Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB5705 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	118THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 5705
5	5	To support national training, technical assistance, and resource centers, to
6	6	ensure that all individuals with significant expressive communication dis-
7	7	abilities have access to the augmentative and alternative communication
8	8	the individuals need to interact with others, in order to learn, work,
9	9	socialize, and take advantage of all aspects of life in the United States.
10	10	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
11	11	SEPTEMBER26, 2023
12	12	Mrs. D
13	13	INGELL(for herself and Mr. DESAULNIER) introduced the following
14	14	bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Work-
15	15	force, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
16	16	structure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
17	17	each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
18	18	tion of the committee concerned
19	19	A BILL
20	20	To support national training, technical assistance, and re-
21	21	source centers, to ensure that all individuals with signifi-
22	22	cant expressive communication disabilities have access
23	23	to the augmentative and alternative communication the
24	24	individuals need to interact with others, in order to learn,
25	25	work, socialize, and take advantage of all aspects of
26	26	life in the United States.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
28	28	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
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31	31	•HR 5705 IH
32	32	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1
33	33	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Augmentative and Al-2
34	34	ternative Communication Centers of Excellence and Na-3
35	35	tional Technical Assistance Act’’ or the ‘‘AACCENT Act’’. 4
36	36	SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5
37	37	Congress makes the following findings: 6
38	38	(1) Communication is a basic human need and 7
39	39	fundamental right, and is essential to self-deter-8
40	40	mination, social inclusion, and emotional and phys-9
41	41	ical well-being. In enacting a provision of the Ameri-10
42	42	cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (referred to in 11
43	43	this section as the ‘‘ADA’’), Congress recognized 12
44	44	that ‘‘physical or mental disabilities in no way di-13
45	45	minish a person’s right to fully participate in all as-14
46	46	pects of society,’’ and that ‘‘the discriminatory ef-15
47	47	fects of communication barriers’’ are a form of dis-16
48	48	crimination. 17
49	49	(2) Three decades after the passage of the 18
50	50	ADA, Americans with significant expressive commu-19
51	51	nication disabilities still experience discrimination in 20
52	52	the form of communication barriers, institutionaliza-21
53	53	tion, segregation, and relegation to lesser services, 22
54	54	programs, activities, benefits, jobs, or other opportu-23
55	55	nities compared to Americans without significant ex-24
56	56	pressive communication disabilities. 25
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60	60	(3) Data about augmentative and alternative 1
61	61	communication is lacking, but it is estimated there 2
62	62	are at least 4,000,000 people in the United States 3
63	63	who cannot reliably meet their daily communication 4
64	64	needs using natural speech. 5
65	65	(4) The population of individuals with signifi-6
66	66	cant expressive communication difficulties is at sub-7
67	67	stantial risk for limited education, unemployment, 8
68	68	poor health outcomes, poverty, and low quality of 9
69	69	life. 10
70	70	(5) People can acquire a significant expressive 11
71	71	communication disability and need augmentative and 12
72	72	alternative communication as a result of many 13
73	73	health and developmental conditions at all stages of 14
74	74	life. 15
75	75	(6) Research indicates that individuals who be-16
76	76	long to racial or ethnic minority communities face a 17
77	77	greater likelihood of being born with or acquiring ex-18
78	78	pressive communication disabilities, as well as added 19
79	79	difficulties in obtaining intervention services, includ-20
80	80	ing augmentative and alternative communication. 21
81	81	(7) Individuals with significant expressive com-22
82	82	munication disabilities, schools, families, employers, 23
83	83	direct support providers, health care providers, the 24
84	84	justice system, and the general public need more in-25
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87	87	•HR 5705 IH
88	88	formation about how to effectively deploy, imple-1
89	89	ment, and ensure continued access to robust commu-2
90	90	nication tools, services, and other supports for indi-3
91	91	viduals with significant expressive communication 4
92	92	disabilities. 5
93	93	(8) The lived experiences and writings of indi-6
94	94	viduals with significant expressive communication 7
95	95	disabilities demonstrate the positive impact aug-8
96	96	mentative and alternative communication has on 9
97	97	their lives. These lived experiences and writings also 10
98	98	illustrate the harm that results from denying aug-11
99	99	mentative and alternative communication to those 12
100	100	who need it. 13
101	101	(9) The leadership of individuals with signifi-14
102	102	cant expressive communication disabilities is critical 15
103	103	in crafting and implementing effective policies and 16
104	104	programs affecting their lives, including policies and 17
105	105	programs regarding augmentative and alternative 18
106	106	communication. 19
107	107	(10) The freedoms of expression, and to be un-20
108	108	derstood, are essential to both democracy and to in-21
109	109	dividual well-being. Individuals with significant ex-22
110	110	pressive communication disabilities must be afforded 23
111	111	equal rights, opportunities, strategies, technologies, 24
112	112	services, and other supports to effectively express 25
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115	115	•HR 5705 IH
116	116	themselves and participate in their communities and 1
117	117	in democracy. 2
118	118	SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 3
119	119	The purpose of this Act is to work toward eliminating 4
120	120	the continued discrimination, isolation, marginalization, 5
121	121	and denial of equal opportunity of individuals with signifi-6
122	122	cant expressive communication disabilities by providing for 7
123	123	comprehensive national training, technical assistance, and 8
124	124	resource centers to improve— 9
125	125	(1) access to a full range of augmentative and 10
126	126	alternative communication; 11
127	127	(2) access to equal opportunity; 12
128	128	(3) awareness and implementation of relevant 13
129	129	laws, policies, and practices; 14
130	130	(4) leadership and self-advocacy skills; 15
131	131	(5) capacity, in the case of individuals with sig-16
132	132	nificant expressive communication disabilities, edu-17
133	133	cators, professionals, and families; 18
134	134	(6) national statistical data; and 19
135	135	(7) societal awareness. 20
136	136	SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 21
137	137	In this Act: 22
138	138	(1) A
139	139	DVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘advisory 23
140	140	council’’ means an 11-person advisory council that— 24
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144	144	(A) provides guidance, recommendations, 1
145	145	and oversight to an eligible entity; 2
146	146	(B) is comprised exclusively of individuals 3
147	147	with significant expressive communication dis-4
148	148	abilities who collectively have diverse— 5
149	149	(i) educational and professional back-6
150	150	grounds; 7
151	151	(ii) racial, ethnic, gender, and lin-8
152	152	guistic identities; 9
153	153	(iii) disabilities, including intellectual 10
154	154	disabilities, ages, and geographic locations; 11
155	155	(iv) levels of income; and 12
156	156	(v) forms of augmentative and alter-13
157	157	native communication relied upon; and 14
158	158	(C) is subject to each of the following con-15
159	159	ditions: 16
160	160	(i) The initial council members shall 17
161	161	be identified in the grant application by 18
162	162	the partners of the eligible entity. 19
163	163	(ii) Each member of the advisory 20
164	164	council shall be appointed for a period of 21
165	165	5 years. 22
166	166	(iii) The Chair and Vice Chair of the 23
167	167	council shall be selected by the council 24
168	168	members at the first meeting and there-25
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171	171	•HR 5705 IH
172	172	after as the council determines to be ap-1
173	173	propriate. 2
174	174	(iv) The council shall fill any vacancy 3
175	175	in accordance with section 7(b)(8)(C). 4
176	176	(2) A
177	177	UGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMU -5
178	178	NICATION.—The term ‘‘augmentative and alternative 6
179	179	communication’’ means any tool, method, tech-7
180	180	nology, strategy, service, training, coaching, and 8
181	181	other support used to supplement or replace speech. 9
182	182	(3) C
183	183	OMPETITIVE INTEGRATED EMPLOY -10
184	184	MENT.—The term ‘‘competitive integrated employ-11
185	185	ment’’ has the meaning given the term in section 7 12
186	186	of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705). 13
187	187	(4) D
188	188	ISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 14
189	189	meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri-15
190	190	cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 16
191	191	12102). 17
192	192	(5) E
193	193	LIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-18
194	194	ty’’ means a partnership of at least 2 organiza-19
195	195	tions— 20
196	196	(A) for which the controlling partner of the 21
197	197	partnership is a nonprofit organization 22
198	198	headquartered in the United States that vests 23
199	199	power and authority in individuals with signifi-24
200	200	cant expressive communication disabilities in 25
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203	203	•HR 5705 IH
204	204	terms of management, staffing, decision mak-1
205	205	ing, operation, and provision of services; 2
206	206	(B) that includes at least one other organi-3
207	207	zation headquartered in the United States that 4
208	208	is either an institution of higher education or 5
209	209	an association of professional service providers 6
210	210	or educators in the field of significant expres-7
211	211	sive communication disabilities; 8
212	212	(C) that has a cross-disability and cross- 9
213	213	generational focus; 10
214	214	(D) that is advised by an advisory council; 11
215	215	(E) that has adopted a mission that values 12
216	216	equal opportunity and the fundamental right of 13
217	217	communication access, and operating principles 14
218	218	that respect the rights of individuals with sig-15
219	219	nificant expressive communication disabilities to 16
220	220	express themselves in the manner of their 17
221	221	choosing; and 18
222	222	(F) of which the organizational members, 19
223	223	collectively— 20
224	224	(i) have knowledge, experience, and 21
225	225	capacity in conducting training, technical 22
226	226	assistance, or knowledge dissemination re-23
227	227	lated to the priority activities described in 24
228	228	section 6; 25
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231	231	•HR 5705 IH
232	232	(ii) have experience working directly 1
233	233	with individuals with significant expressive 2
234	234	communication disabilities in association 3
235	235	with— 4
236	236	(I) early intervention programs, 5
237	237	early childhood programs, elementary 6
238	238	or secondary schools, or postsecondary 7
239	239	education programs; or 8
240	240	(II) 2 or more types of entities 9
241	241	from among— 10
242	242	(aa) centers for independent 11
243	243	living authorized under part C of 12
244	244	title VII of the Rehabilitation Act 13
245	245	of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796f et seq.); 14
246	246	(bb) home and community- 15
247	247	based service providers; 16
248	248	(cc) employers; 17
249	249	(dd) health care providers; 18
250	250	(ee) protection and advocacy 19
251	251	organizations; 20
252	252	(ff) aging networks; 21
253	253	(gg) caregiver organizations; 22
254	254	or 23
255	255	(hh) State, Tribal, or local 24
256	256	government agencies; and 25
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260	260	(iii) have experience developing and 1
261	261	maintaining collaborative working relation-2
262	262	ships among disability-led advocacy organi-3
263	263	zations, institutions of higher education, 4
264	264	professional associations, or caregiver orga-5
265	265	nizations. 6
266	266	(6) E
267	267	VIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘‘evidence- 7
268	268	based’’, used with respect to assistance that is 8
269	269	knowledge, a resource, training, or technical assist-9
270	270	ance, means assistance— 10
271	271	(A) that demonstrates a rationale based on 11
272	272	a high-quality research finding or positive eval-12
273	273	uation that such assistance is likely to improve 13
274	274	a communication outcome or other relevant out-14
275	275	come; and 15
276	276	(B) for which ongoing efforts are made to 16
277	277	examine the effects of the assistance. 17
278	278	(7) I
279	279	NDIVIDUAL WITH SIGNIFICANT EXPRES -18
280	280	SIVE COMMUNICATION DISABILITIES .—The term ‘‘in-19
281	281	dividual with significant expressive communication 20
282	282	disabilities’’ means an individual of any age— 21
283	283	(A) who has 1 or more real or perceived 22
284	284	significant expressive communication disabilities 23
285	285	and may have other disabilities; and 24
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289	289	(B) whose disabilities result in the individ-1
290	290	ual’s need for, or benefit from, augmentative 2
291	291	and alternative communication and other sup-3
292	292	ports to enable the individual to communicate 4
293	293	and to aid the individual in participating in 1 5
294	294	or more aspects of life. 6
295	295	(8) I
296	296	NSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION .—The 7
297	297	term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 8
298	298	meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 9
299	299	Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 10
300	300	(9) N
301	301	ATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER .—The term 11
302	302	‘‘national resource center’’ means a National Re-12
303	303	source Center on Augmentative and Alternative 13
304	304	Communication referred to in section 5(a). 14
305	305	(10) S
306	306	ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 15
307	307	means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 16
308	308	(11) S
309	309	IGNIFICANT EXPRESSIVE COMMUNICA -17
310	310	TION DISABILITY.— 18
311	311	(A) I
312	312	N GENERAL.—The term ‘‘significant 19
313	313	expressive communication disability’’ means any 20
314	314	disability, whether congenital, developmental, or 21
315	315	acquired at any point in life, that prevents or 22
316	316	significantly limits an individual from under-23
317	317	standing or being understood using spoken 24
318	318	words, resulting in the individual’s need for or 25
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322	322	benefit from augmentative and alternative com-1
323	323	munication. 2
324	324	(B) A
325	325	PPLICATION.—The term does not 3
326	326	apply to an individual whose primary commu-4
327	327	nication disability is visual or auditory in na-5
328	328	ture, but does apply to an individual with a dis-6
329	329	ability described in subparagraph (A) who also 7
330	330	has a visual or auditory communication dis-8
331	331	ability and who may communicate using sign 9
332	332	language. 10
333	333	(12) S
334	334	TATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 11
335	335	States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 12
336	336	of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 13
337	337	Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 14
338	338	the Northern Mariana Islands. 15
339	339	SEC. 5. GRANTS. 16
340	340	(a) I
341	341	NGENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 3 17
342	342	grants through an open competition to eligible entities, 18
343	343	with applications approved under section 7, to create, 19
344	344	maintain, and administer a network of National Resource 20
345	345	Centers on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. 21
346	346	Each national resource center shall be a comprehensive 22
347	347	training, technical assistance, and resource center created 23
348	348	to work toward eliminating the continued discrimination 24
349	349	against, isolation of, marginalization of, and denial of ef-25
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352	352	•HR 5705 IH
353	353	fective communication for and equal opportunity of, indi-1
354	354	viduals with significant expressive communication disabil-2
355	355	ities, through activities including the priority activities de-3
356	356	scribed in section 6. 4
357	357	(b) A
358	358	WARDS FOR MULTIPLECENTERS.—The Sec-5
359	359	retary shall award the grants for national resource centers 6
360	360	in 3 geographically diverse locations, and shall designate 7
361	361	one of the centers as the lead administrative center. 8
362	362	(c) L
363	363	EADADMINISTRATIVECENTER.—The lead ad-9
364	364	ministrative center shall coordinate— 10
365	365	(1) all activities of the centers; 11
366	366	(2) specialization of priorities among the cen-12
367	367	ters; 13
368	368	(3) dissemination of information among the 14
369	369	centers; 15
370	370	(4) responses of the centers to the Secretary; 16
371	371	and 17
372	372	(5) ensuring that the full range of individuals 18
373	373	with significant expressive communication disabil-19
374	374	ities is served by the centers. 20
375	375	(d) A
376	376	MOUNT.—The Secretary shall, to the extent 21
377	377	practicable, award the 3 grants in amounts that total not 22
378	378	more than $9,000,000 per year of a period described in 23
379	379	subsection (e). 24
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383	383	(e) PERIODS.—The Secretary shall award each grant 1
384	384	for a period of 5 years, through an open competition held 2
385	385	initially and at the end of each 5-year period. An eligible 3
386	386	entity that receives a grant under this section may reapply 4
387	387	for such a grant at the end of the grant period. 5
388	388	SEC. 6. NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER PRIORITY ACTIVI-6
389	389	TIES. 7
390	390	The priority activities of a national resource center 8
391	391	shall be to— 9
392	392	(1) increase access to and effective implementa-10
393	393	tion of the full range of augmentative and alter-11
394	394	native communication for all individuals with signifi-12
395	395	cant expressive communication disabilities in the 13
396	396	United States, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, 14
397	397	gender, gender identity, LGBTQ+ status, immigra-15
398	398	tion status, educational achievement, socioeconomic 16
399	399	condition, primary language, nature or severity of 17
400	400	disability, location of residence, and age of onset of 18
401	401	the significant expressive communication disability; 19
402	402	(2) increase the capacity of individuals with sig-20
403	403	nificant expressive communication disabilities, edu-21
404	404	cators, professional service providers, families, and 22
405	405	direct support professionals to support individuals 23
406	406	with significant expressive communication disabil-24
407	407	ities by creating and disseminating evidence-based 25
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411	411	knowledge, resources, training and technical assist-1
412	412	ance, and recommended practices in ensuring indi-2
413	413	viduals with significant expressive communication 3
414	414	disabilities have the tools and other supports nec-4
415	415	essary to exercise self-determination and effectively 5
416	416	access and participate in all aspects of life, including 6
417	417	education, employment, health care, and community 7
418	418	living; 8
419	419	(3) promote awareness and implementation of 9
420	420	the laws, regulations, policies, practices, procedures, 10
421	421	and systems that facilitate access to the full range 11
422	422	of augmentative and alternative communication and 12
423	423	promote equal access and opportunity for individuals 13
424	424	with significant expressive communication disabil-14
425	425	ities; 15
426	426	(4) support and enhance the skills and leader-16
427	427	ship of individuals with significant expressive com-17
428	428	munication disabilities and their families to advocate 18
429	429	for the rights of the individuals to effective commu-19
430	430	nication, education, self-determination, access to jus-20
431	431	tice, and equal opportunity and participation in all 21
432	432	aspects of life; 22
433	433	(5) support the improved collection, availability, 23
434	434	and dissemination of demographic and characteristic 24
435	435	data, with a cross-disability and cross-generational 25
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438	438	•HR 5705 IH
439	439	focus, regarding individuals with significant expres-1
440	440	sive communication disabilities in the United States, 2
441	441	the barriers the individuals experience to meaningful 3
442	442	access to augmentative and alternative communica-4
443	443	tion, and the unmet communication support and 5
444	444	other needs of this population; and 6
445	445	(6) increase societal awareness and knowledge 7
446	446	about individuals with significant expressive commu-8
447	447	nication disabilities and the importance of, need for, 9
448	448	benefits of, and rights to meaningful access to effec-10
449	449	tive communication tools and other supports in all 11
450	450	aspects of community and life. 12
451	451	SEC. 7. APPLICATIONS. 13
452	452	(a) I
453	453	NGENERAL.—To be qualified to receive a grant 14
454	454	under section 5, an eligible entity shall submit an applica-15
455	455	tion to the Secretary at such time and in such manner 16
456	456	as the Secretary may require. 17
457	457	(b) C
458	458	ONTENTS.—Each such application from an eligi-18
459	459	ble entity shall include, at a minimum, each of the fol-19
460	460	lowing: 20
461	461	(1) A description of the experience of each part-21
462	462	ner organization in the entity in providing training, 22
463	463	information, advocacy, and support related to aug-23
464	464	mentative and alternative communication and indi-24
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468	468	viduals with significant expressive communication 1
469	469	disabilities. 2
470	470	(2) A description of each partner organization’s 3
471	471	experience in providing training, information, advo-4
472	472	cacy, and support related to augmentative and alter-5
473	473	native communication and to individuals with signifi-6
474	474	cant expressive communication disabilities, to— 7
475	475	(A) early intervention specialists; 8
476	476	(B) elementary education, secondary edu-9
477	477	cation, postsecondary education, and specialized 10
478	478	instructional support personnel as defined in 11
479	479	section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 12
480	480	Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); 13
481	481	(C) caregiver groups; 14
482	482	(D) providers of home and community- 15
483	483	based services for adults; 16
484	484	(E) health care providers and educators; 17
485	485	(F) employers; 18
486	486	(G) providers of services to older adults; 19
487	487	(H) law enforcement agencies, courts, of-20
488	488	fices of district attorneys, and other public and 21
489	489	private security agencies and businesses; 22
490	490	(I) institutional long-term care services 23
491	491	and support providers; 24
492	492	(J) nursing home providers; and 25
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495	495	•HR 5705 IH
496	496	(K) other stakeholders. 1
497	497	(3) A description of each partner organization’s 2
498	498	experience working with State, local, or Tribal gov-3
499	499	ernment agencies in providing training, information, 4
500	500	and support related to augmentative and alternative 5
501	501	communication for full expression and individuals 6
502	502	with significant expressive communication disabil-7
503	503	ities. 8
504	504	(4) A description of each partner organization’s 9
505	505	prior partnerships with disability-led organizations 10
506	506	focused on augmentative and alternative communica-11
507	507	tion and individuals with significant expressive com-12
508	508	munication disabilities. 13
509	509	(5) Evidence of how the applicant satisfies the 14
510	510	requirements of section 4(5). 15
511	511	(6) A description of the applicant’s plan to en-16
512	512	sure that the applicant will provide training, tech-17
513	513	nical assistance, and information to target audi-18
514	514	ences, especially those audiences in need of knowl-19
515	515	edge and access to augmentative and alternative 20
516	516	communication. 21
517	517	(7) A description of the applicant’s plan to im-22
518	518	plement the priority activities in section 6, including 23
519	519	how the organizational members of the eligible entity 24
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522	522	•HR 5705 IH
523	523	will partner, collaborate, and operationalize the ac-1
524	524	tivities. 2
525	525	(8) Advisory council information, including— 3
526	526	(A) a description of the advisory council, 4
527	527	including a list of the inaugural members of the 5
528	528	advisory council; 6
529	529	(B) an assurance that the Chair and Vice 7
530	530	Chair of the advisory council will be selected by 8
531	531	the advisory council members at the first meet-9
532	532	ing of the advisory council and thereafter as the 10
533	533	council determines to be appropriate; and 11
534	534	(C) an assurance that, in filling a vacancy 12
535	535	on the advisory council, the advisory council 13
536	536	will— 14
537	537	(i) solicit nominations from the popu-15
538	538	lation of augmentative and alternative 16
539	539	communication users; 17
540	540	(ii) if there is not more than 1 nomi-18
541	541	nee for the vacancy, confirm the nominee 19
542	542	as a new member; and 20
543	543	(iii) if there is more than 1 nominee 21
544	544	for the vacancy, vote to determine the 22
545	545	nominee to fill the vacancy and subse-23
546	546	quently confirm the nominee. 24
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549	549	•HR 5705 IH
550	550	(9) A description of how other individuals with 1
551	551	significant expressive communication disabilities will 2
552	552	be involved in the governance and operations of the 3
553	553	national resource center involved, especially through 4
554	554	employment of individuals with significant expressive 5
555	555	communication disabilities. 6
556	556	(10) A description of how the applicant will de-7
557	557	sign and make training, technical assistance, and in-8
558	558	formation available in accessible formats, including 9
559	559	plain language. 10
560	560	(11) Assurances that the applicant, acting 11
561	561	through the national resource center, will work with 12
562	562	the stakeholders identified in section 9(d). 13
563	563	(12) Assurances that the applicant, acting 14
564	564	through the national resource center, will provide the 15
565	565	Secretary with requested data and information for 16
566	566	purposes of evaluating the grant activities. 17
567	567	SEC. 8. AWARD PRIORITY. 18
568	568	In awarding grants for activities described in this 19
569	569	Act, the Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity 20
570	570	with at least 1 partner organization that— 21
571	571	(1) demonstrates a minimum of 3 years of ex-22
572	572	perience providing training and technical assistance 23
573	573	and disseminating information related to augment-24
574	574	ative and alternative communication and individuals 25
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577	577	•HR 5705 IH
578	578	with significant expressive communication disabil-1
579	579	ities, and being otherwise engaged in the priority ac-2
580	580	tivities described in section 6; 3
581	581	(2) demonstrates that individuals with signifi-4
582	582	cant expressive communication disabilities and those 5
583	583	who use augmentative and alternative communica-6
584	584	tion are purposefully involved in the governance and 7
585	585	operation of the organization, especially through 8
586	586	their employment in service, delivery, and leadership 9
587	587	positions; 10
588	588	(3) demonstrates the ability to collaborate with 11
589	589	disability self-advocacy, education, direct service, 12
590	590	health care, employment, aging, caregiver, and hous-13
591	591	ing organizations, whether the organizations are 14
592	592	public agencies or private entities; and 15
593	593	(4) demonstrates expertise in promoting acces-16
594	594	sibility and the use of universal design (the latter as 17
595	595	defined in section 103 of the Higher Education Act 18
596	596	of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)) in providing training and 19
597	597	technical assistance, and information dissemination. 20
598	598	SEC. 9. USE OF FUNDS. 21
599	599	(a) I
600	600	NGENERAL.—An eligible entity that receives a 22
601	601	grant under section 5 shall use the grant funds to manage 23
602	602	and carry out each of the priority activities described in 24
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605	605	•HR 5705 IH
606	606	section 6, activities described in this section, and any addi-1
607	607	tional activities approved by the Secretary. 2
608	608	(b) C
609	609	OORDINATIONWITHFEDERALPROGRAMS.— 3
610	610	The work of a national resource center shall link to cur-4
611	611	rent and future policy and activities undertaken through-5
612	612	out the Federal Government in relation to self-advocacy, 6
613	613	supported decision making, person-centered planning, 7
614	614	community living, and competitive integrated employment 8
615	615	for individuals with disabilities and particularly for indi-9
616	616	viduals with the most significant expressive communica-10
617	617	tion disabilities, for the purpose of increasing— 11
618	618	(1) success and self-determination in life; 12
619	619	(2) the provision of inclusive early intervention 13
620	620	services, elementary education, secondary education, 14
621	621	and postsecondary education programs; 15
622	622	(3) competitive integrated employment; 16
623	623	(4) health, wellness, and personal safety; 17
624	624	(5) economic security; 18
625	625	(6) civic engagement; 19
626	626	(7) community integration; and 20
627	627	(8) improvement in other aspects of life. 21
628	628	(c) I
629	629	NFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—Notwith-22
630	630	standing the priority activities described in section 6, a 23
631	631	national resource center shall ensure information and 24
632	632	other resources about augmentative and alternative com-25
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635	635	•HR 5705 IH
636	636	munication and individuals with significant expressive 1
637	637	communication disabilities are made available as appro-2
638	638	priate to— 3
639	639	(1) individuals with significant expressive com-4
640	640	munication disabilities and their families; 5
641	641	(2) institutions of higher education; 6
642	642	(3) State, Tribal, and local educational agen-7
643	643	cies; 8
644	644	(4) law enforcement agencies, courts, offices of 9
645	645	district attorneys, and other public and private secu-10
646	646	rity agencies and businesses; 11
647	647	(5) national, State, regional, Tribal, and local 12
648	648	employers, to enable businesses to hire into competi-13
649	649	tive integrated employment more individuals who use 14
650	650	augmentative and alternative communication; 15
651	651	(6) national, State, Tribal, and local govern-16
652	652	ment agencies that provide services and other sup-17
653	653	ports to individuals with significant expressive com-18
654	654	munication disabilities, including agencies respon-19
655	655	sible for emergency preparedness, employment sup-20
656	656	port, and vocational rehabilitation, agencies respon-21
657	657	sible for State programs under the Assistive Tech-22
658	658	nology Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.), agen-23
659	659	cies responsible for State alternative financing pro-24
660	660	grams, State agencies responsible for the Medicaid 25
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663	663	•HR 5705 IH
664	664	program under title XIX of the Social Security Act 1
665	665	(42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), and the agencies over-2
666	666	seeing the provision of home and community-based 3
667	667	services; 4
668	668	(7) national and local disability and aging advo-5
669	669	cacy organizations, including disability self-advocacy 6
670	670	organizations; 7
671	671	(8) family support organizations, including the 8
672	672	parent training and information centers supported 9
673	673	under section 671 of the Individuals with Disabilities 10
674	674	Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1471); 11
675	675	(9) centers for independent living and Statewide 12
676	676	Independent Living Councils authorized by title VII 13
677	677	of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796 et 14
678	678	seq.); 15
679	679	(10) network partners, including the State 16
680	680	Councils on Developmental Disabilities described in 17
681	681	section 125 of the Developmental Disabilities Assist-18
682	682	ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 19
683	683	15025), the protection and advocacy systems de-20
684	684	scribed in section 143 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 21
685	685	15043), and University Centers for Excellence in 22
686	686	Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and 23
687	687	Services supported under subtitle D of title I of that 24
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690	690	•HR 5705 IH
691	691	Act (42 U.S.C. 15061 et seq.), participating in ac-1
692	692	tivities under that Act (42 U.S.C. 15001 et seq.); 2
693	693	(11) State agencies and area agencies on aging, 3
694	694	entities carrying out long-term care ombudsman pro-4
695	695	grams, and other entities funded under the Older 5
696	696	Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); 6
697	697	(12) health care providers and educators, health 7
698	698	care advocacy organizations, nursing home pro-8
699	699	viders, and institutional long-term care facilities; 9
700	700	(13) professional organizations and organiza-10
701	701	tions that certify preservice training programs; and 11
702	702	(14) other groups and entities as identified by 12
703	703	the eligible entity and the advisory council of the eli-13
704	704	gible entity. 14
705	705	(d) S
706	706	TAKEHOLDERCOLLABORATION.—A national re-15
707	707	source center shall collaborate with— 16
708	708	(1) organizations of individuals with significant 17
709	709	expressive communication disabilities; 18
710	710	(2) disability organizations; 19
711	711	(3) entities carrying out State assistive tech-20
712	712	nology programs and State alternative financing pro-21
713	713	grams; 22
714	714	(4) State, Tribal, and local educational agen-23
715	715	cies; 24
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718	718	•HR 5705 IH
719	719	(5) the councils, systems, and university centers 1
720	720	described in subsection (c)(10); 2
721	721	(6) entities carrying out national, State, Tribal 3
722	722	and Native Hawaiian, and local programs authorized 4
723	723	by the Older Americans Act of 1965; 5
724	724	(7) the federally funded Rehabilitation Engi-6
725	725	neering Research Center on Augmentative and Al-7
726	726	ternative Communication; 8
727	727	(8) State agencies responsible for vocational re-9
728	728	habilitation programs, as defined in section 3 of the 10
729	729	Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 11
730	730	U.S.C. 3102); 12
731	731	(9) professional associations whose members 13
732	732	come in contact with and support individuals who 14
733	733	may use augmentative and alternative communica-15
734	734	tion; 16
735	735	(10) local boards, as defined in section 3 of the 17
736	736	Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 18
737	737	U.S.C. 3102); and 19
738	738	(11) other State, regional, Tribal, and local en-20
739	739	tities with the ability to provide support for individ-21
740	740	uals who need and use augmentative and alternative 22
741	741	communication. 23
742	742	(e) L
743	743	IMITATION.—A national resource center that re-24
744	744	ceives grant funds under section 5 for a fiscal year shall 25
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747	747	•HR 5705 IH
748	748	use not more than 15 percent of the funds for the adminis-1
749	749	trative costs of carrying out activities under this Act. 2
750	750	SEC. 10. ANNUAL REPORT. 3
751	751	(a) P
752	752	REPARATION.—The lead administrative center 4
753	753	referred to in section 5(b), in coordination with the other 5
754	754	national resource centers that receive grant funds under 6
755	755	section 5, shall annually prepare a report containing, con-7
756	756	sistent with criteria established by the Secretary, informa-8
757	757	tion on— 9
758	758	(1) activities conducted by each national re-10
759	759	source center funded under section 5 to achieve the 11
760	760	purpose of this Act; 12
761	761	(2) collaboration by each such national resource 13
762	762	center with other entities to achieve the purposes of 14
763	763	this Act; 15
764	764	(3) barriers to and strategies for equitable ac-16
765	765	cess to augmentative and alternative communication 17
766	766	and other supports for individuals who belong to ra-18
767	767	cial, ethnic, and linguistic minority communities and 19
768	768	face a greater likelihood of being born with or ac-20
769	769	quiring significant expressive communication disabil-21
770	770	ities as well as added difficulties in obtaining effec-22
771	771	tive augmentative and alternative communication; 23
772	772	(4) identified gaps in available demographic and 24
773	773	characteristic data on individuals with significant ex-25
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776	776	•HR 5705 IH
777	777	pressive communication disabilities in the United 1
778	778	States; and 2
779	779	(5) the unmet needs of individuals with signifi-3
780	780	cant expressive communication disabilities, from di-4
781	781	verse backgrounds, in the United States and policy 5
782	782	recommendations to address such unmet needs. 6
783	783	(b) S
784	784	UBMISSION.—The lead administrative center 7
785	785	shall submit the report to— 8
786	786	(1) the Secretary; 9
787	787	(2) the Secretary of Education; 10
788	788	(3) the relevant subcommittees of the Com-11
789	789	mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 12
790	790	of the Senate, the Special Committee on Aging of 13
791	791	the Senate, and the Committee on Education and 14
792	792	the Workforce of the House of Representatives; and 15
793	793	(4) the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and 16
794	794	Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies 17
795	795	of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 18
796	796	and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and 19
797	797	Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies 20
798	798	of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 21
799	799	Representatives. 22
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802	802	•HR 5705 IH
803	803	SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 1
804	804	There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 2
805	805	this Act $9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 3
806	806	2028. 4
807	807	SEC. 12. SHORT TITLE. 5
808	808	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nogales Wastewater 6
809	809	Improvement Act of 2023’’. 7
810	810	SEC. 13. NOGALES WASTEWATER IMPROVEMENT. 8
811	811	(a) A
812	812	MENDMENT TO THE ACT OFJULY27, 1953.— 9
813	813	The first section of the Act of July 27, 1953 (67 Stat. 10
814	814	195, chapter 242; 22 U.S.C. 277d–10), is amended by 11
815	815	striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘: Provided 12
816	816	further, That the equitable portion of the Nogales sanita-13
817	817	tion project for the city of Nogales, Arizona, shall be lim-14
818	818	ited to the costs directly associated with the treatment and 15
819	819	conveyance of the wastewater of the city and, to the extent 16
820	820	practicable, shall not include any costs directly associated 17
821	821	with the quality or quantity of wastewater originating in 18
822	822	Mexico.’’. 19
823	823	(b) N
824	824	OGALESSANITATIONPROJECT.— 20
825	825	(1) D
826	826	EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 21
827	827	(A) C
828	828	ITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the 22
829	829	City of Nogales, Arizona. 23
830	830	(B) C
831	831	OMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commis-24
832	832	sion’’ means the United States Section of the 25
833	833	International Boundary and Water Commission. 26
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836	836	•HR 5705 IH
837	837	(C) INTERNATIONAL OUTFALL INTER -1
838	838	CEPTOR.—The term ‘‘International Outfall In-2
839	839	terceptor’’ means the pipeline that conveys 3
840	840	wastewater from the United States-Mexico bor-4
841	841	der to the Nogales International Wastewater 5
842	842	Treatment Plant. 6
843	843	(D) N
844	844	OGALES INTERNATIONAL WASTE -7
845	845	WATER TREATMENT PLANT .—The term 8
846	846	‘‘Nogales International Wastewater Treatment 9
847	847	Plant’’ means the wastewater treatment plant 10
848	848	that— 11
849	849	(i) is operated by the Commission; 12
850	850	(ii) is located in Rio Rico, Santa Cruz 13
851	851	County, Arizona, after manhole 99; and 14
852	852	(iii) treats sewage and wastewater 15
853	853	originating from— 16
854	854	(I) Nogales, Sonora, Mexico; and 17
855	855	(II) Nogales, Arizona. 18
856	856	(2) O
857	857	WNERSHIP AND CONTROL .— 19
858	858	(A) I
859	859	N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-20
860	860	graph (B) and in accordance with authority 21
861	861	under the Act of July 27, 1953 (67 Stat. 195, 22
862	862	chapter 242; 22 U.S.C. 277d–10 et seq.), on 23
863	863	transfer by donation from the City of the cur-24
864	864	rent stake of the City in the International Out-25
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867	867	•HR 5705 IH
868	868	fall Interceptor to the Commission, the Com-1
869	869	mission shall enter into such agreements as are 2
870	870	necessary to assume full ownership and control 3
871	871	over the International Outfall Interceptor. 4
872	872	(B) A
873	873	GREEMENTS REQUIRED .—The Com-5
874	874	mission shall assume full ownership and control 6
875	875	over the International Outfall Interceptor under 7
876	876	subparagraph (A) after all applicable governing 8
877	877	bodies in the State of Arizona, including the 9
878	878	City, have— 10
879	879	(i) signed memoranda of under-11
880	880	standing granting to the Commission ac-12
881	881	cess to existing easements for a right of 13
882	882	entry to the International Outfall Inter-14
883	883	ceptor for the life of the International Out-15
884	884	fall Interceptor; 16
885	885	(ii) entered into an agreement with re-17
886	886	spect to the flows entering the Inter-18
887	887	national Outfall Interceptor that are con-19
888	888	trolled by the City; and 20
889	889	(iii) agreed to work in good faith to 21
890	890	expeditiously enter into such other agree-22
891	891	ments as are necessary for the Commission 23
892	892	to operate and maintain the International 24
893	893	Outfall Interceptor. 25
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896	896	•HR 5705 IH
897	897	(3) OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE .— 1
898	898	(A) I
899	899	N GENERAL.—Beginning on the date 2
900	900	on which the Commission assumes full owner-3
901	901	ship and control of the International Outfall In-4
902	902	terceptor under paragraph (2)(A), but subject 5
903	903	to paragraph (5), the Commission shall be re-6
904	904	sponsible for the operations and maintenance of 7
905	905	the International Outfall Interceptor. 8
906	906	(B) A
907	907	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA -9
908	908	TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro-10
909	909	priated to the Commission to carry out this 11
910	910	paragraph, to remain available until ex-12
911	911	pended— 13
912	912	(i) $6,500,000 for fiscal year 2025; 14
913	913	and 15
914	914	(ii) not less than $2,500,000 for fiscal 16
915	915	year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter. 17
916	916	(4) D
917	917	EBRIS SCREEN.— 18
918	918	(A) D
919	919	EBRIS SCREEN REQUIRED .— 19
920	920	(i) I
921	921	N GENERAL.—The Commission 20
922	922	shall construct, operate, and maintain a 21
923	923	debris screen at Manhole One of the Inter-22
924	924	national Outfall Interceptor for inter-23
925	925	cepting debris and drug bundles coming to 24
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928	928	•HR 5705 IH
929	929	the United States from Nogales, Sonora, 1
930	930	Mexico. 2
931	931	(ii) R
932	932	EQUIREMENT.—In constructing 3
933	933	and operating the debris screen under 4
934	934	clause (i), the Commission and the Com-5
935	935	missioner of U.S. Customs and Border 6
936	936	Protection shall coordinate— 7
937	937	(I) the removal of drug bundles 8
938	938	and other illicit goods caught in the 9
939	939	debris screen; and 10
940	940	(II) other operations at the Inter-11
941	941	national Outfall Interceptor that re-12
942	942	quire coordination. 13
943	943	(B) A
944	944	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA -14
945	945	TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro-15
946	946	priated to the Commission, to remain available 16
947	947	until expended— 17
948	948	(i) for fiscal year 2025— 18
949	949	(I) $8,000,000 for construction 19
950	950	of the debris screen described in sub-20
951	951	paragraph (A)(i); and 21
952	952	(II) not less than $1,000,000 for 22
953	953	the operations and maintenance of the 23
954	954	debris screen described in subpara-24
955	955	graph (A)(i); and 25
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957	957	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 34
958	958	•HR 5705 IH
959	959	(ii) not less than $1,000,000 for fiscal 1
960	960	year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter 2
961	961	for the operations and maintenance of the 3
962	962	debris screen described in subparagraph 4
963	963	(A)(i). 5
964	964	(5) L
965	965	IMITATION OF CLAIMS.—Chapter 171 and 6
966	966	section 1346(b) of title 28, United States Code 7
967	967	(commonly known as the ‘‘Federal Tort Claims 8
968	968	Act’’), shall not apply to any claim arising from the 9
969	969	activities of the Commission in carrying out this 10
970	970	subsection, including any claim arising from dam-11
971	971	ages that result from overflow of the International 12
972	972	Outfall Interceptor due to excess inflow to the Inter-13
973	973	national Outfall Interceptor originating from 14
974	974	Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. 15
975	975	(c) E
976	976	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section (including the 16
977	977	amendments made by this section) takes effect on October 17
978	978	1, 2024. 18
979	979	Æ
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981	981	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB