H.R. 651: Strengthening Refugee Resettlement Act

Introduced:
Feb 13, 2013 (113th Congress, 2013–2015)
Sponsor:
Rep. Keith Ellison [D-MN5]
Status:
Referred to Committee

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was assigned to a congressional committee on February 13, 2013, which will consider it before possibly sending it on to the House or Senate as a whole.

Progress
Introduced Feb 13, 2013
Referred to Committee Feb 13, 2013
Reported by Committee ...
Passed House ...
Passed Senate ...
Signed by the President ...
Prognosis

0% chance of getting past committee.
0% chance of being enacted.

Only 11% of House bills made it past committee and only 3% were enacted in 2011–2013. [show factors | methodology]

Cosponsors
2 cosponsors (2D) (show)
Committees

House Foreign Affairs

House Judiciary

↪ Immigration and Border Security

House Ways and Means

↪ Human Resources

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To modify provisions of law relating to refugee resettlement, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

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Last updated Feb 13, 2013.
32 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

2/13/2013--Introduced.
Strengthening Refugee Resettlement Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to work with the heads of other relevant federal agencies to conduct a review of refugee processing with the goal of streamlining processing, consistent with maintaining security.
Directs the Secretary of State (Secretary) to establish overseas refugee English language and work orientation training programs prior to the departure for the United States of refugees who have been approved for U.S. admission.
Permits:
(1) refugees (and their spouses and children) to be admitted to the United States as lawful permanent residents, and
(2) asylum seekers (and their spouses and children) to be granted lawful permanent residency.
Directs the Secretary when setting the amount of reception and placement grants to:
(1) adjust the grant amount to account for anticipated initial refugee resettlement needs, and
(2) ensure that funding is provided to national resettlement agencies at the beginning of the fiscal year.
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should appoint a White House Coordinator on Refugee Protection. Requires the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (Director) to make grants to national resettlement agencies to operate a case management system to assist individuals access eligible services, benefits, and assistance provided by the Office, federal, state, or local agencies, and private or nonprofit organizations.
Requires the Office, subject to available appropriations, to provide refugees with a minimum of 12 months' assistance and social services for employment, health, and living expenses.
Authorizes the Director to award grants to community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and resettlement agencies for programs to assist newcomers integrate into U.S. civic life.
Expands eligibility for, and participation in, the refugee matching grant program (federal-private refugee assistance).
Establishes a Domestic Emergency Refugee Resettlement Fund to meet unanticipated refugee resettlement needs.
Makes SSI (supplemental security income) benefits available to qualified aliens, U-visa aliens (victim of criminal activity), or certain T-visa aliens (victims of trafficking in persons) who were ineligible for such benefits because of their failure to acquire citizenship within seven years.
Makes a child who has been granted special immigrant status as a victim of criminal activity (U-visa) eligible for specified refugee benefits.

House Republican Conference Summary

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No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

Slip laws refer to enacted bills and joint resolutions in their original form as enacted by Congress, that is, before other laws amend them. Slip laws are cited as “Public Law XXX-YYY”, where XXX is the number of the Congress in which the bill or resolution was introduced.

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)