Palmer, Mfume Introduce Bill to Increase Transparency in Federal Agency Settlement Agreements

For Immediate Release

Media Contact: Hope Dawson (202) 225-4921

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Representative Gary Palmer (AL-06) and Representative Kweisi Mfume (MD-07) introduced H.R. 7934, the Settlement Agreement Information Database (SAID) Act of 2026. The legislation would provide overdue transparency and accountability standards for federal settlement agreements.

Following the introduction of the bill, Rep. Palmer released the following statement: 

“Transparency and accountability are essential to maintaining the American people’s trust in their government,” said Rep. Palmer. “Too often, federal agencies negotiate settlement agreements and consent decrees behind closed doors and only release hand-picked information about these deals to the public through press releases. The SAID Act will bring much-needed transparency to these agreements by ensuring they are publicly available in a centralized database. By shining a light on these deals, Congress and the public will be able to better understand how federal agencies are exercising their authority and hold them accountable when those actions impose burdens outside the normal legislative or regulatory process. I am honored to introduce this bipartisan transparency bill along with Representative Mfume.”

"Americans of all walks of life deserve to know how their tax dollars are spent. When a federal agency enters into a binding settlement, taxpayers have a right to know the terms of that agreement," said Rep. Mfume. "Without that fundamental transparency, we cannot truly claim to have the informed consent of the people. This bill will establish true accountability by creating a publicly accessible database, where Americans can track the terms of these settlement agreements and consent decrees. If an agency wants to keep those terms confidential, they will have to give a public explanation of why, rather than simply declaring it classified without explanation. I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation along with Representative Palmer, and I urge our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in strengthening Congressional oversight over every federal dollar spent."

A similar version of this bipartisan legislation passed the House in the 118th Congress on January 24, 2023, as H.R. 300.

Read the bill text here.

BACKGROUND

The SAID Act will promote greater transparency in the federal government by bringing long-needed visibility to federal settlement agreements and consent decrees. The legislation would require federal agencies to submit information about these agreements to a publicly accessible electronic database.

Specifically, the bill would:

• Improve transparency by requiring federal agencies to report information on settlement agreements and consent decrees to a centralized, searchable public database.
• Strengthen oversight by having the database administered under the guidance of the Office of Management and Budget and ensuring the information disclosed includes key details such as agreement dates, payment amounts, attorney fee awards, and the state and local governments affected.
• Enhance accountability by requiring the agency head to notify Congress if they determine that certain information must remain confidential and publicly explain why it cannot be disclosed.