Omnibus Territories Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1237
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Advisory bodies
Alternative and renewable resources
American Samoa
Archaeology and anthropology
Asia
Business investment and capital
Caribbean area
Citizenship and naturalization
Civil actions and liability
Coal
Conflicts and wars
Congressional oversight
Crime victims
Crimes against women
Department of Justice
Electric power generation and transmission
Endangered and threatened species
Energy assistance for the poor and aged
Energy efficiency and conservation
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Foreign aid and international relief
Foreign labor
Forests, forestry, trees
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Government trust funds
Guam
Hawaii
Historic sites and heritage areas
Historical and cultural resources
Human trafficking
Immigration status and procedures
Japan
Labor standards
Land transfers
Legal fees and court costs
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Monuments and memorials
Navigation, waterways, harbors
Northern Mariana Islands
Oceania
Oil and gas
Palau
Public utilities and utility rates
Puerto Rico
Reptiles
State and local finance
State and local government operations
U.S. territories and protectorates
Virgin Islands
Visas and passports
Vocational and technical education
Wages and earnings
War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity
Water resources funding
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection
World history

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Omnibus Territories Act of 2013 - Conveys to the government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) submerged lands surrounding such Islands and extending three geographical miles outward from their coastlines. Includes the CNMI among the islands where the President may establish naval defensive sea areas and airspace reservations when necessary for national defense.
 
 Amends the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 to add 2013 and 2015 as years in which there shall be no increase in the minimum wage applicable to the CNMI.
 
 Revises the treatment of supplemental fees imposed for employment of nonimmigrant workers paid into the Treasury of the CNMI government for the purpose of funding ongoing vocational educational curricula and program development by CNMI educational entities to: (1) require such government to provide to the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) a plan for the expenditure of funds, a projection of the effectiveness of the expenditures in job placement of U.S. workers, and a report on changes in employment of U.S. workers attributable to prior year expenditures; and (2) require a biennial report by the Secretary on the effectiveness of meeting the goals set out in the CNMI's annual plan for the expenditure of funds.
 
 Revises the procedure for classification of aliens in the CNMI as long-term investors.
 
 Extends through December 31, 2019, a system for allocating and determining the number, terms, and conditions of permits issued to prospective employers for nonimmigrant workers performing work during the transition period (the period for administration of a transition program to regulate immigration to the CNMI) who would not otherwise be eligible for admission under the Immigration and Nationality Act. 
 
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a team of technical, policy, and financial experts to: (1) develop an energy action plan addressing the energy needs of each of the insular areas (American Samoa, the CNMI, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) and Freely Associated States (the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau); and (2) assist each of the insular areas and Freely Associated States in implementing such plan.
 
Requires such plan to include: (1) recommendations to reduce reliance and expenditures on imported fossil fuels, to develop indigenous, nonfossil fuel energy sources, and to improve performance of energy infrastructure and overall energy efficiency; (2) a schedule for implementation of such recommendations and identification and prioritization of specific projects; (3) a financial and engineering plan for implementing and sustaining projects; and (4) benchmarks for measuring progress toward implementation.
 
Requires the Board of Elections of the Virgin Islands, as part of the next regularly scheduled, islands-wide election, to hold a referendum to seek the approval of the people of the Virgin Islands regarding whether the position of Chief Financial Officer of the Government of the Virgin Islands shall be established as a part of the executive branch of such government. Requires the governor of the Virgin Islands to appoint a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), with the advice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, from a list required by this Act. Provides a process for appointment of an Acting CFO.
 
Sets forth the CFO's duties. 
 
Establishes the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer Search Commission to recommend at least three candidates for the CFO position. Terminates the Commission upon the nomination and confirmation of the CFO.
 
Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to Congress an evaluation of whether the annual estimates or forecasts of revenue and expenditure of American Samoa, the CNMI, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are reasonable and make recommendations for improving the process for developing estimates or forecasts. 
 
 Makes households located in the Virgin Islands with household income up to 300% of the poverty level eligible for assistance under the low-income home energy assistance program.
 
Establishes the Castle Nugent National Historic Site on the island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, as a unit of the National Park System in order to preserve, protect, and interpret a Caribbean cultural landscape spanning over 300 years of agricultural use, significant archaeological resources, an extensive barrier coral reef system, and other outstanding natural features. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to lease certain lands within the boundary of the Historic Site to the University of the Virgin Islands for the purpose of continuing the University's operations for breeding Senepol cattle. 
 
Establishes the St. Croix National Heritage Area in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
 
Designates St. Croix United for Community, Culture, Environment, and Economic Development (SUCCEED) Inc., as the local coordinating entity for the Area. 
 
Requires SUCCEED Inc. to submit a management plan that provides for the protection, enhancement, and interpretation of the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, and recreational resources of the Area.
 
Recognizes the suffering and the loyalty of the residents of Guam during the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II.
 
 Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a Fund for the payment of claims submitted by compensable Guam victims and survivors of compensable Guam decedents.
 
 Directs the Secretary to make specified payments to: (1) living Guam residents who were raped, injured, interned, or subjected to forced labor or marches, or internment resulting from, or incident to, such occupation and subsequent liberation; and (2) survivors of compensable residents who died in war (such payments to be made after payments have been made to surviving Guam residents).
 
 Directs the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to specify injuries that would constitute a severe personal injury or a personal injury and adjudicate claims and determine payment eligibility.
 
 Requires claims to be filed within one year after the Commission publishes notice of the filing period in the Federal Register and in the Guam media.
 
Allows local matching required of an affected jurisdiction (i.e., American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI, or the state of Hawaii) for federal programs to be paid in cash or in-kind services provided by the jurisdiction pursuant to the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (concerning the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands) and the Palau Compact of Free Association Act. Excepts programs of competitive grants.
 
Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, with respect to housing assistance for the benefit of an alien lawfully resident in the United States, to provide that within Guam a citizen or national of the United States shall be entitled to a preference or priority in receiving financial assistance before any such alien who is otherwise eligible for such assistance.
 
Requires the Comptroller General to study the use of benefit-to-cost ratio formulas by departments and agencies for purposes of evaluating projects in American Samoa, assessing in particular its remote locations, transportation costs, airport traffic control towers, and water resources development projects.
 
Requires departments and agencies, in the case of grants to American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the CNMI, to waive any requirement for local matching funds (including in-kind contributions) that the area would otherwise be required to provide, including waiver of an entire matching requirement for a grant requiring matching funds of $500,000 or less.
 
Exempts vessels from the fishery endorsement requirement that they be rebuilt in the United States if they off load in American Samoa and were rebuilt outside of the United States before January 1, 2011.
 
Amends the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 to require GAO to include in reports assessing the impact of minimum wage increases applicable to American Samoa and the CNMI an analysis of the economic effects on employees and employers of the differentials in minimum wage rates among industries and classifications in American Samoa, including the potential effects of eliminating such differentials prior to the time when such rates are scheduled to equal the minimum wage set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act.
 
American Samoa Citizenship Plebiscite Act - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to direct the American Samoa Election Office to conduct a plebiscite on the issue of whether persons born in American Samoa desire U.S. citizenship.
 
Expands marine turtle conservation assistance under the Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004 to include the United States and its territories.

action_date: 2014-04-08
text: 
Omnibus Territories Act of 2013 - (Sec. 3) Extends through December 31, 2019, a system for allocating and determining the number, terms, and conditions of permits issued to prospective employers for nonimmigrant workers performing work during the transition period (the period for administration of a transition program to regulate immigration to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands [CNMI]) who would not otherwise be eligible for admission under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
 
(Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a team of technical, policy, and financial experts to develop an energy action plan addressing the energy needs of each of the insular areas (American Samoa, the CNMI, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) and Freely Associated States (the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau) and assist those jurisdictions in implementing such plan. Requires such plan to include: (1) recommendations to reduce reliance and expenditures on fuel shipped to the insular areas and Freely Associated States from ports outside the United States, develop and utilize domestic fuel energy sources, and improve performance of energy infrastructure and overall energy efficiency; (2) a schedule for implementation of such recommendations and identification and prioritization of specific projects; (3) a financial and engineering plan for implementing and sustaining projects; and (4) benchmarks for measuring progress toward implementation. 
 
Prohibits such energy action plan from being implemented until approved by the Secretary. Requires: (1) the team to report to the Secretary annually on progress made in implementing the plan, and (2) the Secretary to submit to appropriate congressional committees a summary of the team's reports.
 
(Sec. 5) Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to appropriate congressional committees an evaluation of whether the annual estimates or forecasts of revenue and expenditure of American Samoa, the CNMI, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are reasonable and make recommendations for improving the process for developing estimates or forecasts. 
 
(Sec. 6) Makes households located in the Virgin Islands with household income up to 300% of the federal poverty level eligible for assistance under the low-income home energy assistance program.
 
(Sec. 7) Recognizes the suffering and the loyalty of the residents of Guam during the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II.
 
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a Fund for the payment of claims submitted by compensable Guam victims and survivors of compensable Guam decedents.
 
Directs the Secretary to make specified payments to: (1) living Guam residents who were raped, injured, interned, or subjected to forced labor or marches or internment resulting from, or incident to, such occupation and subsequent liberation; and (2) survivors of compensable residents who died in war (such payments to be made after payments have been made to surviving Guam residents).
 
Directs the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to specify injuries that would constitute a personal injury and to adjudicate claims and determine payment eligibility.
 
Requires claims to be filed within one year after the Commission publishes notice of the filing period in the Federal Register and in the Guam media.
 
(Sec. 8) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, with respect to housing assistance for the benefit of an alien lawfully residing in the United States, to provide that within Guam, a citizen or national of the United States shall be entitled to a preference or priority in receiving financial assistance before any such alien who is otherwise eligible for such assistance.
 
(Sec. 9) Requires the Comptroller General to study the use of benefit-to-cost ratio formulas by federal agencies for purposes of evaluating projects in American Samoa and to assess, in particular, Samoa's remote locations, transportation costs, airport traffic control towers, and water resources development projects.
 
(Sec. 10) Requires federal agencies, in the case of grants to American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the CNMI, to waive any requirement for local matching funds (including in-kind contributions) that the area would otherwise be required to provide, including the entire matching requirement for a grant requiring matching funds of $500,000 or less.
 
(Sec. 11) Exempts vessels from the fishery endorsement requirement that they be rebuilt in the United States if they offload their catch in American Samoa and were rebuilt outside of the United States before January 1, 2011.
 
(Sec. 12) Amends the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 to require GAO to include in reports assessing the impact of minimum wage increases applicable to American Samoa and the CNMI an analysis of the economic effects on employees and employers of the differentials in minimum wage rates among industries and classifications in American Samoa, including the potential effects of eliminating such differentials prior to the time when such rates are scheduled to equal the minimum wage set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act.
 
(Sec. 13) Requires the Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop and make available to the public a biennial Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy, with emphasis on the borders of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, on terms substantially equivalent to the existing Southwest Border and Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategies. 
 
(Sec. 14) Amends the REAL ID Act of 2005 to provide that citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau who have been admitted as nonimmigrants pursuant to a Compacts of Free Association are eligible for driver's licenses or personal identification cards. 

action_date: 2014-06-18
text: 
Omnibus Territories Act of 2013 - (Sec. 3) Extends through December 31, 2019, a system for allocating and determining the number, terms, and conditions of permits issued to prospective employers for nonimmigrant workers performing work during the transition period (the period for administration of a transition program to regulate immigration to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands [CNMI]) who would not otherwise be eligible for admission under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
 
Revises the treatment of supplemental fees imposed for employment of nonimmigrant workers paid into the Treasury of the CNMI government for the purpose of funding ongoing vocational educational curricula and program development by CNMI educational entities to: (1) require such government to provide to the Secretary of Labor a plan for the expenditure of funds, a projection of the effectiveness of the expenditures in job placement of U.S. workers, and a report on changes in employment of U.S. workers attributable to prior year expenditures; and (2) require a biennial report by the Secretary on the effectiveness of meeting the goals set out in the CNMI's annual plan for the expenditure of funds.
 
(Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a team of technical, policy, and financial experts to develop an energy action plan addressing the energy needs of each of the insular areas (American Samoa, the CNMI, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) and Freely Associated States (the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau) and assist those jurisdictions in implementing such plan. Requires such plan to include: (1) recommendations to reduce reliance and expenditures on fuel shipped to the insular areas and Freely Associated States from ports outside the United States, develop and utilize domestic fuel energy sources, and improve performance of energy infrastructure and overall energy efficiency; (2) a schedule for implementation of such recommendations and identification and prioritization of specific projects; (3) a financial and engineering plan for implementing and sustaining projects; and (4) benchmarks for measuring progress toward implementation. 
 
Prohibits such energy action plan from being implemented until approved by the Secretary. Requires: (1) the team to report to the Secretary annually on progress made in implementing the plan, and (2) the Secretary to submit to appropriate congressional committees a summary of the team's reports.
 
(Sec. 5) Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to appropriate congressional committees an evaluation of whether the annual estimates or forecasts of revenue and expenditure of American Samoa, the CNMI, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are reasonable and make recommendations for improving the process for developing estimates or forecasts. 
 
(Sec. 6) Makes households located in the Virgin Islands with household income up to 300% of the federal poverty level eligible for assistance under the low-income home energy assistance program.
 
(Sec. 7) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, with respect to housing assistance for the benefit of an alien lawfully residing in the United States, to provide that within Guam, a citizen or national of the United States shall be entitled to a preference or priority in receiving financial assistance before any such alien who is otherwise eligible for such assistance.
 
(Sec. 8) Requires the Comptroller General to study, and report on, the use of benefit-to-cost ratio formulas by federal agencies for purposes of evaluating projects in American Samoa and to assess, in particular, Samoa's remote locations, transportation costs, airport traffic control towers, and water resources development projects.
 
(Sec. 9) Exempts vessels from the fishery endorsement requirement that they be rebuilt in the United States if they offload their catch in American Samoa and were rebuilt outside of the United States before January 1, 2011.
 
(Sec. 10) Amends the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 to require GAO to include in reports assessing the impact of minimum wage increases applicable to American Samoa and the CNMI an analysis of the economic effects on employees and employers of the differentials in minimum wage rates among industries and classifications in American Samoa, including the potential effects of eliminating such differentials prior to the time when such rates are scheduled to equal the minimum wage set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act.
 
(Sec. 11) Requires the Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop and make available to the public a biennial Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy, with emphasis on the borders of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, on terms substantially equivalent to the existing Southwest Border and Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategies. 
 
(Sec. 12) Amends the REAL ID Act of 2005 to provide that citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau who have been admitted as nonimmigrants pursuant to a Compacts of Free Association are eligible for driver's licenses or personal identification cards. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Power.
action_date: 2014-12-03
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-12-03
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-12-03
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-12-03
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-12-03
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-12-03
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-06-19
text: Held at the desk.
action_date: 2014-06-19
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2014-06-19
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2014-06-18
text: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text: CR S3822-3823)
action_date: 2014-06-18
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.(text: CR S3822-3823)
action_date: 2014-06-18
text: The committee substitute as amended agreed to by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2014-06-18
text: Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S3821-3823; text of measure as reported in Senate: CR S3821-3822)
action_date: 2014-04-08
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 352.
action_date: 2014-04-08
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Landrieu with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 113-146.
action_date: 2014-04-08
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Landrieu with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 113-146.
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2013-07-11
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-177.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate