Number:  113-24
Date:  September 24, 2014

Senate Passes S. 1611,
the Federal Data Center Consolidation Act of 2013

On September 18, 2014, the Senate passed S. 1611, the Federal Data Center Consolidation Act of 2013, as amended by unanimous consent.  The bill would require certain agencies to assess their data centers’ inventory and develop consolidation plans.  The bill now awaits action in the House.  

Following are provisions of interest to SSA:

• Would require covered agencies (including SSA), as assisted by the agency Chief Information Officer (CIO), to annually submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an inventory of their data centers and a multi-year strategy to achieve consolidation and optimization of inventoried data centers.  The strategy would include performance metrics, a timeline, and annual cost-benefit calculations to measure agency progress toward meeting the goals of the OMB Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative.1   Covered agencies would submit this report beginning in the first fiscal year after the date of enactment.  

• Would require, for each fiscal year, agencies acting through the agency CIO to submit to OMB, and make publicly available, a statement on whether the agency has complied with the requirements of the Act.  If the agency is in non-compliance, it would submit a statement to OMB explaining the reason why.  Would become effective beginning in the first fiscal year after the date of enactment.
  

• Would require agency CIOs, in implementing their agency data center strategy, to provide quarterly updates to OMB on completion of activities, progress toward meeting consolidation and optimization metrics, and actual cost savings and improvements realized through the agency strategy.

• Would require, no later than one year after the date of enactment, the Comptroller General to review and verify each year the asset inventory and strategy of covered agencies.

• Would require agencies to implement data consolidation and optimization strategies consistent with Federal guidelines on cloud computing security.

• Would become effective upon enactment and would cease to be effective, or “sunset,” as of October 1, 2018.