OMB and Treasury have proposed standardizing 57 data elements for  reporting under the act. They released 15 elements in May 2015, a year  after the passage of the act, and have since released 12 more. Eight of  these were new elements required under the DATA Act; the balance of  the first 15 data elements were required under the Federal Funding  Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA). As the examples illustrate, OMB and Treasury will need to build  on the program activity structure and provide agencies with guidance if  they are to meet the stated purpose of the DATA Act to “link federal  contract, loan, and grant spending information to federal programs to  enable taxpayers and policy makers to track federal spending more  effectively.” To underscore the differences between program activities  and programs, our September 2005 Glossary of Terms Used in the  Federal Budget Process defines a program as “an organized set of  activities directed toward a common purpose or goal that an agency  undertakes or proposes to carry out its responsibilities.”
The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA), among other things,  requires OMB to make publicly available, on a central government-wide  website, a list of all federal programs identified by agencies. Until  these steps are taken and linked to the appropriate program activity data  element, OMB and Treasury will be unable to provide a complete picture  of spending by federal programs as required under the act. Data Standards and Elements Proposed by OMB and Treasury May Not Yet Represent All That Are Necessary to Fully Capture and Reliably Report on Federal Spending

The DATA Act requires Treasury, in consultation with OMB, to publish a  report of funds made available to, or expended by, federal agencies and  their components on USAspending.gov or an alternative system. OMB and Treasury Established a Framework for Developing Data Standards, but Action Is Needed to Ensure the Integrity of the Standards Is Maintained over Time

		OMB and Treasury Established a Governance Structure for Overall Implementation of the DATA Act

The DATA Act designates OMB and Treasury to lead government-wide  implementation efforts. Toward that end, OMB and Treasury have  established a governance framework that includes structures for both  project management and data governance. OMB and Treasury have made progress in developing a governance  structure for government-wide implementation. Recognizing the  importance of engaging on data standards, OMB and Treasury have  taken the following steps:  convened a town hall meeting on data transparency in late September  2014 to, in part, allow stakeholders to share their views and  recommendations; published a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on the establishment of financial data standards by November 25, 2014; presented periodic updates on the status of DATA Act implementation  to federal and non-federal stakeholders at meetings and conferences;  solicited public comment on data standards using GitHub, an online  collaboration space, including the posing of general questions in  December 2014 and subsequently seeking public comment on  proposed data standards beginning in March 2015; and  collaborated with federal agencies on the development of data  standards and the technical schema through MAX.gov, an OMB- supported website. Additional policies and procedures that address the whole lifecycle of  standards development will be needed to ensure the integrity of  government-wide financial data standards is maintained over time. These  policies and procedures could also provide an opportunity for OMB and  Treasury to establish effective two-way communication with a broad  representation of federal fund recipients to ensure all interested parties’  concerns are addressed as this important work continues. As a result we  are making the following recommendation:  To ensure that interested parties’ concerns are addressed as  implementation efforts continue, we recommend that the Director of  OMB, in collaboration with the Secretary of the Treasury, build on  existing efforts and put in place policies and procedures to foster  ongoing and effective two-way dialogue with stakeholders including  timely and substantive responses to feedback received on the Federal  Spending Transparency GitHub website. In May 2015, Treasury officials told us  that the agency does not plan to transfer any of the ROC’s assets,  identifying the following challenges to assuming ROC’s assets:
Hardware. Because of these challenges, Treasury focused on facilitating information  sharing through meetings between the ROC and Treasury’s Do Not Pay  (DNP) initiative, which assists agencies in preventing improper payments. We plan to issue a report on the ROC later this year. OMB Has Launched a Pilot to Develop Recommendations for Reducing Recipient Reporting Burden

The DATA Act requires OMB to establish a 2-year pilot program to  develop recommendations for standardizing financial data elements,  eliminating unnecessary duplication, and reducing compliance costs for  recipients of federal awards. Our work to date has centered on the grants-related part of the pilot. The  pilot was launched this May with three activities: (1) a national dialogue  on reducing the reporting burden faced by recipients of federal funds; (2)  an online repository of common data elements; and (3) a new section on  Grants.gov with information about the grants lifecycle. Providing grants-related resources. OMB  staff, Treasury officials, HHS, the Recovery Board, and the CIGIE  provided technical comments on the draft, which we incorporated as  appropriate. Additional members of GAO’s DATA Act Working  Group also contributed to the development of this statement.
Why GAO Did This Study

The DATA Act directs OMB and Treasury to establish government-wide data standards by May 2015. The act also requires agencies to begin reporting financial spending data using these standards by May 2017 and to post spending data in machine- readable formats by May 2018. This statement is part of a series of products that GAO will provide the Congress as the DATA Act is implemented.
This statement discusses four DATA Act implementation areas to date: (1) establishment of government-wide data standards; (2) OMB and Treasury's effort to establish a governance structure and obtain stakeholder input; (3) the status of the potential transfer of the ROC's assets to Treasury; and (4) the pilot program to reduce reporting burden. GAO reviewed the first 15 data elements finalized under the act; analyzed key documents, technical specifications and applicable guidance; interviewed OMB, Treasury, HHS, and other staff as well as officials from organizations representing non-federal stakeholders; and reviewed literature.

What GAO Found

Since the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) became law in May 2014, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) have taken significant steps towards implementing key provisions. These steps include the release of 27 data standards, draft technical documentation, and implementation guidance to help federal agencies meet their responsibilities under the act. However, given the complexity and government-wide scale of activities required by the DATA Act, much more remains to be done.
Data standards. OMB and Treasury have proposed standardizing 57 data elements for reporting under the act. They released 15 elements on May 8, 2015, a year after the passage of the act, and have since released 12 more. Eight of the first 15 were new elements required under the DATA Act; the balance were required under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. GAO identified several issues that may impact the quality and ability to aggregate federal spending data. For example, GAO found: (1) the data standards may not provide a complete picture of spending by program unless OMB accelerates its efforts to produce an inventory of federal programs as required under the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA); (2) the data standards and elements may not yet represent all that are necessary to fully capture and reliably report on federal spending; and (3) the draft technical specifications GAO reviewed may result in the reporting of inconsistent information. GAO shared its observations with officials who are considering revisions and updating their technical documentation.
Governance and stakeholder engagement. OMB and Treasury have made progress in initial implementation activities by developing structures for project management and data governance as well as for obtaining stakeholder input. However, GAO found that additional effort to address the whole lifecycle of standards development will be needed to ensure that the integrity of data standards is maintained over time. Establishing these policies and procedures now could provide an opportunity for OMB and Treasury to build on existing efforts to reach out to stakeholders by taking steps to foster effective two-way communication to help ensure that the concerns of interested parties are responded to and addressed as appropriate on an ongoing and timely basis.
Recovery Operations Center (ROC). GAO's review of the potential transfer of the ROC's assets found that Treasury does not plan to assume these assets because of a number of impediments. Instead, Treasury has focused on facilitating information sharing between the ROC and Treasury's Do Not Pay initiative, which assists agencies in preventing improper payments. GAO has ongoing work on this issue and plans to issue a report later this year.
Reporting burden pilot. The DATA Act requires OMB to establish a 2-year pilot program to develop recommendations for reducing reporting burden for recipients of federal awards. The pilot was launched this May with the initiation of a national dialogue on reducing reporting burden, building of an online repository of common grants-related data elements, and addition of grants-related resources on Grants.gov. GAO also has ongoing work focusing on this pilot.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that OMB accelerate efforts to merge DATA Act purposes with the production of a federal program inventory under GPRAMA, and that OMB and Treasury (1) establish policies and processes for a governance structure to maintain the integrity of data standards over time and (2) enhance policies and procedures to provide for ongoing and effective two-way dialogue with stakeholders. OMB staff, Treasury officials, and others provided technical comments which GAO incorporated as appropriate.