[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.
____________________