44 U.S.C. § 3581 — Presumption of accessibility for statistical agencies and units

(a) Accessibility of Data Assets . — The head of an agency^* must, to the extent practicable, make any data asset^* maintained by the agency available, upon request, to any statistical agency or unit^* for purposes of developing evidence^*.

(b) Limitations . — Subsection

(a) does not apply to any data asset that is subject to a statute that —
(1) prohibits the sharing or intended use of such asset in a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue;
or
(2) if enacted after the date of the enactment of this section, specifically cites to this paragraph.

(c) Regulations . — The Director^* must prescribe regulations for agencies to carry out this section. Such regulations must —
(1) require the timely provision of data assets under subsection (a);
(2) provide a list of statutes that exempt agencies from the requirement under subsection

(a) under subsection (b)(1);
(3) establish clear and consistent standards, to the extent possible, for complying with section 552a of title 5 (commonly known as the “Privacy Act of 1974”) and any other applicable law requiring the protection and confidentiality of individually identifiable information;
and
(4) require a transparent process for statistical agencies and units to request data assets from agencies and for agencies to respond to such requests.

(d) Rule of Construction . — Nothing in this section may be construed as altering existing intellectual property rights or the terms of any contract or other binding, written agreement.