[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 91 (Tuesday, June 9, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3935-S3936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1872. Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. Peters, and Mr. King)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 1463
proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. 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
[[Page S3936]]
(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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