II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1850 

To reform and modernize domestic refugee resettlement programs, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 18, 2013 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. KING) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To reform and modernize domestic refugee resettlement 

programs, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Domestic Refugee Re5 settlement Reform and Modernization Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘community-based organization’’ means a non10 profit organization providing a variety of social, 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1850 IS

1 health, educational and community services to a pop2 ulation that includes refugees resettled into the 

3 United States. 

4 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

5 the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement 

6 in the Department of Health and Human Services. 

7 (3) NATIONAL RESETTLEMENT AGENCIES.— 

8 The term ‘‘national resettlement agencies’’ means 

9 voluntary agencies contracting with the Department 

10 of State to provide sponsorship and initial resettle11 ment services to refugees entering the United States. 

12 SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF REFUGEE DOMESTIC RESETTLE13 MENT PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

16 of the United States shall conduct a study regarding the 

17 effectiveness of the domestic refugee resettlement pro18 grams operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 

19 (b) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—In the study re20 quired under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall 

21 determine and analyze— 

22 (1) how the Office of Refugee Resettlement de23 fines self-sufficiency and if this definition is ade24 quate in addressing refugee needs in the United 

25 States; 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1850 IS

1 (2) the effectiveness of Office of Refugee Reset2 tlement programs in helping refugees to meet self3 sufficiency and integration; 

4 (3) the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s budg5 etary resources and project the amount of additional 

6 resources needed to fully address the unmet needs of 

7 refugees with regard to self-sufficiency and integra8 tion; 

9 (4) the role of community-based organizations 

10 in serving refugees in areas experiencing a high 

11 number of new refugee arrivals; 

12 (5) how community-based organizations can be 

13 better utilized and supported in the Federal domes14 tic resettlement process; and 

15 (6) recommended statutory changes to improve 

16 the Office of Refugee Resettlement and the domestic 

17 refugee program in relation to the matters analyzed 

18 under paragraphs (1) through (5). 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

21 submit to Congress the results of the study required under 

22 subsection (a). 

23 SEC. 4. REFUGEE ASSISTANCE. 

24 (a) ASSISTANCE MADE AVAILABLE TO SECONDARY

25 MIGRANTS.—Section 412(a)(1) of the Immigration and 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1850 IS

1 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(a)(1)) is amended by add2 ing at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(C) The Director shall ensure that assistance under 

4 this section is provided to refugees who are secondary mi5 grants and meet all other eligibility requirements for such 

6 assistance.’’. 

7 (b) REPORT ON SECONDARY MIGRATION.—Section 

8 412(a)(3) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(a)(3)) is amended— 

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(3)’’; 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘periodic’’ and inserting ‘‘an11 nual’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(B) At the end of each fiscal year, the Director shall 

14 submit a report to Congress that includes— 

15 ‘‘(i) States experiencing departures and arrivals 

16 due to secondary migration; 

17 ‘‘(ii) likely reasons for migration; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the impact of secondary migration on 

19 States hosting secondary migrants; 

20 ‘‘(iv) the availability of social services for sec21 ondary migrants in those States; and 

22 ‘‘(v) unmet needs of those secondary mi23 grants.’’. 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1850 IS

1 (c) AMENDMENTS TO SOCIAL SERVICES FUNDING.— 

2 Section 412(c)(1)(B) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

3 1522(c)(1)(B)) is amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘a combination of—’’ after 

5 ‘‘based on’’; 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘the total number’’ and insert7 ing the following: 

8 ‘‘(i) the total number’’; and 

9 (3) by striking the period at the end and insert10 ing the following: 

11 ‘‘(ii) the total number of all other eligible popu12 lations served by the Office during the period de13 scribed who are residing in the State as of the be14 ginning of the fiscal year; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) projections on the number and nature of 

16 incoming refugees and other populations served by 

17 the Office during the subsequent fiscal year.’’. 

18 (d) NOTICE AND RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 

19 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and not 

20 later than 30 days before the effective date set forth in 

21 subsection (e), the Director shall— 

22 (1) issue a proposed rule for a new formula by 

23 which grants and contracts are to be allocated pur24 suant to the amendments made by subsection (c); 

25 and 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1850 IS

1 (2) solicit public comment regarding such pro2 posed rule. 

3 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall become effective on the first day of the 

5 first fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act. 

7 SEC. 5. RESETTLEMENT DATA. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall expand the Of9 fice of Refugee Resettlement’s data analysis, collection, 

10 and sharing activities in accordance with the requirements 

11 set forth in subsections (b) through (e). 

12 (b) DATA ON MENTAL AND PHYSICAL MEDICAL

13 CASES.—The Director shall— 

14 (1) coordinate with the Centers for Disease 

15 Control and Prevention, national resettlement agen16 cies, community-based organizations, and State ref17 ugee health programs to track national and State 

18 trends on refugees arriving with Class A medical 

19 conditions and other urgent medical needs; and 

20 (2) in collecting information under this sub21 section, utilize initial refugee health screening data, 

22 including— 

23 (A) a history of severe trauma, torture, 

24 mental health symptoms, depression, anxiety, 

25 and posttraumatic stress disorder recorded durVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:21 Dec 24, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850

tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1850 IS

1 ing domestic and international health screen2 ings; and 

3 (B) Refugee Medical Assistance utilization 

4 rate data. 

5 (c) DATA ON HOUSING NEEDS.—The Director shall 

6 partner with State refugee programs, community-based 

7 organizations, and national resettlement agencies to col8 lect data relating to the housing needs of refugees, includ9 ing— 

10 (1) the number of refugees who have become 

11 homeless; and 

12 (2) the number of refugees who are at severe 

13 risk of becoming homeless. 

14 (d) DATA ON REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT AND SELF15 SUFFICIENCY.—The Director shall gather longitudinal in16 formation relating to refugee self-sufficiency, integration, 

17 and employment status during the 2-year period beginning 

18 1 year after the date on which the refugees arrived in the 

19 United States. 

20 (e) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—The Director shall an21 nually— 

22 (1) update the data collected under this section; 

23 and 

24 (2) submit a report to Congress that contains 

25 the updated data. 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1850 IS

1 SEC. 6. GUIDANCE REGARDING REFUGEE PLACEMENT DE2 CISIONS. 

3 (a) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of State shall 

4 provide guidance to national resettlement agencies and 

5 State refugee coordinators on consultation with local 

6 stakeholders pertaining to refugee resettlement. 

7 (b) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services, in collaboration with the Secretary of 

9 State, shall collect best practices related to the implemen10 tation of the guidance on stakeholder consultation on ref11 ugee resettlement from voluntary agencies and State ref12 ugee coordinators and disseminate such best practices to 

13 such agencies and coordinators. 

14 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

15 This Act (except for the amendments made by section 

16 4) shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS