S.793 - Organization of American States Revitalization and Reform Act of 2013

H.R.307 - Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013

S.524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016

(Sec. 102) HHS must advance education and awareness regarding the risk of abuse of prescription opioids if they are not taken as prescribed.(Sec. 101) This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convene a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force to review best practices for pain management developed or adopted by federal agencies. The task force must propose updates to best practices and recommendations for addressing gaps or inconsistencies.

S.2487 - Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to identify: (1) VA mental health care and suicide prevention programs that are most effective for women veterans, and (2) such programs with the highest satisfaction rates among women veterans.

S.2133 - Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act of 2015

(Sec. 3) This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish guidelines for federal agencies to establish financial and administrative controls to identify and assess fraud risks and design and implement control activities in order to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud, including improper payments.

The guidelines shall incorporate the leading practices identified in the report published by the Government Accountability Office on July 28, 2015, entitled "Framework for Managing Fraud Risks in Federal Programs."

The financial and administrative controls shall include:

• conducting an evaluation of fraud risks and using a risk-based approach to design and implement financial and administrative control activities to mitigate identified fraud risks;

• collecting and analyzing data from reporting mechanisms on detected fraud to monitor fraud trends and using that data and information to continuously improve fraud prevention controls; and

• using the results of monitoring, evaluation, audits, and investigations to improve fraud prevention, detection, and response.

Each agency shall submit as part of its annual financial report a report on its progress in:

• implementing such financial and administrative controls, the fraud risk principle in the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, and OMB Circular A-123 leading practices for managing fraud risk;

• identifying risks and vulnerabilities to fraud; and

• establishing steps to curb fraud.

(Sec. 4) The OMB must establish a working group to: (1) improve the sharing of financial and administrative controls and other best practices and techniques for detecting, preventing, and responding to fraud, and the sharing and development of data analytics techniques; and (2) submit a plan for a federal interagency library of data analytics and data sets for use by agencies and Offices of Inspectors General to facilitate the detection, prevention, and recovery of fraud.

S.337 - FOIA Improvement Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to:

• require federal agencies to make their disclosable records and documents available for public inspection in an electronic format;

• require agencies to make available for inspection in an electronic format records that have been requested three or more times (frequently requested records);

• prohibit an agency from charging a fee for providing records if the agency misses a deadline for complying with an FOIA request unless unusual circumstances apply and more than 5,000 pages are necessary to respond to the request;

• prohibit an agency from withholding information requested under FOIA unless the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by a FOIA exemption or disclosure is prohibited by law (presumption of openness);

• limit the FOIA exemption for agency communications to allow the disclosure of agency records created 25 years or more before the date of a FOIA request;

• require the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between agencies and FOIA requesters;

• expand the authority and duties of the Chief FOIA Officer of each agency to require officers to serve as the primary agency liaison with OGIS and the Office of Information Policy;

• establish a Chief FOIA Officers Council to develop recommendations for increasing compliance and efficiency in responding to FOIA requests, disseminating information about agency experiences, identifying, developing, and coordinating initiatives to increase transparency and compliance, and promoting performance measures to ensure agency compliance with FOIA requirements; and

• require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to ensure the operation of a consolidated online request portal that allows a member of the public to submit a request for records to any agency from a single website.

(Sec. 3) The head of each agency (i.e., each authority of the U.S. government, excluding the Congress, U.S. courts, governments of U.S. territories and possessions, and the government of the District of Columbia) is required to: (1) review agency regulations and issue regulations on procedures for disclosure of records in accordance with the amendments made by this bill, and (2) include in such regulations procedures for engaging in dispute resolution through the FOIA Public Liaison and OGIS.

(Sec. 4) The program for the efficient management of federal agency records is expanded to require agency heads to establish procedures for: (1) identifying records of general interest or use to the public that are appropriate for public disclosure, and (2) posting such records in a publicly-accessible electronic format.

H.R.4923 - American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016

(Sec. 3) The U.S. International Trade Commission shall:

• conduct a process, meeting specified requirements, for the submission and consideration of petitions for duty suspensions and reductions; and

• report to Congress on the effects of duty suspensions and reductions enacted pursuant to this Act on producers, purchasers, and consumers in the United States.

(Sec. 5) The bill prescribes requirements for publication by specified congressional committees of a list of limited tariff benefits contained in a miscellaneous tariff bill.

S.483 - Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to define phrases related to the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA's) authority to register manufacturers, distributors, and dispensers of controlled substances.

Currently, the DEA registers a controlled substances manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser if it is in the public interest after considering certain factors, including factors relevant to and consistent with the public health and safety. This bill defines "factors as may be relevant to and consistent with the public health and safety" to mean factors relevant to and consistent with the specified purposes of the Controlled Substances Act.

Additionally, current law allows the DEA to immediately suspend a registration to prevent imminent danger to the public health and safety. This bill defines "imminent danger to the public health and safety" to mean an immediate threat of death, serious bodily harm, or abuse of a controlled substance due to a registrant's failure to maintain effective controls against diversion.

The bill revises and expands the required elements of an order to show cause issued by the DEA before it denies, revokes, or suspends a registration for a Controlled Substances Act violation. An order to show cause must specifically state the legal basis for the action and notify the registrant of the opportunity to submit a corrective action plan.

(Sec. 3) The Food and Drug Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Research and Quality, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in coordination with the DEA, must report to Congress on:

• obstacles to legitimate patient access to controlled substances;

• diversion of controlled substances;

• how collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the pharmaceutical industry can benefit patients and prevent diversion and abuse of controlled substances;

• the availability of and gaps in medical education, training opportunities, and comprehensive clinical guidance for pain management and opioid prescribing;

• enhancements to prescription drug monitoring programs; and

• improvements to prescription opioid reporting requirements.

S.192 - Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2016

(Sec. 3) This bill amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA), with respect to the Administration on Aging, to require the Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs to collect and analyze best practices related to responding to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation in long-term care facilities, and publish a report on them.

H.R.1831 - Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill establishes in the executive branch a Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking.

(Sec. 3) The bill provides for a 15 member Commission appointed by the President and congressional leaders with consideration given to individuals with expertise in economics, statistics, program evaluation, data security, confidentiality, or database management.

(Sec. 4) The Commission must conduct a comprehensive study of the data inventory, data infrastructure, database security, and statistical protocols related to federal policymaking and the agencies responsible for maintaining that data to:

• determine the optimal arrangement for which administrative data on federal programs and tax expenditures, survey data, and related statistical data series may be integrated and made available to facilitate program evaluation, continuous improvement, policy-relevant research, and cost-benefit analyses;

• make recommendations on how data infrastructure, database security, and statistical protocols should be modified to best fulfill those objectives; and

• make recommendations on how best to incorporate outcomes measurement, institutionalize randomized controlled trials, and rigorous impact analysis into program design.

The Commission shall consider whether a clearinghouse for program and survey data should be established and how to create such clearinghouse.

The Commission shall evaluate:

• what administrative data and survey data are relevant for program evaluation and federal policy-making and should be included in a clearinghouse;

• which survey data such administrative data may be linked to, in addition to linkages across administrative data series;

• what are the legal and administrative barriers to including or linking these data series;

• what data-sharing infrastructure should be used to facilitate data merging and access for research purposes;

• how a clearinghouse could be self-funded;

• which researchers, officials, and institutions should have access to data;

• what limitations should be placed on the use of data;

• how to protect information and ensure individual privacy and confidentiality;

• how data and results of research can be used to inform program administrators and policymakers to improve program design;

• what incentives may facilitate interagency sharing of information to improve programmatic effectiveness and enhance data accuracy and comprehensiveness; and

• how individuals whose data are used should be notified of its usages.

The Commission shall, upon the affirmative vote of at least three-quarters of its members, submit to the President and Congress a detailed statement of its findings and conclusions, together with its recommendations for appropriate legislation or administrative actions.

(Sec. 5) The following agencies shall advise and consult with the Commission on matters within their respective areas of responsibility:

• the Bureau of the Census;

• the Internal Revenue Service;

• the Social Security Administration;

• the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and Justice;

• the Office of Management and Budget;

• the Bureau of Economic Analysis; and

• the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(Sec. 6) The agencies identified as Principal Statistical Agencies in the report entitled "Statistical Programs of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2015," published by the Office of Management and Budget, shall transfer up to $3 million to the Bureau of the Census, upon request, for carrying out the activities of the Commission.

The Bureau of the Census shall provide administrative support to the Commission.

No additional funds may be authorized to carry out this Act.

(Sec. 8) The Commission shall terminate not later than 18 months after enactment of this Act.

H.R.4437 - To extend the deadline for the submission of the final report required by the Commission on Care.

(Sec. 1) This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to extend the deadline for the Commission on Care's final report to June 30, 2016. (The Commission is charged with examining veterans' access to Department of Veterans Affairs health care and to examine how best to organize the Veterans Health Administration, locate health resources, and deliver health care to veterans during the next 20 years.)

S.1115 - Grants Oversight and New Efficiency Act (GONE Act)

(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to instruct each agency, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to submit to Congress and HHS by December 31 of the first calendar year beginning after this Act's enactment a report that:

• lists each federal grant award held by such agency;

• provides the total number of federal grant awards, including the number of grants by time period of expiration, the number with zero dollar balances, and the number with undisbursed balances;

• describes the challenges leading to delays in grant closeout; and

• explains, for the 30 oldest federal grant awards, why each has not been closed out.

If an agency head is unable to submit all of such information, the report shall include an explanation of why the information was not available, including any shortcomings with and plans to improve existing grant systems, including data systems.

Each agency, within one year after submitting such report, shall provide notice to HHS specifying: (1) whether it has closed out all of the federal grant awards in the report, and (2) which awards have not been closed out. HHS, within 90 days after all of such notices have been provided or by March 31 of the calendar year following the first calendar year beginning after this Act's enactment, whichever is sooner, shall compile, and report to Congress on, such notices.

The Inspector General of an agency with more than $500 million in annual grant funding, within one year after such agency has provided the notice to Congress, shall conduct a risk assessment to determine if an audit or review of the agency's grant closeout process is warranted.

The OMB, within six months after the second such report on notices is submitted, shall report to Congress on recommendations for legislation to improve accountability and oversight in grants management, including the timely closeout of a federal grant award.

The bill defines "federal grant award" as a grant, including a cooperative agreement, in an agency cash payment management system held by the U.S. government for which: (1) the grant award period of performance has been expired for more than two years, and (2) closeout has not yet occurred.