[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2782 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2782

     To address recommendations made to Congress by the Government 
 Accountability Office and detailed in the annual duplication report, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2021

 Ms. Hassan (for herself and Mr. Paul) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To address recommendations made to Congress by the Government 
 Accountability Office and detailed in the annual duplication report, 
                        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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Acting on the 
Annual Duplication Report Act of 2021''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress.
                     TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Sec. 101. Enhancing Federal revenue through reviewing and reporting on 
                            use and management of administrative 
                            surcharges under foreign military sales 
                            program.
Sec. 102. Modification of calculation of military housing contractor 
                            pay for privatized military housing.
                   TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Sec. 201. Maximizing effective use and recoupment of Federal student 
                            loans by closing the forbearance loophole 
                            and amending default rates.
                    TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Sec. 301. Increasing Federal revenue by reviewing and reporting on 
                            optimal size of Strategic Petroleum 
                            Reserve.
         TITLE IV--DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 401. Optimizing revenue intake and saving taxpayer dollars at 
                            Ginnie Mae by assessing current practices 
                            and exploring alternative governance 
                            structures to provide better oversight.
                  TITLE V--DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Sec. 501. Saving Federal funds by authorizing changes to the 
                            composition of circulating coins.
Sec. 502. Reducing the resource drain by requiring that electronically 
                            prepared paper returns include scannable 
                            code.
Sec. 503. Protecting the security of taxpayer information held by 
                            third-party providers by improving 
                            coordination and establishing minimum 
                            security requirements to reduce 
                            fragmentation.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The annual reports prepared by the Comptroller General 
        of the United States under section 21 of the Joint Resolution 
        entitled ``Joint Resolution increasing the statutory limit on 
        the public debt'', approved February 12, 2010 (31 U.S.C. 712 
        note; Public Law 111-139), have produced approximately 
        $429,000,000,000 in financial benefits for the Federal 
        Government.
            (2) 2021 marks the 100-year anniversary of the creation of 
        the Government Accountability Office and its contributions to 
        improving the management and fiscal responsibility of the 
        Federal Government.
            (3) The 2021 report entitled ``Additional Opportunities to 
        Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve 
        Billions in Financial Benefits'' (GAO-21-455SP) identified 112 
        new actions that Congress or the executive branch can take to 
        improve efficiency and effectiveness across the Federal 
        Government, and potentially to save tens of billions of 
        dollars.
            (4) Those financial benefits cannot be realized without 
        full implementation of the actions and recommendations set 
        forth by the Comptroller General of the United States.
            (5) Of the 112 new actions, one requires legislation to be 
        fully implemented, and it concerns adjusting the rate 
        calculation for paying military housing contractors.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) it is the responsibility of Congress and the executive 
        branch to take action to implement recommendations made in the 
        annual reports of the Government Accountability Office on 
        reducing duplication in Federal programs to be good stewards of 
        taxpayer dollars;
            (2) legislation and adequate resources are needed to ensure 
        that all potential financial benefits are realized from the 
        implementation of those recommendations; and
            (3) while some recommendations for congressional action 
        from previous reports have been resolved, Congress must 
        continue to pursue the recommendations that have gone 
        unaddressed in addition to the new recommendation for action 
        presented in the 2021 report.

                     TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

SEC. 101. ENHANCING FEDERAL REVENUE THROUGH REVIEWING AND REPORTING ON 
              USE AND MANAGEMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SURCHARGES UNDER 
              FOREIGN MILITARY SALES PROGRAM.

    (a) Foreign Military Sales Program Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``foreign military sales program'' means the program authorized 
under chapter 2 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2761 et 
seq.).
    (b) Review.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense, acting through 
        the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, shall 
        review options for expanding the use of administrative 
        surcharges under the foreign military sales program, including 
        practices for managing administrative surcharges and contract 
        administration services surcharges.
            (2) Matters to be included.--The review conducted under 
        paragraph (1) shall include the following:
                    (A) A determination of which specific expenses are 
                incurred by the United States Government in operation 
                of the foreign military sales program that the 
                administrative surcharge does not pay for as of the 
                date of the enactment of this Act.
                    (B) The estimated annual cost of each of such 
                specific expenses.
                    (C) An assessment of the costs and benefits of 
                funding such specific expenses through the 
                administrative surcharge, including any data to support 
                such an assessment.
                    (D) An assessment of how the Department of Defense 
                calculates the lower bound, or safety level, for the 
                administrative surcharge account and the contract 
                administration services surcharge account, including 
                what specific factors inform the calculation and 
                whether such a method for calculating the safety level 
                is still valid or should be revisited.
                    (E) An assessment of the process used by the 
                Department of Defense to review and set rates for the 
                administrative surcharge and the contract 
                administration services surcharge, including the extent 
                to which outside parties are consulted and any 
                proposals the Department of Defense may have for better 
                ensuring that the rates are set appropriately.
                    (F) Such other matters as the Secretary of Defense 
                determines to be appropriate.
    (c) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, acting through the 
Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, shall submit to 
the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on 
Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on--
            (1) the findings of the review conducted under subsection 
        (b); and
            (2) any legislative changes needed to allow the 
        administrative surcharge under the foreign military sales 
        program to pay for any expenses currently not covered by that 
        surcharge.

SEC. 102. MODIFICATION OF CALCULATION OF MILITARY HOUSING CONTRACTOR 
              PAY FOR PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING.

    Section 606(a) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 10 U.S.C. 2871 note) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B)--
                    (A) by striking ``2.5 percent'' and inserting ``50 
                percent''; and
                    (B) by striking ``section 403(b)(3)(A)(i)'' and 
                inserting ``section 403(b)(3)(A)(ii)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)(B)--
                    (A) by striking ``2.5 percent'' and inserting ``50 
                percent''; and
                    (B) by striking ``section 403(b)(3)(A)(i)'' and 
                inserting ``section 403(b)(3)(A)(ii)''.

                   TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

SEC. 201. MAXIMIZING EFFECTIVE USE AND RECOUPMENT OF FEDERAL STUDENT 
              LOANS BY CLOSING THE FORBEARANCE LOOPHOLE AND AMENDING 
              DEFAULT RATES.

    (a) Default Management Plan.--Section 435(a)(7)(A) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(a)(7)(A)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); and
            (2) by inserting after clause (i) the following:
                            ``(ii) Prohibition.--The plan required 
                        under clause (i) shall not include placing 
                        students in forbearance as a means of reducing 
                        the cohort default rate of the institution.''.
    (b) Forbearance Rules.--Section 435(m)(1) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(m)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(D) With respect to a cohort default rate calculated for 
        an institution under this paragraph for fiscal year 2021 and 
        for each succeeding fiscal year, the cohort default rate shall 
        be calculated such that in determining the number of current 
        and former students at an institution who enter repayment for 
        such fiscal year--
                    ``(i) any student who is in nonmandatory 
                forbearance for such fiscal year for a period of 
                greater than 18 months but less than 36 months shall 
                not be counted as entering repayment for that fiscal 
                year;
                    ``(ii) any student described in clause (i) shall be 
                counted as entering repayment for the first fiscal year 
                for which the student ceases to be in a period of 
                forbearance and otherwise meets the requirements for 
                being in repayment; and
                    ``(iii) any student who is in a period of 
                nonmandatory forbearance for 3 or more years shall be 
                counted as in default and included in the institution's 
                total number of students in default.''.

                    TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

SEC. 301. INCREASING FEDERAL REVENUE BY REVIEWING AND REPORTING ON 
              OPTIMAL SIZE OF STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE.

    (a) Review.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy (referred to in 
        this section as the ``Secretary'') shall conduct a review of 
        options for a long-range target for the optimal size and 
        configuration of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve established 
        under part B of title I of the Energy Policy and Conservation 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 6231 et seq.) (referred to in this section as 
        the ``Reserve'').
            (2) Matters to be considered.--In conducting the review 
        under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider--
                    (A) the volume of petroleum and petroleum products 
                to be held in the Reserve;
                    (B) the infrastructure and modernization needs of 
                the Reserve;
                    (C) the projections for future oil production and 
                consumption in the United States;
                    (D) the efficacy of the existing Reserve to respond 
                to domestic supply disruptions;
                    (E) the obligations of the International Energy 
                Agency;
                    (F) the expected responses of the private sector to 
                any supply disruptions due to a suboptimal size and 
                configuration of the Reserve; and
                    (G) the costs and benefits of a range of potential 
                sizes and configurations of the Reserve.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce of the House of Representatives a report describing--
            (1) the findings of the review conducted under subsection 
        (a); and
            (2) recommendations for legislation needed to optimize the 
        size and configuration of the Reserve.

         TITLE IV--DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

SEC. 401. OPTIMIZING REVENUE INTAKE AND SAVING TAXPAYER DOLLARS AT 
              GINNIE MAE BY ASSESSING CURRENT PRACTICES AND EXPLORING 
              ALTERNATIVE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES TO PROVIDE BETTER 
              OVERSIGHT.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                Affairs of the Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Financial Services of the 
                House of Representatives; and
                    (D) the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 
                House of Representatives;
            (2) the term ``Association'' means the Government National 
        Mortgage Association; and
            (3) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Housing 
        and Urban Development.
    (b) Guaranty Fee Study and Report.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a study and 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees and the Comptroller 
General of the United States a report on the adequacy of the guaranty 
fee of the Association for single-family mortgage-backed securities, 
which shall--
            (1) evaluate the extent to which the level of the guaranty 
        fee for single-family mortgage-backed securities provides the 
        Association with sufficient reserves to cover potential losses 
        under different economic scenarios, including adverse 
        scenarios, based on an actuarial or similar analysis;
            (2) identify the types of standards that the Association 
        could use to set the guaranty fee for single-family mortgage-
        backed securities and evaluate which standard or standards 
        would enable the Association to set the guaranty fee at an 
        appropriate level in line with the mission of the Association;
            (3) assess the benefits and costs of adopting a risk-based 
        guaranty fee for single-family mortgage-backed securities that 
        imposes a higher fee on higher risk issuers;
            (4) analyze how and to what extent an increase in the 
        guaranty fee (for all issuers and a subset of riskier issuers) 
        would affect borrowers' financing, closing, and other related 
        costs for federally insured mortgage loans; and
            (5) if warranted, include recommendations for any necessary 
        amendments to the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) 
        to change the guaranty fee for single-family mortgage-backed 
        securities, including for establishing a standard under which 
        the Association can determine the level of the guaranty fee for 
        single-family mortgage-backed securities.
    (c) Reliance on Contractors Study and Report.--Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
conduct a study and submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
and the Comptroller General of the United States a report evaluating 
the workforce composition of the Association in consideration of the 
critical functions of the Association, which shall--
            (1) analyze--
                    (A) the number of Federal employees and contractors 
                by type of role or position that the Association uses 
                to perform compliance, risk management, and other 
                critical functions, and the cost of a full-time 
                equivalent Federal employee versus a contractor for 
                comparable roles or positions;
                    (B) the extent to which the Association could use 
                Federal employees instead of contractors by role or 
                position to perform critical functions;
                    (C) the types and amounts of costs that the 
                Association could save by using Federal employees 
                instead of contractors, where possible, to perform 
                critical functions, such as savings from differences in 
                pay and not having to oversee contractors;
                    (D) whether the Association would face any legal or 
                other obstacles in using Federal employees instead of 
                contractors to perform critical functions; and
                    (E) the potential negative and positive effects of 
                using Federal employees instead of contractors on the 
                ability of the Association to achieve the mission of 
                the Association; and
            (2) if warranted, include recommendations for any necessary 
        amendments to the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) 
        to change the funding structure of the Association.
    (d) Compensation Structure Study and Report.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a 
study and submit to the appropriate congressional committees and the 
Comptroller General of the United States a report evaluating the 
workforce challenges of the Association, which shall--
            (1) analyze, quantitatively to the extent possible, the 
        challenges of the Association in hiring and retaining staff, 
        including compensation, during the 3-year period preceding the 
        report;
            (2) identify and summarize the options that the Association 
        has pursued within existing authorities to address the staffing 
        challenges of the Association, including which agencies or 
        offices were involved, and the key decisions and outcomes of 
        those efforts;
            (3) identify options that the Association did not pursue 
        within existing authorities to address the staffing challenges 
        of the Association and the reasons for not pursuing those 
        options;
            (4) identify and evaluate options outside of existing 
        authorities that the Association could use to address the 
        staffing challenges of the Association and the potential 
        benefits and costs of those options; and
            (5) if warranted, include recommendations for any necessary 
        amendments to the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) 
        to change how the Government National Mortgage Association sets 
        compensation.
    (e) Review of Reforms to Ginnie Mae's Organizational and Oversight 
Structure.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct 
a study and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
on alternate ways of overseeing the Association to address increasing 
risks, which shall--
            (1) review the reports submitted by the Secretary under 
        subsections (b), (c), and (d) to determine if the reports 
        addressed the required provisions and assess any 
        recommendations made in those reports;
            (2) identify key challenges or constraints that the 
        Association has faced under the governance and funding 
        structure of the Association as a government corporation within 
        the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
            (3) identify alternative models under which the governance 
        and funding structure of the Association could be reorganized 
        to better support housing policy priorities in the United 
        States and to ensure that the Association fulfilling the role 
        of increasing liquidity in the housing finance market while 
        also minimizing risk to the taxpayer;
            (4) evaluate the potential positive and negative impacts of 
        the models described in paragraph (3) on the Association, the 
        Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other 
        stakeholders;
            (5) obtain input from relevant stakeholders, such as 
        Federal entities, lenders, issuers, investors, affordable 
        housing advocates, and researchers, on reforms to the 
        organizational and oversight structure of the Association;
            (6) consider the housing finance system and ways in which 
        alternative oversight structures of the Association could 
        impact the system; and
            (7) review such other information as the Comptroller 
        General determines relevant.

                  TITLE V--DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

SEC. 501. SAVING FEDERAL FUNDS BY AUTHORIZING CHANGES TO THE 
              COMPOSITION OF CIRCULATING COINS.

    (a) Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(bb) Composition of Circulating Coins.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, and subject to the other provisions of this subsection, 
        the Director of the United States Mint (referred to in this 
        subsection as the `Director'), in consultation with the 
        Secretary, may modify the metallic composition of circulating 
        coins to a new metallic composition (including by prescribing 
        reasonable manufacturing tolerances with respect to those 
        coins) if a study and analysis conducted by the United States 
        Mint, including solicitation of input, including input on 
        acceptor tolerances and requirements, from industry 
        stakeholders who could be affected by changes in the 
        composition of circulating coins, indicates that the 
        modification will--
                    ``(A) reduce costs incurred by the taxpayers of the 
                United States;
                    ``(B) be seamless, which shall mean the same 
                diameter and weight as United States coinage being 
                minted on the date of enactment of this subsection and 
                that the coins will work interchangeably in most coin 
                acceptors using electromagnetic signature technology; 
                and
                    ``(C) have as minimal an adverse impact as possible 
                on the public and stakeholders.
            ``(2) Notification to congress.--On the date that is at 
        least 90 legislative days before the date on which the Director 
        begins making a modification described in paragraph (1), the 
        Director shall submit to Congress notice that--
                    ``(A) provides a justification for the 
                modification, including the support for that 
                modification in the study and analysis required under 
                paragraph (1) with respect to the modification;
                    ``(B) describes how the modification will reduce 
                costs incurred by the taxpayers of the United States;
                    ``(C) certifies that the modification will be 
                seamless, as described in paragraph (1)(B); and
                    ``(D) certifies that the modification will have as 
                minimal an adverse impact as possible on the public and 
                stakeholders.
            ``(3) Congressional authority.--The Director may begin 
        making a modification proposed under this subsection not 
        earlier than the date that is 90 legislative days after the 
        date on which the Director submits to Congress the notice 
        required under paragraph (2) with respect to that modification, 
        unless Congress, during the period of 90 legislative days 
        beginning on the date on which the Director submits that 
        notice--
                    ``(A) finds that the modification is not justified 
                in light of the information contained in that notice; 
                and
                    ``(B) enacts a joint resolution of disapproval of 
                the proposed modification.
            ``(4) Procedures.--For purpose of paragraph (3)--
                    ``(A) a joint resolution of disapproval is a joint 
                resolution the matter after the resolving clause of 
                which is as follows: `That Congress disapproves the 
                modification submitted by the Director of the United 
                States Mint.'; and
                    ``(B) the procedural rules in the House of 
                Representatives and the Senate for a joint resolution 
                of disapproval described under paragraph (3) shall be 
                the same as provided for a joint resolution of 
                disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States 
                Code.''.
    (b) Determination of Budgetary Effects.--The budgetary effects of 
this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-
Go-Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest 
statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this 
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman 
of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been 
submitted prior to the vote on passage.

SEC. 502. REDUCING THE RESOURCE DRAIN BY REQUIRING THAT ELECTRONICALLY 
              PREPARED PAPER RETURNS INCLUDE SCANNABLE CODE.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (e) of section 6011 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(8) Special rule for returns prepared electronically and 
        submitted on paper.--The Secretary shall require that any 
        return of tax which is prepared electronically, but is printed 
        and filed on paper, bear a code which can, when scanned, 
        convert such return to electronic format.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (1) of section 6011(e) of such 
Code is amended by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and inserting 
``paragraphs (3) and (8)''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to returns of tax the due date for which (determined without 
regard to extensions) is after December 31, 2021.

SEC. 503. PROTECTING THE SECURITY OF TAXPAYER INFORMATION HELD BY 
              THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS BY IMPROVING COORDINATION AND 
              ESTABLISHING MINIMUM SECURITY REQUIREMENTS TO REDUCE 
              FRAGMENTATION.

    (a) Regulation of Security Requirements for Tax Return Preparers 
and Authorized E-File Providers.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or 
        the Secretary's delegate) shall prescribe standards for the 
        security of return information and information technology 
        systems that are consistent with security standards issued by 
        the National Institute for Standards and Technology.
            (2) Penalty for failure to secure information.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 6695 of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating 
                subsection (h) as subsection (i) and by inserting after 
                subsection (g) the following new subsection:
    ``(h) Failure To Comply With Electronic Return Security 
Standards.--Any person who is authorized by the Secretary to provide 
electronic filing services and who fails to secure return information 
and information technology standards in such manner as prescribed by 
the Secretary shall pay a penalty of $500 for each such failure. The 
maximum penalty imposed under this subsection on any person with 
respect to any calendar year shall not exceed $25,000.''.
                    (B) Inflation adjustment.--Section 6695(i) of such 
                Code, as redesignated by subparagraph (A), is amended--
                            (i) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 
                        paragraph (3);
                            (ii) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
                        following new paragraph:
            ``(2) Failure to comply with security standards.--In the 
        case of any failure described in subsection (h) in a calendar 
        year beginning after 2022, each of the dollar amounts under 
        subsection (h) shall be increased by an amount equal to such 
        dollar amount multiplied by the cost-of-living adjustment 
        determined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year 
        determined by substituting `calendar year 2021' for `calendar 
        year 2016' in subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof.''; and
                            (iii) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by 
                        clause (i)), by striking ``paragraph (1)'' and 
                        inserting ``paragraph (1) or (2)''.
                    (C) Effective date.--The amendments made by this 
                paragraph shall apply to failures described in section 
                6695(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added 
                by subparagraph (A)) after the date that is 60 days 
                after the date the Secretary prescribes the standards 
                required under paragraph (1).
    (b) Coordination of Taxpayer Information Security.--Not later than 
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of 
Internal Revenue shall develop an organizational plan to create a 
centralized body or other governance structure to coordinate all 
aspects of the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to protect return 
information while being held or transmitted by those authorized by the 
Internal Revenue Service to provide electronic filing services. The 
Commissioner shall transmit the organizational plan to the Committee on 
Finance of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Ways and Means of 
the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
of the House of Representatives.
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