Bill 113-S-1284 — Government Operations / General
Subject: Economics and public finance

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014 - Makes appropriations for the Departments of Labor, of Health and Human Services (HHS), and of Education, and related agencies for FY2014.

Title I: Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2014 - Makes appropriations for FY2014 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) the State Paid Leave Fund; (7) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund; (8) employment and training program administration; (9) the Employee Benefits Security Administration; (10) the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (11) the Wage and Hour Division; (12) the Office of Labor Management Standards; (13) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs; (14) the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs; (15) certain special benefits, including ones for disabled coal miners; (16) administrative expenses for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Fund; (17) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (18) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); (19) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (20) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (21) the Office of Disability Employment Policy; (22) departmental management; (23) veterans employment and training; (24) Department infrastructure technology (IT) modernization, and (25) 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 salary and bonuses at a rate in excess of Executive Level II.

(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 funding available to the Department of Labor for grants under the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 for uses other than competitive grants for training individuals in the occupations and industries for which H-1B visa recipients are hired 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 (Secretary in this title) 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) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer to Program Administration funds made 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 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) Authorizes the Secretary to reserve at least 3% of the authorization of appropriations for FY2011-FY2013 for the Community College and Career Training Grant Program to evaluate and provide technical assistance for program activities.

(Sec. 110) Transfers to the Secretary from the Comptroller General authority to: (1) pay wages due laborers and mechanics under certain federal contracts, (2) list the names of contractors violating such contracts with employees and subcontractors, and (3) withhold amounts for unpaid wages and liquidated damages for contract violations.

(Sec. 111) Changes the pay rate from Level V to Level IV of the Executive Schedule for the Department's Administrator of the Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Division, renamed the Wage and Hour Division.

(Sec. 112) Allows an employer in the seafood industry, upon the Secretary's approval of a petition for H-2B nonimmigrants (temporary nonagricultural workers), to bring the H-2B workers into the United States at any time during 120 days after the start date without filing another petition. Prohibits the employer, however, from bringing H-2B workers into the United States after 90 days following the start date unless the employer completes a new assessment of the local labor market as well as offer the job to an equally or better qualified U.S. worker.

(Sec. 113) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) exclude an H-2B employer from debarment proceedings commenced on or after January 1, 2013, if the employer demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that an agent of the employer engaged in fraud or misrepresentation to the Department relating to admission of the H-2B workers that was outside the scope of authority conferred by the employer; and (2) initiate or continue such proceedings against the agent.

Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 2014 - Makes appropriations for FY2014 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 (CMS), (7) the Administration for Children and Families, (8) the Administration for Community Living, and (9) the Office of the Secretary.

(Sec. 202) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make Public Health Service employees available to assist in child survival activities and to work in AIDS programs through and with funds provided by the Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), or the World Health Organization (WHO).

(Sec. 204) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being expended to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of programs authorized under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), except for funds specifically provided for in the PHSA, or for other taps and assessments made by any HHS office, prior to reporting to the appropriation committees detailing the planned uses of such funds.

(Sec. 205) Caps at 2.5% the amount of funds appropriated to a program under the PHSA that may be made available to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the program.

(Sec. 207) Authorizes the Director of NIH, jointly with the Director of the Office of AIDS Research, to transfer up to 3% among institutes and centers from amounts identified as funding for HIV research, provided that the appropriations committees are notified at least 15 days in advance of any transfer. Requires such amounts to be made available to the Office of AIDS Research for disbursement to NIH agencies in accordance with the comprehensive plan for the conduct and support of all AIDS activities of NIH.

(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 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 FY2014.

(Sec. 215) Sets a cap on the total amount of funds NIH may use for the alteration, repair, or improvement of facilities and limits the amount that can be spent per project.

(Sec. 217) Allows the use of funds provided to NIH to support the Sanctuary System for Surplus Chimpanzees.

(Sec. 218) Prohibits funds made available in this title from being used, in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun control.

(Sec. 219) Requires the Secretary to establish a publicly accessible website to provide information regarding the uses of funds made available to the Prevention and Public Health Fund.

(Sec. 220) Requires the Secretary, within 45 days of enactment of this Act, to transfer funds appropriated for the Prevention and Public Health Fund to specific accounts for specified activities. Prohibits the Secretary from further transferring such amounts, notwithstanding requirements that 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.

(Sec. 221) Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations for a schedule of fees for the certification of health information technology to recover costs associated with the administration of the certification programs.

(Sec. 222) Authorizes the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to enter into a contract for one to ten years for the purchase of research services or of security countermeasures if funds are available and obligated for: (1) the full period of the contract or for the first fiscal year in which the contract is in effect, and (2) the estimated costs associated with a necessary termination of the contract. Makes the additional condition on such a multi-year contract that the Secretary determine that it will serve the best interests of the federal government by encouraging full and open competition or promoting economic in administration, performance, and operation of BARDA's programs.

(Sec. 223) Requires the Secretary to publish in the FY2015 budget justification and on the departmental website information concerning the employment of full-time equivalent federal employees or contracts for the purpose of implementing, administering, enforcing, or otherwise carrying out the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in the proposed fiscal year and the four prior fiscal years.

(Sec. 224) Revises the time frame in which the Secretary may terminate a Public Health Service loan repayment contract with an individual from 45 days before the end of the fiscal year in which the contract was entered to 60 days after the execution of a contract awarded in 2014.

(Sec. 225) Authorizes any increment of a contract, contract option, or modification executed in FY2014 between NIH (or any of its components) and the contract operator of a Federally Funded Research and Development Center for severable services to begin in one fiscal year and end in the next fiscal year if the period of the contract also begins in one fiscal year, ends in the next fiscal year, and does not exceed one year, and it is funded incrementally in a specified manner. Allows funds available in the first fiscal year to be obligated for the total amount of such increment.

(Sec. 226) Expresses the sense of the Senate that American Health Benefit Exchanges should verify annual household or individual income before making available premium tax credits under PPACA.

(Sec. 227) Requires the Secretary to publish information in the FY2015 budget that details: (1) the uses of all funds used by CMS specifically for health insurance marketplaces for each fiscal year since the enactment of PPACA, and (2) the proposed uses for such funds for FY2015.

Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2014 - Makes appropriations for FY2014 to the Department of Education for: (1) education for the disadvantaged; (2) school readiness; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement programs; (5) Indian education; (6) innovation and improvement activities; (7) safe schools and citizenship education; (8) English language acquisition and language enhancement; (9) special education; (10) rehabilitation services and disability research; (11) special institutions for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the Blind, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University; (12) career, technical, and adult education; (13) certain student financial assistance programs, as well as federal administrative expenses for such programs (setting a maximum individual Pell grant amount); (14) specified higher education programs; (15) Howard University; (16) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (17) the historically Black college and university capital financing program account; (18) the Institute of Education Sciences; and (19) 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 2014-2015.

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 FY2014 to the extent they were eligible for such funding in FY2003.

(Sec. 307) Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to change the name of the Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education to the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education.

(Sec. 308) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to reserve funds for studies and evaluations of programs funded under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 without regard to the source of funds for those activities.

(Sec. 309) Prohibits postsecondary educational institutions from using this Act's student assistance funds for advertising, marketing, or student recruitment activities. Excepts from that prohibition activities that are required or specifically authorized under title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) or otherwise specified by the Secretary.

 (Sec. 310) Allows certain local educational agencies formed by the consolidation of two or more former school districts to have their eligibility for Impact Aid payments determined on the basis of one or more of those former school districts if at least one of those school districts was eligible for Impact Aid payments for the fiscal year preceding that consolidation. (The Impact Aid program compensates LEAs for the financial burden of federal activities affecting their school districts.)

 (Sec. 311) Prohibits this Act's HEA student assistance funds from being used to attend a postsecondary education program that prepares students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation that has certain preconditions for entry, unless the program meets all applicable state or professionally mandated requirements to fully qualify a student who successfully completes the program to take licensing examinations or obtain credentials associated with the training provided in the program.

(Sec. 312) Directs the Secretary to: (1) modify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid so that it contains an individual box for identifying students who are foster youth or were in the foster care system, and (2) use that identification as a tool to notify those students of their potential eligibility for federal student aid.

Title IV: Related Agencies - Appropriates funds for FY2014 for: (1) the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled; (2) the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) 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 CNCS 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 CHIP Payment and Access Commission; (10) the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC); (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; (18) payments under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act; and (19) the Office of Inspector General of the Social Security Administration.

(Sec. 405) Authorizes state Commissions on National and Community Service established under the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to receive criminal history record information.

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. 503) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act for lobbying before Congress or a state legislature, including activities designed to influence enactment of proposed or pending federal or state regulations, administrative actions, or Executive orders. Includes under such prohibitions any activity to advocate or promote any proposed, pending, or future federal, state, or local tax increase, or any proposed, pending, or future requirement or restriction on any legal consumer product, including but not limited to the advocacy or promotion of gun control.

(Sec. 506) 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. 507) 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. 506 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. 508) 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. 509) 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. 510) 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. 511) 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. 512) Prohibits the transfer of funds made available in this Act to any federal department, agency, or instrumentality, except pursuant to an appropriation Act.

(Sec. 513) 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. 515) 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 information that is deliberately false or misleading.

(Sec. 516) 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 FY2014 that are different than those specified in this Act, the accompanying detailed table in the committee report, or the FY2014 budget request.

(Sec. 517) Requires the Secretaries of Labor, of HHS, 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 FY2014.

(Sec. 518) 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. 519) 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.

(Sec. 520) 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. 521) Transfers permanently from the HHS Secretary to the Secretary of Education the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) program under the Public Health Service Act, and the authority to administer the program, including servicing, collecting, and enforcing any HEAL loans that remain outstanding.

(Sec. 522) Authorizes federal agencies to use federal discretionary funds made available in this Act to carry out up to 13 Performance Partnership Pilots.

Defines a "Performance Partnership Pilot" as a project that seeks to identify, through a demonstration, cost-effective strategies for providing services at the state, regional, or local level that: (1) involve two or more federal programs (administered by one or more federal agencies) with related policy goals, at least one of which is administered (in whole or in part) by a state, local, or tribal government; and (2) achieve better results for regions, communities, or specific at-risk populations through making better use of the budgetary resources that are available for supporting such programs.

Requires that such Pilots: (1) be designed to increase the rate at which disconnected youth ages 14-24 (who are low-income and either homeless, in foster care, involved in the juvenile justice system, unemployed, or not enrolled in or at risk of dropping out of an educational institution) achieve success in meeting educational, employment, or other key goals; and (2) involve federal programs targeted on such youth, or designed to prevent youth from disconnecting from school or work, that provide education, training, employment, and other related social services.

Prescribes requirements for Performance Partnership Agreements between a lead federal administering agency (designated by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget [OMB]) and a state, local, or tribal government.

(Sec. 523) Requires the head of any executive branch department, agency, board, commission, or office (entity) funded by this Act to report annually to its Inspector General (or senior ethics official if there is no Inspector General) regarding the costs and contracting procedures related to each conference held by the entity during FY2014 for which the cost to the U.S. government exceeded $100,000.

Requires each entity head, within 15 days of any conference costing the U.S. government during FY2014 more than $20,000, to notify its Inspector General or senior ethics official of the date, location, and number of employees attending the conference.

Declares that a grant or contract funded by amounts appropriated by this Act to an executive branch agency may not be used to defray the costs of any such conference that is not directly and programmatically related to the purpose for which the grant or contract was awarded.

Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for travel and conference activities that are not in compliance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-12-12 dated May 11, 2012.

(Sec. 524) Requires each federal agency or bureau (or operating division) in an agency with multiple bureaus, which is funded under this Act and has research and development expenditures exceeding $100 million per year, to develop a federal research public access policy.

Requires such a policy to provide for: (1) submission to the agency, agency bureau, or designated entity acting on the agency's behalf, a machine-readable version of the author's final peer-reviewed manuscripts that have been accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals describing research supported, in whole or in part, from funding by the federal government; (2) free online public access to such final peer-reviewed manuscripts or published versions within 12 months after the official publication date; and (3) compliance with all relevant copyright laws.