[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1615 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1615

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2015

  Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mr. King, and Mr. Peters) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Domestic Refugee Resettlement Reform 
and Modernization Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (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.

SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF REFUGEE DOMESTIC RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMS.

    (a) 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.
    (b) Matters To Be Studied.--In the study required under subsection 
(a), the Comptroller General shall determine and analyze--
            (1) how the Office of Refugee Resettlement defines self-
        sufficiency and integration and if these definitions adequately 
        represent refugees' needs in the United States;
            (2) the effectiveness of Office of Refugee Resettlement 
        programs in helping refugees to meet self-sufficiency and 
        integration;
            (3) technological solutions for consistently tracking 
        secondary migration, including opportunities for interagency 
        data sharing;
            (4) 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;
            (5) the role of community-based organizations in serving 
        refugees in areas experiencing a high number of new refugee 
        arrivals;
            (6) how community-based organizations can be better 
        utilized and supported in the Federal domestic resettlement 
        process;
            (7) recertification processes for high-skilled refugees, 
        specifically considering how to decrease barriers for Special 
        Immigrant Visa holders to use their skills; and
            (8) recommended statutory changes to improve the Office of 
        Refugee Resettlement and the domestic refugee program in 
        relation to the matters analyzed under paragraphs (1) through 
        (7).
    (c) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to Congress 
that contains the results of the study conducted under this section.

SEC. 4. REFUGEE ASSISTANCE.

    (a) 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.''.
    (b) Report on Secondary Migration.--Section 412(a)(3) of such Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1522(a)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(3)'';
            (2) by striking ``periodic'' and inserting ``annual''; and
            (3) 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.''.
    (c) Amendments to Social Services Funding.--Section 412(c)(1)(B) of 
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(c)(1)(B)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``a combination of--'' after ``based on'';
            (2) by striking ``the total number'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(i) the total number''; and
            (3) 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.''.
    (d) 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 subsection (e), the Director shall--
            (1) issue a proposed rule for a new formula by which grants 
        and contracts are to be allocated pursuant to the amendments 
        made by subsection (c); and
            (2) solicit public comment regarding such proposed rule.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the first day of the first fiscal year that begins after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. RESETTLEMENT DATA.

    (a) 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 subsections (b) through 
(e).
    (b) Data on Mental and Physical Medical Cases.--The Director 
shall--
            (1) 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;
            (2) examine the information sharing process, from country 
        of arrival through refugee resettlement, to determine if access 
        to additional mental health data could--
                    (A) help determine placements; and
                    (B) enable agencies to better prepare to meet 
                refugee mental health needs; and
            (3) in collecting information under this paragraph, utilize 
        initial refugee health screening data, including--
                    (A) a history of severe trauma, torture, mental 
                health symptoms, depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic 
                stress disorder recorded during domestic and 
                international health screenings; and
                    (B) Refugee Medical Assistance utilization rate 
                data.
    (c) 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--
            (1) the number of refugees who have become homeless; and
            (2) the number of refugees who are at severe risk of 
        becoming homeless.
    (d) 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.
    (e) Availability of Data.--The Director shall annually--
            (1) update the data collected under this section; and
            (2) submit a report to Congress that contains the updated 
        data.

SEC. 6. GUIDANCE REGARDING REFUGEE PLACEMENT DECISIONS.

    (a) 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.
    (b) 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.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act (except for the amendments made by section 4) shall take 
effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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