Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) and Gerry Connolly (VA-11) introduced the Federal Agency Customer Experience (FACE) Act to improve the efficiency and favorability of government services.
“The American people deserve a Federal Government that provides efficient, effective, and high-quality service. Unfortunately, the Federal Government ranks among the bottom of all U.S.-industries when it comes to customer satisfaction,” said Fitzpatrick. “The Federal Agency Customer Experience Act ensures that federal agencies collect voluntary feedback from individuals about their interactions with the government. By gathering user comments, agencies will be able to gauge customer service concerns and publicly report the feedback they receive. The result is a win-win. The American public receives better services and customer care, while agencies achieve greater impact and ability to fulfill their missions.”
“Improving customer service at federal agencies is not a partisan issue. Federal employees are dedicated civil servants who want to deliver services to taxpayers as best they can,” said Connolly. “The FACE Act will improve customer service by allowing agencies to collect feedback, measure customer satisfaction, and use the feedback to improve their service.”
"Private sector innovations in customer experience have raised the bar for the federal government to better understand the needs of its customers – the American people – and to improve delivery of critical services,” said Max Stier, President and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. “Bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Fitzpatrick and Connolly, along with companion legislation in the Senate introduced by Senators Hassan and Lankford, will help the government hear – and be more responsive to – the voice of the people."
The Federal Agency Customer Experience (FACE) Act mandates select federal agencies to collect voluntary customer service feedback. This legislation makes it easier for agencies to gather voluntary customer feedback in order to improve services for the American people. Additionally, it requires the summary results of the feedback to be made publicly available.
"Voluntary feedback" is defined as any submission of information, opinion, or concern that is: (1) voluntarily made by a specific individual or entity relating to a service or transaction with an agency, and (2) specifically solicited by that agency.
Each agency that solicits voluntary feedback shall ensure that:
- responses to the solicitations remain anonymous,
- individuals who decline to participate shall not be treated differently by the agency for purposes of providing services or information,
- the voluntary nature of the solicitation is clear, and
- the proposed solicitation of voluntary feedback will contribute to improved customer service.
The legislation requires that each agency shall collect voluntary feedback with respect to its services and transactions and annually publish such feedback on its website and provide a report on such feedback to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The OMB will develop a set of standardized questions for use by agencies in collecting feedback on service satisfaction, timeliness, and professionalism. The Government Accountability Office shall make the feedback publicly available and submit to Congress a scorecard report assessing the quality of services provided to the public by each agency.
This bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously in 2018 and a companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Sens. James Lankford and Maggie Hassan.