Senate Approves DATA Act; Excludes New Recipient Reporting Requirements

On April 10, 2014, the Senate approved the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act, S. 994). The bill reflects the compromise reached by House and Senate negotiators on their respective versions. The House is expected to approve the bill once it returns from recess next week.

S. 994 expands the information federal agencies must report on USAspending.gov; establishes common data elements and standards to allow comparisons from multiple systems; and focuses on reducing fraud, waste, and abuse. It also establishes a two-year pilot program to help develop recommendations to standardize reporting elements, eliminate duplicative reporting, and reduce compliance costs for federal award recipients. Unlike previous versions of the DATA Act, the Senate bill does not mandate full multi-tier recipient reporting or require recipients to report on the use of funds.