[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 435 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 435

To require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue 
     guidance on electronic consent forms, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 11, 2019

Mr. Carper (for himself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue 
     guidance on electronic consent forms, 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 ``Creating Advanced Streamlined 
Electronic Services for Constituents Act of 2019'' or the ``CASES 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) congressional offices provide crucial services to 
        constituents by acting as a liaison between the constituents 
        and the respective agencies;
            (2) this includes assisting constituents by making 
        inquiries and working toward resolutions on behalf of the 
        constituent with the respective agencies; and
            (3) this process should be simplified through the creation 
        of electronic forms that may be submitted under section 552a of 
        title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the 
        ``Privacy Act''), thus modernizing the process for constituents 
        and improving access and efficiency of Government services and 
        agencies in order to expedite the resolution of the problem for 
        which constituents sought help.

SEC. 3. OMB GUIDANCE ON ELECTRONIC CONSENT AND ACCESS FORMS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Agency; individual; record.--The terms ``agency'', 
        ``individual'', and ``record'' have the meanings given those 
        terms in section 552a(a) of title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
    (b) Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Director shall issue guidance that--
            (1) requires each agency to accept electronic identity 
        proofing and authentication processes for the purpose of 
        allowing an individual to provide prior written consent for the 
        disclosure of the records of the individual under section 
        552a(b) of title 5, United States Code, or for individual 
        access to records under section 552a(d) of such title;
            (2) creates a template for electronic consent and access 
        forms and requires each agency to accept the forms from any 
        individual properly identity proofed and authenticated in 
        accordance with paragraph (1) for the purpose of authorizing 
        disclosure of the records of the individual under section 
        552a(b) of title 5, United States Code, or for individual 
        access to records under section 552a(d) of such title; and
            (3) requires each agency to accept the electronic consent 
        and access forms described in paragraph (2) from any individual 
        properly identity proofed and authenticated in accordance with 
        paragraph (1) for the purpose of authorizing disclosure of the 
        records of the individual to another entity, including a 
        congressional office, in accordance with section 552a(b) of 
        title 5, United States Code, or for individual access to 
        records under section 552a(d) of such title.
    (c) Agency Compliance.--Each agency shall comply with the guidance 
issued under subsection (b) not later than 1 year after the date on 
which the guidance is issued.

SEC. 4. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.

    No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of 
this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts 
otherwise authorized.
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