The Evidence Act (Pub. L. 115-435)

PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

132 STAT. 5529

Public Law 115–435
115th Congress
An Act
To amend titles 5 and 44, United States Code, to require Federal evaluation activities, improve Federal data management, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foundations
for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:

Jan. 14, 2019
[H.R. 4174]
Foundations for
Evidence-Based
Policymaking Act
of 2018.
5 USC 101 note.

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—FEDERAL EVIDENCE–BUILDING ACTIVITIES
Sec. 101. Federal evidence-building activities.
TITLE II—OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA ACT
Sec. 201. Short title.
Sec. 202. OPEN Government data.
TITLE III—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION AND STATISTICAL
EFFICIENCY
Sec. 301. Short title.
Sec. 302. Confidential information protection and statistical efficiency.
Sec. 303. Increasing access to data for evidence.
TITLE IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 401. Rule of construction.
Sec. 402. Use of existing resources.
Sec. 403. Effective date.

TITLE I—FEDERAL EVIDENCE–
BUILDING ACTIVITIES
SEC. 101. FEDERAL EVIDENCE-BUILDING ACTIVITIES.

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(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of part I of title 5, United States
Code, is amended—
(1) by inserting before section 301 the following:
‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS’’;

AND

5 USC 301 prec.

(2) by adding at the end the following:

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132 STAT. 5530

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—FEDERAL EVIDENCE-BUILDING
ACTIVITIES

5 USC 311 prec.

5 USC 311.

‘‘§ 311. Definitions
‘‘In this subchapter:
‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ means an agency referred
to under section 901(b) of title 31.
‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget.
‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—The term ‘evaluation’ means an assessment using systematic data collection and analysis of one or
more programs, policies, and organizations intended to assess
their effectiveness and efficiency.
‘‘(4) EVIDENCE.—The term ‘evidence’ has the meaning given
that term in section 3561 of title 44.
‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, each territory or possession
of the United States, and each federally recognized governing
body of any Indian Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other organized group or community which is recognized as eligible for
the special programs and services provided by the United States
to Indians because of their status as Indians.
‘‘(6) STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES; STATISTICAL AGENCY OR UNIT;
STATISTICAL PURPOSE.—The terms ‘statistical activities’, ‘statistical agency or unit’, and ‘statistical purpose’ have the meanings
given those terms in section 3561 of title 44.

5 USC 312.

‘‘§ 312. Agency evidence-building plan
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—The head of each agency shall include
in the strategic plan required under section 306 a systematic plan
for identifying and addressing policy questions relevant to the programs, policies, and regulations of the agency. Such plan shall
contain the following:
‘‘(1) A list of policy-relevant questions for which the agency
intends to develop evidence to support policymaking.
‘‘(2) A list of data the agency intends to collect, use, or
acquire to facilitate the use of evidence in policymaking.
‘‘(3) A list of methods and analytical approaches that may
be used to develop evidence to support policymaking.
‘‘(4) A list of any challenges to developing evidence to
support policymaking, including any statutory or other restrictions to accessing relevant data.
‘‘(5) A description of the steps the agency will take to
accomplish paragraphs (1) and (2).
‘‘(6) Any other information as required by guidance issued
by the Director.
‘‘(b) EVALUATION PLAN.—The head of each agency shall issue
in conjunction with the performance plan required under section
1115(b) of title 31, an evaluation plan describing activities the
agency plans to conduct pursuant to subsection (a) of this section
during the fiscal year following the year in which the performance
plan is submitted. Such plan shall—
‘‘(1) describe key questions for each significant evaluation
study that the agency plans to begin in the next fiscal year;
‘‘(2) describe key information collections or acquisitions the
agency plans to begin in the next fiscal year; and

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Lists.

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132 STAT. 5531

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‘‘(3) any other information included in guidance issued
by the Director under subsection (a)(6).
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan required under
subsection (a), the head of an agency shall consult with stakeholders, including the public, agencies, State and local governments,
and representatives of non-governmental researchers.

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‘‘§ 313. Evaluation Officers
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The head of each agency shall designate
a senior employee of the agency as the Evaluation Officer of the
agency.
‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Evaluation Officer of an agency
shall be appointed or designated without regard to political affiliation and based on demonstrated expertise in evaluation methodology and practices and appropriate expertise to the disciplines
of the agency.
‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—The Evaluation Officer of an agency shall,
to the extent practicable, coordinate activities with agency officials
necessary to carry out the functions required under subsection
(d).
‘‘(d) FUNCTIONS.—The Evaluation Officer of each agency shall—
‘‘(1) continually assess the coverage, quality, methods,
consistency, effectiveness, independence, and balance of the
portfolio of evaluations, policy research, and ongoing evaluation
activities of the agency;
‘‘(2) assess agency capacity to support the development
and use of evaluation;
‘‘(3) establish and implement an agency evaluation policy;
and
‘‘(4) coordinate, develop, and implement the plans required
under section 312.

5 USC 313.

‘‘§ 314. Statistical expertise
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of each agency shall designate
the head of any statistical agency or unit within the agency, or
in the case of an agency that does not have a statistical agency
or unit, any senior agency official with appropriate expertise, as
a statistical official to advise on statistical policy, techniques, and
procedures. Agency officials engaged in statistical activities may
consult with any such statistical official as necessary.
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP ON INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON STATISTICAL
POLICY.—Each statistical official designated under subsection (a)
shall serve as a member of the Interagency Council on Statistical
Policy established under section 3504(e)(8) of title 44.

5 USC 314.

‘‘§ 315. Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director, or the head of an agency
designated by the Director, shall establish an Advisory Committee
on Data for Evidence Building (in this section referred to as the
‘Advisory Committee’) to review, analyze, and make recommendations on how to promote the use of Federal data for evidence
building.
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Advisory Committee
shall consist of the Chief Statistician of the United States, who
shall serve as the Chair of the Advisory Committee, and other
members appointed by the Director as follows:

5 USC 315.

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Designation.

Assessments.

Designation.

Appointments.

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132 STAT. 5532

Recommendations.
Review.
Public
information.

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5 USC 301 prec.

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PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

‘‘(1) One member who is an agency Chief Information
Officer.
‘‘(2) One member who is an agency Chief Privacy Officer.
‘‘(3) One member who is an agency Chief Performance
Officer.
‘‘(4) Three members who are agency Chief Data Officers.
‘‘(5) Three members who are agency Evaluation Officers.
‘‘(6) Three members who are members of the Interagency
Council for Statistical Policy established under section
3504(e)(8) of title 44.
‘‘(7) At least 10 members who are representatives of State
and local governments and nongovernmental stakeholders with
expertise in government data policy, privacy, technology, transparency policy, evaluation and research methodologies, and
other relevant subjects, of whom—
‘‘(A) at least one shall have expertise in transparency
policy;
‘‘(B) at least one shall have expertise in privacy policy;
‘‘(C) at least one shall have expertise in statistical
data use;
‘‘(D) at least one shall have expertise in information
management;
‘‘(E) at least one shall have expertise in information
technology; and
‘‘(F) at least one shall be from the research and evaluation community.
‘‘(c) TERM OF SERVICE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Advisory Committee
shall serve for a term of 2 years.
‘‘(2) VACANCY.—Any member appointed to fill a vacancy
occurring before the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for
the remainder of that term. A vacancy in the Commission
shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment
was made.
‘‘(d) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Advisory Committee shall
serve without compensation.
‘‘(e) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall—
‘‘(1) assist the Director in carrying out the duties of the
Director under part D of subchapter III of chapter 35 of title
44;
‘‘(2) evaluate and provide recommendations to the Director
on how to facilitate data sharing, enable data linkage, and
develop privacy enhancing techniques; and
‘‘(3) review the coordination of data sharing or availability
for evidence building across all agencies.
‘‘(f) REPORTS.—The Advisory Committee shall submit to the
Director and make publicly available an annual report on the activities and findings of the Advisory Committee.
‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Committee shall terminate
not later than two years after the date of the first meeting.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of
sections for chapter 3 of part I of title 5, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) by inserting before the item relating to section 301
the following:

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PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019
‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL

132 STAT. 5533

PROVISIONS’’; AND

(2) by adding at the end the following:

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‘‘311.
‘‘312.
‘‘313.
‘‘314.
‘‘315.

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—FEDERAL EVIDENCE-BUILDING
Definitions.
Agency evidence-building plan.
Evaluation Officers.
Statistical expertise.
Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building.’’.

ACTIVITIES

(c) AGENCY STRATEGIC PLANS.—Section 306(a) of title 5, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end and
inserting a semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (8), by—
(A) striking the period at the end; and
(B) inserting after ‘‘to be conducted’’ the following:
‘‘, and citations to relevant provisions of the plans required
under section 312; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(9) an assessment of the coverage, quality, methods,
effectiveness, and independence of the statistics, evaluation,
research, and analysis efforts of the agency, including—
‘‘(A) a list of the activities and operations of the agency
that are currently being evaluated and analyzed;
‘‘(B) the extent to which the evaluations, research,
and analysis efforts and related activities of the agency
support the needs of various divisions within the agency;
‘‘(C) the extent to which the evaluation research and
analysis efforts and related activities of the agency address
an appropriate balance between needs related to organizational learning, ongoing program management, performance management, strategic management, interagency and
private sector coordination, internal and external oversight,
and accountability;
‘‘(D) the extent to which the agency uses methods
and combinations of methods that are appropriate to agency
divisions and the corresponding research questions being
addressed, including an appropriate combination of formative and summative evaluation research and analysis
approaches;
‘‘(E) the extent to which evaluation and research
capacity is present within the agency to include personnel
and agency processes for planning and implementing
evaluation activities, disseminating best practices and
findings, and incorporating employee views and feedback;
and
‘‘(F) the extent to which the agency has the capacity
to assist agency staff and program offices to develop the
capacity to use evaluation research and analysis
approaches and data in the day-to-day operations.’’.
(d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date on
which each strategic plan required under section 306(a) of title
5, United States Code, is published, the Comptroller General of
the United States shall submit to Congress a report that—
(1) summarizes agency findings and highlights trends in
the assessment conducted pursuant to subsection (a)(9) of section 306 of title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection
(c); and

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Assessment.

Lists.

5 USC 306 note.

Summary.

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132 STAT. 5534

(2) if appropriate, recommends actions to further improve
agency capacity to use evaluation techniques and data to support evaluation efforts.
(e) EVALUATION AND PERSONNEL STANDARDS.—
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with any interagency council
relating to evaluation, shall—
(A) issue guidance for program evaluation for agencies
consistent with widely accepted standards for evaluation;
and
(B) identify best practices for evaluation that would
improve Federal program evaluation.
(2) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days after the date on
which the guidance under paragraph (1) is issued, the head
of each agency shall oversee the implementation of such guidance.
(3) OPM GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the
date on which the guidance under paragraph (1) is issued,
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
shall—
(A) identify key skills and competencies needed for
program evaluation in an agency;
(B) establish a new occupational series, or update and
improve an existing occupational series, for program
evaluation within an agency; and
(C) establish a new career path for program evaluation
within an agency.
(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:
(A) AGENCY.—Except as otherwise provided, the term
‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘Executive
agency’’ under section 105.
(B) EVALUATION.—The term ‘‘evaluation’’ has the
meaning given that term in section 311 of title 5, United
States Code, as added by subsection (a).

Recommendations.
5 USC 311 note.
Deadline.
Consultation.

Guidance.

Deadline.

Deadline.
Consultation.

Open, Public,
Electronic, and
Necessary
Government
Data Act.
44 USC 101 note.

PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

TITLE II—OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA
ACT
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ‘‘Open, Public, Electronic, and
Necessary Government Data Act’’ or the ‘‘OPEN Government Data
Act’’.

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SEC. 202. OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA.

(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3502 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end and
inserting a semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(15) the term ‘comprehensive data inventory’ means the
inventory created under section 3511(a), but does not include
any underlying data asset listed on the inventory;

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PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

132 STAT. 5535

‘‘(16) the term ‘data’ means recorded information, regardless of form or the media on which the data is recorded;
‘‘(17) the term ‘data asset’ means a collection of data elements or data sets that may be grouped together;
‘‘(18) the term ‘machine-readable’, when used with respect
to data, means data in a format that can be easily processed
by a computer without human intervention while ensuring
no semantic meaning is lost;
‘‘(19) the term ‘metadata’ means structural or descriptive
information about data such as content, format, source, rights,
accuracy, provenance, frequency, periodicity, granularity, publisher or responsible party, contact information, method of
collection, and other descriptions;
‘‘(20) the term ‘open Government data asset’ means a public
data asset that is—
‘‘(A) machine-readable;
‘‘(B) available (or could be made available) in an open
format;
‘‘(C) not encumbered by restrictions, other than
intellectual property rights, including under titles 17 and
35, that would impede the use or reuse of such asset;
and
‘‘(D) based on an underlying open standard that is
maintained by a standards organization;
‘‘(21) the term ‘open license’ means a legal guarantee that
a data asset is made available—
‘‘(A) at no cost to the public; and
‘‘(B) with no restrictions on copying, publishing, distributing, transmitting, citing, or adapting such asset;
‘‘(22) the term ‘public data asset’ means a data asset,
or part thereof, maintained by the Federal Government that
has been, or may be, released to the public, including any
data asset, or part thereof, subject to disclosure under section
552 of title 5; and
‘‘(23) the term ‘statistical laws’ means subchapter III of
this chapter and other laws pertaining to the protection of
information collected for statistical purposes as designated by
the Director.’’.
(b) GUIDANCE TO MAKE DATA OPEN BY DEFAULT.—Section
3504(b) of title 44, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting
a semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(6) issue guidance for agencies to implement section
3506(b)(6) in a manner that takes into account—
‘‘(A) risks and restrictions related to the disclosure
of personally identifiable information, including the risk
that an individual data asset in isolation does not pose
a privacy or confidentiality risk but when combined with
other available information may pose such a risk;
‘‘(B) security considerations, including the risk that
information in an individual data asset in isolation does
not pose a security risk but when combined with other
available information may pose such a risk;

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132 STAT. 5536

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Strategic plan.

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‘‘(C) the cost and benefits to the public of converting
a data asset into a machine-readable format that is accessible and useful to the public;
‘‘(D) whether the application of the requirements
described in such section to a data asset could result in
legal liability;
‘‘(E) a determination of whether a data asset—
‘‘(i) is subject to intellectual property rights,
including rights under titles 17 and 35;
‘‘(ii) contains confidential business information,
that could be withheld under section 552(b)(4) of title
5; or
‘‘(iii) is otherwise restricted by contract or other
binding, written agreement;
‘‘(F) the requirement that a data asset be disclosed,
if it would otherwise be made available under section 552
of title 5 (commonly known as the ‘Freedom of Information
Act’); and
‘‘(G) any other considerations that the Director determines to be relevant.’’.
(c) FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES TO MAKE DATA OPEN
BY DEFAULT.—
(1) AMENDMENTS.—Section 3506 of title 44, United States
Code, is amended—
(A) in subsection (b)—
(i) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
‘‘(2) in accordance with guidance by the Director, develop
and maintain a strategic information resources management
plan that, to the extent practicable—
‘‘(A) describes how information resources management
activities help accomplish agency missions;
‘‘(B) includes an open data plan for data that does
not concern monetary policy that—
‘‘(i) requires the agency to develop processes and
procedures that—
‘‘(I) require data collection mechanisms created
on or after the date of the enactment of the OPEN
Government Data Act to be available in an open
format; and
‘‘(II) facilitate collaboration with non-Government entities (including businesses), researchers,
and the public for the purpose of understanding
how data users value and use government data;
‘‘(ii) identifies and implements methods for collecting and analyzing digital information on data asset
usage by users within and outside of the agency,
including designating a point of contact within the
agency to assist the public and to respond to quality
issues, usability issues, recommendations for improvements, and complaints about adherence to open data
requirements within a reasonable period of time;
‘‘(iii) develops and implements a process to
evaluate and improve the timeliness, completeness,
consistency, accuracy, usefulness, and availability of
open Government data assets;
‘‘(iv) includes requirements for meeting the goals
of the agency open data plan, including the acquisition

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PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

132 STAT. 5537

of technology, provision of training for employees, and
the implementation of procurement standards, in
accordance with existing law, regulation, and policy,
that allow for the acquisition of innovative solutions
from public and private sectors;
‘‘(v) identifies as priority data assets any data asset
for which disclosure would be in the public interest
and establishes a plan to evaluate each priority data
asset for disclosure on the Federal Data Catalogue
under section 3511 and for a determination under
3511(a)(2)(A)(iii)(I)(bb), including an accounting of
which priority data assets have not yet been evaluated;
and
‘‘(vi) requires the agency to comply with requirements under section 3511, including any standards
established by the Director under such section, when
disclosing a data asset pursuant to such section; and
‘‘(C) is updated annually and made publicly available
on the website of the agency not later than 5 days after
each such update;’’;
(ii) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and
inserting a semicolon;
(iii) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(6) in accordance with guidance by the Director—
‘‘(A) make each data asset of the agency available
in an open format; and
‘‘(B) make each public data asset of the agency available—
‘‘(i) as an open Government data asset; and
‘‘(ii) under an open license.’’; and
(B) in subsection (d)—
(i) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;
(ii) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at
the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(5) ensure that any public data asset of the agency is
machine-readable; and
‘‘(6) engage the public in using public data assets of the
agency and encourage collaboration by—
‘‘(A) publishing on the website of the agency, on a
regular basis (not less than annually), information on the
usage of such assets by non-Government users;
‘‘(B) providing the public with the opportunity to
request specific data assets to be prioritized for disclosure
and to provide suggestions for the development of agency
criteria with respect to prioritizing data assets for disclosure;
‘‘(C) assisting the public in expanding the use of public
data assets; and
‘‘(D) hosting challenges, competitions, events, or other
initiatives designed to create additional value from public
data assets of the agency.’’.

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Update.
Public
information.
Web posting.
Deadline.

Web posting.

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132 STAT. 5538

(2) USE OF OPEN DATA ASSETS.—Not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each
agency (as defined in section 3502 of title 44, United States
Code) shall ensure that any activity by the agency meets the
requirements of section 3506 of title 44, United States Code,
as amended by this subsection.
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this subsection shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) DATA INVENTORY AND FEDERAL DATA CATALOGUE.—
(1) AMENDMENT.—Section 3511 of title 44, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:

Deadline.
44 USC 3506
note.

44 USC 3506
note.

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Consultation.

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PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

‘‘§ 3511. Data inventory and Federal data catalogue
‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE DATA INVENTORY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with the Director and
in accordance with the guidance established under paragraph
(2), the head of each agency shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, develop and maintain a comprehensive data inventory that accounts for all data assets created by, collected
by, under the control or direction of, or maintained by the
agency. The head of each agency shall ensure that such inventory provides a clear and comprehensive understanding of the
data assets in the possession of the agency.
‘‘(2) GUIDANCE.—The Director shall establish guidance for
agencies to develop and maintain comprehensive data inventories under paragraph (1). Such guidance shall include the
following:
‘‘(A) A requirement for the head of an agency to include
in the comprehensive data inventory metadata on each
data asset of the agency, including, to the maximum extent
practicable, the following:
‘‘(i) A description of the data asset, including all
variable names and definitions.
‘‘(ii) The name or title of the data asset.
‘‘(iii) An indication of whether or not the agency—
‘‘(I) has determined or can determine if the
data asset is—
‘‘(aa) an open Government data asset;
‘‘(bb) subject to disclosure or partial disclosure or exempt from disclosure under section
552 of title 5;
‘‘(cc) a public data asset eligible for disclosure under subsection (b); or
‘‘(dd) a data asset not subject to open format or open license requirements due to
existing limitations or restrictions on government distribution of the asset; or
‘‘(II) as of the date of such indication, has
not made such determination.
‘‘(iv) Any determination made under section 3582,
if available.
‘‘(v) A description of the method by which the
public may access or request access to the data asset.
‘‘(vi) The date on which the data asset was most
recently updated.

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PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

132 STAT. 5539

‘‘(vii) Each agency responsible for maintaining the
data asset.
‘‘(viii) The owner of the data asset.
‘‘(ix) To the extent practicable, any restriction on
the use of the data asset.
‘‘(x) The location of the data asset.
‘‘(xi) Any other metadata necessary to make the
comprehensive data inventory useful to the agency and
the public, or otherwise determined useful by the
Director.
‘‘(B) A requirement for the head of an agency to exclude
from the comprehensive data inventory any data asset
contained on a national security system, as defined in
section 11103 of title 40.
‘‘(C) Criteria for the head of an agency to use in determining which metadata required by subparagraph (A), if
any, in the comprehensive data inventory may not be made
publicly available, which shall include, at a minimum, a
requirement to ensure all information that could not otherwise be withheld from disclosure under section 552 of title
5 is made public in the comprehensive data inventory.
‘‘(D) A requirement for the head of each agency, in
accordance with a procedure established by the Director,
to submit for inclusion in the Federal data catalogue maintained under subsection (c) the comprehensive data inventory developed pursuant to subparagraph (C), including
any real-time updates to such inventory, and data assets
made available in accordance with subparagraph (E) or
any electronic hyperlink providing access to such data
assets.
‘‘(E) Criteria for the head of an agency to use in determining whether a particular data asset should not be made
publicly available in a manner that takes into account—
‘‘(i) risks and restrictions related to the disclosure
of personally identifiable information, including the
risk that an individual data asset in isolation does
not pose a privacy or confidentiality risk but when
combined with other available information may pose
such a risk;
‘‘(ii) security considerations, including the risk that
information in an individual data asset in isolation
does not pose a security risk but when combined with
other available information may pose such a risk;
‘‘(iii) the cost and benefits to the public of converting the data into a format that could be understood
and used by the public;
‘‘(iv) whether the public dissemination of the data
asset could result in legal liability;
‘‘(v) whether the data asset—
‘‘(I) is subject to intellectual property rights,
including rights under titles 17 and 35;
‘‘(II) contains confidential business information, that could be withheld under section 552(b)(4)
of title 5; or
‘‘(III) is restricted by contract or other binding,
written agreement;

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Criteria.
Determination.
Public
information.

Procedure.
Inventory.
Update.

Criteria.
Determination.

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132 STAT. 5540

Criteria.
Assessment.
Determination.

Deadline.
Inventory.

Public
information.

Publication.

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Guidance.

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‘‘(vi) whether the holder of a right to such data
asset has been consulted;
‘‘(vii) the expectation that all data assets that
would otherwise be made available under section 552
of title 5 be disclosed; and
‘‘(viii) any other considerations that the Director
determines to be relevant.
‘‘(F) Criteria for the head of an agency to use in
assessing the indication of a determination under subparagraph (A)(iii) and how to prioritize any such subsequent
determinations in the strategic information management
plan under section 3506, in consideration of the existing
resources available to the agency.
‘‘(3) REGULAR UPDATES REQUIRED.—With respect to each
data asset created or identified by an agency, the head of
the agency shall update the comprehensive data inventory of
the agency not later than 90 days after the date of such creation
or identification.
‘‘(b) PUBLIC DATA ASSETS.—The head of each agency shall
submit public data assets, or links to public data assets available
online, as open Government data assets for inclusion in the Federal
data catalogue maintained under subsection (c), in accordance with
the guidance established under subsection (a)(2).
‘‘(c) FEDERAL DATA CATALOGUE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of General Services
shall maintain a single public interface online as a point of
entry dedicated to sharing agency data assets with the public,
which shall be known as the ‘Federal data catalogue’. The
Administrator and the Director shall ensure that agencies can
submit public data assets, or links to public data assets, for
publication and public availability on the interface.
‘‘(2) REPOSITORY.—The Director shall collaborate with the
Office of Government Information Services and the Administrator of General Services to develop and maintain an online
repository of tools, best practices, and schema standards to
facilitate the adoption of open data practices across the Federal
Government, which shall—
‘‘(A) include any definitions, regulations, policies,
checklists, and case studies related to open data policy;
‘‘(B) facilitate collaboration and the adoption of best
practices across the Federal Government relating to the
adoption of open data practices; and
‘‘(C) be made available on the Federal data catalogue
maintained under paragraph (1).
‘‘(3) ACCESS TO OTHER DATA ASSETS.—The Director shall
ensure the Federal data catalogue maintained under paragraph
(1) provides information on how the public can access a data
asset included in a comprehensive data inventory under subsection (a) that is not yet available on the Federal data catalogue, including information regarding the application process
established under section 3583 of title 44.
‘‘(d) DELEGATION.—The Director shall delegate to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and
the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government the
authority to jointly issue guidance required under this section.’’.
(2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

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132 STAT. 5541

(A) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The item relating to section
3511 of the table of sections at the beginning of chapter
35 of title 44, United States Code, is amended to read
as follows:

44 USC 3501
prec.

‘‘3511. Data inventory and Federal data catalogue.’’.

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(B) CROSS-REFERENCE.—Section 3504(b)(2)(A) of title
44, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the use
of the Government Information Locator Service’’ and
inserting ‘‘the use of comprehensive data inventories and
the Federal data catalogue under section 3511’’.
(e) CHIEF DATA OFFICERS.—
(1) AMENDMENT.—Section 3520 of title 44, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 3520. Chief Data Officers
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The head of each agency shall designate
a nonpolitical appointee employee in the agency as the Chief Data
Officer of the agency.
‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Data Officer of an agency
shall be designated on the basis of demonstrated training and
experience in data management, governance (including creation,
application, and maintenance of data standards), collection, analysis, protection, use, and dissemination, including with respect to
any statistical and related techniques to protect and de-identify
confidential data.
‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Chief Data Officer of an agency shall—
‘‘(1) be responsible for lifecycle data management;
‘‘(2) coordinate with any official in the agency responsible
for using, protecting, disseminating, and generating data to
ensure that the data needs of the agency are met;
‘‘(3) manage data assets of the agency, including the
standardization of data format, sharing of data assets, and
publication of data assets in accordance with applicable law;
‘‘(4) in carrying out the requirements under paragraphs
(3) and (5), consult with any statistical official of the agency
(as designated under section 314 of title 5);
‘‘(5) carry out the requirements of the agency under subsections (b) through (d), (f), and (i) of section 3506, section
3507, and section 3511;
‘‘(6) ensure that, to the extent practicable, agency data
conforms with data management best practices;
‘‘(7) engage agency employees, the public, and contractors
in using public data assets and encourage collaborative
approaches on improving data use;
‘‘(8) support the Performance Improvement Officer of the
agency in identifying and using data to carry out the functions
described in section 1124(a)(2) of title 31;
‘‘(9) support the Evaluation Officer of the agency in
obtaining data to carry out the functions described in section
313(d) of title 5;
‘‘(10) review the impact of the infrastructure of the agency
on data asset accessibility and coordinate with the Chief
Information Officer of the agency to improve such infrastructure
to reduce barriers that inhibit data asset accessibility;
‘‘(11) ensure that, to the extent practicable, the agency
maximizes the use of data in the agency, including for the

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Coordination.

Consultation.

Review.
Coordination.

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132 STAT. 5542

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production of evidence (as defined in section 3561), cybersecurity, and the improvement of agency operations;
‘‘(12) identify points of contact for roles and responsibilities
related to open data use and implementation (as required by
the Director);
‘‘(13) serve as the agency liaison to other agencies and
the Office of Management and Budget on the best way to
use existing agency data for statistical purposes (as defined
in section 3561); and
‘‘(14) comply with any regulation and guidance issued under
subchapter III, including the acquisition and maintenance of
any required certification and training.
‘‘(d) DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent necessary to comply with
statistical laws, the Chief Data Officer of an agency shall delegate any responsibility under subsection (c) to the head of
a statistical agency or unit (as defined in section 3561) within
the agency.
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—To the extent permissible under law,
the individual to whom a responsibility has been delegated
under paragraph (1) shall consult with the Chief Data Officer
of the agency in carrying out such responsibility.
‘‘(3) DEFERENCE.—The Chief Data Officer of the agency
shall defer to the individual to whom a responsibility has
been delegated under paragraph (1) regarding the necessary
delegation of such responsibility with respect to any data
acquired, maintained, or disseminated by the agency under
applicable statistical law.
‘‘(e) REPORTS.—The Chief Data Officer of an agency shall submit
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform of the House of Representatives an annual report on the
compliance of the agency with the requirements of this subchapter,
including information on each requirement that the agency could
not carry out and, if applicable, what the agency needs to carry
out such requirement.’’.
(2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item
relating to section 3520 of the table of sections at the beginning
of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:

Compliance.

44 USC 3501
prec.

‘‘3520. Chief Data Officers.’’.

(f) CHIEF DATA OFFICER COUNCIL.—
(1) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44,
United States Code, is amended by inserting before section
3521 the following new section:

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44 USC 3520A.

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‘‘§ 3520A. Chief Data Officer Council
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the Office of
Management and Budget a Chief Data Officer Council (in this
section referred to as the ‘Council’).
‘‘(b) PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS.—The Council shall—
‘‘(1) establish Governmentwide best practices for the use,
protection, dissemination, and generation of data;
‘‘(2) promote and encourage data sharing agreements
between agencies;

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132 STAT. 5543

‘‘(3) identify ways in which agencies can improve upon
the production of evidence for use in policymaking;
‘‘(4) consult with the public and engage with private users
of Government data and other stakeholders on how to improve
access to data assets of the Federal Government; and
‘‘(5) identify and evaluate new technology solutions for
improving the collection and use of data.
‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Data Officer of each agency
shall serve as a member of the Council.
‘‘(2) CHAIR.—The Director shall select the Chair of the
Council from among the members of the Council.
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—The Administrator of the
Office of Electronic Government shall serve as a member of
the Council.
‘‘(4) EX OFFICIO MEMBER.—The Director shall appoint a
representative for all Chief Information Officers and Evaluation
Officers, and such representative shall serve as an ex officio
member of the Council.
‘‘(d) REPORTS.—The Council shall submit to the Director, the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of
the Senate, and the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform of the House of Representatives a biennial report on the
work of the Council.
‘‘(e) EVALUATION AND TERMINATION.—
‘‘(1) GAO EVALUATION OF COUNCIL.—Not later than 4 years
after date of the enactment of this section, the Comptroller
General shall submit to Congress a report on whether the
additional duties of the Council improved the use of evidence
and program evaluation in the Federal Government.
‘‘(2) TERMINATION OF COUNCIL.—The Council shall terminate and this section shall be repealed upon the expiration
of the 2-year period that begins on the date the Comptroller
General submits the report under paragraph (1) to Congress.’’.
(2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table
of sections at the beginning of chapter 35 of title 44, United
States Code, is amended by inserting before the item relating
to section 3521 the following new item:

Consultation.

Appointment.

Deadline.

Time period.
Effective date.

44 USC 3501
prec.

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‘‘3520A. Chief Data Officer Council.’’.

(g) REPORTS.—
(1) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House
of Representatives a report that identifies, to the extent practicable—
(A) the value of information made available to the
public as a result of this Act and the amendments made
by this Act;
(B) whether the public availability of any information
that has not yet been made so available would be valuable
to the public; and
(C) the completeness of each comprehensive data inventory developed under section 3511 of title 44, United States
Code, as amended by subsection (d).

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132 STAT. 5544

PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019
(2) BIENNIAL OMB REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after
date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter,
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall
electronically publish a report on agency performance and
compliance with this Act and the amendments made by this
Act.

44 USC 3502
note.

Confidential
Information
Protection and
Statistical
Efficiency
Act of 2018.
44 USC 101 note.

TITLE III—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION AND STATISTICAL
EFFICIENCY
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ‘‘Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018’’.
SEC. 302. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION AND STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY.
44 USC 3561
prec.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new subchapter:

44 USC 3561
prec.

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
PROTECTION AND STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY

‘‘PART A—GENERAL

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44 USC 3561.

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‘‘§ 3561. Definitions
‘‘In this subchapter:
‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ means any entity that
falls within the definition of the term ‘executive agency’, as
defined in section 102 of title 31, or ‘agency’, as defined in
section 3502.
‘‘(2) AGENT.—The term ‘agent’ means an individual—
‘‘(A)(i) who is an employee of a private organization
or a researcher affiliated with an institution of higher
learning (including a person granted special sworn status
by the Bureau of the Census under section 23(c) of title
13), and with whom a contract or other agreement is
executed, on a temporary basis, by an executive agency
to perform exclusively statistical activities under the control and supervision of an officer or employee of that
agency;
‘‘(ii) who is working under the authority of a government entity with which a contract or other agreement
is executed by an executive agency to perform exclusively
statistical activities under the control of an officer or
employee of that agency;
‘‘(iii) who is a self-employed researcher, a consultant,
a contractor, or an employee of a contractor, and with
whom a contract or other agreement is executed by an
executive agency to perform a statistical activity under
the control of an officer or employee of that agency; or
‘‘(iv) who is a contractor or an employee of a contractor,
and who is engaged by the agency to design or maintain
the systems for handling or storage of data received under
this subchapter; and

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PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

132 STAT. 5545

‘‘(B) who agrees in writing to comply with all provisions
of law that affect information acquired by that agency.
‘‘(3) BUSINESS DATA.—The term ‘business data’ means operating and financial data and information about businesses,
tax-exempt organizations, and government entities.
‘‘(4) DATA ASSET.—The term ‘data asset’ has the meaning
given that term in section 3502.
‘‘(5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget.
‘‘(6) EVIDENCE.—The term ‘evidence’ means information
produced as a result of statistical activities conducted for a
statistical purpose.
‘‘(7) IDENTIFIABLE FORM.—The term ‘identifiable form’
means any representation of information that permits the
identity of the respondent to whom the information applies
to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means.
‘‘(8) NONSTATISTICAL PURPOSE.—The term ‘nonstatistical
purpose’—
‘‘(A) means the use of data in identifiable form for
any purpose that is not a statistical purpose, including
any administrative, regulatory, law enforcement, adjudicatory, or other purpose that affects the rights, privileges,
or benefits of a particular identifiable respondent; and
‘‘(B) includes the disclosure under section 552 of title
5 of data that are acquired for exclusively statistical purposes under a pledge of confidentiality.
‘‘(9) RESPONDENT.—The term ‘respondent’ means a person
who, or organization that, is requested or required to supply
information to an agency, is the subject of information
requested or required to be supplied to an agency, or provides
that information to an agency.
‘‘(10) STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘statistical activities’—
‘‘(A) means the collection, compilation, processing, or
analysis of data for the purpose of describing or making
estimates concerning the whole, or relevant groups or
components within, the economy, society, or the natural
environment; and
‘‘(B) includes the development of methods or resources
that support those activities, such as measurement
methods, models, statistical classifications, or sampling
frames.
‘‘(11) STATISTICAL AGENCY OR UNIT.—The term ‘statistical
agency or unit’ means an agency or organizational unit of
the executive branch whose activities are predominantly the
collection, compilation, processing, or analysis of information
for statistical purposes, as designated by the Director under
section 3562.
‘‘(12) STATISTICAL PURPOSE.—The term ‘statistical purpose’—
‘‘(A) means the description, estimation, or analysis of
the characteristics of groups, without identifying the
individuals or organizations that comprise such groups;
and

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132 STAT. 5546

PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019
‘‘(B) includes the development, implementation, or
maintenance of methods, technical or administrative procedures, or information resources that support the purposes
described in subparagraph (A).

44 USC 3562.

Designation.
Guidance.
Criteria.

Summary.

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44 USC 3563.

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‘‘§ 3562. Coordination and oversight of policies
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall coordinate and oversee
the confidentiality and disclosure policies established by this subchapter. The Director may promulgate rules or provide other guidance to ensure consistent interpretation of this subchapter by the
affected agencies. The Director shall develop a process by which
the Director designates agencies or organizational units as statistical agencies and units. The Director shall promulgate guidance
to implement such process, which shall include specific criteria
for such designation and methods by which the Director will ensure
transparency in the process.
‘‘(b) AGENCY RULES.—Subject to subsection (c), agencies may
promulgate rules to implement this subchapter. Rules governing
disclosures of information that are authorized by this subchapter
shall be promulgated by the agency that originally collected the
information.
‘‘(c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF RULES.—The Director shall
review any rules proposed by an agency pursuant to this subchapter
for consistency with the provisions of this chapter and such rules
shall be subject to the approval of the Director.
‘‘(d) REPORTS.—
‘‘(1) The head of each agency shall provide to the Director
such reports and other information as the Director requests.
‘‘(2) Each Designated Statistical Agency (as defined in section 3576(e)) shall report annually to the Director, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House
of Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate on the actions it has
taken to implement section 3576. The report shall include copies
of each written agreement entered into pursuant to section
3576(c)(1) for the applicable year.
‘‘(3) The Director shall include a summary of reports submitted to the Director under this subsection and actions taken
by the Director to advance the purposes of this subchapter
in the annual report to Congress on statistical programs prepared under section 3504(e)(2).
‘‘§ 3563. Statistical agencies
‘‘(a) RESPONSIBILITIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each statistical agency or unit shall—
‘‘(A) produce and disseminate relevant and timely
statistical information;
‘‘(B) conduct credible and accurate statistical activities;
‘‘(C) conduct objective statistical activities; and
‘‘(D) protect the trust of information providers by
ensuring the confidentiality and exclusive statistical use
of their responses.
‘‘(2) POLICIES, BEST PRACTICES, AND PROCEDURES.—Each
statistical agency or unit shall adopt policies, best practices,
and appropriate procedures to implement the responsibilities
described in paragraph (1).

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‘‘(b) SUPPORT FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—The head of each agency
shall enable, support, and facilitate statistical agencies or units
in carrying out the responsibilities described in subsection (a)(1).
‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Director shall prescribe regulations to
carry out this section.
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) ACCURATE.—The term ‘accurate’, when used with
respect to statistical activities, means statistics that consistently match the events and trends being measured.
‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The term ‘confidentiality’ means a
quality or condition accorded to information as an obligation
not to disclose that information to an unauthorized party.
‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE.—The term ‘objective’, when used with
respect to statistical activities, means accurate, clear, complete,
and unbiased.
‘‘(4) RELEVANT.—The term ‘relevant’, when used with
respect to statistical information, means processes, activities,
and other such matters likely to be useful to policymakers
and public and private sector data users.
‘‘§ 3564. Effect on other laws
‘‘(a) TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE.—This subchapter does
not diminish the authority under section 3510 of the Director to
direct, and of an agency to make, disclosures that are not inconsistent with any applicable law.
‘‘(b) TITLE 13 AND TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE.—This subchapter does not diminish the authority of the Bureau of the Census
to provide information in accordance with sections 8, 16, 301, and
401 of title 13 and section 2108 of this title.
‘‘(c) TITLE 13, UNITED STATES CODE.—This subchapter shall
not be construed as authorizing the disclosure for nonstatistical
purposes of demographic data or information collected by the
Bureau of the Census pursuant to section 9 of title 13.
‘‘(d) VARIOUS ENERGY STATUTES.—Data or information acquired
by the Energy Information Administration under a pledge of confidentiality and designated by the Energy Information Administration to be used for exclusively statistical purposes shall not be
disclosed in identifiable form for nonstatistical purposes under—
‘‘(1) section 12, 20, or 59 of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 771, 779, 790h);
‘‘(2) section 11 of the Energy Supply and Environmental
Coordination Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 796); or
‘‘(3) section 205 or 407 of the Department of Energy
Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7135, 7177).
‘‘(e) SECTION 201 OF CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT OF 1974.—
This subchapter shall not be construed to limit any authorities
of the Congressional Budget Office to work (consistent with laws
governing the confidentiality of information the disclosure of which
would be a violation of law) with databases of Designated Statistical
Agencies (as defined in section 3576(e)), either separately or, for
data that may be shared pursuant to section 3576(c) or other
authority, jointly in order to improve the general utility of these
databases for the statistical purpose of analyzing pension and health
care financing issues.
‘‘(f) PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.—Nothing in this subchapter
shall preempt applicable State law regarding the confidentiality
of data collected by the States.

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44 USC 3564.

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‘‘(g) STATUTES REGARDING FALSE STATEMENTS.—Notwithstanding section 3572, information collected by an agency for exclusively statistical purposes under a pledge of confidentiality may
be provided by the collecting agency to a law enforcement agency
for the prosecution of submissions to the collecting agency of false
statistical information under statutes that authorize criminal penalties (such as section 221 of title 13) or civil penalties for the
provision of false statistical information, unless such disclosure
or use would otherwise be prohibited under Federal law.
‘‘(h) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as restricting or diminishing any confidentiality protections
or penalties for unauthorized disclosure that otherwise apply to
data or information collected for statistical purposes or nonstatistical purposes, including, but not limited to, section 6103 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
‘‘(i) AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS.—Nothing in this subchapter shall
be construed to affect the authority of the Congress, including
its committees, members, or agents, to obtain data or information
for a statistical purpose, including for oversight of an agency’s
statistical activities.

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44 USC 3571
prec.

‘‘PART B—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
PROTECTION

44 USC 3571.

‘‘§ 3571. Findings
‘‘The Congress finds the following:
‘‘(1) Individuals, businesses, and other organizations have
varying degrees of legal protection when providing information
to the agencies for strictly statistical purposes.
‘‘(2) Pledges of confidentiality by agencies provide assurances to the public that information about individuals or
organizations or provided by individuals or organizations for
exclusively statistical purposes will be held in confidence and
will not be used against such individuals or organizations in
any agency action.
‘‘(3) Protecting the confidentiality interests of individuals
or organizations who provide information under a pledge of
confidentiality for Federal statistical programs serves both the
interests of the public and the needs of society.
‘‘(4) Declining trust of the public in the protection of
information provided under a pledge of confidentiality to the
agencies adversely affects both the accuracy and completeness
of statistical analyses.
‘‘(5) Ensuring that information provided under a pledge
of confidentiality for statistical purposes receives protection
is essential in continuing public cooperation in statistical programs.

44 USC 3572.

‘‘§ 3572. Confidential information protection
‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are the following:
‘‘(1) To ensure that information supplied by individuals
or organizations to an agency for statistical purposes under
a pledge of confidentiality is used exclusively for statistical
purposes.
‘‘(2) To ensure that individuals or organizations who supply
information under a pledge of confidentiality to agencies for
statistical purposes will neither have that information disclosed

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132 STAT. 5549

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in identifiable form to anyone not authorized by this subchapter
nor have that information used for any purpose other than
a statistical purpose.
‘‘(3) To safeguard the confidentiality of individually identifiable information acquired under a pledge of confidentiality
for statistical purposes by controlling access to, and uses made
of, such information.
‘‘(b) USE OF STATISTICAL DATA OR INFORMATION.—Data or
information acquired by an agency under a pledge of confidentiality
and for exclusively statistical purposes shall be used by officers,
employees, or agents of the agency exclusively for statistical purposes and protected in accordance with such pledge.
‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE OF STATISTICAL DATA OR INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) Data or information acquired by an agency under a
pledge of confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes shall
not be disclosed by an agency in identifiable form, for any
use other than an exclusively statistical purpose, except with
the informed consent of the respondent.
‘‘(2) A disclosure pursuant to paragraph (1) is authorized
only when the head of the agency approves such disclosure
and the disclosure is not prohibited by any other law.
‘‘(3) This section does not restrict or diminish any confidentiality protections in law that otherwise apply to data or
information acquired by an agency under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes.
‘‘(d) RULE FOR USE OF DATA OR INFORMATION FOR NONSTATISTICAL PURPOSES.—A statistical agency or unit shall clearly distinguish any data or information it collects for nonstatistical purposes
(as authorized by law) and provide notice to the public, before
the data or information is collected, that the data or information
could be used for nonstatistical purposes.
‘‘(e) DESIGNATION OF AGENTS.—A statistical agency or unit may
designate agents, by contract or by entering into a special agreement
containing the provisions required under section 3561(2) for treatment as an agent under that section, who may perform exclusively
statistical activities, subject to the limitations and penalties
described in this subchapter.
‘‘(f) FINES AND PENALTIES.—Whoever, being an officer,
employee, or agent of an agency acquiring information for exclusively statistical purposes, having taken and subscribed the oath
of office, or having sworn to observe the limitations imposed by
this section, comes into possession of such information by reason
of his or her being an officer, employee, or agent and, knowing
that the disclosure of the specific information is prohibited under
the provisions of this subchapter, willfully discloses the information
in any manner to a person or agency not entitled to receive it,
shall be guilty of a class E felony and imprisoned for not more
than 5 years, or fined not more than $250,000, or both.

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Notification.
Public
information.

‘‘PART C—STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY

44 USC 3575
prec.

‘‘§ 3575. Findings
‘‘The Congress finds the following:
‘‘(1) Federal statistics are an important source of information for public and private decision-makers such as policymakers, consumers, businesses, investors, and workers.

44 USC 3575.

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132 STAT. 5550

PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019
‘‘(2) Federal statistical agencies should continuously seek
to improve their efficiency. Statutory constraints limit the
ability of these agencies to share data and thus to achieve
higher efficiency for Federal statistical programs.
‘‘(3) The quality of Federal statistics depends on the willingness of businesses to respond to statistical surveys. Reducing
reporting burdens will increase response rates, and therefore
lead to more accurate characterizations of the economy.
‘‘(4) Enhanced sharing of business data among the Bureau
of the Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the
Bureau of Labor Statistics for exclusively statistical purposes
will improve their ability to track more accurately the large
and rapidly changing nature of United States business. In
particular, the statistical agencies will be able to better ensure
that businesses are consistently classified in appropriate industries, resolve data anomalies, produce statistical samples that
are consistently adjusted for the entry and exit of new
businesses in a timely manner, and correct faulty reporting
errors quickly and efficiently.
‘‘(5) Congress enacted the International Investment and
Trade in Services Survey Act (Public Law 94–472), which
allowed the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic
Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to share data
on foreign-owned companies. The Act not only expanded
detailed industry coverage from 135 industries to over 800
industries with no increase in the data collected from respondents but also demonstrated how data sharing can result in
the creation of valuable data products.
‘‘(6) With part B of this subchapter, the sharing of business
data among the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic
Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to ensure
the highest level of confidentiality for respondents to statistical
surveys.

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44 USC 3576.

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‘‘§ 3576. Designated statistical agencies
‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are the following:
‘‘(1) To authorize the sharing of business data among the
Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and
the Bureau of Labor Statistics for exclusively statistical purposes.
‘‘(2) To reduce the paperwork burdens imposed on
businesses that provide requested information to the Federal
Government.
‘‘(3) To improve the comparability and accuracy of Federal
economic statistics by allowing the Bureau of the Census, the
Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to update sample frames, develop consistent classifications
of establishments and companies into industries, improve coverage, and reconcile significant differences in data produced
by the three agencies.
‘‘(4) To increase understanding of the United States
economy, especially for key industry and regional statistics,
to develop more accurate measures of the impact of technology
on productivity growth, and to enhance the reliability of the
Nation’s most important economic indicators, such as the
National Income and Product Accounts.

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PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

132 STAT. 5551

‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED STATISTICAL AGENCIES.—
The head of each of the Designated Statistical Agencies shall—
‘‘(1) identify opportunities to eliminate duplication and
otherwise reduce reporting burden and cost imposed on the
public in providing information for statistical purposes;
‘‘(2) enter into joint statistical projects to improve the
quality and reduce the cost of statistical programs; and
‘‘(3) protect the confidentiality of individually identifiable
information acquired for statistical purposes by adhering to
safeguard principles, including—
‘‘(A) emphasizing to their officers, employees, and
agents the importance of protecting the confidentiality of
information in cases where the identity of individual
respondents can reasonably be inferred by either direct
or indirect means;
‘‘(B) training their officers, employees, and agents in
their legal obligations to protect the confidentiality of
individually identifiable information and in the procedures
that must be followed to provide access to such information;
‘‘(C) implementing appropriate measures to assure the
physical and electronic security of confidential data;
‘‘(D) establishing a system of records that identifies
individuals accessing confidential data and the project for
which the data were required; and
‘‘(E) being prepared to document their compliance with
safeguard principles to other agencies authorized by law
to monitor such compliance.
‘‘(c) SHARING OF BUSINESS DATA AMONG DESIGNATED STATISTICAL AGENCIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Designated Statistical Agency may
provide business data in an identifiable form to another Designated Statistical Agency under the terms of a written agreement among the agencies sharing the business data that specifies—
‘‘(A) the business data to be shared;
‘‘(B) the statistical purposes for which the business
data are to be used;
‘‘(C) the officers, employees, and agents authorized to
examine the business data to be shared; and
‘‘(D) appropriate security procedures to safeguard the
confidentiality of the business data.
‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES OF AGENCIES UNDER OTHER LAWS.—
The provision of business data by an agency to a Designated
Statistical Agency under this section shall in no way alter
the responsibility of the agency providing the data under other
statutes (including sections 552 and 552b of title 5) with respect
to the provision or withholding of such information by the
agency providing the data.
‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND
AGENTS.—Examination of business data in identifiable form
shall be limited to the officers, employees, and agents authorized to examine the individual reports in accordance with written agreements pursuant to this section. Officers, employees,
and agents of a Designated Statistical Agency who receive
data pursuant to this section shall be subject to all provisions
of law, including penalties, that relate—

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132 STAT. 5552

Time period.

44 USC 3501
prec.

PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

‘‘(A) to the unlawful provision of the business data
that would apply to the officers, employees, and agents
of the agency that originally obtained the information; and
‘‘(B) to the unlawful disclosure of the business data
that would apply to officers, employees, and agents of the
agency that originally obtained the information.
‘‘(4) NOTICE.—Whenever a written agreement concerns data
that respondents were required by law to report and the
respondents were not informed that the data could be shared
among the Designated Statistical Agencies, for exclusively
statistical purposes, the terms of such agreement shall be
described in a public notice issued by the agency that intends
to provide the data. Such notice shall allow a minimum of
60 days for public comment.
‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF BUSINESS DATA PROVIDED BY DESIGNATED STATISTICAL AGENCIES.—
‘‘(1) GENERAL USE.—Business data provided by a Designated Statistical Agency pursuant to this section shall be
used exclusively for statistical purposes.
‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—Publication of business data acquired
by a Designated Statistical Agency shall occur in a manner
whereby the data furnished by any particular respondent are
not in identifiable form.
‘‘(e) DESIGNATED STATISTICAL AGENCY DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘Designated Statistical Agency’ means each of the
following:
‘‘(1) The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce.
‘‘(2) The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department
of Commerce.
‘‘(3) The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department
of Labor.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, as amended
by proceeding provisions of this Act, is further amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘SUBCHAPTER

III—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION AND STATISTICAL
EFFICIENCY

‘‘PART A—GENERAL
‘‘3561.
‘‘3562.
‘‘3563.
‘‘3564.

Definitions.
Coordination and oversight of policies.
Statistical agencies.
Effect on other laws.
‘‘PART B—CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION

‘‘3571. Findings.
‘‘3572. Confidential information protection.
‘‘PART C—STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY

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‘‘3575. Findings.
‘‘3576. Designated statistical agencies.’’.

(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) REPEAL OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION AND
STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY ACT OF 2002.—Title V of the E–Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–347; 44 U.S.C. 3501 note)
is repealed (and the table of contents of such Act shall be
conformed accordingly).

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PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

132 STAT. 5553

(2) TITLE 13, UNITED STATES CODE.—Section 402 of title
13, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of
2002’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3576(e) of title 44’’.
(3) TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.—Title 49, United States
Code, is amended—
(A) in section 6302(d)(4), by striking ‘‘the Confidential
Information’’ and all that follows through the period and
inserting ‘‘section 3572 of title 44.’’; and
(B) in section 6314(d)(2), by striking ‘‘the Confidential
Information’’ and all that follows through the period and
inserting ‘‘section 3572 of title 44.’’.
(4) ACT OF JANUARY 27, 1938.—The first section of the Act
of January 27, 1938, entitled ‘‘An Act to make confidential
certain information furnished to the Bureau of Foreign and
Domestic Commerce, and for other purposes’’ (52 Stat. 8,
chapter 11; 15 U.S.C. 176a), is amended by striking ‘‘the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act
of 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘subchapter III of chapter 35 of title
44, United States Code’’.
(5) FIXING AMERICA’S SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ACT.—Section 7308(e)(2) of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation
Act (Public Law 114–94; 49 U.S.C. 20155 note) is amended
by striking ‘‘the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note)’’ and inserting
‘‘section 3572 of title 44, United States Code’’.
(d) TRANSITIONAL AND SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—
(1) CUTOFF DATE.—This title replaces certain provisions
of law enacted on December 17, 2002. If a law enacted after
that date amends or repeals a provision replaced by this title,
that law is deemed to amend or repeal, as the case may be,
the corresponding provision enacted by this title. If a law
enacted after that date is otherwise inconsistent with this title,
it supersedes this title to the extent of the inconsistency.
(2) ORIGINAL DATE OF ENACTMENT UNCHANGED.—For purposes of determining whether one provision of law supersedes
another based on enactment later in time, the date of the
enactment of a provision enacted by this title is deemed to
be the date of the enactment of the provision it replaced.
(3) REFERENCES TO PROVISIONS REPLACED.—A reference to
a provision of law replaced by this title, including a reference
in a regulation, order, or other law, is deemed to refer to
the corresponding provision enacted by this title.
(4) REGULATIONS, ORDERS, AND OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE
ACTIONS.—A regulation, order, or other administrative action
in effect under a provision of law replaced by this title continues
in effect under the corresponding provision enacted by this
title.
(5) ACTIONS TAKEN AND OFFENSES COMMITTED.—An action
taken or an offense committed under a provision of law replaced
by this title is deemed to have been taken or committed under
the corresponding provision enacted by this title.

44 USC 3561
note.

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SEC. 303. INCREASING ACCESS TO DATA FOR EVIDENCE.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 35 of title 44,
United States Code, as added by section 302, is amended by adding
at the end the following new part:

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132 STAT. 5554
44 USC 3581
prec.

‘‘PART D—ACCESS TO DATA FOR EVIDENCE

44 USC 3581.

‘‘§ 3581. Presumption of accessibility for statistical agencies
and units
‘‘(a) ACCESSIBILITY OF DATA ASSETS.—The head of an agency
shall, to the extent practicable, make any data asset maintained
by the agency available, upon request, to any statistical agency
or unit for purposes of developing evidence.
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—Subsection (a) does not apply to any data
asset that is subject to a statute that—
‘‘(1) prohibits the sharing or intended use of such asset
in a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue; or
‘‘(2) if enacted after the date of the enactment of this
section, specifically cites to this paragraph.
‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Director shall prescribe regulations for
agencies to carry out this section. Such regulations shall—
‘‘(1) require the timely provision of data assets under subsection (a);
‘‘(2) provide a list of statutes that exempt agencies from
the requirement under subsection (a) pursuant to subsection
(b)(1);
‘‘(3) establish clear and consistent standards, to the extent
possible, for complying with section 552a of title 5 (commonly
known as the ‘Privacy Act of 1974’) and any other applicable
law requiring the protection and confidentiality of individually
identifiable information; and
‘‘(4) require a transparent process for statistical agencies
and units to request data assets from agencies and for agencies
to respond to such requests.
‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may
be construed as altering existing intellectual property rights or
the terms of any contract or other binding, written agreement.

Lists.

44 USC 3582.

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Standards.
Assessment.
Criteria.

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‘‘§ 3582. Expanding secure access to CIPSEA data assets
‘‘(a) STATISTICAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—To the extent
practicable, each statistical agency or unit shall expand access
to data assets of such agency or unit acquired or accessed under
this subchapter to develop evidence while protecting such assets
from inappropriate access and use, in accordance with the regulations promulgated under subsection (b).
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS FOR ACCESSIBILITY OF NONPUBLIC DATA
ASSETS.—The Director shall promulgate regulations, in accordance
with applicable law, for statistical agencies and units to carry
out the requirement under subsection (a). Such regulations shall
include the following:
‘‘(1) Standards for each statistical agency or unit to assess
each data asset owned or accessed by the statistical agency
or unit for purposes of categorizing the sensitivity level of
each such asset and identifying the corresponding level of accessibility to each such asset. Such standards shall include—
‘‘(A) common sensitivity levels and corresponding levels
of accessibility that may be assigned to a data asset,
including a requisite minimum and maximum number of
sensitivity levels for each statistical agency or unit to use;
‘‘(B) criteria for determining the sensitivity level and
corresponding level of accessibility of each data asset; and

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‘‘(C) criteria for determining whether a less sensitive
and more accessible version of a data asset can be produced.
‘‘(2) Standards for each statistical agency or unit to improve
access to a data asset pursuant to paragraph (1) or (3) by
removing or obscuring information in such a manner that the
identity of the data subject is less likely to be reasonably
inferred by either direct or indirect means.
‘‘(3) A requirement for each statistical agency or unit to
conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of any data asset
acquired or accessed under this subchapter prior to any public
release of such asset, including standards for such comprehensive risk assessment and criteria for making a determination
of whether to release the data.
‘‘(4) Requirements for each statistical agency or unit to
make any process or assessment established, produced, or conducted pursuant to this section transparent and easy to understand, including the following:
‘‘(A) A requirement to make information on the assessment of the sensitivity level of each data asset conducted
pursuant to paragraph (1) available on the Federal data
catalogue established under section 3511(c)(1).
‘‘(B) A requirement to make any comprehensive risk
assessment, and associated determinations, conducted
under paragraph (3) available on the Federal data catalogue established under section 3511(c)(1).
‘‘(C) A requirement to make any standard or policy
established by the statistical agency or unit to carry out
this section and any assessment conducted under this section easily accessible on the public website of such agency
or unit.
‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTOR.—The Director shall—
‘‘(1) make public all standards and policies established
under this section; and
‘‘(2) ensure that statistical agencies and units have the
ability to make information public on the Federal data catalogue
established under section 3511(c)(1), in accordance with requirements established pursuant to subsection (b).
‘‘§ 3583. Application to access data assets for developing evidence
‘‘(a) STANDARD APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Director shall
establish a process through which agencies, the Congressional
Budget Office, State, local, and Tribal governments, researchers,
and other individuals, as appropriate, may apply to access the
data assets accessed or acquired under this subchapter by a statistical agency or unit for purposes of developing evidence. The process
shall include the following:
‘‘(1) Sufficient detail to ensure that each statistical agency
or unit establishes an identical process.
‘‘(2) A common application form.
‘‘(3) Criteria for statistical agencies and units to determine
whether to grant an applicant access to a data asset.
‘‘(4) Timeframes for prompt determinations by each statistical agency or unit.
‘‘(5) An appeals process for adverse decisions and noncompliance with the process established under this subsection.

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Standards.

Risk assessment.
Standards.
Criteria.

Public
information.

44 USC 3583.

Criteria.
Determination.
Timeframes.

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132 STAT. 5556

PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

‘‘(6) Standards for transparency, including requirements
to make the following information publicly available:
‘‘(A) Each application received.
‘‘(B) The status of each application.
‘‘(C) The determination made for each application.
‘‘(D) Any other information, as appropriate, to ensure
full transparency of the process established under this
subsection.
‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the process required under
subsection (a), the Director shall consult with stakeholders,
including the public, agencies, State and local governments, and
representatives of non-governmental researchers.
‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The head of each statistical agency or
unit shall implement the process established under subsection (a).’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, as amended
by preceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by adding
at the end the following:

Standards.
Public
information.

44 USC 3501
prec.

‘‘PART D—ACCESS

TO

DATA

FOR

EVIDENCE

‘‘3581. Presumption of accessibility for statistical agencies and units.
‘‘3582. Expanding secure access to CIPSEA data assets.
‘‘3583. Application to access data assets for developing evidence.’’.

(c) DEADLINE FOR GUIDANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget shall promulgate or issue
any regulation or guidance required by subchapter III of title 44,
United States Code, as amended by this section, with a requirement
for such regulation or guidance to be implemented not later than
1 year after the date on which such regulation or guidance has
been promulgated or issued.

Regulations.
44 USC 3561
note.

TITLE IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS

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5 USC 306 note.

SEC. 401. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act,
may be construed—
(1) to require the disclosure of information or records that
are exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United
States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of Information
Act’’);
(2) to create or expand an exemption from disclosure under
such section;
(3) to override, limit, or otherwise affect intellectual property rights, including rights under titles 17 and 35, United
States Code;
(4) to affect the authority of a Federal agency regarding
the use, disclosure, or licensing of—
(A) confidential business information that could be
withheld under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States
Code; or
(B) data assets restricted from disclosure under a contract or other binding, written agreement; or
(5) to affect the independence, responsibilities, or work
products of an Inspector General of any agency.

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PUBLIC LAW 115–435—JAN. 14, 2019

132 STAT. 5557

SEC. 402. USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES.

5 USC 306 note.

To the extent practicable, the head of each agency shall use
existing procedures and systems to carry out agency requirements
and shall select existing employees for appointments under this
Act and the amendments made by this Act.
SEC. 403. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 USC 306 note.

Except as otherwise provided, this Act, and the amendments
made by this Act, shall take effect on the date that is 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act.

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Approved January 14, 2019.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 4174:
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 115–411 (Comm. on Oversight and Government Reform).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
Vol. 163 (2017): Nov. 15, considered and passed House.
Vol. 164 (2018): Dec. 19, considered and passed Senate, amended.
Dec. 21, House concurred in Senate amendment.

Æ

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