IC 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1237 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 3, 2014 

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

AN ACT 

To improve the administration of programs in the insular 

areas, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Omnibus Territories 

3 Act of 2013’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

5 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. Improvements in HUD assisted programs. 

Sec. 8. Benefit to cost ratio study for projects in American Samoa. 

Sec. 9. Fishery endorsements. 

Sec. 10. Effects of Minimum Wage differentials in American Samoa. 

Sec. 11. Office of National Drug Control Policy. 

Sec. 12. Drivers’ licenses and personal identification cards. 

6 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSOLIDATED NATURAL 

7 RESOURCES ACT. 

8 Section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘A Joint 

9 Resolution to approve the ‘Covenant To Establish a Com10 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political 

11 Union with the United States of America’, and for other 

12 purposes’’, approved March 24, 1976 (Public Law 94– 

13 241; 90 Stat. 263, 122 Stat. 854), is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Decem16 ber 31, 2014, except as provided in subsections 

17 (b) and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 

18 2019’’; and 

19 (B) by striking paragraph (6), and insert20 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(6) CERTAIN EDUCATION FUNDING.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to fees 

3 charged pursuant to section 286(m) of the Im4 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356 

5 (m)) to recover the full costs of providing adju6 dication services, the Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security shall charge an annual supplemental 

8 fee of $150 per nonimmigrant worker to each 

9 prospective employer who is issued a permit 

10 under subsection (d) of this section during the 

11 transition program. Such supplemental fee shall 

12 be paid into the Treasury of the Commonwealth 

13 government for the purpose of funding ongoing 

14 vocational educational curricula and program 

15 development by Commonwealth educational en16 tities. 

17 ‘‘(B) PLAN FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF

18 FUNDS.—At the beginning of each fiscal year, 

19 and prior to the payment of the supplemental 

20 fee into the Treasury of the Commonwealth 

21 government in that fiscal year, the Common22 wealth government must provide to the Sec23 retary of Labor, a plan for the expenditure of 

24 funds received under this paragraph, a projec25 tion of the effectiveness of these expenditures in 


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1 the placement of United States workers into 

2 jobs, and a report on the changes in employ3 ment of United States workers attributable to 

4 prior year expenditures. 

5 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—The Secretary of Labor 

6 shall report to the Congress every 2 years on 

7 the effectiveness of meeting the goals set out by 

8 the Commonwealth government in its annual 

9 plan for the expenditure of funds.’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (d)— 

11 (A) in the third sentence of paragraph (2), 

12 by striking ‘‘not to extend beyond December 31, 

13 2014, unless extended pursuant to paragraph 5 

14 of this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘ending on 

15 December 31, 2019’’; 

16 (B) by striking paragraph (5); and 

17 (C) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

18 paragraph (5). 

19 SEC. 4. STUDY OF ELECTRIC RATES IN THE INSULAR 

20 AREAS. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY PLAN.—The term 

23 ‘‘comprehensive energy plan’’ means a comprehen24 sive energy plan prepared and updated under sub25 sections (c) and (e) of section 604 of the Act entitled 


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1 ‘‘An Act to authorize appropriations for certain in2 sular areas of the United States, and for other pur3 poses’’, approved December 24, 1980 (48 U.S.C. 

4 1492). 

5 (2) ENERGY ACTION PLAN.—The term ‘‘energy 

6 action plan’’ means the plan required by subsection 

7 (d). 

8 (3) FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES.—The term 

9 ‘‘Freely Associated States’’ means the Federated 

10 States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall 

11 Islands, and the Republic of Palau. 

12 (4) INSULAR AREAS.—The term ‘‘insular areas’’ 

13 means American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

14 Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, and 

15 the Virgin Islands. 

16 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of the Interior. 

18 (6) TEAM.—The term ‘‘team’’ means the team 

19 established by the Secretary under subsection (b). 

20 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, 

22 within the Empowering Insular Communities activity, es23 tablish a team of technical, policy, and financial experts— 


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1 (1) to develop an energy action plan addressing 

2 the energy needs of each of the insular areas and 

3 Freely Associated States; and 

4 (2) to assist each of the insular areas and Free5 ly Associated States in implementing such plan. 

6 (c) PARTICIPATION OF REGIONAL UTILITY ORGANI7 ZATIONS.—In establishing the team, the Secretary shall 

8 consider including regional utility organizations. 

9 (d) ENERGY ACTION PLAN.—In accordance with sub10 section (b), the energy action plan shall include— 

11 (1) recommendations, based on the comprehen12 sive energy plan where applicable, to— 

13 (A) reduce reliance and expenditures on 

14 fuel shipped to the insular areas and Freely As15 sociated States from ports outside the United 

16 States; 

17 (B) develop and utilize domestic fuel en18 ergy sources; and 

19 (C) improve performance of energy infra20 structure and overall energy efficiency; 

21 (2) a schedule for implementation of such rec22 ommendations and identification and prioritization 

23 of specific projects; 

24 (3) a financial and engineering plan for imple25 menting and sustaining projects; and 


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1 (4) benchmarks for measuring progress toward 

2 implementation. 

3 (e) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after the date on which the Secretary establishes the team 

5 and annually thereafter, the team shall submit to the Sec6 retary a report detailing progress made in fulfilling its 

7 charge and in implementing the energy action plan. 

8 (f) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

9 than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary re10 ceives a report submitted by the team under subsection 

11 (e), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate commit12 tees of Congress a summary of the report of the team. 

13 (g) APPROVAL OF SECRETARY REQUIRED.—The en14 ergy action plan shall not be implemented until the Sec15 retary approves the energy action plan. 

16 SEC. 5. REPORTS ON ESTIMATES OF REVENUES. 

17 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

18 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

19 that— 

20 (1) evaluates whether the annual estimates or 

21 forecasts of revenue and expenditure of American 

22 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

23 Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are reason24 able; and 


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1 (2) as the Comptroller General of the United 

2 States determines to be necessary, makes rec3 ommendations for improving the process for devel4 oping estimates or forecasts. 

5 SEC. 6. LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PRO6 GRAM. 

7 With respect to fiscal years 2014 through 2017, the 

8 percentage described in section 2605(b)(2)(B)(i) of the 

9 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 

10 U.S.C. 8624(b)(2)(B)(i)) shall be 300 percent when ap11 plied to households located in the Virgin Islands. 

12 SEC. 7. IMPROVEMENTS IN HUD ASSISTED PROGRAMS. 

13 Section 214(a)(7) of the Housing and Community 

14 Development Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a(a)(7)) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘such alien’’ and all that follows 

16 through the period at the end and inserting ‘‘citizen or 

17 national of the United States shall be entitled to a pref18 erence or priority in receiving assistance before any such 

19 alien who is otherwise eligible for such assistance.’’. 

20 SEC. 8. BENEFIT TO COST RATIO STUDY FOR PROJECTS IN 

21 AMERICAN SAMOA. 

22 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

23 States shall conduct a study regarding the use of benefit24 to-cost ratio formulas by Federal departments and agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Dec 04, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1237.RFH S1237

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1 cies for purposes of evaluating projects in American 

2 Samoa. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study, the Comp4 troller General shall— 

5 (1) assess whether the benefit-to-cost ratio for6 mulas described in subsection (a) take into consider7 ation— 

8 (A) the remote locations in, and the cost of 

9 transportation to and from, American Samoa; 

10 and 

11 (B) other significant factors that are not 

12 comparable to locations within the 48 contig13 uous States; and 

14 (2) assess, in particular, the use of benefit-to15 cost ratio formulas by— 

16 (A) the Secretary of Transportation with 

17 respect to airport traffic control tower pro18 grams; and 

19 (B) the Secretary of the Army, acting 

20 through the Corps of Engineers, with respect to 

21 a harbor project or other water resources devel22 opment project. 

23 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 

24 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a re2 port on the results of the study. 

3 SEC. 9. FISHERY ENDORSEMENTS. 

4 Section 12113 of title 46, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(j) CERTAIN EXEMPTION.—Paragraph (3) of sub7 section (a) shall not apply to any vessel— 

8 ‘‘(1) that offloads its catch in part or full in 

9 American Samoa; and 

10 ‘‘(2) that was rebuilt outside of the United 

11 States before January 1, 2011.’’. 

12 SEC. 10. EFFECTS OF MINIMUM WAGE DIFFERENTIALS IN 

13 AMERICAN SAMOA. 

14 Section 8104 of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 

15 (29 U.S.C. 206 note) is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) EFFECTS OF MINIMUM WAGE DIFFERENTIALS

18 IN AMERICAN SAMOA.—The reports required under this 

19 section shall include an analysis of the economic effects 

20 on employees and employers of the differentials in min21 imum wage rates among industries and classifications in 

22 American Samoa under section 697 of title 29, Code of 

23 Federal Regulations, including the potential effects of 

24 eliminating such differentials prior to the time when such 

25 rates are scheduled to be equal to the minimum wage set 


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1 forth in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 

2 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)).’’. 

3 SEC. 11. OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY. 

4 (a) CARIBBEAN BORDER COUNTERNARCOTICS

5 STRATEGY.—The Office of National Drug Control Policy 

6 shall develop a biennial Caribbean Border Counter7 narcotics Strategy, that is made available to the public, 

8 with emphasis on the borders of Puerto Rico and the Vir9 gin Islands of the United States, on terms substantially 

10 equivalent to the existing Southwest Border Counter11 narcotics Strategy and the Northern Border Counter12 narcotics Strategy. 

13 (b) AMENDMENT.—Section 704(b)(13)(B) of the Of14 fice of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act 

15 of 1998 (21 U.S.C. 1703(b)(13)(B)) is amended by insert16 ing ‘‘the borders of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 

17 of the United States and’’ after ‘‘in particular’’. 

18 SEC. 12. DRIVERS’ LICENSES AND PERSONAL IDENTIFICA19 TION CARDS. 

20 (a) DEFINITION OF STATE.—Section 201(5) of the 

21 REAL ID Act of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 30301 note; Public Law 

22 109–13) is amended by striking ‘‘the Trust Territory of 

23 the Pacific Islands,’’. 


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1 (b) EVIDENCE OF LAWFUL STATUS.—Section 

2 202(c)(2)(B) of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 

3 30301 note; Public Law 109–13) is amended— 

4 (1) in clause (viii), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

5 semicolon at the end; 

6 (2) in clause (ix), by striking the period at the 

7 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(x) is a citizen of the Republic of the 

10 Marshall Islands, the Federated States of 

11 Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau who 

12 has been admitted to the United States as 

13 a nonimmigrant pursuant to a Compact of 

14 Free Association between the United 

15 States and the Republic or Federated 

16 States.’’. 

Passed the Senate June 18, 2014. 

Attest: NANCY ERICKSON, 

Secretary. 


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