(1) in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Administrator of General Services

(A) develop and oversee the implementation of policies, principles, standards, and guidelines for information technology functions and activities of the Federal Government, including periodic evaluations of major information systems; and

(B) oversee the development and implementation of standards under section 5131 of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (40 U.S.C. 1441);

(2) monitor the effectiveness of, and compliance with, directives issued under division E of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (40 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) and directives issued under section 110 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 757);

(3) coordinate the development and review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of policy associated with Federal procurement and acquisition of information technology with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy;

(4) ensure, through the review of agency budget proposals, information resources management plans and other means—

(A) agency integration of information resources management plans, program plans and budgets for acquisition and use of information technology; and

(B) the efficiency and effectiveness of inter-agency information technology initiatives to improve agency performance and the accomplishment of agency missions; and (5) promote the use of information technology by the Federal Government to improve the productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of Federal programs, including through dissemination of public information and the reduction of information collection burdens on the public.

§ 3505. Assignment of tasks and deadlines

(a) In carrying out the functions under this chapter, the Director shall

(1) in consultation with agency heads, set an annual Governmentwide goal for the reduction of information collection burdens by at least 10 percent during each of fiscal years 1996 and 1997 and 5 percent during each of fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001, and set annual agency goals to

(A) reduce information collection burdens imposed on the public that

(i) represent the maximum practicable opportunity in each agency; and

(ii) are consistent with improving agency management of the process for the review of collections of information established under section 3506(c); and

(B) improve information resources management in ways that increase the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of Federal programs, including service delivery to the public;

(2) with selected agencies and non-Federal entities on a voluntary basis, conduct pilot projects to test alternative policies, practices, regulations, and procedures to fulfill the purposes of this chapter, particularly with regard to minimizing the Federal information collection burden; and

(3) in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Archivist of the United States, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, develop and maintain a Governmentwide strategic plan for information resources management, that shall include

(A) a description of the objectives and the means by which the Federal Government shall apply information resources to improve agency and program performance; (B) plans for

(i) reducing information burdens on the public, including reducing such burdens through the elimination of duplication and meeting shared data needs with shared resources;

(ii) enhancing public access to and dissemination of, information, using electronic and other formats; and

(iii) meeting the information technology needs of the Federal Government in accordance with the purposes of this chapter; and

(C) a description of progress in applying information resources management to improve agency performance and the accomplishment of missions.

(b) For purposes of any pilot project conducted under subsection (a)(2), the Director may, after consultation with the agency head, waive the application of any administrative directive issued by an agency with which the project is conducted, including any directive requiring a collection of information, after giving timely notice to the public and the Congress regarding the need for such waiver.

§ 3506. Federal agency responsibilities

(a)(1) The head of each agency shall be responsible for

(A) carrying out the agency's information resources management activities to improve agency productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness; and

(B) complying with the requirements of this chapter and related policies established by the Director.

(2)(A) Except as provided under subparagraph (B), the head of each agency shall designate a Chief Information Officer who shall report directly to such agency head to carry out the responsibilities of the agency under this chapter.

(B) The Secretary of the Department of Defense and the Secretary of each military department may each designate Chief Information Officers who shall report directly to such Secretary to carry out the responsibilities of the department under this chapter. If more than one Chief Information Officer is designated, the respective duties of the Chief Information Officers shall be clearly delineated.

(3) The senior official designated under paragraph (2) shall head an office responsible for ensuring agency compliance with and prompt, efficient, and effective implementation of the information policies and information resources management responsibilities established under this chapter, including the reduction of information collection burdens on the public. The senior official and employees of such office shall be selected with special attention to the professional qualifications required to administer the functions described under this chapter.

(4) Each agency program official shall be responsible and accountable for information resources assigned to and supporting the programs under such official. In consultation with the senior official designated under paragraph (2) and the agency Chief Financial Officer (or comparable official), each agency program official shall define program information needs and develop strategies, systems, and capabilities to meet those needs.

(b) With respect to general information resources management, each agency shall

(1) manage information resources to

lic;

(A) reduce information collection burdens on the pub

(B) increase program efficiency and effectiveness; and (C) improve the integrity, quality, and utility of information to all users within and outside the agency, including capabilities for ensuring dissemination of public information, public access to government information, and protections for privacy and security;

(2) in accordance with guidance by the Director, develop and maintain a strategic information resources management plan that shall describe how information resources management activities help accomplish agency missions;

(3) develop and maintain an ongoing process to

(A) ensure that information resources management operations and decisions are integrated with organizational planning, budget, financial management, human resources management, and program decisions;

(B) in cooperation with the agency Chief Financial Officer (or comparable official), develop a full and accurate accounting of information technology expenditures, related expenses, and results; and

(C) establish goals for improving information resources management's contribution to program productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness, methods for measuring progress towards those goals, and clear roles and responsibilities for achieving those goals;

(4) in consultation with the Director, the Administrator of General Services, and the Archivist of the United States, maintain a current and complete inventory of the agency's information resources, including directories necessary to fulfill the requirements of section 3511 of this chapter; and

(5) in consultation with the Director and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, conduct formal training programs to educate agency program and management officials about information resources management.

(c) With respect to the collection of information and the control of paperwork, each agency shall—

(1) establish a process within the office headed by the Chief Information Officer designated under subsection (a), that is sufficiently independent of program responsibility to evaluate fairly whether proposed collections of information should be approved under this chapter, to

(A) review each collection of information before submission to the Director for review under this chapter, including

(i) an evaluation of the need for the collection of information;

(ii) a functional description of the information to be collected;

(iii) a plan for the collection of the information; (iv) a specific, objectively supported estimate of burden;

(v) a test of the collection of information through a pilot program, if appropriate; and

(vi) a plan for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected, including necessary resources;

(B) ensure that each information collection

(i) is inventoried, displays a control number and, if appropriate, an expiration date;

(ii) indicates the collection is in accordance with the clearance requirements of section 3507; and

(iii) informs the person receiving the collection of information of

(I) the reasons the information is being collected;

(II) the way such information is to be used; (III) an estimate, to the extent practicable, of the burden of the collection;

(IV) whether responses to the collection of information are voluntary, required to obtain a benefit, or mandatory; and

(V) the fact that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid control number; and

(C) assess the information collection burden of proposed legislation affecting the agency;

(2)(A) except as provided under subparagraph (B) or section 3507(j), provide 60-day notice in the Federal Register, and otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of information, to solicit comment to

(i) evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility;

(ii) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information;

(iii) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(iv) minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and

(B) for any proposed collection of information contained in a proposed rule (to be reviewed by the Director under section 3507(d)), provide notice and comment through the notice of proposed rulemaking for the proposed rule and such notice shall have the same purposes specified under subparagraph (A) (i) through (iv); and

(3) certify (and provide a record supporting such certification, including public comments received by the agency) that each collection of information submitted to the Director for review under section 3507–

(A) is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including that the information has practical utility;

(B) is not unnecessarily duplicative of information otherwise reasonably accessible to the agency;

(C) reduces to the extent practicable and appropriate the burden on persons who shall provide information to or for the agency, including with respect to small entities, as defined under section 601(6) of title 5, the use of such techniques as

(i) establishing differing compliance or reporting requirements or timetables that take into account the resources available to those who are to respond;

(ii) the clarification, consolidation, or simplification of compliance and reporting requirements; or

(iii) an exemption from coverage of the collection of information, or any part thereof;

(D) is written using plain, coherent, and unambiguous terminology and is understandable to those who are to respond;

(E) is to be implemented in ways consistent and compatible, to the maximum extent practicable, with the existing reporting and recordkeeping practices of those who are to respond;

(F) indicates for each recordkeeping requirement the length of time persons are required to maintain the records specified;

(G) contains the statement required under paragraph (1)(B)(iii);

(H) has been developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected, including the processing of the information in a manner which shall enhance, where appropriate, the utility of the information to agencies and the public;

(I) uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology appropriate to the purpose for which the information is to be collected; and