[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 26, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4581-S4583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 901. Mr. SHELBY proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 3401,
making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2019, and for other purposes; as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes, namely:
TITLE I
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
General Administration
executive office for immigration review
For an additional amount for ``Executive Office for
Immigration Review'', $65,000,000, of which $45,000,000 shall
be for the hiring of 30 additional Immigration Judge Teams,
of which $10,000,000 shall be used for the purchase or lease
of immigration judge courtroom space and equipment, and of
which $10,000,000 shall be used only for services and
activities provided by the Legal Orientation Program:
Provided, That Immigration Judge Teams shall include
appropriate attorneys, law clerks, paralegals, court
administrators, and other support staff: Provided further,
That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for
an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
United States Marshals Service
federal prisoner detention
For an additional amount for ``Federal Prisoner
Detention'', for necessary expenses related to United States
prisoners in the custody of the United States Marshals
Service, to be used only as authorized by section 4013 of
title 18, United States Code, $155,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
TITLE II
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Operation and Maintenance
operation and maintenance, army
For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Army'', $92,800,000, for necessary expenses to respond to the
significant rise in unaccompanied minors and family unit
aliens at the southwest border and related activities:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.
operation and maintenance, marine corps
For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Marine Corps'', $13,025,000, for necessary expenses to
respond to the significant rise in unaccompanied minors and
family unit aliens at the southwest border and related
activities: Provided, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.
operation and maintenance, air force
For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Air Force'', $18,000,000, for necessary expenses to respond
to the significant rise in unaccompanied minors and family
unit aliens at the southwest border and related activities:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.
operation and maintenance, army national guard
For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Army National Guard'', $21,024,000, for necessary expenses to
respond to the significant rise in unaccompanied minors and
family unit aliens at the southwest border and related
activities: Provided, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.
TITLE III
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
operations and support
For an additional amount for ``Operations and Support'' for
necessary expenses to respond to the significant rise in
aliens at the southwest border and related activities,
$1,015,431,000; of which $819,950,000 shall be available
until September 30, 2020: Provided, That of the amounts
provided under this heading, $708,000,000 is for establishing
and operating migrant care and processing facilities,
$111,950,000 is for consumables and medical care, $35,000,000
is for transportation, $110,481,000 is for temporary duty and
overtime costs including reimbursements, and $50,000,000 is
for mission support data systems and analysis: Provided
further, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.
procurement, construction, and improvements
For an additional amount for ``Procurement, Construction,
and Improvements'' for migrant care and processing
facilities, $85,000,000, to remain available until September
30, 2023: Provided, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
operations and support
For an additional amount for ``Operations and Support'' for
necessary expenses to respond to the significant rise in
aliens at the southwest border and related activities,
$208,945,000: Provided, That of the amounts provided under
this heading, $35,943,000 is for transportation of
unaccompanied alien children, $11,981,000 is for detainee
transportation for medical needs, court proceedings, or
relocation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody,
$20,000,000 is for alternatives to detention, $45,000,000 is
for detainee medical care, $69,735,000 is for temporary duty,
overtime, and other on-board personnel costs including
reimbursements, $5,000,000 is for the Office of Professional
Responsibility for background investigations and facility
inspections, and $21,286,000 is for Homeland Security
Investigations human trafficking investigations: Provided
further, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
federal assistance
For an additional amount for ``Federal Assistance'',
$30,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2020,
for the emergency food and shelter program under title III of
the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11331
et seq.) for the purposes of providing assistance to aliens
released from the custody of the Department of Homeland
Security: Provided, That notwithstanding sections 315 and
316(b) of such Act, funds made available under this section
shall be disbursed by the Emergency Food and Shelter Program
National Board not later than 30 days after the date on which
such funds become available: Provided further, That the
Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board shall
distribute such funds only to jurisdictions or local
recipient organizations serving communities that have
experienced a significant influx of such aliens: Provided
further, That such funds may be used to reimburse such
jurisdictions or local recipient organizations for costs
incurred in providing services to such aliens on or after
January 1, 2019: Provided further, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
[[Page S4582]]
GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS TITLE
Sec. 301. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
funds made available under each heading in this title shall
only be used for the purposes specifically described under
that heading.
Sec. 302. Division A of the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2019 (Public Law 116-6) is amended by adding after
section 540 the following:
``Sec. 541. (a) Section 831 of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 391) shall be applied--
``(1) In subsection (a), by substituting `September 30,
2019,' for `September 30, 2017,'; and
``(2) In subsection (c)(1), by substituting `September 30,
2019,' for `September 30, 2017'.
``(b) The Secretary of Homeland Security, under the
authority of section 831 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002
(6 U.S.C. 391(a)), may carry out prototype projects under
section 2371b of title 10, United States Code, and the
Secretary shall perform the functions of the Secretary of
Defense as prescribed.
``(c) The Secretary of Homeland Security under section 831
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391(d)) may
use the definition of nontraditional government contractor as
defined in section 2371b(e) of title 10, United States
Code.''.
Sec. 303. None of the funds provided in this Act under
``U.S. Customs and Border Protection--Operations and
Support'' for facilities shall be available until U.S.
Customs and Border Protection establishes policies (via
directive, procedures, guidance, and/or memorandum) and
training programs to ensure that such facilities adhere to
the National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and
Search, published in October of 2015: Provided, That not
later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall provide a detailed
report to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and
the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary
of the Senate, and the House Judiciary Committee regarding
the establishment and implementation of such policies and
training programs.
Sec. 304. No later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall provide a report on the number of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection Officers assigned to northern border land
ports of entry and temporarily assigned to the ongoing
humanitarian crisis: Provided, That the report shall outline
what resources and conditions would allow a return to
northern border staffing levels that are no less than the
number committed in the June 12, 2018 Department of Homeland
Security Northern Border Strategy: Provided further, That
the report shall include the number of officers temporarily
assigned to the southwest border in response to the ongoing
humanitarian crisis, the number of days the officers will be
away from their northern border assignment, the northern
border ports from which officers are being assigned to the
southwest border, and efforts being made to limit the impact
on operations at each northern border land port of entry
where officers have been temporarily assigned to the
southwest border.
Sec. 305. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act or division A of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 116-6) for the
Department of Homeland Security may be used to relocate to
the National Targeting Center the vetting of Trusted Traveler
Program applications and operations currently carried out at
existing locations unless specifically authorized by a
statute enacted after the date of enactment of this Act.
Sec. 306. The personnel, supplies, or equipment of any
component of the Department of Homeland Security may be
deployed to support activities of the Department of Homeland
Security related to the significant rise in aliens at the
southwest border and related activities, and for the
enforcement of immigration and customs laws, detention and
removals of aliens crossing the border unlawfully, and
investigations without reimbursement as jointly agreed by the
detailing components.
TITLE IV
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
refugee and entrant assistance
For an additional amount for ``Refugee and Entrant
Assistance'', $2,881,552,000, to be merged with and available
for the same period as funds appropriated in Public Law 115-
245 ``for carrying out such sections 414, 501, 462, and
235'', which shall be available for any purpose funded under
such heading in such law: Provided, That if any part of the
reprogramming described in the notification submitted by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services (the ``Secretary'') to
the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate on May 16, 2019 has been
executed, such amounts provided by this Act as are necessary
shall be used to reverse such reprogramming: Provided
further, That amounts allocated by the Secretary for costs of
leases of property that include facilities to be used as
hard-sided dormitories for which the Secretary intends to
seek State licensure for the care of unaccompanied alien
children, and that are executed under authorities transferred
to the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)
under section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, shall
remain available until expended: Provided further, That ORR
shall notify the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate within 72 hours of conducting
a formal assessment of a facility for possible lease or
acquisition and within 7 days of any acquisition or lease of
real property: Provided further, That not less than
$866,000,000 of amounts provided under this heading shall be
used for the provision of care in licensed shelters and for
expanding the supply of shelters for which State licensure
will be sought, of which not less than $27,000,000 shall be
available for the purposes of adding shelter beds in State-
licensed facilities in response to funding opportunity HHS-
2017-ACF-ORR-ZU-1132, and of which not less than $185,000,000
shall be available for expansion grants to add beds in State-
licensed facilities and open new State-licensed facilities,
and for contract costs to acquire, activate, and operate
facilities that will include small- and medium-scale hard-
sided facilities for which the Secretary intends to seek
State licensure in an effort to phase out the need for
shelter beds in unlicensed facilities: Provided further,
That not less than $100,000,000 of amounts provided under
this heading shall be used for post-release services, child
advocates, and legal services: Provided further, That not
less than $8,000,000 of amounts provided under this heading
shall be used for the purposes of hiring additional Federal
Field Specialists and for increasing case management and case
coordination services, with the goal of more expeditiously
placing unaccompanied alien children with sponsors and
reducing the length of stay in ORR custody: Provided
further, That not less than $1,000,000 of amounts provided
under this heading shall be used for the purposes of hiring
project officers and program monitor staff dedicated to
pursuing strategic improvements to the Unaccompanied Alien
Children program and for the development of a discharge rate
improvement plan which shall be submitted to the Committees
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Senate within 120 days of enactment of this Act: Provided
further, That of the amounts provided under this heading,
$5,000,000 shall be transferred to ``Office of the
Secretary--Office of Inspector General'' and shall remain
available until expended for oversight of activities
supported with funds appropriated under this heading:
Provided further, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.
GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS TITLE
Sec. 401. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (the
``Secretary'') shall prioritize use of community-based
residential care (including long-term and transitional foster
care and small group homes) and shelter care other than
large-scale institutional shelter facilities to house
unaccompanied alien children in its custody. The Secretary
shall prioritize State-licensed and hard-sided dormitories.
Sec. 402. The Office of Refugee Resettlement shall ensure
that its grantees and, to the greatest extent practicable,
potential sponsors of unaccompanied alien children are aware
of current law regarding the use of information collected as
part of the sponsor suitability determination process.
Sec. 403. (a) None of the funds provided by this or any
prior appropriations Act may be used to reverse changes in
procedures made by operational directives issued to providers
by the Office of Refugee Resettlement on December 18, 2018,
March 23, 2019, and June 10, 2019 regarding the Memorandum of
Agreement on Information Sharing executed April 13, 2018.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary may make
changes to such operational directives upon making a
determination that such changes are necessary to prevent
unaccompanied alien children from being placed in danger, and
the Secretary shall provide a written justification to
Congress and the Inspector General of the Department of
Health and Human Services in advance of implementing such
changes.
(c) Within 15 days of the Secretary's communication of the
justification, the Inspector General of the Department of
Health and Human Services shall provide an assessment, in
writing, to the Secretary and to Committees on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives and the Senate of whether
such changes to operational directives are necessary to
prevent unaccompanied children from being placed in danger.
Sec. 404. None of the funds made available in this Act
under the heading ``Department of Health and Human Services--
Administration for Children and Families--Refugee and Entrant
Assistance'' may be obligated to a grantee or contractor to
house unaccompanied alien children (as such term is defined
in section 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. 279(g)(2))) in any facility that is not State-licensed
for the care of unaccompanied alien children, except in the
case that the Secretary determines that housing unaccompanied
alien children in such a facility is necessary on a temporary
basis due to an influx of such children or an emergency,
provided that--
(1) the terms of the grant or contract for the operations
of any such facility that remains in operation for more than
six consecutive months shall require compliance with--
[[Page S4583]]
(A) the same requirements as licensed placements, as listed
in Exhibit 1 of the Flores Settlement Agreement that the
Secretary determines are applicable to non-State licensed
facilities; and
(B) staffing ratios of one (1) on-duty Youth Care Worker
for every eight (8) children or youth during waking hours,
one (1) on-duty Youth Care Worker for every sixteen (16)
children or youth during sleeping hours, and clinician ratios
to children (including mental health providers) as required
in grantee cooperative agreements;
(2) the Secretary may grant a 60-day waiver for a
contractor's or grantee's non-compliance with paragraph (1)
if the Secretary certifies and provides a report to Congress
on the contractor's or grantee's good-faith efforts and
progress towards compliance;
(3) not more than four consecutive waivers under paragraph
(2) may be granted to a contractor or grantee with respect to
a specific facility;
(4) ORR shall ensure full adherence to the monitoring
requirements set forth in section 5.5 of its Policies and
Procedures Guide as of May 15, 2019;
(5) for any such unlicensed facility in operation for more
than three consecutive months, ORR shall conduct a minimum of
one comprehensive monitoring visit during the first three
months of operation, with quarterly monitoring visits
thereafter; and
(6) not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, ORR shall brief the Committees on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives and the Senate outlining the
requirements of ORR for influx facilities including any
requirement listed in paragraph (1)(A) that the Secretary has
determined are not applicable to non-State licensed
facilities.
Sec. 405. In addition to the existing Congressional
notification for formal site assessments of potential influx
facilities, the Secretary shall notify the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
at least 15 days before operationalizing an unlicensed
facility, and shall (1) specify whether the facility is hard-
sided or soft-sided, and (2) provide analysis that indicates
that, in the absence of the influx facility, the likely
outcome is that unaccompanied alien children will remain in
the custody of the Department of Homeland Security for longer
than 72 hours or that unaccompanied alien children will be
otherwise placed in danger. Within 60 days of bringing such a
facility online, and monthly thereafter, the Secretary shall
provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate a report detailing the total
number of children in care at the facility, the average
length of stay and average length of care of children at the
facility, and, for any child that has been at the facility
for more than 60 days, their length of stay and reason for
delay in release.
Sec. 406. (a) The Secretary shall ensure that, when
feasible, no unaccompanied alien child is at an unlicensed
facility if the child--
(1) is not expected to be placed with a sponsor within 30
days;
(2) is under the age of 13;
(3) does not speak English or Spanish as his or her
preferred language;
(4) has known special needs, behavioral health issues, or
medical issues that would be better served at an alternative
facility;
(5) is a pregnant or parenting teen; or
(6) would have a diminution of legal services as a result
of the transfer to such an unlicensed facility.
(b) ORR shall notify a child's attorney of record in
advance of any transfer, where applicable.
Sec. 407. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used to prevent a United States Senator or Member of the
House of Representatives from entering, for the purpose of
conducting oversight, any facility in the United States used
for the purpose of maintaining custody of, or otherwise
housing, unaccompanied alien children (as defined in section
462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
279(g)(2))), provided that such Senator or Member has
coordinated the oversight visit with the Office of Refugee
Resettlement not less than two business days in advance to
ensure that such visit would not interfere with the
operations (including child welfare and child safety
operations) of such facility.
Sec. 408. Not later than 14 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and monthly thereafter, the Secretary
shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives and the Senate, and make publicly
available online, a report with respect to children who were
separated from their parents or legal guardians by the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (regardless of whether
or not such separation was pursuant to an option selected by
the children, parents, or guardians), subsequently classified
as unaccompanied alien children, and transferred to the care
and custody of ORR during the previous month. Each report
shall contain the following information:
(1) the number and ages of children so separated subsequent
to apprehension at or between ports of entry, to be reported
by sector where separation occurred; and
(2) the documented cause of separation, as reported by DHS
when each child was referred.
Sec. 409. Funds made available in this Act under the
heading ``Department of Health and Human Services--
Administration for Children and Families--Refugee and Entrant
Assistance'' shall be subject to the authorities and
conditions of section 224 of division A of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 116-6).
Sec. 410. Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate a detailed spend plan of anticipated uses of
funds made available in this account, including the
following: a list of existing grants and contracts for both
permanent and influx facilities, including their costs,
capacity, and timelines; costs for expanding capacity through
the use of community-based residential care placements
(including long-term and transitional foster care and small
group homes) through new or modified grants and contracts;
current and planned efforts to expand small-scale shelters
and available foster care placements, including collaboration
with state child welfare providers; influx facilities being
assessed for possible use, costs and services to be provided
for legal services, child advocates, and post release
services; program administration; and the average number of
weekly referrals and discharge rate assumed in the spend
plan: Provided, That such plan shall be updated to reflect
changes and expenditures and submitted to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
every 60 days until all funds are expended or expired.
TITLE V
GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS ACT
Sec. 501. Each amount appropriated or made available by
this Act is in addition to amounts otherwise appropriated for
the fiscal year involved.
Sec. 502. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the current
fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein.
Sec. 503. Unless otherwise provided for by this Act, the
additional amounts appropriated by this Act to appropriations
accounts shall be available under the authorities and
conditions applicable to such appropriations accounts for
fiscal year 2019.
Sec. 504. Each amount designated in this Act by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 shall be available (or rescinded
or transferred, if applicable) only if the President
subsequently so designates all such amounts and transmits
such designations to the Congress.
Sec. 505. Any amount appropriated by this Act, designated
by the Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 and subsequently so designated by
the President, and transferred pursuant to transfer
authorities provided by this Act shall retain such
designation.
Sec. 506. Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit a report to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
on the number of asylum officers and immigration judges,
including temporary immigration judges, and the corresponding
number of support staff necessary--
(1) to fairly and effectively make credible fear
determinations with respect to individuals within family
units and unaccompanied alien children;
(2) to ensure that the credible fear determination and
asylum interview is completed not later than 20 days after
the date on which a family unit is apprehended; and
(3) to fairly and effectively review appeals of credible
fear determinations with respect to individuals within family
units and unaccompanied alien children.
In addition, the report shall determine if there is any
physical infrastructure such as hearing or courtroom space
needed to achieve these goals.
This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at
the Southern Border Act, 2019''.
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