[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 87 (Monday, July 10, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6302-S6323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
2001
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now
proceed to consideration of H.R. 4578, which the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 4578), making appropriations for the
Department of the Interior and related agencies for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, and for other
purposes.
The Senate proceeded to consider the bill which had been reported
from the Committee on Appropriations, with an amendment to strike all
after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic, as
follows:
That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the Department
of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2001, 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)),
$693,133,000, to remain available until expended, of which
$3,898,000 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 not to
exceed $1,000,000 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
$2,500,000 shall be available in fiscal year 2001 subject to
a match by at least an equal amount by the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation, to such Foundation for cost-shared
projects supporting conservation of Bureau lands and such
funds shall be advanced to the Foundation as a lump sum grant
without regard to when expenses are incurred; in addition,
$34,328,000 for Mining Law Administration program operations,
including the cost of administering the mining claim fee
program; 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
$693,133,000, and $2,000,000, to remain available until
expended, 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 preparedness, suppression
operations, emergency rehabilitation and hazardous fuels
reduction by the Department of the Interior, $292,679,000, to
remain available until expended, of which not to exceed
$9,300,000 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 unobligated balances of
amounts previously appropriated to the ``Fire Protection''
and ``Emergency Department of the Interior Firefighting
Fund'' may be transferred and merged with this appropriation:
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: Provided
further, That notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 1856d, sums received
by a bureau or office of the Department of the Interior for
fire protection rendered pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1856 et seq.,
protection of United States property, may be credited to the
appropriation from which funds were expended to provide that
protection, and are available without fiscal year limitation.
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.),
$10,000,000, 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, $15,360,000, 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), $145,000,000, 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, $10,600,000, 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; $104,267,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That 25 percent 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 fund
(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. The
Federal share of receipts (defined as the portion of salvage
timber receipts not paid to the counties under 43 U.S.C.
1181f and 43 U.S.C. 1181-1 et seq., and Public
[[Page S6303]]
Law 103-66) 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 percent 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 $10,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That not to exceed $600,000 shall be
available for administrative expenses.
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 necessary expenses of the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, for scientific and economic studies,
conservation, management, investigations, protection, and
utilization of fishery and wildlife resources, except whales,
seals, and sea lions, maintenance of the herd of long-horned
cattle on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, general
administration, and for the performance of other authorized
functions related to such resources by direct expenditure,
contracts, grants, cooperative agreements and reimbursable
agreements with public and private entities, $758,442,000, to
remain available until September 30, 2002, except as
otherwise provided herein, 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: Provided, That not less than
$1,000,000 for high priority projects which shall be carried
out by the Youth Conservation Corps as authorized by the Act
of August 13, 1970, as amended: Provided further, That not to
exceed $6,355,000 shall be used for implementing subsections
(a), (b), (c), and (e) of section 4 of the Endangered Species
Act, as amended, for species that are indigenous to the
United States (except for processing petitions, developing
and issuing proposed and final regulations, and taking any
other steps to implement actions described in subsection
(c)(2)(A), (c)(2)(B)(i), or (c)(2)(B)(ii)): Provided further,
That of the amount available for law enforcement, up to
$400,000 to remain available until expended, may at the
discretion of the Secretary, be used for payment for
information, rewards, or evidence concerning violations of
laws administered by the Service, and miscellaneous and
emergency expenses of enforcement activity, authorized or
approved by the Secretary and to be accounted for solely on
his certificate: Provided further, That of the amount
provided for environmental contaminants, up to $1,000,000 may
remain available until expended for contaminant sample
analyses.
construction
For construction, improvement, acquisition, or removal 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; $54,803,000, to remain available until
expended.
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
through 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, $46,100,000, to be derived
from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, 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, $26,925,000, to be derived from the Cooperative
Endangered Species Conservation Fund, 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.
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, $16,500,000, to remain available until expended.
wildlife conservation and appreciation fund
For necessary expenses of the Wildlife Conservation and
Appreciation Fund, $797,000, to remain available until
expended.
multinational species conservation fund
For expenses necessary to carry out the African Elephant
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4201-4203, 4211-4213, 4221-4225,
4241-4245, and 1538), the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of
1997 (16 U.S.C. 4261-4266), and the Rhinoceros and Tiger
Conservation Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 5301-5306), $2,500,000,
to remain available until expended: Provided, That funds made
available under this Act and Public Law 105-277 for
rhinoceros, tiger, and Asian elephant conservation programs
are exempt from any sanctions imposed against any country
under section 102 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
2799aa-1).
administrative provisions
Appropriations and funds available to the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service shall be available for purchase of
not to exceed 79 passenger motor vehicles, of which 72 are
for replacement only (including 41 for police-type use);
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 used 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 Senate Report 105-56.
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 less than $2,000,000 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, $1,443,795,000, of which $9,227,000 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
$7,000,000, 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
[[Page S6304]]
provided for, $58,209,000, of which $2,000,000 shall be
available to carry out the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.).
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), $44,347,000, to be derived from the Historic
Preservation Fund, to remain available until September 30,
2002, of which $7,177,000 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, $207,079,000, to remain available
until expended: Provided, That $1,000,000 for the Great Falls
Historic District, $650,000 for Lake Champlain National
Historic Landmarks, and $365,000 for the U.S. Grant Boyhood
Home National Historic Landmark shall be derived from the
Historic Preservation Fund pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 470a.
land and water conservation fund
(rescission)
The contract authority provided for fiscal year 2001 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 Act of 1965, as amended (16 U.S.C. 460l-4
through 11), including administrative expenses, and for
acquisition of lands or waters, or interest therein, in
accordance with the statutory authority applicable to the
National Park Service, $87,140,000, to be derived from the
Land and Water Conservation Fund, to remain available until
expended, of which $40,000,000 is for the State assistance
program including $1,000,000 to administer the State
assistance program, and of which $10,000,000 may be for State
grants for land acquisition in the State of Florida:
Provided, That the Secretary may provide 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, including the areas known as the Frog Pond, the
Rocky Glades and the Eight and One-Half Square Mile Area)
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 heading for assistance to the State of Florida to
acquire lands within the Everglades watershed are contingent
upon new matching non-Federal funds by the State and shall be
subject to an agreement that the lands to be acquired will be
managed in perpetuity for the restoration of the Everglades:
Provided further, That none of the funds provided for the
State Assistance program may be used to establish a
contingency fund.
administrative provisions
Appropriations for the National Park Service shall be
available for the purchase of not to exceed 340 passenger
motor vehicles, of which 273 shall be for replacement only,
including not to exceed 319 for police-type use, 12 buses,
and 9 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, biology, 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; $847,596,000, of which $62,879,000 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 $1,525,000
shall remain available until expended for ongoing development
of a mineral and geologic data base; and of which $32,322,000
shall be available until September 30, 2002 for the operation
and maintenance of facilities and deferred maintenance; and
of which $147,773,000 shall be available until September 30,
2002 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.
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.
Minerals Management Service
royalty and offshore minerals management
For expenses necessary for minerals leasing and
environmental studies, regulation of 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; $134,010,000, of which $86,257,000,
shall be available for royalty management activities; and an
amount not to exceed $107,410,000, 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 Outer Continental Shelf administrative
activities performed by the Minerals Management Service over
and above the rates in effect on September 30, 1993, and from
additional fees for Outer Continental Shelf administrative
activities established after September 30, 1993: Provided,
That to the extent $107,410,000 in additions to receipts are
not realized from the sources of receipts stated above, the
amount needed to reach $107,410,000 shall be credited to this
appropriation from receipts resulting from rental rates for
Outer Continental Shelf leases in effect before August 5,
1993: Provided further, That $3,000,000 for computer
acquisitions shall remain available until September 30, 2002:
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 heading 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;
$100,801,000: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior,
pursuant to regulations, may use directly or through grants
to States, moneys collected in fiscal year 2001 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
[[Page S6305]]
Act of 1977, Public Law 95-87, as amended, including the
purchase of not more than 10 passenger motor vehicles for
replacement only, $201,438,000, to be derived from receipts
of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and to remain
available until expended; of which up to $10,000,000, to be
derived from the Federal Expenses Share of the Fund, shall be
for supplemental grants to States for the reclamation of
abandoned sites with acid mine rock drainage from coal mines,
and for associated activities, through the Appalachian Clean
Streams Initiative: Provided, That grants to minimum program
States will be $1,600,000 per State in fiscal year 2001:
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 percent 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 percent
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 percent 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 under title IV of Public Law 95-87
may be used 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:
Provided further, That from the funds provided herein, in
addition to the amount granted to the State of Kentucky under
Sections 402(g)(1) and 402(g)(5) of the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act, an additional $1,000,000 shall
be made available to the State of Kentucky to demonstrate
reforestation techniques on abandoned coal mine sites.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
operation of indian programs
For expenses necessary for the operation of Indian
programs, as authorized by law, including the Snyder Act of
November 2, 1921 (25 U.S.C. 13), the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (25 U.S.C.
450 et seq.), as amended, the Education Amendments of 1978
(25 U.S.C. 2001-2019), and the Tribally Controlled Schools
Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.), as amended,
$1,704,620,000, to remain available until September 30, 2002
except as otherwise provided herein, of which not to exceed
$93,225,000 shall be for welfare assistance payments and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, including but not
limited to the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975, as
amended, not to exceed $125,485,000 shall be available for
payments to tribes and tribal organizations for contract
support costs associated with ongoing contracts, grants,
compacts, or annual funding agreements entered into with the
Bureau prior to or during fiscal year 2001, as authorized by
such Act, except that tribes and tribal organizations may use
their tribal priority allocations for unmet indirect costs of
ongoing contracts, grants, or compacts, or annual funding
agreements and for unmet welfare assistance costs; 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 $412,556,000 for school operations costs of Bureau-
funded schools and other education programs shall become
available on July 1, 2001, and shall remain available until
September 30, 2002; and of which not to exceed $54,694,000
shall remain available until expended for housing
improvement, road maintenance, attorney fees, litigation
support, self-governance grants, the Indian Self-
Determination Fund, land records improvement, and the Navajo-
Hopi Settlement Program: Provided, That notwithstanding any
other provision of law, including but not limited to the
Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975, as amended, and 25
U.S.C. 2008, not to exceed $43,160,000 within and only from
such amounts made available for school operations shall be
available to tribes and tribal organizations for
administrative cost grants associated with the operation of
Bureau-funded schools: Provided further, That any forestry
funds allocated to a tribe which remain unobligated as of
September 30, 2002, may be transferred during fiscal year
2003 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, 2003.
construction
For construction, repair, improvement, and maintenance 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, $341,004,000, 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 percent 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 nonreimbursable basis:
Provided further, That for fiscal year 2001, 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, $35,276,000, to
remain available until expended; of which $25,225,000 shall
be available for implementation of enacted Indian land and
water claim settlements pursuant to Public Laws 101-618 and
102-575, and for implementation of other enacted water rights
settlements; of which $8,000,000 shall be available for
Tribal compact administration, economic development and
future water supplies facilities under Public Law 106-163;
and of which $1,877,000 shall be available pursuant to Public
Laws 99-264, 100-383, 100-580 and 103-402.
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 $59,682,000.
In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out the
guaranteed loan programs, $488,000.
administrative provisions
The Bureau of Indian Affairs may carry out the operation of
Indian programs by direct expenditure, contracts, cooperative
agreements, compacts and grants, either directly or in
cooperation with States and other organizations.
Appropriations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (except the
revolving fund for loans, the Indian loan guarantee and
insurance fund, 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, pooled overhead general administration (except
facilities operations and maintenance), or provided to
implement the recommendations of the National Academy of
Public Administration's August 1999 report 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).
In the event any tribe returns appropriations made
available by this Act to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for
distribution to other tribes, this action shall not diminish
the Federal Government's trust responsibility to that tribe,
or the government-to-government relationship between the
United States and that tribe, or that tribe's ability to
access future appropriations.
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.
Appropriations made available in this or any other Act for
schools funded by the Bureau shall be available only to the
schools in the Bureau school system as of September 1, 1996.
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. Funds made available under
[[Page S6306]]
this Act may not be used to establish a charter school at a
Bureau-funded school (as that term is defined in section 1146
of the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2026)), except
that a charter school that is in existence on the date of the
enactment of this Act and that has operated at a Bureau-
funded school before September 1, 1999, may continue to
operate during that period, but only if the charter school
pays to the Bureau a pro-rata share of funds to reimburse the
Bureau for the use of the real and personal property
(including buses and vans), the funds of the charter school
are kept separate and apart from Bureau funds, and the Bureau
does not assume any obligation for charter school programs of
the State in which the school is located if the charter
school loses such funding. Employees of Bureau-funded schools
sharing a campus with a charter school and performing
functions related to the charter school's operation and
employees of a charter school shall not be treated as Federal
employees for purposes of chapter 171 of title 28, United
States Code (commonly known as the ``Federal Tort Claims
Act''). Not later than June 15, 2001, the Secretary of the
Interior shall evaluate the effectiveness of Bureau-funded
schools sharing facilities with charter schools in the manner
described in the preceding sentence and prepare and submit a
report on the finding of that evaluation to the Committees on
Appropriations of the Senate and of the House.
Department Offices
Insular Affairs
ASSISTANCE TO TERRITORIES
For expenses necessary for assistance to territories under
the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior,
$68,471,000, of which: (1) $64,076,000 shall be available
until expended for technical assistance, including
maintenance assistance, disaster assistance, insular
management controls, coral reef initiative activities, 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) $4,395,000 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 used 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 104-134: 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 heading 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, $20,545,000, 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, $64,019,000, of which not to exceed $8,500 may
be for official reception and representation expenses and of
which up to $1,000,000 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,
$40,196,000.
Office of Inspector General
Salaries and Expenses
office of inspector general
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General,
$27,846,000.
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, $82,628,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That funds for trust management improvements may be
transferred, as needed, to the Bureau of Indian Affairs
``Operation of Indian Programs'' account and to the
Departmental Management ``Salaries and Expenses'' account:
Provided further, That funds made available to Tribes and
Tribal organizations through contracts or grants obligated
during fiscal year 2001, 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 the enactment 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: Provided further, That notwithstanding
any other provision of law, the Secretary shall not be
required to provide a quarterly statement of performance for
any Indian trust account that has not had activity for at
least 18 months and has a balance of $1.00 or less: Provided
further, That the Secretary shall issue an annual account
statement and maintain a record of any such accounts and
shall permit the balance in each such account to be withdrawn
upon the express written request of the account holder.
Indian Land Consolidation
For implementation of a program for consolidation of
fractional interests in Indian lands and expenses associated
with redetermining and redistributing escheated interests in
allotted lands by direct expenditure or cooperative
agreement, $10,000,000, to remain available until expended
and which may be transferred to the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and Departmental Management of which not to exceed $500,000
shall be available for administrative expenses: Provided,
That the Secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement,
which shall not be subject to Public Law 93-638, as amended,
with a tribe having jurisdiction over the reservation to
implement the program to acquire fractional interests on
behalf of such tribe: Provided further, That the Secretary
may develop a reservation-wide system for establishing the
fair market value of various types of lands and improvements
to govern the amounts offered for acquisition of fractional
interests: Provided further, That acquisitions shall be
limited to one or more reservations as determined by the
Secretary: Provided further, That funds shall be available
for acquisition of fractional interests in trust or
restricted lands with the consent of its owners and at fair
market value, and the Secretary shall hold in trust for such
tribe all interests acquired pursuant to this program:
Provided further, That all proceeds from any lease, resource
sale contract, right-of-way or other transaction derived from
the fractional interest shall be credited to this
appropriation, and remain available until expended, until the
purchase price paid by the Secretary under this appropriation
has been recovered from such proceeds: Provided further, That
once the purchase price has been recovered, all subsequent
proceeds shall be managed by the Secretary for the benefit of
the applicable tribe or paid directly to the tribe.
Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
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 (33
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), and the Act of July 27, 1990, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 19jj et seq.), $5,403,000, to remain
available until expended.
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
[[Page S6307]]
251(b)(2)(A) 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 wildland 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 oil spills; for response and natural resource damage
assessment activities related to actual oil spills; 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 wildland fire operations 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 wildland fire operations, such
reimbursement to be credited to appropriations currently
available at the time of receipt thereof: Provided further,
That for wildland fire operations, no funds shall be made
available under this authority until the Secretary determines
that funds appropriated for ``wildland fire operations''
shall be exhausted within thirty days: 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)(A) 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. Annual 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 12
months beginning at any time during the fiscal year.
Sec. 107. 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. 108. No funds provided in this title may be expended
by the Department of the Interior for the conduct of offshore
oil and natural gas preleasing, leasing, and related
activities, on lands within the North Aleutian Basin planning
area.
Sec. 109. 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. 110. 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. 111. 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.) or the Tribally Controlled Schools
Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 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--
(1) 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
(2) 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.
Sec. 112. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the
National Park Service shall not develop or implement a
reduced entrance fee program to accommodate non-local travel
through a unit. The Secretary may provide for and regulate
local non-recreational passage through units of the National
Park System, allowing each unit to develop guidelines and
permits for such activity appropriate to that unit.
Sec. 113. Refunds or rebates received on an on-going basis
from a credit card services provider under the Department of
the Interior's charge card programs may be deposited to and
retained without fiscal year limitation in the Departmental
Working Capital Fund established under 43 U.S.C. 1467 and
used to fund management initiatives of general benefit to the
Department of the Interior's bureaus and offices as
determined by the Secretary or his designee.
Sec. 114. Appropriations made in this title under the
headings Bureau of Indian Affairs and Office of Special
Trustee for American Indians and any available unobligated
balances from prior appropriations Acts made under the same
headings, shall be available for expenditure or transfer for
Indian trust management activities pursuant to the Trust
Management Improvement Project High Level Implementation
Plan.
Sec. 115. Notwithstanding any provision of law, the
Secretary of the Interior is authorized to negotiate and
enter into agreements and leases, without regard to section
321 of chapter 314 of the Act of June 30, 1932 (40 U.S.C.
303b), with any person, firm, association, organization,
corporation, or governmental entity for all or part of the
property within Fort Baker administered by the Secretary as
part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The proceeds of
the agreements or leases shall be retained by the Secretary
and such proceeds shall be available, without future
appropriation, for the preservation, restoration, operation,
maintenance and interpretation and related expenses incurred
with respect to Fort Baker properties.
Sec. 116. A grazing permit or lease that expires (or is
transferred) during fiscal year 2001 shall be renewed under
section 402 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended (43 U.S.C. 1752) or if applicable, section
510 of the California Desert Protection Act (16 U.S.C.
410aaa-50). The terms and conditions contained in the
expiring permit or lease shall continue in effect under the
new permit or lease until such time as the Secretary of the
Interior completes processing of such permit or lease in
compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, at which
time such permit or lease may be canceled, suspended or
modified, in whole or in part, to meet the requirements of
such applicable laws and regulations. Nothing in this section
shall be deemed to alter the Secretary's statutory authority.
Sec. 117. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for
the purpose of reducing the backlog of Indian probate cases
in the Department of the Interior, the hearing requirements
of chapter 10 of title 25, United States Code, are deemed
satisfied by a proceeding conducted by an Indian probate
judge, appointed by the Secretary without regard to the
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing the
appointments in the competitive service, for such period of
time as the Secretary determines necessary: Provided, That
the basic pay of an Indian probate judge so appointed may be
fixed by the Secretary without regard to the provisions of
chapter 51, and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5,
United States Code, governing the classification and pay of
General Schedule employees, except that no such Indian
probate judge may be paid at a level which exceeds the
maximum rate payable for the highest grade of the General
Schedule, including locality pay.
Sec. 118. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
with respect to amounts made available for tribal priority
allocations in Alaska, such amounts shall only be provided to
tribes the membership of which on June 1, 2000 is composed of
at least 25 individuals who are Natives (as such term is
defined in section 3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act).
(b) Amounts that would have been made available for tribal
priority allocations in Alaska but for the limitation
contained in subsection (a) shall be provided to the
respective Alaska Native regional nonprofit corporation (as
listed in section 103(a)(2) of Public Law 104-193, 110 Stat.
2159) for the respective region in which a tribe subject to
subsection (a) is located, notwithstanding any resolution
authorized under federal law to the contrary.
Sec. 119. None of the funds in this Act may be used to
establish a new National Wildlife Refuge in the Kankakee
River basin that is inconsistent with the United States Army
Corps of Engineers' efforts to control flooding and siltation
in that area. Written certification of consistency shall be
submitted to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations prior to refuge establishment.
Sec. 120. (a) In this section--
(1) the term ``Huron Cemetery'' means the lands that form
the cemetery that is popularly
[[Page S6308]]
known as the Huron Cemetery, located in Kansas City, Kansas,
as described in subsection (b)(3); and
(2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Interior.
(b)(1) The Secretary shall take such action as may be
necessary to ensure that the lands comprising the Huron
Cemetery (as described in paragraph (3)) are used only in
accordance with this subsection.
(2) The lands of the Huron Cemetery shall be used only--
(A) for religious and cultural uses that are compatible
with the use of the lands as a cemetery; and
(B) as a burial ground.
(3) The description of the lands of the Huron Cemetery is
as follows:
The tract of land in the NW quarter of sec. 10, T. 11 S.,
R. 25 E., of the sixth principal meridian, in Wyandotte
County, Kansas (as surveyed and marked on the ground on
August 15, 1888, by William Millor, Civil Engineer and
Surveyor), described as follows:
``Commencing on the Northwest corner of the Northwest
Quarter of the Northwest Quarter of said Section 10;
``Thence South 28 poles to the `true point of beginning';
``Thence South 71 degrees East 10 poles and 18 links;
``Thence South 18 degrees and 30 minutes West 28 poles;
``Thence West 11 and one-half poles;
``Thence North 19 degrees 15 minutes East 31 poles and 15
feet to the `true point of beginning', containing 2 acres or
more.''.
Sec. 121. None of the Funds provided in this Act shall be
available to the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Department
of the Interior to transfer land into trust status for the
Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe in Clark County, Washington,
unless and until the tribe and the county reach a legally
enforceable agreement that addresses the financial impact of
new development on the county, school district, fire
district, and other local governments and the impact on
zoning and development.
Sec. 122. None of the funds provided in this Act may be
used by the Department of the Interior to implement the
provisions of Principle 3(C)ii and Appendix section 3(B)(4)
in Secretarial Order 3206, entitled ``American Indian Tribal
Rights, Federal-Tribal Trust Responsibilities, and the
Endangered Species Act''.
Sec. 123. No funds appropriated for the Department of the
Interior by this Act or any other Act shall be used to study
or implement any plan to drain Lake Powell or to reduce the
water level of the lake below the range of water levels
required for the operation of the Glen Canyon Dam.
Sec. 124. Funds appropriated for the Bureau of Indian
Affairs for postsecondary schools for fiscal year 2001 shall
be allocated among the schools proportionate to the unmet
need of the schools as determined by the Postsecondary
Funding Formula adopted by the Office of Indian Education
Programs.
Sec. 125. On the date of enactment, the National Marine
Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
shall continue consultation with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers to develop a comprehensive plan to eliminate
Caspian Tern nesting at Rice Island in the Columbia River
Estuary. The agencies shall develop a report on the
significance of tern predation in limiting salmon recovery
and their roles and recommendations for the Rice Island
colony relocation by March 31, 2001. This report shall
address all available options for successfully completing the
Rice Island colony relocation.
Sec. 126. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in
conveying the Twin Cities Research Center under the authority
provided by Public Law 104-134, as amended by Public Law 104-
208, the Secretary may accept and retain land and other forms
of reimbursement: Provided, That the Secretary may retain and
use any such reimbursement until expended and without further
appropriation: (1) for the benefit of the National Wildlife
Refuge System within the State of Minnesota; and (2) for all
activities authorized by Public Law 100-696; 16 U.S.C. 460zz.
Sec. 127. Section 112 of Public Law 103-138 (107 Stat.
1399) is amended by striking ``permit LP-GLBA005-93'' and
inserting ``permit LP-GLBA005-93 and in connection with a
corporate reorganization plan, the entity that, after the
corporate reorganization, holds entry permit CP-GLBA004-00
each''.
Sec. 128. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Secretary of the Interior shall designate Anchorage, Alaska,
as a port of entry for the purpose of section 9(f)(1) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538(f)(1)).
Sec. 129. (a) The first section of Public Law 92-501 (86
Stat. 904) is amended by inserting after the first sentence
``The park shall also include the land as generally depicted
on the map entitled `subdivision of a portion of U.S. Survey
407, Tract B, dated May 12, 2000' ''.
(b) Section 3 of Public Law 92-501 is amended to read as
follows: ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as are necessary to carry out the terms of this Act.''.
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, $221,966,000, 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, $226,266,000, to remain available until expended,
as authorized by law.
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, $1,233,824,000, to
remain available until expended, which shall include 50
percent of all moneys 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 unobligated balances
available at the start of fiscal year 2001 shall be displayed
by extended budget line item in the fiscal year 2002 budget
justification: Provided further, That of the amount available
for vegetation and watershed management, the Secretary may
authorize the expenditure or transfer of such sums as
necessary to the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land
Management for removal, preparation, and adoption of excess
wild horses and burros from National Forest System lands:
Provided further, That $5,000,000 shall be allocated to the
Alaska Region, in addition to its normal allocation for the
purposes of preparing additional timber for sale, to
establish a 3-year timber supply and such funds may be
transferred to other appropriations accounts as necessary to
maximize accomplishment: Provided further, That of funds
available for Wildlife and Fish Habitat Management, $400,000
shall be provided to the State of Alaska for cooperative
monitoring activities, and of the funds provided for Forest
Products, $700,000 shall be provided to the State of Alaska
for monitoring activities at Forest Service log transfer
facilities, both in the form of an advance, direct lump sum
payment.
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
and water, $618,500,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That such funds are available for repayment of
advances from other appropriations accounts previously
transferred for such purposes: Provided further, That not
less than 50 percent of any unobligated balances remaining
(exclusive of amounts for hazardous fuels reduction) at the
end of fiscal year 2000 shall be transferred, as repayment
for post advances that have not been repaid, to the fund
established pursuant to section 3 of Public Law 71-319 (16
U.S.C. 576 et seq.): Provided further, That notwithstanding
any other provision of law, up to $5,000,000 of funds
appropriated under this appropriation may be used for Fire
Science Research in support of the Joint Fire Science
Program: Provided further, That all authorities for the use
of funds, including the use of contracts, grants, and
cooperative agreements, available to execute the Forest
Service and Rangeland Research appropriation, are also
available in the utilization of these funds for Fire Science
Research.
For an additional amount to cover necessary expenses for
emergency rehabilitation, presuppression due to emergencies,
and wildfire suppression activities of the Forest Service,
$150,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That the entire amount is designated by Congress as an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as
amended: Provided further, That these funds shall be
available only to the extent an official budget request for a
specific dollar amount, that includes designation of the
entire amount of the request as an emergency requirement as
defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
Act of 1985, as amended, is transmitted by the President to
the Congress.
capital improvement and maintenance
For necessary expenses of the Forest Service, not otherwise
provided for, $448,312,000, to remain available until
expended for construction, reconstruction, maintenance and
acquisition of buildings and other facilities, and for
construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance 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 $5,000,000 of the funds provided herein for roads shall
be for the purposes of section 502(e) of Public Law 15-83:
Provided further, That up to $15,000,000 of the funds
provided herein for road maintenance shall be available for
the decommissioning of roads, including unauthorized roads
not part of the transportation system, which are no longer
needed: Provided further, That no funds shall be expended to
decommission any system road until notice and an opportunity
for public comment has been provided on each decommissioning
project: Provided further, That any unobligated balances of
amounts previously appropriated to the Forest Service
``Reconstruction and Construction'' account as well as any
unobligated balances remaining in the ``National Forest
System'' account for the facility maintenance and trail
maintenance extended budget line items may be transferred to
and merged with the ``Capital Improvement and Maintenance''
account.
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 through 11), including administrative expenses,
and for acquisition of land or waters, or interest therein,
in accordance with statutory authority applicable to the
Forest Service, $76,320,000, to be derived from the Land and
Water Conservation Fund, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, of
the funds provided not less than $5,000,000 but not to exceed
$10,000,000
[[Page S6309]]
shall be made available to Kake Tribal Corporation to
implement the Kake Tribal Corporation Land Transfer Act upon
its enactment into law.
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, $1,068,000, 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 percent of all moneys received during the
prior fiscal year, as fees for grazing domestic livestock on
lands in National Forests in the 16 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
percent 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.
Management of National Forest Lands for Subsistence Uses
subsistence management, forest service
For necessary expenses of the Forest Service to manage
federal lands in Alaska for subsistence uses under title VIII
of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
(Public Law 96-487), $5,500,000, to remain available until
expended.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS, FOREST SERVICE
Appropriations to the Forest Service for the current fiscal
year shall be available for: (1) purchase of not to exceed
132 passenger motor vehicles of which 13 will be used
primarily for law enforcement purposes and of which 129 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 six for replacement only, and acquisition of
sufficient aircraft from excess sources to maintain the
operable fleet at 192 aircraft for use in Forest Service
wildland fire programs and other Forest Service programs;
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 abolish any region, to move or close
any regional office for National Forest System administration
of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture without the
consent of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
Any appropriations or funds available to the Forest Service
may be transferred to the Wildland Fire Management
appropriation for forest firefighting, emergency
rehabilitation of burned-over or damaged lands or waters
under its jurisdiction, and fire preparedness due to severe
burning conditions if and only if all previously appropriated
emergency contingent funds under the heading ``Wildland Fire
Management'' have been released by the President and
apportioned.
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 House Report No. 105-
163.
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 House Report No. 105-163.
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.
Funds available to the Forest Service shall be available to
conduct a program of not less than $2,000,000 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.
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.
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
$2,250,000 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 $400,000 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-for-one basis
funds made available by the Forest Service: Provided further,
That the Foundation may transfer Federal funds to a non-
Federal recipient 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
the 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,
$2,650,000 of the funds available to the Forest Service shall
be available for matching funds to the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation, 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 non-Federal recipient 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 ``Capital Improvement and
Maintenance'' 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.
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).
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
appropriations or funds available to the Forest Service not
to exceed $500,000 may be used to reimburse the Office of the
General Counsel (OGC), Department of Agriculture, for travel
and related expenses incurred as a result of OGC assistance
or participation requested by the Forest Service at meetings,
training sessions, management reviews, land purchase
negotiations and similar non-litigation related matters.
Future budget justifications for both the Forest Service and
the Department of Agriculture
[[Page S6310]]
should clearly display the sums previously transferred and
the requested funding transfers.
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.
The Forest Service shall fund overhead, national
commitments, indirect expenses, and any other category for
use of funds which are expended at any units, that are not
directly related to the accomplishment of specific work on-
the-ground (referred to as ``indirect expenditures''), from
funds available to the Forest Service, unless otherwise
prohibited by law: Provided, That the Forest Service shall
implement and adhere to the definitions of indirect
expenditures established pursuant to Public Law 105-277 on a
nationwide basis without flexibility for modification by any
organizational level except the Washington Office, and when
changed by the Washington Office, such changes in definition
shall be reported in budget requests submitted by the Forest
Service: Provided further, That the Forest Service shall
provide in all future budget justifications, planned indirect
expenditures in accordance with the definitions, summarized
and displayed to the Regional, Station, Area, and detached
unit office level. The justification shall display the
estimated source and amount of indirect expenditures, by
expanded budget line item, of funds in the agency's annual
budget justification. The display shall include appropriated
funds and the Knutson-Vandenberg, Brush Disposal, Cooperative
Work-Other, and Salvage Sale funds. Changes between estimated
and actual indirect expenditures shall be reported in
subsequent budget justifications: Provided, That during
fiscal year 2001 the Secretary shall limit total annual
indirect obligations from the Brush Disposal, Cooperative
Work-Other, Knutson-Vandenberg, Reforestation, Salvage Sale,
and Roads and Trails funds to 20 percent of the total
obligations from each fund.
Any appropriations or funds available to the Forest Service
may be used for necessary expenses in the event of law
enforcement emergencies as necessary to protect natural
resources and public or employee safety: Provided, That such
amounts shall not exceed $750,000.
The Secretary of Agriculture shall pay $4,449 from
available funds to Joyce Liverca as reimbursement for various
expenses incurred as a Federal employee in connection with
certain high priority duties performed for the Forest
Service.
The Forest Service shall submit a report to the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations by March 1, 2001
indicating the anticipated timber offer level in fiscal year
2001 with the funds provided in this Act: Provided, That if
the anticipated offer level is less than 3.6 billion board
feet, the agency shall submit a reprogramming request to
attain this offer level by the close of fiscal year 2001.
Of the funds available to the Forest Service, $150,000
shall be made available in the form of an advanced, direct
lump sum payment to the Society of American Foresters to
support conservation education purposes in collaboration with
the Forest Service.
The Secretary of Agriculture may authorize the sale of
excess buildings, facilities, and other properties owned by
the Forest Service and located on the Green Mountain National
Forest, the revenues of which shall be retained by the Forest
Service and available to the Secretary without further
appropriation and until expended for maintenance and
rehabilitation activities on the Green Mountain National
Forest.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Clean Coal Technology
(deferral)
Of the funds made available under this heading for
obligation in prior years, $67,000,000 shall not be available
until October 1, 2001: 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
(including transfer of funds)
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 $413,338,000, to
remain available until expended, of which $12,000,000 for oil
technology research shall be derived by transfer from funds
appropriated in prior years under the heading ``Strategic
Petroleum Reserve, SPR Petroleum Account'': 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: Provided further, That up to 4 percent of program
direction funds available to the National Energy Technology
Laboratory may be used to support Department of Energy
activities not included in this account.
Alternative Fuels Production
(rescission)
Of the unobligated balances under this heading, $1,000,000
are rescinded.
Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves
(rescission)
Of the amounts previously appropriated under this heading,
$7,000,000 are rescinded: Provided, That the requirements of
10 U.S.C. 7430(b)(2)(B) shall not apply to fiscal year 2001
and any fiscal year thereafter: Provided further, That,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, unobligated funds
remaining from prior years shall be available for all naval
petroleum and oil shale reserve activities.
Elk Hills School Lands Fund
For necessary expenses in fulfilling installment payments
under the Settlement Agreement entered into by the United
States and the State of California on October 11, 1996, as
authorized by section 3415 of Public Law 104-106,
$36,000,000, to become available on October 1, 2001 for
payment to the State of California for the State Teachers'
Retirement Fund from the Elk Hills School Lands Fund.
Energy Conservation
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses in carrying out energy conservation
activities, $761,937,000, to remain available until expended,
of which $2,000,000 shall be derived by transfer from
unobligated balances in the Biomass Energy Development
account: Provided, That $172,000,000 shall be for use in
energy conservation programs as defined in section 3008(3) of
Public Law 99-509 (15 U.S.C. 4507): Provided further, That
notwithstanding section 3003(d)(2) of Public Law 99-509, such
sums shall be allocated to the eligible programs as follows:
$138,000,000 for weatherization assistance grants and
$34,000,000 for State energy conservation grants: Provided
further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Secretary of Energy may waive the matching requirement for
weatherization assistance provided for by Public Law 106-113
in whole or in part for a State which he finds to be
experiencing fiscal hardship or major changes in energy
markets or suppliers or other temporary limitations on its
ability to provide matching funds, provided that the State is
demonstrably engaged in continuing activities to secure non-
federal resources and that such waiver is limited to one
fiscal year and that no state may be granted such waiver more
than twice: Provided further, That Indian tribal grantees of
weatherization assistance shall not be required to provide
matching funds.
Economic Regulation
For necessary expenses in carrying out the activities of
the Office of Hearings and Appeals, $2,000,000, to remain
available until expended.
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
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.), $157,000,000,
to remain available until expended.
Energy Information Administration
For necessary expenses in carrying out the activities of
the Energy Information Administration, $74,000,000, 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 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
[[Page S6311]]
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.
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, $2,184,421,000, 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 $426,756,000 for
contract medical care shall remain available for obligation
until September 30, 2002: Provided further, That of the funds
provided, up to $17,000,000 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 1-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 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, 2002: 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: Provided further, That,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, of the amounts
provided herein, not to exceed $243,781,000 shall be for
payments to tribes and tribal organizations for contract or
grant support costs associated with contracts, grants, self-
governance compacts or annual funding agreements between the
Indian Health Service and a tribe or tribal organization
pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975, as
amended, prior to or during fiscal year 2001, of which not to
exceed $10,000,000 may be used for such costs associated with
new and expanded contracts, grants, self-governance compacts
or annual funding agreements: Provided further, That amounts
appropriated to the Indian Health Service shall not be used
to pay for contract health services in excess of the
established Medicare and Medicaid rate for similar services:
Provided further, That Indian tribes and tribal organizations
that operate health care programs under contracts or compacts
pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act of 1975, Public Law 93-638, as amended, may
access prime vendor rates for the cost of pharmaceutical
products on the same basis and for the same purposes as the
Indian Health Service may access such products: Provided
further, That funds available for the Indian Health Care
Improvement Fund may be used, as needed, to carry out
activities typically funded under the Indian Health
Facilities account.
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, $349,350,000, 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:
Provided further, That from the funds appropriated herein,
$5,000,000 shall be designated by the Indian Health Service
as a contribution to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation
(YKHC) to start a priority project for the acquisition of
land, planning, design and construction of 79 staff quarters
at Bethel, Alaska, subject to a negotiated project agreement
between the YKHC and the Indian Health Service: Provided
further, That this project shall not be subject to the
construction provisions of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act and shall be removed from the Indian
Health Service priority list upon completion: Provided
further, That the Federal Government shall not be liable for
any property damages or other construction claims that may
arise from YKHC undertaking this project: Provided further,
That the land shall be owned or leased by the YKHC and title
to quarters shall remain vested with the YKHC: Provided
further, That notwithstanding any provision of law governing
Federal construction, $240,000 of the funds provided herein
shall be provided to the Hopi Tribe to reduce the debt
incurred by the Tribe in providing staff quarters to meet the
housing needs associated with the new Hopi Health Center:
Provided further, That $5,000,000 shall remain available
until expended for the purpose of funding joint venture
health care facility projects authorized under the Indian
Health Care Improvement Act, as amended: Provided further,
That priority, by rank order, shall be given to tribes with
outpatient projects on the existing Indian Health Services
priority list that have Service-approved planning documents,
and can demonstrate by March 1, 2001, the financial
capability necessary to provide an appropriate facility:
Provided further, That joint venture funds unallocated after
March 1, 2001, shall be made available for joint venture
projects on a competitive basis giving priority to tribes
that currently have no existing Federally-owned health care
facility, have planning documents meeting Indian Health
Service requirements prepared for approval by the Service and
can demonstrate the financial capability needed to provide an
appropriate facility: Provided further, That the Indian
Health Service shall request additional staffing, operation
and maintenance funds for these facilities in future budget
requests: Provided further, That not to exceed $500,000 shall
be used by the Indian Health Service to purchase TRANSAM
equipment from the Department of Defense for distribution to
the Indian Health Service and tribal facilities: Provided
further, That not to exceed $500,000 shall be used by the
Indian Health Service to obtain ambulances for the Indian
Health Service and tribal facilities in conjunction with an
existing interagency agreement between the Indian Health
Service and the General Services Administration: Provided
further, That not to exceed $500,000 shall be placed in a
Demolition Fund, available until expended, to be used by the
Indian Health Service for demolition of Federal buildings.
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 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 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
[[Page S6312]]
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,
$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),
$4,125,000.
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 30 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 five
replacement passenger vehicles; purchase, rental, repair, and
cleaning of uniforms for employees, $387,755,000, of which
not to exceed $47,088,000 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: Provided
further, That the Smithsonian Institution may expend Federal
appropriations designated in this Act for lease or rent
payments for long term and swing space, as rent payable to
the Smithsonian Institution, and such rent payments may be
deposited into the general trust funds of the Institution to
the extent that federally supported activities are housed in
the 900 H Street, N.W. building in the District of Columbia:
Provided further, That this use of Federal appropriations
shall not be construed as debt service, a Federal guarantee
of, a transfer of risk to, or an obligation of, the Federal
Government: Provided further, That no appropriated funds may
be used to service debt which is incurred to finance the
costs of acquiring the 900 H Street building or of planning,
designing, and constructing improvements to such building.
Repair, Restoration and Alteration of Facilities
For necessary expenses of repair, restoration, and
alteration of facilities 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, $57,600,000, to remain available until
expended, of which $7,600,000 is provided for repair,
rehabilitation and alteration of facilities at the National
Zoological Park: Provided, That contracts awarded for
environmental systems, protection systems, and repair or
restoration of facilities 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, $4,500,000, to
remain available until expended.
administrative provisions, smithsonian institution
None of the funds in this or any other Act may be used to
initiate the design for any proposed expansion of current
space or new facility without consultation with the House and
Senate Appropriations Committees.
The Smithsonian Institution shall not use Federal funds in
excess of the amount specified in Public Law 101-185 for the
construction of the National Museum of the American Indian.
None of the funds in this or any other Act may be used for
the Holt House located at the National Zoological Park in
Washington, D.C., unless identified as repairs to minimize
water damage, monitor structure movement, or provide interim
structural support.
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, $64,781,000,
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, $10,871,000, 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, $14,000,000.
construction
For necessary expenses for capital repair and restoration
of the existing features of the building and site of the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, $20,000,000, to
remain available until expended.
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
salaries and expenses
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, $7,310,000.
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,
$105,000,000 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 sections 5(c) and 5(g) of the Act, for program
support, and for administering the functions of the Act, to
remain available until expended: Provided, That funds
previously appropriated to the National Endowment for the
Arts ``Matching Grants'' account may be transferred to and
merged with this account.
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,
$104,604,000, 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, $15,656,000, to remain available until
expended, of which $11,656,000 shall be available to the
National Endowment for the Humanities for the purposes of
section 7(h): 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, as amended, $24,907,000, to remain
available until expended.
[[Page S6313]]
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:
Provided further, That funds from nonappropriated sources may
be used as necessary 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), $1,078,000:
Provided, That the Commission is authorized to charge fees to
cover the full costs of its publications, and such fees shall
be credited to this account as an offsetting collection, to
remain available until expended without further
appropriation.
National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs
For necessary expenses as authorized by Public Law 99-190
(20 U.S.C. 956(a)), as amended, $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), $3,189,000:
Provided, That none of these funds shall be available for
compensation of level V of the Executive Schedule 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, $6,500,000:
Provided, That all appointed members of the Commission will
be compensated at a rate not to exceed the daily equivalent
of the annual rate of pay for positions at level IV of the
Executive Schedule for each day such member is engaged in the
actual performance of duties.
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,
$34,439,000, of which $1,900,000 for the museum's repair and
rehabilitation program and $1,264,000 for the museum's
exhibitions program shall remain available until expended.
Presidio Trust
Presidio Trust fund
For necessary expenses to carry out title I of the Omnibus
Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996, $23,400,000
shall be available to the Presidio Trust, to remain available
until expended. The Trust is authorized to issue obligations
to the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section
104(d)(3) of the Act, in an amount not to exceed $10,000,000.
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. 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 2000.
Sec. 308. 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. 309. 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 Departments of Veterans Affairs and
Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2001, then none of the funds appropriated
or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for the
AmeriCorps programs.
Sec. 310. 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. 311. (a) Limitation of Funds.--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) Exceptions.--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) Report.--On September 30, 2001, 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 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 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. 312. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
amounts appropriated to or earmarked in committee reports for
the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service by
Public Laws 103-138, 103-332, 104-134, 104-208, 105-83, 105-
277, and 106-113 for payments to tribes and tribal
organizations for contract support costs associated with
self-determination or self-governance contracts, grants,
compacts, or annual funding agreements with the Bureau of
Indian Affairs or the Indian Health Service as funded by such
Acts, are the total amounts available for fiscal years 1994
through 2001 for such purposes, except that, for the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, tribes and tribal organizations may use
their tribal priority allocations for unmet indirect costs of
ongoing contracts, grants, self-governance compacts or annual
funding agreements.
Sec. 313. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for
fiscal year 2001 the Secretaries of Agriculture and the
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 or the Jobs in the Woods Program
established in Region 10 of the Forest Service to individuals
and entities in historically timber-dependent areas in the
States of Washington, Oregon, northern California and Alaska
that have been affected by reduced timber harvesting on
Federal lands.
Sec. 314. 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. 315. All interests created under leases, concessions,
permits and other agreements associated with the properties
administered by the Presidio Trust shall be exempt from all
taxes and special assessments of every kind by the State of
California and its political subdivisions.
Sec. 316. 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. 317. Of the funds provided to the National Endowment
for the Arts--
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
[[Page S6314]]
Sec. 318. 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. 319. (a) In providing services or awarding financial
assistance under the National Foundation on the Arts and the
Humanities Act of 1965 from funds appropriated under this
Act, the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts
shall ensure that priority is given to providing services or
awarding financial assistance for projects, productions,
workshops, or programs that serve underserved populations.
(b) In this section:
(1) The term ``underserved population'' means a population
of individuals, including urban minorities, who have
historically been outside the purview of arts and humanities
programs due to factors such as a high incidence of income
below the poverty line or to geographic isolation.
(2) The term ``poverty line'' means the poverty line (as
defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and revised
annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the Community
Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to a
family of the size involved.
(c) In providing services and awarding financial assistance
under the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act
of 1965 with funds appropriated by this Act, the Chairperson
of the National Endowment for the Arts shall ensure that
priority is given to providing services or awarding financial
assistance for projects, productions, workshops, or programs
that will encourage public knowledge, education,
understanding, and appreciation of the arts.
(d) With funds appropriated by this Act to carry out
section 5 of the National Foundation on the Arts and
Humanities Act of 1965--
(1) the Chairperson shall establish a grant category for
projects, productions, workshops, or programs that are of
national impact or availability or are able to tour several
States;
(2) the Chairperson shall not make grants exceeding 15
percent, in the aggregate, of such funds to any single State,
excluding grants made under the authority of paragraph (1);
(3) the Chairperson shall report to the Congress annually
and by State, on grants awarded by the Chairperson in each
grant category under section 5 of such Act; and
(4) the Chairperson shall encourage the use of grants to
improve and support community-based music performance and
education.
Sec. 320. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall be expended or obligated to fund new revisions of
national forest land management plans until new final or
interim final rules for forest land management planning are
published in the Federal Register. Those national forests
which are currently in a revision process, having formally
published a Notice of Intent to revise prior to October 1,
1997; those national forests having been court-ordered to
revise; those national forests where plans reach the 15 year
legally mandated date to revise before or during calendar
year 2001; national forests within the Interior Columbia
Basin Ecosystem study area; and the White Mountain National
Forest are exempt from this section and may use funds in this
Act and proceed to complete the forest plan revision in
accordance with current forest planning regulations.
Sec. 321. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall be expended or obligated to complete and issue the
5-year program under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Resources Planning Act.
Sec. 322. None of the funds in this Act may be used to
support Government-wide administrative functions unless such
functions are justified in the budget process and funding is
approved by the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations.
Sec. 323. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none
of the funds in this Act may be used for GSA
Telecommunication Centers or the President's Council on
Sustainable Development.
Sec. 324. None of the funds in this Act may be used for
planning, design or construction of improvements to
Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House without the
advance approval of the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations.
Sec. 325. Amounts deposited during fiscal year 2000 in the
roads and trails fund provided for in the fourteenth
paragraph under the heading ``FOREST SERVICE'' of the Act of
March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 843; 16 U.S.C. 501), shall be used by
the Secretary of Agriculture, without regard to the State in
which the amounts were derived, to repair or reconstruct
roads, bridges, and trails on National Forest System lands or
to carry out and administer projects to improve forest health
conditions, which may include the repair or reconstruction of
roads, bridges, and trails on National Forest System lands in
the wildland-community interface where there is an abnormally
high risk of fire. The projects shall emphasize reducing
risks to human safety and public health and property and
enhancing ecological functions, long-term forest
productivity, and biological integrity. The Secretary shall
commence the projects during fiscal year 2001, but the
projects may be completed in a subsequent fiscal year. Funds
shall not be expended under this section to replace funds
which would otherwise appropriately be expended from the
timber salvage sale fund. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to exempt any project from any environmental law.
Sec. 326. None of the funds provided in this or previous
appropriations Acts for the agencies funded by this Act or
provided from any accounts in the Treasury of the United
States derived by the collection of fees available to the
agencies funded by this Act, shall be transferred to or used
to fund personnel, training, or other administrative
activities at the Council on Environmental Quality or other
offices in the Executive Office of the President for purposes
related to the American Heritage Rivers program.
Sec. 327. Other than in emergency situations, none of the
funds in this Act may be used to operate telephone answering
machines during core business hours unless such answering
machines include an option that enables callers to reach
promptly an individual on-duty with the agency being
contacted.
Sec. 328. No timber sale in Region 10 shall be advertised
if the indicated rate is deficit when appraised under the
transaction evidence appraisal system using domestic Alaska
values for western red cedar: Provided, That sales which are
deficit when appraised under the transaction evidence
appraisal system using domestic Alaska values for western red
cedar may be advertised upon receipt of a written request by
a prospective, informed bidder, who has the opportunity to
review the Forest Service's cruise and harvest cost estimate
for that timber. Program accomplishments shall be based on
volume sold. Should Region 10 sell, in fiscal year 2001, the
annual average portion of the decadal allowable sale quantity
called for in the current Tongass Land Management Plan in
sales which are not deficit when appraised under the
transaction evidence appraisal system using domestic Alaska
values for western red cedar, all of the western red cedar
timber from those sales which is surplus to the needs of
domestic processors in Alaska, shall be made available to
domestic processors in the contiguous 48 United States at
prevailing domestic prices. Should Region 10 sell, in fiscal
year 2001, less than the annual average portion of the
decadal allowable sale quantity called for in the current
Tongass Land Management Plan in sales which are not deficit
when appraised under the transaction evidence appraisal
system using domestic Alaska values for western red cedar,
the volume of western red cedar timber available to domestic
processors at prevailing domestic prices in the contiguous 48
United States shall be that volume: (i) which is surplus to
the needs of domestic processors in Alaska; and (ii) is that
percent of the surplus western red cedar volume determined by
calculating the ratio of the total timber volume which has
been sold on the Tongass to the annual average portion of the
decadal allowable sale quantity called for in the current
Tongass Land Management Plan. The percentage shall be
calculated by Region 10 on a rolling basis as each sale is
sold (for purposes of this amendment, a ``rolling basis''
shall mean that the determination of how much western red
cedar is eligible for sale to various markets shall be made
at the time each sale is awarded). Western red cedar shall be
deemed ``surplus to the needs of domestic processors in
Alaska'' when the timber sale holder has presented to the
Forest Service documentation of the inability to sell western
red cedar logs from a given sale to domestic Alaska
processors at price equal to or greater than the log selling
value stated in the contract. All additional western red
cedar volume not sold to Alaska or contiguous 48 United
States domestic processors may be exported to foreign markets
at the election of the timber sale holder. All Alaska yellow
cedar may be sold at prevailing export prices at the election
of the timber sale holder.
Sec. 329. None of the funds appropriated by this Act shall
be used to propose or issue rules, regulations, decrees, or
orders for the purpose of implementation, or in preparation
for implementation, of the Kyoto Protocol which was adopted
on December 11, 1997, in Kyoto, Japan at the Third Conference
of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, which has not been submitted to the Senate
for advice and consent to ratification pursuant to article
II, section 2, clause 2, of the United States Constitution,
and which has not entered into force pursuant to article 25
of the Protocol.
Sec. 330. The Forest Service, in consultation with the
Department of Labor, shall review Forest Service campground
concessions policy to determine if modifications can be made
to Forest Service contracts for campgrounds so that such
concessions fall within the regulatory exemption of 29 CFR
4.122(b). The Forest Service shall offer in fiscal year 2001
such concession prospectuses under the regulatory exemption,
except that, any prospectus that does not meet the
requirements of the regulatory exemption shall be offered as
a service contract in accordance with the requirements of 41
U.S.C. 351-358.
Sec. 331. A project undertaken by the Forest Service under
the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program as authorized by
section 315 of the Department of the Interior and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1996, as amended,
shall not result in--
(1) displacement of the holder of an authorization to
provide commercial recreation services on Federal lands.
Prior to initiating any project, the Secretary shall consult
with potentially affected holders to determine what impacts
the project may have on the holders. Any modifications to the
authorization shall be made within the terms and conditions
of the authorization and authorities of the impacted agency.
(2) the return of a commercial recreation service to the
Secretary for operation when such services have been provided
in the past by a private sector provider, except when--
(A) the private sector provider fails to bid on such
opportunities;
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(B) the private sector provider terminates its relationship
with the agency; or
(C) the agency revokes the permit for non-compliance with
the terms and conditions of the authorization.
In such cases, the agency may use the Recreation Fee
Demonstration Program to provide for operations until a
subsequent operator can be found through the offering of a
new prospectus.
Sec. 332. Section 801 of the National Energy Conservation
Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8287(a)(2)(D)(iii)) is amended by
striking ``$750,000'' and inserting ``$10,000,000''.
Sec. 333. From the funds appropriated in Title V of Public
Law 105-83 for the purposes of section 502(e) of that Act,
the following amounts are hereby rescinded: $1,000,000 for
snow removal and pavement preservation and $4,000,000 for
pavement rehabilitation.
Sec. 334. In section 315(f) of Title III of Section 101(c)
of Public Law 104-134 (16 U.S.C. 460l-6a note), as amended,
strike ``September 30, 2001'' and insert ``September 30,
2002'', and strike ``September 30, 2004'' and insert
``September 30, 2005''.
Sec. 335. None of the funds in this Act may be used by the
Secretary of the Interior to issue a prospecting permit for
hardrock mineral exploration on Mark Twain National Forest
land in the Current River/Jack's Fork River--Eleven Point
Watershed (not including Mark Twain National Forest land in
Townships 31N and 32N, Range 2 and Range 3 West, on which
mining activities are taking place as of the date of the
enactment of this Act): Provided, That none of the funds in
this Act may be used by the Secretary of the Interior to
segregate or withdraw land in the Mark Twain National Forest,
Missouri under section 204 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1714).
Sec. 336. The authority to enter into stewardship and end
result contracts provided to the Forest Service in accordance
with Section 347 of Title III of Section 101(e) of Division A
of Public Law 105-825 is hereby expanded to authorize the
Forest Service to enter into an additional 28 contracts
subject to the same terms and conditions as provided in that
section: Provided, That of the additional contracts
authorized by this section at least 9 shall be allocated to
Region 1 and at least 3 to Region 6.
Sec. 337. Any regulations or policies promulgated or
adopted by the Departments of Agriculture or the Interior
regarding recovery of costs for processing authorizations to
occupy and use Federal lands under their control shall adhere
to and incorporate the following principle arising from
Office of Management and Budget Circular, A-25; no charge
should be made for a service when the identification of the
specific beneficiary is obscure, and the service can be
considered primarily as benefiting broadly the general
public.
Sec. 338. Local Exemptions From Forest Service
Demonstration Program Fees. 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 Demonstration Program Fees.--
``(1) In general.--Each unit of general local government
that lies in whole or in part within the White Mountain
National Forest and 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 Demonstration
Program Fee (parking permit or passport) imposed by the
Secretary of Agriculture for access to the Forest.
``(2) Administration.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
establish a method of identifying persons who are exempt from
paying user fees under paragraph (1). This method may include
valid form of identification including a drivers license.''.
Sec. 339. None of the funds made available in this or any
other Act may be used by the Bureau of Land Management or the
U.S. Forest Service to assess, appraise, determine, proceed
to determine, or collect rents for right-of-way uses for
federal lands except as such rents have been or may be
determined in accordance with the linear fee schedule
published on July 8, 1997 ([43 CFR 2803.1-2(c)(1)(i)]).
Sec. 340. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for
fiscal year 2001, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized
to limit competition for fire and fuel treatment and
watershed restoration contracts in the Giant Sequoia National
Monument and the Sequoia National Forest. Preference for
employment shall be given to dislocated and displaced workers
in Tulare, Kern and Fresno Counties, California, for work
associated with the establishment of the Sequoia National
Monument.
Sec. 341. The Chief of the Forest Service, in consultation
with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration,
shall prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis, in
accordance with chapter 6 of part I of title 5, United States
Code, of the impact of the White River National Forest Plan
on communities that are within the boundaries of the White
River National Forest.
Sec. 342. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act may be used to finalize or implement
the published roadless area conservation rule of the Forest
Service published on May 10, 2000 (36 Fed. Reg. 30276,
30288), or any similar rule, in any inventoried roadless area
in the White Mountain National Forest.
Sec. 343. From funds previously appropriated in Public Law
105-277, under the heading ``Department of Energy, Fossil
Energy Research and Development'', the Secretary of Energy
shall make available within 30 days after enactment of this
Act $750,000 for the purpose of executing proposal #FT40770.
Sec. 344. (a) In addition to any amounts otherwise made
available under this Act to carry out the Tribally Controlled
College or University Assistance Act of 1978, $1,891,000 is
appropriated to carry out such Act for fiscal year 2001.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the
amount of funds provided to a Federal agency that receives
appropriations under this Act in an amount greater than
$20,000,000 shall be reduced, on a pro rata basis, by an
amount equal to the percentage necessary to achieve an
aggregate reduction of $1,891,000 in funds provided to all
such agencies under this Act. Each head of a Federal agency
that is subject to a reduction under this subsection shall
ensure that the reduction in funding to the agency resulting
from this subsection is offset by a reduction in travel
expenditures of the agency.
(c) Within 30 days of enactment of this Act, the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate a
listing of the amounts by account of the reductions made
pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section.
This Act may be cited as the ``Department of the Interior
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001''.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I am pleased to bring before the Senate
the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year
2001. The bill totals $15.474 billion in discretionary budget
authority, an amount that is more than $600 million over the current
year level but almost $1 billion lower than the administration's budget
request. The bill is right at its 302(b) allocation, and as such any
amendments must be fully offset.
Drafting this bill is always a great challenge, in large part because
it funds programs and activities that have a direct and tangible impact
on the constituents that we represent. This is particularly true for
those of my colleagues from western States that contain large amounts
of Federal and tribal lands. But aside from the usual challenges posed
by the Interior bill, this year's version has been especially difficult
given the lofty expectations raised by the administration's rather
extravagant budget. The administration's request amounts to an increase
of 11 percent overall--a hefty increase in light of our ongoing efforts
to maintain some degree of control over Federal spending. The bill
before the Senate contains a more reasonable increase of about 5
percent--an amount that I think is appropriate as we attempt to fashion
an overall budget that protects Social Security and Medicare, reduces
the national debt, and provides for sensible tax relief.
Despite the more modest funding levels contained in this bill, I can
assure my colleagues that the bill is a responsible product that is
responsive to the most pressing needs of the land management agencies;
the agencies that provide health, education and other services to
Indian people; the several cultural institutions under the
subcommittee's jurisdiction; and a number of Department of Energy
programs that are particularly relevant today in light of the recent
rise in gasoline prices.
In drafting this bill in consultation with the ranking member of the
subcommittee, Senator Byrd, I have followed a number of basic
principles.
First, the bill provides nearly 100 percent of the money required to
fund increases in fixed costs such as pay and benefits. These are cost
increases over which the subcommittee has little or no control. Failure
to provide these funds simply means agencies must reduce services or
program delivery from current year levels. For the Interior bill as a
whole, these fixed cost increases total more than $300 million in FY
2001. Providing this amount simply to maintain current levels of
service takes a large bit out of the overall increase in the
subcommittee's allocation.
Second, I have placed a high priority in those agencies and functions
for which the Federal Government has sole or primary responsibility.
Providing for the core operating needs of the land management agencies
continues to be a central priority in this bill. We have also tried to
provide adequate sums for the operation and maintenance of the
Smithsonian, the National Gallery, and the Kennedy Center--institutions
that are our direct responsibility. Finally, we have done our very best
to provide for the core needs of the Indian peoples for whom we have
trust responsibility--partiuclarly in the area of health services and
education.
The third major principle that has guided me in developing this bill
really flows from the second. For years, I
[[Page S6316]]
have listened to Senator Domenici, Senator Dorgan, Senator Campbell,
and others talk in hearings, markups, and casual conservation about the
need for major investment in the construction and repair of Indian
schools. I have been shown pictures of Indian schools in other States
to which none of us would want to send our own children, and am aware
of schools in my own State that are in desperate need of repair or
replacement. Much like Department of Defense schools, these Indian
schools are the direct responsibility of the Federal Government. In
many cases, however, they look very little like Department of Defense
schools, and are not in a condition that we would allow to occur within
the DOD school system.
As chairman of the Interior subcommittee, it has been frustrating to
not be able to respond to such a pressing need in anything more than an
incremental manner. But given the difficult spending constraints under
which the committee has been operating for a number of years, it has
been impossible to make significant progress on this issue without it
being identified as a priority in administration budget requests. This
year, however, the administration has responded to the pleas of my
colleagues--a development that apparently was spurred by the
President's recent visit to Indian country. The FY 2001 budget request
includes dramatic increases for both new school construction and repair
and rehabilitation of existing schools. While the bill before you does
not provide 100 percent of the request, it does provide an increase of
$143 million for BIA school construction and repair. This amount is
enough to complete the next six schools on the construction priority
list, as well as provide an $84 million increase for the repair and
rehabilitation account. Maintaining these funding levels will be one of
my highest priorities in conference with the House.
Adhering to these fundamental principles while remaining within the
subcommittee's 302(b) allocation did not leave a great deal of room for
other program increases. As a result, there is perhaps less in this
bill for land acquisition, grant programs, and specific member projects
than some would like. I think, however, that the bill reflects the
right set of priorities. I have attempted to allocate available
resources to the most compelling needs identified in agency budget
requests, as well as to the particular priorities identified to me in
the more than 2,000 individual requests I have received from Members of
this body. I regret not being able to do more of the things that my
colleagues have asked me to do, but want to assure Members on both
sides of the aisle that I have made every effort to treat these
requests in a fair and even-handed manner.
While I do not wish to belabor the details, I do want to take a
moment to point out a few highlights of the bill for the benefit of my
colleagues who have not had a chance to review it closely. For the land
management agencies, the bill provides significant increases for core
operational needs.
The bill provides an increase of $80 million for operation of the
National Park System, including more than $25 million for increases in
the base operating budgets of more than 80 parks and related sites,
including the U.S. Park Police. These increases build on similar
increases that have been provided for the past several years. The bill
also provides an increase of $11 million for the National Park Service
to continue efforts to research and document fundamental scientific
information on the biological, geological, and hydrological resources
present in our park system.
For the Bureau of Land Management, the bill fully funds the request
for noxious weed control, fully funds the budget request for annual and
deferred maintenance, and provides an increase of $7.2 million for
recreation programs. The bill also provides a $10 million increase for
Payments In Lieu of Taxes, continuing the committee's steady effort to
raise PILT funding toward the authorized level.
For the Forest Service, the bill provides increases of $10.5 million
for recreation programs, and provides level funding for the timber
program to prevent further erosion of timber offer levels. The bill
also fully funds firefighting preparedness, provides all the funds
requested to address survey and manage issues under the Northwest
Forest Plan, and provides increases over the President's budget request
for both road and trail maintenance.
For the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the bill provides increases
of $17 million for refuge operations and maintenance to continue
efforts to bolster the Service's basic operational capabilities. The
bill also includes increases of $15 million for endangered species
accounts, and $5 million for law enforcement programs that have been
flat-funded for a number of years.
With respect to the cultural agencies funded in this bill, I am
pleased to note that funding for the National Endowment for the Arts is
increased by $7 million, and funding for the National Endowment for the
Humanities is increased by $5 million. While these increases are fairly
modest, they are indicative of the widespread support that these two
agencies have within the Senate. The increases also reflect the degree
to which the Endowments have responded to congressional concerns about
the types of activities being funded, and the way in which project
funding decisions are made. While last year we were not able to
maintain the higher Senate funding levels in conference with the House,
I fully intend to maintain the increases provided for the Endowments in
the final FY 2001 bill. I will put the leadership of the other body on
notice now that the Senate has no intention of receding on this matter.
This bill also provides funding for a portion of the Department of
Energy, including programs that support research on energy conservation
and fossil energy development. This research is critical to reducing
our Nation's dependence on foreign oil, and to reducing harmful
emissions from vehicles, power plants and other sources. The bill
provides targeted increases for the most effective of these programs.
Of particular not is the $11 million increase over the request level
for oil technology research and development. This program, which is
designed to enhance oil production from domestic sources and to develop
cleaner petroleum-based fuels, was inexplicably slated for a large
reduction the administration's budget request. In light of the recent
and alarming rise in the price of gasoline, such a reduction seems
highly imprudent at this time. The bill also provides increases for
research on cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles, including additional
funding for the Partnership for a Next Generation of Vehicles. This
program was eliminated by the other body during floor debate--something
which also seems imprudent in light of our growing dependence on
foreign oil, and the potentially disastrous impact that rising oil
prices could have on our economy.
Among the many Indian programs funded in this bill, I have already
discussed the high priority that has been placed on education programs.
The bill provides increases for other Indian programs, however,
including an increase of $143 million for Indian Health Services. This
amount includes a $41 million program increase for additional clinical
services, a $20 million increase for contract health services, and a
$25 million increase for facilities construction and improvement. The
bill continues the committee's efforts to help the Department of the
Interior reform its abysmal trust management system. As many of my
colleagues are aware, the Department is making a concerted effort to
deal with a trust management mess that has been building for decades,
if not the entire 20th century. This bill provides the full
administration request for the Office of Special Trustee, which is
charged with overseeing the trust reform initiative. The bill also
provides an increase of $12.5 million for trust reform activities
within the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
On a more parochial level, I would like also to talk about what this
bill means for the people of Washington State. The land management
agencies funded through the Interior Appropriations bill have a
dramatic impact on the ecological and economic health of the Pacific
Northwest. With more than 25 percent of the land in Washington State
owned by the Federal Government, I have taken a special interest in
assuring that we have the resources and policies that promote
recreational and economic opportunities, and environmental
preservation.
In preparing the FY 2001 Interior appropriations bill, I focused on
three
[[Page S6317]]
key issues for Washington State: restoring the health of our salmon
runs, providing recreational opportunities, and promoting a clean
Washington State.
The salmon crisis has reached new heights in the past 6 months. While
greeted by the good news that some returning Columbia River runs are at
their highest levels in more than a decade, the cause of decline and
the goals for recovery remain a mystery. The clash between local
governments and the Federal agencies responsible for addressing the
listing of these species has grown increasingly tense.
Fortunately, most can agree that homegrown efforts to recover salmon
will be the foundation for addressing the species' future. In this
year's Interior bill, I have continued and increased the Federal
Government's investment in funding volunteer salmon recovery groups
that have the best track record for identifying and restoring crucial
stream and river habitat for salmon.
Increasingly, the role of fish hatcheries in the larger effort to
restore naturally spawning runs of salmon has come under scrutiny. A
group of key scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Indian Fisheries
Commission, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have joined
forces to develop standards for the more than 100 hatcheries located in
the State. I have secured funding to continue this effort to redesign
hatchery practices and retrofit the facilities to ultimately enhance
salmon runs rather than detract from the larger recovery goals.
The Northwest continues to be a hot spot for recreation. Whether you
are a day hiker from downtown Seattle or a back country horseman from
Okanogan, all of us have a desire to preserve and enhance the
recreation opportunities on our public lands. This year, I have focused
my attention on improving camping and hiking opportunities in the
Middle Fork Snoqualmie Valley and preserving the history of Ebey's
Landing on Whidbey Island.
Finally, the health and beauty of our public lands are assets we
cannot ignore. The diversity of wildlife that resides in our forests,
refuges and parks must be preserved in the future. I have dedicated
funding to acquiring key tracts of land that will provide connective
habitat in the Cascade Range. Our children deserve a clean Washington
State, and the fiscal year 2001 Interior appropriations bill makes a
strong investment in the public lands we depend on for ecological and
economic stability.
In the interests of expediting debate on this bill, I will not spend
more of the Senate's time describing its many noteworthy features. I
do, however, wish to make one final observation regarding the bill as a
whole. The bill will soon be open to amendment. Any Senator may offer
an amendment to move funding from one program to another. Some of these
proposals I may support, as I do not claim to know all there is to know
about programs funded in this bill. Many such amendments I will oppose,
however, because I think the bill before you represents an appropriate
balance among competing priorities. But whatever the case, the point is
that the process of amendment is available to us--to all Senators.
The administration's budget request includes a proposal that would
greatly diminish the right of Senators to offer amendments to change
spending priorities in this bill. The ``Lands Legacy'' initiative would
fence off a significant number of the programs in this bill and provide
a set amount of funding for those programs. An amendment to move
funding from this Lands Legacy pot to other programs would not be
possible. For instance, one could not propose to shift funds from Urban
and Community Forestry to Tribally Controlled Community Colleges, or
from the Cooperative Endangered Species Fund to the National Park
Service operations account. Regardless of what individual Senators
might think about such amendments, to prohibit the simple offering of
the amendment is absurd. That is why the committee has rejected the
administration proposal entirely. And that is why this Senator is
vehemently opposing efforts being made elsewhere in Congress to take
land acquisition and a handful of favored grant programs off budget,
thereby preventing the Appropriations Committee and the Senate as a
whole from weighing the merits of those programs against the other
critical--but sometimes less visible or popular--activities funded in
this bill.
On one further matter, I know several of my colleagues have inquired
about emergency items that were included in the supplemental portion of
the Agriculture appropriations bill, but which were not included in the
supplemental title of the military construction bill that was sent to
the President prior to the recess. This category includes funding for
hurricane damage to National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service facilities, and funding championed by Senator Grams that would
address a major timber blowdown in Minnesota and Wisconsin. While I can
not now say exactly how we will address these issues, I want to assure
my colleagues that this senator is committed to seeing that these
previously identified emergency needs are addressed.
Before I turn to Senator Byrd for his opening remarks, I want to
state for the record how much I continue to enjoy working with him in
putting this bill together year after year. He is a forceful and
eloquent advocate for the interests of the State of West Virginia, as
well as for the interests of Members on his side of the aisle and I may
say, my side of the aisle. He is always cognizant, however, of the need
to put forward a well balanced bill that adequately addresses the
pressing national priorities that come under the subcommittee's
jurisdiction. It is a great pleasure to work with him and his able
staff. I also want to thank my own staff for the many hours they have
put into this bill. It is often a grueling process, and I know I speak
for all Senators in expressing appreciation for the work that has been
done to get us this far.
With that, I will only add the comment that I hope we will be able to
deal with this bill relatively promptly and deal with it within the
parameters set by the bill itself. I think it is not nearly as
controversial a proposal as sometimes has been the case in the past.
The House has, of course, already passed its Interior appropriations
bill, and I have every hope we can finish our task relatively promptly
and send not only an acceptable but an absolutely first-rate bill to
the President of the United States.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, it is a great pleasure to join with the
distinguished Senator from Washington in presenting this bill. He is an
extraordinarily fine chairman. I have chaired this subcommittee now
for, oh, a good many years, but Senator Gorton is really one of the
best subcommittee chairmen in this Senate. I say that without any
hesitation. I have no compunctions about saying he is one of the finest
chairmen with whom I have ever served in these 42 years in the
Senate. I mean every word of it.
I have found him always to be very courteous, very considerate, very
cooperative; and he is this way with all Senators--not just with me but
with all of our colleagues. I could not hope to have a better chairman
than he. And if it were not for the honor that goes along with the
chairmanship, I would just as soon he kept this. But there is a certain
honor with it, so I look forward to the time when I will be chairman of
the full committee and subcommittee again. But my hat is always off to
this chairman, Senator Gorton.
This is an important piece of legislation that provides for the
management of our natural resources, undertakes important energy
research, supports vital Indian health and education programs, and
works to protect and preserve our national and cultural heritage. It is
a bill on which Senator Gorton and I cooperate very closely on a
bipartisan basis. We know no party in our relationship in this Senate.
And that is said without any reservations whatsoever. There is no
Republican Party, no Democratic Party where Slade Gorton and I are
concerned in working on this subcommittee. And I can say the same with
respect to the full committee with respect to Ted Stevens, the
distinguished Senator from Alaska. There is no party line in that
committee.
[[Page S6318]]
The programs and activities funded under the jurisdiction of the
subcommittee are treated in a fair and balanced way, as is customary
for the annual Interior appropriations bills under the chairmanship of
Senator Slade Gorton. He is one of the best--if not the best--
subcommittee chairman with whom I have had the opportunity to serve.
The bill was reported unanimously by the committee, and I urge my
colleagues to support its passage.
I will not repeat the summary of the bill just provided by the
subcommittee chairman, except to say that, as it currently stands, this
measure provides $15.4 billion in new discretionary budget authority.
This amount, while less than the administration's request, is
nevertheless $628 million above last year's enacted level. The bill, as
reported by the committee, has fully utilized the subcommittee's entire
302(b) allocation of $15.4 billion in discretionary budget authority.
Consequently, to remain consistent with the Budget Act, any amendments
that propose increased funding will have to be fully offset.
So if any Senator has any amendment in mind that seeks to add money,
that Senator or his staff, or both, should busy themselves about
finding an offset because Peter is going to have to pay Paul in this
instance. It is going to come out of somebody's funding, and I am
determined it will not be mine. So I suggest that Senators look for an
offset because they have to have it.
In terms of total spending, the Interior bill is by no means the
largest of the 13 annual appropriations measures. Yet, despite its
relatively modest size, the Interior appropriations bill commands
significant attention from Members of the Senate. As is the case every
year, the subcommittee received more than 2,000 Member requests seeking
consideration of a particular project, or account, or activity under
the jurisdiction of one agency or another in this bill. All of these
requests are very important to our colleagues and the people that they
represent. Unfortunately, because of the constrained spending level
under the allocations provided to the Congress, it is not possible to
adequately respond to all of these requests. That is what makes the
crafting of this bill so difficult. Trying to balance the specific
needs addressed by the Member requests on one hand, while remaining
within the budgetary allocations on the other hand, is an arduous task,
indeed--not as arduous, perhaps, as the problem that Solomon had, but
sometimes I wonder.
Nevertheless, it is our responsibility--the responsibility of our
chairman and myself--to undertake that very difficult assignment, and I
commend him for his splendid efforts in meeting the highest priority
needs of all Senators. For months now, he has gone to great lengths to
work with me and to keep me informed, and to work with my staff to keep
my staff informed, of his recommendations throughout the process of
marking up and reporting this bill. Throughout this process, Senator
Gorton's graciousness--that word is key, ``graciousness''--and his
dedication to duty have never wavered, and I am personally grateful to
him for all his courtesies.
I also express my appreciation to the fine staff members on the
majority staff side, as well as members on the minority staff side. We
have a new staff person on this side of the aisle--Peter Kiefhaber,
German to the core, smart as they come, and hard working. That is what
I like about him. He is hard working, he is courteous, and he is
extremely efficient.
So with that, I think I shall join my chairman in asking Senators, if
they have them, to bring their amendments to the floor. It would be my
hope, as I used to do when I was chairman, to urge, with the approval
of the chairman of the subcommittee, our floor staffs to contact
Senators and see if they have any amendments. If they have them, let's
draw up a list. Let's know which Senators have what amendments, and
let's draw up a list. It would be my hope that at a time not too far
away we could get unanimous consent that that be a finite list. Then we
could go from there.
But I will not suggest that at the moment. I have not discussed that
with the chairman. Whenever he is ready to ask his staff on that side
of the aisle, I will do the same over here. We will have our leadership
make calls to Senators and let us know if we are to anticipate any
problems from them. If we are to anticipate such, let us know about it.
And because we do have other business, we must get on with it.
I again thank my chairman, Mr. Gorton. I thank our staffs.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, once again, I thank my friend and
colleague, Senator Byrd, not only for his kind words but substantively
for the fact that I believe we have brought to the floor a bill that
can command wide respect and that is not likely to be faced with
profound amendments that change the direction or the philosophy of the
bill itself.
We have put together a list of rumored amendments as well as some en
bloc amendments that we can accept in closing. It is relatively modest
in length. It will be good if some of them can be brought today, of
course, in the course of the next less than 2 hours. But I do hope that
by tomorrow we will be in a position to get a unanimous consent
agreement for a finite number of amendments and can develop a way in
which to deal with them very promptly.
The majority leader has told us how much he has to accomplish for the
week. It will be a wonderful tribute to us, and a great help to us, if
we are able to be in conference on this committee well before the week
is over.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota is recognized.
Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Washington
and Senator Byrd, who I know want to expedite the matter, for allowing
me to speak about an amendment that I am now drafting. I want to make
sure this works out well. This is in response to something, as the
Senator mentioned, that is a priority for both myself and Senator
Grams. What happened is that we in Minnesota were hit with a once-in-a-
thousand-years storm, literally. It was on July 4, 1999. Over 400,000
acres in Minnesota were damaged, including the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness, as well as the Gunflint Corridor, in Superior National
Forest. This started in the Boundary Waters Wilderness area, which is
really a national treasure.
What we are worried about is the blow-down to which Senator Gorton
referred. We had a hearing in Grand Rapids on Friday. Senator Craig
chaired the hearing, and I thought he did a superb job. Basically, what
people are focused on right now is how to deal with this blow-down and
the possibility of a conflagration. Everybody is very worried about
what could happen. The Forest Service--I think there was also consensus
on this--is doing a very good job. I think that is what people across
the spectrum were saying.
What happened is we had $9.2 million in emergency funding that came
out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, however we lost much of
that funding when the MILCON bill got put together. The funding went
from $9.2 million to $2 million. This additional $7.2 million--and I
know you heard from Senator Grams on this as well--is critically
important to us. It is important also for some of the work that the
Forest Service is trying to do just by way of education.
It is incredible how few minor fires we have had; people have been
paying very careful attention and are doing everything they can to
prevent them. It also goes to the whole question of how we deal with
the trees that are down and the underbrush and whether or not we can do
the prescribed burns on what kind of schedule. This is critically
important to my State of Minnesota.
So what I want to do is take 10 minutes or so to outline what we are
dealing with in Minnesota, and then I will have an amendment that I
will send to the desk, or I can get it to staff and Senators and see
whether we can just reach some agreement.
Again, this was an unbelievable storm that hit our State. In many
ways, what I think has happened is that it has brought Minnesotans
together; it has brought the best out in people. We are talking about
our beloved national forests. This is a critically important area;
400,000 acres in 7 counties were hit by a storm that damaged as much as
70 percent of the trees in certain areas and wiped out numerous rows.
The damage of this storm has
[[Page S6319]]
presented unbelievable challenges, not only to land managers but all
Minnesotans--people who depend on the national forest for their jobs,
family incomes, industrial materials such as paper and pulp, and family
vacations and recreation.
Mr. President, I do think that the Forest Service, as I said, has
begun to implement a significant and important effort. In particular,
what they are trying to deal with is the dead and downed timber, which
is a great threat to people in the State, and really, I think, a great
threat to the country because we are talking about a crown jewel
wilderness area.
My intention is to have an amendment--we are working on it right now,
drafting it in such a way that we clearly make the case for emergency
funding, which I think we can. We really should have had this
additional money. I want to make sure it is OK with colleagues on both
sides. And then later on maybe we will have a vote or maybe it can be
accepted. I hope we can get an agreement on this amendment. I wanted to
signal my intention to you and spell out what I want to do.
Mr. President, I heard my colleague refer to this blow-down
amendment. I wonder whether he might respond.
Mr. GORTON. Will the Senator yield?
Mr. WELLSTONE. Yes, but I would like to hold the floor a few more
minutes. I yield temporarily.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, the emergency, the task, the unprecedented
nature of the storm damage that is described by the Senator from
Minnesota is absolutely correct. There is not a single thing he has
said that meets with any resistance or disagreement on the part of this
Senator.
I wish that money had been included in the bill that is now law. As I
believe the Senator knows, it remains in the Agriculture appropriations
bill. I guess, procedurally at least, the principal challenge or
principal question is which one of these two bills is going to get to
the President and actually be signed first because I know the Senator
from Minnesota wishes to have this money in hand.
I make this suggestion to the Senator from Minnesota. If he would get
together in just the next few hours or over the evening with the junior
Senator from Minnesota and present us with a joint project, I will
discuss the matter with Senator Byrd and with the leadership and tell
the Senator that I think he is absolutely right; I want to get this job
done as quickly as I possibly can. I will be delighted--and I am sure
Senator Byrd will be delighted as well--to see to it that we do this in
a way in which it becomes law and the money becomes available as
quickly as possible.
Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I very much appreciate the Senator's
comments. As far as I am concerned, this request should come from both
Senators. I would be delighted if Senator Grams joined me. We will get
the wording of the amendment to you. We will do this together. We want
to just get it done for our State. I think the Senator from Washington
can appreciate that sentiment. That is his modus operandi. I will let
other Senators come forward with amendments now. I will get the
amendment to you. We will have Senator Grams join in, and we will try
to get it done on this bill.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico is recognized.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I want to take a few minutes to talk
about the energy conservation programs in this Interior appropriations
bill that we are now considering. First, I want to thank Chairman
Gorton and Senator Byrd for their fine work on this bill. In
particular, I am very glad to see that funding for energy conservation
is 5 percent above last year's level. I firmly believe that every
dollar spent on research and development for energy efficiency pays
back many times in the real value for the American consumer. These
programs are saving the Nation an estimated $20 billion per year in
energy costs at this time.
I would like to focus my comments today on one particular program in
the energy conservation budget, and that is, the Partnership for a New
Generation of Vehicles. This is generally referred to as PNGV. It is a
cost-shared, industry-government partnership.
It is working to improve the fuel economy of passenger cars with the
ultimate goal of developing midsized cars that will get up to 80 miles
per gallon.
Talking about energy efficiency in the transportation sector I
believe is especially timely given the high gasoline prices that we are
all concerned about throughout the Nation. I believe every Senator
needs to understand why gasoline prices are rising, why the days of
cheap oil are unlikely to return anytime soon, and why programs such as
PNGV are so important to our economic competitors.
During the last couple of weeks, we have heard a lot on the Senate
floor about the decline in domestic oil production and various
proposals to stimulate new production. But production is only one side
of the coin. A far more important factor in the long-term increase in
oil prices is the dramatic upsurge in worldwide demand for petroleum
products. The steep increase in consumption here in the United States
compounds the worldwide situation.
Today, the U.S. transportation sector--this includes air, boat, rail,
and highway travel, all of our transportation sector--is 95-percent
dependent on oil. Transportation accounts for two-thirds of our
Nation's oil consumption and a quarter of our total energy use. While
over the last 25 years the residential, the commercial, and industrial
sectors have all been able to reduce their dependence on oil, the
transportation sector consumption of oil has skyrocketed.
I show you this chart. This shows petroleum use increases mainly
occurring in the transportation sector. This chart goes back 30 years--
from 1970 to the year 2000--and then forward for 20 years. If you look
at these other areas, it tries to show the industrial use, and the
residential, commercial, or electric generation use of petroleum
products. They are all relatively stable. The increases are not
excessive in those areas. In fact, there are declines in electric
generation and residential and commercial. But in transportation the
increase is very substantial.
From the first gas price shock in 1973 until 1998, oil use for
transportation grew an astounding 37 percent. If that is not bad
enough, according to this chart from the Energy Information Agency--let
me show you this second chart. The demand for oil in the transportation
sector is anticipated to increase another 46 percent over the next 20
years.
Another key point from the chart is that over half of our oil
consumption for transportation is used for light-duty vehicles; that
is, passenger vehicles and pickup trucks. Today, more people are
driving more miles in vehicles that use more fuel per mile. As you can
see, unless something is done, our passenger cars will consume half
again more fuel in 2020 than they do today.
I think all Senators agree on the need to reduce our dependence on
imported oil. Today, America imports more than half of its oil. The
cost of importing oil is a dangerous drag on our economy.
Reducing our dependence on imported oil is a daunting and long-term
challenge that will require a variety of measures. Surely efforts to
increase domestic production need to play a role in that strategy.
However, I am afraid there is no silver bullet. Increased domestic
production alone will not meet America's skyrocketing demand for oil.
With transportation accounting for two-thirds of our oil use, I
believe the key is to reduce transportation demand through a wide range
of measures, including technology advances that squeeze more useful
energy out of every drop of oil.
That's where PNGV comes in. Started in 1993, PNGV brings together the
expertise of the nation's colleges and universities, government
agencies, national laboratories, suppliers, and the auto industry in a
10-year effort to dramatically improve the fuel efficiency of passenger
vehicles. PNGV research efforts are focused on developing breakthrough
technologies that are key to improving fuel economy. Work is underway
on lightweight materials, aerodynamics, tires, power electronics,
energy storage, combustion science, fuel cells, and hybrid propulsion
systems.
The long-term goal of the program is to develop mid-size passenger
sedans with up to three-times better fuel economy in a vehicle that
retains all the
[[Page S6320]]
performance, comfort, safety, and cost of today's comparable models.
In the past seven years, a number of PNGV's innovations have started
to improve the fuel economy of today's production vehicles. Many of
these innovations originated in our national laboratories. I am pleased
to see our laboratories are playing a major role in PNGV. Let me cite a
few examples of recent accomplishments:
One automaker is now using a technology developed at Sandia National
Laboratories in Albuquerque, in my state of New Mexico, to produce axle
shafts that are stronger, lighter, and less expensive.
The Pacific Northwest Laboratory in the Chairman's home state of
Washington helped develop a hydroforming technique that is being used
to shape door, deck and hood panels in current model vehicles.
Using analytical methods developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
automakers are now producing pickup truck boxes from lightweight
composite materials.
And Los Alamos National Laboratory, also in my state, is one of the
world leaders in fuel cell technology. Through PNGV, the lab's unique
capabilities are being brought to bear on what may well be the
automobile technology of the future. A fuel cell offers the highest
possible efficiency with near zero emissions--certainly a goal worth
striving for.
In addition to producing immediate fuel savings, PNGV is a program
that is meeting its milestones. Earlier this year, and on schedule, all
three domestic automakers rolled out high efficiency concept vehicles:
the Ford Prodigy, DaimlerChrysler's ESX-3, and GM's Precept. These cars
demonstrated, for the first time, the technical feasibility of a 5-
passenger, 80-mile per gallon vehicle. This is truly a remarkable
achievement.
I believe all Senators agree that the views of the National Academy
of Sciences carry considerable weight in this body. Just last month,
the Academy's National Research Council completed its sixth annual
review of PNGV. It had this to say about the program:
Though confronted with enormous technological problems,
PNGV has made significant progress in meeting its objectives,
and reaching the 2000 milestones represents an outstanding
effort.
I ask unanimous consent that a summary of the National Research
Council's sixth report on PNGV be printed in the Record at the
conclusion of my remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered
(See exhibit 1.)
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, the NRC's report went on to describe the
major challenges that remain in the final four years of the program.
PNGV's goal is ambitious but achievable: to develop production vehicles
that meet all safety and emissions standards while simultaneously
maintaining current vehicle cost levels. The increase in federal
funding in the bill before us today will help ensure that PNGV can meet
its goal.
Last month, Chairman Gorton lead a debate here on the Senate floor
about fuel efficiency standards, and I want to thank him for his
effort. I do believe it is an important issue. How ever that debate
eventually plays out, it should be clear that we are not going to be
able to reduce our dangerous dependence on imported foreign oil without
vehicles that are more efficient. And the American public is not going
to stand for vehicles that do not provide the same levels of safety,
comfort, and performance they've come to expect. That's exactly what
PNGV is all about.
I'd like to make one last point. Both Europe and Japan have recently
taken steps to raise the average fuel economy of their vehicles. In
Europe, automakers are committed to increasing fuel economy by 33
percent by 2008. In Japan, fuel economy levels are set to increase 23
percent by 2010. I do believe fuel efficiency is an issue of
international economic competitiveness. We must aggressively pursue
efforts like PNGV, or risk falling behind in the global automotive
market.
In closing, I am pleased that the Senate bill provides adequate
funding for PNGV. However, I am concerned this year about maintaining
the Senate's funding level for PNGV in conference. In what I believe
was a very wrongheaded action, the House all but eliminated funding for
this vital program. Mr. President, this is not the time to reduce our
commitment to cutting-edge research that offers the promise of dramatic
reductions in our need for oil. I hope all senators will want to work
with the committee to maintain the Senate's funding level for PNGV as
the bill moves to conference.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter from Secretary
Richardson opposing the House's actions be printed the Record at the
conclusion of my remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See exhibit 2.)
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, PNGV represents the best of America's
minds working together on one of the most important issues we face
today.
I again thank Chairman Gorton, and Senator Byrd for their work on
this bill and especially for the funding they've provided for energy
conservation and PNGV.
Exhibit I
[From the National Academies, June 15, 2000]
Fuel Economy, Cost May Be Compromised To Meet Tougher Emission
Standards in Next-Generation Cars
Washington.--A public-private partnership to create a
highly fuel-efficient car reached a major milestone earlier
this year with the unveiling of concept vehicles, but the
ability to meet both fuel-economy objectives and emission
standards by a 2004 deadline remains a monumental challenge,
says a new report from the National Academies' National
Research Council.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new emissions
standards for vehicle exhaust, which will be phased in
beginning in 2004, are significantly more stringent than
those that were in place when the public-private program,
called the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles
(PNGV), was initiated six years ago. All of the demonstrated
concept vehicles--DaimlerChrysler's ESX3, Ford's Prodigy, and
GM's Precept--use hybrid electric technology, which
incorporates electric power from a battery with a small
diesel engine. While the concept vehicles can achieve a fuel
economy in the range of 70 to 80 miles per gallon, none meet
the new emission standards.
``Though confronted with enormous technological problems,
PNGV has made significant progress in meeting its objectives,
and reaching the 2000 milestone represents an outstanding
effort,'' said Trevor O. Jones, chair of the committee that
wrote the report and chairman and chief executive officer of
Biomec Inc., Cleveland. ``As the program moves toward the
2004 deadline to introduce production prototype vehicles,
major attention will need to be devoted to meeting the new
emissions standards while simultaneously attaining cost and
fuel economy objectives, which continue to elude PNGV
engineers.''
In the committee's judgment, EPA's ``Tier 2'' standards for
nitrogen oxides and particulate matter will delay the use of
the diesel engine--and its significant fuel-economy benefit--
until systems can be developed that meet the new standards.
PNGV also may have to shift its attention to other internal
combustion engine designs with greater potential for
extremely low emissions and high fuel efficiency.
The partnership should develop models that can predict the
type and amount of emissions for a variety of engines and
exhaust treatment systems in different versions of hybrid
electric vehicles, the report says. These efforts will assist
researchers in evaluating the feasibility of meeting the Tier
2 standards and provide data that could then be used to
establish an appropriate plan for the next phase of the
program.
Currently, fuel cells--an alternative power source--have
the greatest potential to meet emissions standards and
energy-efficiency requirements. All of the vehicle
manufacturers are building concept vehicles powered by
fuel cells that are estimated to get up to an equivalent
of 100 mpg. Though notable progress has been made, the
automotive fuel cell remains a long-range development
facing significant hurdles, including the need to
substantially reduce costs, which are running about five
times higher than the program projected. The fuel cells
are targeted for production automobiles sometime after
2004 by some vehicle builders.
New types of fuel and the infrastructure of refineries,
distribution systems, and service stations are extremely
important considerations in developing both internal
combustion engines and fuel cells. The committee recommends
that PNGV and the petroleum industry more fully address fuel
issues and strengthen their cooperative programs.
As the program moves closer to commercially viable
vehicles, the National Highway and Traffic Safety
Administration should support major safety studies to
determine how lightweight cars perform in collisions with
heavier vehicles, the report says. These activities are
critically important because PNGV vehicles, although similar
in size to today's vehicles, will weigh much less with
lighter bodies, frames, interior components, and window
glass.
[[Page S6321]]
Although substantial accomplishments have been made, high
cost is a serious problem in almost every area of the PNGV
program, the committee said. The costs of most components of
the concept vehicles are higher than their target values. For
example, research continues to be conducted on aluminum and
other composite materials for use in major vehicle
components, but costs still are not competitive with steel.
Battery costs are at least three times greater than the
program's target. And DaimlerChrysler has estimated that its
ESX3 concept vehicle would cost $7,500 more than a
traditional vehicle in its class.
Given the complexity of the assignment and the tight
timeline, the committee lauded PNGV's technical teams for
their overall achievements and effectiveness in meeting
project goals and their ability to develop solid industry-
government-academia working relationships despite their
competitive positions. And while the individual car
manufacturers took different approaches in building their
concept vehicles, all have made significant contributions and
benefited by using technologies developed through the
collaborative program. Further, many of the technologies--
such as lightweight body materials--are being incorporated
into vehicles that are in production today.
The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles is an
alliance of U.S. government agencies and the U.S. Council for
Automotive Research (USCAR), whose members are the country's
three major automakers--DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General
Motors. PNGV was formed in late 1993 to develop an affordable
midsize vehicle by 2004 with a fuel economy of up to 80 mpg--
three times more efficient than today's vehicles--while
meeting or exceeding government safety and emission
requirements. Since 1994, the Research Council has conducted
annual reviews of the program's goals and progress at the
request of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The study was sponsored by the U.S. departments of
Commerce, Energy, and Transportation. The Research Council is
the principal operating arm of the National Academy of
Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. It is a
private, nonprofit institution that provides independent
advice on science and technology issues under a congressional
charter. A committee roster follows.
standing committee to review the research program of the partnership
for a new generation of vehicles
Trevor O. Jones (chair), Chair and Chief Executive Officer,
Biomec Inc., Cleveland.
Craig Marks (vice chair), President, Creative Management
Solutions, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
William Agnew, Director, Programs and Plans, General Motors
Research Laboratories (retired), Washington, Mich.
Alexis T. Bell, Professor, Department of Chemical
Engineering, University of California, Berkeley.
W. Robert Epperly, President, Epperly Associates Inc.,
Mountain View, Calif.
David E. Foster, Professor, Department of Mechanical
Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Norman A. Gjostein, Clinical Professor of Engineering,
University of Michigan, Dearborn.
David F. Hagen, General Manager of Alpha Simultaneous
Engineering, Ford Technical Affairs, Ford Motor Co.
(retired), Dearborn, Mich.
John B. Heywood, Sun Jae Professor of Mechanical
Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge.
Fritz Kalhammer, Consultant, Strategic Science and
Technology, and Transportation Groups, and Former Vice
President, Strategic Research and Development, Electric Power
Research Institute, Palo Alto, Calif.
John G. Kassakian, Professor, Department of Electrical
Engineering, and Director, Laboratory for Electromagnetic and
Electronic Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge.
Harold H. Kung, Professor, Department of Chemical
Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
John Scott Newman, Professor, Department of Chemical
Engineering, University of California, Berkeley.
Roberta Nichols, Manager, Electric Vehicles External
Strategy and Planning Department, Ford Motor Co. (retired),
Plymouth, Mich.
Vernon P. Roan, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and
Director, Center for Advanced Studies in Engineering,
University of Florida, Palm Beach Gardens.
Research Council Staff
James Zucchetto, Director, Board on Energy and
Environmental Systems.
Exhibit 2
The Secretary of Energy,
Washington, DC, June 15, 2000.
Hon. Ralph Regula,
Chairman, Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies,
Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to express my concern
regarding yesterday's House action to effectively terminate
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV)
activities. I thank you for your efforts to defeat this
amendment. I know you agree that especially now, during this
current spike in energy prices, is not the time to reduce the
U.S. commitment to cutting-edge research and development that
will reduce our dependence on petroleum.
The Sununu amendment virtually eliminates the entire budget
for the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV).
This is a matter of great concern to the Department, since
PNGV has been a highly successful program aimed at reducing
our country's growing consumption of petroleum products for
transportation. As gasoline prices exceed $2.00 per gallon in
the mid-west, we are reminded that the United States has
become increasingly vulnerable to oil price shocks and supply
disruptions. Other impacts of this growing petroleum
consumption are greater air pollution and increasing
greenhouse gas emissions.
Technologies from PNGV results have already appeared in
cars available for sale today. Earlier this year, the three
PNGV year 2000 concept cars demonstrated the technical
feasibility of 80 mile per gallon 5-passenger sedans. Each of
these cars represents a unique approach to the challenges
addressed by PNGV and showcases the progress made in advanced
technology research and development through the partnership.
The work is not finished, however.
Major challenges remain to be addressed during the final
four years of this program, especially the size, weight, cost
and emissions performance of individual components. The
reliability of these technologies, both individually and in
the context of a system, also needs to be demonstrated.
In its sixth review of the PNGV, released today, the
National Research Council (NRC) notes that, measured against
the magnitude of the challenge, ``PNGV is making good
progress.'' The NRC characterizes meeting the PNGV 2000
concept vehicle milestone as ``an outstanding . . . effort.''
Given projections of substantial growth in the number of
vehicles worldwide in the years ahead, combined with
uncertainty about the ability of worldwide petroleum
production to keep up, it would be extremely unwise to
terminate this program that is key to developing high energy
efficiency vehicles without compromising the features that
make them attractive to U.S. consumers.
Also, it is vital, during a period of increasing worldwide
competition to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles, that we
maintain support for U.S. producers. In view of significant
support being provided by governments in Europe and Japan, it
seems particularly ill-advised for us to abandon our
leadership. Any reduction in PNGV funding would jeopardize
achievement of our objectives.
I appreciate your leadership in protecting energy research
and development funding. If you have further questions, you
may contact me or have a member of your staff contact Mr.
John C. Angell, Assistant Secretary for Congressional and
Intergovernmental Affairs, at (202) 586-5450.
Yours sincerely,
Bill Richardson.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bunning). The Senator from Washington.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I compliment the Senator from New Mexico
on his presentation and I ask if he will return to the two charts.
I appreciate the kind words of the Senator from New Mexico on this
general field. My own view is we do need to do what we can to produce
more petroleum products from sources that are within the control of the
United States. I am convinced we also, in meeting this challenge, need
to move aggressively toward the development and increased use of
alternative fuels for our automobiles. Even if we are relatively
successful in both of those courses of action, the challenge of an
increased dependence and increased use of fossil fuels in
transportation, or of even alternative fuels, is simply going to
continue to grow.
The Senator from New Mexico, in stressing the importance of a greater
degree of efficiency in the use of energy for transportation purposes,
is directly on point. As he stated, this appropriations bill includes a
modest increase in its appropriation for the Partnership for a New
Generation of Vehicles, a program I have supported ever since I took
the chairmanship of this subcommittee. I think it is very important to
the country as a whole. I think it is a constructive partnership
between government and the private sector.
I am delighted to have a Member speak on this specific element of the
bill that I had to pass over rather quickly. The top line on the chart
indicates the nature of the problem.
The Senator from New Mexico also mentioned my effort in a different
appropriations bill, once again, to go back to mandated, better fuel
efficiency standards on the part of automobiles and small trucks. That
is at least a first cousin, if not closer, to the proposition to which
the Senator from New Mexico is speaking.
If we are to be successful, if we are to turn that rapidly rising
line in the chart and even flatten it out, it seems
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to me we have to engage in all of these. The subject about which he
spoke is particularly important.
I can assure the Senator from New Mexico that in a conference
committee with the House on this subject, I will hold out as eloquently
as I possibly can for the full Senate appropriation.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I respond by thanking the Senator from
Washington for his comments and indicate that I think his leadership on
this issue is extremely important, particularly so given the
wrongheaded action the House of Representatives has taken in their bill
of essentially zeroing out the funding for this very important program
after 6 successful years of progress in a 10-year program.
I am encouraged by the Senator's statements. I will certainly do
anything I can to assist the Senator in seeing to it that this is
adequately funded in the future.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I take a few minutes to comment on the
bill and some of the areas of particular concern.
First, I recognize and thank the chairman and Senator Byrd for their
good work. It is a tough job on any appropriations bill to hold down
spending and keep it within the budget. Yet it is very difficult to set
the priorities. This is one of the hardest jobs in the Congress. I
appreciate the work they have done.
Particularly in this Interior bill, it is very hard to put together a
bill that gets support throughout the entire Congress, representing all
the States in the country, when a large part of the activity goes on,
of course, in the public land States.
I want to comment on a few of those areas that are of particular
concern to those who live in the West, where much of the State is owned
by the Federal Government, ranging from 25 to nearly 90 percent of some
States belonging to the Federal Government. Our economy, our future,
all those things are tied very closely to what happens with the
management of Federal lands. Much of that is within this budget of
Interior.
I am particularly pleased, as chairman of the Subcommittee on
National Parks, that the funding for national parks is in this budget,
as well. Certainly we would all like to see as much support as possible
for parks, but there is an increase here, as there has been over the
past several years. There are some 379 parks in this country, national
parks, all of which are quite different--from Yellowstone to the Statue
of Liberty--parks that are unique.
The idea, of course, is to have the basic support for parks come from
appropriations. We have developed over the past several years some
alternative support, supplemental sources of funding that are not meant
to replace, of course, but simply to supplement. These are such things
as demonstration fees, which are then used in the park in which they
are collected, or highway funds which come from the highways and go to
the parks. I am thinking particularly in this case of Yellowstone Park,
where highways are a very important part of their funding. Much of that
goes there. We encourage contributions that can be made from the
private sector.
There are several areas of concern, of course. One of them is PILT--
payment in lieu of taxes. This is a program designed for a county where
much of the land is owned by the Federal Government, where they would
normally have real estate taxes that would come in through the
operations of the county. Of course, when the Federal Government owns
the land, those taxes are not collected and therefore this is a
replacement and one that has been there for a very long time. It is
quite important. It is very important because, in most cases, the
counties provide the kinds of services on the public lands that they
would provide on the private lands, even though the Federal Government,
by its nature, does not pay the taxes. So these are payments that are
made in lieu of.
There are some increases in this budget over the last year, but not
nearly equal to the taxes that would be collected if the Federal
Government did not own the land. So to the extent that is some
measurement of fairness, then we are still quite below where we ought
to be in the PILT area. We raised the authorization a number of years
ago. Now it is tied to some kind of growth in the economy. We are, of
course, quite below what the authorized level would be. We have some
increases. We would like to have some consideration given to them.
Large amounts of land in Wyoming belong to the Federal Government--in
the entire West. It creates some responsibility. Last week I met with
county commissioners in Big Horn, WY, and their primary concern was
what we are going to do with PILT because much of their county is
Federal land. We have a unique relationship with the Federal
Government. The Government depends on local communities to provide this
infrastructure. Without the support of these counties, the Federal
Government would be unable to manage theirs. I am talking about
highways; I am talking about police protection; I am talking about
health care and emergency care. All these things are provided without
the basis of support that is usually there. So that is what the payment
in lieu of taxes is all about. I know it is very difficult, but I think
it is a program that merits some consideration and perhaps we will have
the opportunity to increase those payments somewhat.
Actually, it is not confined to Western States. About 49 different
States participate in the PILT program throughout the country,
including the District of Columbia and three territories, so, of
course, it is widespread in support.
Earlier this year, we had 57 Senators join in a letter supporting an
increase in PILT funding. I will submit, a little later, for
consideration some opportunity perhaps to give a little boost to that
kind of funding. It is something that has a real meaning.
Let me give a little example. We have 23 counties in my State of
Wyoming. Teton County is 96 percent Federally owned, Park County, 82
percent federally owned, on down the line; in Big Horn County, which I
mentioned a little while ago, 80 percent of that county belongs to the
Federal Government. It goes on. So I think there is a great deal of
interest in that, and in the question of fairness.
Let me say, too, even though the appropriations are not actually the
area where these kinds of decisions are often made, I think it is
important to recognize this administration has made a drive towards the
end. I understand the President is seeking to change the legacy to be
one of a sort of Theodore Roosevelt thing, with land acquisition, the
proposal to have 40 million acres roadless, in addition to the
Antiquities Act and other things. This is going on currently.
One of the difficulties is not so much the idea of controlling roads.
I have no problem with that. There should not be roads everywhere; we
need to take a look at them. I am more concerned about the method in
which it has been undertaken. Rather than having a major decision made
by bureaucrats in Washington, we ought to go through the process. We
have what are called forest studies over several years, and we have
forest planning. That is where it ought to be done, so the people
locally can participate.
We have talked about all the meetings we have had, and I have
attended some of them, but the problem is, because this was done on a
nationwide basis, hardly anyone who came to the meetings knew what they
were talking about, including many of the people from the Forest
Service. So there needs to be some real input. Perhaps there is
something we can do to slow down that area.
Going back to parks, there are some 27 or 28 parks where one of the
access functions that people enjoy is using snow machines in the
wintertime in places such as Teton Park and Yellowstone Park and in
Minnesota--there are a number there. Now we have another one of these
bureaucratic knee-jerk responses that we are going to eliminate the use
of snowmobiles in national parks.
I do not argue there ought not be some control. There should be, and
there can be. There ought to be some control over the machines
themselves. The manufacturers have said they are willing to do that, to
lower the noise and do something about the emissions. The problem is
the EPA has never set up any standards with which they need to comply.
I understand if you are going to put a great deal of money into
[[Page S6323]]
research to change these machines, you have to know where you need to
be to be able to comply. We have never done this.
In addition, even though it seems as if a lot of people are using
them, there are many fewer using the facilities in the wintertime. So
it would have been possible, if the park had managed the snow machines
rather than just letting them go, to separate the uses if they conflict
with one another. If you have snow machines conflicting with cross-
country skiers, in most parts you can have some space in between them.
The park is never managed. Instead of seeking to manage these kinds of
things, they simply say: Now we are going to do away with them.
The real issue there is access. Parks and public lands at least have
two major functions. One is to preserve the resource. The second is to
give the owners, who are the taxpayers, an opportunity to enjoy them.
One of the ways of enjoying them is, in this case, a snow machine.
Rather than simply eliminate it, it seems to me we ought to take a
little bit more time and find some ways to fit that into what we are
doing, whether it is used for hunting or hiking or sightseeing.
We were talking about energy over here. One of the reasons we are
having energy problems is that our domestic production is down. One of
the reasons it is down is we have made it more difficult to have access
in the public lands. In Wyoming, that is a real problem because half
the land belongs to the Federal Government.
So I think there are a lot of things we can do to be able to still
protect the resource yet provide for multiple use of those resources.
Finally, there is grazing. A year ago, the Senate bill had language
in it that if the Bureau of Land Management, didn't have the resources
to go in and investigate and take a look at a grazing allotment--if the
BLM did not get there, as they were supposed to, then they could cancel
the allotment of this grazing. All we are saying is, when the BLM can't
get to it, until they are able to, they ought to be able to go on as
they have before, under their original contract. That is language that
should be there. We would like to make sure it is there as we go
through this.
Finally, there is a wild horse problem. We have a large number of
wild horses in Wyoming. Not many people have to deal with that problem.
The administration has requested $9 million for the next 4 years as
part of an effort to bring the wild horses back to manageable levels.
As a matter of fact, in the Red Desert of Wyoming, about 10 years ago,
there was a lawsuit which required that these numbers be brought down.
The BLM has never done that. Now they say: We can't do it unless we
have some additional funding. The House funded the administration's
request, but an amendment on the floor brought it down to $5 million.
The Senate bill does not fund the administration's request. Now we have
the possibility of BLM taking money away from other uses unless they
have some more resources to handle these wild horses.
I hope we can talk about some of these issues. I understand they are
unique problems. I do not think there are many wild horses in Rhode
Island, but they are in other places. This is the kind of bill where we
have to deal with the unique things that happen in the West.
Again, I appreciate very much the work of the chairman. I know he
comes from a western State with a considerable amount of unique and
public resources as well. I also know that he is very interested in
dealing with them fairly.
I compliment that effort. I want to work with him to see if we can
deal with some of these other unique problems that arise.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
Mr. WELLSTONE. My colleague from Missouri is very gracious and I can
do this in 30 seconds.
amendment no. 3772
(Purpose: To increase funding for emergency expenses resulting from
wind storms)
Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I call up my amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Minnesota [Mr. Wellstone], for himself and
Mr. Grams, proposes an amendment numbered 3772.
Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
On page 165, between lines 18 and 19, insert the following:
For an additional amount for emergency expenses resulting
from damage from windstorms, $7,249,000 to become available
upon enactment of this Act and, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That the entire amount shall be available
only to the extent that the President submits to Congress an
official budget request for a specific dollar amount that
includes designation of the entire amount of the request as
an emergency requirement for the purposes of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C.
900 et seq.): Provided further, That the entire amount is
designated by Congress as an emergency requirement under
section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)).
Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, this amendment, again, is to restore
$7.2 million in emergency funding. My colleague from Washington made a
helpful suggestion. Senator Grams is coming back from Minnesota today.
I believe we can do this together. I ask unanimous consent that my
amendment be laid aside, and when Senator Grams comes back, we will
talk tonight. We will both come out together. He will join me.
I thank my colleague from Washington and my colleague from West
Virginia as well for their support. It is terribly important to get
this additional money to deal with the blow-down. I thank my
colleagues.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Missouri.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may be
permitted to proceed for 4 minutes as in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________