II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1727

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 tax rate

increase on gasoline, diesel fuel, and special motor fuels, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 2, 1996

Mr. GRAMM (for himself, Mr. SMITH, and Mrs. HUTCHISON) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal

the 1993 tax rate increase on gasoline, diesel fuel, and

special motor fuels, 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 ‘‘Gas Tax Rollback Act

5 of 1996’’.
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1 TITLE I—REPEAL OF 1993 TAX

2 RATE INCREASE ON GASO3 LINE, DIESEL FUEL, AND SPE4 CIAL MOTOR FUELS

5 SEC. 101. REPEAL OF 4.3-CENT INCREASE IN GASOLINE,

6 DIESEL FUEL, AND SPECIAL MOTOR FUEL

7 TAXES.

8 (a) GASOLINE.—Clause (i) of section 4081(a)(2)(A)

9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik10 ing ‘‘18.3 cents’’ and inserting ‘‘14 cents’’.

11 (b) DIESEL FUEL.—Clause (ii) of section

12 4081(a)(2)(A) of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘24.3

13 cents’’ and inserting ‘‘20 cents’’.

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

15 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment

16 of this Act.

17 TITLE II—REVENUE OFFSETS

18 Subtitle A—Restricting Welfare

19 and Public Benefits for Aliens

20 CHAPTER 1—ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL

21 BENEFITS

22 SEC. 201. ALIENS WHO ARE NOT QUALIFIED ALIENS INELI23 GIBLE FOR FEDERAL PUBLIC BENEFITS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi25 sion of law and except as provided in subsection (b), an
3

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1 alien who is not a qualified alien (as defined in section

2 231) is not eligible for any Federal public benefit (as de3 fined in subsection (c)).

4 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply

5 with respect to the following Federal public benefits:

6 (1) Emergency medical services under title XIX

7 or XXI of the Social Security Act.

8 (2) Short-term, non-cash, in-kind emergency

9 disaster relief.

10 (3)(A) Public health assistance for immuniza11 tions.

12 (B) Public health assistance for testing and

13 treatment of a serious communicable disease if the

14 Secretary of Health and Human Services determines

15 that it is necessary to prevent the spread of such

16 disease.

17 (4) Programs, services, or assistance (such as

18 soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention,

19 and short-term shelter) specified by the Attorney

20 General, in the Attorney General’s sole and

21 unreviewable discretion after consultation with ap22 propriate Federal agencies and departments, which

23 (A) deliver in-kind services at the community level,

24 including through public or private nonprofit agen25 cies; (B) do not condition the provision of assistance,
4

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1 the amount of assistance provided, or the cost of as2 sistance provided on the individual recipient’s in3 come or resources; and (C) are necessary for the

4 protection of life or safety.

5 (5) Programs for housing or community devel6 opment assistance or financial assistance adminis7 tered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel8 opment, any program under title V of the Housing

9 Act of 1949, or any assistance under section 306C

10 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development

11 Act, to the extent that the alien is receiving such a

12 benefit on the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 (c) FEDERAL PUBLIC BENEFIT DEFINED.—

14 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for

15 purposes of this subtitle, the term ‘‘Federal public

16 benefit’’ means a Federal public benefit providing di17 rect spending for—

18 (A) any grant, contract, loan, professional

19 license, or commercial license provided by an

20 agency of the United States or by appropriated

21 funds of the United States; and

22 (B) any retirement, welfare, health, dis23 ability, public or assisted housing, post-second24 ary education, food assistance, unemployment

25 benefit, or any other similar benefit for which
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1 payments or assistance are provided to an indi2 vidual, household, or family eligibility unit by

3 an agency of the United States or by appro4 priated funds of the United States.

5 (2) Such term shall not apply—

6 (A) to any contract, professional license, or

7 commercial license for a nonimmigrant whose

8 visa for entry is related to such employment in

9 the United States; or

10 (B) with respect to benefits for an alien

11 who as a work authorized nonimmigrant or as

12 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi13 dence under the Immigration and Nationality

14 Act qualified for such benefits and for whom

15 the United States under reciprocal treaty agree16 ments is required to pay benefits, as determined

17 by the Attorney General, after consultation with

18 the Secretary of State.

19 SEC. 202. LIMITED ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN QUALIFIED

20 ALIENS FOR CERTAIN FEDERAL PROGRAMS.

21 (a) LIMITED ELIGIBILITY FOR SPECIFIED FEDERAL

22 PROGRAMS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

24 provision of law and except as provided in paragraph

25 (2), an alien who is a qualified alien (as defined in
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1 section 231) is not eligible for any specified Federal

2 program (as defined in paragraph (3)).

3 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—

4 (A) TIME-LIMITED EXCEPTION FOR REFU5 GEES AND ASYLEES.—Paragraph (1) shall not

6 apply to an alien until 5 years after the date—

7 (i) an alien is admitted to the United

8 States as a refugee under section 207 of

9 the Immigration and Nationality Act;

10 (ii) an alien is granted asylum under

11 section 208 of such Act; or

12 (iii) an alien’s deportation is withheld

13 under section 243(h) of such Act.

14 (B) CERTAIN PERMANENT RESIDENT

15 ALIENS.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an

16 alien who—

17 (i) is lawfully admitted to the United

18 States for permanent residence under the

19 Immigration and Nationality Act; and

20 (ii)(I) has worked 40 qualifying quar21 ters of coverage as defined under title II of

22 the Social Security Act, and (II) did not

23 receive any Federal means-tested public

24 benefit (as defined in section 203(c)) dur25 ing any such quarter.
7

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1 (C) VETERAN AND ACTIVE DUTY EXCEP2 TION.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an

3 alien who is lawfully residing in any State and

4 is—

5 (i) a veteran (as defined in section

6 101 of title 38, United States Code) with

7 a discharge characterized as an honorable

8 discharge and not on account of alienage,

9 (ii) on active duty (other than active

10 duty for training) in the Armed Forces of

11 the United States, or

12 (iii) the spouse or unmarried depend13 ent child of an individual described in

14 clause (i) or (ii).

15 (D) TRANSITION FOR ALIENS CURRENTLY

16 RECEIVING BENEFITS.—Paragraph (1) shall

17 apply to the eligibility of an alien for a program

18 for months beginning on or after January 1,

19 1997, if, on the date of the enactment of this

20 Act, the alien is lawfully residing in any State

21 and is receiving benefits under such program on

22 the date of the enactment of this Act.

23 (3) SPECIFIED FEDERAL PROGRAM DEFINED.—

24 For purposes of this subtitle, the term ‘‘specified

25 Federal program’’ means any of the following:
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1 (A) SSI.—The supplemental security in2 come program under title XVI of the Social Se3 curity Act.

4 (B) FOOD STAMPS.—The food stamp pro5 gram as defined in section 3(h) of the Food

6 Stamp Act of 1977.

7 (b) LIMITED ELIGIBILITY FOR DESIGNATED FED8 ERAL PROGRAMS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

10 provision of law and except as provided in section

11 203 and paragraph (2), a State is authorized to de12 termine the eligibility of an alien who is a qualified

13 alien (as defined in section 231) for any designated

14 Federal program (as defined in paragraph (3)).

15 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Qualified aliens under this

16 paragraph shall be eligible for any designated Fed17 eral program.

18 (A) TIME-LIMITED EXCEPTION FOR REFU19 GEES AND ASYLEES.—

20 (i) An alien who is admitted to the

21 United States as a refugee under section

22 207 of the Immigration and Nationality

23 Act until 5 years after the date of an

24 alien’s entry into the United States.
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1 (ii) An alien who is granted asylum

2 under section 208 of such Act until 5 years

3 after the date of such grant of asylum.

4 (iii) An alien whose deportation is

5 being withheld under section 243(h) of

6 such Act until 5 years after such withhold7 ing.

8 (B) CERTAIN PERMANENT RESIDENT

9 ALIENS.—An alien who—

10 (i) is lawfully admitted to the United

11 States for permanent residence under the

12 Immigration and Nationality Act; and

13 (ii)(I) has worked 40 qualifying quar14 ters of coverage to be a fully insured indi15 vidual for old-age retirement benefits

16 under title II of the Social Security Act,

17 (II) did not receive any Federal means18 tested public benefit (as defined in section

19 203(c)) during any such quarter, and (III)

20 at the time of application is otherwise eligi21 ble for such benefits.

22 (C) VETERAN AND ACTIVE DUTY EXCEP23 TION.—An alien who is lawfully residing in any

24 State and is—
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1 (i) a veteran (as defined in section

2 101 of title 38, United States Code) with

3 a discharge characterized as an honorable

4 discharge and not on account of alienage,

5 (ii) on active duty (other than active

6 duty for training) in the Armed Forces of

7 the United States, or

8 (iii) the spouse or unmarried depend9 ent child of an individual described in

10 clause (i) or (ii).

11 (D) TRANSITION FOR THOSE CURRENTLY

12 RECEIVING BENEFITS.—An alien who on the

13 date of the enactment of this Act is lawfully re14 siding in any State and is receiving benefits

15 under such program on the date of the enact16 ment of this Act shall continue to be eligible to

17 receive such benefits until January 1, 1997.

18 (3) DESIGNATED FEDERAL PROGRAM DE19 FINED.—For purposes of this subtitle, the term

20 ‘‘designated Federal program’’ means any of the fol21 lowing:

22 (A) TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY

23 FAMILIES.—The program of block grants to

24 States for temporary assistance for needy fami-
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1 lies under part A of title IV of the Social Secu2 rity Act.

3 (B) SOCIAL SERVICES BLOCK GRANT.—

4 The program of block grants to States for so5 cial services under title XX of the Social Secu6 rity Act.

7 (C) MEDICAID AND MEDIGRANT.—The

8 program of medical assistance under titles XIX

9 and XXI of the Social Security Act.

10 SEC. 203. FIVE-YEAR LIMITED ELIGIBILITY OF QUALIFIED

11 ALIENS FOR FEDERAL MEANS-TESTED PUB12 LIC BENEFIT.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law and except as provided in subsection (b), an

15 alien who is a qualified alien (as defined in section 231)

16 and who enters the United States on or after the date

17 of the enactment of this Act is not eligible for any Federal

18 means-tested public benefit (as defined in subsection (c))

19 for a period of five years beginning on the date of the

20 alien’s entry into the United States with a status within

21 the meaning of the term ‘‘qualified alien’’.

22 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—The limitation under subsection

23 (a) shall not apply to the following aliens:

24 (1) EXCEPTION FOR REFUGEES AND

25 ASYLEES.—
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1 (A) An alien who is admitted to the United

2 States as a refugee under section 207 of the

3 Immigration and Nationality Act.

4 (B) An alien who is granted asylum under

5 section 208 of such Act.

6 (C) An alien whose deportation is being

7 withheld under section 243(h) of such Act.

8 (2) VETERAN AND ACTIVE DUTY EXCEPTION.—

9 An alien who is lawfully residing in any State and

10 is—

11 (A) a veteran (as defined in section 101 of

12 title 38, United States Code) with a discharge

13 characterized as an honorable discharge and not

14 on account of alienage,

15 (B) on active duty (other than active duty

16 for training) in the Armed Forces of the United

17 States, or

18 (C) the spouse or unmarried dependent

19 child of an individual described in subparagraph

20 (A) or (B).

21 (c) FEDERAL MEANS-TESTED PUBLIC BENEFIT DE22 FINED.—

23 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for

24 purposes of this subtitle, the term ‘‘Federal means25 tested public benefit’’ means a Federal public benefit
13

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1 providing direct spending (including cash, medical,

2 housing, and food assistance and social services) by

3 the Federal Government in which the eligibility of an

4 individual, household, or family eligibility unit for

5 benefits, or the amount of such benefits, or both are

6 determined on the basis of income, resources, or fi7 nancial need of the individual, household, or unit.

8 (2) Such term does not include the following:

9 (A) Emergency medical services under title

10 XIX or XXI of the Social Security Act.

11 (B) Short-term, non-cash, in-kind emer12 gency disaster relief.

13 (C) Assistance or benefits under the Na14 tional School Lunch Act.

15 (D) Assistance or benefits under the Child

16 Nutrition Act of 1966.

17 (E)(i) Public health assistance for immuni18 zations.

19 (ii) Public health assistance for testing and

20 treatment of a serious communicable disease if

21 the Secretary of Health and Human Services

22 determines that it is necessary to prevent the

23 spread of such disease.

24 (F) Payments for foster care and adoption

25 assistance under part B of title IV of the Social
14

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1 Security Act for a child who would, in the ab2 sence of subsection (a), be eligible to have such

3 payments made on the child’s behalf under such

4 part, but only if the foster or adoptive parent

5 or parents of such child are not described under

6 subsection (a).

7 (G) Programs, services, or assistance (such

8 as soup kitchens, crisis counseling and interven9 tion, and short-term shelter) specified by the

10 Attorney General, in the Attorney General’s

11 sole and unreviewable discretion after consulta12 tion with appropriate Federal agencies and de13 partments, which (i) deliver in-kind services at

14 the community level, including through public

15 or private nonprofit agencies; (ii) do not condi16 tion the provision of assistance, the amount of

17 assistance provided, or the cost of assistance

18 provided on the individual recipient’s income or

19 resources; and (iii) are necessary for the protec20 tion of life or safety.

21 (H) Programs of student assistance under

22 titles IV, V, IX, and X of the Higher Education

23 Act of 1965.

24 (I) Means-tested programs under the Ele25 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
15

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1 CHAPTER 2—ATTRIBUTION OF INCOME

2 AND AFFIDAVITS OF SUPPORT

3 SEC. 221. ATTRIBUTION OF SPONSOR’S INCOME AND RE4 SOURCES TO ALIEN.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi6 sion of law and except as provided in subsection (c), in

7 determining the eligibility and the amount of benefits of

8 an alien for any means-tested public benefits program (as

9 defined in subsection (e)) the income and resources of the

10 alien shall be deemed to include the following:

11 (1) The income and resources of any person

12 who executed an affidavit of support pursuant to

13 section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality

14 Act (as added by section 222) on behalf of such

15 alien.

16 (2) The income and resources of the spouse (if

17 any) of the person.

18 (b) APPLICATION.—Subsection (a) shall apply with

19 respect to an alien until such time as the alien achieves

20 United States citizenship through naturalization pursuant

21 to chapter 2 of title III of the Immigration and National22 ity Act.

23 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply

24 with respect to the following Federal public benefits:
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1 (1) Emergency medical services under title XIX

2 or XXI of the Social Security Act.

3 (2) Short-term, non-cash, in-kind emergency

4 disaster relief.

5 (3) Assistance or benefits under the National

6 School Lunch Act.

7 (4) Assistance or benefits under the Child Nu8 trition Act of 1966.

9 (5)(A) Public health assistance for immuniza10 tions.

11 (B) Public health assistance for testing and

12 treatment of a serious communicable disease if the

13 Secretary of Health and Human Services determines

14 that it is necessary to prevent the spread of such

15 disease.

16 (6) Payments for foster care and adoption as17 sistance under part B of title IV of the Social Secu18 rity Act for a child who would, in the absence of

19 subsection (a), be eligible to have such payments

20 made on the child’s behalf under such part, but only

21 if the foster or adoptive parent or parents of such

22 child are not described under subsection (a).

23 (7) Programs, services, or assistance (such as

24 soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention,

25 and short-term shelter) specified by the Attorney
17

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1 General, in the Attorney General’s sole and

2 unreviewable discretion after consultation with ap3 propriate Federal agencies and departments, which

4 (A) deliver in-kind services at the community level,

5 including through public or private nonprofit agen6 cies; (B) do not condition the provision of assistance,

7 the amount of assistance provided, or the cost of as8 sistance provided on the individual recipient’s in9 come or resources; and (C) are necessary for the

10 protection of life or safety.

11 (8) Programs of student assistance under titles

12 IV, V, IX, and X of the Higher Education Act of

13 1965.

14 (d) REVIEW OF INCOME AND RESOURCES OF ALIEN

15 UPON REAPPLICATION.—Whenever an alien is required to

16 reapply for benefits under any means-tested public bene17 fits program, the applicable agency shall review the income

18 and resources attributed to the alien under subsection (a).

19 (e) MEANS-TESTED PUBLIC BENEFITS PROGRAM

20 DEFINED.—The term ‘‘means-tested public benefits pro21 gram’’ means a program of Federal public benefits provid22 ing direct spending (including cash, medical, housing, and

23 food assistance and social services) by the Federal Govern24 ment in which the eligibility of an individual, household,

25 or family eligibility unit for benefits, or the amount of
18

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1 such benefits, or both are determined on the basis of in2 come, resources, or financial need of the individual, house3 hold, or unit.

4 (f) APPLICATION.—

5 (1) If on the date of the enactment of this Act,

6 a means-tested public benefits program attributes a

7 sponsor’s income and resources to an alien in deter8 mining the alien’s eligibility and the amount of bene9 fits for an alien, this section shall apply to any such

10 determination beginning on the day after the date of

11 the enactment of this Act.

12 (2) If on the date of the enactment of this Act,

13 a means-tested public benefits program does not at14 tribute a sponsor’s income and resources to an alien

15 in determining the alien’s eligibility and the amount

16 of benefits for an alien, this section shall apply to

17 any such determination beginning 180 days after the

18 date of the enactment of this Act.

19 SEC. 222. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPONSOR’S AFFIDAVIT OF

20 SUPPORT.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Immigration and

22 Nationality Act is amended by inserting after section 213

23 the following new section:

24 ‘‘REQUIREMENTS FOR SPONSOR’S AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT

25 ‘‘SEC. 213A. (a) ENFORCEABILITY.—(1) No affidavit

26 of support may be accepted by the Attorney General or
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1 by any consular officer to establish that an alien is not

2 excludable as a public charge under section 212(a)(4) un3 less such affidavit is executed as a contract—

4 ‘‘(A) which is legally enforceable against the

5 sponsor by the sponsored alien, the Federal Govern6 ment, and by any State (or any political subdivision

7 of such State) which provides any means-tested pub8 lic benefits program, but not later than 10 years

9 after the alien last receives any such benefit;

10 ‘‘(B) in which the sponsor agrees to financially

11 support the alien, so that the alien will not become

12 a public charge; and

13 ‘‘(C) in which the sponsor agrees to submit to

14 the jurisdiction of any Federal or State court for the

15 purpose of actions brought under subsection (e)(2).

16 ‘‘(2) A contract under paragraph (1) shall be enforce17 able with respect to benefits provided to the alien until

18 such time as the alien achieves United States citizenship

19 through naturalization pursuant to chapter 2 of title III.

20 ‘‘(b) FORMS.—Not later than 90 days after the date

21 of enactment of this section, the Attorney General, in con22 sultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary

23 of Health and Human Services, shall formulate an affida24 vit of support consistent with the provisions of this sec25 tion.
20

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1 ‘‘(c) REMEDIES.—Remedies available to enforce an

2 affidavit of support under this section include any or all

3 of the remedies described in section 3201, 3203, 3204,

4 or 3205 of title 28, United States Code, as well as an

5 order for specific performance and payment of legal fees

6 and other costs of collection, and include corresponding

7 remedies available under State law. A Federal agency may

8 seek to collect amounts owed under this section in accord9 ance with the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 37

10 of title 31, United States Code.

11 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The sponsor shall notify

13 the Attorney General and the State in which the

14 sponsored alien is currently a resident within 30

15 days of any change of address of the sponsor during

16 the period specified in subsection (a)(2).

17 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person subject to the re18 quirement of paragraph (1) who fails to satisfy such

19 requirement shall be subject to a civil penalty of—

20 ‘‘(A) not less than $250 or more than

21 $2,000, or

22 ‘‘(B) if such failure occurs with knowledge

23 that the alien has received any means-tested

24 public benefit, not less than $2,000 or more

25 than $5,000.
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1 ‘‘(e) REIMBURSEMENT OF GOVERNMENT EX2 PENSES.—(1)(A) Upon notification that a sponsored alien

3 has received any benefit under any means-tested public

4 benefits program, the appropriate Federal, State, or local

5 official shall request reimbursement by the sponsor in the

6 amount of such assistance.

7 ‘‘(B) The Attorney General, in consultation with the

8 Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall prescribe

9 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out sub10 paragraph (A).

11 ‘‘(2) If within 45 days after requesting reimburse12 ment, the appropriate Federal, State, or local agency has

13 not received a response from the sponsor indicating a will14 ingness to commence payments, an action may be brought

15 against the sponsor pursuant to the affidavit of support.

16 ‘‘(3) If the sponsor fails to abide by the repayment

17 terms established by such agency, the agency may, within

18 60 days of such failure, bring an action against the spon19 sor pursuant to the affidavit of support.

20 ‘‘(4) No cause of action may be brought under this

21 subsection later than 10 years after the alien last received

22 any benefit under any means-tested public benefits pro23 gram.

24 ‘‘(5) If, pursuant to the terms of this subsection, a

25 Federal, State, or local agency requests reimbursement
22

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1 from the sponsor in the amount of assistance provided,

2 or brings an action against the sponsor pursuant to the

3 affidavit of support, the appropriate agency may appoint

4 or hire an individual or other person to act on behalf of

5 such agency acting under the authority of law for purposes

6 of collecting any moneys owed. Nothing in this subsection

7 shall preclude any appropriate Federal, State, or local

8 agency from directly requesting reimbursement from a

9 sponsor for the amount of assistance provided, or from

10 bringing an action against a sponsor pursuant to an affi11 davit of support.

12 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec13 tion—

14 ‘‘(1) SPONSOR.—The term ‘sponsor’ means an

15 individual who—

16 ‘‘(A) is a citizen or national of the United

17 States or an alien who is lawfully admitted to

18 the United States for permanent residence;

19 ‘‘(B) is 18 years of age or over;

20 ‘‘(C) is domiciled in any State; and

21 ‘‘(D) is the person petitioning for the ad22 mission of the alien under section 204.

23 ‘‘(2) MEANS-TESTED PUBLIC BENEFITS PRO24 GRAM DEFINED.—The term ‘means-tested public

25 benefits program’ means a program of Federal pub-
23

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1 lic benefits providing direct spending (including

2 cash, medical, housing, and food assistance and so3 cial services) by the Federal Government in which

4 the eligibility of an individual, household, or family

5 eligibility unit for benefits, or the amount of such

6 benefits, or both are determined on the basis of in7 come, resources, or financial need of the individual,

8 household, or unit.’’.

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents

10 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating

11 to section 213 the following:

‘‘Sec. 213A. Requirements for sponsor’s affidavit of support.’’.

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) of section

13 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as inserted

14 by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply to affidavits

15 of support executed on or after a date specified by the

16 Attorney General, which date shall be not earlier than 60

17 days (and not later than 90 days) after the date the Attor18 ney General formulates the form for such affidavits under

19 subsection (b) of such section.

20 (d) BENEFITS NOT SUBJECT TO REIMBURSE21 MENT.—Requirements for reimbursement by a sponsor for

22 benefits provided to a sponsored alien pursuant to an affi23 davit of support under section 213A of the Immigration

24 and Nationality Act shall not apply with respect to the

25 following:
24

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1 (1) Emergency medical services under title XIX

2 or XXI of the Social Security Act.

3 (2) Short-term, non-cash, in-kind emergency

4 disaster relief.

5 (3) Assistance or benefits under the National

6 School Lunch Act.

7 (4) Assistance or benefits under the Child Nu8 trition Act of 1966.

9 (5)(A) Public health assistance for immuniza10 tions.

11 (B) Public health assistance for testing and

12 treatment of a serious communicable disease if the

13 Secretary of Health and Human Services determines

14 that it is necessary to prevent the spread of such

15 disease.

16 (6) Payments for foster care and adoption as17 sistance under part B of title IV of the Social Secu18 rity Act for a child who would, in the absence of

19 subsection (a), be eligible to have such payments

20 made on the child’s behalf under such part, but only

21 if the foster or adoptive parent or parents of such

22 child are not described under subsection (a).

23 (7) Programs, services, or assistance (such as

24 soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention,

25 and short-term shelter) specified by the Attorney
25

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1 General, in the Attorney General’s sole and

2 unreviewable discretion after consultation with ap3 propriate Federal agencies and departments, which

4 (A) deliver in-kind services at the community level,

5 including through public or private nonprofit agen6 cies; (B) do not condition the provision of assistance,

7 the amount of assistance provided, or the cost of as8 sistance provided on the individual recipient’s in9 come or resources; and (C) are necessary for the

10 protection of life or safety.

11 (8) Programs of student assistance under titles

12 IV, V, IX, and X of the Higher Education Act of

13 1965.

14 SEC. 223. COSIGNATURE OF ALIEN STUDENT LOANS.

15 Section 484(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965

16 (20 U.S.C. 1091(b)) is amended by adding at the end the

17 following new paragraph:

18 ‘‘(6) Notwithstanding sections 427(a)(2)(C),

19 428B(a), 428C(b)(4)(A), and 464(c)(1)(E), a stu20 dent who is an alien lawfully admitted for perma21 nent residence under the Immigration and National22 ity Act shall not be eligible for a loan under this title

23 unless the loan is endorsed and cosigned by the

24 alien’s sponsor under section 213A of the Immigra-
26

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1 tion and Nationality Act or by another individual

2 who is a United States citizen.’’.

3 CHAPTER 3—GENERAL PROVISIONS

4 SEC. 231. DEFINITIONS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in

6 this subtitle, the terms used in this subtitle have the same

7 meaning given such terms in section 101(a) of the Immi8 gration and Nationality Act.

9 (b) QUALIFIED ALIEN.—For purposes of this sub10 title, the term ‘‘qualified alien’’ means an alien who, at

11 the time the alien applies for, receives, or attempts to re12 ceive a Federal public benefit, is—

13 (1) an alien who is lawfully admitted for perma14 nent residence under the Immigration and National15 ity Act,

16 (2) an alien who is granted asylum under sec17 tion 208 of such Act,

18 (3) a refugee who is admitted to the United

19 States under section 207 of such Act,

20 (4) an alien who is paroled into the United

21 States under section 212(d)(5) of such Act for a pe22 riod of at least 1 year,

23 (5) an alien whose deportation is being withheld

24 under section 243(h) of such Act, or
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1 (6) an alien who is granted conditional entry

2 pursuant to section 203(a)(7) of such Act as in ef3 fect prior to April 1, 1980.

4 SEC. 232. REAPPLICATION FOR SSI BENEFITS.

5 (a) APPLICATION AND NOTICE.—Notwithstanding

6 any other provision of law, in the case of an individual

7 who is receiving supplemental security income benefits

8 under title XVI of the Social Security Act as of the date

9 of the enactment of this Act and whose eligibility for such

10 benefits would terminate by reason of the application of

11 section 202(a)(2)(D), the Commissioner of Social Security

12 shall so notify the individual not later than 90 days after

13 the date of the enactment of this Act.

14 (b) REAPPLICATION.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, each in17 dividual notified pursuant to subsection (a) who de18 sires to reapply for benefits under title XVI of the

19 Social Security Act shall reapply to the Commis20 sioner of Social Security.

21 (2) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Not

22 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of

23 this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security shall

24 determine the eligibility of each individual who re-
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1 applies for benefits under paragraph (1) pursuant to

2 the procedures of such title XVI.

3 SEC. 233. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

4 (a) LIMITATION.—

5 (1) Nothing in this subtitle may be construed

6 as an entitlement or a determination of an individ7 ual’s eligibility or fulfillment of the requisite require8 ments for any Federal, State, or local governmental

9 program, assistance, or benefits. For purposes of

10 this subtitle, eligibility relates only to the general

11 issue of eligibility or ineligibility on the basis of

12 alienage.

13 (2) Nothing in this subtitle may be construed

14 as addressing alien eligibility for a basic public edu15 cation as determined by the Supreme Court of the

16 United States under Plyler v. Doe (457 U.S. 202)

17 (1982).

18 (b) NOT APPLICABLE TO FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—

19 This subtitle does not apply to any Federal, State, or local

20 governmental program, assistance, or benefits provided to

21 an alien under any program of foreign assistance as deter22 mined by the Secretary of State in consultation with the

23 Attorney General.

24 (c) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this subtitle

25 or the application of such provision to any person or cir-
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1 cumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder

2 of this subtitle and the application of the provisions of

3 such to any person or circumstance shall not be affected

4 thereby.

5 Subtitle B—Communications and

6 Spectrum Allocation Provisions

7 SEC. 301. SPECTRUM AUCTIONS.

8 (a) EXTENSION AND EXPANSION OF AUCTION AU9 THORITY.—

10 (1) AMENDMENTS.—Section 309(j) of the Com11 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) is

12 amended—

13 (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and

14 inserting the following:

15 ‘‘(1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—If, consistent with

16 the obligations described in paragraph (6)(E), mutu17 ally exclusive applications are accepted for any ini18 tial license or construction permit, then the Commis19 sion shall grant such license or permit to a qualified

20 applicant through a system of competitive bidding

21 that meets the requirements of this subsection.

22 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.—The competitive bidding

23 authority granted by this subsection shall not apply

24 to licenses or construction permits issued by the

25 Commission—
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1 ‘‘(A) that, as the result of the Commission

2 carrying out the obligations described in para3 graph (6)(E), are not mutually exclusive;

4 ‘‘(B) for public safety radio services, in5 cluding non-Government uses the sole or prin6 cipal purpose of which is to protect the safety

7 of life, health, and property and which are not

8 made commercially available to the public; or

9 ‘‘(C) for initial licenses or construction

10 permits for new terrestrial digital television

11 services assigned by the Commission to existing

12 terrestrial broadcast licensees to replace their

13 current television licenses, unless—

14 ‘‘(i) the Commission, not later than

15 180 days after the date of enactment of

16 the Act, after notice and public com17 ment, submits to Congress a report on the

18 use of the authority provided in this sub19 section for the assignment of initial li20 censes or construction permits for use of

21 the electromagnetic spectrum allocated but

22 not assigned as of the date of enactment of

23 that Act for television broadcast services;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the Congress amends this sub2 section to authorize the use of the author3 ity provided by this subsection for such li4 censes or permits.

5 Except as provided in this subparagraph, the

6 Commission may not assign initial licenses or

7 construction permits under this title to terres8 trial commercial television broadcast licensees

9 to replace their existing broadcast licenses be10 fore November 15, 1996.’’; and

11 (B) by striking ‘‘1998’’ in paragraph (11)

12 and inserting ‘‘2002’’.

13 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (i)

14 of section 309 of such Act is repealed.

15 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

16 by paragraph (1)(A) shall not apply with respect to

17 any license or permit for a terrestrial radio or tele18 vision broadcast station for which the Federal Com19 munications Commission has accepted mutually ex20 clusive applications on or before the date of enact21 ment of this Act.

22 (b) COMMISSION OBLIGATION TO MAKE ADDITIONAL

23 SPECTRUM AVAILABLE BY AUCTION.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Communica25 tions Commission shall complete all actions nec-
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1 essary to permit the assignment, by September 30,

2 2002, by competitive bidding pursuant to section

3 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

4 U.S.C. 309(j)) of licenses for the use of bands of

5 frequencies that—

6 (A) individually span not less than 25

7 megahertz, unless a combination of smaller

8 bands can, notwithstanding the provisions of

9 paragraph (7) of such section, reasonably be ex10 pected to produce greater receipts;

11 (B) in the aggregate span not less than

12 100 megahertz;

13 (C) are located below 3 gigahertz; and

14 (D) have not, as of the date of enactment

15 of this Act—

16 (i) been designated by Commission

17 regulation for assignment pursuant to such

18 section;

19 (ii) been identified by the Secretary of

20 Commerce pursuant to section 113 of the

21 National Telecommunications and Infor22 mation Administration Organization Act;

23 or

24 (iii) been reserved for Federal Govern25 ment use pursuant to section 305 of the
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1 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.

2 305).

3 The Commission shall conduct the competitive

4 bidding for not less than one-half of such aggre5 gate spectrum by September 30, 2000.

6 (2) CRITERIA FOR REASSIGNMENT.—In making

7 available bands of frequencies for competitive bid8 ding pursuant to paragraph (1), the Commission

9 shall—

10 (A) seek to promote the most efficient use

11 of the spectrum;

12 (B) take into account the cost to incum13 bent licensees of relocating existing uses to

14 other bands of frequencies or other means of

15 communication;

16 (C) take into account the needs of public

17 safety radio services;

18 (D) comply with the requirements of inter19 national agreements concerning spectrum allo20 cations; and

21 (E) take into account the costs to satellite

22 service providers that could result from multiple

23 auctions of like spectrum internationally for

24 global satellite systems.
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1 (3) NOTIFICATION TO NTIA.—The Commission

2 shall notify the Secretary of Commerce if—

3 (A) the Commission is not able to provide

4 for the effective relocation of incumbent licens5 ees to bands of frequencies that are available to

6 the Commission for assignment; and

7 (B) the Commission has identified bands

8 of frequencies that are—

9 (i) suitable for the relocation of such

10 licensees; and

11 (ii) allocated for Federal Government

12 use, but that could be reallocated pursuant

13 to part B of the National Telecommuni14 cations and Information Administration

15 Organization Act (as amended by this sec16 tion).

17 (c) IDENTIFICATION AND REALLOCATION OF FRE18 QUENCIES.—The National Telecommunications and Infor19 mation Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901

20 et seq.) is amended—

21 (1) in section 113, by adding at the end the fol22 lowing new subsections:

23 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL REALLOCATION REPORT.—If the

24 Secretary receives a notice from the Commission pursuant

25 to section 301(b)(3) of the Act, the Secretary shall
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1 prepare and submit to the President and the Congress a

2 report recommending for reallocation for use other than

3 by Federal Government stations under section 305 of the

4 1934 Act (47 U.S.C. 305), bands of frequencies that are

5 suitable for the uses identified in the Commission’s notice.

6 ‘‘(g) RELOCATION OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STA7 TIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to expedite the ef9 ficient use of the electromagnetic spectrum and not10 withstanding section 3302(b) of title 31, United

11 States Code, any Federal entity which operates a

12 Federal Government station may accept payment in

13 advance or in-kind reimbursement of costs, or a

14 combination of payment in advance and in-kind re15 imbursement, from any person to defray entirely the

16 expenses of relocating the Federal entity’s oper17 ations from one or more radio spectrum frequencies

18 to another frequency or frequencies, including, with19 out limitation, the costs of any modification, replace20 ment, or reissuance of equipment, facilities, operat21 ing manuals, regulations, or other expenses incurred

22 by that entity. Any such payment shall be deposited

23 in the account of such Federal entity in the Treas24 ury of the United States. Funds deposited according

25 to this paragraph shall be available, without appro-
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1 priation or fiscal year limitation, only for the oper2 ations of the Federal entity for which such funds

3 were deposited under this paragraph.

4 ‘‘(2) PROCESS FOR RELOCATION.—Any person

5 seeking to relocate a Federal Government station

6 that has been assigned a frequency within a band al7 located for mixed Federal and non-Federal use may

8 submit a petition for such relocation to NTIA. The

9 NTIA shall limit or terminate the Federal Govern10 ment station’s operating license when the following

11 requirements are met:

12 ‘‘(A) the person seeking relocation of the

13 Federal Government station has guaranteed to

14 defray entirely, through payment in advance,

15 in-kind reimbursement of costs, or a combina16 tion thereof, all relocation costs incurred by the

17 Federal entity, including all engineering, equip18 ment, site acquisition and construction, and

19 regulatory fee costs;

20 ‘‘(B) the person seeking relocation com21 pletes all activities necessary for implementing

22 the relocation, including construction of replace23 ment facilities (if necessary and appropriate)

24 and identifying and obtaining on the Federal

25 entity’s behalf new frequencies for use by the
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1 relocated Federal Government station (where

2 such station is not relocating to spectrum re3 served exclusively for Federal use);

4 ‘‘(C) any necessary replacement facilities,

5 equipment modifications, or other changes have

6 been implemented and tested to ensure that the

7 Federal Government station is able to success8 fully accomplish its purposes; and

9 ‘‘(D) NTIA has determined that the pro10 posed use of the spectrum frequency band to

11 which the Federal entity will relocate its oper12 ations is—

13 ‘‘(i) consistent with obligations under14 taken by the United States in international

15 agreements and with United States na16 tional security and public safety interests;

17 and

18 ‘‘(ii) suitable for the technical charac19 teristics of the band and consistent with

20 other uses of the band.

21 In exercising its authority under subparagraph

22 (D)(i), NTIA shall consult with the Secretary of

23 Defense, the Secretary of State, or other appro24 priate officers of the Federal Government.
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1 ‘‘(3) RIGHT TO RECLAIM.—If within one year

2 after the relocation the Federal Government station

3 demonstrates to the Commission that the new facili4 ties or spectrum are not comparable to the facilities

5 or spectrum from which the Federal Government

6 station was relocated, the person seeking such relo7 cation must take reasonable steps to remedy any de8 fects or pay the Federal entity for the costs of re9 turning the Federal Government station to the spec10 trum from which such station was relocated.

11 ‘‘(h) FEDERAL ACTION TO EXPEDITE SPECTRUM

12 TRANSFER.—Any Federal Government station which op13 erates on electromagnetic spectrum that has been identi14 fied for reallocation for mixed Federal and non-Federal

15 use in any reallocation report under subsection (a) shall,

16 to the maximum extent practicable through the use of the

17 authority granted under subsection (g) and any other ap18 plicable provision of law, take action to relocate its spec19 trum use to other frequencies that are reserved for Fed20 eral use or to consolidate its spectrum use with other Fed21 eral Government stations in a manner that maximizes the

22 spectrum available for non-Federal use. Subsection (c)(4)

23 of this section shall not apply to the extent that a non24 Federal user seeks to relocate or relocates a Federal power

25 agency under subsection (g).
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1 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

2 term ‘Federal entity’ means any department, agency, or

3 other instrumentality of the Federal Government that uti4 lizes a Government station license obtained under section

5 305 of the 1934 Act (47 U.S.C. 305).’’; and

6 (2) in section 114(a)(1), by striking ‘‘(a) or

7 (d)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a), (d)(1), or (f)’’.

8 (d) IDENTIFICATION AND REALLOCATION OF

9 AUCTIONABLE FREQUENCIES.—The National Tele10 communications and Information Administration Organi11 zation Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is

12 amended—

13 (1) in section 113(b)—

14 (A) by striking the heading of paragraph

15 (1) and inserting ‘‘INITIAL REALLOCATION RE16 PORT.—’’;

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘in the first report re18 quired by subsection (a)’’ after ‘‘recommend for

19 reallocation’’ in paragraph (1);

20 (C) by inserting ‘‘or (3)’’ after ‘‘paragraph

21 (1)’’ each place it appears in paragraph (2);

22 and

23 (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the

24 following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(3) SECOND REALLOCATION REPORT.—In ac2 cordance with the provisions of this section, the Sec3 retary shall recommend for reallocation in the sec4 ond report required by subsection (a), for use other

5 than by Federal Government stations under section

6 305 of the 1934 Act (47 U.S.C. 305), a single fre7 quency band that spans not less than an additional

8 20 megahertz, that is located below 3 gigahertz, and

9 that meets the criteria specified in paragraphs (1)

10 through (5) of subsection (a).’’; and

11 (2) in section 115—

12 (A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘the re13 port required by section 113(a)’’ and inserting

14 ‘‘the initial reallocation report required by sec15 tion 113(a)’’; and

16 (B) by adding at the end the following new

17 subsection:

18 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATION AND ASSIGNMENT OF FRE19 QUENCIES IDENTIFIED IN THE SECOND REALLOCATION

20 REPORT.—With respect to the frequencies made available

21 for reallocation pursuant to section 113(b)(3), the Com22 mission shall, not later than 1 year after receipt of the

23 second reallocation report required by such section, pre24 pare, submit to the President and the Congress, and im25 plement, a plan for the allocation and assignment under
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1 the 1934 Act of such frequencies. Such plan shall propose

2 the immediate allocation and assignment of all such fre3 quencies in accordance with section 309(j) of the 1934 Act

4 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)).’’.

Æ