards, reduce reporting requirements of federal award recipients, and improve overall data quality. The efforts of each agency are essential to achieving the aims of this law. As I introduced this law in Congress, I remain strongly committed to robust oversight of DATA Act implementation and to ensuring that federal agencies are able to fully implement this crucial law.

On March 31 of this year, I wrote to all agencies, including yours, asking that the implementation of the DATA Act be prioritized, and requesting information on the challenges faced.  I was appreciative of the time taken to respond, and was heartened that many agencies appear to be harnessing the potential of the DATA Act. At the same time, I have heard several common challenges. In particular, multiple agencies have highlighted both resource constraints and issues related to the use of legacy financial management systems that will require some agencies to bear greater costs or update their systems in order to implement the law.

One additional challenge cited by multiple agencies was the delay in receiving government-wide guidance and the final technical schema from OMB and Treasury, which is essential to implementing the law in a timely and effective fashion. As you are aware, the Administration finalized the DATA Act Information Model Schema on May 3rd, and provided additional implementation guidance. This was a critical step forward.

My understanding is that in June 2016, agencies were asked to resubmit their updated implementation plans based on the new OMB and Treasury guidance, since those initial plans had been submitted in September 2015, well before the guidance was final. I thus respectfully request that you share your agency’s resubmitted plan with me, in addition to any new resource- or other challenges your agency has identified to date, on the basis of this new guidance.

If I can be of assistance in addressing implementation challenges at your agency, please contact Rafi Martina on my staff at 202-224-2023 or Rafi_Martina@warner.senate.gov. Thank you again for your efforts to prioritize the implementation of the DATA Act and to fully leverage the potential of this exciting opportunity to transform federal spending and governance.

Sincerely,

Mark R. Warner

United States Senator

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