USDA Response

8/4/2019 USDA Response

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of~ u l t u r e

ofille ChiefOffIcer

USDA21 I

MAR 23 2011

The Honorable Darrell E. IssaChainnanCommittee on Oversight and Government ReformU,S. House ofRepresentatives2157 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515Dear Mr. Chairman:Thank you for your letter of March 8, 2011, inquiring about the United States DepartmentofAgriculture's (USDA's) financial management systems. USDA strives to use the mostmodem electronic systems when conducting business. Enclosed is a document thatanswers all 23 of the questions concerning the operation of our financial managementsystems. It also has been provided to Congressmen Todd R. Platts, James Lankford,Jim Jordan, and Elijah E. Cummings.If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me at (202) 720-0727.Sincerely,

Jon M. HolladayDeputy Chief Financial OfficerEnclosure


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MAR 2S lOllThe Honorable James LankfordChairmanSubcommittee on Technology, Information Policy,Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement ReformU.S. House ofRepresentatives509 Cannon House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515Dear Mr. Chairman:Thank you for your letter ofMarch 8, 2011, inquiring about the United States DepartmentofAgriculture's (USDA's) financial management systems. USDA strives to use the mostmodern electronic systems when conducting business. Enclosed is a document thatanswers all 23 of the questions concerning the operation ofour financial managementsystems. It also has been provided to Congressmen Darrell E. Issa, Todd R. Platts,Jim Jordan, and Elijah E. Cummings.Ifyou have further questions, please feel free to contact me at (202) 720-0727.

cerely,?Yl.h



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of the ChiefOfficerIndependenoe

DC

USDA"'? I I

MAR 2 3 2011

The Honorable Elijah E. CummingsRanking Minority MemberCommittee on Oversight and Government RefonnU.S. House of Representatives2235 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515Dear Congressman Cummings:Thank you for your letter ofMarch 8, 2011, inquiring about the United States Departmentof Agriculture's (USDA's) financial management systems. USDA strives to use the mostmodern electronic systems when conducting business. Enclosed is a document thatanswers all 23 of the questions concerning the operation of our fmancial managementsystems. It also has been provided to Congressmen Darrell E. Issa, Todd R. Platts,James Lankford, and Jim Jordan.Ifyou have further questions, please feel free to me at (202) 720-0727.Sincerely,

Jon M. HolladayDeputy ChiefFinancial OfficerEnclosure

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPtDVER


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of the ChiefIndependence

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MAR 2 3 2011The Honorable Jim JordanChairmanSubcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversightand Government SpendingU.S. House ofRepresentatives1524 Longworth House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515Dear Mr. Chairman:Thank you for your letter of March 8, 2011, inqniring about the United States DepartmentofAgriculture's (USDA's) financial management systems. USDA strives to use the mostmodem electronic systems when conducting business. Enclosed is a document thatanswers all 23 of the questions concerning the operation ofour financial managementsystems. It also has been provided to Congressmen Darrell E. Issa, Todd R. Platts,James Lankford, and Elijah E. Cummings.I f you have further questions, please feel free to contact me at (202) 720-0727.Sincerely,

~ ~ ? J 1 . Jon M. HolladayDeputy ChiefFinancial OfficerEnclosure

AN EOl.W. OPPORl1JNITY EMPlO'fER


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1cultureof the ChiefOfficer

DC

MAR 23 2011

The Honorable Todd Russell PlattsChairmanSubcommittee on Government, Organization, Efficiencyand Financial ManagementU.S. House ofRepresentatives2455 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510Dear Mr. Chairman:Thank you for your letter of March 8, 2011, inquiring about the United States Departmentof Agriculture's (USDA's) financial management systems. USDA strives to use the mostmodern electronic systems when conducting business. Enclosed is a document thatanswers all 23 ofthe questions concerning the operation of our financial managementsystems. It also has been provided to Congressmen Darrell E. Issa, James Lankford,Jim Jordan, and Elijah E. Cummings.If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me at (202) 720-0727.Sincerely,



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USDA Electronic Systems, Response to Congress

USDA's Office of the ChiefFinancial Officer (OCFO) responds to the queries put forward by theCommittee on Oversight and Government Reform as follows:

I. Identify and briefly describe each of your agency's business and accounting systems. If separatedivisions, bureaus, or offices ofyour agency use separate systems, identify which divisions, bureaus, oroffices use each system.

The Corporate Financial Management System is the legacy mainframe integrated financial. management system for USDA. This system provides financial management and program support to

USDA and its agencies including general ledger, treasury reporting, budgetary funds control, accountspayable, accounts receivable, disbursing, and financial management reporting. Currently this system ismanaging the finances of 5 of29 USDA organizations untilthey are transferred to the FinancialManagement Modernization Initiative (FMMI) system in FY20I2:

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) - Transferring to FMMI in FY201I; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) - Transferring to FM!\1I inFY2011; Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) - Transferring toFMMI in FY2011; Forest Service (FS) - Transferring to FMMI in FY2012; and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) - Transferring to FMMI in FY2012.

Financial Management ModernizationInitiative

Through the Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI); OCFO is replacing theDepartment's legacy core components of the Corporate Financial Management System. FMMIprovides online, real-time transaction processing capability. Through real-time transactionprocessing and updates, including immediate budget updating, users and managers can accessthe most up-to-date information for an accurate view of available funds, and greatly improvedmanagement information and reporting. Currently this system is managing the finances of 24 of29 USDA organizations: Departmental Management(DM) National Appeals Division(NAD) Office of the AssistantSecretary for Civil Rights(OASCR)

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion(CNPP) Economics Research Service (ERS) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Farm Service Agency (FSA)


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Office of Budget and ProgramAnalysis (OBPA)Office ofthe ChiefEconomist(OCE)Office of the ChiefFinancialOfficer (OCFO)Office of he ChiefInformation Officer (OCIO)Office of Communications(OC)Office of CongressionalRelations (OCR)Office ofEnvironmentalMarkets (OEIvI)Office of the ExecutiveSecretariat (OES)Office of the InspectorGeneral (OIG)Office of the General Counsel(OGC)

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) National Agricultural Statistics Service(NASS) National Institute of Food and Agriculture

(NlFA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) Rural Development (RD)

USDA Business

The Integrated Acquisition System (IAS) composedof Oracle, the Paramater-elevation.Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (pRISM), and iProcurement software, in addition tointerconnections with the Corporate Financial Management System, FMMI, FederalProcurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG), and Enterprise Content Manager(ECM), provides integrated financial and contract management functions, ensuring compliancewith Federal acquisition requirements.

Cooperative Research, Education, and Extension Management System (CREEMS) is a grantsmanagement system that allows forNIFA's creation of awards to grantees, i.e., similar to thatof a procurement system - Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS-NG). Funds are allocatedin CREEMS so that we can track funds based on projects and Treasury Symbols; however, itdoes not process payments.

Business &

The Automated Multi-Housing Accounting System (AMAS)is a mainframe legacy systemproviding automation support to Rural Development(RD) Multi-Family Housing loan2


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programs. This support includes automated processes for all loan closing and servicing actionsincluding calculating and applying rental assistance and case application; recording all GeneralLedger activity; providing program funds control for these specific programs; and meetingrequired financial reporting.AMAS also provides and tracks grant and tenant voucher activity.

The Commercial Loan Servicing System (CLSS) is a mission-critical system and was built tomodernize loan servicing and program management activities in supportofRural UtilitiesService (RUS) loan and grant programs. It is being designed and developed as a Web-enabledsystem running in a server environment that will allow the retirementofthe mainframe RUSLegacy systems supporting these programs. The retirementof he RUS-Legacy systems is partofthe Comprehensive Loan Program (CLP) initiative.

Rural Uti lities Service - RDRural Utilities Service - Legacy (RUS-Legacy) is a legacy mainframe system that continuestoprovide automation support to agency utility programs, This system, which dates back to theRural Electrification Administration, is targeted for retirement under the CLP modernizationinitiative.

The Guaranteed Loan System (GLS) is supported by the Lender Interactive NetworkConnection (LINC) for the exchange ofdata electronically with lenders. GLS is a missioncritical system for RD and FSA, which serves rural America by supplying farmers,homeowners, communities, and businesses with grants, direct loans, and guaranteed loans fromcommercial lending institutions. GLS allows the two agencies to meet their strategic, financial,and operational goals and objectivesofmanaging the rapidly expanding guaranteed loanportfolio for bo th agencies and the direct loans and grants for Rural Development BusinessPrograms and Community Facilities.

Dedicated Loan Origination and Servicing

The Dedicated Loan Origination and Servicing System (DLOS) isused by Rural Development'for originating and servicing loans. This system is designedto expedite loan making,standardize information collection and record keeping, and facilitate communication between

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the county offices and the central servicing center. Financial information about the loansisstored in the Program Loan Accounting System.

The Program Loan Accoun ting System (PLAS) is the general ledger supporting more than 30multi-billion dollar loan and grant programs for insured, direct, and guaranteed loans. RD plansto migrate off the PLAS platform migrating financial applications into FMMIand other loanand grant applications as part of he Consolidated Loan Program initiative.

This Financial Management System-State & County Office Automation Project is used toadminister all farm programs including: Average Crop Revenue Election, Biomass CropAssistance, Emergency Conservation, Electronic Direct/Counter Cyclical, Emergency ForestryRestoration, Emergency Forestry Conservation Reserve, Grassland Reserve, LivestockAssistance, Livestock Forage, Livestock Indemnity, Noninsured Assistance, Loan Deficiency,Conservation Reserve, Direct/Counter Cyclical, Direct payment for Disasters, Tree Assistance& Tobacco Transition Payment.

Financial Management System provides for the collectionof premium and paymentofindemnities via Approved Insurance Providers (AlPs) to and from American farmers andranchers. Most payments go to AIPs whopay farmers and ranchers directly for indemnities. Inaddition, the system provides for adequate regulatory reviewof data from the AlPs to maintaincompliance and integrity of the crop insurance system.

General Sales Manager Export Credit Foreign Agricultural Service(FAS), FSA, CommodityBusiness

General Sales Manager (GSM) supports CCC Export Credit Guarantee Programs "ExportCredit Guarantee" (GSMI02), "Intermediate Credit Guarantee" (GSMI03), "FacilityGuarantee Program" (FGP), and "Supplier Credit Guarantee Program" (SCGP).It tracks theagreement between the U.S. exporter, the U.S. financial institution, the foreign banks and theforeign importers to sell, export, buy, finance andpay for U.S. commodities exported tocountries participating in CCC's Export Credit Guarantee Programs and obligates the funds tosupport the guarantee. This system is used by die FAS, and FSA supporting CCC operations.

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The Automated Public Law 480 Umbrella System (APLUS) was developed to support thePublic Law 480 Title I and Title III Programs. The system supports FAS and FSA by providingusers an on-line method to enter, update, extract data for current and planned budgets, original,amended and rescheduled agreements, purchase authorizations and sales, which includes lettersof commitments and vessel approvals, disbursements for commodities and oceantransportation, collections of repayments ofprincipal, interest, and transportation finances, andlack ofpayment penalties. The on-line system also allows the user to enter, update, and extractdata for reference files to perform month-end-closes, to update credit reform data, to updateAPLUS service requests, and to obtain collection data loads.

Data Warehouse InformationSystem/Financial Management Business &

Data Warehouse InformationlData Warehouse Reporting provides producers with immediateonline access to their payments and collections data, including Intemal Revenue Servicereportable records.

Automated Cotton Reporting System (ACRS) activities consist ofCotton Price SupportProgram Loans that CCC disburses through commerchil banks to approved Cotton MarketingAssociations (CMA) and Loan Servicing Agents (LSA). Major business functions include:

Record activity for price support activity disbursed to CMAs and LSAs; Reconcile fund transfer activity with bale-detail price support transactions; Record general ledger entries into CCC's CORE accounting system; Resolve errors and reconcile price support registers with CCC accounts; Maintain a central file system ofbale detail records by crop year and by transaction;and Receive and report IRS reportable data to producers, and provides on-line inquiry andad hoc reporting capabilities.

Business &Processed Commodity Inventory Management System (PCIMS) is a highly complex datamanagement system that integrates data and business functions across the three agencies. Thison-linelbatch system tracks domestic and export commodity requests against purchases anddistributions from inventory, Annually, PCIMS is utilized to acquire, track, and distribute over$2 billion of commodities for domestic and export food aid programs. Additionally, more than$1 billion ofprice support commodities have been tracked and maintained in inventory using

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the system. WBSCM will replace the PCIMS systems in FY 20 11.

The Conservation Reserve Program system supports FSA's mission to deliver services tofarmers involving environmental qna1ity, conservation of natural resources, emergencyconservation, land use, and rural development by managing contracts and payments betweenthe producers and FSA.

The Cotton Domestic UserlExporter Marketing Certificate system (CUMC) is an integratedonline and batch database originally created to support a provision of the 1990 Fann Bill. Thesystem records infonnation and provides payments to cotton exporters and domestic mill usersof cotton who are eligible participants engaged in purchasing or exporting cotton.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) CORE system is part of a Commercial Off-TheShelf (COTS) general ledger package that uti"lizes data from several other accountingapplications. Data from the CCC CORE are used by several areas, including Congress, forbudgeting and reporting purposes.

. Business &The Integrated Program Accounting System (IPAS) is the primary infonnation managementsystem for the fmancial management ofFNS program and administrative funds. The majorsubsystems comprising IPAS. support the following four major financial functions:

Program Accounting - provides for FNS accountability for expenditure ofFederalGovernment funds; Program Management - provides for definition ofprogram goals and requirements forFederal funding; Grants Management - provides for administration of program grants; and Food Program Administration - provides for administration ofpersonmil compensationand benefits for FNS staff and handles all FNSoperating expenses.

The Incident Business Systems (mS) is a set of applications used by the Budget & Finance andFire & Aviation communities. ms consists of the Aviation Business System (ABS) with the6


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Aviation Disconnected Client feature and the Incident Business Database (IBDB). Together,these applications combine to streamline the collection of financial data from the field. Theyalso automate the Incident Business payment process at the Forest Service's AlbuquerqueService Center CASC).

FSA CORE FSA

The FSA CORE system utilizes data from several other accounting applications. It alsoprovides data to applications. Data from the FSAlCCC CORE are used by several areas,including those in Congress, for budgeting and reporting purposes.

The Direct Loan System (DLS) consists of three Web-based applications that provide fieldoffices the ability to process loan applications using the Loan Making Web application. Theseapplications also service loans using the Loan Servicing and Special Servicing Webapplications. The Web applications interface with the Automated Discrepancy ProcessingSystem (ADPS) subsystem in the Program Loan Accounting System (PLAS) on the mainframeto process the fmancial aspects of creating, obligating, and maintaining direct loans toborrowers. The Farm Loan Programs Information Delivery System Datamart (FLPIDS DM) isa component ofDLS that provides a reporting repository for all Farm Loan Programs systems.The customer profile and customer management are additional components that allow formanaging customer information.

BusinessThe Web Based Supply Chain Management system will replace the aging ProcessedCommodity Inventory Management System (PCIMS) and related systems. It will alsostreamline USDA agency supply chain operations, and USAID and FAS commodity-focusedmissions. This system will improve the procurement, delivery, and management of more than200 commodit ies and 4.5 million tons offood through domestic and foreign feeding programsoperated by USDA throughout the world.

The Program Contracts System is a web-enabled application used to manage NRCSconservation program applications, cost share contracts, and program fund management.

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2. Explain how the business and accounting systems identified in response to Request No.1 interactwith one another.

The Integrated Acquisition System exchanges real-time detailed financial information with thecorporate general ledger systems. The remaining systems provide periodic asynchronous fileswith summary financial information directly to the corporate general ledger systems, orindirectly through agency general ledger systems. The corporate general ledger systemsconsolidate the financial information from all sources and generate the reports provided to thegovernment-wide accounting systems maintained by the Departmentof the Treasury.

3. For each system identified in response to Request No.1, state whether Information is foundin thatsystem is regularly or periodically submitted to anyof the government-wide accounting systemsmaintained by the Department of the Treasury, e.g., the Governmentwide Financial ReportingSystem (GFRS), Federal Agencies"Centralized Trial-Balance System (FACTS) I, FACTS II,Intragovernmental Fiduciary Confirmation System (IFCS), etc., and explainhow and at what intervalsthose submissions occur, including descriptionsofboth manual and automated processes.

Information from the Corporate Financial Management System, Financial ManagementModernization Initiative (FNIMI), Integrated Program Accounting System (IPAS), ProgramLoan Accounting System (PLAS), and CORE Accounting Systems identified in response toRequest No. 1 are submitted to the government-wide accounting systems maintained byTreasury listed below:

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System Information Process Intervallntragovernmenta l Agency Trial Balance Text file QuarterlyReporting and AnalysisSystemlntragovernmental Agency Trial Balance Manual entry QuarterlyFiduciary Confirmat ionSystemFACTS II Agency Trial Balance Bulk file/manual entry QuarterlyGFRS Agency Trial Balance Manual entry AnnuallyFACTS I Agency Trial Balance Bulk file/manual entry Annually

4. For each system i


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USDA Electronic Systems, Response to Congress- - _ ._-----,-_._._-_ . __ ._.Program Loan Accounting System

FSA, RD : As part of the currently underway Consolidated Loan Program initiative, theprograms supported by this system will be migrated to the Guaranteed LoanSystem, the Dedicated Loan Origination System, and the Commercial LoanServicing System. The accounting functions are planned to be supported by the

.._ ...... _ . ._._ _ ___ . _: .~ ~ r ~ ~ ~ : t . . . F i n . ~ ' 2 c i < l l . M a " _ a g e m e n t r v 1 , : > c ! e . . r . ' 2 i z ~ t ! ( ) r l ~ n i t i a t i v e system. _.._ ..........._ ..CommodityCredit

CorporationCoreAccounting

CCC This system is planned to be migrated to the current Financial Management. Modernization Initiative system.

..syste" ' --_ ..... ...... _ .........L ........_.___ ._ . _ .........................._....................___ .._ ........................................ .Farm Service, Agency Core

FSA . This system is planned to be migrated to the current Financial ManagementModernization Initiative system.

AccountingS y s t ~ Y ! 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . ...._ ......................_.......State and ' FSA, CCC . This system is planned to be replaced by the MIDAS system (Modernize andCounty Office Innovate the Delivery of Agricultural Systems).Automationy r o ~ .. r'n....... . . . . . . . ._ .............._._ ........._..... _ ................_ .........................._ ...... _ _ ......................__ .........__ ........_ ..............Financial

ManagementModernizationInitiative

USDA . This system is currently replacing the Corporate Financial Management System,is planned to replace the Program Loan Accounting System's General Ledger, the

: Commodity Credit Corporation Core Accounting System, and is planned toreplace the Program Loan Accounting System, the Commodi ty Credit Corporation

...._ ._ .......... _ _ ._.__ ._ .. . ~ ~ ~ r .e . ~ ~ c < > . u l 1 . t i n ~ . . . \ ' ~ ~ . e . Y ! 1 : . . . . . . . . . ... . .. _... ...... . . ____ .. _ ...CorporateFinancial

ManagementUSDA This system is currently being migrated to the Financial Management

Modernization Initiative system... ~ y s ~ e Y ! 1 . , ................................_ .._______ .. _.._ .....__ .........._ ._ ............... ___ ___ _._________ _ __ ____ ---_ ,_ __ 1Financial RMAManagementSystem

IntegratedAcquisitionSystem

, ProcessedCommodityInventoryManagement

USDA

FSA, FAS,AMS,FNS, CCC

: This system is planned to be migrated to the planned Enterprise Program: Accounting System.

In 2010 this system was migrated to a new virtualized hardware platform withupgraded security capabilities. lAS has upgraded the PRISM component in FYll,

, Quarter 1 to version 6.5. lAS Oracle database upgrade to version 11g is planned, fo r April 201L lAS Oracle e .Business suite to be upgraded to version R12 in July2011. These upgrades are requiredto continue improvements to the lAS users' .

, experience while ensuring the safety and security of its acquisition data. Without:. t . h E ! s e l l p g r ~ c ! " s . l t l S . m .aylo.se .i t s . a u t h o r i t y . t o o p e r a t ~ ..duetosecllrityfil1di.ngs, .......Controls processed commodity inventory used by FSA FNS AMS and FAS. To bereplaced by WEBSCM (see below).

_ S . Y ~ t e m ....._ ... _...... .... ........ . ......____ ...._ .......................................... _.___ ............................... _ ....._ ......... _ .. _ .Web Based . FSA, FAS, ! WEBSCM will replace the aging Processed Commodity Inventory Management. Supply Chain AMS, , System (PCIMS) and related systems. It will also streamline USDA agency supply. Management FNS, CCC ' chain operations, and USAID and FAS commodity-focused missions. This system, System will improve the procurement,.delivery, and management ofmore than 200

. commodities and 4.5 million tons offood through domestic and foreign feeding..... __ .............................._ .............. p r : o ~ r " - Y ! 1 s ( J p . ~ ~ < l t ! ' . d ~ y ..L J ~ D A t h r o u g h o u ! . t ~ ! l . . ' N . 0 r l d : ...._.. . ._.___

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6. In addition to your agency's submissions to government-wide accounting systems maintained by theDepartment ofthe Treasury and OMB, as described in response to Requests Nos. 3 and 4, does youragency publish any of he same information online for public viewing? lfso, describe how and in whatformat that information is published.

USDA publishes fmancial statements and USDA performance data in the annual Performanceand Accountability Report on its Web site at http://www.ocfo.usda.gov/usdarpt/usdarpt.htm.USDA data are compiled to create an extract based on the F AADS PLUS data file format. Thisextract is produced bi-weekly by agencies, and contains F AADS, FFATA and AmericanReinvestment and RecoveryAct CARRA) information, which is then transmitted to OCFO. TheFAADS data are held and transmitted quarterly to the Bureau ofCensus. The FFATA andARRA data are transmitted to OMB bi-weekly as a single file. OMB then posts the data toUSAspending.gov.Farm Program Payments information and Federal CostofSchool Food Program Data areposted to www.data.gov. Federal CostofSchool Food Program Data provide a summaryof allthe FNS School Food Program combined into one dataset. They contain cash payments andcommodity costs for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and theSpecial Milk Program. Farm Program Payments information provides payments made by theDepartment ofAgriculture, Farm Service Agency to agricultural producers participating inFarm Bill programs including commodity, price support, disaster assistance, and conservation.

7. Identify and briefly describe .each system that your agency usesto manage grants, direct loans,and/or loan guarantees. If separate divisions, bureaus, or offices ofyour agency use separate systems,identify which divisions, bureaus, or offices use each system.

Program loanAccounting System

Guarantee ProgramsSystemAutomated Pl-480Umbrella System

Reporting SystemFinancialSystem-State & CountyOffice Automation

FAS, FSA, CCC

grants

to exporter or !programs. Tracks defaults and claims when a foreign obligor defaults on its GSMobligations to the exporter or assignee.Accounts for Public Law 480 Title J Program

Processing price support loan transactions Cotton MarketingAssociation.

11.

loan

Grant/loan

Loan

loan

loan


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Direct Loan System

SystemLoan

Origination-System

Education, andExtension Management


Automates and county making and servicing processesinterfaces with the Program Loan Accounting System (PLAS).

Grantsfor conservation programs.RD As part Program i loan

system will be upgraded to service the nonguaranteed loans currently in theAutomated MultjHousfng Accounting System or in the Program Loan Accounting .GrantsInstItute of Food to grantee, i.e" similarto that ofa procurement system - Federal Procurement

and Agriculture Data System (FPDS-NG}. Funds are allocated in CREEM$ so that we can track fundsbased on not

8. For each system identified in response to Request No:7, explain how it interacts with any business oraccounting system identified in response to Request No.1.

The systems provide periodic asynchronous files with summary financial information directlyto the corporate general ledger systems, or indirectly through agency general ledger systems.The corporate general ledger systems consolidate the financial informationfrom all sources andgenerate the reports provided to the government-wide accounting systems maintainedby theDepartment of he Treasury.

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9. For each system identified in response to Request No.7, state whether information found in thatsystem is regularly or periodically submitted to the Catalogue ofFederal Domestic Assistance (CFDA),and describe how and at what intervals those submissions occur, including descriptionsof bothautomated and manual processes.

Manual submissions to the CFDA occur as needed whennew programs are established, orannually for revisions to existing programs. To update information in the CFDA, agency usersaccess CFDA.gov and enter the required data fields following procedures provided by theGeneral Services Administration .This data is then routed to OCFO for review and approval.Once approved it is routed to GSA and OMB to ensure accuracy and completeness before it isdisplayed for the public at CFDA.gov.

10. For each system identified in response to Request No.7, state whether information found in thatsystem is regularly or periodically submitted to any of he government-wide grants management andreporting systems, e.g., FAADS, FAADS+, etc., and describehow and at what intervals thosesubmissions occur, including descriptionsofboth automated and manual processes.

Commercial loan Servicing System RD Ve, Yes Grant/loanProgram Loan Accounting System FSA, RD Ye, Yes loanRural RD Yes VesGuaranteed loan System RD, FSA Yes Yes LoanGSM Export Credit Guarantee FAS, FSA, Ye, Ye,CCC

PL480 System FAS, FSA, Yes Ye,CCC

County eee Yes Ye, LoanIntegrated Program Accounting System FNS Yes Yes Grant

Program Contracts System NRC$ Yes Yes Grant

Direct Loan System- FSA Yes Yes. Loan

Dedicated loa!,! RD Yes Yes

Ye,Management System

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Data are compiled to create an extract based on the F AADS PLUS data file. This extract isproduced bi-weekly by agencies, and contains F AADS, FFATA and ARRA information, whichis then transmitted to OCFO. OCFO consolidates the data, then performs data validation checksfor: CFDA, CCRIDUNS; mailing address, zip+4, Congressional district, geographical codes, andFAADSIFFATAIARRA-specific edits. The FAADS data are held and transmitted quarterly tothe Bureau ofCensus. The FFATA and ARRA data are transmitted to OMB bi-weekly as asingle file. OMB then posts the data to USAspending.gov.USDA agencies query financial systems to extract data required for theARRA WeeklyFinancial and Activity Report. OCFO compiles the data as a flat file for the Department'ssubmission to Recovery.gov.

II . For each system identified in response to Request No.7, describe recent, current, and plannedmigration or modernization projects.The table below shows recent, current, and planned migrationor modernization projects.

201.0 tt"S system was systemsoperating on obsolete hardware. At the same time, the system's internal data vaHdatJon processes .: were enhanced to Improve financial data quality of information passed tothe Program loan. ._ .__ L ! E ~ . ~ D ! . j , ~ . ~ _ ~ y . s . t : ~ _ ' ! l : ______ ~ ___ . ~ . ____ ._._., _.,.,.__ " " . ~ __ .,..........."" " ... ~ .. __________________ .._. __ ....._,._" ._.._._.......___" " - - G ' u a r ~ a ~ t e e - d l o a n " ' - ' + ' FSA RD : As part of the currently underway Consolidated loan Program initiative, this system will be upgraded

System to service the guaranteed loans currently in the Automated M u l t i ~ H o u s l n g Accounting System or inthe Program loan Accounting System . .

- " D e - d i c a t e d i o a n - - - R D - - - ' - ' : : 4 s " p - a ' r t ' o f ' t i i e " c u r ; : e - ~ t i Y ~ ~ d ; ~ ~ Y C o n s o l l d a t e d - l o a n : F i r o g r a m i n - i t i a t i ~ e , " t h i s ' S Y S t e m w m b e - l J p g r a d - e d ~ Origination System . to service the non-guaranteed loans currently in the Automated Multi-Housing Accounting System or

in the Program Loan Accounting System .- Rural 0tl1iiies- "--"-'"R6'---' --As part of the c u r r e ~ t l y u n d e r W ~ i y " C o ' n ' s o l i d a t ~ L o a n P r o g ~ ~ ~ - i ; t t ' i ; - i : l V ' ; ; ' t h ' e " p r o g - r a m ; S > l l p p ' o r t e d ' - b y ' -. Service Legacy. System.._.-.--_. _ .._-_._._-_ ..__ . ' - - - - - - - -Automated Multi- RD

this system wi![ be migrated to the Commercial loan Servicing SystemAs part of the currently underway Consolidated Loan Program initiative, the programs supported by

~ o u s j n g this system will be migrated to the Guaranteed Loan System, the Dedicated Loan Origination System,_ ~ ~ ~ - - ' : l . ~ _ t i n _ g _ S y s t _ ~ _ ~ ____ _._ .. : _ ~ n d t h ~ _ ~ ~ _ ~ ~ : ! . ~ . j _ ~ ! _ ~ ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ c i n g s ~ ~ ~ ~ _____ _ _ ._..___... ._ . __ _ ......_._ ....._.____________ ..._..Commercial loan

Servicing SystemProgramLoanAccounting System

RD : As part of he currently underway Consolidated Loan Program initiative, this system wif[ be upgradedto service the Joans currently processed by the Rural Utilities Service Legacy System

F S A ~ ' R " [ ) - - ' A - ; p ~ ; r t o f t h e - c u - r - ; : e ~ ' t l y und e - r w a y C o n s o i i d a t e d l ~ ~ ~ p ; ~ g ~ a ~ - - ~ i t i a t i ~ e , - i : h e programswpporteti"by- ,this system will be migrated to the Guaranteed loan System, the Dedicated Loan Origination System,and the Commercial Loan Servicing System. The accounting functions are planned to be supported by__ . __.__ .___ .. ___. _ .. ..________ ~ ! . . h _ ~ . ~ . r ! ~ ~ . ! _ ~ i n ~ r l _ ~ l ~ _ ! . ~ _ ~ I ~ ~ _ ~ ~ _ " _ " ! ~ ~ ! . i _ : 1 ~ ~ ~ ~ . i ~ , ~ . ~ ~ ~ . r l .. ! . ~ . j . ~ . i . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ..~ y . ~ ! ~ ~ ~ ____. ____ _____ _

12. In addition to your agency's submissions to government-wide grants management and reportingsystems, described in response to Requests Nos. 9 and 10, does your agency publish anyof he sameinformation online for public viewing? If so, describe how and in what format that information ispublished.

USDA posts a cumulative list of the grants and loans made with ARRA funding on the USDARecovery Web site at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/arra?navid=USDA_ARRA]LAN.The list includes both the total amount approved and payments madeto date, in a MicrosoftExcel format.

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Fann Program Payments infonnation and Federal Costof School Food Program Data is postedto www.data.gov. Federal CostofSchool Food Program Data provides a summaryof all theFNS School Food Program combined into one dataset.It contains cash payments andcommodity costs for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and theSpe'cial Milk Program. Fann Program Payments infonnation provides payments made by theDepartment ofAgriculture, Farm Service Agency to agricultural producers participating inFann Bill programs including commodity, price support, disaster assistance and conservation.

13. Identify and briefly describe each system that your agency uses to manage contracts. If separatedivisions, bureaus, or offices of your agency use separate systems, identify which divisions, bureaus,oroffices use each system.

The chart below shows the systems and applications used to manage contracts.

AcquisitionSystem

ProcessedCommodity Inv.Mgmt.Sys.

FSA, CCC, FNS,FAS, AMS

j USDA Enterprise requisition and acquisition management system with1 an interface to the Financial Management Modernization Initiative; (FMMI), the Corporate Financial Management System, and Federali Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG).i Controls processed commodity inventory used by FSA, FNS, AMS, andj FAS. To be replaced by WEBSCM (see below).

Web Based Supply AMS,FAS,FNS,FSA, . WEBSCM will replace the aging Processed Commodity InventoryChain CCC Management System (PCIMS) and related systems. It will alsoManagementSystem . streamline

USDA agency supply chain operations, and USAID and FAS. commodity-focused missions. This system wil l improve theprocurement, delivery, and management of more than 200commodities and 4.5 million tons of food through domestic andforeign feeding programs operated by USDA throughout the world.

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14. For each system identified in response to Request No. 13, explain how it interacts with anybusiness or accounting system identified in response to Request No. I.

The Integrated Acquisition System exchanges real-time detailed financial information with thecorporate general ledger systems. The remaining systems provide periodic asynchronous fileswith summary fmancial information directly to the corporate general ledgersystems, orindirectly through agency general ledger systems. The corporate general ledger systemsconsolidate the financial information from all sources and generate the reports provided to thegovernment-wide accounting systems maintained by the Department of the Treasury .15. For each system identified in response to Request No. 13, state whether information found in thatsystem is regularly or periodically submitted to any of the government-wide contract management andreporting systems, e.g., Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), Federal Procurement Data SystemNext Gerieration (FPDS-NG), Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System(FAPIIS), etc., and describe how and a t what intervals those submissions occur, including descriptionsof both automated and manual processes.

JAS has a real-time interface with FPDS-NG. When awards are created, lAS provides thisinterface to report the award data.Web Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM), which will replace PCIMS, willautomatically populate some fields in FPDS-NG.

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CommoditY-purchasing agencies perform quarterly reconciliations between the ProcessedCommodity Inventory Management System (pCIMS) and FPDS-NG data. PCIMS data isentered manually into FPDS-NG weekly.16. For each system identified in response to RequestNo. 13, describe recent, current, and plannedmigration or modernization projects.

CommodityInventoryManagement

ManagementSystem

AMS,FAS,FNS,FSA,

FAS,FNS,FSA,eec

commodltyiWEBSCM (see below).

WEBSCM I aging Processed . System(PCIMS) and related systems. It will also streamline USDA agency supply chain operations,and USAID and FAS c o m m o d i t y ~ f o c u s e d miSSions. ThIS system will improve -theprocurement, delivery, and management of more than 200 commodities and 4.5 milliontons of food through domestic and foreign feeding programs operated by USDAworld.

17. In addition to your agency's submissions to government-wide contract management and reportingsystems; described in response to Request No. 15, does your agency publish any of the sameinformation online for public viewing? If so, describe how and in what format that information ispublished.USDA does not publish any of the same information online for public viewing.

18. Briefly describe your agency's efforts to comply With OMB's memorandum on the OpenGovernment Directive - Federal Spending Transparency, dated April 6, 2010. In particular, describe.whether and how your agency has begun to collect and report sub-award data, as required by thememorandum, and describe how your agency's reports on OMB's data quality metrics, as required bythe memorandum, are generated.In compliance with the April 6, 20 I 0, directive, and beginning on October 1, 20 I 0, all USDAgrant and cooperative agreement awards to non-individuals that are $25,000 or greaterincorporate the Award Term required by 2 CFR Part 170 (Term language is in Appendix A ofthat Part.)The Prime recipients of these awards carry the responsibility noted in the Award Term tocomply with the 2 CFR Part 170 and FAR Clause 52.204- I 0 reporting requirements for anysubaward that is $25,000 or greater to a non-individual entity. Prime recipients submitsubaward data to the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS.gov) when the subaward is$25,000 or greater to a non-individual entity. Ultimately, the subaward information is sent fromFSRS.gov to USAspending.gov for publication.

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To ease the reporting process, the FSRS.gov record for the Prime award is pre-populatedbydata from USAspending.gov. This is the same data that are provided by USDA toUSAspending.gov in the bi-weekly FAADS+ file transmissions. USDA helps Prime recipientscomply with the reporting requirementsby providing policy and technical assistance uponrequest.Within the FSRS.gov site; a prime recipient may flag data that they believe is inaccurate. Oncethe information has been flagged, the prime recipient must also contactthe AgencyRepresentative identified in their award to notifYhim or her about the errors. If necessary,USDA eitherrevises the flagged data within itsFAADS+ or FPDS-NG datasets, or works withthe recipient for alternative resolution.USDA has developed data analytics on the subaward data that are run weekly and madeavailable to its agencies to identifY potential errors and resolve before reporting to the public.Analytics include checking that major recipients (e.g., states) have reported subawards.Analytics also include looking for potential errors, such as mismatched recipient locations,dollar amounts, and award dates,

19. Ifyour agency interacts directly with USAspending.gov, in addition to submitting information tothe systems that feed USAspending.gov, describe the nature, frequency, and purposesof thatinteraction.USDA's FFATA and ARRA data are transmitted to O"MB bi-weekly as a single file. O"MB thenposts the data to USAspending.gov.

20. Describe the data quality controls and procedures that your agency has implemented forinformation that is submitted to USAspending.gbV, including information submitted directly andinformation submitted to one of he systems that feed USAspending.gov.

USDA's process includes extensive data quality checks. Each award/grant/financial systemhas an edit process and generates a bi-weekly file. The Department consolidatesthe data, thenperforms data validation checks for: CFDA, CCRIDUNS, mailing address, zip+4,Congressional district, geographical codes, and FAADSIFFATN ARRA-specific edits. O"MBfurther validates the records. Any records failing these edits are held for analysis and correctionby the agencies. Errors are tracked until they are resolved. Any errors found by these checks orO"MB's checks are tracked and sent back to the bureaus for review and correction. In addition,each bi-weekly submission includes a certification from the bureaus that the data is accurate, orlists the areas of weakness and planned corrective actions. We are also designing a monthlyreconciliation to our financial reporting system.

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USDA FAADS/FFATA TRANSMISSIONDATA QUALITY CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

-MOS FAADS AIlw"precess-dosed""""'..... ~ S < l n t ! o """',,Reeordwrittel'l10 ttansrrMiontable for each~ l t i 1 -... FMDSIFFATA-appIIadtaeach"""" "''''''''...--FATAmCIlMswiittenlOFFATAWbIEI .,.,.., """'"A1lva:lid"""", """"""'"alaarmrs1'SQI'IUaOMB21. State whether all ofyour agency's current grants, contracts, and loans are accurately reflected onUSAspending.gov, and, ifnot, estimate the percentage of current grants, contracts, and loans that arenot accurately reflected, using both the number of transactions and dollar figures.

Errors found by either USDA or OMB represent less than one halfof one percent of records inUSDA's central database used to feed USAspending.gov. Recent testimony from Ellen Miller,executive director of he Sunlight Foundation, to the committee indicates that school breakfastand lunch programs are underreported by approximately $12.5 billion for FY 2009. Theseprograms are reported for FY 20 II . We are working to correct reporting for previous years.USDA is designing a monthly reconciliation between our financial reporting system andUSAspending.gov to fully identify, correct and prevent future errors ofthis type fromoccurring.

22. State whether your agency incurs any reporting burdens or costs as a result of its obligations underthe Federal Financial Assistance Transparency Act (FFATA) that it does not incur as a result of otherreporting obligations, and estimate those burdens and costs in worker-hours and dollars.During FY 2007-08, USDA incurred a cost of approximately $1.8 million to develop ourcentralized reporting system. An additional $600,000 in annual salary (four full-timeequivalents or approximately 8,320 hours) and operating costs are estimated to meet reportingneeds.

23. Identify the individual(s) who serve(s) as Senior Accountable Official(s) ("SAO") over federalspending data quality for your agency, as defined by OMB.The Senior Accountable Official for the Department is Jon M. Holladay, Deputy ChiefFinancial Officer.

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The officials accountable for spendingdata quality in USDA's Mission Areas are as follows:Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (CCC, FSA,FAS, RMA)Rich T, ValentineChiefFinancial OfficerFood, Nutrition and Consumer Services (FNS)Steve ButlerChief Financial OfficerFood Safetv (FSIS)Michelle TorrusioActing ChiefFinancial OfficerMarketing and Regulatorv Programs (APIDS, AMS, GIPSA)Laura MackenzieChief Financial OfficerNatural Resources and EnvironmentForest ServiceDonna M, CarmicalChie f Financial OfficerNatural Resources Conservation ServiceDavid MorrisActing Chief Financial OfficerResearch, Education, and Economics (ARS, ERS, NASS, NIP A)Robert MagillActing Chief Financial OfficerRural DevelopmentVan JorstadChiefFinancial Officer

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