In the Senate of the United States, 

September 22, 2011. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 2832) entitled ‘‘An Act to extend the Generalized 

System of Preferences, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with 

the following 

AMENDMENT: 

At the end, add the following: 

1 TITLE II—TRADE ADJUSTMENT 

2 ASSISTANCE 

3 SEC. 200. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this title is as follows: 

TITLE II—TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 200. Short title; table of contents. 
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Subtitle A—Extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance 

PART I—APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO TRADE ADJUSTMENT

ASSISTANCE

Sec. 201. Application of provisions relating to trade adjustment assistance. 

PART II—TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR WORKERS

Sec. 211. Group eligibility requirements. 

Sec. 212. Reductions in waivers from training. 

Sec. 213. Limitations on trade readjustment allowances. 

Sec. 214. Funding of training, employment and case management services, and 

job search and relocation allowances. 

Sec. 215. Reemployment trade adjustment assistance. 

Sec. 216. Program accountability. 

Sec. 217. Extension. 

PART III—OTHER ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE

Sec. 221. Trade adjustment assistance for firms. 

Sec. 222. Trade adjustment assistance for communities. 

Sec. 223. Trade adjustment assistance for farmers. 

PART IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 231. Applicability of trade adjustment assistance provisions. 

Sec. 232. Termination provisions. 

Sec. 233. Sunset provisions. 

Subtitle B—Health Coverage Improvement 

Sec. 241. Health care tax credit. 

Sec. 242. TAA pre-certification period rule for purposes of determining whether 

there is a 63-day lapse in creditable coverage. 

Sec. 243. Extension of COBRA benefits for certain TAA-eligible individuals and 

PBGC recipients. 

Subtitle C—Offsets 

PART I—UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION PROGRAM INTEGRITY

Sec. 251. Mandatory penalty assessment on fraud claims. 

Sec. 252. Prohibition on noncharging due to employer fault. 

Sec. 253. Reporting of rehired employees to the directory of new hires. 

PART II—ADDITIONAL OFFSETS

Sec. 261. Improvements to contracts with Medicare quality improvement organizations (QIOs) in order to improve the quality of care furnished 

to Medicare beneficiaries. 

Sec. 262. Rates for merchandise processing fees. 

Sec. 263. Time for remitting certain merchandise processing fees. 
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1 Subtitle A—Extension of Trade 

2 Adjustment Assistance 

3 PART I—APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS RELATING 

4 TO TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE 

5 SEC. 201. APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO 

6 TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE. 

7 (a) REPEAL OF SNAPBACK.—Section 1893 of the Trade 

8 and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009 (Pub9 lic Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 422) is repealed. 

10 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.—Except 

11 as otherwise provided in this subtitle, the provisions of 

12 chapters 2 through 6 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974, 

13 as in effect on February 12, 2011, and as amended by this 

14 subtitle, shall— 

15 (1) take effect on the date of the enactment of 

16 this Act; and 

17 (2) apply to petitions for certification filed 

18 under chapters 2, 3, or 6 of title II of the Trade Act 

19 of 1974 on or after such date of enactment. 

20 (c) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise provided in 

21 this subtitle, whenever in this subtitle an amendment or re22 peal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 

23 of, a provision of chapters 2 through 6 of title II of the 

24 Trade Act of 1974, the reference shall be considered to be 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 made to a provision of any such chapter, as in effect on 

2 February 12, 2011. 

3 PART II—TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR 

4 WORKERS 

5 SEC. 211. GROUP ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 222 of the Trade Act of 

7 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking subsection (b); 

9 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) 

10 as subsections (b) through (e), respectively; 

11 (3) in paragraph (2) of subsection (b), as redes12 ignated, by striking ‘‘(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(c)’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated, by striking 

14 paragraph (5); and 

15 (5) in paragraph (2) of subsection (d), as redes16 ignated, by striking ‘‘, (b), or (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘or 

17 (b)’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 247 of the 

19 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2319) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

22 (A), by striking ‘‘Subject to section 222(d)(5), the 

23 term’’ and inserting ‘‘The term’’; and 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, 

2 service sector firm, or public agency’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘or service sector firm’’; 

4 (2) by striking paragraph (7); and 

5 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (19) 

6 as paragraphs (7) through (18), respectively. 

7 SEC. 212. REDUCTIONS IN WAIVERS FROM TRAINING. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 231(c) of the Trade Act of 

9 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2291(c)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) by striking subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

12 (C); and 

13 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (D), 

14 (E), and (F) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

15 (C), respectively; and 

16 (2) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘(D), (E), 

17 or (F)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (C)’’. 

18 (b) GOOD CAUSE EXCEPTION.—Section 234(b) of the 

19 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2294(b)) is amended to read 

20 as follows: 

21 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE ON GOOD CAUSE FOR WAIVER OF

22 TIME LIMITS OR LATE FILING OF CLAIMS.—The Secretary 

23 shall establish procedures and criteria that allow for a 

24 waiver for good cause of the time limitations with respect 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 to an application for a trade readjustment allowance or en2 rollment in training under this chapter.’’. 

3 SEC. 213. LIMITATIONS ON TRADE READJUSTMENT ALLOW4 ANCES. 

5 Section 233 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2293) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre9 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(or’’ and 

10 all that follows through ‘‘period)’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

12 (i) in the matter preceding subpara13 graph (A), by striking ‘‘78’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘65’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘91-week period’’ each 

16 place it appears and inserting ‘‘78-week pe17 riod’’; and 

18 (2) by amending subsection (f) to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(f) PAYMENT OF TRADE READJUSTMENT ALLOW20 ANCES TO COMPLETE TRAINING.—Notwithstanding any 

21 other provision of this section, in order to assist an ad22 versely affected worker to complete training approved for 

23 the worker under section 236 that leads to the completion 

24 of a degree or industry-recognized credential, payments 

25 may be made as trade readjustment allowances for not more 
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1 than 13 weeks within such period of eligibility as the Sec2 retary may prescribe to account for a break in training 

3 or for justifiable cause that follows the last week for which 

4 the worker is otherwise entitled to a trade readjustment al5 lowance under this chapter if— 

6 ‘‘(1) payment of the trade readjustment allow7 ance for not more than 13 weeks is necessary for the 

8 worker to complete the training; 

9 ‘‘(2) the worker participates in training in each 

10 such week; and 

11 ‘‘(3) the worker— 

12 ‘‘(A) has substantially met the performance 

13 benchmarks established as part of the training 

14 approved for the worker; 

15 ‘‘(B) is expected to continue to make 

16 progress toward the completion of the training; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(C) will complete the training during that 

19 period of eligibility.’’. 

20 SEC. 214. FUNDING OF TRAINING, EMPLOYMENT AND CASE 

21 MANAGEMENT SERVICES, AND JOB SEARCH 

22 AND RELOCATION ALLOWANCES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 236(a)(2) of the Trade Act 

24 of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2296(a)(2)) is amended— 
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘and sections 235, 237, and 

2 238’’ after ‘‘to carry out this section’’ each place it 

3 appears; 

4 (2) in subparagraph (A)— 

5 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

6 striking ‘‘of payments that may be made under 

7 paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘of funds available 

8 to carry out this section and sections 235, 237, 

9 and 238’’; and 

10 (B) by striking clauses (i) and (ii) and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) $575,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

13 2012 and 2013; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) $143,750,000 for the 3-month period 

15 beginning on October 1, 2013, and ending on 

16 December 31, 2013.’’; 

17 (3) in subparagraph (C)(ii)(V), by striking ‘‘re18 lating to the provision of training under this section’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘to carry out this section and sections 

20 235, 237, and 238’’; and 

21 (4) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘to pay the 

22 costs of training approved under this section’’ and in23 serting ‘‘to carry out this section and sections 235, 

24 237, and 238’’. 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 (b) LIMITATIONS ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES AND

2 EMPLOYMENT AND CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 235A of the Trade Act 

4 of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2295a) is amended— 

5 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘FUNDING FOR’’ and inserting ‘‘LIMITA7 TIONS ON’’; and 

8 (B) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and 

9 inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘Of the funds made available to a State to carry out 

11 sections 235 through 238 for a fiscal year, the State shall 

12 use— 

13 ‘‘(1) not more than 10 percent for the adminis14 tration of the trade adjustment assistance for workers 

15 program under this chapter, including for— 

16 ‘‘(A) processing waivers of training require17 ments under section 231; 

18 ‘‘(B) collecting, validating, and reporting 

19 data required under this chapter; and 

20 ‘‘(C) providing reemployment trade adjust21 ment assistance under section 246; and 

22 ‘‘(2) not less than 5 percent for employment and 

23 case management services under section 235.’’. 

24 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con25 tents for the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by strik-
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1 ing the item relating to section 235A and inserting 

2 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 235A. Limitations on administrative expenses and employment and case 

management services.’’. 

3 (c) REALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.—Section 245 of the 

4 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2317) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) REALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 

8 ‘‘(A) reallot funds that were allotted to any 

9 State to carry out sections 235 through 238 and 

10 that remain unobligated by the State during the 

11 second or third fiscal year after the fiscal year 

12 in which the funds were provided to the State; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) provide such realloted funds to States 

15 to carry out sections 235 through 238 in accord16 ance with procedures established by the Sec17 retary. 

18 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS BY STATES.—In establishing 

19 procedures under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary 

20 shall include procedures that provide for the distribu21 tion of realloted funds under that paragraph pursu22 ant to requests submitted by States in need of such 

23 funds. 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—The reallot2 ment of funds under paragraph (1) shall not extend 

3 the period for which such funds are available for ex4 penditure.’’. 

5 (d) JOB SEARCH ALLOWANCES.—Section 237 of the 

6 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2297) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘An adversely affected work9 er’’ and inserting ‘‘Each State may use funds 

10 made available to the State to carry out sections 

11 235 through 238 to allow an adversely affected 

12 worker’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘to’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘An’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘Any’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘all necessary job 

19 search expenses’’ and inserting ‘‘not more 

20 than 90 percent of the necessary job search 

21 expenses of the worker’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$1,500’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘$1,250’’; and 

24 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘the Secretary 

25 shall’’ and inserting ‘‘a State may’’. 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 (e) RELOCATION ALLOWANCES.—Section 238 of the 

2 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2298) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘Any adversely affected 

5 worker’’ and inserting ‘‘Each State may use 

6 funds made available to the State to carry out 

7 sections 235 through 238 to allow an adversely 

8 affected worker’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘may file’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘to file’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (b)— 

12 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

13 (1)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘The’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘Any’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘includes’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘shall include’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘all’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘not more than 90 percent of the’’; and 

20 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$1,500’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘$1,250’’. 

22 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 236 of the 

23 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2296) is amended— 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 (1) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by 

2 striking ‘‘approppriate’’ and inserting ‘‘appropriate’’; 

3 and 

4 (2) by striking subsection (g) and redesignating 

5 subsection (h) as subsection (g). 

6 SEC. 215. REEMPLOYMENT TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSIST7 ANCE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 246(a) of the Trade Act of 

9 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2318(a)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii), by striking 

11 ‘‘$55,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$50,000’’; and 

12 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 

14 ‘‘$12,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’; and 

15 (B) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking 

16 ‘‘$12,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’. 

17 (b) EXTENSION.—Section 246(b)(1) of the Trade Act 

18 of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2318(b)(1)) is amended by striking 

19 ‘‘February 12, 2011’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2013’’. 

20 SEC. 216. PROGRAM ACCOUNTABILITY. 

21 (a) CORE INDICATORS OF PERFORMANCE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 239(j)(2)(A) of the 

23 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2311(j)(2)(A)) is 

24 amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The core indicators of 

2 performance described in this paragraph are— 

3 ‘‘(i) the percentage of workers receiving 

4 benefits under this chapter who are em5 ployed during the first or second calendar 

6 quarter following the calendar quarter in 

7 which the workers cease receiving such bene8 fits; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the percentage of such workers 

10 who are employed during the 2 calendar 

11 quarters following the earliest calendar 

12 quarter during which the worker was em13 ployed as described in clause (i); 

14 ‘‘(iii) the average earnings of such 

15 workers who are employed during the 2 cal16 endar quarters described in clause (ii); and 

17 ‘‘(iv) the percentage of such workers 

18 who obtain a recognized postsecondary cre19 dential, including an industry-recognized 

20 credential, or a secondary school diploma or 

21 its recognized equivalent if combined with 

22 employment under clause (i), while receiv23 ing benefits under this chapter or during 

24 the 1-year period after such workers cease 

25 receiving such benefits.’’. 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 paragraph (1) shall— 

3 (A) take effect on October 1, 2011; and 

4 (B) apply with respect to agreements under 

5 section 239 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

6 2311) entered into before, on, or after October 1, 

7 2011. 

8 (b) COLLECTION AND PUBLICATION OF DATA.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 249B(b) of the Trade 

10 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2323(b)) is amended— 

11 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

13 ‘‘(including such allowances classified by 

14 payments under paragraphs (1) and (3) of 

15 section 233(a), and section 233(f), respec16 tively) and payments under section 246’’ 

17 after ‘‘readjustment allowances’’; and 

18 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(D) The average number of weeks trade re20 adjustment allowances were paid to workers. 

21 ‘‘(E) The number of workers who report 

22 that they have received benefits under a prior 

23 certification issued under this chapter in any of 

24 the 10 fiscal years preceding the fiscal year for 

25 which the data is collected under this section.’’; 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

3 ‘‘training leading to an associate’s degree, 

4 remedial education, prerequisite education,’’ 

5 after ‘‘distance learning,’’; 

6 (ii) by amending subparagraph (B) to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(B) The number of workers who complete 

9 training approved under section 236 who were 

10 enrolled in pre-layoff training or part-time 

11 training at any time during that training.’’; 

12 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

13 ‘‘, and the average duration of training that 

14 does not include remedial or prerequisite 

15 education’’ after ‘‘training’’; 

16 (iv) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

17 ‘‘duration’’ and inserting ‘‘average dura18 tion’’; and 

19 (v) in subparagraph (F), by inserting 

20 ‘‘and the average duration of the training 

21 that was completed by such workers’’ after 

22 ‘‘training’’; and 

23 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

24 (i) by redesignating subparagraph (B) 

25 as subparagraph (D); and 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

2 (A) the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) A summary of the data on workers in 

4 the quarterly reports required under section 

5 239(j) classified by the age, pre-program edu6 cational level, and post-program credential at7 tainment of the workers. 

8 ‘‘(C) The average earnings of workers de9 scribed in section 239(j)(2)(A)(i) in the second, 

10 third, and fourth calendar quarters following the 

11 calendar quarter in which such workers cease re12 ceiving benefits under this chapter, expressed as 

13 a percentage of the average earnings of such 

14 workers in the 3 calendar quarters before the cal15 endar quarter in which such workers began re16 ceiving benefits under this chapter.’’; and 

17 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(6) DATA ON SPENDING.— 

19 ‘‘(A) The total amount of funds used to pay 

20 for trade readjustment allowances, in the aggre21 gate and by each State. 

22 ‘‘(B) The total amount of the payments to 

23 the States to carry out sections 235 through 238 

24 used for training, in the aggregate and for each 

25 State. 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 ‘‘(C) The total amount of payments to the 

2 States to carry out sections 235 through 238 used 

3 for the costs of administration, in the aggregate 

4 and for each State. 

5 ‘‘(D) The total amount of payments to the 

6 States to carry out sections 235 through 238 used 

7 for job search and relocation allowances, in the 

8 aggregate and for each State.’’. 

9 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Not later than October 1, 

10 2012, the Secretary of Labor shall update the system 

11 required by section 249B(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 

12 (19 U.S.C. 2323(a)) to include the collection of and 

13 reporting on the data required by the amendments 

14 made by paragraph (1). 

15 (3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 249B(d) of the 

16 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2323(d)) is amended by 

17 striking ‘‘December 15’’ and inserting ‘‘February 15’’. 

18 SEC. 217. EXTENSION. 

19 Section 245(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

20 2317(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘February 12, 2011’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘December 31, 2013’’. 

22 PART III—OTHER ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE 

23 SEC. 221. TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR FIRMS. 

24 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title II of the 

2 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2341 et seq.) is amend3 ed by inserting after section 255 the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 255A. ANNUAL REPORT ON TRADE ADJUSTMENT AS5 SISTANCE FOR FIRMS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 15, 2012, 

7 and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare a re8 port containing data regarding the trade adjustment assist9 ance for firms program under this chapter for the preceding 

10 fiscal year. The data shall include the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) The number of firms that inquired about 

12 the program. 

13 ‘‘(2) The number of petitions filed under section 

14 251. 

15 ‘‘(3) The number of petitions certified and de16 nied by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(4) The average time for processing petitions 

18 after the petitions are filed. 

19 ‘‘(5) The number of petitions filed and firms cer20 tified for each congressional district of the United 

21 States. 

22 ‘‘(6) Of the number of petitions filed, the number 

23 of firms that entered the program and received bene24 fits. 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 ‘‘(7) The number of firms that received assist2 ance in preparing their petitions. 

3 ‘‘(8) The number of firms that received assist4 ance developing business recovery plans. 

5 ‘‘(9) The number of business recovery plans ap6 proved and denied by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(10) The average duration of benefits received 

8 under the program nationally and in each region 

9 served by an intermediary organization referred to in 

10 section 253(b)(1). 

11 ‘‘(11) Sales, employment, and productivity at 

12 each firm participating in the program at the time 

13 of certification. 

14 ‘‘(12) Sales, employment, and productivity at 

15 each firm upon completion of the program and each 

16 year for the 2-year period following completion of the 

17 program. 

18 ‘‘(13) The number of firms in operation as of the 

19 date of the report and the number of firms that ceased 

20 operations after completing the program and in each 

21 year during the 2-year period following completion of 

22 the program. 

23 ‘‘(14) The financial assistance received by each 

24 firm participating in the program. 
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† HR 2832 EAS 

1 ‘‘(15) The financial contribution made by each 

2 firm participating in the program. 

3 ‘‘(16) The types of technical assistance included 

4 in the business recovery plans of firms participating 

5 in the program. 

6 ‘‘(17) The number of firms leaving the program 

7 before completing the project or projects in their busi8 ness recovery plans and the reason the project or 

9 projects were not completed. 

10 ‘‘(18) The total amount expended by all inter11 mediary organizations referred to in section 253(b)(1) 

12 and by each such organization to administer the pro13 gram. 

14 ‘‘(19) The total amount expended by inter15 mediary organizations to provide technical assistance 

16 to firms under the program nationally and in each 

17 region served by such an organization. 

18 ‘‘(b) CLASSIFICATION OF DATA.—To the extent pos19 sible, in collecting and reporting the data described in sub20 section (a), the Secretary shall classify the data by inter21 mediary organization, State, and national totals. 

22 ‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS; PUBLICATION.—The Sec23 retary shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) submit the report described in subsection (a) 

25 to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the 
22 

† HR 2832 EAS 

1 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep2 resentatives; and 

3 ‘‘(2) publish the report in the Federal Register 

4 and on the website of the Department of Commerce. 

5 ‘‘(d) PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not re7 lease information described in subsection (a) that the 

8 Secretary considers to be confidential business infor9 mation unless the person submitting the confidential 

10 business information had notice, at the time of sub11 mission, that such information would be released by 

12 the Secretary, or such person subsequently consents to 

13 the release of the information. 

14 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

15 subsection shall be construed to prohibit the Secretary 

16 from providing information the Secretary considers to 

17 be confidential business information under paragraph 

18 (1) to a court in camera or to another party under 

19 a protective order issued by a court.’’. 

20 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con21 tents for the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by insert22 ing after the item relating to section 255 the fol23 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 255A. Annual report on trade adjustment assistance for firms.’’. 

24 (3) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Effective on the day 

25 after the date on which the Secretary of Commerce 
23 

† HR 2832 EAS 

1 submits the report required by section 1866 of the 

2 Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 

3 2009 (19 U.S.C. 2356) for fiscal year 2011, such sec4 tion is repealed. 

5 (b) EXTENSION.—Section 255(a) of the Trade Act of 

6 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2345(a)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘$50,000,000’’ and all that fol8 lows through ‘‘February 12, 2011.’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘$16,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 and 

10 2013, and $4,000,000 for the 3-month period begin11 ning on October 1, 2013, and ending on December 31, 

12 2013.’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘shall—’’ and all that follows 

14 through ‘‘otherwise remain’’ and inserting ‘‘shall re15 main’’. 

16 SEC. 222. TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR COMMU17 NITIES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title II of the Trade 

19 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2371 et seq.) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking subchapters A, C, and D; 

21 (2) in subchapter B, by striking the subchapter 

22 heading; and 

23 (3) by redesignating sections 278 and 279 as sec24 tions 271 and 272, respectively. 

25 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
24 

† HR 2832 EAS 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) of section 271 

2 of the Trade Act of 1974, as redesignated by sub3 section (a)(3), is amended— 

4 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

5 by striking ‘‘December 15 in each of the calendar 

6 years 2009 through’’ and inserting ‘‘December 

7 15, 2009,’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

9 the end; 

10 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking the period 

11 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(3) providing the following data relating to 

14 program performance and outcomes: 

15 ‘‘(A) Of the grants awarded under this sec16 tion, the amount of funds spent by grantees. 

17 ‘‘(B) The average dollar amount of grants 

18 awarded under this section. 

19 ‘‘(C) The average duration of grants award20 ed under this section. 

21 ‘‘(D) The percentage of workers receiving 

22 benefits under chapter 2 that are served by pro23 grams developed, offered, or improved using 

24 grants awarded under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(E) The percentage and number of workers 

2 receiving benefits under chapter 2 who obtained 

3 a degree through such programs and the average 

4 duration of the participation of such workers in 

5 training under section 236. 

6 ‘‘(F) The number of workers receiving bene7 fits under chapter 2 served by such programs 

8 who did not complete a degree and the average 

9 duration of the participation of such workers in 

10 training under section 236.’’. 

11 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

12 by paragraph (1) shall— 

13 (A) take effect on October 1, 2011; and 

14 (B) apply with respect to reports submitted 

15 under subsection (e) of section 271 of the Trade 

16 Act of 1974, as redesignated by subsection (a)(3), 

17 on or after October 1, 2012. 

18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) Section 271 of the Trade Act of 1974, as re20 designated by subsection (a)(3), is amended— 

21 (A) in subsection (c)— 

22 (i) in paragraph (4)— 

23 (I) in subparagraph (A)— 
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1 (aa) in clause (ii), by strik2 ing the semicolon and inserting ‘‘; 

3 and’’; 

4 (bb) by striking clauses (iii) 

5 and (iv); and 

6 (cc) by redesignating clause 

7 (v) as clause (iii); 

8 (II) in subparagraph (B), by 

9 striking ‘‘(A)(v)’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘(A)(iii)’’; and 

11 (ii) in paragraph (5)(A)— 

12 (I) in clause (i)— 

13 (aa) in the matter preceding 

14 subclause (I), by striking ‘‘, and 

15 other entities described in section 

16 276(a)(2)(B)’’; and 

17 (bb) in subclause (II), by 

18 striking the semicolon and insert19 ing ‘‘; and’’; 

20 (II) by striking clause (iii); and 

21 (B) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph 

22 (2) and redesignating paragraph (3) as para23 graph (2). 

24 (2) Subsection (b) of section 272 of the Trade Act 

25 of 1974, as redesignated by subsection (a)(3), is 
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1 amended by striking ‘‘278(a)(2)’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘271(a)(2)’’. 

3 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents for 

4 the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by striking the items 

5 relating to chapter 4 of title II and inserting the following: 

‘‘CHAPTER 4—TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR COMMUNITIES

‘‘Sec. 271. Community College and Career Training Grant Program. 

‘‘Sec. 272. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

6 SEC. 223. TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR FARMERS. 

7 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 293(d) of the Trade 

9 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2401b(d)) is amended to read 

10 as follows: 

11 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than January 30 of 

12 each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

13 Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and 

14 Means of the House of Representatives a report containing 

15 the following information with respect to the trade adjust16 ment assistance for farmers program under this chapter 

17 during the preceding fiscal year: 

18 ‘‘(1) A list of the agricultural commodities cov19 ered by a certification under this chapter. 

20 ‘‘(2) The States or regions in which agricultural 

21 commodities are produced and the aggregate amount 

22 of such commodities produced in each such State or 

23 region. 
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1 ‘‘(3) The number of petitions filed. 

2 ‘‘(4) The number of petitions certified and de3 nied by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(5) The average time for processing petitions. 

5 ‘‘(6) The number of petitions filed and agricul6 tural commodity producers approved for each congres7 sional district of the United States. 

8 ‘‘(7) Of the number of producers approved, the 

9 number of agricultural commodity producers that en10 tered the program and received benefits. 

11 ‘‘(8) The number of agricultural commodity pro12 ducers that completed initial technical assistance. 

13 ‘‘(9) The number of agricultural commodity pro14 ducers that completed intensive technical assistance. 

15 ‘‘(10) The number of initial business plans ap16 proved and denied by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(11) The number of long-term business plans 

18 approved and denied by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(12) The total number of agricultural com20 modity producers, by congressional district, receiving 

21 initial technical assistance and intensive technical as22 sistance, respectively, under this chapter. 

23 ‘‘(13) The types of initial technical assistance re24 ceived by agricultural commodity producers partici25 pating in the program. 
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1 ‘‘(14) The types of intensive technical assistance 

2 received by agricultural commodity producers partici3 pating in the program. 

4 ‘‘(15) The number of agricultural commodity 

5 producers leaving the program before completing the 

6 projects in their long-term business plans and the rea7 son those projects were not completed. 

8 ‘‘(16) The total number of agricultural com9 modity producers, by congressional district, receiving 

10 benefits under this chapter. 

11 ‘‘(17) The average duration of benefits received 

12 under this chapter. 

13 ‘‘(18) The number of agricultural commodity 

14 producers in operation as of the date of the report 

15 and the number of agricultural commodity producers 

16 that ceased operations after completing the program 

17 and in the 1-year period following completion of the 

18 program. 

19 ‘‘(19) The number of agricultural commodity 

20 producers that report that such producers received 

21 benefits under a prior certification issued under this 

22 chapter in any of the 10 fiscal years preceding the 

23 date of the report.’’. 

24 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

25 paragraph (1) shall— 
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1 (A) take effect on October 1, 2011; and 

2 (B) apply with respect to reports submitted 

3 under section 293(d) of the Trade Act of 1974 

4 (19 U.S.C. 2401b(d)) on or after October 1, 

5 2012. 

6 (b) EXTENSION.—Section 298(a) of the Trade Act of 

7 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2401g(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘and there are appropriated’’; 

9 and 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘not to exceed’’ and all that fol11 lows through ‘‘February 12, 2011’’ and inserting ‘‘not 

12 to exceed $90,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 

13 and 2013, and $22,500,000 for the 3-month period be14 ginning on October 1, 2013, and ending on December 

15 31, 2013’’. 

16 PART IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

17 SEC. 231. APPLICABILITY OF TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSIST18 ANCE PROVISIONS. 

19 (a) TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR WORK20 ERS.— 

21 (1) PETITIONS FILED ON OR AFTER FEBRUARY

22 13, 2011, AND BEFORE DATE OF ENACTMENT.— 

23 (A) CERTIFICATIONS OF WORKERS NOT CER24 TIFIED BEFORE DATE OF ENACTMENT.— 
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1 (i) CRITERIA IF A DETERMINATION

2 HAS NOT BEEN MADE.—If, as of the date of 

3 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

4 Labor has not made a determination with 

5 respect to whether to certify a group of 

6 workers as eligible to apply for adjustment 

7 assistance under section 222 of the Trade 

8 Act of 1974 pursuant to a petition described 

9 in clause (iii), the Secretary shall make 

10 that determination based on the require11 ments of section 222 of the Trade Act of 

12 1974, as in effect on such date of enactment. 

13 (ii) RECONSIDERATION OF DENIALS OF

14 CERTIFICATIONS.—If, before the date of the 

15 enactment of this Act, the Secretary made a 

16 determination not to certify a group of 

17 workers as eligible to apply for adjustment 

18 assistance under section 222 of the Trade 

19 Act of 1974 pursuant to a petition described 

20 in clause (iii), the Secretary shall— 

21 (I) reconsider that determination; 

22 and 

23 (II) if the group of workers meets 

24 the requirements of section 222 of the 

25 Trade Act of 1974, as in effect on such 
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1 date of enactment, certify the group of 

2 workers as eligible to apply for adjust3 ment assistance. 

4 (iii) PETITION DESCRIBED.—A peti5 tion described in this clause is a petition for 

6 a certification of eligibility for a group of 

7 workers filed under section 221 of the Trade 

8 Act of 1974 on or after February 13, 2011, 

9 and before the date of the enactment of this 

10 Act. 

11 (B) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

13 in clause (ii), a worker certified as eligible 

14 to apply for adjustment assistance under 

15 section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974 pursu16 ant to a petition described in subparagraph 

17 (A)(iii) shall be eligible, on and after the 

18 date that is 60 days after the date of the en19 actment of this Act, to receive benefits only 

20 under the provisions of chapter 2 of title II 

21 of the Trade Act of 1974, as in effect on 

22 such date of enactment. 

23 (ii) ELECTION FOR WORKERS RECEIV24 ING BENEFITS ON THE 60TH DAY AFTER EN25 ACTMENT.— 
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1 (I) IN GENERAL.—A worker cer2 tified as eligible to apply for adjust3 ment assistance under section 222 of 

4 the Trade Act of 1974 pursuant to a 

5 petition described in subparagraph 

6 (A)(iii) who is receiving benefits under 

7 chapter 2 of title II of the Trade Act 

8 of 1974 as of the date that is 60 days 

9 after the date of the enactment of this 

10 Act may, not later than the date that 

11 is 150 days after such date of enact12 ment, make a one-time election to re13 ceive benefits pursuant to— 

14 (aa) the provisions of chapter 

15 2 of title II of the Trade Act of 

16 1974, as in effect on such date of 

17 enactment; or 

18 (bb) the provisions of chapter 

19 2 of title II of the Trade Act of 

20 1974, as in effect on February 13, 

21 2011. 

22 (II) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO

23 MAKE ELECTION.—A worker described 

24 in subclause (I) who does not make the 

25 election described in that subclause on 
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1 or before the date that is 150 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act 

3 shall be eligible to receive benefits only 

4 under the provisions of chapter 2 of 

5 title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as in 

6 effect on February 13, 2011. 

7 (III) COMPUTATION OF MAXIMUM

8 BENEFITS.—Benefits received by a 

9 worker described in subclause (I) under 

10 chapter 2 of title II of the Trade Act 

11 of 1974, as in effect on February 13, 

12 2011, before the worker makes the elec13 tion described in that subclause shall 

14 be included in any determination of 

15 the maximum benefits for which the 

16 worker is eligible under the provisions 

17 of chapter 2 of title II of the Trade Act 

18 of 1974, as in effect on the date of the 

19 enactment of this Act, or as in effect on 

20 February 13, 2011, whichever is appli21 cable after the election of the worker 

22 under subclause (I). 

23 (2) PETITIONS FILED BEFORE FEBRUARY 13, 

24 2011.—A worker certified as eligible to apply for ad-
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1 justment assistance pursuant to a petition filed under 

2 section 221 of the Trade Act of 1974— 

3 (A) on or after May 18, 2009, and on or be4 fore February 12, 2011, shall continue to be eli5 gible to apply for and receive benefits under the 

6 provisions of chapter 2 of title II of such Act, as 

7 in effect on February 12, 2011; or 

8 (B) before May 18, 2009, shall continue to 

9 be eligible to apply for and receive benefits under 

10 the provisions of chapter 2 of title II of such Act, 

11 as in effect on May 17, 2009. 

12 (3) QUALIFYING SEPARATIONS WITH RESPECT TO

13 PETITIONS FILED WITHIN 90 DAYS OF DATE OF EN14 ACTMENT.—Section 223(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, 

15 as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

16 shall be applied and administered by substituting 

17 ‘‘before February 13, 2010’’ for ‘‘more than one year 

18 before the date of the petition on which such certifi19 cation was granted’’ for purposes of determining 

20 whether a worker is eligible to apply for adjustment 

21 assistance pursuant to a petition filed under section 

22 221 of the Trade Act of 1974 on or after the date of 

23 the enactment of this Act and on or before the date 

24 that is 90 days after such date of enactment. 

25 (b) TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR FIRMS.— 
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1 (1) CERTIFICATION OF FIRMS NOT CERTIFIED

2 BEFORE DATE OF ENACTMENT.— 

3 (A) CRITERIA IF A DETERMINATION HAS

4 NOT BEEN MADE.—If, as of the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce has 

6 not made a determination with respect to wheth7 er to certify a firm as eligible to apply for ad8 justment assistance under section 251 of the 

9 Trade Act of 1974 pursuant to a petition de10 scribed in subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall 

11 make that determination based on the require12 ments of section 251 of the Trade Act of 1974, 

13 as in effect on such date of enactment. 

14 (B) RECONSIDERATION OF DENIAL OF CER15 TAIN PETITIONS.—If, before the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, the Secretary made a deter17 mination not to certify a firm as eligible to 

18 apply for adjustment assistance under section 

19 251 of the Trade Act of 1974 pursuant to a peti20 tion described in subparagraph (C), the Sec21 retary shall— 

22 (i) reconsider that determination; and 

23 (ii) if the firm meets the requirements 

24 of section 251 of the Trade Act of 1974, as 

25 in effect on such date of enactment, certify 
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1 the firm as eligible to apply for adjustment 

2 assistance. 

3 (C) PETITION DESCRIBED.—A petition de4 scribed in this subparagraph is a petition for a 

5 certification of eligibility filed by a firm or its 

6 representative under section 251 of the Trade Act 

7 of 1974 on or after February 13, 2011, and be8 fore the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (2) CERTIFICATION OF FIRMS THAT DID NOT

10 SUBMIT PETITIONS BETWEEN FEBRUARY 13, 2011, AND

11 DATE OF ENACTMENT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Com13 merce shall certify a firm described in subpara14 graph (B) as eligible to apply for adjustment as15 sistance under section 251 of the Trade Act of 

16 1974, as in effect on the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act, if the firm or its representative files 

18 a petition for a certification of eligibility under 

19 section 251 of the Trade Act of 1974 not later 

20 than 90 days after such date of enactment. 

21 (B) FIRM DESCRIBED.—A firm described in 

22 this subparagraph is a firm that the Secretary 

23 determines would have been certified as eligible 

24 to apply for adjustment assistance if— 
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1 (i) the firm or its representative had 

2 filed a petition for a certification of eligi3 bility under section 251 of the Trade Act of 

4 1974 on a date during the period beginning 

5 on February 13, 2011, and ending on the 

6 day before the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act; and 

8 (ii) the provisions of chapter 3 of title 

9 II of the Trade Act of 1974, as in effect on 

10 such date of enactment, had been in effect 

11 on that date during the period described in 

12 clause (i). 

13 SEC. 232. TERMINATION PROVISIONS. 

14 Section 285 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2271 

15 note) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘February 12, 2011’’ each place 

17 it appears and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2013’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (a)(2)— 

19 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

20 (A), by striking ‘‘that chapter’’ and all that fol21 lows through ‘‘the worker is—’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘that chapter if the worker is—’’; and 

23 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘peti24 tions’’ and inserting ‘‘a petition’’; and 

25 (3) in subsection (b)— 
39 

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1 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), in the matter pre2 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘pursuant to a pe3 tition filed under section 251’’ after ‘‘chapter 3’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)(B), in the matter pre5 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘pursuant to a pe6 tition filed under section 292’’ after ‘‘chapter 6’’; 

7 and 

8 (C) by striking paragraph (3). 

9 SEC. 233. SUNSET PROVISIONS. 

10 (a) APPLICATION OF PRIOR LAW.—Subject to sub11 section (b), beginning on January 1, 2014, the provisions 

12 of chapters 2, 3, 5, and 6 of title II of the Trade Act of 

13 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2271 et seq.), as in effect on February 13, 

14 2011, shall apply, except that in applying and admin15 istering such chapters— 

16 (1) paragraph (1) of section 231(c) of that Act 

17 shall be applied and administered as if subpara18 graphs (A), (B), and (C) of that paragraph were not 

19 in effect; 

20 (2) section 233 of that Act shall be applied and 

21 administered— 

22 (A) in subsection (a)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (2), by substituting 

24 ‘‘104-week period’’ for ‘‘104-week period’’ 
40 

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1 and all that follows through ‘‘130-week pe2 riod)’’; and 

3 (ii) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (I) in the matter preceding sub5 paragraph (A), by substituting ‘‘65’’ 

6 for ‘‘52’’; and 

7 (II) by substituting ‘‘78-week pe8 riod’’ for ‘‘52-week period’’ each place 

9 it appears; and 

10 (B) by applying and administering sub11 section (g) as if it read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(g) PAYMENT OF TRADE READJUSTMENT ALLOW13 ANCES TO COMPLETE TRAINING.—Notwithstanding any 

14 other provision of this section, in order to assist an ad15 versely affected worker to complete training approved for 

16 the worker under section 236 that leads to the completion 

17 of a degree or industry-recognized credential, payments 

18 may be made as trade readjustment allowances for not more 

19 than 13 weeks within such period of eligibility as the Sec20 retary may prescribe to account for a break in training 

21 or for justifiable cause that follows the last week for which 

22 the worker is otherwise entitled to a trade readjustment al23 lowance under this chapter if— 
41 

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1 ‘‘(1) payment of the trade readjustment allow2 ance for not more than 13 weeks is necessary for the 

3 worker to complete the training; 

4 ‘‘(2) the worker participates in training in each 

5 such week; and 

6 ‘‘(3) the worker— 

7 ‘‘(A) has substantially met the performance 

8 benchmarks established as part of the training 

9 approved for the worker; 

10 ‘‘(B) is expected to continue to make 

11 progress toward the completion of the training; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(C) will complete the training during that 

14 period of eligibility.’’; 

15 (3) section 245 of that Act shall be applied and 

16 administered by substituting ‘‘2014’’ for ‘‘2007’’; 

17 (4) section 246(b)(1) of that Act shall be applied 

18 and administered by substituting ‘‘December 31, 

19 2014’’ for ‘‘the date that is 5 years’’ and all that fol20 lows through ‘‘State’’; 

21 (5) section 256(b) of that Act shall be applied 

22 and administered by substituting ‘‘the 1-year period 

23 beginning on January 1, 2014’’ for ‘‘each of fiscal 

24 years 2003 through 2007, and $4,000,000 for the 3- 

25 month period beginning on October 1, 2007’’; 
42 

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1 (6) section 298(a) of that Act shall be applied 

2 and administered by substituting ‘‘the 1-year period 

3 beginning on January 1, 2014’’ for ‘‘each of the fiscal 

4 years’’ and all that follows through ‘‘October 1, 

5 2007’’; and 

6 (7) section 285 of that Act shall be applied and 

7 administered— 

8 (A) in subsection (a), by substituting 

9 ‘‘2014’’ for ‘‘2007’’ each place it appears; and 

10 (B) by applying and administering sub11 section (b) as if it read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(b) OTHER ASSISTANCE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE FOR FIRMS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

15 subparagraph (B), assistance may not be pro16 vided under chapter 3 after December 31, 2014. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub18 paragraph (A), any assistance approved under 

19 chapter 3 on or before December 31, 2014, may 

20 be provided— 

21 ‘‘(i) to the extent funds are available 

22 pursuant to such chapter for such purpose; 

23 and 
43 

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1 ‘‘(ii) to the extent the recipient of the 

2 assistance is otherwise eligible to receive 

3 such assistance. 

4 ‘‘(2) FARMERS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B), assistance may not be pro7 vided under chapter 6 after December 31, 2014. 

8 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub9 paragraph (A), any assistance approved under 

10 chapter 6 on or before December 31, 2014, may 

11 be provided— 

12 ‘‘(i) to the extent funds are available 

13 pursuant to such chapter for such purpose; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) to the extent the recipient of the 

16 assistance is otherwise eligible to receive 

17 such assistance.’’. 

18 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—The provisions of chapters 2, 3, 5, 

19 and 6 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as in effect on 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act, shall continue to apply 

21 on and after January 1, 2014, with respect to— 

22 (1) workers certified as eligible for trade adjust23 ment assistance benefits under chapter 2 of title II of 

24 that Act pursuant to petitions filed under section 221 

25 of that Act before January 1, 2014; 
44 

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1 (2) firms certified as eligible for technical assist2 ance or grants under chapter 3 of title II of that Act 

3 pursuant to petitions filed under section 251 of that 

4 Act before January 1, 2014; and 

5 (3) agricultural commodity producers certified 

6 as eligible for technical or financial assistance under 

7 chapter 6 of title II of that Act pursuant to petitions 

8 filed under section 292 of that Act before January 1, 

9 2014. 

10 Subtitle B—Health Coverage 

11 Improvement 

12 SEC. 241. HEALTH CARE TAX CREDIT. 

13 (a) TERMINATION OF CREDIT.—Subparagraph (B) of 

14 section 35(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

15 amended by inserting ‘‘, and before January 1, 2014’’ before 

16 the period. 

17 (b) EXTENSION THROUGH CREDIT TERMINATION

18 DATE OF CERTAIN EXPIRED CREDIT PROVISIONS.— 

19 (1) PARTIAL EXTENSION OF INCREASED CREDIT

20 RATE.—Section 35(a) of such Code is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘65 percent (80 percent in the case of eligible 

22 coverage months beginning before February 13, 

23 2011)’’ and inserting ‘‘72.5 percent’’. 

24 (2) EXTENSION OF ADVANCE PAYMENT PROVI25 SIONS.— 
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1 (A) Section 7527(b) of such Code is amend2 ed by striking ‘‘65 percent (80 percent in the 

3 case of eligible coverage months beginning before 

4 February 13, 2011)’’ and inserting ‘‘72.5 per5 cent’’. 

6 (B) Section 7527(d)(2) of such Code is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘which is issued before Feb8 ruary 13, 2011’’. 

9 (C) Section 7527(e) of such Code is amend10 ed by striking ‘‘80 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘72.5 

11 percent’’. 

12 (D) Section 7527(e) of such Code is amend13 ed by striking ‘‘In the case of eligible coverage 

14 months beginning before February 13, 2011—’’. 

15 (3) EXTENSION OF CERTAIN OTHER RELATED

16 PROVISIONS.— 

17 (A) Section 35(c)(2)(B) of such Code is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘and before February 13, 

19 2011’’. 

20 (B) Section 35(e)(1)(K) of such Code is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘In the case of eligible cov22 erage months beginning before February 13, 

23 2012, coverage’’ and inserting ‘‘Coverage’’. 

24 (C) Section 35(g)(9) of such Code, as added 

25 by section 1899E(a) of the American Recovery 
46 

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1 and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 (relating to 

2 continued qualification of family members after 

3 certain events), is amended by striking ‘‘In the 

4 case of eligible coverage months beginning before 

5 February 13, 2011—’’. 

6 (D) Section 173(f)(8) of the Workforce In7 vestment Act of 1998 is amended by striking ‘‘In 

8 the case of eligible coverage months beginning be9 fore February 13, 2011—’’. 

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 

12 in this subsection, the amendments made by this sec13 tion shall apply to coverage months beginning after 

14 February 12, 2011. 

15 (2) ADVANCE PAYMENT PROVISIONS.— 

16 (A) The amendment made by subsection 

17 (b)(2)(B) shall apply to certificates issued after 

18 the date which is 30 days after the date of the 

19 enactment of this Act. 

20 (B) The amendment made by subsection 

21 (b)(2)(D) shall apply to coverage months begin22 ning after the date which is 30 days after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act. 
47 

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1 SEC. 242. TAA PRE-CERTIFICATION PERIOD RULE FOR PUR2 POSES OF DETERMINING WHETHER THERE IS 

3 A 63-DAY LAPSE IN CREDITABLE COVERAGE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The following provisions are each 

5 amended by striking ‘‘February 13, 2011’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘January 1, 2014’’: 

7 (1) Section 9801(c)(2)(D) of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986. 

9 (2) Section 701(c)(2)(C) of the Employee Retire10 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

11 1181(c)(2)(C)). 

12 (3) Section 2701(c)(2)(C) of the Public Health 

13 Service Act (as in effect for plan years beginning be14 fore January 1, 2014). 

15 (4) Section 2704(c)(2)(C) of the Public Health 

16 Service Act (as in effect for plan years beginning on 

17 or after January 1, 2014). 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

20 this section shall apply to plan years beginning after 

21 February 12, 2011. 

22 (2) TRANSITIONAL RULES.— 

23 (A) BENEFIT DETERMINATIONS.—Notwith24 standing the amendments made by this section 

25 (and the provisions of law amended thereby), a 

26 plan shall not be required to modify benefit de-
48 

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1 terminations for the period beginning on Feb2 ruary 13, 2011, and ending 30 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, but a plan 

4 shall not fail to be qualified health insurance 

5 within the meaning of section 35(e) of the Inter6 nal Revenue Code of 1986 during this period 

7 merely due to such failure to modify benefit de8 terminations. 

9 (B) GUIDANCE CONCERNING PERIODS BE10 FORE 30 DAYS AFTER ENACTMENT.—Except as 

11 provided in subparagraph (A), the Secretary of 

12 the Treasury (or his designee), in consultation 

13 with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv14 ices and the Secretary of Labor, may issue regu15 lations or other guidance regarding the scope of 

16 the application of the amendments made by this 

17 section to periods before the date which is 30 

18 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 (C) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO CERTAIN

20 LOSS OF COVERAGE.—In the case of a TAA-re21 lated loss of coverage (as defined in section 

22 4980B(f)(5)(C)(iv) of the Internal Revenue Code 

23 of 1986) that occurs during the period beginning 

24 on February 13, 2011, and ending 30 days after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the 7-day 
49 

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1 period described in section 9801(c)(2)(D) of the 

2 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, section 

3 701(c)(2)(C) of the Employee Retirement Income 

4 Security Act of 1974, and section 2701(c)(2)(C) 

5 of the Public Health Service Act shall be ex6 tended until 30 days after such date of enact7 ment. 

8 SEC. 243. EXTENSION OF COBRA BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN 

9 TAA-ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS AND PBGC RE10 CIPIENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The following provisions are each 

12 amended by striking ‘‘February 12, 2011’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘January 1, 2014’’: 

14 (1) Section 602(2)(A)(v) of the Employee Retire15 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

16 1162(2)(A)(v)). 

17 (2) Section 602(2)(A)(vi) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

18 1162(2)(A)(vi)). 

19 (3) Section 4980B(f)(2)(B)(i)(V) of the Internal 

20 Revenue Code of 1986. 

21 (4) Section 4980B(f)(2)(B)(i)(VI) of such Code. 

22 (5) Section 2202(2)(A)(iv) of the Public Health 

23 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300bb–2(2)(A)(iv)). 

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

25 section shall apply to periods of coverage which would 
50 

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1 (without regard to the amendments made by this section) 

2 end on or after the date which is 30 days after the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act. 

4 Subtitle C—Offsets 

5 PART I—UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION 

6 PROGRAM INTEGRITY 

7 SEC. 251. MANDATORY PENALTY ASSESSMENT ON FRAUD 

8 CLAIMS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a) of the Social Secu10 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 503(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at 

12 the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

13 and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following new para15 graph: 

16 ‘‘(11)(A) At the time the State agency determines 

17 an erroneous payment from its unemployment fund 

18 was made to an individual due to fraud committed 

19 by such individual, the assessment of a penalty on the 

20 individual in an amount of not less than 15 percent 

21 of the amount of the erroneous payment; and 

22 ‘‘(B) The immediate deposit of all assessments 

23 paid pursuant to subparagraph (A) into the unem24 ployment fund of the State.’’. 

25 (b) APPLICATION TO FEDERAL PAYMENTS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition for admin2 istering any unemployment compensation program of 

3 the United States (as defined in paragraph (2)) as an 

4 agent of the United States, if the State determines 

5 that an erroneous payment was made by the State to 

6 an individual under any such program due to fraud 

7 committed by such individual, the State shall assess 

8 a penalty on such individual and deposit any such 

9 penalty received in the same manner as the State as10 sesses and deposits such penalties under provisions of 

11 State law implementing section 303(a)(11) of the So12 cial Security Act, as added by subsection (a). 

13 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub14 section, the term ‘‘unemployment compensation pro15 gram of the United States’’ means— 

16 (A) unemployment compensation for Fed17 eral civilian employees under subchapter I of 

18 chapter 85 of title 5, United States Code; 

19 (B) unemployment compensation for ex20 servicemembers under subchapter II of chapter 

21 85 of title 5, United States Code; 

22 (C) trade readjustment allowances under 

23 sections 231 through 234 of the Trade Act of 

24 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2291–2294); 
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1 (D) disaster unemployment assistance 

2 under section 410(a) of the Robert T. Stafford 

3 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 5177(a)); 

5 (E) any Federal temporary extension of un6 employment compensation; 

7 (F) any Federal program which increases 

8 the weekly amount of unemployment compensa9 tion payable to individuals; and 

10 (G) any other Federal program providing 

11 for the payment of unemployment compensation. 

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the amendments made by this section shall 

15 apply to erroneous payments established after the end 

16 of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the en17 actment of this Act. 

18 (2) AUTHORITY.—A State may amend its State 

19 law to apply such amendments to erroneous payments 

20 established prior to the end of the period described in 

21 paragraph (1). 

22 SEC. 252. PROHIBITION ON NONCHARGING DUE TO EM23 PLOYER FAULT. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3303 of the Internal Rev25 enue Code of 1986 is amended— 
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1 (1) by striking subsections (f) and (g); and 

2 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following 

3 new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON NONCHARGING DUE TO EM5 PLOYER FAULT.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State law shall be treated 

7 as meeting the requirements of subsection (a)(1) only 

8 if such law provides that an employer’s account shall 

9 not be relieved of charges relating to a payment from 

10 the State unemployment fund if the State agency de11 termines that— 

12 ‘‘(A) the payment was made because the em13 ployer, or an agent of the employer, was at fault 

14 for failing to respond timely or adequately to the 

15 request of the agency for information relating to 

16 the claim for compensation; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the employer or agent has established 

18 a pattern of failing to respond timely or ade19 quately to such requests. 

20 ‘‘(2) STATE AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE STRICTER

21 STANDARDS.—Nothing in paragraph (1) shall limit 

22 the authority of a State to provide that an employer’s 

23 account not be relieved of charges relating to a pay24 ment from the State unemployment fund for reasons 

25 other than the reasons described in subparagraphs (A) 
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1 and (B) of such paragraph, such as after the first in2 stance of a failure to respond timely or adequately to 

3 requests described in paragraph (1)(A).’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), the amendments made by this section shall 

7 apply to erroneous payments established after the end 

8 of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the en9 actment of this Act. 

10 (2) AUTHORITY.—A State may amend its State 

11 law to apply such amendments to erroneous payments 

12 established prior to the end of the period described in 

13 paragraph (1). 

14 SEC. 253. REPORTING OF REHIRED EMPLOYEES TO THE DI15 RECTORY OF NEW HIRES. 

16 (a) DEFINITION OF NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEE.—Sec17 tion 453A(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 653a(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(C) NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEE.—The term 

20 ‘newly hired employee’ means an employee 

21 who— 

22 ‘‘(i) has not previously been employed 

23 by the employer; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) was previously employed by the 

25 employer but has been separated from such 
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1 prior employment for at least 60 consecutive 

2 days.’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the 

5 amendments made by this section shall take effect 6 

6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (2) COMPLIANCE TRANSITION PERIOD.—If the 

8 Secretary of Health and Human Services determines 

9 that State legislation (other than legislation appro10 priating funds) is required in order for a State plan 

11 under part D of title IV of the Social Security Act 

12 to meet the additional requirement imposed by the 

13 amendment made by subsection (a), the plan shall not 

14 be regarded as failing to meet such requirement before 

15 the first day of the second calendar quarter beginning 

16 after the close of the first regular session of the State 

17 legislature that begins after the effective date of such 

18 amendment. If the State has a 2-year legislative ses19 sion, each year of the session is deemed to be a sepa20 rate regular session of the State legislature. 
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1 PART II—ADDITIONAL OFFSETS 

2 SEC. 261. IMPROVEMENTS TO CONTRACTS WITH MEDICARE 

3 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS 

4 (QIOS) IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY 

5 OF CARE FURNISHED TO MEDICARE BENE6 FICIARIES. 

7 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT WITH A BROAD RANGE

8 OF ENTITIES.— 

9 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 1152 of the Social Se10 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320c–1) is amended by strik11 ing paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the fol12 lowing new paragraphs: 

13 ‘‘(1) is able, as determined by the Secretary, to 

14 perform its functions under this part in a manner 

15 consistent with the efficient and effective administra16 tion of this part and title XVIII; 

17 ‘‘(2) has at least one individual who is a rep18 resentative of health care providers on its governing 

19 body; and’’. 

20 (2) NAME CHANGE.—Part B of title XI of the 

21 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320c et seq.) is 

22 amended— 

23 (A) in the headings for sections 1152 and 

24 1153, by striking ‘‘UTILIZATION AND QUALITY

25 CONTROL PEER REVIEW’’ and inserting ‘‘QUALITY

26 IMPROVEMENT’’; 
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1 (B) in the heading for section 1154, by 

2 striking ‘‘PEER REVIEW’’ and inserting ‘‘QUALITY

3 IMPROVEMENT’’; and 

4 (C) by striking ‘‘utilization and quality 

5 control peer review’’ and ‘‘peer review’’ each 

6 place it appears before ‘‘organization’’ or ‘‘orga7 nizations’’ and inserting ‘‘quality improvement’’. 

8 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE MEDI9 CARE PROGRAM.—Title XVIII of the Social Security 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) is amended— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘utilization and quality 

12 control peer review’’ and inserting ‘‘quality im13 provement’’ each place it appears; 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘quality control and peer 

15 review’’ and inserting ‘‘quality improvement’’ 

16 each place it appears; 

17 (C) in paragraphs (1)(A)(iii)(I) and (2) of 

18 section 1842(l), by striking ‘‘peer review organi19 zation’’ and inserting ‘‘quality improvement or20 ganization’’; 

21 (D) in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of sec22 tion 1866(a)(3), by striking ‘‘peer review’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘quality improvement’’; 
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1 (E) in section 1867(d)(3), in the heading, 

2 by striking ‘‘PEER REVIEW’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘QUALITY IMPROVEMENT’’; and 

4 (F) in section 1869(c)(3)(G), by striking 

5 ‘‘peer review organizations’’ and inserting ‘‘qual6 ity improvement organizations’’. 

7 (b) IMPROVEMENTS WITH RESPECT TO THE CON8 TRACT.— 

9 (1) FLEXIBILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE GEO10 GRAPHIC SCOPE OF CONTRACTS.—Section 1153 of the 

11 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320c–2) is amend12 ed— 

13 (A) by striking subsection (a) and inserting 

14 the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall establish throughout the 

16 United States such local, State, regional, national, or other 

17 geographic areas as the Secretary determines appropriate 

18 with respect to which contracts under this part will be 

19 made.’’; 

20 (B) in subsection (b)(1), as amended by 

21 subsection (a)(2)— 

22 (i) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘a 

23 contract with a quality improvement orga24 nization’’ and inserting ‘‘contracts with one 
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1 or more quality improvement organiza2 tions’’; and 

3 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 

4 ‘‘meets the requirements’’ and all that fol5 lows before the period at the end and insert6 ing ‘‘will be operating in an area, the Sec7 retary shall ensure that there is no duplica8 tion of the functions carried out by such or9 ganizations within the area’’; 

10 (C) in subsection (b)(2)(B), by inserting ‘‘or 

11 the Secretary determines that there is a more 

12 qualified entity to perform one or more of the 

13 functions in section 1154(a)’’ after ‘‘under this 

14 part’’; 

15 (D) in subsection (b)(3)— 

16 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, 

17 or association of such facilities,’’; and 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

19 (I) by striking ‘‘or association of 

20 such facilities’’; and 

21 (II) by striking ‘‘or associations’’; 

22 and 

23 (E) by striking subsection (i). 
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1 (2) EXTENSION OF LENGTH OF CONTRACTS.— 

2 Section 1153(c)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 1320c–2(c)(3)) is amended— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘three years’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘five years’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘on a triennial basis’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘for terms of five years’’. 

8 (3) AUTHORITY TO TERMINATE IN A MANNER

9 CONSISTENT WITH THE FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGU10 LATION.—Section 1153 of the Social Security Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 1320c–2) is amended— 

12 (A) in subsection (b), by adding at the end 

13 the following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may consider a variety of factors 

15 in selecting the contractors that the Secretary determines 

16 would provide for the most efficient and effective adminis17 tration of this part, such as geographic location, size, and 

18 prior experience in health care quality improvement. Qual19 ity improvement organizations operating as of January 1, 

20 2012, shall be allowed to compete for new contracts (as de21 termined appropriate by the Secretary) along with other 

22 qualified organizations and are eligible for renewal of con23 tracts for terms five years thereafter (as determined appro24 priate by the Secretary).’’; 
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1 (B) in subsection (c), by striking para2 graphs (4) through (6) and redesignating para3 graphs (7) and (8) as paragraphs (4) and (5), 

4 respectively; and 

5 (C) by striking subsection (d). 

6 (4) ADMINISTRATIVE IMPROVEMENT.—Section 

7 1153(c)(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 1320c–2(c)(5)), as redesignated by this subsection, is 

9 amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(5) reimbursement shall be made to the organi11 zation on a monthly basis, with payments for any 

12 month being made consistent with the Federal Acqui13 sition Regulation.’’. 

14 (c) AUTHORITY FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANI15 ZATIONS TO PERFORM SPECIALIZED FUNCTIONS AND TO

16 ELIMINATE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Part B of title XI 

17 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320c et seq.) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in section 1153— 

20 (A) in subsection (b)(1), as amended by sub21 section (b)(1)(B), by inserting after the first sen22 tence the following new sentence: ‘‘In entering 

23 into contracts with such qualified organizations, 

24 the Secretary shall, to the extent appropriate, 

25 seek to ensure that each of the functions described 
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1 in section 1154(a) are carried out within an 

2 area established under subsection (a).’’; and 

3 (B) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘the 

4 functions set forth in section 1154(a), or may 

5 subcontract for the performance of all or some of 

6 such functions’’ and inserting ‘‘a function or 

7 functions under section 1154 directly or may 

8 subcontract for the performance of all or some of 

9 such function or functions’’; and 

10 (2) in section 1154— 

11 (A) in subsection (a)— 

12 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

13 (1)— 

14 (I) by striking ‘‘Any’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘Subject to subsection (b), any’’; 

16 and 

17 (II) by inserting ‘‘one or more of’’ 

18 before ‘‘the following functions’’; 

19 (ii) in paragraph (4), by striking sub20 paragraph (C); 

21 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (11) 

22 the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(12) As part of the organization’s review re24 sponsibility under paragraph (1), the organization 

25 shall review all ambulatory surgical procedures speci-
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1 fied pursuant to section 1833(i)(1)(A) which are per2 formed in the area, or, at the discretion of the Sec3 retary, a sample of such procedures.’’; and 

4 (iv) in paragraph (15), by striking 

5 ‘‘significant on-site review activities’’ and 

6 all that follows before the period at the end 

7 and inserting ‘‘on-site review activities as 

8 the Secretary determines appropriate’’. 

9 (B) by striking subsection (d) and redesig10 nating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections (c) 

11 and (d), respectively; and 

12 (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol13 lowing new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(b) A quality improvement organization entering 

15 into a contract with the Secretary to perform a function 

16 described in a paragraph under subsection (a) must per17 form all of the activities described in such paragraph, ex18 cept to the extent otherwise negotiated with the Secretary 

19 pursuant to the contract or except for a function for which 

20 the Secretary determines it is not appropriate for the orga21 nization to perform, such as a function that could cause 

22 a conflict of interest with another function.’’. 

23 (d) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AS SPECIFIED FUNC24 TION.—Section 1154(a) of the Social Security Act (42 
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1 U.S.C. 1320c–3(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

2 following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(18) The organization shall perform, subject to 

4 the terms of the contract, such other activities as the 

5 Secretary determines may be necessary for the pur6 poses of improving the quality of care furnished to in7 dividuals with respect to items and services for which 

8 payment may be made under title XVIII.’’. 

9 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

10 section shall apply to contracts entered into or renewed on 

11 or after January 1, 2012. 

12 SEC. 262. RATES FOR MERCHANDISE PROCESSING FEES. 

13 (a) FEES FOR PERIOD FROM JULY 1, 2014, TO NO14 VEMBER 30, 2015.—For the period beginning on July 1, 

15 2014, and ending on November 30, 2015, section 

16 13031(a)(9) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconcili17 ation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(a)(9)) shall be applied 

18 and administered— 

19 (1) in subparagraph (A), by substituting 

20 ‘‘0.3464’’ for ‘‘0.21’’; and 

21 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i), by substituting 

22 ‘‘0.3464’’ for ‘‘0.21’’. 

23 (b) FEES FOR PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 1, 2016, TO

24 SEPTEMBER 30, 2019.—For the period beginning on Octo25 ber 1, 2016, and ending on September 30, 2019, section 
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1 13031(a)(9) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconcili2 ation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(a)(9)) shall be applied 

3 and administered— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (A), by substituting 

5 ‘‘0.1740’’ for ‘‘0.21’’; and 

6 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i), by substituting 

7 ‘‘0.1740’’ for ‘‘0.21’’. 

8 SEC. 263. TIME FOR REMITTING CERTAIN MERCHANDISE 

9 PROCESSING FEES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law, any fees authorized under paragraphs (9) and 

12 (10) of section 13031(a) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budg13 et Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(a) (9) and 

14 (10)) with respect to processing merchandise entered on or 

15 after October 1, 2012, and before November 12, 2012, shall 

16 be paid not later than September 25, 2012, in an amount 

17 equivalent to the amount of such fees paid by the person 

18 responsible for such fees with respect to merchandise entered 

19 on or after October 1, 2011, and before November 12, 2011, 

20 as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

21 (b) RECONCILIATION OF MERCHANDISE PROCESSING

22 FEES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 12, 

24 2012, the Secretary of the Treasury shall reconcile the 

25 fees paid pursuant to subsection (a) with the fees for 
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1 services actually provided on or after October 1, 2012, 

2 and before November 12, 2012. 

3 (2) REFUNDS OF OVERPAYMENTS.— 

4 (A) After making the reconciliation required 

5 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treas6 ury shall refund with interest any overpayment 

7 of such fees made under subsection (a) and make 

8 proper adjustments with respect to any under9 payment of such fees. 

10 (B) No interest may be assessed with respect 

11 to any such underpayment that was based on the 

12 amount of fees paid for merchandise entered on 

13 or after October 1, 2012, and before November 

14 12, 2012. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H.R. 2832 

AMENDMENT