[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 24, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3207-S3210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Moran, Mr. Jones, and
Mrs. Hyde-Smith):
S. 4053. A bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to modernize
the EPSCoR program of the Department of Energy, and for other purposes;
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I introduce, along with Senator
Inhofe, Senator Jones, Senator Moran, and Senator Hyde-Smith, the DOE
EPSCoR Modernization Act of 2020.
As many of our colleagues are aware, the Department of Energy
Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DOE EPSCoR) was
established by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-486). This
critical initiative seeks to improve the capacity of eligible states to
conduct nationally competitive energy research and connect eligible
states with the National Laboratory System.
The purpose of the bill we are introducing is to broaden the scope of
the
[[Page S3208]]
research funded by the DOE EPSCoR program beyond basic science, to
encompass the full range of research supported by DOE. This includes
cutting-edge research in applied energy technologies, energy
efficiency, energy storage, and environmental management, to name a few
key areas. Yet, because of the program's narrow focus on basic science,
EPSCoR States are only able to support a small fraction of DOE's
research mission.
Our bill would continue to support investments in research
infrastructure and expand opportunities for EPSCoR institutions to
partner with National Laboratories to conduct their research. Our bill
would also increase support for graduate students and early career
faculty.
When the National Academy of Sciences evaluated EPSCoR programs, it
concluded that EPSCoR programs are critical to the nation's scientific
and technology leadership, because EPSCoR helps ensure that talented
researchers and scientists from all 50 states are partners in science
and technology research. This is even truer in the context of energy
issues, where each state and region faces different energy
opportunities and infrastructure challenges.
By modernizing the program and bringing it into alignment with EPSCoR
programs operated by other agencies, DOE EPSCoR will be better
positioned to meet today's energy challenges and align with the
interests and strengths of EPSCoR states. I am pleased to have the
support of the Coalition of EPSCoR/IDeA States in this effort, and I
urge our colleagues to join us in pressing for passage of this bill.
______
By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Rubio):
S. 4055. A bill to address health workforce shortages and disparities
highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic through additional funding for the
National Health Service Corps and the Nurse Corps, and to establish a
National Health Service Corps Emergency Service demonstration project;
to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. DURBIN. 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. 4055
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 ``Strengthening America's
Health Care Readiness Act''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE
CORPS.
(a) Additional Funding.--Section 10503(b) of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 254b-2(b)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(F), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (2)(H), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) to be transferred to the Secretary of Health and
Human Services $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, to
provide additional funding to carry out the National Health
Service Corps Scholarship Program under section 338A of the
Public Health Service Act, the National Health Service Corps
Loan Program under section 338B of such Act, and the National
Health Service Corps Emergency Service under section 2812A of
such Act.''.
(b) Criteria for Use of Additional Funding for In-demand
Professionals.--Not less than 40 percent of the amounts made
available under paragraph (3) of section 10503(b) of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 254b-
2(b)) (as amended by subsection (a)) shall be allocated to
awards to eligible applicants to the National Health Service
Corps Scholarship Program under section 338A of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254l), the National Health
Service Corps Loan Repayment Program under section 338B of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 254l-1), or the National Health Service
Corps Emergency Service under section 2812A of such Act (as
added by subsection (c)) who are members of groups that are
historically underrepresented in health care professions,
including racial and ethnic minorities and individuals from
low-income urban and rural communities. To carry out the
requirements of this subsection, the Secretary may coordinate
with entities receiving funding under section 739 or 821 of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293c, 296m) to
identify, provide mentorship and support, and recruit such
eligible applicants.
(c) National Health Service Corps Emergency Service
Demonstration Project.--Part B of title XXVIII of the Public
Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 2812
(42 U.S.C. 300hh-11) the following:
``SEC. 2812A. NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS EMERGENCY SERVICE
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.
``(a) In General.--From the amounts made available under
section 10503(b)(3) of the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, to the
extent permitted by, and consistent with, the requirements of
applicable State law, the Secretary shall allocate up to
$50,000,000 to establishing, as a demonstration project, a
National Health Service Corps Emergency Service (referred to
in this section as the `emergency service') under which a
qualified individual currently or previously participating in
the National Health Service Corps agrees to engage in service
through the National Disaster Medical System established
under section 2812, as described in this section.
``(b) Participants.--
``(1) NHSC alumni.--
``(A) Qualified individuals.--An individual may be eligible
to participate in the emergency service under this section if
such individual participated in the Scholarship Program under
section 338A or the Loan Repayment Program under section
338B, and who satisfied the obligated service requirements
under such program, in accordance with the individual's
contract.
``(B) Priority and increased funding amounts.--
``(i) Priority.--In selecting eligible individuals to
participate in the program under this paragraph, the
Secretary shall give priority--
``(I) first, to qualified individuals who continue to
practice at the site where the individual fulfilled his or
her obligated service under the Scholarship Program or Loan
Repayment Program through the time of the application to the
program under this section; and
``(II) secondly, to qualified individuals who continue to
practice in any site approved for obligated service under the
Scholarship Program or Loan Repayment Program other than the
site at which the individual served.
``(ii) Increased funding amounts.--The Secretary may grant
increased award amounts to certain participants in the
program under this section based on the site where a
participant fulfilled his or her obligated service under the
Scholarship Program or Loan Repayment Program.
``(C) Private practice.--An individual participating in the
emergency service under this section may practice a health
profession in any private capacity when not obligated to
fulfill the requirements described in subsection (c).
``(2) Current nhsc members.--
``(A) In general.--An individual who is participating in
the Scholarship Program under section 338A or the Loan
Repayment Program under section 338B may apply to participate
in the program under this section while fulfilling the
individual's obligated services under such program.
``(B) Clarifications.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law or any contract with respect to service requirements
under the Scholarship Program or Loan Repayment Program, an
individual fulfilling service requirements described in
subsection (c) shall not be considered in breach of such
contract under such Scholarship Program or Loan Repayment
Program, provided that the individual notifies the site at
which the individual is fulfilling his or her obligated
service requirements under such contract.
``(C) No credit toward obligated service.--No period of
service under the National Disaster Medical System described
in subsection (c)(1) shall be counted toward satisfying a
period of obligated service under the Scholarship Program or
Loan Repayment Program.
``(c) Participants as Members of the National Disaster
Medical System.--
``(1) Service requirements.--An individual participating in
the program under this section shall participate in the
activities of the National Disaster Medical System under
section 2812 in the same manner and to the same extent as
other participants in such system.
``(2) Rights and requirements.--An individual participating
in the program under this section shall be considered
participants in the National Disaster Medical System and
shall be subject to the rights and requirements of
subsections (c) and (d) of section 2812.
``(d) Emergency Service Plan.--In carrying out this
section, the Secretary, in coordination with the
Administrator of the Health Resources and Services
Administration and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness
and Response, shall establish an action plan for the service
commitments, deployment protocols, coordination efforts,
training requirements, liability, workforce development, and
such other considerations as the Secretary determines
appropriate. Such action plan shall--
``(1) ensure adherence to the missions of both the National
Health Service Corps and National Disaster Medical Service;
``(2) ensure an adequate health care workforce during a
public health emergency declared by the Secretary under
section 319 of this Act, a major disaster declared by the
President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, an emergency
declared by the President under section 501 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, or a
national emergency declared by the President under the
National Emergencies Act; and
[[Page S3209]]
``(3) describe how the program established under this
section will be implemented in a manner consistent with, and
in furtherance of, the assessments and goals for workforce
and training described in the review conducted by the
Secretary under section 2812(b)(2).
``(e) Contracts for Certain Participating Individuals.--An
individual who is participating in the emergency service
program under this section shall receive loan repayments in
an amount equal to 50 percent of the highest new award made
for the year under the National Health Service Corps Loan
Repayment Program pursuant to a contract entered into at the
same time under section 338B(g), in a manner similar to the
manner in which payments are made under such section,
pursuant to the terms of a contract between the Secretary and
such individual. The Secretary shall establish a system of
contracting for purposes of this subsection which shall be
similar to the contract requirements and terms under
subsections (c), (d), and (f) of section 338B. Amounts
received by an individual under this subsection shall be in
addition to any amounts received by an individual described
in subsection (b)(2) pursuant to the Scholarship Program
under section 338A or the Loan Repayment Program under
section 338B, as applicable.
``(f) Breach of Contract.--If an individual breaches the
written contract of the individual under subsection (e) by
failing either to begin such individual's service obligation
in accordance with such contract or to complete such service
obligation, the United States shall be entitled to recover
from the individual an amount equal to the sum of--
``(1) the total of the amounts paid by the United States
under such contract on behalf of the individual for any
period of such service not served;
``(2) an amount equal to the product of the number of
months of service that were not completed by the individual,
multiplied by $3,750; and
``(3) the interest on the amounts described in paragraphs
(1) and (2), at the maximum legal prevailing rate, as
determined by the Treasurer of the United States, from the
date of the breach.
``(g) Report.--Not later than 4 years after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the
Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House
of Representatives a report that evaluates the demonstration
project established under this section, including--
``(1) the effects of such program on health care access in
underserved areas and health professional shortage areas and
on public health emergency response capacity;
``(2) the effects of such program on the health care
provider workforce pipeline, including any impact on the
demographic representation among, and the fields or
specialties pursued by, students in approved graduate
training programs in medicine, osteopathic medicine,
dentistry, behavioral and mental health, or other health
profession;
``(3) the impact of such program on the enrollment,
participation, and completion of requirements in the
underlying scholarship and loan repayment programs of the
National Health Service Corps;
``(4) the effects of such program on the National Disaster
Medical System's response capability, readiness, and
workforce strength; and
``(5) recommendations for improving the demonstration
project described in this section, and any other
considerations as the Secretary determines appropriate.''.
SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR THE NURSE CORPS SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN
REPAYMENT PROGRAM.
(a) Funding.--There are hereby appropriated, out of amounts
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $1,000,000,000
for fiscal year 2020, for purposes of carrying out section
846 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297n), to
remain available until expended, except that--
(1) of the amount appropriated under this heading and made
available for scholarships and loan repayment, not less than
40 percent shall be allocated for eligible applicants who are
members of groups that are historically underrepresented in
health care professions, including racial and ethnic
minorities and individuals from low-income urban and rural
communities; and
(2) to carry out the requirements of paragraph (1), the
Secretary may coordinate with entities receiving funding
under section 821 to identify, recruit, and select
individuals to receive such scholarships.
(b) Emergency Designation.--
(1) In general.--The amounts provided by this section are
designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section
4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C.
933(g)).
(2) Designation in senate.--In the Senate, this section is
designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section
4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent
resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.
______
By Mr. THUNE (for himself and Ms. Smith):
S. 4063. A bill to provide that, due to the disruptions caused by
COVID-19, applications for impact aid funding for fiscal year 2022 may
use certain data submitted in the fiscal year 2021 application; to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. THUNE. 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. 4063
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 ``Impact Aid Coronavirus
Relief Act''.
SEC. 2. USE OF PRIOR APPLICATION STUDENT COUNT DATA FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2022 IMPACT AID APPLICATIONS.
Due to the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 and
notwithstanding sections 7002(j) and 7003(c) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7702(j), 7703(c)), a local educational agency desiring to
receive a payment under section 7002 or 7003 of such Act (20
U.S.C. 7702, 7703) for fiscal year 2022 that also submitted
an application for such payment for fiscal year 2021 may, in
the application submitted under section 7005 of such Act (20
U.S.C. 7705) for fiscal year 2022--
(1) with respect to a requested payment under section 7002
of such Act, use the Federal property valuation data relating
to calculating such payment that was submitted by the local
educational agency in the application for fiscal year 2021;
(2) with respect to a requested payment under section 7003
of such Act, use the student count data relating to
calculating such payment that was submitted by the local
educational agency in the application for fiscal year 2021,
provided that for purposes of the calculation of payments for
fiscal year 2022 under section 7003(b)(1) of such Act, such
payments shall be based on utilizing fiscal year 2020 data
(from academic year 2018-2019) to include total current
expenditures, local contribution rates, and per pupil
expenditures; or
(3) with respect to a requested payment under section 7002
or 7003 of such Act, use the student count or Federal
property valuation data relating to calculating such payment
for the fiscal year required under section 7002(j) or 7003(c)
of such Act, as applicable.
______
By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. Duckworth, and Mr. Van Hollen):
S. 4067. A bill to prohibit certain assistance for inverted domestic
corporations; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. DURBIN. 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. 4067
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 ``American Assistance for
American Companies Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON APPLICATION OF CERTAIN ASSISTANCE TO
INVERTED DOMESTIC CORPORATIONS.
(a) Prohibition on Use of Certain Tax Incentives.--
(1) Net operating loss carrybacks.--
(A) In general.--Section 172(b)(1)(D) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the
following new clause:
``(vi) Special rule for inverted domestic corporations.--
Clause (i) shall not apply to any foreign corporation for any
taxable year in which such corporation is an inverted
domestic corporation (as defined in section 7701(p)(2)), or
to any member of the expanded affiliated group (as defined in
section 7874(c)(1)) of such a foreign corporation, unless
such foreign corporation has made an election under section
7701(p)(1).''.
(B) Effective date.--The amendment made by this section
shall take effect as if included in section 2303(b) of the
CARES Act.
(2) Increased limitation on business interest.--
(A) In general.--Section 163(j)(10) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following
new subparagraph:
``(C) Special rule for inverted domestic corporations.--
Subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall not apply to any foreign
corporation for any taxable year in which such corporation is
an inverted domestic corporation (as defined in section
7701(p)(2)), or to any member of the expanded affiliated
group (as defined in section 7874(c)(1)) of such a foreign
corporation, unless such foreign corporation has made an
election under section 7701(p)(1).''.
(B) Effective date.--The amendment made by this section
shall take effect as if included in section 2306 of the CARES
Act.
(3) Federal reserve emergency lending facilities.--
(A) In general.--No inverted domestic corporation, as
defined in section 7701(p)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, or any member of the expanded affiliated group (as
defined in section 7874(c)(1) of such Code) of such inverted
domestic corporation, may participate in any program or
facility established by the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System under the authority of
[[Page S3210]]
section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 343) and
with funding authorized under section 4003 of the CARES Act
(Public Law 116-136), including the Primary Market Corporate
Credit Facility and the Secondary Market Corporate Credit
Facility.
(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if the
inverted domestic corporation makes an election under section
7701(p)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(C) Applicability.--This paragraph shall apply to
participation in any program or facility described in
subparagraph (A) established before, on, or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(b) Election to Treat Inverted Domestic Corporations as
Domestic Corporations.--
(1) Inverted domestic corporations.--Section 7701 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating
subsection (p) as subsection (q) and by inserting after
subsection (o) the following new subsection:
``(p) Inverted Domestic Corporations.--
``(1) Election to be treated as a domestic corporation.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraphs (4) and (5)
of subsection (a), an inverted domestic corporation may elect
to be treated as a domestic corporation for taxable years
beginning with the last taxable year which begins before
January 1, 2018.
``(B) Election.--An election under this subsection--
``(i) shall be made not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this subsection, and
``(ii) once made, shall be irrevocable.
``(C) Time for filing returns and payment of taxes.--
Notwithstanding sections 6072 and 6151, any return for any
taxable year ending before the date described in subparagraph
(B)(i), and any payment of taxes or penalties, shall not be
considered due before January 1, 2021.
``(2) Inverted domestic corporation.--For purposes of this
subsection, the term `inverted domestic corporation' means
any foreign corporation which, pursuant to a plan (or a
series of related transactions)--
``(A) completes after March 4, 2003, the direct or indirect
acquisition of--
``(i) substantially all of the properties held directly or
indirectly by a domestic corporation, or
``(ii) substantially all of the assets of, or substantially
all of the properties constituting a trade or business of, a
domestic partnership, and
``(B) after the acquisition, either--
``(i) more than 50 percent of the stock (by vote or value)
of the corporation is held--
``(I) in the case of an acquisition with respect to a
domestic corporation, by former shareholders of the domestic
corporation by reason of holding stock in the domestic
corporation, or
``(II) in the case of an acquisition with respect to a
domestic partnership, by former partners of the domestic
partnership by reason of holding a capital or profits
interest in the domestic partnership, or
``(ii) the management and control of the expanded
affiliated group which includes the corporation occurs,
directly or indirectly, primarily within the United States,
and such expanded affiliated group has significant domestic
business activities.
``(3) Exception for corporations with substantial business
activities in foreign country of organization.--Such term
shall not include a foreign corporation described in
paragraph (2) if after the acquisition the expanded
affiliated group which includes the corporation has
substantial business activities in the foreign country in
which or under the law of which the corporation is created or
organized when compared to the total business activities of
such expanded affiliated group. For purposes of the preceding
sentence, the term `substantial business activities' shall
have the meaning given such term under regulations in effect
on January 18, 2017, except that the Secretary may issue
regulations increasing the threshold percent in any of the
tests under such regulations for determining if business
activities constitute substantial business activities for
purposes of this paragraph.
``(4) Management and control.--For purposes of paragraph
(2)(B)(ii)--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall prescribe
regulations for purposes of determining cases in which the
management and control of an expanded affiliated group is to
be treated as occurring, directly or indirectly, primarily
within the United States. The regulations prescribed under
the preceding sentence shall apply to periods after March 4,
2003.
``(B) Executive officers and senior management.--Such
regulations shall provide that the management and control of
an expanded affiliated group shall be treated as occurring,
directly or indirectly, primarily within the United States if
substantially all of the executive officers and senior
management of the expanded affiliated group who exercise day-
to-day responsibility for making decisions involving
strategic, financial, and operational policies of the
expanded affiliated group are based or primarily located
within the United States. Individuals who in fact exercise
such day-to-day responsibilities shall be treated as
executive officers and senior management regardless of their
title.
``(5) Significant domestic business activities.--For
purposes of paragraph (2)(B)(ii), an expanded affiliated
group has significant domestic business activities if at
least 25 percent of--
``(A) the employees of the group are based in the United
States,
``(B) the employee compensation incurred by the group is
incurred with respect to employees based in the United
States,
``(C) the assets of the group are located in the United
States, or
``(D) the income of the group is derived in the United
States,
determined in the same manner as such determinations are made
for purposes of determining substantial business activities
under regulations referred to in paragraph (3) as in effect
on January 18, 2017, but applied by treating all references
in such regulations to `foreign country' and `relevant
foreign country' as references to `the United States'. The
Secretary may issue regulations decreasing the threshold
percent in any of the tests under such regulations for
determining if business activities constitute significant
domestic business activities for purposes of this paragraph.
``(6) Definitions and other rules.--
``(A) Expanded affiliated group.--The term `expanded
affiliated group' has the meaning give such term under
section 7874(c)(1).
``(B) Other rules.--Rules similar to the rules of
paragraphs (2), (3), (5), and (6) of section 7874(c) shall
apply for purposes of this subsection.''.
____________________