[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 120 (Thursday, September 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9167-S9192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
1998
The Senate proceeded with the consideration of the bill.
Mr. GORTON. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the
consideration of Calendar No. 122, H.R. 2107, a bill making
appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 2107) making appropriations for the Department
of the Interior and related agencies for fiscal year ending
September 30, 1998, and for other purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate
consideration of the bill?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
bill which had been reported from the Committee on Appropriations, with
amendments; as follows:
(The parts of the bill intended to be stricken are shown in boldface
brackets and the parts of the bill intended to be inserted as shown in
italic.)
H.R. 2107
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes, namely:
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
management of lands and resources
For expenses necessary for protection, use, improvement,
development, disposal, cadastral surveying, classification,
acquisition of easements and other interests in lands, and
performance of other functions, including maintenance of
facilities, as authorized by law, in the management of lands
and their resources under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of
Land Management, including the general administration of the
Bureau, and assessment of mineral potential of public lands
pursuant to Public Law 96-487 (16 U.S.C. 3150(a)),
[$581,591,000] $578,851,000, to remain available until
expended, of which $2,043,000 shall be available for
assessment of the mineral potential of public lands in Alaska
pursuant to section 1010 of Public Law 96-487 (16 U.S.C.
3150); and of which $3,000,000 shall be derived from the
special receipt account established by the Land and Water
Conservation Act of 1965, as amended (16 U.S.C. 460l-6a(i));
and of which $1,500,000 shall be available in fiscal year
1998 subject to a match by at least an equal amount by the
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to such Foundation for
challenge cost share projects supporting fish and wildlife
conservation affecting Bureau lands; in addition,
[$27,300,000] $27,650,000 for Mining Law Administration
program operations, to remain available until expended, to be
reduced by amounts collected by the Bureau and credited to
this appropriation from annual mining claim fees so as to
result in a final appropriation estimated at not more than
[$581,591,000] $578,851,000; and in addition, not to exceed
$5,000,000, to remain available until expended, from annual
mining claim fees; which shall be credited to this account
for the costs of administering the mining claim fee program,
and $2,000,000 from communication site rental fees
established by the Bureau for the cost of administering
communication site activities: Provided, That appropriations
herein made shall not be available for the destruction of
healthy, unadopted, wild horses and burros in the care of the
Bureau or its contractors.
wildland fire management
For necessary expenses for fire use and management, fire
preparedness, suppression operations, and emergency
rehabilitation by the Department of the Interior,
[$280,103,000] $282,728,000, to remain available until
expended, of which not to exceed [$5,025,000] $6,950,000
shall be for the renovation or construction of fire
facilities: Provided, That such funds are also available for
repayment of advances to other appropriation accounts from
which funds were previously transferred for such purposes:
Provided further, That persons hired pursuant to 43 U.S.C.
1469 may be furnished subsistence and lodging without cost
from funds available from this appropriation.
central hazardous materials fund
For necessary expenses of the Department of the Interior
and any of its component offices and bureaus for the remedial
action, including associated activities, of hazardous waste
substances, pollutants, or contaminants pursuant to the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.),
[$12,000,000] $14,900,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, sums
recovered from or paid by a party in advance of or as
reimbursement for remedial action or response activities
conducted by the Department pursuant to section 107 or 113(f)
of such Act, shall be credited to this account to be
available until expended without further appropriation:
Provided further, That such sums recovered from or paid by
any party are not limited to monetary payments and may
include stocks, bonds or other personal or real property,
which may be retained, liquidated, or otherwise disposed of
by the Secretary and which shall be credited to this account.
construction
For construction of buildings, recreation facilities,
roads, trails, and appurtenant facilities, [$3,254,000]
$3,154,000, to remain available until expended.
payments in lieu of taxes
For expenses necessary to implement the Act of October 20,
1976, as amended, (31 U.S.C. 6901-6907), [$113,500,000]
$120,000,000, of which not to exceed $400,000 shall be
available for administrative expenses: Provided, That no
payment shall be made to otherwise eligible units of local
government if the computed amount of the payment is less than
$100.
land acquisition
For expenses necessary to carry out sections 205, 206, and
318(d) of Public Law 94-579, including administrative
expenses and acquisition of lands or waters, or interests
therein, [$12,000,000] $9,400,000, to be derived from the
Land and Water Conservation Fund, to remain available until
expended.
oregon and california grant lands
For expenses necessary for management, protection, and
development of resources and for construction, operation, and
maintenance of access roads, reforestation, and other
improvements on the revested Oregon and California Railroad
grant lands, on other Federal lands in the Oregon and
California land-grant counties of Oregon, and on adjacent
rights-of-way; and acquisition of lands or interests therein
including existing connecting roads on or adjacent to such
grant lands; $101,406,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That 25 per centum of the aggregate of
all receipts during the current fiscal year from the revested
Oregon and California Railroad grant lands is hereby made a
charge against the Oregon and California land-grant fund and
shall be transferred to the General Fund in the Treasury in
accordance with the second paragraph of subsection (b) of
title II of the Act of August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 876).
forest ecosystems health and recovery
(revolving fund, special account)
In addition to the purposes authorized in Public Law 102-
381, funds made available in the Forest Ecosystem Health and
Recovery Fund can be used for the purpose of planning,
preparing, and monitoring salvage timber sales and forest
ecosystem health and recovery activities such as release from
competing vegetation and density control treatments. Any
receipts derived from treatments funded by this account shall
be deposited into the Forest Ecosystem Health and Recovery
Fund.
range improvements
For rehabilitation, protection, and acquisition of lands
and interests therein, and improvement of Federal rangelands
pursuant to section 401 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701), notwithstanding any
other Act, sums equal to 50 per centum of all moneys received
during the prior fiscal year under sections 3 and 15 of the
Taylor Grazing Act (43 U.S.C. 315 et seq.) and the amount
designated for range improvements from grazing fees and
mineral leasing receipts from Bankhead-Jones lands
transferred to the Department of the Interior pursuant to
law, but not less than $9,113,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That not to exceed $600,000 shall be
available for administrative expenses.
[[Page S9168]]
service charges, deposits, and forfeitures
For administrative expenses and other costs related to
processing application documents and other authorizations for
use and disposal of public lands and resources, for costs of
providing copies of official public land documents, for
monitoring construction, operation, and termination of
facilities in conjunction with use authorizations, and for
rehabilitation of damaged property, such amounts as may be
collected under Public Law 94-579, as amended, and Public Law
93-153, to remain available until expended: Provided, That
notwithstanding any provision to the contrary of section
305(a) of Public Law 94-579 (43 U.S.C. 1735(a)), any moneys
that have been or will be received pursuant to that section,
whether as a result of forfeiture, compromise, or settlement,
if not appropriate for refund pursuant to section 305(c) of
that Act (43 U.S.C. 1735(c)), shall be available and may be
expended under the authority of this Act by the Secretary to
improve, protect, or rehabilitate any public lands
administered through the Bureau of Land Management which have
been damaged by the action of a resource developer,
purchaser, permittee, or any unauthorized person, without
regard to whether all moneys collected from each such action
are used on the exact lands damaged which led to the action:
Provided further, That any such moneys that are in excess of
amounts needed to repair damage to the exact land for which
funds were collected may be used to repair other damaged
public lands.
miscellaneous trust funds
In addition to amounts authorized to be expended under
existing laws, there is hereby appropriated such amounts as
may be contributed under section 307 of the Act of October
21, 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701), and such amounts as may be
advanced for administrative costs, surveys, appraisals, and
costs of making conveyances of omitted lands under section
211(b) of that Act, to remain available until expended.
administrative provisions
Appropriations for the Bureau of Land Management shall be
available for purchase, erection, and dismantlement of
temporary structures, and alteration and maintenance of
necessary buildings and appurtenant facilities to which the
United States has title; up to $100,000 for payments, at the
discretion of the Secretary, for information or evidence
concerning violations of laws administered by the Bureau;
miscellaneous and emergency expenses of enforcement
activities authorized or approved by the Secretary and to be
accounted for solely on his certificate, not to exceed
$10,000: Provided, That notwithstanding 44 U.S.C. 501, the
Bureau may, under cooperative cost-sharing and partnership
arrangements authorized by law, procure printing services
from cooperators in connection with jointly-produced
publications for which the cooperators share the cost of
printing either in cash or in services, and the Bureau
determines the cooperator is capable of meeting accepted
quality standards.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
resource management
For expenses necessary for scientific and economic studies,
conservation, management, investigations, protection, and
utilization of fishery and wildlife resources, except whales,
seals, and sea lions, and for the performance of other
authorized functions related to such resources; for the
general administration of the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service; for maintenance of the herd of long-horned cattle on
the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge; and not less than
$1,000,000 for high priority projects within the scope of the
approved budget which shall be carried out by the Youth
Conservation Corps as authorized by the Act of August 13,
1970, as amended, [$591,042,000] $585,064,000, to remain
available until September 30, 1999, of which $11,612,000
shall remain available until expended for operation and
maintenance of fishery mitigation facilities constructed by
the Corps of Engineers under the Lower Snake River
Compensation Plan, authorized by the Water Resources
Development Act of 1976, to compensate for loss of fishery
resources from water development projects on the Lower Snake
River, and of which not less than $2,000,000 shall be
provided to local governments in southern California for
planning associated with the Natural Communities Conservation
Planning (NCCP) program and shall remain available until
expended[, and of which not to exceed $5,190,000 shall be
used for implementing subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e) of
section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended]:
Provided, That the proviso under this heading in Public Law
104-208 is amended by striking the words ``Education and''
and inserting in lieu thereof ``Conservation'', by striking
the word ``direct'' and inserting in lieu thereof the word
``full'', and by inserting before the period ``, to remain
available until expended'': Provided further, That the Bureau
of Reclamation transfers to the Fish and Wildlife Service for
the Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish
Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin shall be exempt
from any Fish and Wildlife Service overhead charge.
construction
For construction and acquisition of buildings and other
facilities required in the conservation, management,
investigation, protection, and utilization of fishery and
wildlife resources, and the acquisition of lands and
interests therein; [$40,256,000] $43,053,000, to remain
available until expended.
natural resource damage assessment fund
To conduct natural resource damage assessment activities by
the Department of the Interior necessary to carry out the
provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 9601,
et seq.), Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (33
U.S.C. 1251, et seq.), the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (Public
Law 101-380), and Public Law 101-337; [$4,128,000]
$4,328,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That under this heading in Public Law 104-134, strike ``in
fiscal year 1996 and thereafter'' in the proviso and insert
``heretofore and hereafter'', and before the phrase, ``or
properties shall be utilized'' in such proviso, insert ``, to
remain available until expended,'': Provided further, That
the first proviso under this heading in Public Law 103-138 is
amended by inserting after ``account'' the following: ``,
including transfers to Federal trustees and payments to non-
Federal trustees,''.
land acquisition
For expenses necessary to carry out the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Act of 1965, as amended (16 U.S.C. 460l-4-
11), including administrative expenses, and for acquisition
of land or waters, or interest therein, in accordance with
statutory authority applicable to the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, [$53,000,000] $57,292,000, to remain
available until expended.
cooperative endangered species conservation fund
For expenses necessary to carry out the provisions of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543), as
amended, $14,000,000, for grants to States, to be derived
from the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund,
and to remain available until expended.
national wildlife refuge fund
For expenses necessary to implement the Act of October 17,
1978 (16 U.S.C. 715s), [$10,000,000] $10,779,000.
rewards and operations
For expenses necessary to carry out the provisions of the
African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4201-4203, 4211-
4213, 4221-4225, 4241-4245, and 1538), $1,000,000, to remain
available until expended.
north american wetlands conservation fund
For expenses necessary to carry out the provisions of the
North American Wetlands Conservation Act, Public Law 101-233,
as amended, [$10,500,000] $13,000,000, to remain available
until expended.
rhinoceros and tiger conservation fund
For deposit to the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund,
$400,000, to remain available until expended, to carry out
the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 (Public Law
103-391).
wildlife conservation and appreciation fund
For deposit to the Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation
Fund, $800,000, to remain available until expended.
administrative provisions
Appropriations and funds available to the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service shall be available for purchase of
not to exceed 108 passenger motor vehicles, of which 92 are
for replacement only (including 57 for police-type use); not
to exceed $400,000 for payment, at the discretion of the
Secretary, for information, rewards, or evidence concerning
violations of laws administered by the Service, and
miscellaneous and emergency expenses of enforcement
activities, authorized or approved by the Secretary and to be
accounted for solely on his certificate; repair of damage to
public roads within and adjacent to reservation areas caused
by operations of the Service; options for the purchase of
land at not to exceed $1 for each option; facilities incident
to such public recreational uses on conservation areas as are
consistent with their primary purpose; and the maintenance
and improvement of aquaria, buildings, and other facilities
under the jurisdiction of the Service and to which the United
States has title, and which are utilized pursuant to law in
connection with management and investigation of fish and
wildlife resources: Provided, That notwithstanding 44 U.S.C.
501, the Service may, under cooperative cost sharing and
partnership arrangements authorized by law, procure printing
services from cooperators in connection with jointly-produced
publications for which the cooperators share at least one-
half the cost of printing either in cash or services and the
Service determines the cooperator is capable of meeting
accepted quality standards: Provided further, That the
Service may accept donated aircraft as replacements for
existing aircraft: Provided further, That notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior may not
spend any of the funds appropriated in this Act for the
purchase of lands or interests in lands to be used in the
establishment of any new unit of the National Wildlife Refuge
System unless the purchase is approved in advance by the
House and Senate Committees on Appropriations in compliance
with the reprogramming procedures contained in the report
accompanying this bill: Provided further, That the Secretary
may sell land and interests in land, other than surface water
rights, acquired in conformance with subsections 206(a) and
207(c) of Public Law 101-816, the receipts of which shall be
deposited to the Lahontan Valley and Pyramid Lake Fish and
[[Page S9169]]
Wildlife Fund and used exclusively for the purposes of such
subsections, without regard to the limitation on the
distribution of benefits in subsection 206(f)(2) of such law.
National Park Service
operation of the national park system
For expenses necessary for the management, operation, and
maintenance of areas and facilities administered by the
National Park Service (including special road maintenance
service to trucking permittees on a reimbursable basis), and
for the general administration of the National Park Service,
including not to exceed [$2,500,000] $1,593,000 for the
Volunteers-in-Parks program, and not less than $1,000,000 for
high priority projects within the scope of the approved
budget which shall be carried out by the Youth Conservation
Corps as authorized by 16 U.S.C. 1706, [$1,232,325,000]
$1,249,409,000, of which $12,800,000 for research, planning
and interagency coordination in support of land acquisition
for Everglades restoration shall remain available until
expended, and of which not to exceed $72,000,000, to remain
available until expended, is to be derived from the special
fee account established pursuant to title V, section 5201 of
Public Law 100-203.
national recreation and preservation
For expenses necessary to carry out recreation programs,
natural programs, cultural programs, heritage partnership
programs, environmental compliance and review, international
park affairs, statutory or contractual aid for other
activities, and grant administration, not otherwise provided
for, [$43,934,000, of which $4,500,000 is for grants to
Heritage areas in accordance with titles I-VI and VIII-IX,
division II of Public Law 104-333 and is] $45,284,000 to
remain available until September 30, 1999.
historic preservation fund
For expenses necessary in carrying out the Historic
Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470), and the
Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 (Public
Law 104-333), [$40,412,000] $39,812,000, to be derived from
the Historic Preservation Fund, to remain available until
September 30, 1999, of which $3,200,000 pursuant to section
507 of Public Law 104-333 shall remain available until
expended.
construction
For construction, improvements, repair or replacement of
physical facilities, including the modifications authorized
by section 104 of the Everglades National Park Protection and
Expansion Act of 1989, [$148,391,000] $167,894,000 to remain
available until expended]: Provided, That $500,000 for the
Rutherford B. Hayes Home and $600,000 for the Sotterly
Plantation House shall be derived from the Historic
Preservation Fund pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 470A]: Provided, That
$500,000 for the Darwin Mountain House in Buffalo, New York
and $500,000 for the Penn Center, South Carolina, shall be
derived from the Historic Preservation Fund pursuant to 16
U.S.C. 470a: Provided further, That $3,000,000 for the
Hispanic Cultural Center, New Mexico, is subject to
authorization: Provided further, That $1,000,000 for the
Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial is subject to authorization:
Provided further, That none of the funds provided in this Act
may be used to relocate the Brooks River Lodge in Katmai
National Park and Preserve from its current physical
location.
land and water conservation fund
(rescission)
The contract authority provided for fiscal year 1998 by 16
U.S.C. 460l-10a is rescinded.
land acquisition and state assistance
For expenses necessary to carry out the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Act of 1965, as amended (16 U.S.C. 460l-4-
11), including administrative expenses, and for acquisition
of lands or waters, or interest therein, in accordance with
statutory authority applicable to the National Park Service,
[$129,000,000] $125,690,000, to be derived from the Land and
Water Conservation Fund, to remain available until expended[,
of which $1,000,000 is to administer the State assistance
program]: Provided, That any funds made available for the
purpose of acquisition of the Elwha and Glines dams shall be
used solely for acquisition, and shall not be expended until
the full purchase amount has been appropriated by the
Congress[: Provided further, That of the funds provided
herein, $8,500,000 is available for acquisition of the
Sterling Forest]: Provided further, That from the funds made
available for land acquisition at Everglades National Park
and Big Cypress National Preserve, the Secretary may provide
for Federal assistance to the State of Florida for the
acquisition of lands or waters, or interests therein, within
the Everglades watershed (consisting of lands and waters
within the boundaries of the South Florida Water Management
District, Florida Bay and the Florida Keys) under terms and
conditions deemed necessary by the Secretary, to improve and
restore the hydrological function of the Everglades
watershed: Provided further, That funds provided under this
head to the State of Florida shall be subject to an agreement
that such lands will be managed in perpetuity for the
restoration of the Everglades.
administrative provisions
Appropriations for the National Park Service shall be
available for the purchase of not to exceed 396 passenger
motor vehicles, of which 302 shall be for replacement only,
including not to exceed 315 for police-type use, 13 buses,
and 6 ambulances: Provided, That none of the funds
appropriated to the National Park Service may be used to
process any grant or contract documents which do not include
the text of 18 U.S.C. 1913: Provided further, That none of
the funds appropriated to the National Park Service may be
used to implement an agreement for the redevelopment of the
southern end of Ellis Island until such agreement has been
submitted to the Congress and shall not be implemented prior
to the expiration of 30 calendar days (not including any day
in which either House of Congress is not in session because
of adjournment of more than three calendar days to a day
certain) from the receipt by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President of the Senate of a full and
comprehensive report on the development of the southern end
of Ellis Island, including the facts and circumstances relied
upon in support of the proposed project.
None of the funds in this Act may be spent by the National
Park Service for activities taken in direct response to the
United Nations Biodiversity Convention.
The National Park Service may distribute to operating units
based on the safety record of each unit the costs of programs
designed to improve workplace and employee safety, and to
encourage employees receiving workers' compensation benefits
pursuant to chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to
return to appropriate positions for which they are medically
able.
United States Geological Survey
surveys, investigations, and research
For expenses necessary for the United States Geological
Survey to perform surveys, investigations, and research
covering topography, geology, hydrology, and the mineral and
water resources of the United States, its Territories and
possessions, and other areas as authorized by 43 U.S.C. 31,
1332, and 1340; classify lands as to their mineral and water
resources; give engineering supervision to power permittees
and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensees;
administer the minerals exploration program (30 U.S.C. 641);
and publish and disseminate data relative to the foregoing
activities; and to conduct inquiries into the economic
conditions affecting mining and materials processing
industries (30 U.S.C. 3, 21a, and 1603; 50 U.S.C. 98g(1)) and
related purposes as authorized by law and to publish and
disseminate data; [$755,795,000] $758,160,000 of which
$66,231,000 shall be available only for cooperation with
States or municipalities for water resources investigations;
and of which $16,400,000 shall remain available until
expended for conducting inquiries into the economic
conditions affecting mining and materials processing
industries; and of which $2,000,000 shall remain available
until expended for development of a mineral and geologic
database; and of which [$147,794,000] $147,159,000 shall be
available until September 30, 1999 for the biological
research activity and the operation of the Cooperative
Research Units: Provided, That none of these funds provided
for the biological research activity shall be used to conduct
new surveys on private property, unless specifically
authorized in writing by the property owner: Provided
further, That no part of this appropriation shall be used to
pay more than one-half the cost of topographic mapping or
water resources data collection and investigations carried on
in cooperation with States and municipalities: Provided
further, That hereafter the United States Geological Survey
may disperse to local entities Payment in Lieu of Taxes
impact funding appropriated to the Fish and Wildlife Service
pursuant to the Refuge Revenue Sharing Act that is associated
with Federal real property being transferred to the United
States Geological Survey from the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service.
administrative provisions
The amount appropriated for the United States Geological
Survey shall be available for the purchase of not to exceed
53 passenger motor vehicles, of which 48 are for replacement
only; reimbursement to the General Services Administration
for security guard services; contracting for the furnishing
of topographic maps and for the making of geophysical or
other specialized surveys when it is administratively
determined that such procedures are in the public interest;
construction and maintenance of necessary buildings and
appurtenant facilities; acquisition of lands for gauging
stations and observation wells; expenses of the United States
National Committee on Geology; and payment of compensation
and expenses of persons on the rolls of the Survey duly
appointed to represent the United States in the negotiation
and administration of interstate compacts: Provided, That
activities funded by appropriations herein made may be
accomplished through the use of contracts, grants, or
cooperative agreements as defined in 31 U.S.C. 6302, et seq.:
Provided further, That the USGS may contract directly with
individuals or indirectly with institutions or nonprofit
organizations, without regard to section 41 U.S.C. 5, for the
temporary or intermittent services of science students or
recent graduates, who shall be considered employees for the
purposes of chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code,
relating to compensation for work injuries, and chapter 171
of title 28, United States Code, relating to tort claims, but
shall not be considered to be Federal employees for any other
purposes.
Minerals Management Service
royalty and offshore minerals management
For expenses necessary for minerals leasing and
environmental studies, regulation of
[[Page S9170]]
industry operations, and collection of royalties, as
authorized by law; for enforcing laws and regulations
applicable to oil, gas, and other minerals leases, permits,
licenses and operating contracts; and for matching grants or
cooperative agreements; including the purchase of not to
exceed eight passenger motor vehicles for replacement only;
[$139,621,000] $135,722,000, of which not less than
[$70,874,000] $66,175,000 shall be available for royalty
management activities; and an amount not to exceed
$65,000,000 [for activities within the Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) Lands Program,] to be credited to this
appropriation and to remain available until expended, from
additions to receipts resulting from increases to rates in
effect on August 5, 1993, from rate increases to fee
collections for OCS administrative activities performed by
the Minerals Management Service over and above the rates in
effect on September 30, 1993, and from additional fees for
OCS administrative activities established after September 30,
1993: Provided, That [$1,500,000] $3,000,000 for computer
acquisitions shall remain available until September 30, 1999:
Provided further, That funds appropriated under this Act
shall be available for the payment of interest in accordance
with 30 U.S.C. 1721(b) and (d): Provided further, That not to
exceed $3,000 shall be available for reasonable expenses
related to promoting volunteer beach and marine cleanup
activities: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other
provision of law, $15,000 under this head shall be available
for refunds of overpayments in connection with certain Indian
leases in which the Director of the Minerals Management
Service concurred with the claimed refund due, to pay amounts
owed to Indian allottees or Tribes, or to correct prior
unrecoverable erroneous payments.
oil spill research
For necessary expenses to carry out title I, section 1016,
title IV, sections 4202 and 4303, title VII, and title VIII,
section 8201 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, $6,118,000,
which shall be derived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust
Fund, to remain available until expended.
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
regulation and technology
For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, Public
Law 95-87, as amended, including the purchase of not to
exceed 10 passenger motor vehicles, for replacement only;
[$94,937,000] $97,437,000, and notwithstanding 31 U.S.C.
3302, an additional amount shall be credited to this account,
to remain available until expended, from performance bond
forfeitures in fiscal year 1998: Provided, That the Secretary
of the Interior, pursuant to regulations, may utilize
directly or through grants to States, moneys collected in
fiscal year 1998 for civil penalties assessed under section
518 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
(30 U.S.C. 1268), to reclaim lands adversely affected by coal
mining practices after August 3, 1977, to remain available
until expended: Provided further, That appropriations for the
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement may
provide for the travel and per diem expenses of State and
tribal personnel attending Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement sponsored training.
abandoned mine reclamation fund
For necessary expenses to carry out title IV of the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, Public Law 95-87,
as amended, including the purchase of not more than 10
passenger motor vehicles for replacement only, [$179,624,000]
$177,624,000, to be derived from receipts of the Abandoned
Mine Reclamation Fund and to remain available until expended;
of which up to $5,000,000 shall be for supplemental grants to
States for the reclamation of abandoned sites with acid mine
rock drainage from coal mines through the Appalachian Clean
Streams Initiative: Provided, That grants to minimum program
States will be $1,500,000 per State in fiscal year 1998:
Provided further, That of the funds herein provided up to
$18,000,000 may be used for the emergency program authorized
by section 410 of Public Law 95-87, as amended, of which no
more than 25 per centum shall be used for emergency
reclamation projects in any one State and funds for
federally-administered emergency reclamation projects under
this proviso shall not exceed $11,000,000: Provided further,
That prior year unobligated funds appropriated for the
emergency reclamation program shall not be subject to the 25
per centum limitation per State and may be used without
fiscal year limitation for emergency projects: Provided
further, That pursuant to Public Law 97-365, the Department
of the Interior is authorized to use up to 20 per centum from
the recovery of the delinquent debt owed to the United States
Government to pay for contracts to collect these debts:
Provided further, That funds made available to States under
title IV of Public Law 95-87 may be used, at their
discretion, for any required non-Federal share of the cost of
projects funded by the Federal Government for the purpose of
environmental restoration related to treatment or abatement
of acid mine drainage from abandoned mines: Provided further,
That such projects must be consistent with the purposes and
priorities of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act:
Provided further, That the State of Maryland may set aside
the greater of $1,000,000 or 10 percent of the total of the
grants made available to the State under title IV of the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, as
amended (30 U.S.C. 1231 et seq.), if the amount set aside is
deposited in an acid mine drainage abatement and treatment
fund established under a State law, pursuant to which law the
amount (together with all interest earned on the amount) is
expended by the State to undertake acid mine drainage
abatement and treatment projects, except that before any
amounts greater than 10 percent of its title IV grants are
deposited in an acid mine drainage abatement and treatment
fund, the State of Maryland must first complete all Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act priority one projects.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
operation of indian programs
For operation of Indian programs by direct expenditure,
contracts, cooperative agreements, compacts, and grants
including expenses necessary to provide education and welfare
services for Indians, either directly or in cooperation with
States and other organizations, including payment of care,
tuition, assistance, and other expenses of Indians in
boarding homes, or institutions, or schools; grants and other
assistance to needy Indians; maintenance of law and order;
management, development, improvement, and protection of
resources and appurtenant facilities under the jurisdiction
of the Bureau, including payment of irrigation assessments
and charges; acquisition of water rights; advances for Indian
industrial and business enterprises; operation of Indian arts
and crafts shops and museums; development of Indian arts and
crafts, as authorized by law; for the general administration
of the Bureau, including such expenses in field offices;
maintaining of Indian reservation roads as defined in 23
U.S.C. 101; and construction, repair, and improvement of
Indian housing, [$1,526,815,000] $1,527,024,000, to remain
available until September 30, 1999 except as otherwise
provided herein, of which not to exceed $93,825,000 shall be
for welfare assistance payments and not to exceed
$105,829,000 shall be for payments to tribes and tribal
organizations for contract support costs associated with
ongoing contracts or grants or compacts entered into with the
Bureau prior to fiscal year 1998, as authorized by the Indian
Self-Determination Act of 1975, as amended, and up to
$5,000,000 shall be for the Indian Self-Determination Fund,
which shall be available for the transitional cost of initial
or expanded tribal contracts, grants, compacts, or
cooperative agreements with the Bureau under such Act; and of
which not to exceed $374,290,000 for school operations costs
of Bureau-funded schools and other education programs shall
become available on July 1, 1998, and shall remain available
until September 30, 1999; and of which not to exceed
[$59,775,000] $59,479,000 shall remain available until
expended for housing improvement, road maintenance, attorney
fees, litigation support, self-governance grants, the Indian
Self-Determination Fund, land records improvements and the
Navajo-Hopi Settlement Program: Provided, That tribes and
tribal contractors may use their tribal priority allocations
for unmet indirect costs of ongoing contracts, grants or
compact agreements and for unmet welfare assistance costs:
Provided further, That funds made available to tribes and
tribal organizations through contracts, compact agreements,
or grants obligated during fiscal years 1998 and 1999, as
authorized by the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975, or
grants authorized by the Indian Education Amendments of 1988
(25 U.S.C. 2001 and 2008A) shall remain available until
expended by the contractor or grantee: Provided further, That
to provide funding uniformity within a Self-Governance
Compact, any funds provided in this Act with availability for
more than two years may be reprogrammed to two year
availability but shall remain available within the Compact
until expended: Provided further, That notwithstanding any
other provision of law, Indian tribal governments may, by
appropriate changes in eligibility criteria or by other
means, change eligibility for general assistance or change
the amount of general assistance payments for individuals
within the service area of such tribe who are otherwise
deemed eligible for general assistance payments so long as
such changes are applied in a consistent manner to
individuals similarly situated: Provided further, That any
savings realized by such changes shall be available for use
in meeting other priorities of the tribes: Provided further,
That any net increase in costs to the Federal Government
which result solely from tribally increased payment levels
for general assistance shall be met exclusively from funds
available to the tribe from within its tribal priority
allocation: Provided further, That any forestry funds
allocated to a tribe which remain unobligated as of September
30, 1998, may be transferred during fiscal year 1999 to an
Indian forest land assistance account established for the
benefit of such tribe within the tribe's trust fund account:
Provided further, That any such unobligated balances not so
transferred shall expire on September 30, 1999: Provided
further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
funds available to the Bureau, other than the amounts
provided herein for assistance to public schools under 25
U.S.C. 452 et seq., shall be available to support the
operation of any elementary or secondary school in the State
of Alaska in fiscal year 1998: Provided further, That funds
made available in this or any other Act for expenditure
through September 30, 1999 for schools funded by the Bureau
[[Page S9171]]
shall be available only to the schools in the Bureau school
system as of September 1, 1996: Provided further, That no
funds available to the Bureau shall be used to support
expanded grades for any school or dormitory beyond the grade
structure in place or approved by the Secretary of the
Interior at each school in the Bureau school system as of
October 1, 1995: Provided further, That beginning in fiscal
year 1998 and thereafter and notwithstanding 25 U.S.C.
2012(h)(1)(B), when the rates of basic compensation for
teachers and counselors at Bureau-operated schools are
established at the rates of basic compensation applicable to
comparable positions in overseas schools under the Defense
Department Overseas Teachers Pay and Personnel Practices Act,
such rates shall become effective with the start of the next
academic year following the issuance of the Department of
Defense salary schedule and shall not be effected
retroactively: Provided further, That the Cibecue Community
School may use prior year school operations funds for the
construction of a new high school facility which is in
compliance with 25 U.S.C. 2005(a) provided that any
additional construction costs for replacement of such
facilities begun with prior year funds shall be completed
exclusively with non-Federal funds: Provided further, That
tribes may use Tribal Priority Allocations funds for the
replacement and repair of school facilities which are in
compliance with 25 U.S.C. 2005(a) provided that any
construction costs for subsequent replacement of such
facilities is completed exclusively with non-Federal funds.
construction
For construction, major repair, and improvement of
irrigation and power systems, buildings, utilities, and other
facilities, including architectural and engineering services
by contract; acquisition of lands, and interests in lands;
and preparation of lands for farming, and for construction of
the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project pursuant to Public Law
87-483, [$110,751,000] $125,051,000, to remain available
until expended: Provided, That such amounts as may be
available for the construction of the Navajo Indian
Irrigation Project may be transferred to the Bureau of
Reclamation: Provided further, That not to exceed 6 per
centum of contract authority available to the Bureau of
Indian Affairs from the Federal Highway Trust Fund may be
used to cover the road program management costs of the
Bureau: Provided further, That any funds provided for the
Safety of Dams program pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 13 shall be
made available on a non-reimbursable basis: Provided
further, That for fiscal year 1998, in implementing new
construction or facilities improvement and repair project
grants in excess of $100,000 that are provided to tribally
controlled grant schools under Public Law 100-297, as
amended, the Secretary of the Interior shall use the
Administrative and Audit Requirements and Cost Principles
for Assistance Programs contained in 43 CFR part 12 as the
regulatory requirements: Provided further, That such
grants shall not be subject to section 12.61 of 43 CFR;
the Secretary and the grantee shall negotiate and
determine a schedule of payments for the work to be
performed: Provided further, That in considering
applications, the Secretary shall consider whether the
Indian tribe or tribal organization would be deficient in
assuring that the construction projects conform to
applicable building standards and codes and Federal,
tribal, or State health and safety standards as required
by 25 U.S.C. 2005(a), with respect to organizational and
financial management capabilities: Provided further, That
if the Secretary declines an application, the Secretary
shall follow the requirements contained in 25 U.S.C.
2505(f): Provided further, That any disputes between the
Secretary and any grantee concerning a grant shall be
subject to the disputes provision in 25 U.S.C. 2508(e).
indian land and water claim settlements and miscellaneous payments to
indians
For miscellaneous payments to Indian tribes and individuals
and for necessary administrative expenses, [$41,352,000]
$43,352,000, to remain available until expended; of which
[$40,500,000] $42,000,000 shall be available for
implementation of enacted Indian land and water claim
settlements pursuant to Public Laws 101-618, 102-374, and
102-575, and for implementation of other enacted water rights
settlements, including not to exceed $8,000,000, which shall
be for the Federal share of the Catawba Indian Tribe of South
Carolina Claims Settlement, as authorized by section 5(a) of
Public Law 103-116; and of which [$852,000] $1,352,000 shall
be available pursuant to Public Laws 99-264, 100-383, 103-
402, and 100-580: Provided, That the Secretary is directed to
sell land and interests in land, other than surface water
rights, acquired in conformance with section 2 of the Truckee
River Water Quality Settlement Agreement, the receipts of
which shall be deposited to the Lahontan Valley and Pyramid
Lake Fish and Wildlife Fund, and be available for the
purposes of section 2 of such Agreement, without regard to
the limitation on the distribution of benefits in the second
sentence of paragraph 206(f)(2) of Public Law 101-618.
indian guaranteed loan program account
For the cost of guaranteed loans, $4,500,000, as authorized
by the Indian Financing Act of 1974, as amended: Provided,
That such costs, including the cost of modifying such loans,
shall be as defined in section 502 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974: Provided further, That these funds are
available to subsidize total loan principal, any part of
which is to be guaranteed, not to exceed $34,615,000.
In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out the
guaranteed loan programs, $500,000.
administrative provisions
Appropriations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (except the
revolving fund for loans, the Indian loan guarantee and
insurance fund, the Technical Assistance of Indian
Enterprises account, the Indian Direct Loan Program account,
and the Indian Guaranteed Loan Program account) shall be
available for expenses of exhibits, and purchase of not to
exceed 229 passenger motor vehicles, of which not to exceed
187 shall be for replacement only.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds
available to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for central office
operations or pooled overhead general administration shall be
available for tribal contracts, grants, compacts, or
cooperative agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs
under the provisions of the Indian Self-Determination Act or
the Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-413).
Departmental Offices
Insular Affairs
Assistance to Territories
For expenses necessary for assistance to territories under
the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior,
[$68,214,000] $67,214,000, of which (1) [$64,365,000]
$63,365,000 shall be available until expended for technical
assistance, including maintenance assistance, disaster
assistance, insular management controls, and brown tree snake
control and research; grants to the judiciary in American
Samoa for compensation and expenses, as authorized by law (48
U.S.C. 1661(c)); grants to the Government of American Samoa,
in addition to current local revenues, for construction and
support of governmental functions; grants to the Government
of the Virgin Islands as authorized by law; grants to the
Government of Guam, as authorized by law; and grants to the
Government of the Northern Mariana Islands as authorized by
law (Public Law 94-241; 90 Stat. 272); and (2) $3,849,000
shall be available for salaries and expenses of the Office of
Insular Affairs: Provided, That all financial transactions of
the territorial and local governments herein provided for,
including such transactions of all agencies or
instrumentalities established or utilized by such
governments, may be audited by the General Accounting Office,
at its discretion, in accordance with chapter 35 of title 31,
United States Code: Provided further, That Northern Mariana
Islands Covenant grant funding shall be provided according to
those terms of the Agreement of the Special Representatives
on Future United States Financial Assistance for the Northern
Mariana Islands approved by Public Law 99-396, or any
subsequent legislation related to Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands grant funding: Provided further,
That of the amounts provided for technical assistance,
sufficient funding shall be made available for a grant to the
Close Up Foundation: Provided further, That the funds for the
program of operations and maintenance improvement are
appropriated to institutionalize routine operations and
maintenance improvement of capital infrastructure in American
Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Republic
of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of
Micronesia through assessments of long-range operations
maintenance needs, improved capability of local operations
and maintenance institutions and agencies (including
management and vocational education training), and project-
specific maintenance (with territorial participation and cost
sharing to be determined by the Secretary based on the
individual territory's commitment to timely maintenance of
its capital assets): Provided further, That any appropriation
for disaster assistance under this head in this Act or
previous appropriations Acts may be used as non-Federal
matching funds for the purpose of hazard mitigation grants
provided pursuant to section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5170c).
compact of free association
For economic assistance and necessary expenses for the
Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the
Marshall Islands as provided for in sections 122, 221, 223,
232, and 233 of the Compact of Free Association, and for
economic assistance and necessary expenses for the Republic
of Palau as provided for in sections 122, 221, 223, 232, and
233 of the Compact of Free Association, [$20,445,000]
$20,545,000, to remain available until expended, as
authorized by Public Law 99-239 and Public Law 99-658.
Departmental Management
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses for management of the Department of
the Interior, $58,286,000, of which not to exceed $8,500 may
be for official reception and representation expenses, and of
which up to $1,200,000 shall be available for workers
compensation payments and unemployment compensation payments
associated with the orderly closure of the United States
Bureau of Mines.
Office of the Solicitor
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Solicitor,
$35,443,000.
[[Page S9172]]
Office of Inspector General
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General,
[$24,439,000] $24,500,000.
National Indian Gaming Commission
Salaries and Expenses
[For necessary expenses of the National Indian Gaming
Commission, pursuant to Public Law 100-497, $1,000,000.]
For necessary expenses of the National Indian Gaming
Commission, pursuant to Public Law 100-497, $1,000,000, to
remain available until expended.
Office of Special Trustee for American Indians
federal trust programs
For operation of trust programs for Indians by direct
expenditure, contracts, cooperative agreements, compacts, and
grants, [$32,126,000] $35,689,000, to remain available until
expended [for trust funds management:] Provided, That funds
for trust management improvements may be transferred to the
Bureau of Indian Affairs: Provided further, That funds made
available to tribes and tribal organizations through
contracts or grants obligated during fiscal year 1998, as
authorized by the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 (25
U.S.C. 450 et seq.), shall remain available until expended by
the contractor or grantee: Provided further, That
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the statute of
limitations shall not commence to run on any claim, including
any claim in litigation pending on the date of this Act,
concerning losses to or mismanagement of trust funds, until
the affected tribe or individual Indian has been furnished
with an accounting of such funds from which the beneficiary
can determine whether there has been a loss.
Administrative Provisions
There is hereby authorized for acquisition from available
resources within the Working Capital Fund, 15 aircraft, 10 of
which shall be for replacement and which may be obtained by
donation, purchase or through available excess surplus
property: Provided, That notwithstanding any other provision
of law, existing aircraft being replaced may be sold, with
proceeds derived or trade-in value used to offset the
purchase price for the replacement aircraft: Provided
further, That no programs funded with appropriated funds in
the ``Departmental Management'', ``Office of the Solicitor'',
and ``Office of Inspector General'' may be augmented through
the Working Capital Fund or the Consolidated Working Fund.
GENERAL PROVISIONS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Sec. 101. Appropriations made in this title shall be
available for expenditure or transfer (within each bureau or
office), with the approval of the Secretary, for the
emergency reconstruction, replacement, or repair of aircraft,
buildings, utilities, or other facilities or equipment
damaged or destroyed by fire, flood, storm, or other
unavoidable causes: Provided, That no funds shall be made
available under this authority until funds specifically made
available to the Department of the Interior for emergencies
shall have been exhausted: Provided further, That all funds
used pursuant to this section are hereby designated by
Congress to be ``emergency requirements'' pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(D) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985, and must be replenished by a
supplemental appropriation which must be requested as
promptly as possible.
Sec. 102. The Secretary may authorize the expenditure or
transfer of any no year appropriation in this title, in
addition to the amounts included in the budget programs of
the several agencies, for the suppression or emergency
prevention of forest or range fires on or threatening lands
under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior; for
the emergency rehabilitation of burned-over lands under its
jurisdiction; for emergency actions related to potential or
actual earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, storms, or other
unavoidable causes; for contingency planning subsequent to
actual oilspills; response and natural resource damage
assessment activities related to actual oilspills; for the
prevention, suppression, and control of actual or potential
grasshopper and Mormon cricket outbreaks on lands under the
jurisdiction of the Secretary, pursuant to the authority in
section 1773(b) of Public Law 99-198 (99 Stat. 1658); for
emergency reclamation projects under section 410 of Public
Law 95-87; and shall transfer, from any no year funds
available to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, such funds as may be necessary to permit
assumption of regulatory authority in the event a primacy
State is not carrying out the regulatory provisions of the
Surface Mining Act: Provided, That appropriations made in
this title for fire suppression purposes shall be available
for the payment of obligations incurred during the preceding
fiscal year, and for reimbursement to other Federal agencies
for destruction of vehicles, aircraft, or other equipment in
connection with their use for fire suppression purposes, such
reimbursement to be credited to appropriations currently
available at the time of receipt thereof: Provided further,
That for emergency rehabilitation and wildfire suppression
activities, no funds shall be made available under this
authority until funds appropriated to ``Wildland Fire
Management'' shall have been exhausted: Provided further,
That all funds used pursuant to this section are hereby
designated by Congress to be ``emergency requirements''
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(D) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, and must be
replenished by a supplemental appropriation which must be
requested as promptly as possible: Provided further, That
such replenishment funds shall be used to reimburse, on a pro
rata basis, accounts from which emergency funds were
transferred.
Sec. 103. Appropriations made in this title shall be
available for operation of warehouses, garages, shops, and
similar facilities, wherever consolidation of activities will
contribute to efficiency or economy, and said appropriations
shall be reimbursed for services rendered to any other
activity in the same manner as authorized by sections 1535
and 1536 of title 31, United States Code: Provided, That
reimbursements for costs and supplies, materials, equipment,
and for services rendered may be credited to the
appropriation current at the time such reimbursements are
received.
Sec. 104. Appropriations made to the Department of the
Interior in this title shall be available for services as
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, when authorized by the
Secretary, in total amount not to exceed $500,000; hire,
maintenance, and operation of aircraft; hire of passenger
motor vehicles; purchase of reprints; payment for telephone
service in private residences in the field, when authorized
under regulations approved by the Secretary; and the payment
of dues, when authorized by the Secretary, for library
membership in societies or associations which issue
publications to members only or at a price to members lower
than to subscribers who are not members.
Sec. 105. Appropriations available to the Department of the
Interior for salaries and expenses shall be available for
uniforms or allowances therefor, as authorized by law (5
U.S.C. 5901-5902 and D.C. Code 4-204).
Sec. 106. Appropriations made in this title shall be
available for obligation in connection with contracts issued
for services or rentals for periods not in excess of twelve
months beginning at any time during the fiscal year.
[Sec. 107. No final rule or regulation of any agency of the
Federal Government pertaining to the recognition, management,
or validity of a right-of-way pursuant to Revised Statute
2477 (43 U.S.C. 932) shall take effect unless expressly
authorized by an Act of Congress subsequent to the date of
enactment of this Act.]
Sec. 108. No funds provided in this title may be expended
by the Department of the Interior for the conduct of offshore
leasing and related activities placed under restriction in
the President's moratorium statement of June 26, 1990, in the
areas of Northern, Central, and Southern California; the
North Atlantic; Washington and Oregon; and the Eastern Gulf
of Mexico south of 26 degrees north latitude and east of 86
degrees west longitude.
Sec. 109. No funds provided in this title may be expended
by the Department of the Interior for the conduct of
[leasing, or the approval or permitting of any drilling or
other exploration activity,] offshore oil and natural gas
preleasing, leasing, and related activities on lands within
the North Aleutian Basin planning area.
Sec. 110. No funds provided in this title may be expended
by the Department of the Interior to conduct offshore oil and
natural gas preleasing, leasing and related activities in the
Eastern Gulf of Mexico planning area for any lands located
outside Sale 181, as identified in the final Outer
Continental Shelf 5-Year Oil and Gas Leasing Program, 1997-
2002.
Sec. 111. No funds provided in this title may be expended
by the Department of the Interior to conduct oil and natural
gas preleasing, leasing and related activities in the Mid-
Atlantic and South Atlantic planning areas.
[Sec. 112. Advance payments made under this title to Indian
tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal consortia pursuant
to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(25 U.S.C. 450, et seq.) may be invested by the Indian tribe,
tribal organization, or consortium before such funds are
expended for the purposes of the grant, compact, or annual
funding agreement so long as such funds are--
[(a) invested by the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or
consortium only in obligations of the United States or in
obligations or securities that are guaranteed or insured by
the United States, or
[(b) deposited only into accounts that are insured by an
agency or instrumentality of the United States.]
Sec. 112. Advance payments made under this title to Indian
tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal consortia pursuant
to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(25 U.S.C. 450, et seq.) may be invested by the Indian tribe,
tribal organization, or consortium before such funds are
expended for the purposes of the grant, compact, or annual
funding agreement so long as such funds are--
(a) invested by the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or
consortium only in obligations of the United States, or in
obligations or securities that are guaranteed or insured by
the United States, or mutual (or other) funds registered with
the Securities and Exchange Commission and which only invest
in obligations of the United States or securities that are
guaranteed or insured by the United States, or
(b) deposited only into accounts that are insured by an
agency or instrumentality of the United States, or are fully
collateralized to ensure protection of the Funds, even in the
event of a bank failure.
[[Page S9173]]
[Sec. 113. (a) Employees of Helium Operations, Bureau of
Land Management, entitled to severance pay under 5 U.S.C.
5595, may apply for, and the Secretary of the Interior may
pay the total amount of the severance pay to the employee in
a lump sum. Employees paid severance pay in a lump sum and
subsequently reemployed by the Federal government shall be
subject to the repayment provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5595(i)(2)
and (3), except that any repayment shall be made to the
Helium Fund.
[(b) Helium Operations employees who elect to continue
health benefits after separation shall be liable for not more
than the required employee contribution under 5 U.S.C.
8905a(d)(1)(A). The Helium Fund shall pay for 18 months the
remaining portion of required contributions.
[(c) Benefits under this section shall be available to
Helium Operations employees who are or will be involuntarily
separated before October 1, 2002 because of the cessation of
helium production and sales and other related activities.]
Sec. 113. (a) Employees of Helium Operations, Bureau of
Land Management, entitled to severance pay under 5 U.S.C.
5595, may apply for, and the Secretary of the Interior may
pay, the total amount of the severance pay to the employee in
a lump sum. Employees paid severance pay in a lump sum and
subsequently reemployed by the Federal Government shall be
subject to the repayment provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5595(i) (2)
and (3), except that any repayment shall be made to the
Helium Fund.
(b) Helium Operations employees who elect to continue
health benefits after separation shall be liable for not more
than the required employee contribution under 5 U.S.C.
8905a(d)(1)(A). The Helium Fund shall pay for 18 months the
remaining portion of required contributions.
(c) The Secretary of the Interior may provide for training
to assist Helium Operations employees in the transition to
other Federal or private sector jobs during the facility
shut-down and disposition process and for up to 12 months
following separation from Federal employment, including
retraining and relocation incentives on the same terms and
conditions as authorized for employees of the Department of
Defense in section 348 of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 1995.
(d) For purposes of the annual leave restoration provisions
of 5 U.S.C. 6304(d)(1)(B), the cessation of helium production
and sales, and other related Helium Program activities shall
be deemed to create an exigency of public business under, and
annual leave that is lost during leave years 1997 through
2001 because of, 5 U.S.C. 6304 (regardless of whether such
leave was scheduled in advance) shall be restored to the
employee and shall be credited and available in accordance
with 5 U.S.C. 6304(d)(2). Annual leave so restored and
remaining unused upon the transfer of a Helium Program
employee to a position of the executive branch outside of the
Helium Program shall be liquidated by payment to the employee
of a lump-sum from the Helium Fund for such leave.
(e) Benefits under this section shall be paid from the
Helium Fund in accordance with section 4(c)(4) of the Helium
Privatization Act of 1996. Funds may be made available to
Helium Program employees who are or will be separated before
October 1, 2002 because of the cessation of helium production
and sales and other related activities. Retraining benefits,
including retraining and relocation incentives, may be paid
for retraining commencing on or before September 30, 2002.
[Sec. 114. None of the funds in this or previous
appropriations Acts may be used to establish a new regional
office in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service without
the advance approval of the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations.]
Sec. 115. (a) Conveyance Requirement.--Within 90 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the
Interior shall convey to the State of West Virginia without
reimbursement, all right, title, and interest of the United
States in and to the property described in subsection (b),
for sole use by the Wildlife Resources Section of the West
Virginia Division of Natural Resources, as part of the State
of West Virginia fish culture program.
(b) Property Described.--The property referred to in
subsection (a) is the property known as the Bowden National
Fish Hatchery, located on old United States route 33,
Randolph County, West Virginia, consisting of 44 acres (more
or less), and all improvements and related personal property
under the control of the Secretary that is located on that
property, including buildings, structures, equipment, and all
easements, leases, and water rights relating to that
property.
(c) Use and Reversionary Interest.--The property conveyed
to the State of West Virginia pursuant to this section shall
be used and operated solely by the Wildlife Resources Section
of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources for the
purposes of fishery resources management and fisheries
related activities, and if it is used for any other purposes
or by any other party other than the use authorized under
subsection (a), all right, title, and interest in and to all
property conveyed under this section shall revert to the
United States. The State of West Virginia shall ensure that
the property reverting to the United States is in
substantially the same or better condition as at the time of
transfer.
Sec. 116. Section 115 of Public Law 103-332 is amended by
inserting after the word ``title'' the following: ``or
provided from other Federal agencies through reimbursable or
other agreements pursuant to the Economy Act''.
Sec. 117. The third proviso under the heading ``Compact of
Free Association'' of Public Law 100-446 is amended by
striking ``$2,000,000'' and inserting ``$2,500,000'' and by
adding at the end of the proviso the following: ``and
commencing on October 1, 1998 and every year thereafter, this
dollar amount shall be changed to reflect any fluctuation
occurring during the previous twelve (12) months in the
Consumer Price Index, as determined by the Secretary of
Labor.''
Sec. 118. (a) No funds available in this Act or any other
Act for tribal priority allocations (hereinafter in this
section ``TPA'') in excess of the funds expended for TPA in
fiscal year 1997 (adjusted for fixed costs and internal
transfers pursuant to other law) may be allocated or expended
by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (hereinafter in this section
``BIA'') until sixty days after the BIA has submitted to the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives the report
required under subsection (b).
(b) The BIA is directed to develop a formula through which
TPA funds will be allocated on the basis of need, taking into
account each tribe's tribal business revenues from all
business ventures, including gaming. The BIA shall submit to
the Congress its recommendations for need-based distribution
formulas for TPA funds prior to January 1, 1998. Such
recommendations shall include several proposed formulas,
which shall provide alternative means of measuring the wealth
and needs of tribes.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the BIA is
hereby authorized to collect such financial and supporting
information as is necessary from each tribe receiving or
seeking to receive TPA funding to determine such tribe's
tribal business revenue from business ventures, including
gaming, for use in determining such tribe's wealth and needs
for the purposes of this section. The BIA shall obtain such
information on the previous calendar or fiscal year's
business revenues no later than April 15th of each year. For
purposes of preparing its recommendations under subsection
(b), the BIA shall require each tribe that received TPA funds
in fiscal year 1997 to submit such information by November 1,
1997.
(d) At the request of a tribe, the BIA shall provide such
technical assistance as is necessary to foster the tribe's
compliance with subsection (c). Any tribe which does not
comply with subsection (c) in any given year will be
ineligible to receive TPA funds for the following fiscal
year, as such tribe's relative need cannot be determined.
(e) For the purposes of this section, the term ``tribal
business revenue'' means income, however derived, from any
venture (regardless of the nature or purpose of the activity)
owned, held, or operated, in whole or in part, by any entity
(whether corporate, partnership, sole proprietorship, trust,
or cooperative in nature) on behalf of the collective members
of any tribe that has received or seeks to receive TPA, and
any income from license fees and royalties collected by any
such tribe. Payments by corporations to shareholders who are
shareholders based on stock ownership, not tribal membership,
will not be considered tribal business revenue under this
section unless the corporation is operated by a tribe.
(f) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act or any other
Act hereinafter enacted, no funds may be allocated or
expended by any agency of the Federal Government for TPA
after October 1, 1998 except in accordance with a needs-based
funding formula that takes into account all tribal business
revenues, including gaming, of each tribe receiving TPA
funds.
Sec. 119. Section 116 of the Omnibus Appropriations Act for
Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104-208; 110 Stat. 3009-201) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``Miners Hospital Grant'' each place it
appears and inserting in lieu thereof ``Miners Hospital
Grants'';
(2) by striking ``(February 20, 1929, 45 Stat. 1252)'' each
place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof ``(July 16,
1894, 28 Stat. 110 and February 20, 1929, 45 Stat. 1252)'';
and
(3) by striking ``(July 26, 1894, 28 Stat. 110)'' each
place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof ``(July 16,
1894, 28 Stat. 110)''.
Tribal Priority Allocation Limitation
Sec. 120. The receipt by an Indian Tribe of tribal priority
allocations funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs
``Operation of Indian Programs'' account under this Act
shall--
(1) waive any claim of immunity by that Indian tribe;
(2) subject that Indian tribe to the jurisdiction of the
courts of the United States, and grant the consent of the
United States to the maintenance of suit and jurisdiction of
such courts irrespective of the issue of tribal immunity; and
(3) grant United States district courts original
jurisdiction of all civil actions brought by or against any
Indian tribe or band with a governing body duly recognized by
the Secretary of the Interior, wherein the matter in
controversy arises under the Constitution, laws, or treaties
of the United States.
Sec. 121. Kantishna Mining Claims.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, on October 1, 1998, there is hereby
vested in the United States all right, title, and interest in
and to, and the right of immediate possession of, all
patented mining claims and valid unpatented mining claims
(including any unpatented claim whose validity is in dispute,
so long as such validity is later established in a settlement
or judgement pursuant to this section) in the Kantishna
Mining District within Denali National Park and Preserve
whose owners consent in writing to this action within said
120 day period: Provided, That in the event a bankruptcy
trustee is an owner in interest in a mining claim in the
Kantishna Mining District, that consent will be deemed timely
for purposes of this section if the trustee applies within
said 120 day period to the bankruptcy court for authority to
sell the mining claim and to consent to the taking of such
claim, and that in such event title
[[Page S9174]]
shall vest in the United States 10 days after entry of an
unstayed order or judgement approving the trustee's
application: Provided further, That the United States shall
pay just compensation to the owners of any property taken
pursuant to this section, determined as of the date of
taking: Provided further, That payment shall be in the amount
of a negotiated settlement of the value of such property or
the valuation of such property awarded by judgment and shall
be made solely from the permanent judgment appropriation
established pursuant to section 1304 of title 31, United
States Code, and shall include accrued interest on the amount
of the agreed settlement value or the final judgment from the
date of taking to the date of payment, calculated in
accordance with section 258e-1 of title 40, United States
Code, except that interest shall not be allowed on such
amounts as shall have been paid into the court registry:
Provided further, That the United States or the property
owner may initiate proceedings at any time after said 120 day
period seeking a determination of just compensation in the
District Court for the District of Alaska pursuant to
sections 1358 and 1403 of title 28, United States Code:
Provided further, That the United States shall deposit in the
registry of the court the estimated just compensation, or at
least seventy-five percent thereof, in accordance with the
procedures generally described in section 258a of title 40,
United States Code not otherwise inconsistent with this
section: Provided further, That in establishing any estimate
(other than an estimate based on an agency-certified
appraisal made prior to the date of enactment of this Act)
the Secretary of the Interior shall permit the property owner
to present evidence of the value of the property, including
potential mineral value, and shall consider such evidence and
permit the property owner to have a reasonable and sufficient
opportunity to comment on such estimate: Provided further,
That the estimated just compensation or part thereof
deposited in the court registry shall be paid to the property
owner upon request: Provided further, That any payment from
the court registry to the property owner shall be deducted
from any negotiated settlement or award by judgement:
Provided further, That the United States may not request the
court to withhold any payment from the court registry or
pursue any claim for environmental remediation with respect
to such property until 30 days after a negotiated settlement
or award by judgement with respect to such property has been
reached and payment has been made: Provided further, That the
Secretary shall not allow any unauthorized use of property
acquired pursuant to this section after the date of taking,
and the Secretary shall permit the orderly termination of all
operation on the lands and the removal of equipment,
facilities, and personal property.
Sec. 122. Section 1034 of Public Law 104-333 (110 Stat.
4093, 4240) is amended by striking ``at any time within 12
months of enactment of this Act'' and inserting in lieu
thereof ``on or before October 1, 1998''.
Sec. 123. (a) Kodiak Land Valuation.--Notwithstanding the
Refuge Revenue Sharing Act (16 U.S.C. 715s) or any
regulations implementing such Act, the fair market value for
the initial computation of the payment to Kodiak Island
Borough pursuant to such Act shall be based on the purchase
price of the parcels acquired from Akhiok-Kaguyak,
Incorporated, Koniag, Incorporated, and the Old Harbor Native
Corporation for addition to the Kodiak National Wildlife
Refuge.
(b) The fair market value of the parcels described in
subsection (a) shall be reappraised under the normal schedule
for appraisals adopted by the Alaska Region of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service under the Refuge Revenue
Sharing Act (16 U.S.C. 715s). Any such reappraisals shall be
made in accordance with such Act and any other applicable law
or regulation.
(c) The fair market value computation required under
subsection (a) shall be effective as of the date of the
acquisition of the parcels described in such subsection.
Sec. 124. (a) Androscoggin River Valley Heritage Area Act--
Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Androscoggin
River Valley Heritage Area Act''.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish a
locally oriented commission to assist the city of Berlin, New
Hampshire, in identifying and studying the Androscoggin River
Valley's historical and cultural assets.
(c) Establishment of Commission.--There is established the
Androscoggin River Valley Heritage Commission (referred to in
this Act as the ``Commission''), which shall consist of 10
members appointed not later than 3 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, as follows:
(1) 1 member appointed by the Governor of New Hampshire,
who shall serve as Chairperson.
(2) 1 member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives of the State of New Hampshire.
(3) 1 member appointed by the President of the Senate of
the State of New Hampshire.
(4) 2 members appointed by the Secretary of the Interior
from among individuals recommended by State and local
cultural or historic preservation organizations.
(5) 1 member, appointed by the Secretary of the Interior,
who has experience in the area of historical projects.
(6) 4 members appointed by the mayor of the city of Berlin,
New Hampshire.
(d) Voting.--The Commission shall act and advise by
affirmative vote of a majority of its members.
(e) Compensation.--
(1) In general.--A member of the Commission shall receive
no pay on account of the member's service on the Commission.
(2) Travel expenses.--A member of the Commission, while
away from the member's home or regular place of business in
the performance of services for the Commission, shall be
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of
subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed
intermittently in Government service are allowed expenses
under section 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
(f) Exemption From Charter Renewal Requirements.--Section
14(b) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)
shall not apply to the Commission.
(g) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate on
submission of a report under section 4(b).
(h) Support.--
(1) Staff and technical services.--The Director of the
National Park Service may provide such staff support and
technical services as are necessary to carry out the
functions of the Commission.
(2) Completion of study.--The Secretary of the Interior may
provide the Commission such technical and other assistance as
is necessary to complete the study described in subsection
(j).
(i) Open Meetings.--All meetings of the Commission shall be
open to the public.
(j) Study.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the completion
of appointment of the members of the Commission, the
Commission shall complete a comprehensive study of the
Androscoggin River Valley's history and culture in New
Hampshire, which shall--
(A) include a catalog of all available historically and
culturally significant sites, buildings, and areas in the
region;
(B) examine the feasibility of any Federal or State
historic recognition in the region;
(C) include a set of options for the city of Berlin, New
Hampshire, to pursue with respect to heritage-based
development, including a list of available Federal, State,
and private programs that would further any such efforts; and
(D) account for the impacts of any heritage-based
development on State, municipal, and private property.
(2) Report.--The Commission shall provide Congress, the
Secretary of the Interior, and the State of New Hampshire
with a report based on the study described in paragraph 1.
(k) No Regulatory Authority.--Nothing in this Act provides
the Commission with any regulatory authority.
(l) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of
carrying out the functions of the Commission, there is
authorized to be appropriated $50,000.
TITLE II--RELATED AGENCIES
Department of Agriculture
forest service
forest and rangeland research
For necessary expenses of forest and rangeland research as
authorized by law, [$187,644,000] $188,644,000, to remain
available until expended.
state and private forestry
For necessary expenses of cooperating with and providing
technical and financial assistance to States, Territories,
possessions, and others, and for forest health management,
cooperative forestry, and education and land conservation
activities, [$157,922,000] $162,668,000, to remain available
until expended, as authorized by law: Provided, That of funds
available under this heading for Pacific Northwest Assistance
in this or prior appropriations Acts, $800,000 shall be
provided to the World Forestry Center for purposes of
continuing scientific research and other authorized efforts
regarding the land exchange efforts in the Umpqua River Basin
region: Provided further, That activities conducted pursuant
to funds provided herein for the Alaska Spruce Bark Beetle
task force shall be exempt from the requirements of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act.
national forest system
For necessary expenses of the Forest Service, not otherwise
provided for, for management, protection, improvement, and
utilization of the National Forest System, for forest
planning, inventory, and monitoring, and for administrative
expenses associated with the management of funds provided
under the heads ``Forest and Rangeland Research,'' ``State
and Private Forestry,'' ``National Forest System,''
``Wildland Fire Management,'' ``Reconstruction and
Construction,'' and ``Land Acquisition,'' [$1,364,480,000]
$1,346,215,000, to remain available until expended, which
shall include 50 per centum of all monies received during
prior fiscal years as fees collected under the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Act of 1965, as amended, in accordance with
section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 460l-6a(i)): Provided, That
up to $10,000,000 of the funds provided herein for road
maintenance shall be available for the planned obliteration
of roads which are no longer needed: Provided further, That
funds may be used to construct or reconstruct facilities of
the Forest Service: Provided further, That no more than
$250,000 shall be used on any single project, exclusive of
planning and design costs: Provided further, That the
Forest Service shall report annually to Congress the
amount obligated for each project, and the total dollars
obligated during the year.
wildland fire management
For necessary expenses for forest fire presuppression
activities on National Forest System lands, for emergency
fire suppression on or adjacent to such lands or other lands
under fire protection agreement, and for emergency
rehabilitation of burned over National Forest System lands,
[$591,715,000] $582,715,000 to remain available until
expended: Provided, That such funds are available for
repayment of advances from other
[[Page S9175]]
appropriations accounts previously transferred for such
purposes.
reconstruction and construction
For necessary expenses of the Forest Service, not otherwise
provided for, [$160,122,000 (reduced by $5,600,000)]
$160,269,000, to remain available until expended for
construction, reconstruction and acquisition of buildings and
other facilities, and for construction, reconstruction and
repair of forest roads and trails by the Forest Service as
authorized by 16 U.S.C. 532-538 and 23 U.S.C. 101 and 205[:
Provided, That not to exceed $50,000,000, (reduced to
$25,000,000), to remain available until expended, may be
obligated for the construction of forest roads by timber
purchasers.]
land acquisition
For expenses necessary to carry out the provisions of the
Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, as amended (16
U.S.C. 460l-4-11), including administrative expenses, and for
acquisition of land or waters, or interest therein, in
accordance with statutory authority applicable to the Forest
Service, [$45,000,000] $49,176,000, to be derived from the
Land and Water Conservation Fund, to remain available until
expended.
acquisition of lands for national forests special acts
For acquisition of lands within the exterior boundaries of
the Cache, Uinta, and Wasatch National Forests, Utah; the
Toiyabe National Forest, Nevada; and the Angeles, San
Bernardino, Sequoia, and Cleveland National Forests,
California, as authorized by law, $1,069,000, to be derived
from forest receipts.
acquisition of lands to complete land exchanges
For acquisition of lands, such sums, to be derived from
funds deposited by State, county, or municipal governments,
public school districts, or other public school authorities
pursuant to the Act of December 4, 1967, as amended (16
U.S.C. 484a), to remain available until expended.
range betterment fund
For necessary expenses of range rehabilitation, protection,
and improvement, 50 per centum of all moneys received during
the prior fiscal year, as fees for grazing domestic livestock
on lands in National Forests in the sixteen Western States,
pursuant to section 401(b)(1) of Public Law 94-579, as
amended, to remain available until expended, of which not to
exceed 6 per centum shall be available for administrative
expenses associated with on-the-ground range rehabilitation,
protection, and improvements.
gifts, donations and bequests for forest and rangeland research
For expenses authorized by 16 U.S.C. 1643(b), $92,000, to
remain available until expended, to be derived from the fund
established pursuant to the above Act.
midewin national tallgrass prairie restoration fund
All funds collected for admission, occupancy, and use of
the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, and the salvage value
proceeds from sale of any facilities and improvements
pursuant to sections 2915(d) and (e) of Public Law 104-106,
are hereby appropriated and made available until expended for
the necessary expenses of restoring and administering the
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in accordance with section
2915(f) of the Act.
[cooperative work, forest service
[For restoring the balances borrowed for previous years
firefighting, $128,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That the appropriation shall be merged
with and made a part of the designated fund authorized by
Public Law 71-319, as amended.]
administrative provisions, forest service
Appropriations to the Forest Service for the current fiscal
year shall be available for: (1) purchase of not to exceed
159 passenger motor vehicles of which 22 will be used
primarily for law enforcement purposes and of which 156 shall
be for replacement; acquisition of 25 passenger motor
vehicles from excess sources, and hire of such vehicles;
operation and maintenance of aircraft, the purchase of not to
exceed two for replacement only, and acquisition of 20
aircraft from excess sources notwithstanding other provisions
of law, existing aircraft being replaced may be sold, with
proceeds derived or trade-in value used to offset the
purchase price for the replacement aircraft; (2) services
pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 2225, and not to exceed $100,000 for
employment under 5 U.S.C. 3109; (3) purchase, erection, and
alteration of buildings and other public improvements (7
U.S.C. 2250); (4) acquisition of land, waters, and interests
therein, pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 428a; (5) for expenses pursuant
to the Volunteers in the National Forest Act of 1972 (16
U.S.C. 558a, 558d, and 558a note); (6) the cost of uniforms
as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5901-5902; and (7) for debt
collection contracts in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3718(c).
None of the funds made available under this Act shall be
obligated or expended to change the boundaries of any region,
to abolish any region, to move or close any regional office
for research, State and private forestry, or National Forest
System administration of the Forest Service, Department of
Agriculture other than the relocation of the regional office
for Region 10 to Ketchikan and other office relocations and
closures in Alaska as specified in the Committee report
accompanying this bill, without the consent of the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations.
Any appropriations or funds available to the Forest Service
may be advanced to the Wildland Fire Management appropriation
and may be used for forest firefighting and the emergency
rehabilitation of burned-over or damaged lands or waters
under its jurisdiction.
Funds appropriated to the Forest Service shall be available
for assistance to or through the Agency for International
Development and the Foreign Agricultural Service in
connection with forest and rangeland research, technical
information, and assistance in foreign countries, and shall
be available to support forestry and related natural resource
activities outside the United States and its territories and
possessions, including technical assistance, education and
training, and cooperation with United States and
international organizations.
None of the funds made available to the Forest Service
under this Act shall be subject to transfer under the
provisions of section 702(b) of the Department of Agriculture
Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2257) or 7 U.S.C. 147b unless
the proposed transfer is approved in advance by the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations in compliance with the
reprogramming procedures contained in the report accompanying
this bill.
None of the funds available to the Forest Service may be
reprogrammed without the advance approval of the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations in accordance with the
procedures contained in the report accompanying this bill.
No funds appropriated to the Forest Service shall be
transferred to the Working Capital Fund of the Department of
Agriculture without the approval of the Chief of the Forest
Service.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, any
appropriations or funds available to the Forest Service may
be used to disseminate program information to private and
public individuals and organizations through the use of
nonmonetary items of nominal value and to provide nonmonetary
awards of nominal value and to incur necessary expenses for
the nonmonetary recognition of private individuals and
organizations that make contributions to Forest Service
programs.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, money
collected, in advance or otherwise, by the Forest Service
under authority of section 101 of Public Law 93-153 (30
U.S.C. 185(1)) as reimbursement of administrative and other
costs incurred in processing pipeline right-of-way or permit
applications and for costs incurred in monitoring the
construction, operation, maintenance, and termination of any
pipeline and related facilities, may be used to reimburse the
applicable appropriation to which such costs were originally
charged.
Funds available to the Forest Service shall be available to
conduct a program of not less than $1,000,000 for high
priority projects within the scope of the approved budget
which shall be carried out by the Youth Conservation Corps as
authorized by the Act of August 13, 1970, as amended by
Public Law 93-408.
None of the funds available in this Act shall be used for
timber sale preparation using clearcutting in hardwood stands
in excess of 25 percent of the fiscal year 1989 harvested
volume in the Wayne National Forest, Ohio: Provided, That
this limitation shall not apply to hardwood stands damaged by
natural disaster: Provided further, That landscape architects
shall be used to maintain a visually pleasing forest.
Any money collected from the States for fire suppression
assistance rendered by the Forest Service on non-Federal
lands not in the vicinity of National Forest System lands
shall be used to reimburse the applicable appropriation and
shall remain available until expended as the Secretary may
direct in conducting activities authorized by 16 U.S.C. 2101
note, 2101-2110, 1606, and 2111.
Of the funds available to the Forest Service, $1,500 is
available to the Chief of the Forest Service for official
reception and representation expenses.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Forest
Service is authorized to employ or otherwise contract with
persons at regular rates of pay, as determined by the
Service, to perform work occasioned by emergencies such as
fires, storms, floods, earthquakes or any other unavoidable
cause without regard to Sundays, Federal holidays, and the
regular workweek.
To the greatest extent possible, and in accordance with the
Final Amendment to the Shawnee National Forest Plan, none of
the funds available in this Act shall be used for preparation
of timber sales using clearcutting or other forms of even
aged management in hardwood stands in the Shawnee National
Forest, Illinois.
Pursuant to sections 405(b) and 410(b) of Public Law 101-
593, of the funds available to the Forest Service, up to
[$2,000,000] $2,500,000 may be advanced in a lump sum as
Federal financial assistance to the National Forest
Foundation, without regard to when the Foundation incurs
expenses, for administrative expenses or projects on or
benefitting National Forest System lands or related to Forest
Service programs: Provided, That of the Federal funds made
available to the Foundation, no more than [$500,000]
$1,000,000 shall be available for administrative expenses:
Provided further, That the Foundation shall obtain, by the
end of the period of Federal financial assistance, private
contributions to match on at least one-
[[Page S9176]]
for-one basis funds made available by the Forest Service:
Provided further, That the Foundation may transfer Federal
funds to a recipient of Federal financial assistance for a
project at the same rate that the recipient has obtained the
non-Federal matching funds: Provided further, That hereafter,
the National Forest Foundation may hold Federal funds made
available but not immediately disbursed and may use any
interest or other investment income earned (before, on, or
after the date of enactment of this Act) on Federal funds to
carry out the purposes of Public Law 101-593: Provided
further, That such investments may be made only in interest-
bearing obligations of the United States or in obligations
guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the United
States.
Pursuant to section 2(b)(2) of Public Law 98-244, up to
$2,000,000 of the funds available to the Forest Service shall
be available for matching funds, as authorized by 16 U.S.C.
3701-3709, and may be advanced in a lump sum as Federal
financial assistance, without regard to when expenses are
incurred, for projects on or benefitting National Forest
System lands or related to Forest Service programs: Provided,
That the Foundation shall obtain, by the end of the period of
Federal financial assistance, private contributions to match
on at least one-for-one basis funds advanced by the Forest
Service: Provided further, That the Foundation may transfer
Federal funds to a recipient of Federal financial assistance
for a project at the same rate that the recipient has
obtained the non-Federal matching funds.
Funds appropriated to the Forest Service shall be available
for interactions with and providing technical assistance to
rural communities for sustainable rural development purposes.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 80 percent of
the funds appropriated to the Forest Service in the
``National Forest System'' and ``Reconstruction and
Construction'' accounts and planned to be allocated to
activities under the ``Jobs in the Woods'' program for
projects on National Forest land in the State of Washington
may be granted directly to the Washington State Department of
Fish and Wildlife for accomplishment of planned projects.
Twenty percent of said funds shall be retained by the Forest
Service for planning and administering projects. Project
selection and prioritization shall be accomplished by the
Forest Service with such consultation with the State of
Washington as the Forest Service deems appropriate.
Funds appropriated to the Forest Service shall be available
for payments to counties within the Columbia River Gorge
National Scenic Area, pursuant to sections 14(c)(1) and (2),
and section 16(a)(2) of Public Law 99-663.
Any funds available to the Forest Service may be used for
retrofitting the Commanding Officer's Building (S-2), to
accommodate the relocation of the Forest Supervisor's Office
for the San Bernardino National Forest: Provided, That funds
for the move must come from funds otherwise available to
Region 5: Provided further, That any funds to be provided for
such purposes shall only be available upon approval of the
House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to enter into
grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements as appropriate
with the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, as well as with
public and other private agencies, organizations,
institutions, and individuals, to provide for the
development, administration, maintenance, or restoration of
land, facilities, or Forest Service programs, at the Grey
Towers National Historic Landmark: Provided, That, subject to
such terms and conditions as the Secretary of Agriculture may
prescribe, any such public or private agency, organization,
institution, or individual may solicit, accept, and
administer private gifts of money and real or personal
property for the benefit of, or in connection with, the
activities and services at the Grey Towers National Historic
Landmark: Provided further, That such gifts may be accepted
notwithstanding the fact that a donor conducts business with
the Department of Agriculture in any capacity.
Funds appropriated to the Forest Service shall be
available, as determined by the Secretary, for payments to
Del Norte County, California, pursuant to sections 13(e) and
14 of the Smith River National Recreation Area Act (Public
Law 101-612).
For purposes of the Southeast Alaska Economic Disaster Fund
as set forth in section 101(c) of Public Law 104-134, the
direct grants provided in subsection (c) shall be considered
direct payments for purposes of all applicable law except
that these direct grants may not be used for lobbying
activities.
No employee of the Department of Agriculture may be
detailed or assigned from an agency or office funded by this
Act to any other agency or office of the Department for more
than 30 days unless the individual's employing agency or
office is fully reimbursed by the receiving agency or office
for the salary and expenses of the employee for the period of
assignment.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
clean coal technology
(rescission)
Of the funds made available under this heading for
obligation in fiscal year 1997 or prior years, $101,000,000
are rescinded: Provided, That funds made available in
previous appropriations Acts shall be available for any
ongoing project regardless of the separate request for
proposal under which the project was selected.
fossil energy research and development
For necessary expenses in carrying out fossil energy
research and development activities, under the authority of
the Department of Energy Organization Act (Public Law 95-91),
including the acquisition of interest, including defeasible
and equitable interests in any real property or any facility
or for plant or facility acquisition or expansion, and for
conducting inquiries, technological investigations and
research concerning the extraction, processing, use, and
disposal of mineral substances without objectionable social
and environmental costs (30 U.S.C. 3, 1602, and 1603),
performed under the minerals and materials science programs
at the Albany Research Center in Oregon, [$313,153,000]
$363,969,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That no part of the sum herein made available shall be used
for the field testing of nuclear explosives in the recovery
of oil and gas.
alternative fuels production
(including transfer of funds)
Monies received as investment income on the principal
amount in the Great Plains Project Trust at the Norwest Bank
of North Dakota, in such sums as are earned as of October 1,
1997, shall be deposited in this account and immediately
transferred to the General Fund of the Treasury. Monies
received as revenue sharing from operation of the Great
Plains Gasification Plant shall be immediately transferred to
the General Fund of the Treasury.
naval petroleum and oil shale reserves
For necessary expenses in carrying out naval petroleum and
oil shale reserve activities, [$115,000,000] $107,000,000,
and such sums as are necessary to operate Naval Petroleum
Reserve Numbered 1 between May 16, 1998 and September 30,
1998, to remain available until expended: Provided, That
notwithstanding any other provision of law, revenues received
from use and operation of Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1
in excess of $163,000,000 shall be used to offset the costs
of operating Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1 between May
16, 1998 and September 30, 1998: Provided further, That
revenues retained pursuant to the first proviso under this
head in Public Law 102-381 (106 Stat. 1404) shall be
immediately transferred to the General Fund of the Treasury:
Provided further, That the requirements of 10 U.S.C.
7430(b)(2)(B) shall not apply to fiscal year 1998.
energy conservation
For necessary expenses in carrying out energy conservation
activities, [$644,766,000] $627,357,000, to remain available
until expended, including, notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the excess amount for fiscal year 1998
determined under the provisions of section 3003(d) of Public
Law 99-509 (15 U.S.C. 4502): Provided, That [$153,845,000]
$160,100,000 shall be for use in energy conservation programs
as defined in section 3008(3) of Public Law 99-509 (15 U.S.C.
4507) and shall not be available until excess amounts are
determined under the provisions of section 3003(d) of Public
Law 99-509 (15 U.S.C. 4502): Provided further, That
notwithstanding section 3003(d)(2) of Public Law 99-509 such
sums shall be allocated to the eligible programs as follows:
[$123,845,000] $129,000,000 for weatherization assistance
grants and [$30,000,000] $31,100,000 for State energy
conservation grants.
economic regulation
For necessary expenses in carrying out the activities of
the Office of Hearings and Appeals, $2,725,000, to remain
available until expended.
strategic petroleum reserve
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses for Strategic Petroleum Reserve
facility development and operations and program management
activities pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act
of 1975, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), [$209,000,000]
$207,500,000, to remain available until expended, of which
[$209,000,000] $207,500,000 shall be repaid from the ``SPR
Operating Fund'' from amounts made available from the sale of
oil from the Reserve: Provided, That notwithstanding section
161 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, the Secretary
shall draw down and sell in fiscal year 1998 [$209,000,000]
$207,500,000 worth of oil from the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve: Provided further, That the proceeds from the sale
shall be deposited into the ``SPR Operating Fund'', and
shall, upon receipt, be transferred to the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve account for operations of the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve.
spr petroleum account
Notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 6240(d) the United States share
of crude oil in Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1 (Elk
Hills) may be sold or otherwise disposed of to other than the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Provided, That outlays in fiscal
year 1998 resulting from the use of funds in this account
shall not exceed $5,000,000.
energy information administration
For necessary expenses in carrying out the activities of
the Energy Information Administration, [$66,800,000]
$62,800,000, to remain available until expended.
administrative provisions, department of energy
Appropriations under this Act for the current fiscal year
shall be available for hire of
[[Page S9177]]
passenger motor vehicles; hire, maintenance, and operation of
aircraft; purchase, repair, and cleaning of uniforms; and
reimbursement to the General Services Administration for
security guard services.
From appropriations under this Act, transfers of sums may
be made to other agencies of the Government for the
performance of work for which the appropriation is made.
None of the funds made available to the Department of
Energy under this Act shall be used to implement or finance
authorized price support or loan guarantee programs unless
specific provision is made for such programs in an
appropriations Act.
The Secretary is authorized to accept lands, buildings,
equipment, and other contributions from public and private
sources and to prosecute projects in cooperation with other
agencies, Federal, State, private or foreign: Provided, That
revenues and other moneys received by or for the account of
the Department of Energy or otherwise generated by sale of
products in connection with projects of the Department
appropriated under this Act may be retained by the Secretary
of Energy, to be available until expended, and used only for
plant construction, operation, costs, and payments to cost-
sharing entities as provided in appropriate cost-sharing
contracts or agreements: Provided further, That the remainder
of revenues after the making of such payments shall be
covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts: Provided
further, That any contract, agreement, or provision thereof
entered into by the Secretary pursuant to this authority
shall not be executed prior to the expiration of 30 calendar
days (not including any day in which either House of Congress
is not in session because of adjournment of more than three
calendar days to a day certain) from the receipt by the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of
the Senate of a full comprehensive report on such project,
including the facts and circumstances relied upon in support
of the proposed project.
No funds provided in this Act may be expended by the
Department of Energy to prepare, issue, or process
procurement documents for programs or projects for which
appropriations have not been made.
In addition to other authorities set forth in this Act, the
Secretary may accept fees and contributions from public and
private sources, to be deposited in a contributed funds
account, and prosecute projects using such fees and
contributions in cooperation with other Federal, State or
private agencies or concerns.
The Secretary is authorized to accept funds from other
Federal agencies in return for assisting agencies in
achieving energy efficiency in Federal facilities and
operations by the use of privately financed, energy saving
performance contracts and other private financing mechanisms.
The funds may be provided after agencies begin to realize
energy cost savings; may be retained by the Secretary until
expended; and may be used only for the purpose of assisting
Federal agencies in achieving greater efficiency, water
conservation, and use of renewable energy by means of
privately financed mechanisms, including energy savings
performance contracts. Any such privately financed contracts
shall meet the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 1992,
Public Law [102-496] 102-486 (42 U.S.C. 8287).
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Indian Health Service
indian health services
For expenses necessary to carry out the Act of August 5,
1954 (68 Stat. 674), the Indian Self-Determination Act, the
Indian Health Care Improvement Act, and titles II and III of
the Public Health Service Act with respect to the Indian
Health Service, [$1,829,008,000] $1,958,235,000, together
with payments received during the fiscal year pursuant to 42
U.S.C. 238(b) for services furnished by the Indian Health
Service: Provided, That funds made available to tribes and
tribal organizations through contracts, grant agreements, or
any other agreements or compacts authorized by the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (25
U.S.C. 450), shall be deemed to be obligated at the time of
the grant or contract award and thereafter shall remain
available to the tribe or tribal organization without fiscal
year limitation: Provided further, That $12,000,000 shall
remain available until expended, for the Indian Catastrophic
Health Emergency Fund: Provided further, That [$359,348,000]
$362,375,000 for contract medical care shall remain available
for obligation until September 30, 1999: Provided further,
That of the funds provided, not less than $11,889,000 shall
be used to carry out the loan repayment program under section
108 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act: Provided
further, That funds provided in this Act may be used for one-
year contracts and grants which are to be performed in two
fiscal years, so long as the total obligation is recorded in
the year for which the funds are appropriated: Provided
further, That the amounts collected by the Secretary of
Health and Human Services under the authority of title IV of
the Indian Health Care Improvement Act shall remain available
until expended for the purpose of achieving compliance with
the applicable conditions and requirements of titles XVIII
and XIX of the Social Security Act (exclusive of planning,
design, or construction of new facilities): Provided further,
That of the funds provided, $7,500,000 shall remain available
until expended, for the Indian Self-Determination Fund, which
shall be available for the transitional costs of initial or
expanded tribal contracts, compacts, grants or cooperative
agreements with the Indian Health Service under the
provisions of the Indian Self-Determination Act: Provided
further, That funding contained herein, and in any earlier
appropriations Acts for scholarship programs under the Indian
Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1613) shall remain
available for obligation until September 30, 1999: Provided
further, That amounts received by tribes and tribal
organizations under title IV of the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act shall be reported and accounted for and
available to the receiving tribes and tribal organizations
until expended.
indian health facilities
For construction, repair, maintenance, improvement, and
equipment of health and related auxiliary facilities,
including quarters for personnel; preparation of plans,
specifications, and drawings; acquisition of sites, purchase
and erection of modular buildings, and purchases of trailers;
and for provision of domestic and community sanitation
facilities for Indians, as authorized by section 7 of the Act
of August 5, 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2004a), the Indian Self-
Determination Act, and the Indian Health Care Improvement
Act[, and for expenses necessary to carry out such Acts and
titles II and III of the Public Health Service Act with
respect to environmental health and facilities support
activities of the Indian Health Service, $257,310,000]
$168,501,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds
appropriated for the planning, design, construction or
renovation of health facilities for the benefit of an Indian
tribe or tribes may be used to purchase land for sites to
construct, improve, or enlarge health or related facilities.
administrative provisions, indian health service
Appropriations in this Act to the Indian Health Service
shall be available for services as authorized by 5 U.S.C.
3109 but at rates not to exceed the per diem rate equivalent
to the maximum rate payable for senior-level positions under
5 U.S.C. 5376; hire of passenger motor vehicles and aircraft;
purchase of medical equipment; purchase of reprints;
purchase, renovation and erection of modular buildings and
renovation of existing facilities; payments for telephone
service in private residences in the field, when authorized
under regulations approved by the Secretary; and for uniforms
or allowances therefore as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5901-5902;
and for expenses of attendance at meetings which are
concerned with the functions or activities for which the
appropriation is made or which will contribute to improved
conduct, supervision, or management of those functions or
activities: Provided, That in accordance with the provisions
of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, non-Indian
patients may be extended health care at all tribally
administered or Indian Health Service facilities, subject to
charges, and the proceeds along with funds recovered under
the Federal Medical Care Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. 2651-2653)
shall be credited to the account of the facility providing
the service and shall be available without fiscal year
limitation: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other
law or regulation, funds transferred from the Department of
Housing and Urban Development to the Indian Health Service
shall be administered under Public Law 86-121 (the Indian
Sanitation Facilities Act) and Public Law 93-638, as amended:
Provided further, That funds appropriated to the Indian
Health Service in this Act, except those used for
administrative and program direction purposes, shall not be
subject to limitations directed at curtailing Federal travel
and transportation: Provided further, That notwithstanding
any other provision of law, funds previously or herein made
available to a tribe or tribal organization through a
contract, grant, or agreement authorized by title I or title
III of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act of 1975 (25 U.S.C. 450), may be deobligated and
reobligated to a self-determination contract under title I,
or a self-governance agreement under title III of such Act
and thereafter shall remain available to the tribe or tribal
organization without fiscal year limitation: Provided
further, That none of the funds made available to the Indian
Health Service in this Act shall be used to implement the
final rule published in the Federal Register on September 16,
1987, by the Department of Health and Human Services,
relating to the eligibility for the health care services of
the Indian Health Service until the Indian Health Service has
submitted a budget request reflecting the increased costs
associated with the proposed final rule, and such request has
been included in an appropriations Act and enacted into law:
Provided further, That funds made available in this Act are
to be apportioned to the Indian Health Service as
appropriated in this Act, and accounted for in the
appropriation structure set forth in this Act[: Provided
further, That funds received from any source, including
tribal contractors and compactors for previously transferred
functions which tribal contractors and compactors no longer
wish to retain, for services, goods, or training and
technical assistance, shall be retained by the Indian Health
Service and shall remain available until expended by the
Indian Health Service:] Provided further, That with respect
to functions transferred by the Indian Health Service to
tribes or tribal organizations, the Indian Health Service is
authorized to provide goods and services to those
[[Page S9178]]
entities, on a reimbursable basis, including payment in
advance with subsequent adjustment, and the reimbursements
received therefrom, along with the funds received from those
entities pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination Act, may
be credited to the same or subsequent appropriation account
which provided the funding, said amounts to remain available
until expended: Provided further, That reimbursements for
training, technical assistance, or services provided by the
Indian Health Service will contain total costs, including
direct, administrative, and overhead associated with the
provision of goods, services, or technical assistance:
Provided further, That the appropriation structure for the
Indian Health Service may not be altered without advance
approval of the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations.
OTHER RELATED AGENCIES
Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Office of Navajo and Hopi
Indian Relocation as authorized by Public Law 93-531,
[$18,345,000] $15,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That funds provided in this or any other
appropriations Act are to be used to relocate eligible
individuals and groups including evictees from District 6,
Hopi-partitioned lands residents, those in significantly
substandard housing, and all others certified as eligible and
not included in the preceding categories: Provided further,
That none of the funds contained in this or any other Act may
be used by the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation to
evict any single Navajo or Navajo family who, as of November
30, 1985, was physically domiciled on the lands partitioned
to the Hopi Tribe unless a new or replacement home is
provided for such household: Provided further, That no
relocatee will be provided with more than one new or
replacement home: Provided further, That the Office shall
relocate any certified eligible relocatees who have selected
and received an approved homesite on the Navajo reservation
or selected a replacement residence off the Navajo
reservation or on the land acquired pursuant to 25 U.S.C.
640d-10.
Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts
Development
payment to the institute
For payment to the Institute of American Indian and Alaska
Native Culture and Arts Development, as authorized by title
XV of Public Law 99-498, as amended (20 U.S.C. 56, part A),
[$3,000,000] $5,500,000.
Smithsonian Institution
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Smithsonian Institution, as
authorized by law, including research in the fields of art,
science, and history; development, preservation, and
documentation of the National Collections; presentation of
public exhibits and performances; collection, preparation,
dissemination, and exchange of information and publications;
conduct of education, training, and museum assistance
programs; maintenance, alteration, operation, lease (for
terms not to exceed thirty years), and protection of
buildings, facilities, and approaches; not to exceed $100,000
for services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109; up to 5
replacement passenger vehicles; purchase, rental, repair, and
cleaning of uniforms for employees; [$334,557,000]
$333,708,000, of which not to exceed $32,718,000 for the
instrumentation program, collections acquisition, Museum
Support Center equipment and move, exhibition reinstallation,
the National Museum of the American Indian, the repatriation
of skeletal remains program, research equipment, information
management, and Latino programming shall remain available
until expended, and including such funds as may be necessary
to support American overseas research centers and a total of
$125,000 for the Council of American Overseas Research
Centers: Provided, That funds appropriated herein are
available for advance payments to independent contractors
performing research services or participating in official
Smithsonian presentations.
construction and improvements, national zoological park
For necessary expenses of planning, construction,
remodeling, and equipping of buildings and facilities at the
National Zoological Park, by contract or otherwise,
$3,850,000, to remain available until expended.
repair and restoration of buildings
For necessary expenses of repair and restoration of
buildings owned or occupied by the Smithsonian Institution,
by contract or otherwise, as authorized by section 2 of the
Act of August 22, 1949 (63 Stat. 623), including not to
exceed $10,000 for services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109,
[$50,000,000] $32,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That contracts awarded for environmental
systems, protection systems, and exterior repair or
restoration of buildings of the Smithsonian Institution may
be negotiated with selected contractors and awarded on the
basis of contractor qualifications as well as price.
Construction
For necessary expenses for construction, $33,000,000, to
remain available until expended: Provided, That
notwithstanding any other provision of law, a single
procurement for the construction of the National Museum of
the American Indian may be issued which includes the full
scope of the project: Provided further, That the solicitation
and the contract shall contain the clause ``availability of
funds'' found at 48 CFR 52.232.18.
National Gallery of Art
salaries and expenses
For the upkeep and operations of the National Gallery of
Art, the protection and care of the works of art therein, and
administrative expenses incident thereto, as authorized by
the Act of March 24, 1937 (50 Stat. 51), as amended by the
public resolution of April 13, 1939 (Public Resolution 9,
Seventy-sixth Congress), including services as authorized by
5 U.S.C. 3109; payment in advance when authorized by the
treasurer of the Gallery for membership in library, museum,
and art associations or societies whose publications or
services are available to members only, or to members at a
price lower than to the general public; purchase, repair, and
cleaning of uniforms for guards, and uniforms, or allowances
therefor, for other employees as authorized by law (5 U.S.C.
5901-5902); purchase or rental of devices and services for
protecting buildings and contents thereof, and maintenance,
alteration, improvement, and repair of buildings, approaches,
and grounds; and purchase of services for restoration and
repair of works of art for the National Gallery of Art by
contracts made, without advertising, with individuals, firms,
or organizations at such rates or prices and under such terms
and conditions as the Gallery may deem proper, $55,837,000,
of which not to exceed $3,026,000 for the special exhibition
program shall remain available until expended.
repair, restoration and renovation of buildings
For necessary expenses of repair, restoration and
renovation of buildings, grounds and facilities owned or
occupied by the National Gallery of Art, by contract or
otherwise, as authorized, [$6,442,000] $5,942,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That contracts awarded
for environmental systems, protection systems, and exterior
repair or renovation of buildings of the National Gallery of
Art may be negotiated with selected contractors and awarded
on the basis of contractor qualifications as well as price.
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
operations and maintenance
For necessary expenses for the operation, maintenance and
security of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts, $11,375,000.
construction
For necessary expenses for capital repair and
rehabilitation of the existing features of the building and
site of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
$9,000,000, to remain available until expended.
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
salaries and expenses
[For necessary expenses of the Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars, $1,000,000.]
For expenses necessary in carrying out the provisions of
the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968 (82 Stat. 1356)
including hire of passenger vehicles and services as
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, $5,840,000.
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities
National Endowment for the Arts
grants and administration
For necessary expenses to carry out the National Foundation
on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as amended,
$83,300,000 shall be available to the National Endowment for
the Arts for the support of projects and productions in the
arts through assistance to organizations and individuals
pursuant to section 5(c) of the Act, and for administering
the functions of the Act, to remain available until expended.
matching grants
To carry out the provisions of section 10(a)(2) of the
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of
1965, as amended, $16,760,000, to remain available until
expended, to the National Endowment for the Arts: Provided,
That this appropriation shall be available for obligation
only in such amounts as may be equal to the total amounts
of gifts, bequests, and devises of money, and other
property accepted by the Chairman or by grantees of the
Endowment under the provisions of section 10(a)(2),
subsections 11(a)(2)(A) and 11(a)(3)(A) during the current
and preceding fiscal years for which equal amounts have
not previously been appropriated.
National Endowment for the Humanities
grants and administration
For necessary expenses to carry out the National Foundation
on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as amended,
[$96,100,000] $96,800,000, shall be available to the National
Endowment for the Humanities for support of activities in the
humanities, pursuant to section 7(c) of the Act, and for
administering the functions of the Act, to remain available
until expended.
matching grants
To carry out the provisions of section 10(a)(2) of the
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of
1965, as amended, $13,900,000, to remain available until
expended, of which $8,000,000 shall be available to the
National Endowment for the Humanities for the purposes of
section 7(h):
[[Page S9179]]
Provided, That this appropriation shall be available for
obligation only in such amounts as may be equal to the total
amounts of gifts, bequests, and devises of money, and other
property accepted by the Chairman or by grantees of the
Endowment under the provisions of subsections 11(a)(2)(B) and
11(a)(3)(B) during the current and preceding fiscal years for
which equal amounts have not previously been appropriated.
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Office of Museum Services
grants and administration
For carrying out subtitle C of the Museum and Library
Services Act of 1996, [$23,390,000] $22,290,000, to remain
available until expended.
administrative provisions
None of the funds appropriated to the National Foundation
on the Arts and the Humanities may be used to process any
grant or contract documents which do not include the text of
18 U.S.C. 1913: Provided, That none of the funds appropriated
to the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities may
be used for official reception and representation expenses.
Commission of Fine Arts
salaries and expenses
For expenses made necessary by the Act establishing a
Commission of Fine Arts (40 U.S.C. 104), $907,000.
national capital arts and cultural affairs
For necessary expenses as authorized by Public Law 99-190
(20 U.S.C. 956(a)), as amended, [$6,000,000] $7,000,000.
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation (Public Law 89-665, as amended), [$2,700,000]
$2,745,000: Provided, That none of these funds shall be
available for the compensation of Executive Level V or higher
positions.
National Capital Planning Commission
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses, as authorized by the National
Capital Planning Act of 1952 (40 U.S.C. 71-71i), including
services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, [$5,700,000]
$5,740,000: Provided, That all appointed members will be
compensated at a rate not to exceed the rate for Executive
Schedule Level IV: Provided further, That beginning in fiscal
year 1998 and thereafter, the Commission is authorized to
charge fees to cover the full costs of Geographic Information
System products and services supplied by the Commission, and
such fees shall be credited to this account as an offsetting
collection, to remain available until expended.
United States Holocaust Memorial Council
holocaust memorial council
For expenses of the Holocaust Memorial Council, as
authorized by Public Law 96-388 (36 U.S.C. 1401), as amended,
$31,707,000 of which $1,575,000 for the Museum's repair and
rehabilitation program and $1,264,000 for the Museum's
exhibitions program shall remain available until expended.
TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. 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. 302. No part of any appropriation under this Act shall
be available to the Secretary of the Interior or the
Secretary of Agriculture for the leasing of oil and natural
gas by noncompetitive bidding on publicly owned lands within
the boundaries of the Shawnee National Forest, Illinois:
Provided, That nothing herein is intended to inhibit or
otherwise affect the sale, lease, or right to access to
minerals owned by private individuals.
Sec. 303. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall be available for any activity or the publication or
distribution of literature that in any way tends to promote
public support or opposition to any legislative proposal on
which congressional action is not complete.
Sec. 304. 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. 305. None of the funds provided in this Act to any
department or agency shall be obligated or expended to
provide a personal cook, chauffeur, or other personal
servants to any officer or employee of such department or
agency except as otherwise provided by law.
Sec. 306. No assessments may be levied against any program,
budget activity, subactivity, or project funded by this Act
unless advance notice of such assessments and the basis
therefor are presented to the Committees on Appropriations
and are approved by such Committees.
Sec. 307. (a) Compliance With Buy American Act.--None of
the funds made available in this Act may be expended by an
entity unless the entity agrees that in expending the funds
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'').
(b) Sense of Congress; Requirement Regarding Notice.--
(1) Purchase of american-made equipment and products.--In
the case of any equipment or product that may be authorized
to be purchased with financial assistance provided using
funds made available in this Act, it is the sense of the
Congress that entities receiving the assistance should, in
expending the assistance, purchase only American-made
equipment and products.
(2) Notice to recipients of assistance.--In providing
financial assistance using funds made available in this Act,
the head of each Federal agency shall provide to each
recipient of the assistance a notice describing the statement
made in paragraph (1) by the Congress.
(c) Prohibition of Contracts With Persons Falsely Labeling
Products as Made in America.--If it has been finally
determined by a court or Federal agency that any person
intentionally affixed a label bearing a ``Made 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, the person shall be ineligible to
receive any contract or subcontract made with funds made
available in this Act, pursuant to the debarment, suspension,
and ineligibility procedures described in sections 9.400
through 9.409 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations.
Sec. 308. None of the funds in this Act may be used to
plan, prepare, or offer for sale timber from trees classified
as giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) which are located
on National Forest System or Bureau of Land Management lands
in a manner different than such sales were conducted in
fiscal year 1995.
Sec. 309. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be obligated or expended by the National Park Service to
enter into or implement a concession contract which permits
or requires the removal of the underground lunchroom at the
Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
Sec. 310. Beginning in fiscal year 1998 and thereafter,
where the actual costs of construction projects under self-
determination contracts, compacts, or grants, pursuant to
Public Laws 93-638, 103-413, or 100-297, are less than the
estimated costs thereof, use of the resulting excess funds
shall be determined by the appropriate Secretary after
consultation with the tribes.
Sec. 311. Notwithstanding Public Law 103-413, quarterly
payments of funds to tribes and tribal organizations under
annual funding agreements pursuant to section 108 of Public
Law 93-638, as amended, beginning in fiscal year 1998 and
therafter, may be made on the first business day following
the first day of a fiscal quarter.
Sec. 312. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act may be used for the AmeriCorps program,
unless the relevant agencies of the Department of the
Interior and/or Agriculture follow appropriate reprogramming
guidelines: Provided, That if no funds are provided for the
AmeriCorps program by the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies
fiscal year 1998 appropriations bill, then none of the funds
appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be
used for the AmeriCorps programs.
Sec. 313. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used (1) to demolish the bridge between Jersey City, New
Jersey, and Ellis Island; or (2) to prevent pedestrian use of
such bridge, when it is made known to the Federal official
having authority to obligate or expend such funds that such
pedestrian use is consistent with generally accepted safety
standards.
Sec. 314. (a) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise
made available pursuant to this Act shall be obligated or
expended to accept or process applications for a patent for
any mining or mill site claim located under the general
mining laws.
(b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply if
the Secretary of the Interior determines that, for the claim
concerned: (1) a patent application was filed with the
Secretary on or before September 30, 1994; and (2) all
requirements established under sections 2325 and 2326 of the
Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 29 and 30) for vein or lode
claims and sections 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of the Revised
Statutes (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, and 37) for placer claims, and
section 2337 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 42) for mill
site claims, as the case may be, were fully complied with by
the applicant by that date.
(c) On September 30, 1998, the Secretary of the Interior
shall file with the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations and the Committee on Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the United States Senate a report on actions
taken by the Department under the plan submitted pursuant to
section 314(c) of the Department of the Interior and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104-208).
(d) Mineral Examinations.--In order to process patent
applications in a timely and responsible manner, upon the
request of a patent applicant, the Secretary of the Interior
shall allow the applicant to fund a qualified third-party
contractor to be selected by the Bureau of Land Management to
conduct a mineral examination of the mining claims or mill
sites contained in a patent application as set forth in
subsection (b). The Bureau of Land Management shall have the
sole
[[Page S9180]]
responsibility to choose and pay the third-party contractor
in accordance with the standard procedures employed by the
Bureau of Land Management in the retention of third-party
contractors.
Sec. 315. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act may be used for the purposes of
acquiring lands in the counties of Gallia, Lawrence, Monroe,
or Washington, Ohio, for the Wayne National Forest.
[Sec. 316. None of the funds available to the Department of
the Interior or the Department of Agriculture by this or any
other Act may be used to prepare, promulgate, implement, or
enforce any interim or final rule or regulation pursuant to
title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation
Act to assert jurisdiction, management, or control over any
waters (other than non-navigable waters on Federal lands),
non-Federal lands, or lands selected by, but not conveyed to,
the State of Alaska pursuant to the Submerged Lands Act of
1953 or the Alaska Statehood Act, or an Alaska Native
Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act.
[Sec. 317. No funds appropriated under this or any other
Act shall be used to review or modify sourcing areas
previously approved under section 490(c)(3) of the Forest
Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990
(Public Law 101-382) or to enforce or implement Federal
regulations 36 CFR part 223 promulgated on September 8, 1995.
The regulations and interim rules in effect prior to
September 8, 1995 (36 CFR 223.48, 36 CFR 223.87, 36 CFR 223
subpart D, 36 CFR 223 subpart F, and 36 CFR 261.6) shall
remain in effect. The Secretary of Agriculture or the
Secretary of the Interior shall not adopt any policies
concerning Public Law 101-382 or existing regulations that
would restrain domestic transportation or processing of
timber from private lands or impose additional accountability
requirements on any timber. The Secretary of Commerce shall
extend until September 30, 1998, the order issued under
section 491(b)(2)(A) of Public Law 101-382 and shall issue an
order under section 491(b)(2)(B) of such law that will be
effective October 1, 1998.
[Sec. 318. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall be expended or obligated to fund the activities of
the western director and special assistant to the Secretary
within the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture.]
Sec. 318. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall be expended or obligated to fund the activities of
the western director and special assistant to the Secretary
within the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture unless the
proposed expenditure is approved in advance by the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations in compliance with the
reprogramming procedures contained in the report accompanying
this bill.
Sec. 319. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for
fiscal year 1998 and hereafter the Secretaries of Agriculture
and Interior are authorized to limit competition for
watershed restoration project contracts as part of the ``Jobs
in the Woods'' component of the President's Forest Plan for
the Pacific Northwest to individuals and entities in
historically timber-dependent areas in the States of
Washington, Oregon, and northern California that have been
affected by reduced timber harvesting on Federal lands.
[Sec. 320. Section 101(c) of Public Law 104-134 is amended
as follows: Under the heading ``TITLE III--GENERAL
PROVISIONS'' amend section 315(c)(1), subsections (A) and (B)
by striking each of those subsections and inserting in lieu
thereof:
[``(A) Eighty percent to a special account in the Treasury
for use without further appropriation, by the agency which
administers the site, to remain available for expenditure in
accordance with paragraph (2)(A).
[``(B) Twenty percent to a special account in the Treasury
for use without further appropriation, by the agency which
administers the site, to remain available for expenditure in
accordance with paragraph (2)(B).''.]
Sec. 321. None of the funds collected under the
Recreational Fee Demonstration program may be used to plan,
design, or construct a visitor center or any other permanent
structure without prior approval of the House and the Senate
Committees on Appropriations if the estimated total cost of
the facility exceeds $500,000.
Sec. 322. Section 303(d)(1) of Public Law 96-451 (16 U.S.C.
1606a(d)(1)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon the
following: ``and other forest stand improvement activities to
enhance forest health and reduce hazardous fuel loads of
forest stands in the National Forest System''.
[Sec. 323. The Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior, in
their conducting the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem
Management Project, including both the Eastside Draft
Environmental Impact Statement and the Upper Columbia River
Basin Ecosystem Management Strategy Draft Environmental
Impact Statement as described in a Federal Register notice on
January 15, 1997 (Vol. 62, No. 10, page 2176) (hereinafter
``Project''), shall analyze the economic and social
conditions, and culture and customs of communities at the
sub-basin level of analysis within the project area to the
extent practicable and delineate the impacts the alternatives
will have on the communities in the 164 sub-basins. The
project managers shall release this more thorough analysis
for public review as an addition to the draft environmental
impact statements for the project, and incorporate this
analysis and public comments to this analysis in any final
environmental impact statements and record of decisions
generated by the project.]
Sec. 324. Notwithstanding section 904(b) of Public Law 104-
333, hereafter, the Heritage Area established under section
904 of title IX of division II of Public Law 104-333 shall
include any portion of a city, town, or village within an
area specified in section 904(b)(2) of that Act only to the
extent that the government of the city, town, or village, in
a resolution of the governing board or council, agrees to be
included and submits the resolution to the Secretary of the
Interior and the management entities for the Heritage Area
and to the extent such resolution is not subsequently revoked
in the same manner.
[Sec. 325. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available to the Indian Health Service by this Act may be
used to restructure the funding of Indian health care
delivery systems to Alaskan Natives.]
Sec. 325. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
and except as provided in this section, the Aleutian/Pribilof
Islands Association, Inc., Bristol Bay Area Health
Corporation, Chugachmiut, Copper River Native Association,
Kodiak Area Native Area Association, Maniilaq Association,
Metlakatla Indian Community, Arctic Slope Native Association,
Ltd., Norton Sound Health Corporation, Southcentral
Foundation, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium,
Tanana Chiefs Conference, Inc., and Yukon-Kuskokwim Health
Corporation (hereinafter ``regional health entities''),
without further resolutions from the Regional Corporations,
Village Corporations, Indian Reorganization Act Councils,
tribes and/or villages which they represent are authorized to
form a consortium (hereinafter ``the Consortium'') to enter
into contracts, compacts, or funding agreements under Public
Law 93-638 (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), as amended, to provide
all statewide health services provided by the Indian Health
Service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
through the Alaska Native Medical Center and the Alaska Area
Office. Each specified ``regional health entity'' shall
maintain that status for purposes of participating in the
Consortium only so long as it operates a regional health
program for the Indian Health Service under Public Law 93-638
(25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), as amended.
(b) The Consortium shall be governed by a 15 member Board
of Directors, which shall be composed of one representative
of each regional health entity listed in subsection (a)
above, and two additional persons who shall represent Indian
tribes, as defined in 25 U.S.C. 450b(e), and sub-regional
tribal organizations which operate health programs not
affiliated with the regional health entities listed above and
Indian tribes not receiving health services from any tribal,
regional or sub-regional health provider. Each member of the
Board of Directors shall be entitled to cast one vote.
Decisions of the Board of Directors shall be made by
consensus whenever possible, and by majority vote in the
event that no consensus can be reached. The Board of
Directors shall establish at its first meeting its rules of
procedure, which shall be published and made available to all
members.
(c) The statewide health services (including any programs,
functions, services and activities provided as part of such
services) of the Alaska Native Medical Center and the Alaska
Area Office may only be provided by the Consortium. Statewide
health services for purposes of this section shall consist of
all programs, functions, services, and activities provided by
or through the Alaska Native Medical Center and the Alaska
Area Office, not under contract or other funding agreement
with any other tribe or tribal organization as of October 1,
1997, except as provided in subsection (d) below. All
statewide health services provided by the Consortium under
this section shall be provided pursuant to contracts or
funding agreements entered into by the Consortium under
Public Law 93-638 (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), as amended, and
for such purpose the Consortium shall be deemed to have
mature contract status as defined in section 4(h) of the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, 25
U.S.C. 450b(h).
(d) Cook Inlet Region, Inc., through Southcentral
Foundation (or any successor health care entity designated by
Cook Inlet Region, Inc.) pursuant to Public Law 93-638 (25
U.S.C. 450 et seq.), as amended, is hereby authorized to
enter into contracts or funding agreements under such Public
Law for all services, provided at or through the Alaska
Native Primary Care Center or other satellite clinics in
Anchorage or the Matanuska-Susitna Valley without submission
of any further authorizing resolutions from any other Alaska
Native Region, village corporation, Indian Reorganization Act
council, or tribe, no matter where located. Services provided
under this paragraph shall, at a minimum, maintain the level
of statewide and Anchorage Service Unit services provided at
the Alaska Native Primary Care Center as of October 1, 1997,
including necessary related services performed at the Alaska
Native Medical Center. In addition, Cook Inlet Region, Inc.,
through Southcentral Foundation, or any lawfully designated
health care entity of Cook Inlet Region, Inc., shall contract
or enter into a funding agreement under Public Law 93-638 (25
U.S.C. 450 et seq.), as amended, for all primary care
services provided by the Alaska Native Medical Center,
including, but not limited to, family medicine, primary care
internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology,
physical therapy, psychiatry, emergency services, public
health nursing, health education, optometry, dentistry,
audiology, social services, pharmacy, radiology, laboratory
and biomedical, and the administrative support for these
programs, functions, services and activities. Cook Inlet
Region,
[[Page S9181]]
Inc., through Southcentral Foundation, or any lawfully
designated health care entity of Cook Inlet Region, Inc., may
provide additional health care services at the Alaska Native
Medical Center if such use and services are provided pursuant
to an agreement with the Consortium. All services covered by
this subsection shall be provided on a nondiscriminatory
basis without regard to residency within the Municipality of
Anchorage.
Sec. 326. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
after September 30, 1997 the Indian Health Service may not
disburse funds for the provision of health care services
pursuant to Public Law 93-638 (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), with
any Alaska Native village or Alaska Native village
corporation that is located within the area served by an
Alaska Native regional health entity.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
the disbursal of funds to any Alaska Native village or Alaska
Native village corporation under any contract or compact
entered into prior to May 1, 1997, or to prohibit the renewal
of any such agreement.
(c) The General Accounting Office shall conduct a study of
the impact of contracting and compacting by the Indian Health
Service under Public Law 93-638 with Alaska Native villages
and Alaska Native village corporations for the provision of
health care services on the provision of health care services
by Alaska Native regional corporation health care entities.
The General Accounting Office shall submit the results of
that study to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate
and the Committee on Appropriations of the House by June 1,
1998.
[Sec. 326. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used for the eviction of any person from real property in
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore that the person was
authorized, on July 10, 1997, to occupy under a lease by the
Department of the Interior or a special use permit issued by
the Department of the Interior.
[Sec. 327. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be obligated or expended for the Man and Biosphere Program or
the World Heritage Program administered by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).]
Sec. 328. None of the funds made available in this or any
other Act for any fiscal year may be used to designate, or to
post any sign designating, any portion of Canaveral National
Seashore in Brevard County, Florida, as a clothing-optional
area or as an area in which public nudity is permitted, if
such designation would be contrary to county ordinance.
Sec. 329. Of the funds provided to the National Endowment
for the Arts:
(a) The Chairperson shall only award a grant to an
individual if such grant is awarded to such individual for a
literature fellowship, National Heritage Fellowship, or
American Jazz Masters Fellowship.
(b) The Chairperson shall establish procedures to ensure
that no funding provided through a grant, except a grant made
to a State or local arts agency, or regional group, may be
used to make a grant to any other organization or individual
to conduct activity independent of the direct grant
recipient. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit payments
made in exchange for goods and services.
(c) No grant shall be used for seasonal support to a group,
unless the application is specific to the contents of the
season, including identified programs and/or projects.
Sec. 330. The National Endowment for the Arts and the
National Endowment for the Humanities are authorized to
solicit, accept, receive, and invest in the name of the
United States, gifts, bequests, or devises of money and other
property or services and to use such in furtherance of the
functions of the National Endowment for the Arts and the
National Endowment for the Humanities. Any proceeds from such
gifts, bequests, or devises, after acceptance by the National
Endowment for the Arts or the National Endowment for the
Humanities, shall be paid by the donor or the representative
of the donor to the Chairman. The Chairman shall enter the
proceeds in a special interest-bearing account to the credit
of the appropriate Endowment for the purposes specified in
each case.
Sec. 331. In fiscal years 1998 through 2002, the
Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture may make
reciprocal delegations of their respective authorities,
duties and responsibilities in support of joint pilot
programs to promote customer service and efficiency in the
management of public lands and national forests: Provided,
That nothing herein shall alter, expand or limit the existing
applicability of any public law or regulation to lands
administered by the Bureau of Land Management or the United
States Forest Service.
Sec. 332. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall be expended or obligated to fund any activities
associated with revision of national forest land management
plans until the administration publishes new final rules in
the Federal Register for forest land management planning
activities.
Sec. 333. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall be expended or obligated to fund any activities
associated with issuance of the five year program under the
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act.
Sec. 334. (a) Watershed Restoration and Enhancement
Agreements--In General.--For fiscal year 1998 and each year
thereafter, appropriations for the Forest Service may be used
by the Secretary of Agriculture for the purpose of entering
into cooperative agreements with willing state and local
governments, private and non-profit entities and landowners
for protection, restoration and enhancement of fish and
wildlife habitat, and other resources on public or private
land or both that benefit these resources within the
watershed.
(b) Direct and Indirect Watershed Agreements.--The
Secretary of Agriculture may enter into a watershed
restoration and enhancement agreement--
(1) directly with a willing private landowner; or
(2) indirectly through an agreement with a state, local or
tribal government or other public entity, educational
institution, or private non-profit organization.
(c) Terms and Conditions.--In order for the Secretary to
enter into a watershed restoration and enhancement
agreement--
(1) the agreement shall--
(A) include such terms and conditions mutually agreed to by
the Secretary and the landowner;
(B) improve the viability of and otherwise benefit the
fish, wildlife, and other resources on national forests lands
within the watershed;
(C) authorize the provision of technical assistance by the
Secretary in the planning of management activities that will
further the purposes of the agreement;
(D) provide for the sharing of costs of implementing the
agreement among the Federal government, the landowner(s), and
other entities, as mutually agreed on by the affected
interests; and
(E) ensure that any expenditure by the Secretary pursuant
to the agreement is determined by the Secretary to be in the
public interest; and
(2) the Secretary may require such other terms and
conditions as are necessary to protect the public investment
on non-federal lands, provided such terms and conditions are
mutually agreed to by the Secretary and other land owners,
state and local governments or both.
Sec. 335. The joint resolution entitled ``Joint Resolution
to establish a commission to formulate plans for a memorial
to Franklin Delano Roosevelt'', approved August 11, 1955 (69
Stat. 694), is amended--
(a) in the first section by inserting before the last
sentence the following: ``The Commission shall submit a final
report to the President and Congress prior to termination.'';
(b) by redesignating section 4 as section 5; and
(c) by inserting after section 3 the following:
``termination of the commission
``Sec. 4. (a) In General.--The Commission shall terminate
on the earlier of--
``(1) December 31, 1997; or
``(2) the date that the Commission reports to the President
and the Congress that the Commission's work is complete.
``(b) Commission Funds.--
``(1) Designation.--Before the termination of the
Commission, the Commission shall designate a nonprofit
organization to collect, manage, and expend Commission funds
after its termination.
``(2) Transfer of funds.--Before termination the Commission
shall transfer all Commission funds to the entity designated
under paragraph (1).
``(3) Amounts collected after termination.--The entity
designated under paragraph (1) shall have the right to
collect any amounts accruing to the Commission after the
Commission's termination, including amounts--
(A) given to the Commission as a gift or bequest; or
(B) raised from the sale of coins issued under the United
States Commemorative Coin Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 4005; 31
U.S.C. 5112 note).
``(4) Uses of funds.--The Commission may specify uses for
any funds made available under this section to the entity
designated under paragraph (1), including--
``(A) to provide for the support, maintenance, and repair
of the Memorial; and
``(B) to interpret and educate the public about the
Memorial.
``(5) Negotiation and contract.--The Commission may
negotiate and contract with a nonprofit organization before
designating the organization under paragraph (1).''.
Sec. 336. To facilitate priority land exchanges through
which the United States will receive land within the White
Salmon Wild and Scenic River boundaries and within the
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, the Secretary of
Agriculture may hereafter accept title to such lands deemed
appropriate by the Secretary within the States of Oregon and
Washington, regardless of the State in which the transferred
lands are located, following existing exchange authorities.
Sec. 337. The boundary of the Wenatchee National Forest in
Chelan County, Washington, is hereby adjusted to exclude
section 1 of Township 23 North, Range 19 East, Willamette
Meridian.
Sec. 338. None of the funds provided in this Act can be
used for any activities associated with the Center of
Excellence for Sustainable Development unless a budget
request has been submitted and approved by the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the United
States Senate.
Sec. 339. (a) No funds provided in this or any other act
may be expended to develop a rulemaking proposal to amend or
replace the Bureau of Land Management regulations found at 43
C.F.R. 3809 or to prepare a draft environmental impact
statement on any such proposal, until the Secretary of the
Interior establishes a Committee which shall prepare and
submit a report in accordance with this section.
(b) The Committee shall be composed of appropriate
representatives from the Department of the Interior and a
representative appointed by the Governor from each State that
contains public lands open to location under the General
Mining Laws. The Committee shall be established and operated
pursuant to the terms of the Federal Advisory Committee Act,
5 U.S.C. ap 2 1 et seq.
(c) The Committee established pursuant to subsection (b)
shall prepare and submit a report
[[Page S9182]]
to the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and
Appropriations of the United States Senate and the Committees
on Resources and Appropriations of the United States House of
Representatives which (1) contains consensus recommendations
on the appropriate relationship of States and Federal land
management agencies in environmental, land management and
regulation of activities subject to the Bureau's regulations
at 43 C.F.R. 3809, (2) identifies current and proposed State
environmental, land management and reclamation laws,
regulations, performance standards and policies applicable to
such activities, including those State laws and regulations
which have been adopted to achieve primacy in the
administration of federally mandated efforts; (3) explains
how these current State laws, regulations, performance
standards and policies are coordinated with Federal surface
management efforts; and (4) contains consensus
recommendations for how Federal and State coordination can be
maximized in the future to ensure environmental protection
and minimize regulatory duplication, conflict and burdens.
Sec. 340. (a) The Secretary of Agriculture shall convey to
Skamania County, Washington, all right, title, and interest
of the United States in and to a parcel of unused real
property known as the Wind River Nursery site, Gifford
Pinchot National Forest, Washington. (See U.S. Department of
Interior Geological Survey modified for USDA Forest Service
map, Stabler Quadrangle, Washington, Skamania County, 7.5
minutes series, topographic, Provisional Edition 1983). The
conveyance under this subsection shall include all
improvements to the parcel, including all infrastructure,
water rights, easements, and personal property.
(b) As consideration for the conveyance under subsection
(b), Skamania County shall convey to the United States all
right, title, and interest of the county in a parcel of
approximately 120 acres of high biodiversity, special
management area land located within the Columbia River Gorge
National Scenic Area.
(c) The exact acreage and legal description of the real
property to be exchanged by Skamania County under this
section shall be determined by a survey. The cost of any such
survey shall be borne by Skamania County.
(d) The conveyances made pursuant to this section shall be
subject to existing valid rights.
(e) Section 120(h) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.
9620(h)) shall apply to the conveyance required under
subsection (b).
(f) The Secretary may require such additional terms and
conditions in connection with the conveyance under subsection
(a) as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the
interests of the United States consistent with existing law.
Sec. 341. (a) Local Exemptions From Forest Service User
Fees Due to Less Than Full Funding of Payments in Lieu of
Taxes.--Section 6906 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before
``Necessary''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Local Exemptions From User Fees Due to Insufficient
Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--Unless sufficient funds are appropriated
for a fiscal year to provide full payments under this chapter
to each unit of general local government eligible for the
payments, persons residing within the boundaries of that unit
of general local government shall be exempt during that
fiscal year from any requirement to pay a recreational user
fee imposed by the Secretary of Agriculture for access to the
White Mountain National Forest that lies, in whole or in
part, within those boundaries.
``(2) Administration.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
establish a method of identifying persons who are exempt from
requirements to pay user fees under paragraph (1).''.
Sec. 342. None of the funds in this or any other Act shall
be expended by the Department of the Interior, the Forest
Service or any other Federal agency, for the introduction of
the grizzly bear population in the Selway-Bitteroot area of
Idaho and adjacent Montana, or for consultations under
section 7(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act for Federal
actions affecting grizzly bear within the Selway-Bitteroot
area of Idaho, except that, funds may be used by the
Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, or any
other Federal agency for the purposes of receiving public
comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement dated
July 1997, and for conducting a habitat-based population
viability analysis.
[TITLE IV--DEFICIT REDUCTION LOCK-BOX
[SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.
[This title may be cited as the ``Deficit Reduction Lock-
box Act of 1997''.
[SEC. 402. DEFICIT REDUCTION LOCK-BOX LEDGER.
[(a) Establishment of Ledger.--Title III of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the
end the following new section:
[``deficit reduction lock-box ledger
[``Sec. 314. (a) Establishment of Ledger.--The Director of
the Congressional Budget Office (hereinafter in this section
referred to as the `Director') shall maintain a ledger to be
known as the `Deficit Reduction Lock-box Ledger'. The Ledger
shall be divided into entries corresponding to the
subcommittees of the Committees on Appropriations. Each entry
shall consist of three parts: the `House Lock-box Balance';
the `Senate Lock-box Balance'; and the `Joint House-Senate
Lock-box Balance'.
[``(b) Components of Ledger.--Each component in an entry
shall consist only of amounts credited to it under subsection
(c). No entry of a negative amount shall be made.
[``(c) Credit of Amounts to Ledger.--(1) The Director
shall, upon the engrossment of any appropriation bill by the
House of Representatives and upon the engrossment of that
bill by the Senate, credit to the applicable entry balance of
that House amounts of new budget authority and outlays equal
to the net amounts of reductions in new budget authority and
in outlays resulting from amendments agreed to by that House
to that bill.
[``(2) The Director shall, upon the engrossment of Senate
amendments to any appropriation bill, credit to the
applicable Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance the amounts of
new budget authority and outlays equal to--
[``(A) an amount equal to one-half of the sum of (i) the
amount of new budget authority in the House Lock-box Balance
plus (ii) the amount of new budget authority in the Senate
Lock-box Balance for that bill; and
[``(B) an amount equal to one-half of the sum of (i) the
amount of outlays in the House Lock-box Balance plus (ii) the
amount of outlays in the Senate Lock-box Balance for that
bill.
[``(3) Calculation of Lock-Box Savings in Senate.--For
purposes of calculating under this section the net amounts of
reductions in new budget authority and in outlays resulting
from amendments agreed to by the Senate on an appropriation
bill, the amendments reported to the Senate by its Committee
on Appropriations shall be considered to be part of the
original text of the bill.
[``(d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term
`appropriation bill' means any general or special
appropriation bill, and any bill or joint resolution making
supplemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations
through the end of a fiscal year.''.
[(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents set forth
in section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 313 the following new item:
[``Sec. 314. Deficit reduction lock-box ledger.''.
[SEC. 403. TALLY DURING HOUSE CONSIDERATION.
[There shall be available to Members in the House of
Representatives during consideration of any appropriations
bill by the House a running tally of the amendments adopted
reflecting increases and decreases of budget authority in the
bill as reported.
[SEC. 404. DOWNWARD ADJUSTMENT OF 602(A) ALLOCATIONS AND
SECTION 602(B) SUBALLOCATIONS.
[(a) Allocations.--Section 602(a) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
[``(5) Upon the engrossment of Senate amendments to any
appropriation bill (as defined in section 314(d)) for a
fiscal year, the amounts allocated under paragraph (1) or (2)
to the Committee on Appropriations of each House upon the
adoption of the most recent concurrent resolution on the
budget for that fiscal year shall be adjusted downward by the
amounts credited to the applicable Joint House-Senate Lock-
box Balance under section 314(c)(2). The revised levels of
budget authority and outlays shall be submitted to each House
by the chairman of the Committee on the Budget of that House
and shall be printed in the Congressional Record.''.
[(b) Suballocations.--Section 602(b)(1) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the
end the following new sentence: ``Whenever an adjustment is
made under subsection (a)(5) to an allocation under that
subsection, the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations
of each House shall make downward adjustments in the most
recent suballocations of new budget authority and outlays
under subparagraph (A) to the appropriate subcommittees of
that committee in the total amounts of those adjustments
under section 314(c)(2). The revised suballocations shall be
submitted to each House by the chairman of the Committee on
Appropriations of that House and shall be printed in the
Congressional Record.''.
[SEC. 405. PERIODIC REPORTING OF LEDGER STATEMENTS.
[Section 308(b)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence:
``Such reports shall also include an up-to-date tabulation of
the amounts contained in the ledger and each entry
established by section 314(a).''.
[SEC. 406. DOWNWARD ADJUSTMENT OF DISCRETIONARY SPENDING
LIMITS.
[The discretionary spending limits for new budget authority
and outlays for any fiscal year set forth in section
601(a)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as
adjusted in strict conformance with section 251 of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985,
shall be reduced by the amounts set forth in the final
regular appropriation bill for that fiscal year or joint
resolution making continuing appropriations through the end
of that fiscal year. Those amounts shall be the sums of the
Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balances for that fiscal year, as
calculated under section 602(a)(5) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974. That bill or joint resolution shall
contain the following statement of law: ``As required by
section 406 of the Deficit Reduction Lock-box Act of 1997,
for fiscal year [nsert appropriate fiscal year] and each
outyear, the adjusted discretionary spending limit for new
budget
[[Page S9183]]
authority shall be reduced by $ [insert appropriate amount of
reduction] and the adjusted discretionary limit for outlays
shall be reduced by $ [insert appropriate amount of
reduction] for the budget year and each outyear.''.
Notwithstanding section 904(c) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, section 306 of that Act as it applies to this
statement shall be waived. This adjustment shall be reflected
in reports under sections 254(g) and 254(h) of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
[SEC. 407. EFFECTIVE DATE.
[(a) In General.--This title shall apply to all
appropriation bills making appropriations for fiscal year
1998 or any subsequent fiscal year.
[(b) Definition.--As used in this section, the term
``appropriation bill'' means any general or special
appropriation bill, and any bill or joint resolution making
supplemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations
through the end of a fiscal year.]
TITLE V--PRIORITY LAND ACQUISITIONS AND EXCHANGES
For priority land acquisitions and land exchange agreements
to be conducted by the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and the
U.S. Forest Service, $700,000,000, to be derived from the
Land and Water Conservation Fund, to remain available until
September 30, 2001, of which not to exceed $65,000,000 may be
available for the acquisition of identified lands and
interests in lands to carry out the Agreement of August 12,
1996, to acquire interests to protect and preserve
Yellowstone National Park, of which not to exceed
$250,000,000 may be available for the acquisition of
identified lands and interest in lands, at the purchase price
specified, in the September 28, 1996, Headwaters Forest
Agreement, and of which $100,000,000 shall be available for
financial assistance to States pursuant to section 6 of the
Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, as amended (16
U.S.C. 460l-4-11): Provided, That the Secretary of the
Interior, after consultation with the Secretary of
Agriculture and with the House Committee on Appropriations
and the Senate Committee on Appropriations, shall submit to
the Committees a list of Federal acquisitions and exchanges
proposed to be conducted with the funds provided under this
heading: Provided further, That none of the funds
appropriated under this heading shall be available until the
House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on
Appropriations approve, in writing, a project list to be
submitted by the Secretary: Provided further, That none of
the funds appropriated under this heading shall be available
for the acquisition of lands and interests in lands to carry
out the Agreement of August 12, 1996, to acquire interests to
protect and preserve Yellowstone National Park, or for the
acquisition of lands and interest in lands identified in the
September 28, 1996, Headwaters Forest Agreement until
enactment of legislation specifically authorizing such
expenditure: Provided further, That any funds made available
for the purpose of acquisition of the Elwha and Glines dams
shall be used solely for acquisition, and shall not be
expended until the full purchase amount has been appropriated
by the Congress: Provided further, That of the funds provided
herein, $8,500,000 is available for acquisition of the
Sterling Forest: Provided further, That the National Park
Service may use not to exceed $2,500,000 annually of the
amounts provided herein for the state assistance program to
administer the state assistance program.
TITLE VI--FOREST RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND SHORTAGE RELIEF
Section 1. Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the
``Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of
1997''.
Sec. 2. (a) Use of Unprocessed Timber--Limitation on
Substitution of Unprocessed Federal Timber for Unprocessed
Timber From Private Land.--Section 490 of the Forest
Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990 (16
U.S.C. 620b) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``paragraph (3) and''
after ``provided in''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Applicability.--In the case of the purchase by a
person of unprocessed timber originating from Federal lands
west of the 119th meridian in the State of Washington, this
paragraph shall apply only if--
``(A) the private lands referred to in paragraph (1) are
owned by the person; or
``(B) the person has the exclusive right to harvest timber
from the private lands described in paragraph (1) during a
period of more than 7 years, and may exercise that right at
any time of the person's choosing.'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Approval of'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by inserting ``for sourcing
areas for processing facilities located outside the
northwestern private timber open market area''; after
``Application''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``(except private
land located in the northwestern private timber open market
area)'' after ``lands'';
(C) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by inserting ``for sourcing
areas for processing facilities located outside of the
northwestern private timber open market area.--(A) In
general''; after ``approval''; and
(ii) by striking the last sentence of paragraph (3) and
adding at the end the following:
``(B) For timber manufacturing facilities located in
idaho.--Except as provided in subparagraph (D), in making a
determination referred to in subparagraph (A), the Secretary
concerned shall consider the private timber export and the
private and Federal timber sourcing patterns for the
applicant's timber manufacturing facilities, as well as the
private and Federal timber sourcing patterns for the timber
manufacturing facilities of other persons in the same local
vicinity of the applicant, and the relative similarity of
such private and Federal timber sourcing patterns.
``(C) For timber manufacturing facilities located in states
other than idaho.--Except as provided in subparagraph (D), in
making the determination referred to in subparagraph (A), the
Secretary concerned shall consider the private timber export
and the Federal timber sourcing patterns for the applicant's
timber manufacturing facilities, as well as the Federal
timber sourcing patterns for the timber manufacturing
facilities of other persons in the same local vicinity of the
applicant, and the relative similarity of such Federal timber
sourcing patterns. Private timber sourcing patterns shall not
be a factor in such determinations in States other than
Idaho.
``(D) Area not included.--In deciding whether to approve or
disapprove an application, the Secretary shall not--
``(i) consider land located in the northwestern private
timber open market area; or
``(ii) condition approval of the application on the
inclusion of any such land in the applicant's sourcing area,
such land being includable in the sourcing area only to the
extent requested by the applicant.'';
(D) in paragraph (4), in the paragraph heading, by
inserting ``for sourcing areas for processing facilities
located outside the northwestern private timber open market
area''; after ``application'';
(E) in paragraph (5), in the paragraph heading, by
inserting ``for sourcing areas for processing facilities
located outside the northwestern private timber open market
area''; after ``Determinations''; and
(F) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Sourcing areas for processing facilities located in
the northwestern private timber open market area--
``(A) Establishment.-- In the northwestern private timber
open market area--
``(i) a sourcing area boundary shall be a circle around the
processing facility of the sourcing area applicant or holder;
``(ii) the radius of the circle--
``(I) shall be the furthest distance that the sourcing area
applicant or holder proposes to haul Federal timber for
processing at the processing facility; and
``(II) shall be determined solely by the sourcing area
applicant or holder;
``(iii) a sourcing area shall become effective on written
notice to the Regional Forester for Region 6 of the Forest
Service of the location of the boundary of the sourcing area;
``(iv) the 24-month requirement in paragraph (1)(A) shall
not apply;
``(v) a sourcing area holder--
``(I) may adjust the radius of the sourcing area not more
frequently than once every 24 months; and
``(II) shall provide written notice to the Regional
Forester for Region 6 of the adjusted boundary of its
sourcing area before using the adjusted sourcing area; and
``(vi) a sourcing area holder that relinquishes a sourcing
area may not reestablish a sourcing area for that processing
facility before the date that is 24 months after the date on
which the sourcing area was relinquished.
``(B) Transition.--With respect to a portion of a sourcing
area established before the date of enactment of this
paragraph that contains Federal timber under contract before
that date and is outside the boundary of a new sourcing area
established under subparagraph (A)--
``(i) that portion shall continue to be a sourcing area
only until unprocessed Federal timber from the portion is no
longer in the possession of the sourcing area holder; and
``(ii) unprocessed timber from private land in that portion
shall be exportable immediately after unprocessed timber from
Federal land in the portion is no longer in the possession of
the sourcing area holder.
``(7) Relinquishment and termination of sourcing areas.--
``(A) In general.--A sourcing area may be relinquished at
any time.
``(B) Effective date.--A relinquishment of a sourcing area
shall be effective as of the date on which written notice is
provided by the sourcing area holder to the Regional Forester
with jurisdiction over the sourcing area where the processing
facility of the holder is located.
``(C) Exportability.--
``(i) In general.--On relinquishment or termination of a
sourcing area, unprocessed timber from private land within
the former boundary of the relinquished or terminated
sourcing area is exportable immediately after unprocessed
timber from Federal land from within that area is no longer
in the possession of the former sourcing area holder.
``(ii) No restriction.--The exportability of unprocessed
timber from private land located outside of a sourcing area
shall not be restricted or in any way affected by
relinquishment or termination of a sourcing area.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Domestic Transportation and Processing of Private
Timber.--Nothing in this section restricts or authorizes any
restriction on the domestic transportation or processing of
timber harvested from private land, except that the Secretary
may prohibit processing facilities located in the State of
Idaho that have sourcing areas from processing timber
harvested from private land outside of the boundaries of
those sourcing areas.''.
(b) Restriction on Exports of Unprocessed Timber from State
and Public Land.--Section 491(b)(2) of the Forest Resources
Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C.
620c(b)(2)) is amended--
[[Page S9184]]
(1) by striking ``the following'' and all that follows
through ``(A) The Secretary'' and inserting ``the
Secretary'';
(2) by striking ``during the period beginning on June 1,
1993, and ending on December 31, 1995'' and inserting ``as of
the date of enactment of the Forest Resources Conservation
and Shortage Relief Act of 1997''; and
(3) by striking subparagraph (B).
Sec. 3. Monitoring and Enforcement.--Section 492 of the
Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990
(16 U.S.C. 620d) is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(2), by adding at the end the
following:
``(C) Mitigation of penalties.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary concerned--
``(I) in determining the applicability of any penalty
imposed under this paragraph, shall take into account all
relevant mitigating factors, including mistake, inadvertence,
and error; and
``(II) based on any mitigating factor, may, with respect to
any penalty imposed under this paragraph--
``(aa) reduce the penalty;
``(bb) not impose the penalty; or
``(cc) on condition of there being no further violation
under this paragraph for a prescribed period, suspend
imposition of the penalty.
``(ii) Contractual remedies.--In the case of a minor
violation of this title (including a regulation), the
Secretary concerned shall, to the maximum extent practicable,
permit a contracting officer to redress the violation in
accordance with the applicable timber sale contract rather
than assess a penalty under this paragraph.''; and
(2) in subsection (d)(1)--
(A) by striking ``The head'' and inserting the following:
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the head'';
and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Prerequisites for debarment.--
``(i) In general.--No person may be debarred from bidding
for or entering into a contract for the purchase of
unprocessed timber from Federal lands under subparagraph (A)
unless the head of the appropriate Federal department or
agency first finds, on the record and after an opportunity
for a hearing, that debarment is warranted.
``(ii) Withholding of awards during debarment
proceedings.--The head of an appropriate Federal department
or agency may withhold an award under this title of a
contract for the purchase of unprocessed timber from Federal
lands during a debarment proceeding.''.
Sec. 4. Definitions.--Section 493 of the Forest Resources
Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 620e)
is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (8) as
paragraphs (5) through (10), respectively;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) Minor violation.--The term `minor violation' means a
violation, other than an intentional violation, involving a
single contract, purchase order, processing facility, or log
yard involving a quantity of logs that is less than 25 logs
and has a total value (at the time of the violation) of less
than $10,000.
``(4) Northwestern private timber open market area.--The
term `northwestern private timber open market area' means the
State of Washington.'';
(3) in subparagraph (B)(ix) of paragraph (9) (as
redesignated by paragraph (1))--
(A) by striking ``Pulp logs or cull logs'' and inserting
``Pulp logs, cull logs, and incidental volumes of grade 3 and
4 sawlogs'';
(B) by inserting ``primary'' before ``purpose''; and
(C) by striking the period at the end and inserting: ``, or
to the extent that a small quantity of such logs are
processed, into other products at domestic processing
facilities.''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(11) Violation.--The term `violation' means a violation
of this Act (including a regulation issued to implement this
Act) with regard to a course of action, including--
``(A) in the case of a violation by the original purchaser
of unprocessed timber, an act or omission with respect to a
single timber sale; and
``(B) in the case of a violation by a subsequent purchaser
of the timber, an act or omission with respect to an
operation at a particular processing facility or log yard.''.
Sec. 5. Regulations.--Section 495(a) of the Forest
Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990 (16
U.S.C. 620f(a)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``The Secretaries'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) Agriculture and interior.--The Secretaries'';
(2) by striking ``The Secretary of Commerce'' and inserting
the following:
``(2) Commerce.--The Secretary of Commerce''; and
(3) by striking the last sentence and inserting the
following:
``(3) Deadline.--
``(A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this
title, regulations and guidelines required under this
subsection shall be issued not later than June 1, 1998.
``(B) Interim regulations and guidelines.--The regulations
and guidelines issued under this title that were in effect on
the date of enactment of this paragraph shall remain in
effect until new regulations and guidelines are issued under
subparagraph (A).
``(4) Painting and branding.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary concerned shall issue
regulations that impose reasonable painting, branding, or
other forms of marking or tracking requirements on
unprocessed timber if--
``(i) the benefits of the requirements outweigh the cost of
complying with the requirements; and
``(ii) the Secretary determines that, without the
requirements, it is likely that the unprocessed timber--
``(I) would be exported in violation of this title; or
``(II) if the unprocessed timber originated from Federal
lands, would be substituted for unprocessed timber
originating from private lands west of the 100th Meridian in
the contiguous 48 States in violation of this title.
``(B) Minimum size.--The Secretary concerned shall not
impose painting, branding, or other forms of marking or
tracking requirements on--
``(i) the face of a log that is less than 7 inches in
diameter; or
``(ii) unprocessed timber that is less than 8 feet in
length or less than \1/3\ sound wood.
``(C) Waivers.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary concerned may waive log
painting and branding requirements--
``(I) for a geographic area, if the Secretary determines
that the risk of the unprocessed timber being exported from
the area or used in substitution is low;
``(II) with respect to unprocessed timber originating from
private lands located within an approved sourcing area for a
person who certifies that the timber will be processed at a
specific domestic processing facility to the extent that the
processing does occur; or
``(III) as part of a log yard agreement that is consistent
with the purposes of the export and substitution restrictions
imposed under this title.
``(ii) Review and termination of waivers.--A waiver granted
under clause (i)--
``(I) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be reviewed
once a year; and
``(II) shall remain effective until terminated by the
Secretary.
``(D) Factors.--In making a determination under this
paragraph, the Secretary concerned shall consider--
``(i) the risk of unprocessed timber of that species,
grade, and size being exported or used in substitution;
``(ii) the location of the unprocessed timber and the
effect of the location on its being exported or used in
substitution;
``(iii) the history of the person involved with respect to
compliance with log painting and branding requirements; and
``(iv) any other factor that is relevant to determining the
likelihood of the unprocessed timber being exported or used
in substitution.
``(5) Reporting.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
Secretary concerned shall issue regulations that impose
reasonable documentation and reporting requirements if the
benefits of the requirements outweigh the cost of complying
with the requirements.
``(B) Waivers.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary concerned may waive
documentation and reporting requirements for a person if--
``(I) an audit of the records of the facility of the person
reveals substantial compliance with all notice, reporting,
painting, and branding requirements during the preceding
year; or
``(II) the person transferring the unprocessed timber and
the person processing the unprocessed timber enter into an
advance agreement with the Secretary concerned regarding the
disposition of the unprocessed timber by domestic processing.
``(ii) Review and termination of waivers.--A waiver granted
under clause (i)--
``(I) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be reviewed
once a year; and
``(II) shall remain effective until terminated by the
Secretary.''.
This Act may be cited as the ``Department of the Interior
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998''.
Privileges of the Floor
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Bruce Evans,
Ginny James, Anne McInerney, Hank Kashdan, and Martin Delgado of the
committee staff be granted floor privileges for the duration of the
debate on the Interior appropriations bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, before I begin my opening statement on
this bill, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Nevada [Mr.
Bryan] be heard in order to introduce a bill and briefly to discuss it.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada is recognized.
Mr. BRYAN. I thank the Chair.
(The remarks of Mr. Bryan pertaining to the introduction of S. 1163
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills
and Joint Resolutions.'')
Mr. GORTON addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington is recognized.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I am pleased, together with my colleague
from West Virginia, Senator Byrd, to bring before the Senate the fiscal
year 1998 Interior and related agencies appropriations bill.
This bill provides $13.755 billion in net budget authority for the
agencies and programs under the jurisdiction of the Interior
subcommittee--a reduction of $46 million from the administration's
amended budget request. In spite
[[Page S9185]]
of this reduction, I believe that this bill protects the high
priorities of the administration, while also reflecting the priorities
of this body.
The Interior bill, Mr. President, is a fascinating mix of 91
appropriations accounts covering more than 40 individual bureaus in
four different Cabinet Departments and numerous independent agencies.
When I first became chairman of the subcommittee, I asked the staff
to break down the bill into its major components so that I could
understand better the competing demands within the bill. What we came
up with was this chart behind me, Mr. President.
The chart breaks this bill into six functional categories--land
management programs, Indian programs, science and minerals programs,
energy programs, cultural programs, and the operation of the Interior
Department office itself.
Though many of the individual programs within these categories are
small in simple dollar terms, most of them have direct and tangible
impacts on the lives of average Americans. As such, they tend to have
vocal constituencies.
You will see, Mr. President, that within each of these six major
functions, we have shown some of the breakdowns. The largest amount of
money goes into land management programs. Those programs, in turn, fall
into two separate departments. As the Forest Service, the largest
single one of these programs, is within the Department of Agriculture,
the others are within the Department of the Interior. They are in green
on the left side of this chart. The second largest, by all odds, of the
elements that are in this bill are Indian programs, primarily the
Indian Health Service, and the general programs of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs. Smaller amounts fall within the science and minerals programs.
The most significant there is the United States Geological Survey.
Energy programs within the purview of that Department include fossil
energy research and development and energy conservation research and
development.
Finally, the cultural programs which may well occupy more of the
passionate debate time on this floor than any of the others, include
museums and the two national endowments.
Finally, the very small graph line on the right is for the operation
of the Department of Interior itself. An indication of how vocal the
constituencies for this bill are is the fact that we on the
subcommittee received more than 1,800 individual requests from
Senators. Mr. President, 100 Senators and 1,800 requests for items in
the Interior bill, the vast majority of which were for additions to the
President's budget request. Within a subcommittee allocation that is
actually somewhat smaller than the President's request, it has
obviously been impossible to satisfy more than a fraction of these
requests while still pressuring the ongoing base programs of the
individual agencies shown in that chart.
So the task of putting together the fiscal year 1998 bill was
complicated by the completion of the balanced budget agreement.
First, I need to report something that I have said frequently on the
floor that I am a strong supporter of that agreement, from the very
beginning of negotiations through the deliberations of the Budget
Committee, through its final passage and implementation. I also
recognize that the agreement makes available more discretionary
spending for the Interior bill than I think we would have had in its
absence.
That said, the agreement explicitly provided that four programs in
the Interior bill be funded at the request level that the President
made for the budget: The operation of the National Park System, the
Park Service land acquisition program and State assistance, the
restoration of the Everglades, and tribal priority allocations within
the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
In the absence of a budget agreement I would only be honest to say I
would not have recommended that all of these programs be funded at the
budget request level. Personally, I believe there are other programs
covered by the bill that are of at least that degree of priority or of
a higher priority. Even so, the bill before you does fund these
programs at levels consistent with the budget agreement. Having reached
the agreement, having voted for the agreement in principle, Mr.
President, it seems appropriate to me that we keep the promises that
were included within it. I intend to do so to the best of my ability.
Nevertheless, the effect of protecting these programs is that there was
less funding available for other agencies and activities funded in the
bill.
The budget agreement also created a $700 million reserve fund for
priority land acquisitions. That amount has been included in the bill
and is in addition to the $242 million provided for specific land
acquisition projects in the regular acquisition accounts.
The budget agreement made no provision for the carrying costs of the
lands to be acquired with the $700 million, nor for the payments in
lieu of taxes that likely must be paid on these lands. While I believe
that the $700 million might better be spent reducing the huge
maintenance backlogs that already exist on Federal lands, essentially
taking care of what we already have, my strong support for the budget
agreement compelled me to include the $700 million in this bill. The
House did not do so. Knowing how strongly Chairman Regula feels about
this issue, I anticipate our discussion in conference on the subject
will be a lively one, to say the least.
Of the $700 million provided for land acquisition in title V, $250
million is set aside for the acquisition of the Headwaters Forest in
California and $65 million is set aside for the acquisition of the New
World Mine in Montana. Both of these appropriations remain subject to
enactment of specific authorizing legislation. I have included the
authorizing clause due to the magnitude of these two acquisitions, the
complex structure of the acquisition agreement, and the fact that the
agreements themselves were struck with very little congressional
oversight or involvement. The Senator from Alaska [Mr. Murkowski],
among others, has expressed to me a number of serious concerns and
questions about each of these acquisitions. As chairman of the relevant
authorizing committee, it is appropriate that he be given the
opportunity to have his questions answered by the administration. I am
confident he will work in good faith to draft appropriate authorizing
legislation, and I understand that he intends to hold a hearing on this
issue in the near future.
The administration and many Members on the other side of the aisle
wish to avoid the authorizing process entirely. The House of
Representatives, on the other hand, made no such appropriation at all.
It seems to me where we stand in this bill for the purposes of
debating this bill here in the Senate, we are at the right stage. We
should appropriate the $700 million. We should allow the authorizing
committee to do its work on these two expensive, complicated, and
vitally important acquisitions.
Of the $700 million, an additional $100 million is provided
specifically for the ``stateside'' grant program. As some of my
colleagues may be aware, this is a program that was essentially
terminated by the Appropriations Committee in the fiscal year 1996
bill. The Interior subcommittee's allocation was cut sharply that year
and it was simply not possible to continue the stateside program while
protecting the core Federal programs included in the bill. Furthermore,
I suspect that continued funding constraints and the growing cost of
maintaining Federal land and facilities make it unlikely that the
stateside program will be resurrected in the context of any annual
appropriations bill in the near future.
I hope this one-time appropriation of $100 million, to be allocated
over a 4-year period, will enable the authorizing committee to identify
a permanent funding source for that stateside program.
The remaining $285 million provided in title V of the bill is for
Federal acquisition projects. The specific acquisition projects to be
funded would be determined through discussions between Congress and the
administration but no funds would be available until the project list
is approved by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. This
process will enable us to target these funds for acquisitions that
protect the most critically threatened resources and that reduce the
cost of
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lands management by eliminating problematic inholdings. I do not intend
to use these funds to create new parks, forests or refuges.
Now, for the land management agencies themselves, the bill includes a
number of positive features. For the National Park Service, the bill
fully funds the administration's budget request for operation of the
National Park System. This results in a 1 percent across-the-board
funding increase for all park units. In addition, the bill includes a
$24.8 million increase for special needs parks, an increase of $8.1
million over the budget request. These funds will be used to staff new
parks, address critical operating shortfalls at park units with high
visitation and protect threatened park resources.
For the Fish and Wildlife Service, the bill includes an increase of
$33.2 million over the fiscal year 1997 level for the operation and
maintenance of our Nation's fish and wildlife refuges. This amounts to
a $20 million increase over the budget request. The increase will
enable the service to make a dent in its growing maintenance backlog
and to address critical operating shortfalls at selected refuges.
The bill provides $1.135 billion for the Bureau of Land Management,
an increase of more than $40 million over the comparable fiscal year
1997 funding level. The amount provided includes increases over fiscal
year 1997 of $12.5 million for wildland fire preparedness, and $18.2
for fire operations and for payments in lieu of taxes.
Total funding for the Forest Service is $2.495 billion, an increase
of $133 million above the comparable fiscal year 1997 enacted amount.
Funds have been provided to produce 3.8 billion board feet of timber,
consisting of 2.525 billion board feet from ``green'' sales, and 1.275
billion board feet from salvage. The funding provided also includes a
$33.4 million increase over the administration's request for forest
health-related programs, including $21 million to reduce the severe
potential for catastrophic fire on our national forest lands. Through
language in the bill and report, the committee has taken steps to
eliminate needless duplicate planning processes, and to increase Forest
Service accountability for land management planning and implementation
of the Columbia Basin ecosystem assessment and other ecoregion
assessments.
Within the area of programs for Native Americans, the bill provides
$2.1 billion for the Indian Health Service. This funding level is $72.7
million over the fiscal year 1997 level and 4.7 million over the
President's request. The committee's recommendation includes $35
million for uncontrollable fixed costs related largely to hospital and
clinic personnel, an increase of $15 million over the budget request.
This increase will allow the Indian health service to maintain current
levels of service.
As I already noted, it fully funds the President's request for tribal
priority allocations at $757.4 million, consistent with the budget
agreement. This represents an increase of $76.5 million over fiscal
year 1997 levels. Tribal priority allocations now make up 49 percent of
the bureau's operating budget.
Within those tribal priority allocations, approximately 30 percent is
distributed by formula based on tribes meeting criteria for the
following programs: The Indian Child Welfare Act, new tribes, Johnson
O'Malley education assistance, housing improvement, road maintenance,
contract support, and welfare assistance.
The committee has included report language directing the continued
allocation of these funds based on qualification with specific
criteria.
The committee has also included language in section 118 of the bill
that directs the Bureau of Indian affairs to develop and present to the
Congress by January 1, 1998, its recommendations for the allocation of
the tribal priority allocations funding based on tribal economic wealth
and need. Currently, TPA funds are distributed to the tribes based on a
historical methodology dating to the 1930's when we had many fewer
recognized tribes and when circumstances were very much different for
both the tribes and the Federal budget. This old funding plan was
further corrupted in the 1960's through the 1980's when the base TPA
funds for certain tribes were increased significantly. This provision
and a revised version that will be offered as an amendment will be the
subject of extensive debate during the consideration of the bill unless
agreement on the provision can be reached, an agreement which now seems
to be within the range of possibility.
It is, however, based on the very simple premise in an area of severe
fiscal constraints, the distribution of scarce funds for tribal
governments should be based upon an objective assessment of relative
need, not the political power of individual tribes or the arbitrary
accumulation of individual funding decisions over past years.
The committee has included language in section 120 of the bill
pursuant to which tribes that receive tribal priority allocation
funding for this fiscal year must waive a claim of immunity, be subject
to the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts, and grant original jurisdiction
of all civil actions involving the tribe to U.S. district courts. This
provision will also be the subject of extensive and sometimes complex
debate during the consideration of the bill. At its core, section 120
is an attempt to preserve the right of all Americans to have their
grievances heard and decided in neutral courts.
The Interior bill continues the Federal investment in key energy
research and development programs. Fossil energy research and
development is funded at $363.9 million, comparable to the fiscal year
1997 enacted level. Increases above the budget request are provided to
sustain critical technology development programs intended to produce
environmental benefits while improving energy efficiency.
Mr. President, $627.4 million is provided for energy conservation
programs, an increase of $58 million over the fiscal year 1997 level.
Increases over current year levels include $17 million for
transportation programs, $20 million for building research and
development, and $16 million for industry programs. The bill provides
$129 million for the weatherization program and $31.1 million for the
State grant program, respective increases of $8 million and $2.1
million over current year levels.
The bill does include a sale of $207.5 million worth of oil from the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve to finance operation of that reserve.
Though I had hoped not to sell oil to finance reserve operations in
fiscal year 1998, the constraints of the subcommittee's 602(b)
allocation, the precedent set in the President's budget request, and
the funding expectations raised by House action made it impossible to
avoid the sale. While I remain open to alternatives to oil sales, it is
with the recognition that any such alternative will likely have an
adverse impact on other programs funded in this bill.
Within the grouping of programs that I have identified as cultural
lies the one agency that probably receives more attention per
appropriated dollar than any other funded in this bill--the National
Endowments for the Arts. The bill reported by the committee provides
just over $100 million for the NEA, roughly the same as the fiscal year
1997 level. The fact that the committee has chosen to fund the NEA,
which the House did not do, reflects the overwhelming support that the
agency enjoys among committee members, both Republican and Democrat.
Nevertheless, I anticipate a spirited debate about the future of the
agency as we proceed with consideration of this bill, and when we go to
conference with the House.
Mr. President, putting this legislation together has been a
tremendous challenge. While the fiscal constraints under which the
subcommittee must operate make it impossible to please everyone, I do
believe this bill represents a fair balance between the priorities of
the Members of this body--both Republican and Democrat--and the
priorities of the administration. I truly hope to have the support of
my colleagues in voting for final passage, as well as their
consideration on any amendments that may be offered during debate on
the bill.
Finally, I want to express my gratitude to the staff for their hard
work on this bill. Bruce Evans, Ginny James, Anne McInerney, Martin
Delgado, and Kevin Johnson of the subcommittee staff have worked many
long hours to put this bill together, and I have greatly appreciated
their advice, counsel, and perseverance. Hank Kashdan--our
[[Page S9187]]
detailee from the Forest Service--has also been a great help, and we
will be sorry to see him go at the end of the year. I also want to
thank Chuck Berwick and Nina Nguyen of my personal staff for all their
help on a number of critical issues in this bill. On Senator Byrd's
staff, it has been a continued pleasure to work with Sue Masica,
without whose expertise and institutional knowledge this bill would
have been a lesser product. I also want to thank Carole Geagley of
Senator Byrd's staff, as well as Lisa Mendelson who worked with Senator
Byrd's staff as a detailee from the Park Service. I would be remiss in
not extending my thanks to the full committee staff for their help,
cooperation, and guidance, particularly the majority and minority staff
directors, Steve Cortese and Jim English.
With that, I will defer to Senator Byrd. Before doing that, I want to
say publicly once again how much I have learned, working as
subcommittee chairman, from his vast experience, his guidance and,
perhaps even more significant, in the last few years his personal
friendship. His technical knowledge of the appropriations process, his
appreciation for its nuances, and his respect for the entire Senate
have been invaluable to me both in producing the bill and, I hope, in
becoming a better Senator. At the same time, his advocacy on behalf of
his colleagues has been invaluable to many on that side of the aisle
and, I think I can say, to this side of the aisle as well. It has been
a wonderful partnership. I hope we can continue it for a long time to
come.
Privilege of the Floor
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the privilege
of the floor be granted to Dr. Robert M. Simon, on detail from the
Department of Energy to my staff, during the pendency of H.R. 2107.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from West Virginia is recognized.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I speak today in support of the fiscal year
1998 Interior and related agencies appropriations bill. This is a bill
that is very important to the continued protection and management of
our Nation's natural resources, to our energy future, to the well-being
of our Indian population, and to the cultural and historical heritage
of our country. I hope the Senate will move quickly in its
consideration of this bill. If there are amendments--and I am sure
there will be some--I encourage Senators to come to the floor and let
us have the debate and then vote on those matters that are
controversial. The start of the fiscal year is less than 3 weeks away,
and we still face a difficult conference with the House.
It has been my high privilege to serve as the ranking member at the
side of our very able chairman, the senior Senator from Washington [Mr.
Gorton]. He is an absolute master of the details of the Interior bill.
He is a student, and a good one, of much of the history that we protect
in this bill, and he is a very fair arbiter of the competing demands
that fall within the subcommittee's jurisdiction. This bill was put
together in a very bipartisan manner, and it is responsive to
priorities identified by many Senators, by the administration, by the
public, and by the agencies that are charged with carrying out the
directions provided in the bill.
Mr. President, the reach of the programs in the Interior bill is
vast, and not much of the funding provided in this bill is spent here
in Washington. Rather, the dollars that we are considering today will
flow out to more than 370 national park units, over 500 national
wildlife refuges, 121 national forests, more than 435 Indian hospitals
and clinics, 16 different museums of the Smithsonian Institution, and
to countless other locations where the research and technology
development supported by this bill occurs.
So these funds will reach from the northernmost point in Alaska to
the southernmost tip of Florida and from the Outer Banks of North
Carolina to the islands in the western Pacific.
The extent to which this bill makes its presence known in each State
is reflected in the number of requests that Senator Gorton and I
receive for project funding each year. While no one receives every item
he or she requests, I believe that Senator Gorton has done an excellent
job of trying to accommodate high-priority items within the allocation
assigned to this subcommittee. This bill contains approximately $13
billion in funding for the base programs, as well as an additional $700
million for priority land acquisitions and exchanges. This bill is at
its allocation figure, so any additional funding sought by Senators
will need to be offset.
Senator Gorton has summarized in a very detailed and clear way the
items and the details of the bill thoroughly. So I will not attempt to
cover them again.
While this bill provides needed resources to address protection of
some of our most important national treasures, we still have a long way
to go. The National Park Service has a $6 billion maintenance and
rehabilitation backlog. The Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Smithsonian, and other
agencies also have considerable backlogs. Continued pressures to
balance the budget on the back of discretionary spending will further
impede our efforts to provide the resources necessary to protect the
wonders with which we have been entrusted.
For all of the pride that we take in our National Park System, it is
also crumbling before us. Visitors flock to these national treasures
every year--not only American visitors and their families, but
increasingly, visitors from other countries. They come to partake of
the historic, the cultural, and the scenic resources that have been so
carefully preserved and entrusted to the National Park Service.
Mr. President, as a reflection of our infrastructure and restoration
projects, this bill takes into account the needs. And as a reflection
of the patriotism and commitment to future generations, we should be
doing more to preserve and to protect these wondrous resources.
Innovative fee structures, enhanced partnership efforts, and expanded
use of volunteers--all of which are supported by this bill--are not the
sole solution to the needs of our national parks. Rather, we must
commit funds to allow major infrastructure and restoration projects to
proceed. When the house is crumbling, we must tend to the foundations
and not just make minor cosmetic repairs.
Lastly, Mr. President, I extend a word of appreciation to the staff
that have assisted the chairman and me in our work on this bill. They
work as a team, and they serve both of us, as well as the full Senate,
in a very effective and dedicated manner. They have taken years to
acquire this expertise, and it is a vast benefit to Senators and to the
people who research. On the majority side, the staff members, I
believe, have already been mentioned by the distinguished chairman of
the subcommittee, as well as on my side of the aisle, which he kindly
referred to. This team works under the tutelage of the staff directors
of the full committee--Steve Cortese for the majority and Jim English
for the minority.
This is a good bill, Mr. President, and I urge the Senate to complete
its action promptly.
Mr. BOND addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri is recognized.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank the managers of the bill,
particularly my good friend from Washington.
I have good news that an amendment that I had proposed to offer I
will not have to offer on this bill.
On behalf of the people of Seneca, MO, and really people all across
southwest Missouri, I, along with my colleagues Senator Ashcroft and
Congressman Roy Blunt, have been fighting against an effort by an
Oklahoma Indian tribe, the Eastern Shawnee, to move into southwest
Missouri and establish a gambling casino in Seneca.
In truth, it is a New Jersey gaming operation that is behind this
operation. They have claimed that they provided $25 million to the
tribe because they felt that a gambling casino in the heart of the
family entertainment vacation area of southwest Missouri would be
extremely profitable for the corporation and its shareholders.
Over the last several months, I have presented to the Secretary of
the Interior what I thought were good legal arguments that the tribe is
not entitled to use an exception in the statute that would permit them
automatically to move across the border from Oklahoma into Missouri.
[[Page S9188]]
The people of southwest Missouri finally have some good news. Last
night Secretary Babbitt called me to say that the tribe cannot
automatically move across the border and build a casino in Missouri.
This means that other tribes with land bordering on our State will not
be able to come in. They would have to go through the process of
getting approval of the Governor and support of the local residents.
I think this is a huge victory for the overwhelming majority of local
residents who are concerned that gambling would destroy the family
environment and the quality of life for which southwest Missouri is so
well known.
I assure my constituents and my colleagues that I intend to continue
to fight to ensure that the entire State is protected from the invasion
of unwanted gambling. I assure those people who are behind the efforts,
the gambling interests, if they find or think they find another
loophole, I will do my best to close it. So, Mr. President, more
authorizing legislation may well be needed in this.
I express my thanks to the Secretary of the Interior, who has advised
me orally, although I have not seen the written opinion, that the tribe
does not qualify for the exception, and under the circumstances that
avenue is no longer open to bring a gambling casino into Seneca, MO.
Mr. President, I thank the Chair and yield the floor.
Mr. MURKOWSKI addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska is recognized.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I thank the Chair.
Mr. President, later during the Senate's consideration of this bill,
the Interior appropriations bill, there will be, it is my
understanding, a rider offered by Senator Bryan of Nevada. That rider
would reduce the Forest Service road construction by $10 million,
roughly 20 percent. It would eliminate the Forest Service's Purchaser
Credit Road Construction Program and modify the formula for receipt-
sharing for Forest Service receipts with the counties.
Mr. President, at the appropriate time, I intend to rise in
opposition to the amendment and vote against it. I encourage my
colleagues to do likewise. But I wanted to share a brief perspective
with my colleagues from the standpoint of the chairman of the
authorizing committee with jurisdiction over these matters.
The Bryan amendment will follow hard on the heels of a similar
amendment which was offered in the House by Congressman Kennedy and
Congressman Porter in July. That amendment precipitated, as a
consequence, a very intense debate in which numerous sets of facts were
presented to the House and some statements were made that were not
necessarily factual.
Not surprisingly, the material that was brought into the debate, to a
large degree, was in conflict. I have often believed that everyone is
entitled to their own opinion, but that we ought to try to express our
opinions using a commonly held set of facts. Oftentimes in this Chamber
rhetoric will prevail over sound science simply because of the
inability of the scientists to be heard and the scientists' willingness
to stand behind their recommendations with their professional
reputations.
Mr. President, both the Speaker and my House counterpart, the
Congressman for Alaska, Congressman Young, as chairman of the House
Resources Committee, agree with this proposition. As a consequence,
today Congressman Young has sent me a letter, which I ask unanimous
consent be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
House of Representatives,
Committee on Resources,
Washington, DC, September 10, 1997.
Hon. Frank Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: During House consideration of the
Interior Appropriations bill, the Kennedy-Porter amendment
was offered to reduce the Forest Service timber roads
program.
As you know, the reduction proposed in these amendments
would devastate communities that rely on public land timber.
It would gravely affect constituents in the West who work in
the woods and the mills that supply the nation with wood for
homes and other essential products. The implications to
schools and children who depend on revenue sharing from
timber receipts would also be substantial.
In speaking to many of the supporters of the Kennedy-Porter
amendment to reduce funding for timber roads, they have
explained that they supported the amendment in order to
reduce costs and improve the environment. We too have real
concerns with the skyrocketing cost of roads and timber
sales. We have concluded that our goals may in fact be
consistent. We believe that using collaboration and facts to
address the problems that face the Forest Service we can
reach a mutually beneficial solution.
We have offered to work cooperatively with interested House
Members who hold different perspectives of forestry issues.
We plan to do this in an inclusive way to properly address
the real problems with these programs. This approach may be
of interest to Senators grappling with the same problems that
we grappled with in the House. To begin this process, we are
planning an all day workshop involving as many interested
Members of Congress as possible. If you wish to organize a
group of Senators with an interest in this approach to the
roads and cost issue, we invite you to do so and participate
with us.
Sincerely,
Don Young.
Helen Chenoweth.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. At the end of the House debate, many of the parties in
opposition to one another found they simply shared a common goal. So
after an extended debate, they came together and found what they could
agree upon. They cared a great deal about the skyrocketing costs of the
Forest Service program, without exception. They agreed then that
collaboration and common understanding was necessary to address the
problems in a way that would most likely achieve a mutual beneficial
solution and it would be better to do that than simply replay the
debate.
I think that is where we are today, Mr. President. We do not want to
replay that debate that unfolded in the House and perhaps would unfold
in this body.
So Congressman Young has taken the lead from the Speaker of the House
of Representatives to work with the conflict resolution center at
George Mason University to schedule an all-day workshop with interested
Congressmen to review these issues and find where some common ground
and consensus could be found. And this is the issue in mind, the Forest
Service's Purchaser Credit Road Construction Program.
Congressman Young is inviting me and other interested Senators to the
workshop. I will support the House effort and urge Members here to do
likewise.
I do not believe that we can make sound public policy decisions when
we disagree on basic facts associated with the issues that come to the
Senate floor. This particular issue is ripe for that kind of exposure.
So I will leave it to my colleagues later in the debate to come to
their own judgment. We voted on this issue time and time again. It
prevailed. But I believe the search for consensus, which has been
initiated in the House, is something the Senate should adopt. I urge
the consideration of my colleagues.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Grams). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I rise today to describe to my colleagues
an amendment that it is my intention to offer on this appropriations
bill. I intend to offer an amendment on behalf of myself, and Senator
Johnson, from the State of South Dakota, who will be speaking on it
when I finish. We are joined in this endeavor by a fairly large number
of Senators: Senators Campbell, Daschle, Domenici, Inouye, Burns,
Conrad, Bingaman, Kohl, Wellstone, McCain, Harkin, Murray, and Levin--a
very distinguished and significant bipartisan group of Senators--and,
as I mentioned previously, by Senator Johnson of South Dakota who has
worked very closely with me on this amendment.
The amendment deals with tribal colleges. Before I describe the
amendment I would like to make a comment about this subcommittee.
[[Page S9189]]
I am privileged to serve on the Senate Appropriations Committee. I
consider it a distinct privilege to work with the Appropriations
Committee, with the distinguished chairman, Senator Stevens of Alaska,
and the distinguished ranking member and former chairman, Senator Byrd
of West Virginia. I also serve on the Interior subcommittee. It has
been a pleasure to work with the Senator from Washington, Senator
Gorton, whose leadership has been excellent. Although he is not at the
present moment on the floor, I want him to know that the chart he
brings to the floor to describe the breakdown of expenditures for this
particular subcommittee is unique, and particularly useful. It is the
only chart of its type that I know of that has been presented to
Members, and it, more than almost any other approach, really gives us a
good description of where we are spending the money in this
subcommittee, how much we are spending, and the purpose of that
spending.
So I say ``thank you'' to Senator Gorton, and to the ranking member
of this subcommittee, Senator Byrd from West Virginia as well, for
their leadership.
I would like to thank Bruce Evans, Anne McInerney, and Sue Masica,
the staff on this subcommittee who have been very helpful in working
with me on a wide range of issues.
The purpose of my offering an amendment today is to increase the
funding for tribal colleges. And I want to describe why I think that is
necessary.
Funding for tribally controlled colleges has not increased for 3
years. The President's budget requested $30,411,000 for these
colleges--a $3 million increase over the last fiscal year. Both the
House and the Senate bills have provided for a $1 million increase. And
I would like to add the extra $2 million to bring funding up to the
President's request in his budget recommendation. With the adoption of
this amendment, the Senate will be at the budget request level. And
that is still only half of the authorized level. Nonetheless, I think
it is a very important step forward. This amendment will be offset by a
pro rata reduction in travel for all agencies covered by this bill
whose budgets exceed $20 million.
I can think of no more worthwhile investment in the future of native
Americans than to invest in their education, particularly at the
postsecondary level. All of us know that education is the key to
success. We have 24 tribally controlled community colleges in this
country that will be covered by this amendment. These colleges now
serve more than 20,000 students.
There are five tribal colleges in North Dakota. And I have been
pleased to play a role in trying to help them, all of which I have
visited personally. I must say that they have made a significant
difference in the lives of many, many students. These colleges have
been successful in educating native American students by preserving the
cultural environment in which these students are familiar while still
providing them with the skills to be competitive in the society at
large. I am proud of what they have accomplished. I think the extra $2
million will be very, very helpful. Unfortunately, tribal college
appropriations have failed to keep pace with inflation, and actual per
student funding has decreased by $317 while the student enrollment has
increased by more than 230 percent over the last decade.
Mr. President, I would like just for a moment to describe a couple of
people that I have either been privileged to meet or have heard about,
who have demonstrated to me the importance of tribal colleges.
I was invited to speak at a tribal college commencement in North
Dakota a few years ago. As they lined up in cap and gown, enormously
proud of their achievement on their graduation day, I felt pride as
well. I was visiting with several from the class, just kibitzing back
and forth, and I asked, ``Who is the oldest of this graduating class?''
A woman raised her hand. She said, ``I am the oldest.'' She was, I
believe, 41 years old. She was a single mother of four children, whose
husband had left her. She had been employed as the janitor in that
school at the tribal college cleaning the hallways, cleaning the
lavatories, working long hours, and working hard to try to care for her
children. As she was cleaning the lavatories and the hallways in this
tribal college, she got a notion that she would very much like to
graduate from this college.
So from the position of custodian or janitor at a tribal college, on
this day when I was to speak at the graduation, she was wearing a cap
and a gown, and at age 41 was getting a college degree. She had a smile
so wide and such pride in her eyes because of what she had achieved for
herself that no one will ever take away. It was, I think, Ben Franklin
who suggested that if we empty our purse in our head, no one will ever
been able to take it from us. And she knew that. But think of the odds
to overcome--a single mother, raising four children, few skills,
without much pay coming from the employment she then had. But on this
day, she was a college graduate. I have never forgotten that smile. It
was a remarkable achievement for her. But you will find that similar
stories at all these tribal colleges. It changes people's lives.
I want to tell you about a friend of mine named Loretta De Long, a
North Dakotan. I am privileged to know Loretta. She was a single
Chippewa mother of two. She was wondering about her life and her
future. And tribal colleges were established just about the time that
she realized the key to her future could be a higher education.
After getting her high school diploma in a GED Program, this mother
of two young children, the youngest of which was 6 weeks at the time,
enrolled in one of the tribal colleges in North Dakota and that allowed
for her to stay near her family and care for her children while she
pursued her education. She said that ``going to college was like
looking in the mirror and seeing myself for the first time that college
seemed to tap a leadership quality that had been squashed by the
outside world.''
Well, today Loretta De Long is Dr. De Long, Dr. Loretta De Long. The
same woman, yes. She is also the Superintendent of Education for the
Turtle Mountain Agency of the Turtle Mountain Tribe in North Dakota--
another example of one person, but a success as a result of tribal
colleges.
I don't know Myra Lefthand, but Myra Lefthand is a Montanan, and she
is a Crow Indian from Montana. She and her daughter lived on clerk's
pay and after 15 years in the same position on clerk's pay, not doing
very well, she felt there were many positions that she saw in and
around her job situation that she would like to have had but was never
able to apply for them because she didn't have the education.
Here is what she said. She entered a tribal college to get an
education. She said:
For me, it meant a commitment to a goal. When I quit my
job, I left behind what little security I had for myself and
my daughter and I could no longer expect a paycheck, no
matter how small. But while I was at the Little Bighorn
College, I was encouraged daily in my pursuit of an associate
degree in chemical dependency counseling by the dean of
students, Punkie Anne Bollis, and by my sister, Clarice Deny.
Between the two of them, a lot of hitchhiking, a lot of
scrimping to make small savings go a long way, and the
generosity of a sister who brought daily lunches to me, I was
able to persist and to graduate from the Little Bighorn
Tribal College with an AA degree.
To all potential tribal college students, I say that going
to get a professional degree is possible. With a little
effort, hard study, support, prayers of family members, some
financial aid, and the encouragement of some good teachers,
an associate degree can be earned.
The reason I mention today Myra, Dr. De Long, or Wilma, the first
woman I described, is that these are people whose lives have been
changed by the ability to go to a tribal college, the ability to, on an
Indian reservation, have the support of family and have the other
support that is available and still enter college and get a degree and
change their lives.
Now, what I am suggesting by this amendment is that we provide the
additional $2 million which will bring the request up to the
President's budget request. It is not a large amount of money by some
Appropriations Committee standards, but it is an important amount of
money that will I think invest in and benefit the lives of many
Americans who now attend these tribal colleges, the enrollments of
which are growing very rapidly but student funding has not kept pace.
My intention would be to have this amendment offered. I will offer it
or it
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can be offered on my behalf at the appropriate time after the committee
amendments have been offered and I would like to work with the
committee chair and the ranking member to see if we can find a way to
adopt this amendment.
The chairman of the subcommittee is here now. He was not here when I
described the compliments I have for the chart that he provided the
Senate. He does that every year, and it is the only one I know that
exists with these subcommittees. It is an awfully good way to describe
to the Congress what we are spending and where we are spending it, and
I want to say thanks for the Senator's excellent leadership, and thanks
to the Senator from West Virginia for his leadership as well.
I know the Senator from South Dakota wishes to speak on this
amendment, and I thank him very much for his strong work and support. I
hope as we move along this amendment can be offered and hopefully we
can agree to it.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Mr. JOHNSON addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota.
Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I am pleased to join in the amendment of
the Senator from North Dakota soon to be offered. I join Senator Dorgan
in commending Chairman Stevens for his work, certainly the Senator from
West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, for his extraordinary leadership over the
years on issues of this nature, and I look forward to working with the
subcommittee chairman, Senator Gorton, to see what we can do to move
this kind of amendment along.
Mr. President, I represent a State, the State of South Dakota, where
we have nine Indian reservations, and where levels of poverty are
extraordinary. I have worked very hard over the years both in the House
of Representatives prior to my service in the Senate and now in the
Senate on a wide range of initiatives designed to try to improve the
circumstances of the native American citizens of our Nation, and of our
State--water development initiatives and efforts on housing and health
care and infrastructure improvements. I think all of them are
important.
I have come to the conclusion after years of struggling and facing
what sometimes appeared to me to be almost overwhelming circumstances
of poverty, isolation, and difficulty, that if there is one area that
deserves particular emphasis it needs to be education, and in this
instance higher education for native American citizens of our country.
There was a time when I was, frankly, a bit skeptical, there was a
time when I thought that perhaps we could just better utilize the
existing State and other private institutions of higher education
throughout our States. And we have made some successful efforts there
in our Upward Bound Programs and others that have been of some help.
But, frankly, the dropout rate and the lack of success was very high
over the years. Now we have 25 tribal colleges serving between 20,000
to 25,000 native American students in 11 States around the country. We
have four of them in the State of South Dakota, all of them accredited,
all of them providing high-quality educational opportunities not just
for native American students but for many non-Indian students as well
who live in those extremely rural areas and who need to have this kind
of access to educational opportunity.
We find that 56 percent of the American Indian population in our
Nation is age 24 or younger. There is, demographically, a huge number
of people of college age and younger; 90 percent of tribal college
students qualify for need-based financial aid; 85 percent live in
poverty; more than 50 percent are parents; 70 percent of these young
people attending tribal colleges are female.
As I examine what has transpired over these years that we have
developed a tribal college system, I see for the first time a whole
generation of native Americans who are becoming teachers and nurses and
managers and entrepreneurs; who are becoming role models in their
communities where none before ever existed in terms of making their way
in the larger economic system of our country. We have so many people
who have lived all of their lives without an economic opportunity,
without jobs being available, without anyone in their family having had
the opportunity to work, who have not had the skills to make it in the
larger economy of our Nation, and yet now finally we are seeing this
forward edge of progress being made among native Americans. It is, more
than anything else, because of this opportunity to secure the job
skills, the training, the education, the brainpower that is required to
succeed in America, that is required to succeed in the global economy
in which we live today.
These colleges have made their way with very modest resources. In
fact, even with the President's recommendation, we will spend only
about half the dollars per student as is authorized under Federal law
and far less than half of what other community colleges and other 4-
year colleges in America use to educate each student. It is amazing
that they have done as well as they have, that they have kept their
accreditation, that they have kept the torch of hope alive for so many
people and yet they have done it with far less per student than any
other college in America.
The $2 million request that Senator Dorgan has put into his amendment
will be divided among 25 colleges, and yet they have gone so far on so
little that even this will be a very significant help for them, given
the fact that they have now gone 3 years in a row without any upward
adjustment in their funding at all, and despite the fact that
enrollment numbers have increased significantly, that this really has
become the steppingstone for success and is recognized as such in tribe
after tribe throughout our country.
Mr. GORTON. Will the Senator from South Dakota yield?
Mr. JOHNSON. I will be pleased to yield to the Senator.
Mr. GORTON. On behalf of the majority leader, I am authorized to
announce there will be no further rollcall votes today.
I thank the Senator.
Mr. JOHNSON. I thank the Senator. That is always a well received kind
of announcement from the subcommittee chairman.
We find that our tribal colleges are unmatched in retention, in
matriculation and job placement of American Indian students; 42 percent
of these tribal college students transfer to 4-year institutions.
As we undertake the welfare reform initiatives at the Federal level
and which the States are carrying through, it is all the more reason we
need this opportunity, this steppingstone for people to develop the
skills to in fact break out of what has been a relentless, an
overwhelming cycle of poverty that so many native Americans have been
caught up in. But again, it is not just native Americans who benefit
from this.
I think of an instance of Wilma Sachtjen of Burke, SD, a displaced
homemaker with a high school diploma. Wilma enrolled in the Sinte
Gleska College in Rosebud, SD. A non-Indian, she was able to secure an
education because of this program when no other opportunity could
possibly have existed for her. She secured a bachelor's degree in human
srvices. She has been employed in that field ever since. And so we have
not just native Americans but the entire population of our States at
many of these colleges, in most cases in remote areas, gaining
opportunity.
The four colleges in South Dakota: the Cheyenne River Community
College at Eagle Butte; the Oglala Lakota College at Kyle; the Sinte
Gleska University at Rosebud, and Sisseton Wahpeton Community College
at Sisseton, have all provided key educational opportunities for the
population of our State. Many of our students also attend Sitting Bull
College at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota and many
attend the United Tribes Technical College in Bismark as well.
So these colleges serve regional populations and not simply the
tribal membership of their own reservations. So I cannot share with you
in stronger terms the importance of continuing these colleges with
adequate funding--certainly not extraordinary funding but adequate
funding--to make sure that the ladder of opportunity remains in place.
This is a newfound opportunity, a newfound ladder, really, that has
only been with us for a relatively recent number of years. But I think
it
[[Page S9191]]
is one of the most vital components we could possibly imagine to have
if in fact we are going to break the cycle of poverty, create greater
self-sufficiency, greater dignity, greater pride and greater
opportunity for native American students.
I simply say, Mr. President, I cannot commend in stronger terms to my
colleagues the importance of the passage of the Dorgan amendment and a
continuation of a strong tribal college system in America.
Mr. DORGAN. Will the Senator from South Dakota yield for a question?
Mr. JOHNSON. I certainly yield to my colleague from North Dakota.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, many people ask the question--if you have
other colleges elsewhere in the country, why is there a need for tribal
colleges? The answer to that, very simply, is that a substantial number
of women are attending these colleges, especially women who are living
in poverty, many of them well above the 18- or 20-year-old age when
people are moving into college. And because tribal college students are
older and female--often single mothers in their late twenties or
thirties--the ability to go to a tribal college on the reservation
itself allows them to access the support of families for child care.
That support is often the difference between going to college and not
going to college; being able to have an opportunity for a higher degree
or not being able to have the opportunity. It is in evidence all across
this country that these tribal colleges work, whereas in other
circumstances those same people, who are now proud graduates, would
probably not have had the opportunity to go on for an advanced
education.
I appreciate very much the Senator's yielding. I would like to make
one additional comment if I might, if the Senator will indulge me.
When I mentioned the thank you for so many staffers who worked with
us on this amendment, I did not mention Mary Hawkins, who works with me
on appropriations issues. Mary is going to be leaving the Hill at the
end of this year. She has worked for a long while and does wonderful
work. I am blessed having her work with me on appropriations issues,
and I wanted to say thank you to her as well.
Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, reclaiming my time, I share the Senator's
congratulations to Mary and the staff in general who have worked very
hard on these and other key issues.
I think the Senator from North Dakota raises an important point
relative to the unique importance of these institutions, given the
kinds of circumstances that the students face where there is a great
need for extended family, where transportation is difficult to secure,
where the extended family is necessary to make education--oftentimes
far more than 4 years, oftentimes 5 and 6 and 7 years--for
nontraditional students to become a reality. Were it not for these
institutions, there simply would not be this level of educational
achievement, there would not be these role models being created, there
would not be this kind of leadership created in Indian country today.
So, again, I have to thank the Senator for his leadership and insights
on this issue, and I yield my time.
Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, tribal colleges play a crucial role in
Indian country. An educated population is central to all successful
economic and community development efforts. Tribal colleges serve young
people preparing to enter the job market for the first time, dislocated
workers learning new skills, and people seeking to move off welfare and
onto a career path. These schools are at the heart of efforts to
strengthen native American communities.
Tribal colleges serve more than 25,000 students nationwide. While
meeting with tribal college students from North Dakota earlier this
year, they told me how important it was for them to be able to attend
schools near their homes, and how they planned to search for employment
in their communities after graduation. Tribal colleges also strengthen
Indian communities by increasing access to cultural resources, and by
promoting the revitalization and preservation of American Indian and
Alaska Native languages, visual and performance arts, and tribal
history.
Last October, President Clinton signed an Executive order regarding
tribal colleges and universities, designed to ensure that they have
Federal resources committed to them on a continuing basis. This
Executive order demonstrates a recognition of the central mission of
tribal colleges and universities: making educational opportunities
accessible to people of all ages in Indian country. To this end, it is
important that we increase the Federal resources available to the
tribal colleges. I am a cosponsor of the Dorgan amendment to increase
the fiscal year 1998 appropriation for tribal colleges by $2 million,
to the level of the administration's request, and I strongly urge its
adoption.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Privilege of the Floor
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the privilege
of the floor be granted for the duration of the Interior bill to Angela
Logomasini of Senator Brownback's staff.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I have a series of clarifications of the
committee report that have been agreed to by Senator Byrd. I ask
unanimous consent that they be printed in the Record, and I submit them
for the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Clarifications to Committee Report
Page 23 of the report indicates that funding for the
aquatic nuisance species control program under the Fish and
Wildlife Service is increased by $500,000 over the current
year level. The actual increase provided is $1,000,000.
On page 119 of the report, the Bureau of Land Management is
incorrectly listed as an unauthorized program pursuant to
paragraph 7 of Rule XVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
BLM was reauthorized through fiscal year 2002 in the 1996
omnibus parks bill.
The last paragraph on page 9 of the report addresses
procedures that the Forest Service must follow in order to
change its regional office structure. That paragraph should
have included a requirement for the Forest Service to obtain
consent from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee.
On page 54, in the description of special programs and
pooled overhead, the total is $72,726,000. The changes from
the FY 1997 enacted level consist of the following:
an increase of $341,000 for fixed costs ($42,000 for fixed
costs for UTTC are reflected as part of their total);
an increase of $2,000,000 for employee displacement;
an increase of $728,000 for UTTC, which includes $42,000
for fixed costs;
a decrease of $1,569,000 for trust services transferred to
the office of special trustee;
a decrease of $2,801,000 for internal transfers; and
a decrease of $46,000 for other fixed costs (consisting of
a decrease of $417,000 for workers compensation and an
increase of $371,000 for unemployment compensation).
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I do want to respond to the thoughtful
suggestions of the Senators from North Dakota and South Dakota while
each of them is still on the floor.
I reflected, as they discussed the value of higher education, in this
case to Indians, on the force of their argument. It certainly is
possible that on some other elements of this bill relating to Indians
that we may have some disagreements. But, certainly, if we speak about
either a doctrine of self-determination or self-sufficiency, education
makes a major contribution to the ability of an individual either to be
self-determining or self-sufficient. To the extent that we can
encourage education, greater sophistication and greater knowledge,
obviously we ought to do so.
In this bill we have added $1 million to approximately a $27 million
appropriation last year for the particular purpose to which they speak.
That is $2 million less than the President's request, where the total
allocation we have is some $46 million less than the President's
request. We have, however, given almost a $700,000 increase to the
United Tribes Technical College in the State of the Senator from North
Dakota, which the President did not include in his budget, based
essentially on the same philosophy that has been stated here by the two
of them.
I can assure both Senators that we will see whether or not in some
respect or another we can accommodate what seems to be a reasonable
request, understanding that we have a lot of reasonable requests in a
lot of areas of the bill. Also, I have to state that one reservation I
have is to the sort of let's
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just cut everything else proportionately without setting values. We
worked as hard as we could on these matters, the others of which
applied to all citizens of the United States. The degree of deferred
maintenance in our national parks and national forests and other
recreational facilities is literally measured in the billions of
dollars. We tried to at least begin to work on that.
So, if, perhaps, the focus of where we find the $2 million could be
more narrowly aimed, if they could discuss with their own constituents
whether there are other Indian programs that could absorb such a shift,
or some other thing of that sort, it will make it easier for us.
But I do want to assure both of them that I have heard what they have
to say. With their philosophy about education, I entirely agree. And to
the extent, in a bill where, as I said in my opening remarks, we had
1,800 requests from Members of the Senate, very few of which this
Senator thinks in the abstract were not justified, by any means, I will
try to the best of my ability to oblige. I am sure I speak for Senator
Byrd when I make that statement.
Mr. DORGAN. Will the Senator yield just for a comment?
Mr. GORTON. Certainly.
Mr. DORGAN. Because the Senator mentioned United Tribes Technical
College, I wanted to say how much I appreciate what the subcommittee
did in that area. That is a unique institution which has been very
successful and has not had a funding increase for a long, long while.
Just last Saturday I was at the United Tribes Technical College, where
they had one of the largest Indian powwows in this country. It is a
wonderful cultural celebration, about as colorful and beautiful a
celebration as you will see anywhere in the country. I can tell you the
people at United Tribes Technical College were enormously grateful for
what you have done in this appropriations bill for them. I think they
understand that the increase you have provided is a recognition of
excellence in education, an investment in human potential. They are
very grateful for it. Because you mentioned that, I wanted to say how
appreciative I was as well.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from North Dakota.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed as in
morning business for the next 10 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. REED. I thank the Chair.
(The remarks of Mr. Reed pertaining to the introduction of S. 1169
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills
and Joint Resolutions.'')
Mr. GORTON addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Amendment No. 1132
(Purpose: To amend title 31, United States Code, to address the failure
to appropriate sufficient funds to make full payments in lieu of taxes
under chapter 69 of that title by exempting certain users of White
Mountain National Forest from fees imposed in connection with the use)
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask
unanimous consent that it be in order to be considered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report the amendment.
The bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Washington [Mr. GORTON], for Mr. Gregg,
proposes an amendment numbered 1132.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
On page 126, line 16 insert after ``government'' the
following: ``that lies in whole or in part within the White
Mountain National Forest and is''
On page 126, line 19, strike ``recreational user fee'' and
insert in lieu thereof. ``Demonstration Program Fee (parking
permit or passport)''
On page 126, line 21-22, strike ``White Mountain National''
and ``that lies, in whole or in part, within those
boundaries.''
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, this is an agreed-to amendment between
Senator Byrd and myself that is presented on behalf of the Senator from
New Hampshire, Mr. Gregg. He has a special provision relating to
certain uses of the White Mountain National Forest that are included in
the bill. Technical errors were made in connection with that amendment,
which added an unanticipated cost. These technical changes will cure
that defect.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
The amendment (No. 1132) was agreed to.
Mr. GORTON. I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. HOLLINGS. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. GORTON. I yield the floor, Mr. President.
Mr. President, I think I can announce I know of no further business
relating to the Interior bill that is likely to come before the Senate
this afternoon. But I do ask that any Senator who may wish to speak on
the subject or offer an amendment on the subject report his or her
intention to do so promptly.
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Abraham). The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. SANTORUM). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee
amendments be agreed to en bloc, with the following exceptions: page
46, line 15 through page 47, line 25; page 52, line 16 through page 54,
line 22; page 55, line 11 through page 56, line 2; page 96, line 12
through page 97, line 8; page 115, lines 1 through 22; page 123, line 9
through page 124, line 20; that the bill, as amended, be considered as
original text for the purpose of further amendment, and that no points
of order be waived by reason of this agreement.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee amendments were agreed to.
____________________