[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H10865-H10867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page H10865]]

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                        House of Representatives

MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS OF 1997

  Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1505) to make technical and conforming amendments to 
the Museum and Library Services Act, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1505

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Museum and Library Services 
     Technical and Conforming Amendments of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. APPOINTMENT OF EMPLOYEES.

       Section 206 of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 
     U.S.C. 9105 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
       ``(b) Appointment and Compensation of Technical and 
     Professional Employees.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Director 
     may appoint without regard to the provisions of title 5, 
     United States Code, governing the appointment in the 
     competitive service and may compensate without regard to the 
     provisions of chapter 51 or subchapter III of chapter 53 of 
     such title (relating to the classification and General 
     Schedule pay rates), such technical and professional 
     employees as the Director determines to be necessary to carry 
     out the duties of the Institute.
       ``(2) Number and compensation.--The number of employees 
     appointed and compensated under paragraph (1) shall not 
     exceed \1/5\ of the number of full-time regular or 
     professional employees of the Institute. The rate of basic 
     compensation for the employees appointed and compensated 
     under paragraph (1) may not exceed the rate prescribed for 
     level GS-15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of 
     title 5.''.

     SEC. 3. SPECIAL LIBRARIES.

       Section 213(2)(E) of the Museum and Library Services Act 
     (20 U.S.C. 9122(2)(E)) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``or other special library'' after ``a 
     private library''; and
       (2) by inserting ``or special'' after ``such private''.

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[[Page H10866]]

     SEC. 4. RESERVATIONS.

       Section 221(a)(1) of the Museum and Library Services Act 
     (20 U.S.C. 9131(a)(1)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``1\1/2\ percent'' and 
     inserting ``1.75 percent''; and
       (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``4 percent'' and 
     inserting ``3.75 percent''.

     SEC. 5. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.

       The second sentence of section 223(c)(1)(A)(i) of the 
     Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9133(c)(1)(A)(i)) 
     is amended to read as follows: ``The amount of the reduction 
     in the allotment for any fiscal year shall be equal to the 
     allotment multiplied by a fraction--

       ``(I) the numerator of which is the result obtained by 
     subtracting the level of such State expenditures for the 
     fiscal year for which the determination is made, from the 
     average of the total level of such State expenditures for the 
     3 fiscal years preceding the fiscal year for which the 
     determination is made; and
       ``(II) the denominator of which is the average of the total 
     level of such State expenditures for the 3 fiscal years 
     preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is 
     made.''.

     SEC. 6. SERVICE TO INDIAN TRIBES.

       Section 261 of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 
     U.S.C. 9161) is amended--
       (1) in the section heading, by striking ``INDIAN TRIBES'' 
     and inserting ``NATIVE AMERICANS''; and
       (2) by striking ``to organizations'' and all that follows 
     through ``such organizations'' and inserting ``to Indian 
     tribes and to organizations that primarily serve and 
     represent Native Hawaiians (as the term is defined in section 
     9212 of the Native Hawaiian Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7912) to 
     enable such tribes and organizations''.

     SEC. 7. NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRANTS OR CONTRACTS.

       Section 262 of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 
     U.S.C. 9162) is amended--
       (1) in the section heading, by striking ``NATIONAL 
     LEADERSHIP GRANTS OR CONTRACTS'' and inserting ``NATIONAL 
     LEADERSHIP GRANTS, CONTRACTS, OR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS'';
       (2) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``program awarding national leadership 
     grants or contracts'' and inserting ``program of awarding 
     grants or entering into contracts or cooperative 
     agreements''; and
       (B) by striking ``Such grants or contracts'' and inserting 
     ``Such grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements'';
       (3) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in the section heading, by striking ``(b) Grants or 
     Contracts'' and inserting ``(b) Grants, Contracts, or 
     Cooperative Agreements;'' and
       (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or cooperative 
     agreements,'' after ``contracts''; and
       (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Grants and contracts'' 
     and inserting ``Grants, contracts, and cooperative 
     agreements''.

     SEC. 8. CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR.

       Section 262(a)(3) of the Museum and Library Services Act 
     (20 U.S.C. 9162(a)(3)) is amended by striking ``preservation 
     of digitization'' and inserting ``preserving or 
     digitization''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Delaware [Mr. Castle] and the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Kildee] each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware [Mr. Castle].
  Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1505, the Museum and Library 
Services Technical and Conforming Amendments of 1997, and ask for their 
approval.
  The legislation before us today will make technical and conforming 
amendments to the Museum and Library Services Act in order to improve 
the ability of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to foster 
and expand our Nation's access to high quality museums and libraries. 
Specifically, S. 1505 will give the director of the IMLS the authority 
to waive certain civil service hiring and pay provisions to allow the 
institute more flexibility in hiring museum and library professionals 
to oversee the programs administered by the institute.
  The director needs this authority now in order to hire qualified 
deputy directors for the institute. However, this authority is not 
open-ended. This legislation specifically limits the director's ability 
to waive these hiring and pay provisions for not more than 20 percent 
of the institute's employees. In addition, the legislation as drafted 
limits the pay of these individuals to not more than the equivalent of 
a GS-15, currently $75,935 to $98,714.
  In addition, this legislation will allow special libraries to receive 
funding under the act if the State in which they are located deems them 
eligible. Special libraries are those owned by institutions such as 
hospitals or private corporations. It was never the intent of the 
authorizing legislation to exclude these libraries as eligible 
institutions, and this legislation simply clarifies that understanding.
  These amendments will also provide for a modest increase of one-
quarter of 1 percent of funds appropriated to serve native Americans, 
clarify that individual Indian tribes may receive library funds 
provided under the act, and clarify that organizations providing 
services to native Hawaiians qualify for funding as native Americans. 
To ensure that State library agencies do not receive any reduction in 
funding, the one-quarter of 1 percent increase in funding for native 
Americans is offset by a corresponding reduction in the amount 
available to the institute for national leadership grants.
  Finally, this legislation will clarify the State maintenance of 
effort provisions contained in the Museum and Library Services Act so 
that State reductions and library funding result in proportional 
reductions in Federal library funds to the State. This change is in 
keeping with the original agreements made when the act was negotiated, 
and it is needed because some are interpreting the current maintenance 
of effort provisions as requiring a dollar-for-dollar reduction rather 
than a straight proportional reduction.
  Madam Speaker, the Museum and Library Services Technical and 
Conforming Amendments of 1997 are needed now in order to improve the 
ability of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to foster 
quality museum and library programs for all Americans. This legislation 
is budget-neutral. It has already been passed in identical form in the 
other body. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  (Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues in urging adoption of this 
legislation. In the last Congress we enacted landmark legislation that 
created the Institute of Museum and Library Services. That legislation 
consolidated the museum programs under the old Institute of Museum 
Services and the library programs within the Department of Education 
into an expanded independent agency.
  The legislation before us is a series of technical amendments that 
officials at the institute believe important in order to clarify the 
provisions of the new law and to provide even more effective 
administration of our Federal museum and library services.
  Madam Speaker, we are fortunate indeed to have Ms. Diane Frankel as 
the director of our Institute of Museum and Library Services. She is an 
exceptionally strong and talented leader, and enactment of these 
amendments will most certainly enable her and her able staff to build 
upon the superb record they have compiled at this small but very 
important agency.
  Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, before I yield back, I would just like to 
make a couple of comments, and I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  First, I would like to thank and congratulate the gentleman from 
Michigan [Mr. Kildee], who has been a wonderful individual to work with 
on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. He is knowledgeable, 
he is reasonable, which we are not always here, and he is a positive 
force for education in this country, and that is so vitally needed in 
this Congress, and we do thank him for all he has done.
  I also thank all of the staff people. This is a committee which does 
not get a lot of recognition, but in my judgment has as good staffing 
as any committee in the entire Congress. They work extraordinarily hard 
on both sides of the aisle to put together what I think is legislation 
in the best interests of the young people of our country, and for that 
we should be thankful. They are the ones who helped put together this 
legislation, which is technical but which is needed, and for that 
reason we hope that all will support it.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H10867]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time has expired.
  The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Delaware 
[Mr. Castle] that the House suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, 
S. 1505.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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