,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cece ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #ag1 #bjbe,mr4 ,markey 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,ms4 ,smith1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,kim1 and ,mr4 ,schiff7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act to require the ,president to set a minimum annual goal for the number of refugees to be admitted1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,guaranteed ,refugee ,admission ,ceiling ,enhancement ,act or the ,,grace ,act4 #b4 ,admission of refugees ,section #bjg of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaeg7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 by striking paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in subsection 7b71 the number of refugees who may be admitted under this section in any fiscal year shall be the sum of-- 7,a7 such number as the ,president determines is justified by humanitarian concerns or otherwise in the national interest1 which shall be not fewer than #abe1jjj2 and 7,b7 such number as the ,president determines shall be admitted to the ,united ,states through community or private sponsorship1 by which community groups and private sponsors provide to a refugee and the immediate relatives or beneficiaries of the refugee initial reception and placement services similar to services provided by domestic resettlement agencies and local affiliates1 in lieu of services typically provided by domestic resettlement agencies and local affiliates4 7#b7 ,absence of determination ,if the ,president does not issue a determination under paragraph 7#a7 before the beginning of a fiscal year1 the number of refugees who may be admitted in that fiscal year under this section shall be #abe1jjj4 2 7,b7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#c7 and 7#d7 as paragraphs 7#d7 and 7#g71 respectively2 7,c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#b7 the following3 7#c7 ,numerical goals ,each officer of the ,federal ,government responsible for refugee admissions or refugee resettlement shall treat as the numerical goals for refugee admissions under this section for the applicable fiscal year-- 7,a7 7i7 a determination under paragraph 7#a72 or 7ii7 in the absence of a determination under paragraph 7#a71 the number under paragraph 7#b72 and 7,b7 a determination under subsection 7b74 2 and 7,d7 by inserting after paragraph 7#d71 as redesignated1 the following3 7#e7 ,consideration of resettlement needs ,in making a determination under paragraph 7#a71 the ,president shall consider the number of refugees who are in need of resettlement in a third country1 as determined by the ,united ,nations ,high ,commissioner for ,refugees in the most recently published projected global resettlement needs report4 7#f7 ,regional allocations ,the ,president shall determine regional allocations for admissions under this subsection1 which shall-- 7,a7 7i7 reflect the projected needs identified by the ,united ,nations ,high ,commissioner for ,refugees in the projected global resettlement needs report for the calendar year beginning immediately after the beginning of the applicable fiscal year2 or 7ii7 include an assessment by the ,secretary of ,state detailing the humanitarian and national interest justifications for prioritizing refugee admissions from #a or more regions2 and 7,b7 include an unallocated reserve that the ,secretary of ,state1 after notifying the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate and the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives1 may use for #a or more regions in which the need for additional refugee admissions arises4 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7g7 ,quarterly public reports on admissions ,not later than #ae days after the last day of each quarter1 the ,president shall submit to the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate and the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives1 and publish on a publicly accessible website1 a report that includes the following3 7#a7 ,the number of refugees admitted to the ,united ,states during the preceding quarter4 7#b7 ,the number of refugees admitted to the ,united ,states during the preceding quarter1 expressed as a percentage of the number of refugees authorized to be admitted in accordance with the determinations under subsections 7a7 and 7b7 for the applicable fiscal year4 7#c7 ,the cumulative number of refugees admitted to the ,united ,states during the applicable fiscal year1 as of the last day of the preceding quarter4 7#d7 ,the number of refugees to be admitted to the ,united ,states during the remainder of the applicable fiscal year so as to achieve the numerical goals set forth in the determinations under subsections 7a7 and 7b7 for such fiscal year4 7#e7 ,the number of refugees from each region admitted to the ,united ,states during the preceding quarter1 expressed as a percentage of the allocation for each region under subsection 7a77#f7 for the applicable fiscal year4 7h7 ,quarterly reports on processing ,not later than #ae days after the last day of each quarter1 the ,president shall submit to the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate and the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives a report that includes the following3 7#a7 ,aliens with enhanced security checks 7,a7 ,the number of aliens1 by nationality1 for whom an enhanced security check has been requested who were security-cleared during the preceding quarter1 expressed as a percentage of all cases successfully adjudicated1 approved1 and security-cleared by the ,director of the ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services in the applicable fiscal year4 7,b7 ,the number of aliens1 by nationality1 for whom an enhanced security check has been requested who were admitted to the ,united ,states during the preceding quarter4 7#b7 ,circuit rides 7,a7 ,for the preceding quarter-- 7i7 the number of ,refugee ,corps officers deployed on circuit rides1 expressed as a percentage of the overall number of ,refugee ,corps officers2 7ii7 the number of individuals interviewed-- 7,i7 on each circuit ride2 and 7,,ii7 at each circuit ride location2 7iii7 the number of circuit rides2 7iv7 for each circuit ride-- 7,i7 the duration of the circuit ride2 7,,ii7 the average number of interviews conducted daily on the circuit ride2 and 7,,iii7 the percentages of interviews conducted for-- 7aa7 individuals who require an enhanced security check2 and 7bb7 individuals who do not require an enhanced security check2 and 7v7 the number of interviews completed by video teleconferencing4 7,b7 ,for the subsequent quarter-- 7i7 the number of circuit rides scheduled2 and 7ii7 the number of circuit rides planned4 7#c7 ,processing ,for the preceding quarter-- 7,a7 the average number of days between-- 7i7 the date on which an individual is identified by the ,united ,states ,government as a refugee2 and 7ii7 the date on which such individual is interviewed by the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security2 7,b7 the average number of days between-- 7i7 the date on which an individual identified by the ,united ,states ,government as a refugee is interviewed by the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security2 and 7ii7 the date on which such individual is admitted to the ,united ,states2 and 7,c7 with respect to individuals identified by the ,united ,states ,government as refugees who have been interviewed by the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 the approval1 denial1 and hold rates for the applications for admission of such individuals1 by nationality4 7#d7 ,plan and additional information ,if the number of refugees admitted during the preceding quarter is less than #be percent of the number of refugees authorized to be admitted in accordance with the determinations under subsections 7a7 and 7b7 for the applicable fiscal year1 the ,president shall submit-- 7,a7 an assessment of country conditions and emergency humanitarian circumstances that contributed to the number of refugees admitted2 7,b7 a plan that describes the procedural or personnel changes necessary to ensure the admission of the number of refugees authorized to be admitted to the ,united ,states in accordance with determinations under subsections 7a7 and 7b71 including a projection of the number of refugees to be admitted to the ,united ,states each month so as to achieve the numerical goals set forth in such determinations2 and 7,c7 any additional information relating to the pace of refugee admissions1 as determined by the ,president4 7#e7 ,enhanced security check defined ,in this subsection1 the term enhanced security check means any evaluation process to investigate national security concerns1 including terrorism1 espionage1 sabotage1 or the illegal transfer of goods1 technology1 or sensitive information1 including-- 7,a7 any process within ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services for handling cases with national security concerns2 7,b7 any interagency check requested by ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services during the adjudication process to investigate national security concerns2 7,c7 any additional vetting or review of applicants from a country that is a state sponsor of terrorism or a country with full or partial suspension of entry into the ,united ,states under this ,act2 and 7,d7 any process to screen applicant data against publicly available social media for national security purposes4 7i7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this section may be construed-- 7#a7 to inhibit the expeditious processing of refugee and asylum applications2 or 7#b7 to restrict the authority of the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security to admit aliens to the ,united ,states under any other ,act4 4