Helping Federal Agencies Make Better Use of Data in Policymaking (H.R. 4174)

What is H.R. 4174?

(Updated December 28, 2018)

This bill would implement the recommendations of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking’s report to establish a more secure, transparent, and efficient data system aimed at helping federal agencies better assess the effectiveness of their programs. The Commission was created by Congress to provide recommendations on those matter under the Evidence Based Policymaking Act of 2016.

Federal agencies would be required to create evidence-building plans for identifying and addressing policy questions relevant to the programs, policies, and regulations that would be consolidated into one government-wide plan by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The bill would require agencies to appoint or designate a Chief Evaluation Officer to coordinate evidence-building activities within in the agency.

The bill would require open government data assets made available by federal agencies to be published as machine-readable data. Federal agencies would have to appoint or designate a Chief Data Officer, in addition to establishing a data inventory and federal data catalog.

It would also establish an advisory committee to study the Commission’s recommendation to create a National Secure Data Service.

Argument in favor

This bipartisan bill would improve federal agencies’ ability to analyze data and use it to assess the effectiveness of current policies and consider other courses of action. It's a win for transparency and efficiency in government.

Argument opposed

There’s no need for federal agencies to have a streamlined way to access the data they need to assess the effectiveness of current policies and the potential impact of future action.

Impact

Members of the public who want to view government data; and federal agencies -- particularly the OMB.

Cost of H.R. 4174

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable, although no significant costs are expected to be associated with the legislation.

Additional Info

In-Depth: House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced this bill to establish a more secure, transparent, and efficient data system that will help federal agencies better assess the effectiveness of their programs:

“As lawmakers, we have to change our approach not only to how we make policy, but how we gauge its results. Ensuring our programs work is just common sense — and what American taxpayers deserve. I want to thank the commissioners and my colleagues in both chambers for their extensive work that helped make this possible. I’m really proud of the bill we’re introducing today.”

As the sponsor of this bill’s Senate companion, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) added:

“No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, we should all agree that government should work as efficiently as possible for the people it serves. So I’ve been proud to work with Speaker Ryan to find new ways Democrats and Republicans can work together to improve how the federal government makes decisions that impact the lives of millions of people in Washington state and around the country. This bill will begin to put the recommendations of the bipartisan Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission we created into action by improving how the federal government gathers and uses data and evidence to inform decision-making, as well as ways to strengthen the privacy and increase the transparency around this information.”

This legislation passed the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee on a voice vote and has the support of three House cosponsors, including two Republicans and one Democrat. Sen. Murray’s companion bill has the support of one cosponsor, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI).

Of Note: Two former officials who worked in the administrations of Barack Obama and George W. Bush collaborated on a study which found that less than $1 of every $100 of federal spending goes toward assessing the outcomes associated with the other $99 of spending. Their key takeaway from the report is that the federal government needs to better understand the effectiveness of the programs it spends money on, which is becoming a critical concern in a time of chronic budget deficits.

Another analysis found that about 75 percent of the federal government’s programs that are supposed to improve the performance of participants in school have little or no impact on those they’re intended to help.

Media:

• House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) Press Release
  
• House Republican Policy Committee
  
• Federal News Radio
  
• Forbes
  
• Science
  
• Bipartisan Policy Center (Context)