CASES Act

[116th Congress Public Law 50]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 133 STAT. 1073]]

Public Law 116-50
116th Congress

                                 An Act


 
To require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue 
          guidance on electronic consent forms, and for other 
            purposes. <<NOTE: Aug. 22, 2019 -  [H.R. 1079]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Creating 
Advanced Streamlined Electronic Services for Constituents Act of 2019. 5 
USC 101 note.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Creating Advanced Streamlined 
Electronic Services for Constituents Act of 2019'' or the ``CASES Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) congressional offices provide crucial services to 
        constituents by acting as a liaison between the constituents and 
        the respective agencies;
            (2) this includes assisting constituents by making inquiries 
        and working toward resolutions on behalf of the constituent with 
        the respective agencies; and
            (3) this process should be simplified through the creation 
        of electronic forms that may be submitted under section 552a of 
        title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Privacy 
        Act), thus modernizing the process for constituents and 
        improving access and efficiency of Government services and 
        agencies in order to expedite the resolution of the problem for 
        which constituents sought help.
SEC. 3. <<NOTE: 5 USC 552a note.>>  OMB GUIDANCE ON ELECTRONIC 
                    CONSENT AND ACCESS FORMS.

    (a) <<NOTE: Deadline.>>  Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue guidance 
that does the following:
            (1) Requires each agency to accept electronic identity 
        proofing and authentication processes for the purposes of 
        allowing an individual to provide prior written consent for the 
        disclosure of the individual's records under section 552a(b) of 
        title 5, United States Code, or for individual access to records 
        under section 552a(d) of such title.
            (2) <<NOTE: Web posting.>>  Creates a template for 
        electronic consent and access forms and requires each agency to 
        post the template on the agency website and to accept the forms 
        from any individual properly identity proofed and authenticated 
        in accordance with paragraph (1) for the purpose of authorizing 
        disclosure of the individual's records under section 552a(b) of 
        title 5, United

[[Page 133 STAT. 1074]]

        States Code, or for individual access to records under section 
        552a(d) of such title.
            (3) Requires each agency to accept the electronic consent 
        and access forms described in paragraph (2) from any individual 
        properly identity proofed and authenticated in accordance with 
        paragraph (1) for the purpose of authorizing disclosure of the 
        individual's records to another entity, including a 
        congressional office, in accordance with section 552a(b) of 
        title 5, United States Code, or for individual access to records 
        under section 552a(d).

    (b) <<NOTE: Deadline.>>  Agency Compliance.--Each agency shall 
comply with the guidance issued pursuant to subsection (a) not later 
than 1 year after the date on which such guidance is issued.

    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Agency; individual; record.--The terms ``agency'', 
        ``individual'', and ``record'' have the meanings given those 
        terms in section 552a(a) of title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
SEC. 4. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.

    No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of 
this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise 
authorized.
SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with 
the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

    Approved August 22, 2019.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 1079:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SENATE REPORTS: No. 116-50 (Comm. on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 165 (2019):
            Feb. 11, considered and passed House.
            July 31, considered and passed Senate.

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