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Calendar No. 352
113th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 113-146
======================================================================
OMNIBUS TERRITORIES
_______
April 8, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Landrieu, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1237]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1237) to improve the administration of
programs in the insular areas, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Omnibus Territories Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Amendments to the Consolidated Natural Resources Act.
Sec. 4. Study of electric rates in the insular areas.
Sec. 5. Reports on estimates of revenues.
Sec. 6. Low-income home energy assistance program.
Sec. 7. Guam War Claims Review Commission.
Sec. 8. Improvements in HUD assisted programs.
Sec. 9. Benefit to cost ratio study for projects in American Samoa.
Sec. 10. Waiver of local matching requirements.
Sec. 11. Fishery endorsements.
Sec. 12. Effects of Minimum Wage differentials in American Samoa.
Sec. 13. Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Sec. 14. Drivers' licenses and personal identification cards.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSOLIDATED NATURAL RESOURCES ACT.
Section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled ``A Joint Resolution to
approve the `Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America',
and for other purposes'', approved March 24, 1976 (Public Law 94-241;
90 Stat. 263, 122 Stat. 854), is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``December 31,
2014, except as provided in subsections (b) and (d)''
and inserting ``December 31, 2019''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (6), and inserting the
following:
``(6) Certain education funding.--
``(A) In general.--In addition to fees charged
pursuant to section 286(m) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356 (m)) to recover the full
costs of providing adjudication services, the Secretary
of Homeland Security shall charge an annual
supplemental fee of $150 per nonimmigrant worker to
each prospective employer who is issued a permit under
subsection (d) of this section during the transition
program. Such supplemental fee shall be paid into the
Treasury of the Commonwealth government for the purpose
of funding ongoing vocational educational curricula and
program development by Commonwealth educational
entities.
``(B) Plan for the expenditure of funds.--At the
beginning of each fiscal year, and prior to the payment
of the supplemental fee into the Treasury of the
Commonwealth government in that fiscal year, the
Commonwealth government must provide to the Secretary
of Labor, a plan for the expenditure of funds received
under this paragraph, a projection of the effectiveness
of these expenditures in the placement of United States
workers into jobs, and a report on the changes in
employment of United States workers attributable to
prior year expenditures.
``(C) Report.--The Secretary of Labor shall report to
the Congress every 2 years on the effectiveness of
meeting the goals set out by the Commonwealth
government in its annual plan for the expenditure of
funds.''; and
(2) in subsection (d)--
(A) in the third sentence of paragraph (2), by
striking ``not to extend beyond December 31, 2014,
unless extended pursuant to paragraph 5 of this
subsection'' and inserting ``ending on December 31,
2019'';
(B) by striking paragraph (5); and
(C) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (5).
SEC. 4. STUDY OF ELECTRIC RATES IN THE INSULAR AREAS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Comprehensive energy plan.--The term ``comprehensive
energy plan'' means a comprehensive energy plan prepared and
updated under subsections (c) and (e) of section 604 of the Act
entitled ``An Act to authorize appropriations for certain
insular areas of the United States, and for other purposes'',
approved December 24, 1980 (48 U.S.C. 1492).
(2) Energy action plan.--The term ``energy action plan''
means the plan required by subsection (d).
(3) Freely associated states.--The term ``Freely Associated
States'' means the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic
of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
(4) Insular areas.--The term ``insular areas'' means American
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto
Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
(6) Team.--The term ``team'' means the team established by
the Secretary under subsection (b).
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, within the Empowering
Insular Communities activity, establish a team of technical, policy,
and financial experts--
(1) to develop an energy action plan addressing the energy
needs of each of the insular areas and Freely Associated
States; and
(2) to assist each of the insular areas and Freely Associated
States in implementing such plan.
(c) Participation of Regional Utility Organizations.--In establishing
the team, the Secretary shall consider including regional utility
organizations.
(d) Energy Action Plan.--In accordance with subsection (b), the
energy action plan shall include--
(1) recommendations, based on the comprehensive energy plan
where applicable, to--
(A) reduce reliance and expenditures on fuel shipped
to the insular areas and Freely Associated States from
ports outside the United States;
(B) develop and utilize domestic fuel energy sources;
and
(C) improve performance of energy infrastructure and
overall energy efficiency;
(2) a schedule for implementation of such recommendations and
identification and prioritization of specific projects;
(3) a financial and engineering plan for implementing and
sustaining projects; and
(4) benchmarks for measuring progress toward implementation.
(e) Reports to Secretary.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the Secretary establishes the team and annually thereafter, the
team shall submit to the Secretary a report detailing progress made in
fulfilling its charge and in implementing the energy action plan.
(f) Annual Reports to Congress.--Not later than 30 days after the
date on which the Secretary receives a report submitted by the team
under subsection (e), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a summary of the report of the team.
(g) Approval of Secretary Required.--The energy action plan shall not
be implemented until the Secretary approves the energy action plan.
SEC. 5. REPORTS ON ESTIMATES OF REVENUES.
The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report that--
(1) evaluates whether the annual estimates or forecasts of
revenue and expenditure of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are
reasonable; and
(2) as the Comptroller General of the United States
determines to be necessary, makes recommendations for improving
the process for developing estimates or forecasts.
SEC. 6. LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
With respect to fiscal years 2014 through 2017, the percentage
described in section 2605(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(b)(2)(B)(i)) shall be 300
percent when applied to households located in the Virgin Islands.
SEC. 7. GUAM WAR CLAIMS REVIEW COMMISSION.
(a) Recognition of the Suffering and Loyalty of the Residents of
Guam.--
(1) Recognition of the suffering of the residents of guam.--
The United States recognizes that, as described by the Guam War
Claims Review Commission, the residents of Guam, on account of
their United States nationality, suffered unspeakable harm as a
result of the occupation of Guam by Imperial Japanese military
forces during World War II, by being subjected to death, rape,
severe personal injury, personal injury, forced labor, forced
march, or internment.
(2) Recognition of the loyalty of the residents of guam.--The
United States forever will be grateful to the residents of Guam
for their steadfast loyalty to the United States, as
demonstrated by the countless acts of courage they performed
despite the threat of death or great bodily harm they faced at
the hands of the Imperial Japanese military forces that
occupied Guam during World War II.
(b) Guam World War II Claims Fund.--
(1) Establishment of fund.--The Secretary of the Treasury
shall establish in the Treasury of the United States a special
fund (in this Act referred to as the ``Claims Fund'') for the
payment of claims submitted by compensable Guam victims and
survivors of compensable Guam decedents in accordance with
subsections (c) and (d).
(2) Composition of fund.--The Claims Fund established under
paragraph (1) shall be composed of amounts deposited into the
Claims Fund under paragraph (3) and any other amounts made
available for the payment of claims under this Act.
(3) Payment of certain duties, taxes, and fees collected from
guam deposited into fund.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding section 30 of the
Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1421h), the excess of--
(i) any amount of duties, taxes, and fees
collected under such subsection after fiscal
year 2012, over
(ii) the amount of duties, taxes, and fees
collected under such subsection during fiscal
year 2012,
shall be deposited into the Claims Fund.
(B) Application.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply
after the date for which the Secretary of the Treasury
determines that all payments required to be made under
subsection (c) have been made.
(4) Limitation on payments made from fund.--
(A) In general.--No payment may be made in a fiscal
year under subsection (c) until funds are deposited
into the Claims Fund in such fiscal year under
paragraph (3).
(B) Amounts.--For each fiscal year in which funds are
deposited into the Claims Fund under paragraph (3), the
total amount of payments made in a fiscal year under
subsection (c) may not exceed the amount of funds
available in the Claims Fund for such fiscal year.
(5) Deductions from fund for administrative expenses.--The
Secretary of the Treasury shall deduct from any amounts
deposited into the Claims Fund an amount equal to 5 per cent of
such amounts as reimbursement to the Federal Government for
expenses incurred by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
and by the Department of the Treasury in the administration of
this Act. The amounts so deducted shall be covered into the
Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.
(c) Payments for Guam World War II Claims.--
(1) Payments for death, personal injury, forced labor, forced
march, and internment.--After the Secretary of the Treasury
receives the certification from the Chairman of the Foreign
Claims Settlement Commission as required under subsection
(d)(2)(H), the Secretary of the Treasury shall make payments to
compensable Guam victims and survivors of a compensable Guam
decedents as follows:
(A) Compensable guam victim.--Before making any
payments under subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall
make payments to compensable Guam victims as follows:
(i) In the case of a victim who has suffered
an injury described in paragraph (3)(B)(i),
$15,000.
(ii) In the case of a victim who is not
described in clause (i), but who has suffered
an injury described in paragraph (3)(B)(ii),
$12,000.
(iii) In the case of a victim who is not
described in clause (i) or (ii), but who has
suffered an injury described in paragraph
(3)(B)(iii), $10,000.
(B) Survivors of compensable guam decedents.--In the
case of a compensable Guam decedent, the Secretary
shall pay $25,000 for distribution to survivors of the
decedent in accordance with paragraph (2). The
Secretary shall make payments under this paragraph only
after all payments are made under subparagraph (A).
(2) Distribution of survivor payments.--A payment made under
paragraph (1)(B) to the survivors of a compensable Guam
decedent shall be distributed as follows:
(A) In the case of a decedent whose spouse is living
as of the date of the enactment of this Act, but who
had no living children as of such date, the payment
shall be made to such spouse.
(B) In the case of a decedent whose spouse is living
as of the date of the enactment of this Act and who had
one or more living children as of such date, 50 percent
of the payment shall be made to the spouse and 50
percent shall be made to such children, to be divided
among such children to the greatest extent possible
into equal shares.
(C) In the case of a decedent whose spouse is not
living as of the date of the enactment of this Act and
who had one or more living children as of such date,
the payment shall be made to such children, to be
divided among such children to the greatest extent
possible into equal shares.
(D) In the case of a decedent whose spouse is not
living as of the date of the enactment of this Act and
who had no living children as of such date, but who--
(i) had a parent who is living as of such
date, the payment shall be made to the parent;
or
(ii) had two parents who are living as of
such date, the payment shall be divided equally
between the parents.
(E) In the case of a decedent whose spouse is not
living as of the date of the enactment of this Act, who
had no living children as of such date, and who had no
parents who are living as of such date, no payment
shall be made.
(3) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act:
(A) Compensable guam decedent.--The term
``compensable Guam decedent'' means an individual
determined under subsection (d) to have been a resident
of Guam who died as a result of the attack and
occupation of Guam by Imperial Japanese military forces
during World War II, or incident to the liberation of
Guam by United States military forces, and whose death
would have been compensable under the Guam Meritorious
Claims Act of 1945 (Public Law 79-224) if a timely
claim had been filed under the terms of such Act.
(B) Compensable guam victim.--The term ``compensable
Guam victim'' means an individual who is not deceased
as of the date of the enactment of this Act and who is
determined under subsection (d) to have suffered, as a
result of the attack and occupation of Guam by Imperial
Japanese military forces during World War II, or
incident to the liberation of Guam by United States
military forces, any of the following:
(i) Rape or severe personal injury (such as
loss of a limb, dismemberment, or paralysis).
(ii) Forced labor or a personal injury not
under subparagraph (A) (such as disfigurement,
scarring, or burns).
(iii) Forced march, internment, or hiding to
evade internment.
(C) Definitions of severe personal injuries and
personal injuries.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Foreign Claims
Settlement Commission shall promulgate regulations to
specify the injuries that constitute a severe personal
injury or a personal injury for purposes of
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, of paragraph
(2).
(d) Adjudication.--
(1) Authority of foreign claims settlement commission.--
(A) In general.--The Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission shall adjudicate claims and determine the
eligibility of individuals for payments under
subsection (c).
(B) Rules and regulations.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
shall publish in the Federal Register such rules and
regulations as may be necessary to enable the
Commission to carry out the functions of the Commission
under this Act.
(2) Claims submitted for payments.--
(A) Submittal of claim.--For purposes of paragraph
(1)(A) and subject to subparagraph (B), the Foreign
Claims Settlement Commission may not determine an
individual is eligible for a payment under subsection
(c) unless the individual submits to the Commission a
claim in such manner and form and containing such
information as the Commission specifies.
(B) Filing period for claims and notice.--
(i) Filing period.--An individual filing a
claim for a payment under subsection (c) shall
file such claim not later than one year after
the date on which the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission publishes the notice described in
clause (ii).
(ii) Notice of filing period.--Not later than
180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission shall publish a notice of the
deadline for filing a claim described in clause
(i)--
(I) in the Federal Register; and
(II) in newspaper, radio, and
television media in Guam.
(C) Adjudicatory decisions.--The decision of the
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission on each claim
filed under this Act shall--
(i) be by majority vote;
(ii) be in writing;
(iii) state the reasons for the approval or
denial of the claim; and
(iv) if approved, state the amount of the
payment awarded and the distribution, if any,
to be made of the payment.
(D) Deductions in payment.--The Foreign Claims
Settlement Commission shall deduct, from a payment made
to a compensable Guam victim or survivors of a
compensable Guam decedent under this subsection,
amounts paid to such victim or survivors under the Guam
Meritorious Claims Act of 1945 (Public Law 79-224)
before the date of the enactment of this Act.
(E) Interest.--No interest shall be paid on payments
made by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under
subsection (c).
(F) Limited compensation for provision of
representational services.--
(i) Limit on compensation.--Any agreement
under which an individual who provided
representational services to an individual who
filed a claim for a payment under this Act that
provides for compensation to the individual who
provided such services in an amount that is
more than one percent of the total amount of
such payment shall be unlawful and void.
(ii) Penalties.--Whoever demands or receives
any compensation in excess of the amount
allowed under subparagraph (A) shall be fined
not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more
than one year, or both.
(G) Appeals and finality.--Objections and appeals of
decisions of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
shall be to the Commission, and upon rehearing, the
decision in each claim shall be final, and not subject
to further review by any court or agency.
(H) Certifications for payment.--After a decision
approving a claim becomes final, the Chairman of the
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission shall certify such
decision to the Secretary of the Treasury for
authorization of a payment under subsection (c).
(I) Treatment of affidavits.--For purposes of
subsection (c) and subject to subparagraph (B), the
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission shall treat a
claim that is accompanied by an affidavit of an
individual that attests to all of the material facts
required for establishing the eligibility of such
individual for payment under such subsection as
establishing a prima facie case of the eligibility of
the individual for such payment without the need for
further documentation, except as the Commission may
otherwise require. Such material facts shall include,
with respect to a claim for a payment made under
subsection (c)(1), a detailed description of the injury
or other circumstance supporting the claim involved,
including the level of payment sought.
(J) Release of related claims.--Acceptance of a
payment under subsection (c) by an individual for a
claim related to a compensable Guam decedent or a
compensable Guam victim shall be in full satisfaction
of all claims related to such decedent or victim,
respectively, arising under the Guam Meritorious Claims
Act of 1945 (Public Law 79-224), the implementing
regulations issued by the United States Navy pursuant
to such Act (Public Law 79-224), or this Act.
SEC. 8. IMPROVEMENTS IN HUD ASSISTED PROGRAMS.
Section 214(a)(7) of the Housing and Community Development Act of
1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a(a)(7)) is amended by striking ``such alien'' and
all that follows through the period at the end and inserting ``citizen
or national of the United States shall be entitled to a preference or
priority in receiving assistance before any such alien who is otherwise
eligible for such assistance.''.
SEC. 9. BENEFIT TO COST RATIO STUDY FOR PROJECTS IN AMERICAN SAMOA.
(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct a study regarding the use of benefit-to-cost ratio formulas by
Federal departments and agencies for purposes of evaluating projects in
American Samoa.
(b) Contents.--In conducting the study, the Comptroller General
shall--
(1) assess whether the benefit-to-cost ratio formulas
described in subsection (a) take into consideration--
(A) the remote locations in, and the cost of
transportation to and from, American Samoa; and
(B) other significant factors that are not comparable
to locations within the 48 contiguous States; and
(2) assess, in particular, the use of benefit-to-cost ratio
formulas by--
(A) the Secretary of Transportation with respect to
airport traffic control tower programs; and
(B) the Secretary of the Army, acting through the
Corps of Engineers, with respect to a harbor project or
other water resources development project.
(3) Report to congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to Congress a report on the results of the study.
SEC. 10. WAIVER OF LOCAL MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Waiver of Certain Matching Requirements.--Section 501 of the Act
entitled ``An Act to authorize certain appropriations for the
territories of the United States, to amend certain Acts relating
thereto, and for other purposes'', approved October 15, 1977 (48 U.S.C.
1469a; 91 Stat. 1164) is amended--
(1) in the last sentence of subsection (d), by striking ``by
law''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of
American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana
Islands, each department or agency of the United States shall waive any
requirement for local matching funds (including in-kind contributions)
that the insular area would otherwise be required to provide for any
non-competitive grant as follows:
``(1) For a grant requiring matching funds (including in-kind
contributions) of $500,000 or less, the entire matching
requirement shall be waived.
``(2) For a grant requiring matching funds (including in-kind
contributions) of more than $500,000, $500,000 of the matching
requirement shall be waived.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 601 of the Act entitled ``An Act
to authorize appropriations for certain insular areas of the United
States, and for other purposes'', approved March 12, 1980 (48 U.S.C.
1469a note; 94 Stat. 90), is amended by striking ``, and adding the
following sentence'' and all that follows through ``Islands'.''.
SEC. 11. FISHERY ENDORSEMENTS.
Section 12113 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(j) Certain Exemption.--Paragraph (3) of subsection (a) shall not
apply to any vessel--
``(1) that offloads its catch in part or full in American
Samoa; and
``(2) that was rebuilt outside of the United States before
January 1, 2011.''.
SEC. 12. EFFECTS OF MINIMUM WAGE DIFFERENTIALS IN AMERICAN SAMOA.
Section 8104 of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (29 U.S.C. 206
note) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Effects of Minimum Wage Differentials in American Samoa.--The
reports required under this section shall include an analysis of the
economic effects on employees and employers of the differentials in
minimum wage rates among industries and classifications in American
Samoa under section 697 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations,
including the potential effects of eliminating such differentials prior
to the time when such rates are scheduled to be equal to the minimum
wage set forth in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (29
U.S.C. 206(a)(1)).''.
SEC. 13. OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY.
(a) Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy.--The Office of
National Drug Control Policy shall develop a biennial Caribbean Border
Counternarcotics Strategy, that is made available to the public, with
emphasis on the borders of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands of the
United States, on terms substantially equivalent to the existing
Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy and the Northern Border
Counternarcotics Strategy.
(b) Amendment.--Section 704(b)(13)(B) of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998 (21 U.S.C. 1703(b)(13)(B))
is amended by inserting ``the borders of Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands of the United States and'' after ``in particular''.
SEC. 14. DRIVERS' LICENSES AND PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION CARDS.
(a) Definition of State.--Section 201(5) of the REAL ID Act of 2005
(49 U.S.C. 30301 note; Public Law 109-13) is amended by striking ``the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands,''.
(b) Evidence of Lawful Status.--Section 202(c)(2)(B) of the REAL ID
Act of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 30301 note; Public Law 109-13) is amended--
(1) in clause (viii), by striking ``or'' after the semicolon
at the end;
(2) in clause (ix), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(x) is a citizen of the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, the Federated States of
Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau who has
been admitted to the United States as a
nonimmigrant pursuant to a Compact of Free
Association between the United States and the
Republic or Federated States.''.
Purpose
The purpose of S. 1237 is to improve the administration of
certain programs in the insular areas of the United States.
Summary of Major Provisions
S. 1237 calls for certain studies and reports and amends
various laws and programs with respect to the insular areas.
Specifically, it would:
(1) change how fees collected from the allocation of
foreign worker visas in the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands can be spent, and extends the
transition period for the collection of these fees and
for the foreign worker program from 2014 to 2019;
(2) require the Secretary of the Interior to develop
an energy action plan to address the energy needs of
each of the territories and Freely Associated States;
(3) require the Comptroller General of the United
States to submit a report to Congress evaluating the
annual estimates of revenue and expenditure of the
territorial governments (except Puerto Rico), and make
recommendations if the Comptroller determines them
necessary;
(4) authorize the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to make, for a three year period, larger
grants to the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands
under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of
1981;
(5) recognize the suffering and loyalty of the
residents of Guam during the occupation of Guam during
World War II by Japanese military forces by providing
for the payment of compensation to victims and
survivors;
(6) clarify that, within Guam, preference shall be
given to U.S. citizens and nationals over eligible
lawful resident aliens in receiving Federal housing
assistance;
(7) require the Comptroller General of the United
States to conduct a study of the use of benefit-to-cost
ratio formulas by Federal agencies when evaluating
projects in American Samoa;
(8) require all Federal agencies to waive up to
$500,000 in local matching fund requirements for non-
competitive grants for the territories (except Puerto
Rico);
(9) exempt certain American-made tuna purse seine
vessels from the requirement that they be rebuilt in
the United States;
(10) require the Comptroller General of the United
States, in the current reports on the impact of minimum
wages in American Samoa, to include an analysis of the
economic effects of the several different minimum wage
rates used among industries and classifications in
American Samoa;
(11) require the Office of National Drug Control
Policy to develop and make available to the public a
biennial Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy
with emphasis on Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands;
and
(12) clarify that citizens of the three Freely
Associated States who reside lawfully in the United
States shall be able to obtain a driver's license or
state identification card under the Real ID Act (Public
Law 109-13).
Background and Need
The sovereignty of the United States extends to various
insular areas, including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Congress has
extended U.S. citizenship to people born in these insular
areas, except for American Samoa. People born in American Samoa
are non-citizen nationals of the United States. Congress has
the responsibility to ``make all needful Rules and Regulations
respecting'' the insular areas under its jurisdiction under the
Territories Clause, article V, section 3, clause 2, of the
Constitution.
In addition, the United States has entered into Compacts of
Free Association with the self-governing, sovereign Republic of
Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of
the Marshall Islands, which are collectively referred to as the
Freely Associated States (FAS). The Freely Associated States
were part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands,
formerly administered by the United States under a United
Nations trusteeship following World War II.
Amendments to the Covenant with the CNMI
In 1976, Congress approved the Covenant to Establish a
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in
Political Union with the United States of America (Public Law
94-241). It was fully implemented on November 3, 1986, and
conferred U.S. citizenship on qualified CNMI residents. The
Covenant also exempted the CNMI from most of the provisions of
U.S. immigration law so that the CNMI controlled immigration
locally. Under this local immigration authority, the CNMI
established programs to permit aliens to enter into the CNMI as
workers and investors.
Section 503 of the Covenant allows Congress to extend U.S.
immigration and naturalization laws to the CNMI and this was
done under the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008
(CNRA)(Public Law 110-229). The CNRA provided for: (1) A five-
year transition period until Federal immigration laws would
fully apply; (2) a Commonwealth-Only Transitional Worker
classification to meet the CNMI's need for foreign workers who
would not otherwise be eligible to enter the CNMI under Federal
law; (3) a vocational training fund to support the training of
U.S. citizens and legal residents to fill jobs held by foreign
workers; and (4) a $150 fee to be charged to employers for each
foreign worker visa to fund vocational training efforts. The
five-year transition period, including the Transitional Worker
Program, ends on December 31, 2014.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in its
September 2012 report to Congress (GAO-12-975), estimated that
54 percent of the Northern Marianas workforce was still
comprised of foreign workers and noted that the ``CNMI economy
remains dependent on foreign workers.'' Recent improvements in
hotel occupancy rates and the number of in-bound tourists
indicate that the demand for service workers, which is largely
filled by foreign workers, will likely grow. However, GAO also
noted that ``uncertainty about future access to foreign workers
. . . may be creating disincentives for investment.''
The Delegate from the CNMI, Gregorio Sablan, has requested
legislation to extend the transition period through 2019,
including the transition program for foreign worker, to give
employers more time to transition fully from foreign workers.
Under current law, the Department of Homeland Security
transfers the $150 fee paid by employers for each foreign
worker visa to the CNMI government for ``ongoing vocational
educational curricula and program development by Commonwealth
educational entities.'' Additional legislation is needed to
require the CNMI government to provide the U.S. Secretary of
Labor with a plan for the expenditure of these funds, a
projection of the plan's effectiveness in the placement of U.S.
workers, and a report on changes in the employment of U.S.
workers attributable to prior year expenditures; and to require
the U.S. Secretary of Labor to report to Congress on the
effectiveness of meeting the CNMI government's plan. These
reforms are needed to provide greater accountability over these
fees and to help Congress to assess the effectiveness of this
fee in meeting the goal of encouraging the workforce transition
from foreign to U.S. workers.
Study of electric rates in the insular areas
One of the Federal policy goals for the insular areas and
FAS is to promote economic development. However, a significant
barrier to economic development is the high cost of electricity
that results from the islands' dependence on expensive imported
fuel for the generation of electricity.
Under current law (48 U.S.C. 1492), the Secretary of
Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, is
responsible for preparing a comprehensive energy plan with
emphasis on indigenous renewable energy sources for certain
insular areas and the FAS. The Department of the Interior
supports the Department of Energy's energy planning efforts and
provides financial support for specific renewable energy
projects in the insular areas through the Office of Insular
Affairs' Empowering Insular Communities grant program.
Additional legislation may be useful to require the Secretary
of the Interior to develop an energy action plan for each of
the insular areas and to assist the insular areas in
implementing their plans.
Reports on estimates of revenues
A lack of capacity in financial management and deficit
spending are continuing challenges for each of the territorial
governments. The Department of the Interior has testified that
the insular areas have had difficulty with rising debt due to
problematic budgeting processes. Additional legislation is
needed obtain information on whether annual estimates or
forecasts of revenue and expenditure in the insular areas are
reasonable, and to obtain the recommendations of the
Comptroller General for improving the process for developing
such estimates or forecasts.
Low-income home energy assistance program
Virtually all electricity in the insular areas is generated
from imported fuel and increasing global oil prices have made
high electricity rates a challenge throughout the insular
areas. This challenge was exacerbated in the U.S. Virgin
Islands by the closure of the Hovensa oil refinery in St.
Croix, in January 2012. As a part of its operating agreement,
the Hovensa refinery supplied the Virgin Islands Water and
Power Authority with the fuel used to generate electricity at
favorable rates. As a result of the global run-up in the price
of oil and the refinery's closure, the cost of electricity in
the U.S. Virgin Islands increased from roughly twice the
average mainland U.S. rate of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, to
over four times the average mainland rate. These high rates are
having a harmful impact throughout the economy of the U.S.
Virgin Islands, forcing many businesses to close, and forcing
businesses, government agencies and families to reduce the use
of air-conditioning that is essential for maintaining physical
comfort and for protecting electrical equipment and other
machinery from the damaging effects of the Islands' tropical
climate.
In response to this crisis, the Delegate from the U.S.
Virgin Islands, Donna Christensen, requested legislation to
authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to
increase the grants to the Government of the U.S. Virgin
Islands under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981
to an amount equal to 3 times the fiscal year 2013 allocation.
Specifically, this would increase the Islands' allocations for
fiscal years 2014 to 2017 to $450,000 from the $150,000
received in fiscal year 2013. Eligibility for assistance under
the program would continue to be limited to households with
incomes below 300 percent of the poverty level for the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
Guam War Claims Review Commission
Guam was acquired by the U.S. in 1898 at the conclusion of
the Spanish American War and its residents became U.S.
nationals. The island was invaded by the Imperial Forces of
Japan on December 10, 1941, and it was under military
occupation until liberation on July 21, 1944. During the
occupation, nearly 22,000 Guam residents suffered very harsh
treatment, including executions, rapes, beatings, imprisonment,
forced labor, and forced marches. On September 8, 1951, Japan
and the United States signed a treaty stating that restitution
from Japan could not be claimed by American citizens. As a
result, Guam residents had to turn to the United States for
compensation of war-time injuries.
In 1945, Congress passed Public Law 79-224, the Guam
Meritorious Claims Act, which authorized payment of war claims.
However, due to concerns with the pace of the recovery and
compensation efforts, in January 1947, the Secretary of the
Navy appointed a committee to evaluate the program for the
reconstruction and rehabilitation of Guam including the
infrastructure, economy and payment of compensation for claims.
With respect to claims, the Secretary's committee found that
while many payments had been made, ``that the process of
settlement and payment has been advancing too slowly and that
if there is to be any benefit whatsoever to the stricken
Guamanians some changes in procedure must be made.'' The
Secretary's committee also recommended a number of changes to
both the claims statute and the Secretary of the Navy's
regulations. Later investigation by the Guam War Claims Review
Commission could not find specific evidence that many of these
recommendations were adopted.
In January 16, 2002, Congress enacted Public Law 107-333,
which established the Guam War Claims Review Commission to
review Guam war claims and ``determine whether there was parity
of war claims paid to the residents of Guam under the Guam
Meritorious Claims Act as compared with awards made to other
similarly affected U.S. citizens or nationals in territory
occupied by the Imperial Japanese military forces during World
War II.'' On June 10, 2004, Congress received the final report
from the Review Commission. Among the Commission's
recommendations were that Congress acknowledge both the
suffering of the Guamanians during the Japanese occupation and
the loyalty shown to the United States during the war; and that
Congress provide funding to pay compensation to eligible
survivors for claims of death and personal injury.
The Delegate from Guam, Madeleine Z. Bordallo, requested
legislation to provide for the adjudication of claims and for
the payment of compensation as recommended by the Commission.
Funding for these payments would come from Federal tax
collections that are transferred to Guam pursuant to section 30
of the Organic Act of Guam. Guam anticipates increased
transfers of funds under section 30 as a result of the
relocation of U.S. military forces in the Asia-Pacific region
to Guam. The requested legislation would permit use of these
increases, above what was collected in 2012, to pay war claims
awards.
Improvements in HUD assisted programs
Currently, the Housing and Community Development Act of
1980 is interpreted by program officials as not giving a
preference in housing assistance to U.S. citizens and nationals
over lawful resident aliens. However, section 141 of the
Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (Public Law
108-188) permits citizens of the FAS to enter into the U.S. to
lawfully engage in occupations and establish residence as
nonimmigrants in the U. S. and its territories. This privilege
has resulted in a substantial migration to Guam so that FAS
citizens now account for roughly 10 percent of the total Guam
population. The presence of these lawful resident aliens has
effectively cut-off U.S. citizens and nationals from housing
assistance. Accordingly, the Delegate from Guam requested that
legislation to clarify the interpretation of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1980, so that U.S. citizens and
nationals would receive preference over lawful resident aliens
in receiving Federal housing assistance.
Benefit to cost ratio study for projects in American Samoa
American Samoa is the most remote of the U.S. territories
and, with approximately 55,000 residents, it is the second
smallest territory by population. Many infrastructure projects
in American Samoa are ineligible for funding from certain
Federal programs because they do not meet benefit-to-cost ratio
requirements. The Delegate from American Samoa, Eni F.H.
Faleomavaega, requested legislation to require the Comptroller
General of the United States to conduct a study regarding the
use of benefit-to-cost ratio formulas by Federal departments,
specifically benefit to-cost ratio formulas used by the
Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the Army, for
purposes of evaluating projects in American Samoa, and to
assess whether the benefit-to-cost ratio formulas take into
account the remote locations in American Samoa, the cost of
transportation and other factors.
Waiver of local matching requirements
In response to the economic development and revenue
challenges faced by the territories, in 1977 Congress enacted
Public Law 95-134, which requires any Federal department or
agency to waive any matching grant requirement for local
matching funds under $200,000 that is required by law to be
provided by American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands or
the CNMI. However, the territorial governments expressed a
concern that some agencies are using the words ``by law'' to
argue that they are not required to waive the local matching
requirement in some cases because the match is required by
regulation, not ``by law.'' In addition, the territorial
Delegates asked that the $200,000 level for the waiver of the
matching requirement be increased to account for inflation.
Legislation is needed to waive the local matching requirements
and to increase the amount of matching funds (including in-kind
contributions) that would be waived from $200,000 to $500,000.
Fishery endorsements
Fish processing is the largest sector of the economy of
American Samoa. However, a new requirement that U.S.-built tuna
purse seine vessels must also have been rebuilt in the U.S. to
offload in U.S. ports would do serious harm to the American
Samoa economy. Accordingly, the Delegate from American Samoa
requested legislation to establish a limited exemption from
this requirement. The requested exemption would apply to U.S.-
built tuna purse seine vessels that were rebuilt outside of the
U.S. provided that the vessel offloads its catch in part or in
full in American Samoa, and that the vessel was rebuilt before
January 1, 2011.
Effects of minimum wage differentials in American Samoa
American Samoa had local control over the setting of
minimum wages levels until the enactment of the Fair Minimum
Wage Act of 2007 which required that the territory gradually
increase its minimum wage according to a congressionally
prescribed schedule until reaching the Federal level. However,
the local American Samoa minimum wage law had established
dozens of separate minimum wage levels for the various
industries and job classifications within the American Samoa
economy. Continuing these many different minimum wage levels
during the transition to the single Federal minimum wage may be
imposing unnecessary burdens on island employers. Accordingly,
the Delegate from American Samoa requested legislation to
require the Comptroller General of the United States, in the
analysis the Comptroller is currently required to conduct under
the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, to analyze and report on the
economic effects on employees and employers of the several
different minimum wage rates among industries and
classifications in American Samoa.
Office of National Drug Control Policy
In recent years, the substantial increase in U.S. border
protection and counternarcotics efforts along the Southwest and
Northern borders have resulted in increased drug smuggling
activity across the relatively less-protected Caribbean borders
of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. U.S. citizens in
the Caribbean are facing a law enforcement crisis. While the
national murder rate has declined in recent decades, the number
of homicides in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands remains
high and most of these murders are linked to the drug trade.
Because Puerto Rico is within the customs territory of the
U.S., once drugs enter the Island they can be relatively easily
shipped to the states without undergoing heightened scrutiny.
The inadequacy of the Federal Government's effort to address
this crisis is illustrated by the fact that the National Drug
Control Strategy includes discussions of the Southwest border,
the Northern border, and Indian country, but not the Caribbean
border. Accordingly, the Resident Commissioner and Delegate
from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands requested
legislation to require the Office of National Drug Control
Policy to prepare and publish a Caribbean Border
Counternarcotics Strategy on terms substantially equivalent to
the Southwest border and Northern border strategies.
Driver's licenses and personal identification cards
Section 141 of the Compact of Free Association Amendments
Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-188) permits citizens of the FAS to
enter into the U.S. to lawfully engage in occupations and
establish residence as nonimmigrants in the U.S. and its
territories. However, the REAL ID Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-
13) did not provide a means for FAS citizens to establish their
lawful status in the United States under the Compact and obtain
a driver's license or identification card. On, November 13,
2013, the Ambassadors to the United States from the FAS wrote
to the Committee requesting that a provision be included in
this bill that would amend the REAL ID Act to clarify that
citizens of the FAS who reside lawfully in the U.S. are able to
obtain a driver's license or state identification card under
the REAL ID Act.
Legislative History
S. 1237 was introduced, by Senators Wyden and Murkowski (by
request) on June 27, 2013. The bill is an omnibus measure that
includes several provisions related to bills previously
introduced by Delegates from the U.S. territories in the House
of Representatives including: H.R. 2200, the Territorial
Omnibus Act of 2013; H.R. 44, the Guam World War II Loyalty
Recognition Act; H.R. 83, to require the Secretary of the
Interior to assemble a team of technical, policy, and financial
experts to address the energy needs of the insular areas of the
United States and the Freely Associated States through the
development of action plans aimed at reducing reliance on
imported fossil fuels and increasing use of indigenous clean-
energy resources, and for other purposes; H.R. 85, to create
the Office of Chief Financial Officer of the Government of the
Virgin Islands, and for other purposes; and H.R. 89, to
establish the St. Croix National Heritage Area, and for other
purposes.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a
hearing on S. 1237 on July 11, 2013 (S. Hrg. 113-177), and
ordered the bill favorably reported, as amended, at a business
meeting on December 19, 2013.
Committee Recommendation
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on December 19, 2013, by a unanimous voice
vote of members present, recommends that the Senate pass S.
1237, if amended as described herein. Senators Barrasso, Lee,
Alexander and Scott asked that they be recorded as voting no.
Committee Amendment
During its consideration of S. 1237, the Committee adopted
an amendment in the nature of a substitute, as amended by 3
amendments to section 4, Study of Electric Rates in the Insular
Areas.
The amendment in the nature of a substitute eliminated
provisions conveying to the submerged lands beneath the
territorial sea surrounding the CNMI, adjusting scheduled wage
increases in the CNMI, holding a referendum in the U.S. Virgin
Islands on whether to establish a chief financial officer,
establishing the Castle Nugent National Historic Site,
designating the St. Croix National Heritage Area, providing for
payment by the FAS for Federal Programs by in-kind
contributions, holding a citizenship plebiscite in American
Samoa, and making insular areas eligible for marine turtle
conservation assistance (sections 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 13, 19, and
20 of S. 1237 as introduced, respectively). In addition,
provisions relating to the Office of National Drug Control
Policy and driver's license and personal identification cards,
which were not included in S. 1237 as introduced, were added to
the substitute (sections 13 and 14 of S. 1237 as ordered
reported).
The three amendments to the substitute approved by the
Committee (1) clarify that ``imported fuels'' means those fuels
shipped to the insular areas and FAS from ports outside the
U.S.; (2) clarify that to ``develop indigenous, nonfossil fuel
energy sources'' means the utilization of domestic energy
sources; and (3) require that the energy action plans shall not
be implemented until approved by the Secretary.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 provides a short title, the ``Omnibus Territories
Act of 2013.''
Section 2 sets forth the table of contents.
Section 3(1)(A) amends section 6(a)(2) of the Joint
Resolution to approve the ``Covenant To Establish a
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union
with the United States of America'' (the Covenant) (48 U.S.C.
1806) to extend the transition period for the application of
the Immigration and Nationality Act to the CNMI for five
additional years (until December 21, 2019).
Subparagraph (B) of section 3(1) of the bill reenacts
section 6(a)(6) of the Covenant as section 6(a)(6)(A) and adds
new subparagraphs (B) and (C) to section 6(a)(6) of the
Covenant. As reenacted, section 6(a)(6)(A) renews the
requirement that the Secretary of Homeland Security charge an
annual fee of $150 per nonimmigrant worker to each prospective
employer who is issued a permit under section 6(d) of the
Covenant. As is now the case under current law, this fee is to
be paid to the CNMI government for funding a vocational
educational program in CNMI educational entities.
Section 6(a)(6)(B) of the Covenant, as added by section
3(1)(B) of the bill, requires, at the beginning of each fiscal
year and prior to the payment of this fee to the CNMI, that the
CNMI provide the U.S. Secretary of Labor with a plan for the
expenditure of the funds, a projection of the effectiveness of
these expenditures in the placement of U.S. workers into jobs,
and a report on the changes in employment of U.S. workers
attributable to prior year expenditures.
Section 6(a)(6)(C), as added by section 3(1)(B) of the
bill, requires the U.S. Secretary of Labor to report to the
Congress every 2 years on the effectiveness of meeting the
goals of the CNMI government's annual plan for the expenditure
of these funds.
Section 3(2) of the bill amends section 6(d) of the
Covenant to extend the termination date of the transition
period from December 31, 2014, to December 31, 2019, strikes
paragraph 5 (relating to a determination whether an extension
of the transition period is needed), and renumbers paragraph
(6) as paragraph (5) (relating to the admission of a spouse or
minor child of an admitted worker).
Section 4 requires the Secretary of the Interior, not later
than 180 days after the date of enactment, to establish, within
the Interior Department's existing Empowering Insular
Communities budget activity, a team of technical, policy, and
financial experts to develop an energy action plan addressing
the energy needs of each of the insular areas and FAS and to
assist each of these in implementing their respective plan.
Subsection (c) requires the Secretary, in establishing the
team, to consider including regional utility organizations.
Subsection (d) requires that the plans shall include:
recommendations to reduce reliance and expenditures on fuel
shipped to the insular areas and FAS from ports outside the
United States; develop and utilize domestic fuel energy
sources; improve performance of energy infrastructure and
overall energy efficiency; a schedule for implementation of
recommendations and identification and prioritization of
specific projects; a financial and engineering plan for
implementing and sustaining projects; and benchmarks for
measuring progress toward implementation. Subsection (e)
requires the team to report to the Secretary, not later than 1
year after the team is established and annually thereafter, on
progress made in fulfilling its charge and in implementing the
energy action plan. Subsection (f) requires the Secretary, not
later than 30 days after she receives a report from the team,
to submit a summary of the report to Congress. Subsection (g)
requires that each energy action plan shall not be implemented
until approved by the Secretary.
Section 5 requires the Comptroller General of the United
States to submit a report to Congress that evaluates whether
the annual estimates or forecasts of revenue and expenditure of
the American Samoa, CNMI, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Island
governments are reasonable and, as the Comptroller General
determines to be necessary, to make recommendations for
improving the process for developing estimates or forecasts.
Section 6 amends, with respect to fiscal years 2014 through
2017, the percentage described in section 2605(b)(2)(B)(i) of
the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 12
8624(b)(2)(B)(i)) to be 300 percent of the fiscal year 2013
amount when applied to households located in the U.S. Virgin
Islands.
Section 7(a)(1) recognizes, as described by the Guam War
Claims Review Commission, that the residents of Guam suffered
grievous harm as a result of the occupation of Guam by Imperial
Japanese military forces during World War II by being subjected
to death, rape, severe personal injury, personal injury, forced
labor, forced march, or internment. Subsection (a)(2) expresses
the gratitude of the United States forever to the residents of
Guam for their steadfast loyalty to the United States, as
demonstrated by their countless acts of courage despite the
threat of death or great bodily harm which they faced at the
hands of the Imperial Japanese military forces.
Section 7(b)(1) directs the Secretary of the Treasury to
establish a special fund (Claims Fund) for the payment of
claims submitted by compensable Guam victims and survivors of
compensable Guam decedents in accordance with subsections (c)
and (d). Paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b) provide that
the Claims Fund will be composed of amounts deposited into the
Claims Fund of duties, taxes, and fees collected after fiscal
year 2012 pursuant to section 30 of the Organic Act of Guam (48
U.S.C. 1421h) that are in excess of such duties, taxes, and
fees collected in fiscal year 2012, and any other amounts made
available for the payment of claims under this Act. Subsection
(b)(4) provides that no payment for any claims may be made from
the Claims Fund in any fiscal year until funds are deposited
into the Claims Fund from that fiscal year, and that each
fiscal year in which funds are deposited into the Claims Fund,
the total amount of payments made may not exceed the amount of
funds available in the Claims Fund for that fiscal year.
Subsection (b)(5) requires the Secretary of the Treasury to
deduct from the Claims Fund, 5 per cent for reimbursement to
the Federal Government for expenses incurred in the
administration of this Act.
Subsection (c)(1) requires that after the Secretary of the
Treasury receives a certification from the Foreign Claims
Settlement Commission under subsection (d), the Secretary shall
make payments to compensable Guam victims and survivors of
compensable Guam decedents: first, to compensable Guam victims,
$15,000 for rape or severe personal injury; $12,000 for forced
labor or personal injury; and $10,000 for forced march,
internment, or hiding to avoid internment; and second, to
compensate survivors of compensable Guam decedents, $25,000, to
be distributed in accordance with section 7(c)(2). Paragraph
7(c)(3) sets forth definitions for ``compensable Guam
decedent'' and for ``compensable Guam victim'' and directs that
the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to specify the
injuries that constitute a ``severe personal injury'' or a
``personal injury''.
Section 7(d)(1) directs the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission to adjudicate claims and determine the eligibility
of individuals for payments under subsection (c). Paragraph (2)
sets forth administrative procedures for the Commission
including: the process for the submission of claims; rules for
adjudicating claims; rules for the deduction from compensation
of amounts previously paid; limits on interest paid; limits on
compensation for representational services to claimants;
penalties for excessive representational compensation; rules
for appeals of Commissions decisions; certification to the
Secretary of the Treasury to make payments; the treatment of
affidavits accompanying claims; and the requirement for a
release of claims upon acceptance of a payment.
Section 8 amends section 214(a)(7) of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a(a)(7)) to
provide that a citizen or national of the United States shall
be entitled to a preference or priority in receiving assistance
before any alien who is otherwise eligible for such assistance.
Section 9(a) directs the Comptroller General of the United
States to conduct a study regarding the use of benefit-to-cost
ratio formulas by Federal departments and agencies for
evaluating projects in American Samoa. Subsection (b)(1)
directs the Comptroller General, in conducting the study, to
assess whether the benefit-to-cost ratio formulas take into
consideration the remote locations in, and the cost of
transportation to and from, American Samoa, and other
significant factors that are not comparable to locations within
the 48 contiguous States. Subsection (b)(2) requires the
Comptroller General to particularly assess the use of benefit-
to-cost ratio formulas used by the Secretary of Transportation
with respect to airport traffic control tower programs and the
Army Corps of Engineers with respect to harbor projects or
other water resources development projects. Subsection (b)(3)
directs the Comptroller General to submit to Congress a report
on the results of the study not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act.
Section 10 amends section 501 of the Act entitled ``An Act
to authorize certain appropriations for the territories of the
United States, to amend certain Acts relating thereto, and for
other purposes,'' (48 U.S.C. 1469a; 91 Stat. 1164), to provide
that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, for American
Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the CNMI, each
Federal agency shall waive any requirement of $500,000 or less
for local matching funds (including in-kind contributions) that
the insular area would otherwise be required to provide, and
for a grant requiring matching funds of more than $500,000,
$500,000 of the matching requirement shall be waived.
Section 11 amends section 12113 of title 46, United States
Code, to add an exemption for certain tuna purse seine vessels
from landing their catch in American Samoa, if the vessel
offloads its catch in part or full in American Samoa and if the
vessel was rebuilt outside of the United States before January
1, 2011.
Section 12 amends section 8104 of the Fair Minimum Wage Act
of 2007 (29 U.S.C. 206 note) to add a requirement that the
Comptroller General of the United States, as a part of the
reports on minimum wage required under Section 8104, shall
include an analysis of the economic effects on employees and
employers of the differentials in minimum wage rates among
industries and classifications in American Samoa, including the
potential effects of eliminating such differentials before the
rates are scheduled to reach the Federal the minimum wage rate.
Section 13 requires the Office of National Drug Control
Policy to develop a biennial Caribbean Border Counternarcotics
Strategy, that is to be made available to the public, with
emphasis on the borders of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
and on terms substantially equivalent to the existing Southwest
Border and Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategies.
Section 14 amends sections 201(5) and 202(c)(2)(B) of the
REAL ID Act of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 30301; Public Law 109-13) to
clarify that citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau
who have been admitted to the United States as nonimmigrants
pursuant to a Compacts of Free Association, are eligible for
driver's licenses or personal identification cards under the
REAL ID Act.
Cost and Budgetary Consideration
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
S. 1237--Omnibus Territories Act of 2013
Summary: S. 1237 would amend laws concerning the
territories of American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands,
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
(collectively known as insular areas). The legislation would
authorize federal agencies to waive the requirement to provide
local matching funds to receive certain federal grants in the
insular areas; the amount of the waiver could not exceed
$500,000. The legislation also would create a fund that would
pay compensation to people and their family members who were
victims of the Japanese occupation of Guam during World War II.
Finally, S. 1237 would require reports to the Congress by the
Department of the Interior, the Government Accountability
Office, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy
concerning issues faced by the insular areas.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 1237 would increase net
direct spending by about $20 million over the 2015-2024 period.
Because the bill would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go
procedures apply. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
Implementing the bill would increase spending subject to
appropriation by about $1 million over the 2015-2019 period,
assuming availability of appropriated funds.
S. 1237 would impose no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 1237 is shown on the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget functions 600
(income security) and 800 (general government).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2015-2019 2015-2024
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDINGa
Waiver of Matching Funds:
Estimated Budget Authority.................... 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 10 20
Estimated Outlays............................. 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 10 20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: * = less than $500,000
aIn addition, S. 1237 would increase discretionary costs by $1 million over the 2015-2019 period for preparation of additional reports for the Congress,
assuming availability of appropriated funds.
Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the
legislation will be enacted by the end of fiscal year 2014.
Waiver of matching funds
Under current law, federal agencies are allowed to waive
the requirement for the first $200,000 of local matching funds
for federal grants to the territories of American Samoa, Guam,
the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands. S. 1237 would increase that waiver from
$200,000 to $500,000.
If the bill is enacted, the territories would be allowed to
spend less of their own funds for several mandatory programs,
including the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Foster
Care, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, and Child
Support Enforcement (CSE) programs. Federal grants to the
territories are capped for most programs, so federal spending
would generally remain unchanged. However, funding for
administrative costs in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
and CSE programs in the territories is not capped. Guam and the
Virgin Islands participate in those programs.
Federal costs for those two programs would increase for two
reasons if S. 1237 was enacted. CBO expects that federal
payments to the two territories would increase by the amount of
the additional waived funds. In addition, CBO expects that the
territories would use some of the amounts they no longer have
to use for those purposes to draw down additional federal
matching funds. In total, CBO estimates that federal spending
would increase by about $2 million annually.
Guam War Claims Fund
S. 1237 would establish a schedule of compensation payments
to Guam residents and family members for their treatment during
the island's occupation by Japanese military forces during
World War II and create a new fund within the U.S. Treasury to
make those payments.
Under current law, customs duties and federal income taxes
derived from Guam and certain other amounts collected under
federal laws are paid to the treasury of Guam for use by that
territory's government. In 2012 those payments totaled $57
million. If S. 1237 was enacted, any such future payments due
to Guam that exceed the amount paid in 2012 would instead be
paid to a new U.S. Treasury fund that would be available to
make compensation payments. CBO estimates that the collection
and spending of those funds would have no significant net
impact on direct spending over the 2015-2024 period.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or
revenues. S. 1237 would increase direct spending; therefore,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. The net budgetary changes that
are subject to pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the
following table.
CBO ESTIMATE OF THE STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR S. 1237, THE OMNIBUS TERRITORIES ACT OF 2013, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES ON DECEMBER 19, 2013
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2014-2019 2014-2024
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (-) IN THE DEFICIT
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact............ 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 10 20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1237 would
impose no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Kathleen FitzGerald
and Matthew Pickford; Impact on state, local, and tribal
governments: Melissa Merrell; Impact on the private sector: Amy
Petz.
Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Evaluation
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 1237.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government-established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals or businesses.
Personal information would be collected by the Federal
government under section 7 to the extent victims or survivors
of the Japanese occupation of Guam submit claims for
compensation. Personal information would also be collected by
the Federal Government under section 8 to the extent residents
of Guam and citizens of the FAS apply for Federal housing
assistance.
Additional paperwork would be required by the Federal
Government from the enactment of several provisions of S. 1237.
Section 3 would require additional paperwork because it
requires the CNMI government to provide an annual worker
training plan to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary
of Labor to then report to Congress every 2 years on the
effectiveness of this plan. Section 4 would increase paperwork
by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to establish a team
of energy experts to assist the insular areas in developing and
implementing comprehensive energy plans, for the team to report
annually to the Secretary, and for the Secretary to submit a
summary of the team reports to Congress. Section 5 would
increase paperwork by requiring the Comptroller General to
evaluate and report to Congress on the estimates of revenues
made by four of the insular governments. Section 7 would
increase paperwork by establishing a Claims Fund in the U.S.
Treasury, and by establishing a program under the Foreign
Claims Settlement Commission to accept, adjudicate and certify
claims for payment by the Treasury from victims and survivors
of injuries suffered during the Japanese occupation of Guam
during World War II. Section 9 would increase paperwork by
requiring the Comptroller General to conduct a study and report
to Congress on the use of benefit-to-cost ratio formulas by
Federal agencies when evaluating projects in American Samoa.
Section 12 would create additional paperwork by expanding the
scope of the current Comptroller General report on the effects
of minimum wage increases in American Samoa to include an
analysis of the economic effects of the different minimum wage
rates among industries in American Samoa. Finally, section 13
would increase paperwork by requiring the Office of National
Drug Control Policy to develop and make available to the public
a biennial Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy.
The Committee does not expect any of the bill's
information-collecting requirements to impose substantial
additional paperwork or recordkeeping burdens, in either time
or financial cost, on private industry or individuals.
Congressionally Directed Spending
S. 1237, as reported, does not contain any congressionally
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules
of the Senate.
Executive Communications
The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at
the July 11, 2013, hearing on S. 1237 follows:
Statement of Eileen Sobeck, Acting Assistant Secretary for Insular
Areas, Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources, I am pleased to discuss, on behalf of the
Department of the Interior, certain provisions of the Omnibus
Territories Act of 2013, S. 1237. Sections 14, 15, 17, 18 and
20 of the bill pertain to matters outside of the Department's
jurisdiction; as such the Department defers to the relevant
federal agencies for their views on these provisions.
territorial sea
Section 3 would give the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands (CNMI) authority over the submerged lands out
to three geographical miles from its coast lines.
At present, the CNMI is the only United States territory
that does not have title to the submerged lands in that portion
of the United States territorial sea that is three miles
distant from its coastline. It is appropriate that the CNMI be
given the same authority as other territories.
On January 6, 2009, by presidential proclamation, the
Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (Monument) was
created, including the Islands Unit, comprising the submerged
lands and waters surrounding Uracas, Maug, and Asuncion, the
northernmost islands of the CNMI. While creation of the
monument is a historic achievement, it should be remembered
that the leaders and people of the CNMI were and are these
three islands' first preservationists. They included in their
1978, plebiscite-approved constitution the following language:
ARTICLE XIV: NATURAL RESOURCES
Section 1: Marine Resources. The marine resources in
the waters off the coast of the Commonwealth over which
the Commonwealth now or hereafter may have any
jurisdiction under United States law shall be managed,
controlled, protected and preserved by the legislature
for the benefit of the people.
Section 2: Uninhabited Islands. . . . The islands of
Maug, Uracas, Asuncion, Guguan and other islands
specified by law shall be maintained as uninhabited
places and used only for the preservation and
protection of natural resources, including but not
limited to bird, wildlife and plant species.
It is important to note that the Northern Marianas
Commonwealth Legislature has never taken action adverse to the
preservation of these northern islands and the waters
surrounding them. The people of the CNMI are well aware of
their treasures. CNMI leaders consented to creation of the
monument because they believed that the monument would bring
Federal assets for marine surveillance, protection, and
enforcement to the northern islands that the CNMI cannot
afford.
If enacted, section 3 would become a public law enacted
subsequent to the creation of the Monument, and would convey to
the CNMI the submerged lands surrounding Uracas, Maug, and
Asuncion without addressing the effect of this conveyance on
the administrative responsibilities of the Department of the
Interior and the Department of Commerce. Presidential
Proclamation 8335 (Proclamation) assigned management
responsibility of the Monument to the Secretary of the
Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce. The
proclamation further states that the ``Secretary of Commerce
shall have the primary management responsibility . . . with
respect to fishery-related activities regulated pursuant to the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and any other applicable authorities.''
The Proclamation provides that submerged lands that are granted
to the CNMI ``but remain controlled by the United States under
the Antiquities Act may remain part of the monument'' for
coordinated management with the CNMI. As envisioned by the
Proclamation establishing the Monument, the Administration
remains committed to protecting the outstanding resources in
the waters surrounding the CNMI's three northernmost islands.
Specifically, the Department strongly recommends an
amendment to section 3 that addresses the coordination of
management as contemplated within the Proclamation, prior to
the transfer of the submerged lands within the Islands Unit of
the Monument to the CNMI. Such language would protect the
Islands Unit of the Monument and at the same time acknowledge
the prescient and historic conservation effort of the leaders
and people of the CNMI in protecting Uracas, Maug, and
Asuncion, and their surrounding waters.
The Department of the Interior strongly supports section 3
and strongly recommends the above-referenced amendment. The
Department of the Interior looks forward to the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands gaining rights in surrounding
submerged lands similar to those accorded other territories.
adjustment of scheduled wage increases in the cnmi
Section 4 of the bill would slow minimum wage increases in
the CNMI by forgoing the increases slated to take effect on
September 30, 2013, and 2015. The 50-cent increases scheduled
to occur in 2014, 2016 and annually thereafter would remain in
effect.
In 2007, the Congress put American Samoa and the CNMI on a
path to match the United States minimum wage within a few
years. Legislation dictated increases to the minimum wage of
50-cents per year, until parity was achieved.
Due to substantial economic hardship in American Samoa--the
closure of one of its two tuna canneries--the law was amended
to skip the increases for American Samoa from 2011 through
2014.
Both territories have isolated locations in the Pacific
Ocean in neighborhoods of low wages. The CNMI has also suffered
the loss of one of its two major industries--garment
manufacturing. The purpose of section 4 is to spread out the
minimum wage increases for the CNMI to help ensure the survival
of island businesses and their employees' jobs. Specifically,
section 4 would slow the pace of minimum wage increase until
after 2015, when the annual increases would resume, similar to
the adjustment made previously for American Samoa.
The Department of the Interior has no objection to section
4.
cnmi immigration issues
Section 5 deals with fees and funding vocational education
curricula and development of educational entities, and a five
year extension of the statutory period (through December 31,
2019) for lowering the number of CNMI-only foreign transitional
worker permits to zero.
Subsection 1 of Section 5 requires the CNMI government to
provide a plan for the expenditure of educational funds
collected (as required by statute) by the Department of
Homeland Security as a supplemental fee on CNMI employers'
transitional worker immigration petitions and provided to the
CNMI government, and a projection of the effectiveness of these
funds in finding employment for U.S. workers. Every two years
the Secretary of Homeland Security must report on the
effectiveness of meeting the goals set out in the annual plan.
Subsections 2 and 3 of section 5 also relate to CNMI-
specific immigration provisions contained in the Consolidated
Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA). The CNRA shifted
administration of immigration in the CNMI from CNMI to Federal
authority, but also established a five-year transition period
to allow the CNMI economy to adjust to the new regime.
Coincident with change in World Trade Organization rules
and the demise of the CNMI garment industry in the late 2000s,
the CNMI's economy has struggled. The resulting tax and revenue
decline has been challenging for the CNMI government.
The Department of the Interior has always supported
measures that promote economic development in the CNMI, and in
the CNRA, the Congress specifically directed the Department of
the Interior to aid the CNMI economy during the immigration
transition. As a result, in 2011, the Department conducted a
Forum on Economic and Labor Development (FELD) in Saipan,
designed to elicit from the CNMI community ideas and goals for
the CNMI economy. The Department later provided $1 million in
grant funds to implement the FELD findings.
While it cannot yet be characterized as an economic
rebound, statistics from recent months show increases in CNMI
tourism and hotel bookings.
Nevertheless, businesses and CNMI government officials are
concerned that if the approximately 12,000 foreign workers
resident in the CNMI under the transitional worker program were
forced to leave at the end of 2014, the reduction would have
significant adverse consequences for the CNMI economy.
Under the CNRA, the Secretary of Labor already has the
discretion to extend the CNMI-only transitional worker program
by up to five years if warranted by economic conditions. The
Department of Labor is now conducting studies that will inform
that decision.
The Department of the Interior defers to the Departments of
Labor and Homeland Security regarding important aspects of
section 5.
study of electric rates in the insular areas
Section 6 of the bill is entitled ``Study of Electric Rates
in the Insular Areas.'' The legislative language that follows,
however, goes much beyond a study. The language calls for an
``energy action plan'' for each territory and freely associated
state (FAS) and implementation of those plans. The legislative
language is largely duplicative of section 604 of Public Law
96-597 (48 USC 1492), except that, the Secretary of the
Interior would be responsible for the described energy effort,
rather than the Secretary of Energy.
It should be noted that eight years ago, Interior undertook
a comprehensive effort to study energy needs in the U.S.
territories and FAS, and to develop viable energy plans (which
included an appropriate role for renewable energy sources) for
each jurisdiction. Currently, the Office of Insular Affairs is
supporting broad renewable energy planning efforts through the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) financed by our
Technical Assistance Program. The President's 2014 budget for
OIA includes funding for specific energy projects under
Empowering Insular Communities to implement a number of the
NREL recommendations.
The Department of the Interior opposes section 6 of S. 1237
as being unnecessary because it is duplicative of section 604
of Public Law 96-597, and of current efforts to implement the
energy plans that have been and are being developed.
chief financial officer of the virgin islands
Section 7 includes a provision for establishing a chief
financial officer (CFO) for the Virgin Islands, and a
plebiscite of Virgin Island voters on the issue.
In the mid-2000s, an earlier CFO bill would have placed
significant restrictions on local self-government and the
powers of the elected Governor of the Virgin Islands as
established in the Virgin Islands Revised Organic Act. A
revised CFO bill was the subject of a hearing last year in the
House of Representatives. The Department of the Interior had no
objection to that bill because it would have constituted ``only
de minimus interference with self-government in the Virgin
Islands.'' We noted that the purpose of the bill was to rein in
deficit spending, but that the bill did not require a balanced
budget.
S. 1237 adds a new provision requiring a plebiscite on the
question of whether or not a chief financial officer position
should be established. This extra layer of approval for the CFO
position by the voters of the Virgin Islands would demonstrate
acceptance of the concept or not, by the citizens of the Virgin
Islands.
The Department of the Interior has no objection to the
enactment of section 7.
reports on estimates of revenue
Section 8 would require the governors of American Samoa,
the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin
islands each to submit a report on the process for developing
annual estimates of the government's revenues and expenditures
and any supporting documents and schedules to appropriate
committees of the Congress and the Comptroller General of the
United States, and also require the Comptroller General to
submit a report evaluating the reasonableness of those
estimates and if necessary submit recommendations for improving
the processes for developing the estimates to appropriate
committees of the Congress.
Over the years, in statements related to the legislation
that would create a Chief Financial Officer of the Virgin
Islands, the Department of the Interior has stated that all the
territories have had difficulty with rising debt due to
problematic budgeting processes. Section 8 would provide a
framework for studying the budget processes of the territories.
Because the governors of each of the territories would be
so intimately involved, the Department of the Interior defers
to the opinions of the governors of each of the United States
territories with regard to this provision.
low-income home energy assistance program
Section 9 would provide that under the Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981 energy assistance would be 300
percent of the normal rate when applied to households located
in the Virgin Islands in years 2014 through 2017.
United States Virgin Islanders are struggling with some of
the highest electric rates in the U.S. Currently, the
residential rate in the Virgin Islands is 50 cents per kilowatt
hour, with the commercial rate at 54 cents per kilowatt hour.
These high Virgin Islands rates contrast significantly with
rates elsewhere in the United States, which average 12.8 cents
per KWH.
Considering both the high poverty rates and high electric
rates in the Virgin Islands, one can understand the extreme
difficulty under which many Virgin Islands residents are
living. Many residents cannot afford to keep the lights on, and
businesses are closing.
Given the fact that electric rates in the Virgin Islands
are five times that on the U.S. mainland, a LIHEAP payment of
three times the mainland amount for a limited, four-year period
of time would not be unreasonable.
In addition, the territories of Guam, CNMI, and American
Samoa are also paying significantly higher residential rates
than in the rest of the United States. The rates are 24.5 cents
per KWH on Guam, 32 cents per KWH in the CNMI, and 39 cents per
KWH in American Samoa.
The Department of the Interior has no objection to the
enactment of section 9, but suggests, based on the rates paid
by each of the territories, that a formula for Guam, CNMI, and
American Samoa be included in this section as well.
castle nugent national historic site establishment
Section 10 would establish the Castle Nugent National
Historic Site on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin
Islands as a unit of the National Park System. This proposed
national historic site was the subject of a special resource
study, completed in 2010, that found that the site met the
National Park Service's criteria for inclusion in the National
Park System.
This 2,900-acre site is located along the arid southeastern
shore of St. Croix, about three miles south of the town of
Christiansted. The terrain is mostly rolling and hilly with a
mixture of dry forest, native vegetation, and rangeland that
offers picturesque views to the Caribbean Sea and to distant
parts of the island. Establishing this site as a unit of the
National Park System would provide the opportunity to preserve
and protect this outstanding Caribbean cultural landscape and
interpret the cotton era and related agricultural themes that
have been instrumental in the development of St. Croix and the
Virgin Islands. It would also help protect five pre-Columbian
archeological sites, two of which are among the oldest sites on
St. Croix.
The Department supports this section with an amendment. The
recommended amendment, which would insert the standard language
used in bills establishing new areas of the National Park
System, is to strike ``consists'' on line 12 of page 19 and
insert ``shall consist''.
st. croix national heritage area
Section 11 would establish the St. Croix National Heritage
Area on the island of St. Croix. A feasibility study completed
in 2012 by the National Park Service found that this proposed
heritage area, which would include the entire island, met the
Service's interim criteria for designation as a National
Heritage Area. The heritage area would be focused on five
themes: early cultures, slavery and emancipation, the influence
of seven colonial powers, the island's unique geography and
natural environment, and modern-day cultures.
The Department supports the objectives of this section.
However, the Department recommends that Congress enact program
legislation that establishes criteria to evaluate potentially
qualified National Heritage Areas and a process for the
designation, funding, and administration of these areas before
designating any additional new National Heritage Areas. There
are currently 49 designated national heritage areas, yet there
is no authority in law that guides the designation and
administration of these areas. Program legislation would
provide a much-needed framework for evaluating proposed
national heritage areas, offering guidelines for successful
planning and management, clarifying the roles and
responsibilities of of all parties, and standardizing
timeframes and funding for designated areas.
If the committee moves forward on S. 1237 with section 11
included, we would like to recommend amendments to some of the
terms used in this section. We would be happy to provide the
committee with our recommended amendments.
guam war claims review commission
Section 12 would approve payments and a funding source for
claims arising from the World War II Japanese occupation of
Guam.
Sixty-nine years ago this month, U.S. forces stormed the
beaches of Asan and Agat on the island of Guam. The fierce
battles in the weeks that followed would end Japan's two-and-a-
half year occupation of Guam. Approximately a thousand United
States national residents of Guam died during the occupation;
the people of Guam were subjected to summary executions,
beheadings, rapes, torture, beatings, forced labor, forced
march and internment.
With the passage of the Guam Meritorious Claims Act of
1945, the people of Guam became the first group of United
States nationals to be made eligible for payment of claims by
the United States for damages suffered during the war. In the
years that followed, however, many on Guam came to question
whether the Guam Meritorious Claims Act, as implemented,
sufficiently compensated the people of Guam for their
suffering.
The Guam War Claims Review Commission, created pursuant to
legislation passed in 2002, was charged with determining
whether there was parity in the treatment of Guamanians' World
War II claims as compared with the claims of U.S. citizens or
nationals in other areas occupied by Japan during the war. The
commission determined that Guamanians did not receive treatment
in parity with other United States individuals who similarly
suffered during World War II.
This section would provide payments to persons now living
on Guam who actually suffered the Japanese occupation during
World War II. It would not provide payments to heirs of
survivors of the Guam occupation, but would compensate heirs of
the approximate 1,000 United States national residents of Guam
who died during the Japanese occupation.
Funding for this section would be provided from the Guam
Organic Act section 30 funding that is in excess of section 30
funding for fiscal year 2012.
The Department of the Interior recommends that the
committee seek broad counsel among leaders in Guam regarding
the financing of claims under section 12.
use of certain expenditures as in-kind contributions
Section 13 would allow territorial and Hawaii government
costs ascribed to the migration of freely associated state
(FAS) citizens to Guam, Hawaii, the CNMI and American Samoa to
be valued and applied as in-kind local matching contributions
for Federal programs.
With amendments to the Compacts of Free Association
legislation passed in 2003, the Congress appropriated $30
million annually to be distributed among the four affected U.S.
jurisdictions based on an enumeration of FAS citizens in those
four jurisdictions. The Congress provided an additional $5
million in each of fiscal years 2012 and 2013. It is
uncontested that the impact of migration to Guam, Hawaii, CNMI
and American Samoa exceeds the amounts appropriated.
Under section 13 of S. 1237, amounts above the annual
payments could be classified as eligible amounts to be drawn on
as ``in-kind contributions'' that would aid the affected
jurisdictions in satisfying matching requirements for Federal
programs.
In addition, under the compact legislation, the governors
of Guam, Hawaii, the CNMI and American Samoa are invited
annually to provide reports on the impact of migration from the
freely associated states of the Marshall Islands, the Federated
States of Micronesia, and Palau on their respective
jurisdictions. Guam produces such a report annually; Hawaii
sporadically; American Samoa and the CNMI do not. The
Department of the Interior forwards these reports to the
Congress.
Among the governments, there is no consistent format or
standards for inclusion of costs, and no inclusion of benefits
that FAS citizens provide the respective jurisdiction. In its
2012 report on FAS migration, the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) stated:
. . . some jurisdictions did not accurately define
compact migrants, account for federal funding that
supplemented local expenditures, or include revenue
received from compact migrants.
The GAO recommendations did not include specific
recommendations necessary to achieve accuracy in reporting
impacts of the compacts.
The Department of the Interior has urged the governors to
develop consistent standards of reporting among themselves,
including the definition of FAS migrants, accurate accounting
of migrant costs to the affected government, and benefits
received by the affected jurisdiction from employment, taxation
and consumption. To date, they have not done so.
Assuming that accurate reporting is achieved in future
reports, the accuracy of past reports remains a problem for
calculating the amounts from which ``in-kind contributions''
could be drawn.
Without establishing standards, the language in section 13
is untenable. For example, subsection (b) calls on the
Secretary of the Interior to determine amounts eligible for
``in-kind'' classification ``based on a reasonable estimate of
the amount of impact expenditures for the Freely Associated
States.'' The words I quoted give no direction for the
Secretary to arrive at an estimate and the expenditures are not
stated to be those of the four U.S. affected jurisdictions.
Specific and exacting standards are missing.
The Department of the Interior opposes the enactment of
section 13.
waiver of local matching requirements
Section 16 would amend section 501 of Public Law 95-134,
which allows waiver of local matching requirements for Federal
grants for U.S. territories, to require the waiver of all
matching of $500,000 or less.
The original waiver provision, giving all federal agencies
permissive authority to waive local matching requirements of
$200,000 or less, has been in effect since 1977. Since 1980,
statute has required the matching waiver for grants of the
Department of the Interior. Generally the law has been
interpreted not to apply to discretionary grants, because a
granting agency could decide, in its discretion, to forgo
making the grant if a territory were to insist on the waiver of
the match. Such an eventuality would harm the territories.
Considering that more than 30 years have passed since the
$200,000 waiver was established, the increase to $500,000 would
seem appropriate and consistent with inflation over time.
The Department of the Interior has no objection to the
enactment of section 16 with regard to grants from the
Department of the Interior. We express no view with regard to
waiver changes for other Federal agencies.
american samoa citizenship plebiscite act
Section 19 would require the Secretary of the Interior to
direct the American Samoa Election Office to conduct a
plebiscite on whether or not persons born in American Samoa
desire United States citizenship.
Under the Tripartite Convention of 1899, ratified February
16, 1900, Great Britain and Germany ceded claims of the eastern
portion of the Samoan Islands to the United States. This
portion of the archipelago became known as ``American Samoa.''
The Matai (the chiefs) of Tutuila and Manu'a, signed voluntary
Deeds of Cession in 1901 and 1904, respectively, which were
subsequently accepted, ratified and confirmed retroactively by
Congress. In 1929, the Congress provided that with regard to
the government of the territory of American Samoa, all civil,
judicial, and military powers shall be exercised as the
President shall direct. In 1951, the President delegated his
authority to the Secretary of the Interior.
Under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior,
American Samoa adopted a constitution in 1960. The issue of
citizenship versus status as a U.S. national was a key issue.
The Samoan leaders and people were concerned that U.S.
citizenship could cause the equal protection clause of the
United States Constitution to interfere with their communal
land tenure system, chiefly or matai titles, and the viability
of Fono's Senate due to the selection of Senators from among
persons with matai titles.
To protect and ensure continuation of fa 'a Samoa (the
Samoan way of life), Samoans chose to be U.S. nationals rather
than citizens of the United States. Both citizens and nationals
owe allegiance to the United States, although the United States
Constitution grants certain privileges to citizens, but not
persons who are nationals alone.
The United States national status of persons born in
American Samoa was upheld on June 26, 2013, by the United
States District Court for the District of Columbia in Leneuoti
Fiafia Tuaua et al. v. United States of America et al. which
included the following statement:
To date, the Congress has not seen fit to bestow
birthright citizenship on American Samoa, and in
accordance with the law, this Court must and will
respect that choice.
In the fifty years since the adoption of the original
constitution of American Samoa, attitudes of many in the local
population of American Samoa may have shifted. The plebiscite
called for in section 19 will bring new discussion to these
land, matai title and Senate issues. These are issues for the
American Samoa polity to discuss and decide.
Should the proposed vote in American Samoa favor
citizenship, leaders in American Samoa would then approach the
Secretary of the Interior and the Congress, to seek action on
the issue.
The Department of the Interior has no objection to the
enactment of section 19.
marine turtles
Section 20 would extend the Marine Turtle Conservation Act
of 2004 to United States territories and possessions. Marine
turtles are ``flagship species'' for both local and
international coastal conservation. Because marine turtles
circumnavigate the world's oceans to reach their nesting
beaches, their conservation must be addressed through global
efforts. By focusing on these species and their habitats, we
can more adequately conserve and manage ecologically critical
coastal and marine habitats around the world.
The Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (within the
Department of Commerce) share jurisdiction for the conservation
of marine turtles. The Service focuses conservation activities
on nesting beaches while NOAA works to conserve and recover
turtles in their marine habitats. The Fish and Wildlife Service
also administers the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund, which
provides grants to countries with sea turtle nesting beaches on
a cost share basis, to implement sea turtle conservation
programs. Such international conservation is a key part of the
effort to recover and conserve these global species.
The Department of the Interior supports the intent of
section 20 to provide greater funding opportunities for turtle
conservation in the U.S. territories. However, we are concerned
that this change would significantly dilute the limited funds
available to implement conservation measures in foreign
countries. There are resources already available for sea turtle
conservation in the U.S., including the territories. The
relatively small amount of Marine Turtle Conservation Fund
grants (less than $1.8 million in FY 2012), which provide
critical assistance to our international partners, accounts for
about six percent of the overall funds spent by the U.S. on sea
turtle conservation. If applicants in the U.S. are made
eligible, this limited amount for critically important
international work is likely to be significantly reduced.
conclusion
Mr. Chairman, we at the Department of the Interior are
pleased that you and the ranking member have introduced the
Territorial Omnibus Act of 2013. Despite the fact that the
Department cannot support each and every provision, the bill
gives an airing to important territorial issues of long
standing. We will be pleased to work with the Committee as it
finalizes the legislation.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill S. 1237, as ordered reported, are shown as follows
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
Table of Laws Affected
1. Public Law 94-241.
2. The Housing and Community Development Act of 1980.
3. Public Law 95-134.
4. Public Law 96-205.
5. Title 46, United States Code.
6. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.
7. The Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization
Act of 1998.
8. The REAL ID Act of 2005.
----------
PUBLIC LAW 94-241
Section 6 of Public Law 94-241, as added by section 702(a) of the
Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008; 48 U.S.C. 1806
JOINT RESOLUTION To approve the ``Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United
States of America'', and for other purposes
* * * * * * *
SEC. 6. IMMIGRATION AND TRANSITION.
(a) Application of the Immigration and Nationality Act and
Establishment of a Transition Program.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3),
effective on the first day of the first full month
commencing 1 year after the date of enactment of the
Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (hereafter
referred to as the ``transition program effective
date''), the provisions of the `immigration laws' (as
defined in section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17))) shall apply to
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
(referred to in this section as the ``Commonwealth''),
except as otherwise provided in this section.
(2) Transition period.--There shall be a transition
period beginning on the transition program effective
date and ending on [December 31, 2014, except as
provided in subsections (b) and (d)] December 31, 2019,
during which the Secretary of Homeland Security, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, the Attorney
General, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of
the Interior, shall establish, administer, and enforce
a transition program to regulate immigration to the
Commonwealth, as provided in this section (hereafter
referred to as the ``transition program'').
* * * * * * *
[(6) Certain education funding.--In addition to fees
charged pursuant to section 286(m) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)) to recover the
full costs of providing adjudication services, the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall charge an annual
supplemental fee of $150 per nonimmigrant worker to
each prospective employer who is issued a permit under
subsection (d) of this section during the transition
period. Such supplemental fee shall be paid into the
Treasury of the Commonwealth government for the purpose
of funding ongoing vocational educational curricula and
program development by Commonwealth educational
entities.]
(6) Certain education funding.--
(A) In general.--In addition to fees charged
pursuant to section 286(m) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356 (m)) to
recover the full costs of providing
adjudication services, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall charge an annual
supplemental fee of $150 per nonimmigrant
worker to each prospective employer who is
issued a permit under subsection (d) of this
section during the transition program. Such
supplemental fee shall be paid into the
Treasury of the Commonwealth government for the
purpose of funding ongoing vocational
educational curricula and program development
by Commonwealth educational entities.
(B) Plan for the expenditure of funds.--At
the beginning of each fiscal year, and prior to
the payment of the supplemental fee into the
Treasury of the Commonwealth government in that
fiscal year, the Commonwealth government must
provide to the Secretary of Labor, a plan for
the expenditure of funds received under this
paragraph, a projection of the effectiveness of
these expenditures in the placement of United
States workers into jobs, and a report on the
changes in employment of United States workers
attributable to prior year expenditures.
(C) Report.--The Secretary of Labor shall
report to the Congress every 2 years on the
effectiveness of meeting the goals set out by
the Commonwealth government in its annual plan
for the expenditure of funds.
* * * * * * *
(d) Special Provision To Ensure Adequate Employment;
Commonwealth Only Transitional Workers.--An alien who is
seeking to enter the Commonwealth as a nonimmigrant worker may
be admitted to perform work during the transition period
subject to the following requirements:
(1) Such an alien shall be treated as a nonimmigrant
described in section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)), including the
ability to apply, if otherwise eligible, for a change
of nonimmigrant classification under section 248 of
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1258) or adjustment of status under
this section and section 245 of such Act (8 U.S.C.
1255).
(2) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
establish, administer, and enforce a system for
allocating and determining the number, terms, and
conditions of permits to be issued to prospective
employers for each such nonimmigrant worker described
in this subsection who would not otherwise be eligible
for admission under the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). In adopting and enforcing this
system, the Secretary shall also consider, in good
faith and not later than 30 days after receipt by the
Secretary, any comments and advice submitted by the
Governor of the Commonwealth. This system shall provide
for a reduction in the allocation of permits for such
workers on an annual basis to zero, during a period
[not to extend beyond December 31, 2014, unless
extended pursuant to paragraph 5 of this subsection]
ending on December 31, 2019. In no event shall a permit
be valid beyond the expiration of the transition
period. This system may be based on any reasonable
method and criteria determined by the Secretary of
Homeland Security to promote the maximum use of, and to
prevent adverse effects on wages and working conditions
of, workers authorized to be employed in the United
States, including lawfully admissible freely associated
state citizen labor. No alien shall be granted
nonimmigrant classification or a visa under this
subsection unless the permit requirements established
under this paragraph have been met.
* * * * * * *
[(5)(A) Not later than 180 days prior to the
expiration of the transition period, or any extension
thereof, the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with
the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and the
Governor of the Commonwealth, shall ascertain the
current and anticipated labor needs of the Commonwealth
and determine whether an extension of up to 5 years of
the provisions of this subsection is necessary to
ensure an adequate number of workers will be available
for legitimate businesses in the Commonwealth. For the
purpose of this subparagraph, a business shall not be
considered legitimate if it engages directly or
indirectly in prostitution, trafficking in minors, or
any other activity that is illegal under Federal or
local law. The determinations of whether a business is
legitimate and to what extent, if any, it may require
alien workers to supplement the resident workforce,
shall be made by the Secretary of Homeland Security, in
the Secretary's sole discretion.
[(B) If the Secretary of Labor determines that such
an extension is necessary to ensure an adequate number
of workers for legitimate businesses in the
Commonwealth, the Secretary of Labor may, through
notice published in the Federal Register, provide for
an additional extension period of up to 5 years.
[(C) In making the determination of whether alien
workers are necessary to ensure an adequate number of
workers for legitimate businesses in the Commonwealth,
and if so, the number of such workers that are
necessary, the Secretary of Labor may consider, among
other relevant factors--
[(i) government, industry, or independent
workforce studies reporting on the need, or
lack thereof, for alien workers in the
Commonwealth businesses;
[(ii) the unemployment rate of United States
citizen workers residing in the Commonwealth;
[(iii) the unemployment rate of aliens in the
Commonwealth who have been lawfully admitted
for permanent residence;
[(iv) the number of unemployed alien workers
in the Commonwealth;
[(v) any good faith efforts to locate,
educate, train, or otherwise prepare United
States citizen residents, lawful permanent
residents, and unemployed alien workers already
within the Commonwealth, to assume those jobs;
[(vi) any available evidence tending to show
that United States citizen residents, lawful
permanent residents, and unemployed alien
workers already in the Commonwealth are not
willing to accept jobs of the type offered;
[(vii) the extent to which admittance of
alien workers will affect the compensation,
benefits, and living standards of existing
workers within those industries and other
industries authorized to employ alien workers;
and
[(viii) the prior use, if any, of alien
workers to fill those industry jobs, and
whether the industry requires alien workers to
fill those jobs.]
[(6)] (5) The Secretary of Homeland Security
may authorize the admission of a spouse or
minor child accompanying or following to join a
worker admitted pursuant to this subsection.
* * * * * * *
----------
THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1980
Public Law 96-399, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 1436a
AN ACT To amend and extend certain Federal laws relating to housing,
community and neighborhood development and preservation, and related
programs, and for other purposes
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
* * * * * * *
RESTRICTION ON USE OF ASSISTED HOUSING
Sec. 214. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the applicable Secretary may not make financial assistance
available for the benefit of any alien unless that alien is a
resident of the United States and is--
(1) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent
residence as an immigrant as defined by section
1101(a)(15) and (20) of Title 8, excluding, among
others, alien visitors, tourists, diplomats, and
students who enter the United States temporarily with
no intention of abandoning their residence in a foreign
country;
* * * * * * *
(7) an alien who is lawfully resident in the United
States and its territories and possessions under
section 141 of the Compacts of Free Association between
the Government of the United States and the Governments
of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of
Micronesia (48 U.S.C. 1901 note) and Palau (48 U.S.C.
1931 note) while the applicable section is in effect:
Provided, That, within Guam any [such alien shall not
be entitled to a preference in receiving assistance
under this Act over any United States citizen or
national resident therein who is otherwise eligible for
such assistance] citizen or national of the United
States shall be entitled to a preference or priority in
receiving assistance before any such alien who is
otherwise eligible for such assistance.
* * * * * * *
----------
PUBLIC LAW 95-134
Section 501 of Public Law 95-134, as amended by section 9 of Public Law
95-348; 48 U.S.C. 1469a
AN ACT To authorize certain appropriations for the territories of the
United States, to amend certain Acts relating thereto, and for other
purposes.
* * * * * * *
TITLE V
Sec. 501. In order to minimize the burden caused by
existing application and reporting procedures for certain
grant-in-aid programs available to the Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and
the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands (hereafter
referred to as Insular Areas) it is hereby declared to be the
policy of the Congress, notwithstanding any provision of law to
the contrary, that:
(a) Any department or agency of the Government of the
United States which administers any Act of Congress which
specifically provides for making grants to any Insular Area
under which payments received may be used by such Insular Area
only for certain specified purposes (other than direct payments
to classes of individuals) may, acting through appropriate
administrative authorities of such department or agency,
consolidate any or all grants made to such area for any fiscal
year or years.
* * * * * * *
(d) Each department or agency making grants-in-aid shall,
by regulations published in the Federal Register, provide the
method by which any Insular Area may submit (i) a single
application for a consolidated grant for any fiscal year
period, but not more than one such application for a
consolidated grant shall be required by any department or
agency unless notice of such requirement is transmitted to the
appropriate committees of the United States Congress together
with a complete explanation of the necessity for requiring such
additional applications and (ii) a single report to such
department or agency with respect to each such consolidated
grant: Provided, That nothing in this paragraph shall preclude
such department or agency from providing adequate procedures
for accounting, auditing, evaluating, and reviewing any
programs or activities receiving benefits from any consolidated
grant. The administering authority of any department or agency,
in its discretion, may (i) waive any requirement for matching
funds otherwise required [by law] to be provided by the Insular
Area involved and (ii) waive the requirement that any Insular
Area submit an application or report in writing with respect to
any consolidated grant.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case
of American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern
Mariana Islands, each department or agency of the United States
shall waive any requirement for local matching funds (including
in-kind contributions) that the insular area would otherwise be
required to provide for any non-competitive grant as follows:
(1) For a grant requiring matching funds (including
in-kind contributions) of $500,000 or less, the entire
matching requirement shall be waived.
(2) For a grant requiring matching funds (including
in-kind contributions) of more than $500,000, $500,000
of the matching requirement shall be waived.
* * * * * * *
----------
PUBLIC LAW 96-205
94 Stat. 90; 48 U.S.C. 1469a note
AN ACT To authorize appropriations for certain insular areas of the
United States, and for other purposes
* * * * * * *
TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS
Sec. 601. Title V of the Act of October 15, 1977, entitled,
``An Act to authorize certain appropriations for the
territories of the United States, to amend certain Acts
relating thereto, and for other purposes'' (91 Stat. 1159)
shall be applied with respect to the Department of the Interior
by substituting ``shall'' for ``may'' in the last sentence of
subsection (d) [, and adding the following sentence at the end
of subsection (d): ``Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, in the case of American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands,
and the Northern Mariana Islands any department or agency shall
waive any requirement for local matching funds under $200,000
(including in-kind contributions) required by law to be
provided by American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, or the
Northern Mariana Islands.''].
TITLE 46, UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 46--SHIPPING
* * * * * * *
Subtitle II--Vessels and Seamen
* * * * * * *
PART H--IDENTIFICATION OF VESSELS
CHAPTER 121--DOCUMENTATION OF VESSELS
* * * * * * *
Subchapter II--Endorsements and Special Documentation
* * * * * * *
Sec. 12113. Fishery endorsement
* * * * * * *
(i) Regulations.--Regulations to implement subsections (c)
and (d) and sections 12151(c) and 31322(b) of this title shall
prohibit impermissible transfers of ownership or control,
specify any transactions that require prior approval of an
implementing agency, identify transactions that do not require
prior agency approval, and to the extent practicable, minimize
disruptions to the commercial fishing industry, to the
traditional financing arrangements of that industry, and to the
opportunity to form fishery cooperatives.
(j) Certain Exemption.--Paragraph (3) of subsection (a)
shall not apply to any vessel--
(1) that offloads its catch in part or full in
American Samoa; and
(2) that was rebuilt outside of the United States
before January 1, 2011.
* * * * * * *
----------
THE FAIR MINIMUM WAGE ACT OF 2007
Title VIII, Subtitle A of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care,
Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007,
Public Law 110-28, as amended by Public Law 111-5, Public Law 111-244,
and Public Law 112-149; 29 U.S.C. 2006 note
AN ACT Making emergency supplemental appropriations and additional
supplemental appropriations for agricultural and other emergency
assistance for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, and for other
purposes
* * * * * * *
TITLE VIII--FAIR MINIMUM WAGE AND TAX RELIEF
Subtitle A--Fair Minimum Wage
* * * * * * *
SEC. 8104. STUDY ON PROJECTED IMPACT.--
(a) Report.--The Government Accountability Office shall
assess the impact of minimum wage increases that have occurred
pursuant to section 8103, and not later than September 1, 2011,
shall transmit to Congress a report of its findings. The
Government Accountability Office shall submit subsequent
reports not later than April 1, 2014, and every 3 years
thereafter until the minimum wage in the respective territory
meets the federal minimum wage.
(b) Economic Information.--To provide sufficient economic
data for the conduct of the study under subsection (a) the
Bureau of the Census of the Department of Commerce shall
include and separately report on American Samoa, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the
Virgin Islands in its County Business Patterns data with the
same regularity and to the same extent as each Bureau collects
and reports such data for the 50 States. In the event that the
inclusion of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands in such surveys
and data compilations requires time to structure and implement,
the Bureau of the Census shall in the interim annually report
the best available data that can feasibly be secured with
respect to such territories. Such interim report shall describe
the steps the Bureau will take to improve future data
collection in the territories to achieve comparability with the
data collected in the United States. The Bureau of the Census,
together with the Department of the Interior, shall coordinate
their efforts to achieve such improvements.
(c) Effects of Minimum Wage Differentials in American
Samoa.--The reports required under this section shall include
an analysis of the economic effects on employees and employers
of the differentials in minimum wage rates among industries and
classifications in American Samoa under section 697 of title
29, Code of Federal Regulations, including the potential
effects of eliminating such differentials prior to the time
when such rates are scheduled to be equal to the minimum wage
set forth in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act
(29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)).
* * * * * * *
----------
OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1998
Public Law 105-277; 21 U.S.C. 1703
AN ACT Making omnibus consolidated and emergency appropriations for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, and for other purposes
* * * * * * *
DIVISION C--OTHER MATTERS
* * * * * * *
TITLE VII--OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY REAUTHORIZATION
SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Office of National Drug
Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998''.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 704. APPOINTMENT AND DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY DIRECTORS.
* * * * * * *
(b) Responsibilities.--The Director--
(1) shall assist the President in the establishment
of policies, goals, objectives, and priorities for the
National Drug Control Program;
* * * * * * *
(13) shall require each National Drug Control Program
agency to submit to the Director on an annual basis an
evaluation of progress by the agency with respect to
drug control program goals using the performance
measures for the agency developed under section 706(c),
including progress with respect to--
(A) success in reducing domestic and foreign
sources of illegal drugs;
(B) success in protecting the borders of the
United States (and in particular the borders of
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands of the
United States and the Southwestern border of
the United States) from penetration by illegal
narcotics;
(C) success in reducing violent crime
associated with drug use in the United States;
* * * * * * *
----------
REAL ID Act of 2005
Division B of Public Law 109-13
AN ACT Making Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Defense, the
Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2005, and for other purposes
* * * * * * *
DIVISION B--REAL ID ACT OF 2005
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This division may be cited as the ``REAL ID Act of 2005''.
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--IMPROVED SECURITY FOR DRIVERS' LICENSES AND PERSONAL
IDENTIFICATION CARDS
SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.
In this title, the following definitions apply:
(1) Driver's license.--The term ``driver's license''
means a motor vehicle operator's license, as defined in
section 30301 of title 49, United States Code.
(2) Identification card.--The term ``identification
card'' means a personal identification card, as defined
in section 1028(d) of title 18, United States Code,
issued by a State.
(3) Official purpose.--The term ``official purpose''
includes but is not limited to accessing Federal
facilities, boarding federally regulated commercial
aircraft, entering nuclear power plants, and any other
purposes that the Secretary shall determine.
(4) Secretary.--The ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Homeland Security.
(5) State.--The ``State'' means a State of the United
States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern
Mariana Islands, [the Trust Territory of the Pacific
Islands], and any other territory or possession of the
United States.
SEC. 202. MINIMUM DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS AND ISSUANCE STANDARDS FOR
FEDERAL RECOGNITION.
* * * * * * *
(c) Minimum Issuance Standards.--
(1) In general.--To meet the requirements of this
section, a State shall require, at a minimum,
presentation and verification of the following
information before issuing a driver's license or
identification card to a person:
(A) A photo identity document, except that a
non-photo identity document is acceptable if it
includes both the person's full legal name and
date of birth.
(B) Documentation showing the person's date
of birth.
(C) Proof of the person's social security
account number or verification that the person
is not eligible for a social security account
number.
(D) Documentation showing the person's name
and address of principal residence.
(2) Special requirements.--
(A) In general.--To meet the requirements of
this section [this note], a State shall comply
with the minimum standards of this paragraph.
(B) Evidence of lawful status.--A State shall
require, before issuing a driver's license or
identification card to a person, valid
documentary evidence that the person--
(i) is a citizen or national of the
United States;
* * * * * * *
(viii) has approved deferred action
status; [or]
(ix) has a pending application for
adjustment of status to that of an
alien lawfully admitted for permanent
residence in the United States or
conditional permanent resident status
in the United States [.] ; or
(x) is a citizen of the Republic of
the Marshall Islands, the Federated
States of Micronesia, or the Republic
of Palau who has been admitted to the
United States as a nonimmigrant
pursuant to a Compact of Free
Association between the United States
and the Republic or Federated States.
* * * * * * *
