II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2294 

To establish the Office of Disability Policy in the legislative branch. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 25, 2019 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Ms. HASSAN, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the 

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

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish the Office of Disability Policy in the legislative 

branch. 

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 ‘‘Office of Disability 

5 Policy Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF DISABILITY 

7 POLICY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 31, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘Subchapter VIII—Office of Disability Policy 

2 ‘‘§ 799A–1. Definitions 

3 ‘‘In this subchapter— 

4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 

5 the Office; 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘entitlement’ means an entitle7 ment authority, within the meaning given that term 

8 under section 250 of the Balanced Budget and 

9 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 

10 900); 

11 ‘‘(3) the term ‘individual with a disability’ 

12 means an individual with any disability (as defined 

13 in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act 

14 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)); and 

15 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Office’ means the Office of Dis16 ability Policy established under section 799A–2(a). 

17 ‘‘§ 799A–2. Establishment of the Office of Disability 

18 Policy 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Gov20 ernment Accountability Office the Office of Disability Pol21 icy. 

22 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 

24 by a Director, who shall be appointed— 


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1 ‘‘(A) by the Speaker of the House of Rep2 resentatives, the minority leader of the House 

3 of Representatives, the majority leader of the 

4 Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, and 

5 the Executive Director of the National Council 

6 on Disability, after considering recommenda7 tions received from the Committee on Edu8 cation and Labor and the Committee on Energy 

9 and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

10 and the Committee on Finance and the Com11 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen12 sions of the Senate; 

13 ‘‘(B) without regard to political affiliation; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(C) solely on the basis of fitness to per16 form the duties of the office of the Director. 

17 ‘‘(2) TERM.—The term of the first individual 

18 appointed to the position of Director shall end on 

19 January 3, 2021, and the term of each individual 

20 appointed for a full term to the position of Director 

21 thereafter shall end on January 3 of each fourth 

22 year thereafter. 

23 ‘‘(3) VACANCIES.—If an individual appointed to 

24 the position of Director resigns, dies, or is removed 

25 from office, or there is otherwise a vacancy in the 


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1 position of Director before the end of the term of the 

2 Director under paragraph (2), the individual ap3 pointed to the position of Director shall be appointed 

4 to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term of 

5 the Director that the individual succeeds. 

6 ‘‘(4) CONTINUATION IN OFFICE.—An individual 

7 serving in the position of Director at the end of the 

8 term of the individual as Director may continue to 

9 serve until a successor is appointed. 

10 ‘‘(5) REMOVAL.—The Director may be removed 

11 by a joint resolution of Congress. 

12 ‘‘(c) DEPUTY DIRECTOR.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be a Deputy 

14 Director of the Office who shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Director; 

16 ‘‘(B) perform such duties as may be as17 signed by the Director; and 

18 ‘‘(C) during the absence or incapacity of 

19 the Director or during a vacancy in that office, 

20 act as the Director. 

21 ‘‘(2) TERM.—The term of an individual ap22 pointed to the position of Deputy Director shall end 

23 on the date on which the term of the Director ap24 pointing the Deputy Director ends. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CONTINUATION IN OFFICE.—An individual 

2 serving in the position of Deputy Director at the end 

3 of the term of the individual as Deputy Director 

4 may continue to serve until a successor is appointed. 

5 ‘‘§ 799A–3. Purposes 

6 ‘‘The purpose of the Office is to provide to Congress, 

7 the executive branch, the States, and the public— 

8 ‘‘(1) data and analysis in a timely manner re9 garding the effect that proposed Federal legislation, 

10 proposed regulations, and proposed guidance would 

11 have on individuals with disabilities, their families, 

12 and those who support individuals with disabilities 

13 by providing services; 

14 ‘‘(2) data and analysis on a regular basis re15 garding the effect of legislation, regulations, and 

16 guidance that are in effect on individuals with dis17 abilities, their families, and those who support indi18 viduals with disabilities by providing services; and 

19 ‘‘(3) analysis of how proposed Federal legisla20 tion, proposed regulations, and proposed guidance 

21 will align with disability policy in effect. 

22 ‘‘§ 799A–4. Duties and functions 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon request by a member of 

24 the Committee on the Budget, the Committee on Finance, 

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1 sions, or the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 

2 or the Committee on the Budget, the Committee on Ways 

3 and Means, the Committee on Education and Labor, the 

4 Committee on Energy and Commerce, or the Committee 

5 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Of6 fice shall provide information to assist the committee re7 lated to the effect on individuals with disabilities, their 

8 families, and those who support individuals with disabil9 ities by providing services of— 

10 ‘‘(1) bills amending or affecting the supple11 mental security income program under title XVI of 

12 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), the 

13 Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Se14 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), the Medicare 

15 program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), the Individuals with Dis17 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), the 

18 Federal old-age, survivors, and disability insurance 

19 benefits program under title II of the Social Security 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), the Americans with 

21 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), 

22 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 

23 seq.), or any other law affecting individuals with dis24 abilities or disability policy; 

25 ‘‘(2) bills related to entitlements and taxes; 


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1 ‘‘(3) regulations proposed by the executive 

2 branch; and 

3 ‘‘(4) legislation, regulations, or guidance from 

4 Congress, the executive branch, or decisions made by 

5 the Federal courts, including the Supreme Court of 

6 the United States. 

7 ‘‘(b) OTHER REQUESTS.—Upon request by any Sen8 ator or Member of the House of Representatives, the Of9 fice shall provide information related to the effect on indi10 viduals with disabilities, their families, and those who sup11 port individuals with disabilities by providing services of— 

12 ‘‘(1) bills amending or affecting the Medicaid 

13 program under title XIX of the Social Security Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), the Medicare program 

15 under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), the Individuals with Disabil17 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), the 

18 Federal old-age, survivors, and disability insurance 

19 benefits program under title II of the Social Security 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), or any other law affect21 ing individuals with disabilities or disability policy; 

22 ‘‘(2) bills related to entitlements and taxes; 

23 ‘‘(3) regulations proposed by the executive 

24 branch; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) legislation, regulations, or guidance from 

2 Congress, the executive branch, or decisions made by 

3 the Federal courts, including the Supreme Court of 

4 the United States. 

5 ‘‘(c) SCOPE.—The Director may analyze and report 

6 on any legislation, regulation, or guidance the Director de7 termines appropriate to meet the purposes described in 

8 section 799A–3. 

9 ‘‘(d) COLLABORATION.—When appropriate, the Of10 fice will collaborate with the National Council on Disabil11 ities in conducting analyses and preparing reports under 

12 this section. 

13 ‘‘(e) PRIORITIZING AND RESPONDING TO RE14 QUESTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For any legislation or regu16 lation described in subsection (a), (b), or (c), an 

17 analysis and report relating to the legislation or reg18 ulation by the Office should be made available before 

19 a vote on the legislation or the closing of public com20 ment on regulations, respectively. 

21 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Office shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) give priority to responding to a re23 quest from the Chairman or Ranking Minority 

24 Member of a committee described in subsection 

25 (a); 


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1 ‘‘(B) give priority in analyzing legislation 

2 based on the likelihood that a committee de3 scribed in subsection (a) will consider the legis4 lation; 

5 ‘‘(C) provide an initial report and analysis 

6 not later than 3 business days after the date of 

7 a request; 

8 ‘‘(D) provide the full report and analysis of 

9 the Office not later than 10 business days after 

10 the date of a request; 

11 ‘‘(E) to the extent practicable, provide a 

12 full report and analysis of legislation before a 

13 committee of the Senate or the House of Rep14 resentatives votes on the legislation; and 

15 ‘‘(F) otherwise prioritize analyses and re16 porting on all other legislation, regulations, and 

17 guidance in accordance with such criteria as the 

18 Director shall establish. 

19 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Office shall submit to 

20 the Committee on the Budget, the Committee on Finance, 

21 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen22 sions, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 

23 and the Committee on the Budget, the Committee on 

24 Ways and Means, the Committee on Education and Labor, 

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1 mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 

2 an annual report on the bills enacted into law, bills intro3 duced, and regulation and guidance promulgated or pro4 posed by the executive branch that will affect individuals 

5 with disabilities, their families, and those who support in6 dividuals with disabilities by providing services. 

7 ‘‘(g) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of conducting 

9 any analysis or preparing any report under this sec10 tion, upon request by the Office, the head of a Fed11 eral agency shall provide the Office with information 

12 and data. 

13 ‘‘(2) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA14 TION.—The Office shall not include personally iden15 tifiable information in any report under this section. 

16 ‘‘(h) REPORT CONTENTS AND DISTRIBUTION.—Each 

17 analysis or report under this section shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) when possible and appropriate, use 

19 geospatial standards, as defined by the Federal Geo20 graphic Data Committee; 

21 ‘‘(2) be prepared using plain language; 

22 ‘‘(3) address issues at the national level and, to 

23 the extent possible, at the State level; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) be made publicly available, along with the 

2 information and data used to prepare the analysis or 

3 report, except to the extent— 

4 ‘‘(A) the information or data is specifically 

5 exempted from public disclosure by law; or 

6 ‘‘(B) the Director determines that disclo7 sure of the information or data would reveal 

8 personnel or medical data, or data of which 

9 would constitute an unwarranted invasion of 

10 personal privacy. 

11 ‘‘§ 799A–5. Appropriations 

12 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 

13 appropriated to the Office for each fiscal year such sums 

14 as may be necessary to enable it to carry out this sub15 chapter. 

16 ‘‘(b) INTERIM FUNDING.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the period de18 scribed in paragraph (2), amounts in the contingent 

19 fund of the Senate and the allowances and expenses 

20 account of the House of Representatives shall be 

21 available for the expenses of the Office. 

22 ‘‘(2) PERIOD.—The period described in this 

23 paragraph is the period— 

24 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date of enactment of 

25 this subchapter; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) ending on the earlier of— 

2 ‘‘(i) the date on which amounts are 

3 first made available under an appropria4 tion Act to carry out this subchapter; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 1 year after the 

6 date of enactment of this subchapter.’’. 

Æ 


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