Acting on the Annual Duplication Report Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2175 To address recommendations made to Congress by the Government Account- ability Office and detailed in the annual duplication report, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 18, 2019 Ms. HASSAN (for herself and Mr. PAUL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To address recommendations made to Congress by the Gov- ernment Accountability Office and detailed in the annual duplication report, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Acting on the Annual 4 Duplication Report Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 7 ings: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2175 IS (1) The annual reports prepared by the Comp- 1 troller General of the United States under section 21 2 of the Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘Joint Resolution 3 increasing the statutory limit on the public debt’’, 4 approved February 12, 2010 (13 U.S.C. 712 note), 5 have produced approximately $262,000,000,000 in 6 financial benefits for the Federal Government. 7 (2) The 2019 report entitled ‘‘Additional Op- 8 portunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and 9 Duplication and Achieve Billions in Financial Bene- 10 fits’’ (GAO–19–285SP) identified 98 new actions 11 that Congress or the executive branch can take to 12 improve efficiency and effectiveness across the Fed- 13 eral Government, and potentially to save tens of bil- 14 lions of dollars. 15 (3) Those financial benefits cannot be realized 16 without full implementation of the actions and rec- 17 ommendations set forth by the Comptroller General. 18 (4) Of the 98 new actions, several require legis- 19 lation to be fully implemented, including— 20 (A) expanding the definition of allowable 21 expenses authorized by the Foreign Military 22 Sales administrative account; 23 (B) examining the optimal size of the Stra- 24 tegic Petroleum Reserve; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2175 IS (C) altering the metal composition of coins 1 to reduce production costs; 2 (D) requiring scannable codes on tax re- 3 turns prepared electronically, but filed on 4 paper; and 5 (E) strengthening the accountability of 6 schools for student loan defaults. 7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 8 gress that— 9 (1) it is the responsibility of Congress and the 10 executive branch to take action to implement rec- 11 ommendations made in the annual reports of the 12 Government Accountability Office on reducing dupli- 13 cation in Federal programs to be good stewards of 14 taxpayer dollars; and 15 (2) legislation and adequate resources are need- 16 ed to ensure that all potential financial benefits are 17 realized from the implementation of those rec- 18 ommendations. 19 SEC. 3. ENHANCING FEDERAL REVENUE THROUGH RE- 20 VIEWING AND REPORTING ON USE AND MAN- 21 AGEMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SURCHARGES 22 UNDER FOREIGN MILITARY SALES PROGRAM. 23 (a) FOREIGN MILITARY SALES PROGRAM DE- 24 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘foreign military sales 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2175 IS program’’ means the program authorized under chapter 1 2 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2761 et 2 seq.). 3 (b) REVIEW.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, 5 acting through the Director of the Defense Security 6 Cooperation Agency, shall review options for expand- 7 ing the use of administrative surcharges under the 8 foreign military sales program, including practices 9 for managing administrative surcharges and con- 10 tract administration services surcharges. 11 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The review 12 conducted under paragraph (1) shall include the fol- 13 lowing: 14 (A) A determination of which specific ex- 15 penses are incurred by the United States Gov- 16 ernment in operation of the foreign military 17 sales program that the administrative surcharge 18 does not pay for as of the date of the enact- 19 ment of this Act. 20 (B) The estimated annual cost of each of 21 such specific expenses. 22 (C) An assessment of the costs and bene- 23 fits of funding such specific expenses through 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2175 IS the administrative surcharge, including any 1 data to support such an assessment. 2 (D) An assessment of how the Department 3 of Defense could calculate an upper bound of a 4 target range for the administrative surcharge 5 account and the contract administration serv- 6 ices surcharge account, including an assessment 7 of the costs and benefits of setting such a 8 bound. 9 (E) An assessment of how the Department 10 of Defense calculates the lower bound, or safety 11 level, for the administrative surcharge account 12 and the contract administration services sur- 13 charge account, including what specific factors 14 inform the calculation and whether such a 15 method for calculating the safety level is still 16 valid or should be revisited. 17 (F) An assessment of the process used by 18 the Department of Defense to review and set 19 rates for the administrative surcharge and the 20 contract administration services surcharge, in- 21 cluding the extent to which outside parties are 22 consulted and any proposals the Department of 23 Defense may have for better ensuring that the 24 rates are set appropriately. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2175 IS (G) Such other matters as the Secretary of 1 Defense determines to be appropriate. 2 (c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 3 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 4 of Defense, acting through the Director of the Defense 5 Security Cooperation Agency, shall submit to the Com- 6 mittee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Com- 7 mittee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives 8 a report on— 9 (1) the findings of the review conducted under 10 subsection (b); and 11 (2) any legislative changes needed to allow the 12 administrative surcharge under the foreign military 13 sales program to pay for any expenses currently not 14 covered by that surcharge. 15 SEC. 4. INCREASING FEDERAL REVENUE BY REVIEWING 16 AND REPORTING ON OPTIMAL SIZE OF STRA- 17 TEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE. 18 (a) REVIEW.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy 20 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 21 conduct a review of options for a long-range target 22 for the optimal size and configuration of the Stra- 23 tegic Petroleum Reserve established under part B of 24 title I of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2175 IS (42 U.S.C. 6231 et seq.) (referred to in this section 1 as the ‘‘Reserve’’). 2 (2) MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In con- 3 ducting the review under paragraph (1), the Sec- 4 retary shall consider— 5 (A) the volume of petroleum and petroleum 6 products to be held in the Reserve; 7 (B) the infrastructure and modernization 8 needs of the Reserve; 9 (C) the projections for future oil produc- 10 tion and consumption in the United States; 11 (D) the efficacy of the existing Reserve to 12 respond to domestic supply disruptions; 13 (E) the obligations of the International 14 Energy Agency; 15 (F) the expected responses of the private 16 sector to any supply disruptions due to a sub- 17 optimal size and configuration of the Reserve; 18 and 19 (G) the costs and benefits of a range of po- 20 tential sizes and configurations of the Reserve. 21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 23 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2175 IS Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 1 the House of Representatives a report describing— 2 (1) the findings of the review conducted under 3 subsection (a); and 4 (2) recommendations for legislation needed to 5 optimize the size and configuration of the Reserve. 6 SEC. 5. SAVING FEDERAL FUNDS BY AUTHORIZING 7 CHANGES TO THE COMPOSITION OF CIRCU- 8 LATING COINS. 9 Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is 10 amended by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(x) COMPOSITION OF CIRCULATING COINS.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 13 provision of law, the Director of the United States 14 Mint may modify the composition of circulating 15 coins in accordance with a study and analysis con- 16 ducted by the United States Mint, if that modifica- 17 tion will— 18 ‘‘(A) reduce costs incurred by the tax- 19 payers of the United States; 20 ‘‘(B) be seamless, as determined through 21 testing conducted by most coin acceptors; and 22 ‘‘(C) have no impact on the public and 23 stakeholders, except as described in subpara- 24 graph (A). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2175 IS ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—On the 1 date that is 90 days before the date on which the 2 Director of the United States Mint makes a modi- 3 fication described in paragraph (1), the Director 4 shall submit to Congress notice that— 5 ‘‘(A) provides a justification for the modi- 6 fication, including the support for that modi- 7 fication in the study and analysis required 8 under paragraph (1) with respect to the modi- 9 fication; 10 ‘‘(B) describes how the modification will 11 reduce costs incurred by the taxpayers of the 12 United States; 13 ‘‘(C) certifies that the modification will be 14 seamless, as described in paragraph (1)(B); and 15 ‘‘(D) certifies that the modification will 16 have no impact on the public or stakeholders, 17 except as described in paragraph (1)(A).’’. 18 SEC. 6. REDUCING THE RESOURCE DRAIN BY REQUIRING 19 THAT ELECTRONICALLY PREPARED PAPER 20 RETURNS TO INCLUDE SCANNABLE CODE. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) of section 6011 of 22 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by the 23 Taxpayer First Act (Public Law 116–25), is amended by 24 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2175 IS ‘‘(7) SPECIAL RULE FOR RETURNS PREPARED 1 ELECTRONICALLY AND SUBMITTED ON PAPER.—The 2 Secretary shall require that any return of tax which 3 is prepared electronically, but is printed and filed on 4 paper, bear a code which can, when scanned, convert 5 such return to electronic format.’’. 6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) of 7 section 6011(e) of such Code is amended by striking 8 ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (3) and (7)’’. 9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 10 this section shall apply to returns of tax the due date for 11 which (determined without regard to extensions) is after 12 December 31, 2020. 13 SEC. 7. MAXIMIZING EFFECTIVE USE AND RECOUPMENT OF 14 FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS BY CLOSING THE 15 FORBEARANCE LOOPHOLE AND AMENDING 16 DEFAULT RATES. 17 (a) DEFAULT MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Section 18 435(a)(7)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 19 U.S.C. 1085(a)(7)(A)) is amended— 20 (1) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 21 and 22 (2) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 23 ‘‘(iii) PROHIBITION.—The plan re- 24 quired under clause (i) may not include 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2175 IS placing students in forbearance as a means 1 of reducing the cohort default rate of the 2 institution.’’. 3 (b) FORBEARANCE RULES.—Section 435(m)(1) of 4 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 5 1085(m)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(D) With respect to a cohort default rate 8 calculated for an institution under this para- 9 graph for fiscal year 2018 and for each suc- 10 ceeding fiscal year, the cohort default rate shall 11 be calculated such that in determining the num- 12 ber of current and former students at an insti- 13 tution who enter repayment for such fiscal 14 year— 15 ‘‘(i) any student who is in nonmanda- 16 tory forbearance for such fiscal year for a 17 period of greater than 18 months but less 18 than 36 months shall not be counted as 19 entering repayment for that fiscal year; 20 ‘‘(ii) any student described in clause 21 (i) shall be counted as entering repayment 22 for the first fiscal year for which the stu- 23 dent ceases to be in a period of forbear- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2175 IS ance and otherwise meets the requirements 1 for being in repayment; and 2 ‘‘(iii) any student who is in a period 3 of nonmandatory forbearance for 3 or 4 more years shall be counted as in default 5 and included in the institution’s total num- 6 ber of students in default.’’. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2175.IS S2175 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS