Senate Approves DATA Act; Excludes New Recipient Reporting Requirements
Issue Brief 14-16
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.