[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2302 Reported in House (RH)]

                                                 Union Calendar No. 155
112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2302

                          [Report No. 112-236]

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to notify Congress of conferences sponsored by the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 22, 2011

 Mr. Stutzman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

                            October 5, 2011

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
          on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to notify Congress of conferences sponsored by the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.


 


    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS OF CONFERENCES SPONSORED 
              BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 5 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 517. Notification to Congress of conferences sponsored 
              by the Department</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(a) Notification.--Not later than 180 days before the 
date on which a covered conference begins, the Secretary shall notify 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate of such conference, 
including the estimated costs to the Department.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Report on Costs.--Not later than 60 days after the 
date on which a covered conference ends, the Secretary shall submit to 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a report that includes 
an accounting of the final costs of the conference to the 
Department.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Covered Conference Defined.--In this section, the 
term `covered conference' means a conference, meeting, or other similar 
forum that is sponsored or co-sponsored by the Department of Veterans 
Affairs and is--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) held for a period of three or more days, 
        beginning at the time of initial on-site registration and 
        ending at the time the final event is completed;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) attended by 20 or more individuals, 
        including one or more employees of the Department; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) estimated to cost the Department at least 
        $5,000, including costs related to--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) transportation and 
                parking;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) per diem payments;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) lodging;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) rental of halls, auditoriums, or 
                other spaces;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) rental of equipment;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(F) refreshments;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(G) entertainment;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(H) contractors; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(I) brochures or other printed 
                media.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
beginning of such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating 
to section 516 the following:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``517. Notification to Congress of conferences sponsored by 
                            the Department.''.

</DELETED>SECTION 1. QUARTERLY REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON CONFERENCES 
              SPONSORED BY THE DEPARTMENT.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 5 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 517. Quarterly reports to Congress on conferences sponsored by 
              the Department
    ``(a) Quarterly Reports Required.--Not later than 30 days after the 
end of each fiscal quarter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a report on covered conferences.
    ``(b) Matters Included.--Each report under subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
            ``(1) An accounting of the final costs to the Department of 
        each covered conference occurring during the fiscal quarter 
        preceding the date on which the report is submitted, including 
        the costs related to--
                    ``(A) transportation and parking;
                    ``(B) per diem payments;
                    ``(C) lodging;
                    ``(D) rental of halls, auditoriums, or other 
                spaces;
                    ``(E) rental of equipment;
                    ``(F) refreshments;
                    ``(G) entertainment;
                    ``(H) contractors; and
                    ``(I) brochures or other printed media.
            ``(2) The total estimated costs to the Department for 
        covered conferences occurring during the fiscal quarter in 
        which the report is submitted.
    ``(c) Covered Conference Defined.--In this section, the term 
`covered conference' means a conference, meeting, or other similar 
forum that is sponsored or co-sponsored by the Department of Veterans 
Affairs and is--
            ``(1) attended by 50 or more individuals, including one or 
        more employees of the Department; or
            ``(2) estimated to cost the Department at least $20,000.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating to section 
516 the following:

``517. Quarterly reports to Congress on conferences sponsored by the 
                            Department.''.

SEC. 2. SUBMISSION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS 
              AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 529 the following 
new section:
``Sec. 529A. Submission of certain information by the Secretary to 
              Congress
    ``(a) In General.--The submission of information by the Secretary 
to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives 
or the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate in response to a 
request for such information made by a covered member of the committee 
shall be deemed to be--
            ``(1) a covered disclosure under section 552a(b)(9) of 
        title 5; and
            ``(2) a permitted disclosure under regulations promulgated 
        under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and 
        Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-191), including a 
        permitted disclosure for oversight activities authorized by law 
        as described in section 164.512(d) of title 45, Code of Federal 
        Regulations.
    ``(b) Submission to Chairman.--With respect to a request for 
information described in subsection (a) made by a covered member of the 
committee who is not the chairman, the Secretary shall also submit such 
information to the chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of 
the House of Representatives or the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of 
the Senate, as the case may be.
    ``(c) Covered Member of the Committee.--In this section, the term 
`covered member of the committee' means the following:
            ``(1) The chairman or ranking member of the Committee on 
        Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives or the 
        Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate.
            ``(2) A chairman or ranking member of a subcommittee of the 
        Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives 
        or the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate.
            ``(3) The designee of a chairman or ranking member 
        described in paragraph (1) or (2).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning 
of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 529 the following new item:

``529A. Submission of certain information by the Secretary to 
                            Congress.''.

SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF DATA ON EMPLOYMENT OF CERTAIN VETERANS BY 
              FEDERAL CONTRACTORS.

    Section 4212(d) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) The Secretary of Labor shall establish and maintain an 
Internet website on which the Secretary shall publicly disclose the 
information reported to the Secretary of Labor by contractors under 
paragraph (1).''.
            Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to amend title 38, 
        United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        to notify Congress of conferences sponsored by the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 155

112th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 2302

                          [Report No. 112-236]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to notify Congress of conferences sponsored by the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            October 5, 2011

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
          on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed