President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to remove information silos by directing agency heads to grant federal officials full and prompt access to all unclassified agency data, records, software and IT systems as part of efforts to identify and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.
Required OMB Reports
Within 30 days, agency heads should rescind or amend agency guidance that hinders inter- or intra-agency sharing of unclassified data and submit to the Office of Management and Budget a report cataloging agency regulations that govern unclassified data access.
The report to OMB should also contain recommendations on whether any of the identified regulations should be modified or eliminated to meet the EO’s goals.
The president also directs agency heads to assess classified information policies to determine whether they lead to the classification of materials beyond what is necessary to safeguard critical national security interests.
The EO gives agency heads 45 days to submit a report to OMB outlining those policies and recommending whether any should be amended or eliminated.
Labor Secretary’s Access to Records
To strengthen fraud identification efforts, the new presidential action grants the secretary of the Department of Labor and designees unrestrained access to all unemployment data and related payment records, including those currently available to the department’s Office of Inspector General.
Other Requirements
The new policy directs agency heads to ensure that the federal government has unrestricted access to comprehensive data from state programs that receive federal funding, including data in third-party databases.
In a fact sheet published Thursday, the White House said the EO seeks to improve accountability, foster interagency collaboration and streamline government operations by ensuring that agencies share critical data in accordance with privacy protections.
According to the White House, the federal government has made approximately $2.7 trillion in improper payments over the last two decades.
