[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2839 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2839

To reform and modernize domestic refugee resettlement programs, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 18, 2015

 Mr. Pascrell introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To reform and modernize domestic refugee resettlement programs, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. DOMESTIC REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT REFORM AND MODERNIZATION.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Community-based organization.--The term ``community-
        based organization'' means a nonprofit organization providing a 
        variety of social, health, educational and community services 
        to a population that includes refugees resettled into the 
        United States.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of Health 
        and Human Services.
            (3) National resettlement agencies.--The term ``national 
        resettlement agencies'' means voluntary agencies contracting 
        with the Department of State to provide sponsorship and initial 
        resettlement services to refugees entering the United States.
    (b) Assessment of Refugee Domestic Resettlement Programs.--
            (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
        United States shall conduct a study regarding the effectiveness 
        of the domestic refugee resettlement programs operated by the 
        Office of Refugee Resettlement.
            (2) Matters to be studied.--In the study required under 
        paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall determine and 
        analyze--
                    (A) how the Office of Refugee Resettlement defines 
                self-sufficiency and integration and if these 
                definitions adequately represent refugees' needs in the 
                United States;
                    (B) the effectiveness of Office of Refugee 
                Resettlement programs in helping refugees to meet self-
                sufficiency and integration;
                    (C) technological solutions for consistently 
                tracking secondary migration, including opportunities 
                for interagency data sharing;
                    (D) the Office of Refugee Resettlement's budgetary 
                resources and project the amount of additional 
                resources needed to fully address the unmet needs of 
                refugees with regard to self-sufficiency and 
                integration;
                    (E) the role of community-based organizations in 
                serving refugees in areas experiencing a high number of 
                new refugee arrivals;
                    (F) how community-based organizations can be better 
                utilized and supported in the Federal domestic 
                resettlement process;
                    (G) recertification processes for high-skilled 
                refugees, specifically considering how to decrease 
                barriers for Special Immigrant Visa holders to use 
                their skills; and
                    (H) recommended statutory changes to improve the 
                Office of Refugee Resettlement and the domestic refugee 
                program in relation to the matters analyzed under 
                subparagraphs (A) through (G).
            (3) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to 
        Congress the results of the study required under this 
        subsection.
    (c) Refugee Assistance.--
            (1) Assistance made available to secondary migrants.--
        Section 412(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1522(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(C) The Director shall ensure that assistance under this section 
is provided to refugees who are secondary migrants and meet all other 
eligibility requirements for such assistance.''.
            (2) Report on secondary migration.--Section 412(a)(3) of 
        such Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(a)(3)) is amended--
                    (A) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(3)'';
                    (B) by striking ``periodic'' and inserting 
                ``annual''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(B) At the end of each fiscal year, the Director shall submit a 
report to Congress that includes--
            ``(i) States experiencing departures and arrivals due to 
        secondary migration;
            ``(ii) likely reasons for migration;
            ``(iii) the impact of secondary migration on States hosting 
        secondary migrants;
            ``(iv) the availability of social services for secondary 
        migrants in those States; and
            ``(v) unmet needs of those secondary migrants.''.
            (3) Amendments to social services funding.--Section 
        412(c)(1)(B) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(c)(1)(B)) is amended--
                    (A) by inserting ``a combination of--'' after 
                ``based on'';
                    (B) by striking ``the total number'' and inserting 
                the following:
            ``(i) the total number''; and
                    (C) by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                the following:
            ``(ii) the total number of all other eligible populations 
        served by the Office during the period described who are 
        residing in the State as of the beginning of the fiscal year; 
        and
            ``(iii) projections on the number and nature of incoming 
        refugees and other populations served by the Office during the 
        subsequent fiscal year.''.
            (4) Notice and rulemaking.--Not later than 90 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act and not later than 30 
        days before the effective date set forth in paragraph (5), the 
        Director shall--
                    (A) issue a proposed rule for a new formula by 
                which grants and contracts are to be allocated pursuant 
                to the amendments made by paragraph (3); and
                    (B) solicit public comment regarding such proposed 
                rule.
            (5) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall become effective on the first day of the first fiscal 
        year that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Resettlement Data.--
            (1) In general.--The Director shall expand the Office of 
        Refugee Resettlement's data analysis, collection, and sharing 
        activities in accordance with the requirements set forth in 
        paragraphs (2) through (5).
            (2) Data on mental and physical medical cases.--The 
        Director shall--
                    (A) coordinate with the Centers for Disease Control 
                and Prevention, national resettlement agencies, 
                community-based organizations, and State refugee health 
                programs to track national and State trends on refugees 
                arriving with Class A medical conditions and other 
                urgent medical needs;
                    (B) examine the information sharing process, from 
                country of arrival through refugee resettlement, to 
                determine if access to additional mental health data 
                could--
                            (i) help determine placements; and
                            (ii) enable agencies to better prepare to 
                        meet refugee mental health needs; and
                    (C) in collecting information under this paragraph, 
                utilize initial refugee health screening data, 
                including--
                            (i) a history of severe trauma, torture, 
                        mental health symptoms, depression, anxiety, 
                        and posttraumatic stress disorder recorded 
                        during domestic and international health 
                        screenings; and
                            (ii) Refugee Medical Assistance utilization 
                        rate data.
            (3) Data on housing needs.--The Director shall partner with 
        State refugee programs, community-based organizations, and 
        national resettlement agencies to collect data relating to the 
        housing needs of refugees, including--
                    (A) the number of refugees who have become 
                homeless; and
                    (B) the number of refugees who are at severe risk 
                of becoming homeless.
            (4) Data on refugee employment and self-sufficiency.--The 
        Director shall gather longitudinal information relating to 
        refugee self-sufficiency, integration, and employment status 
        during the 2-year period beginning 1 year after the date on 
        which the refugees arrived in the United States.
            (5) Availability of data.--The Director shall annually--
                    (A) update the data collected under this 
                subsection; and
                    (B) submit a report to Congress that contains the 
                updated data.
    (e) Guidance Regarding Refugee Placement Decisions.--
            (1) Consultation.--The Secretary of State shall provide 
        guidance to national resettlement agencies and State refugee 
        coordinators on consultation with local stakeholders pertaining 
        to refugee resettlement.
            (2) Best practices.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, shall 
        collect best practices related to the implementation of the 
        guidance on stakeholder consultation on refugee resettlement 
        from voluntary agencies and State refugee coordinators and 
        disseminate such best practices to such agencies and 
        coordinators.
    (f) Effective Date.--This section (except for the amendments made 
by subsection (c)) shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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