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Title II — Other Matters

H.R. 5196 · 113th Congress · Jul 24, 2014 · Lineage

II Other Matters

Sec. 201 Report on implementation of certain Medicare and Medicaid fraud detection and program integrity provisions

Section 1128J(a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7k(a)(1)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the following new clause:

“(iii) Report on integrated data repository and one program integrity system—Not later than six months after the date of enactment of this clause, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the following:

“(I) Integrated Data Repository—Efforts to finalize plans and schedules for fully implementing and expanding the use of the Integrated Data Repository, including actions taken to finalize, implement, and manage plans for incorporating data into the Integrated Data Repository and actions taken to define measurable financial benefits expected from the implementation of the Integrated Data Repository.

“(II) One Program Integrity System—Actions taken to plan, schedule, and conduct training on the One Program Integrity System, a Web-based portal and suite of software tools used to analyze and extract data from the Integrated Data Repository, and actions taken to define measurable financial benefits expected from the use of the One Program Integrity System.”

Sec. 202 Revocation or denial of passport and passport card in case of certain tax delinquencies

(a)
In general— Subchapter D of chapter 75 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

“7345. Revocation or denial of passport and passport card in case of certain tax delinquencies

“(a) In general—If the Secretary receives certification by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue that any individual has a seriously delinquent tax debt in an amount in excess of $50,000, the Secretary shall transmit such certification to the Secretary of State for action with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport or passport card pursuant to section 4 of the Act entitled “An Act to regulate the issue and validity of passports, and for other purposes”, approved July 3, 1926 (22 U.S.C. 211a et seq.), commonly known as the “Passport Act of 1926”.

“(b) Seriously delinquent tax debt—For purposes of this section, the term seriously delinquent tax debt means an outstanding debt under this title for which a notice of lien has been filed in public records pursuant to section 6323 or a notice of levy has been filed pursuant to section 6331, except that such term does not include—

“(1) a debt that is being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement under section 6159 or 7122, and

“(2) a debt with respect to which collection is suspended because a collection due process hearing under section 6330, or relief under subsection (b), (c), or (f) of section 6015, is requested or pending.

“(c) Adjustment for inflation—In the case of a calendar year beginning after 2015, the dollar amount in subsection (a) shall be increased by an amount equal to—

“(1) such dollar amount, multiplied by—

“(2) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year, determined by substituting “calendar year 2014” for “calendar year 1992” in subparagraph (B) thereof. If any amount as adjusted under the preceding sentence is not a multiple of $1,000, such amount shall be rounded to the next highest multiple of $1,000.”

(b)
Clerical amendment— The table of sections for subchapter D of chapter 75 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
(c)
Authority for information sharing—
(1)
In general— Subsection (l) of section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(23) Disclosure of return information to department of state for purposes of passport and passport card revocation under section 7345

“(A) In general—The Secretary shall, upon receiving a certification described in section 7345, disclose to the Secretary of State return information with respect to a taxpayer who has a seriously delinquent tax debt described in such section. Such return information shall be limited to—

“(i) the taxpayer identity information with respect to such taxpayer, and

“(ii) the amount of such seriously delinquent tax debt.

“(B) Restriction on disclosure—Return information disclosed under subparagraph (A) may be used by officers and employees of the Department of State for the purposes of, and to the extent necessary in, carrying out the requirements of section 4 of the Act entitled “An Act to regulate the issue and validity of passports, and for other purposes”, approved July 3, 1926 (22 U.S.C. 211a et seq.), commonly known as the “Passport Act of 1926”.”

(2)
Conforming amendment— Paragraph (4) of section 6103(p) of such Code is amended by striking “or (22)” each place it appears in subparagraph (F)(ii) and in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting “(22), or (23)”.
(d)
Revocation authorization— The Act entitled “An Act to regulate the issue and validity of passports, and for other purposes.”, approved July 3, 1926 (22 U.S.C. 211a et seq.), commonly known as the “Passport Act of 1926”, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“4. Authority to deny or revoke passport and passport card

“(a) Ineligibility

“(1) Issuance—Except as provided under subsection (b), upon receiving a certification described in section 7345 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 from the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of State may not issue a passport or passport card to any individual who has a seriously delinquent tax debt described in such section.

“(2) Revocation—The Secretary of State shall revoke a passport or passport card previously issued to any individual described in paragraph (1).

“(b) Exceptions

“(1) Emergency and humanitarian situations—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary of State may issue a passport or passport card, in emergency circumstances or for humanitarian reasons, to an individual described in paragraph (1) of such subsection.

“(2) Limitation for return to united states—Notwithstanding subsection (a)(2), the Secretary of State, before revocation, may—

“(A) limit a previously issued passport or passport card only for return travel to the United States; or

“(B) issue a limited passport or passport card that only permits return travel to the United States.”

(e)
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall take effect on January 1, 2015.

Sec. 203 Prohibition on non-cost-effective minting and printing of coins and currency

(a)
Prohibition with respect to coins— Section 5111 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(e) Prohibition on certain minting—Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, after the end of the 4-year period following the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary may not mint or issue any circulating coin that costs more to produce than the denomination of the coin (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping).”

(b)
Prohibition with respect to currency— Section 5114(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(4) Prohibition on certain printing—Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, after the end of the 4-year period following the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary may not engrave or print any United States currency that costs more to produce than the denomination of the currency (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping).”

Sec. 204 Restrictions on printing and distribution of paper copies of Congressional documents

(a)
Printing and Distribution of Documents by Public Printer—
(1)
Restrictions— Chapter 7 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

“742. Restrictions on printing and distribution of paper copies

“(a) Mandatory Use of Electronic Format for Distribution of Congressional Documents—Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Public Printer shall make any document of the House of Representatives or Senate which is subject to any of the provisions of this chapter available only in an electronic format which is accessible through the Internet, and may not print or distribute a printed copy of the document except as provided in subsection (b).

“(b) Permitting Printing and Distribution of Printed Copies Upon Request—Notwithstanding subsection (a), at the request of any person to whom the Public Printer would have been required to provide a printed copy of a document under this chapter had subsection (a) not been in effect, the Public Printer may print and distribute a copy of a document or report for the use of that person, except that—

“(1) the number of printed copies the Public Printer may provide to the person may not exceed the number of printed copies the Public Printer would have provided to the person had subsection (a) not been in effect; and

“(2) the Public Printer may print and distribute copies to the person only upon payment by the person of the costs of printing and distributing the copies, except that this paragraph shall not apply to an office of the House of Representatives or Senate (including the office of a Member of Congress).”

(2)
Clerical amendment— The table of sections of chapter 7 of such title is amended by adding at the end following new item:
(b)
Provision of Documents in Electronic Format Deemed To Meet Requirements of House and Senate Rules Regarding Distribution of Printed Copies—
(1)
In general— If any rule or regulation of the House of Representatives or Senate requires a Member or committee to provide printed copies of any document (including any bill or resolution) for the use of the House or Senate or for the use of any office of the House or Senate, the Member or committee shall be considered to have met the requirement of the rule or regulation if the Member or committee makes the document available to the recipient in an electronic format.
(2)
Exercise of rulemaking authority of Senate and House— This subsection is enacted by Congress—
(A)
as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and
(B)
with full recognition of the constitutional right of either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House.
(c)
Effective Date— This section and the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to documents produced on or after January 1, 2015.

Sec. 205 Replacing the $1 note with the $1 coin

(a)
Duties of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System—
(1)
Coin sequestration—
(A)
In general— Within six months of the date of enactment of this Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall sequester all $1 coins bearing the design common to those $1 coins minted and issued from 1979–1981 and again in 1999.
(B)
Treatment of coins— Coins sequestered pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not be returned to ordinary circulation or otherwise released from storage controlled by the Federal Reserve System or an agent of the Federal Reserve System.
(C)
Exception for certain uses— Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), coins sequestered pursuant to subparagraph (A) may be released, at face value and in bulk quantities—
(i)
to dealers in collectible coins; and
(ii)
to countries that have adopted the United States dollar as their base unit of exchange.
(D)
Obsolete coins— At the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall declare all coins described under subparagraph (A) to be obsolete, and such coins—
(i)
shall be treated in the same manner as all other obsolete United States coins; and
(ii)
to the extent such coins remain in general circulation, shall remain legal tender.
(2)
Quarterly report on $1 coins— The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall issue quarterly reports to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate on—
(A)
the number of coins sequestered pursuant to paragraph (1)(A);
(B)
the number of coins described in paragraph (1)(A) that remain in general circulation; and
(C)
efforts that have been made to reduce the number of coins described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) to zero.
(3)
Improvement of circulation— The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall—
(A)
undertake efforts to improve the circulation and remove barriers to the circulation of the $1 coin, other than those coins described under paragraph (1)(A);
(B)
issue a quarterly report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate on—
(i)
what efforts have been made to improve the circulation of $1 coins and what efforts are being planned to improve the circulation of $1 coins;
(ii)
the success of such efforts, including an analysis of such coins held in storage owned or controlled by the Federal Reserve System and the number of such coins in circulation;
(iii)
barriers to the circulation of such coins, including the availability of such coins in quantities unmixed with the $1 coins described in paragraph (1)(A); and
(iv)
the extent to which the Federal Reserve System and any agents of the Federal Reserve System are unable to meet end-user requests for delivery of unmixed quantities of such coins in whatever form such end user requires, including rolls, disposable tubes, or volume bags of such coins.
(4)
Outreach and education— The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall continuously conduct outreach and education programs aimed at helping each business using or accepting cash to choose the best mix of $1 coins and banknotes to facilitate transactions and reduce costs of transactions and of cashing out at the end of a transaction period.
(5)
Use of $1 coins by foreign countries— The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall work with the Departments of State and the Treasury to ensure that countries that have adopted the dollar as a base unit of exchange and which place orders with the Federal Reserve System, or through any United States financial institution, for supplies of $1 monetary units, are fully briefed before placing each such order on the durability and longevity of $1 coins in high-circulation economies when used for transactions of a low dollar value.
(b)
Publicity requirement— Section 5112(p)(2) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after Mint the following: and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
(c)
Report on implementation— Not later than the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States and the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall each issue a report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate on steps being taken by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to carry out this Act.
(d)
Clarification with respect to seigniorage— The ninth proviso of section 5136 of title 31, United States Code, is amended, by inserting after “miscellaneous receipts” the following: “and such amount shall be included as an estimated receipt of the Government and a receipt of the Government under paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively, of section 1105(a) in any budget submitted under such section”.
(e)
Policy statement— It is the policy of the United States that after $1 coins achieve sufficient market penetration such that consumers and retailers are comfortable using $1 coins and are able to obtain adequate supplies of $1 coins, $1 coins should replace $1 Federal Reserve notes as the only $1 monetary unit issued and circulated by the Federal Reserve System.
(f)
Deadline for placing $1 Federal Reserve notes into circulation— Federal Reserve banks may continue to place into circulation $1 Federal Reserve notes until the earlier of—
(1)
the date on which the number of $1 coins placed into circulation after the date of the enactment of this Act exceeds 600,000,000 annually; or
(2)
the date that is 4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(g)
Transition period— After the date referred to in subsection (f), a Federal Reserve bank may not order additional $1 Federal Reserve notes but may, for a period of one year, continue to place into circulation $1 Federal Reserve notes on hand or those deposited with it, except for notes described in subsection (h).
(h)
Removal of unfit currency— After the date referred to in subparagraph (f), a Federal Reserve bank shall continue to remove unfit currency from circulation, and shall continue to destroy such currency.
(i)
Exception— Notwithstanding subsections (f) and (g), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall produce such Federal Reserve notes of $1 denomination as the Board determines from time to time are appropriate solely to meet the needs of collectors of that denomination. Such notes shall be issued by one or more Federal Reserve banks in accordance with section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act and sold by the Board, in whole or in part, under procedures prescribed by the Board.
(j)
No effect on legal tender— Notwithstanding any other subsection of this section, $1 Federal Reserve notes are legal tender in the United States for all debts, public and private, public charges, taxes, and duties, regardless of the date of printing or issue.

Sec. 206 Enhancing the Internal Revenue Service’s online services

No later than six months after the date of the enactment of the Act, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall, pursuant to the recommendations of the Government Accountability Office in its report GAO–14–343SP (April, 2014):
(1)
Develop a long-term strategy to improve web services provided to taxpayers, in accordance with www.Howto.gov and other Federal guidance outlined in the April 2013 report of the Government Accountability Office GAO–13–279SP.
(2)
Study leading practices of other organizations to understand how web improvement strategies were developed and new services prioritized.
(3)
Develop business cases for all new online services, describing the potential benefits and costs of the project, and use them to prioritize future projects.
(4)
Review risk mitigation plans for interactive tools to ensure all risks are addressed and link investments in security to the long-term plan.

Sec. 207 Improving foreclosure loss mitigation efforts for mortgages made, insured, or guaranteed by Federal agencies

(a)
Periodic analysis of loss mitigation actions— Not later than the expiration of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall each analyze the effectiveness and long-term costs and benefits of the programs, actions, and strategies of the applicable agency for avoidance or mitigation of foreclosure losses with respect to covered loans and mortgages of the applicable agency, which shall include analyses of—
(1)
the re-default rates associated with various types of loss mitigation actions; and
(2)
the impacts that loan and borrower characteristics have on the performance of different loss mitigation actions.
(b)
Re-Evaluation— Upon completion of each periodic analysis conducted pursuant to subsection (a) with respect to covered loans and mortgages of an applicable agency, the head of the applicable agency shall use the results of the analysis to—
(1)
re-evaluate the programs, actions, and strategies of the agency for avoidance or mitigation of foreclosure losses with respect to covered loans and mortgages; and
(2)
provide additional guidance to servicers of covered loans and mortgages to more effectively target and implement loss mitigation efforts.
(c)
Collection of information— Each of the agency heads referred to in subsection (a) shall—
(1)
collect such information regarding covered loans and mortgages of the applicable agency as may be necessary to conduct the analysis required under such subsection, including loan level data and information regarding loan performance; or
(2)
require servicers of such loans and mortgages to provide any such information not maintained or collected by the applicable agency.
(d)
Consultation and coordination— Each of the agency heads referred to in subsection (a) shall consult and coordinate with each other in conducting the analyses and re-evaluations required under subsection (a) and (b) to ensure the sharing of information and promote effective loss mitigation efforts.
(e)
Definitions— For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)
Applicable agency— The term applicable agency means—
(A)
with respect to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
(B)
with respect to the Secretary of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture; and
(C)
with respect to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(2)
Covered loans and mortgages— The term covered loans and mortgages means, with respect to an applicable agency, loans for and mortgages on 1- to 4-family homes made, insured, or guaranteed by such applicable agency.