[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 100 (Monday, July 19, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H5942-H5943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT ACT OF 2004

  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4170) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to recruit 
volunteers to assist with, or facilitate, the activities of various 
agencies and offices of the Department of Interior, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4170

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Department of the Interior 
     Volunteer Recruitment Act of 2004''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

       The purpose of this Act is to authorize the Secretary of 
     the Interior to recruit and use volunteers to assist with, or 
     facilitate, the programs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the 
     United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation, 
     and the Office of the Secretary.

     SEC. 3. VOLUNTEER AUTHORITY.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior may recruit, 
     train, and accept, without regard to the civil service 
     classification laws, rules, or regulations, the services of 
     individuals, contributed without compensation as volunteers, 
     for aiding in or facilitating the activities administered by 
     the Secretary through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the 
     United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation, 
     and the Office of the Secretary.
       (b) Restrictions on Activities of Volunteers.--
       (1) In general.--In accepting such services of individuals 
     as volunteers, the Secretary shall not permit the use of 
     volunteers in law enforcement work, in regulatory and 
     enforcement work, in policymaking processes, or to displace 
     any employee.
       (2) Private property.--No volunteer services authorized by 
     this Act may be conducted on private property unless the 
     officer or employee charged with supervising the volunteer 
     obtains appropriate consent to enter the property from the 
     property owner.
       (3) Hazardous duty.--The Secretary may accept the services 
     of individuals in hazardous duty only upon a determination by 
     the Secretary that such individuals are skilled in performing 
     hazardous duty activities.
       (4) Supervision.--The Secretary shall ensure that an 
     appropriate officer or employee of the United States provides 
     adequate and appropriate supervision of each volunteer whose 
     services the Secretary accepts.
       (c) Provision of Services and Costs.--The Secretary may 
     provide for services and costs incidental to the utilization 
     of volunteers, including transportation, supplies, uniforms, 
     lodging, subsistence (without regard to place of residence), 
     recruiting, training, supervision, and awards and recognition 
     (including nominal cash awards).
       (d) Federal Employment Status of Volunteers.--
       (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a 
     volunteer shall not be deemed a Federal employee and shall 
     not be subject to the provisions of law relating to Federal 
     employment, including those provisions relating to hours of 
     work, rates of compensation, leave, unemployment 
     compensation, and Federal employee benefits.
       (2) Volunteers shall be deemed employees of the United 
     States for the purposes of--
       (A) the tort claims provisions of title 28, United States 
     Code;
       (B) subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, United States 
     Code; and
       (C) claims relating to damage to, or loss of, personal 
     property of a volunteer incident to volunteer service, in 
     which case the provisions of section 3721 of title 31, United 
     States Code, shall apply.
       (3) Volunteers under this Act shall be subject to chapter 
     11 of title 18, United States Code, unless the Secretary, 
     with the concurrence of the Director of the Office of 
     Government Ethics, determines in writing published in the 
     Federal Register that the provisions of that chapter, except 
     section 201, shall not apply to the actions of a class or 
     classes of volunteers who carry out only those duties or 
     functions specified in the determination.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) and the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth).


                             General Leave

  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4170, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4170, introduced by the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Pombo), the chairman of the Committee on Resources, and 
subsequently amended by the Committee on Resources, would authorize the 
Secretary of the Interior to establish volunteer programs in the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of 
Reclamation and the Office of the Secretary. With this authority, these 
four bureaus would be able to parallel the successful volunteer 
programs of the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service to recruit volunteers to assist with or facilitate the 
activities within these agencies.
  Mr. Speaker, over 200,000 volunteers annually serve as campground 
hosts, clear trail, help with seasonal bird surveys, collect new 
information for maps and assist with many other day-to-day activities.
  Mr. Speaker, simply put, volunteers provide the Department of the 
Interior vital services to help it meet its mission responsibilities. 
Volunteer programs within the Department also provide outstanding 
opportunity for community service and public involvement in 
conservation programs.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4170 is supported by the majority and the minority 
of the Committee on Resources and the administration. I urge adoption 
of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, the majority has already explained the 
purpose of H.R. 4170, which was introduced by the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Pombo), the chairman of the Committee on Resources, at 
the request of the administration. At this point, Mr. Speaker, I would 
like to thank publicly the chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Pombo), for attending the 60th anniversary of Guam's liberation this 
past weekend in Tracy, California.
  On behalf of the Committee on Resources ranking member, the gentleman 
from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), we appreciate the willingness of the 
chairman and his staff to make changes to the bill to address concerns 
about the use of volunteers in regulatory and legal offices within the 
Department of Interior.
  Mr. Speaker, with those changes, we have no objection to the passage 
of H.R. 4170, as amended, by the House today.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 4170, the Department of the Interior Volunteer Recruitment Act of 
2004. The legislation before us would authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to recruit, train, and accept, without regard to the civil 
service classification laws, rules, ore regulations, the services of 
individuals, contributed without compensation as volunteers, for aiding 
in or facilitating the activities administered by the Secretary through 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 
and Enforcement, the Minerals Management Service, the U.S. Geological 
Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Office of the Solicitor, and the 
Office of the Secretary. This legislation will make it easier for those 
who want to volunteer to take part in the activities under the 
Department of the Interior.
  I applaud Representative Pombo and the crafters of this legislation 
for taking into consideration the concerns of the Minority in the

[[Page H5943]]

Resources Committee. Furthermore, this legislation is thorough in that 
it has protections for the volunteers who are eligible under this Act. 
This legislation authorizes the Secretary to accept the services of 
individuals in hazardous duty only upon a determination by the 
Secretary that such individuals are skilled in performing hazardous 
activities and it ensures that an appropriate U.S. officer or employee 
provides adequate and appropriate supervision of each volunteer. 
Perhaps most importantly this Act prohibits the Secretary from 
permitting the use of such volunteers in law enforcement work, in 
regulatory and enforcement work, in policy-making processes, or to 
displace any employee. It is vital that when we craft legislation such 
as this that we make sure it protects paid workers who could be 
compromised by the presence of unpaid volunteers. It is easy to be in 
favor of this legislation thanks to the protections instated in the 
language.
  I am in full support of this legislation because it has an altruistic 
spirit. There are a great many Americans every year who give of their 
time to others without any compensation or material reward. We should 
be taking done the barriers that might needlessly keep them from these 
volunteer pursuits. This legislation allows those interested in 
volunteering for the Department of the Interior to take part in 
responsibilities that would have previously been blocked from them. The 
responsibilities under the management of the Department of the Interior 
are immense and require a great deal of good and willing manpower. This 
program will help alleviate that burden in a sensible manner. I hope 
this program will also be used to recuirt and train volunteers from 
areas such as the inner-city where many people never been get to see 
our grand National Parks. Perhaps in the future this program can be 
supplemented to provide grants and scholarships to college-age inner-
city youths to spend time working in our great outdoors. These 
experiences have been proven to expand the horizons of young people who 
often only get to see blighted urban landscapes. It is time that 
Americans from all parts of our great nation get to experience all the 
various landscapes and environments our vast country has to offer. This 
legislation is a good start and I hope that we will continue to take 
the initiative to expand this program.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of bipartisanship, I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4170, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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