[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12565-12567]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 747. Mr. TESTER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill H.R. 2810, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2018 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       Strike section 601 and the following:

     SEC. 601. FISCAL YEAR 2018 INCREASE IN MILITARY BASIC PAY.

       (a) Waiver of Section 1009 Adjustment.--The adjustment to 
     become effective during fiscal year 2018 required by section 
     1009 of title 37, United States Code, in the rates of monthly 
     basic pay authorized members of the uniformed services shall 
     not be made.
       (b) Increase in Basic Pay.--Effective on January 1, 2018, 
     the rates of monthly basic pay for members of the uniformed 
     services shall be increased by a percentage that is equal to 
     or greater than the percentage by which--
       (1) the ECI for the final fiscal quarter of fiscal year 
     2017, exceeds
       (2) the ECI for the final fiscal quarter of fiscal year 
     2016.
       (c) Determination of Percentage.--The Secretary of Defense 
     shall determine the percentage increase in rates of monthly 
     basic pay provided for by subsection (b) in consultation with 
     the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 
     Commerce, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
       (d) ECI Defined.--In this section, the term ``ECI'' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 1009(a)(3)(A) of title 37, 
     United States Code.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 748. Mr. CARPER (for himself and Mr. Grassley) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2810, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of title X, add the following:

            Subtitle H--Government Purchase and Travel Cards

     SEC. 1091. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Saving Federal Dollars 
     Through Better Use of Government Purchase and Travel Cards 
     Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 1092. DEFINITIONS.

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

[[Page 12566]]



     SEC. 1093. EXPANDED USE OF DATA ANALYTICS.

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

     SEC. 1094. GUIDANCE ON IMPROVING INFORMATION SHARING TO CURB 
                   IMPROPER PAYMENTS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator 
     of General Services and the interagency charge card data 
     management group established under section 1095, shall issue 
     guidance on improving information sharing by government 
     agencies for the purposes of section 1093(a)(1).
       (b) Elements.--The guidance issued under subsection (a) 
     shall--
       (1) require relevant officials at Federal agencies to 
     identify high-risk activities and communicate that 
     information to the appropriate management levels within the 
     agencies;
       (2) require that appropriate officials at Federal agencies 
     review the reports issued by charge card-issuing banks on 
     questionable transaction activity (such as purchase and 
     travel card pre-suspension and suspension reports, 
     delinquency reports, and exception reports), including 
     transactions that occur with high-risk activities, and 
     suspicious timing or amounts of cash withdrawals or advances;
       (3) provide for the appropriate sharing of information 
     related to potential questionable transactions, fraud 
     schemes, and high-risk activities with the General Services 
     Administration and the appropriate officials in Federal 
     agencies;
       (4) consider the recommendations made by Inspectors General 
     or the best practices Inspectors General have identified; and
       (5) include other requirements determined appropriate by 
     the Director for the purposes of carrying out this subtitle.

     SEC. 1095. INTERAGENCY CHARGE CARD DATA MANAGEMENT GROUP.

       (a) Establishment.--The Administrator of General Services 
     and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
     establish a purchase and travel charge card data management 
     group to develop and share best practices for the purposes 
     described in section 1093(a).
       (b) Elements.--The best practices developed under 
     subsection (a) shall--
       (1) cover rules, edits, and task order or contract 
     modifications related to charge card-issuing banks;
       (2) include the review of accounts payable information and 
     purchase and travel card transaction data of agencies for the 
     purpose of identifying potential strategic sourcing and other 
     additional opportunities (such as recurring payments, utility 
     payments, and grant payments) for which the charge cards or 
     related payment products could be used as a payment method; 
     and
       (3) include other best practices as determined by the 
     Administrator and Director.
       (c) Membership.--The purchase and travel charge card data 
     management group shall meet regularly as determined by the 
     co-chairs, for a duration of three years, and include those 
     agencies as described in section 2 of the Government Charge 
     Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-194) and 
     others identified by the Administrator and Director.

     SEC. 1096. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) General Services Administration Report.--Not later than 
     one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
     Administrator for General Services shall submit a report to 
     Congress on the implementation of this subtitle, including 
     the metrics used in determining whether the analytic and 
     benchmarking efforts have reduced, or contributed to the 
     reduction of, questionable or improper payments as well as 
     improved utilization of card-based payment products.
       (b) Agency Reports and Consolidated Report to Congress.--
     Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the head of each Federal agency described in 
     section 2 of the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act 
     of 2012 (Public Law 112-194) shall submit a report to the 
     Director of the Office of Management and Budget on that 
     agency's activities to implement this subtitle.
       (c) Office of Management and Budget Report to Congress.--
     The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
     submit to Congress a consolidated report of agency activities 
     to implement this subtitle, which may be included as part of 
     another report submitted to Congress by the Director.
       (d) Report on Additional Savings Opportunities.--Not later 
     than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
     the Administrator of General Services shall submit a report 
     to Congress identifying and exploring further potential 
     savings opportunities for government agencies under the 
     Federal charge card programs. This report may be combined 
     with the report required under subsection (a).
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 749. Mr. McConnell (for Mr. Daines (for himself and Mr. Tester)) 
proposed an amendment to the bill S. 1282, to redesignate certain 
clinics of the Department of Veterans Affairs located in Montana; as 
follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. REDESIGNATION OF CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
                   AFFAIRS CLINICS IN MONTANA.

       (a) David J. Thatcher VA Clinic.--
       (1) Designation.--The clinic of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs located at 2687 Palmer Street in Missoula, Montana, 
     shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known 
     and designated as the ``David J. Thatcher VA Clinic''.
       (2) References.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     clinic referred to in paragraph (1) shall be considered to be 
     a reference to the David J. Thatcher VA Clinic.
       (b) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow VA Clinic.--
       (1) Designation.--The clinic of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs located at 1775 Spring Creek Lane in Billings, 
     Montana, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be 
     known and designated as the ``Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow VA 
     Clinic''.
       (2) References.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     clinic referred to in paragraph (1) shall be considered to be 
     a reference to the Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow VA Clinic.
       (3) Public display of name.--
       (A) In general.--Any local public display of the name of 
     the clinic referred to in paragraph (1) carried out by the 
     United States or through the use of Federal funds shall 
     include the English name, Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, and the 
     Crow name, Dakaak Baako, of Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow.
       (B) Local display.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 
     local public display of the name of the clinic referred to in 
     paragraph (1) includes a display inside the clinic, on the 
     campus of the clinic, and in the community surrounding the 
     clinic, such as signs directing individuals to the clinic.
       (c) Benjamin Charles Steele VA Clinic.--
       (1) Designation.--The clinic of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs located at 1766 Majestic Lane in Billings, Montana, 
     shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known 
     and designated as the ``Benjamin Charles Steele VA Clinic''.
       (2) References.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     clinic referred to in paragraph (1) shall be considered to be 
     a reference to the Benjamin Charles Steele VA Clinic.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 750. Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. Peters, Mr. Tester, and Ms. 
Warren) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 
bill H.R. 2810, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF EXTENDED PERIOD OF 
                   PROTECTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF UNIFORMED SERVICES 
                   RELATING TO MORTGAGES, MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE, 
                   AND EVICTION.

       Section 710(d) of the Honoring America's Veterans and 
     Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-
     154; 50 U.S.C. 3953 note) is amended--

[[Page 12567]]

       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``December 31, 2017'' and 
     inserting ``December 31, 2019''; and
       (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``January 1, 2018'' and 
     inserting ``January 1, 2020''.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 751. Mr. REED submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill H.R. 2430, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act to revise and extend the user-fee programs for 
prescription drugs, medical devices, generic drugs, and biosimilar 
biological products, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie 
on the table; as follows:

       On page 97, strike line 20 and all that follows through 
     line 9 on page 98 and insert the following:
       ``(k) Relation to Orphan Drugs.--
       ``(1) In general; exemption for orphan indications.--Unless 
     the Secretary requires otherwise by regulation, this section 
     does not apply to any drug for an indication for which orphan 
     designation has been granted under section 526, except as 
     provided in paragraph (2).
       ``(2) Applicability despite orphan designation of certain 
     indications.--This section shall apply with respect to a drug 
     or biological product for which an indication has been 
     granted orphan designation under section 526--
       ``(A) if the pediatric cancer investigation described in 
     subsection (a)(3) applies to the drug or biological product 
     as described in subsection (a)(1)(B); or
       ``(B) if such orphan indication is limited to a pediatric 
     subpopulation and such indication in the adult population 
     does not qualify for orphan designation.
       ``(3) Effect of application.--Application of this section 
     to drugs and biological products described in paragraph 
     (2)(B) does not limit the applicability of section 526 to 
     such drugs and biological products.''.

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