Number: 116-6
Date: August 20, 2019 

Senate Passes S. 1275, the
“Federal Agency Customer Experience (FACE) Act of 2019”

On July 25, 2019, the Senate passed S. 1275, the Federal Agency Customer Experience (FACE) Act of 2019, as amended by voice vote.  The House introduced an identical bill, H.R. 2586, on May 8, 2019 and it awaits further action.  The bill, among other things, would require Federal agencies, including SSA, to collect voluntary feedback from the public and certain entities regarding customer experience and service delivery.  It also includes provisions related to the Paperwork Reduction Act and employee appraisals. 

S. 1275 includes the following provisions of interest to SSA:

Section 2 – Sense of Congress

  • States that adequate Federal funding is needed to ensure agency staffing levels that can provide the public with appropriate customer service levels (the bill does not provide funding for implementation).

Section 3 – Definitions

  • Would define voluntary feedback as any submission of information, opinion, or concern that is voluntarily made by a specific individual or other entity relating to a particular service of or transaction with an agency and that is specifically solicited by that agency. 

Section 4 – Paperwork Reduction Act Application

  • Would amend the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to exempt the collection of “voluntary feedback” from PRA requirements.

Sections 5 and 6 – Voluntary Feedback

  • Would require each agency that solicits voluntary feedback to ensure that:
    • responses to the solicitation remain anonymous;
    • persons or entities who decline to participate shall not be treated differently by the agency for purposes of providing services or information;
    • solicitations are limited to 10 questions;
    • the voluntary nature of the solicitation is clear;
    • the proposed solicitation of voluntary feedback will contribute to improved customer service;
    • solicitations of voluntary feedback are limited to one solicitation per interaction with an individual or entity;
    • to the extent practicable, the solicitation of voluntary feedback is made at the point of service;
    • instruments for collecting voluntary feedback are accessible to individuals with disabilities in accordance with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d); and,
    • internal agency data governance policies remain in effect with respect to the collection of voluntary feedback from individuals and entities.
  • Would require the head of each covered agency 1 (or a designee), assisted by and in coordination with the senior accountable official for customer service of the agency, to collect voluntary feedback with respect to agency services and transactions.  
  • Would require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in coordination with the General Services Administration (GSA), to develop a set of standardized questions for use by agencies in collecting voluntary feedback that address:
    • overall satisfaction with the specific interaction or service received;
    • the extent to which they were able to accomplish their intended purpose;
    • whether they were treated with respect and professionalism;
    • whether they believe they were served in a timely manner; and,
    • any additional metrics, as determined by OMB in coordination with GSA.
  • Would allow a covered agency’s senior accountable official for customer service to develop questions specific to the agency’s operations or programs in addition to the standardized questions developed by OMB.
  • Would require covered agencies, to the extent practicable, to collect voluntary feedback across all platforms or channels through which they use to deliver information or services.

Sections 6 and 7 – Reports

  • Would require, within a year of enactment and annually thereafter, covered agencies to publish on its website and submit to OMB a report that includes the detailed results of voluntary feedback, including the total number of responses, and the response rate for each survey.
  • Would require OMB to include and maintain website links to the information provided on the websites of covered agencies.
  • Would require covered agencies to publish regularly an aggregated report on the solicitation of voluntary feedback.
  • Would require the Government Accountability Office, by 15 months after the date on which all agencies have submitted the first annual reports and every 2 years thereafter until 10 years after such date, to make publicly available and submit to the House and Senate oversight committees of Congress a scorecard report assessing the data collected and reported by the covered agencies.

Section 8 – Employee Appraisals

  • Would restrict information collected pursuant to this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, for any job performance appraisal of a Federal employee.

Effective Date

  • Provisions would become effective upon date of enactment into law.

1 A covered agency is an agency that OMB requires to collect voluntary feedback based on an assessment of the agency’s components and programs with the highest impact on, or number of, interactions with individuals or entities.