[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 127 (Thursday, October 12, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10275-S10299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
APPROPRIATIONS
Mr. CRAPO. The clerk will report the pending bill.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 4635) making appropriations for the
Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban
Development, and for sundry independent agencies, boards,
commissions, corporations, and offices 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 out
all after the
N O T I C E
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Michael F. DiMario, Public
Printer
[[Page S10276]]
enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic.
DIVISION A
That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the Departments
of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and
for sundry independent agencies, boards, commissions,
corporations, and offices for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2001, and for other purposes, namely:
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Veterans Benefits Administration
Compensation and Pensions
(including transfers of funds)
For the payment of compensation benefits to or on behalf of
veterans and a pilot program for disability examinations as
authorized by law (38 U.S.C. 107, chapters 11, 13, 18, 51,
53, 55, and 61); pension benefits to or on behalf of veterans
as authorized by law (38 U.S.C. chapters 15, 51, 53, 55, and
61; 92 Stat. 2508); and burial benefits, emergency and other
officers' retirement pay, adjusted-service credits and
certificates, payment of premiums due on commercial life
insurance policies guaranteed under the provisions of Article
IV of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, as
amended, and for other benefits as authorized by law (38
U.S.C. 107, 1312, 1977, and 2106, chapters 23, 51, 53, 55,
and 61; 50 U.S.C. App. 540-548; 43 Stat. 122, 123; 45 Stat.
735; 76 Stat. 1198), $22,766,276,000, to remain available
until expended: Provided, That not to exceed $17,419,000 of
the amount appropriated shall be reimbursed to ``General
operating expenses'' and ``Medical care'' for necessary
expenses in implementing those provisions authorized in the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, and in the
Veterans' Benefits Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. chapters 51, 53,
and 55), the funding source for which is specifically
provided as the ``Compensation and pensions'' appropriation:
Provided further, That such sums as may be earned on an
actual qualifying patient basis, shall be reimbursed to
``Medical facilities revolving fund'' to augment the funding
of individual medical facilities for nursing home care
provided to pensioners as authorized.
Readjustment Benefits
For the payment of readjustment and rehabilitation benefits
to or on behalf of veterans as authorized by 38 U.S.C.
chapters 21, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 39, 51, 53, 55, and 61,
$1,634,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That expenses for rehabilitation program services and
assistance which the Secretary is authorized to provide under
section 3104(a) of title 38, United States Code, other than
under subsection (a)(1), (2), (5) and (11) of that section,
shall be charged to the account: Provided further, That funds
shall be available to pay any court order, court award or any
compromise settlement arising from litigation involving the
vocational training program authorized by section 18 of
Public Law 98-77, as amended.
Veterans Insurance and Indemnities
For military and naval insurance, national service life
insurance, servicemen's indemnities, service-disabled
veterans insurance, and veterans mortgage life insurance as
authorized by 38 U.S.C. chapter 19; 70 Stat. 887; 72 Stat.
487, $19,850,000, to remain available until expended.
Veterans Housing Benefit Program Fund Program Account
(including transfer of funds)
For the cost of direct and guaranteed loans, such sums as
may be necessary to carry out the program, as authorized by
38 U.S.C. chapter 37, 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, as amended: Provided further, That during fiscal year
2001, within the resources available, not to exceed $300,000
in gross obligations for direct loans are authorized for
specially adapted housing loans.
In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out the
direct and guaranteed loan programs, $162,000,000, which may
be transferred to and merged with the appropriation for
``General operating expenses''.
Education Loan Fund Program Account
(including transfer of funds)
For the cost of direct loans, $1,000, as authorized by 38
U.S.C. 3698, 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, as
amended: Provided further, That these funds are available to
subsidize gross obligations for the principal amount of
direct loans not to exceed $3,400.
In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to carry
out the direct loan program, $220,000, which may be
transferred to and merged with the appropriation for
``General operating expenses''.
Vocational Rehabilitation Loans Program Account
(including transfer of funds)
For the cost of direct loans, $52,000, as authorized by 38
U.S.C. chapter 31, 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, as amended: Provided further, That these funds are
available to subsidize gross obligations for the principal
amount of direct loans not to exceed $2,726,000.
In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to carry
out the direct loan program, $432,000, which may be
transferred to and merged with the appropriation for
``General operating expenses''.
Native American Veteran Housing Loan Program Account
(including transfer of funds)
For administrative expenses to carry out the direct loan
program authorized by 38 U.S.C. chapter 37, subchapter V, as
amended, $532,000, which may be transferred to and merged
with the appropriation for ``General operating expenses''.
guaranteed transitional housing loans for homeless veterans program
account
(including transfer of funds)
Not to exceed $750,000 of the amounts appropriated by this
Act for ``General operating expenses'' and ``Medical care''
may be expended for the administrative expenses to carry out
the guaranteed loan program authorized by 38 U.S.C. chapter
37, subchapter VI.
Veterans Health Administration
Medical Care
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses for the maintenance and operation of
hospitals, nursing homes, and domiciliary facilities; for
furnishing, as authorized by law, inpatient and outpatient
care and treatment to beneficiaries of the Department of
Veterans Affairs, including care and treatment in facilities
not under the jurisdiction of the department; and furnishing
recreational facilities, supplies, and equipment; funeral,
burial, and other expenses incidental thereto for
beneficiaries receiving care in the department;
administrative expenses in support of planning, design,
project management, real property acquisition and
disposition, construction and renovation of any facility
under the jurisdiction or for the use of the department;
oversight, engineering and architectural activities not
charged to project cost; repairing, altering, improving or
providing facilities in the several hospitals and homes under
the jurisdiction of the department, not otherwise provided
for, either by contract or by the hire of temporary employees
and purchase of materials; uniforms or allowances therefor,
as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5901-5902; aid to State homes as
authorized by 38 U.S.C. 1741; administrative and legal
expenses of the department for collecting and recovering
amounts owed the department as authorized under 38 U.S.C.
chapter 17, and the Federal Medical Care Recovery Act, 42
U.S.C. 2651 et seq., $20,281,587,000, plus reimbursements:
Provided, That of the funds made available under this
heading, $900,000,000 is for the equipment and land and
structures object classifications only, which amount shall
not become available for obligation until August 1, 2001, and
shall remain available until September 30, 2002: Provided
further, That of the funds made available under this heading,
not to exceed $500,000,000 shall be available until September
30, 2002: Provided further, That of the funds made available
under this heading, not to exceed $27,907,000 may be
transferred to and merged with the appropriation for
``General operating expenses'': Provided further, That the
department shall conduct by contract a program of recovery
audits for the fee basis and other medical services contracts
with respect to payments for hospital care; and,
notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302(b), amounts collected, by
setoff or otherwise, as the result of such audits shall be
available, without fiscal year limitation, for the purposes
for which funds are appropriated under this heading and the
purposes of paying a contractor a percent of the amount
collected as a result of an audit carried out by the
contractor: Provided further, That all amounts so collected
under the preceding proviso with respect to a designated
health care region (as that term is defined in 38 U.S.C.
1729A(d)(2)) shall be allocated, net of payments to the
contractor, to that region.
In addition, in conformance with Public Law 105-33
establishing the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Care
Collections Fund, such sums as may be deposited to such Fund
pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 1729A may be transferred to this
account, to remain available until expended for the purposes
of this account.
Medical and Prosthetic Research
For necessary expenses in carrying out programs of medical
and prosthetic research and development as authorized by 38
U.S.C. chapter 73, to remain available until September 30,
2001, $331,000,000, plus reimbursements.
Medical Administration and Miscellaneous Operating Expenses
For necessary expenses in the administration of the
medical, hospital, nursing home, domiciliary, construction,
supply, and research activities, as authorized by law;
administrative expenses in support of capital policy
activities, $62,000,000 plus reimbursements: Provided, That
technical and consulting services offered by the Facilities
Management Field Service, including project management and
real property administration (including leases, site
acquisition and disposal activities directly supporting
projects), shall be provided to Department of Veterans
Affairs components only on a reimbursable basis, and such
amounts will remain available until September 30, 2001.
Departmental Administration
General Operating Expenses
For necessary operating expenses of the Department of
Veterans Affairs, not otherwise provided for, including
uniforms or allowances therefor; not to exceed $25,000 for
official reception and representation expenses; hire of
passenger motor vehicles; and reimbursement of the General
Services Administration for security guard services, and the
Department of Defense for the cost of overseas employee mail,
$1,050,000,000: Provided, That expenses for services and
assistance authorized under 38 U.S.C. 3104(a)(1), (2), (5)
and (11) that the Secretary determines are necessary to
enable entitled veterans (1) to the maximum extent feasible,
to become employable and to obtain and maintain suitable
employment; or (2) to achieve maximum independence in daily
living, shall be charged to this account: Provided further,
That of the
[[Page S10277]]
funds made available under this heading, not to exceed
$45,000,000 shall be available until September 30, 2002:
Provided further, That funds under this heading shall be
available to administer the Service Members Occupational
Conversion and Training Act.
National Cemetery Administration
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses for the maintenance and operation of
the National Cemetery Administration, not otherwise provided
for, including uniforms or allowances therefor; cemeterial
expenses as authorized by law; purchase of two passenger
motor vehicles for use in cemeterial operations; and hire of
passenger motor vehicles, $109,889,000: Provided, That of the
amount made available under this heading, not to exceed
$117,000 may be transferred to and merged with the
appropriation for ``General operating expenses''.
Office of Inspector General
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978, as
amended, $46,464,000: Provided, That of the amount made
available under this heading, not to exceed $30,000 may be
transferred to and merged with the appropriation for
``General operating expenses''.
Construction, Major Projects
For constructing, altering, extending and improving any of
the facilities under the jurisdiction or for the use of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, or for any of the purposes
set forth in sections 316, 2404, 2406, 8102, 8103, 8106,
8108, 8109, 8110, and 8122 of title 38, United States Code,
including planning, architectural and engineering services,
maintenance or guarantee period services costs associated
with equipment guarantees provided under the project,
services of claims analysts, offsite utility and storm
drainage system construction costs, and site acquisition,
where the estimated cost of a project is $4,000,000 or more
or where funds for a project were made available in a
previous major project appropriation, $48,540,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That except for advance
planning of projects (including market-based assessments of
health care needs which may or may not lead to capital
investments) funded through the advance planning fund and the
design of projects funded through the design fund, none of
these funds shall be used for any project which has not been
considered and approved by the Congress in the budgetary
process: Provided further, That funds provided in this
appropriation for fiscal year 2001, for each approved project
shall be obligated: (1) by the awarding of a construction
documents contract by September 30, 2001; and (2) by the
awarding of a construction contract by September 30, 2002:
Provided further, That the Secretary shall promptly report in
writing to the Committees on Appropriations any approved
major construction project in which obligations are not
incurred within the time limitations established above:
Provided further, That no funds from any other account except
the ``Parking revolving fund'', may be obligated for
constructing, altering, extending, or improving a project
which was approved in the budget process and funded in this
account until one year after substantial completion and
beneficial occupancy by the Department of Veterans Affairs of
the project or any part thereof with respect to that part
only.
Construction, Minor Projects
For constructing, altering, extending, and improving any of
the facilities under the jurisdiction or for the use of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, including planning,
architectural and engineering services, maintenance or
guarantee period services costs associated with equipment
guarantees provided under the project, services of claims
analysts, offsite utility and storm drainage system
construction costs, and site acquisition, or for any of the
purposes set forth in sections 316, 2404, 2406, 8102, 8103,
8106, 8108, 8109, 8110, 8122, and 8162 of title 38, United
States Code, where the estimated cost of a project is less
than $4,000,000, $162,000,000, to remain available until
expended, along with unobligated balances of previous
``Construction, minor projects'' appropriations which are
hereby made available for any project where the estimated
cost is less than $4,000,000: Provided, That funds in this
account shall be available for: (1) repairs to any of the
nonmedical facilities under the jurisdiction or for the use
of the department which are necessary because of loss or
damage caused by any natural disaster or catastrophe; and (2)
temporary measures necessary to prevent or to minimize
further loss by such causes.
Parking Revolving Fund
For the parking revolving fund as authorized by 38 U.S.C.
8109, income from fees collected, to remain available until
expended, which shall be available for all authorized
expenses except operations and maintenance costs, which will
be funded from ``Medical care''.
Grants for Construction of State Extended Care Facilities
For grants to assist States to acquire or construct State
nursing home and domiciliary facilities and to remodel,
modify or alter existing hospital, nursing home and
domiciliary facilities in State homes, for furnishing care to
veterans as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 8131-8137, $100,000,000,
to remain available until expended.
Grants for the Construction of State Veterans Cemeteries
For grants to aid States in establishing, expanding, or
improving State veteran cemeteries as authorized by 38 U.S.C.
2408, $25,000,000, to remain available until expended.
Administrative Provisions
(including transfer of funds)
Sec. 101. Any appropriation for fiscal year 2001 for
``Compensation and pensions'', ``Readjustment benefits'', and
``Veterans insurance and indemnities'' may be transferred to
any other of the mentioned appropriations.
Sec. 102. Appropriations available to the Department of
Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2001 for salaries and
expenses shall be available for services authorized by 5
U.S.C. 3109.
Sec. 103. No appropriations in this Act for the Department
of Veterans Affairs (except the appropriations for
``Construction, major projects'', ``Construction, minor
projects'', and the ``Parking revolving fund'') shall be
available for the purchase of any site for or toward the
construction of any new hospital or home.
Sec. 104. No appropriations in this Act for the Department
of Veterans Affairs shall be available for hospitalization or
examination of any persons (except beneficiaries entitled
under the laws bestowing such benefits to veterans, and
persons receiving such treatment under 5 U.S.C. 7901-7904 or
42 U.S.C. 5141-5204), unless reimbursement of cost is made to
the ``Medical care'' account at such rates as may be fixed by
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Sec. 105. Appropriations available to the Department of
Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2001 for ``Compensation and
pensions'', ``Readjustment benefits'', and ``Veterans
insurance and indemnities'' shall be available for payment of
prior year accrued obligations required to be recorded by law
against the corresponding prior year accounts within the last
quarter of fiscal year 2000.
Sec. 106. Appropriations accounts available to the
Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2001 shall be
available to pay prior year obligations of corresponding
prior year appropriations accounts resulting from title X of
the Competitive Equality Banking Act, Public Law 100-86,
except that if such obligations are from trust fund accounts
they shall be payable from ``Compensation and pensions''.
Sec. 107. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
during fiscal year 2001, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall, from the National Service Life Insurance Fund (38
U.S.C. 1920), the Veterans' Special Life Insurance Fund (38
U.S.C. 1923), and the United States Government Life Insurance
Fund (38 U.S.C. 1955), reimburse the ``General operating
expenses'' account for the cost of administration of the
insurance programs financed through those accounts: Provided,
That reimbursement shall be made only from the surplus
earnings accumulated in an insurance program in fiscal year
2001, that are available for dividends in that program after
claims have been paid and actuarially determined reserves
have been set aside: Provided further, That if the cost of
administration of an insurance program exceeds the amount of
surplus earnings accumulated in that program, reimbursement
shall be made only to the extent of such surplus earnings:
Provided further, That the Secretary shall determine the cost
of administration for fiscal year 2001, which is properly
allocable to the provision of each insurance program and to
the provision of any total disability income insurance
included in such insurance program.
Sec. 108. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in
this Act for Medical Care appropriations of the Department of
Veterans Affairs may be obligated for the realignment of the
health care delivery system in Veterans Integrated Service
Network 12 (VISN 12) until 60 days after the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs certifies that the Department has: (1)
consulted with veterans organizations, medical school
affiliates, employee representatives, State veterans and
health associations, and other interested parties with
respect to the realignment plan to be implemented; and (2)
made available to the Congress and the public information
from the consultations regarding possible impacts on the
accessibility of veterans health care services to affected
veterans.
Sec. 109. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
collections authorized by the Veterans Millennium Health Care
and Benefits Act (Public Law 106-117) and credited to the
appropriate Department of Veterans Affairs accounts in fiscal
year 2001, shall not be available for obligation or
expenditure unless appropriation language making such funds
available is enacted.
Sec. 110. Not to exceed $1,200,000 may be transferred from
the ``Medical care'' appropriation to the ``General operating
expenses'' appropriation to fund contracts and services in
support of the Veterans Benefits Administration's Benefits
Delivery Center, Systems Development Center, and Finance
Center, located at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical
Center, Hines, Illinois.
Sec. 111. Not to exceed $4,500,000 from the ``Construction,
minor projects'' appropriation and not to exceed $2,000,000
from the ``Medical care'' appropriation may be transferred
and merged with the Parking Revolving Fund for surface
parking lot projects.
TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Public and Indian Housing
Housing Certificate Fund
(including transfers of funds)
For activities and assistance to prevent the involuntary
displacement of low-income families, the elderly and the
disabled because of the loss of affordable housing stock,
expiration of subsidy contracts (other than contracts for
which amounts are provided under another heading in this Act)
or expiration of use restrictions, or other changes in
housing assistance arrangements, and for other purposes,
$13,171,000,000 and amounts that are recaptured in this
account to remain available until expended: Provided, That of
the total amount provided under this heading,
$13,131,000,000, of which $8,931,000,000 shall be available
on October 1,
[[Page S10278]]
2000 and $4,200,000,000 shall be available on October 1,
2001, shall be for assistance under the United States Housing
Act of 1937 (``the Act'' herein) (42 U.S.C. 1437): Provided
further, That the foregoing amounts be for use in connection
with expiring or terminating section 8 subsidy contracts, for
amendments to section 8 subsidy contracts, for enhanced
vouchers (including amendments and renewals) under any
provision of law authorizing such assistance under section
8(t) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (47 U.S.C.
1437f(t)), and contracts entered into pursuant to section 441
of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act: Provided
further, That amounts available under the first proviso under
this heading may be available for section 8 rental assistance
under the Act: (1) pursuant to section 24 of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 or to other authority for the
revitalization of severely distressed public housing, as set
forth in the Appropriations Acts for the Departments of
Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and
Independent Agencies for fiscal years 1993, 1994, 1995, and
1997, and in the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and
Appropriations Act of 1996; (2) for the conversion of section
23 projects to assistance under section 8; (3) for funds to
carry out the family unification program; (4) for the
relocation of witnesses in connection with efforts to combat
crime in public and assisted housing pursuant to a request
from a law enforcement or prosecution agency; (5) for tenant
protection assistance, including replacement and relocation
assistance; and (6) for the 1-year renewal of section 8
contracts for units in a project that is subject to an
approved plan of action under the Emergency Low Income
Housing Preservation Act of 1987 or the Low-Income Housing
Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990: Provided
further, That of the total amount provided under this
heading, $40,000,000 shall be made available to nonelderly
disabled families affected by the designation of a public
housing development under section 7 of such Act, the
establishment of preferences in accordance with section 651
of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (42
U.S.C. 1361l), or the restriction of occupancy to elderly
families in accordance with section 658 of such Act, and to
the extent the Secretary determines that such amount is not
needed to fund applications for such affected families, to
other nonelderly disabled families: Provided further, That
any section 8 funds determined by the Secretary to be in
excess of amounts needed to maintain the normal operation and
level of assistance of a section 8 program, including
reasonable reserves, shall be recaptured and used to fund
title I of the Housing Needs Act of 2000: Provided further,
That amounts available under this heading may be made
available for administrative fees and other expenses to cover
the cost of administering rental assistance programs under
section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937: Provided
further, That the fee otherwise authorized under section 8(q)
of such Act shall be determined in accordance with section
8(q), as in effect immediately before the enactment of the
Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998: Provided
further, That of the balances remaining from funds
appropriated under this heading or the heading ``Annual
Contributions for Assisted Housing'' during fiscal year 2001
and prior years, $275,000,000 is rescinded.
Public Housing Capital Fund
(including transfers of funds)
For the Public Housing Capital Fund Program to carry out
capital and management activities for public housing
agencies, as authorized under section 9 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1437),
$2,955,000,000, to remain available until expended, of which
up to $50,000,000 shall be for carrying out activities under
section 9(h) of such Act, and for lease adjustments to
section 23 projects: Provided further, That no funds may be
used under this heading for the purposes specified in section
9(k) of the United States Housing Act of 1937: Provided
further, That of the total amount, up to $75,000,000 shall be
available for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
to make grants to public housing agencies for emergency
capital needs resulting from emergencies and natural
disasters in fiscal year 2001.
Public Housing Operating Fund
(including transfers of funds)
For payments to public housing agencies for the operation
and management of public housing, as authorized by section
9(e) of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended (42
U.S.C. 1437g), $3,192,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That no funds may be used under this
heading for the purposes specified in section 9(k) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937.
Drug Elimination Grants for Low-Income Housing
For grants to public housing agencies and Indian tribes and
their tribally designated housing entities for use in
eliminating crime in public housing projects authorized by 42
U.S.C. 11901-11908, for grants for federally assisted low-
income housing authorized by 42 U.S.C. 11909, and for drug
information clearinghouse services authorized by 42 U.S.C.
11921-11925, $310,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That of the total amount provided under
this heading, up to $5,000,000 shall be solely for technical
assistance, technical assistance grants, training, and
program assessment for or on behalf of public housing
agencies, resident organizations, and Indian tribes and their
tribally designated housing entities (including up to
$150,000 for the cost of necessary travel for participants in
such training) for oversight training and improved management
of this program, and $10,000,000 shall be used in connection
with efforts to combat violent crime in public and assisted
housing under the Operation Safe Home Program administered by
the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development: Provided further, That of the amount under this
heading, $10,000,000 shall be provided to the Office of
Inspector General for Operation Safe Home: Provided further,
That of the amount under this heading, $20,000,000 shall be
available for a program named the New Approach Anti-Drug
program which will provide competitive grants to entities
managing or operating public housing developments, federally
assisted multifamily housing developments, or other
multifamily housing developments for low-income families
supported by non-Federal governmental entities or similar
housing developments supported by nonprofit private sources
in order to provide or augment security (including personnel
costs), to assist in the investigation and/or prosecution of
drug related criminal activity in and around such
developments, and to provide assistance for the development
of capital improvements at such developments directly
relating to the security of such developments: Provided
further, That grants for the New Approach Anti-Drug program
shall be made on a competitive basis as specified in section
102 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform
Act of 1989.
Revitalization of Severely Distressed Public Housing (Hope VI)
For grants to public housing agencies for demolition, site
revitalization, replacement housing, and tenant-based
assistance grants to projects as authorized by section 24 of
the United States Housing Act of 1937, $575,000,000 to remain
available until expended of which the Secretary may use up to
$10,000,000 for technical assistance and contract expertise,
to be provided directly or indirectly by grants, contracts or
cooperative agreements, including training and cost of
necessary travel for participants in such training, by or to
officials and employees of the department and of public
housing agencies and to residents: Provided, That none of
such funds shall be used directly or indirectly by granting
competitive advantage in awards to settle litigation or pay
judgments, unless expressly permitted herein.
Native American Housing Block Grants
(including transfer of funds)
For the Native American Housing Block Grants program, as
authorized under title I of the Native American Housing
Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA)
(Public Law 104-330), $650,000,000, to remain available until
expended, of which $4,000,000 shall be contracted through the
Secretary as technical assistance and capacity building to be
used by the National American Indian Housing Council in
support of the implementation of NAHASDA and $2,000,000 shall
be to support the inspection of Indian housing units,
contract expertise, training, and technical assistance in the
training, oversight, and management of Indian housing and
tenant-based assistance, including up to $300,000 for related
travel: Provided, That none of the $2,000,000 for technical
assistance and other activities shall be made available to
the Secretary until all funds allocated to the National
American Indian Housing Council for fiscal years 2000 and
2001 are made available to such organization: Provided
further, That of the amount provided under this heading,
$6,000,000 shall be made available for the cost of guaranteed
notes and other obligations, as authorized by title VI of
NAHASDA: Provided further, That such costs, including the
costs of modifying such notes and other obligations, shall be
as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, as amended: Provided further, That these funds are
available to subsidize the total principal amount of any
notes and other obligations, any part of which is to be
guaranteed, not to exceed $54,600,000: Provided further, That
for administrative expenses to carry out the guaranteed loan
program, up to $200,000 from amounts in the first proviso,
which shall be transferred to and merged with the
appropriation for ``Salaries and expenses'', to be used only
for the administrative costs of these guarantees.
Indian Housing Loan Guarantee Fund Program Account
(including transfer of funds)
For the cost of guaranteed loans, as authorized by section
184 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (106
Stat. 3739), $6,000,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That such costs, including the costs of modifying
such loans, shall be as defined in section 502 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended: Provided
further, That these funds are available to subsidize total
loan principal, any part of which is to be guaranteed, not to
exceed $71,956,000.
In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out the
guaranteed loan program, up to $150,000 from amounts in the
first paragraph, which shall be transferred to and merged
with the appropriation for ``Salaries and expenses'', to be
used only for the administrative costs of these guarantees.
Community Planning and Development
Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS
For carrying out the Housing Opportunities for Persons with
AIDS program, as authorized by the AIDS Housing Opportunity
Act (42 U.S.C. 12901), $232,000,000, to remain available
until expended: Provided, That the Secretary shall renew all
expiring contracts that meet all program requirements before
awarding funds for new contracts and activities authorized
under this heading: Provided further, That the Secretary may
use up to 0.75 percent of the funds under this heading for
technical assistance.
Rural Housing and Economic Development
For the Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development in
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, $27,000,000,
which
[[Page S10279]]
amount shall be awarded by June 1, 2001 to Indian tribes,
State housing finance agencies, State community and/or
economic development agencies, local rural nonprofits and
community development corporations to support innovative
housing and economic development activities in rural areas:
Provided further, That all grants shall be awarded on a
competitive basis as specified in section 102 of the HUD
Reform Act.
Community Development Block Grants
(including transfers of funds)
For grants to States and units of general local government
and for related expenses, not otherwise provided for, to
carry out a community development grants program as
authorized by title I of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974, as amended (the ``Act'' herein) (42
U.S.C. 5301), $4,800,000,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2002: Provided, That $67,000,000 shall be for
grants to Indian tribes notwithstanding section 106(a)(1) of
such Act, $3,000,000 shall be available as a grant to the
Housing Assistance Council, $2,200,000 shall be available as
a grant to the National American Indian Housing Council, and
$41,500,000 shall be for grants pursuant to section 107 of
the Act including $3,000,000 to support Alaska Native serving
institutions and native Hawaiian serving institutions, as
defined under the Higher Education Act, as amended: Provided
further, That not to exceed 20 percent of any grant made with
funds appropriated herein (other than a grant made available
in this paragraph to the Housing Assistance Council or the
National American Indian Housing Council, or a grant using
funds under section 107(b)(3) of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974, as amended) shall be expended for
``Planning and Management Development'' and
``Administration'' as defined in regulations promulgated by
the department.
Of the amount made available under this heading,
$25,000,000 shall be made available for capacity building, of
which $20,000,000 shall be made available for ``Capacity
Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing'',
for LISC and the Enterprise Foundation for activities as
authorized by section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993
(Public Law 103-120), as in effect immediately before June
12, 1997, with not less than $5,000,000 of the funding to be
used in rural areas, including tribal areas.
Of the amount made available under this heading, the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may use up to
$55,000,000 for supportive services for public housing
residents, as authorized by section 34 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937, as amended, and for grants for service
coordinators and congregate services for the elderly and
disabled residents of public and assisted housing: Provided
further, That amounts made available for congregate services
and service coordinators for the elderly and disabled under
this heading and in prior fiscal years may be used by
grantees to reimburse themselves for costs incurred in
connection with providing service coordinators previously
advanced by grantees out of other funds due to delays in the
granting by or receipt of funds from the Secretary, and the
funds so made available to grantees for congregate services
or service coordinators under this heading or in prior years
shall be considered as expended by the grantees upon such
reimbursement. The Secretary shall not condition the
availability of funding made available under this heading or
in prior years for congregate services or service
coordinators upon any grantee's obligation or expenditure of
any prior funding.
Of the amount made available under this heading,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, $60,000,000 shall
be available for YouthBuild program activities authorized by
subtitle D of title IV of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act, as amended, and such activities shall
be an eligible activity with respect to any funds made
available under this heading: Provided, That local YouthBuild
programs that demonstrate an ability to leverage private and
nonprofit funding shall be given a priority for YouthBuild
funding: Provided further, That no more than ten percent of
any grant award may be used for administrative costs:
Provided further, That not less than $10,000,000 shall be
available for grants to establish YouthBuild programs in
underserved and rural areas: Provided further, That of the
amount provided under this paragraph, $4,000,000 shall be set
aside and made available for a grant to Youthbuild USA for
capacity building for community development and affordable
housing activities as specified in section 4 of the HUD
Demonstration Act of 1993, as amended.
Of the amounts made available under this heading,
$2,000,000 shall be available to the Utah Housing Finance
Agency for the temporary use of relocatable housing during
the 2002 Winter Olympic Games provided such housing is
targeted to the housing needs of low-income families after
the Games.
Of the amounts made available under this heading,
$3,000,000 shall be awarded to Tribal Colleges and
Universities to build, expand, renovate, and equip their
facilities.
Of the amount made available under this heading,
$130,000,000 shall be available for grants for the Economic
Development Initiative (EDI) to finance a variety of economic
development efforts, including $123,000,000 for making
individual grants for targeted economic investments in
accordance with the terms and conditions specified for such
grants in Senate Report 106-410.
For the cost of guaranteed loans, $29,000,000, as
authorized by section 108 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974: 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, as
amended: Provided further, That these funds are available to
subsidize total loan principal, any part of which is to be
guaranteed, not to exceed $1,261,000,000, notwithstanding any
aggregate limitation on outstanding obligations guaranteed in
section 108(k) of the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1974: Provided further, That in addition, for
administrative expenses to carry out the guaranteed loan
program, $1,000,000, which shall be transferred to and merged
with the appropriation for ``Salaries and expenses''.
Brownfields Redevelopment
For Economic Development Grants, as authorized by section
108(q) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974,
as amended, for Brownfields redevelopment projects,
$25,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall
make these grants available on a competitive basis as
specified in section 102 of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development Reform Act of 1989.
HOME Investment Partnerships Program
For the HOME investment partnerships program, as authorized
under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable
Housing Act (Public Law 101-625), as amended, $1,600,000,000,
to remain available until expended: Provided, That up to
$20,000,000 of these funds shall be available for Housing
Counseling under section 106 of the Housing and Urban
Development Act of 1968.
Homeless Assistance Grants
For the emergency shelter grants program (as authorized
under subtitle B of title IV of the Stewart B. McKinney
Homeless Assistance Act, as amended); the supportive housing
program (as authorized under subtitle C of title IV of such
Act); and the section 8 moderate rehabilitation single room
occupancy program (as authorized under the United States
Housing Act of 1937, as amended) to assist homeless
individuals pursuant to section 441 of the Stewart B.
McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, $1,020,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That not less than 30
percent of these funds shall be used for permanent housing,
and all funding for services must be matched by 25 percent in
funding by each grantee: Provided further, That up to 1
percent appropriated under this heading shall be used for
technical assistance for management information systems and
to develop an automated, client-level Annual Performance
Report System: Provided further, That $500,000 shall be made
available to the Interagency Council on the Homeless for
administrative needs.
SHELTER PLUS CARE
For the Shelter Plus Care program, as authorized under
subtitle F of title IV of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless
Assistance Act, as amended, $105,000,000 to remain available
until expended: Provided, That the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development shall award funds under this heading on a
nationwide competitive basis with any renewals funded on an
annual basis: Provided further, That each Shelter Plus Care
applicant shall coordinate its application in conjunction
with the applicable Continuum of Care.
Housing Programs
Housing for Special Populations
For assistance for the purchase, construction, acquisition,
or development of additional public and subsidized housing
units for low income families not otherwise provided for,
$996,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That $783,000,000 shall be for capital advances, including
amendments to capital advance contracts, for housing for the
elderly, as authorized by section 202 of the Housing Act of
1959, as amended, and for project rental assistance, and
amendments to contracts for project rental assistance, for
the elderly under such section 202(c)(2), and for supportive
services associated with the housing of which amount
$50,000,000 shall be for service coordinators and
continuation of existing congregate services grants for
residents of assisted housing projects, of which amount
$50,000,000 shall be for grants for the new construction or
substantial rehabilitation of assisted living facilities, and
of which amount $50,000,000 shall be for grants for
conversion of existing section 202 projects, or portions
thereof, to assisted living or related use: Provided further,
That of the amount under this heading, $213,000,000 shall be
for capital advances, including amendments to capital advance
contracts, for supportive housing for persons with
disabilities, as authorized by section 811 of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, for project rental
assistance, for amendments to contracts for project rental
assistance, and supportive services associated with the
housing for persons with disabilities as authorized by
section 811 of such Act: Provided further, That the Secretary
may designate up to 25 percent of the amounts earmarked under
this paragraph for section 811 of such Act for tenant-based
assistance, as authorized under that section, including such
authority as may be waived under the next proviso, which
assistance is 5 years in duration: Provided further, That the
Secretary may waive any provision of such section 202 and
such section 811 (including the provisions governing the
terms and conditions of project rental assistance and tenant-
based assistance) that the Secretary determines is not
necessary to achieve the objectives of these programs, or
that otherwise impedes the ability to develop, operate or
administer projects assisted under these programs, and may
make provision for alternative conditions or terms where
appropriate.
Flexible Subsidy Fund
(transfer of funds)
From the Rental Housing Assistance Fund, all uncommitted
balances of excess rental charges as of September 30, 2000,
and any collections
[[Page S10280]]
made during fiscal year 2001, shall be transferred to the
Flexible Subsidy Fund, as authorized by section 236(g) of the
National Housing Act, as amended.
Federal Housing Administration
FHA--Mutual Mortgage Insurance Program Account
(including transfers of funds)
During fiscal year 2001, commitments to guarantee loans to
carry out the purposes of section 203(b) of the National
Housing Act, as amended, shall not exceed a loan principal of
$160,000,000,000.
During fiscal year 2001, obligations to make direct loans
to carry out the purposes of section 204(g) of the National
Housing Act, as amended, shall not exceed $250,000,000:
Provided, That the foregoing amount shall be for loans to
nonprofit and governmental entities in connection with sales
of single family real properties owned by the Secretary and
formerly insured under the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.
For administrative expenses necessary to carry out the
guaranteed and direct loan program, $330,888,000, of which
not to exceed $324,866,000 shall be transferred to the
appropriation for ``Salaries and expenses''; not to exceed
$4,022,000 shall be transferred to the appropriation for the
Office of Inspector General. In addition, for administrative
contract expenses, $160,000,000: Provided, That to the extent
guaranteed loan commitments exceed $65,500,000,000 on or
before April 1, 2001, an additional $1,400 for administrative
contract expenses shall be available for each $1,000,000 in
additional guaranteed loan commitments (including a pro rata
amount for any amount below $1,000,000), but in no case shall
funds made available by this proviso exceed $16,000,000.
FHA--General and Special Risk Program Account
(including transfers of funds)
For the cost of guaranteed loans, as authorized by sections
238 and 519 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-3
and 1735c), including the cost of loan guarantee
modifications (as that term is defined in section 502 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended), $101,000,000,
to remain available until expended: Provided, That these
funds are available to subsidize total loan principal, any
part of which is to be guaranteed, of up to $21,000,000,000:
Provided further, That any amounts made available in any
prior appropriations Act for the cost (as such term is
defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974) of guaranteed loans that are obligations of the funds
established under section 238 or 519 of the National Housing
Act that have not been obligated or that are deobligated
shall be available to the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development in connection with the making of such guarantees
and shall remain available until expended, notwithstanding
the expiration of any period of availability otherwise
applicable to such amounts.
Gross obligations for the principal amount of direct loans,
as authorized by sections 204(g), 207(l), 238, and 519(a) of
the National Housing Act, shall not exceed $50,000,000; of
which not to exceed $30,000,000 shall be for bridge financing
in connection with the sale of multifamily real properties
owned by the Secretary and formerly insured under such Act;
and of which not to exceed $20,000,000 shall be for loans to
nonprofit and governmental entities in connection with the
sale of single-family real properties owned by the Secretary
and formerly insured under such Act.
In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to carry
out the guaranteed and direct loan programs, $211,455,000, of
which $193,134,000, shall be transferred to the appropriation
for ``Salaries and expenses''; and of which $18,321,000 shall
be transferred to the appropriation for the Office of
Inspector General. In addition, for administrative contract
expenses necessary to carry out the guaranteed and direct
loan programs, $144,000,000: Provided, That to the extent
guaranteed loan commitments exceed $8,426,000,000 on or
before April 1, 2001, an additional $19,800,000 for
administrative contract expenses shall be available for each
$1,000,000 in additional guaranteed loan commitments over
$8,426,000,000 (including a pro rata amount for any increment
below $1,000,000), but in no case shall funds made available
by this proviso exceed $14,400,000.
Government National Mortgage Association
Guarantees of Mortgage-Backed Securities Loan Guarantee Program Account
(including transfer of funds)
New commitments to issue guarantees to carry out the
purposes of section 306 of the National Housing Act, as
amended (12 U.S.C. 1721(g)), shall not exceed
$200,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2002.
For administrative expenses necessary to carry out the
guaranteed mortgage-backed securities program, $9,383,000 to
be derived from the GNMA guarantees of mortgage-backed
securities guaranteed loan receipt account, of which not to
exceed $9,383,000 shall be transferred to the appropriation
for departmental ``Salaries and expenses''.
Policy Development and Research
Research and Technology
For contracts, grants, and necessary expenses of programs
of research and studies relating to housing and urban
problems, not otherwise provided for, as authorized by title
V of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970, as
amended (12 U.S.C. 1701z-1 et seq.), including carrying out
the functions of the Secretary under section 1(a)(1)(i) of
Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1968, $45,000,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2001: Provided, That of the
amount provided under this heading, $10,000,000 shall be for
the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH)
Initiative.
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Fair Housing Activities
For contracts, grants, and other assistance, not otherwise
provided for, as authorized by title VIII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of
1988, and section 561 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1987, as amended, $44,000,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2001, of which $22,000,000
shall be to carry out activities pursuant to such section
561: Provided, That no funds made available under this
heading shall be used to lobby the executive or legislative
branches of the Federal Government in connection with a
specific contract, grant or loan.
Office of Lead Hazard Control
Lead Hazard Reduction
(including transfer of funds)
For the Lead Hazard Reduction Program, as authorized by
sections 1011 and 1053 of the Residential Lead-Based Hazard
Reduction Act of 1992, $100,000,000 to remain available until
expended, of which $5,000,000 shall be for a Healthy Homes
Initiative, which shall be a program pursuant to sections 501
and 502 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 that
shall include research, studies, testing, and demonstration
efforts, including education and outreach concerning lead-
based paint poisoning and other housing-related environmental
diseases and hazards: Provided, That all balances for the
Lead Hazard Reduction Programs previously funded in the
Annual Contributions for Assisted Housing and Community
Development Block Grant accounts shall be transferred to this
account, to be available for the purposes for which they were
originally appropriated.
Management and Administration
Salaries and Expenses
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary administrative and non-administrative
expenses of the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
not otherwise provided for, including not to exceed $7,000
for official reception and representation expenses,
$1,002,233,000, of which $518,000,000 shall be provided from
the various funds of the Federal Housing Administration,
$9,383,000 shall be provided from funds of the Government
National Mortgage Association, $1,000,000 shall be provided
from the ``Community development block grants program''
account, $150,000 shall be provided by transfer from the
``Title VI Indian federal guarantees program'' account, and
$200,000 shall be provided by transfer from the ``Indian
housing loan guarantee fund program'' account: Provided, That
the Secretary is prohibited from using any funds under this
heading or any other heading in this Act from employing more
than 77 schedule C and 20 noncareer Senior Executive Service
employees: Provided further, That the Secretary is prohibited
from using funds under this heading or any other heading in
this Act to employ more than 9,100 employees: Provided
further, That the average cost per FTE cannot exceed $78,000
by December 31, 2000, including the cost of all contractors:
Provided further, That the Secretary is prohibited from using
funds under this heading or any other heading in this Act to
employ more than 14 employees in the Office of Public Affairs
or in any position in the Department where the employee
reports to an employee of the Office of Public Affairs.
Office of Inspector General
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978, as
amended, $86,843,000, of which $22,343,000 shall be provided
from the various funds of the Federal Housing Administration
and $10,000,000 shall be provided from the amount earmarked
for Operation Safe Home in the appropriation for ``Drug
elimination grants for low-income housing'': Provided, That
the Inspector General shall have independent authority over
all personnel issues within the Office of Inspector General.
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight
salaries and expenses
(including transfer of funds)
For carrying out the Federal Housing Enterprise Financial
Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, including not to exceed
$500 for official reception and representation expenses,
$22,000,000, to remain available until expended, to be
derived from the Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Fund:
Provided, That not to exceed such amount shall be available
from the General Fund of the Treasury to the extent necessary
to incur obligations and make expenditures pending the
receipt of collections to the Fund: Provided further, That
the General Fund amount shall be reduced as collections are
received during the fiscal year so as to result in a final
appropriation from the General Fund estimated at not more
than $0.
Administrative Provisions
Financing Adjustment Factors
Sec. 201. Fifty percent of the amounts of budget authority,
or in lieu thereof 50 percent of the cash amounts associated
with such budget authority, that are recaptured from projects
described in section 1012(a) of the Stewart B. McKinney
Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-
628; 102 Stat. 3224, 3268) shall be rescinded, or in the case
of cash, shall be remitted to the Treasury, and such amounts
of budget authority or cash recaptured and not rescinded or
remitted to the Treasury shall be used by State housing
finance agencies or local governments or local housing
agencies with
[[Page S10281]]
projects approved by the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development for which settlement occurred after January 1,
1992, in accordance with such section. Notwithstanding the
previous sentence, the Secretary may award up to 15 percent
of the budget authority or cash recaptured and not rescinded
or remitted to the Treasury to provide project owners with
incentives to refinance their project at a lower interest
rate.
Fair Housing and Free Speech
Sec. 202. None of the amounts made available under this Act
may be used during fiscal year 2001 to investigate or
prosecute under the Fair Housing Act any otherwise lawful
activity engaged in by one or more persons, including the
filing or maintaining of a nonfrivolous legal action, that is
engaged in solely for the purpose of achieving or preventing
action by a Government official or entity, or a court of
competent jurisdiction.
Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS Grants
Sec. 203. (a) Eligibility.--Notwithstanding section
854(c)(1)(A) of the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act (42 U.S.C.
12903(c)(1)(A)), from any amounts made available under this
title for fiscal year 2001 that are allocated under such
section, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall
allocate and make a grant, in the amount determined under
subsection (b), for any State that--
(1) received an allocation in a prior fiscal year under
clause (ii) of such section; and
(2) is not otherwise eligible for an allocation for fiscal
year 2001 under such clause (ii) because the areas in the
State outside of the metropolitan statistical areas that
qualify under clause (i) in fiscal year 2000 do not have the
number of cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
required under such clause.
(b) Amount.--The amount of the allocation and grant for any
State described in subsection (a) shall be an amount based on
the cumulative number of AIDS cases in the areas of that
State that are outside of metropolitan statistical areas that
qualify under clause (i) of such section 845(c)(1)(A) in
fiscal year 2000, in proportion to AIDS cases among cities
and States that qualify under clauses (i) and (ii) of such
section and States deemed eligible under subsection (a).
(c) Environmental Review.--Section 856 of the Act is
amended by adding the following new subsection at the end:
``(h) Environmental Review.--For purposes of environmental
review, a grant under this subtitle shall be treated as
assistance for a special project that is subject to section
305(c) of the Multifamily Housing Property Disposition Reform
Act of 1994, and shall be subject to the regulations issued
by the Secretary to implement such section.''.
Due Process for Homeless Assistance
Sec. 204. None of the funds appropriated under this or any
other Act may be used by the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development to prohibit or debar or in any way diminish the
responsibilities of any entity (and the individuals
comprising that entity) that is responsible for convening and
managing a continuum of care process (convenor) in a
community for purposes of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless
Assistance Act from participating in that capacity unless the
Secretary has published in the Federal Register a description
of all circumstances that would be grounds for prohibiting or
debarring a convenor from administering a continuum of care
process and the procedures for a prohibition or debarment:
Provided, That these procedures shall include a requirement
that a convenor shall be provided with timely notice of a
proposed prohibition or debarment, an identification of the
circumstances that could result in the prohibition or
debarment, an opportunity to respond to or remedy these
circumstances, and the right for judicial review of any
decision of the Secretary that results in a prohibition or
debarment.
HUD Reform Act Compliance
Sec. 205. Except as explicitly provided in legislation, any
grant or assistance made pursuant to Title II of this Act
shall be made in accordance with section 102 of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of
1989 on a competitive basis.
Expansion of Environmental Assumption Authority for Homeless Assistance
Programs
Sec. 206. Section 443 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless
Assistance Act is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 443. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.
``For purposes of environmental review, assistance and
projects under this title shall be treated as assistance for
special projects that are subject to section 305(c) of the
Multifamily Housing Property Disposition Reform Act of 1994,
and shall be subject to the regulations issued by the
Secretary to implement such section.''.
Technical Amendments and Corrections to the National Housing Act
Sec. 207. (a) Section 203 Subsection Designations.--Section
203 of the National Housing Act is amended by--
(1) redesignating subsection (t) as subsection (u);
(2) redesignating subsection (s), as added by section 329
of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, as
subsection (t); and
(3) redesignating subsection (v), as added by section 504
of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, as
subsection (w).
(b) Mortgage Auctions.--The first sentence of section
221(g)(4)(C)(viii) of the National Housing Act is amended by
inserting after ``December 31, 2002'' the following: ``,
except that this subparagraph shall continue to apply if the
Secretary receives a mortgagee's written notice of intent to
assign its mortgage to the Secretary on or before such
date''.
(c) Mortgagee Review Board.--Section 202(c)(2) of the
National Housing Act is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'';
(2) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``or their
designees.'' and inserting ``and'';
(3) by adding the following new subparagraph at the end:
``(G) the Director of the Enforcement Center; or their
designees.''.
indian housing block grant program
Sec. 208. Defines Certain Law Enforcement Officers as
Eligible Families for Housing Assistance Under the Indian
Housing Block Grant Program. Section 201(b) of the Native
American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of
1996 is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs
(5) and (6) respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new
paragraph:
``(4) Law enforcement officers.--Notwithstanding paragraph
(1), a recipient may provide housing or housing assistance
provided through affordable housing activities assisted with
grant amounts under this Act to a law enforcement officer on
the reservation or other Indian area, who is employed full-
time by a Federal, state, county or tribal government, and in
implementing such full-time employment is sworn to uphold,
and make arrests for violations of Federal, state, county or
tribal law, if the recipient determines that the presence of
the law enforcement officer on the Indian reservation or
other Indian area may deter crime.''.
PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF FEDERAL ASSISTANCE IN SUPPORT OF THE SALE OF
TOBACCO PRODUCTS
Sec. 209. None of the funds appropriated in Public Law 106-
74 or any other Act may be used by the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development to provide any grant or other
assistance to construct, operate, or otherwise benefit a
facility, or facility with a designated portion of that
facility, which sells, or intends to sell, predominantly
cigarettes or other tobacco products. For the purposes of
this provision, predominant sale of cigarettes or other
tobacco products means cigarette or tobacco sales
representing more than 35 percent of the annual total in-
store, non-fuel, sales.
PROHIBITION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF PUERTO RICO PUBLIC HOUSING
ADMINISTRATION Settlement Agreement
Sec. 210. No funds may be used to implement the agreement
between the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico
Public Housing Administration, and the Department of Housing
and Urban Development, dated June 7, 2000, related to the
allocation of operating subsidies for the Puerto Rico Public
Housing Administration until the Puerto Rico Public Housing
Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban
Development submits a schedule of benchmarks and measurable
goals to the Committee on Appropriations designed to address
issues of mismanagement and safeguard against fraud and
abuse.
HOPE VI Grant for Hollander Ridge
Sec. 211. The Housing Authority of Baltimore City may use
the grant award of $20,000,000 made to such authority for
development efforts at Hollander Ridge in Baltimore, Maryland
with funds appropriated for fiscal year 1996 under the
heading ``Public Housing Demolition, Site Revitalization, and
Replacement Housing Grants'' for use, as approved by the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development--
(1) for the revitalization of other severely distressed
public housing within its jurisdiction; and
(2) in accordance with section 24 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937.
Reduced Downpayment Requirements for Loans for Teachers and Uniformed
Municipal Employees
Sec. 212. (a) In General.--Section 203(b) of the National
Housing Act is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(11) Reduced downpayment requirements for teachers and
uniformed municipal employees--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding the downpayment
requirements contained in paragraph (2), in the case of a
mortgage described in subparagraph (B)--
``(i) the mortgage shall involve a principal obligation in
an amount that does not exceed the sum of 99 percent of the
appraised value of the property and the total amount of
initial service charges, appraisal, inspection, and other
fees (as the Secretary shall approve) paid in connection with
the mortgage;
``(ii) no other provision of this subsection limiting the
principal obligation of the mortgage based upon a percentage
of the appraised value of the property subject to the
mortgage shall apply; and
``(iii) the matter in paragraph (9) that precedes the first
proviso shall not apply and the mortgage shall be executed by
a mortgagor who shall have paid on account of the property at
least 1 percent of the cost of acquisition (as determined by
the Secretary) in cash or its equivalent.
``(B) Mortgages covered.--A mortgage described in this
subparagraph is a mortgage--
``(i) under which the mortgagor is an individual who--
``(I) is employed on a full-time basis as: (aa) a teacher
or administrator in a public or private school that provides
elementary or secondary education, as determined under State
law, except that elementary education shall include pre-
Kindergarten education, and except that secondary education
shall not include any education beyond grade 12; or (bb) a
public safety officer (as such term is defined in section
1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968, except that such term shall not include any officer
serving a public agency of the Federal Government); and
[[Page S10282]]
``(II) has not, during the 12-month period ending upon the
insurance of the mortgage, had any present ownership interest
in a principal residence located in the jurisdiction
described in clause (ii); and
``(ii) made for a property that is located within the
jurisdiction of--
``(I) in the case of a mortgage of a mortgagor described in
clause (i)(I)(aa), the local educational agency (as such term
is defined in section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801)) for the school in
which the mortgagor is employed (or, in the case of a
mortgagor employed in a private school, the local educational
agency having jurisdiction for the area in which the private
school is located); or
``(II) in the case of a mortgage of a mortgagor described
in clause (i)(I)(bb), the jurisdiction served by the public
law enforcement agency, firefighting agency, or rescue or
ambulance agency that employs the mortgagor.''.
(b) Deferral and Reduction of Up-front premium.--Section
203(c) of the National Housing Act is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting ``Except
as provided in paragraph (3) and notwithstanding''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Deferral and reduction of up-front premium.--In the
case of any mortgage described in subsection (b)(10)(B):
``(A) Paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection (relating to
collection of up-front premium payments) shall not apply.
``(B) If, at any time during the 5-year period beginning on
the date of the insurance of the mortgage, the mortgagor
ceases to be employed as described in subsection
(b)(10)(B)(i)(I) or pays the principal obligation of the
mortgage in full, the Secretary shall at such time collect a
single premium payment in an amount equal to the amount of
the single premium payment that, but for this paragraph,
would have been required under paragraph (2)(A) of this
subsection with respect to the mortgage, as reduced by 20
percent of such amount for each successive 12-month period
completed during such 5-year period before such cessation or
prepayment occurs.''.
Computer Access for Public Housing Residents
Sec. 213. (a) Use of Public Housing Capital and Operating
Funds.--Section 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 is
amended--
(1) in subsection (d)(1)(E), by inserting before the
semicolon the following: ``, including the establishment and
initial operation of computer centers in and around public
housing through a Neighborhood Networks initiative, for the
purpose of enhancing the self-sufficiency, employability, and
economic self-reliance of public housing residents by
providing them with onsite computer access and training
resources'';
(2) in subsection (e)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (I), by striking the word ``and'' at
the end;
(B) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding after subparagraph (J) the following:
``(K) the costs of operating computer centers in public
housing through a Neighborhood Networks initiative described
in subsection (d)(1)(E), and of activities related to that
initiative.''; and
(3) in subsection (h)--
(A) in paragraph (6), by striking the word ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and inserting
``; and''; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
``(8) assistance in connection with the establishment and
operation of computer centers in public housing through a
Neighborhood Networks initiative described in subsection
(d)(1)(E).''.
(b) Demolition, Site Revitalization, Replacement Housing,
and Tenant-Based Assistance Grants for Projects.--Section 24
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)(1)(G), by inserting before the
semicolon the following: ``, including a Neighborhood
Networks initiative for the establishment and operation of
computer centers in public housing for the purpose of
enhancing the self-sufficiency, employability, an economic
self-reliance of public housing residents by providing them
with onsite computer access and training resources''; and
(2) in subsection (m)(2), in the first sentence, by
inserting before the period the following ``, including
assistance in connection with the establishment and operation
of computer centers in public housing through the
Neighborhoods Networks initiative described in subsection
(d)(1)(G)''.
Mark-to-Market Reform
Sec. 214. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
properties known as the Hawthornes in Independence, Missouri
shall be considered eligible multifamily housing projects for
purposes of participating in the multifamily housing
restructuring program pursuant to title V of the Departments
of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and
Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law
105-65).
Section 236 Excess Income
Sec. 215. Section 236(g)(3)(A) of the National Housing Act
is amended by striking out ``2000'' and inserting in lieu
thereof ``2001''.
CDBG Eligibility
Sec. 216. Section 102(a)(6) of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the
following subparagraph:
``(F) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
paragraph, any county that was classified as an urban county
pursuant to subparagraph (A) for fiscal year 1999, at the
option of the county, may hereafter remain classified as an
urban county for purposes of this Act.''.
Low-Income Multifamily Risk-sharing Mortgage Insurance Program
Sec. 217. (a) The Secretary shall carry out a mortgage
insurance program through the Federal Housing Administration
in conjunction with State housing finance agencies to insure
multifamily mortgages for housing that qualifies under this
Title. This program shall be consistent with the requirements
established under section 542 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1992, except that housing that meet the
requirements of this Title shall be eligible for mortgage
insurance.
(b) Housing shall qualify for insurance under this section
only if the housing--
(1) has not less than 25 percent of the units assisted
under this title occupied by very low-income families who pay
as a contribution towards rent (not including any Federal or
State rental subsidy provided on behalf of the family) not
more than 20 percent of the adjusted income of a family whose
income equals 50 percent of the median income for the area,
as determined by the Secretary, with adjustments for the
number of bedrooms in the unit, except that the Secretary may
establish income ceilings higher or lower than 50 percent of
the median income for the area on the basis of the
Secretary's findings that variations are necessary because of
the prevailing levels of construction costs or fair market
rents, or unusually high or low family incomes; and
(2) will remain affordable under the requirements provided
in paragraphs (1) and (2), according to legally binding
commitments satisfactory to the Secretary, for not less than
40 years, without regard to the term of the mortgage or to
the transfer of ownership, or for such period that the
Secretary determines is the longest feasible period of time
consistent with sound economics and the purposes of this Act,
including foreclosure where the responsibility for
maintaining the low-income character of the property will be
the responsibility of the State housing finance agency.
(c) Not less than $50,000,000 of the funds made available
under the cost of loan guarantee modifications under the
heading ``FHA--General and special risk program account''
shall be used to support the cost of mortgages insured under
this section.
EXEMPTION FOR ALASKA AND MISSISSIPPI FROM REQUIREMENT OF RESIDENT ON
BOARD OF PHA
Sec. 218. Public housing agencies in the State of Alaska
and Mississippi shall not be required to comply with section
2(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended,
during fiscal year 2001.
TITLE III--INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
American Battle Monuments Commission
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, of the
American Battle Monuments Commission, including the
acquisition of land or interest in land in foreign countries;
purchases and repair of uniforms for caretakers of national
cemeteries and monuments outside of the United States and its
territories and possessions; rent of office and garage space
in foreign countries; purchase (one for replacement only) and
hire of passenger motor vehicles; and insurance of official
motor vehicles in foreign countries, when required by law of
such countries, $26,196,000, to remain available until
expended.
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses in carrying out activities pursuant
to section 112(r)(6) of the Clean Air Act, including hire of
passenger vehicles, and for services authorized by 5 U.S.C.
3109, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the per diem
equivalent to the maximum rate payable for senior level
positions under 5 U.S.C. 5376, $7,000,000: Provided, That the
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board shall have not
more than three career Senior Executive Service positions:
Provided further, That there shall be an Inspector General at
the Board who shall have the duties, responsibilities, and
authorities specified in the Inspector General Act of 1978,
as amended: Provided further, That an individual appointed to
the position of Inspector General of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) shall, by virtue of such
appointment, also hold the position of Inspector General of
the Board: Provided further, That the Inspector General of
the Board shall utilize personnel of the Office of Inspector
General of FEMA in performing the duties of the Inspector
General of the Board, and shall not appoint any individuals
to positions within the Board.
Department of the Treasury
Community Development Financial Institutions
community development financial institutions
fund program account
For grants, loans, and technical assistance to qualifying
community development lenders, and administrative expenses of
the Fund, including services authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, but
at rates for individuals not to exceed the per diem rate
equivalent to the rate for ES-3, $95,000,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2002, of which $5,000,000 shall
be for grants, loans, and technical assistance to qualifying
community development lenders, organizations that have
experience and expertise in banking and lending in Indian
country, and other appropriate organizations to benefit
Native American Communities, of which up to $8,000,000 may be
used for
[[Page S10283]]
administrative expenses, up to $16,500,000 may be used for
the cost of direct loans, and up to $1,000,000 may be used
for administrative expenses to carry out the direct loan
program: Provided, That the cost of direct loans, 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 gross
obligations for the principal amount of direct loans not to
exceed $53,000,000: Provided further, That not more than
$30,000,000 of the funds made available under this heading
may be used for programs and activities authorized in section
114 of the Community Development Banking and Financial
Institutions Act of 1994.
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses of the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, including hire of passenger motor vehicles,
services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, but at rates for
individuals not to exceed the per diem rate equivalent to the
maximum rate payable under 5 U.S.C. 5376, purchase of nominal
awards to recognize non-Federal officials' contributions to
Commission activities, and not to exceed $500 for official
reception and representation expenses, $52,500,000.
Corporation for National and Community Service
National and Community Service Programs
Operating Expenses
(including transfer and rescission of funds)
For necessary expenses for the Corporation for National and
Community Service (referred to in the matter under this
heading as the ``Corporation'') in carrying out programs,
activities, and initiatives under the National and Community
Service Act of 1990 (referred to in the matter under this
heading as the ``Act'') (42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.),
$433,500,000, to remain available until September 30, 2002:
Provided, That not more than $29,000,000 shall be available
for administrative expenses authorized under section
501(a)(4) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 12671(a)(4)) with not less
than $2,000,000 targeted for the acquisition of a cost
accounting system for the Corporation's financial management
system, an integrated grants management system that provides
comprehensive financial management information for all
Corporation grants and cooperative agreements, and the
establishment, operation and maintenance of a central
archives serving as the repository for all grant, cooperative
agreement, and related documents, without regard to the
provisions of section 501(a)(4)(B) of the Act: Provided
further, That not more than $2,500 shall be for official
reception and representation expenses: Provided further, That
not more than $75,000,000, to remain available without fiscal
year limitation, shall be transferred to the National Service
Trust account for educational awards authorized under
subtitle D of title I of the Act (42 U.S.C. 12601 et seq.),
of which not to exceed $5,000,000 shall be available for
national service scholarships for high school students
performing community service: Provided further, That not more
than $207,500,000 of the amount provided under this heading
shall be available for grants under the National Service
Trust program authorized under subtitle C of title I of the
Act (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.) (relating to activities
including the AmeriCorps program), of which not more than
$45,000,000 may be used to administer, reimburse, or support
any national service program authorized under section
121(d)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12581(d)(2)); and not more
than $25,000,000 may be made available to activities
dedicated to developing computer and information technology
skills for students and teachers in low-income communities:
Provided further, That not more than $10,000,000 of the funds
made available under this heading shall be made available for
the Points of Light Foundation for activities authorized
under title III of the Act (42 U.S.C. 12661 et seq.):
Provided further, That no funds shall be available for
national service programs run by Federal agencies authorized
under section 121(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12571(b)):
Provided further, That to the maximum extent feasible, funds
appropriated under subtitle C of title I of the Act shall be
provided in a manner that is consistent with the
recommendations of peer review panels in order to ensure that
priority is given to programs that demonstrate quality,
innovation, replicability, and sustainability: Provided
further, That not more than $18,000,000 of the funds made
available under this heading shall be available for the
Civilian Community Corps authorized under subtitle E of title
I of the Act (42 U.S.C. 12611 et seq.): Provided further,
That not more than $43,000,000 shall be available for school-
based and community-based service-learning programs
authorized under subtitle B of title I of the Act (42 U.S.C.
12521 et seq.): Provided further, That not more than
$28,500,000 shall be available for quality and innovation
activities authorized under subtitle H of title I of the Act
(42 U.S.C. 12853 et seq.): Provided further, That not more
than $5,000,000 shall be available for audits and other
evaluations authorized under section 179 of the Act (42
U.S.C. 12639): Provided further, That to the maximum extent
practicable, the Corporation shall increase significantly the
level of matching funds and in-kind contributions provided by
the private sector, shall expand significantly the number of
educational awards provided under subtitle D of title I, and
shall reduce the total Federal costs per participant in all
programs: Provided further, That of amounts available in the
National Service Trust account from previous appropriations
Acts, $50,000,000 shall be rescinded: Provided further, That
not more than $7,500,000 of the funds made available under
this heading shall be made available to America's Promise--
The Alliance for Youth, Inc. only to support efforts to
mobilize individuals, groups, and organizations to build and
strengthen the character and competence of the Nation's
youth: Provided further, That not more than $5,000,000 of the
funds made available under this heading shall be made
available to the Communities In Schools, Inc. to support
dropout prevention activities: Provided further, That not
more than $2,500,000 of the funds made available under this
heading shall be made available to the Parents as Teachers
National Center, Inc. to support childhood parent education
and family support activities: Provided further, That not
more than $2,500,000 of the funds made available under this
heading shall be made available to the Boys and Girls Clubs
of America to establish an innovative outreach program
designed to meet the special needs of youth in public and
Native American housing communities.
Office of Inspector General
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978, as
amended, $5,000,000, which shall be available for obligation
through September 30, 2002.
administrative provision
The Department of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban
Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act,
2000 (Public Law 106-74) is amended under the heading
``Corporation for National and Community Service, National
and Community Service Programs Operating Expenses'' in title
III by reducing to $229,000,000 the amount available for
grants under the National Service Trust program authorized
under subtitle C of title I of the Act (with a corresponding
reduction to $40,000,000 in the amount that may be used to
administer, reimburse, or support any national service
program authorized under section 121(d)(2) of the Act), and
by increasing to $33,500,000 the amount available for quality
and innovation activities authorized under subtitle H of
title I of the Act, with the increase in subtitle H funds
made available to provide a grant covering a period of three
years to support the ``P.A.V.E. the Way'' project described
in House Report 106-379.
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses for the operation of the United
States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims as authorized by
38 U.S.C. 7251-7298, $12,445,000, of which $895,000 shall be
available for the purpose of providing financial assistance
as described, and in accordance with the process and
reporting procedures set forth, under this heading in Public
Law 102-229.
Department of Defense--Civil
Cemeterial Expenses, Army
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses, as authorized by law, for
maintenance, operation, and improvement of Arlington National
Cemetery and Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery,
including the purchase of one passenger motor vehicle for
replacement only, and not to exceed $1,000 for official
reception and representation expenses, $15,949,000, to remain
available until expended.
Environmental Protection Agency
Science and Technology
For science and technology, including research and
development activities, which shall include research and
development activities under the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA),
as amended; necessary expenses for personnel and related
costs and travel expenses, including uniforms, or allowances
therefore, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5901-5902; services as
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, but at rates for individuals not
to exceed the per diem rate equivalent to the maximum rate
payable for senior level positions under 5 U.S.C. 5376;
procurement of laboratory equipment and supplies; other
operating expenses in support of research and development;
construction, alteration, repair, rehabilitation, and
renovation of facilities, not to exceed $75,000 per project,
$670,000,000, which shall remain available until September
30, 2002.
Environmental Programs and Management
For environmental programs and management, including
necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, for personnel
and related costs and travel expenses, including uniforms, or
allowances therefore, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5901-5902;
services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, but at rates for
individuals 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; hire,
maintenance, and operation of aircraft; purchase of reprints;
library memberships in societies or associations which issue
publications to members only or at a price to members lower
than to subscribers who are not members; construction,
alteration, repair, rehabilitation, and renovation of
facilities, not to exceed $75,000 per project; and not to
exceed $6,000 for official reception and representation
expenses, $2,000,000,000, which shall remain available until
September 30, 2002: Provided, That 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.
Office of Inspector General
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
in carrying out the provisions of the Inspector General Act
of 1978, as amended,
[[Page S10284]]
and for construction, alteration, repair, rehabilitation, and
renovation of facilities, not to exceed $75,000 per project,
$34,094,000, to remain available until September 30, 2002.
Buildings and Facilities
For construction, repair, improvement, extension,
alteration, and purchase of fixed equipment or facilities of,
or for use by, the Environmental Protection Agency,
$23,000,000, to remain available until expended.
Hazardous Substance Superfund
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary expenses to carry out the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 (CERCLA), as amended, including sections 111(c)(3),
(c)(5), (c)(6), and (e)(4) (42 U.S.C. 9611), and for
construction, alteration, repair, rehabilitation, and
renovation of facilities, not to exceed $75,000 per project;
$1,400,000,000 (of which $100,000,000 shall not become
available until September 1, 2001), to remain available until
expended, consisting of $700,000,000, as authorized by
section 517(a) of the Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), as amended by Public Law
101-508, and $700,000,000 as a payment from general revenues
to the Hazardous Substance Superfund for purposes as
authorized by section 517(b) of SARA, as amended by Public
Law 101-508: Provided, That funds appropriated under this
heading may be allocated to other Federal agencies in
accordance with section 111(a) of CERCLA: Provided further,
That $11,000,000 of the funds appropriated under this heading
shall be transferred to the ``Office of Inspector General''
appropriation to remain available until September 30, 2001:
Provided further, That $38,000,000 of the funds appropriated
under this heading shall be transferred to the ``Science and
technology'' appropriation to remain available until
September 30, 2001: Provided further, That notwithstanding
section 111(m) of CERCLA or any other provision of law,
$75,000,000 of the funds appropriated under this heading
shall be available to the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry (ATSDR) to carry out activities described in
sections 104(i), 111(c)(4), and 111(c)(14) of CERCLA and
section 118(f) of SARA: Provided further, That
notwithstanding any other provision of law, in lieu of
performing a health assessment under section 104(i)(6) of
CERCLA, the Administrator of ATSDR may conduct other
appropriate health studies, evaluations or activities,
including, without limitation, biomedical testing, clinical
evaluations, medical monitoring, and referral to accredited
health care providers: Provided further, That in performing
any such health assessment or health study, evaluation, or
activity, the Administrator of ATSDR shall not be bound by
the deadlines in section 104(i)(6)(A): Provided further, That
none of the funds appropriated under this heading shall be
available for ATSDR to issue in excess of 40 toxicological
profiles pursuant to section 104(i) of CERCLA during fiscal
year 2000.
Leaking Underground Storage Tank program
For necessary expenses to carry out leaking underground
storage tank cleanup activities authorized by section 205 of
the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, and
for construction, alteration, repair, rehabilitation, and
renovation of facilities, not to exceed $75,000 per project,
$72,096,000, to remain available until expended.
oil spill response
(including transfer of funds)
For expenses necessary to carry out the Environmental
Protection Agency's responsibilities under the Oil Pollution
Act of 1990, $15,000,000, to be derived from the Oil Spill
Liability trust fund, to remain available until expended.
State and Tribal Assistance Grants
For environmental programs and infrastructure assistance,
including capitalization grants for State revolving funds and
performance partnership grants, $3,320,000,000, to remain
available until expended, of which $1,350,000,000 shall be
for making capitalization grants for the Clean Water State
Revolving Funds under title VI of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, as amended; $820,000,000 shall be for
capitalization grants for the Drinking Water State Revolving
Funds under section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act, as
amended, except that, notwithstanding section 1452(n) of the
Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended, none of the funds made
available under this heading in this Act, or in previous
appropriations Acts, shall be reserved by the Administrator
for health effects studies on drinking water contaminants;
$50,000,000 shall be for architectural, engineering,
planning, design, construction and related activities in
connection with the construction of high priority water and
wastewater facilities in the area of the United States-Mexico
Border, after consultation with the appropriate border
commission; $35,000,000 shall be for grants to the State of
Alaska to address drinking water and wastewater
infrastructure needs of rural and Alaska Native Villages;
$110,000,000 shall be for making grants for the construction
of wastewater and water treatment facilities and groundwater
protection infrastructure in accordance with the terms and
conditions specified for such grants in the Senate Report
(106-410) accompanying this Act (H.R. 4635); and $955,000,000
shall be for grants, including associated program support
costs, to States, federally recognized tribes, interstate
agencies, tribal consortia, and air pollution control
agencies for multi-media or single media pollution
prevention, control and abatement and related activities,
including activities pursuant to the provisions set forth
under this heading in Public Law 104-134, and for making
grants under section 103 of the Clean Air Act for particulate
matter monitoring and data collection activities: Provided,
That notwithstanding section 603(d)(7) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, as amended, the limitation on the
amounts in a State water pollution control revolving fund
that may be used by a State to administer the fund shall not
apply to amounts included as principal in loans made by such
fund in fiscal year 2001 and prior years where such amounts
represent costs of administering the fund to the extent that
such amounts are or were deemed reasonable by the
Administrator, accounted for separately from other assets in
the fund, and used for eligible purposes of the fund,
including administration: Provided further, That for fiscal
year 2001 and thereafter, and notwithstanding section 518(f)
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Administrator
is authorized to use the amounts appropriated for any fiscal
year under section 319 of that Act to make grants to Indian
tribes pursuant to section 319(h) and 518(e) of that Act:
Provided further, That beginning in fiscal year 2001 and
thereafter, notwithstanding the limitation on amounts in
section 518(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as
amended, up to a total of 1\1/2\ percent of the funds
appropriated for State Revolving Funds under Title VI of that
Act may be reserved by the Administrator for grants under
section 518(c) of such Act: Provided further, That no funds
provided by this legislation to address the water, wastewater
and other critical infrastructure needs of the colonias along
the United States-Mexico border shall be made available to a
county or municipal government unless that government has
established an enforceable local ordinance, or other zoning
rule, which prevents in that jurisdiction the development or
construction of any additional colonia areas, or the
development within an existing colonia the construction of
any new home, business, or other structure which lacks water,
wastewater, or other necessary infrastructure.
administrative provisions
For fiscal year 2001 and thereafter, the obligated balances
of sums available in multiple-year appropriations accounts
shall remain available through the seventh fiscal year after
their period of availability has expired for liquidating
obligations made during the period of availability.
Beginning in fiscal year 2001 and thereafter,
notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 6303(1) and 6305(1), the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in
carrying out the Agency's function to directly implement
Federal environmental programs required or authorized by law
in the absence of an acceptable tribal program, may award
cooperative agreements to federally-recognized Indian Tribes
or Intertribal consortia, if authorized by their member
Tribes, to assist the Administrator in implementing Federal
environmental programs for Indian Tribes required or
authorized by law, except that no such cooperative agreements
may be awarded from funds designated for State financial
assistance agreements.
Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act is amended by adding at
the end the following new paragraph:
``(6) Notwithstanding paragraph 5, this subsection shall
not apply with respect to an area designated nonattainment
under section 107(d)(1) until one year after that area is
first designated nonattainment for a specific national
ambient air quality standard. This paragraph only applies
with respect to the national ambient air quality standard for
which an area is newly designated nonattainment and does not
affect the area's requirements with respect to all other
national ambient air quality standards for which the area is
designated nonattainment or has been redesignated from
nonattainment to attainment with a maintenance plan pursuant
to section 175(A) (including any pre-existing national
ambient air quality standard for a pollutant for which a new
or revised standard has been issued).''.
Executive Office of the President
Office of Science and Technology Policy
For necessary expenses of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, in carrying out the purposes of the
National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and
Priorities Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6601 and 6671), hire of
passenger motor vehicles, and services as authorized by 5
U.S.C. 3109, not to exceed $2,500 for official reception and
representation expenses, and rental of conference rooms in
the District of Columbia, $5,201,000.
Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Environmental Quality
For necessary expenses to continue functions assigned to
the Council on Environmental Quality and Office of
Environmental Quality pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, the Environmental Quality Improvement Act
of 1970, and Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1977, $2,900,000:
Provided, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law,
no funds other than those appropriated under this heading
shall be used for or by the Council on Environmental Quality
and Office of Environmental Quality: Provided further, That
notwithstanding section 202 of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1970, the Council shall consist of one member,
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, serving as chairman and exercising all
powers, functions, and duties of the Council.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
office of inspector general
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
in carrying out the provisions of the Inspector General Act
of 1978, as amended, $33,660,000, to be derived from the Bank
Insurance Fund, the Savings Association Insurance Fund, and
the FSLIC Resolution Fund.
[[Page S10285]]
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Disaster Relief
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses in carrying out the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), $300,000,000, and, notwithstanding 42
U.S.C. 5203, to remain available until expended, of which not
to exceed $2,900,000 may be transferred to ``Emergency
management planning and assistance'' for the consolidated
emergency management performance grant program; and up to
$15,000,000 may be obligated for flood map modernization
activities following disaster declarations.
For an additional amount for ``Disaster relief'',
$2,609,220,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That the entire amount is designated by the 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 the entire amount shall be
available only to the extent that 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.
Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program Account
For the cost of direct loans, $1,678,000, as authorized by
section 319 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act: 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, as amended: Provided further, That these funds are
available to subsidize gross obligations for the principal
amount of direct loans not to exceed $25,000,000.
In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out the
direct loan program, $427,000.
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for,
including hire and purchase of motor vehicles as authorized
by 31 U.S.C. 1343; uniforms, or allowances therefor, as
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5901-5902; services as authorized by 5
U.S.C. 3109, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the
per diem rate equivalent to the maximum rate payable for
senior level positions under 5 U.S.C. 5376; expenses of
attendance of cooperating officials and individuals at
meetings concerned with the work of emergency preparedness;
transportation in connection with the continuity of
Government programs to the same extent and in the same manner
as permitted the Secretary of a Military Department under 10
U.S.C. 2632; and not to exceed $2,500 for official reception
and representation expenses, $215,000,000.
Office of the Inspector General
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978, as
amended, $10,000,000: Provided, That notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the Inspector General of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency shall also serve as the Inspector
General of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation
Board.
Emergency Management Planning and Assistance
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, to
carry out activities under the National Flood Insurance Act
of 1968, as amended, and the Flood Disaster Protection Act of
1973, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.), the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of
1977, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the Federal Fire
Prevention and Control Act of 1974, as amended (15 U.S.C.
2201 et seq.), the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended
(50 U.S.C. App. 2061 et seq.), sections 107 and 303 of the
National Security Act of 1947, as amended (50 U.S.C. 404-
405), and Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978, $269,652,000:
Provided, That for purposes of pre-disaster mitigation
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 5131(b) and (c) and 42 U.S.C. 5196(e)
and (i), $25,000,000 of the funds made available under this
heading shall be available until expended for project grants.
Radiological Emergency Preparedness Fund
The aggregate charges assessed during fiscal year 2001, as
authorized by Public Law 106-74, shall not be less than 100
percent of the amounts anticipated by FEMA necessary for its
radiological emergency preparedness program for the next
fiscal year. The methodology for assessment and collection of
fees shall be fair and equitable; and shall reflect costs of
providing such services, including administrative costs of
collecting such fees. Fees received pursuant to this section
shall be deposited in the Fund as offsetting collections and
will become available for authorized purposes on October 1,
2001, and remain available until expended.
Emergency Food and Shelter Program
To carry out an emergency food and shelter program pursuant
to title III of Public Law 100-77, as amended, $110,000,000,
to remain available until expended: Provided, That total
administrative costs shall not exceed 3\1/2\ percent of the
total appropriation.
National Flood Insurance Fund
(including transfer of funds)
For activities under the National Flood Insurance Act of
1968, the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, as amended,
not to exceed $25,736,000 for salaries and expenses
associated with flood mitigation and flood insurance
operations, and not to exceed $77,307,000 for flood
mitigation, including up to $20,000,000 for expenses under
section 1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act, which
amount shall be available for transfer to the National Flood
Mitigation Fund until September 30, 2002. In fiscal year
2001, no funds in excess of: (1) $55,000,000 for operating
expenses; (2) $455,627,000 for agents' commissions and taxes;
and (3) $40,000,000 for interest on Treasury borrowings shall
be available from the National Flood Insurance Fund without
prior notice to the Committees on Appropriations. For fiscal
year 2001, flood insurance rates shall not exceed the level
authorized by the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of
1994.
Section 1309(a)(2) of the National Flood Insurance Act (42
U.S.C. 4016(a)(2)), as amended by Public Law 104-208, is
further amended by striking ``2000'' and inserting ``2001''.
The first sentence of section 1376(c) of the National Flood
Insurance Act of 1968, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4127(c)), is
amended by striking ``September 30, 2000'' and inserting
``September 30, 2001''.
national flood mitigation fund
(including transfer of funds)
Notwithstanding sections 1366(b)(3)(B)-(C) and 1366(f) of
the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended,
$20,000,000 to remain available until September 30, 2002, for
activities designed to reduce the risk of flood damage to
structures pursuant to such Act, of which $20,000,000 shall
be derived from the National Flood Insurance Fund.
General Services Administration
Federal Consumer Information Center Fund
For necessary expenses of the Federal Consumer Information
Center, including services authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109,
$7,122,000, to be deposited into the Federal Consumer
Information Center Fund: Provided, That the appropriations,
revenues, and collections deposited into the fund shall be
available for necessary expenses of Federal Consumer
Information Center activities in the aggregate amount of
$12,000,000. Appropriations, revenues, and collections
accruing to this fund during fiscal year 2001 in excess of
$12,000,000 shall remain in the fund and shall not be
available for expenditure except as authorized in
appropriations Acts.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Human Space Flight
For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, in the
conduct and support of human space flight research and
development activities, including research, development,
operations, and services; maintenance; construction of
facilities including repair, rehabilitation, and modification
of real and personal property, and acquisition or
condemnation of real property, as authorized by law; space
flight, spacecraft control and communications activities
including operations, production, and services; and purchase,
lease, charter, maintenance and operation of mission and
administrative aircraft, $5,400,000,000, to remain available
until September 30, 2002.
Science, Aeronautics and Technology
For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, in the
conduct and support of science, aeronautics and technology
research and development activities, including research,
development, operations, and services; maintenance;
construction of facilities including repair, rehabilitation,
and modification of real and personal property, and
acquisition or condemnation of real property, as authorized
by law; space flight, spacecraft control and communications
activities including operations, production, and services;
and purchase, lease, charter, maintenance and operation of
mission and administrative aircraft, $5,837,000,000, to
remain available until September 30, 2002.
Mission Support
For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, in
carrying out mission support for human space flight programs
and science, aeronautical, and technology programs, including
research operations and support; space communications
activities including operations, production and services;
maintenance; construction of facilities including repair,
rehabilitation, and modification of facilities, minor
construction of new facilities and additions to existing
facilities, facility planning and design, environmental
compliance and restoration, and acquisition or condemnation
of real property, as authorized by law; program management;
personnel and related costs, including uniforms or allowances
therefor, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5901-5902; travel
expenses; purchase, lease, charter, maintenance, and
operation of mission and administrative aircraft; not to
exceed $40,000 for official reception and representation
expenses; and purchase (not to exceed 33 for replacement
only) and hire of passenger motor vehicles, $2,584,000,000,
to remain available until September 30, 2002.
Office of Inspector General
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978, as
amended, $23,000,000.
Administrative Provisions
Notwithstanding the limitation on the availability of funds
appropriated for ``Human space flight'', ``Science,
aeronautics and technology'', or ``Mission support'' by this
appropriations Act, when any activity has been initiated by
the incurrence of obligations for construction of facilities
as authorized by law, such amount available for such activity
shall remain available until expended. This provision does
not apply to the amounts appropriated in ``Mission support''
pursuant to the authorization for repair, rehabilitation and
modification of facilities, minor construction of new
facilities and additions to existing facilities, and facility
planning and design.
Notwithstanding the limitation on the availability of funds
appropriated for ``Human space flight'', ``Science,
aeronautics and technology'',
[[Page S10286]]
or ``Mission support'' by this appropriations Act, the
amounts appropriated for construction of facilities shall
remain available until September 30, 2003.
Notwithstanding the limitation on the availability of funds
appropriated for ``Mission support'' and ``Office of
Inspector General'', amounts made available by this Act for
personnel and related costs and travel expenses of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall remain
available until September 30, 2000 and may be used to enter
into contracts for training, investigations, costs associated
with personnel relocation, and for other services, to be
provided during the next fiscal year.
Unless otherwise provided for in this Act or in the joint
explanatory statement of the committee of conference
accompanying this Act, no part of the funds appropriated for
``Human space flight'' may be used for the development of the
International Space Station in excess of the amounts set
forth in the budget estimates submitted as part of the budget
request for fiscal year 2001.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all amounts
made available for missions, programs and individual
activities and research under ``Human space flight'',
``Science, aeronautics and technology'', or ``Mission
support'' by this appropriations Act shall be funded in
accordance with the terms and conditions specified in Senate
Report 106-410, with any changes subject to the approval of
the Committees on Appropriations pursuant to a reprogramming
request by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
National Credit Union Administration
Central Liquidity Facility
During fiscal year 2001, gross obligations of the Central
Liquidity Facility for the principal amount of new direct
loans to member credit unions, as authorized by the National
Credit Union Central Liquidity Facility Act (12 U.S.C. 1795),
shall not exceed $600,000,000: Provided, That administrative
expenses of the Central Liquidity Facility in fiscal year
2001 shall not exceed $296,303.
National Science Foundation
research and related activities
For necessary expenses in carrying out the National Science
Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1861-1875), and
the Act to establish a National Medal of Science (42 U.S.C.
1880-1881); services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109;
authorized travel; maintenance and operation of aircraft and
purchase of flight services for research support; acquisition
of aircraft; $3,245,562,000, of which not to exceed
$285,410,000 shall remain available until expended for Polar
research and operations support, and for reimbursement to
other Federal agencies for operational and science support
and logistical and other related activities for the United
States Antarctic program; the balance to remain available
until September 30, 2002: Provided, That receipts for
scientific support services and materials furnished by the
National Research Centers and other National Science
Foundation supported research facilities may be credited to
this appropriation: Provided further, That to the extent that
the amount appropriated is less than the total amount
authorized to be appropriated for included program
activities, all amounts, including floors and ceilings,
specified in the authorizing Act for those program activities
or their subactivities shall be reduced proportionally:
Provided further, That $65,000,000 of the funds available
under this heading shall be made available for a
comprehensive research initiative on plant genomes for
economically significant crop: Provided further, That no
funds in this or any other Act shall be used to acquire or
lease a research vessel with ice-breaking capability built or
retrofitted by a shipyard located in a foreign country if
such a vessel of United States origin can be obtained at a
cost no more than 50 per centum above that of the least
expensive technically acceptable foreign vessel bid: Provided
further, That, in determining the cost of such a vessel, such
cost be increased by the amount of any subsidies or financing
provided by a foreign government (or instrumentality thereof
) to such vessel's construction: Provided further, That if
the vessel contracted for pursuant to the foregoing is not
available for the 2002-2003 austral summer Antarctic season,
a vessel of any origin may be leased for a period of not to
exceed 120 days for that season and each season thereafter
until delivery of the new vessel.
Major Research Equipment
For necessary expenses of major construction projects
pursuant to the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as
amended, including authorized travel, $109,100,000, to remain
available until expended.
Education and Human Resources
For necessary expenses in carrying out science and
engineering education and human resources programs and
activities pursuant to the National Science Foundation Act of
1950, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1861-1875), including services as
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, authorized travel, and rental of
conference rooms in the District of Columbia, $765,352,000,
to remain available until September 30, 2002: Provided, That
to the extent that the amount of this appropriation is less
than the total amount authorized to be appropriated for
included program activities, all amounts, including floors
and ceilings, specified in the authorizing Act for those
program activities or their subactivities shall be reduced
proportionally: Provided further, That $10,000,000 shall be
available for the Office of Innovation Partnerships.
Salaries and Expenses
For salaries and expenses necessary in carrying out the
National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42
U.S.C. 1861-1875); services authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109; hire
of passenger motor vehicles; not to exceed $9,000 for
official reception and representation expenses; uniforms or
allowances therefor, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5901-5902;
rental of conference rooms in the District of Columbia;
reimbursement of the General Services Administration for
security guard services; $170,890,000: Provided, That
contracts may be entered into under ``Salaries and expenses''
in fiscal year 2001 for maintenance and operation of
facilities, and for other services, to be provided during the
next fiscal year.
Office of Inspector General
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
as authorized by the Inspector General Act of 1978, as
amended, $6,280,000, to remain available until September 30,
2002.
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
Payment to the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
For payment to the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
for use in neighborhood reinvestment activities, as
authorized by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act
(42 U.S.C. 8101-8107), $80,000,000.
Selective Service System
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses of the Selective Service System,
including expenses of attendance at meetings and of training
for uniformed personnel assigned to the Selective Service
System, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 4101-4118 for civilian
employees; and not to exceed $1,000 for official reception
and representation expenses; $24,480,000: Provided, That
during the current fiscal year, the President may exempt this
appropriation from the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1341, whenever
he deems such action to be necessary in the interest of
national defense: Provided further, That none of the funds
appropriated by this Act may be expended for or in connection
with the induction of any person into the Armed Forces of the
United States.
TITLE IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 401. Where appropriations in titles I, II, and III of
this Act are expendable for travel expenses and no specific
limitation has been placed thereon, the expenditures for such
travel expenses may not exceed the amounts set forth
therefore in the budget estimates submitted for the
appropriations: Provided, That this provision does not apply
to accounts that do not contain an object classification for
travel: Provided further, That this section shall not apply
to travel performed by uncompensated officials of local
boards and appeal boards of the Selective Service System; to
travel performed directly in connection with care and
treatment of medical beneficiaries of the Department of
Veterans Affairs; to travel performed in connection with
major disasters or emergencies declared or determined by the
President under the provisions of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; to travel
performed by the Offices of Inspector General in connection
with audits and investigations; or to payments to interagency
motor pools where separately set forth in the budget
schedules: Provided further, That if appropriations in titles
I, II, and III exceed the amounts set forth in budget
estimates initially submitted for such appropriations, the
expenditures for travel may correspondingly exceed the
amounts therefore set forth in the estimates in the same
proportion.
Sec. 402. Appropriations and funds available for the
administrative expenses of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development and the Selective Service System shall be
available in the current fiscal year for purchase of
uniforms, or allowances therefor, as authorized by 5 U.S.C.
5901-5902; hire of passenger motor vehicles; and services as
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109.
Sec. 403. Funds of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development subject to the Government Corporation Control Act
or section 402 of the Housing Act of 1950 shall be available,
without regard to the limitations on administrative expenses,
for legal services on a contract or fee basis, and for
utilizing and making payment for services and facilities of
Federal National Mortgage Association, Government National
Mortgage Association, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation,
Federal Financing Bank, Federal Reserve banks or any member
thereof, Federal Home Loan banks, and any insured bank within
the meaning of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Act,
as amended (12 U.S.C. 1811-1831).
Sec. 404. 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. 405. No funds appropriated by this Act may be
expended--
(1) pursuant to a certification of an officer or employee
of the United States unless--
(A) such certification is accompanied by, or is part of, a
voucher or abstract which describes the payee or payees and
the items or services for which such expenditure is being
made; or
(B) the expenditure of funds pursuant to such
certification, and without such a voucher or abstract, is
specifically authorized by law; and
(2) unless such expenditure is subject to audit by the
General Accounting Office or is specifically exempt by law
from such audit.
Sec. 406. None of the funds provided in this Act to any
department or agency may be expended for the transportation
of any officer or employee of such department or agency
between their domicile and their place of employment, with
the exception of any officer or employee authorized such
transportation under 31 U.S.C. 1344 or 5 U.S.C. 7905.
Sec. 407. None of the funds provided in this Act may be
used for payment, through grants or contracts, to recipients
that do not share in the cost of conducting research
resulting from proposals not specifically solicited by the
Government: Provided, That the extent of cost sharing
[[Page S10287]]
by the recipient shall reflect the mutuality of interest of
the grantee or contractor and the Government in the research.
Sec. 408. None of the funds in this Act may be used,
directly or through grants, to pay or to provide
reimbursement for payment of the salary of a consultant
(whether retained by the Federal Government or a grantee) at
more than the daily equivalent of the rate paid for level IV
of the Executive Schedule, unless specifically authorized by
law.
Sec. 409. None of the funds provided in this Act shall be
used to pay the expenses of, or otherwise compensate, non-
Federal parties intervening in regulatory or adjudicatory
proceedings. Nothing herein affects the authority of the
Consumer Product Safety Commission pursuant to section 7 of
the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2056 et seq.).
Sec. 410. Except as otherwise provided under existing law,
or under an existing Executive order issued pursuant to an
existing law, the obligation or expenditure of any
appropriation under this Act for contracts for any consulting
service shall be limited to contracts which are: (1) a matter
of public record and available for public inspection; and (2)
thereafter included in a publicly available list of all
contracts entered into within 24 months prior to the date on
which the list is made available to the public and of all
contracts on which performance has not been completed by such
date. The list required by the preceding sentence shall be
updated quarterly and shall include a narrative description
of the work to be performed under each such contract.
Sec. 411. Except as otherwise provided by law, no part of
any appropriation contained in this Act shall be obligated or
expended by any executive agency, as referred to in the
Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 401 et
seq.), for a contract for services unless such executive
agency: (1) has awarded and entered into such contract in
full compliance with such Act and the regulations promulgated
thereunder; and (2) requires any report prepared pursuant to
such contract, including plans, evaluations, studies,
analyses and manuals, and any report prepared by the agency
which is substantially derived from or substantially includes
any report prepared pursuant to such contract, to contain
information concerning: (A) the contract pursuant to which
the report was prepared; and (B) the contractor who prepared
the report pursuant to such contract.
Sec. 412. Except as otherwise provided in section 406, 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.
Sec. 413. None of the funds provided in this Act to any
department or agency shall be obligated or expended to
procure passenger automobiles as defined in 15 U.S.C. 2001
with an EPA estimated miles per gallon average of less than
22 miles per gallon.
Sec. 414. None of the funds appropriated in title I of this
Act shall be used to enter into any new lease of real
property if the estimated annual rental is more than $300,000
unless the Secretary submits, in writing, a report to the
Committees on Appropriations of the Congress and a period of
30 days has expired following the date on which the report is
received by the Committees on Appropriations.
Sec. 415. (a) It is the sense of the Congress that, to the
greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products
purchased with funds made available in this Act should be
American-made.
(b) In providing financial assistance to, or entering into
any contract with, any entity using funds made available in
this Act, the head of each Federal agency, to the greatest
extent practicable, shall provide to such entity a notice
describing the statement made in subsection (a) by the
Congress.
Sec. 416. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may be
used to implement any cap on reimbursements to grantees for
indirect costs, except as published in Office of Management
and Budget Circular A-21.
Sec. 417. Such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year
2001 pay raises for programs funded by this Act shall be
absorbed within the levels appropriated in this Act.
Sec. 418. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used for any program, project, or activity, when it is
made known to the Federal entity or official to which the
funds are made available that the program, project, or
activity is not in compliance with any Federal law relating
to risk assessment, the protection of private property
rights, or unfunded mandates.
Sec. 419. Corporations and agencies of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development which are subject to the
Government Corporation Control Act, as amended, are hereby
authorized to make such expenditures, within the limits of
funds and borrowing authority available to each such
corporation or agency and in accord with law, and to make
such contracts and commitments without regard to fiscal year
limitations as provided by section 104 of the Act as may be
necessary in carrying out the programs set forth in the
budget for 2001 for such corporation or agency except as
hereinafter provided: Provided, That collections of these
corporations and agencies may be used for new loan or
mortgage purchase commitments only to the extent expressly
provided for in this Act (unless such loans are in support of
other forms of assistance provided for in this or prior
appropriations Acts), except that this proviso shall not
apply to the mortgage insurance or guaranty operations of
these corporations, or where loans or mortgage purchases are
necessary to protect the financial interest of the United
States Government.
Sec. 420. Notwithstanding section 320(g) of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(g)), funds made
available pursuant to authorization under such section for
fiscal year 2001 may be used for implementing comprehensive
conservation and management plans.
Sec. 421. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
term ``qualified student loan'' with respect to national
service education awards shall mean any loan made directly to
a student by the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary
Education, in addition to other meanings under section
148(b)(7) of the National and Community Service Act.
Sec. 422. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used to carry out Executive Order No. 13083.
Sec. 423. Unless otherwise provided for in this Act, no
part of any appropriation for the Department of Housing and
Urban Development shall be available for any activity in
excess of amounts set forth in the budget estimates submitted
for the appropriations.
Sec. 424. Except in the case of entities that are funded
solely with Federal funds or any natural persons that are
funded under this Act, none of the funds in this Act shall be
used for the planning or execution of any program to pay the
expenses of, or otherwise compensate, non-Federal parties to
lobby or litigate in respect to adjudicatory proceedings
funded in this Act. A chief executive officer of any entity
receiving funds under this Act shall certify that none of
these funds have been used to engage in the lobbying of the
Federal Government or in litigation against the United States
unless authorized under existing law.
Sec. 425. No part of any funds appropriated in this Act
shall be used by an agency of the executive branch, other
than for normal and recognized executive-legislative
relationships, for publicity or propaganda purposes, and for
the preparation, distribution or use of any kit, pamphlet,
booklet, publication, radio, television or film presentation
designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the
Congress, except in presentation to the Congress itself.
Sec. 426. NASA Full Cost Accounting. Title III of the
National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Public Law 85-
568, is amended by adding the following new section at the
end:
``Sec. 312. (a) Appropriations for the Administration for
fiscal year 2002 and thereafter shall be made in accounts,
``Human space flight'', ``International space station'',
``Science, aeronautics and technology'', and an account for
amounts appropriated for the necessary expenses of the Office
of Inspector General. Appropriations shall remain available
for two fiscal years. Each account shall include the planned
full costs of the Administration's related activities.
``(b) The Administrator shall notify the Committees on
Appropriations whenever any program or activity exceeds
fifteen percent of the annual or total budget of such program
or activity.''.
DIVISION B
HOUSING NEEDS ACT OF 2000
Section 1. Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the
``Housing Needs Act of 2000''.
Sec. 2. Table of Contents.--The table of Contents for this
Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of Contents.
Sec. 3. Findings and Purpose.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
TITLE I--PRODUCTION OF NEW HOUSING FOR LOW AND VERY LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
Sec. 101. Authority.
Sec. 102. Allocation of Resources.
Sec. 103. Affordable Housing Expansion Plan.
Sec. 104. Eligible Use of Funds.
Sec. 105. Matching Requirements.
Sec. 106. Distribution of Assistance.
Sec. 107. Eligible Affordable Housing.
Sec. 108. Tenant Selection.
Sec. 109. Prohibition on Use of Funds for Service Coordinators or
Supportive Services.
Sec. 110. Penalties for Misuse of Funds.
Sec. 111. Subsidy Layering Requirements.
Sec. 112. Multifamily Risk-sharing Mortgage Insurance Program.
Sec. 113. Regulations.
Sec. 114. Sunset.
TITLE II--SECTION 8 VOUCHER SUCCESS DEMONSTRATION
Sec. 201. Authority.
Sec. 202. Eligibility.
Sec. 203. Limitation on Funding.
TITLE III--PRESERVATION OF LOW-INCOME HOUSING AND MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Section 8 Project-based Flexibility.
Sec. 302. Disposition of HUD-held and HUD-owned Multifamily Projects.
Sec. 303. Family Unification Program.
Sec. 304. Permanent Extension of FHA Multifamily Mortgage Credit
Demonstrations.
Sec. 3. Findings and Purpose.--
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
(1) the Nation has not made adequate progress in
maintaining and expanding the inventory of affordable housing
for low and very low-income families, including persons with
disabilities and seniors;
(2) despite continued economic expansion, worst case
housing needs have reached an all-time high of 5.4 million
families, increasing by 4 percent between 1995 and 1997;
(3) the number of rental units which are affordable to
extremely low-income families has decreased by 5 percent
since 1991, a loss of over 37,000 units;
(4) the Administration and the Department of Housing and
Urban Development has proposed increased funding for
incremental rental vouchers as the primary solution to making
additional housing available for low-income and very low-
income families;
(5) while section 8 vouchers represent housing choice as a
matter of philosophy, in many cases
[[Page S10288]]
families using vouchers have difficult time finding housing,
especially in low vacancy market areas;
(6) in many cases, where section 8 vouchers are used, the
result is de facto redlining where low-income families are
relegated to the poorest and most distressed neighborhoods
with limited opportunities for transportation, employment and
quality schools;
(7) section 8 vouchers do not produce additional new units
of affordable low-income housing since banks will not finance
new construction with one year termed portable assistance;
(8) the Department of Housing and Urban Development has not
provided the necessary leadership to assist in the
development of needed affordable housing;
(9) a large number of States and local government have been
successful in developing new tools and opportunities for the
development of additional affordable housing for low-income
families, including the development of affordable mixed
income housing as part of State and local redevelopment
strategies for distressed communities; and
(10) State housing finance agencies have the local
experience and knowledge to maximize the development of
additional units of affordable low-income housing and to
preserve the existing stock of low-income affordable housing.
(b) The purpose of this Act is to redirect the primary
responsibility for the preservation of existing affordable
low-income housing and the expansion of the inventory of
affordable rental housing for very low-income and low-income
families from the Federal Government to State and local
governments through State housing finance agencies.
Sec. 4. Definitions.--For purposes of this Act, the
following definitions shall apply:
(1) The term ``low-income families'' shall have the same
meaning as provided under section 3(b)(2) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937.
(2) The term ``project-based assistance'' shall have the
meaning given such term in section 16(c)(6) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937, except that such term includes
assistance under any successor programs to the programs
referred to in such section.
(3) The term ``public housing agency'' shall have the
meaning given such term in section 3(b) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937.
(4) The term ``Secretary'' shall mean the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development.
(5) The term ``section 8 assistance'' or ``voucher'' shall
have the meaning given such term in section 8(f) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937.
(6) The term ``State'' shall mean the United States of the
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, America Samoa, and any
other territory of possession of the United States.
(7) The term ``State housing finance agency'' shall mean
any State or local housing finance agency that has been
designated by a State to administer this program.
(8) The term ``very low-income families'' shall have the
same meaning as provided under section 3(b) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937.
TITLE I--PRODUCTION OF NEW HOUSING FOR LOW AND VERY LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
Sec. 101. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
shall make funds available to State housing finance agencies
as provided under section 102 for the rehabilitation of
existing low-income housing, for the development of new
affordable low-income housing units, and for the preservation
of existing low-income housing units that are at risk of
becoming unavailable for low-income families.
Sec. 102. Allocation of Resources.--
(a) In general.--The Secretary shall allocate funds
approved in appropriations Acts to State housing finance
agencies to carry out this Title. Subject to the requirements
of subsection (b) and as otherwise provided in this
subsection, each State housing finance agency shall be
eligible to receive an amount of funds equal to the
proportion of the per capita population of the State in
relation to the population of the United States which shall
be determined on the basis of the most recent decennial
census for which data are available. For each fiscal year,
the Secretary shall reserve for grants to Indian tribes 1
percent of the amount appropriated under the applicable
appropriations Act. The Secretary shall provide for
distribution of amounts under this subsection to Indian
tribes on the basis of a competition conducted pursuant to
specific criteria developed after notice and public comment.
(b) Minimum state allocation.--If the allocation under
subsection (a), when applied to the funds approved under this
section in appropriations Acts for a fiscal year, would
result in funding of less than $10,000,000 to any State
housing finance agency, the allocation for such State housing
finance agency shall be $10,000,000 and the increase shall be
deducted pro rata from the allocation of all other State
housing finance agencies.
(c) Criteria for reallocation.--The Secretary shall
reallocate any funds previously allocated to a State housing
finance agency for any fiscal year in which the State housing
finance agency fails to provide its match requirements or
fails to submit an affordable housing expansion plan that is
approved by the Secretary. All such funds shall be
reallocated pursuant to the formula provided under subsection
(a).
Sec. 103. Affordable Housing Expansion Plan.--
(a) Submission of affordable housing expansion plan.--The
Secretary shall allocate funds under section 102 to a State
housing finance agency only if the State housing finance
agency has submitted an affordable housing expansion plan,
with annual updates, approved by the Secretary and designed
to meet the overall very low- and low-income housing needs of
both the rural and urban areas of the State in which the
State housing finance agency is located. This plan shall be
developed in conjunction with the housing strategies
developed for the applicable States and localities under
section 105 of Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing
Act.
(b) Citizen participation.--Before submitting an affordable
housing expansion plan to the Secretary, a State housing
finance agency shall--
(1) make available to citizens of the State, public
agencies and other interested parties information regarding
the amount of assistance expected to be made available under
this Title and the range of investment or other uses of such
assistance that the State housing finance agency may
undertake;
(2) publish the proposed plan in a manner that, in the
determination of the Secretary, affords affected citizens,
public agencies, and other interested parties a reasonable
opportunity to review its contents and to submit comments on
the proposed plan;
(3) hold one or more public hearings to obtain the views of
citizens, public agencies, and other interested parties on
the housing needs of the State; and
(4) provide citizens, public agencies, and other interested
parties with reasonable access to records regarding the uses
of any assistance that the State housing finance agency may
have received under this Title during the preceding 5 years.
Sec. 104. Eligible Use of Funds.--Funds made available
under this title shall be used for--
(1) the acquisition, new construction, reconstruction, or
moderate or substantial rehabilitation of affordable housing
for mixed income rental housing where the assistance provided
under section 102 shall be used to assist units targeted to
low and very low-income families, including the elderly and
persons with disabilities;
(2) the moderate and substantial rehabilitation of rental
housing units that are currently assisted under State or
Federal low-income housing programs;
(3) the preservation of Federal and State low-income
housing units that are at risk of being no longer affordable
to low-income families;
(4) the purchase and creation of land trusts to allow low-
and moderate-income families an opportunity to rent homes in
areas of low-vacancy;
(5) conversion of public housing to assisted living
facilities for the elderly;
(6) conversion of section 202 elderly housing to assisted
living facilities for the elderly;
(7) conversion of HUD-owned or HUD-held multifamily
properties upon disposition to housing for the elderly,
housing for persons with disabilities and to assisted living
facilities for the elderly;
(8) creation of sinking funds to maintain reserves held by
State housing finance agencies to preserve the low-income
character of the housing; and
(9) the creation of public/private partnerships in which
corporations and nonprofits are encouraged to develop
partnerships for the creation of affordable low-income
housing.
Sec. 105. Matching Requirements.--
(a) In general.--Each State housing finance agency shall
make contributions for activities under this title that
total, throughout a fiscal year, not less than 75 percent of
the funds made available under this title.
(b) Allowable amounts.--
(1) Application to housing.--A contribution shall be
recognized for purposes of a match under subsection (a) only
if--
(A) is made with respect to housing that qualifies as
affordable housing under section 107; or
(B) is made with respect to any portion of a project for
which not less than 50 percent of the units qualify as
affordable housing under section 107.
(2) Form.--A contribution may be in the form of--
(A) cash contributions from non-Federal sources, which may
not include funds from a grant under section 106(b) or
section 106(d) of the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1974 or from the value of low income tax credits allocated
pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code;
(B) the value of taxes, fees or other charges that are
normally and customarily imposed but are waived, forgone, or
deferred in a manner that achieves affordability of housing
assisted under this title;
(C) the value of land or other real property as appraised
according to procedures acceptable to the Secretary;
(D) the value of investment in on-site and off-site
infrastructure directly required for affordable housing
assisted under this title;
(E) the reasonable value of any site-preparation and
construction materials and any donated or voluntary labor in
connection with the site-preparation for, construction or
rehabilitation of affordable housing; and
(F) such other contributions to affordable housing as the
Secretary considers appropriate.
(3) Administrative expenses.--Contributions for
administrative expenses may not be recognized for purposes of
this section.
Sec. 106. Distribution of Assistance.--Each State housing
finance agency shall ensure that the development of new
housing under this section is designed to meet both urban and
rural needs, and prioritize funding, to the extent
practicable, in conjunction with the economic redevelopment
of an area.
Sec. 107. Eligible Affordable Housing.--
(a) Production of affordable housing.--In the case of new
construction, housing shall
[[Page S10289]]
qualify for assistance under this title only if the housing--
(1) has not less than 30 percent of the units assisted
under this title occupied by very low-income families who pay
as a contribution towards rent (not including any Federal or
State rental subsidy provided on behalf of the family) not
more than 20 percent of the adjusted income of a family whose
income equals 50 percent of the median income for the area,
as determined by the Secretary, with adjustments for the
number of bedrooms in the unit, except that the Secretary may
establish income ceilings higher or lower than 50 percent of
the median income for the area on the basis of the
Secretary's findings that variations are necessary because of
the prevailing levels of construction costs or fair market
rents, or unusually high or low family incomes;
(2) except as provided under paragraph (1), requires all
units assisted under this title to be occupied by households
that are low-income families and who pay no more than 30
percent of 100 percent of the median income for an area; and
(3) will remain affordable under the requirements provided
in paragraphs (1) and (2), according to legally binding
commitments satisfactory to the Secretary, for not less than
40 years, without regard to the term of the mortgage or to
the transfer of ownership, or for such period that the
Secretary determines is the longest feasible period of time
consistent with sound economics and the purposes of this Act,
including foreclosure where the responsibility for
maintaining the low-income character of the property will be
the responsibility of the State housing finance agency.
Sec. 108. Tenant Selection.--An owner of any housing
assisted under this Title shall establish tenant selection
procedures consistent with the affordable housing expansion
plan of the State housing finance agency.
Sec. 109. Prohibition on Use of Funds for Service
Coordinators or Supportive Services.--No funds under this Act
may be used for service coordinators or supportive services.
Sec. 110. Penalties for Misuse of Funds.--The Secretary
shall recapture any assistance awarded under this Title to
the extent the assistance has been used for impermissible
purposes. To the extent the Secretary identifies a pattern
and practice regarding the misuse of funds awarded under this
Title, the Secretary shall deny assistance to that State for
up to 5 years, subject to notice and an opportunity for
judicial review.
Sec. 111. Subsidy Layering Requirements.--The requirements
of section 102(d) of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development Reform Act of 1989 may be satisfied in connection
with assistance, including a commitment to insure a mortgage,
provided under this Title by a certification of a State
housing finance agency to the Secretary that the combination
of assistance within the jurisdiction of the Secretary and
other government assistance provided in connection with a
property assisted under this Title shall not be any greater
than is necessary to provide affordable housing.
Sec. 112. Multifamily Risk-sharing Mortgage Insurance
Program.--The Secretary shall carry out a mortgage insurance
program through the Federal Housing Administration in
conjunction with State housing finance agencies to insure
multifamily mortgages for housing that qualifies under this
Title. This program shall be consistent with the requirements
established under section 542 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1992, except that housing that meet the
requirements of this Title shall be eligible for mortgage
insurance.
Sec. 113. Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue notice
and comment rulemaking with final regulations issued no later
than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
Sec. 114. Sunset.--Title I shall expire on October 1, 2001,
except that all funds shall remain available until expended.
TITLE II--SECTION 8 VOUCHER SUCCESS DEMONSTRATION
Sec. 201. Authority.--The Secretary shall establish a
voucher success demonstration to permit public housing
agencies to increase the payment standard for section 8
vouchers for an area in excess of the payment standard
established under section 8(o)(B) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 to assist in helping low-income and very
low-income families obtain housing in tight rental markets.
Except as otherwise provided herein, all assistance provided
under this Title shall be subject to the requirements of the
United States Housing Act of 1937.
Sec. 202. Eligibility.--
(a) Voucher success plan.--Not less than annually, each
public housing agency that seeks to participate in the
voucher success demonstration under section 201 shall submit
to the Secretary a voucher success plan that--
(1) demonstrates that the market area for which the public
housing agency is responsible is an area, based on housing
market indicators, such as low vacancy rates or high
absorption rates, where there is not adequate available and
affordable housing or where families with vouchers will not
be able to locate suitable units or use tenant-based
assistance successfully;
(2) identifies a payment standard in excess of the payment
standard established under section 8(o)(B) that will ensure
that not less than 97 percent of families with vouchers will
be able to obtain suitable housing in that market area within
120 days;
(3) describes actions that the public housing agency will
take that will assist families with vouchers, including
seniors and persons with disabilities, to identify and obtain
suitable and available affordable housing that is close to
transportation, employment opportunities, quality schools and
appropriate services; and
(4) shall include such other information and commitments as
deemed appropriate by the Secretary.
(b) Increased payment standard.--The Secretary shall
approve a payment standard for a market area under this
demonstration to no more than 150 percent of the payment
standard established under section 8(o)(B) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937. This payment standard shall be
published annually in the Federal Register and adjusted
annually to reflect changes in each market area.
(c) Procedures.--The Secretary shall establish requirements
and procedures for the submission and review of voucher
success plans, including requirements for timing and form of
submission, and for the contents and approval of such plans.
(d) Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue interim
regulations no later than 3 months after the date of
enactment of this Act with final notice and public comment
regulations issued no later than 12 months after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(e) Savings clause.--A family using a voucher approved as
part of a demonstration under this Title shall be eligible
for an approved payment standard in excess of the payment
standard established under section 8(o)(d) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 to the extent the assisted family
continues to reside in the same housing in which the family
was residing on the date in which the housing was determined
eligible for the increased payment standard under this Title.
Sec. 203. Limitation on Funding.--Except to the extent
additional incremental vouchers are provided in
appropriations Acts, for purposes of this section, each
public housing agency shall be limited to the section 8 funds
allocated to that public housing agency as of October 1,
2000, including appropriate amounts for reserves, for
purposes of implementing the voucher success plan.
TITLE III--PRESERVATION OF LOW-INCOME HOUSING AND MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Section 8 Project-based Flexibility.--Section
8(o)(13) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 is amended
by--
(1) in paragraph (A)(ii), striking ``15 percent'' and
inserting in lieu thereof ``25 percent''; and
(2) adding the following new paragraph (E) to the end:
``(E) The Secretary shall establish expedited procedures to
allow public housing agencies to enter into housing
assistance payment contracts with respect to existing
structures.''.
Sec. 302. Disposition of HUD-held and HUD-owned Multifamily
Projects.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall maintain any
rental assistance payments attached to any dwelling units
under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 for
all multifamily properties owned by the Secretary and
multifamily properties held by the Secretary for purposes of
management and disposition of such properties. To the extent,
the Secretary determines that a multifamily property owned by
the Secretary or held by the Secretary is not feasible for
continued rental assistance payments under section 8, the
Secretary may, in consultation with the tenants of that
property, contract for project-based rental assistance
payments with an owner or owners of other existing housing
properties.
Sec. 303. Family Unification Program.--Section 8(x)(2) of
the United States Housing Act of 1937 is amended by--
(a) striking ``any family (A) who is otherwise eligible for
such assistance, and (B)'' and inserting in lieu thereof:
``(A) any family (i) who is otherwise eligible for such
assistance, and (ii)''; and
(b) inserting before the period at the end: ``(B) for a
period not to exceed 18 months, youths who have attained at
least 18 years of age and not more than 21 years of age and
who have left foster care at age 16 or older''.
Sec. 304. Permanent Extension of FHA Multifamily Mortgage
Credit Demonstrations.--Section 542 of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1992 is amended--
(1) by revising subsection (b)(5) to read as follows:
``(5) Insurance authority.--Using any authority provided in
appropriation Acts to insure mortgages under the National
Housing Act, the Secretary may enter into commitments under
this subsection for risk-sharing units.'';
(2) by revising subsection (c)(4) to read as follows:
``(4) Insurance authority.--Using any authority provided in
appropriation Acts to insure mortgages under the National
Housing Act, the Secretary may enter into commitments under
this subsection for risk-sharing units.'';
(3) in the heading, by striking ``Demonstrations'' and
inserting ``Programs'';
(4) in the first sentence of subsection (a), by striking
``demonstrate the effectiveness of providing'' and inserting
``provide'';
(5) in the second sentence of subsection (a), by striking
``demonstration'';
(6) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``determine the
effectiveness of'' and inserting ``provide'';
(7) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``test the
effectiveness of'' and inserting ``provide'';
(8) by striking subsection (d); and
(9) by striking ``pilot'' and ``PILOT'' each place it
appears.
This Act may be cited as the ``Departments of Veterans
Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001''.
The Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The committee substitute is agreed to. The
Bond-Mikulski amendment is agreed to.
[[Page S10290]]
The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
The amendment (No. 4306) was agreed to, as follows: (The text of the
amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Amendments Submitted.'')
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, as comanager, I am pleased to present to the
Senate, H.R. 4635, the VA-HUD appropriations bill for fiscal year 2001,
as reported from the Committee on Appropriations.
This is an unusual year. We have offered, and it has been accepted, a
managers' amendment that I have offered with my distinguished
colleague, Senator Mikulski, which will replace the Senate committee-
reported text of H.R. 4635.
This compromise amendment was worked out in agreement with Senator
Mikulski, Congressman Walsh, Congressman Mollohan, and me in
consultation with the administration. This is an unusual and far from
perfect situation. It is not the way I would normally prefer to proceed
with the passage of the VA-HUD appropriations bill. Nevertheless, we
have worked hard to develop a comprehensive package that considers the
concerns of all colleagues in both the House and Senate. It also met
the test for approval by the administration. I strongly believe that
the proposed compromise language strikes the right balance in funding
the programs under the jurisdiction of the VA/HUD Appropriations
Subcommittee.
The managers amendment/compromise agreement totals some $105.8
billion, including some $24.6 billion in mandatory veterans benefits.
This represents some $1.1 billion over the Senate committee-reported
bill and almost $1 billion less than the budget request. Outlays are
funded at some $110.7 billion for fiscal year 2001, $540 million over
the Senate committee-reported bill of $110.2 billion. The bill meets
our current funding allocation, per the Budget Committee.
We also did our best to satisfy priorities of Senators who made
special requests for such items as economic development grants, water
infrastructure improvements and the like. Such requests numbered
several thousand, illustrating the level of interest and demand for
assistance provided in this bill.
We also attempted to address the administration's top concerns,
including funding for 79,000 new housing vouchers, as well as record
funding for EPA at $7.8 billion.
Before going into the details of the compromise agreement, I would
like to commend my ranking members, Senator Mikulski, and her staff for
their cooperation and support throughout this process. We would not
have reached agreement as quickly, nor attained as good a result,
without her active help. She is a vitally important part of this
operation. I am deeply grateful for her help, guidance, and counsel.
To turn to the elements of the bill: For Veterans Affairs, the
proposed compromise language to VA/HUD FY 2001 appropriations bill
includes funding for VA that totals $47 billion, including $22.4
billion in discretionary spending. Veterans needs remain the highest
priority for this bill, and compared to the President's request, this
bill has an additional $54.7 million.
The compromise includes $20.28 billion for VA medical care, $1.4
billion more than the current level, and $351 million for research, an
increase of $30 million above the budget request level for this key
program which helps ensure the best quality of care to our veterans and
keeps the best doctors in the VA system.
The VA/HUD fiscal year 2001 appropriations compromise also includes
about $180 million more than the President's request for VA medical
care by including a provision that will ensure VA will not be penalized
from collecting less in new receipts authorized under the 1999
Millennium Act.
In addition, the compromise includes a new Title V, Filipino Veterans
Benefits Improvements, which provides benefits to Filipino veterans who
fought alongside American soldiers in World War II and who live in the
United States, equal to those benefits provided to U.S. veterans of
World War II. This is a long overdue remedy of inequitable treatment of
Filipino veterans. We thank our colleagues on the Veterans' Affairs
Committee for their agreement and assistance in including this
provision.
For HUD, the VA/HUD fiscal year 2001 appropriations compromise
appropriates some $30.6 billion, approximately the same as the budget
request. This includes a section 8 rescission of some $1.8 billion in
excess section 8 funds. This funding includes all the funding needed to
renew all expiring section 8 contracts and also provides funds for
79,000 incremental vouchers, an administration priority.
The public housing capital funding is increased by $45 million above
the budget request in fiscal year 2001 to $3 billion. Similarly, the
public housing operating funding has been increased by $50 million
above the budget request in fiscal year 2001 to $3.242 billion.
In addition, CDBG and HOME funds have been increased by $150 million
each in fiscal year 2001 with CDBG at $5.057 billion and HOME at $1.8
billion, respectively. These are important block grant programs which
rely on decisionmaking guided by local choice and need. I also hope
these funds are used as an investment in housing production to meet the
increasing affordable housing needs of low-income families. Staff work
in this subcommittee has shown one of the serious problems facing us is
lack of affordable housing.
In addition, the VA/HUD appropriations bill for fiscal year 2001
funds section 202 elderly housing at $779 million, the budget request,
and section 811 housing for disabled persons at $217 million, $7
million over the budget request. A separate account has been created at
$100 million for the renewal of expiring shelter plus care contracts.
This bill includes a number of noncontroversial HUD administrative
provisions, whereas we have dropped, at the request of the Senate
Banking Committee, a new housing production program for extremely low-
income families and a provision that would have provided favorable
treatment under FHA for municipal workers such as teachers, firemen,
and police.
We also have maintained a provision that would increase the amount of
section 8 assistance available to PHAs for project-based assistance
from 15 percent to 20 percent with a limitation that no more than 25
percent of the units in a building can be project-based, except in the
case of seniors, disabled persons and scattered site housing as well as
a provision that would require HUD to maintain section 8 projected-
based assistance on a HUD-held or HUD-owned multifamily housing
projects where the project is elderly or disabled housing unless that
housing is not viable. These are important provisions that focus on
local decisionmaking and local housing needs.
For EPA, the VA/HUD fiscal year 2001 appropriations compromise
includes a record $7.8 billion for EPA, plus an additional $138 million
for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences which traditionally
have been funded under EPA's appropriation and are funded separately in
this bill. Thus, compared to the budget request, the compromise will
provide an additional $686 million more than the President and about
$400 million more than fiscal year 2000.
Additional funds of $550 million above the budget request have been
provided for clean water state revolving funds as well as additional
funds of $12 million for section 106 water quality grants--$57 million
above the fiscal year 2000 level to help states meet future total
maximum daily load requirements.
Compared to last year, the compromise increases operating programs by
$246 million including an additional $20 million for the climate change
technology initiative voluntary programs and protection of all core
programs.
The compromise does not fund new, unauthorized programs such as clean
air partnerships or Great Lakes grants which would detract from EPA
core responsibilities.
With respect to legislative issues, the compromise bill includes the
fiscal year 1999 bill with report language relative to the Kyoto
Protocol. The proposed report would provide up to an additional 6
months for finalizing the arsenic-in-drinking water rule, and the bill
modifies the so-called Collins-Linder provision on ozone nonattainment
[[Page S10291]]
designations which would allow EPA to make designations once the
Supreme Court decides this case but not later than June 2001.
These so-called EPA riders are primarily report language which we
believe are fair and reasonable compromises on issues where there are
broad questions and we need to bring some resolution. While everyone
may not agree with these decisions, we have worked hard to balance the
decisions associated with this account to the overall benefit of EPA
policy and funding needs in consultation with and agreement with the
administration.
For FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the VA-HUD
appropriations bill for 2001 appropriates a total of $936.8 million for
FEMA and includes an additional $1.3 billion in disaster relief
contingency funds. With the disaster relief funds provided here,
coupled with contingency funds already on hand, funding will be
sufficient to meet fiscal year 2001 disaster relief operations.
Most notable in FEMA funding is the addition of $30 million above the
Senate- or House-appropriated levels for emergency food and shelter,
for a total of $140 million. This popular program results in temporary
housing and food assistance to thousands of needy individuals with very
little overhead costs.
For the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the VA-HUD
appropriations compromise funds NASA at $14.285 billion instead of
$14.035 billion, for an increase of $250 million. This account includes
$5.46 billion for human space flight, which is $37 million below the
administration request for fiscal year 2001. This reduction reflects a
NASA request for a reduction in this account in order to provide full
funding for the Mars 2003 lander program.
The funding includes $6.19 billion in fiscal year 2001 for science,
aeronautics, and technology, instead of $5.93 billion as requested by
the administration, an increase of $261 million above the budget
request. Included in this is $20 million for Living with a Star and
$290 million for the space launch initiative, including $40 million for
alternative access to the space station initiative. In addition,
mission support is funded for fiscal year 2001 at $2.6 billion, instead
of $2.58 billion, an increase of $24.7 million over the budget request.
For the National Science Foundation--and this is a very important
area for the ranking member and me--the VA-HUD compromise funds NSF at
$4.43 billion, a $529 million increase over the fiscal year 2000
enacted level and $146 million below the President's request. Funding
highlights include $215 million for information technology research,
$150 million for nanotechnology, and $65 million for plant genome
research. Lastly, to assist smaller research institutions, $75 million
was included for EPSCoR, a $20 million increase over last year's level,
and $10 million for the Office of Innovation Partnerships.
We believe very strongly the scientific exploration in space needs to
be spread broadly throughout the land to ensure we achieve inclusion of
knowledgeable and dedicated scientists at institutions which may not
traditionally have received funding in the past.
I consider NSF a priority account that needs additional funding in
order to pace U.S. leadership in science and technology. Senator
Mikulski and I have heard from leading scientists in this country who
say that we are falling behind because we are not providing enough
funding for the National Science Foundation. Medical doctors who depend
directly upon the research work done at the National Institutes of
Health have come to us and said that we must bring NSF funding up to
NIH funding because so many of the health breakthroughs on which NIH is
working depend upon the support the National Science Foundation
provides.
Senator Mikulski and I have launched an effort to double the NSF
budget. We have circulated a letter and have a significant number of
colleagues who have joined with us. We will be back. We will be asking
the full Senate to recognize a priority in the National Science
Foundation and help get us on that path for the next year.
Finally, for the National Service Corporation, the VA-HUD fiscal year
2001 appropriations compromise appropriates $458 million, a $25 million
increase over last year's level and $75 million below the budget
request. Further, $30 million will be rescinded from excess funds in
the National Service Trust.
The compromise also funds the Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund at $118 million, a $23 million increase over last
year's level and $7 million below the request.
I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I begin by thanking my colleague,
Senator Bond, as well as our colleagues Senator Byrd and Senator
Stevens, for enabling us to move our bill forward. I particularly
express my appreciation to Senator Bond for his collegial and civil way
of including me in all discussions related to both the funding and
policy that we developed in this bill. His courtesy and collegiality
are very much appreciated.
I believe today the bill we present takes care of national needs and
national interests. I am also confident that it will be signed by
President Bill Clinton because it takes care of the day-to-day needs of
the American people and at the same time looks forward to helping with
the long-range needs of our country to remain competitive and on the
cutting edge of science.
This bill has always been to me about five things: meeting our
obligations to our veterans--promises made, promises kept; investing in
our neighborhoods and our communities promoting self-help; creating
real opportunities for people to move from welfare to work, to make
sure that public housing is not a way of life but a way to a better
life; and, of course, advancing science and technology, the new ideas
that lead to the new jobs and the new products. It is also about
protecting consumers from fraud and scams and communities from floods
and disasters.
I believe we meet the goals in this bill, and we have done it in a
fiscally prudent way. While I support the bill, the process has left
much to be desired; again no fault of Chairman Bond but really the
Senate has placed us in a very awkward situation.
The bill before the Senate today is a managers' substitute for the
Senate bill. This is effectively our conference report. We did not have
a conference report, though we met. We had kind of a chatroom where we
would meet and try to iron out our differences. We did. It also
involved OMB and the White House for consultation. We wanted to be sure
both sides of the aisle would support the bill. We also wanted to be
sure that the President would sign the bill. I believe we achieved
this.
I say to my colleagues, it will be absolutely crucial, in order to
move this bill with this unique parliamentary situation, to have no
amendments to this legislation. My colleague from California, Senator
Boxer, will offer two amendments. I am going to oppose them. I am going
to oppose them both on procedural and substantive grounds. On
procedure, if the Boxer amendments prevail, we will have enormous
difficulty reconvening and working with the House to pass this bill. I
just put that out.
Though we had an unofficial conference, I do believe we were able to
move forward. Senator Bond has outlined in detail what we were able to
do financially. I am so glad we worked together on a bipartisan basis,
particularly in the area of veterans health care, joining hands,
scrutinizing the budget and then the appropriations to make sure that
veterans health care will be funded $1.4 billion over last year's
level.
We also want to look ahead to be sure, while we are taking care of
the men and women who bear the permanent wounds of war, we do the
medical research, to find the cures for those things affecting our
veterans population. This legislation provides $350 million for medical
and prosthetic research, $30 million over last year. I have seen the
work at my own University of Maryland and know that people will live
longer, live better, and recover more quickly because of the funding
for veterans health care research which also goes into the civilian
population.
Also, we have added more money, $100 million, for State veterans
homes. This is to provide long-term care and rehabilitation, which is
very crucial. It
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means the Federal Government does not bear the sole burden, the State
governments do not bear the sole burden, and, most of all, our veterans
do not bear the sole burden. This unique Federal-State partnership will
meet the long term and rehab needs of our veterans.
In addition, we have paid attention to the day-to-day needs of our
constituents in Housing and Urban Development.
We want to make sure the people of the United States of America, who
are out there working every day but who are also part of the working
poor, have help with housing. We have been able to create 79,000 new
vouchers to help working families find affordable housing.
Unfortunately, we do not have enough housing to meet their needs.
Senator Bond led a very vigorous effort, which I supported, as did
the authorizers on my side, to start a production program. We were
derailed from that, but we did not want to be detoured from the bill,
so we put that aside for another year. But we really call out to our
authorizers, please, pass a production bill that will generate jobs in
construction and meet the needs of our citizens.
Where I think we also worked very closely together is in helping the
elderly and disabled. We have provided $780 million for housing for the
elderly. It is more than last year. It also helps with assisted living
and service coordinators to be able to help people keep as independent
as long as they can, and to even develop new models of care.
At the same time, we looked out for those who are disabled and the
special AIDS population. But we wanted to also remember not only the
``H,'' which is housing, we wanted the part called urban development.
But we also know so many of our constituents live in rural areas. So we
looked to see how we could increase the ability for local
decisionmaking. That is why we funded community development block grant
money and a program called HOME at much more than last year, because it
goes right to cities, communities, and neighborhoods. Whether you are
in a small rural town in Missouri or a big city such as Baltimore,
community development block grant money and HOME will be of great help
to you.
But we are about promoting self-help. That is why we continued to
stay the course in providing funds for empowerment zones, again
recognizing rural needs and also promoting home ownership. That is why
we help the homeowners by extending the FHA downpayment simplification
program for another 25 months. So we looked at how we could create
opportunities at the local level.
Another area where we have strong bipartisan support within the
committee and by its chairman and ranking member is to make sure that
America continues to lead the way in science and technology. Therefore,
I am so pleased that we are funding the National Space Agency at $14.3
billion, $250 million above the President's request. Quite frankly, I
think NASA needs a lot more because they have been severely cut over
the years, but fiscal prudence won. At the same time, we wanted to make
sure that we were fiscally prudent, that our shuttle will be safe, our
space station will be ready, and that we will move ahead on a vigorous
space science program, such as the Living With A Star Program that will
be done at Goddard Space Flight Center in my own community.
The National Science Foundation is also a very important, crucial
program. The national science program, as Senator Bond has said, really
does promote the basic research that goes into our country. It has been
a star. It has been almost flat-lined for several years while we tried
to balance the budget. This is why this year they will receive a $520
million increase over last year's enacted level.
One of the areas which we will be also advocating is a field called
nanotechnology. You have heard of a nanosecond. It is because it is
small. But let me tell you, the nanotechnology is the next generation
past this infotechnology. You have seen the biotech revolution and the
infotech revolution, but wait until the nanotech research gets
underway. We are going to have new products, new materials. We are
going to be able to have a supercomputer the size of my ring.
We will be able to take little pills, that will literally have
diagnostic equipment, that will be able to go through our bodies,
giving immediate responses to our physicians. This is going to be
extraordinary. I am so pleased to be part of what we are doing.
At the same time, we want to call forth young people to continue the
call for service. That is why I am so pleased we continued to stay the
course on national service, with a modest increase.
One of the things we have done in national service is add something
called E-Corps. As many of my colleagues know, I have been a strong
proponent to make sure we do not have a digital divide in this country,
meaning that young people have access to technology and access to know
how to use technology. What we are creating in this legislation is
having E-Corps volunteers to train and mentor not only the children but
community leaders and librarians and others who will be teaching our
children.
Last, but not at all least, we joined hands to protect the
environment. We have increased funds for the environment, whether it is
the clean water revolving fund, small watershed programs to restore
rivers and streams, or having full funding of the Chesapeake Bay
program. I believe the environment will be stronger and better
protected by the resources that we have put in this bill.
Now, yes, there are riders. I don't go for riders. None of us go for
riders. But we were in a very difficult situation with the bill. We
took the language that was being proposed by the House, working with
the office of OMB--the President's own--and the Council on
Environmental Quality that advises the President on the environment.
They were in the room to help us really identify the appropriate
language that could meet the policy objectives of those who advocated
it without shackling EPA or hurting communities.
I will say more about that during the debate. But I will tell you,
regardless of how you feel about the riders, they were acceptable to
the President's Council on Environmental Quality.
To be more specific, Mr. President, I am especially pleased that we
were able to provide a significant increase in funding for veterans
health care. We met the President's request of $20.2 billion and are
$1.4 billion above last year's level. This will help us ensure that
promises made to our veterans are promises kept, and that our veterans
get the health care to which they are entitled.
We were also able to provide $351 million for medical and prosthetic
research. This is $30 million above the budget request and last year's
level.
The VA plays a major role in medical research for the special needs
of our veterans, such as: geriatrics, Alzheimers, Parkinson's, and
orthopedic research. Our veterans are not the only ones who benefit
from this research--our entire nation does, especially as America's
population continues to age.
We are also providing $100 million in funding for state veterans
homes. This is $40 million above the budget request and $10 million
above last year's level. The state homes serve as long-term care and
rehabilitation facilities for our veterans.
We were also able to provide over $1.6 billion for the Veterans
Benefits Administration, which will help them administer benefits to
our veterans more quickly.
I am also very pleased that we were able to include a new title in
our bill that will provide benefits to Filipino veterans who fought
alongside Americans in World War II and who live in the United States.
Finally, our Filipino-American veterans will receive equal benefits
for equal valor.
We were able to take care of America's working families in this bill
as well, by funding housing programs that millions of Americans depend
upon.
Our bill provides almost $13 billion to review all expiring section 8
housing vouchers. And we have included $453 million in funding to issue
79,000 new vouchers, to help working families find affordable housing.
This is 19,000 more than we were able to fund last year.
We included provisions to make it easier for public housing
authorities to provide more project-based assistance to increase the
stock of affordable housing, instead of just vouchers.
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As many of my colleagues were aware, a production bill was under
serious consideration during the conference. It was a modified version
of Senator Bond's housing production bill that was included in the
original Senate bill. Unfortunately, we were forced to drop this
provision due to objections from the authorizing committee, but I hope
we will re-visit the issue next year. We were also able to maintain
level funding for other critical core HUD programs.
We provided $779 million for housing for the elderly, which meets the
President's request and is $69 million more than last year. This
includes funds for assisted living and service coordinators. We also
provided $217 million in funding for housing for disabled
Americans, which is $7 million above the President's request and $23
million over last year's level.
Homeless assistance grants received a $5 million increase and are
funded at $1.025 billion.
We were able to provide both the Community Development Block Grant
Program and the HOME Program with $150 million increases. CDBG is
funded at more than $5 billion, and HOME is funded at $1.8 billion. The
CDBG Program is one of the most important programs for rebuilding our
cities and neighborhoods.
We also provided increased funding to help our neighborhoods and
communities through the HOPE VI Program, which helps demolish and then
revitalize distressed public housing sites. This year, we provided $575
million for HOPE VI, the same as last year's level.
I am pleased that we were able to provide funding for other programs
that help America's communities. We increased funding for empowerment
zones by providing $90 million in this bill and increased funding for
CDFI--Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
Funding for empowerment zones will help designated areas with
economic development and social services. Community involvement in the
empowerment zone initiative will prove especially beneficial.
We also help homeowners by extending the FHA downpayment
simplification program for 25 months.
As I said, I am extremely pleased that our bill fully funds NASA at
$14.3 billion, an increase of $250 million. This funding exceeds the
President's request for NASA. All of NASA's core programs are fully
funded and all of our centers are fully funded, including the Goddard
Space Flight Center in my home State of Maryland.
The VA-HUD bill includes $1.5 billion for Earth science, more than
$2.5 billion for space science, including funding for the Mars polar
lander, and $20 million to start an exciting new program called
``Living With A Star,'' which will study the relationship between the
sun and the Earth and its impact on our environment and our climate. It
will help us predict and protect against solar storms that can disrupt
our energy and communications systems.
I am especially proud that this program will be headquartered at the
Goddard Space Flight Center.
NASA science programs are critical not just for science, but for
technology. With NASA technology, we can create new jobs and literally
save lives, while developing a greater understanding of how our
universe works.
I fought hard to make sure that this funding was included in this
manager's amendment.
And, of course, in the area of human space flight, we fully fund the
space shuttle upgrades, space station construction, and fully fund the
new ``Space Launch Initiative'' to find new, low-cost launch vehicles
that will reduce the cost of getting to space.
The VA-HUD manager's amendment also increases funding for the
Corporation for National Service.
The House bill cut funding for the Corporation for National Service,
but I made it a priority to restore it in the Senate bill and in
conference.
The corporation is funded at $458 million, a $25 million increase
over last year's level.
The Corporation for National Service has enrolled over 100,000
members and participants across the country, in a wide array of
community service programs, including: AmeriCorps, a national service
program that helps communities, learn and serve America, which supports
service-learning programs across the country by providing funding and
training, and the National Senior Service Corps, which helps seniors
get involved in their communities.
As many of my colleagues know, I have been very concerned about the
digital divide in this country.
I introduced legislation called the Digital Empowerment Act to
provide a one-stop shop and increased funds to local communities trying
to cross the digital divide.
I am pleased that this bill contains $25 million within the national
service budget to create an ``E-Corps'' of volunteers who will bring
technology skills to people who have been left out or left behind in
the digital economy, by training and mentoring children, teachers, and
non-profit and community center staff on how to use computers and
information technology.
With regard to the EPA, our bill provides $7.8 billion in funding,
plus an additional $138 million for the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry, ATSDR, and the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, NIEHS.
All together, this is an increase of $400 million over last year's
level, and $686 million more than the President's request.
We increased funding by $246 million for EPA's core environmental
programs, including a $38 million increase for nonpoint source
pollution control grants, and a $20 million increase for the climate
change technology initiative.
We also provided an additional $550 million for the clean water state
revolving fund. Taking care of the infrastructure needs of local
communities has always been a priority for the VA-HUD Subcommittee.
We have fully funded the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, and Long Island
Sound Programs, and provided $1.25 million for the Chesapeake by small
watershed grants program, a $500,000 increase over last year's level,
that will help our small communities around the Bay watershed prevent
runoff and pollution.
Legislatively, the bill includes the FY 1999 bill and report language
regarding the Kyoto Protocol, provides up to an additional 6 months for
finalizing the arsenic-in-drinking-water rule, and includes a weaker
version of the Collins-Linder provision on ozone.
There is no language on the diesel sulfur rule. However modified
report language has been included regarding dredging and invasive
remediation.
I am a strong supporter of FEMA, and am proud that we have provided
$937 million in funding for FEMA, plus an additional $1.3 billion in
emergency disaster relief funding.
The National Science Foundation is funded at $4.43 billion, a $529
million increase over last year's enacted level, and one of the largest
increases in NSF's history.
This funding level will keep America at the forefront of science and
technology into the next century in info-tech and bio-tech, and is an
important step towards holding onto America's science and technology
base.
This is a downpayment toward our goal of doubling the NSF budget over
the next five years.
I am especially pleased that we were able to provide $150 million for
the new nanotechnology initiative. We were also able to provide $215
million for information technology, and well-deserved increases for
several of NSF's education and human resources accounts. These include
a $10 million increase over the budget request for informal science
education, nearly $20 million for graduate fellowships in K-12
education, and over $55 million for graduate research fellowships.
Mr. President, I once again appreciate the cooperation of my
colleagues throughout this process. While I regret that this year's
process was highly irregular, I am pleased that we worked together to
bring a conference agreement to the Senate floor. I believe this year's
VA/HUD bill is good for our country, our veterans, and our communities.
Mr. President, before I conclude my statement, I really want to thank
Senator Bond and his staff, Jon Kamarck, Cheh Kim, and Carolyn
Apostolou, for all the work they did, and also my own staff, Paul
Carliner, Sean Smith, and Alexa Mitrakos, for helping us really move
this bill, and, most of all, to move America forward.
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Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bunning). The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Amendment No. 4307
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, on behalf of the Democratic leader, I
call up amendment No. 4307 and ask for its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Maryland [Ms. Mikulski], for Mr. Daschle,
proposes an amendment numbered 4307.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of
the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(The text of the amendment is printed in today's Record under
``Amendments Submitted.'')
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I yield back all time on the amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I heard the number, but what is the bill?
What does it do?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. It is the language of S. 2900 as reported.
Mr. BYRD. Is this the language of the Senate, of the bill that was
reported from the committee?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
Mr. BYRD. So it is the Senate-reported bill and carries the Senate
title?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. It is the language, but it doesn't carry the
title.
Mr. BYRD. It carries the Senate number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, if the Senator will withhold, I just
asked unanimous consent that this amendment be called up and yielded
back time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct. The Senator from
Arizona does have the time. He also has time on the bill.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I know the Senator has time.
Mr. McCAIN. I am glad to yield to the Senator from Maryland until she
completes this business.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I thank the Senator from Arizona.
Does Senator Byrd intend to speak?
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I do not intend to take the time of the
Senate at this point.
I thank the distinguished Senator from Arizona.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I thank the Senator from Arizona.
Mr. President, I urge that the amendment be adopted.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Arizona wish to speak
before the amendment is adopted?
Mr. McCAIN. Since the Senator from Maryland had already embarked on
this parliamentary movement, I will yield until that is completed and
then speak after that.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No.
4307.
The amendment (No. 4307) was agreed to.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the motion to reconsider.
The motion was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question recurs on the amendment.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask for a division.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia asks for a
division. As many as are in favor of the amendment will rise and remain
standing until they are counted. (After a pause.) Those opposed will
rise and stand until counted.
On a division, the amendment was rejected.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. BYRD. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from Arizona.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I thank both Senator Bond and Senator
Mikulski for their hard work on this important legislation which
provides federal funding for the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA)
and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Independent Agencies. Once
again, though, I find myself in the unpleasant position of commenting
on the process of bringing these spending bills to the Senate floor and
on the spending items that have not been appropriately reviewed.
This task is even more necessary for this bill because of the truly
unique process by which it arrived on the Senate floor--a process that
increasingly empowers appropriators while disenfranchising many of my
colleagues.
Let me comment on the process that has brought us to the point in
time where we are about to vote on final passage of this bill. First,
let me explain how the appropriations process is supposed to work. In
the normal process of passing appropriations bills, an appropriations
bill is first passed in the House of Representatives, then the Senate
passes its own version. A conference committee is formed to iron out
the differences between the two different bills, resulting in a
conference report. Then the conference report is passed by both the
House and the Senate, and sent to the President for his signature in
order to become law. That sounds fairly straightforward.
In the case of this bill, we have decided to substitute the normal
process of considering appropriations bills for a highly questionable
approach to passing legislation.
The process we have decided to undertake avoids substantive debate on
the merits of this bill and to the larger question of whether we are
spending taxpayers' hard-earned money wisely and responsibly. Just
because it is late in the game does not give us the right to avoid the
normal process of appropriations. The Senate is being asked to pass the
bill despite the fact that there was only one copy made available to
each side and many Senators did not have adequate time to review its
contents. How can we make sound policy and budget decisions with this
type of budget steam-rolling?
Let me be clear about what is occurring today. This VA-HUD bill that
we are voting on is a so-called ``composite compromise,'' cloaking the
reality that we would normally be calling a VA-HUD conference report.
The Appropriations leadership intends to take up the House-passed
version of this year's VA-HUD Appropriations bill, substitute a Senate
managers' amendment written by the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees which for all practical purposes is a conference agreement--
a conference agreement, not open to public inspection, not done through
the normal legislative process, such as appointing conferees or
allowing full disclosure of the issues being discussed. This process
will allow the Appropriators to simply insert a ``Committee Statement''
into the record outlining certain questionable spending priorities that
will ultimately be paid for by the American taxpayer. This ``composite
compromise'' will then go to the House so that they can quickly pass
the amended bill and then send it to the President for his signature.
Is that the way to pass legislation? As legislators, we have been
entrusted by the American taxpayers to represent the fiscal interests
of them and their nation. The American taxpayer is counting on us to
use their hard-earned money wisely and here we are, manipulating the
budget process so that we can say we did something and go back home to
campaign.
Unfortunately, Mr. President, the budget process games began long
before this bill.
When the conference report on Legislative Branch Appropriations bill
first came to the floor for debate and a vote last month, the
appropriators decided to insert the Treasury and General Government
appropriations bill into it. Rather than having the Treasury and
General Government Appropriations bill considered separately as it is
usually done, to be debated on its own merits, the appropriators'
actions decided to circumvent the normal budget
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process. This so-called ``minibus'' was soundly defeated and rightly
so.
When the conference report on the Transportation Appropriations bill
was brought to the Senate floor for a vote, the appropriators did not
even provide a copy of the report for others to read and examine before
voting on the nearly $60 billion bill. The transportation bill itself
was only two pages long with the barest of detail--with actual text of
the report to come later.
And yet, the appropriators were expecting Senators to vote yes on
legislation that could not even be read, deciphered, and debated
intelligently? How is this type of action accountable to all the hard-
working Americans who demand that all their tax dollars are wisely
spent? I worry that these budget games we play serve to reinforce their
cynicism about politics.
Mr. President, the budget process can be summed up simply: no debate,
no deliberation, and very few votes. Mr. President, this is no way to
run the United States Senate.
To date, only two of the thirteen appropriations bills have become
law. Of those remaining, three bills--Labor, HHS, Education, VA-HUD,
and Treasury-Postal--were never brought to the Senate floor for debate
as part of a deliberate strategy to prevent votes on any controversial
amendments that my colleagues may have offered. Extraordinary measures
are being employed to drive these spending bills through Congress. The
only winners in such an arrangement are the appropriators. The rest of
us, including our constituents, are, for all intents and purposes,
shut-out of the process.
Mr. President, by adopting this budget strategy, we do a disservice
to our constituents by not squarely facing tough issues, whether it's
school choice, gun control, campaign finance, minimum wage, gambling,
or HMO reform, and engaging in debate--even in the heat of an election
season where both sides of the aisle are maneuvering for maximum
political advantage. These are important issues. They deserve to be
debated and each deserves an up or down vote.
Moreover, we have an obligation to ensure that Congress spends the
taxpayer's hard-earned dollars prudently to protect the projected
budget surpluses. The American public cannot understand why we engage
in a process that continues to spend huge amounts of money without
adequately balancing this spending against our nation's most urgent
present and future needs. Spending from this budget process has been on
automatic pilot. We have already exceeded the budget caps by over $30
billion, consuming, so far, about one-third of the on-budget surplus
for FY2001--and we have yet to pass all of the appropriations bills.
This byzantine budget process precludes serious discussion about how
our projected budget surpluses should be devoted to national priorities
such as saving Social Security, providing much needed tax relief,
paying down the national debt, or addressing other major priorities.
But more is lost beyond the throttling of debate, the profligate
spending of taxpayers' dollars, and the broken budget process.
Since 1960, the percentage of voters participating in the general
presidential election has dropped nearly 15 percent, reaching below the
50 percent mark four years ago. Today, voter apathy, especially among
the youth of America, is widespread. Even more disheartening is the
fact that too many Americans, when asked to rank the people in the
different fields from highest regard to lowest, consistently rank our
profession near the bottom. Poll after poll continues to show an
undercurrent of cynicism toward our governmental institution. As I
previously mentioned, budget games like the one we have witnessed in
the last few weeks contribute to this cynicism.
We can still seize the reform mantle and learn from this budget
morass when the doors of the new Congress open in January. We need new
reforms in the way we address the budget process. Perhaps we should
even consider the radical step of abolishing the Appropriations
Committees. Too many programs are without authorization. We also should
study whether the authorizers should also be the appropriators, to
build more accountability into the process.
There are many other reforms we should consider next Congress if we
are to spare Congress' reputation from further damage and begin to
repair the people's respect for this Government.
The Washington Post yesterday had an article by Dan Morgan, ``As Last
Bills Leave Station, Lobbyists Grab Tickets.''
With only a handful of bills remaining to be signed into
law before Congress adjourns, well tailored business
lobbyists for elite corporations have descended on Capitol
Hill to plead for dozens of special provisions in a
Washington ritual with billions of dollars at stake.
Mr. President, on October 6, the Senate passed the conference report
on the bill H.R. 4475, which funds the Department of Transportation and
related agencies. At the time, I included for the Record a list of
examples of pork barrel spending contained in the Transportation
conference report. But because the list of pork barrel was so long and
so extensive I was unable to publish the full list in the Congressional
Record. For those who wish to view the list in its entirety, please
visit my website: http://mccain.senate.gov and click the ``pork
barreling'' logo at the bottom.
We are also legislating on these appropriations bills. Huge and vital
interests are being legislated in smoke-filled rooms in the darkest
corners of this Capitol. These lobbyists are out there and they are
doing damage to the national interest by getting their special
interests represented in appropriations bills which have never been
debated or discussed on the floor of either House.
That is wrong, Mr. President. Nobody knows how much overspending
there will be. Some say as much as $45 or $60 billion.
There is an article today, I believe in the USA Today, that shows we
are spending the surplus. We are all talking about how we will use the
surplus. Yet we are spending it now. We are spending the surplus. We
are putting into law entitlement programs that will spend even more.
There are some very interesting CBO studies and others by outside
watchdog organizations that indicate this much ballyhooed and very
optimistic view of our budget surplus is being eroded as we speak by
this appropriations process.
I urge my colleagues to look at these bills, to look at the spending
in it, to look at the legislation that is going on. We are abrogating
our responsibilities to the taxpayers by voting on bills that we have
neither seen nor read.
I hope we can make some sense out of this. The train wreck that is
about to occur is the worst that I have seen in all the years I have
been in the Congress. I don't think it helps us in the eyes of the
American citizens, to say the least.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. KYL. Mr. President, with respect to this bill, it is a very
frustrating exercise, as Senator McCain said. One of the problems is we
have a practice around here of combining bills in such a way that while
you want to vote for part of it, you want to oppose the other part. It
makes it very difficult to make your decision about whether you will
vote yes or no.
I wrote to the Appropriations Committee chairman when I first came to
the Senate and asked to ``de-attach'' some of the bills. The bill
before the Senate is the VA-HUD bill. Everybody wants to vote for the
veterans programs, and because of the way those programs are structured
this year, I support those programs. I want to be able to vote for
those programs.
As usual, when it is combined with the runaway spending in the HUD
part of the bill, it makes it impossible to do so. It is exacerbated
this year as a result of the tactics of the minority. We have not been
able to bring bills to the floor, and we have not been able to send
them to the President. The result is we have had to combine a bunch of
bills at the end of the session, and we find we have to combine the
energy and water appropriations bill with the VA-HUD appropriations
bill.
The problem, as bad as it is in the first instance, is exacerbated. I
voted for the energy and water appropriations bill. While there are
programs in that bill that I don't support overall, it was an important
and good bill. I supported what Senator Domenici was trying to do in
that legislation, by and large, so I voted for it.
[[Page S10296]]
The question is what to do now in a bill, the VA-HUD bill, which is
increasing at a huge rate, and which now has the energy and water bill
attached to it. I can't pick and choose. I can't take the veterans part
out and say I support that, but I don't support the rest of it. I can't
take the energy and water part out and say, I support it but I don't
support the rest of it. It is not a good way to legislate, as Senator
McCain said.
I point out, there are good things in the bill. Veterans health care
is increased by 6.5 percent, from $19 billion to $20.3 billion. The
account for prosthetic and medical research, a relatively small account
but very important, will receive a modest increase. There are some
important projects in the NASA account that will receive necessary
funding. I support that part of the bill.
How can I support a bill which has exploded funding in the HUD part
of it? The VA part of this bill increases spending by 7 percent. Now,
that is an important and significant increase. But the social programs
under the HUD part of this bill have increased by 18 percent.
I have heard it said when we add up all the spending bills this year,
it will be more than any other year in modern history, including the
Great Society. We are increasing these social programs in the HUD part
of the bill by 18 percent. The earmarking has exploded. We have not
seen the final list, but we know it is up to at least $292 million, up
from $123 million in the committee-passed bill, and $240 million from
last year. That is too much. We have funding in here for everything
from renovating theaters to restoring carousels. This is not something
the Federal Government needs to be doing.
Finally, there is language in the Senate report that suggests that
some of my colleagues are wavering from a commitment that has been made
by the Senate and the House to ensure that the allocation of veterans
health care funds reflects the reality of where veterans live.
Four years ago, under the leadership of Senator McCain, Congress
implemented the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation System. This was
done at the request of the Veterans' Administration. Up until then, the
formula that VA used did not take into account shifts in population
that are relevant in assessing where resources are needed. In
particular, we found in Arizona a lot of so-called snow birds, those
great folks who live in the cold States and come down to visit Arizona
in the wintertime because it is warmer in Arizona. We didn't have the
facilities to take care of all of those people because the dollars
associated with their care were allocated to the Northeast primarily,
or to the North.
The Senate, therefore, voted overwhelmingly to implement this new
system that let the dollars follow the patients, so to speak. That vote
was 79-18. Yet some who benefited from the earlier faulty formula
complained, and as a result we find language in here that will require
a study. The money for this study is going to have to come from the
health care that otherwise would be provided to veterans.
I don't believe the way the language in the report is written the
investigators are going to have a fair approach to this because of the
one-sided list of items they are to explore.
I want to be able to support the veterans part of this bill. I want
to support the energy and water component of this legislation, but it
will be very difficult considering the explosive growth in the HUD part
of the bill.
I commend the chairman of the committee, Senator Bond, and Senator
Mikulski. They have an impossible task. Everybody comes to them with
requests. The bottom line is we have to draw the line at some point. It
seems to me this is the point at which the American taxpayers deserve
to be represented.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California is recognized to
offer an amendment.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent I be allowed 2
minutes of additional time to talk about the situation in the Middle
East.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. BOXER. I thank Senators Mikulski and Bond for their
graciousness. I know they are anxious to move their bill forward. I
also thank them and Senator Daschle and Senator Lott for receiving an
agreement with me, whereby I could offer these very important
amendments to this appropriations bill.
(The remarks of Mrs. Boxer are located in today's Record under
``Morning Business.'')
Amendment No. 4308
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), for herself and
Mr. Baucus, proposes an amendment numbered 4308.
(Purpose: To strike the riders that delay the Environmental Protection
Agency's new standard on arsenic in drinking water and that prohibit
the designation of nonattainment areas under the Clear Air Act)
On page 103, strike the first three lines.
On page 138, strike section 427.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, may I ask if we can have a copy of the
amendment?
Mrs. BOXER. Certainly. I say to my friend that it is a very simple
amendment. It strikes two riders. We will send it over to the Senator
at this time. It doesn't have any language. It simply strikes two of
the riders.
Mr. President, will you please tell me when I have 5 minutes
remaining of my time?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. I thank the Chair.
Mr. President, my amendment strikes two egregious anti-environment
riders that have been attached to this appropriations bill. These
riders are opposed by 21 environmental groups.
There is a letter on everyone's desk from the League of Conservation
Voters. They consider this to be extremely important.
We also have another letter that came in this morning signed by the
most respected environmental groups in the country supporting both of
my amendments.
We will try to put these on the desks. I will go through the groups
in a moment.
Twenty-one environmental groups oppose these riders. They say they
believe these riders would ``jeopardize public health or the
environment.''
The first rider deals with arsenic in drinking water. Let me take a
moment to explain why I think this rider should be stricken. In the
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendment of 1996, which the Senate approved
unanimously, we told the EPA to update its drinking water standard for
arsenic by January 1, 2001. We included this provision in the law
because we learned from public health experts that the current standard
for arsenic is severely dangerous and outdated. The standard was set in
1975, but it was based on public health data from 1942.
What do scientists and health experts say about the dangers of
arsenic? According to a National Academy of Sciences report, arsenic in
water is known to cause cancer of the lungs, skin, and bladder. The
National Academy of Sciences study and other studies also found that
arsenic in drinking water may cause kidney and liver cancer. Arsenic is
also known to cause other severe problems, including toxicity to the
central and peripheral nervous system, hypertension, cardiovascular
disease, skin lesions, and could cause birth defects and reproductive
problems.
Here is the national shocker. The National Academy of Sciences
estimates that 1 in every 100 people who drink water containing arsenic
at the current standard may well develop cancer caused by arsenic. This
is a cancer risk that is 10,000 times higher than the cancer risk EPA
allows in food.
The National Resources Defense Council analyzed EPA's base data, and
they looked at 25 States serving approximately 100 million Americans.
They found that approximately half of those Americans are drinking
water with arsenic levels that could cause 1 in 100 of them to develop
cancer.
The arsenic levels in those systems meet the EPA's outdated 50 parts
per billion standard. As the NAS has said, the outdated standard ``does
not achieve EPA's goal for public health protection and requires
revision as promptly as possible.''
Let me repeat that. This is science. They base these rules on
science. The
[[Page S10297]]
sciences say set the standard at a lower level as soon as possible.
In this rider we push the date back. It is a delay. I think it is a
dangerous delay.
The EPA has been working on this new standard for a long time. They
have held numerous public hearings. Actually, they have been working on
updating the standard since the early 1980s.
It is time to do this. The EPA was told by Congress to move forward
by January 1, and now this rider was slipped into this bill.
I know my friends believed at the time that these riders were not
that much of a problem. Whoever told them that--and I was not in the
room--I believe was wrong. They are proven wrong by science. They have
been proven wrong.
Call me old fashioned, but I think when you play around with the
arsenic levels in drinking water, it deserves to have the light of day.
It should not be attached to some rider. I am the ranking member on the
subcommittee on the Environment. My chairman of the full committee is
here, Senator Baucus. We are working hard to make sure that drinking
water is safe. Yet we push back the date. That is not the right thing
to do.
I appreciate my friends giving me 15 minutes of time, and I am going
to give Senator Baucus about 5 minutes of that time when he is ready. I
have saved 5 minutes.
This is no way to legislate on an issue such as arsenic.
In closing, before I yield my time to my friend, I want to talk about
the other part of this amendment which deals with another egregious
rider that has to do with clean air. The clean air rider is very
important. It essentially would prohibit EPA from designating new
regions of the country as being in violation of smog standards. In
other words, it is a gag order on EPA, telling them they cannot, in
fact, tell communities their air is dirty. This is a fact.
I do not understand, again, why we would be doing this. There is a
court case pending on the power of the EPA. It specifically says in
that court case that EPA has the right to designate these areas and to
tell people in these areas they are not meeting the smog standard.
Administrator Browner made a very strong comment about this rider in
the past.
I ask how much time I have remaining.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 8 minutes remaining.
Mrs. BOXER. What I would like to do at this time is yield 3 minutes
to my friend, Senator Baucus, and 2 minutes following to my friend,
Senator Lautenberg. Then I would have 3 minutes remaining, which I
would retain.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator would have 3 minutes.
The Senator from Montana.
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I thank my good friend from Maryland,
Senator Mikulski--I worked with her on this bill--and also Senator
Boxer for offering these amendments.
I strongly support Senator Boxer in her efforts to delete these
provisions. Not only do they intrude upon the jurisdiction of the
Environment and Public Works Committee, they are clearly legislation.
Our committee was not consulted. The Appropriations Committee is now
writing legislative language in an appropriations bill. It also is very
unsound public policy.
One of these riders, the so-called Linder-Collins provision, is
really an attack on the public's right to know. The provision prohibits
the Environmental Protection Agency from identifying those areas which
do not the meet the 8-hour standard ozone pollution provision until
next June. In other words, even if the EPA knew an area had unhealthy
air, it could not tell citizens or their government.
Since my time is so limited, I will not speak more on that issue.
Senator Boxer will, and I believe other Senators will, too.
I also want to speak a bit on the other one, and that is the arsenic
provision. The other rider postpones EPA's final rules on arsenic
standards for drinking water for 6 months. This is very important. This
is yet another unhealthy delay that could expose Americans to
unnecessary danger. Why do I say that? First, arsenic is a poison. We
now know it is also a carcinogen. So it is an especially serious
contaminant in drinking water.
Get this. The current standard for arsenic was written in 1942,
before we knew that arsenic causes cancer. Then, in 1996, Congress
completed a comprehensive rewrite of the Safe Drinking Water Act. We
put some common sense into the act, some risk assessment, some
additional funding for the States. We also put in place a plan to
resolve the remaining scientific issues.
As a result of the scientific study done by the National Academy of
Sciences, we learned that arsenic is even more deadly than previously
thought. NAS found:
There is sufficient evidence from human epidemiological
studies . . . that chronic ingestion of inorganic arsenic
causes bladder and lung cancer as well as skin cancer.
The study also said the current standard should be revised downward
``as promptly as possible.''
Furthermore, when the Environment and Public Works Committee had a
hearing on the matter, in response to a question, Dr. Michael Cossett,
a member of the NAS group who studied the arsenic issue, said:
Our committee specifically in its conclusions felt that the
standards should be lowered as promptly as possible.
He went on to say that the current standard certainly was not
protective of public health.
Yet we have this anti-environmental rider. It is further delay in
protecting the American public from better arsenic standards. I cannot
understand it. I think it is very bad public policy, and I strongly
urge Congress to delete these provisions which, if not deleted, are
going to cause serious harm to the American public.
Mr. President, earlier today we had a discussion about the arsenic
rider. I want to assure Mr. Bond and Ms. Mikulski that although the
minority committee staff was notified about the intention to pursue
this rider, they objected to its inclusion. I just want to be sure the
Record accurately reflects what occurred.
I yield the remainder of my time to my friend from California.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, time is short. I will try to get to
the point very quickly.
I support Senator Boxer's amendments to this VA-HUD appropriations
bill. I want to point out one thing. Under the leadership of Senators
Bond and Mikulski, the bill our subcommittee reported last month was
far better than the one before us today.
What we see today with these riders that have come over from the
House side of the Capitol is delayed corporate responsibility. That is
what these amendments ought to be called: Just take care of the
corporations and forget about our obligation to our people to protect
us from contaminated, polluted environments.
One of these amendments is there because it is strongly supported by
General Electric, an extremely powerful corporation. I like General
Electric. I know a lot of the people who run that company. But they
have, according to the League of Conservation Voters, polluted 200
miles of New York and Connecticut coastline with a million pounds of
PCBs. Their slogan is: ``Bring Good Things To Life.'' We have heard it.
I would rather have them say: ``Bring Good Life To Things,'' like fish
and birds and people. That is where they ought to be.
I commend Senator Boxer for bringing up this amendment. I hope our
colleagues are going to support it.
This is a good bill, other than this part. Again, I commend Senators
Bond and Mikulski for a very tough job well done. But we ought not let
the corporations escape getting on with their responsibilities.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. I would like to retain my 3 minutes if I might, Mr.
President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri now has 15 minutes.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I yield myself 2 minutes.
Very briefly, this bill includes the provision that provides up to an
additional 6 months for EPA to finalize the arsenic in drinking water
rule. They can finalize it before June 2001 but will not be held to the
statutory deadline. And EPA does not anticipate finalizing the rule
until April or May, despite the
[[Page S10298]]
act's requirements. The practical effect of knocking this out would be
to force EPA to spend its resources fighting in court to do what it
cannot otherwise do, and that is take the time necessary to do the job
right.
The Safe Drinking Water Act called for a full year of comment. The
full year would be up June 2001. The most conservative estimates of
compliance, including EPA's, for the smallest communities show water
rates increasing by hundreds of dollars per family.
The State of Utah Department of Environmental Quality says the rate
increase to remove arsenic from the Heartland Mobile Home Park would be
$230 per month per customer. Even the EPA said it would be $70 per
month per customer.
Do you know what is going to happen? No system. They are going to be
off the system. There will be no water. They will get it from sources
that are not protected at all.
This is a very important rule that needs to be worked out
scientifically. EPA has not identified the specific level in drinking
water below which there is not a significant risk to public health.
On the ozone nonattainment designation, it seems to me completely
unreasonable that EPA should be making designations when that standard
is before the U.S. Supreme Court. Why do the EPA and the State expend
resources giving communities a black eye by designating them
nonattainment areas when the entire ability to designate may be
repealed by the Supreme Court? The EPA would be allowed, under this
legislation, to move forward when the Supreme Court acts but no later
than June 2001.
Do not blacklist communities before there is a statutory
authorization. The National Association of Counties has said this
process will brand hundreds of new counties across the country clean
air violators resulting in lost jobs and lost economic opportunity.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Allard). The time of the Senator has
expired.
Mr. BOND. I yield 5 minutes to my distinguished colleague from
Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I oppose the Boxer amendment on arsenic
in drinking water, and I urge my colleagues to vote against it.
This amendment is not needed, and its adoption will effectively kill
this bill.
Let me be clear about what we did.
In our negotiations with the House, bill language was added that
allows EPA to take until June 22, 2001 to issue a final rule setting
the allowable level of arsenic in drinking water.
EPA remains free to issue the final rule anytime up to June 22, 2001.
This provision was carefully negotiated with the administration.
It does not prevent, prohibit or restrict EPA's ability to issue a
final rule for arsenic in drinking water.
Since EPA missed the deadline for proposal of this rule, this
extension from the current January 1, 2001 statutory deadline would
allow EPA the same length of time--12 months--to consider public
comments as contemplated in the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of
1996.
This provision is fully consistent with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Our provision maintains all of the protections for public health and
safety.
If it didn't, I would not support it.
This is not a debate about arsenic in drinking water.
We all agree that arsenic in drinking water should be reduced or
eliminated consistent with science based public health standards.
This is a disagreement over process, not substance.
Let me be very clear, the language contained in the VA/HUD bill is
permissive and does not prevent EPA from issuing the regulation earlier
than June 2001 if EPA is prepared to promulgate the final rule.
Also, public interest groups would still be allowed to file suit next
June if EPA misses the revised deadline--just as they can now.
No one's rights or privileges have been taken away.
Our provision on arsenic simply moves a date. It poses no threat to
public health or the environment.
It is fully consistent with the Safe Drinking Water Act, and it
maintains EPA's full authority.
I point out to my colleagues that this bill contains $825 million for
the safe drinking water revolving loan program.
This is EPA's main program to upgrade and improve our Nation's public
drinking water systems.
Overall, our bill provides $3.6 billion for all clean water
programs--a $200 million increase over last year and, over $700 million
more than the President's request.
If the Boxer amendment is adopted, it will kill this bill and
jeopardize the funding increases for our clean water programs.
If this bill dies, there is no guarantee that we will be able to
maintain our current level of funding.
The administration supports our provision, and I urge my colleagues
to vote against the Boxer amendment.
Mr. President, I oppose the Boxer amendment on ozone nonattainment
and I urge my colleagues to oppose it.
This amendment is not needed and should it pass, it will effectively
kill this bill.
The administration supports the provision in our bill, and I urge my
colleagues to support it and vote against this amendment.
Let me be clear about what the ozone nonattainment provision in the
VA/HUD bill does.
The provision prohibits EPA from issuing new ozone nonattainment
designations until June 15, 2001, or until the Supreme Court issues its
ruling in this matter, whichever comes first.
The administration was involved in the negotiations over this
provision and they support it.
I believe this provision is a matter of common sense. It makes no
sense to issue new nonattainment designations, just to have the Supreme
Court invalidate them.
That will do nothing more than confuse State and local governments
and undercut EPA's authority and credibility.
I want to point out to my colleagues, that during our negotiations
with the House, the language was modified to allow final designations
to occur as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the ozone standard
case, rather than waiting until June 15, 2001.
Depending on the Supreme Court's decision, this would potentially
allow EPA to proceed with final designations several months earlier
than under the original language.
This provision does not weaken the Clean Air Act, it does not
threaten the Clean Air Act and, it does not undercut EPA's authority.
Our bill language does not preclude EPA from taking preparatory steps
leading up to the final designations.
After the final designations are made, States have 3 years before
they have to begin implementing their plans for achieving the new
standard.
The additional time provided by this bill language, being tied to the
Supreme Court process, minimizes any delay in moving forward with any
clean air plans and acknowledges the uncertainty created by the ongoing
litigation.
Our bill provides $209 million for State air assistance grants to
help states meet Clean Air Act requirements.
If the Boxer amendment passes, the VA/HUD bill will be killed and
funding levels that it contains will be in jeopardy.
I urge my colleagues to vote against the Boxer amendment and support
the administration.
Mr. President, in summary, I oppose the Boxer amendments both on the
issue of substance and procedure. No. 1, everybody complains about the
process. Nobody complained about it more than Bond and Mikulski. We
wanted to bring our bill to the floor, have a vote by the Senate, and
go into a conference that was open and public. We were denied that.
Because we were worried about the homeless, because we were worried
about veterans, because we were worried about the environment, we
pressed on in a quasi-conference. Bond and Mikulski were united to
delete the riders, but we lost. The House would not yield.
We then went to a fallback position because, again, we are worried
about the homeless; we are worried about the veterans; we are worried
about the environment and the National Service Corps, and all that is
in this bill. When we negotiated, I invited into the room OMB--with the
concurrence of my Republican colleagues--who brought in
[[Page S10299]]
the Council on Environmental Quality. The President's chief adviser on
the environment was on the phone with the legal counsel at EPA. We did
not make this up.
I thought I was proceeding on safe grounds because of the advice I
received from the Council on Environmental Quality. I say to my
Democratic colleagues: Do you believe in a letter from 21 groups or do
you believe in President Clinton's Council on Environmental Quality?
The choice is there. Do you believe the advocacy analysis or President
Clinton's analysis? I go with President Clinton because I believe there
is a track record on protecting the environment.
What about arsenic? It does not shackle anybody. It delays it by 6
months. Under the current law, EPA must give the regs by January 2001.
They can issue them at any time up to 2001. EPA retains its authority
and its flexibility to issue the regs any time, but it removes the old
deadline. Why do we do this? So small rural communities can have time
to get EPA information, cost, and other things they are going to need
to comply.
Let's go to the ozone. That court case is before the Supreme Court of
the United States. It is not going through some small court. It is in
the Supreme Court. They are going to decide it in June. The Court term
ends in June. This language will no longer apply once the Court issues
its ruling. Also, the language becomes moot in 2001.
Why was this language added? To prevent EPA from making new
attainment designations and then have the Supreme Court invalidate
them. We are saying, let the Court act and move on. At the same time,
EPA is allowed to go on with its own planning process. Once the Supreme
Court acts, EPA is good to go.
We are not shackling anybody. We are not stymying anybody. I believe
in each of these instances there is flexibility to meet the compelling
needs of public health. If they did not have that, I would not have
supported it. If President Clinton's own team did not tell me it was OK
to do this, I would not have done it.
I stand on the advice we were given, and I believe the advice is
accurate, responsible, and reliable. I urge my colleagues to defeat the
Boxer amendments.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Maryland. I yield
3 minutes to the junior Senator from Idaho.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The junior Senator from Idaho.
Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I thank Senator Bond and Senator Mikulski.
As chairman of the Fisheries, Wildlife and Drinking Water Subcommittee,
I rise today in strong opposition to the amendment to prevent the EPA
from having the time necessary to produce a proper arsenic drinking
water rule based on the available science. It is important to note that
in 1996 this Congress directed the EPA to adopt a specific schedule to
propose an arsenic standard to allow for a full year of public review
and comments by scientific experts and then to implement a rule after
taking into consideration those comments.
That is what is at stake. It is important to follow up on what
Senators Bond and Mikulski have said about what this amendment really
does. It has been characterized as stopping the EPA from protecting us
from arsenic problems.
The reality is that all this amendment does is give the EPA up to an
additional 6 months to complete its work. In fact, I am quite surprised
to see this amendment today because the administration itself has said
they do not have the ability to meet the statutory deadline, and they
need this extra time to make sure the rule they adopt is scientifically
justified and does not cause the immense damage to local small
communities in rural areas that is of concern.
We have held hearings on this issue in our subcommittee, and witness
after witness has raised questions about whether the science is there
to justify the direction in which the EPA is going. The EPA has
acknowledged these questions. The EPA has said it needs time to further
review the science, and the EPA has said it will take that time if we
give it to them to do a good rule that will protect the country and yet
not do damage to small communities in rural areas.
It is also important to note that this amendment does not stop the
EPA from acting at any time the EPA deems it is ready to act. If the
EPA says it has the process finalized, it has the science understood
and is ready to proceed, they can proceed tomorrow, they can proceed in
November or December or January when the statutory deadline exists.
Again, the EPA has told us they are not ready to do so and that they
need this extra time. We believe they need the extra time because of
the impending damage that could be caused to local communities across
this country.
As Senator Bond has said, there are communities and individual
families who will see their water bills go up by hundreds of dollars.
There are communities that probably will have to go off their systems
because of this. The potential damage if we do not give the EPA the
time to act properly and to review the comments is immense, and that is
why I must oppose this amendment. I yield back the remainder of my
time.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I reserve the time that has been allocated
to various Members. I now allocate 3 minutes to the distinguished
senior Senator from Idaho.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Idaho is recognized.
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