[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 183 (Wednesday, December 16, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8726-S8728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 2929. Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Ms. Ayotte, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. 
Johnson, Mr. Casey, Mr. Cochran, and Mr. Boozman) proposed an amendment 
to the bill H.R. 3594, to extend temporarily the Federal Perkins Loan 
program, and for other purposes; as follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Perkins Loan Program 
     Extension Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF FEDERAL PERKINS LOAN PROGRAM.

       (a) Authority to Make Loans.--
       (1) In general.--Section 461 of the Higher Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087aa) is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``of stimulating and 
     assisting in the establishment and maintenance of funds at 
     institutions of higher education for the making of low-
     interest loans to students in need thereof'' and inserting 
     ``assisting in the maintenance of funds at institutions of 
     higher education for the making of loans to undergraduate 
     students in need'';
       (B) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
       ``(b) Authority to Make Loans.--
       ``(1) In general.--
       ``(A) Loans for new undergraduate federal perkins loan 
     borrowers.--Through September 30, 2017, an institution of 
     higher education may make a loan under this part to an 
     eligible undergraduate student who, on the date of 
     disbursement of a loan made under this part, has no 
     outstanding balance of principal or interest on a loan made 
     under this part from the student loan fund established under 
     this part by the institution, but only if the institution has 
     awarded all Federal Direct Loans, as referenced under 
     subparagraphs (A) and (D) of section 455(a)(2), for which 
     such undergraduate student is eligible.
       ``(B) Loans for current undergraduate federal perkins loan 
     borrowers.--Through September 30, 2017, an institution of 
     higher education may make a loan under this part to an 
     eligible undergraduate student who, on the date of 
     disbursement of a loan made under this part, has an 
     outstanding balance of principal or interest on a loan made 
     under this part from the student loan fund established under 
     this part by the institution, but only if the institution has 
     awarded all Federal Direct Stafford Loans as referenced under 
     section 455(a)(2)(A) for which such undergraduate student is 
     eligible.
       ``(C) Loans for certain graduate borrowers.--Through 
     September 30, 2016, with respect to an eligible graduate 
     student who has received a loan made under this part prior to 
     October 1, 2015, an institution of higher education that has 
     most recently made such a loan to the student for an academic 
     program at such institution may continue making loans under 
     this part from the student loan fund established under this 
     part by the institution to enable the student to continue or 
     complete such academic program.
       ``(2) No additional loans.--An institution of higher 
     education shall not make loans under this part after 
     September 30, 2017.
       ``(3) Prohibition on additional appropriations.--No funds 
     are authorized to be appropriated under this Act or any other 
     Act to carry out the functions described in paragraph (1) for 
     any fiscal year following fiscal year 2015.''; and
       (C) by striking subsection (c).
       (2) Rule of construction.--Notwithstanding the amendments 
     made under paragraph (1) of this subsection, an eligible 
     graduate borrower who received a disbursement of a loan under 
     part E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.) after June 30, 2016 and before October 
     1, 2016, for the 2016-2017 award year, may receive a 
     subsequent disbursement of such loan by June 30, 2017, for 
     which the borrower received an initial disbursement after 
     June 30, 2016 and before October 1, 2016.
       (b) Distribution of Assets From Student Loan Funds.--
     Section 466 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1087ff) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``After September 30, 2003, and not later than March 31, 
     2004'' and inserting ``Beginning October 1, 2017''; and
       (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``September 30, 2003'' 
     and inserting ``September 30, 2017'';
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by striking ``After October 1, 2012'' and inserting 
     ``Beginning October 1, 2017''; and
       (B) by striking ``September 30, 2003'' and inserting 
     ``September 30, 2017''; and
       (3) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``October 1, 2004'' 
     and inserting ``October 1, 2017''.
       (c) Additional Extensions Not Permitted.--Section 422 of 
     the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1226a) shall 
     not apply to further extend the duration of the authority 
     under paragraph (1) of section 461(b) of the Higher Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087aa(b)), as amended by subsection 
     (a)(1) of this section, beyond September 30, 2017, on the 
     basis of the extension under such subsection.

[[Page S8727]]

  


     SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE REQUIRED PRIOR TO DISBURSEMENT.

       Section 463A(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1087cc-1(a)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ``and'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting a semicolon; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(14) a notice and explanation regarding the end to future 
     availability of loans made under this part;
       ``(15) a notice and explanation that repayment and 
     forgiveness benefits available to borrowers of loans made 
     under part D are not available to borrowers participating in 
     the loan program under this part;
       ``(16) a notice and explanation regarding a borrower's 
     option to consolidate a loan made under this part into a 
     Federal Direct Loan under part D, including any benefit of 
     such consolidation;
       ``(17) with respect to new undergraduate Federal Perkins 
     loan borrowers, as described in section 461(b)(1)(A), a 
     notice and explanation providing a comparison of the interest 
     rates of loans under this part and part D and informing the 
     borrower that the borrower has reached the maximum annual 
     borrowing limit for which the borrower is eligible as 
     referenced under subparagraphs (A) and (D) of section 
     455(a)(2); and
       ``(18) with respect to current undergraduate Federal 
     Perkins loan borrowers, as described in section 461(b)(1)(B), 
     a notice and explanation providing a comparison of the 
     interest rates of loans under this part and part D and 
     informing the borrower that the borrower has reached the 
     maximum annual borrowing limit for which the borrower is 
     eligible on Federal Direct Stafford Loans as referenced under 
     section 455(a)(2)(A).''.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 2930. Mr. McCONNELL (for Mr. Carper (for himself, Mr. Grassley, 
Mrs. McCaskill, and Mr. Johnson)) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 
1616, to provide for the identification and prevention of improper 
payments and the identification of strategic sourcing opportunities by 
reviewing and analyzing the use of Federal agency charge cards; as 
follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Saving Federal Dollars 
     Through Better Use of Government Purchase and Travel Cards 
     Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Improper payment.--The term ``improper payment'' has 
     the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Improper 
     Payments Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note).
       (2) Questionable transaction.--The term ``questionable 
     transaction'' means a charge card transaction that from 
     initial card data appears to be high risk and may therefore 
     be improper due to non-compliance with applicable law, 
     regulation or policy.
       (3) Strategic sourcing.--The term ``strategic sourcing'' 
     means analyzing and modifying a Federal agency's spending 
     patterns to better leverage its purchasing power, reduce 
     costs, and improve overall performance.

     SEC. 3. EXPANDED USE OF DATA ANALYTICS.

       (a) Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator 
     for General Services, shall develop a strategy to expand the 
     use of data analytics in managing government purchase and 
     travel charge card programs. These analytics may employ 
     existing General Services Administration capabilities, and 
     may be in conjunction with agencies' capabilities, for the 
     purpose of --
       (1) identifying examples or patterns of questionable 
     transactions and developing enhanced tools and methods for 
     agency use in--
       (A) identifying questionable purchase and travel card 
     transactions; and
       (B) recovering improper payments made with purchase and 
     travel cards;
       (2) identifying potential opportunities for agencies to 
     further leverage administrative process streamlining and cost 
     reduction from purchase and travel card use, including 
     additional agency opportunities for card-based strategic 
     sourcing;
       (3) developing a set of purchase and travel card metrics 
     and benchmarks for high risk activities, which shall assist 
     agencies in identifying potential emphasis areas for their 
     purchase and travel card management and oversight activities, 
     including those required by the Government Charge Card Abuse 
     Prevention Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-194); and
       (4) developing a plan, which may be based on existing 
     capabilities, to create a library of analytics tools and data 
     sources for use by Federal agencies (including inspectors 
     general of those agencies).

     SEC. 4. GUIDANCE ON IMPROVING INFORMATION SHARING TO CURB 
                   IMPROPER PAYMENTS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator 
     of General Services and the interagency charge card data 
     management group established under section 5, shall issue 
     guidance on improving information sharing by government 
     agencies (including inspectors general) for the purposes of 
     section 3(a)(1).
       (b) Elements.--The guidance issued under subsection (a) 
     shall--
       (1) require relevant officials at Federal agencies to 
     identify high-risk activities and communicate that 
     information to the appropriate management levels within the 
     agencies;
       (2) require that appropriate officials at Federal agencies 
     review the reports issued by charge card-issuing banks on 
     questionable transaction activity (such as purchase and 
     travel card pre-suspension and suspension reports, 
     delinquency reports, and exception reports), including 
     transactions that occur with high risk activities, and 
     suspicious timing or amounts of cash withdrawals or advances;
       (3) provide for the appropriate sharing of information 
     related to potential questionable transactions, fraud 
     schemes, and high risk activities with General Services 
     Administration Office of Charge Card Management and the 
     appropriate officials in Federal agencies; and
       (4) include other requirements determined appropriate by 
     the Director for the purposes of carrying out this Act.

     SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY CHARGE CARD DATA MANAGEMENT GROUP.

       (a) Establishment.--The Administrator of General Services 
     and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
     establish a purchase and travel charge card data management 
     group to develop and share best practices for the purposes 
     described in section 3(a).
       (b) Elements.--The best practices developed under 
     subsection (a) shall--
       (1) cover rules, edits, and task order or contract 
     modifications related to charge card-issuing banks;
       (2) include the review of accounts payable information and 
     purchase and travel card transaction data of agencies for the 
     purpose of identifying potential strategic sourcing and other 
     additional opportunities (such as recurring payments, utility 
     payments, and grant payments) for which the charge cards or 
     related payment products could be used as a payment method; 
     and
       (3) include other best practices as determined by the 
     Administrator and Director.
       (c) Membership.--The purchase and travel charge card data 
     management group shall meet regularly as determined by the 
     co-chairs, for a duration of three years, and include those 
     agencies as described in section 2 of the Government Charge 
     Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-194) and 
     others identified by the Administrator and Director.

     SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) General Services Administration Report.--Not later than 
     one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
     Administrator for General Services shall submit a report to 
     Congress on the implementation of this Act, including the 
     metrics used in determining whether the analytic and 
     benchmarking efforts have reduced, or contributed to the 
     reduction of, questionable or improper payments as well as 
     improved utilization of card-based payment products.
       (b) Agency Reports and Consolidated Report to Congress.--
     Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the head of each Federal agency described in 
     section 2 of the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act 
     of 2012 (Public Law 112-194) shall submit a report to the 
     Director of the Office of Management and Budget on that 
     agency's activities to implement this Act.
       (c) Office of Management and Budget Report to Congress.--
     The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
     submit to Congress a consolidated report of agency activities 
     to implement this Act, which may be included as part of 
     another report submitted to Congress by the Director.
       (d) Report on Additional Savings Opportunities.--Not later 
     than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
     the Administrator of General Services shall submit a report 
     to Congress identifying and exploring further potential 
     savings opportunities for government agencies under the 
     Federal charge card programs. This report may be combined 
     with the report required under subsection (a).
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 2931. Mr. McCONNELL (for Mr. Lankford) proposed an amendment to 
the resolution S. Res. 310, condemning the ongoing sexual violence 
against women and children from Yezidi, Christian, Shabak, Turkmen, and 
other religious communities by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria 
militants and urging the prosecution of the perpetrators and those 
complicit in these crimes; as follows:

       On page 3, line 4, insert ``by Islamic State of Iraq and 
     Syria militants'' before the semicolon at the end.
       On page 3, line 10, strike ``and''.
       On page 4, line 2, strike the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''.
       On page 4, after line 2, add the following:
       (4) defines ``complicit'', for purposes of this resolution, 
     as having knowingly and willingly taken actions which have 
     directly supported, promoted, enabled, aided, abetted, or 
     encouraged crimes involving sexual violence against women and 
     children from Yezidi, Christian, Shabak, Turkmen, or other 
     religious communities by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria 
     militants, including actively working to deny, cover up, or 
     alter evidence of such crimes.

[[Page S8728]]

  

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