[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 17, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H7665-H7682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
1997
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 475 and rule
XXIII the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union for the further consideration of the bill,
H.R. 3756.
{time} 1033
in the committee of the whole
Accordingly the House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union for the further consideration of the
bill (H.R. 3756) making appropriations for the Treasury Department, the
U.S. Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and certain
independent agencies, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997,
and for other purposes, with Mr. Dreier in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIRMAN. When the Committee of the Whole rose on Tuesday, July
16, 1996, amendment No. 3 printed in part 2 of House Report 104-671
offered by the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Gutknecht] had been
disposed of.
Pursuant to the order of the House of that day, the bill is
considered as read.
The text of the remainder of the bill is as follows:
TITLE II--POSTAL SERVICE
Payments to the Postal Service
payment to the postal service fund
For payment to the Postal Service Fund for revenue forgone
on free and reduced rate mail, pursuant to subsections (c)
and (d) of section 2401 of title 39, United States Code,
$85,080,000: Provided, That mail for overseas voting and mail
for the blind shall continue to be free: Provided further,
That 6-day delivery and rural delivery of mail shall continue
at not less than the 1983 level: Provided further, That none
of the funds made available to the Postal Service by this Act
shall be used to implement any rule, regulation, or policy of
charging any officer or employee of any State or local child
support enforcement agency, or any individual participating
in a State or local program of child support enforcement, a
fee for information requested or provided concerning an
address of a postal customer: Provided further, That none of
the funds provided in this Act shall be used to consolidate
or close small rural and other small post offices in the
fiscal year ending on September 30, 1997.
TITLE III--EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND FUNDS APPROPRIATED
TO THE PRESIDENT
Compensation of the President and
the White House Office
compensation of the president
For compensation of the President, including an expense
allowance at the rate of $50,000 per annum as authorized by 3
U.S.C. 102, $250,000: Provided, That none of the funds made
available for official expenses shall be expended for any
other purpose and any unused amount shall revert to the
Treasury pursuant to section 1552 of title 31, United States
Code: Provided further, That none of the funds made available
for official expenses shall be considered as taxable to the
President.
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses for the White House as authorized by
law, including not to exceed $3,850,000 for services as
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109 and 3 U.S.C. 105; including
subsistence expenses as authorized by 3 U.S.C. 105, which
shall be expended and accounted for as provided in that
section; hire of passenger motor vehicles, newspapers,
periodicals, teletype news service, and travel (not to exceed
$100,000 to be expended and accounted for as provided by 3
U.S.C. 103); not to exceed $19,000 for official entertainment
expenses, to be available for allocation within the Executive
Office of the President; $40,193,000: Provided, That $420,000
of the funds appropriated may not be obligated until the
Director of the Office of Administration has submitted, and
the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate have
approved, a report that identifies, evaluates, and
prioritizes all computer systems investments planned for
fiscal year 1997, a milestone schedule for the development
and implementation of all projects included in the systems
investment plan, and a systems architecture plan.
Executive Residence at the White House
operating expenses
For the care, maintenance, repair and alteration,
refurnishing, improvement, heating and lighting, including
electric power and fixtures, of the Executive Residence at
the White House and official entertainment expenses of the
President, $7,827,000, to be expended and accounted for as
provided by 3 U.S.C. 105, 109-110, 112-114.
Special Assistance to the President and the Official Residence of the
Vice President
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses to enable the Vice President to
provide assistance to the President in connection with
specially assigned functions, services as authorized by 5
U.S.C. 3109 and 3 U.S.C. 106, including subsistence expenses
as authorized by 3 U.S.C. 106, which shall be expended and
accounted for as provided in that section; and hire of
passenger motor vehicles; $3,280,000: Provided, That $150,000
of the funds appropriated may not be obligated until the
Director of the Office of Administration has submitted, and
the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate have
approved, a report that identifies, evaluates, and
prioritizes all computer systems investments planned for
fiscal year 1997, a milestone schedule for the development
and implementation of all projects included in the systems
investment plan, and a systems architecture plan.
operating expenses
For the care, operation, refurnishing, improvement, heating
and lighting, including electric power and fixtures, of the
official residence of the Vice President, the hire of
passenger motor vehicles, and not to exceed $90,000 for
official entertainment expenses of the Vice President, to be
accounted for solely on his certificate; $324,000: Provided,
That advances or repayments or transfers from this
appropriation may be made to any department or agency for
expenses of carrying out such activities: Provided further,
That $8,000 of the funds appropriated may not be obligated
until the Director of the Office of Administration has
submitted for approval to the Committees on Appropriations of
the House and Senate a report that identifies, evaluates, and
prioritizes all computer systems investments planned for
fiscal year 1997, a milestone schedule for the development
and implementation of all projects included in the systems
investment plan, and a systems architecture plan.
Council of Economic Advisers
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Council in carrying out its
functions under the Employment Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1021),
$3,439,000.
Office of Policy Development
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Office of Policy Development,
including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, and 3
U.S.C. 107; $3,867,000: Provided, That $45,000 of the funds
appropriated may not be obligated until the Director of the
Office of Administration has submitted, and the Committees on
Appropriations of the House and Senate have approved, a
report that identifies, evaluates, and prioritizes all
computer systems investments planned for fiscal year 1997, a
milestone schedule for the development and implementation of
all projects included in the systems investment plan, and a
systems architecture plan.
National Security Council
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the National Security Council,
including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109,
$6,648,000: Provided, That $3,000 of the funds appropriated
may not be obligated until the Director of the Office of
Administration has submitted, and the Committees on
Appropriations of the House and Senate have approved, a
report that identifies, evaluates, and prioritizes all
computer systems investments planned for fiscal year 1997, a
milestone schedule for the development and implementation of
all
[[Page H7666]]
projects included in the systems investment plan, and a
systems architecture plan.
Office of Administration
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Office of Administration,
$26,100,000, including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C.
3109 and 3 U.S.C. 107, and hire of passenger motor vehicles:
Provided, That $340,700 of the funds appropriated may not be
obligated until the Director of the Office of Administration
has submitted, and the Committees on Appropriations of the
House and Senate have approved, a report that identifies,
evaluates, and prioritizes all computer systems investments
planned for fiscal year 1997, a milestone schedule for the
development and implementation of all projects included in
the systems investment plan, and a systems architecture plan.
Office of Management and Budget
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Office of Management and
Budget, including hire of passenger motor vehicles, services
as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, $55,573,000, of which not to
exceed $5,000,000 shall be available to carry out the
provisions of 44 U.S.C. chapter 35: Provided, That, as
provided in 31 U.S.C. 1301(a), appropriations shall be
applied only to the objects for which appropriations were
made except as otherwise provided by law: Provided further,
That none of the funds appropriated in this Act for the
Office of Management and Budget may be used for the purpose
of reviewing any agricultural marketing orders or any
activities or regulations under the provisions of the
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (7 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.): Provided further, That none of the funds made
available for the Office of Management and Budget by this Act
may be expended for the altering of the transcript of actual
testimony of witnesses, except for testimony of officials of
the Office of Management and Budget, before the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations or the House and Senate
Committees on Veterans' Affairs or their subcommittees:
Provided further, That this proviso shall not apply to
printed hearings released by the House and Senate Committees
on Appropriations or the House and Senate Committees on
Veterans' Affairs.
Office of National Drug Control Policy
salaries and expenses
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy; for research activities pursuant to title I
of Public Law 100-690; not to exceed $8,000 for official
reception and representation expenses; and for participation
in joint projects or in the provision of services on matters
of mutual interest with nonprofit, research, or public
organizations or agencies, with or without reimbursement;
$34,838,000, of which $18,000,000 shall remain available
until expended, consisting of $1,000,000 for policy research
and evaluation and $17,000,000 for the Counter-Drug
Technology Assessment Center for counternarcotics research
and development projects, and of which $1,268,000 shall be
obligated for drug prevention public service announcements,
and of which $1,000,000 shall be obligated for State
conferences on model State drug laws: Provided, That the
$17,000,000 for the Counter-Drug Technology Assessment Center
shall be available for transfer to other Federal departments
or agencies: Provided further, That the Office is authorized
to accept, hold, administer, and utilize gifts, both real and
personal, for the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work
of the Office: Provided further, That the Secretary of the
Treasury is authorized to receive all unavailable collections
transferred from the Special Forfeiture Fund established by
section 6073 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (21 U.S.C.
1509) by the Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy as
a deposit into the Treasury Forfeiture Fund (31 U.S.C.
9703(a)).
Federal Drug Control Programs
high intensity drug trafficking areas program
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas
Program, $113,000,000 for drug control activities consistent
with the approved strategy for each of the designated High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, of which $3,000,000 shall
be used for a newly designated High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area in Lake County, Indiana; of which $2,000,000
shall be used for a newly designated High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area for the Gulf Coast States of Louisiana,
Alabama, and Mississippi; of which $5,000,000 shall be used
for a newly designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
dedicated to combating methamphetamine use, production and
trafficking in a five State area including Iowa, Missouri,
Nebraska, South Dakota, and Kansas; of which no less than
$59,000,000 shall be transferred to State and local entities
for drug control activities; and of which up to $54,000,000
may be transferred to Federal agencies and departments at a
rate to be determined by the Director: Provided, That the
funds made available under this head shall be obligated
within 90 days of the date of enactment of this Act.
This title may be cited as the ``Executive Office
Appropriations Act, 1997''.
TITLE IV--INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Committee for Purchase From
People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled established by the
Act of June 23, 1971, Public Law 92-28; $1,800,000.
Federal Election Commission
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended,
$27,524,000, of which no less than $2,500,000 shall be
available for internal automated data processing systems, and
of which not to exceed $5,000 shall be available for
reception and representation expenses.
Federal Labor Relations Authority
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses to carry out functions of the
Federal Labor Relations Authority, pursuant to Reorganization
Plan Numbered 2 of 1978, and the Civil Service Reform Act of
1978, including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109,
including hire of experts and consultants, hire of passenger
motor vehicles, rental of conference rooms in the District of
Columbia and elsewhere; $21,588,000: Provided, That public
members of the Federal Service Impasses Panel may be paid
travel expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence as
authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 5703) for persons employed
intermittently in the Government service, and compensation as
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109: Provided further, That
notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, funds received from fees
charged to non-Federal participants at labor-management
relations conferences shall be credited to and merged with
this account, to be available without further appropriation
for the costs of carrying out these conferences.
General Services Administration
federal buildings fund
limitations on availability of revenue
For additional expenses necessary to carry out the purpose
of the Fund established pursuant to section 210(f) of the
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as
amended (40 U.S.C. 490(f)), $209,193,000, to be deposited
into said Fund. The revenues and collections deposited into
the Fund shall be available for necessary expenses of real
property management and related activities not otherwise
provided for, including operation, maintenance, and
protection of Federally owned and leased buildings; rental of
buildings in the District of Columbia; restoration of leased
premises; moving governmental agencies (including space
adjustments and telecommunications relocation expenses) in
connection with the assignment, allocation and transfer of
space; contractual services incident to cleaning or servicing
buildings, and moving; repair and alteration of federally
owned buildings including grounds, approaches and
appurtenances; care and safeguarding of sites; maintenance,
preservation, demolition, and equipment; acquisition of
buildings and sites by purchase, condemnation, or as
otherwise authorized by law; acquisition of options to
purchase buildings and sites; conversion and extension of
Federally owned buildings; preliminary planning and design of
projects by contract or otherwise; construction of new
buildings (including equipment for such buildings); and
payment of principal, interest, taxes, and any other
obligations for public buildings acquired by installment
purchase and purchase contract, in the aggregate amount of
$5,364,392,000, of which (1) not to exceed $540,000,000 shall
remain available until expended for construction of
additional projects at locations as follows: Fresno,
California, Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse; Denver,
Colorado, U.S. Courthouse; District of Columbia, U.S.
Courthouse Annex; Miami, Florida, U.S. Courthouse; Orlando,
Florida, U.S. Courthouse; Covington, Kentucky, U.S.
Courthouse; London, Kentucky, U.S. Courthouse; Babb, Montana,
Piegan Border Station; Sweetgrass, Montana, Border Station;
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Courthouse; Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Courthouse; Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Courthouse; Youngstown,
Ohio, U.S. Courthouse; Portland, Oregon, Consolidated Law
Enforcement Federal Office Building; Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Courthouse; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Department of
Veterans Affairs--Federal Complex, phase II; Columbia, South
Carolina, U.S. Courthouse; Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Courthouse; Salt Lake City, Utah, Moss Courthouse Annex and
Alteration; Blaine, Washington, U.S. Border Station;
Oroville, Washington, U.S. Border Station; Seattle,
Washington, U.S. Courthouse; and, Sumas, Washington, U.S.
Border Station, (Claim): Provided, That the total cost of the
immediately foregoing United States Courthouse or United
States Courthouse annex construction projects shall be
reduced by no less than 10 percent from the prospectus level
estimate by improving design efficiencies, curtailing planned
interior finishes requiring more efficient use of courtroom
and library space, and by otherwise limiting space
requirements: Provided further, That each of the immediately
foregoing construction projects may not exceed the original
authorized level for site acquisition, design, or
construction, unless advanced approval is obtained from the
House and Senate Committees on Appropriations: Provided
further, That from funds available in the Federal Buildings
Fund, $20,000,000 shall be available until expended for
environmental clean up activities at the Southeast
[[Page H7667]]
Federal Center in the District of Columbia: Provided further,
That all funds for direct construction projects shall expire
on September 30, 1999, and remain in the Federal Buildings
Fund except funds for projects as to which funds for design
or other funds have been obligated in whole or in part prior
to such date: Provided further, That claims against the
Government of less than $250,000 arising from direct
construction projects, acquisitions of buildings and purchase
contract projects pursuant to Public Law 92-313, be
liquidated with prior notification to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House and Senate to the extent savings
are effected in other such projects; (2) not to exceed
$635,000,000 shall remain available until expended, for
repairs and alterations which includes associated design and
construction services, as follows: District of Columbia,
Ariel Rios Building; District of Columbia, Department of
Justice Building (Main), phase, 1; District of Columbia,
Layfayette Building; District of Columbia, State Department
Building; Honolulu, Hawaii, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole
Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse; Chicago, Illinois,
Everett M. Dirksen Federal Building; Chicago, Illinois, John
C. Kluczynski, Jr. Federal Building (IRS); Andover,
Massachusetts, IRS Regional Service Center; Concord, New
Hampshire, J.C. Cleveland Federal Building; Camden, New
Jersey, U.S. Post Office-Courthouse; Albany, New York, James
T. Foley Post Office-Courthouse; Brookhaven, New York, IRS
Service Center; New York, New York, Jacob K. Javits Federal
Building; Scranton, Pennsylvania, Federal Building-U.S.
Courthouse; Providence, Rhode Island, Federal Building-U.S.
Courthouse; Fort Worth, Texas, Federal Center; Nationwide
repairs and alterations: Security Upgrades;
Chlorofluorocarbons Program; Elevator Program; and, Energy
Program: Provided further, That additional projects for which
prospectuses have been fully approved may be funded under
this category only if advance approval is obtained from the
Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate:
Provided further, That the amounts provided in this or any
prior Act for Repairs and Alterations may be used to fund
costs associated with implementing security improvements to
buildings necessary to meet the minimum standards for
security in accordance with current law and in compliance
with the reprogramming guidelines of the appropriate
Committees of the House and Senate: Provided further, That
funds in the Federal Buildings Fund for Repairs and
Alterations shall, for prospectus projects, be limited to the
originally authorized amount, except each project may be
increased by an amount not to exceed 10 percent when advance
approval is obtained from the Committees on Appropriations of
the House and Senate of a greater amount: Provided further,
That the difference between the funds appropriated and
expended on any projects in this or any prior Act, under the
heading ``Repairs and Alterations'', may be transferred to
Basic Repairs and Alterations or used to fund authorized
increases in prospectus projects: Provided further, That such
sums as may be necessary shall be made available for ongoing
renovation and consolidation efforts at the National
Veterinary Services Laboratory and a biocontainment facility
at the National Animal Disease Center, as directed in Public
Law 104-52: Provided further, That all funds for repairs and
alterations prospectus projects shall expire on September 30,
1999, and remain in the Federal Buildings Fund except funds
for projects as to which funds for design or other funds have
been obligated in whole or in part prior to such date:
Provided further, That the amount provided in this or any
prior Act for Basic Repairs and Alterations may be used to
pay claims against the Government arising from any projects
under the heading ``Repairs and Alterations'' or used to fund
authorized increases in prospectus projects: Provided
further, That $5,700,000 of the funds provided under this
heading in Public Law 103-329, for the IRS Service Center,
Holtsville, New York, shall be available until September 30,
1998; (3) not to exceed $173,075,000 for installment
acquisition payments including payments on purchase contracts
which shall remain available until expended; (4) not to
exceed $3,903,205,000, to remain available until expended,
for building operations, leasing activities, and rental of
space, of which up to $205,000,000 shall be available for
security enhancements; and (5) not to exceed $4,800,000 for
the development and acquisition of automatic data processing
equipment, software, and services for the Public Buildings
Service which shall remain available until September 30, 1999
for transfer to accounts and in amounts as necessary to
satisfy the requiremens of the Public Buildings Service:
Provided further, That funds available to the General
Services Administration shall not be available for expenses
in connection with any construction, repair, alteration, and
acquisition project for which a prospectus, if required by
the Public Buildings Act of 1959, as amended, has not been
approved, except that necessary funds may be expended for
each project for required expenses in connection with the
development of a proposed prospectus: Provided further, That
the Administrator is authorized in fiscal year 1997 and
thereafter, to enter into and perform such leases, contracts,
or other transactions with any agency or instrumentality of
the United States, the several States, or the District of
Columbia, or with any person, firm, association, or
corporation, as may be necessary to implement the trade
center plan at the Federal Triangle Project and is hereby
granted all the rights and authorities of the former
Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) with
regards to property transferred from PADC to the General
Services Administration in fiscal year 1996: Provided
further, That for the purposes of this authorization,
buildings constructed pursuant to the purchase contract
authority of the Public Buildings Amendments of 1972 (40
U.S.C. 602a), buildings occupied pursuant to installment
purchase contracts, and buildings under the control of
another department or agency where alterations of such
buildings are required in connection with the moving of such
other department or agency from buildings then, or thereafter
to be, under the control of the General Services
Administration shall be considered to be federally owned
buildings: Provided further, That funds available in the
Federal Buildings Fund may be expended for emergency repairs
when advance approval is obtained from the Committees on
Appropriations of the House and Senate: Provided further,
That amounts necessary to provide reimbursable special
services to other agencies under section 210(f)(6) of the
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as
amended (40 U.S.C. 490(f)(6)) and amounts to provide such
reimbursable fencing, lighting, guard booths, and other
facilities on private or other property not in Government
ownership or control as may be appropriate to enable the
United States Secret Service to perform its protective
functions pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3056, as amended, shall be
available from such revenues and collections: Provided
further, That revenues and collections and any other sums
accruing to this Fund during fiscal year 1997, excluding
reimbursements under section 210(f)(6) of the Federal
Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C.
490(f)(6)) in excess of $5,364,392,000 shall remain in the
Fund and shall not be available for expenditure except as
authorized in appropriations Acts.
policy and operations
For expenses authorized by law, not otherwise provided for,
for Government-wide policy and oversight activities
associated with asset management activities; utilization and
donation of surplus personal property; transportation
management activities; procurement and supply management
activities; Government-wide and internal responsibilities
relating to automated data management, telecommunications,
information resources management, and related technology
activities; utilization survey, deed compliance inspection,
appraisal, environmental and cultural analysis, and land use
planning functions pertaining to excess and surplus real
property; agency-wide policy direction; Board of Contract
Appeals; accounting, records management, and other support
services incident to adjudication of Indian Tribal Claims by
the United States Court of Federal Claims; services as
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109; and not to exceed $5,000 for
official reception and representation expenses; $109,091,000.
office of inspector general
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
and services authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, $33,274,000:
Provided, That not to exceed $5,000 shall be available for
payment for information and detection of fraud against the
Government, including payment for recovery of stolen
Government property: Provided further, That not to exceed
$2,500 shall be available for awards to employees of other
Federal agencies and private citizens in recognition of
efforts and initiatives resulting in enhanced Office of
Inspector General effectiveness.
allowances and office staff for former presidents
For carrying out the provisions of the Act of August 25,
1958, as amended (3 U.S.C. 102 note), and Public Law 95-138,
$2,180,000: Provided, That the Administrator of General
Services shall transfer to the Secretary of the Treasury such
sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of such
Acts.
expenses, presidential transition
For expenses necessary to carry out the Presidential
Transition Act of 1963, as amended (3 U.S.C. 102 note),
$5,600,000.
general provisions--general services administration
Section 401. The appropriate appropriation or fund
available to the General Services Administration shall be
credited with the cost of operation, protection, maintenance,
upkeep, repair, and improvement, included as part of rentals
received from Government corporations pursuant to law (40
U.S.C. 129).
Sec. 402. Funds available to the General Services
Administration shall be available for the hire of passenger
motor vehicles.
Sec. 403. Funds in the Federal Buildings Fund made
available for fiscal year 1997 for Federal Buildings Fund
activities may be transferred between such activities only to
the extent necessary to meet program requirements: Provided,
That any proposed transfers shall be approved in advance by
the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate.
Sec. 404. Section 10 of the General Services Administration
General Provisions, Public Law 100-440, dated September 22,
1988, is hereby repealed.
Sec. 405. No funds made available by this Act shall be used
to transmit a fiscal year 1998 request for United States
Courthouse construction that does not meet the design guide
standards for construction as established by the General
Services Administration, the Judicial Conference of the
United
[[Page H7668]]
States, and the Office of Management and Budget and does not
reflect the priorities of the Judicial Conference of the
United States as set out in its approved 5-year construction
plan: Provided, That the request must be accompanied by a
standardized courtroom utilization study of each facility to
be replaced or expanded.
Sec. 406. (a) Section 210 of the Federal Property and
Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 490) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(l)(1) The Administrator may establish, acquire space
for, and equip flexiplace work telecommuting centers (in this
subsection referred to as `telecommuting centers') for use by
employees of Federal agencies, State and local governments,
and the private sector in accordance with this subsection.
``(2) The Administrator may make any telecommuting center
available for use by individuals who are not Federal
employees to the extent the center is not being fully
utilized by Federal employees. The Administrator shall give
Federal employees priority in using the telecommuting
centers.
``(3)(A) The Administrator shall charge user fees for the
use of any telecommuting center. The amount of the user fee
shall approximate commercial charges for comparable space and
services except that in no instance shall such fee be less
than that necessary to pay the cost of establishing and
operating the center, including the reasonable cost of
renovation and replacement of furniture, fixtures, and
equipment.
``(B) Amounts received by the Administrator after September
30, 1993, as user fees for use of any telecommuting center
may be deposited into the Fund established under subsection
(f) of this section and may be used by the Administrator to
pay costs incurred in the establishment and operation of the
center.
``(4) The Administrator may provide guidance, assistance,
and oversight to any person regarding establishment and
operation of alternative workplace arrangements, such as
telecommuting, hoteling, virtual offices, and other
distributive work arrangements.
``(5) In considering whether to acquire any space,
quarters, buildings, or other facilities for use by employees
of any executive agency, the head of that agency shall
consider whether the need for the facilities can be met using
alternative workplace arrangements referred to in paragraph
(4).
(b) Section 13 of the Public Building Act of 1959, as
amended, (107 Stat. 438; 40 U.S.C. 612) is amended--
(1) by striking ``(xi)'' and inserting in lieu thereof
``(xii)''; and
(2) by striking ``and (x)'' and inserting in lieu thereof
``(x) telecommuting centers and (xi)''.
Sec. 407. None of the funds provided in this Act may be
used to implement a plan for the Ronald Reagan Building
(International Trade Center, Washington, D.C.) which would
permit the Woodrow Wilson Center to pay the General Services
Administration less than the rate per square foot assessment
for space and services which is paid by other Federal
entities.
Sec. 408. None of the funds provided in this Act may be
used to increase the amount of occupiable square feet,
provide cleaning services, security enhancements, or any
other service usually provided through the Federal Buildings
Fund, to any agency which does not pay the requested rate per
square foot assessment for space and services as determined
by the General Services Administration in compliance with the
Public Buildings Amendments Act of 1972 (Public Law 92-313).
Sec. 409. The Administrator of the General Services is
directed to ensure that the materials used for the facade on
the United States Courthouse Annex, Savannah, Georgia project
are compatible with the existing Savannah Federal Building-
U.S. Courthouse fascade, in order to ensure compatibility of
this new facility with the Savannah historic district and to
ensure that the Annex will not endanger the National Landmark
status of the Savannah historic district.
Sec. 410. Notwithstanding any other provision of this or
any other Act, during the fiscal year ending September 30,
1997, and thereafter, the Administrator of General Services
may sell or exchange real property, related assets or
interests therein under the custody and control of the
General Services Administration, whether or not such property
or interests therein are excess to its needs, when the
Administrator determines that such sale or exchange is
consistent with economical management of the Federal real
property portfolio, as such portfolio may be defined by the
Administrator: Provided, That any proceeds from such sale or
exchange remaining after reimbursing the Administrator for
the costs of such sales or changes, including the costs of
relocating Federal agencies occupying the property, shall be
deposited in the Federal Buildings Fund and shall remain
available until expended.
John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board
For necessary expenses to carry out the John F. Kennedy
Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, $2,150,000.
Merit Systems Protection Board
salaries and expenses
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses to carry out functions of the Merit
Systems Protection Board pursuant to Reorganization Plan
Numbered 2 of 1978 and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978,
including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, rental of
conference rooms in the District of Columbia and elsewhere,
hire of passenger motor vehicles, and direct procurement of
survey printing, $23,297,000, together with not to exceed
$2,430,000 for administrative expenses to adjudicate
retirement appeals to be transferred from the Civil Service
Retirement and Disability Fund in amounts determined by the
Merit Systems Protection Board.
National Archives and Records Administration
operating expenses
For necessary expenses in connection with the
administration of the National Archives (including the
Information Security Oversight Office) and records and
related activities, as provided by law, and for expenses
necessary for the review and declassification of documents,
and for the hire of passenger motor vehicles, $195,109,000:
Provided, That the Archivist of the United States is
authorized to use any excess funds available from the amount
borrowed for construction of the National Archives facility,
for expenses necessary to move into the facility.
National Archives and Records Administration
(Rescission)
Of the funds made available under this heading in Public
Law 104-52, $4,500,000 are rescinded.
Archives Facilities and Presidential Libraries
repairs and restoration
For the repair, alteration, and improvement of archives
facilities and presidential libraries, $9,500,000 to remain
available until expended.
national historical publications and records commission
grants program
For necessary expenses for allocations and grants for
historical publications and records as authorized by 44
U.S.C. 2504, as amended, $4,000,000 to remain available until
expended.
Office of Government Ethics
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses to carry out functions of the Office
of Government Ethics pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act
of 1978, as amended by Public Law 100-598, and the Ethics
Reform Act of 1989, Public Law 101-194, including services as
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, rental of conference rooms in
the District of Columbia and elsewhere, hire of passenger
motor vehicles, and not to exceed $1,500 for official
reception and representation expenses; $8,078,000.
Office of Personnel Management
salaries and expenses
(including transfer of trust funds)
For necessary expenses to carry out functions of the Office
of Personnel Management pursuant to Reorganization Plan
Numbered 2 of 1978 and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978,
including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109; medical
examinations performed for veterans by private physicians on
a fee basis; rental of conference rooms in the District of
Columbia and elsewhere; hire of passenger motor vehicles; not
to exceed $2,500 for official reception and representation
expenses; advances for reimbursements to applicable funds of
the Office of Personnel Management and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for expenses incurred under Executive Order
10422 of January 9, 1953, as amended; and payment of per diem
and/or subsistence allowances to employees where Voting
Rights Act activities require an employee to remain overnight
at his or her post of duty; $86,576,000; and in addition
$93,486,000 for administrative expenses, to be transferred
from the appropriate trust funds of the Office of Personnel
Management without regard to other statutes, including direct
procurement of printing materials for annuitants, for the
retirement and insurance programs, of which $2,250,000 shall
be transferred at such times as the Office of Personnel
Management deems appropriate, and shall remain available
until expended for the costs of automating the retirement
recordkeeping systems, together with remaining amounts
authorized in previous Acts for the recordkeeping systems:
Provided, That the provisions of this appropriation shall not
affect the authority to use applicable trust funds as
provided by section 8348(a)(1)(B) of title 5, United States
Code: Provided further, That, except as may be consistent
with 5 U.S.C. 8902a(f)(1) and (i), no payment may be made
from the Employees Health Benefits Fund to any physician,
hospital, or other provider of health care services or
supplies who is, at the time such services or supplies are
provided to an individual covered under chapter 89 of title
5, United States Code, excluded, pursuant to section 1128 or
1128A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7-1320a-
7a), from participation in any program under title XVIII of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.): Provided
further, That no part of this appropriation shall be
available for salaries and expenses of the Legal Examining
Unit of the Office of Personnel Management established
pursuant to Executive Order 9358 of July 1, 1943, or any
successor unit of like purpose: Provided further, That the
President's Commission on White House Fellows, established by
Executive Order 11183 of October 3, 1964, may, during
[[Page H7669]]
the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, accept donations
of money, property, and personal services in connection with
the development of a publicity brochure to provide
information about the White House Fellows, except that no
such donations shall be accepted for travel or reimbursement
of travel expenses, or for the salaries of employees of such
Commission.
general provisions--office of personnel management
Sec. 421. The first sentence of section 1304(e)(1) of title
5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after
``basis'' the following ``, including personnel management
services performed at the request of individual agencies
(which would otherwise be the responsibility of such
agencies), or at the request of nonappropriated fund
instrumentalities''.
office of inspector general
salaries and expenses
(including transfer of trust funds)
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
in carrying out the provisions of the Inspector General Act,
as amended, including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C.
3109, hire of passenger motor vehicles, $960,000; and in
addition, not to exceed $8,645,000 for administrative
expenses to audit the Office of Personnel Management's
retirement and insurance programs, to be transferred from the
appropriate trust funds of the Office of Personnel
Management, as determined by the Inspector General: Provided,
That the Inspector General is authorized to rent conference
rooms in the District of Columbia and elsewhere.
Revolving Fund
For reducing any accumulated deficit in the accounts of the
revolving fund established under 5 U.S.C. 1304(e),
$4,755,000.
government payment for annuitants, employees health benefits
For payment of Government contributions with respect to
retired employees, as authorized by chapter 89 of title 5,
United States Code, and the Retired Federal Employees Health
Benefits Act (74 Stat. 849), as amended, such sums as may be
necessary.
government payment for annuitants, employee life insurance
For payment of Government contributions with respect to
employees retiring after December 31, 1989, as required by
chapter 87 of title 5, United States Code, such sums as may
be necessary.
payment to civil service retirement and disability fund
For financing the unfunded liability of new and increased
annuity benefits becoming effective on or after October 20,
1969, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 8348, and annuities under
special Acts to be credited to the Civil Service Retirement
and Disability Fund, such sums as may be necessary: Provided,
That annuities authorized by the Act of May 29, 1944, as
amended, and the Act of August 19, 1950, as amended (33
U.S.C. 771-75), may hereafter be paid out of the Civil
Service Retirement and Disability Fund.
Office of Special Counsel
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses to carry out functions of the Office
of Special Counsel pursuant to Reorganization Plan Numbered 2
of 1978, the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-
454), the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 (Public Law
101-12), Public Law 103-424, and the Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-353),
including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, payment of
fees and expenses for witnesses, rental of conference rooms
in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, and hire of
passenger motor vehicles; $7,840,000.
United States Tax Court
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses, including contract reporting and
other services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, $33,269,000:
Provided, That travel expenses of the judges shall be paid
upon the written certificate of the judge.
This title may be cited as the ``Independent Agencies
Appropriations Act, 1997''.
TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Act
Section 501. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the current
fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein.
Sec. 502. The expenditure of any appropriation under this
Act for any consulting service through procurement contract,
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3109, shall be limited to those
contracts where such expenditures are a matter of public
record and available for public inspection, except where
otherwise provided under existing law, or under existing
Executive order issued pursuant to existing law.
Sec. 503. None of the funds made available to the General
Services Administration pursuant to section 210(f) of the
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949
shall be obligated or expended after the date of enactment of
this Act for the procurement by contract of any guard,
elevator operator, messenger or custodial services if any
permanent veterans preference employee of the General
Services Administration at said date, would be terminated as
a result of the procurement of such services, except that
such funds may be obligated or expended for the procurement
by contract of the covered services with sheltered workshops
employing the severely handicapped under Public Law 92-28.
Only if such workshops decline to contract for the provision
of the covered services may the General Services
Administration procure the services by competitive contract,
for a period not to exceed 5 years. At such time as such
competitive contract expires or is terminated for any reason,
the General Services Administration shall again offer to
contract for the services from a sheltered workshop prior to
offering such services for competitive procurement.
Sec. 504. None of the funds made available by this Act
shall be available for any activity or for paying the salary
of any Government employee where funding an activity or
paying a salary to a Government employee would result in a
decision, determination, rule, regulation, or policy that
would prohibit the enforcement of section 307 of the Tariff
Act of 1930.
Sec. 505. None of the funds made available by this Act
shall be available for the purpose of transferring control
over the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center located at
Glynco, Georgia, and Artesia, New Mexico, out of the Treasury
Department.
Sec. 506. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall be used for publicity or propaganda purposes within
the United States not heretofore authorized by the Congress.
Sec. 507. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall be available for the payment of the salary of any
officer or employee of the United States Postal Service,
who--
(1) prohibits or prevents, or attempts or threatens to
prohibit or prevent, any officer or employee of the United
States Postal Service from having any direct oral or written
communication or contact with any Member or committee of
Congress in connection with any matter pertaining to the
employment of such officer or employee or pertaining to the
United States Postal Service in any way, irrespective of
whether such communication or contact is at the initiative of
such officer or employee or in response to the request or
inquiry of such Member or committee; or
(2) removes, suspends from duty without pay, demotes,
reduces in rank, seniority, status, pay, or performance of
efficiency rating, denies promotion to, relocates, reassigns,
transfers, disciplines, or discriminates in regard to any
employment right, entitlement, or benefit, or any term or
condition of employment of, any officer or employee of the
United States Postal Service, or attempts or threatens to
commit any of the foregoing actions with respect to such
officer or employee, by reason of any communication or
contact of such officer or employee with any Member or
committee of Congress as described in paragraph (1).
Sec. 508. The Office of Personnel Management may, during
the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, accept donations
of supplies, services, land, and equipment for the Federal
Executive Institute and Management Development Centers to
assist in enhancing the quality of Federal management.
Sec. 509. The United States Secret Service may, during the
fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and hereafter, accept
donations of money to off-set costs incurred while protecting
former Presidents and spouses of former Presidents when the
former President or spouse travels for the purpose of making
an appearance or speech for a payment of money or any thing
of value.
Sec. 510. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall be available to pay the salary for any person
filling a position, other than a temporary position, formerly
held by an employee who has left to enter the Armed Forces of
the United States and has satisfactorily completed his period
of active military or naval service and has within 90 days
after his release from such service or from hospitalization
continuing after discharge for a period of not more than 1
year made application for restoration to his former position
and has been certified by the Office of Personnel Management
as still qualified to perform the duties of his former
position and has not been restored thereto.
Sec. 511. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used to provide any non-public information such as mailing
or telephone lists to any person or any organization outside
of the Federal Government without the approval of the House
and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
Sec. 512. No funds appropriated pursuant to this Act may be
expended by an entity unless the entity agrees that in
expending the assistance the entity will comply with sections
2 through 4 of the Act of March 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10a-10c,
popularly known as the ``Buy American Act'').
Sec. 513. (a) Purchase of American-Made Equipment and
Products.--In the case of any equipment or products that may
be authorized to be purchased with financial assistance
provided under this Act, it is the sense of the Congress that
entities receiving such assistance should, in expending the
assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and
products.
(b) Notice to Recipients of Assistance.--In providing
financial assistance under this Act, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall provide to each recipient of the assistance a
notice describing the statement made in subsection (a) by the
Congress.
Sec. 514. If it has been finally determined by a court or
Federal agency that any person intentionally affixed a label
bearing a ``Made
[[Page H7670]]
in America'' inscription, or any inscription with the same
meaning, to any product sold in or shipped to the United
States that is not made in the United States, such person
shall be ineligible to receive any contract or subcontract
made with funds provided pursuant to this Act, pursuant to
the debarment, suspension, and ineligibility procedures
described in section 9.400 through 9.409 of title 48, Code of
Federal Regulations.
Sec. 515. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law,
not to exceed 50 percent of unobligated balances remaining
available at the end of fiscal year 1997 from appropriations
made available for salaries and expenses for fiscal year 1997
in this Act, shall remain available through September 30,
1998, for each such account for the purposes authorized:
Provided, That a request shall be submitted to the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations for approval prior to the
expenditure of such funds.
Sec. 516. Where appropriations in this Act are expendable
for travel expenses of employees and no specific limitation
has been placed thereon, the expenditures for such travel
expenses may not exceed the amount set forth in the budget
estimates submitted for appropriations without the advance
approval of the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations: Provided, That this section shall not apply
to travel performed by uncompensated officials of local
boards and appeal boards in the Selective Service System; to
travel performed directly in connection with care and
treatment of medical beneficiaries of the Department of
Veterans Affairs; to travel of the Office of Personnel
Management in carrying out its observation responsibilities
of the Voting Rights Act; or to payments to interagency motor
pools separately set forth in the budget schedules.
Sec. 517. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or
regulation during the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997,
and thereafter:
(1) The authority of the special police officers of the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, in the Washington, DC
Metropolitan area, extends to buildings and land under the
custody and control of the Bureau; to buildings and land
acquired by or for the Bureau through lease, unless otherwise
provided by the acquisition agency; to the streets, sidewalks
and open areas immediately adjacent to the Bureau along
Wallenberg Place (15th Street) and 14th Street between
Independence and Maine Avenues and C and D Streets between
12th and 14th Streets; to areas which include surrounding
parking facilities used by Bureau employees, including the
lots at 12th and C Streets, SW, Maine Avenue and Water
Streets, SW, Maiden Lane, the Tidal Basin and East Potomac
Park; to the protection in transit of United States
securities, plates and dies used in the production of United
States securities, or other products or implements of the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing which the Director of that
agency so designates.
(2) The authority of the special police officers of the
United States Mint extends to the buildings and land under
the custody and control of the Mint; to the streets,
sidewalks and open areas in the vicinity to such facilities;
to surrounding parking facilities used by Mint employees; and
to the protection in transit of bullion, coins, dies, and
other property and assets of, or in the custody of, the Mint.
(3) The exercise of police authority by Bureau or Mint
officers, with the exception of the exercise of authority
upon property under the custody and control of the Bureau or
the Mint, respectively, shall be deemed supplementary to the
Federal police force with primary jurisdictional
responsibility. This authority shall be in addition to any
other law enforcement authority which has been provided to
these officers under other provisions of law or regulations.
Sec. 518. No funds appropriated by this Act shall be
available to pay for an abortion, or the administrative
expenses in connection with any health plan under the Federal
employees health benefit program which provides any benefits
or coverage for abortions.
Sec. 519. The provision of section 518 shall not apply
where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus
were carried to term, or the pregnancy is the result of an
act of rape or incest.
Sec. 520. No part of any appropriation made available in
this Act shall be used to implement Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms Ruling TD ATF-360; Re: Notice Nos. 782,
780, 91F009P.
Sec. 521. Notwithstanding title 5, United States Code,
Personal Service Contractors (PSC) employed by the Department
of the Treasury for assignment in a country other than the
United States, shall be considered as Federal Government
employees for purposes of making available Federal employee
health and life insurance.
Sec. 522. Section 5131 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by striking subsection (c); and by redesignating
subsection (d) as subsection (c).
Sec. 523. Section 5112(i)(4) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(C) The Secretary may continue to mint and issue coins in
accordance with the specifications contained in paragraphs
(7), (8), (9), and (10) of subsection (a) and paragraph
(1)(A) of this subsection at the same time the Secretary in
minting and issuing other bullion and proof gold coins under
this subsection in accordance with such program procedures
and coin specifications, designs, varieties, quantities,
denominations, and inscriptions as the Secretary, in the
Secretary's discretion, may prescribe from time to time.'':
Provided, That profits generated from the sale of gold to the
United States Mint for this program shall be considered as a
receipt to be deposited into the General Fund of the
Treasury.
Sec. 524. Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(k) The Secretary may mint and issue bullion and proof
platinum coins in accordance with such specifications,
designs, varieties, quantities, denominations, and
inscriptions as the Secretary, in the Secretary's discretion,
may prescribe from time to time.'': Provided, That the
Secretary is authorized to use Government platinum reserves
stockpiled at the United States Mint as working inventory and
shall ensure that reserves utilized are replaced by the Mint.
Sec. 525. Voluntary Separation Incentives for Employees of
Certain Federal Agencies.--(a) Definitions.--For the purposes
of this section--
(1) the term ``agency'' means the Internal Revenue Service,
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the United
States Customs Service;
(2) the term ``employee'' means an employee (as defined by
section 2105 of title 5, United States Code) who is employed
by an agency, is serving under an appointment without time
limitation, and has been currently employed for a continuous
period of at least 12 months, but does not include--
(A) any employee who, upon separation and application,
would then be eligible for an immediate annuity under
subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United
States Code, or another retirement system for employees of
the agency;
(B) a reemployed annuitant under subchapter III of chapter
83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, or another
retirement system for employees of the agency;
(C) an employee having a disability on the basis of which
such employee is or would be eligible for disability
retirement under the applicable retirement system referred to
in subparagraph (A);
(D) an employee who is in receipt of a specific notice of
involuntary separation for misconduct or unacceptable
performance;
(E) an employee who, upon completing an additional period
of service is referred to in section 3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the
Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 (5 U.S.C. 5597
note), would qualify for a voluntary separation incentive
payment under section 3 of such Act;
(F) an employee who has previously received any voluntary
separation incentive payment by the Federal Government under
this section or any other authority and has not repaid such
payment;
(G) an employee covered by statutory reemployment rights
who is on transfer to another organization; or
(H) any employee who, during the twenty four month period
preceding the date of separation, has received a recruitment
or relocation bonus under section 5753 of title 5, United
States Code, or who, within the twelve month period preceding
the date of separation, received a retention allowable under
section 5754 of title 5, United States Code.
(b) Agency Strategic Plan.--
(1) In general.--The head of each agency, prior to
obligating any resources for voluntary separation incentive
payments, shall submit to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of
the Senate and the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight of the House of Representatives a strategic plan
outlining the intended use of such incentive payments and a
proposed organizational chart for the agency once such
incentive payments have been completed.
(2) Contents.--The agency's plan shall include--
(A) the positions and functions to be reduced or
eliminated, identified by organizational unit, geographic
location, occupational category and grade level;
(B) the number and amounts of voluntary separation
incentive payments to be offered; and
(C) a description of how the agency will operate without
the eliminated positions and functions.
(c) Authority To Provide Voluntary Separation Incentive
Payments.--
(1) In general.--A voluntary separation incentive payment
under this section may be paid by an agency to any employee
only to the extent necessary to eliminate the positions and
functions identified by the strategic plan.
(2) Amount and treatment of payments.--A voluntary
separation incentive payment--
(A) shall be paid in a lump sum after the employee's
separation;
(B) shall be paid from appropriations or funds available
for the payment of the basic pay of the employees;
(C) shall be equal to the lesser of--
(i) an amount equal to the amount the employee would be
entitled to receive under section 5595(c) of title 5, United
States Code; or
(ii) an amount determined by the agency head not to exceed
$25,000;
(D) may not be made except in the case of any qualifying
employee who voluntarily separates (whether by retirement or
resignation) before February 1, 1997;
(E) shall not be a basis for payment, and shall not be
included in the computation, of any other type of Government
benefit; and
[[Page H7671]]
(F) shall not be taken into account in determining the
amount of any severance pay to which the employee may be
entitled under section 5595 of title 5, United States Code,
based on any other separation.
(d) Additional Agency Contributions to the Retirement
Fund.--
(1) In general.--In addition to any other payments which it
is required to make under subchapter III of chapter 83 of
title 5, United States Code, an agency shall remit to the
Office of Personnel Management for deposit in the Treasury of
the United States to the credit of the Civil Service
Retirement and Disability Fund an amount equal to 15 percent
of the final basic pay of each employee of the agency who is
covered under subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of
title 5, United States Code, to whom a voluntary separation
incentive has been paid under this section.
(2) Definition.--For the purpose of paragraph (1), the term
``final basic pay'', with respect to an employee, means the
total amount of basic pay which would be payable for a year
of service by such employee, computed using the employee's
final rate of basic pay, and, if last serving on other than a
full-time basis, with appropriate adjustment therefor.
(e) Effect of Subsequent Employment With the Government.--
An individual who has received a voluntary separation
incentive payment under this section and accepts any
employment for compensation with the Government of the United
States, or who works for any agency of the United States
Government through a personal services contract, within 5
years after the date of the separation on which the payment
is based shall be required to pay, prior to the individual's
first day of employment, the entire amount of the incentive
payment to the agency that paid the incentive payment.
(f) Reduction of Agency Employment Levels.--
(1) In general.--The total number of funded employee
positions in the agency shall be reduced by one position for
each vacancy created by the separation of any employee who
has received, or is due to receive, a voluntary separation
incentive payment under this section. For the purposes of
this subsection, positions shall be counted on a full-time-
equivalent basis.
(2) Enforcement.--The President, through the Office of
Management and Budget, shall monitor the agency and take any
action necessary to ensure that the requirements of this
subsection are met.
(g) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect October
1, 1996.
Sec. 526. That provisions of law governing procurement or
public contracts shall not be applicable to the procurement
of goods or services necessary for carrying out Bureau of
Engraving and Printing program and operation: Provided, That
the authority contained in this provision shall expire on
September 30, 1999.
Sec. 527. The United States Mint is hereby authorized to
establish a demonstration project under the authorities of
title V, U.S.C., chapter 47: Provided, That the Director of
the United States Mint shall be appointed by the President,
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; the
Director shall serve on the basis of a six-year contract,
which may be renewed, so long as the Director's performance,
as set forth in an annual performance agreement with the
Secretary of the Treasury, is satisfactory; and the Director
shall receive as basic compensation for a calendar year an
amount equal to the annual rate of basic pay for level I of
the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of title 5 and, in
addition, may receive an annual bonus awarded by the
Secretary, based upon the Secretary's evaluation of the
Director's performance in accordance with the performance
agreement.
Sec. 528. (a) Reimbursement of Certain Attorney Fees and
Costs.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay
from amounts appropriated in title I of this Act under the
heading, ``Departmental Offices, Salaries and Expenses'', up
to $500,000 to reimburse former employees of the White House
Travel Office whose employment in that Office was terminated
on May 19, 1993, for any attorney fees and costs they
incurred with respect to that termination.
(2) Verification required.--The Secretary shall pay an
individual in full under paragraph (1) upon submission by the
individual of documentation verifying the attorney fees and
costs.
(3) No inference of liability.--Liability of the United
States shall not be inferred from enactment of or payment
under this subsection.
(b) Limitation on Filing of Claims.--The Secretary of the
Treasury shall not pay any claim filed under this section
that is filed later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(c) Reduction.--The amount paid pursuant to this section to
an individual for attorney fees and costs described in
subsection (a) shall be reduced by any amount received before
the date of the enactment of this Act, without obligation for
repayment by the individual, for payment of such attorney
fees and costs (including any amount received from the funds
appropriated for the individual in the matter relating to the
``Office of the General Counsel'' under the heading ``Office
of the Secretary'' in title I of the Department of
Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
1994).
(d) Payment in Full Settlement of Claims Against the United
States.--Payment under this section, when accepted by an
individual described in subsection (a), shall be in full
satisfaction of all claims of, or on behalf of, the
individual against the United States that arose out of the
termination of the White House Travel Office employment of
that individual on May 19, 1993.
Sec. 529. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used by the Executive Office of the President to request
from the Federal Bureau of Investigation any official
background investigation report on any individual, except
when it is made known to the Federal official having
authority to obligate or expend such funds that--
(1) such individual has given his or her express written
consent for such request not more than 6 months prior to the
date of such request and during the same presidential
administration; or
(2) such request is required due to extraordinary
circumstances involving national security.
TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Departments, Agencies, and Corporations
Section 601. Funds appropriated in this or any other Act
may be used to pay travel to the United States for the
immediate family of employees serving abroad in cases of
death or life threatening illness of said employee.
Sec. 602. No department, agency, or instrumentality of the
United States receiving appropriated funds under this or any
other Act for fiscal year 1997 shall obligate or expend any
such funds, unless such department, agency, or
instrumentality has in place, and will continue to administer
in good faith, a written policy designed to ensure that all
of its workplaces are free from the illegal use, possession,
or distribution of controlled substances (as defined in the
Controlled Substances Act) by the officers and employees of
such department, agency, or instrumentality.
Sec. 603. Notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 1345, any agency,
department or instrumentality of the United States which
provides or proposes to provide child care services for
Federal employees may reimburse any Federal employee or any
person employed to provide such services for travel,
transportation, and subsistence expenses incurred for
training classes, conferences or other meetings in connection
with the provision of such services: Provided, That any per
diem allowance made pursuant to this section shall not exceed
the rate specified in regulations prescribed pursuant to
section 5707 of title 5, United States Code.
Sec. 604. Unless otherwise specifically provided, the
maximum amount allowable during the current fiscal year in
accordance with section 16 of the Act of August 2, 1946 (60
Stat. 810), for the purchase of any passenger motor vehicle
(exclusive of buses, ambulances, law enforcement, and
undercover surveillance vehicles), is hereby fixed at $8,100
except station wagons for which the maximum shall be $9,100:
Provided, That these limits may be exceeded by not to exceed
$3,700 for police-type vehicles, and by not to exceed $4,000
for special heavy-duty vehicles: Provided further, That the
limits set forth in this section may not be exceeded by more
than 5 percent for electric or hybrid vehicles purchased for
demonstration under the provisions of the Electric and Hybrid
Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1976:
Provided further, That the limits set forth in this section
may be exceeded by the incremental cost of clean alternative
fuels vehicles acquired pursuant to Public Law 101-549 over
the cost of comparable conventionally fueled vehicles.
Sec. 605. Appropriations of the executive departments and
independent establishments for the current fiscal year
available for expenses of travel or for the expenses of the
activity concerned, are hereby made available for quarters
allowances and cost-of-living allowances, in accordance with
5 U.S.C. 5922-24.
Sec. 606. Unless otherwise specified during the current
fiscal year, no part of any appropriation contained in this
or any other Act shall be used to pay the compensation of any
officer or employee of the Government of the United States
(including any agency the majority of the stock of which is
owned by the Government of the United States) whose post of
duty is in the continental United States unless such person
(1) is a citizen of the United States, (2) is a person in the
service of the United States on the date of enactment of this
Act who, being eligible for citizenship, has filed a
declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United
States prior to such date and is actually residing in the
United States, (3) is a person who owes allegiance to the
United States, (4) is an alien from Cuba, Poland, South
Vietnam, the countries of the former Soviet Union, or the
Baltic countries lawfully admitted to the United States for
permanent residence, (5) is a South Vietnamese, Cambodian, or
Laotian refugee paroled in the United States after January 1,
1975, or (6) is a national of the People's Republic of China
who qualifys for adjustment of status pursuant to the Chinese
Student Protection Act of 1992: Provided, That for the
purpose of this section, an affidavit signed by any such
person shall be considered prima facie evidence that the
requirements of this section with respect to his or her
status have been complied with: Provided further, That any
person making a false affidavit shall be guilty of a felony,
and, upon conviction, shall be fined no more than $4,000 or
imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both: Provided
further, That the
[[Page H7672]]
above penal clause shall be in addition to, and not in
substitution for, any other provisions of existing law:
Provided further, That any payment made to any officer or
employee contrary to the provisions of this section shall be
recoverable in action by the Federal Government. This section
shall not apply to citizens of Ireland, Israel, or the
Republic of the Philippines, or to nationals of those
countries allied with the United States in the current
defense effort, or to international broadcasters employed by
the United States Information Agency, or to temporary
employment of translators, or to temporary employment in the
field service (not to exceed 60 days) as a result of
emergencies.
Sec. 607. Appropriations available to any department or
agency during the current fiscal year for necessary expenses,
including maintenance or operating expenses, shall also be
available for payment to the General Services Administration
for charges for space and services and those expenses of
renovation and alteration of buildings and facilities which
constitute public improvements performed in accordance with
the Public Buildings Act of 1959 (73 Stat. 749), the Public
Buildings Amendments of 1972 (87 Stat. 216), or other
applicable law.
Sec. 608. In addition to funds provided in this or any
other Act, all Federal agencies are authorized to receive and
use funds resulting from the sale of materials recovered
through recycling or waste prevention programs. Such funds
shall be available until expended for the following purposes:
(1) Acquisition, waste reduction and prevention, and
recycling programs as described in Executive Order 12873
(October 20, 1993), including any such programs adopted prior
to the effective date of the Executive Order.
(2) Other Federal agency environmental management programs,
including, but not limited to, the development and
implementation of hazardous waste management and pollution
prevention programs.
(3) Other employee programs as authorized by law or as
deemed appropriate by the head of the Federal agency.
Sec. 609. Funds made available by this or any other Act for
administrative expenses in the current fiscal year of the
corporations and agencies subject to chapter 91 of title 31,
United States Code, shall be available, in addition to
objects for which such funds are otherwise available, for
rent in the District of Columbia; services in accordance with
5 U.S.C. 3109; and the objects specified under this head, all
the provisions of which shall be applicable to the
expenditure of such funds unless otherwise specified in the
Act by which they are made available: Provided, That in the
event any functions budgeted as administrative expenses are
subsequently transferred to or paid from other funds, the
limitations on administrative expenses shall be
correspondingly reduced.
Sec. 610. No part of any appropriation for the current
fiscal year contained in this or any other Act shall be paid
to any person for the filling of any position for which he or
she has been nominated after the Senate has voted not to
approve the nomination of said person.
Sec. 611. For the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997,
and thereafter, any department or agency to which the
Administrator of General Services has delegated the authority
to operate, maintain or repair any building or facility
pursuant to section 205(d) of the Federal Property and
Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended, shall retain
that portion of the GSA rental payment available for
operation, maintenance or repair of the building or facility,
as determined by the Administrator, and expend such funds
directly for the operation, maintenance or repair of the
building or facility. Any funds retained under this section
shall remain available until expended for such purposes.
Sec. 612. (a) In General.--Section 1306 of title 31, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1306. Use of foreign credits
``(a) In General.--Foreign credits (including currencies)
owed to or owned by the United States may be used by any
agency for any purpose for which appropriations are made for
the agency for the current fiscal year (including the
carrying out of Acts requiring or authorizing the use of such
credits), but only when reimbursement therefor is made to the
Treasury from applicable appropriations of the agency.
``(b) Exception to Reimbursement Requirement.--Credits
described in subsection (a) that are received as exchanged
allowances, or as the proceeds of the sale of personal
property, may be used in whole or partial payment for the
acquisition of similar items, to the extent and in the manner
authorized by law, without reimbursement to the Treasury.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendment made by this section
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act
and shall apply thereafter.
Sec. 613. No part of any appropriation contained in this or
any other Act shall be available for interagency financing of
boards, commissions, councils, committees, or similar groups
(whether or not they are interagency entities) which do not
have a prior and specific statutory approval to receive
financial support from more than one agency or
instrumentality.
Sec. 614. Funds made available by this or any other Act to
the ``Postal Service Fund'' (39 U.S.C. 2003) shall be
available for employment of guards for all buildings and
areas owned or occupied by the Postal Service and under the
charge and control of the Postal Service, and such guards
shall have, with respect to such property, the powers of
special policemen provided by the first section of the Act of
June 1, 1948, as amended (62 Stat. 281; 40 U.S.C. 318), and,
as to property owned or occupied by the Postal Service, the
Postmaster General may take the same actions as the
Administrator of General Services may take under the
provisions of sections 2 and 3 of the Act of June 1, 1948, as
amended (62 Stat. 281; 40 U.S.C. 318a, 318b), attaching
thereto penal consequences under the authority and within the
limits provided in section 4 of the Act of June 1, 1948, as
amended (62 Stat. 281; 40 U.S.C. 318c).
Sec. 615. None of the funds made available pursuant to the
provisions of this Act shall be used to implement,
administer, or enforce any regulation which has been
disapproved pursuant to a resolution of disapproval duly
adopted in accordance with the applicable law of the United
States.
Sec. 616. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
and except as otherwise provided in this section, no part of
any of the funds appropriated for the fiscal year ending on
September 30, 1997, by this or any other Act, may be used to
pay any prevailing rate employee described in section
5342(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code--
(1) during the period from the date of expiration of the
limitation imposed by section 616 of the Treasury, Postal
Service and General Government Appropriations Act, 1996,
until the normal effective date of the applicable wage survey
adjustment that is to take effect in fiscal year 1997, in an
amount that exceeds the rate payable for the applicable grade
and step of the applicable wage schedule in accordance with
such section 616; and
(2) during the period consisting of the remainder of fiscal
year 1997, in an amount that exceeds, as a result of a wage
survey adjustment, the rate payable under paragraph (1) by
more than the sum of--
(A) the percentage adjustment taking effect in fiscal year
1997 under section 5303 of title 5, United States Code, in
the rates of pay under the General Schedule; and
(B) the difference between the overall average percentage
of the locality-based comparability payments taking effect in
fiscal year 1997 under section 5304 of such title (whether by
adjustment or otherwise), and the overall average percentage
of such payments which was effective in fiscal year 1996
under such section.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
prevailing rate employee described in subparagraph (B) or (C)
of section 5342(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, and no
employee covered by section 5348 of such title, may be paid
during the periods for which subsection (a) is in effect at a
rate that exceeds the rates that would be payable under
subsection (a) were subsection (a) applicable to such
employee.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the rates payable to
an employee who is covered by this section and who is paid
from a schedule not in existence on September 30, 1996, shall
be determined under regulations prescribed by the Office of
Personnel Management.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rates of
premium pay for employees subject to this section may not be
changed from the rates in effect on September 30, 1996,
except to the extent determined by the Office of Personnel
Management to be consistent with the purpose of this section.
(e) This section shall apply with respect to pay for
service performed after September 30, 1996.
(f) For the purpose of administering any provision of law
(including section 8431 of title 5, United States Code, and
any rule or regulation that provides premium pay, retirement,
life insurance, or any other employee benefit) that requires
any deduction or contribution, or that imposes any
requirement or limitation on the basis of a rate of salary or
basic pay, the rate of salary or basic pay payable after the
application of this section shall be treated as the rate of
salary or basic pay.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be considered to permit
or require the payment to any employee covered by this
section at a rate in excess of the rate that would be payable
were this section not in effect.
(h) The Office of Personnel Management may provide for
exceptions to the limitations imposed by this section if the
Office determines that such exceptions are necessary to
ensure the recruitment or retention of qualified employees.
Sec. 617. During the period in which the head of any
department or agency, or any other officer or civilian
employee of the Government appointed by the President of the
United States, holds office, no funds may be obligated or
expended in excess of $5,000 to furnish or redecorate the
office of such department head, agency head, officer or
employee, or to purchase furniture or make improvements for
any such office, unless advance notice of such furnishing or
redecoration is expressly approved by the Committees on
Appropriations of the House and Senate. For the purposes of
this section, the word ``office'' shall include the entire
suite of offices assigned to the individual, as well as any
other space used primarily by the individual or the use of
which is directly controlled by the individual.
Sec. 618. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
executive branch agency shall purchase, construct, and/or
lease any additional facilities, except within or contiguous
[[Page H7673]]
to existing locations, to be used for the purpose of
conducting Federal law enforcement training without the
advance approval of the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations.
Sec. 619. Notwithstanding section 1346 of title 31, United
States Code, or section 613 of this Act, funds made available
for fiscal year 1997 by this or any other Act shall be
available for the interagency funding of national security
and emergency preparedness telecommunications initiatives
which benefit multiple Federal departments, agencies, or
entities, as provided by Executive Order Numbered 12472
(April 3, 1984).
Sec. 620. (a) None of the funds appropriated by this or any
other Act may be obligated or expended by any Federal
department, agency, or other instrumentality for the salaries
or expenses of any employee appointed to a position of a
confidential or policy-determining character excepted from
the competitive service pursuant to section 3302 of title 5,
United States Code, without a certification to the Office of
Personnel Management from the head of the Federal department,
agency, or other instrumentality employing the Schedule C
appointee that the Schedule C position was not created solely
or primarily in order to detail the employee to the White
House.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to
Federal employees or members of the armed services detailed
to or from--
(1) the Central Intelligence Agency;
(2) the National Security Agency;
(3) the Defense Intelligence Agency;
(4) the offices within the Department of Defense for the
collection of specialized national foreign intelligence
through reconnaissance programs;
(5) the Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the
Department of State;
(6) any agency, office, or unit of the Army, Navy, Air
Force, and Marine Corps, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
and the Drug Enforcement Administration of the Department of
Justice, the Department of Transportation, the Department of
the Treasury, and the Department of Energy performing
intelligence functions; and
(7) the Director of Central Intelligence.
Sec. 621. No department, agency, or instrumentality of the
United States receiving appropriated funds under this or any
other Act for fiscal year 1997 shall obligate or expend any
such funds, unless such department, agency or instrumentality
has in place, and will continue to administer in good faith,
a written policy designed to ensure that all of its
workplaces are free from discrimination and sexual harassment
and that all of its workplaces are not in violation of title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Sec. 622. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act may be used to pay for the expenses of travel of
employees, including employees of the Executive Office of the
President, not directly responsible for the discharge of
official governmental tasks and duties: Provided, That this
restriction shall not apply to the family of the President,
Members of Congress or their spouses, Heads of State of a
foreign country or their designees, persons providing
assistance to the President for official purposes, or other
individuals so designated by the President.
Sec. 623. Notwithstanding any provision of law, the
President, or his designee, must certify to Congress,
annually, that no person or persons with direct or indirect
responsibility for administering the Executive Office of the
President's Drug-Free Workplace Plan are themselves subject
to a program of individual random drug testing.
Sec. 624. (a) None of the funds made available in this Act
or any other Act may be obligated or expended for any
employee training when it is made known to the Federal
official having authority to obligate or expend such funds
that such employee training--
(1) does not meet identified needs for knowledge, skills,
and abilities bearing directly upon the performance of
official duties;
(2) contains elements likely to induce high levels of
emotional response or psychological stress in some
participants;
(3) does not require prior employee notification of the
content and methods to be used in the training and written
end of course evaluation;
(4) contains any methods or content associated with
religious or quasi-religious belief systems or ``new age''
belief systems as defined in Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission Notice N-915.022, dated September 2, 1988;
(5) is offensive to, or designed to change, participants'
personal values or lifestyle outside the workplace; or
(6) includes content related to human immunodeficiency
virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) other
than that necessary to make employees more aware of the
medical ramifications of HIV/AIDS and the workplace rights of
HIV-positive employees.
(b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit, restrict, or
otherwise preclude an agency from conducting training bearing
directly upon the performance of official duties.
Sec. 625. No funds appropriated in this or any other Act
for fiscal year 1997 may be used to implement or enforce the
agreements in Standard Forms 312 and 4355 of the Government
or any other nondisclosure policy, form, or agreement if such
policy, form, or agreement does not contain the following
provisions: ``These restrictions are consistent with and do
not supersede, conflict with, or otherwise alter the employee
obligations, rights, or liabilities created by Executive
Order 12356; section 7211 of title 5, United States Code
(governing disclosures to Congress); section 1034 of title
10, United States Code, as amended by the Military
Whistleblower Protection Act (governing disclosure to
Congress by members of the military); section 2302(b)(8) of
title 5, United States Code, as amended by the Whistleblower
Protection Act (governing disclosures of illegality, waste,
fraud, abuse or public health or safety threats); the
Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 (50 U.S.C. 421
et seq.) (governing disclosures that could expose
confidential Government agents); and the statutes which
protect against disclosure that may compromise the national
security, including sections 641, 793, 794, 798, and 952 of
title 18, United States Code, and section 4(b) of the
Subversive Activities Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. section 783(b)).
The definitions, requirements, obligations, rights,
sanctions, and liabilities created by said Executive Order
and listed statutes are incorporated into this agreement and
are controlling.'': Provided, That notwithstanding the
preceding paragraph, a nondisclosure policy form or agreement
that is to be executed by a person connected with the conduct
of an intelligence or intelligence-related activity, other
than an employee or officer of the United States Government,
may contain provisions appropriate to the particular activity
for which such document is to be used. Such form or agreement
shall, at a minimum, require that the person will not
disclose any classified information received in the course of
such activity unless specifically authorized to do so by the
United States Government. Such nondisclosure forms shall also
make it clear that they do not bar disclosures to Congress or
to an authorized official of an executive agency or the
Department of Justice that are essential to reporting a
substantial violation of law.
Sec. 626. (a) None of the funds appropriated by this or any
other Act may be expended by any Federal Agency to procure
any product or service subject to section 5124 of Public Law
104-106 and that will be available under the procurement by
the Administrator of General Services known as ``FTS2000''
unless--
(1) such product or service is procured by the
Administrator of General Services as part of the procurement
known as ``FTS2000''; or
(2) that agency establishes to the satisfaction of the
Administrator of General Services that--
(A) that agency's requirements for such procurement are
unique and cannot be satisfied by property and service
procured by the Administrator of General Services as part of
the procurement known as ``FTS2000''; and
(B) the agency procurement, pursuant to such delegation,
would be cost-effective and would not adversely affect the
cost-effectiveness of the FTS2000 procurement.
(b) After July 31, 1997, subsection (a) shall apply only if
the Administrator of General Services has reported that the
FTS2000 procurement is producing prices that allow the
Government to satisfy its requirements for such procurement
in the most cost-effective manner.
Sec. 627. Subsection (f) of section 403 of Public Law 103-
356 is amended by deleting ``October 1, 1999'' and inserting
``October 1, 2001''.
Sec. 628. (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, none of the funds made available by this
Act for the Department of the Treasury shall be available for
any activity or for paying the salary of any Government
employee where funding an activity or paying a salary to a
Government employee would result in a decision,
determination, rule, regulation, or policy that would permit
the Secretary of the Treasury to make any loan or extension
of credit under section 5302 of title 31, United States Code,
with respect to a single foreign entity or government of a
foreign country (including agencies or other entities of that
government)--
(1) with respect to a loan or extension of credit for more
than 60 days, unless the President certifies to the Committee
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Banking and Financial Services of the House of
Representatives that--
(A) there is no projected cost (as that term is defined in
section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990) to the
United States from the proposed loan or extension of credit;
and
(B) any proposed obligation or expenditure of United States
funds to or on behalf of the foreign government is adequately
backed by an assured source of repayment to ensure that all
United States funds will be repaid; and
(2) other than as provided by an Act of Congress, if that
loan or extension of credit would result in expenditures and
obligations, including contingent obligations, aggregating
more than $1,000,000,000 with respect to that foreign country
for more than 180 days during the 12-month period beginning
on the date on which the first such action is taken.
(b) Waiver of Limitations.--The President may exceed the
dollar and time limitations in subsection (a)(2) if he
certifies in writing to the Congress that a financial crisis
in that foreign country poses a threat to vital United States
economic interests or to the stability of the international
financial system.
(c) Expedited Procedures in the Senate for a Resolution of
Disapproval.--A presidential certification pursuant to
subsection
[[Page H7674]]
(b) shall not take effect, if the Congress, within 30
calendar days after receiving such certification, enacts a
joint resolution of disapproval, as described in paragraph
(5) of this subsection.
(1) Reference to committees.--All joint resolutions
introduced in the Senate to disapprove the certification
shall be referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs.
(2) Discharge of committees.--(A) If the committee of the
Senate to which a joint resolution has been referred has not
reported it at the end of 15 days after its introduction, it
is in order to move either to discharge the committee from
further consideration of the joint resolution or to discharge
the committee from further consideration of any other joint
resolution introduced with respect to the same matter, except
no motion to discharge shall be in order after the committee
has reported a joint resolution with respect to the same
matter.
(B) In the Senate a motion to discharge may be made only by
an individual favoring the joint resolution, and is
privileged; and debate thereon shall be limited to not more
than 1 hour, the time to be divided equally between, and
controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or
their designees.
(3) Floor consideration.--(A) A motion in the Senate to
proceed to the consideration of a joint resolution shall be
privileged.
(B) Debate in the Senate on a joint resolution, and all
debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall
be limited to not more than 4 hours, to be equally divided
between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the
minority leader or their designees.
(C) Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion or appeal
in connection with a joint resolution shall be limited to not
more than 20 minutes, to be equally divided between, and
controlled by, the mover and the manager of the joint
resolution, except that in the event the manager of the joint
resolution is in favor of any such motion or appeal, the time
in opposition thereto, shall be controlled by the minority
leader or his designee. Such leaders, or either of them, may,
from time under their control on the passage of a joint
resolution, allot additional time to any Senator during the
consideration of any debatable motion or appeal.
(D) A motion in the Senate to further limit debate on a
joint resolution, debatable motion, or appeal is not
debatable. No amendment to, or motion to recommit, a
resolution is in order.
(4) If prior to the passage by the Senate of a resolution,
the Senate receives a joint resolution with respect to the
same matter from the House of Representatives, then--
(A) the procedure in the Seante shall be the same as if no
resolution had been received from the House; but
(B) the vote on final passage shall be on the resolution of
the House.
(5) For purposes of this subsection, the term ``joint
resolution'' means only a joint resolution of the 2 Houses of
Congress, the matter after the resolving clause of which is
as follows: ``That the Congress disapproves the action of the
President under section 628(c) of the Treasury, Postal
Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1997,
notice of which was submitted to the Congress on
______________.'', with the blank space being filled with the
appropriate date.
(d) Applicability.--This section--
(1) shall not apply to any action taken as part of the
program of assistance to Mexico announced by the President on
January 31, 1995; and
(2) shall remain in effect through fiscal year 1997.
Sec. 629. (a) Technical Amendment.--Section 640 of Public
Law 104-52 (109 Stat. 513) is amended by striking ``Service
performed'' and inserting ``Hereafter, service performed''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect as if included in Public Law 104-52 on the
date of its enactment.
Sec. 630. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
part of any appropriation contained in this Act for any
fiscal year shall be available for paying Sunday premium or
differential pay to any employee unless such employee
actually performed work during the time corresponding to such
premium or differential pay.
Sec. 631. No part of any funds appropriated in this or any
other Act shall be used by an agency of the executive branch,
other than for normal and recognized executive-legislative
relationships, for publicity or propaganda purposes, and for
the preparation, distribution or use of any kit, pamphlet,
booklet, publication, radio, television or film presentation
designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the
Congress, except in presentation to the Congress itself.
Sec. 632. (a) Federal Employee Representation
Improvement.--Subsection (d) of section 205 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(d)(1) Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents an
officer or employee, if not inconsistent with the faithful
performance of that officer's or employee's duties, from
acting without compensation as agent or attorney for, or
otherwise representing--
``(A) any person who is the subject of disciplinary,
loyalty, or other personnel administration proceedings in
connection with those proceedings; or
``(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), any cooperative,
voluntary, professional, recreational, or similar
organization or group not established or operated for profit,
if a majority of the organization's or group's members are
current officers or employees of the United States or of the
District of Columbia, or their spouses or dependent children.
``(2) Paragraph (1)(B) does not apply with respect to a
covered matter that--
``(A) is a claim under subsection (a)(1) or (b)(1);
``(B) is a judicial or administrative proceeding where the
organization or group is a party; or
``(C) involves a grant, contract, or other agreement
(including a request for any such grant, contract, or
agreement) providing for the disbursement of Federal funds to
the organization or group.''.
(b) Application to Labor-Management Relations.--Section 205
of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(i) Nothing in this section prevents an employee from
acting pursuant to--
``(1) chapter 71 of title 5;
``(2) section 1004 or chapter 12 of title 39;
``(3) section 3 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of
1933 (16 U.S.C. 831b);
``(4) chapter 10 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of
1980 (22 U.S.C. 4104 et seq.); or
``(5) any provision of any other Federal or District of
Columbia law that authorizes labor-management relations
between an agency or instrumentality of the United States or
the District of Columbia and any labor organization that
represents its employees.''.
(c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act
and shall apply thereafter.
Sec. 633. Survivor Annuity Resumption Upon Termination of
Marriage.--(a) Amendments.--
(1) Civil service retirement system.--Section 8341(e) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(4) If the annuity of a child under this subchapter
terminates under paragraph (3)(E) because of marriage, then,
if such marriage ends, such annuity shall resume on the first
day of the month in which it ends, but only if--
``(A) any lump sum paid is returned to the Fund; and
``(B) that individual is not otherwise ineligible for such
annuity.''.
(2) Federal employees' retirement system.--Section 8443(b)
of such title is amended by adding at the end the following:
``If the annuity of a child under this subchapter terminates
under subparagraph (E) because of marriage, then, if such
marriage ends, such annuity shall resume on the first day of
the month in which it ends, but only if any lump sum paid is
returned to the Fund, and that individual is not otherwise
ineligible for such annuity.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendments made by section 1 shall
apply with respect to any termination of marriage taking
effect on or after November 1, 1993, except that any
recomputation of benefits shall be payable only with respect
to amounts accruing for periods beginning on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
Sec. 634. Availability of Annual Leave To Meet Minimum Age
and Service Requirements for Title to an Immediate Annuity.--
(a) Civil Service Retirement System.--Section 8336 of title
5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(o)(1) An employee involuntarily separated from service
due to a reduction in force shall, upon written election, be
given credit for days of unused annual leave standing to such
employee's credit under a formal leave system as of the date
of separation, if and to the extent necessary in order to
meet the minimum age and service requirements for title to an
annuity under this section.
``(2) The Office shall prescribe any regulations which may
be necessary to carry out this subsection, including
regulations under which contributions to the Fund shall, with
respect to the days of leave for which credit is given under
this subsection, be made--
``(A) by the employee, equal to the employee contributions
which would have been required for those days if separation
had not occurred; and
``(B) by the agency from which separated, equal to the
Government contributions which would have been required if
separation had not occurred.
Contributions under the preceding sentence shall be
determined based on the rate of basic pay last in effect
before separation.
``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be considered--
``(A) to allow credit to be given for any leave standing to
the credit of the employee (other than by restoration)
pursuant to subchapter III or IV of chapter 63 or other
similar authority;
``(B) to permit or require the making of any contributions
to the Thrift Savings Fund with respect to any period after
the date of separation; or
``(C) to make any days of annual leave creditable for
purposes of section 8333, any determination of average pay,
or any computation of annuity.
``(4)(A) The taking of a lump-sum payment under section
5551 or other similar authority shall not make any of the
leave to which such payment relates unavailable for purposes
of this subsection.
``(B) The use of any leave for purposes of this subsection
shall not reduce the amount
[[Page H7675]]
of leave for which a lump-sum payment is payable under
section 5551 or other similar authority.
``(5) This subsection shall apply with respect to
separations occurring on or after the date of the enactment
of this subsection and before July 1, 2002.''.
(b) Federal Employees' Retirement System.--Section 8412 of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(i)(1) An employee involuntarily separated from service
due to a reduction in force shall, upon written election, be
given credit for days of unused annual leave standing to such
employee's credit under a formal leave system as of the date
of separation, if and to the extent necessary in order to
meet the minimum age and service requirements for title to an
annuity under this section or section 8414.
``(2) The Office shall prescribe any regulations which may
be necessary to carry out this subsection, including
regulations under which contributions to the Fund shall, with
respect to the days of leave for which credit is given under
this subsection, be made--
``(A) by the employee, equal to the employee contributions
which would have been required for those days if separation
had not occurred; and
``(B) by the agency from which separated, equal to the
Government contributions which would have been required if
separation had not occurred.
Contributions under the preceding sentence shall be
determined based on the rate of basic pay last in effect
before separation.
``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be considered--
``(A) to allow credit to be given for any leave standing to
the credit of the employee (other than by restoration)
pursuant to subchapter III or IV of chapter 63 or other
similar authority;
``(B) to permit or require the making of any contributions
to the Thrift Savings Fund with respect to any period after
the date of separation; or
``(C) to make any days of annual leave creditable for
purposes of section 8410, any determination of average pay,
or any computation of annuity.
``(4)(A) The taking of a lump-sum payment under section
5551 or other similar authority shall not make any of the
leave to which such payment relates unavailable for purposes
of this subsection.
``(B) The use of any leave for purposes of this subsection
shall not reduce the amount of leave for which a lump-sum
payment is payable under section 5551 or other similar
authority.
``(5) This subsection shall apply with respect to
separations occurring on or after the date of the enactment
of this subsection and before July 1, 2002.''.
Sec. 635. Section 207(e)(6)(B) of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by striking ``level V of the Executive
Schedule'' and inserting ``level 5 of the Senior Executive
Service''.
Sec. 636. Reimbursements Relating to Professional Liability
Insurance.--(a) Authority.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, amounts appropriated by this Act (or any
other Act for fiscal year 1997 or any fiscal year thereafter)
for salaries and expenses may be used to reimburse any
qualified employee for not to exceed one-half the costs
incurred by such employee for professional liability
insurance. A payment under this section shall be contingent
upon the submission of such information or documentation as
the employing agency may require.
(b) Qualified Employee.--For purposes of this section, the
term ``qualified employee'' means an agency employee whose
position is that of--
(1) a law enforcement officer; or
(2) a supervisor or management official.
(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
(1) the term ``agency'' means an Executive agency, as
defined by section 105 of title 5, United States Code;
(2) the term ``law enforcement officer'' means an employee,
the duties of whose position are primarily the investigation,
apprehension, prosecution, or detention of individuals
suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws
of the United States, including any law enforcement officer
under section 8331(20) or 8401(17) of such title 5;
(3) the terms ``supervisor'' and ``management official''
have the respective meanings given them by section 7103(a) of
such title 5, and
(4) the term ``professional liability insurance'' means
insurance which provides coverage for--
(A) legal liability for damages due to injuries to other
persons, damage to their property, or other damage or loss to
such other persons (including the expenses of litigation and
settlement) resulting from or arising out of any tortious
act, error, or omission of the covered individual (whether
common law, statutory, or constitutional) while in the
performance of such individual's official duties as a
qualified employee; and
(B) the cost of legal representation for the covered
individual in connection with any administrative or judicial
proceeding (including any investigation or disciplinary
proceeding) relating to any act, error, or omission of the
covered individual while in the performance of such
individual's official duties as a qualified employee, and
other legal costs and fees relating to any such
administrative or judicial proceeding.
(d) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act
and shall apply thereafter.
TITLE VII--SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS AND RESCISSIONS FOR THE FISCAL
YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 1996
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
salaries and expenses
For an additional amount for ``Salaries and Expenses'' to
be used in connection with investigations of arson at
religious institutions, $12,011,000, available upon enactment
of this Act and to remain available until expended.
Internal Revenue Service
information systems
(rescission)
Of the funds made available under this heading for Tax
Systems Modernization in Public Law 104-52, $12,011,000 are
rescinded.
This Act may be cited as the ``Treasury, Postal Service,
and General Government Appropriations Act, 1997''.
The CHAIRMAN. Are there any points of order against provisions in the
bill?
Point of Order
Mrs. SEASTRAND. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order against section
406 beginning on page 53, line 15 through page 55, line 12, which
authorizes the establishment of telecommuting centers, on the ground
that it is legislation on an appropriation bill in violation of rule
XXI, clause 2(b) of the rules of the House.
The CHAIRMAN. Are there any Members who wish to be heard on the point
of order?
If not, for the reasons stated by the gentlewoman from California,
the point of order is sustained. The section is stricken. Are there any
other points of order?
Point of Order
Mrs. SEASTRAND. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order against section
410 beginning on page 56, line 13 through page 57, line 3, which
authorizes the administrator of GSA to sell or exchange real property
whether or not it is excess to the needs of the United States, on the
ground that it is legislation on an appropriation bill in violation of
rule XXI, clause 2(b) of the rules of the House.
The CHAIRMAN. Are there any Members who wish to be heard on the point
of order?
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, on the point of order, is it appropriate for
me from a parliamentary standpoint to ask the chairman of the
subcommittee for a clarification of the facts while I make my point of
order?
The CHAIRMAN. The chairman of the subcommittee can also be heard on
the point of order, and if the gentleman from Maryland wishes to defer
to the gentleman from Iowa, he certainly may.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, is it my understanding that the rule does
not protect this provision but does protect all other provisions in the
bill which would have been subject to a similar point of order, that
that is why this is in order; is that correct?
Mr. LIGHTFOOT. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman is correct, with the
exception of section 406 which she has already raised a point of order
against.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, in light of the fact that the Ways and Means
Committee, as I understand it, did not contact the Rules Committee but
that the committee which the gentlewoman from California is
representing now did, my understanding is the Rules Committee did not
protect it, I will not contest the point of order.
The CHAIRMAN. The point of order is sustained for the reasons stated
by the gentlewoman from California. The section is stricken.
Pursuant to the order of the House of Tuesday, July 16, 1996, no
further amendments shall be in order except the following amendments,
not necessarily in any prescribed order, which shall be considered
read, shall not be subject to amendment or to a demand for division of
the question, and shall be debatable for the time specified, equally
divided and controlled by the proponent and a member opposed: An
amendment by the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Kennedy] regarding
the Customs Service, for 10 minutes.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, is unanimous consent in order so that I
might have a colloquy prior to the consideration of the amendments with
the chairman of the subcommittee?
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman can, of course, move to strike the last
word
[[Page H7676]]
by unanimous consent. The Chair would like to proceed with outlining
the agreement that was struck yesterday.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, as a practical matter, we have some Members
that are just getting word that we are going forward. We need to do
this colloquy. I thought it might be helpful to do this colloquy first
while Members are coming to the floor.
The CHAIRMAN. To encourage Members to come to the floor, the 3-page
statement which the Chair is about to proceed with would help in the
shared goal.
An amendment by the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Kennedy]
regarding the Customs Service, for 10 minutes; an amendment by the
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Durbin] regarding firearms disabilities,
for 30 minutes; an amendment by the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Mrs.
Johnson] regarding IRS funding, for 10 minutes; an amendment by the
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant], for 10 minutes; an amendment by
the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer] or the gentlewoman from New
York [Mrs. Lowey] to strike sections 518 and 519, for 30 minutes; an
amendment by the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer] regarding buyouts,
for 10 minutes; an amendment by the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf]
regarding buyouts, for 10 minutes; an amendment by the gentleman from
Georgia [Mr. Kingston] regarding customs ports of entry, for 9 minutes;
an amendment by the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Gutknecht] regarding
an across-the-board cut, for 20 minutes; an amendment by the gentleman
from Vermont [Mr. Sanders] regarding health maintenance organizations,
for 20 minutes; an amendment by the gentlewoman from Ohio [Mr. Kaptur]
regarding China tariffs, for 10 minutes; an amendment by the gentleman
from New York [Mr. Solomon] regarding a limitation on the comptroller
of the currency, for 10 minutes; an amendment by the gentleman from
Arizona [Mr. Salmon] regarding the White House travel office, for 10
minutes; an amendment by the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer], for
10 minutes; and an amendment by the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr.
Gekas], for 10 minutes .
amendment offered by mr. kennedy of massachusetts
Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, I offered an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Kennedy of Massachusetts: Page 16,
line 19, strike the second semicolon and insert the
following: ``(increased by $500,000) (reduced by
$500,000);''.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of Tuesday, July 16,
1996, the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Kennedy] and a Member
opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Kennedy].
Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I offer this amendment with the gentleman from New
Jersey [Mr. Smith], and I appreciate the willingness of the chairman of
the committee to work with us in supporting this amendment as he
indicated last evening.
I think the chairman of this committee ought to be commended for the
initiatives that he has established in terms of trying to make certain
that unfair labor practices that go on in countries that we regularly
trade with, specifically China and other countries, have made it a
course of their nation's national policy to utilize terribly, terribly,
not only unfair but really despicable practices in terms of the kinds
of labor use that takes place in these countries.
In China, we know of people who are forced into labor in terms of the
kinds of actions that take place in the prison systems. In other
countries, such as Pakistan and India, we are all too cruelly aware of
the fact that there are millions of soccer balls, for instance, that
come from Pakistan; 25 percent of the world's soccer balls come from
Pakistan where child labor is utilized. Children are forced to work 8
or 10 hours a day at the ages of as young as 3 and 4 and 5 years old.
They work for 15, 16, 17 cents an hour.
Mr. Chairman, we are about to establish the Olympics right down the
street at RFK Stadium, and the soccer balls used by the Olympics this
year in many cases will be balls that were made with child slave labor.
Kids all over America are playing with soccer balls that are made with
child labor. Kids that are forced into labor without any of their
personal consent, working in dark, dingy conditions, 8 or 10 hours a
day, no proper food or nutrition, no proper health care or any kind of
reasonable hourly wage.
In Pakistan, we also know of kids, like Iqbal Masih, who are chained
to rug looms and forced over and over each and every day to work 10,
12, 15 hours a day, and are sold by their families to individuals that
then have whole factories of kids that are making products which we
then import into the United States. It not only is unconscionable, and
millions of American consumers that buy these goods on a regular basis
have no idea that these kinds of conditions are actually taking place
in terms of the work force that are making the goods.
Mr. Chairman, we sometimes wonder why we can buy goods these days at
such cheap prices. I remember Chris Smith telling me that his family
ran a sporting goods store in New Jersey and that 15 years ago or so a
soccer ball used to cost $35. Today it costs $15 or $18. He says the
reason why the price has dropped so significantly is because the cost
of labor in terms of the child slave wages that are being paid has
dropped so significantly.
What this amendment will do is take a few dollars out of the general
fund that is appropriated and use those moneys specifically for the
purposes of hiring an individual who will work for the Department of
Commerce to inspect the goods that are made in both India and Pakistan,
one employee per country, to make sure that child slave labor is not
involved in the manufacture of those products that we import from those
countries.
I just want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], and I
want to thank in particular the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. Lightfoot]. I
know in talking with his staff that there have been difficulties in the
past in terms of working out these arrangements with the Department of
State, but I think we have put enough funds into this legislation to
make certain that we have the necessary wherewithal to reimburse the
State Department.
Mr. Chairman, I also want to thank the gentleman from Maryland [Mr.
Hoyer], my good friend, who has been a very outspoken critic of the
kinds of unfair labor practices that take place in so many foreign
countries and who has been a great supporter of this legislation.
Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask unanimous
consent that it be considered as read. I appreciate the willingness of
Chairman Lightfoot and Mr. Hoyer to accept this amendment, and I would
like to thank Mr. Smith for his strong support on behalf of this
amendment.
I think the chairman of this committee should be commended for the
initiatives that he has established trying to end unfair labor
practices in all countries--especially countries which utilize forced
labor and child labor, and I thank him again for his support of my
amendment.
The purpose of my amendment is to fund two additional overseas
positions for customs service investigators. The bill already funds
three overseas positions--in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Beijing. My
amendment will fund a criminal investigator in New Delhi, India, and in
the Sialkot region of Pakistan.
These are two areas in the world where child labor is a particularly
significant problem.
We know that there are factories where children, who were sold into
slavery by their families, are making products which then are imported
into the United States. This is unconscionable. Millions of American
consumers who buy these goods on a regular basis have no idea that
these goods are being produced using child labor.
These children are forced into labor, without their consent, working
in dark, dingy conditions, without proper food or nutrition, without
proper health care, without any kind of reasonable hourly wage.
In Pakistan and in India children are chained to rug looms for 10 to
12 hours at a time, being forced to tie tiny knots with their small
fingers.
Children in Pakistan help produce 35m soccer balls annually--25
percent of these balls are stitched by children being paid only 5
[[Page H7677]]
cents an hour. Each child earns an average of $.70 per ball--and an
average daily wage of $1.20. These children work 80 hours a week in
near total darkness and total silence.
I have long fought to end the forced labor of children. I have heard
the sad testimony of children like Iqbal Masih, enslaved in a rug
making factory in Pakistan for 6 long years, only to be killed a year
after he managed to escape and after he had started to fight for the
rights of children in forced labor.
I have heard the stories of the children of Broadmeadow School in
Quincy, MA, who raised over $100,000 to build a school in Iqbal's home
town, because the children there didn't have access to a basic
education.
And I have heard firsthand the stories of witnesses who have observed
children as young as 3 and 4 struggling to stitch soccer balls to be
exported around the world. In some instances the needles being used to
stitch the balls are longer than the fingers of the children doing the
stitching. One 3-year-old was able to manage the needle but couldn't
handle the scissors, and had to have another small co-worker help her.
Mr. Chairman, Washington DC, will soon be hosting Olympic soccer
games just down the street from the U.S. Capitol, and the soccer balls
being used by the Olympics this year in many cases will be balls
stitched with child slave labor.
We sometimes wonder why we can buy goods these days at such cheap
prices. I remember Chris Smith telling me that his family ran a
sporting goods store in New Jersey and that 15 years ago a soccer ball
used to cost $35. Today it costs $15 or $18. He says the reason why the
price has dropped so significantly is because the cost of labor has
dropped significantly. Why? Because child labor is being employed.
Adding these two overseas investigator positions will also be an
important step in executing the FoulBall Campaign. The FoulBall
Campaign is a coordinated international effort using both the power of
legislation and consumer action to end the use of child labor in the
soccer ball industry.
Lauched on June 28 by Representative Kennedy, Labor Secretary Robert
Reich, and others, the Campaign strives to increase awareness of the
widespread use of child workers by soccer ball manufacturers and to
encourage the public and soccer organizations in every city and town
across America to reject balls stitched by child workers.
I hope we all see the day where child slavery no longer exists, and I
applaud initiatives such as Rugmark, which seeks to educate consumers
about the exploitation of children, and to mobilize consumers to
support products not made with child labor.
Consumers have a right to know that the products they are purchasing
were not made with child slave labor. They have a right to know that
their children are not learning to walk on rugs knotted by young
children, and that their sons and daughters are not playing with a
soccer ball that was stitched by little hands.
By adding two inspectors positions overseas, we will be better able
to identify the goods being manufactured with child labor, and keep
those items from being shipped to the United States and from being
placed on the shelves of stores across this country.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1045
Mr. LIGHTFOOT. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to control the
other 5 minutes.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from
Iowa?
There was no objection.
Mr. LIGHTFOOT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, I am willing to accept the amendment of the gentleman
from Massachusetts and would like to briefly address some concerns we
have with it. I think it is something we can work on. We obviously need
to very carefully target our overseas personnel, where we put them, why
we put them there. The concern with the amendment is we are putting
people in the locations where we have not passed any legislation yet
here in the House that addresses that.
As the gentleman knows, the bill includes additional Customs people
to go into China. That was not done in a vacuum. We did not include
that provision without first talking with Commissioner Weise and the
Secretary of State, Mr. Christopher, as well, to get sign-off on it.
If the gentleman is willing to work with me as we go to conference
with the Senate on my concern as well as any that the administration
may have to be sure that everyone is signed off on this, I really do
not see why they should not be, I would be very happy, pleased, to
accept the amendment because I think he is trying to do the right
thing.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. LIGHTFOOT. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this amendment
and am very pleased that the chairman saw fit to accept it. I am one of
those who believes that our policy, whether it deals with trade or any
other facet of international relations, ought to reflect our commitment
to human rights. Of course our commitment to human rights ought to be
particularly keen when it comes to the most vulnerable people in our
world, and that is our children.
America itself suffered and from time to time still suffers from the
abuse of children. We talk about child abuse, this is child abuse. This
is the utilization of children for economic gain, while substantially
damaging their health and robbing them of their childhood and ruining
their lives. America, among the nations, ought to stand tallest and
most strongly raise the issue that we will not be complicit in this
treatment or maltreatment of children.
I congratulate the gentleman from Massachusetts. No voice has been
stronger in this Congress or in this country on behalf of the rights of
those who have been disenfranchised and discriminated against and
undermined in this health and in their quality of living than has the
voice of the gentleman from Massachusetts, Joe Kennedy, and I am
pleased to be allied with him in this amendment and thank him for his
leadership and offering of this amendment.
Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. LIGHTFOOT. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.
Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, I very much appreciate
the gentleman's cautions with regard to the State Department's
willingness to work some of these issues out in terms of the local
countries. I do believe that it is important, and I appreciate your
willingness to accept this amendment because I think that it is
important for the Congress of the United States to let the executive
branch know and particularly the State Department know that we are very
interested in human rights, as the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer]
indicated, being a major portion of this country's foreign policy.
I do not think we should stand for having other countries export into
the United States when they are being abusive of their own citizens,
particularly of young children that they are forcing into these kinds
of labor situations.
So I think that we ought to take the stand, and I appreciate the
gentleman's willingness to fight for it when we get into conference. I
would hope that the administration would be supportive. They have given
us indications of their support, but I know that with the gentleman out
there leading the fight, Mr. Chairman, that we will fare well.
Mr. LIGHTFOOT. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, let me quickly
respond to my friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Kennedy]. I
appreciate the kind words and I think, as I said earlier, I think this
is the right thing to do.
A lot of things we cannot settle around here legislatively, but this
is one I think we can. It would be very important that we do get the
sign-off, I think, from the administration and obviously the gentleman
can help us a great deal in that measure. So I appreciate his bringing
this amendment forward. I think it is timely and hopefully it will
solve a problem we are all very concerned with.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Kennedy].
The amendment was agreed to.
amendment offered by mr. traficant
Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Traficant: Page 24, after line 3,
insert the following new section:
Sec. 105. The Internal Revenue Service shall contract with
an independent accounting firm to determine the revenue
losses (if
[[Page H7678]]
any) which would result from implementing H.R. 2450, as
introduced in the 104th Congress.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant] will be
recognized for 5 minutes in support of his amendment, and a Member in
opposition will be recognized for 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant].
Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, my amendment is straightforward. It says that there
shall be an outside objective study performed on H.R. 2450, which would
in fact change the burden of proof in a civil tax case and require
judicial consent before the Internal Revenue Service can lien on our
property or take our assets.
To all the members of this committee, right now in a civil tax case
proceeding, a taxpayer is deemed guilty in the eyes of the law and must
prove themselves innocent. Now, the IRS keeps telling us that this is
going to break the bank if we treat taxpayers like anybody else in our
country, subject to the basic judicial tenet that you are innocent
until proven guilty. I guess that works everywhere except for the
taxpayer who pays the freight on this train coming down the track.
The Traficant amendment simply says let us get an outside group. It
is not that I do not trust anybody. Contract with an outside group,
tell us what the cost is going to be and, by God, let us get the facts
on it and see if we can bring the taxpayer under the realm of
protection the Constitution affords in the Bill of Rights for
everybody.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, this business about cost in the first place.
Could you see the Founders in Philadelphia debating the Bill of Rights,
saying this is great, Mr. Chairman, but my God, what is it going to
cost? I am asking for an affirmative vote.
Mr. Chairman, with that, I yield to the distinguished chairman of the
committee.
Mr. LIGHTFOOT. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
parliamentary inquiry
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, it may be too late to reserve a
parliamentary objection.
Mr. TRAFICANT. Parliamentary procedure, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, it is my understanding the Ways and Means
Committee, I am just informed, was going to raise a point of order.
Mr. TRAFICANT. Parliamentary procedure, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair will state that that opportunity was posed
when the gentleman from Ohio offered the amendment and no Member chose
to raise a point of order at that time.
Mr. HOYER. I thank the Chair for his advice.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant] has yielded to
the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. Lightfoot].
Mr. LIGHTFOOT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding to
me.
I would like to say the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant] has done
a tremendous job in protecting U.S. taxpayers from overaggressive IRS
auditors and inspectors. I think H.R. 2450, which was introduced by the
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant], changes the burden of proof from
the taxpayer to the IRS, it is just that simple. In other words, it
requires the IRS to prove that the taxpayer is wrong, rather than the
taxpayer having to prove that they are right. I think with tax
collection, it is the only thing in our country where we have upset the
judicial system which has the idea that you are innocent until proven
guilty. On taxpaying matters, you are considered guilty until you can
prove yourself innocent. In essence, this just brings us into step with
what everyone else does in the country.
As the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant] has mentioned, the
Committee on Ways and Means has said that it is going to reduce the
amount of revenue generated by the IRS. However, there are no specific
estimates of that total cost of lost revenue. Basically the amendment
requires the IRS to contract with an independent accounting firm to
determine the level of revenue loss that would result from his bill,
H.R. 2450.
Therefore, I would be more than willing to work with the Committee on
Ways and Means, work in conference to find whatever small amount of
money it might take to do or pay for this particular study because, in
essence as I understand it, the amendment calls for a study of this
process. I think that it is a timely thing to do and support the
gentleman's initiative and would do what I could to help him forward
it.
Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman with the
little bit of time I have.
Mr. Chairman, I also want to say I want to commend my good friend,
the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. Lightfoot], on the distinguished career he
has had here in the House. I want to wish him the very best in the
future.
Let me also say in closing that I do not rule out as assessment, and
objective review by the Joint Taxation Committee, but it does require
an outside objective review, as well.
With that, I urge an ``aye'' vote and yield back the balance of my
time.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there any Member who seeks time in opposition to the
amendment?
If not, the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from Ohio [Mr. Traficant].
The amendment was agreed to.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Durbin
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Durbin: Page 15, beginning on line
10, strike ``for felons convicted of a violent crime,
firearms violations, or drug-related crimes''.
Point of Order
Mr. PARKER. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman will state his point of order against the
amendment.
Mr. PARKER. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order against the
amendment because it proposes to change existing law and constitutes
legislation in an appropriations bill and therefore violates clause 2
of rule XXI.
The rule states in pertinent part: ``No amendment to a general
appropriation bill shall be in order if changing existing law.''
The amendment gives affirmative direction in effect, modifies
existing powers and duties, and does not apply solely to the
appropriations under consideration.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. Chairman, may I be heard?
The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman from Illinois wish to be heard in
opposition to the point of order?
Mr. DURBIN. Yes, I do.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Illinois is recognized.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. Chairman, I oppose the position of the gentleman from
Mississippi and I would like to make it clear to the Chair what is at
issue here with this amendment.
Several years ago, this Congress adopted legislation which allows
people who have been convicted of a felony, once released from prison,
to apply to the Department of the Treasury, the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, for permission to be rearmed. People across
America remember the bumper sticker which said: ``firearms do not
commit crimes, criminals commit crimes.'' But this provision in law
currently existing allows convicted felons to be rearmed with firearms.
It is a provision pushed for and supported by the National Rifle
Association. It defies logic and good sense. What I am attempting to do
is to make it abundantly clear that once a person is convicted of a
felony, that person is disqualified from owning a firearm in America.
We have ample evidence that convicted felons have applied to the
Federal Government, have cost the taxpayers $10,000 per application to
be rearmed with a firearm. If I might be allowed to continue.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman must address the point of order.
Mr. DURBIN. I am about to address it.
What this amendment addresses is a provision in the appropriations
bill which says that no court can overcome what we have done by the
appropriation language, which basically eliminates the right of the
bureau to grant these new applications to give convicted felons
firearms. With my motion
[[Page H7679]]
to strike, we will in fact say to the courts, you can consider no
applications from convicted felons. It is in fact lessening the
responsibility of the courts that is presently in the bill. It does not
broaden the scope or jurisdiction of the bill.
Now those on the other side, my friend, the gentleman from
Mississippi, frankly believe that some convicted felons ought to have
firearms. I do not think any should. My language will make it clear
that a court cannot give a convicted felon a firearm. I think it is not
only sensible, it is parliamentarily acceptable and I think the
gentleman's point of order should be ruled down.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair is prepared to rule. Are there other Members
who wish to be heard on the point of order?
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I wish to be heard on the point of order.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I had not known that this point of order was
going to be raised, and I think that it is on sound grounds for the
gentleman to raise the point of order.
I would simply say that I do not think the point of order should be
determined on the basis of a judgment that the Durbin amendment would
in fact narrow the scope of what is happening here. In fact, the
language in the committee bill would keep us closer to the court
decision which was produced some time ago. It makes some exceptions for
felons who are not convicted of a violent crime, who were not convicted
of firearms violations or drug-related crimes.
{time} 1100
And it seems to me, therefore, that the Durbin amendment would go
further than the language in the bill in overturning existing law.
I would simply state that if any Member of this House feels that
there are no people in this society who committed a nonviolent crime 20
years ago, who have lived an exemplary life since that time, that they
are not entitled to have the slate eventually wiped clean, I think most
people would happen to disagree with. that And I think that the grounds
the gentleman has cited for the point of order are correct.
Mr. PARKER. Mr. Chairman, I ask for a ruling of the Chair.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair is prepared to rule based on the arguments
propounded by the gentleman from Wisconsin and the gentleman from
Mississippi.
The pending portion of the bill includes several provisions relating
to applications for relief from firearms disabilities under the Federal
criminal code. Among those provisions is the proviso that begins on
page 15 at line 5. That proviso includes two features. The first is a
limitation prohibiting the use of funds in the bill to investigator act
upon disabilities relief applications. The second is a legislative
prescription that the inability of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms to process or act upon specified subsets of all disability-
relief applications shall not be subject to judicial review.
The amendment offered by the gentleman from Illinois proposes to
strike from the second feature of the proviso the language specifying
subsets.
Under settled precedent, where legislative language is permitted to
remain in a general appropriation bill, a germane amendment merely
perfecting that language and not adding further legislation is in
order, but an amendment affecting further legislation is not in order
even in the form of a motion to strike.
The precedent of November 15, 1989, recorded on page 641 of the House
Rules and Manual is pertinent. In that situation, a legislative
provision applicable to Federal funds was permitted to remain in the
general appropriation bill for the District of Columbia. An amendment
striking the word Federal was held to broaden the provision to address
District of Columbia funds as well.
The amendment offered by the gentleman from Illinois would expand the
sweep of a legislative prescription in the bill from some disability-
relief applications to all disability-relief applications. Rather than
merely perfecting the legislation in the bill, the amendment affects
further legislation.
The point of order is sustained.
Are there further amendments to the bill?
parliamentary inquiry
Mr. DURBIN. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. Chairman, I would like a clarification on that,
because under the existing language of the bill, the courts are only
restricted in granting these applications for rearming felons for three
specific categories. With my amendment we would eliminate all convicted
felons in their right to be rearmed; their right to have another
firearm.
I would say to the gentleman, from the Chair's ruling, that that
gives to the courts a much clearer mandate to eliminate the Al Capone's
and John Gotti's and those who did not commit those three specific
crimes.
Mr. PARKER. Regular order, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. DURBIN. And I would say that the Chair's ruling suggesting that I
am broadening----
Mr. PARKER. Mr. Chairman, regular order.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman may be correct in his statement, but the
Chair has ruled that the amendment of the gentleman does go further in
broadening the legislative intent here, and so that is the ruling of
the Chair.
Are there further amendments to the bill?
amendment offered by mr. hoyer
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Hoyer. Page 73, strike lines 1
through 9 (sections 518 and 519).
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of Tuesday, July 16,
1996, the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer] will be recognized for 15
minutes in support of the amendment, and a Member opposed will be
recognized for 15 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer].
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3\1/2\ minutes.
Mr. Chairman, for some years we carried language which said that the
Federal employee health benefit plan purchased by Federal employees
with both their own funds and the part of the pay package which they
received from the Federal Government would be restricted in terms of
what coverage could be purchased. Mr. Chairman, this language was
reincluded last year and in this year's bill. I rise to strike the
restrictive language.
This issue has been a contentious one, and I understand there are
strong feelings on all sides. It is my belief and contention, Mr.
Chairman, that as is the case in the private sector, in the public
sector, with respect to Federal employees, their compensation package
is composed of three elements: their pay, which they are getting in
their paycheck less deductions on a biweekly or monthly basis; their
health benefits, reflected by a partial deduction from their paychecks
and a contribution by the Federal Government which is 72 percent of the
average cost of health insurance for Federal employees; and their
retirement benefit. They also get a life insurance benefit as well.
Those four items compose their compensation package. It is my
contention that that is their compensation. They own it. Just as this
Congress would not deem it appropriate to pass an amendment which said
that you may not spend your salary on X, Y, or Z, nobody in the House
would contend that that was an appropriate action for the House of
Representatives to take.
It is my belief and contention and suggestion to the House that we
ought not to do that with respect to what kind of health insurance they
deem it appropriate to purchase, not Big Brother telling them what to
purchase but what they choose to purchase.
Now, with respect to the Federal employee health benefit plan, in
this area there are some 25 to 35 plans available to Federal employees.
They have a great choice. The Federal Government, as the employer, does
not make a determination that we will spend X, if you buy this policy;
or Y, if you buy this policy. They contribute 72 percent of the average
premium cost to whatever purchase the employee decides to make.
In that context, therefore, it is inappropriate because it is not our
money.
[[Page H7680]]
It is the employee's money that they are applying. It is the employee's
compensation, some in salary, some in benefit payments, but their
compensation package. It has been historically my contention, and it is
today, that we ought not to interject our judgment in place of our
employees' judgment for what policies they themselves, individually,
want to purchase.
That is what this amendment is all about. It is not whether we can
condone abortion, whether we believe that it ought to be precluded
altogether. The fact of the matter is the employees in the private
sector and the public sector ought to be able to choose what policies
they want to buy.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there a Member who rises in opposition to the
amendment offered by the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer]?
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the
amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith] is recognized
for 15 minutes in opposition to the amendment and reserves the balance
of his time.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
New York [Mrs. Lowey], the cosponsor of this amendment.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, as my colleague made it very clear, last
year the anti-choice majority included a ban in this bill that prevents
the FEHBP from offering insurance that covers abortion services.
The ban does not make any sense. What it does is relegate Federal
employees to second class status. American women should not have their
constitutional right taken away by Congress simply because they work
for the Federal Government.
The issue before us today is very simple. Should women be allowed the
freedom to choose a private health insurance plan that includes
coverage of abortion, or should Congress dictate their choices to them?
Federal employees, like other American workers, should be able to
choose a health plan that covers the full range of reproductive health
services, including abortion. Like other workers, Federal employees pay
for their insurance with their own funds. It is simply not right that
the Congress would bar women from purchasing the reproductive services
they need with their own money.
Before this ban was put in place, Federal employees had many options.
Of the 345 plans, just about half, 178, covered abortion. If women
wanted to participate in the plan that covered abortions, they could.
If they found abortion objectionable, they could belong to a plan that
did not cover abortion. The choice was theirs, not mine, not this
institution's.
When we passed the bill last year, we took health care choices away
from Federal employees. There are 1.2 million women of reproductive age
who rely on FEHBP for their medical care, 1.2 million American women
who lost the right to choose when this bill was enacted.
The bill was wrong last year, it is still wrong, and I urge my
colleagues to support this amendment. Let us return the choice to the
people that deserve it, the women who work for this Government.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
First of all, I want to thank the gentleman from Iowa, Chairman
Lightfoot, for his humane and courageous leadership in ensuring in this
legislation that taxpayers are not forced to subsidize the killing of
unborn baby boys and girls by abortion.
Let me make it very clear that the taxpayers pay into this program
approximately more than 70 percent of the total funding. The premium
payers, all of us who are part of the Federal employees health benefits
program, pick up the remaining 30 percent of the cost of our health
insurance, but the taxpayers of the United States of America are paying
for 70 percent of the cost associated with this program. So this is
very much akin to the Hyde amendment because the taxpayers are indeed
paying for abortion on demand if the Hoyer amendment is enacted into
law.
Let me just say, Mr. Chairman, that I have always been struck by the
considerable lengths some people will go to sanitize and to deny
realities that are unflattering to their cause, inconvenient and messy
to face. The plain fact of the matter is that abortion methods either
dismember an unborn child's fragile body or burn her alive in a poison
solution, while some babies are killed by the partial birth abortion
method. Those victim babies are stabbed in the back of the neck with
scissors and have their brains sucked out. Yet all of this cruelty is
euphemistically referred to as choice and vigorously defended as an
expression of freedom rather than the child abuse that it is.
Whole societies, Mr. Chairman, have at times bought into gross evils
dressed up as legitimate and good. The abomination of slavery was
vigorously defended by the best and the brightest of its day. Just read
Roger Taney's Dred Scott decision--an apologetic that looks and sounds
remarkably like Roe versus Wade.
{time} 1115
The subjugation of whole nations, bride burning, female genital
mutilation, and even human sacrifice have had their sincere and
sophisticated apologists. Of course, they were and are dead wrong, but
these human rights abuses have their apologists. In the past three
decades, the abortion rights movement, a multimillion-dollar industry,
takes the prize for intellectual dishonesty, the art of the skillful
dodge, and the clever manipulation of euphemisms designed to conceal an
utterly gruesome reality.
All of the arguments marched out to justify the slaughter of unborn
babies used in today's debate and used in other debates that we have
had on this floor were first conceived, tested, and marketed by public
opinion specialists, pollsters, and focus groups. Those talking points
that routinely find their way into our offices from NARAL and Planned
Parenthood are the best that market research can buy.
Still, it is amazing to me that in 1996, with all of the breathtaking
advances in fetology, the use of the ultrasound technology and
microsurgery for the baby in the womb, that some can still stand here
with straight faces and argue that the taxpayers and the premium payers
should pay millions of dollars to dismember and to poison these
precious little kids. The sanitizing of these child killings has so
insulated some from the cruelty of abortion that they somehow believe
that they are enlightened to take that point of view.
Way back in 1976, Mr. Chairman, I asked my predecessor, then
Congressman Frank Thompson, who swore he was personally opposed to
abortion, and I kept saying to him, why are you personally opposed? He
just came back and said, well, I am personally opposed. Well, I asked
him if he thought that a baby was involved in abortion. Was a baby
killed? He said, and I quote, ``You can't have an abortion unless there
is a baby involved.'' Then he became a little bit red-faced, after he
saw what he had just admitted. And a reporter who was on the scene at
the time, and my wife, were frankly shocked, but pleased with his
candor. He at least admitted that a human baby was killed as a result
of abortion.
Recently I read in the Weekly Standard an article by Tucker Carlson
entitled, ``What Pro-choice Republicans Believe.'' I frankly was
absolutely amazed by the answers given by some of my good friends and
colleagues on our side of the aisle, and it was a kind of deja vu of
the conversation that I had some 20 years ago with my predecessor, then
Congressman Frank Thompson. One prominent lawmaker was asked why he was
personally opposed to abortion. The article described it this way.
Senator Specter stopped cold. Eighteen seconds of uncomfortable silence
pass. The Senator has spent much of the past year talking incessantly
about abortion, and yet he seems baffled by the question, as if it has
never been asked before or even imagined that it could be asked.
When Senator Specter finally replies, his tone has changed. He speaks
through clenched teeth: ``Well, it is something I would not choose to
do, and I would just leave it at that.'' And Senator Specter does leave
it at that.
Asked to elaborate on his views, he angrily refuses. ``I think it
says all
[[Page H7681]]
there is to say that I'm opposed to it. Now, do you have another
question?''
Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask that question of the Members that
are arguing for abortion funding today. I especially want to ask this
of my colleague from Illinois [Mr. Durbin]. And again let me remind
you, 70 percent of the funding used for the Federal Employees Health
Benefits Program is taxpayers' dollars. So Mr. Lightfoot's language is
very much a parallel to the Hyde amendment. Yes, there is some money
that you and I and others kick in. It is only 30 percent in terms of
premium payers, and even many of those, like myself, a premium payer,
do not want that money as well to be bundled and used to pay for
abortions on demand. That is what the Hoyer amendment would do.
It is abortion on demand, abortion for birth control reasons. And if
the Hoyer amendment is passed, if his amendment becomes law, the U.S.
Government will subsidize the slaying of children. Back in 1983, before
the pro-life rider was in effect, some 17,000 babies were killed each
year, facilitated and subsidized by the Federal Employees Health
Benefits Program and by the taxpayers.
I would like to ask my friend from Illinois, Mr. Durbin, who is
standing here waiting to speak, do you believe that an unborn child is
a human being? Perhaps you would like to answer. On your time, I hope
you will.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. I do hope the
gentleman will answer that when he takes the podium, whether or not
there is a human life destroyed by abortion.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my distinguished
colleague, the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella].
Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Lowey-
Hoyer-Morella amendment. Please do not be misled by the highly charged
emotional rhetoric, because this amendment is not about that. This
amendment is to avert discrimination against Federal employees.
Last year, Congress voted to deny Federal employees coverage for
abortions that had been provided to most of the rest of this country's
workforce through their health insurance plans. This decision was
discriminatory and is just another example of Congress chipping away at
the benefits of Federal employees and their opportunity to choose an
insurance plan that best meets their own health care needs.
The coverage of abortion services in Federal health plans would not
mean that abortions are being subsidized by the Federal Government.
Currently, the Government simply contributes to the premiums of Federal
employees in order to allow them to purchase private health insurance.
The many participating plans in the FEHBP may or may not choose to
include coverage for abortion services--and, prior to last year's
decision, about half of the participating plans provided this coverage.
Thus, an employee who did not wish to choose a plan with abortion
coverage could do just that.
Unfortunately, Congress denied Federal employees their access to
abortion coverage, thereby discriminating against them and treating
them differently than the vast majority of private sector employees.
Currently, two-thirds of private fee-for-service plans and 70 percent
of HMO's provide abortion coverage. It is insulting to Federal
employees that they are being told that part of their own compensation
package is not under their control.
Thousands of Federal employees struggle to make ends meet. Many
Federal employees are single parents or the sole wage earners in their
families. For these workers, the cost of an abortion would be a
significant hardship, interfering with a woman's constitutionally
protected right to choose. For these women, the lack of this health
coverage could result in delayed abortions occurring later in the
pregnancy, an outcome no one here wants to see.
Mr. Chairman, this amendment simply restores the rights of Federal
employees to the same health care services covered by most private
sector health plans. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and
to reverse last year's unwise decision.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from Florida [Mr. Stearns].
(Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the Hoyer
amendment, which would allow, as brought out here before, abortion on
demand under the Federal employee health insurance plan. The question I
pose to my colleagues is, should the American taxpayers have an
interest in the health care coverage of Federal employees? Of course,
they should. Why not. They pay for it.
They are the employers of the Federal workers. OK, so if the people
who pay for it have an interest, why do we not ask them?
Well, we have done that. The CBS news poll done this year, the end of
March, 72 percent of the people who are polled say they do not want
their tax dollars going toward abortion on demand. Another poll was
done by the Journal of American Medical Association; 69 percent said
the same thing. The American taxpayers do not want their tax dollars
going for abortion on demand.
This amendment goes way beyond the bounds of the pro-life/pro-choice
debate. This issue involves providing abortions for anyone enrolled in
the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, regardless of income
level. The concept of the anyone subsidizing abortion is difficult
enough, but asking the American taxpayers to pay for abortions for
Federal employees under this plan is wrong, realizing that this is
abortion on demands, even into the third trimester.
Supporters of this amendment claim that the Federal benefits health
program should pay for all the medical procedures. However, in
agreement with a 1980 Supreme Court decision, I say that an abortion
cannot be considered as part of these procedures. It is, in fact, the
termination of a life we are talking about here, Mr. Chairman, not a
simple health care procedure. So when the Members on this side, perhaps
some on this side of the aisle, would say this is a simple health care
procedure, we just have to go to the 1980 Supreme Court decision. It
clearly says this is not a simple health care procedure we are talking
about. So do not be confused.
So I ask my colleagues to think about what the majority of American
taxpayers, roughly 70 percent in two separate polls have said. They do
not want to pay for abortion on demand for Federal employees. So,
truly, let us defeat the Hoyer amendment, regardless of your stance on
abortion on this debate. You must recognize what this amendment does. I
ask all of my colleagues to defeat this amendment today.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 45 seconds to my friend, the
gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Skaggs].
Mr. SKAGGS. Mr. Chairman, over a million women rely on the Federal
Employee Health Benefit Program for their health insurance. These women
work for the American people, for us. They are not children. They are
perfectly capable of making decisions about their own health insurance.
By what right does this House make it more difficult and dangerous
for these citizens to exercise their constitutional rights about
abortion?
By what right does this House limit the medical procedures available
in what are the most difficult and trying circumstances anyone woman
can face?
Treat these public servants like other American workers. They should
be allowed to choose health care insurance without the interference of
the heavy ideological hands of Congress. Vote ``yes'' on the Hoyer
amendment.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the gentleman from Maryland's
amendment and in opposition to the continuing efforts of many on the
majority side to interfere with a woman's privacy rights and freedom of
choice about abortion.
In this bill as written, the compensation of Federal employees is
manipulated to serve the ideological purposes of those who disagree
with the U.S. Supreme Court about a woman's right to choose. Simply
because they happen to work for the Federal Government, Federal
employees are prohibited from selecting a health insurance carrier
through their employer health plan that provides coverage for abortion
services in most cases.
Over a million American women rely on the Federal Employee Health
Benefit Program for their health insurance. These women work for the
American people; they work for you. Look
[[Page H7682]]
around you, look around your offices. These women aren't children. They
are adults capable of making their own health care decisions. By what
right does this House make it more difficult and dangerous for these
women to exercise their constitutional right to choose about abortion?
By what right does this House limit the medical procedures available in
what is one of the most difficult and trying circumstances a woman can
encounter? The answer is simple. It suits some Members' political
ideology--never mind the rights and needs of the women who work for the
Government.
The U.S. Constitution guarantees women a right to privacy and choice
about abortion. Without the Hoyer amendment, the bill before us
diminishes that right for those who work for this country, for us.
Treat these public servants like other American workers. They should
be allowed to choose health care insurance without interference from
the heavy ideological hand of Congress.
Vote ``yes'' on the Hoyer amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Committee will rise informally.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns) assumed the chair.
____________________