[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13595-13604]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. CORNYN:
  S. 2686. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prevent 
the extension of the tax collection period merely because the taxpayer 
is a member of the Armed Forces who is hospitalized as a result of 
combat zone injuries; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. CORNYN. 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. 2686

         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 ``Wounded Warrior Tax Equity 
     Act of 2014''.

     SEC. 2. PREVENTION OF EXTENSION OF TAX COLLECTION PERIOD FOR 
                   MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES WHO ARE 
                   HOSPITALIZED AS A RESULT OF COMBAT ZONE 
                   INJURIES.

         (a) In General.--Section 7508(e) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new paragraph:
         ``(3) Collection period after assessment not extended as 
     a result of hospitalization.--With respect to any period of 
     continuous qualified hospitalization described in subsection 
     (a) and the next 180 days thereafter, subsection (a) shall 
     not apply in the application of section 6502.''.
         (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     shall apply to taxes assessed before, on, or after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mrs. Shaheen):
  S. 2689. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
specify coverage of continuous glucose monitoring devices, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, as the founder and co-chair of the Senate 
Diabetes Caucus, I have learned a great deal about this devastating 
disease affecting nearly 29 million Americans. Fortunately, due to the 
Special Diabetes Program and increased investments in diabetes 
research, we have seen some encouraging breakthroughs and are on the 
threshold of a number of important new discoveries.
  This is particularly true for the estimated 3 million Americans 
living with type I diabetes. Advances in technology, like continuous 
glucose monitors, are helping patients control their blood glucose 
levels, which is key to preventing costly and sometimes deadly diabetes 
complications. We are also moving closer and closer to our goal of an 
artificial pancreas, which would control blood glucose levels 
automatically and revolutionize diabetes care.
  The National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug 
Administration have been extremely supportive of these innovations in 
diabetes care. I was therefore surprised and extremely troubled to 
learn that insulin-dependent Medicare beneficiaries are being denied 
coverage for continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs, because the Centers 
for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, has determined that they do 
not meet the Medicare definition of durable medical equipment and do 
not fall under any other Medicare category. As a consequence, we are 
seeing situations--similar to what we saw with insulin pumps in the 
late 1990s--where individuals with type 1 diabetes have had coverage 
for their continuous glucose monitor on their private insurance, only 
to lose it when they age into Medicare.
  A CGM is a physician-prescribed, FDA-approved medical device that can 
provide real-time readings and data about trends in glucose levels 
every five minutes, thus enabling someone with insulin-dependent 
diabetes to eat or take insulin and prevent dangerous low or high 
glucose levels. As demonstrated by extensive clinical evidence, adults 
using a CGM have had improved overall glucose control and have reduced 
rates of hypoglycemia or low blood glucose levels. Professional medical 
societies, including the American Association of Clinical 
Endocrinologists and the Endocrine Society, recognize this clinical 
evidence and have published guidelines recommending CGM be used in 
appropriate patients with type 1 diabetes. Today, about 95 percent of 
commercial insurers provide coverage for CGM devices.
  The ironic thing is that it is only because of advances in diabetes 
care like the continuous glucose monitor that people with type 1 
diabetes can expect to live long enough to become Medicare 
beneficiaries. I am particularly concerned given the implications that 
this coverage decision will have for future decisions regarding 
artificial pancreas systems, which will combine a continuous glucose 
monitor, insulin pump, and sophisticated algorithm to control high and 
low blood sugar around the clock.
  I am therefore joining my colleague from New Hampshire and my Co-
Chair of the Senate Diabetes Caucus in introducing the Medicare CGM 
Access Act of 2014 to create a separate benefit category under Medicare 
for the continuous glucose monitor and require coverage of the device 
for individuals meeting specified medical criteria.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, Mrs. 
        Gillibrand, Ms. Baldwin, and Mr. Walsh):
  S. 2693. A bill to reauthorize the women's business center program of 
the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, today I am joining with my colleagues to 
introduce legislation to empower women entrepreneurs and to help 
address the persistent challenges women face when trying to start and 
grow a business.
  It was just 26 years ago that Congress enacted landmark legislation, 
the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 that eliminated requirements 
that women obtain the signature of their husband or other man to secure 
a business loan.
  Between 1997 and 2013, the number of women-owned businesses in the 
United States grew by 59 percent, but significant barriers for women 
still exist and there is still much more work to do.
  Last week, the Small Business Committee released a report entitled 
``21st Century Barriers to Women's Entrepreneurship'' that assesses the 
current challenges faced by women-owned businesses. The report also 
makes policy recommendations to increase economic opportunity for women 
and help to put them on a level playing field with other business 
owners.
  Our committee report makes four critical findings and includes policy

[[Page 13596]]

recommendations to help remedy the business climate for women 
entrepreneurs.
  First, women business owners face challenges in getting access to 
capital. The report highlights a study by the Urban Institute finding 
that only 4 percent of the total value of all conventional small 
business loans goes to women entrepreneurs. That means only $1 of every 
$23 is being loaned to a women-owned business. The report also notes 
that women are forced to rely on personal savings, loans from family or 
friends, or high interest credit because they cannot get traditional 
small business lending from banks.
  Second, the report finds that women business owners still face 
challenges in getting access to loans of the right size. Women-owned 
businesses have been very successful with the SBA's Microloan program, 
under which they can obtain loans of up to $50,000 through 
intermediaries that also provide assistance in the development of 
business plans. However, this program has not been updated since 1991.
  The report highlights the importance of reauthorizing the 
Intermediary Lending Program that expired in 2013 and provided capital 
for women business owners who were ready to take out loans that 
exceeded the $50,000 provided by the SBA's Microloan Program, but were 
not yet able to take advantage of the SBA's 7(a) lending program.
  Third, the report finds that women entrepreneurs face challenges 
obtaining relevant business training and counseling. Women's Business 
Centers provide specialized counseling and training designed to address 
the unique challenges women face in starting a small business. The 
report shows that the Women's Business Center program has not been re-
authorized since the 1990s and is in need of a 21st century 
modernization.
  Last, the committee report finds that women business owners face 
challenges getting access to Federal contracts. Despite the growing 
number of businesses owned by women, the Federal Government has never 
met its goal of awarding 5 percent of its contracts to women-owned 
small businesses. Our report notes that if the government met this 
goal, women-owned small businesses would have access to additional 
market opportunity worth up to $4 billion a year.
  That is why we are introducing the Women's Small Business Ownership 
Act. This legislation follows the policy recommendations made in the 
committee report and helps to address the glass ceiling many women 
entrepreneurs still encounter in the 21st century. While women-owned 
businesses as a whole continue to grow and succeed, to do so many women 
must overcome barriers men do not face.
  The Women's Small Business Ownership Act increases the flow of 
capital to women business owners by modernizing the SBA's Microloan 
program and reauthorizing the Intermediary Lending Program. Women have 
been particularly successful in using microloans, which are loans of 
under $50,000, and receive about half of all SBA Microloans.
  The Microloan program would be modernized by increasing the total 
amount lenders can loan, as well as allowing lenders to provide 
flexible terms and improved technical assistance to better suit the 
needs of borrowers.
  The Intermediary Lending Program is also an important program, which 
this legislation reauthorizes to address a gap in lending options for 
small businesses, including women-owned small businesses that are 
unable to obtain financing from traditional lenders. The Intermediary 
Lending Program offers low-interest loans of between $50,000 and 
$200,000 and closes the gap that can exist for small businesses that 
have outgrown the SBA's Microloan program, but are not yet able to take 
advantage of SBA's other lending guarantee programs.
  This legislation removes barriers to the federal contracting 
marketplace by allowing sole source contracts to be awarded to women-
owned small businesses. Every other small business in a unique 
socioeconomic category, including HUB Zone firms, service-disabled 
veteran-owned small businesses, and small disadvantaged businesses, can 
receive a non-competitive or sole source contract, but women's small 
businesses cannot. Women-owned companies deserve parity with other 
programs and a fair shot to grow their businesses.
  The Women's Small Business Ownership Act ensures that the SBA's 
Women's Business Centers are adequately and effectively meeting the 
needs of women entrepreneurs in the 21st century. It provides the 
resources for Women's Business Centers to provide the technical support 
and counseling tailored to the unique challenges for women-owned 
businesses.
  Women make up 51 percent of the population and have tremendous 
potential as business owners and job-creators. We need to empower women 
to break through the glass ceiling so it will be easier for even more 
women to succeed in the 21st century, grow the U.S. economy and create 
more U.S. jobs.
  When women have equal opportunity to access capital, obtain the right 
business counseling, and compete for federal contracts, the economy 
grows and the country moves forward.
  Mr. President, I ask for 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. 2693

       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 ``Women's Small Business 
     Ownership Act of 2014''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

       In this Act--
       (1) the terms ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean 
     the Small Business Administration and the Administrator 
     thereof, respectively;
       (2) the term ``disability'' has the meaning given that term 
     in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
     (42 U.S.C. 12102);
       (3) the term ``microloan program'' means the program 
     established under section 7(m) of the Small Business Act (15 
     U.S.C. 636(m));
       (4) the term ``rural small business concern'' means a small 
     business concern located in a rural area, as that term is 
     defined in section 1393(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986; and
       (5) the terms ``small business concern'', ``small business 
     concern owned and controlled by veterans'', and ``small 
     business concern owned and controlled by women'' have the 
     meanings given those terms under section 3 of the Small 
     Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).

     SEC. 3. OFFICE OF WOMEN'S BUSINESS OWNERSHIP.

       Section 29(g) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(g)) 
     is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (B)--
       (i) in clause (i), by striking ``in the areas'' and all 
     that follows through the end of subclause (I), and inserting 
     the following: ``to address issues concerning the management, 
     operations, manufacturing, technology, finance, retail and 
     product sales, international trade, Government contracting, 
     and other disciplines required for--

       ``(I) starting, operating, and increasing the business of a 
     small business concern;''; and

       (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``Women's Business Center 
     program'' each place that term appears and inserting 
     ``women's business center program''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting before the period at 
     the end the following: ``, the National Women's Business 
     Council, and any association of women's business centers''; 
     and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Training.--The Administrator may provide annual 
     programmatic and financial examination training for women's 
     business ownership representatives and district office 
     technical representatives of the Administration to enable 
     representatives to carry out their responsibilities.
       ``(4) Program and transparency improvements.--The 
     Administrator shall maximize the transparency of the women's 
     business center financial assistance proposal process and the 
     programmatic and financial examination process by--
       ``(A) providing public notice of any announcement for 
     financial assistance under subsection (b) or a grant under 
     subsection (l);
       ``(B) in the announcement described in subparagraph (A), 
     outlining award and program evaluation criteria and 
     describing the weighting of the criteria for financial 
     assistance under subsection (b) and grants under subsection 
     (l); and
       ``(C) not later than 60 days after the completion of a site 
     visit to the women's business center (whether conducted for 
     an audit,

[[Page 13597]]

     performance review, or other reason), when feasible, 
     providing to each women's business center a copy of any site 
     visit reports or evaluation reports prepared by district 
     office technical representatives or officers or employees of 
     the Administration.''.

     SEC. 4. WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER PROGRAM.

       (a) Women's Business Center Financial Assistance.--Section 
     29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking paragraph (4);
       (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
     (4) and (5), respectively;
       (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
       ``(2) the term `association of women's business centers' 
     means an organization--
       ``(A) that represents not less than 51 percent of the 
     women's business centers that participate in a program under 
     this section; and
       ``(B) whose primary purpose is to represent women's 
     business centers;
       ``(3) the term `eligible entity' means--
       ``(A) a private nonprofit organization;
       ``(B) a State, regional, or local economic development 
     organization;
       ``(C) a development, credit, or finance corporation 
     chartered by a State;
       ``(D) a junior or community college, as defined in section 
     312(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1058(f)); or
       ``(E) any combination of entities listed in subparagraphs 
     (A) through (D);''; and
       (D) by adding after paragraph (5), as so redesignated, the 
     following:
       ``(6) the term `women's business center' means a project 
     conducted by an eligible entity under this section.'';
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as 
     subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), and adjusting the margins 
     accordingly;
       (B) by striking ``The Administration'' and all that follows 
     through ``5-year projects'' and inserting the following:
       ``(1) In general.--The Administration may provide financial 
     assistance to an eligible entity to conduct a project under 
     this section'';
       (C) by striking ``The projects shall'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2) Use of funds.--The project shall be designed to 
     provide training and counseling that meets the needs of 
     women, especially socially and economically disadvantaged 
     women, and shall''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Amount of financial assistance.--The Administrator 
     may award financial assistance under this subsection of not 
     more than $250,000 per project year.
       ``(4) Consultation with associations of women's business 
     centers.--The Administrator shall seek advice, input, and 
     recommendations for policy changes from any association of 
     women's business centers to develop--
       ``(A) a training program for the staff of women's business 
     centers; and
       ``(B) recommendations to improve the policies and 
     procedures for governing the general operations and 
     administration of the women's business center program, 
     including grant program improvements under subsection 
     (g)(4).'';
       (3) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ``the recipient 
     organization'' and inserting ``an eligible entity'';
       (B) in paragraph (3), in the second sentence, by striking 
     ``a recipient organization'' and inserting ``an eligible 
     entity'';
       (C) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) by striking ``recipient of assistance'' and inserting 
     ``eligible entity'';
       (ii) by striking ``such organization'' and inserting ``the 
     eligible entity''; and
       (iii) by striking ``recipient'' and inserting ``eligible 
     entity''; and
       (D) by adding at end the following:
       ``(5) Separation of project and funds.--An eligible entity 
     shall--
       ``(A) carry out a project under this section separately 
     from other projects, if any, of the eligible entity; and
       ``(B) separately maintain and account for any financial 
     assistance under this section.'';
       (4) in subsection (e)--
       (A) by striking ``applicant organization'' and inserting 
     ``eligible entity'';
       (B) by striking ``a recipient organization'' and inserting 
     ``an eligible entity''; and
       (C) by striking ``site'';
       (5) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the following:
       ``(f) Applications and Criteria for Initial Financial 
     Assistance.--
       ``(1) Application.--Each eligible entity desiring financial 
     assistance under subsection (b) shall submit to the 
     Administrator an application that contains--
       ``(A) a certification that the eligible entity--
       ``(i) has designated an executive director or program 
     manager, who may be compensated using financial assistance 
     under subsection (b) or other sources, to manage the center;
       ``(ii) as a condition of receiving financial assistance 
     under subsection (b), agrees--

       ``(I) to receive a site visit at the discretion of the 
     Administrator as part of the final selection process;
       ``(II) to undergo an annual programmatic and financial 
     examination; and
       ``(III) to remedy any problems identified pursuant to the 
     site visit or examination under subclause (I) or (II); and

       ``(iii) meets the accounting and reporting requirements 
     established by the Director of the Office of Management and 
     Budget;
       ``(B) information demonstrating that the eligible entity 
     has the ability and resources to meet the needs of the market 
     to be served by the women's business center for which 
     financial assistance under subsection (b) is sought, 
     including the ability to obtain the non-Federal contribution 
     required under subsection (c);
       ``(C) information relating to the assistance to be provided 
     by the women's business center for which financial assistance 
     under subsection (b) is sought in the area in which the 
     women's business center is located;
       ``(D) information demonstrating the experience and 
     effectiveness of the eligible entity in--
       ``(i) conducting financial, management, and marketing 
     assistance programs, as described in subsection (b)(2), which 
     are designed to teach or upgrade the business skills of women 
     who are business owners or potential business owners;
       ``(ii) providing training and services to a representative 
     number of women who are socially and economically 
     disadvantaged; and
       ``(iii) working with resource partners of the 
     Administration and other entities, such as universities; and
       ``(E) a 5-year plan that describes the ability of the 
     women's business center for which financial assistance is 
     sought--
       ``(i) to serve women who are business owners or potential 
     business owners by conducting training and counseling 
     activities; and
       ``(ii) to provide training and services to a representative 
     number of women who are socially and economically 
     disadvantaged.
       ``(2) Review and approval of applications for initial 
     financial assistance.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall--
       ``(i) review each application submitted under paragraph 
     (1), based on the information described in such paragraph and 
     the criteria set forth under subparagraph (B) of this 
     paragraph; and
       ``(ii) to the extent practicable, as part of the final 
     selection process, conduct a site visit to each women's 
     business center for which financial assistance under 
     subsection (b) is sought.
       ``(B) Selection criteria.--
       ``(i) In general.--The Administrator shall evaluate 
     applicants for financial assistance under subsection (b) in 
     accordance with selection criteria that are--

       ``(I) established before the date on which applicants are 
     required to submit the applications;
       ``(II) stated in terms of relative importance; and
       ``(III) publicly available and stated in each solicitation 
     for applications for financial assistance under subsection 
     (b) made by the Administrator.

       ``(ii) Required criteria.--The selection criteria for 
     financial assistance under subsection (b) shall include--

       ``(I) the experience of the applicant in conducting 
     programs or ongoing efforts designed to teach or enhance the 
     business skills of women who are business owners or potential 
     business owners;
       ``(II) the ability of the applicant to begin a project 
     within a minimum amount of time, as established under the 
     program announcement or by regulation;
       ``(III) the ability of the applicant to provide training 
     and services to a representative number of women who are 
     socially and economically disadvantaged; and
       ``(IV) the location for the women's business center 
     proposed by the applicant, including whether the applicant is 
     located in a State in which there is not a women's business 
     center receiving funding from the Administration.

       ``(C) Proximity.--If the principal place of business of an 
     applicant for financial assistance under subsection (b) is 
     located less than 50 miles from the principal place of 
     business of a women's business center that received funds 
     under this section on or before the date of the application, 
     the applicant shall not be eligible for the financial 
     assistance, unless the applicant submits a detailed written 
     justification of the need for an additional center in the 
     area in which the applicant is located.
       ``(D) Record retention.--The Administrator shall maintain a 
     copy of each application submitted under this subsection for 
     not less than 7 years.''; and
       (6) in subsection (m)--
       (A) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
       ``(3) Application and approval for renewal grants.--
       ``(A) Solicitation of applications.--The Administrator 
     shall solicit applications and award grants under this 
     subsection for the first fiscal year beginning after the date 
     of enactment of the Women's Small Business Ownership Act of 
     2014, and every third fiscal year thereafter.
       ``(B) Contents of application.--Each eligible entity 
     desiring a grant under this subsection shall submit to the 
     Administrator an application that contains--
       ``(i) a certification that the applicant--

       ``(I) is an eligible entity;

[[Page 13598]]

       ``(II) has designated an executive director or program 
     manager to manage the women's business center operated by the 
     applicant; and
       ``(III) as a condition of receiving a grant under this 
     subsection, agrees--

       ``(aa) to receive a site visit as part of the final 
     selection process;
       ``(bb) to submit, for the 2 full fiscal years before the 
     date on which the application is submitted, annual 
     programmatic and financial examination reports or certified 
     copies of the compliance supplemental audits under OMB 
     Circular A-133 of the applicant; and
       ``(cc) to remedy any problem identified pursuant to the 
     site visit or examination under item (aa) or (bb);
       ``(ii) information demonstrating that the applicant has the 
     ability and resources to meet the needs of the market to be 
     served by the women's business center for which a grant under 
     this subsection is sought, including the ability to obtain 
     the non-Federal contribution required under paragraph (4)(C);
       ``(iii) information relating to assistance to be provided 
     by the women's business center in the area served by the 
     women's business center for which a grant under this 
     subsection is sought;
       ``(iv) information demonstrating that the applicant has 
     worked with resource partners of the Administration and other 
     entities;
       ``(v) a 3-year plan that describes the ability of the 
     women's business center for which a grant under this 
     subsection is sought--

       ``(I) to serve women who are business owners or potential 
     business owners by conducting training and counseling 
     activities; and
       ``(II) to provide training and services to a representative 
     number of women who are socially and economically 
     disadvantaged; and

       ``(vi) any additional information that the Administrator 
     may reasonably require.
       ``(C) Review and approval of applications for grants.--
       ``(i) In general.--The Administrator shall--

       ``(I) review each application submitted under subparagraph 
     (B), based on the information described in such subparagraph 
     and the criteria set forth under clause (ii) of this 
     subparagraph; and
       ``(II) at the discretion of the Administrator, and as part 
     of the final selection process, conduct a site visit to each 
     women's business center for which a grant under this 
     subsection is sought.

       ``(ii) Selection criteria.--

       ``(I) In general.--The Administrator shall evaluate 
     applicants for grants under this subsection in accordance 
     with selection criteria that are--

       ``(aa) established before the date on which applicants are 
     required to submit the applications;
       ``(bb) stated in terms of relative importance; and
       ``(cc) publicly available and stated in each solicitation 
     for applications for grants under this subsection made by the 
     Administrator.

       ``(II) Required criteria.--The selection criteria for a 
     grant under this subsection shall include--

       ``(aa) the total number of entrepreneurs served by the 
     applicant;
       ``(bb) the total number of new startup companies assisted 
     by the applicant;
       ``(cc) the percentage of clients of the applicant that are 
     socially or economically disadvantaged; and
       ``(dd) the percentage of individuals in the community 
     served by the applicant who are socially or economically 
     disadvantaged.
       ``(iii) Conditions for continued funding.--In determining 
     whether to make a grant under this subsection, the 
     Administrator--

       ``(I) shall consider the results of the most recent 
     evaluation of the women's business center for which a grant 
     under this subsection is sought, and, to a lesser extent, 
     previous evaluations; and
       ``(II) may withhold a grant under this subsection, if the 
     Administrator determines that the applicant has failed to 
     provide the information required to be provided under this 
     paragraph, or the information provided by the applicant is 
     inadequate.

       ``(D) Notification.--Not later than 60 days after the date 
     of each deadline to submit applications, the Administrator 
     shall approve or deny any application under this paragraph 
     and notify the applicant for each such application of the 
     approval or denial.
       ``(E) Record retention.--The Administrator shall maintain a 
     copy of each application submitted under this paragraph for 
     not less than 7 years.''; and
       (B) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following:
       ``(5) Award to previous recipients.--There shall be no 
     limitation on the number of times the Administrator may award 
     a grant to an applicant under this subsection.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 29 of the 
     Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ``to award a contract 
     (as a sustainability grant) under subsection (l) or'';
       (2) in subsection (j)(1), by striking ``The 
     Administration'' and inserting ``Not later than November 1 of 
     each year, the Administrator'';
       (3) in subsection (k)--
       (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (4);
       (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4);
       (C) by inserting before paragraph (2) the following:
       ``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     to the Administration to carry out this section, to remain 
     available until expended, $26,750,000 for each of fiscal 
     years 2015 through 2019.''; and
       (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
       ``(3) Continuing grant and cooperative agreement 
     authority.--
       ``(A) Prompt disbursement.--Upon receiving funds to carry 
     out this section for a fiscal year, the Administrator shall, 
     to the extent practicable, promptly reimburse funds to any 
     women's business center awarded financial assistance under 
     this section if the center meets the eligibility requirements 
     under this section.
       ``(B) Suspension or termination.--If the Administrator has 
     entered into a grant or cooperative agreement with a women's 
     business center under this section, the Administrator may not 
     suspend or terminate the grant or cooperative agreement, 
     unless the Administrator--
       ``(i) provides the women's business center with written 
     notification setting forth the reasons for that action; and
       ``(ii) affords the women's business center an opportunity 
     for a hearing, appeal, or other administrative proceeding 
     under chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code.'';
       (4) in subsection (m)--
       (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``subsection (b) or (l)'' 
     and inserting ``this subsection or subsection (b)''; and
       (B) in paragraph (4)(D), by striking ``or subsection (l)''; 
     and
       (5) by redesignating subsections (m), (n), and (o), as 
     amended by this Act, as subsections (l), (m), and (n), 
     respectively.
       (c) Effect on Existing Grants.--
       (1) Terms and conditions.--A nonprofit organization 
     receiving a grant under section 29(m) of the Small Business 
     Act (15 U.S.C. 656(m)), as in effect on the day before the 
     date of enactment of this Act, shall continue to receive the 
     grant under the terms and conditions in effect for the grant 
     on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, except 
     that the nonprofit organization may not apply for a renewal 
     of the grant under section 29(m)(5) of the Small Business Act 
     (15 U.S.C. 656(m)(5)), as in effect on the day before the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
       (2) Length of renewal grant.--The Administrator may award a 
     grant under section 29(l) of the Small Business Act, as so 
     redesignated by subsection (a)(5) of this section, to a 
     nonprofit organization receiving a grant under section 29(m) 
     of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(m)), as in effect on 
     the day before the date of enactment of this Act, for the 
     period--
       (A) beginning on the day after the last day of the grant 
     agreement under such section 29(m); and
       (B) ending at the end of the third fiscal year beginning 
     after the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 5. MATCHING REQUIREMENTS UNDER WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Section 29(c) of the Small Business Act 
     (15 U.S.C. 656(c)), as amended by section 4 of this Act, is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``As a condition'' and 
     inserting ``Subject to paragraph (6), as a condition''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) Waiver of non-federal share relating to technical 
     assistance and counseling.--
       ``(A) In general.--Upon request by a recipient 
     organization, and in accordance with this paragraph, the 
     Administrator may waive, in whole or in part, the requirement 
     to obtain non-Federal funds under this subsection for the 
     technical assistance and counseling activities of the 
     recipient organization carried out using financial assistance 
     under this section for a fiscal year. The Administrator may 
     not waive the requirement for a recipient organization to 
     obtain non-Federal funds under this paragraph for more than a 
     total of 2 consecutive fiscal years.
       ``(B) Considerations.--In determining whether to waive the 
     requirement to obtain non-Federal funds under this paragraph, 
     the Administrator shall consider--
       ``(i) the economic conditions affecting the recipient 
     organization;
       ``(ii) the impact a waiver under this clause would have on 
     the credibility of the women's business center program under 
     this section;
       ``(iii) the demonstrated ability of the recipient 
     organization to raise non-Federal funds; and
       ``(iv) the performance of the recipient organization.
       ``(C) Limitation.--The Administrator may not waive the 
     requirement to obtain non-Federal funds under this paragraph 
     if granting the waiver would undermine the credibility of the 
     women's business center program under this section.
       ``(7) Solicitation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, a recipient organization may--
       ``(A) solicit cash and in-kind contributions from private 
     individuals and entities to be used to carry out the 
     activities of the recipient organization under the project 
     conducted under this section; and

[[Page 13599]]

       ``(B) use amounts made available by the Administration 
     under this section for the cost of such solicitation and 
     management of the contributions received.''.
       (b) Regulations.--
       (1) In general.--The Administrator shall--
       (A) except as provided in paragraph (2), and not later than 
     1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, publish in 
     the Federal Register proposed regulations by the 
     Administrator to carry out the amendments made to section 29 
     of the Small Business Act by this Act; and
       (B) accept public comments on such proposed regulations for 
     not less than 60 days.
       (2) Existing proposed regulations.--Paragraph (1)(A) shall 
     not apply to the extent proposed regulations by the 
     Administrator have been published on the date of enactment of 
     this Act that are sufficient to carry out the amendments made 
     to section 29 of the Small Business Act by this Act.

     SEC. 6. STUDY AND REPORT ON ECONOMIC ISSUES FACING WOMEN'S 
                   BUSINESS CENTERS.

       (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
     shall conduct a broad study of the unique economic issues 
     facing women's business centers located in covered areas to 
     identify--
       (1) the difficulties such centers face in raising non-
     Federal funds;
       (2) the difficulties such centers face in competing for 
     financial assistance, non-Federal funds, or other types of 
     assistance;
       (3) the difficulties such centers face in writing grant 
     proposals; and
       (4) other difficulties such centers face because of the 
     economy in the type of covered area in which such centers are 
     located.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit 
     to Congress a report containing the results of the study 
     under subsection (a), which shall include recommendations, if 
     any, regarding how to--
       (1) address the unique difficulties women's business 
     centers located in covered areas face because of the type of 
     covered area in which such centers are located;
       (2) expand the presence of, and increase the services 
     provided by, women's business centers located in covered 
     areas; and
       (3) best use technology and other resources to better serve 
     women business owners located in covered areas.
       (c) Definition of Covered Area.--In this section, the term 
     ``covered area'' means--
       (1) any State that is predominantly rural, as determined by 
     the Administrator;
       (2) any State that is predominantly urban, as determined by 
     the Administrator; and
       (3) any State or territory that is an island.

     SEC. 7. STUDY AND REPORT ON OVERSIGHT OF WOMEN'S BUSINESS 
                   CENTERS.

       (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
     shall conduct a study of the oversight of women's business 
     centers by the Administrator, which shall include--
       (1) an analysis of the coordination by the Administrator of 
     the activities of women's business centers with the 
     activities of small business development centers, the Service 
     Corps of Retired Executives, and Veteran Business Outreach 
     Centers;
       (2) a comparison of the types of individuals and small 
     business concerns served by women's business centers and the 
     types of individuals and small business concerns served by 
     small business development centers, the Service Corps of 
     Retired Executives, and Veteran Business Outreach Centers; 
     and
       (3) an analysis of performance data for women's business 
     centers that evaluates how well women's business centers are 
     carrying out the mission of women's business centers and 
     serving individuals and small business concerns.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit 
     to Congress a report containing the results of the study 
     under subsection (a), which shall include recommendations, if 
     any, for eliminating the duplication of services provided by 
     women's business centers, small business development centers, 
     the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and Veteran Business 
     Outreach Centers.

     SEC. 8. SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS 
                   OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY WOMEN.

       (a) In General.--Section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (15 
     U.S.C. 637(m)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(7) Authority for sole source contracts for economically 
     disadvantaged small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     women in underrepresented industries.--A contracting officer 
     may award a sole source contract under this subsection to a 
     small business concern owned and controlled by women that 
     meets the requirements under paragraph (2)(A) if--
       ``(A) the small business concern owned and controlled by 
     women is in an industry in which small business concerns 
     owned and controlled by women are underrepresented, as 
     determined by the Administrator;
       ``(B) the contracting officer determines that the small 
     business concern owned and controlled by women is a 
     responsible contractor with respect to performance of the 
     contract opportunity;
       ``(C) the anticipated award price of the contract, 
     including options, is not more than--
       ``(i) $6,500,000, in the case of a contract opportunity 
     assigned a North American Industry Classification System code 
     for manufacturing; or
       ``(ii) $4,000,000, in the case of any other contract 
     opportunity; and
       ``(D) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the 
     contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price.
       ``(8) Authority for sole source contracts for small 
     business concerns owned and controlled by women in 
     substantially underrepresented industries.--A contracting 
     officer may award a sole source contract under this 
     subsection to a small business concern owned and controlled 
     by women that meets the requirements under paragraph (2)(E) 
     if--
       ``(A) the small business concern owned and controlled by 
     women is in an industry in which small business concerns 
     owned and controlled by women are substantially 
     underrepresented, as determined by the Administrator;
       ``(B) the contracting officer determines that the small 
     business concern owned and controlled by women is a 
     responsible contractor with respect to performance of the 
     contract opportunity;
       ``(C) the anticipated award price of the contract, 
     including options, is not more than--
       ``(i) $6,500,000, in the case of a contract opportunity 
     assigned a North American Industry Classification System code 
     for manufacturing; or
       ``(ii) $4,000,000, in the case of any other contract 
     opportunity; and
       ``(D) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the 
     contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price.''.
       (b) Reporting on Goals for Sole Source Contracts for Small 
     Business Concerns Owned and Controlled by Women.--Section 
     15(h)(2)(E)(viii) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
     644(h)(2)(E)(viii)) is amended--
       (1) in subclause (IV), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) by redesignating subclause (V) as subclause (VIII); and
       (3) by inserting after subclause (IV) the following:

       ``(V) through sole source contracts awarded under section 
     8(m)(7);
       ``(VI) through sole source contracts awarded under section 
     8(m)(8);
       ``(VII) by industry for contracts described in subclause 
     (III), (IV), (V), or (VI); and''.

       (c) Deadline for Report on Underrepresented Industries 
     Accelerated.--Section 29(o)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 
     U.S.C. 656(o)(2)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``5 years after the date of enactment of 
     this subsection'' and inserting ``January 2, 2015''; and
       (2) by striking ``5-year period'' and inserting ``2-year or 
     5-year period, as applicable,''.
       (d) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 8(m) of 
     the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and 
     inserting ``paragraph (4)''; and
       (2) in paragraph (5), by striking ``paragraph (2)(F)'' each 
     place it appears and inserting ``paragraph (2)(E)''.

     SEC. 9. SMALL BUSINESS INTERMEDIARY LENDING PROGRAM.

       Section 7(l) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(l)) 
     is amended--
       (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Pilot'';
       (2) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``pilot'';
       (3) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by striking ``3-year''; and
       (B) by striking ``pilot'';
       (4) in paragraph (4)--
       (A) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(B) Loan limits.--
       ``(i) In general.--No single loan to an eligible 
     intermediary under this subsection may exceed $1,000,000.
       ``(ii) Total amount.--The total amount outstanding and 
     committed to an eligible intermediary by the Administrator 
     under the Program may not exceed $5,000,000.''; and
       (B) by striking subparagraph (G) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(G) Maximum amounts.--The Administrator may make loans 
     under the Program--
       ``(i) during each of fiscal years 2015, 2016, and 2017, in 
     a total amount of not more than $20,000,000; and
       ``(ii) during fiscal year 2018 and each fiscal year 
     thereafter, using such amounts as are made available for the 
     Program.''; and
       (5) by striking paragraph (6).

     SEC. 10. ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.

       (a) Microloan Program.--Section 7(m) of the Small Business 
     Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking ``short-term,'';
       (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ``$5,000,000'' and 
     inserting ``$7,000,000'';
       (3) in paragraph (4)--
       (A) by striking subparagraph (E); and
       (B) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (E);
       (4) in paragraph (6)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``short-term,''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(F) Report to commercial credit reporting agencies.--The 
     Administrator shall

[[Page 13600]]

     establish a process under which an intermediary that makes a 
     loan to a small business concern under this paragraph shall 
     provide to 1 or more of the commercial credit reporting 
     agencies, through the Administration or independently, 
     including through third party intermediaries, information on 
     the small business concern that is relevant to credit 
     reporting, including the payment activity of the small 
     business concern on the loan.'';
       (5) in paragraph (7)--
       (A) by striking ``Program'' and all that follows through 
     ``Under'' and inserting the following: ``Number of 
     participants.--Under''; and
       (B) by striking subparagraph (B);
       (6) in paragraph (8), by striking ``such intermediaries'' 
     and all the follows through the period at the end and 
     inserting the following: ``intermediaries that serve a 
     diversity of geographic areas in the United States to ensure 
     appropriate availability of loans for small business concerns 
     in all industries that are located in metropolitan, 
     nonmetropolitan, and rural areas.''; and
       (7) in paragraph (11)(B), by striking ``short-term,''.
       (b) Guarantee Fee Waiver.--During fiscal year 2016, the 
     Administrator may not collect a guarantee fee under section 
     7(a)(18)(A)(i) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
     636(a)(18)(A)(i)) with respect to a loan guaranteed under 
     section 7(a) of such Act, unless amounts are made available 
     to the Administrator to subsidize the cost of guaranteeing 
     such loans for fiscal year 2016.
       (c) Annual Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter, the Office 
     of Capital Access of the Administration shall submit to the 
     Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
     Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
     Representatives a report on assistance provided by the 
     Administration under--
       (A) section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
     636(a));
       (B) the microloan program;
       (C) part A of title III of the Small Business Investment 
     Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 681 et seq.); and
       (D) section 502 of the Small Business Investment Act of 
     1958 (15 U.S.C. 696).
       (2) Requirement.--Each report required under paragraph (1) 
     shall include, for the year preceding the date on which the 
     report is submitted--
       (A) for each type of assistance described under 
     subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D) of paragraph (1)--
       (i) the number of loans made by the Administration;
       (ii) the total amount of loans made by the Administration;
       (iii) the percentage of the number and total amount of 
     loans made by the Administration to--

       (I) rural small business concerns;
       (II) small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     individuals with a disability;
       (III) small business concerns owned and controlled by low-
     income individuals, broken down by each racial or ethnic 
     minority group of which those individuals are members;
       (IV) small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     veterans;
       (V) small business concerns owned and controlled by women; 
     and
       (VI) small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     members of a racial or ethnic minority group, broken down by 
     each such racial or ethnic minority group; and

       (iv) the number of jobs created and retained by borrowers 
     as a result of such assistance; and
       (B) for assistance described under subparagraph (C) of 
     paragraph (1)--
       (i) the number of investments made by small business 
     investment companies;
       (ii) the total amount of equity capital provided and loans 
     made by small business investment companies;
       (iii) the percentage of the number of investments and loans 
     made and total amount of equity capital provided by small 
     business investment companies to--

       (I) rural small business concerns;
       (II) small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     individuals with a disability;
       (III) small business concerns owned and controlled by low-
     income individuals, broken down by each racial or ethnic 
     minority group of which those individuals are members;
       (IV) small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     veterans;
       (V) small business concerns owned and controlled by women; 
     and
       (VI) small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     members of a racial or ethnic minority group, broken down by 
     each such racial or ethnic minority group;

       (iv) the number of jobs created and retained by small 
     business concerns as a result of investments made by small 
     business investment companies; and
       (v) the number of licenses issued by the Administration 
     under section 301(c) of the Small Business Investment Act (15 
     U.S.C. 681(c)), including the percentage of licenses issued 
     to entities headed by a woman or a member of a racial or 
     ethnic minority, respectively.

     SEC. 11. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

       It is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) access to capital for small business concerns owned and 
     controlled by women comes from a variety of sources, 
     including important contributions and early investments from 
     angel capital and other venture capital investors; and
       (2) those investors should continue to work to develop 
     small business concerns owned and controlled by women to 
     expand the rate at which those women receive venture 
     investment.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Reed):
  S. 2704. A bill to prohibit the award of Federal Government contracts 
to inverted domestic corporations, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, earlier today I, along with Senator Dick 
Durbin and Senator Jack Reed, introduced the No Federal Contracts for 
Corporate Deserters Act. Our bill will put a stop to companies that 
renounce their U.S. citizenship but come back to try to seek taxpayer 
funded government contracts. There is an existing law on the books that 
is supposed to ban Federal contracts with inverted corporations, but 
just like with the tax code, after about a decade of lawyers looking 
for loopholes in the law, a number of corporations have found them. 
This bill would bring that ban up-to-date.
  Over the last few months, there has been a growing rush of U.S. 
corporations seeking to swear off their U.S. citizenship and move their 
mailboxes, for tax purposes, to a low-tax jurisdiction. I don't think 
that is right, and it is time we put a stop to it, which we can do by 
passing the Stop Corporate Inversions Act I introduced 2 months ago 
with 22 cosponsors.
  Most Americans agree with us that taxpayer dollars shouldn't be used 
for contracts with companies that move their addresses abroad to dodge 
U.S. laws. And because of that, Congress has passed a series of 
restrictions on contracting with inverted corporations over the last 
decade. We passed one in 2002, and another in 2006 and 2007. Since 
fiscal year 2008, a government-wide provision has been included in 
every annual appropriations bill banning contracts with inverted 
corporations.
  Our bill would strengthen that ban by closing a number of loopholes 
in the current law. Those loopholes have allowed some inverted 
corporations to continue collecting revenue from American taxpayers, 
while at the same time, shifting their tax burden onto those same 
American taxpayers. Our bill also makes the existing ban, which has 
been included in annual appropriations bills, permanent.
  Some may say that the real reason for inversions is that our tax rate 
is too high. It is true the top corporate rate is 35 percent. But the 
effective tax rate--what corporations really pay--is about 12 percent. 
When companies can go to places like Ireland or the Caribbean and 
negotiate sweetheart deals to pay little or no taxes, there will always 
be tax incentives for companies to abandon their country instead of 
paying their tax bill, no matter what our tax rate is.
  Some may say that we should wait for tax reform to address this 
issue. There are two reasons why we shouldn't. First, if it happens at 
all, tax reform is months or years away; these inversions are happening 
now. Second, this is a bill about contracting. This bill doesn't amend 
the tax code. I expect it will be referred to the Homeland Security and 
Government Affairs Committee, not to the Finance Committee. So even 
Senators who believe that fixing the tax inversions problem should wait 
until comprehensive tax reform should be able to support this bill.
  In the past, in similar circumstances, Congress has chosen to act--
overwhelmingly, and in a bipartisan fashion. This should not be a 
partisan issue. This is about fairness. It is simply unfair to 
businesses who don't invert to have to compete with companies that do 
invert. This is about putting American families who work hard and pay 
their share. We shouldn't sacrifice the interests of those families. We 
shouldn't ask them to send their hard-earned tax dollars to contractors 
who skip out on their tax obligations.

[[Page 13601]]

I look forward to working with my colleagues to move this bill forward.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DURBIN:
  S. 2711. A bill to reauthorize the United States Commission on 
International Religious Freedom, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the United States 
Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF, Reform and 
Reauthorization Act of 2014.
  This legislation would reauthorize the U.S. Commission on 
International Religious Freedom, also known as USCIRF, while making 
important reforms to the Commission to encourage bipartisanship, 
enhance coordination with the State Department, and improve 
Congressional oversight.
  I strongly support USCIRF's mission of promoting and protecting 
international religious freedom. My legislation will help USCIRF to 
more effectively pursue this mission.
  In 2011, I authored a number of reforms in the previous USCIRF 
reauthorization legislation, including term limits for Commissioners; a 
prohibition on employee discrimination; a requirement that 
Commissioners follow federal travel regulations; and maintaining nine 
Commissioners, rather than five Commissioners, as called for by the 
House-passed reauthorization. I have heard from USCIRF that these 
reforms have strengthened the Commission, and the legislation I am 
introducing today will build on these reforms.
  The USCIRF Reform and Reauthorization Act is supported by a broad 
swath of religious and civic leaders and faith organizations, 
including, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good; the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church of America; United Methodist Church, General Board of 
Church and Society; HIAS; Muslim Public Affairs Council; Cardinal 
Theodore E. McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington and former 
USCIRF Commissioner; Dr. William J. Shaw, Immediate Past President of 
the National Baptist Convention, USA. Inc. and former USCIRF 
Commissioner; former Congressman and USCIRF Commissioner Sam Gejdenson; 
Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK, A National 
Catholic Social Justice Lobby; Rateb Rabie, President of the Holy Land 
Christian Ecumenical Foundation; Dr. Azizah Al-Hibri, former USCIRF 
Commissioner and Founder and Chair of KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for 
Human Rights; Rev. Drew Christiansen, S.J., Distinguished Professor of 
Ethics and Global Development at Georgetown University; Dr. Alfred 
Rotondaro, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress; Dr. Laila 
Al-Marayati, former USCIRF Commissioner; and Benjamin Palumbo, Board of 
Trustees, Catholics United.
  There is bipartisan agreement about the need for our government to 
promote and protect international religious freedom. USCIRF is, by 
design, a bipartisan organization, with Commissioners appointed by the 
President and Congressional leaders, and USCIRF can most effectively 
promote religious freedom by doing so on a bipartisan basis. This issue 
is too important to be stymied by the excessive partisanship which too 
often leads to political gridlock in Washington.
  It is to be expected that the members of a bipartisan Commission will 
not always reach consensus. However, I am troubled that some 
Commissioners have on occasion engaged in partisan rhetoric that is not 
conducive to USCIRF's bipartisan mission and does not represent 
USCIRF's official views.
  For example, one Commissioner recently appeared on Fox News' Hannity 
program, and, after identifying himself as a member of USCIRF, claimed 
that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had failed to take steps 
to combat Boko Haram in Nigeria and accused the Obama Administration of 
having ``no strategy'' for combating terrorism. Mother Commissioner 
testified in Congress on behalf of USCIRF and said that the Obama 
Administration ``sends a message to other countries that we don't 
care'' about religious freedom.
  The USCIRF Reform and Reauthorization Act will facilitate 
bipartisanship by taking a number of steps. First, the legislation will 
codify USCIRF's existing procedures for the election of a Chair and 
Vice Chair so that these positions rotate annually between 
Commissioners appointed by elected officials of each political party. 
This will help ensure continued bipartisan leadership at the 
Commission.
  Second, this bill will establish a dedicated bipartisan staff as a 
complement to nonpartisan professional staff. The legislation permits 
Commissioners appointed by elected officials of each political party to 
appoint designated Staff Directors and three designated staff members. 
This will help foster a bipartisan environment at USCIRF.
  Third, the bill will codify procedures for publishing the views of 
the Commission. The bill encourages Commissioners to reach consensus on 
statements on behalf of the Commission. When consensus is not possible, 
the bill requires a statement to be approved by at least six of the 
nine Commissioners. This supermajority requirement is current USCIRF 
policy for the approval of statements that are circulated 
electronically. Codifying this policy will ensure that at least one 
Commissioner of each political party supports every Commission 
statement.
  USCIRF has noted that it is the only organization of its kind in the 
world. The Government Accountability Office, GAO, recently issued a 
report on USCIRF which highlights some of the challenges inherent to 
USCIRF's unique mission.
  The GAO notes that there are two governmental entities charged with 
promoting international religious freedom: USCIRF and the State 
Department's Office of International Religious Freedom. The GAO found 
that these overlapping missions and ``the lack of a definition 
regarding how State and the Commission are to interact has sometimes 
created foreign policy tensions that State has had to mitigate.'' The 
GAO notes that State Department officials highlighted several instances 
``when the Commission's approach with foreign government officials 
created bilateral tensions.''
  The GAO's concerns about the overlap between State and USCIRF are 
serious enough that it included USCIRF in its annual duplication 
report. As my colleagues know, Senator Coburn authored legislation 
requiring GAO to issue this report to identify unnecessary duplication 
in the federal government.
  I am concerned that the lack of coordination between the State 
Department and USCIRF may undermine our government's efforts to promote 
international religious freedom by sending mixed messages to foreign 
governments and human-rights activists who are fighting to defend 
religious freedom in their countries.
  Consider another example. The State Department and USCIRF both 
produce an annual report on international religious freedom. Under 
current law, USCIRF is required to publish its report ``[n]ot later 
than May 1 of each year,'' but the State Department's report is often 
not completed before May 1. This forces USCIRF to issue its report 
prior to publication of the State Department report, which leads to 
unnecessary duplication of efforts, saps USCIRF's limited staff 
resources, and prevents USCIRF from opining on the State Department 
report.
  The USCIRF Reform and Reauthorization Act will enhance cooperation 
between USCIRF and the State Department with two measures. First, it 
clarifies that the Ambassador at Large for International Religious 
Freedom, as an ex officio member of USCIRF, is permitted to attend all 
Commission meetings. GAO's duplication report specifically highlights 
the failure to define the role of the Ambassador at Large as an ex 
officio member of USCIRF.
  Second, this legislation requires USCIRF to publish its annual report 
after reviewing the State Department's annual report on International 
Religious Freedom. This division of labor takes advantage of the State 
Department's worldwide presence and much larger staff to draft a 
comprehensive report. It also takes advantage of

[[Page 13602]]

USCIRF's unique role to provide an independent and bipartisan 
commentary on the State Department report.
  USCIRF is a part of the legislative branch and it is ultimately the 
responsibility of Congress to oversee USCIRF's work and ensure that it 
is effectively pursuing its mission. The need for greater Congressional 
oversight of USCIRF has been highlighted by concerns about USCIRF's 
practices, including, for example, the work environment at USCIRF for 
religious minorities, particularly prior to the 2011 reauthorization.
  In the past, human rights advocates made allegations about financial 
improprieties at USCIRF, particularly that USCIRF Commissioners had 
made lavish travel arrangements. As a result, in 2011 I authored a 
provision clarifying that USCIRF Commissioners are subject to Federal 
travel regulations.
  I was troubled to learn about more allegations of financial 
irregularities at USCIRF only a few weeks after the last 
reauthorization. In early 2012, USCIRF staff notified my office that 
USCIRF's office manager had been involved in embezzlement and fraud for 
several years. The office manager subsequently pled guilty and was 
sentenced to 20 months in prison for embezzling $217,000 from 2007-
2011. This is a significant amount of taxpayer money in any 
circumstance, but particularly for a small organization like USCIRF.
  I am also concerned about unresolved claims that USCIRF, an 
organization charged with protecting religious freedom, discriminated 
against a former employee on the basis of her religion.
  In 2011, I included language in the last USCIRF reauthorization 
providing anti-discrimination protections to USCIRF employees and 
allowing pending civil rights claims to proceed. The impetus for this 
provision was a lawsuit filed by a former USCIRF employee, who claimed 
that her permanent employment offer was rescinded after the 
Commissioners learned of her prior job with a Muslim civil rights 
organization. USCIRF did not deny the discrimination claim. Instead, 
they argued that USCIRF employees do not have federal civil rights 
protections.
  Unfortunately, the lawsuit is still pending. I understand that 
USCIRF's lawyers have refused to enter into settlement negotiations 
with the Commission's former employee and instead are aggressively 
litigating the case.
  As Christianity Today said, ``the trial will be one of the most 
ironic in American history, with the congressional commission charged 
with monitoring religious freedom around the world defending its own 
employment practices in court.''
  In light of these concerns, the USCIRF Reform and Reauthorization Act 
would improve Congressional oversight by reauthorizing the Commission 
for two years. A 2-year reauthorization period will allow the 
Commission to continue to pursue its important mission while Congress 
closely monitors USCIRF's activities to assure the reforms in this 
legislation are fully implemented.
  I strongly support the mission of the U.S. Commission on 
International Religious Freedom to protect and promote international 
religious freedom. I believe the reforms in my legislation will help 
USCIRF more effectively pursue this mission.
  I urge my colleagues to support the USCIRF Reform and Reauthorization 
Act so that USCIRF can quickly be reauthorized with these important 
reforms.
  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. 2711

       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 ``United States Commission on 
     International Religious Freedom Reform and Reauthorization 
     Act of 2014''.

     SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION.

       (a) Leadership.--Subsection (d) of section 201 of the 
     International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
     6431(d)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(d) Election of Chair.--At the first meeting of the 
     Commission after May 30 of each year, a majority of the 
     Members of the Commission present and voting shall elect the 
     Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission, subject to the 
     following requirements:
       ``(1) Initial elections.--At the first meeting of the 
     Commission after May 30, 2015, the Members of the Commission 
     shall elect as Chair a Commissioner appointed by an elected 
     official of the political party that is not the political 
     party of the President, and as Vice Chair a Commissioner 
     appointed by an elected official of the political party of 
     the President.
       ``(2) Future elections.--At the first meeting of the 
     Commission after May 30, 2016, the Members of the Commission 
     shall elect as Chair a Commissioner appointed by an elected 
     official of the political party of the President, and as Vice 
     Chair a Commissioner appointed by an elected official of the 
     political party that is not the political party of the 
     President. Thereafter, positions of Chair and Vice Chair 
     shall continue to rotate on an annual basis between 
     Commissioners appointed by elected officials of each 
     political party.
       ``(3) Term limits.--No Member of the Commission is eligible 
     to be elected as Chair of the Commission for a second term, 
     and no Member of the Commission is eligible to be elected as 
     Vice Chair of the Commission for a second term.''.
       (b) Attendance at Meetings of Ambassador at Large for 
     International Religious Freedom.--Subsection (f) of such 
     section (22 U.S.C. 6431(f)) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following: ``The Ambassador at Large shall be given 
     advance notice of all Commission meetings and may attend all 
     Commission meetings as a non-voting Member of the 
     Commission.''.
       (c) Appointments in Cases of Vacancies.--Subsection (g) of 
     such section (22 U.S.C. 6431(g)) is amended by striking the 
     second sentence.

     SEC. 3. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

       Section 203(e) of the International Religious Freedom Act 
     of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432a) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(e) Views of the Commission.--The Members of the 
     Commission may speak in their capacity as private citizens. 
     Statements on behalf of the Commission shall be issued in 
     writing over the names of the Members. Members of the 
     Commission shall make every effort to reach consensus on all 
     statements on behalf of the Commission, including testimony, 
     press releases, and articles by Commissioners or Commission 
     staff. When a statement supported by all Commissioners is not 
     possible, the Commission shall issue a statement only if such 
     statement is approved by an affirmative vote of at least six 
     of the nine Members of the Commission and each Member of the 
     Commission may include the individual or dissenting views of 
     the Member. The Commission shall in its written statements 
     clearly describe its statutory authority, distinguishing that 
     authority from that of appointed or elected officials of the 
     United States Government. Oral statements, where practicable, 
     shall include a similar description.''.

     SEC. 4. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

       (a) Staff Directors.--Section 204 of the International 
     Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432b) is amended by 
     striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) and inserting the 
     following new subsections:
       ``(a) Committee Functions.--Subject to subsection (c), the 
     Commission may appoint and fix the pay of such staff 
     personnel as it deems desirable. All decisions pertaining to 
     the hiring, firing, and fixing of pay of personnel of the 
     Commission shall be by an affirmative vote of at least six of 
     the nine Members of the Commission, except that--
       ``(1) Members of the Commission appointed by an elected 
     official of the political party of the President, by a 
     majority vote thereof, shall be entitled to appoint, 
     terminate, and fix the pay of a Majority Staff Director and 
     shall have the authority to appoint, terminate, and fix the 
     pay of three professional staff members who shall be 
     responsible to the Members of the Commission of the political 
     party of the President; and
       ``(2) Members of the Commission appointed by an elected 
     official of the political party that is not the political 
     party of the President, by a majority vote thereof, shall be 
     entitled to appoint, terminate, and fix the pay of a Minority 
     Staff Director and shall have the authority to appoint, 
     terminate, and fix the pay of three professional staff 
     members who shall be responsible to the Members of the 
     Commission of the political party that is not the political 
     party of the President.
       ``(b) Staff Appointments and Compensation.--All staff 
     appointments shall be made without regard to the provisions 
     of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5 
     relating to classification of positions and General Schedule 
     pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the Majority Staff 
     Director, Minority Staff Director, and other personnel may 
     not exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive 
     Schedule under section 5316 of such title.
       ``(c) Qualifications of Professional Staff.--The Commission 
     shall ensure that the professional staff of the Commission 
     consists of persons with expertise in areas relevant to the 
     issue of international religious

[[Page 13603]]

     freedom, including foreign affairs, direct experience abroad, 
     human rights, and international law.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Subsection (e) of such section 
     (22 U.S.C. 6432b(e)) is amended by striking ``The Executive 
     Director'' both places it appears and inserting ``The 
     Majority Staff Director and the Minority Staff Director''.

     SEC. 5. REPORT OF COMMISSION.

       (a) Report Publication Date.--Section 205(a) of the 
     International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
     6433(a)) is amended by striking ``Not later than May 1 of 
     each year'' and inserting ``Each year, not earlier than 30 
     days after, and not later than 90 days after, the publication 
     of the Department of State's Annual Report on International 
     Religious Freedom''.
       (b) Consensus on Reports.--Section 205(c) of the 
     International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
     6433(c)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(c) Individual or Dissenting Views.--Members of the 
     Commission shall make every effort to reach consensus on the 
     report. When a report supported by all Commissioners is not 
     possible, the report shall be approved by an affirmative vote 
     of at least six of the nine Members of the Commission and 
     each Member of the Commission may include the individual or 
     dissenting views of the Member.''.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 207(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act 
     of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6435(a)) is amended by striking ``2014'' 
     and inserting ``2016''.

     SEC. 7. TERMINATION.

       Section 209 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 
     1998 (22 U.S.C. 6436) is amended by striking ``September 30, 
     2014'' and inserting ``September 30, 2016''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DURBIN:
  S. 2712. A bill to amend section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 in order to allow adjunct faculty members to qualify for public 
service loan forgiveness; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I introduced the Adjunct Faculty 
Loan Fairness Act, a bill that would make adjunct professors eligible 
to participate in the Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
  Contingent faculty members are like full-time instructors. They have 
advanced degrees. They teach classes and spend many hours outside the 
classroom preparing for class. They hold office hours, grade papers and 
give feedback to students. They provide advice and write letters of 
recommendation. Students rely on them. Since most adjuncts have 
advanced degrees and, as almost 75 percent of graduate degree 
recipients have an average of $61,000 in student loans, they are also 
among the 40 million Americans with student debt.
  The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is meant to encourage 
graduates to go into public service by offering student loan 
forgiveness for eligible federal loans after ten years of full-time 
work in government or the non-profit sector. Public service fields like 
nursing, military service, and public health qualify. And many 
education jobs qualify, including full-time work at public universities 
and part-time work at community colleges in high-needs subject areas or 
areas of shortage. But other faculty members who work part-time are not 
eligible for loan forgiveness because the law requires an annual 
average of 30 hours per week to qualify for the program. For adjunct 
faculty working at several schools on a contingent basis, this 
requirement can be difficult or impossible to meet, even when they are 
putting in more than 30 hours of work each week.
  The number of faculty hours given for each class is calculated 
differently at different schools. Some give one hour per hour in the 
classroom while others actually take into consideration the time 
required outside the classroom. So, even as these faculty members are 
working hard and as their options for tenured, full-time positions 
become slimmer, more of them are overworked and undervalued for their 
work in public service.
  The Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act of 2014 would solve this by 
amending the Higher Education Act to expand the definition of a 
``public service job'' to include a part-time faculty member who 
teaches at least one course at an eligible institution of higher 
education. They would still have to meet all the other requirements to 
qualify for the program, including making 120 on-time payments while 
employed at a qualifying institution, and they could not be employed 
full-time elsewhere at the same time.
  This bill would benefit someone like David Weiss, an adjunct 
professor from St. Paul, Minnesota, who graduated with $48,000 in 
student debt and, after 12 years of on-time payments, has $35,000 left. 
Like most adjuncts, David has dealt with uncertain job security. In 
good years, he is able to teach 5 to 7 courses a year, but recently he 
has only been offered two to three courses. He supplements his income 
from teaching with other part-time work. This bill would ensure that 
David and many thousands like him, could obtain credit towards PSLF for 
payments made while teaching whether or not he was teaching one course 
or 7.
  Unfortunately, for all their contributions to the college programs 
and the students they work with, adjunct faculty don't have the same 
employment benefits or job security as their colleagues. The number of 
classes they teach every semester varies. To make ends meet, these 
professors often end up teaching classes at more than one school in the 
same semester, getting paid about $3,000 per class and making an 
average annual income that hovers around minimum wage. This also means 
that, in some parts of the country, they spend as much time commuting 
as they do teaching.
  Nationally, \2/3\ of all higher education faculty work on a 
contingent basis, with low pay and little or no benefits or job 
security. In the past, these were a minority of professors who were 
hired to teach an occasional class because they could bring experience 
to the classroom in a specific field or industry. Over time, as 
university budgets have tightened and it has gotten more expensive to 
hire full-time, tenure track professors, higher education institutions 
have increasingly hired adjuncts.
  From 1991 to 2011, the number of part-time faculty in the U.S. 
increased two and a half times from 291,000 to over 760,000. At the 
same time, the percentage of professors holding tenure-track positions 
has been steadily decreasing--from 45 percent of all instructors in 
1975 to only 24 percent in 2011. The number of full-time instructors, 
tenured and non-tenured, now makes up only about 50 percent of 
professors on U.S. campuses. The other 50 percent of the 1.5 million 
faculty employees at public and non-profit colleges and universities in 
the U.S. work on a part-time, contingent basis.
  Illinois colleges rely heavily on adjuncts. In 2012, 53 percent of 
all faculty at public and not-for-profit colleges and universities in 
the State, more than 30,400 faculty employees, worked on a part-time 
basis. This is a 52.6 percent increase in part-time faculty in Illinois 
compared to a 13 percent increase in full-time faculty since 2002.
  Not surprisingly, in Illinois, 69 percent of all part-time faculty 
work in Chicago, where the cost of living is 16 percent higher than the 
U.S. average. Based on an average payment of $3,000 per class an 
adjunct professor must teach between seventeen and thirty classes a 
year to pay for rent and utilities in Chicago.
  They would have to teach up to 7 classes to afford groceries for a 
family of four and two to four classes per year just to cover student 
loan payments. Because they are part-time, they are not eligible for 
vacation time, paid sick days, or group health-care. So they would have 
to teach an additional two to three classes to afford family coverage 
from the lowest priced health insurance offered on Get Covered 
Illinois, the official health marketplace.
  Even though these professors are working in a relatively low-paying 
field, teaching our students, their part-time status also means they 
aren't eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
  This bill does not completely fix this growing reliance on part-time 
professors who are underpaid and undervalued. But it would ensure that 
members of the contingent faculty workforce are no longer excluded from 
the loan forgiveness program for public servants. I hope my colleagues 
will join me in the effort to provide this benefit

[[Page 13604]]

to faculty members who provide our students with a quality education.
  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. 2712

       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 ``Adjunct Faculty Loan 
     Fairness Act of 2014''.

     SEC. 2. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR ADJUNCT FACULTY.

       Section 455(m)(3)(B)(ii) of the Higher Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)(3)(B)(ii)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``teaching as'' and inserting the 
     following: ``teaching--

       ``(I) as'';

       (2) by striking ``, foreign language faculty, and part-time 
     faculty at community colleges), as determined by the 
     Secretary.'' and inserting ``and foreign language faculty), 
     as determined by the Secretary; or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:

       ``(II) as a part-time faculty member or instructor who--

       ``(aa) teaches not less than 1 course at an institution of 
     higher education (as defined in section 101(a)), a 
     postsecondary vocational institution (as defined in section 
     102(c)), or a Tribal College or University (as defined in 
     section 316(b)); and
       ``(bb) is not employed on a full-time basis by any other 
     employer.''.

                          ____________________