[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2782 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2782
To address recommendations made to Congress by the Government
Accountability Office and detailed in the annual duplication report,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 21, 2021
Ms. Hassan (for herself and Mr. Paul) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To address recommendations made to Congress by the Government
Accountability Office and detailed in the annual duplication report,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Acting on the
Annual Duplication Report Act of 2021''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress.
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Sec. 101. Enhancing Federal revenue through reviewing and reporting on
use and management of administrative
surcharges under foreign military sales
program.
Sec. 102. Modification of calculation of military housing contractor
pay for privatized military housing.
TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Sec. 201. Maximizing effective use and recoupment of Federal student
loans by closing the forbearance loophole
and amending default rates.
TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Sec. 301. Increasing Federal revenue by reviewing and reporting on
optimal size of Strategic Petroleum
Reserve.
TITLE IV--DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Sec. 401. Optimizing revenue intake and saving taxpayer dollars at
Ginnie Mae by assessing current practices
and exploring alternative governance
structures to provide better oversight.
TITLE V--DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Sec. 501. Saving Federal funds by authorizing changes to the
composition of circulating coins.
Sec. 502. Reducing the resource drain by requiring that electronically
prepared paper returns include scannable
code.
Sec. 503. Protecting the security of taxpayer information held by
third-party providers by improving
coordination and establishing minimum
security requirements to reduce
fragmentation.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The annual reports prepared by the Comptroller General
of the United States under section 21 of the Joint Resolution
entitled ``Joint Resolution increasing the statutory limit on
the public debt'', approved February 12, 2010 (31 U.S.C. 712
note; Public Law 111-139), have produced approximately
$429,000,000,000 in financial benefits for the Federal
Government.
(2) 2021 marks the 100-year anniversary of the creation of
the Government Accountability Office and its contributions to
improving the management and fiscal responsibility of the
Federal Government.
(3) The 2021 report entitled ``Additional Opportunities to
Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve
Billions in Financial Benefits'' (GAO-21-455SP) identified 112
new actions that Congress or the executive branch can take to
improve efficiency and effectiveness across the Federal
Government, and potentially to save tens of billions of
dollars.
(4) Those financial benefits cannot be realized without
full implementation of the actions and recommendations set
forth by the Comptroller General of the United States.
(5) Of the 112 new actions, one requires legislation to be
fully implemented, and it concerns adjusting the rate
calculation for paying military housing contractors.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) it is the responsibility of Congress and the executive
branch to take action to implement recommendations made in the
annual reports of the Government Accountability Office on
reducing duplication in Federal programs to be good stewards of
taxpayer dollars;
(2) legislation and adequate resources are needed to ensure
that all potential financial benefits are realized from the
implementation of those recommendations; and
(3) while some recommendations for congressional action
from previous reports have been resolved, Congress must
continue to pursue the recommendations that have gone
unaddressed in addition to the new recommendation for action
presented in the 2021 report.
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
SEC. 101. ENHANCING FEDERAL REVENUE THROUGH REVIEWING AND REPORTING ON
USE AND MANAGEMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SURCHARGES UNDER
FOREIGN MILITARY SALES PROGRAM.
(a) Foreign Military Sales Program Defined.--In this section, the
term ``foreign military sales program'' means the program authorized
under chapter 2 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2761 et
seq.).
(b) Review.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense, acting through
the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, shall
review options for expanding the use of administrative
surcharges under the foreign military sales program, including
practices for managing administrative surcharges and contract
administration services surcharges.
(2) Matters to be included.--The review conducted under
paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A) A determination of which specific expenses are
incurred by the United States Government in operation
of the foreign military sales program that the
administrative surcharge does not pay for as of the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(B) The estimated annual cost of each of such
specific expenses.
(C) An assessment of the costs and benefits of
funding such specific expenses through the
administrative surcharge, including any data to support
such an assessment.
(D) An assessment of how the Department of Defense
calculates the lower bound, or safety level, for the
administrative surcharge account and the contract
administration services surcharge account, including
what specific factors inform the calculation and
whether such a method for calculating the safety level
is still valid or should be revisited.
(E) An assessment of the process used by the
Department of Defense to review and set rates for the
administrative surcharge and the contract
administration services surcharge, including the extent
to which outside parties are consulted and any
proposals the Department of Defense may have for better
ensuring that the rates are set appropriately.
(F) Such other matters as the Secretary of Defense
determines to be appropriate.
(c) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, acting through the
Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, shall submit to
the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on
Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on--
(1) the findings of the review conducted under subsection
(b); and
(2) any legislative changes needed to allow the
administrative surcharge under the foreign military sales
program to pay for any expenses currently not covered by that
surcharge.
SEC. 102. MODIFICATION OF CALCULATION OF MILITARY HOUSING CONTRACTOR
PAY FOR PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING.
Section 606(a) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 10 U.S.C. 2871 note) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(B)--
(A) by striking ``2.5 percent'' and inserting ``50
percent''; and
(B) by striking ``section 403(b)(3)(A)(i)'' and
inserting ``section 403(b)(3)(A)(ii)''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(B)--
(A) by striking ``2.5 percent'' and inserting ``50
percent''; and
(B) by striking ``section 403(b)(3)(A)(i)'' and
inserting ``section 403(b)(3)(A)(ii)''.
TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SEC. 201. MAXIMIZING EFFECTIVE USE AND RECOUPMENT OF FEDERAL STUDENT
LOANS BY CLOSING THE FORBEARANCE LOOPHOLE AND AMENDING
DEFAULT RATES.
(a) Default Management Plan.--Section 435(a)(7)(A) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(a)(7)(A)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); and
(2) by inserting after clause (i) the following:
``(ii) Prohibition.--The plan required
under clause (i) shall not include placing
students in forbearance as a means of reducing
the cohort default rate of the institution.''.
(b) Forbearance Rules.--Section 435(m)(1) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(m)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(D) With respect to a cohort default rate calculated for
an institution under this paragraph for fiscal year 2021 and
for each succeeding fiscal year, the cohort default rate shall
be calculated such that in determining the number of current
and former students at an institution who enter repayment for
such fiscal year--
``(i) any student who is in nonmandatory
forbearance for such fiscal year for a period of
greater than 18 months but less than 36 months shall
not be counted as entering repayment for that fiscal
year;
``(ii) any student described in clause (i) shall be
counted as entering repayment for the first fiscal year
for which the student ceases to be in a period of
forbearance and otherwise meets the requirements for
being in repayment; and
``(iii) any student who is in a period of
nonmandatory forbearance for 3 or more years shall be
counted as in default and included in the institution's
total number of students in default.''.
TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
SEC. 301. INCREASING FEDERAL REVENUE BY REVIEWING AND REPORTING ON
OPTIMAL SIZE OF STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE.
(a) Review.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy (referred to in
this section as the ``Secretary'') shall conduct a review of
options for a long-range target for the optimal size and
configuration of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve established
under part B of title I of the Energy Policy and Conservation
Act (42 U.S.C. 6231 et seq.) (referred to in this section as
the ``Reserve'').
(2) Matters to be considered.--In conducting the review
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider--
(A) the volume of petroleum and petroleum products
to be held in the Reserve;
(B) the infrastructure and modernization needs of
the Reserve;
(C) the projections for future oil production and
consumption in the United States;
(D) the efficacy of the existing Reserve to respond
to domestic supply disruptions;
(E) the obligations of the International Energy
Agency;
(F) the expected responses of the private sector to
any supply disruptions due to a suboptimal size and
configuration of the Reserve; and
(G) the costs and benefits of a range of potential
sizes and configurations of the Reserve.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives a report describing--
(1) the findings of the review conducted under subsection
(a); and
(2) recommendations for legislation needed to optimize the
size and configuration of the Reserve.
TITLE IV--DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
SEC. 401. OPTIMIZING REVENUE INTAKE AND SAVING TAXPAYER DOLLARS AT
GINNIE MAE BY ASSESSING CURRENT PRACTICES AND EXPLORING
ALTERNATIVE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES TO PROVIDE BETTER
OVERSIGHT.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the
House of Representatives;
(2) the term ``Association'' means the Government National
Mortgage Association; and
(3) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development.
(b) Guaranty Fee Study and Report.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a study and
submit to the appropriate congressional committees and the Comptroller
General of the United States a report on the adequacy of the guaranty
fee of the Association for single-family mortgage-backed securities,
which shall--
(1) evaluate the extent to which the level of the guaranty
fee for single-family mortgage-backed securities provides the
Association with sufficient reserves to cover potential losses
under different economic scenarios, including adverse
scenarios, based on an actuarial or similar analysis;
(2) identify the types of standards that the Association
could use to set the guaranty fee for single-family mortgage-
backed securities and evaluate which standard or standards
would enable the Association to set the guaranty fee at an
appropriate level in line with the mission of the Association;
(3) assess the benefits and costs of adopting a risk-based
guaranty fee for single-family mortgage-backed securities that
imposes a higher fee on higher risk issuers;
(4) analyze how and to what extent an increase in the
guaranty fee (for all issuers and a subset of riskier issuers)
would affect borrowers' financing, closing, and other related
costs for federally insured mortgage loans; and
(5) if warranted, include recommendations for any necessary
amendments to the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)
to change the guaranty fee for single-family mortgage-backed
securities, including for establishing a standard under which
the Association can determine the level of the guaranty fee for
single-family mortgage-backed securities.
(c) Reliance on Contractors Study and Report.--Not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
conduct a study and submit to the appropriate congressional committees
and the Comptroller General of the United States a report evaluating
the workforce composition of the Association in consideration of the
critical functions of the Association, which shall--
(1) analyze--
(A) the number of Federal employees and contractors
by type of role or position that the Association uses
to perform compliance, risk management, and other
critical functions, and the cost of a full-time
equivalent Federal employee versus a contractor for
comparable roles or positions;
(B) the extent to which the Association could use
Federal employees instead of contractors by role or
position to perform critical functions;
(C) the types and amounts of costs that the
Association could save by using Federal employees
instead of contractors, where possible, to perform
critical functions, such as savings from differences in
pay and not having to oversee contractors;
(D) whether the Association would face any legal or
other obstacles in using Federal employees instead of
contractors to perform critical functions; and
(E) the potential negative and positive effects of
using Federal employees instead of contractors on the
ability of the Association to achieve the mission of
the Association; and
(2) if warranted, include recommendations for any necessary
amendments to the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)
to change the funding structure of the Association.
(d) Compensation Structure Study and Report.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a
study and submit to the appropriate congressional committees and the
Comptroller General of the United States a report evaluating the
workforce challenges of the Association, which shall--
(1) analyze, quantitatively to the extent possible, the
challenges of the Association in hiring and retaining staff,
including compensation, during the 3-year period preceding the
report;
(2) identify and summarize the options that the Association
has pursued within existing authorities to address the staffing
challenges of the Association, including which agencies or
offices were involved, and the key decisions and outcomes of
those efforts;
(3) identify options that the Association did not pursue
within existing authorities to address the staffing challenges
of the Association and the reasons for not pursuing those
options;
(4) identify and evaluate options outside of existing
authorities that the Association could use to address the
staffing challenges of the Association and the potential
benefits and costs of those options; and
(5) if warranted, include recommendations for any necessary
amendments to the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)
to change how the Government National Mortgage Association sets
compensation.
(e) Review of Reforms to Ginnie Mae's Organizational and Oversight
Structure.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct
a study and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
on alternate ways of overseeing the Association to address increasing
risks, which shall--
(1) review the reports submitted by the Secretary under
subsections (b), (c), and (d) to determine if the reports
addressed the required provisions and assess any
recommendations made in those reports;
(2) identify key challenges or constraints that the
Association has faced under the governance and funding
structure of the Association as a government corporation within
the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
(3) identify alternative models under which the governance
and funding structure of the Association could be reorganized
to better support housing policy priorities in the United
States and to ensure that the Association fulfilling the role
of increasing liquidity in the housing finance market while
also minimizing risk to the taxpayer;
(4) evaluate the potential positive and negative impacts of
the models described in paragraph (3) on the Association, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other
stakeholders;
(5) obtain input from relevant stakeholders, such as
Federal entities, lenders, issuers, investors, affordable
housing advocates, and researchers, on reforms to the
organizational and oversight structure of the Association;
(6) consider the housing finance system and ways in which
alternative oversight structures of the Association could
impact the system; and
(7) review such other information as the Comptroller
General determines relevant.
TITLE V--DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
SEC. 501. SAVING FEDERAL FUNDS BY AUTHORIZING CHANGES TO THE
COMPOSITION OF CIRCULATING COINS.
(a) Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(bb) Composition of Circulating Coins.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, and subject to the other provisions of this subsection,
the Director of the United States Mint (referred to in this
subsection as the `Director'), in consultation with the
Secretary, may modify the metallic composition of circulating
coins to a new metallic composition (including by prescribing
reasonable manufacturing tolerances with respect to those
coins) if a study and analysis conducted by the United States
Mint, including solicitation of input, including input on
acceptor tolerances and requirements, from industry
stakeholders who could be affected by changes in the
composition of circulating coins, indicates that the
modification will--
``(A) reduce costs incurred by the taxpayers of the
United States;
``(B) be seamless, which shall mean the same
diameter and weight as United States coinage being
minted on the date of enactment of this subsection and
that the coins will work interchangeably in most coin
acceptors using electromagnetic signature technology;
and
``(C) have as minimal an adverse impact as possible
on the public and stakeholders.
``(2) Notification to congress.--On the date that is at
least 90 legislative days before the date on which the Director
begins making a modification described in paragraph (1), the
Director shall submit to Congress notice that--
``(A) provides a justification for the
modification, including the support for that
modification in the study and analysis required under
paragraph (1) with respect to the modification;
``(B) describes how the modification will reduce
costs incurred by the taxpayers of the United States;
``(C) certifies that the modification will be
seamless, as described in paragraph (1)(B); and
``(D) certifies that the modification will have as
minimal an adverse impact as possible on the public and
stakeholders.
``(3) Congressional authority.--The Director may begin
making a modification proposed under this subsection not
earlier than the date that is 90 legislative days after the
date on which the Director submits to Congress the notice
required under paragraph (2) with respect to that modification,
unless Congress, during the period of 90 legislative days
beginning on the date on which the Director submits that
notice--
``(A) finds that the modification is not justified
in light of the information contained in that notice;
and
``(B) enacts a joint resolution of disapproval of
the proposed modification.
``(4) Procedures.--For purpose of paragraph (3)--
``(A) a joint resolution of disapproval is a joint
resolution the matter after the resolving clause of
which is as follows: `That Congress disapproves the
modification submitted by the Director of the United
States Mint.'; and
``(B) the procedural rules in the House of
Representatives and the Senate for a joint resolution
of disapproval described under paragraph (3) shall be
the same as provided for a joint resolution of
disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States
Code.''.
(b) Determination of Budgetary Effects.--The budgetary effects of
this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-
Go-Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest
statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman
of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been
submitted prior to the vote on passage.
SEC. 502. REDUCING THE RESOURCE DRAIN BY REQUIRING THAT ELECTRONICALLY
PREPARED PAPER RETURNS INCLUDE SCANNABLE CODE.
(a) In General.--Subsection (e) of section 6011 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(8) Special rule for returns prepared electronically and
submitted on paper.--The Secretary shall require that any
return of tax which is prepared electronically, but is printed
and filed on paper, bear a code which can, when scanned,
convert such return to electronic format.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (1) of section 6011(e) of such
Code is amended by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and inserting
``paragraphs (3) and (8)''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to returns of tax the due date for which (determined without
regard to extensions) is after December 31, 2021.
SEC. 503. PROTECTING THE SECURITY OF TAXPAYER INFORMATION HELD BY
THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS BY IMPROVING COORDINATION AND
ESTABLISHING MINIMUM SECURITY REQUIREMENTS TO REDUCE
FRAGMENTATION.
(a) Regulation of Security Requirements for Tax Return Preparers
and Authorized E-File Providers.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or
the Secretary's delegate) shall prescribe standards for the
security of return information and information technology
systems that are consistent with security standards issued by
the National Institute for Standards and Technology.
(2) Penalty for failure to secure information.--
(A) In general.--Section 6695 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating
subsection (h) as subsection (i) and by inserting after
subsection (g) the following new subsection:
``(h) Failure To Comply With Electronic Return Security
Standards.--Any person who is authorized by the Secretary to provide
electronic filing services and who fails to secure return information
and information technology standards in such manner as prescribed by
the Secretary shall pay a penalty of $500 for each such failure. The
maximum penalty imposed under this subsection on any person with
respect to any calendar year shall not exceed $25,000.''.
(B) Inflation adjustment.--Section 6695(i) of such
Code, as redesignated by subparagraph (A), is amended--
(i) by redesignating paragraph (2) as
paragraph (3);
(ii) by inserting after paragraph (1) the
following new paragraph:
``(2) Failure to comply with security standards.--In the
case of any failure described in subsection (h) in a calendar
year beginning after 2022, each of the dollar amounts under
subsection (h) shall be increased by an amount equal to such
dollar amount multiplied by the cost-of-living adjustment
determined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year
determined by substituting `calendar year 2021' for `calendar
year 2016' in subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof.''; and
(iii) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by
clause (i)), by striking ``paragraph (1)'' and
inserting ``paragraph (1) or (2)''.
(C) Effective date.--The amendments made by this
paragraph shall apply to failures described in section
6695(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added
by subparagraph (A)) after the date that is 60 days
after the date the Secretary prescribes the standards
required under paragraph (1).
(b) Coordination of Taxpayer Information Security.--Not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue shall develop an organizational plan to create a
centralized body or other governance structure to coordinate all
aspects of the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to protect return
information while being held or transmitted by those authorized by the
Internal Revenue Service to provide electronic filing services. The
Commissioner shall transmit the organizational plan to the Committee on
Finance of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Ways and Means of
the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Oversight and Reform
of the House of Representatives.
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