[6] The bill directed the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure that information on funds made available to or expended by a federal agency would be posted online quarterly and when practical monthly, in a searchable, downloadable format.

Requires such data standards, to the extent reasonable and practicable, to: (1) incorporate widely accepted common data elements and a widely accepted, nonproprietary, searchable, platform-independent, computer-readable format; (2) include government-wide universal identifiers for federal awards and entities; (3) be consistent with and implement applicable accounting principles; (4) be capable of being continually updated; (5) produce consistent and comparable data; and (6) establish a standard method of conveying the reporting period, reporting entity, unit of measure, and other associated attributes.

Requires such pilot program to include: (1) a combination of federal contracts, grants, and subawards, with an aggregate value of not less than $1 billion and not more than $2 billion; (2) a diverse group of recipients of federal awards; (3) recipients who receive awards from multiple programs across multiple agencies; and (4) data collected during a 12-month reporting cycle.

[6] The bill would require the Director, not later than 90 days after the termination of the pilot program, to submit a report to the House Committees on the Budget and Oversight and Government Reform and the Senate Committees on the Budget and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that includes: (1) a description of the data collected under the pilot program, its usefulness, and the cost to collect the data from other recipients; and (2) recommendations.

Transfers assets of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board to the Department of the Treasury upon the establishment of the data analysis center.

[1] The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that implementing the bill would cost $300 million over the 2014-2018 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), a major supporter of the bill, said that "the DATA Act is but a first shot of a technological revolution that will transform the way we govern.

"[7] The NTU argued that "the DATA Act would bring increased transparency to a system that is too often rife with favoritism, waste, and fraud.

As the federal government continues to make heavy demands on the public's paychecks, taxpayers deserve the opportunity to find out more details about how the money they send to Washington is being spent.

"The Data Act: Vision & Value", co-published by MorganFranklin, describes the law's history and mandates, surveys its benefits, and outlines the challenges it faces.

[9] A second report, published in May 2017, lays out a comprehensive long-term vision for the DATA Act, and discusses how the law is set to evolve beyond its statutory implementation deadline of November 2021.