[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H9253-H9254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2006

  Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 1378) to amend the National 
Historic Preservation Act to provide appropriation authorization and 
improve the operations of the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                S. 1378

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

     SECTION 1. NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National 
     Historic Preservation Act Amendments Act of 2006''.
       (b) Reference.--A reference in this Act to ``the Act'' 
     shall be a reference to the National Historic Preservation 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).

[[Page H9254]]

       (c) Historic Preservation Fund.--Section 108 of the Act (16 
     U.S.C. 470h) is amended by striking ``2005'' and inserting 
     ``2015''.
       (d) Membership of Advisory Council on Historic 
     Preservation.--
       (1) Additional members.--Section 201(a)(4) of the Act (16 
     U.S.C. 470i(a)(4)) is amended by striking ``four'' and 
     inserting ``seven''.
       (2) Allowing designee for governor member.--Section 201(b) 
     of the Act (16 U.S.C. 470i(b)) is amended by striking ``(5) 
     and''.
       (3) Quorum.--Section 201(f) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 470i(f)) 
     is amended by striking ``Nine'' and inserting ``12''.
       (e) Financial and Administrative Services for the Advisory 
     Council on Historic Preservation.--Section 205(f) of the Act 
     (16 U.S.C. 470m(f)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(f) Financial and administrative services (including 
     those related to budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, 
     personnel and procurement) shall be provided the Council by 
     the Department of the Interior or, at the discretion of the 
     Council, such other agency or private entity that reaches an 
     agreement with the Council, for which payments shall be made 
     in advance or by reimbursement from funds of the Council in 
     such amounts as may be agreed upon by the Chairman of the 
     Council and the head of the agency or, in the case of a 
     private entity, the authorized representative of the private 
     entity that will provide the services. When a Federal agency 
     affords such services, the regulations of that agency for the 
     collection of indebtedness of personnel resulting from 
     erroneous payments (5 U.S.C. 5514(b)) shall apply to the 
     collection of erroneous payments made to or on behalf of a 
     Council employee and regulations of that agency for the 
     administrative control of funds (31 U.S.C. 1513(d), 1514) 
     shall apply to appropriations of the Council. The Council 
     shall not be required to prescribe such regulations.''.
       (f) Appropriation Authorization of the Advisory Council on 
     Historic Preservation.--Section 212(a) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 
     470t(a)) is amended by striking ``for purposes of this title 
     not to exceed $4,000,000 for each fiscal year 1997 through 
     2005'' and inserting ``such amounts as may be necessary to 
     carry out this title''.
       (g) Effectiveness of Federal Grant and Assistance Programs 
     in Meeting the Purposes and Policies of the National Historic 
     Preservation Act.--Title II of the Act is amended by adding 
     at the end the following new section:

     ``SEC. 216. EFFECTIVENESS OF FEDERAL GRANT AND ASSISTANCE 
                   PROGRAMS.

       ``(a) Cooperative Agreements.--The Council may enter into a 
     cooperative agreement with any Federal agency that 
     administers a grant or assistance program for the purpose of 
     improving the effectiveness of the administration of such 
     program in meeting the purposes and policies of this Act. 
     Such cooperative agreements may include provisions that 
     modify the selection criteria for a grant or assistance 
     program to further the purposes of this Act or that allow the 
     Council to participate in the selection of recipients, if 
     such provisions are not inconsistent with the grant or 
     assistance program's statutory authorization and purpose.
       ``(b) Review of Grant and Assistance Programs.--The Council 
     may--
       ``(1) review the operation of any Federal grant or 
     assistance program to evaluate the effectiveness of such 
     program in meeting the purposes and policies of this Act;
       ``(2) make recommendations to the head of any Federal 
     agency that administers such program to further the 
     consistency of the program with the purposes and policies of 
     the Act and to improve its effectiveness in carrying out 
     those purposes and policies; and
       ``(3) make recommendations to the President and Congress 
     regarding the effectiveness of Federal grant and assistance 
     programs in meeting the purposes and policies of this Act, 
     including recommendations with regard to appropriate funding 
     levels.''.

  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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