Sponsors (2)
The bill increases public and oversight transparency of large federal settlements through standardized, searchable disclosures, at the cost of additional agency implementation expenses, potential legal disputes over redactions and retroactive releases, and reputational risks for settling parties.
Taxpayers and the general public gain searchable, standardized, machine-readable public access to large federal settlement agreements (≥ $10M) and related documents, making how federal funds are spent more transparent and easier to analyze.
Congress and oversight bodies receive annual reports on withheld items and claimed exemptions, improving legislative and oversight visibility into settlement disclosures and enforcement of disclosure requirements.
States, local governments, and tribes named in settlement terms get standardized public records of agreements that affect them, helping with legal, fiscal, and planning decisions at the sub‑federal level.
Agencies will incur administrative costs to build, maintain, certify databases and compile reports, which could divert resources or require additional funding from taxpayers.
Disagreements over redactions and withholding of legitimately sensitive information (law‑enforcement details, tax matters, personnel records) could trigger litigation and disputes, delaying disclosures and increasing legal costs.
Retroactive publication of agreements back to 2015 ("to the extent practicable") may impose burdens on agencies, create legal complexity for older settlements, and raise privacy or legal‑risk concerns for previously settled matters and parties.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires federal agencies to publish certain large or significant settlement agreements and specified data in a public, searchable, machine-readable online database, subject to exemptions.
Introduced March 16, 2026 by Gary James Palmer · Last progress March 16, 2026
Requires federal agencies to publish certain federal settlement agreements and related data in a public, searchable, machine-readable online database, while preserving specified confidentiality, law-enforcement, and national-security exemptions. The bill defines which settlements are “covered” (for example, those that obligate $10 million or more, appoint a monitor or involve state/local/tribal governments), sets deadlines for agencies and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to act, and requires annual public reporting on withheld material and claimed exemptions. Agencies must create searchable databases within two years and follow OMB guidance (to be issued within one year) on data standards, publication cadence (at least annually), URL format, and certification. The requirement applies to covered settlements entered on or after enactment and, where practicable, to agreements from January 1, 2015 onward that remain in effect.