Bill 112-S-1599 — Government Operations / General
Subject: Economics and public finance

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for FY2012. Title I: Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes appropriations for FY2012 to the Department of Labor for: (1) the Employment and Training Administration, including training and employment services; (2) the Office of the Job Corps; (3) community service employment for older Americans; (4) federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (5) state unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (6) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund; (7) employment and training program administration; (8) the Employee Benefits Security Administration; (9) the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (10) the Wage and Hour Division; (11) the Office of Labor Management Standards; (12) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs; (13) the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs; (14) certain special benefits, including ones for disabled coal miners; (15) administrative expenses for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Fund; (16) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (17) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); (18) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (19) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (20) the Office of Disability Employment Policy; (21) departmental management; (22) veterans employment and training; and (23) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds and transfers of funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 101) Prohibits use of Job Corps funds to pay individual compensation at a rate in excess of Executive Level I. (Sec. 102) Allows not more than 1% of discretionary funds for the current fiscal year for the Department of Labor in this Act to be transferred between a program, project, or activity. Prohibits any increase of any such program, project, or activity by more than 3% by any such transfer. (Sec. 103) Prohibits funds from being obligated or expended to procure goods mined, produced, manufactured, or harvested or services rendered, in whole or in part, by forced or indentured child labor in industries and host countries already identified by the Department of Labor prior to enactment of this Act, in accordance with a specified executive order. (Sec. 104) Prohibits the availability of funds to the Department of Labor for grants under the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) for any purpose except the training of foreign workers in the occupations and industries for which they were hired under the H-1B visa program, and necessary related activities. (Sec. 105) Prohibits recipients of employment and training funds from using them to pay the salary and bonuses of an individual at a rate in excess of Executive Level II, with an exception for specified vendors. (Sec. 106) Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from taking any action, with certain exceptions, to amend a specified definition for functions and activities or to modify a certain procedure for redesignation of local areas under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) until legislation reauthorizing the Act has been enacted. (Sec. 107) Allows transfer to Program Administration of funds available to the Employment and Training Administration for technical assistance services to grantees, if those services will be more efficiently performed by federal staff. (Sec. 108) Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from reserving more than 0.5% from each appropriation made available for certain named programs to carry out evaluations of such programs. Requires the transfer to departmental management of any reserved funds for use by the Office of the Chief Evaluation Officer within the Department of Labor. Makes such funds available only if the Chief Evaluation Officer submits a plan to the appropriate appropriations committees describing such evaluations 15 days in advance of any transfer. (Sec. 109) Prohibits the use of funds to enforce the rule entitled "Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-Agricultural Employment H-2B Program." Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes appropriations for FY2012 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for: (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); (3) the National Institutes of Health (NIH); (4) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (5) the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; (6) the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; (7) the Administration for Children and Families; (8) the Administration on Aging; and (9) the Office of the Secretary. (Sec. 209) Prohibits the use of funds for voluntary family planning projects unless the applicant certifies that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and that it provides counseling to minors on how to resist attempts to coerce minors into engaging in sexual activities. (Sec. 210) Prohibits any provider of voluntary planning services under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) from being exempt from any state law requiring notifications or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest. (Sec. 211) Prohibits the use of funds to carry out the Medicare Advantage program if the Secretary of Health and Human Services denies participation in such program to an otherwise eligible entity because it will not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for abortions. (Sec. 212) Allows the Secretary to exercise certain authority in order to carry out international health activities during FY2010. (Sec. 218) Requires the Secretary to transfer funds appropriated for the Prevention and Public Health Fund within 45 days of enactment of this Act to specific accounts for specified activities. Prohibits the Secretary from further transferring such amounts notwithstanding provisions requiring the Secretary to use such funds to increase funding over the FY2008 level for programs authorized by the PHSA, for prevention, wellness, and public health activities. Declares that funds transferred for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Grant Program shall be made available without regard to the specific allocation of such funds in the PHSA. Makes specified funds available for a program consisting of three-year grants to non-governmental entities, school districts, local housing authorities, local transportation authorities, or Indian tribes to implement evidence-based chronic disease prevention strategies. Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes appropriations for FY2012 to the Department of Education for: (1) education for the disadvantaged; (2) impact aid; (3) school improvement programs; (4) Indian education; (5) innovation and improvement activities; (6) safe schools and citizenship education; (7) English language acquisition and language enhancement; (8) special education; (9) rehabilitation services and disability research; (10) special institutions for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the Blind, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University; (11) career, technical, and adult education; (12) certain student financial assistance programs, as well as federal administrative expenses for such programs (setting a maximum individual Pell grant amount); (13) specified higher education programs; (14) Howard University; (15) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (16) the historically Black college and university capital financing program account; (17) the Institute of Education Sciences; and (18) departmental management, including program administration, the Office for Civil Rights, and the Office of the Inspector General. Sets the maximum individual Pell grant amount at $4,860 during award year 2012-2013. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 301) Prohibits the use of funds to transport teachers or students in order to: (1) overcome racial imbalance in any school, or (2) carry out a racial desegregation plan. (Sec. 302) Prohibits the use of funds to require, directly or indirectly, the transportation of any student to a school other than the school nearest the student's home, except, for a student requiring special education, to the school offering that special education, in order to comply with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Declares that such a prohibited indirect requirement of transportation of students includes the transportation of students to carry out a plan involving the reorganization of the grade structure of schools, the pairing of schools, the clustering of schools, or any combination of grade restructuring, pairing, or clustering. Exempts the establishment of magnet schools from such prohibition. (Sec. 303) Prohibits the use of funds to prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools. (Sec. 304) Allows the transfer between appropriations of not more than 1% of discretionary funds for the current fiscal year for the Department of Education in this Act. Prohibits any increase of any such appropriation by more than 3% by any such transfer. (Sec. 305) Authorizes the Outlying Areas to consolidate funds received under this Act under part A (Innovative Programs) of title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. (Sec. 306) Amends the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 to continue the eligibility of the government, institutions, and people of Palau for Pell grant and supplemental education grant funding until the end of FY2012 to the extent they were eligible for such funding in FY2003. (Sec. 307) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make the federal interest subsidy on Direct Loans made after June 2012 applicable to all of the interest accrued before a student borrower ceases to carry at least one-half the normal full-time academic workload. Increases the amounts authorized and appropriated for the Pell grant program for FY2012-FY2013 and for FY2017 and each succeeding fiscal year. Limits the amount available for the 2012-2013 award year. (Sec. 308) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to modify the terms and conditions of gulf hurricane disaster loans to historically Black colleges or universities to mitigate the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Charges the schools that receive such loan modifications a fee to cover modification costs. (Sec. 309) Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to allow states to use their incentive grant to make subgrants to public or private agencies and organizations for activities consistent with the purposes of the grant. Title IV: Related Agencies - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled; (2) the Corporation for National and Community Service to carry out programs under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 and the National and Community Service Act of 1990, including Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), the National Senior Volunteer Corps, Americorps state and national grants, and the National Civilian Community Corps; (3) the National Service Trust; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (6) the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (7) the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (8) the Institute of Museum and Library Services; (9) the Medicaid and SCHIP Payment and Access Commission; (10) the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (11) the National Council on Disability; (12) the National Health Care Workforce Commission; (13) the National Labor Relations Board; (14) the National Mediation Board; (15) the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (16) the Railroad Retirement Board for retirement account payments; (17) payments to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund; and (18) payments under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act. Title V: General Provisions - Specifies certain uses and limits on or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 501) Authorizes the Secretaries of Labor, of Health and Human Services, and of Education to transfer unexpended balances of prior appropriations to accounts corresponding to current appropriations provided in this Act, to be used for the same purpose, and for the same periods of time, for which they were originally appropriated. (Sec. 505) Bars use of funds to distribute any needle or syringe to prevent the spread of blood borne pathogens in any location that has been determined by the local public health or local law enforcement authorities to be inappropriate for such distribution. (Sec. 507) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated in this Act, and in any trust fund to which funds are appropriated in this Act, for: (1) any abortion, or (2) health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion. (Sec. 508) Declares that this prohibition does not apply: (1) if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or (2) in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. Declares that nothing in Sec. 507 shall be construed as: (1) prohibiting the expenditure by a state, locality, entity, or private person of state, local, or private funds (other than Medicaid matching funds); or (2) restricting the ability of any managed care provider from offering abortion coverage or the ability of a state or locality to contract separately with such a provider for such coverage with state funds (other than Medicaid matching funds). Bars the availability of funds to a federal agency or program, or to a state or local government, if it subjects any institutional or individual health care entity to discrimination on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions. (Sec. 509) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under certain federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 510) Bars the use of funds for activities promoting the legalization of any drug or other substance included in schedule I of the schedules of controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act, except for normal and recognized executive-congressional communications. Makes such limitation inapplicable when there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such drug or other substance or that federally sponsored clinical trials are being conducted to determine therapeutic advantage. (Sec. 511) Bars the use of funds to promulgate or adopt any final standard under the Social Security Act providing for, or providing for the assignment of, a unique health identifier for an individual (except in an individual's capacity as an employer or a health care provider), until legislation is enacted specifically approving the standard. (Sec. 512) Bars the obligation or expenditure of funds to enter into or renew a contract with an entity if: (1) it is otherwise a contractor with the United States and is subject to the requirement regarding submission of an annual report to the Secretary of Labor concerning employment of certain veterans, and (2) it has not submitted the required report for the most recent applicable year. (Sec. 513) Prohibits the transfer of funds made available in this Act to any federal department, agency, or instrumentality, except pursuant to an appropriation Act. (Sec. 514) Prohibits the availability of funds under the Library Services and Technology Act, as amended by the Children's Internet Protection Act, to certain libraries unless they have made specified required certifications. (Sec. 516) Prohibits the use of funds to: (1) request that a candidate for appointment to a federal scientific advisory committee disclose his or her political affiliation or voting history or the position he or she holds with respect to political issues not directly related to and necessary for the work of the committee involved, or (2) disseminate scientific information that is deliberately false or misleading. (Sec. 517) Requires each department and related agency funded through this Act, within 45 days of enactment of this Act, to submit an operating plan that details at the program, project, and activity level any funding allocations for FY2012 that are different than those specified in this Act, the accompanying detailed table in the committee report, or the FY2012 budget request. (Sec. 518) Requires the Secretaries of Labor, of Health and Human Services, and of Education each to report to the congressional appropriations committees on the number, amount, and other specified details of contracts, non-formula grants, and cooperative agreements exceeding $500,000 in value and awarded by the respective Department on a noncompetitive basis during each quarter of FY2012. (Sec. 519) Bars the availability of funds in this Act for first-class travel by the employees of agencies funded by this Act in contravention of federal regulations regarding the use of business-class airline accommodations. (Sec. 520) Prohibits the use of funds in this Act to enter into a contract in an amount greater than $5 million or to award a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective contractor or grantee certifies in writing to the agency awarding the contract or grant that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, it has: (1) filed all federal tax returns required during the three years preceding the certification; (2) not been convicted of a criminal offense under the Internal Revenue Code; and (3) not, within 90 days before certification, been notified of any unpaid federal tax assessment for which the liability remains unsatisfied, unless the assessment is the subject of an installment agreement or offer in compromise that has been approved by the IRS and is not in default, or the assessment is the subject of a non-frivolous administrative or judicial proceeding. (Sec. 521) Rescinds permanently specified funds made available for performance bonus payments under title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act.