31 U.S.C. § 1113 — Congressional information

(a) (1) When requested by a committee of Congress having jurisdiction over receipts or appropriations, the President must provide the committee with assistance and information. (2) When requested by a committee of Congress, additional information related to the amount of an appropriation originally requested by an Office of Inspector General must be submitted to the committee. (b) When requested by a committee of Congress, by the Comptroller General, or by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the head of each executive agency must— (1) provide information on the location and kind of available fiscal, budget, and program information; (2) to the extent practicable, prepare summary tables of that fiscal, budget, and program information and related information the committee, the Comptroller General, or the Director of the Congressional Budget Office considers necessary; and (3) provide a program evaluation carried out or commissioned by an executive agency. (c) In cooperation with the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, the Secretary, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Comptroller General must— (1) establish and maintain a current directory of sources of, and information systems for, fiscal, budget, and program information and a brief description of the contents of each source and system; (2) when requested, provide assistance to committees of Congress and members of Congress in obtaining information from the sources in the directory; and (3) when requested, provide assistance to committees and, to the extent practicable, to members of Congress in evaluating the information obtained from the sources in the directory. (d) To the extent they consider necessary, the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office individually or jointly must establish and maintain a file of information to meet recurring needs of Congress for fiscal, budget, and program information to carry out this section and sections 717 and 1112 of this title. The file must include information on budget requests, congressional authorizations to obligate and expend, apportionment and reserve actions, and obligations and expenditures. The Comptroller General and the Director must maintain the file and an index to the file so that it is easier for the committees and agencies of Congress to use the file and index through data processing and communications techniques. (e) (1) The Comptroller General must— (A) carry out a continuing program to identify the needs of committees and members of Congress for fiscal, budget, and program information to carry out this section and section 1112 of this title; (B) assist committees of Congress in developing their information needs; (C) monitor recurring reporting requirements of Congress and committees; and (D) make recommendations to Congress and committees for changes and improvements in those reporting requirements to meet information needs identified by the Comptroller General, to improve their usefulness to congressional users, and to eliminate unnecessary reporting. (2) Before September 2 of each year, the Comptroller General must report to Congress on— (A) the needs identified under paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection; (B) the relationship of those needs to existing reporting requirements; (C) the extent to which reporting by the executive branch of the United States Government currently meets the identified needs; (D) the changes to standard classifications necessary to meet congressional needs; (E) activities, progress, and results of the program of the Comptroller General under paragraph (1)(B)–(D) of this subsection; and (F) progress of the executive branch in the prior year. (3) Before March 2 of each year, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary must report to Congress on plans for meeting the needs identified under paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection, including— (A) plans for carrying out changes to classifications to meet information needs of Congress; (B) the status of information systems in the prior year; and (C) the use of standard classifications.