[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3890 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3890

    To improve intergovernmental cooperation and reduce duplicative 
                   spending, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 22, 2022

  Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Daines, and Ms. Sinema) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To improve intergovernmental cooperation and reduce duplicative 
                   spending, 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 ``Improving Intergovernmental 
Cooperation and Reducing Duplication Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) It remains the policy of the United States Government 
        to rely on the private sector enterprise system to provide 
        services reasonably and quickly through ordinary business 
        channels.
            (2) However, over the past half century, the substantial 
        investment in unique, scalable, purposeful, and well-
        functioning government products and services, including those 
        reliant on the private sector for support, has grown 
        substantially and contributed to the successful delivery of 
        important benefits, services, and programs to taxpayers while 
        reducing waste, fraud, and abuse.
            (3) While the United States remains, as it always shall, a 
        Federal system, when Congress makes sustained and significant 
        investments in inherently governmental functions, Congress must 
        seek to ensure that arbitrary restrictions are not in place 
        that encourage other instances of waste, fraud, and abuse by 
        allowing government agencies at all levels to create bespoke, 
        independent systems, studies, and development projects in an 
        independent and uncoordinated manner.
            (4) In respecting the leadership and ingenuity of the 
        private sector, Congress must not allow agencies at various 
        levels of government to operate in completely independent 
        silos, especially when Federal benefits and programs are being 
        administered at the State, local, territorial, and Tribal 
        levels, which, in doing so, requires far greater taxpayer 
        resources to be spent developing and maintaining systems, 
        programs, projects, and other services that can be better 
        delivered and managed cooperatively between jurisdictions.
            (5) State, local, territorial, and Tribal entities should 
        have the option, without being coerced or required, to adopt 
        and use important information, infrastructure, capabilities, 
        and services from the Federal Government if such offerings are 
        made to benefit taxpayers and the constituents served by those 
        offerings.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
            (2) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 102 of title 31, United 
        States Code.
            (3) Territorial government.--The term ``territorial 
        government'' has the meaning given the term in section 5 of 
        PROMESA (48 U.S.C. 2104).
            (4) Tribal government.--The term ``Tribal government'' 
        means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska 
        Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, 
        component band, or component reservation, individually 
        identified (including parenthetically) in the list published 
        most recently as of the date of enactment of this paragraph 
        pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian 
        Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).

SEC. 4. SPECIALIZED OR TECHNICAL SERVICES.

    Section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``information technology products 
                and platforms,'' after ``documents,'';
                    (B) by inserting ``or supporting'' after 
                ``similar''; and
                    (C) by striking the second sentence;
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``State or local'' and inserting ``State, 
                local, territorial, or Tribal'';
                    (B) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(1) a request is made by a representative of the State, 
        local, territorial or Tribal government; and''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ``State or 
                local'' and inserting ``State, local, territorial, or 
                Tribal'';
            (3) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (f);
            (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) When providing services prescribed by the President under 
this section to a State, local, territorial, or Tribal government, the 
head of an executive agency shall take all available necessary and 
appropriate steps to increase cooperation and reduce administrative 
burden between the State, local, territorial, or Tribal government 
requesting the service and the executive agency.''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) In this section--
            ``(1) the term `territorial government' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 5 of PROMESA (48 U.S.C. 2104); and
            ``(2) the term `Tribal government' means the recognized 
        governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, 
        nation, pueblo, village, community, component band, or 
        component reservation, individually identified (including 
        parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the 
        date of enactment of this paragraph pursuant to section 104 of 
        the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 
        U.S.C. 5131).''.

SEC. 5. STRATEGIC PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 150 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director, in coordination with the Director 
of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, shall publish a strategic 
plan to improve cooperation between and support greater harmonization, 
effectiveness, and the reduction of burdens and costs between the 
Federal Government and State, local, territorial, and Tribal 
governments.
    (b) Contents.--The plan required under subsection (a)--
            (1) shall include coordination with and input from State, 
        local, territorial, and Tribal governments and other relevant 
        stakeholders;
            (2) shall include, at a minimum, actions and activities the 
        Federal Government shall take to strengthen and improve the 
        delivery of Federal services, benefits, and programs 
        administered by State and local governments, including specific 
        actions to increase harmonization between the Federal 
        Government and State, local, territorial, and Tribal 
        governments through increased availability and use of 
        specialized or technical services provided by executive 
        agencies pursuant to section 6505 of title 31, United States 
        Code, as amended by section 4 of this Act; and
            (3) may include additional elements, data, plans, and 
        actions, and may be updated from time to time, as the Director 
        and the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs 
        determine necessary.

SEC. 6. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET GUIDANCE.

    (a) Guidance Required by the Director.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue guidance 
        implementing section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, as 
        amended by section 4 of this Act.
            (2) Contents.--The guidance issued under paragraph (1)--
                    (A) may not preclude any executive agency offering 
                specialized services pursuant to section 6505 of title 
                31, United States Code, as amended by section 4 of this 
                Act, from utilizing employees or hiring employees to 
                support the development and offering of specialized or 
                technical services identified by the executive agency 
                under such section 6505;
                    (B) shall set requirements for executive agencies 
                to routinely identify, scope, and, where approved, 
                provide specialized or technical services to State, 
                local, territorial, and Tribal governments;
                    (C) shall ensure that executive agencies are not 
                unreasonably restricted from offering specialized or 
                technical services to State, local, territorial, and 
                Tribal governments, especially when doing so would 
                improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and successful 
                delivery of Federal programs or benefits to United 
                States citizens; and
                    (D) shall include any other measures identified by 
                the Director to implement section 6505 of title 31, 
                United States Code, as amended by section 4 of this 
                Act.
    (b) Rescission of Current Guidance by the Director.--Upon issuance 
of the guidance required by subsection (a), the Director shall rescind 
Office of Management and Budget Circular A-97, dated August 29, 1969.

SEC. 7. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and every year thereafter, the Director, in coordination 
with the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, shall 
submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs of 
the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of 
Representatives a report on actions and activities taken by executive 
agencies pursuant to section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, as 
amended by section 4 of this Act.
    (b) Contents.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) a detailed list of the types of specialized or 
        technical services provided by each executive agency under 
        section 6505 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by 
        section 4 of this Act, including the costs of each service 
        provided to each State, local, territorial, and Tribal 
        government;
            (2) measures of State, local, territorial, and Tribal 
        government satisfaction, including an assessment of any such 
        measures, with the specialized or technical services provided 
        by executive agencies under such section 6505, including any 
        cost savings to taxpayers;
            (3) in coordination with State, local, territorial, and 
        Tribal governments, recommendations for the continued 
        improvement of cooperation between the Federal Government and 
        State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments, including 
        legislative recommendations where appropriate, to reduce 
        unnecessary duplication and costs, improve service delivery, 
        and strengthen accountability and oversight of Federal 
        programs, services, and benefits primarily delivered by State, 
        local, territorial, or Tribal governments; and
            (4) other information, assessments, and matters that the 
        Director and the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental 
        Affairs may determine necessary.
    (c) Format.--The report required under subsection (a) may be 
published in a machine readable format on a website chosen by the 
Director.

SEC. 8. AUTHORITIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR OF GENERAL SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter III of subtitle I of 
title 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
``Sec. 324. Support for State, local, territorial, and Tribal 
              governments
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `local government' and `State' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 6501 of title 31;
            ``(2) the term `territorial government' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 5 of PROMESA (48 U.S.C. 2104); and
            ``(3) the term `Tribal government' means the recognized 
        governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, 
        nation, pueblo, village, community, component band, or 
        component reservation, individually identified (including 
        parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the 
        date of enactment of this paragraph pursuant to section 104 of 
        the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 
        U.S.C. 5131).
    ``(b) Authority To Provide Services to State, Local, Territorial, 
and Tribal Governments.--In addition to any authorities provided to the 
Administrator in this title or any other title of the United States 
Code, the Administrator may provide specialized or technical services 
described in section 6505 of title 31 on a reimbursable or non-
reimbursable basis to a State, local, territorial, or Tribal 
government.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--The Administrator is authorized to use monies 
deposited into or otherwise made available to funds authorized under 
this chapter to provide the services described in subsection (b).
    ``(d) Use of Authority.--The authorities provided under this 
section shall be in addition to any other authorities provided to the 
Administrator by law.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
title 40, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 323 the following:

``324. Support for State, local, territorial and Tribal governments.''.
                                 <all>