When the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2011 (the DATA Act) made its debut before Congress last April, it passed by unanimous voice vote in the House but fizzled on its way to the Senate. This year, backers of a revised DATA Act—which would require every U.S. federal agency to report its information in a standardized digital format and establish uniform reporting standards for all recipients of federal funds—believe the legislation has a much better chance for becoming law.

The DATA Act’s passage would be an asset to companies who sell to the U.S. government, since it would enable complex data analytics by consolidating the actual dollar amounts being spent by individual agencies. The public also would have access to the data.