Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

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Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce an important new piece of legislation--the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, or DATA Act.

Sine I have been in Washington, I have been frustrated by the lack of transparency and useful spending information to help inform the decision-making process. Our taxpayers deserve to clearly see how their tax dollars are spent.

As Chairman of the Budget Committee's Task Force on Government Performance, I have been working to improve the outcomes and results of our Federal investments.

Last year, we passed the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act to more frequently track government outcomes and to help reduce overlap and duplication. Today, I will introduce the DATA Act to help bring a new level of transparency to our Federal spending.

I want to start by acknowledging the work of the administration and the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board--this legislation was built off the important work they have been leading to reduce waste for the Recovery Act investments.

Under Vice President Biden's leadership, supported by the Recovery Board Chairman Earl Devaney--they have established a new standard for government accountability. The results are impressive.

Out of more than 200,000 Recovery Act fund recipients--there are only 7 recipients that have not filed their required financial reports.

I also need to mention the leadership at the Office of Management and Budget--including director Jack Lew and our chief performance officer Jeff Zients. OMB led the charge with the Recovery Board to ensure the accountability of the Recovery Act funds and have made transparency an important goal government-wide.

The administration, the Recovery Board and OMB have proved that government can respond to the demand for more transparency and accountability. Now we need to expand the Recovery Act model across the whole government. The DATA Act does just that.

First, this legislation will require recipients of Federal funds and government agencies to report spending data into one transparent online portal. Much like they did for Recovery Act funds.

This data will be analyzed and compared proactively in order to identify and prevent waste, fraud and abuse before it happens. There are tremendous opportunities to reduce improper payments by applying the Recovery Board's fraud prevention tactics to the entire Federal Government.

This legislation will also create a new Board to oversee transparency efforts and set consistent standards for data across the entire Federal Government. Board membership will be comprised of a select group that will include senior OMB officials, agency Deputy Secretaries and Inspectors General.

All this information will be made publicly available so the American people can track taxpayer funds more closely.

This legislation will create a new structure that could help coordinate and reduce duplicative reporting requirements and burdens felt by many governments, nonprofits and businesses.

Finally, this legislation is an example of how Washington should work. It builds off the work of the administration and the Recovery Board, the work of Chairman Darrell Issa in the House and now with the introduction of this legislation in the Senate. By working together in a bipartisan way, we will have the strongest proposal that is poised to change the way the government does business.

I must thank Chairman Darrell Issa of California for his leadership on developing this legislation. He has been working tirelessly on improving transparency for years--even starting a House Caucus on Transparency to rally his colleagues on the subject.

I am pleased to be his partner in offering this legislation.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate and with the administration to make refinements to this legislation and to move forward with this bill.

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