I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1475 
To reform and modernize domestic refugee resettlement programs, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 12, 2011 
Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. ZOE 
LOFGREN of California, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. GRIJALVA, 
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. POLIS, 
Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. AN-
DREWS, Mr. CLARKE of Michigan, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. 
HANNA, and Mr. DINGELL) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To reform and modernize domestic refugee resettlement 
programs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Domestic Refugee Re-
settlement Reform and Modernization Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) The United States has enhanced and accel-
erated its efforts to resettle Iraqi refugees since 
2007. 
(2) Resettlement in the United States remains 
an important option for Iraqi refugees, many of 
whom are living in Syria and Jordan and lack legal 
status or access to health care. 
(3) Many of these refugees are victims of tor-
ture and persecution, or were forced to flee because 
of support they gave to American military oper-
ations. 
(4) Refugees are often a product of human 
rights atrocities and war, making them likely to have 
suffered traumatic events which require the United 
States to offer them protection and meet their needs 
once they arrive here. 
(5) In fiscal year 2008, 13,822 Iraqi refugees 
were resettled in the United States, and nearly 
17,000 were resettled in fiscal year 2009. 
(6) Upon arrival in the United States, there is 
authorized 36 months of cash and medical assistance 
available to refugees, as well as access to social serv-
ices, such as job placement, from the Office of Ref-
ugee Resettlement, but in practice refugees receive 
only 8 months of cash and medical assistance. 
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(7) When given adequate support through the 
resettlement system, refugees can successfully be-
come self-sufficient and contribute positively to their 
communities. 
(8) Like millions of Americans, refugees are 
negatively impacted by the recession, and a recent 
report by the Georgetown Law Center indicated that 
in some areas as few as 10 percent of refugees have 
obtained employment at the end of the 8-month ben-
efit period. 
(9) State refugee offices and voluntary agencies 
lack the resources and data to increase staffing lev-
els to accommodate the large number of refugees in 
need of services. 
(10) ORR funding formulas are retroactive in 
nature, using refugee admission data from the prior 
3 years, so that large increases in refugee admis-
sions are not adequately reflected in the amount of 
resources provided by ORR. 
(11) The United States resettlement policy as-
sumes refugees will be able to quickly become self- 
sufficient, while specifically offering resettlement to 
individuals who have specific vulnerabilities that in-
hibit their ability to achieve self-sufficiency and inte-
grate into society. 
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(12) Some refugees will have mental health dif-
ficulties associated with trauma or torture and this 
is one of the significant barriers to self-sufficiency 
and integration into a community when it is not ad-
dressed with adequate and appropriate services. 
(13) Secondary migration is not properly 
tracked, and resources are not available for States 
and agencies experiencing high levels of secondary 
migration. 
(14) Refugee services are provided by national 
resettlement agencies, community-based organiza-
tions, charities, and nonprofits and coordinated lo-
cally by State refugee programs, and all the organi-
zations should be supported in their mission to pro-
vide refugee services. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) NATIONAL RESETTLEMENT AGENCY.—The 
term ‘‘national resettlement agency’’ means vol-
untary agencies contracting with the State Depart-
ment to provide sponsorship and initial resettlement 
services to refugees entering the United States. 
(2) COMMUNITY
BASED
ORGANIZATION.—The 
term ‘‘community based organization’’ means a non-
profit organization providing a variety of social, 
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health, educational and community services to a pop-
ulation that includes refugees resettled into the 
United States. 
(3) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
Health and Human Services for Refugee and Asylee 
Resettlement. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. ASSESSMENT OF THE REFUGEE DOMESTIC RESET-
TLEMENT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall conduct a study regarding the 
effectiveness of the domestic refugee resettlement pro-
grams operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—In the study re-
quired under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall 
determine and analyze the following: 
(1) How the Office of Refugee Resettlement de-
fines self-sufficiency and if this definition is ade-
quate in addressing refugee needs in the United 
States. 
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(2) The effectiveness of the Office of Refugee 
Resettlement programs in helping refugees to meet 
self-sufficiency and an analysis of the unmet needs 
of the program. 
(3) An evaluation of the Office of Refugee Re-
settlement’s budgetary resources and projection of 
the amount of additional resources needed to fully 
address the unmet needs of refugees with regard to 
self-sufficiency. 
(4) The role of community based organizations 
in serving refugees in areas experiencing a high 
number of new refugee arrivals. 
(5) An analysis of how community based orga-
nizations can be better utilized and supported in the 
Federal domestic resettlement process. 
(6) Recommendations on statutory changes to 
improve the Office of Refugee Resettlement and the 
domestic refugee program in relation to the matters 
analyzed under paragraphs (1) through (5). 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit the results of the study required under subsection 
(a) to the Congress. 
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SEC. 6. ELEVATION OF THE OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESET-
TLEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 411(a) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1521(a)) is amended 
by striking the second sentence and inserting the fol-
lowing: ‘‘The head of the Office of Refugee Resettlement 
in the Department of Health and Human Services shall 
be an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services 
for Refugee and Asylee Resettlement (hereinafter in this 
chapter referred to as the ‘Assistant Secretary’), to be ap-
pointed by the President, and to report directly to the Sec-
retary.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 411(b) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1521(b)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘Director’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Sec-
retary’’. 
(2) Section 412 of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522) is amended by striking 
‘‘Director’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘As-
sistant Secretary’’. 
(3) Section 413 of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1523) is amended by striking 
‘‘Director’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘As-
sistant Secretary’’. 
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(4) Section 462 of the Homeland Security Act 
of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279) is amended by striking ‘‘Di-
rector’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’. 
(c) REFERENCES.—Any reference to the Director of 
the Office of Refugee Resettlement in any other Federal 
law, Executive order, rule, regulation, operating instruc-
tion, or delegation of authority, or any document of or 
pertaining to the Department of Health and Human Serv-
ices or the Office of Refugee Resettlement that refers to 
the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, shall 
be deemed to refer to the Assistant Secretary of Health 
and Human Services for Refugee and Asylee Resettle-
ment. 
SEC. 7. REFUGEE ASSISTANCE. 
(a) AMENDMENTS TO THE SOCIAL SERVICES FUND-
ING.—Section 412(c)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(c)(1)(B)) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(B) The funds available for a fiscal year 
for grants and contracts under subparagraph 
(A) shall be allocated among the States based 
on a combination of the total number or refu-
gees (including children and adults) who arrived 
in the United States not more than 36 months 
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before the beginning of such fiscal year and 
who are actually residing in each State (taking 
into account secondary migration) as of the be-
ginning of the fiscal year, the total number of 
all other eligible populations served by the Of-
fice during the period described who are resid-
ing in the State as of the beginning of the fiscal 
year, and projections on the number and nature 
of incoming refugees and other populations 
served by the Office during the subsequent fis-
cal year.’’. 
(b) REPORT ON SECONDARY MIGRATION.—Section 
412(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (814 
U.S.C. 1522(a)(3)) is amended by striking the word ‘‘peri-
odic’’ to ‘‘annual’’ and by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘At the end of each fiscal year, the Assistant Secretary 
shall present a report on these findings to the Congress. 
The information in the report shall include, but is not lim-
ited to, States experiencing departures and arrivals due 
to secondary migration, likely reasons for migration, the 
impact of secondary migration on States hosting sec-
ondary migrants, availability of social services for sec-
ondary migrants in those States, and unmet needs of those 
secondary migrants.’’. 
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(c) ASSISTANCE MADE AVAILABLE TO SECONDARY 
MIGRANTS.—Section 412(a)(1) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(a)(1)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) When providing such assistance, the 
Assistant Secretary shall ensure that such as-
sistance is provided to refugees who are sec-
ondary migrants and meet all other eligibility 
requirements for such services.’’. 
(d) NOTICE AND RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, but in no 
event later than 30 days before the effective date of the 
amendments made by this section, the Assistant Secretary 
shall issue a proposed rule of the new formula by which 
grants and contracts are to be allocated pursuant to the 
amendments made by subsection (c), and solicit public 
comment. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall become effective on the first day of the 
first fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 8. RESETTLEMENT DATA. 
The Assistant Secretary shall expand the Office of 
Refugee Resettlement’s data analysis, collection, and shar-
ing activities in accordance with the following provisions: 
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(1) DATA ON MENTAL AND PHYSICAL MEDICAL 
CASES.—The Assistant Secretary shall coordinate 
with the Centers for Disease Control, national reset-
tlement agencies, community based organizations, 
and State refugee health programs to track national 
and State trends on refugees arriving with Class A 
medical conditions and other urgent medical needs. 
The Assistant Secretary shall utilize initial refugee 
health screening data, including history of severe 
trauma, torture, mental health symptoms, depres-
sion, anxiety and PTSD, recorded during domestic 
and international health screenings, and Refugee 
Medical Assistance utilization rate data in collecting 
this information. 
(2) DATA ON HOUSING NEEDS.—The Assistant 
Secretary shall partner with State refugee programs, 
community based organizations, and national reset-
tlement agencies to collect data relating to the hous-
ing needs of refugees. This data should include the 
number of refugees who have become homeless and 
the number at severe risk of becoming homeless. 
(3) DATA
ON
REFUGEE
EMPLOYMENT
AND 
SELF-SUFFICIENCY.—The Assistant Secretary shall 
gather longitudinal information relating to refugee 
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self-sufficiency and employment status for the period 
of 1–3 years post-arrival. 
(4) AVAILABILITY
OF
DATA.—The data col-
lected under this section shall be updated annually 
and the Assistant Secretary shall submit a report to 
the Congress containing that updated data. 
Æ 
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