DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDS FOR IMPROVED INTEROPERABILITY.

SEC. 50606. DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDS FOR IMPROVED INTEROPERABILITY. (a) In General Section 511(h) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 711(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(5) Data exchange standards for improved interoperability “(A) Designation and use of data exchange standards “(i) Designation The head of the department or agency responsible for administering a program funded under this section shall, in consultation with an interagency work group established by the Office of Management and Budget and considering State government perspectives, designate data exchange standards for necessary categories of information that a State agency operating the program is required to electronically exchange with another State agency under applicable Federal law. “(ii) Data exchange standards must be nonproprietary and interoperable The data exchange standards designated under clause (i) shall, to the extent practicable, be nonproprietary and interoperable. “(iii) Other requirements In designating data exchange standards under this paragraph, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, incorporate— “(I) interoperable standards developed and maintained by an international voluntary consensus standards body, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget; “(II) interoperable standards developed and maintained by intergovernmental partnerships, such as the National Information Exchange Model; and “(III) interoperable standards developed and maintained by Federal entities with authority over contracting and financial assistance. “(B) Data exchange standards for federal reporting “(i) Designation The head of the department or agency responsible for administering a program referred to in this section shall, in consultation with an interagency work group established by the Office of Management and Budget, and considering State government perspectives, designate data exchange standards to govern Federal reporting and exchange requirements under applicable Federal law. “(ii) Requirements The data exchange reporting standards required by clause (i) shall, to the extent practicable— “(I) incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary, searchable, computer-readable format; “(II) be consistent with and implement applicable accounting principles; “(III) be implemented in a manner that is cost-effective and improves program efficiency and effectiveness; and “(IV) be capable of being continually upgraded as necessary. “(iii) Incorporation of nonproprietary standards In designating data exchange standards under this paragraph, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, incorporate existing nonproprietary standards, such as the eXtensible Mark up Language. “(iv) Rule of construction Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require a change to existing data exchange standards for Federal reporting about a program referred to in this section, if the head of the department or agency responsible for administering the program finds the standards to be effective and efficient.” . (b) [42 U.S.C. 711 note] Effective Date The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.