The DATA Act

Overview

The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) formalized the establishment of government-wide data standards for spending data and their subsequent publication for transparency. The Act became Public Law 113-101 on May 9, 2014.

For more information, see the History of the DATA Act

DAIMS

A core requirement of the DATA Act is the development of government-wide data standards to ensure the reporting of reliable, consistent federal spending data for public use.

The DATA Act Information Model Schema (DAIMS) gives an overall view of the hundreds of distinct data elements used to tell the story of how federal dollars are spent.

DAIMS standardizes data elements to link multiple domains across the federal enterprise so the data can be used to support better decision-making. It includes artifacts that provide technical guidance for federal agencies about what data to report to Treasury, including the authoritative sources of the data elements and the submission format.

For complete information on DAIMS, see the official DAIMS page. It includes:

• the current DAIMS version and release notes, and release schedule
• Agency reporting guidance, including
  • the Reporting Submission Specification (RSS): specs for agency-submitted File A, File B, and File C
  • Interface Definition Document (IDD): definitions for generated File D1, File D2, [File E](Executive-Compensation-(File E)), and File F
  • submission validation rules
  • practices and procedures guidelines for reporting agency spending data
• sample submission files
• conceptual diagrams for data models

DABS (Data Act Broker Submission)

Agencies report their data complying to the DAIMS through the Broker via DABS Submissions. These submissions include the following files:

• File A: Appropriations
• File B: Object Class and Program Activity
• File C: Award Financial
• File D1: Award Contracts
• File D2: Award Assistance
• File E: Executive Compensation
• [File F](Subawards-(File F)): Subawards
• Error/warning Reports
• Comment Files

These files are bundled together into the DABS Submission and the data included within the submissions get stored in the Broker database.

Nightly Pipeline and USASpending.gov

On a nightly basis, a pipeline runs and transfers any new data processed by the Broker to the USASpending.gov database. After the data is fully processed, it is surfaced onto USASpending.gov, fulfilling the requirement of the DATA Act.