[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 19, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4301-S4304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. LUGAR:
S. 3310. A bill to direct the President, in consultation with the
Department of State, United States Agency for International
Development, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Department of
Defense, to establish guidelines for United States foreign assistance
programs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign
Relations.
Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, last week heads of state, key policymakers,
and foreign aid implementers met in Washington to examine ``Frontiers
in Development.'' It was my pleasure to provide the conference keynote
address Monday in which I pressed for greater transparency in global
financial transactions and investments. This includes both U.S. foreign
assistance funding and payments that companies make to foreign
governments for oil, natural gas and mineral developments. Fuller
disclosure improves accountability to citizens of both our country and
the recipient country and would set an important example for other
countries to provide more clarity about their own foreign assistance
programs. Transparency in energy and mineral payments is already
required for U.S.-listed companies by law in the Cardin-Lugar provision
of the Dodd-Frank Act, and thanks to American leadership, the European
Union is preparing similar legislation. Now, it is timely to enact
legislation requiring the U.S. to disclose where and for what purpose
it provides foreign assistance dollars across the globe. Further,
taxpayers and foreign aid recipients have a right to know the impacts
of these funds.
That is why I am introducing The Foreign Aid Transparency and
Accountability Act, which will require the President to disclose this
information through a publicly accessible website in a timely manner.
The U.S. provides assistance through a host of federal agencies
including the Departments of State, Defense and Agriculture, as well as
agencies including the U.S. Agency for International Development,
USAID, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, MCC. While our Federal
budget is available for public review, there is currently no single
source required by law where one can review in what amount and for what
purpose U.S. dollars flow to individual countries and programs.
President Obama early in his administration promised to bring more
transparency to our international development programs. But so far, the
efforts by the State Department, USAID, the MCC and others to display
this information through the Foreign Assistance Dashboard have been
inadequate. There is a meager amount of data on the Dashboard, and it
is often woefully out of date.
My legislation is the identical version to that introduced earlier in
this Congress by Congressman Ted Poe of Texas, which now has more than
50 House co-sponsors. I compliment Representative Poe on the bill and
appreciate the bipartisan support he has already garnered for it in the
House. I look forward to working to enact the legislation in this
Congress, bringing greater transparency and accountability to taxpayer
funding of foreign assistance programs in a timely manner.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 3310
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 ``Foreign Aid Transparency and
Accountability Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. GUIDELINES FOR UNITED STATES FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to evaluate
the performance of United States foreign assistance programs
and their contribution to policy, strategies, projects,
program goals, and priorities undertaken by the Federal
Government, to foster and promote innovative programs to
improve the effectiveness of such programs, and to coordinate
the monitoring and evaluation processes of Federal
departments and agencies that administer such programs.
(b) Establishment of Guidelines.--The President, in
consultation with the Department of State, United States
Agency for International Development, Millennium Challenge
Corporation, and the Department of Defense, shall establish
guidelines regarding the establishment of measurable goals,
performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans that
can be applied on a uniform basis to United States foreign
assistance programs, country assistance plans, and
international and multilateral assistance programs receiving
financial assistance from the United States. Such guidelines
shall be established according to best practices of
monitoring and evaluation studies and analyses.
(c) Objectives of Guidelines.--
(1) In general.--Such guidelines shall provide direction to
Federal departments and agencies that administer United
States foreign assistance programs on how to develop the
complete range of activities relating to the monitoring of
resources, the evaluation of projects, the evaluation of
program impacts, and analysis that is necessary for the
identification of findings, generalizations that can be
derived from those findings, and their applicability to
proposed project and program design.
(2) Objectives.--Specifically, the guidelines shall provide
direction on how to achieve the following objectives for
monitoring and evaluation programs:
(A) Building measurable goals, performance metrics and
monitoring and evaluation into program design at the outset,
including the provision of sufficient program resources to
conduct monitoring and evaluation.
(B) Disseminating guidelines for the development and
implementation of monitoring and evaluation programs to all
personnel, especially in the field, who are responsible for
the design, implementation and management of foreign
assistance programs.
(C) Developing a clearinghouse capacity for the
dissemination of knowledge and lessons learned to United
States development professionals, implementing partners, the
international aid community, and aid recipient governments,
and as a repository of knowledge on lessons learned.
(D) Distributing evaluation reports internally and making
this material available online to the public. Furthermore,
providing a summary including a description of methods, key
findings and recommendations to the public on-line in a fully
searchable form within 90 days after the completion of the
evaluation. Principled exceptions will be made in cases of
classified or proprietary material.
(E) Establishing annual monitoring and evaluation agendas
and objectives that are responsive to policy and programmatic
priorities.
(F) Applying rigorous monitoring and evaluation
methodologies, choosing from among a wide variety of
qualitative and quantitative methods common in the field of
social scientific inquiry.
(G) Partnering with the academic community, implementing
partners, and national and international institutions that
have expertise in monitoring and evaluation and analysis when
such partnerships will provide needed expertise or will
significantly improve the evaluation and analysis.
(H) Developing and implementing a training plan for aid
personnel on the proper conduct of monitoring and evaluation
programs.
(d) Role of Other Federal Departments and Agencies.--The
President shall carry out this section in conjunction with
the heads of Federal departments and agencies that administer
United States foreign assistance programs.
(e) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress
a report that contains a detailed description of the
guidelines that have been developed on measurable goals,
performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans for
United States foreign assistance programs established under
this section.
(f) Evaluation Defined.--In this section, the term
``evaluation'' means, with respect to a United States foreign
assistance program, the systematic collection and analysis of
information about the characteristics and outcomes of the
program and projects under the program as a basis for
judgments, to improve effectiveness, and to inform decisions
about current and future programming.
[[Page S4302]]
SEC. 3. INTERNET WEB SITE TO MAKE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
COMPREHENSIVE, TIMELY, COMPARABLE, AND
ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION ON UNITED STATES FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
(a) Establishment; Publication and Updates.--Not later than
2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
President shall establish and maintain an Internet Web site
to make publicly available comprehensive, timely, comparable,
and accessible information on United States foreign
assistance programs. The head of each Federal department or
agency that administers such programs shall on a regular
basis publish and update on the Web site such information
with respect to the programs of the department or agency.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--
(1) In general.--Such information shall be published on a
detailed program-by-program basis and country-by-country
basis.
(2) Types of information.--To ensure transparency,
accountability, and effectiveness of United States foreign
assistance programs, the information shall include country
assistance strategies, annual budget documents, congressional
budget justifications, actual expenditures, and reports and
evaluations for such programs and projects under such
programs. Each type of information described in this
paragraph shall be published on the Web site not later than
30 days after the date of issuance of the information and
shall be continuously updated.
(3) Report in lieu of inclusion.--If the head of a Federal
department or agency makes a determination that the inclusion
of a required item of information on the Web site would
jeopardize the health or security of an implementing partner
or program beneficiary or would be detrimental to the
national interests of the United States, such item of
information may be submitted to Congress in a written report
in lieu of including it on the Web site, along with the
reasons for not including it in the database required under
subsection (c)(2).
(c) Scope of Information.--
(1) In general.--The Web site shall contain such
information relating to the current fiscal year and the
immediately preceding 5 fiscal years.
(2) Database.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the Web site
shall also contain a link to a searchable database available
to the public containing such information relating to fiscal
years prior to the current fiscal year and the immediately
preceding 5 fiscal years.
(B) Limitation.--The database shall not contain such
information relating to fiscal years prior to fiscal year
2006.
(d) Form.--Such information shall be published on the Web
site in unclassified form. Any information determined to be
classified information may be submitted to Congress in
classified form and an unclassified summary of such
information shall be published on the Web site.
______
By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself and Mr. Tester):
S. 3313. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the
assistance provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to women
veterans, to improve health care furnished by the Department, and for
other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President today, as Chairman of the Senate Committee
on Veterans' Affairs, I introduce the Women Veterans and Other Health
Care Improvement Act of 2012. I am incredibly proud of the women and
men who have served or are serving our nation in uniform, and I
strongly believe we must do all that we can to honor them.
That is why I introduced legislation, which was signed into law as
part of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of
2010, which helped to transform the way that the Department of Veterans
Affairs, VA, addresses the needs of women veterans. Among other things,
this law required the VA to provide neonatal care, train mental health
professionals to provide mental health services for sexual trauma, and
develop a child care pilot program. VA has an obligation to provide
veterans with quality care and we have an obligation to make sure that
VA does so. The legislation I am introducing today builds upon that
effort to make additional improvements to VA's services for women
veterans and veterans with families.
The nature of the current conflict and increasing use of improvised
explosive devices leaves servicemembers, both male and female, at
increased risk for blast injuries including spinal cord injury and
trauma to the reproductive and urinary tracts. Army data shows that
between 2003 and 2011 more than 600 women and men experienced these
life-changing battle injuries while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
As they return from the battlefield, the VA system must be equipped
to help injured veterans step back into their lives as parents,
spouses, and citizens. These veterans have served honorably and have
made the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation. They deserve the
opportunity to pursue their goals and dreams, whether that includes
pursuing higher education, finding gainful employment, purchasing their
first house, or starting their own family. VA has many programs that
help veterans pursue the educational, career, or homeownership dreams
and goals that they deferred in service to this country, yet it falls
short when it comes to helping severely wounded veterans who want to
start a family. These veterans often need far more advanced services in
order to conceive a child.
The Department of Defense and the Tricare program are already able to
provide advanced fertility treatments, including assisted reproductive
technology, to servicemembers with complex injuries. However; not all
injured servicemembers are well situated to have a child at the time
they are eligible for that coverage, and some are no longer eligible
for Tricare by the time they are ready.
VA's fertility counseling and treatment options are limited and do
not meet the complex needs of severely injured veterans. I have heard
from severely injured veterans whose injuries have made it impossible
for them to conceive children naturally. While the details of these
stories vary, the common thread that runs through them all is that
these veterans were unable to obtain the type of assistance they need.
Some have spent tens of thousands of dollars in the private sector to
get the advanced reproductive treatments they need to start a family.
Others have watched their marriage dissolve because the stress of
infertility, in combination with the stresses of readjusting to life
after severe injury, drove their relationship to a breaking point. Any
servicemember who sustains this type of serious injury deserves so much
more. It is our responsibility to give VA the tools it needs to serve
them, and the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvement Act is a
start at doing that.
This legislation also requires VA to build upon existing research
framework to gain a better understanding of the long-term reproductive
health care needs of veterans, from those who experience severe
reproductive and urinary tract trauma to those who experience gender-
specific infections in the battlefield. A recent Army Task Force Report
found that women in the battlefield experience high rates of urinary
tract infections and other women's health conditions. After a decade at
war, many women servicemembers are still at increased risk for women's
health difficulties due to deployment conditions and a lack of
predeployment women's health information, compounded by privacy and
safety concerns. Little is known about the impact that these issues and
injuries have on the long-term health care needs of veterans.
Additional research will provide critical information to help VA
improve services for veterans.
VA has come a long way in addressing the unique health needs and
challenges that women face. Yet for all of its recent progress, VA can
and must do more to ensure that women veterans are receiving the care
that they need and deserve. Work remains to make VA a friendly
environment for women veterans and veterans with families. Many women
veterans are single mothers, making it difficult for them to take full
advantage of the services that VA offers. The Women Veterans and Other
Health Care Improvement Act creates a pilot program that provides child
care to veterans seeking readjustment counseling at VA's Vet Centers.
It also helps VA ensure that women veterans can get the information
that they need in order to access VA health care and benefits.
This is not a section by section review of all the provisions within
this legislation. However, I have provided an appropriate overview of
the major benefits of this legislation and how it would improve the
lives of our veterans and their families. The promise that we make to
our veterans is sacred and knows no gender. To honor our veterans, we
must honor this promise for each and every one of them.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
[[Page S4303]]
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 3313
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 ``Women
Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2012''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Facilitation of reproduction and infertility research.
Sec. 3. Clarification that fertility counseling and treatment are
medical services which the Secretary may furnish to
veterans like other medical services.
Sec. 4. Reproductive treatment and care delivery for spouses and
surrogates of veterans.
Sec. 5. Requirement to improve Department of Veterans Affairs women
veterans call center.
Sec. 6. Modification of pilot program on counseling in retreat settings
for women veterans newly separated from service in the
Armed Forces.
Sec. 7. Pilot programs on assistance for child care for certain
veterans.
SEC. 2. FACILITATION OF REPRODUCTION AND INFERTILITY
RESEARCH.
(a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 7330B. Facilitation of reproduction and infertility
research
``(a) Facilitation of Research Required.--The Secretary
shall facilitate research conducted collaboratively by the
Secretary of Defense and the Director of the National
Institutes of Health to improve the ability of the Department
of Veterans Affairs to meet the long-term reproductive health
care needs of veterans who have a service-connected
genitourinary disability or a condition that was incurred or
aggravated in line of duty in the active military, naval, or
air service, such as spinal cord injury, that affects the
veterans' ability to reproduce.
``(b) Dissemination of Information.--The Secretary shall
ensure that information produced by the research facilitated
under this section that may be useful for other activities of
the Veterans Health Administration is disseminated throughout
the Veterans Health Administration.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 73 is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 7330A the following new item:
``7330B. Facilitation of reproduction and infertility research.''.
(c) Report.--Not later than three years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall submit to Congress a report on the research activities
conducted by the Secretary under section 7330B of title 38,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a).
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION THAT FERTILITY COUNSELING AND TREATMENT
ARE MEDICAL SERVICES WHICH THE SECRETARY MAY
FURNISH TO VETERANS LIKE OTHER MEDICAL
SERVICES.
Section 1701(6) of such title is amended by adding at the
end the following new subparagraph:
``(H) Fertility counseling and treatment, including
treatment using assisted reproductive technology.''.
SEC. 4. REPRODUCTIVE TREATMENT AND CARE DELIVERY FOR SPOUSES
AND SURROGATES OF VETERANS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 1787. Reproductive treatment and care for spouses and
surrogates of veterans
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall furnish fertility
counseling and treatment, including through the use of
assisted reproductive technology, to a spouse or surrogate of
a severely wounded veteran who has an infertility condition
incurred or aggravated in line of duty in the active
military, naval, or air service and who is enrolled in the
health care system established under section 1705(a) of this
title if the spouse and the veteran apply jointly for such
counseling and treatment through a process prescribed by the
Secretary.
``(b) Coordination of Care for Other Spouses and
Surrogates.--In the case of a spouse or surrogate of a
veteran not described in subsection (a) who is seeking
fertility counseling and treatment, the Secretary may
coordinate fertility counseling and treatment for such spouse
or surrogate.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 17 of such title is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 1786 the following new
section:
``1787. Reproductive treatment and care for spouses and surrogates of
veterans.''.
(c) Regulations.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall prescribe regulations to carry out section 1787 of
title 38, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1).
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT TO IMPROVE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
WOMEN VETERANS CALL CENTER.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enhance the
capabilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs women
veterans call center--
(1) to respond to requests by women veterans for assistance
with accessing health care and benefits furnished under laws
administered by the Secretary; and
(2) for referral of such veterans to community resources to
obtain assistance with services not furnished by the
Department.
SEC. 6. MODIFICATION OF PILOT PROGRAM ON COUNSELING IN
RETREAT SETTINGS FOR WOMEN VETERANS NEWLY
SEPARATED FROM SERVICE IN THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) Increase in Number of Locations.--Subsection (c) of
section 203 of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health
Services Act of 2010 (Public Law 111 163; 38 U.S.C. 1712A
note) is amended by striking ``three locations'' and
inserting ``14 locations''.
(b) Extension of Duration.--Subsection (d) of such section
is amended by striking ``2-year'' and inserting ``four-
year''.
SEC. 7. PILOT PROGRAMS ON ASSISTANCE FOR CHILD CARE FOR
CERTAIN VETERANS.
(a) Modification of Duration of Pilot Program on Assistance
for Child Care for Certain Veterans Receiving Health Care.--
Subsection (e) of section 205 of the Caregivers and Veterans
Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 (Public Law 111 163; 38
U.S.C. 1710 note) is amended to read as follows:
``(e) Duration.--A child care center that is established as
part of the pilot program may operate until the date that is
two years after the date on which the pilot program is
established in the third Veterans Integrated Service Network
required by subsection (d).''.
(b) Requirement for Pilot Program on Assistance for Child
Care for Certain Veterans Receiving Readjustment Counseling
and Related Mental Health Services.--
(1) Pilot program required.--The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall carry out a pilot program to assess the
feasibility and advisability of providing, subject to
paragraph (2), assistance to qualified veterans described in
paragraph (3) to obtain child care so that such veterans can
receive readjustment counseling and related mental health
services.
(2) Limitation on period of payments.--Assistance may only
be provided to a qualified veteran under the pilot program
required by paragraph (1) for receipt of child care during
the period that the qualified veteran receives readjustment
counseling and related health care services at a Vet Center.
(3) Qualified veterans.--For purposes of this subsection, a
qualified veteran is a veteran who is--
(A) the primary caretaker of a child or children; and
(B)(i) receiving from the Department regular readjustment
counseling and related mental health services; or
(ii) in need of readjustment counseling and related mental
health services from the Department, and but for lack of
child care services, would receive such counseling and
services from the Department.
(4) Locations.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot
program under this subsection in no fewer than three
Readjustment Counseling Service Regions selected by the
Secretary for purposes of the pilot program.
(5) Duration.--The pilot program under this subsection
shall be carried out until the end of the two-year period
beginning on the day on which the Secretary begins carrying
out the pilot program at the last Readjustment Counseling
Service Region selected under paragraph (4) at which the
Secretary begins carrying out the pilot program.
(6) Forms of child care assistance.--
(A) In general.--Child care assistance under this
subsection may include the following:
(i) Stipends for the payment of child care offered by
licensed child care centers (either directly or through a
voucher program) which shall be, to the extent practicable,
modeled after the Department of Veterans Affairs Child Care
Subsidy Program established pursuant to section 630 of the
Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2002
(Public Law 107 67; 115 Stat. 552).
(ii) Payments to private child care agencies.
(iii) Collaboration with facilities or programs of other
Federal departments or agencies.
(iv) Such other forms of assistance as the Secretary
considers appropriate.
(B) Amounts of stipends.--In the case that child care
assistance under this subsection is provided as a stipend
under subparagraph (A)(i), such stipend shall cover the full
cost of such child care.
(7) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the completion
of the pilot program required by paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot program. The
report shall include the findings and conclusions of the
Secretary as a result of the pilot program, and shall include
such recommendations for the continuation or expansion of the
pilot program as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(8) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to
carry out the pilot program required by paragraph (1)
[[Page S4304]]
$1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 and 2015.
(9) Vet center defined.--In this section, the term ``Vet
Center'' means a center for readjustment counseling and
related mental health services for veterans under section
1712A of title 38, United States Code.
______
By Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself, Mr. Levin, Mr. Cornyn, Mr.
Cardin, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mrs. Boxer, Ms.
Stabenow, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Begich, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Warner, Mr.
Webb, Mr. Nelson of Florida, and Mr. Akaka):
S.J. Res. 45. A joint resolution amending title 36, United States
Code, to designate June 19 as ``Juneteenth Independence Day''; to the
Committee on the Judiciary.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers led
by Major General Gordon Granger reached Galveston, Texas to announce
that the Civil War had ended and that slaves had been emancipated.
It was a bittersweet day; the news traveled slowly, reaching
Galveston nearly 2\1/2\ years after President Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation. But it was a joyous occasion, a triumph of freedom that
has been remembered since. In commemoration of that historic day, I am
delighted to introduce a Joint Resolution designating June 19 as
``Juneteenth Independence Day,'' a National Day of Observance.
It is a day to reflect on history and to celebrate freedom. To
remember, in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois, that ``The cost of liberty
is less than the price of repression.''
This resolution offers recognition of the role that Juneteenth
Independence Day has played in African-American culture in Texas and
throughout the Southwest. Enshrining Juneteenth in our national
consciousness will confer the recognition it merits and serve as
inspiration for all Americans. I am proud to be part of this bipartisan
joint resolution to commemorate this day that reminds us that in
America, we are all blessed to live in freedom.
United States law provides for the declaration of selected public
observances by the President of the United States as designated by
Congress or at the discretion of the President. I believe that marking
Juneteenth Independence Day as a National Day of Observance will honor
freedom and liberty, something that Americans of all races, creeds, and
ethnic backgrounds can celebrate.
This legislation is an important reminder of that extraordinary day
in 1865, a day that carried liberty across America. My fellow Texan
Barbara Jordan once said, ``A nation is formed by the willingness of
each of us to share in the responsibility for upholding the common
good.'' There is no plainer common good than commemorating American
freedom. I encourage all of my colleagues to join in cosponsoring this
resolution.
____________________