Settlement Agreement Information Database Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 27, the Settlement Agreement Information Database Act. Transparency and public participation are vital to ensure the public's continued trust in our government. Increasingly, Federal agencies are using legally binding settlement agreements to resolve litigation without going through lengthy public trials.

However, it is impossible for Congress and the public to determine the comprehensive impact of these settlement agreements on the State and local governments and private sector entities, which must continue to follow the mandated requirements. Such secret negotiations and agreements essentially prevent the public from participating in important policy decisions.

The burden of Federal settlement agreements can be difficult to see and understand, but State and local governments, industry stakeholders, and taxpayers can be directly affected by the settlements for years, and yet they are unable to provide input. This legislation seeks to correct that problem.

The Settlement Agreement Information Database Act, or SAID Act, requires Federal agencies to submit information regarding consent decrees and settlement agreements to a public electronic database. This public resource, to be overseen by the Office of Management and Budget, would include dates, payments, attorney fees awards, and a list of State and local governments and entities impacted by the settlement.

Currently, agencies release information about settlements at their discretion and will only publicize the facts that reflect favorably upon the agency. Furthermore, the terms of settlement agreements are often deemed confidential.

Under the requirements of the SAID Act, if the agency believes that the information regarding an agreement should remain confidential, the agency head must publish an explanation of why it is confidential. This will increase the transparency of the Federal Government and shine a much-needed light on settlement agreements.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Representatives Jim Cooper, Gerry Connolly, and Van Taylor, for supporting this important legislation. I am happy we could expedite its consideration again in the House after passing this bill unanimously in the 116th Congress. I thank the chairman for bringing this bill and making it part of this first legislative day package.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I hope we can continue to find bipartisan ways to increase transparency of the Federal Government. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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