[House Report 105-390]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-390
_______________________________________________________________________


 
 MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN 
   SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 
           ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 1998, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

                November 7, 1997.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


    Mr. Livingston, from the committee on conference, submitted the 
                               following

                           CONFERENCE REPORT

                        [To accompany H.R. 2264]

      The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of 
the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 
2264) ``making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, 
Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies 
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other 
purposes'', having met, after full and free conference, have 
agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses 
as follows:
      That the House recede from its disagreement to the 
amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an 
amendment, as follows:
      In lieu of the matter stricken and inserted by said 
amendment, insert:
      That the following sums are appropriated, out of any 
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the 
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, 
and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
1998, and for other purposes, namely:

                      TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

                 Employment and Training Administration

                    training and employment services

      For necessary expenses of the Job Training Partnership 
Act, as amended, including the purchase and hire of passenger 
motor vehicles, the construction, alteration, and repair of 
buildings and other facilities, and the purchase of real 
property for training centers as authorized by the Job Training 
Partnership Act; the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance 
Act; the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations 
Act; the National Skill Standards Act of 1994; and the School-
to-Work Opportunities Act; $4,988,226,000 plus reimbursements, 
of which $3,794,735,000 is available for obligation for the 
period July 1, 1998 through June 30, 1999; of which 
$118,491,000 is available for the period July 1, 1998 through 
June 30, 2001 for necessary expenses of construction, 
rehabilitation, and acquisition of Job Corps centers; and of 
which $200,000,000 shall be available from July 1, 1998 through 
September 30, 1999, for carrying out activities of the School-
to-Work Opportunities Act: Provided, That $53,815,000 shall be 
for carrying out section 401 of the Job Training Partnership 
Act, $71,017,000 shall be for carrying out section 402 of such 
Act, $7,300,000 shall be for carrying out section 441 of such 
Act,$9,000,000 shall be for all activities conducted by and 
through the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee 
under such Act, $955,000,000 shall be for carrying out title II, part A 
of such Act, and $129,965,000 shall be for carrying out title II, part 
C of such Act: Provided further, That the National Occupational 
Information Coordinating Committee is authorized, effective upon 
enactment, to charge fees for publications, training and technical 
assistance developed by the National Occupational Information 
Coordinating Committee: Provided further, That revenues received from 
publications and delivery of technical assistance and training, 
notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, shall be credited to the National 
Occupational Information Coordinating Committee program account and 
shall be available to the National Occupational Information 
Coordinating Committee without further appropriations, so long as such 
revenues are used for authorized activities of the National 
Occupational Information Coordinating Committee: Provided further, That 
no funds from any other appropriation shall be used to provide meal 
services at or for Job Corps centers; Provided further, That funds 
provided for title III of the Job Training Partnership Act shall not be 
subject to the limitation contained in subsection (b) of section 315 of 
such Act; that the waiver described in section 315(a)(2) may be granted 
if a substate grantee demonstrates to the Governor that such waiver is 
appropriate due to the availability of low-cost retraining services, is 
necessary to facilitate the provision of needs-related payments to 
accompany long-term training, or is necessary to facilitate the 
provision of appropriate basic readjustment services, and that funds 
provided for discretionary grants under part B of such title III may be 
used to provide needs-related payments to participants who, in lieu of 
meeting the enrollment requirements under section 314(e) of such Act, 
are enrolled in training by the end of the sixth week after grant funds 
have been awarded: Provided further, That funds provided to carry out 
section 324 of such Act may be used for demonstration projects that 
provide assistance to new entrants in the workforce and incumbent 
workers: Provided further, That service delivery areas may transfer 
funding provided herein under authority of title II, parts B and C of 
the Job Training Partnership Act between the programs authorized by 
those titles of the Act, if the transfer is approved by the Governor: 
Provided further, That service delivery areas and substate areas may 
transfer up to 20 percent of the funding provided herein under 
authority of title II, part A and title III of the Job Training 
Partnership Act between the programs authorized by those titles of the 
Act, if such transfer is approved by theGovernor: Provided further, 
That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, any proceeds from the 
sale of Job Corps center facilities shall be retained by the Secretary 
of Labor to carry out the Job Corps program: Provided further, That 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Labor may 
waive any of the statutory or regulatory requirements of titles I-III 
of the Job Training Partnership Act (except for requirements relating 
to wage and labor standards, workers rights, participation and 
protection, grievance procedures and judicial review, 
nondiscrimination, allocation of funds to local areas, eligibility, 
review and approval of plans, the establishment and functions of 
service delivery areas and private industry councils, and the basic 
purposes of the Act), and any of the statutory or regulatory 
requirements of sections 8-10 of the Wagner-Peyser Act (except for 
requirements relating to the provision of services to unemployment 
insurance claimants and veterans, and to universal access to basic 
labor exchange services without cost to job seekers), only for funds 
available for expenditure in program year 1998, pursuant to a request 
submitted by a State which identifies the statutory or regulatory 
requirements that are requested to be waived and the goals which the 
State or local service delivery areas intend to achieve, describes the 
actions that the State or local service delivery areas have undertaken 
to remove State or local statutory or regulatory barriers, describes 
the goals of the waiver and the expected programmatic outcomes if the 
request is granted, describes the individuals impacted by the waiver, 
and describes the process used to monitor the progress in implementing 
a waiver, and for which notice and an opportunity to comment on such 
request has been provided to the organizations identified in section 
105(a)(1) of the Job Training Partnership Act, if and only to the 
extent that the Secretary determines that such requirements impede the 
ability of the State to implement a plan to improve the workforce 
development system and the State has executed a Memorandum of 
Understanding with the Secretary requiring such State to meet agreed 
upon outcomes and implement other appropriate measures to ensure 
accountability: Provided further, That the Secretary of Labor shall 
establish a workforce flexibility (work-flex) partnership demonstration 
program under which the Secretary shall authorize not more than six 
States, of which at least three States shall each have populations not 
in excess of 3,500,000, with a preference given to those States that 
have been designated Ed-Flex Partnership States under section 311(e) of 
Public Law 103-227, to waive any statutory or regulatory requirement 
applicable to service delivery areas or substate areas within the State 
under titlesI-III of the Job Training Partnership Act (except for 
requirements relating to wage and labor standards, grievance procedures 
and judicial review, nondiscrimination, allotment of funds, and 
eligibility), and any of the statutory or regulatory requirements of 
sections 8-10 of the Wagner-Peyser Act (except for requirements 
relating to the provision of services to unemployment insurance 
claimants and veterans, and to universal access to basic labor exchange 
services without cost to job seekers), for a duration not to exceed the 
waiver period authorized under section 311(e) of Public Law 103-227, 
pursuant to a plan submitted by such States and approved by the 
Secretary for the provision of workforce employment and training 
activities in the States, which includes a description of the process 
by which service delivery areas and substate areas may apply for and 
have waivers approved by the State, the requirements of the Wagner-
Peyser Act to be waived, the outcomes to be achieved and other measures 
to be taken to ensure appropriate accountability for Federal funds.
      For necessary expenses of Opportunity Areas of Out-of-
School Youth, in addition to amounts otherwise provided herein, 
$250,000,000, to be available for obligation for the period 
October 1, 1998 through September 30, 1999, if job training 
reform legislation authorizing this or similar at-risk youth 
projects is enacted by July 1, 1998.


            community service employment for older americans

                          (transfer of funds)

      To carry out the activities for national grants or 
contracts with public agencies and public or private nonprofit 
organizations under paragraph (1)(A) of section 506(a) of title 
V of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, or to carry 
out older worker activities as subsequently authorized, 
$343,356,000.
      To carry out the activities for grants to States under 
paragraph (3) of section 506(a) of title V of the Older 
Americans Act of 1965, as amended, or to carry out older worker 
activities as subsequently authorized, $96,844,000.
      The funds appropriated under this heading shall be 
transferred to and merged with the Department of Health and 
Human Services, ``Aging Services Programs'', for the same 
purposes and the same period as the account to which 
transferred, following the enactment of legislation authorizing 
the administration of the program by that Department.


              federal unemployment benefits and allowances

      For payments during the current fiscal year of trade 
adjustment benefit payments and allowances under part I; and 
for training, allowances for job search and relocation, and 
related State administrative expenses under part II, 
subchapters B and D, chapter 2, title II of the TradeAct of 
1974, as amended, $349,000,000, together with such amounts as may be 
necessary to be charged to the subsequent appropriation for payments 
for any period subsequent to September 15 of the current year.


     state unemployment insurance and employment service operations

      For authorized administrative expenses, $173,452,000, 
together with not to exceed $3,322,476,000 (including not to 
exceed $1,228,000 which may be used for amortization payments 
to States which had independent retirement plans in their State 
employment service agencies prior to 1980, and including not to 
exceed $2,000,000 which may be obligated in contracts with non-
State entities for activities such as occupational and test 
research activities which benefit the Federal-State Employment 
Service System), which may be expended from the Employment 
Security Administration account in the Unemployment Trust Fund 
including the cost of administering section 1201 of the Small 
Business Job Protection Act of 1996, section 7(d) of the 
Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended, the Trade Act of 1974, as 
amended, the Immigration Act of 1990, and the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, as amended, and of which the sums available in 
the allocation for activities authorized by title III of the 
Social Security Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 502-504), and the 
sums available in the allocation for necessary administrative 
expenses for carrying out 5 U.S.C. 8501-8523, shall be 
available for obligation by the States through December 31, 
1998, except that funds used for automation acquisitions shall 
be available for obligation by States through September 30, 
2000; and of which $40,000,000 of the amount which may be 
expended from said trust fund, shall be available for 
obligation for the period October 1, 1998 through September 30, 
1999, for the purpose of assisting States to convert their 
automated State employment security agency systems to be year 
2000 compliant; and of which $173,452,000, together with not to 
exceed $738,283,000 of the amount which may be expended from 
said trust fund, shall be available for obligation for the 
period July 1, 1998 through June 30, 1999, to fund activities 
under the Act of June 6, 1933, as amended, including the cost 
of penalty mail authorized under 39 U.S.C. 3202(a)(1)(E) made 
available to States in lieu of allotments for such purpose, and 
of which $200,000,000 shall be available solely for the purpose 
of assisting States to convert their automated State employment 
security agency systems to be year 2000 complaint, and of which 
$196,333,000 shall be available only to the extent necessary 
for additional State allocations to administer unemployment 
compensation laws to finance increases in the number of 
unemployment insurance claimsfiled and claims paid or changes 
in a State law: Provided, That to the extent that the Average Weekly 
Insured Unemployment (AWIU) for fiscal year 1998 is projected by the 
Department of Labor to exceed 2,789,000 an additional $28,600,000 shall 
be available for obligation for every 100,000 increase in the AWIU 
level (including a pro rata amount for any increment less than 100,000) 
from the Employment Security Administration Account of the Unemployment 
Trust Fund: Provided further, That funds appropriated in this Act which 
are used to establish a national one-stop career center network may be 
obligated in contracts, grants or agreements with non-State entities: 
Provided further, That funds appropriated under this Act for activities 
authorized under the Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended, and title III of 
the Social Security Act, may be used by the States to fund integrated 
Employment Service and Unemployment Insurance automation efforts, 
notwithstanding cost allocation principles prescribed under Office of 
Management and Budget Circular A-87.


        advances to the unemployment trust fund and other funds


      For repayable advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund as 
authorized by sections 905(d) and 1203 of the Social Security 
Act, as amended, and to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund as 
authorized by section 9501(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1954, as amended; and for nonrepayable advances to the 
Unemployment Trust Fund as authorized by section 8509 of title 
5, United States Code, section 104(d) of Public Law 102-164, 
and section 5 of Public Law 103-6, and to the ``Federal 
unemployment benefits and allowances'' account, to remain 
available until September 30, 1999, $392,000,000.
      In addition, for making repayable advances to the Black 
Lung Disability Trust Fund in the current fiscal year after 
September 15, 1998, for costs incurred by the Black Lung 
Disability Trust Fund in the current fiscal year, such sums as 
may be necessary.


                         program administration


      For expenses of administering employment and training 
programs, $90,308,000, including $6,000,000 to support up to 75 
full-time equivalent staff, the majority of which will be term 
Federal appointments lasting no more than three years, to 
administer welfare-to-work grants, together with not to exceed 
$41,285,000, which may be expended from the Employment Security 
Administration account in the Unemployment Trust Fund.

              Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration


                         salaries and expenses


      For necessary expenses for the Pension and Welfare 
Benefits Administration, $82,000,000, of which $3,000,000 shall 
remain available through September 30,1999 for expenses of 
completing the revision of the processing of employee benefit plan 
returns.

                  Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation


               pension benefit guaranty corporation fund


      The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is authorized to 
make such expenditures, including financial assistance 
authorized by section 104 of Public Law 96-364, within limits 
of funds and borrowing authority available to such Corporation, 
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 Government Corporation Control 
Act, as amended (31 U.S.C. 9104), as may be necessary in 
carrying out the program through September 30, 1998, for such 
Corporation: Provided, That not to exceed $10,433,000 shall be 
available for administrative expenses of the Corporation: 
Provided further, That expenses of such Corporation in 
connection with the termination of pension plans, for the 
acquisition, protection or management, and investment of trust 
assets, and for benefits administration services shall be 
considered as non-administrative expenses for the purposes 
hereof, and excluded from the above limitation.

                  Employment Standards Administration


                         salaries and expenses


      For necessary expenses for the Employment Standards 
Administration, including reimbursement to State, Federal, and 
local agencies and their employees for inspection services 
rendered, $299,660,000, together with $993,000 which may be 
expended from the Special Fund in accordance with sections 
39(c) and 44(j) of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' 
Compensation Act: Provided, That $500,000 shall be for the 
development of an alternative system for the electronic 
submission of reports as required to be filed under the Labor-
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended, 
and for a computer database of the information for each 
submission by whatever means, that is indexed and easily 
searchable by the public via the Internet: Provided further, 
That the Secretary of Labor is authorized to accept, retain, 
and spend, until expended, in the name of the Department of 
Labor, all sums of money ordered to be paid to the Secretary of 
Labor, in accordance with the terms of the Consent Judgment in 
Civil Action No. 91-0027 of the United States District Court 
for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands (Many 21, 
1992): Provided further, That the Secretary of Labor is 
authorized to establish and, in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3302, 
collect and deposit inthe Treasury fees for processing 
applications and issuing certificates under sections 11(d) and 14 of 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (29 U.S.C. 211(d) and 
214) and for processing applications and issuing registrations under 
title I of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 
29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.


                            special benefits


                     (including transfer of funds)


      For the payment of compensation, benefits, and expenses 
(except administrative expenses) accruing during the current or 
any prior fiscal year authorized by title 5, chapter 81 of the 
United States Code; continuation of benefits as provided for 
under the head ``Civilian War Benefits'' in the Federal 
Security Agency Appropriation Act, 1947; the Employees' 
Compensation Commission Appropriation Act, 1944; and sections 
4(c) and 5(f) of the War Claims Act of 1948 (50 U.S.C. App. 
2012); and 50 per centum of the additional compensation and 
benefits required by section 10(h) of the Longshore and Harbor 
Workers' Compensation Act, as amended, $201,000,000 together 
with such amounts as may be necessary to be charged to the 
subsequent year appropriation for the payment of compensation 
and other benefits for any period subsequent to August 15 of 
the current year: Provided, That amounts appropriated may be 
used under section 8104 of title 5, United States Code, by the 
Secretary to reimburse an employer, who is not the employer at 
the time of injury, for portions of the salary of a reemployed, 
disabled beneficiary: Provided further, That balances of 
reimbursements unobligated on September 30, 1997, shall remain 
available until expended for the payment of compensation, 
benefits, and expenses: Provided further, That in addition 
there shall be transferred to this appropriation from the 
Postal Service and from any other corporation or 
instrumentality required under section 8147(c) of title 5, 
United States Code, to pay an amount for its fair share of the 
cost of administration, such sums as the Secretary of Labor 
determines to be the cost of administration for employees of 
such fair share entities through September 30, 1998: Provided 
further, That of those funds transferred to this account from 
the fair share entities to pay the cost of administration, 
$7,269,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of Labor 
for expenditures relating to capital improvements in support of 
Federal Employees' Compensation Act administration, and the 
balance of such funds shall be paid into the Treasury as 
miscellaneous receipts: Provided further, That the Secretary 
may require that any person filing a notice of injury or a 
claim for benefits under chapter 81 of title 5, United States 
Code, or 33 U.S.C. 901 et seq., provide as part of such notice 
and claim, such identifying information (including Social 
Security account number) as such regulations may prescribe.


                    black lung disability trust fund


                     (including transfer of funds)


      For payments from the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, 
$1,007,000,000, of which $960,650,000 shall be available until 
September 30, 1999, for payment of all benefits as authorized 
by section 8501(d)(1), (2), (4), and (7) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, and interest on advances as 
authorized by section 9501(c)(2) of that Act, and of which 
$26,147,000 shall be available for transfer to Employment 
Standards Administration, Salaries and Expenses, $19,551,000 
for transfer to Departmental Management, Salaries and Expenses, 
$296,000 for transfer to Departmental Management, Office of 
Inspector General, and $356,000 for payment into miscellaneous 
receipts for the expenses of the Department of Treasury, for 
expenses of operation and administration of the Black Lung 
Benefits program as authorized by section 9501(d)(5) of that 
Act: Provided, That, in addition, such amounts as may be 
necessary may be charged to the subsequent year appropriation 
for the payment of compensation, interest, or other benefits 
for any period subsequent to August 15 of the current year.

             Occupational Safety and Health Administration


                         salaries and expenses


      For necessary expenses for the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration, $336,480,000, including not to exceed 
$77,941,000 which shall be the maximum amount available for 
grants to States under section 23(g) of the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act, which grants shall be no less than fifty 
percent of the costs of State occupational safety and health 
programs required to be incurred under plans approved by the 
Secretary under section 18 of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970; and, in addition, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 
3302, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration may 
retain up to $750,000 per fiscal year of training institute 
course tuition fees, otherwise authorized by law to be 
collected, and may utilize such sums for occupational safety 
and health training and education grants: Provided, That, 
notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, the Secretary of Labor is 
authorized, during the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, 
to collect and retain fees for services provided to Nationally 
Recognized Testing Laboratories, and may utilize such sums, in 
accordance with the provisions of 29 U.S.C. 9a, to administer 
national and international laboratory recognition programs that 
ensure the safety of equipment and products used by workers in 
the workplace: Provided further, That none of the funds 
appropriated under this paragraph shall be obligated or 
expended to prescribe, issue, administer, or enforce any 
standard, rule, regulation, or order under the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970 which is applicable to any person 
who is engaged in a farming operation which does not maintain a 
temporary labor camp and employs ten or fewer employees: 
Provided further, That no funds appropriated under this 
paragraph shall be obligated or expended to administer or 
enforce any standard, rule, regulation, or order under the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 with respect to any 
employer of ten or fewer employees who is included within a 
category having an occupational injury lost workday case rate, 
at the most precise Standard Industrial Classification Code for 
which such data are published, less than the national average 
rate as such rates are most recently published by the 
Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 
accordance with section 24 of that Act (29 U.S.C. 673), 
except--
            (1) to provide, as authorized by such Act, 
        consultation, technical assistance, educational and 
        training services, and to conduct surveys and studies;
            (2) to conduct an inspection or investigation in 
        response to an employee complaint, to issue a citation 
        for violations found during such inspection, andto 
assess a penalty for violations which are not corrected within a 
reasonable abatement period and for any willful violations found;
            (3) to take any action authorized by such Act with 
        respect to imminent dangers;
            (4) to take any action authorized by such Act with 
        respect to health hazards;
            (5) to take any action authorized by such Act with 
        respect to a report of an employment accident which is 
        fatal to one or more employees or which results in 
        hospitalization of two or more employees, and to take 
        any action pursuant to such investigation authorized by 
        such Act; and
            (6) to take any action authorized by such Act with 
        respect to complaints of discrimination against 
        employees for exercising rights under such Act: 
        Provided further, That the foregoing proviso shall not 
        apply to any person who is engaged in a farming 
        operation which does not maintain a temporary labor 
        camp and employs ten or fewer employees.

                 Mine Safety and Health Administration


                         salaries and expenses


      For necessary expenses for the Mine Safety and Health 
Administration, $203,334,000, including purchase and bestowal 
of certificates and trophies in connection with mine rescue and 
first-aid work, and the hire of passenger motor vehicles; the 
Secretary is authorized to accept lands, buildings, equipment, 
and other contributions from public and private sources and to 
prosecute projects in cooperation with other agencies, Federal, 
State, or private; the Mine Safety and Health Administration is 
authorized to promote health and safety education and training 
in the mining community through cooperative programs with 
States, industry, and safety associations; and any funds 
available to the Department may be used, with the approval of 
the Secretary, to provide for the costs of mine rescue and 
survival operations in the event of a major disaster: Provided, 
That none of the funds appropriated under this paragraph shall 
be obligated or expended to carry out section 115 of the 
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 or to carry out that 
portion of section 104(g)(1) of such Act relating to the 
enforcement of any training requirements, with respect to shell 
dredging, or with respect to any sand, gravel, surface stone, 
surface clay, colloidal phosphate, or surface limestone mine.

                       Bureau of Labor Statistics


                         salaries and expenses


      For necessary expenses for the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, including advances or reimbursements to 
State,Federal, and local agencies and their employees for services 
rendered, $327,609,000, of which $15,430,000 shall be for expenses of 
revising the Consumer Price Index and shall remain available until 
September 30, 1999, together with not to exceed $52,848,000, which may 
be expended from the Employment Security Administration account in the 
Unemployment Trust Fund.

                        Departmental Management


                         salaries and expenses


      For necessary expenses for Departmental Management, 
including the hire of three sedans, and including up to 
$4,421,000 for the President's Committee on Employment of 
People With Disabilities, $152,253,000; together with not to 
exceed $282,000, which may be expended from the Employment 
Security Administration account in the Unemployment Trust Fund: 
Provided, That no funds made available by this Act may be used 
by the Solicitor of Labor to participate in a review in any 
United States court of appeals of any decision made by the 
Benefits Review Board under section 21 of the Longshore and 
Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 921) where such 
participation is precluded by the decision of the United States 
Supreme Court in Director, Office of Workers' Compensation 
Programs v. Newport News Shipbuilding, 115 S. Ct. 1278 (1995): 
Provided Further, That no funds made available by this Act may 
be used by the Secretary of Labor to review a decision under 
the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 
901 et seq.) that has been appealed and that has been pending 
before the Benefits Review Board for more than 12 months: 
Provided further, That any such decision pending a review by 
the Benefits Review Board for more than one year shall be 
considered affirmed by the Benefits Review Board on that date, 
and shall be considered the final order of the Board for 
purposes of obtaining a review in the United States courts of 
appeals: Provided Further, That these provisions shall not be 
applicable to the review of any decision issued under the Black 
Lung Benefits Act (30 U.S.C. 901 et seq.)


                          working capital fund


      The paragraph under this heading in Public Law 85-67 (29 
U.S.C. 563) is amended by striking the last period and 
inserting after ``appropriation action'' the following: ``: 
Provided further, That the Secretary of Labor may transfer 
annually an amount not to exceed $3,000,000 from unobligated 
balances in the Department's salaries and expenses accounts, to 
the unobligated balance of the Working Capital Fund, to be 
merged with such Fund and used for the acquisition of capital 
equipment and the improvement of financial management, 
information technology and other support systems, and to remain 
availableuntil expended: Provided further, That the unobligated 
balance of the Fund shall not exceed $20,000,000.''.


        assistant secretary for veterans employment and training


      Not to exceed $181,955,000 may be derived from the 
Employment Security Administration account in the Unemployment 
Trust Fund to carry out the provisions of 38 U.S.C. 4100-4110A 
and 4321-4327, and Public Law 103-353, and which shall be 
available for obligation by the States through December 31, 
1998.


                      office of inspector general


      For salaries and expenses of the Office of Inspector 
General in carrying out the provisions of the Inspector General 
Act of 1978, as amended, $42,605,000, together with not to 
exceed $3,645,000, which may be expended from the Employment 
Security Administration account in the Unemployment Trust Fund.

                           GENERAL PROVISIONS

      Sec. 101. None of the funds appropriated in this title 
for the Job Corps shall be used to pay the compensation of an 
individual, either as direct costs or any proration as an 
indirect cost, at a rate in excess of $125,000.


                          (transfer of funds)


      Sec. 102. Not to exceed 1 percent of any discretionary 
funds (pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act, as amended) which are appropriated for the current 
fiscal year for the Department of Labor in this Act may be 
transferred between appropriations, but no such appropriation 
shall be increased by more than 3 percent by any such transfer: 
Provided, That the Appropriations Committees of both Houses of 
Congress are notified at least fifteen days in advance of any 
transfer.
      Sec. 103. Funds shall be available for carrying out title 
IV-B of the Job Training Partnership Act, notwithstanding 
section 427(c) of that Act, if a Job Corps center fails to meet 
national performance standards established by the Secretary.
      Sec. 104. None of the funds made available in this Act 
may be used by the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration to promulgate or issue any proposed or final 
standard regarding ergonomic protection before September 30, 
1998: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed 
to limit the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 
issuing voluntary guidelines on ergonomic protection or from 
developing a proposed standard regarding ergonomic protection: 
Provided further, That no funds made available in this Act may 
be used by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to 
enforce voluntary ergonomics guidelines throughsection 5 (the 
general duty clause) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 
(29 U.S.C. 654).
      Sec. 105. Section 13(b)(12) of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(b)(12)) is amended by striking 
``water for agricultural purposes'' and inserting in lieu 
thereof ``water, at least 90 percent of which was ultimately 
delivered for agricultural purposes during the preceding 
calendar year''.
      This title may be cited as the ``Department of Labor 
Appropriations Act, 1998''.

           TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

              Health Resources and Services Administration


                     health resources and services


      For carrying out titles II, III, VII, VIII, X, XII, XIX, 
and XXVI of the Public Health Service Act, section 427(a) of 
the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, title V of the 
Social Security Act, the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 
1986, as amended, and the Native Hawaiian Health Care Act of 
1988, as amended, $3,618,137,000, of which $225,000 shall 
remain available until expended for interest subsidies on loan 
guarantees made prior to fiscal year 1981 under part B of title 
VII of the Public Health Service Act and of which $28,000,000 
shall be available for the construction and renovation of 
health care and other facilities: Provided, That the Division 
of Federal Occupational Health may utilize personal services 
contracting to employ professional management/administrative 
and occupational health professionals: Provided further, That 
of the funds made available under this heading, $2,500,000 
shall be available until expended for facilities renovations at 
the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center: Provided further, 
That in addition to fees authorized by section 427(b) of the 
Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986, fees shall be 
collected for the full disclosure of information under the Act 
sufficient to recover the full costs of operating the National 
Practitioner Data Bank, and shall remain available until 
expended to carry out that Act: Provided further, That no more 
than $5,000,000 is available for carrying out the provisions of 
Public Law 104-73: Provided further, That of the funds made 
available under this heading, $203,452,000 shall be for the 
program under title X of the Public Health Service Act to 
provide for voluntary family planning projects: Provided 
further, That amounts provided to said projects under such 
title shall not be expended for abortions, that all pregnancy 
counseling shall be nondirective, and that such amounts shall 
not be expended for any activity (including the publication or 
distribution of literature) that in any way tends to 
promotepublic support or opposition to any legislative proposal or 
candidate for public office: Provided further, That $285,500,000 shall 
be for State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs authorized by section 2616 
of the Public Health Service Act: Provided further, That 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds made available under 
this heading may be used to continue operating the Council on Graduate 
Medical Education established by section 301 of Public Law 102-408: 
Provided further, That, of the funds made available under this heading, 
not more than $6,000,000 shall be made available and shall remain 
available until expended for loan guarantees for loans funded under 
part A of title XVI of the Public Health Service Act as amended, made 
by non-Federal lenders for the construction, renovation, and 
modernization of medical facilities that are owned and operated by 
health centers, and for loans made to health centers under section 
330(d) of the Public Health Service Act as amended by Public Law 104-
299, and that such funds be available to subsidize guarantees of total 
loan principal in an amount not to exceed $80,000,000: Provided 
further, That notwithstanding section 502(a)(1) of the Social Security 
Act, not to exceed $103,863,000 is available for carrying out special 
projects of regional and national significance pursuant to section 
501(a)(2) of such Act.


               medical facilities guarantee and loan fund


           federal interest subsidies for medical facilities


      For carrying out subsections (d) and (e) of section 1602 
of the Public Health Service Act, $6,000,000, together with any 
amounts received by the Secretary in connection with loans and 
loan guarantees under title VI of the Public Health Service 
Act, to be available without fiscal year limitation for the 
payment of interest subsidies. During the fiscal year, no 
commitments for direct loans or loan guarantees shall be made.


               health education assistance loans program


                     (including transfer of funds)


      For the cost of guaranteed loans, such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out the purpose of the program, as 
authorized by title VII of the Public Health Service Act, as 
amended: Provided, That such costs, including the cost of 
modifying such loans, shall be as defined in section 502 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974: Provided further, That these 
funds are available to subsidize gross obligations for the 
total loan principal any part of which is to be guaranteed at 
not to exceed $85,000,000: Provided further, That the Secretary 
may use up to $1,000,000 derived by transfer from insurance 
premiums collected from guaranteed loans made under title VII 
of the Public Health Service Act for the purpose of carrying 
out section709 of that Act. In addition, for administrative 
expenses to carry out the guaranteed loan program, $2,688,000.


             vaccine injury compensation program trust fund


      For payments from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program 
Trust Fund, such sums as may be necessary for claims associated 
with vaccine-related injury or death with respect to vaccines 
administered after September 30, 1988, pursuant to subtitle 2 
of title XXI of the Public Health Service Act, to remain 
available until expended: Provided, That for necessary 
administrative expenses, not to exceed $3,000,000 shall be 
available from the Trust Fund to the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services.

               Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


                disease control, research, and training


      To carry out titles II, III, VII, XI, XV, XVII, and XIX 
of the Public Health Service Act, sections 101, 102, 103, 201, 
202, 203, 301, and 501 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health 
Act of 1977, and sections 20, 21 and 22 of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970, title IV of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act and section 501 of the Refugee Education 
Assistance Act of 1980; including insurance of official motor 
vehicles in foreign countries; and hire, maintenance, and 
operation of aircraft, $2,327,552,000, of which $21,504,000 
shall remain available until expended for equipment and 
construction and renovation of facilities, and in addition, 
such sums as may be derived from authorized user fees, which 
shall be credited to this account: Provided, That in addition 
to amounts provided herein, up to $59,232,000 shall be 
available from amounts available under section 241 of the 
Public Health Service Act, to carry out the National Center for 
Health Statistics surveys: Provided further, That none of the 
funds made available for injury prevention and control at the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to 
advocate or promote gun control: Provided further, That the 
Director may redirect the total amount made available under 
authority of Public Law 101-502, section 3, dated November 3, 
1990, to activities the Director may so designate: Provided 
further, That the Congress is to be notified promptly of any 
such transfer.
      In addition, $51,000,000, to be derived from the Violent 
Crime Reduction Trust Fund, for carrying out sections 40151 and 
40261 of Public Law 103-322.

                     National Institutes of Health


                       national cancer institute


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to cancer, $2,547,314,000.


               national heart, lung, and blood institute


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to cardiovascular, lung,and 
blood diseases, and blood and blood products, $1,531,061,000.


                 national institute of dental research


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to dental disease, 
$209,415,000.


    national institute of diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to diabetes and digestive and 
kidney disease, $873,860,000.


        national institute of neurological disorders and stroke


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to neurological disorders and 
stroke, $780,713,000.


         national institute of allergy and infectious diseases


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to allergy and infectious 
diseases, $1,351,655,000.


             national institute of general medical sciences


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to general medical sciences, 
$1,065,947,000.


        national institute of child health and human development


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to child health and human 
development, $674,766,000


                         national eye institute


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to eye diseases and visual 
disorders, $355,691,000.


          national institute of environmental health sciences


      For carrying out sections 301 and 311 and title IV of the 
Public Health Service Act with respect to environmental health 
sciences, $330,108,000.


                      national institute on aging


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to aging, $519,279,000.


 national institute of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to arthritis and 
musculoskeletal and skin diseases, $274,760,000.


    national institute on deafness and other communication disorders


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to deafness and other 
communication disorders, $200,695,000.


                 national institute of nursing research


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to nursing research, 
$63,597,000.


           national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to alcohol abuse and 
alcoholism, $227,175,000.


                    national institute on drug abuse


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to drug abuse, $527,175,000.


                  national institute of mental health


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to mental health, $750,241,000.


                national human genome research institute


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to human genome research, 
$217,704,000.


                 national center for research resources


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to research resources and 
general research support grants, $453,883,000: Provided, That 
none of these funds shall be used to pay recipients of the 
general research support grants program any amount for indirect 
expenses in connection with such grants: Provided further, That 
$20,000,000 shall be for extramural facilities construction 
grants.


                  john e. fogarty international center


      For carrying out the activities at the John E. Fogarty 
International Center, $28,289,000.


                      national library of medicine


      For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act with respect to health information 
communications, $161,185,000, of which $4,000,000 shall be 
available until expended for improvement of information 
systems: Provided, That in fiscal year 1998, the Library may 
enter into personal services contracts for the provision of 
services in facilities owned, operated, or constructed under 
the jurisdiction of the National Institutes of Health.


                         office of the director


                     (including transfer of funds)


      For carrying out the responsibilities of the Office of 
the Director, National Institutes of Health, $296,373,000,of 
which $40,536,000 shall be for the Office of AIDS Research: Provided, 
That funding shall be available for the purchase of not to exceed five 
passenger motor vehicles for replacement only: Provided further, That 
the Director may direct up to 1 percent of the total amount made 
available in this or any other Act to all National Institutes of Health 
appropriations to activities the Director may so designate: Provided 
further, That no such appropriation shall be decreased by more than 1 
percent by any such transfers and that the Congress is promptly 
notified of the transfer: Provided further, That NIH is authorized to 
collect third party payments for the cost of clinical services that are 
incurred in National Institutes of Health research facilities and that 
such payments shall be credited to the National Institutes of Health 
Management Fund: Provided further, That all funds credited to the NIH 
Management Fund shall remain available for one fiscal year after the 
fiscal year in which they are deposited: Provided further, That up to 
$500,000 shall be available to carry out section 499 of the Public 
Health Service Act: Provided further, That, notwithstanding section 
499(k)(10) of the Public Health Service Act, funds from the National 
Foundation for Biomedical Research may be transferred to the National 
Institutes of Health: Provided further, That $20,000,000 shall be 
available to carry out section 404E of the Public Health Service Act: 
Provided further, That of the funds available to carry out section 404E 
of the Public Health Service Act, not less than $7,000,000 shall be for 
peer reviewed complementary and alternative medicine research grants 
and contracts that respond to program announcements and requests for 
proposals issued by the Office of Alternative Medicine.


                        buildings and facilities


      For the study of, construction of, and acquisition of 
equipment for, facilities of or used by the National Institutes 
of Health, including the acquisition of real property, 
$206,957,000, to remain available until expended, of which 
$90,000,000 shall be for the clinical research center and 
$16,957,000 for the Vaccine Facility: Provided, That 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, a single contract 
or related contracts for the development and construction of 
the clinical research center may be employed which collectively 
include the full scope of the project: Provided further, That 
the solicitation and contract shall contain the clause 
``availability of funds'' found at 48 CFR 52.232-18: Provided 
further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
single contract or related contracts for the development and 
construction of the Vaccine Facility may be employed which 
collectively include the full scope of the project: Provided 
further, That the solicitationand contract shall contain the 
clause ``availability of funds'' found in 48 CFR 52.232-18.

       Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


               substance abuse and mental health services


      For carrying out titles V and XIX of the Public Health 
Service Act with respect to substance abuse and mental health 
services, the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill 
Individuals Act of 1986, and section 301 of the Public Health 
Service Act with respect to program management, $2,146,743,000, 
of which $10,000,000 shall be for grants to rural and Native 
American projects: Provided, That notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, each State's allotment for fiscal year 1998 
for each of the programs under subparts I and II of part B of 
title XIX of the Public Health Service Act shall be equal to 
such State's allotment for such programs for fiscal year 1997.


     retirement pay and medical benefits for commissioned officers


      For retirement pay and medical benefits of Public Health 
Service Commissioned Officers as authorized by law, and for 
payments under the Retired Serviceman's Family Protection Plan 
and Survivor Benefit Plan and for medical care of dependents 
and retired personnel under the Dependents' Medical Care Act 
(10 U.S.C. ch. 55), and for payments pursuant to section 229(b) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 429(b)), such amounts as 
may be required during the current fiscal year.

               Agency for Health Care Policy and Research


                    health care policy and research


      For carrying out titles III and IX of the Public Health 
Service Act, and part A of title XI of the Social Security Act, 
$90,229,000; in addition, amounts received from Freedom of 
Information Act fees, reimbursable and interagency agreements, 
and the sale of data tapes shall be credited to this 
appropriation and shall remain available until expended: 
Provided, That the amount made available pursuant to section 
926(b) of the Public Health Service Act shall not exceed 
$56,206,000.

                  Health Care Financing Administration


                     grants to states for medicaid


      For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, titles XI 
and XIX of the Social Security Act, $71,602,429,000, to remain 
available until expended.
      For making, after May 31, 1998, payments to States under 
title XIX of the Social Security Act for the last quarter of 
fiscal year 1998 for unanticipated costs, incurred for the 
current fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary.
      For making payments to States under title XIX of the 
Social Security Act for the first quarter of fiscal year1999, 
$27,800,689,000, to remain available until expended.
      Payment under title XIX may be made for any quarter with 
respect to a State plan or plan amendment in effect during such 
quarter, if submitted in or prior to such quarter and approved 
in that or any subsequent quarter.


                  payments to health care trust funds


      For payment to the Federal Hospital Insurance and the 
Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds, as 
provided under sections 217(g) and 1844 of the Social Security 
Act, sections 103(c) and 111(d) of the Social Security 
Amendments of 1965, section 278(d) of Public Law 97-248, and 
for administrative expenses incurred pursuant to section 201(g) 
of the Social Security Act, $60,904,000,000.


                           program management


      For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, titles 
XI, XVIII, XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act, titles XIII 
and XXVII of the Public Health Service Act, and the Clinical 
Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988, not to exceed 
$1,743,066,000 to be transferred from the Federal Hospital 
Insurance and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust 
Funds, as authorized by section 201(g) of the Social Security 
Act; together with all funds collected in accordance with 
section 353 of the Public Health Service Act and such sums as 
may be collected from authorized user fees and the sale of 
data, which shall remain available until expended, and together 
with administrative fees collected relative to Medicare 
overpayment recovery activities, which shall remain available 
until expended: Provided, That all funds derived in accordance 
with 31 U.S.C. 9701 from organizations established under title 
XIII of the Public Health Service Act shall be credited to and 
available for carrying out the purposes of this appropriation: 
Provided further, That $900,000 shall be for carrying out 
section 4021 of Public Law 105-33: Provided further, That in 
carrying out its legislative mandate, the National Bipartisan 
Commission on the Future of Medicare shall examine the impact 
of increased investments in health research on future Medicare 
costs, and the potential for coordinating Medicare with cost-
effective long-term care services: Provided further, That 
$40,000,000 appropriated under this heading for the transition 
to a single Part A and Part B processing system shall remain 
available until expended: Provided further, That funds 
appropriated under this heading may be obligated to increase 
Medicare provider audits and implement the Department's 
corrective action plan to the Chief Financial Officer's audit 
of the Health Care Financing Administration's oversight of 
Medicare: Provided further, That the Secretary of Health and 
Human Servicesis directed to collect, in aggregate, $95,000,000 
in fees in fiscal year 1998 from Medicare+Choice organizations pursuant 
to section 1857(e)(2) of the Social Security Act and from eligible 
organizations with risk-sharing contracts under section 1876 of that 
Act pursuant to section 1876(k)(4)(D) of that Act.


      health maintenance organization loan and loan guarantee fund


      For carrying out subsections (d) and (e) of section 1308 
of the Public Health Service Act, any amounts received by the 
Secretary in connection with loans and loan guarantees under 
title XIII of the Public Health Service Act, to be available 
without fiscal year limitation for the payment of outstanding 
obligations. During fiscal year 1998, no commitments for direct 
loans or loan guarantees shall be made.

                Administration for Children and Families


                   family support payments to states


      For making payments to each State for carrying out the 
program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children under title 
IV-A of the Social Security Act before the effective date of 
the program of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) 
with respect to such State, such sums as may be necessary: 
Provided, That the sum of the amounts available to a State with 
respect to expenditures under such title IV-A in fiscal year 
1997 under this appropriation and under such title IV-A as 
amended by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act of 1996 shall not exceed the limitations 
under section 116(b) of such Act: Provided further, That, 
notwithstanding section 418(a) of the Social Security Act, for 
fiscal year 1997 only, the amount of payment under section 
418(a)(1) to which each State is entitled shall equal the 
amount specified as mandatory funds with respect to such State 
for such fiscal year in the table transmitted by the 
Administration for Children and Families to State Child Care 
and Development Block Grant Lead Agencies on August 27, 1996, 
and the amount of State expenditures in fiscal year 1994 or 
1995 (whichever is greater) that equals the non-Federal share 
for the programs described in section 418(a)(1)(A) shall be 
deemed to equal the amount specified as maintenance of effort 
with respect to such State for fiscal year 1997 in such table.
      For making, after May 31 of the current fiscal year, 
payments to States or other non-Federal entities under titles 
I, IV-D, X, XI, XIV, and XVI of the Social Security Act and the 
Act of July 5, 1960 (24 U.S.C. ch. 9), for the last three 
months of the current year for unanticipated costs, incurred 
for the current fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary.
      For making payments to States or other non-Federal 
entities under titles I, IV-D, X, XI, XIV, and XVI of the 
Social Security Act and the Act of July 5, 1960 (24 U.S.C. ch. 
9), for the first quarter of fiscal year 1999, $660,000,000, to 
remain available until expended.


                   low income home energy assistance


      For making payments under title XXVI of the Omnibus 
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, $1,100,000,000, to be 
available for obligation in the period October 1, 1998 through 
September 30, 1999.
      For making payments under title XXVI of such Act, 
$300,000,000: Provided, That these funds are hereby designated 
by Congress to be emergency requirements pursuant to section 
251(b)(2)(D) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985: Provided further, That these funds shall 
be made available only after submission to Congress of a formal 
budget request by the President 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.


                     refugee and entrant assistance


      For making payments for refugee and entrant assistance 
activities authorized by title IV of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act and section 501 of the Refugee Education 
Assistance Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-422), $415,000,000: 
Provided, That funds appropriated pursuant to section 414(a) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act under Public Law 104-134 
for fiscal year 1996 shall be available for the costs of 
assistance provided and other activities conducted in such year 
and in fiscal years 1997 and 1998.


                 child care and development block grant


                     (including transfer of funds)


      For carrying out sections 658A through 658R of the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (The Child Care and 
Development Block Grant Act of 1990), in addition to amounts 
already appropriated for fiscal year 1998, $65,672,000; and to 
become available on October 1, 1998 and remain available 
through September 30, 1999, $1,000,000,000: Provided, That of 
funds appropriated for each of fiscal years 1998 and 1999, 
$19,120,000 shall be available for child care resource and 
referral and school-aged child care activities, of which for 
fiscal year 1998 $3,000,000 shall be derived from an amount 
that shall be transferred from the amount appropriated under 
section 452(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 652(j)) 
for fiscal year 1997 and remaining available for expenditure: 
Provided further, That of the funds provided for fiscal year 
1998, $50,000,000 shall be reserved by the States for 
activities authorized under section 658G of the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1981 (The Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Act of 1990), such funds to be in addition to the 
amounts required tobe reserved by States under such section 
658G.


                      social services block grant


      For making grants to States pursuant to section 2002 of 
the Social Security Act, $2,299,000,000: Provided, That 
notwithstanding section 2003(c) of such Act, as amended, the 
amount specified for allocation under such section for fiscal 
year 1998 shall be $2,299,000,000.


                children and families services programs


                        (including rescissions)


      For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, the 
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, the Developmental Disabilities 
Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, the Head Start Act, the 
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, (including section 
105(a)(2) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act), the 
Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, the Native 
American Programs Act of 1974, title II of Public Law 95-266 
(adoption opportunities), the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act 
of 1988, part B(1) of title IV and sections 413, 429A and 1110 
of the Social Security Act; for making payments under the 
Community Services Block Grant Act; and for necessary 
administrative expenses to carry out said Acts and titles I, 
IV, X, XI, XIV, XVI, and XX of the Social Security Act, the Act 
of July 5, 1960 (24 U.S.C. ch. 9), the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1981, title IV of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, section 501 of the Refugee Education 
Assistance Act of 1980, and section 126 and titles IV and V of 
Public Law 100-485, $5,682,916,000, of which $542,165,000 shall 
be for making payments under the Community Services Block Grant 
Act, and of which $4,355,000,000 shall be for making payments 
under the Head Start Act: Provided, That of the funds made 
available for the Head Start Act, $279,250,000 shall be set 
aside for the Head Start Program for Families with Infants and 
Toddlers (Early Head Start): Provided further, That to the 
extent Community Services Block Grant funds are distributed as 
grant funds by a State to an eligible entity as provided under 
the Act, and have not been expended by such entity, they shall 
remain with such entity for carryover into the next fiscal year 
for expenditure by such entity consistent with program 
purposes.
      In addition, $93,000,000, to be derived from the Violent 
Crime Reduction Trust Fund, for carrying out sections 40155, 
40211 and 40241 of Public Law 103-322.
      Funds appropriated for fiscal year 1998 under section 
429A(e), part B of title IV of the Social Security Act shall be 
reduced by $6,000,000.
      Funds appropriated for fiscal year 1998 under section 
413(h)(1) of the Social Security Act shall be reduced by 
$15,000,000.


                    family preservation and support


      For carrying out section 430 of the Social Security Act, 
$255,000,000.


       payments to states for foster care and adoption assistance


      For making payments to States or other non-Federal 
entities, under title IV-E of the Social Security Act, 
$3,200,000,000.
      For making payments to States or other non-Federal 
entities, under title IV-E of the Social Security Act, for the 
first quarter of fiscal year 1999, $1,157,500,000.

                        Administration on Aging


                        aging services programs


      For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, 
the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, $865,050,000: 
Provided, That notwithstanding section 308(b)(1) of such Act, 
the amounts available to each State for administration of the 
State plan under title III of such Act shall be reduced not 
more than 5 percent below the amount that was available to such 
State for such purpose for fiscal year 1995: Provided further, 
That of the funds appropriated to carry out section 303(a)(1) 
of such Act, $4,449,000 shall be available for carrying out 
section 702(a) of such Act and $4,732,000 shall be available 
for carrying out section 702(b) of such Act: Provided further, 
That in considering grant applications for nutrition services 
for elder Indian recipients, the Assistant Secretary shall 
provide maximum flexibility to applicants who seek to take into 
account subsistence, local customs, and other characteristics 
that are appropriate to the unique cultural, regional, and 
geographic needs of the American Indian, Alaskan and Hawaiian 
native communities to be served.

                        Office of the Secretary


                    general departmental management


      For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided, for 
general departmental management, including hire of six sedans, 
and for carrying out titles III, XVII, and XX of the Public 
Health Service Act, and the United States-Mexico Border Health 
Commission Act, $171,631,000, of which $500,000 shall remain 
available until expended, together with $5,851,000, to be 
transferred and expended as authorized by section 201(g)(1) of 
the Social Security Act from the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund 
and the Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Fund: Provided, 
That of the funds made available under this heading for 
carrying out title XVII of the Public Health Service Act, 
$1,500,000 shall be available until expended for extramural 
construction.


                      office of inspector general


      For expenses necessary for the Office of Inspector 
General in carrying out the provisions of the Inspector General 
Act of 1978, as amended, $31,921,000.


                        office for civil rights


      For expenses necessary for the Office for Civil Rights, 
$16,345,000, together with not to exceed $3,314,000, to be 
transferred and expended as authorized by section 201(g)(1) of 
the Social Security Act from the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund 
and the Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Fund.


                            policy research


      For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, 
research studies under section 1110 of the Social Security Act, 
$14,000,000.

                           GENERAL PROVISIONS

      Sec. 201. Funds appropriated in this title shall be 
available for not to exceed $37,000 for official reception and 
representation expenses when specifically approved by the 
Secretary.
      Sec. 202. The Secretary shall make available through 
assignment not more than 60 employees of the Public Health 
Service to assist in child survival activities and to work in 
AIDS programs through and with funds provided by the Agency for 
International Development, the United Nations International 
Children's Emergency Fund or the World Health Organization.
      Sec. 203. None of the funds appropriated under this Act 
may be used to implement section 399L(b) of the Public Health 
Service Act or section 1503 of the National Institutes of 
Health Revitalization Act of 1993, Public Law 103-43.
      Sec. 204. None of the funds appropriated in this Act for 
the National Institutes of Health and the Substance Abuse and 
Mental Health Services Administration shall be used to pay the 
salary of an individual, through a grant or other extramural 
mechanism, at a rate in excess of $125,000 per year.
      Sec. 205. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may 
be expended pursuant to section 241 of the Public Health 
Service Act, except for funds specifically provided for in this 
Act, or for other taps and assessments made by any office 
located in the Department of Health and Human Services, prior 
to the Secretary's preparation and submission of a report to 
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and of the House 
detailing the planned uses of such funds.
      Sec. 206. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may 
be obligated or expended for the Federal Council on Aging under 
the Older Americans Act or the Advisory Board on Child Abuse 
and Neglect under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.


                          (transfer of funds)


      Sec. 207. Not to exceed 1 percent of any discretionary 
funds (pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act, as amended) which areappropriated for the current 
fiscal year for the Department of Health and Human Services in this Act 
may be transferred between appropriations, but no such appropriation 
shall be increased by more than 3 percent by any such transfer: 
Provided, That the Appropriations Committees of both Houses of Congress 
are notified at least fifteen days in advance of any transfer.


                          (transfer of funds)


      Sec. 208. The Director of the National Institutes of 
Health, jointly with the Director of the Office of AIDS 
Research, may transfer up to 3 percent among institutes, 
centers, and divisions from the total amounts identified by 
these two Directors as funding for research pertaining to the 
human immunodeficiency virus: Provided, That the Congress is 
promptly notified of the transfer.


                          (transfer of funds)


      Sec. 209. Of the amounts made available in this Act for 
the National Institutes of Health, the amount for research 
related to the human immunodeficiency virus, as jointly 
determined by the Director of NIH and the Director of the 
Office of AIDS Research, shall be made available to the 
``Office of AIDS Research'' account. The Director of the Office 
of AIDS Research shall transfer from such accounts amounts 
necessary to carry out section 2535(d)(3) of the Public Health 
Service Act.
      Sec. 210. Funds appropriated in this Act for the National 
Institutes of Health may be used to provide transit subsidies 
in amounts consistent with the transportation subsidy programs 
authorized under section 629 of Public Law 101-509 to non-FTE 
bearing positions including trainees, visiting fellows and 
volunteers.
      Sec. 211. (a) The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
may in accordance with this section provide for the relocation 
of the Federal facility known as the Gillis W. Long Hansen's 
Disease Center (located in the vicinity of Carville, in the 
State of Louisiana), including the relocation of the patients 
of the Center.
      (b)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), in relocating the Center 
the Secretary may on behalf of the United States transfer to 
the State of Louisiana, without charge, title to the real 
property and improvements that as of the date of the enactment 
of this Act constitute the Center. Such real property is a 
parcel consisting of approximately 330 acres. The exact acreage 
and legal description used for purposes of the transfer shall 
be in accordance with a survey satisfactory to the Secretary.
      (2) Any conveyance under paragraph (1) is not effective 
unless the deed or other instrument of conveyance contains the 
conditions specified in subsection (d); the instrument 
specifies that the United States and the Stateof Louisiana 
agree to such conditions; and the instrument specifies that, if the 
State engages in a material breach of the conditions, title to the real 
property and improvements involved reverts to the United States at the 
election of the Secretary.
      (c)(1) With respect to Federal equipment and other items 
of Federal personal property that are in use at the Center as 
of the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary may, 
subject to paragraph (2), transfer to the State such items as 
the Secretary determines to be appropriate, if the Secretary 
makes the transfer under subsection (b).
      (2) A transfer of equipment or other items may be made 
under paragraph (1) only if the State agrees that, during the 
30-year period beginning on the date on which the transfer 
under subsection (b) is made, the items will be used 
exclusively for purposes that promote the health or education 
of the public, except that the Secretary may authorize such 
exceptions as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
      (d) For purposes of subsection (b)(2), the conditions 
specified in this subsection with respect to a transfer of 
title are the following:
            (1) During the 30-year period beginning on the date 
        on which the transfer is made, the real property and 
        improvements referred to in subsection (b)(1) (referred 
        to in this subsection as the ``transferred property'') 
        will be used exclusively for purposes that promote the 
        health or education of the public, with such incidental 
        exceptions as the Secretary may approve.
            (2) For purposes of monitoring the extent to which 
        the transferred property is being used in accordance 
        with paragraph (1), the Secretary will have access to 
        such documents as the Secretary determines to be 
        necessary, and the Secretary may require the advance 
        approval of the Secretary or such contracts, 
        conveyances of real or personal property, or other 
        transactions as the Secretary determines to be 
        necessary.
            (3) The relocation of patients from the transferred 
        property will be completed not later than 3 years after 
        the date on which the transfer is made, except to the 
        extent the Secretary determines that relocating 
        particular patients is not feasible. During the period 
        of relocation, the Secretary will have unrestricted 
        access to the transferred property, and after such 
        period will have such access as may be necessary with 
        respect to the patients who pursuant to the preceding 
        sentence are not relocated.
            (4)(A) With respect to projects to make repairs and 
        energy-related improvements at the transferred 
        property, the Secretary will provide for the completion 
        of all such projects for which contracts have been 
        awarded and appropriations have been made as of the 
        date of which the transfer is made.
            (B) If upon completion of the projects referred to 
        in subparagraph (A) there are any unobligated balances 
        of amounts appropriated for the projects, and the sum 
        of such balances is in excess of $100,000--
                    (i) the Secretary will transfer the amount 
                of such excess to the State; and
                    (ii) the State will expend such amount for 
                the purposes referred to in paragraph (1), 
                which may include the renovation of facilities 
                at the transferred property.
            (5)(A) The State will maintain the cemetery located 
        on the transferred property, will permit individuals 
        who were long-term-care patients of the Center to be 
        buried at the cemetery, and will permit members of the 
        public to visit the cemetery.
            (B) The State will permit the Center to maintain a 
        museum on the transferred property and will permit 
        members of the public to visit the museum.
            (C) In the case of any waste products stored at the 
        transferred property as of the date of the transfer, 
        the Federal Government will after the transfer retain 
        title to and responsibility for the products, and the 
        State will not require that the Federal Government 
        remove the products from the transferred property.
            (6) In the case of each individual who as of the 
        date of the enactment of this Act is a Federal employee 
        at the transferred property with facilities management 
        or dietary duties:
                    (A) The State will offer the individual an 
                employment position with the State, the 
                position with the State will have duties 
                similar to the duties the individual performed 
                in his or her most recent position at the 
                transferred property, and the position with the 
                State will provide compensation and benefits 
                that are similar to the compensation and 
                benefits provided for such most recent 
                position, subject to the concurrence of the 
                Governor of the State.
                    (B) If the individual becomes an employee 
                of the State pursuant to subparagraph (A), the 
                State will make payments in accordance 
withsubsection (e)(2)(B) (relating to disability), as applicable with 
respect to the individual.
            (7) The Federal Government may, consistent with the 
        intended uses by the State of the transferred property, 
        carry out at such property activities regarding at-risk 
        youth.
            (8) Such additional conditions as the Secretary 
        determines to be necessary to protect the interests of 
        the United States.
      (e)(1) This subsection applies if the transfer under 
subsection (b) is made.
      (2) In the case of each individual who as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act is a Federal employee at the Center 
with facilities management or dietary duties, and who becomes 
an employee of the State pursuant to subsection (d)(6)(A):
            (A) The provisions of subchapter III of chapter 83 
        of title 5, United States Code, or of chapter 84 of 
        such title, whichever are applicable, that relate to 
        disability shall be considered to remain in effect with 
        respect to the individual (subject to subparagraph (C)) 
        until the earlier of--
                    (i) the expiration of the 2-year period 
                beginning on the date on which the transfer 
                under subsection (b) is made; or
                    (ii) the date on which the individual first 
                meets all conditions for coverage under a State 
                program for payments during retirement by 
                reason of disability.
            (B) The payments to be made by the State pursuant 
        to subsection (d)(6)(B) with respect to the individual 
        are payments to the Civil Service Retirement and 
        Disability Fund, if the individual is receiving Federal 
        disability coverage pursuant to subparagraph (A). Such 
        payments are to be made in a total amount equal to that 
        portion of the normal-cost percentage (determined 
        through the use of dynamic assumptions) of the basic 
        pay of the individual that is allocable to such 
        coverage and is paid for service performed during the 
        period for which such coverage is in effect. Such 
        amount is to be determined in accordance with chapter 
        84 of such title 5, is to be paid at such time and in 
        such manner as mutually agreed by the State and the 
        Office of Personnel Management, and is in lieu of 
        individual or agency contributions otherwise required.
            (C) In the determination pursuant to subparagraph 
        (A) of whether the individual is eligible for Federal 
        disability coverage (during the applicable period of 
        time under such subparagraph), service as anemployee of 
the State after the date of the transfer under subsection (b) shall be 
counted toward the service requirement specified in the first sentence 
of section 8337(a) or 8451(a)(1)(A) of such title 5 (whichever is 
applicable).
            (3) In the case of each individual who as of the 
        date of the enactment of this Act is a Federal employee 
        with a position at the Center and is, for duty at the 
        Center, receiving the pay differential under section 
        208(e) of the Public Health Service Act or under 
        section 5545(d) of title 5, United States Code:
                    (A) If as of the date of the transfer under 
                subsection (b) the individual is eligible for 
                an annuity under section 8336 or 8412 of title 
                5, United States Code, then once the individual 
                separates from the service and thereby becomes 
                entitled to receive the annuity, the pay 
                differential shall be included in the 
                computation of the annuity if the individual 
                separated from the service not later than the 
                expiration of the 90-day period beginning on 
                the date of the transfer.
                    (B) If the individual is not eligible for 
                such an annuity as of the date of the transfer 
                under subsection (b) but subsequently does 
                become eligible, then once the individual 
                separates from the service and thereby becomes 
                entitled to receive the annuity, the pay 
                differential shall be included in the 
                computation of the annuity if the individual 
                separated from the service not later than the 
                expiration of the 90-day period beginning on 
                the date on which the individual first became 
                eligible for the annuity.
                    (C) For purposes of this paragraph, the 
                individual is eligible for the annuity if the 
                individual meets all conditions under such 
                section 8336 or 8412 to be entitled to the 
                annuity, except the condition that the 
                individual be separated from the service.
            (4) With respect to individuals who as of the date 
        of the enactment of this Act are Federal employees with 
        positions at the Center and are not, for duty at the 
        center, receiving the pay differential under section 
        208(e) of the Public Health Service Act or under 
        section 5545(d) of title 5, United States Code:
                    (A) During the calendar years 1997 and 
                1998, the Secretary may in accordance with this 
                paragraph provide to any such individual a 
                voluntary separation incentive payment. The 
                purpose of such payments is to avoid or 
                minimize the need for involuntary separations 
                under a reduction in force with respect to the 
                Center.
                    (B) During calendar year 1997, any payment 
                under subparagraph (A) shall be made under 
                section 663 of the Treasury, Postal Service, 
                and General Government Appropriations Act, 1997 
                (as contained in section 101(f) of division A 
                of Public Law 104-208), except that, for 
                purposes of this subparagraph, subsection (b) 
                of such section 663 does not apply.
                    (C) During calendar year 1998, such section 
                663 applies with respect to payments under 
                subparagraph (A) to the same extent and in the 
                same manner as such section applied with 
                respect to the payments during fiscal year 
                1997, and for purposes of this subparagraph, 
                the reference in subsection (c)(2)(D) of such 
                section 663 to December 31, 1997, is deemed to 
                be a reference to December 31, 1998.
      (f) The following provisions apply if under subsection 
(a) the Secretary makes the decision to relocate the Center:
            (1) The site to which the Center is relocated shall 
        be in the vicinity of Baton Rouge, in the State of 
        Louisiana.
            (2) The facility involved shall continue to be 
        designated as the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease 
        Center.
            (3) The Secretary shall make reasonable efforts to 
        inform the patients of the Center with respect to the 
        planning and carrying out of the relocation.
            (4) In the case of each individual who as of 
        October 1, 1996, was a patient of the Center and is 
        considered by the Director of the Center to be a long-
        term-care patient (referred to in this subsection as an 
        ``eligible patient''), the Secretary shall continue to 
        provide for the long-term care of the eligible patient, 
        without charge, for the remainder of the life of the 
        patient.
            (5)(A) For purposes of paragraph (4), an eligible 
        patient who is legally competent has the following 
        options with respect to support and maintenance and 
        other nonmedical expenses:
                    (i) For the remainder of his or her life, 
                the patient may reside at the Center.
                    (ii) For the remainder of his or her life, 
                the patient may receive payments each year at 
                an annual rate of $33,000 (adjusted in 
                accordance with subparagraphs (C) and (D)), and 
                may not reside at the Center. Payments under 
                this clause are in complete discharge of the 
                obligation of the Federal Government under 
                paragraph (4) for support and maintenance and 
                other nonmedical expenses of the patient.
            (B) The choice by an eligible patient of the option 
        under clause (i) of subparagraph (A) may at any time be 
        revoked by the patient, and the patient may instead 
        choose the option under clause (ii) of such 
        subparagraph. The choice by an eligible patient of the 
        option under such clause (ii) is irrevocable.
            (C) Payments under subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be 
        made on a monthly basis, and shall be pro rated as 
        applicable. In 1999 and each subsequent year, the 
        monthly amount of such payments shall be increased by a 
        percentage equal to any percentage increase taking 
        effect under section 215(i) of the Social Security Act 
        (relating to a cost-of-living increase) for benefits 
        under title II of such Act (relating to Federal old-
        age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits). Any 
        such percentage increase in monthly payments under 
        subparagraph (A)(ii) shall take effect in the same 
        month as the percentage increase under such section 
        215(i) takes effect.
            (D) With respect to the provision of outpatient and 
        inpatient medical care for Hansen's disease and related 
        complications to an eligible patient:
                    (i) The choice the patient makes under 
                subparagraph (A) does not affect the 
                responsibility of the Secretary for providing 
                to the patient such care at or through the 
                Center.
                    (ii) If the patient chooses the option 
                under subparagraph (A)(ii) and receives 
                inpatient care at or through the Center, the 
                Secretary may reduce the amount of payments 
                under such subparagraph, except to the extent 
                that reimbursement for the expenses of such 
                care is available to the provider of the care 
                through the program under title XVIII of the 
                Social Security Act or the program under title 
                XIX of such Act. Any such reduction shall be 
                made on the basis of the number of days for 
                which the patient received the inpatient care.
            (6) The Secretary shall provide to each eligible 
        patient such information and time as may be necessary 
        for the patient to make an informed decision regarding 
        the options under paragraph (5)(A).
            (7) After the date of the enactment of this Act, 
        the Center may not provide long-term care for any 
        individual who as of such date was not receiving such 
        care as a patient of the Center.
            (8) If upon completion of the projects referred to 
        in subsection (d)(4)(A) there are unobligated balances 
        of amounts appropriated for the projects, such balances 
        are available to the Secretary for expenses relating to 
        the relocation of the Center, except that, if the sum 
        of such balances is in excess of $100,000, such excess 
        is available to the State in accordance with subsection 
        (d)(4)(B). The amounts available to the Secretary 
        pursuant to the preceding sentence are available until 
        expended.
      (g) For purposes of this section:
            (1) The term ``Center'' means the Gillis W. Long 
        Hansen's Disease Center.
            (2) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services.
            (3) The term ``State'' means the State of 
        Louisiana.
      (h) Section 320 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 247e) is amended by striking the section designation and 
all that follows and inserting the following:
      ``Sec. 320. (a)(1) At or through the Gillis W. Long 
Hansen's Disease Center (located in the State of Louisiana), 
the Secretary shall without charge provide short-term care and 
treatment, including outpatient care, for Hansen's disease and 
related complications to any persondetermined by the Secretary 
to be in need of such care and treatment. The Secretary may not at or 
through such Center provide long-term care for any such disease or 
complication.
      ``(2) The Center referred to in paragraph (1) shall 
conduct training in the diagnosis and management of Hansen's 
disease and related complications, and shall conduct and 
promote the coordination of research (including clinical 
research), investigations, demonstrations, and studies relating 
to the causes, diagnosis, treatment, control, and prevention of 
Hansen's disease and other mycobacterial diseases and 
complications related to such diseases.
      ``(3) Paragraph (1) is subject to section 211 of the 
Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 
1998.
      ``(b) In addition to the Center referred to in subsection 
(a), the Secretary may establish sites regarding persons with 
Hansen's disease. Each such site shall provide for the 
outpatient care and treatment for Hansen's disease and related 
complications to any person determined by the Secretary to be 
in need of such care and treatment.
      ``(c) The Secretary shall carry out subsections (a) and 
(b) acting through an agency of the Service. For purposes of 
the preceding sentence, the agency designated by the Secretary 
shall carry out both activities relating to the provision of 
health services and activities relating to the conduct of 
research.
      ``(d) The Secretary shall make payments to the Board of 
Health of the State of Hawaii for the care and treatment 
(including outpatient care) in its facilities of persons 
suffering from Hansen's disease at a rate determined by the 
Secretary. The rate shall be approximately equal to the 
operating cost per patient of such facilities, except that the 
rate may not exceed the comparable costs per patient with 
Hansen's disease for care and treatment provided by the Center 
referred to in subsection (a). Payments under this subsection 
are subject to the availability of appropriations for such 
purposes.''.
      Sec. 212. None of the funds appropriated in the Act may 
be made available to any entity under title X of the Public 
Health Service Act unless the applicant for the award certifies 
to the Secretary that it encourages family participation in the 
decision of minors to seek family planning services and that it 
provides counseling to minors on how to resist attempts to 
coerce minors into engaging in sexual activities.


    comprehensive independent study of nih research priority setting


      Sec. 213. (a) Study by the Institute of Medicine.--Not 
later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter into a 
contract with the Institute of Medicine to conduct a 
comprehensive study of the policies and process used by the 
National Institutes of Health to determine funding allocations 
for biomedical research.
      (b) Matters To Be Assessed.--The study under subsection 
(a) shall assess--
            (1) the factors or criteria used by the National 
        Institutes of Health to determine funding allocations 
        for disease research;
            (2) the process by which research funding decisions 
        are made;
            (3) the mechanisms for public input into the 
        priority setting process; and
            (4) the impact of statutory directives on research 
        funding decisions.
      (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the 
        date on which the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services enters into the contract under subsection (a), 
        the Institute of Medicine shall submit a report 
        concerning the study to the Committee on Labor and 
        Human Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of 
        the Senate, and the Committee on Commerce and the 
        Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives.
            (2) Requirement.--The report under paragraph (1) 
        shall set forth the findings, conclusions, and 
        recommendations of the Institute of Medicine for 
        improvements in the National Institutes of Health 
        research funding policies and processes and for any 
        necessary congressional action.
      This title may be cited as the ``Department of Health and 
Human Services Appropriations Act, 1998''.

                   TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


                            education reform


      For carrying out activities authorized by titles III and 
IV of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the School-to-Work 
Opportunities Act, and sections 3132, 3136, and 3141 and parts 
B, C, and D of title III of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, $1,275,035,000, of which $464,500,000 
for the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and $200,000,000 for 
the School-to-Work Opportunities Act shall become available on 
July 1, 1998, and remain available through September 30, 1999: 
Provided, That none of the funds appropriatedunder this heading 
shall be obligated or expended to carry out section 304(a)(2)(A) of the 
Goals 2000: Educate America Act, except that no more than $1,500,000 
may be used to carry out activities under section 314(a)(2) of that 
Act: Provided further, That section 315(a)(2) of the Goals 2000 Act 
shall not apply: Provided further, That up to one-half of one percent 
of the amount available under section 3132 shall be set aside for the 
outlying areas, to be distributed on the basis of their relative need 
as determined by the Secretary in accordance with the purposes of the 
program: Provided further, That if any State educational agency does 
not apply for a grant under section 3132, that State's allotment under 
section 3131 shall be reserved by the Secretary for grants to local 
educational agencies in that State that apply directly to the Secretary 
according to the terms and conditions published by the Secretary in the 
Federal Register: Provided further, That of the funds made available 
under section 3136, $5,000,000 shall be provided to the Hospitals, 
Universities, Businesses, and Schools program to develop a regional 
information infrastructure in the mid-Atlantic region, $7,300,000 shall 
be for the ``I Can Learn'' project to integrate technology into eighth 
grade algebra classrooms and $800,000 shall be provided for a distance 
education network involving a consortium of nine school districts and 
Nicolet Area Technical College: Provided further, That of the amount 
available for title III, part B of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, as amended, $8,000,000 shall be awarded to 
continue and expand the Iowa Communication Network statewide fiber 
optic demonstration project.


                    education for the disadvantaged


      For carrying out title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, and section 418A of the Higher Education 
Act, $8,021,827,000, of which $6,553,249,000 shall become 
available on July 1, 1998, and shall remain available through 
September 30, 1999, and of which $1,448,386,000 shall become 
available on October 1, 1998 and shall remain available through 
September 30, 1999, for academic year 1998-1999: Provided, That 
$6,273,212,000 shall be available for basic grants under 
section 1124: Provided further, That up to $3,500,000 of these 
funds shall be available to the Secretary on October 1, 1997, 
to obtain updated local-educational-agency-level census poverty 
data from the Bureau of the Census: Provided further, That 
$1,102,020,000 shall be available for concentration grants 
under section 1124A, $6,977,000 shall be available for 
evaluations under section 1501 and not more than $7,500,000 
shall be reserved for section 1308, of which not more than 
$3,000,000 shall be reserved for section 1308(d): Provided 
further, That grant awards under section 1124 and 1124A of 
title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act shall be 
made to each State or local educational agency at no less than 
100 percent of the amount such State or local educational 
agency received under this authority for fiscal year 1997 under 
Public Laws 104-208 and 105-18: Provided further, That in 
determining State allocations under any other program 
administered by the Secretary, amounts provided under Public 
Law 105-18, or equivalent amounts provided for in this Act, 
will not be taken into account in determining State 
allocations: Provided further, That $120,000,000 shall be 
available under section 1002(g)(2) to demonstrate effective 
approaches to comprehensive school reform to be allocated and 
expended in accordance with the instructions relating to this 
proviso in the statement of the managers on the conference 
report accompanying this Act: Provided further, That in 
carrying out this initiative, the Secretary and the States 
shall support only approaches that show the most promise of 
enabling children served by title I to meet challenging State 
content standards and challenging State student performance 
standards based on reliable research and effective practices, 
and include an emphasis on basic academics and parental 
involvement: Provided further, That such funds shall not be 
available for section 1503.


                               impact aid


      For carrying out programs of financial assistance to 
federally affected schools authorized by title VIII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, $808,000,000, 
of which $662,000,000 shall be for basic support payments under 
section 8003(b), $50,000,000 shall be for payments for children 
with disabilities under section 8003(d), $62,000,000, to remain 
available until expended, shall be for payments under section 
8003(f), $7,000,000 shall be for construction under section 
8007, and $24,000,000 shall be for Federal property payments 
under section 8002 of which such sums as may be necessary shall 
be for section 8002(j) and $3,000,000, to remain available 
until expended, shall be for facilities maintenance under 
section 8008: Provided, That section 8003(f)(2) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7709(f)(2)) is amended in clause (ii) in subclause (I) by 
striking ``35 percent'' and all that follows through the 
semicolon, and inserting the following: ``25 percent of the 
total student enrollment of such agency. For purposes of this 
subclause, all students described in section 8003(a)(1) are 
used to determine eligibility, regardless of whether or not a 
local educational agency receives funds for these children from 
section 8003(b) of the Act;''.
      The amendment made by this proviso shall apply with 
respect to fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 1996: 
Provided further, That the Secretary of Education shall treat 
as timely filed, and shall process for payment, an application 
for a fiscal year 1998 payment from the local educational 
agency for Boston, Massachusetts, under section 8003 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 if the Secretary 
has received that application not later than 30 days after the 
enactment of this Act: Provided further, That the Secretary of 
Education shall forgive any overpayments established for fiscal 
year 1994 under section 3(d)(2)(B) of the Act of September 30, 
1950 (Public Law 874--81st Congress), for any local educational 
agency in the State of Texas receiving funds appropriated for 
fiscal year 1994 under the authority of this section: Provided 
further, That section 8002 of the Elementary and Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7702) is amended by adding the following new 
subsection:
      ``(j) Additional Assistance for Certain Local Educational 
Agencies Impacted by Federal Property Acquisition.--
            ``(1) Reservation.--From amounts appropriated under 
        section 8014(g) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
        provide additional assistance to meet special 
        circumstances relating to the provision of education in 
        local educational agencies eligible to receive 
        assistance under this section.
            ``(2) Eligibility.--(A) A local educational agency 
        is eligible to receive additional assistance under this 
        subsection only if such agency--
                    ``(i) received a payment under both this 
                section and section 8003(b) for fiscal year 
                1996 and is eligible to receive payments under 
                those sections for the year of application;
                    ``(ii) provided a free public education to 
                children described under sections 
                8003(a)(1)(A), (B), or (D);
                    ``(iii) had a military installation located 
                within the geographic boundaries of the local 
                educational agency that was closed as a result 
                of base closure or realignment;
                    ``(iv) remains responsible for the free 
                public education of children residing in 
                housing located on federal property within the 
                boundaries of the closed military installation 
                but whose parents are on active duty in the 
                uniformed services and assigned to a military 
                activity located within the boundaries of an 
                adjoining local educational agency; and
                    ``(v) demonstrates to the satisfaction of 
                the Secretary that such agency's per-pupil 
                revenue derived from local sources for current 
                expenditures is not less than that revenue for 
                the preceding fiscal year.
            ``(3) Maximum amount.--(A) The maximum amount that 
        a local educational agency is eligible to receive under 
        this subsection for any fiscal year, when combined with 
        its payment under subsection (b), shall not be more 
        than 50 percent of the maximum amount determined under 
        subsection (b);
            ``(B) If funds appropriated under section 8014(g) 
        are insufficient to pay the amount determined under 
        subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall ratably reduce 
        the payment to each local education agency eligible 
        under this subsection;
            ``(C) If funds appropriated under section 8014(g) 
        are in excess of the amount determined under 
        subparagraph (A) the Secretary shall ratably distribute 
        any excess funds to all local educational agencies 
        eligible for payment under subsection (b) of this 
        section,'':

Provided further, That section 8014 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7714) is amended by 
adding the following new subsection:
      ``(g) Additional Assistance for Certain Federal Property 
Local Educational Agencies.--For the purpose of carrying out 
section 8002(j) there are authorized to be appropriated such 
sums as are necessary beginning in fiscal year 1998 and for 
each succeeding fiscal year.'':

Provided further, That of the funds available for section 8007, 
the Secretary shall, under such terms and conditions he 
determines appropriate, first provide $1,500,000 to applicant 
number 11-2815 and $1,500,000 to applicant number 36-4403 for 
the construction of public elementary or secondary schools 
where the current structures are unsafe and pose serious health 
threats to the students, if requests for funding and 
construction project descriptions are submitted to the 
Secretary within 30 days of enactment of this Act: Provided 
further, That notwithstanding any deadline established by the 
Secretary of Education under subsection (c) of section 8005 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7705), and without regard to paragraphs (1)(A), (2), and (3) of 
subsection (d) of that section, the Secretary shall accept, as 
if timely received, an application from the Maconaquah School 
Corporation, Bunker Hill, Indiana, under section 8003 of that 
Act for fiscal year 1996 if the Secretary has received that 
application not later than 30 days after theenactment of this 
Act: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the Secretary of Defense shall treat any data included in an 
application described in the preceding proviso, and that is approved by 
the Secretary of Education, as data to be used in determining the 
eligibility of the Maconaquah School Corporation, Bunker Hill, Indiana, 
for, and the amount of, a payment for any of the fiscal years 1998 
through 2000 under section 386 of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 1993: Provided further, That section 8 of Public 
Law 104-195 is amended by striking the period after ``year'' and adding 
the following: ``or, for fiscal year 1995 or fiscal year 1996, the 
amount of any payment under section 8003(f) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965'': Provided further, That the Secretary 
of Education shall deem the local educational agency serving the 
Clinton County School District in Albany, Kentucky, to meet the 
eligibility requirements of section 8002(a)(1)(C) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7702(a)(1)(C)).


                      school improvement programs


      For carrying out school improvement activities authorized 
by titles II, IV-A-1 and 2, V-A and B, VI, IX, X, and XIII of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; the Stewart 
B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act; and the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964; $1,538,188,000, of which $1,246,300,000 shall become 
available on July 1, 1998, and remain available through 
September 30, 1999: Provided, That of the amount appropriated, 
$335,000,000 shall be for Eisenhower professional development 
State grants under title II-B of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of which $25,000,000 shall be for professional 
development in reading, $350,000,000 shall be for innovative 
education program strategies State grants under title VI-A of 
said Act and $750,000 shall be for an evaluation of 
comprehensive regional assistance centers under title XIII of 
said Act: Provided further, That of the amount made available 
for Title IV-A-2, $350,000 shall be for the Yonkers Public 
Schools for innovative anti-drug and anti-violence activities.


                       child literacy initiative


                     (including transfer of funds)


      For carrying out a literacy initiative, $210,000,000, 
which shall become available on October 1, 1998 and shall 
remain available through September 30, 1999 only if 
specifically authorized by subsequent legislation enacted by 
July 1, 1998: Provided, That, if the initiative is not 
authorized by such date, the funds shall be transferred to 
``Special Education'' to be merged with that account and to be 
available for the same purposes for which that account is 
available: Provided further, That the transferred funds shall 
become available for obligation on July 1, 1999, and shall 
remain available through September 30, 2000 for academic year 
1999-2000.


                            indian education


      For expenses necessary to carry out, to the extent not 
otherwise provided, title IX, part A of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and section 215 of 
the Department of Education Organization Act, $62,600,000.


                   bilingual and immigrant education


      For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, 
bilingual, foreign language and immigrant education activities 
authorized by parts A and C and section 7203 of title VII of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, without regard to 
section 7103(b), $354,000,000: Provided, That State educational 
agencies may use all, or any part of, their part C allocation 
for competitive grants to local educational agencies: Provided 
further, That the Department of Education should only support 
instructional programs which ensure that students completely 
master English in a timely fashion (a period of three to five 
years) while meeting rigorous achievement standards in the 
academic content areas.


                           special education


      For carrying out the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act, $4,810,646,000, of which $4,565,185,000 shall 
become available for obligation on July 1, 1998, and shall 
remain available through September 30, 1999: Provided, That 
$1,500,000 of the funds provided shall be for section 
687(b)(2)(G), and shall remain available until expended.


            rehabilitation services and disability research


      For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, 
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Technology-Related 
Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act, and the Helen 
Keller National Center Act, as amended, $2,591,195,000.

           Special Institutions for Persons With Disabilities


                 american printing house for the blind


      For carrying out the Act of March 3, 1879, as amended (20 
U.S.C. 101 et seq.), $8,186,000.


               national technical institute for the deaf


      For the National Technical Institute for the Deaf under 
titles I and II of the Education of the Deaf Act of 1986 (20 
U.S.C. 4301 et seq.), $44,141,000: Provided, That from the 
amount available, the Institute may at its discretion use funds 
for the endowment program as authorized under section 207.


                          gallaudet university


      For the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the 
Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and the partial support of 
Galludet University under titles I and II of the Education of 
the Deaf Act of 1986 (20 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.), $81,000,000: 
Provided, That from the amount available, the University may at 
its discretion use funds for the endowment program as 
authorized under section 207.


                     vocational and adult education


      For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, 
the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education 
Act, the Adult Education Act, and the National Literacy Act of 
1991, $1,507,698,000, of which $1,504,598,000 shall become 
available on July 1, 1998 and shall remain available through 
September 30, 1999; and of which $5,491,000 from amounts 
available under the Adult Education Act shall be for the 
National Institute for Literacy under section 384(c): Provided, 
That, of the amounts made available for title II of the Carl D. 
Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act, 
$13,497,000 shall be used by the Secretary for national 
programs under title IV, without regard to section 451: 
Provided further, That the Secretary may reserve up to 
$4,998,000 under section 313(d) of the Adult Education Act for 
activities carried out under section 383 of that Act: Provided 
further, That no funds shall be awarded to a State Council 
under section 112(f) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and 
Applied Technology Education Act, and no State shall be 
required to operate such a Council.


                      student financial assistance


      For carrying out subparts 1, 3, and 4 of part A, part C 
and part E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 
amended, $8,978,934,000, which shall remain available through 
September 30, 1999.
      The maximum Pell Grant for which a student shall be 
eligible during award year 1998-1999 shall be $3,000: Provided, 
That notwithstanding section 401(g) of the Act, if the 
Secretary determines, prior to publication of the payment 
schedule for such award year, that the amount included within 
this appropriation for Pell Grant awards in such award year, 
and any funds available from the fiscal year 1997 appropriation 
for Pell Grant awards, are insufficient to satisfy fully all 
such awards for which students are eligible, as calculated 
under section 401(b) of the Act, the amount paid for each such 
award shall be reduced by either a fixed or variable 
percentage, or by a fixed dollar amount, as determined in 
accordance with a schedule of reductions established by the 
Secretary for this purpose: Provided further, That if the 
Secretary determines that the funds available to fund Pell 
Grants for award year 1998-99 exceed the amount needed to fund 
Pell Grants at a maximum award of $3,000 for that award year, 
the Secretary may increase the income protection allowances in 
sections 475(g)(2)(D), and 476(b)(1)(A)(iv) (I), (II), and 
(III) up to the amounts at which Pell Grant awards calculated 
using the increased income protection allowances equal the 
funds available to make Pell Grants in award year 1998-99 with 
a $3,000 maximum award, except that the income protection 
allowance in section 475(g)(2)(D) may not exceed $2,200, the 
income protection allowance in sections 476(b)(1)(A)(iv)(I) and 
(II) may not exceed $4,250, and the income protection allowance 
in section 476(b)(1)(A)(iv)(III) may not exceed $7,250.


             federal family education loan program account


      For Federal administrative expenses to carry out 
guaranteed student loans authorized by title IV, part B, of the 
Higher Education Act, as amended, $46,482,000.


                            higher education


      For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, 
parts A and B of title III, without regard to section 
360(a)(1)(B)(ii), titles IV, V, VI, VII, and IX, and part A, 
subpart 1 of part B, and part E of title X and title XI of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, part G of title XV of 
Public Law 102-325, the Mutual Educational and Cultural 
Exchange Act of 1961, and Public Law 102-423; $946,738,000, of 
which $13,700,000 for interest subsidies under title VII of the 
Higher Education Act shall remain available until expended: 
Provided, That funds available for part D of title IX of the 
Higher Education Act shall be available to fund new and 
noncompeting continuation awards for academic year 1998-1999 
for fellowships awarded under part C of title IX of said Act, 
under the terms and conditions of part C: Provided further, 
That from the funds made available under Part A of title X of 
the Higher Education Act, $1,000,000 shall be awarded to the 
Advanced Technical Center at Mexico, Missouri for the delivery 
of technical education in cooperation with community colleges 
and State technical schools and $3,000,000 shall be for the 
delivery of technical education and distance learning at Empire 
State College in New York.


                           howard university


      For partial support of Howard University (20 U.S.C. 121 
et seq.), $210,000,000: Provided, That from the amount 
available, the University may at its discretion use funds for 
the endowment program as authorized under the Howard University 
Endowment Act (Public Law 98-480).


         college housing and academic facilities loans program


      For Federal administrative expenses to carry out 
activities related to facility loans entered into under title 
VII, part C and section 702 of the Higher Education Act, as 
amended, $698,000.


 historically black college and university capital financing, program 
                                account


      The total amount of bonds insured pursuant to section 724 
of title VII, part B of the Higher Education Act shall not 
exceed $357,000,000, and the cost, as defined in section 502 of 
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, of such bonds shall not 
exceed zero.
      For administrative expenses to carry out the Historically 
Black College and University Capital Financing Program entered 
into pursuant to title VII, part B of the Higher Education Act, 
as amended, $104,000.


            education research, statistics, and improvement


      For carrying out activities authorized by the Educational 
Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 
1994, including part E; the National Education Statistics Act 
of 1994; section 2102 of title II, and parts A, B, I, and K and 
section 10601 of title X, and part C of title XIII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and 
title VI of Public Law 103-227, $431,438,000: Provided, That of 
the amount provided for section 10101 of part A of title X of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, $1,000,000 shall be 
awarded to the National Museum of Women in the Arts; $500,000 
shall be for enhanced teacher training in reading in the 
District of Columbia; $5,000,000 shall be for innovative 
learning opportunities for at-risk children at children's 
museums in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and museums in 
Chicago; $8,000,000 shall be for a demonstration of public 
school facilities repair and construction to the Iowa 
Department of Education; $350,000 shall be awarded to the White 
Plains City School District to expand an after school program; 
$100,000 shall be for the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 
library network; $55,000 shall be awarded to the St. Stephen 
Life Center in Louisville, Kentucky; and $25,000,000 shall be 
available to demonstrate effective approaches to comprehensive 
school reform to be allocated and expended in accordance with 
the instructions relating to this proviso in the statement of 
managers on the conference report accompanying this Act: 
Provided further, That the funds made available for 
comprehensive school reform shall become available on July 1, 
1998, and remain available through September 30, 1999, and in 
carrying out this initiative, the Secretary and the States 
shall support only approaches that show the most promise of 
enabling children to meet challenging State content standards 
and challenging State student performance standards based on 
reliable research and effective practices, and include an 
emphasis on basic academics and parental involvement: Provided 
further, That--
            (1) of the amount appropriated under this heading 
        and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
        Secretary of Education may award $1,000,000 to a State 
        educational agency (as defined in section 14101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 8801)) to pay for appraisals, resource studies, 
        and other expenses associated with the exchange of 
        State school trust lands within the boundaries of a 
        national monument for Federal lands outside the 
        boundaries of the monument; and
            (2) the State educational agency is eligible to 
        receive a grant under paragraph (1) only if the agency 
        serves a State that--
                    (A) has a national monument declared within 
                the State under the authority of the Act 
                entitled ``An Act for the preservation of 
                American antiquities'', approved June 8, 1906 
                (16 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) (commonly known as the 
                Antiquities Act of 1906) that incorporates more 
                than 100,000 acres of State school trust lands 
                within the boundaries of the national monument; 
                and
                    (B) ranks in the lowest 25 percent of all 
                States when comparing the average per pupil 
                expenditure (as defined in section 14101 of the 
                Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
                (20 U.S.C. 8801)) in the State to the average 
                per pupil expenditure for each State in the 
                United States.


                institute of museum and library services


      For carrying out subtitle B of the Museum and Library 
Services Act, $146,340,000.

                        Departmental Management


                         program administration


      For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, 
the Department of Education Organization Act, including rental 
of conference rooms in the District of Columbia and hire of two 
passenger motor vehicles, $341,064,000.


                        office for civil rights


      For expenses necessary for the Office for Civil Rights, 
as authorized by section 203 of the Department of Education 
Organization Act, $61,500,000.


                    office of the inspector general


      For expenses necessary for the Office of the Inspector 
General, as authorized by section 212 of the Department of 
Education Organization Act, $30,242,000.

                           GENERAL PROVISIONS

      Sec. 301. No funds appropriated in this Act may be used 
for the transportation of students or teachers (or for the 
purchase of equipment for such transportation) in order to 
overcome racial imbalance in any school or school system, or 
for the transportation of students or teachers (or for the 
purchase of equipment for such transportation) in order to 
carry out a plan of racial desegregation of any school or 
school system.
      Sec. 302. None of the funds contained in this Act shall 
be used to require, directly or indirectly, the transportation 
of any student to a school other than the school which is 
nearest the student's home, except for a student requiring 
special education, to the school offering such special 
education, in order to comply with title VI of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964. For the purpose of this section an indirect 
requirement of transportation of students includes the 
transportation of students to carry out a plan involving the 
reorganization of the grade structure of schools, the pairing 
of schools, or the clustering of schools, or any combination of 
grade restructuring, pairing or clustering. The prohibition 
described in this section does not include the establishment of 
magnet schools.
      Sec. 303. No funds appropriated under this Act may be 
used to prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary 
prayer and meditation in the public schools.


                          (transfer of funds)


      Sec. 304. Not to exceed 1 percent of any discretionary 
funds (pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act, as amended) which are appropriated for the 
Department of Education in this Act may be transferred between 
appropriations, but no such appropriation shall be increased by 
more than 3 percent by any such transfer: Provided, That the 
Appropriations Committees of both Houses of Congress are 
notified at least fifteen days in advance of any transfer.
      Sec. 305. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of 
Federal law, no funds provided to the Department of Education 
or to an applicable program (as defined in section 400(c)(1) of 
the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221(c)(1))), 
in this Act or in any other Act in fiscal year 1998, may be 
used to field test, pilot test, implement, administer or 
distribute in any way, any national tests.
      (b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to the 
Third International Math and Science Study or the National 
Assessment of Educational Progress.
      Sec. 306. (a) Study.--The National Academy of Sciences, 
in consultation with the National Governors Association, the 
National Conference of State Legislatures, the White House, the 
National Assessment Governing Board, and the Congress, shall 
conduct a feasibility study to determine if an equivalency 
scale can be developed that would allow test scores from 
commercially available standardized tests and State assessments 
to be compared with each other and the National Assessment of 
Educational Progress.
      (b) Report of Findings to Congress.--(1) The National 
Academy of Sciences shall submit a written report to the White 
House, the Committee on Education and the Workforce in the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Labor and Human 
Resources in the Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations 
of the House of Representatives and the Senate not later than 
September 1, 1998.
      (2) The National Academy of Sciences shall submit an 
interim report no later than June 15, 1998.
      Sec. 307(a). National Assessment Governing Board. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the exclusive 
authority over all policies, direction, and guidelines for 
developing voluntary national tests pursuant to contract 
RJ97153001 previously entered into between the United States 
Department of Education and the American Institutes for 
Research and executed on August 15, 1997, shall be vested in 
the National Assessment Governing Board established under 
section 412 of the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 
(20 U.S.C. 9011); Provided, That within 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Board shall review the national 
test development contract in effect on the date of enactment of 
this Act, and modify the contract as the Board determines 
necessary and not inconsistent with this Act or applicable 
laws: Provided further, That if the contract cannot be modified 
to the extent determined necessary by the Board, the contract 
shall be terminated and the Board shall negotiate a new 
contract, under the Board's exclusive control, for the tests, 
not inconsistent with this Act or applicable laws.
      (b) In carrying out its exclusive authority for 
developing voluntary national tests pursuant to contract 
RJ97153001, any subsequent contract related thereto, or any 
contract modification pursuant to subsection (a), the National 
Assessment Governing Board shall determine--
            (1) the extent to which test items selected for use 
        on the tests are free from racial, cultural or gender 
        bias;
            (2) whether the test development process and test 
        items adequately assess student reading and mathematics 
        comprehension in the form most likely to yield accurate 
        information regarding student achievement in reading 
        and mathematics;
            (3) whether the test development process and test 
        items take into account the needs of disadvantaged, 
        limited English proficient and disabled students; and
            (4) whether the test development process takes into 
        account how parents, guardians, and students will 
        appropriately be informed about testing content, 
        purpose and uses.
      Sec. 308. Study.--The National Academy of Sciences shall, 
not later than September 1, 1998, submit a written report to 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce in the House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Labor and Human Resources in 
the Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations in the House 
and Senate that evaluates all test items developed or funded by 
the Department of Education or any other agency of the Federal 
government pursuant to contract RJ97153001, any subsequent 
contract related thereto, or any contract modification by the 
National Assessment Governing Board pursuant to section 307 of 
this Act, for--
            (A) the technical quality of any test items for 4th 
        grade reading and 8th grade mathematics;
            (B) the validity, reliability, and adequacy of 
        developed test items;
            (C) the validity of any developed design which 
        links test results to student performance;
            (D) the degree to which any developed test items 
        provide valid and useful information to the public;
            (E) whether the test items are free from racial, 
        cultural, or gender bias;
            (F) whether the test items address the needs of 
        disadvantaged, limited English proficient and disabled 
        students; and,
            (G) whether the test items can be used for 
        tracking, graduation or promotion of students.
      Sec. 309(a). Study--The National Academy of Sciences 
shall conduct a study and make written recommendations on 
appropriate methods, practices, and safeguards to ensure that--
            (1) existing and new tests that are used to assess 
        student performance are not used in a discriminatory 
        manner or inappropriately for student promotion, 
        tracking or graduation; and
            (2) existing and new tests adequately assess 
        student reading and mathematics comprehension in the 
        form most likely to yield accurate information 
        regarding student achievement of reading and 
        mathematics skills.
      (b) Report to Congress.--The National Academy of Sciences 
shall submit a written report to the White House, the National 
Assessment Governing Board, the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce in the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
Labor and Human Resources in the Senate, and the Committees on 
Appropriations in the House and Senate not later than September 
1, 1998.
      Sec. 310. (a) The Federal Government shall not require 
any State or local educational agency or school to administer 
or implement any pilot or field test in any subject or grade, 
nor shall the Federal government require any student to take 
any national test in any subject or grade.
      (b) Nothing in section 309(a) shall be construed as 
affecting the National Assessment of Educational Progress or 
the Third International Math and Science Study.
      Sec. 311. No Federal, State or local educational agency 
may require any private or parochial school student, or home-
schooled individual, to take any pilot or field test developed 
under this Act, contract RJ97153001, or any contract related 
thereto, without the written consent of the parents or legal 
guardians of the student or individual.
      Sec. 312. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 
institution of higher education which receives funds under 
title III of the Higher Education Act, except for grants made 
under section 326, may use up to twenty percent of its award 
under part A or part B of the Act for endowment building 
purposes authorized under section 331. Any institution seeking 
to use part A or part B funds for endowment building purposes 
shall indicate such intention in its application to the 
Secretary and shall abide by departmental regulations governing 
the endowment challenge grant program.


                          (transfer of funds)


      Sec. 313. Notwithstanding any other provision of the 
Higher Education Act, $280,000,000 of the balances of returned 
reserves, formerly held by the Higher Education Assistance 
Foundation, that are currently held in Higher Education 
Assistance Claims Reserves, Treasury account number 91X6192, 
shall be transferred to Miscellaneous Receipts of the Treasury, 
within 60 days of enactment of this Act.


                               impact aid


      Sec. 314. (a) In General.--From funds made available to 
carry out section 3(d)(2)(B) of the Act of September 30, 1950 
(Public Law 874, 81st Congress) for fiscal year 1994 that 
remain after making 100 percent of the payments local 
educational agencies are eligible to receive under such section 
for such fiscal year, the Secretary of Education shall make 
payments to applicants for fiscal year 1996 pursuant to 
subsection (b).
      (b) Award Basis.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph 
        (2), the Secretary of Education shall make a payment to 
        each applicant in an amount that bears the same 
        relation to the total amount of remaining funds 
        described in subsection (a) as the number of children 
        who were in average daily attendance in the schools 
        served by the applicant for fiscal year 1996 bears to 
        the total number of all such children in the schools 
        served by all applicants for such year.
            (2) Special rule.--Any applicant that had less than 
        200 children in average daily attendance in the schools 
        served by the applicant for fiscal year 1996 shall 
        receive a payment under this section for fiscal year 
        1996 in an amount equal to not less than $175,000.
            (3) Data.--For purposes of computing payments under 
        this section, the Secretary of Education shall use data 
        that--
                    (A) was included in each applicant's 
                application for assistance under section 8003 
                of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
                of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703) for fiscal year 1996; 
                and
                    (B) is verified by the Secretary.
      (c) Definition of Applicant.--For purposes of this 
section, the term ``applicant'' means an applicant for 
assistance under section 8003 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 for fiscal year 1996 having 1 of the 
following applicant numbers for such year:
            (1) 51-0904.
            (2) 51-4203.
            (3) 51-1903.
            (4) 51-0010.
            (5) 51-0811.
            (6) 51-2101.
      Sec. 315. Section 10304 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
      ``(g) Tribally Controlled Schools.--Each State that 
receives a grant under this part and designates a tribally 
controlled school as a charter school shall not consider 
payments to a school under the Tribally Controlled Schools Act 
of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2507) in determining--
            ``(1) the eligibility of the school to receive any 
        other Federal, State, or local aid; or
            ``(2) the amount of such aid.''.
      This title may be cited as the ``Department of Education 
Appropriations Act, 1998''.

                       TITLE IV--RELATED AGENCIES

                      Armed Forces Retirement Home

      For expenses necessary for the Armed Forces Retirement 
Home to operate and maintain the United States Soldiers' and 
Airmen's Home and the United States Naval Home, to be paid from 
funds available in the Armed Forces Retirement Home Trust Fund, 
$68,669,000, of which $13,217,000 shall remain available until 
expended for construction and renovation of the physical plants 
at the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home and the United 
States Naval Home: Provided, That, notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, a single contract or related contracts for 
the development and construction at the United States Soldiers' 
and Airmen's Home, to include renovation of the Sheridan 
building, may be employed which collectively include the full 
scope of the project: Provided further, That the solicitation 
and contract shall contain the clause ``availability of funds'' 
found at 48 CFR 52.232-18 and 252.232-7007 Limitation of 
Government Obligation.

             Corporation for National and Community Service


        domestic volunteer service programs, operating expenses


      For expenses necessary for the Corporation for National 
and Community Service to carry out the provisions of the 
Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, as amended, 
$256,604,000.

                  Corporation for Public Broadcasting

      For payment to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 
as authorized by the Communications Act of 1934, an amount 
which shall be available within limitations specified by that 
Act, for the fiscal year 2000, $300,000,000: Provided, That no 
funds made available to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting 
by this Act shall be used to pay for receptions, parties, or 
similar forms of entertainment for Government officials or 
employees: Provided further, That none of the funds contained 
in this paragraph shall be available or used to aid or support 
any program or activity from which any person is excluded, or 
is denied benefits, or is discriminated against, on the basis 
of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex.

               Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service


                         salaries and expenses


      For expenses necessary for the Federal Mediation and 
Conciliation Service to carry out the functions vested in it by 
the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 171-180, 
182-183), including hire of passenger motor vehicles; and for 
expenses necessary for the Labor-Management Cooperation Act of 
1978 (29 U.S.C. 175a); and for expenses necessary for the 
Service to carry out the functions vested in it by the Civil 
Service Reform Act, Public Law 95-454 (5 U.S.C. chapter 71), 
$33,481,000, including $1,500,000, to remain available through 
September 30, 1999, for activities authorized by the Labor-
Management Cooperation Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C. 175a): Provided, 
That notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, fees charged, up to full-
cost recovery, for special training activities and for 
arbitration services shall be credited to and merged with this 
account, and shall remain available until expended: Provided 
further, That fees for arbitration services shall be available 
only for education, training, and professional development of 
the agency workforce: Provided further, That the Director of 
the Service is authorized to accept on behalf of the United 
States gifts of services and real, personal, or other property 
in the aid of any projects or functions within the Director's 
jurisdiction.

            Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission


                         salaries and expenses


      For expenses necessary for the Federal Mine Safety and 
Health Review Commission (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), $6,060,000.

        National Commission on Libraries and Information Science


                         salaries and expenses


      For necessary expenses for the National Commission on 
Libraries and Information Science, established by the Act of 
July 20, 1970 (Public Law 91-345, as amended by Public Law 102-
95), $1,000,000.

                     National Council on Disability


                         salaries and expenses


      For expenses necessary for the National Council on 
Disability as authorized by title IV of the Rehabilitation Act 
of 1973, as amended, $1,793,000.

                     National Education Goals Panel

      For expenses necessary for the National Education Goals 
Panel, as authorized by title II, part A of the Goals 2000: 
Educate America Act, $2,000,000.

                     National Labor Relations Board


                         salaries and expenses


      For expenses necessary for the National Labor Relations 
Board to carry out the functions vested in it by the Labor-
Management Relations Act, 1947, as amended (29 U.S.C. 141-167), 
and other laws, $174,661,000: Provided, That no part of this 
appropriation shall be available to organize or assist in 
organizing agricultural laborers or used in connection with 
investigations, hearings, directives, or orders concerning 
bargaining units composed of agricultural laborers as referred 
to in section 2(3) of the Act of July 5, 1935 (29 U.S.C. 152), 
and as amended by the Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947, as 
amended, and as defined in section 3(f) of the Act of June 25, 
1938 (29 U.S.C. 203), and including in said definition 
employees engaged in the maintenance and operation of ditches, 
canals, reservoirs, and waterways when maintained or operated 
on a mutual, nonprofit basis and at least 95 per centum of the 
water stored or supplied thereby is used for farming purposes: 
Provided further, That none of the funds made available by this 
Act shall be used in any way to promulgate a final rule 
(altering 29 CFR part 103) regarding single location bargaining 
units in representation cases.

                        National Mediation Board


                         salaries and expenses


      For expenses necessary to carry out the provisions of the 
Railway Labor Act, as amended (45 U.S.C. 151-188), including 
emergency boards appointed by the President, $8,600,000: 
Provided, That unobligated balances at the end of fiscal year 
1998 not needed for emergency boards shall remain available for 
other statutory purposes through September 30, 1999.

            Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission


                         salaries and expenses


      For expenses necessary for the Occupational Safety and 
Health Review Commission (29 U.S.C. 661), $7,900,000.

                  Medicare Payment Advisory Commission


                         salaries and expenses


      For expenses necessary to carry out section 1805 of the 
Social Security Act, $7,015,000, to be transferred to this 
appropriation from the Federal Hospital Insurance and the 
Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds.

                       Railroad Retirement Board


                     dual benefits payments account


      For payment to the Dual Benefits Payments Account, 
authorized under section 15(d) of the Railroad Retirement Act 
of 1974, $205,500,000, which shall include amounts becoming 
available in fiscal year 1998 pursuant to section 224(c)(1)(B) 
of Public Law 98-76; and in addition, an amount, not to exceed 
2 percent of the amount provided herein, shall be available 
proportional to the amount by which the product of recipients 
and the average benefit received exceeds $205,500,000: 
Provided, That the total amount provided herein shall be 
credited in 12 approximately equal amounts on the first day of 
each month in the fiscal year.


          federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts


      For payment to the accounts established in the Treasury 
for the payment of benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act 
for interest earned on unnegotiated checks, $50,000, to remain 
available through September 30, 1999, which shall be the 
maximum amount available for payment pursuant to section 417 of 
Public Law 98-76.


                      limitation on administration


      For necessary expenses for the Railroad Retirement Board 
for administration of the Railroad Retirement Act and the 
Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, $87,228,000, to be derived 
in such amounts as determined by the Board from the railroad 
retirement accounts and from moneys credited to the railroad 
unemployment insurance administration fund.


             limitation on the office of inspector general


      For expenses necessary for the Office of Inspector 
General for audit, investigatory and review activities, as 
authorized by the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, 
not more than $5,794,000, to be derived from the railroad 
retirement accounts and railroad unemployment insurance 
account: Provided, That none of the funds made available in any 
other paragraph of this Act may be transferred to the Office; 
used to carry out any such transfer; used to provide any office 
space, equipment, office supplies, communications facilities or 
services, maintenance services, or administrative services for 
the Office; used to pay any salary, benefit, or award for any 
personnel of the Office; used to pay any other operating 
expense of the Office; or used to reimburse the Office for any 
service provided, or expense incurred, by the Office: Provided 
further, That none of the funds made available in this 
paragraph may be used for any audit, investigation, or review 
of the Medicare Program.

                     Social Security Administration


                payments to social security trust funds


      For payment to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors 
Insurance and the Federal Disability Insurance trust funds, as 
provided under sections 201(m), 228(g), and 1131(b)(2) of the 
Social Security Act, $20,308,000.


               special benefits for disabled coal miners


      For carrying out title IV of the Federal Mine Safety and 
Health Act of 1977, $426,090,000, to remain available until 
expended.
      For making, after July 31 of the current fiscal year, 
benefit payments to individuals under title IV of the Federal 
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, for costs incurred in the 
current fiscal year, such amounts as may be necessary.
      For making benefit payments under title IV of the Federal 
Mine Safety and Health Act 1977 for the first quarter of fiscal 
year 1999, $160,000,000, to remain available until expended.


                  supplemental security income program


      For carrying out titles XI and XVI of the Social Security 
Act, section 401 of Public Law 92-603, section 212 of Public 
Law 93-66, as amended, and section 405 of Public Law 95-216, 
including payment to the Social Security trust funds for 
administrative expenses incurred pursuant to section 201(g)(1) 
of the Social Security Act, $16,160,000,000, to remain 
available until expended: Provided, That any portion of the 
funds provided to a State in the current fiscal year and not 
obligated by the State during that year shall be returned to 
the treasury.
      From funds provided under the previous paragraph, not 
less than $100,000,000 shall be available for payment to the 
Social Security trust funds for administrative expenses for 
conducting continuing disability reviews.
      In addition, $175,000,000, to remain available until 
September 30, 1999, for payment to the Social Security trust 
funds for administrative expenses for continuing disability 
reviews as authorized by section 103 of Public Law 104-121 and 
Supplemental Security Income administrative work as authorized 
by Public Law 104-193. The term ``continuing disability 
reviews'' means reviews and redeterminations as defined under 
section 201(g)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act, as amended, 
and reviews and redeterminations authorized under section 211 
of Public Law 104-193.
      For making, after June 15 of the current fiscal year, 
benefit payments to individuals under title XVI of the Social 
Security Act, for unanticipated costs incurred for the current 
fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary.
      For making benefit payments under title XVI of the Social 
Security Act for the first quarter of fiscal year 1999, 
$8,680,000,000, to remain available until expended.


                 limitation on administrative expenses


      For necessary expenses, including the hire of two 
passenger motor vehicles, and not to exceed $10,000 for 
official reception and representation expenses, not more than 
$5,894,040,000 may be expended, as authorized by section 
201(a)(1) of the Social Security Act, from any one or all of 
the trust funds referred to therein: Provided, That not less 
than $1,600,000 shall be for the Social Security Advisory 
Board: Provided further, That unobligated balances at the end 
of fiscal year 1998 not needed for fiscal year 1998 shall 
remain available until expended for a state-of-the-art 
computing network, including related equipment and non-payroll 
administrative expenses associated solely with this network: 
Provided further, That reimbursement to the trust funds under 
this heading for expenditures for official time for employees 
of the Social Security Administration pursuant to section 7131 
of title 5, United States Code, and for facilities or support 
services for labor organizations pursuant to policies, 
regulations, or procedures referred to in section 7135(b) of 
such title shall be made by the Secretary of the Treasury, with 
interest, from amounts in the general fund not otherwise 
appropriated, as soon as possible after such expenditures are 
made.
      From funds provided under the previous paragraph, 
notwithstanding the provision under this heading in Public Law 
104-208 regarding unobligated balances at the end of fiscal 
year 1997 not needed for such fiscal year, an amount not to 
exceed $50,000,000 from such unobligated balances shall, in 
addition to funding already available under this heading for 
fiscal year 1998, be available for necessary expenses.
      From funds provided under the first paragraph, not less 
than $200,000,000 shall be available for conducting continuing 
disability reviews.
      In addition to funding already available under this 
heading, and subject to the same terms and conditions, 
$290,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 1999, for 
continuing disability reviews as authorized by section 103 of 
Public Law 104-121, section 10203 of Public Law 105-33 and 
Supplemental Security Income administrative work as authorized 
by Public Law 104-193. The term ``continuing disability 
reviews'' means reviews and redeterminations as defined under 
section 201(g)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act as amended, and 
reviews and redeterminations authorized under section 211 of 
Public Law 104-193.
      In addition to funding already available under this 
heading, and subject to the same terms and conditions, 
$190,000,000, which shall remain available until expended, to 
invest in a state-of-art computing network, including related 
equipment and non-payroll administrative expenses associated 
solely with this network, for the Social Security 
Administration and the State Disability Determination Services, 
may be expended from any or all of the trust funds as 
authorized by section 201(g)(1) of the Social Security Act.
      In addition, $35,000,000 to be derived from 
administration fees in excess of $5.00 per supplementary 
payment collected pursuant to section 1611(d) of the Social 
Security Act or section 212(b)(3) of Public Law 93-66, which 
shall remain available until expended. To the extent that the 
amounts collected pursuant to such section 1616(d) or 212(b)(3) 
in fiscal year 1998 exceed $35,000,000, the amounts shall be 
available in fiscal year 1999 only to the extent provided in 
advance in appropriations Acts.


                      office of inspector general


                     (including transfer of funds)


      For expenses necessary for the Office of Inspector 
General in carrying out the provisions of the Inspector General 
Act of 1978, as amended, $10,164,000, together with not to 
exceed $38,260,000, to be transferred and expended as 
authorized by section 201(g)(1) of the Social Security Act from 
the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the 
Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund.
      In addition, an amount not to exceed 3 percent of the 
total provided in this appropriation may be transferred from 
the ``Limitation on Administration Expenses'', Social Security 
Administration, to be merged with this account, to be available 
for the time and purposes for which this account is available: 
Provided, That notice of such transfers shall be transmitted 
promptly to the Committee on Appropriations of the House and 
Senate.

                    United States Institute of Peace


                           operating expenses


      For necessary expenses of the United States Institute of 
Peace as authorized in the United States Institute of Peace 
Act, $11,160,000.

                      TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS

      Sec. 501. The Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education are authorized to transfer unexpended 
balances of prior appropriations to accounts corresponding to 
current appropriations provided in this Act: Provided, That 
such transferred balance are used for the same purpose, and for 
the same periods of time, for which they were originally 
appropriated.
      Sec. 502. 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. 503. (a) No part of any appropriation contained in 
this Act shall be used, other than for normal and recognized 
executive-legislative relationships, for publicity or 
propaganda purposes, for the preparation, distribution, or use 
of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, radio, television, 
or video presentation designed to support or defeat legislation 
pending before the Congress or any State legislature, except in 
presentation to the Congress or any State legislature itself.
      (b) No part of any appropriation contained in this Act 
shall be used to pay the salary or expenses of any grant or 
contract recipient, or agent acting for such recipient, related 
to any activity designed to influence legislation or 
appropriations pending before the Congress or any State 
legislature.
      Sec. 504. The Secretaries of Labor and Education are each 
authorized to make available not to exceed $15,000 from funds 
available for salaries and expenses under titles I and III, 
respectively, for official reception and representation 
expenses; the Director of the Federal Mediation and 
Conciliation Service is authorized to make available for 
official reception and representation expenses not to exceed 
$2,500 from the funds available for ``Salaries and expenses, 
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service''; and the Chairman 
of the National Mediation Board is authorized to make available 
for official reception and representation expenses not to 
exceed $2,500 from funds available for ``Salaries and expenses, 
National Mediation Board''.
      Sec. 505. Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
Act, no funds appropriated under this Act shall be used to 
carry out any program of distributing sterile needles or 
syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug.
      Sec. 506. Section 505 is subject to the condition that 
after March 31, 1998, a program for exchanging such needles and 
syringes for used hypodermic needles and syringes (referred to 
in this section as an ``exchange project'') may be carried out 
in a community if--
            (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
        determines that exchange projects are effective in 
        preventing the spread of HIV and do not encourage the 
        use of illegal drugs; and
            (2) the project is operated in accordance with 
        criteria established by such Secretary for preventing 
        the spread of HIV and for ensuring that the project 
        does not encourage the use of illegal drugs.
      Sec. 507. (a) Purchase of American-Made Equipment and 
Products.--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) Notice Requirement.--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.
      (c) Prohibition of Contracts With Persons Falsely 
Labeling Products as Made in America.--If it has been finally 
determined by a court or Federal agency that any person 
intentionally affixed a label bearing a ``Made in America'' 
inscription, or any inscription with the same meaning, to any 
product sold in or shipped to the United States that is not 
made in the United States, the person shall be ineligible to 
receive any contract or subcontract made with funds made 
available in this Act, pursuant to the debarment, suspension, 
and ineligibility procedures described in sections 9.400 
through 9.409 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations.
      Sec. 508. When issuing statements, press releases, 
requests for proposals, bid solicitations and other documents 
describing projects or programs funded in whole or in part with 
Federal money, all grantees receiving Federal funds included in 
this Act, including but not limited to State and local 
governments and recipients of Federal research grants, shall 
clearly state (1) the percentage of the total costs of the 
program or project which will be financed with Federal money, 
(2) the dollar amount of Federal funds for the project or 
program, and (3) percentage and dollar amount of the total 
costs of the project or program that will be financed by 
nongovernmental sources.
      Sec. 509. (a) None of the funds appropriated under this 
Act shall be expended for any abortion.
      (b) None of the funds appropriated under this Act shall 
be expended for health benefits coverage that includes coverage 
of abortion.
      (c) The term ``health benefits coverage'' means the 
package of services covered by a managed care provider or 
organization pursuant to a contract or other arrangement.
      Sec. 510. (a) The limitations established in the 
preceding section shall not apply to an abortion--
            (1) if the pregnancy is the result of an act of 
        rape or incest; or
            (2) in the case where a woman suffers from a 
        physical disorder, physical injury, or physical 
        illness, including a life-endangering physical 
        condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy 
        itself, that would, as certified by a physician, place 
        the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is 
        performed.
      (b) Nothing in the preceding section shall be construed 
as prohibiting the expenditure by a State, locality, entity, or 
private person of State, local, or private funds (other than a 
State's or locality's contribution of Medicaid matching funds).
      (c) Nothing in the preceding section shall be construed 
as restricting the ability of any managed care provider from 
offering abortion coverage or the ability of a State or 
locality to contract separately with such a provider for such 
coverage with State funds (other than a State's or locality's 
contribution of Medicaid matching funds).
      Sec. 511. Notwithstanding any other provision of law--
            (1) no amount may be transferred from an 
        appropriation account for the Departments of Labor, 
        Health and Human Services, and Education except as 
        authorized in this or any subsequent appropriation Act, 
        or in the Act establishing the program or activity for 
        which funds are contained in this Act;
            (2) no department, agency, or other entity, other 
        than the one responsible for administering the program 
        or activity for which an appropriation is made in this 
        Act, may exercise authority for the timing of the 
        obligation and expenditure of such appropriation, or 
        for the purpose for which it is obligated and expended, 
        except to the extent and in the manner otherwise 
        provided in sections 1512 and 1513 of title 31, United 
        States Code; and
            (3) no funds provided under this Act shall be 
        available for the salary (or any part thereof) of an 
        employee who is reassigned on a temporary detail basis 
        to another position in the employing agency or 
        department or in any other agency or department, unless 
        the detail is independently approved by the head of the 
        employing department or agency.
      Sec. 512. None of the funds made available in this Act 
may be used to enforce the requirements of section 
428(b)(1)(U)(iii) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 with 
respect to any lender when it is made known to the Federal 
official having authority to obligate or expend such funds that 
the lender has a loan portfolio under part B of title IV of 
such Act that is equal to or less than $5,000,000.
      Sec. 513. (a) None of the funds made available in this 
Act may be used for--
            (1) the creation of a human embryo or embryos for 
        research purposes; or
            (2) research in which a human embryo or embryos are 
        destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of 
        injury or death greater than that allowed for research 
        on fetuses in utero under 45 CFR 46.208(a)(2) and 
        section 498(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
        U.S.C. 289g(b)).
      (b) For purposes of this section, the term ``human embryo 
or embryos'' include any organisms, not protected as a human 
subject under 45 CFR 46 as of the date of the enactment of this 
Act, that is derived by fertilization, parthenogenesis, 
cloning, or any other means from one or more human gametes or 
human diploid cells.
      Sec. 514. (a) Limitation on Use of Funds for Promotion of 
Legalization of Controlled Substances.--None of the funds made 
available in this Act may be used for any activity when it is 
made known to the Federal official having authority to obligate 
or expend such funds that the activity promotes the 
legalization of any drug or other substance included in 
schedule I of the schedules of controlled substances 
established by section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
U.S.C. 812).
      (b) Exceptions.--The limitation in subsection (a) shall 
not apply when it is made known to the Federal official having 
authority to obligate or expend such funds that there is 
significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the 
use of such drug or other substance or that Federally-sponsored 
clinical trials are being conducted to determine therapeutic 
advantage.
      Sec. 515. None of the funds made available in this Act 
may be obligated or expended to enter into or renew a contract 
with an entity when it is made known to the Federal official 
having authority to obligate or expend such funds that--
            (1) such entity is otherwise a contractor with the 
        United States and is subject to the requirement in 
        section 4212(d) of title 38, United States Code, 
        regarding submission of an annual report to the 
        Secretary of Labor concerning employment of certain 
        veterans; and
            (2) such entity has not submitted a report as 
        required by that section for the most recent year for 
        which such requirement was applicable to such entity.
      Sec. 516. (a) Fees for Federal Administration of State 
Supplementary SSI Payments.--
            (1) Optional state supplementary payments.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 1616(d)(2)(B) of 
                the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1382e(d)(2)(B)) is amended--
                            (i) by striking ``and'' at the end 
                        of clause (iii); and
                            (ii) by striking clause (iv) and 
                        inserting the following:
            ``(iv) for fiscal year 1997, $5.00;
            ``(v) for fiscal year 1998, $6.20;
            ``(vi) for fiscal year 1999, $7.60;
            ``(vii) for fiscal year 2000, $7.80;
            ``(viii) for fiscal year 2001, $8.10;
            ``(ix) for fiscal year 2002, $8.50; and
            ``(x) for fiscal year 2003 and each succeeding 
        fiscal year--
                    ``(I) the applicable rate in the preceding 
                fiscal year, increased by the percentage, if 
                any, by which the Consumer Price Index for the 
                month of June of the calendar year of the 
                increase exceeds the Consumer Price Index for 
                the month of June of the calendar year 
                preceding the calendar year of the increase, 
                and rounded to the nearest whole cent; or
                    ``(II) such different rate as the 
                Commissioner determines is appropriate for the 
                State.''.
                    (B) Conforming amendment.--Section 
                1616(d)(2)(C) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1382e(d)(2)(C)) is amended by striking 
                ``(B)(iv)'' and insert ``(B)(x)(II)''.
            (2) Mandatory state supplementary payments.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 212(b)(3)(B)(ii) 
                of Public Law 93-66 (42 U.S.C. 1382 note) is 
                amended--
                            (i) by striking ``and'' at the end 
                        of subclause (III); and
                            (ii) by striking subclause (IV) and 
                        inserting the following:
            ``(IV) for fiscal year 1997, $5.00;
            ``(V) for fiscal year 1998, $6.20;
            ``(VI) for fiscal year 1999, $7.60;
            ``(VII) for fiscal year 2000, $7.80;
            ``(VIII) for fiscal year 2001, $8.10;
            ``(IX) for fiscal year 2002, $8.50; and
            ``(X) for fiscal year 2003 and each succeeding 
        fiscal year--
      ``(aa) the applicable rate in the preceding fiscal year, 
increased by the percentage, if any, by which the Consumer 
Price Index for the month of June of the calendar year of the 
increase exceeds the Consumer Price Index for the month of June 
of the calendar year preceding the calendar year of the 
increase, and rounded to the nearest whole cent; or
                    ``(bb) such different rate as the 
                Commissioner determines is appropriate for the 
                State.''.
                    (B) Conforming amendment.--Section 
                212(b)(3)(B)(iii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382 
                note) is amended by striking ``(ii)(IV)'' and 
                insert ``(ii)(X)(bb)''.
      (b) Use of New Fees To Defray the Social Security 
Administration's Administrative Expenses.--
            (1) Credit to special fund for fiscal year 1998 and 
        subsequent years.--
                    (A) Optional state supplementary payment 
                fees.--Section 1616(d)(4) of the Social 
                Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382e(d)(4)) is amended 
                to read as follows:
      ``(4)(A) The first $5 of each administration fee assessed 
pursuant to paragraph (2), upon collection, shall be deposited 
in the general fund of the Treasury of the United States as 
miscellaneous receipts.
      ``(B) That portion of each administration fee in excess 
of $5, and 100 percent of each additional services fee charged 
pursuant to paragraph (3), upon collection for fiscal year 1998 
and each subsequent fiscal year, shall be credited to a special 
fund established in the Treasury of the United States for State 
supplementary payment fees. The amounts so credited, to the 
extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations 
Acts, shall be available to defray expenses incurred in 
carrying out this title and related laws.''.
                    (B) Mandatory state supplementary payment 
                fees.--Section 212(b)(3)(D) of Public Law 93-66 
                (42 U.S.C. 1382 note) is amended to read as 
                follows:
      ``(D)(i) The first $5 of each administration fee assessed 
pursuant to subparagraph (B), upon collection, shall be 
deposited in the general fund of the Treasury of the United 
States as miscellaneous receipts.
      ``(ii) The portion of each administration fee in excess 
of $5, and 100 percent of each additional services fee charged 
pursuant to subparagraph (C), upon collection for fiscal year 
1998 and each subsequent fiscal year, shall be credited to a 
special fund established in the Treasury of the United States 
for State supplementary payment fees. The amounts so credited, 
to the extent and in the amounts provided in advance in 
appropriations Acts, shall be available to defray expenses 
incurred in carrying out this section and title XVI of the 
Social Security Act and related laws.''.
            (2) Limitations on authorization of 
        appropriations.--From amounts credited pursuant to 
        section 1616(d)(4)(B) of the Social Security Act and 
        section 212(b)(3)(D)(ii) of Public Law 93-66 to the 
        special fund established in the Treasury of the United 
        States for State supplementary payment fees, there is 
        authorized to be appropriated an amount not to exceed 
        $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, and such sums as may 
        be necessary for each fiscal year thereafter, for 
        administrative expenses in carrying out the 
        supplemental security income program under title XVI of 
        the Social Security Act and related laws.
      Sec. 517. Section 520(c)(2)(D) of the Departments of 
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997, is amended by striking 
``September 30, 1997'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``December 
31, 1997''.
      Sec. 518. None of the funds made available in this Act 
may be used to pay the expenses of an election officerappointed 
by a court to oversee an election of any officer or trustee for the 
International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
      Sec. 519. Subsection (k) of section 9302 of the Balanced 
Budget Act of 1997, as added by section 1604(f)(3) of the 
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, is repealed.

                       TITLE VI--OTHER PROVISIONS

      Sec. 601. The amount of the DSH allotment for the State 
of Minnesota for fiscal year 1998, specified in the table under 
section 1923(f)(2) of the Social Security Act (as amended by 
section 4721(a)(1) of Public Law 105-33) is deemed to be 
$33,000,000.
      Sec. 602. Notwithstanding section 1923(f)(2) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r-4(f)(2)) (as amended by 
section 4721(a)(1) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public 
Law 105-33; 111 Stat. 511)), the amount of the DSH allotment 
for Wyoming for fiscal year 1998 is deemed to be $67,000.


                      parkinson's disease research


      Sec. 603. (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as 
the ``Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act of 1997''.
      (b) Finding and Purpose.--
            (1) Finding.--Congress finds that to take full 
        advantage of the tremendous potential for finding a 
        cure or effective treatment, the Federal investment in 
        Parkinson's must be expanded, as well as the 
        coordination strengthened among the National Institutes 
        of Health research institutes.
            (2) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to 
        provide for the expansion and coordination of research 
        regarding Parkinson's, and to improve care and 
        assistance for afflicted individuals and their family 
        caregivers.
      (c) Parkinson's Research.--Part B of title IV of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:


                         ``parkinson's disease


      ``Sec. 409B. (a) In General.--The Director of NIH shall 
establish a program for the conduct and support of research and 
training with respect to Parkinson's disease (subject to the 
extent of amounts appropriated under subsection (e)).
      ``(b) Inter-Institute Coordination.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director of NIH shall 
        provide for the coordination of the program established 
        under subsection (a) among all of the national research 
        institutes conducting Parkinson's research.
            ``(2) Conference.--Coordination under paragraph (1) 
        shall include the convening of a research planning 
        conference not less frequently than once every 2 years. 
        Each such conference shall prepare and submit to the 
        Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Labor 
        and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Appropriations and the Committee on Commerce of the 
        House of Representatives a report concerning the 
        conference.
      ``(c) Morris K. Udall Research Centers.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director of NIH is 
        authorized to award Core Center Grants to encourage the 
        development of innovative multidisciplinary research 
        and provide training concerning Parkinson's. The 
        Director is authorized to award not more than 10 Core 
        Center Grants and designate each center funded under 
        such grants as a Morris K. Udall Center for Research on 
        Parkinson's Disease.
            ``(2) Requirements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--With respect to 
                Parkinson's, each center assisted under this 
                subsection shall--
                            ``(i) use the facilities of a 
                        single institution or a consortium of 
                        cooperating institutions, and meet such 
                        qualifications as may be prescribed by 
                        the Director of the NIH; and
                            ``(ii) conduct basic and clinical 
                        research.
                    ``(B) Discretionary requirements.--With 
                respect to Parkinson's, each center assisted 
                under this subsection may--
                            ``(i) conduct training programs for 
                        scientists and health professionals;
                            ``(ii) conduct programs to provide 
                        information and continuing education to 
                        health professionals;
                            ``(iii) conduct programs for the 
                        dissemination of information to the 
                        public;
                            ``(iv) separately or in 
                        collaboration with other centers, 
                        establish a nationwide data system 
                        derived from patient populations with 
                        Parkinson's, and where possible, 
                        comparing relevant data involving 
                        general populations;
                            ``(v) separately or in 
                        collaboration with other centers, 
                        establish a Parkinson's Disease 
                        Information Clearinghouse to facilitate 
                        and enhance knowledge and understanding 
                        of Parkinson's disease; and
                            ``(vi) separately or in 
                        collaboration with other centers, 
                        establish a national education program 
                        that fosters a national focus on 
                        Parkinson's and the care of those with 
                        Parkinson's.
            (3) Stipends regarding training programs.--A center 
        may use funds provided under paragraph (1) to provide 
        stipends for scientists and health professionals 
        enrolled in training programs under paragraph (2)(B).
            (4) Duration of support.--Support of a center under 
        this subsection may be for a period not exceeding five 
        years. Such period may be extended by the Director of 
        NIH for one or more additional periods of not more than 
        five years if the operations of such center have been 
        reviewed by an appropriate technical and scientific 
        peer review group established by the Director and if 
        such group has recommended to the Director that such 
        period should be extended.
      ``(d) Morris K. Udall Awards for Excellence in 
Parkinson's Disease Research.--The Director of NIH is 
authorized to establish a grant program to support 
investigators with a proven record of excellence and innovation 
in Parkinson's research and who demonstrate potential for 
significant future breakthroughs in the understanding of the 
pathogensis, diagnosis, and treatment of Parkinson's. Grants 
under this subsection shall be available for a period of not to 
exceed 5 years.
      ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose 
of carrying out this section and section 301 and title IV of 
the Public Health Service Act with respect to research focused 
on Parkinson's disease, there are authorized to be appropriated 
up to $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, and such sums as may 
be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1999 and 2000.''.
      Sec. 604. (a) Section 414(a) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1524(a)) is amended by striking 
``fiscal year 1995, fiscal year 1996, and fiscal year 1997'' 
and inserting ``each of fiscal years 1998 and 1999''.
      (b) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take 
effect October 1, 1997.
      Sec. 605. Subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 1143(a)(2) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-13(a)(2)(B), (C)) 
are each amended by striking ``employee'' and inserting 
``employer, employee,''.
      Sec. 606. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the payments described in subsection (b) shall not be 
considered income or resources in determining eligible for, or 
the amount of benefits under, a program or State plan under 
title XVI or XIX of the Social Security Act.
      (b) The payments described in this subsection are 
payments made by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to section 
657 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
1997 (Public Law 104-201; 110 Stat. 2584).
      Sec. 607. In addition to amounts otherwise made available 
for payment of obligations in carrying out 49 U.S.C. 5338(a), 
$50,000,000 shall remain available until expended and to be 
derived from the Highway Trust Fund: Provided, That $50,000,000 
shall be paid from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway 
Trust Fund to the Federal Transit Administration's formula 
grants accounts: Provided further, That subsection (c) of 
section 337 of the Department of Transportation and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 is amended by inserting after 
``House and Senate Committees on Appropriations'', the 
following: ``and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation''.
      Sec. 608. Clauses (i)(I) and (ii)(II) of section 
403(a)(5)(A) of the Social Security Act are amended by striking 
``during the fiscal year'' in each place it appears and 
inserting ``during the period permitted under subparagraph 
(C)(vii) of this paragraph for the expenditure of funds under 
the grant''.


                  emergency student loan consolidation


      Sec. 609. Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
``Emergency Student Loan Consolidation Act of 1997''.
      (a) References.--Except as otherwise expressly provided, 
whenever in this section an amendment or repeal is expressed in 
terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other 
provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 
section or other provision of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
      (b) Definition of Loans Eligible for Consolidation.--
Section 428C(a)(4) (20 U.S.C. 1078-3(a)(4)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as 
        subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 
        following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) made under part D of this title, 
                except that loans made under such part shall be 
                eligible student loans only for consolidation 
                loans for which the application is received by 
                an eligible lender during the period beginning 
                on the date of enactment of the Emergency 
                Student Loan Consolidation Act of 1997 and 
                ending on October 1, 1998;''.
      (c) Terms of Consolidation Loans.--Section 
428C(b)(4)(C)(ii) is amended--
            (1) in subclause (I), by inserting after 
        ``consolidation loan'' the following: ``for which the 
        application is received by an eligible lender before 
        the date of enactment of the Emergency Student Loan 
        Consolidation Act of 1997, or on or after October 1, 
        1998,'';
            (2) by striking ``or'' at the end of subclause (I);
            (3) by inserting ``or (II)'' before the semicolon 
        at the end of subclause (II);
            (4) by redesignating subclause (II) as subclause 
        (III), and
            (5) by inserting after subclause (I) the following 
        new subclause:
                            ``(II) by the Secretary, in the 
                        case of a consolidation loan for which 
                        the application is received by an 
                        eligible lender on or after the date of 
                        enactment of the Emergency Student Loan 
                        Consolidation Act of 1997 and before 
                        October 1, 1998, except that the 
                        Secretary shall pay such interest only 
                        on that portion of the loan that repays 
                        Federal Stafford Loans for which the 
                        student borrower received an interest 
                        subsidy under section 428 or Federal 
                        Direct Stafford Loans for which the 
                        borrower received an interest subsidy 
                        under section 455; or''.
      (d) Nondiscrimination in Loan Consolidation.--Section 
428C(b) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(6) Nondiscrimination in Loan Consolidation.--An 
        eligible lender that makes consolidation loans under 
        this section shall not discriminate against any 
        borrower seeking such a loan--
                    ``(A) based on the number or type of 
                eligible student loans the borrower seeks to 
                consolidate;
                    ``(B) based on the type or category of 
                institution of higher education that the 
                borrower attended;
                    ``(C) based on the interest rate to be 
                charged to the borrower with respect to the 
                consolidation loan; or
                    ``(D) with respect to the types of 
                repayment schedules offered to such 
                borrower.''.
      (e) Interest Rate.--Section 428C(c)(1) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence of subparagraph (A), by 
        striking ``(B) or (C)'' and inserting ``(B), (C), or 
        (D)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new 
        subparagraph:
            ``(D) A consolidation loan for which the 
        application is received by an eligible lender on or 
        after the date of enactment of the Emergency Student 
        Loan Consolidation Act of 1997 and before October 1, 
        1998, shall bear interest at an annual rate on the 
        unpaid principal balance of the loan that is equal to 
        the rate specified in section 427A(f), except that the 
        eligible lender may continue to calculate interest on 
        such a loan at the rate previously in effect and defer, 
        until not later than April 1, 1998, the recalculation 
        of the interest on such a loan at the rate required by 
        this subparagraph if the recalculation is applied 
        retroactively to the date on which the loan is made.''.
      (f) Amendments Effective for Pending applicants.--The 
consolidation loans authorized by the amendments made by this 
section shall be available notwithstanding any pending 
application by a student for a consolidation loan under part D 
of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087a et seq.), upon withdrawal of such application by the 
student at any time prior to receipt of such a consolidation 
loan.
      (g) Family Contribution for Dependent Students.--
            (1) Parents' available income.--Section 475(c)(1) 
        (20 U.S.C. 1087oo(c)(1)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of 
                subparagraph (D);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (E) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
                    ``(F) the amount of any tax credit taken by 
                the parents under section 25A of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986.''.
            (2) Student contribution from available income.--
        Section 475(g)(2) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of 
                subparagraph (C);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (D) and inserting ``;and''; and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the 
                following new subparagraph:
                    ``(E) the amount of any tax credit taken by 
                the student under section 25A of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986.''.
      (h) Family Contribution for Independent Students Without 
Dependents Other Than a Spouse.--Section 476(b)(1)(A) (20 
U.S.C. 1087pp(b)(1)(A)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (iv); 
        and
            (2) by inserting after clause (v) the following new 
        clause:
                            ``(vi) the amount of any tax credit 
                        taken under section 25A of the Internal 
                        Revenue Code of 1986; and''.
      (i) Family Contribution for Independent Students With 
Dependents Other Than a Spouse.--Section 477(b)(1) (20 U.S.C. 
1087qq(b)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
        (D);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of 
        subparagraph (E) and inserting ``;and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(F) the amount of any tax credit taken 
                under section 25A of the Internal Revenue Code 
                of 1986.''.
      (j) Total Income.--Section 480(a)(2) (20 U.S.C. 
1087vv(a)(2)) is amended
            (1) by striking ``individual, and'' and inserting 
        ``individual,''; and
            (2) by inserting ``and no portion of any tax credit 
        taken under section 25A of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986,'' before ``shall be included''.
      (k) Other Financial Assistance.--Section 480(j) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
      ``(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a tax credit taken 
under section 25A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall 
not be treated as estimated financial assistance for purposes 
of section 471(3).''.
      (l) In General.--Section 458(a)(1) (20 U.S.C. 
1087h(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``$532,000,000'' and 
inserting ``$507,000,000''.
      (m) Construction.--Nothing in this Act or an amendment 
made by this Act shall be construed to prohibit the Secretary 
of Education from using funds that are returned or otherwise 
recovered by the Secretary under section 422(g) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1072(g)) including the 
balances of returned reserve funds, formerly held by the Higher 
Education Assistance Foundation, that are currently held in 
Higher Education Assistance Foundation Claims Reserves, 
Treasury account number 91X6192, for expenditure for expenses 
pursuant to section 458 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087h).

                   TITLE VII--NATIONAL HEALTH MUSEUM

SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE.

      This title may be cited as the ``National Health Museum 
Development Act''.

SEC. 702. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR 
                    FISCAL YEAR 1995.

      Section 1067 of the National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 1995 (10 U.S.C. 176 note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by adding ``and'' at 
                the end;
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``; and'' 
                and inserting a period; and
                    (C) by striking paragraph (3);
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
                ``and Site of Facility'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``; and'' 
                and inserting a period;
                    (C) by striking paragraph (2); and
                    (D) by striking ``Pathology--'' and all 
                that follows through ``shall'' in paragraph (1) 
                and inserting ``Pathology shall''; and
            (3) by striking subsections (c) through (e).

SEC. 703. NATIONAL HEALTH MUSEUM SITE.

      (a) Site.--The facility known as the National Health 
Museum shall be located on or near the Mall on land owned by 
the Federal Government or the District of Columbia (or both) in 
the District of Columbia.
      (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
be construed as limiting the authority or responsibilities of 
the National Capital Planning Commission or the Commission of 
Fine Arts.
      (c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``the Mall'' 
means--
            (1) the land designated as ``Union Square'', United 
        States Reservation 6A; and
            (2) the land designated as the ``Mall'', United 
        States Reservations 3, 4, 5, and 6.

SEC. 704. NATIONAL HEALTH MUSEUM COMMISSION.

      (a) Establishment of Commission.--There is established a 
commission to be known as the National Health Museum Commission 
(hereafter referred to in this title as the ``Commission'') 
that shall be comprised of 8 members.
      (b) Membership.--
            (1) In general.--The members of the Commission 
        shall be appointed for the life of the Commission as 
        follows:
                    (A) 2 members shall be appointed by the 
                President.
                    (B) 2 members shall be appointed by the 
                Speaker of the House of Representatives.
                    (C) 1 member shall be appointed by the 
                Minority Leader of the House of 
                Representatives.
                    (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 
                Majority Leader of the Senate.
                    (E) 1 member shall be appointed by the 
                Minority Leader of the Senate.
            (2) Persons eligible.--The members of the 
        Commission shall be individuals who have knowledge or 
        expertise in matters to be studied by the Commission.
            (3) Chairperson.--The President shall designate 1 
        member as the Chairperson of the Commission.

SEC. 705. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

      (a) Study.--It shall be the duty of the Commission to 
conduct a comprehensive study of the appropriate Federal role 
in the planning and operation of the National Health Museum, as 
well as any other issues deemed appropriate to the development 
of the National Health Museum.
      (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
which the Commission first meets, the Commission shall submit 
to the President and Congress a comprehensive report of the 
Commission's findings and conclusions, together with any 
recommendations of the Commission.

SEC. 706. COMMISSION ADMINISTRATION MATTERS.

      (a) Application of FACA.--The National Health Museum, 
Inc. shall be responsible for administering all Commission 
activities in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act (5 U.S.C. App.)
      (b) Compensation of Members.--Each member of the 
Commission who is not an officer or employee of the Federal 
Government shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily 
equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for Level 
IV of the executive schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 
United States Code.

SEC. 707. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

      There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
section, $500,000 for fiscal year 1998, to remain available 
until expended.

SEC. 708. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.

      The Commission shall terminate 60 days after the 
Commission submits the report required under section 705(b).
      This Act may be cited as the ``Departments of Labor, 
Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 1998''.
      [And the Senate agree to the same.]

                                   John Edward Porter,
                                   Bill Young,
                                   Henry Bonilla,
                                   Dan Miller,
                                   Jay Dickey,
                                   Roger F. Wicker,
                                   Anne M. Northup,
                                   Bob Livingston,
                                   David Obey,
                                   Louis Stokes,
                                   Steny H. Hoyer,
                                   Nancy Pelosi,
                                   Nita M. Lowey,
                                   Rosa L. DeLauro,
                                 Managers on the Part of the House.

                                   Arlen Specter,
                                   Thad Cochran,
                                   Slade Gorton,
                                   Kit Bond,
                                   Judd Gregg,
                                   Larry E. Craig,
                                   Lauch Faircloth,
                                   Kay Bailey Hutchison,
                                   Ted Stevens,
                                   Fritz Hollings,
                                   Tom Harkin,
                                   Daniel K. Inouye,
                                   Dale Bumpers,
                                   Harry Reid,
                                   Herb Kohl,
                                   Patty Murray,
                                   Robert C. Byrd,
                                Managers on the Part of the Senate.
       JOINT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT OF THE COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE

      The managers on the part of the House and Senate at the 
conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the 
amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 2264) making 
appropriations for the Department of Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education and Related Agencies, and for other 
purposes, submit the following joint statement of the House and 
Senate in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon 
by the managers and recommended in the accompanying conference 
report.
      In implementing this agreement, the Departments and 
agencies should comply with the language and instructions set 
forth in House Report 105-205 and Senate Report 105-58.
      In the case where the language and instructions 
specifically address the allocation of funds, the Departments 
and agencies are to follow the funding levels specified in the 
Congressional budget justifications accompanying the fiscal 
year 1998 budget or the underlying authorizing statute and 
should give careful consideration to the items allocating 
specific funding included in the House and Senate reports. With 
respect to the provisions in the House and Senate reports that 
specifically allocate funds the conferees have reviewed each 
and have included those in which they concur in this joint 
statement.
      The conferees specifically endorse the provisions of the 
House Report (105-205) directing ``* * * the Departments of 
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and the Social 
Security Administration and the Railroad Retirement Board to 
submit operating plans with respect to discretionary 
appropriations to the House and Senate Committees on 
Appropriations. These plans, which are to be submitted within 
30 days of the enactment of this Act, must be signed by the 
respective Departmental Secretaries, the Social Security 
Commissioner and the Chairman of the Railroad Retirement 
Board.''
      The conferees expect the Departments and agencies covered 
by this directive to meet with the House and Senate Committees 
as soon as possible after enactment of the bill to develop a 
methodology to assure adequate and timely information on the 
allocation of funds within accounts within this conference 
report while minimizing the need for unnecessary and 
duplicative submissions.

                      TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

                 Employment and Training Administration

                    training and employment services

      The conference agreement appropriates $5,238,226,000, 
instead of $5,141,601,000 as proposed by the House and 
$5,260,053,000 as proposed by the Senate.
      The conference agreement provides that $250,000,000 for 
Opportunity Areas for Out-of-School Youth is appropriated as an 
advance appropriation for fiscal year 1999 if job training 
reform legislation specifically authorizing this type of at-
risk youth initiative is enacted by July 1, 1998. If such 
legislation is not enacted by that date, the funds will not 
become available. This is substantially similar to the Senate 
bill except that the Senate specified that the legislation must 
be enacted by April 1, 1998. The House bill appropriated 
$100,000,000 as an advance appropriation to be available for 
the period July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000 if specifically 
authorized by subsequent legislation. The conference agreement 
also includes $25,000,000 for this activity for fiscal year 
1998 under pilots and demonstrations.
      The agreement includes language authorizing the use of 
demonstration funds under title III of the Job Training 
Partnership Act (dislocated workers) for projects that provide 
assistance to new entrants in the workforce and incumbent 
workers as proposed by the Senate. The House had no similar 
language. In conjunction with this, the conferees concur in the 
Senate Report language with respect to a manufacturing 
technology training demonstration project.
      The agreement includes $9,000,000 for the National 
Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, instead of 
$5,000,000 as proposed by the House and $10,000,000 as proposed 
by the Senate. In addition, the agreement includes language 
proposed by the Senate that authorizes the National 
Occupational Information Coordinating Committee to charge fees 
for publications, training and technical assistance and 
provides that the fees collected shall be credited to the 
Committee and available without further appropriation for 
authorized activities of the Committee. The House had no 
similar language.
      The conference agreement includes $3,000,000 under 
national activities to assist States in meeting the costs of 
joining an existing labor market exchange network for providing 
job seekers with access to America's Job Bank by telephone. The 
agreement includes $12,500,000 under pilots and demonstrations 
for concentrated programs serving youth who are or have been 
under criminal justice system supervision and $2,000,000 to 
support training, education, employment, and entrepreneurial 
opportunities to improve the economic and social health and 
welfare of adults on the neighbor islands of Hawaii, and in 
Alaska. The conferees concur in the Senate Report language 
concerning the Samoan/Asian Pacific Island job training program 
in Hawaii. The conferees urge the Department to continue 
funding the Vietnam Veterans Leadership program which provides 
training and employment services to veterans in southwestern 
Pennsylvania. And the conferees urge the Department to give 
careful consideration to a proposal from a foundation to 
establish a community employment alliance to create public-
private partnerships to promote job opportunities for 
individuals making the transition from welfare to work. The 
conferees further encourage the Secretary to utilize the 
discretionary authority available to provide assistance for 
programs that will support the training needs of incumbent and 
dislocated workers in the shipbuilding industry (in 
southeastern Pennsylvania) where base closures have had a 
significant negative impact on the workforce.
      The Department of Labor should continue to examine 
options for serving more at-risk youth through Job Corps. In 
addition to considering the establishment of new Job Corps 
centers, the Department should also consider lower-cost options 
such as expanding slots at existing high performing centers and 
constructing satellite centers in proximity to existing high-
performing centers. In planning any expansion of Job Corps 
capacity, the Department should give priority to States that 
are now without a Job Corps campus and should also give 
priority to suitable facilities that can be provided to Job 
Corps at little or no cost, including facilities made available 
through military base closings. The conference agreement 
includes $4,000,000 for these purposes. The Department should 
include funds in its FY 1999 budget request to complete the 
facility expansion.
      The conferees are aware that employment-related skills 
development is an essential component of sustained recovery 
from addiction. From within the funds provided for pilots and 
demonstrations, the conferees urge the Secretary to collaborate 
with treatment providers who have successfully infused 
employment-related skills services into their recovery programs 
to design a curriculum which will successfully prepare addicts 
to make the transition from addiction to employment.

            community service employment for older americans

      The conference agreement appropriates $440,200,000 as 
proposed by the House instead of $453,000,000 as proposed by 
the Senate.

   statement unemployment insurance and employment service operations

      The conference agreement appropriates $3,495,928,000, 
instead of $3,478,928,000 as proposed by the House and 
$3,461,928,000 as proposed by the Senate. Included in the total 
is $200,000,000 for Year 2000 computer conversion costs, of 
which $40,000,000 is provided as an advance appropriation for 
fiscal year 1999. The Administration has informed the conferees 
that providing the funds in this manner is an appropriate way 
to finance these costs. The House bill included $183,000,000 
for this and the Senate bill included $150,000,000; neither 
bill included an advance appropriation for fiscal year 1999. 
For unemployment insurance contingency costs, the agreement 
includes $196,333,000 as proposed by the House instead of 
$212,333,000 as proposed by the Senate.

                         program administration

      The conference agreement appropriates $131,593,000, 
instead of $125,593,000 as proposed by the House and 
$129,593,000 as proposed by the Senate. Included in the total 
is $6,000,000 for administration of the new welfare-to-work 
program. The agreement also includes language providing that a 
majority of the new staff hired for this program will be 
limited term appointments.

                  Employment Standards Administration

                         salaries and expenses

      The conference agreement appropriates $300,653,000 as 
proposed by the Senate, instead of $299,000,000 as proposed by 
the House. The agreement includes language proposed by the 
House modified to set aside $500,000 in the Office of Labor-
Management Standards to begin the development of a system for 
the electronic filing of reports required to be filed under the 
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 and for a 
computer database of the information for each submission by 
whatevermeans that is indexed and easily searchable by the 
public through the Internet. The Senate had no similar provision.
      The conferees are concerned about the difficulty the 
public has obtaining full and complete information on these 
reports. Further, the conferees expect the Department to 
continue pursuing this project by including funding for it in 
future budget requests. As part of the FY 1999 hearing process, 
the Department should be prepared to present its multi-year 
implementation plan for this initiative to the Committees.
      The General Accounting Office is expected to review the 
Department's implementation plan and other activities to 
determine whether these efforts will achieve the goal of 
improving the timeliness, accuracy and availability of the 
information contained in the reports filed under the Labor-
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. The General Accounting 
Office shall report its findings to the Appropriations 
Committees after it has made its review.
      The conferees urge the Department to resolve by the end 
of the year all outstanding child labor issues relating to the 
Amish community. The Department needs to take into account the 
special needs of this community.
      The conferees are agreed that the Inspectors General of 
both the Department of Labor and the Social Security 
Administration shall prepare a joint report to the House and 
Senate Appropriations Committees relative to the Memorandum of 
Understanding between the agencies providing for DOL 
administrative services with respect to Part B of the Black 
Lung program. This report shall include narrative and 
statistical information concerning the number of beneficiaries 
served, benefits disbursed, quality of services provided, and 
an assessment of whether the objectives of the MOU to provide 
enhanced services at reduced costs are being achieved. The 
first report shall include activity from the date the MOU was 
signed to the end of fiscal year 1998 and shall be due to the 
Committees by April 30, 1999. Subsequent reports shall be due 
on April 30 of each year.

             Occupational Safety and Health Administration

                         salaries and expenses

      The conference agreement appropriates $336,480,000, 
instead of $336,205,000 as proposed by the House and the 
Senate.
      The House and Senate Reports included directives to OSHA 
field officers to facilitate compliance with the new methylene 
chloride standard. As a matter of clarification, the conferees 
note that the covered facilities are engaged primarily in 
furniture stripping, urethane foam manufacturing and urethane 
foam fabrication. Thus, the conferees intend the compliance 
assistance efforts by OSHA to extend to facilities with fewer 
than 150 employees in these industries.
      Public Law 105-62, the fiscal year 1998 Energy and Water 
Development Appropriations Act, transferred responsibility for 
administering the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action 
Program (FUSRAP) from the Department of Energy to the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers. The conferees are aware that the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration is concerned that 
the transfer of FUSRAP may have resource and programmatic 
implications for the agency. As outlined in House Report 105-
271, the conference report to accompany Public Law 105-62, 
fiscal year 1998 will be a year of transition as the program 
continues and DOE would maintain jurisdiction for safety and 
health within the existing contractual framework established by 
the Department ofEnergy. Any issues pertaining to the 
regulatory framework of the program will be identified during this 
transition period and will be addressed during the fiscal year 1999 
budget deliberations.

                 Mine Safety and Health Administration

                         salaries and expenses

      The conference agreement appropriates $203,334,000, 
instead of $199,159,000 as proposed by the House and 
$205,804,000 as proposed by the Senate.

                       Bureau of Labor Statistics

                         salaries and expenses

      The conference agreement appropriates $380,457,000 as 
proposed by the House instead of $372,671,000 as proposed by 
the Senate.

                        Departmental Management

                         salaries and expenses

      The conference agreement appropriates $152,535,000, 
instead of $152,481,000 as proposed by the House and 
$152,413,000 as proposed by the Senate. The conferees concur 
with the Senate Report language concerning Women's Bureau 
support for technical assistance and training on displaced 
homemaker programming.
      The conferees recognize the extreme shortage of available 
skilled labor in the maritime-related industries of south 
Louisiana. The conferees further recognize the billions of 
dollars that this industry contributes to this nation's 
economy. In an effort to protect the integrity of this 
important domestic market, the conferees strongly encourage the 
United States Department of Labor in conjunction with the 
Louisiana Department of Labor to work to devise an immediate 
solution to this problem.

        Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training

      The conference agreement includes $181,955,000 as 
proposed by both the House and Senate. The agreement includes 
$2,000,000 for the National Veterans Training Institute within 
the Federal administration activity as proposed by the House.

                      Office of Inspector General

      The conference agreement appropriates $46,250,000, 
instead of $45,750,000 as proposed by the House and $46,750,000 
as proposed by the Senate.

                           General Provisions

                      job corps salary limitation

      The conference agreement includes a general provision 
(section 101) limiting the use of Job Corps funds to pay the 
compensation of an individual at a rate not in excess of 
$125,000 as proposed by the Senate, instead of $100,000 as 
proposed by the House.

                          ergonomics-technical

      The conference agreement includes a general provision 
(section 104) as proposed by the House that restricts the use 
of funds for OSHA ergonomics standards and guidelines. The 
Senate bill contained essentially the same provision with only 
minor technical changes.

                        fair labor standards act

      The conference agreement includes a general provision 
(section 105) proposed by the Senate modified to amend the Fair 
Labor Standards Act to ensure that nonprofit organizations that 
deliver water for agricultural purposes are exempt from the 
maximum hour requirements of the Act if at least 90 percent of 
the water delivered by these organizations during the preceding 
calendar year was for agricultural purposes. The House bill 
contained no similar provision.

           TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

              Health Resources and Services Administration

                     health resources and services

      The conference agreement includes $3,618,137,000 instead 
of $3,607,068,000 as proposed by the House and $3,449,071,000 
as proposed by the Senate.
      The conference agreement does not include the legal 
citation for title XVI of the Public Health Service Act as 
proposed by the Senate. The House bill did not include the 
citation. The conferees have instead included bill language 
creating a broader authority to fund health care and other 
facilities construction and renovation projects.
      The conference agreement includes the legal citation for 
the Native Hawaiian Health Care program as proposed by the 
Senate. The House bill did not include the citation. The 
conferees believe that the health care activities funded under 
the Native Hawaiian Health Care program can be supported at the 
fiscal year 1997 level under the broader consolidated health 
centers line if the agency feels it is appropriate.
      The conference agreement includes $2,500,000 for 
facilities renovations at the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease 
Center as proposed by the House. The Senate bill did not 
include funding for this activity. Funds are necessary to 
complete renovations prior to the facility's transfer to the 
State of Louisiana.
      The conference agreement includes bill language 
identifying $203,452,000 for the family planning program 
instead of $208,452,000 as proposed by the Senate and 
$194,452,000 as proposed by the House.
      The conference agreement earmarks in bill language 
$285,500,000 for the Ryan White Title II State AIDS drug 
assistance programs rather than $217,000,000 as proposed by the 
Senate and $299,000,000 as proposed by the House. Total funding 
for the Ryan White programs has been increased by $153,948,000 
from the fiscal year 1997 level to a total of $1,150,200,000.
      The conferees commend the Department on the recent 
release of draft guidelines for the use of antiretroviral 
agents in treating HIV-infected individuals. These 
recommendations reflect the significant advances in treatment 
options for individuals with HIV disease that have resulted 
from the substantial investment in AIDS research. The conferees 
are concerned that policies adopted by some State AIDS Drug 
Assistance Programs (ADAP) are inconsistent with these new 
recommended standards of care. In particular, restricting 
access to recommended therapy options until late stage disease 
or until failure on suboptimal therapy, may actually predispose 
patients to failure once appropriate therapy is initiated. 
Therefore, the conferees direct the Secretary to work closely 
with State programs to ensure that ADAP policies within States 
are consistent with recognized standards of care.
      The conferees are concerned about the wide variation in 
State ADAPs and Medicaid policies regarding eligibility, 
benefits, and formularies. The conferees are also concerned 
about the wide variation in State contributions to funding of 
ADAPs and urge that States receiving more than $1,000,000 under 
the targeted formula match no less than twenty percent of the 
Federal contribution. The conferees direct the program to use 
all means necessary to reduce the purchase price of AIDS drugs 
and encourage HRSA to accelerate the award of 1998 program 
grants to help address the increased program needs that have 
been identified in the current program year.
      The conferees reiterate that Department of Veterans 
Affairs facilities are eligible to receive Ryan White Title I 
funding through local Title I health services planning 
councils. The conferees are concerned about recent attempts by 
agency contracting officials to deny funding for important HIV 
services provided at these facilities.
      The conference agreement includes language proposed by 
the Senate allocating up to $6,000,000 of the funds provided 
for consolidated health centers for loan guarantees totaling 
$80,000,000 for the construction and renovation of community 
and migrant health centers and for the costs of developing 
managed care networks. The House bill provided that $4,600,000 
could be used for loan guarantees totaling $53,300,000 only for 
the costs of developing managed care networks.
      The conference agreement includes bill language 
designating $103,863,000 of the funds provided for the Maternal 
and Child Health block grant for special projects of regional 
and national significance (SPRANS). This designation provides 
$3,000,000 more for SPRANS activities than would otherwise be 
the case under the statutory formula. The House and Senate 
bills had similar provisions. The conferees intend that this 
amount be used for the continuation of the traumatic brain 
injury State demonstration projects supported last year under 
this authority. The conferees also expect the agency to 
allocate $500,000 of the SPRANS set-aside to continue the 
fluoridation program begun last year in States with 
fluoridation levels below 25 percent.
      The conferees urge the agency to use SPRANS funding to 
initiate a one-year planning and development grant prior to a 
multi-year study examining research integration for children 
with special medical needs.
      The conferees are concerned about children with special 
health care needs and the ability of their families to obtain 
sufficient and appropriate health care for them in the current 
rapidly changing health care environment. The Secretary is 
urged to develop ongoing mechanisms for providing information 
and services to these families. Such mechanisms should enhance 
family efforts to make well-informed decisions and obtain 
appropriate health care for their children.
      The conferees concur with the Senate report language 
encouraging the use of block grant funds for screening infants 
for hearing loss.
      The conferees believe there are sufficient amounts within 
the SPRANS set-aside to support a multi-State demonstration 
project on ocular screening services for young children.
      Within the increase provided to the consolidated health 
centers line, the conferees expect the agency to allocate a 
sufficient amount of this increase to expand the Healthy 
Schools, Healthy Communities initiative. The conferees expect 
the agency to report to the Committees on the funding and 
status of the Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities initiative 
and other similar health centers no later than March, 1998.
      The conferees encourage the agency to strengthen its 
primary care partnerships with metropolitan public housing 
authorities and public health care provider organizations.
      The conferees encourage the agency to carefully examine 
existing models for 24-hour, bilingual community-based 
pediatric health clinics for high-risk, minority children which 
are linked with full-service pediatric hospitals which have 
formed public and private partnerships with foundations and 
local organizations to expand access touninsured and Medicaid 
eligible children. The conferees further encourage the agency to work 
collaboratively with pediatric hospitals with extensive experience in 
administering community-based clinics to expand these models to areas 
designated by the Public Health Service as medically underserved and to 
improve existing models in urban areas which provide clinical and 
supportive services to adolescents at risk for STDs, HIV infection, and 
early pregnancy, provide access to low-cost preventive and pediatric 
treatment services for chronic illness and provide outcomes research, 
parenting education and child abuse and neglect prevention and 
education.
      The conferees intend that the agency may use up to 
$3,000,000 of the funding provided for the National Health 
Service Corps (NHSC) for State offices of rural health.
      The conferees are concerned about the lack of geriatric 
medicine and geriatric psychiatry participation in the NHSC 
scholarship and repayment programs. The conferees encourage the 
NHSC to address this problem by providing recruitment, 
retention, and loan repayment incentives to those entering 
training programs in geriatric medicine and geriatric 
psychiatry.
      The conferees concur with language in the House report 
indicating that the Administration's budget request to transfer 
Hansen's disease research funding to the National Institutes of 
Health appropriation has not been approved.
      The conferees are aware that the Department is continuing 
to consider final rulemaking for the Organ Procurement and 
Transplantation Network (OPTN), which is operated under 
contract by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). As 
expressed in the fiscal year 1997 conference report, the 
conferees appreciate the complex nature of establishing 
equitable organ allocation policies and expect UNOS and the 
Department to continue to take into consideration a number of 
important factors, including, but not limited to, regional 
success in increasing organ donation, the need to increase the 
supply of organs available for transplantation, the need to 
provide a fair system to allocate organs, the impact on access 
to transplants for low and middle income individuals, patient 
waiting times and the severity of illness of patients awaiting 
a transplant. The conferees expect the Department to consult 
with and inform the Committees on Appropriations and the 
Congress prior to the promulgation of any OPTN or Departmental 
rulemaking on organ allocation policies.
      The conferees intend that funds provided for rural 
outreach grants be allocated for the two projects identified in 
the Senate report, as well as for a $750,000 telemedicine 
communication network linking the Melvin R. Laird Center to 
geographically remote sites; a $1,000,000 grant to a community 
health center in Franklin County, MA to establish a rural 
school-based health center network; and $1,500,000 to establish 
a technology-based ambulatory outreach demonstration that will 
improve the coordination and dissemination of health 
information to rural health sites through the use of a software 
package that provides on-line, real-time medical records 
access, education, scheduling and infrastructure linkages to a 
health network that includes multiple hospital and primary care 
sites.
      The conferees intend that funding provided for rural 
health research be allocated for the three projects identified 
in the Senate report.
      The conference agreement includes bill language 
designating a total of $28,000,000 for the construction and 
renovation of health care and other facilities. These funds are 
to be used for the facilities described in the Senate report, 
as well as for facilities for the Pulaski County, Kentucky 
health department; the Clearwater Free Clinic in Florida; the 
Tuskegee University Bioethics Center in Alabama; the National 
Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly at 
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; the Greater 
Houston Community Health Network in Houston, Texas; the Barbara 
Bush Children's Hospital of the Maine Medical Center; and 
construction and renovation associated with transition grants 
for small, rural hospitals in Iowa. The Senate bill provided 
$10,000,000 for facility construction; the House bill did not 
provide funding.
      The conferees concur with language contained in the House 
report indicating that total administrative costs for the 
agency as defined in the budget justification increase by no 
more than one percent from 1997 to 1998.

               Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

                disease control, research, and training

      The conference agreement includes $2,378,552,000 instead 
of $2,395,737,000 as proposed by the House and $2,368,113,000 
as proposed by the Senate.
      The conference agreement includes bill language 
designating $21,504,000 for Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) buildings and facilities instead of 
$23,007,000 as proposed by the Senate and $20,000,000 as 
proposed by the House.
      The conference agreement includes bill language 
designating $59,232,000 to be available to the National Center 
for Health Statistics under the Public Health Service one 
percent evaluation set-aside instead of $48,400,000 as proposed 
by the House and $70,063,000 as proposed by the Senate.
      The conference agreement includes bill language 
designating $51,000,000 for violence against women programs 
financed from the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund as 
proposed by the Senate instead of $45,000,000 as proposed by 
the House. The conference agreement includes the legal citation 
for the community demonstration programs as proposed by the 
Senate. The House bill contained the citation only for the 
State block grant program.
      The conferees are aware that States carried over 
$109,000,000 in immunization infrastructure funds from 1996 to 
1997 and that $60,000,000 to $65,000,000 is estimated to be 
carried over at the end of calendar year 1997. The conferees 
urge CDC to work with the States to reduce these carryover 
amounts so that the resources provided by Congress can be used 
as intended for important immunization activities.
      The conferees concur in language contained in the Senate 
report regarding promising research on plant-delivered oral 
vaccines being undertaken at the Thomas Jefferson University 
Center for Biomedical Research. The conferees note other 
promising research being conducted at the Center involving the 
treatment and diagnosis of hepatitis B and C viruses and 
glycoprocessing inhibitors. The conferees encourage the 
Director to give consideration to supporting these important 
areas of research.
      The conferees concur with Senate report language 
indicating that funds are included within the AIDS program line 
to maintain and strengthen hemophilia and other hematologic 
program activities.
      The conference agreement includes $113,671,000 for the 
sexually transmitted diseases program, a $7,468,000 increase 
over fiscal year 1997, to provide increases for both the 
chlamydia prevention program and the syphilis in the South 
initiative.
      The conference agreement includes $34,097,000 over the 
Administration request for the following chronic and 
environmental disease prevention program priorities: 
pfiesteria; the diabetes prevention and control priorities 
mentioned in the House and Senate reports; cancer registries; 
birth defects; cardiovascular disease; limb loss; the health 
effects of radioactive fallout; the health effects of 
inadequate provision of safe drinking water in remote arctic 
communities; oral health activities; and prevention of iron 
overload diseases. The conferees urge CDC to give consideration 
to integrating multiple cancer registries within a single 
State. The conference agreement supports increases above the 
1997 level for tobacco control programs.
      The conferees are aware of current conditions in eastern 
seaboard waterways that have triggered the microorganism 
pfiesteria or pfiesteria-like organisms to convert into at 
least 24 different forms, some of which are toxic. Several of 
these forms have led to fish kills of over a billion in North 
Carolina and in the tens of thousands in Maryland. The human 
effects may include skin lesions, respiratory problems, memory 
loss, and immune system suppression. The CDC is in a unique 
position to lead the public health response to the emerging 
threat of human exposure to this newly identified estuarine 
toxin. The conferees have provided an increase within the 
chronic and environmental disease program to support the 
development of a multi-State plan to address the public health 
impact of pfiesteria and pfiesteria-like conditions in the 
seven most impacted States, presently Maryland, Delaware, 
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. 
The conferees expect that the funding will be used to develop 
and implement a multi-State disease surveillance system that 
will identify and monitor health effects in people who may have 
been exposed to estuarine waters likely to contain pfiesteria 
or pfiesteria-like organisms, to initiate case-control studies 
when new incidents of illness purported to be due to exposure 
to the toxin are identified, and to develop a biological test 
of human exposure so that when the structure of this toxin is 
identified, a rapid response can be assembled between the CDC 
and State health departments. In distributing these funds, the 
conferees expect the CDC to give priority to those State health 
departments which have documented human health cases related to 
pfiesteria or pfiesteria-like conditions.
      The conferees concur with the House report language 
regarding the need for a comprehensive cardiovascular program, 
with particular emphasis on risk factors and the promotion of 
healthy behaviors. The conferees are aware of the capabilities 
of a number of foundations in the areas of ischemic injury and 
preventive measures to reduce cardiovascular disease, and 
encourage CDC to include these groups in the development of its 
cardiovascular program.
      The conferees support the recent effort by CDC to develop 
a national plan for addressing the large and growing public 
health problem of arthritis. The conferees encourage CDC to 
continue to expand the arthritis knowledge base necessary to 
better identify an appropriate public health response for the 
nation's leading cause of disability.
      The conference agreement provides increases above the 
1997 level within the infectious disease program for Lyme 
disease, food safety, and emerging and reemerging infectious 
diseases. The conferees expect the 1997 funding level for the 
H. pylori public education program to be maintained in 1998 to 
complete the project.
      The conferees encouraged the CDC as part of the food 
safety initiative outlined in the budget request to consider 
supporting applied research to improve the reliability and 
effectiveness of electronic pasteurization to reduce food borne 
diseases. The conferees are particularly concerned about recent 
reports of E. coli and encourage the CDC to enhance its focus 
on improving public health strategies to better educate the 
public and improve the prevention of foodborne diseases such as 
E. coli.
      The conferees concur with the Senate report language 
concerning the need to recognize thalassemia patients in the 
implementation of improved blood safety plans.
      The conference agreement provides increases above the 
1997 level for the following activities within the injury 
control program: fire injury prevention; community-based 
strategies against youth violence and suicide; domestic 
violence prevention; traumatic brain injury; suicide prevention 
among the elderly; and prevention of accidental injury among 
older Americans.
      The conference agreement provides increases above the 
1997 level for occupational safety and health for the following 
activities: intramural research at the Morgantown, West 
Virginia facility; the fire fighter safety initiative; and the 
national occupational research agenda.
      The conferees are pleased with the progress made in the 
national health nutrition examination survey (NHANES). Within 
the funds made available to the National Center for Health 
Statistics, sufficient funds are included to fully fund this 
important survey at the requested level.
      The conferees encourage the CDC to develop a plan of 
action to ascertain whether children of mothers exposed to 
environmental contaminants may be experiencing adverse health 
effects, including childhood cancers, birth defects, and 
neurobehavioral disorders. The conferees encourage the CDC to 
build upon relevant ongoing studies when formulating this plan 
of action.
      The conferees concur with House report language 
indicating that CDC administrative costs as defined in the 
budget justification should not increase by more than one 
percent from 1997 to 1998.

                     National Institutes of Health

                       national cancer institute

      The conference agreement includes $2,547,314,000 instead 
of $2,513,020,000 as proposed by the House and $2,558,377,000 
as proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees are aware of the extraordinary research 
opportunities that exist in cancer genetics, preclinical models 
of cancer, detection technologies, developmental diagnostics 
and investigator-initiated research. Millions of Americans are 
alive today as a result of progress in cancer research. These 
advances have allowed Congress to address the critical role of 
early detection for breast and cervical cancer, colorectal 
cancer and prostate cancer in Medicare. While working within 
difficult budget constraints, the conferees have sought to 
respond to the cancer research challenge. Twenty-five years 
have passed since the passage of the National Cancer Act, and 
it is now time to take full advantage of the unparalleled 
scientific opportunities in cancer prevention, detection, and 
treatment.
      The conferees are aware of the unique research resources 
available within the network of bone marrow transplantation 
centers that are associated with the National Bone Marrow Donor 
Registry. Advances in medical technology provide new 
opportunities to utilize these resources to clinically evaluate 
innovative therapies that have the potential to decrease the 
toxicity and side effects experienced by bone marrow donor 
recipients. Accordingly the conferees request the Institute to 
provide a report to the Committee prior to the consideration of 
next's year's request on a proposal to collaborate with the 
National Bone Marrow Donor Program and its network of 
transplant centers for this purpose.
      The conferees encourage the Institute to participate in 
the hepatitis C research initiative recommended by the March 
1997 consensus conference.

                National heart, lung and blood institute

      The conference agreement includes $1,531.061,000 instead 
of $1,513,004,000 as proposed by the House and $1,539,989,000 
as proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees concur with the Senate report language 
concerning the possible development of a network of 
collaborative clinical centers to study the effectiveness of 
new clinical interventions for Cooley's anemia.
      The conferees encourage the Institute to participate in 
the hepatitis C research initiative recommended by the March 
1997 consensus conference.

                 national institute of dental research

      The conference agreement includes $209,415,000 instead of 
$209,403,000 as proposed by the House and $211,611,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.

    national institute of diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases

      The conference agreement includes $873,860,000 instead of 
$874,337,000 as proposed by the House and $883,321,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees concur with the Senate report language 
concerning the need for iron measurement and chelation research 
related to Cooley's anemia.
      The conferees are concerned about treatments for the 
consequences of E. coli infections and request that the 
Institute prepare and submit a report by January 15, 1998 
outlining the present scientific consensus on medical 
treatments for E. coli and other foodborne infections and 
setting forth additional research that should be pursued in 
this area.

        national institute of neurological disorders and stroke

      The conference agreement includes $780,713,000 instead of 
$763,325,000 as proposed by the House and $781,351,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees understand from NIH that sufficient funds 
are available within the amounts provided for the Institute to 
expand research on Parkinson's disease.
      Approximately 2,500,000 people suffer from epilepsy, a 
chronic brain disorder characterized by spontaneous, recurrent 
seizures which, in a substantial number of cases, cannot be 
controlled. The conferees encourage the Institute to enhance 
its research in the field of epilepsy to take advantage of new 
scientific opportunities in genetics, brain imaging and 
surgery, and clinical trials.

         national institute of allergy and infectious diseases

      The conference agreement includes $1,351,655,000 instead 
of $1,339,459,000 as proposed by the House and $1,359,688,000 
as proposed by the Senate.

             national institute of general medical sciences

      The conference agreement includes $1,065,947,000 instead 
of $1,047,963,000 as proposed by the House and $1,058,969,000 
as proposed by the Senate.

        national institute of child health and human development

      The conference agreement includes $674,766,000 instead of 
$666,682,000 as proposed by the House and $676,870,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees concur with the Senate report language 
indicating that the Director of the Institute should be take 
the lead in convening the national panel to assess the status 
of research-based knowledge on the effectiveness of various 
approaches of teaching children to read.
      The conferees encourage the Institute to support research 
in the area of brain development, mechanisms that underlie 
learning and memory, the acquisition and storage of information 
in the nervous system, and the neural processes underlying 
emotional memories as they relate to intellectual development 
and cognitive growth.
      The conferees encourage the Institute to carry out 
research on the prevalence, causes and treatment of vulvodynia.

                         National Eye Institute

      The conference agreement includes $355,691,000 instead of 
$354,032,000 as proposed by the House and $357,695,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.

          National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

      The conference agreement includes $330,108,000 instead of 
$328,583,000 as proposed by the House and $331,969,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees encourage the Institute to conduct research 
into the physiologic and pathologic effects of exposure to the 
pfiesteria organism.
      The conferees concur in the language in the House and 
Senate reports regarding the Institute's involvement in World 
Expo '98.

                      National Institute on Aging

      The conference agreement includes $519,279,000 instead of 
$509,811,000 as proposed by the House and $520,705,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.

 national institute of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases

      The conference agreement includes $274,760,000 instead of 
$269,807,000 as proposed by the House and $272,631,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees understand that the Institute has recently 
reduced the number of Specialized Centers of Research (SCORs) 
in Osteoporosis from three to one and that these centers play 
an important role in the translation of research findings to 
patient care. The conferees urge the Institute to review the 
impact this decision may have on osteoporosis research 
specifically and on the rapid transfer of research to treatment 
and to consider taking steps that ensure adequate support of 
translational research, including the restoration of funding 
for the full SCOR program. In addition, the conferees 
understand that important strides have been made with the 
establishment of an osteoporosis and related bone disease 
national clearinghouse center. The conferees encourage the 
Institute to continue this initiative and to give consideration 
to strengthening its support for the center's activities in 
order to allow broader information services.

    national institute of deafness and other communication disorders

      The conference agreement includes $200,695,000 instead of 
$198,373,000 as proposed by the House and $200,428,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.

                 national institute on nursing research

      The conference agreement includes $63,597,000 instead of 
$62,451,000 as proposed by the House and $64,016,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.

           national institute of alcohol abuse and alcoholism

      The conference agreement includes $227,175,000 instead of 
$226,205,000 as proposed by the House and $228,585,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.

                    national institute on drug abuse

      The conference agreement includes $527,175,000 instead of 
$525,641,000 as proposed by the House and $531,751,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees encourage the Institute to participate in 
the hepatitis C research initiative recommended by the March 
1997 consensus conference.

                  national institute of mental health

      The conference agreement includes $750,241,000 instead of 
$744,235,000 as proposed by the House and $753,334,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.

                national human genome research institute

      The conference agreement includes $217,704,000 instead of 
$211,772,000 as proposed by the House and $218,851,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.

                 national center for research resources

      The conference agreement includes $453,883,000 instead of 
$436,961,000 as proposed by the House and $455,805,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees are aware of concerns regarding shortages 
in the available supply of human cell cultures used in disease 
and drug therapy research in Federal and private sector 
laboratories. The conferees understand that the Coriell 
Institute for Medical Research is in the process of expanding 
its cell culture storage capacity and urge the Center to give 
full and fair consideration to an application from the 
Institute.

                  John E. Fogarty International Center

      The conference agreement includes $28,289,000 instead of 
$27,620,000 as proposed by the House and $28,468,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.

                      National Library of Medicine

      The conference agreement includes $161,185,000 instead of 
$161,171,000 as proposed by the House and $162,825,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees understand from the NIH that they intend to 
provide a $7,000,000 increase for high performance computing 
and communications within the total provided for the Library.

                         office of the director

                     (including transfer of funds)

      The conference agreement includes $296,373,000 instead of 
$298,339,000 as proposed by the House and $292,196,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conference agreement includes a designation in bill 
language of $40,536,000 for the operations of the Office of 
AIDS Research. The Senate bill designated $40,266,000 for the 
Office; the House bill had no similar provision. The conferees 
understand that within the total funding for NIH provided in 
the conference agreement, NIH would intend to spend 
$1,595,453,000 on AIDS research. The conferees understand that 
this total may be modified depending on changing scientific 
opportunities and the recommendations of various advisory 
bodies.
      The conference agreement includes a designation in bill 
language of $20,000,000 for the Office of Alternative Medicine. 
The Senate bill designated $13,000,000 for this activity. The 
House bill contained no similar provision. The conference 
agreement also includes language not included in either the 
House or Senate bill providing that not less than $7,000,000 of 
the $20,000,000 made available for the Office of Alternative 
Medicine shall be for peer reviewed complementary and 
alternative medicine research grants and contracts that respond 
to program announcements and requests for proposals issued by 
the Office. The conferees encourage the Office to use these 
mechanisms to solicit and support high quality clinical trials 
that will validate promising alternative and complementary 
medicine therapies. The conferees understand that the Office 
has existing authority to issue program announcements and 
requests for proposals.
      The conference agreement includes bill language 
permitting the National Foundation for Biomedical Research to 
transfer funds to the National Institutes of Health. The House 
and Senate bills had no similar provision.
      The conferees understand from the NIH that within the 
total funding provided for the various Institutes, centers and 
divisions the NIH estimates it will support $38,500,000 in 
funding for the pediatric research initiative. These funds are 
made available directly to the Institutes through the NIH Areas 
of Special Emphasis, which target those areas of research 
opportunity most likely to yield greater returns on the Federal 
investment in biomedical research. The conferees expect the 
Director to provide overall leadership for and coordination of 
these research activities.
      The conferees understand from the NIH that within the 
total funding provided for the various Institutes, centers and 
divisions the NIH estimates it will support $22,000,000 in 
funding for the neurodegenerative disease initiative. These 
funds are allocated directly to the Institutes through the NIH 
Areas of Special Emphasis. The Director will provide overall 
leadership for and coordination of these research activities. 
The conferees note that the research focused on the biology of 
brain disorders in highlighted in the NIH Areas of Special 
Emphasis to denote areas of high priority research that will 
yield a greater return on the Federal investment in biomedical 
research. The conferees believe that in addition to brain 
disorders, research in neurodegenerative disorders should 
receive special attention. The recent discovery of a genetic 
abnormality that causes some cases of Parkinson's disease 
demonstrates the promise of intensified research on 
neurodegenerative disorders.
      The conferees are concerned about treatments for the 
consequences of E. coli and other foodborne infections and 
request the Director to consider using available funds for high 
priority research in this area.
      The conferees are concerned by the delays in initiating 
the study on the status and funding of research on cancer among 
minorities and the medically underserved. The conferees expect 
all components of the NIH to give higher priority and full 
cooperation to this study as well as timely access to requested 
data to enable the Institute of Medicine to complete the study 
in an expeditious fashion. The conferees continue to place high 
priority on this effort and request that the Director be 
prepared to report on the study's progress during the hearings 
on the fiscal year 1999 budget request.
      The conferees believe that minority programs at NIH 
should be supported at a level commensurate with the increases 
provided for NIH as a whole.
      The conferees concur with House report language regarding 
the definition of administrative costs and the limitation of 
fiscal year 1998 administrative costs to no more than one 
percent above the fiscal year 1997 level.

                        buildings and facilities

      The conference agreement includes $206,957,000 instead of 
$223,100,000 as proposed by the House and $203,500,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conference agreement includes language not contained 
in either the House or Senate bills extending the proviso 
allowing a contract for the full scope of the NIH clinical 
research center to the construction of the vaccine research 
facility on campus.

       Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

               substance abuse and mental health services

      The conference agreement provides a program level of 
$2,196,743,000 instead of $2,201,943,000 as proposed by the 
House and $2,176,643,000 as proposed by the Senate. These 
figures include $50,000,000 in permanent appropriations for 
fiscal year 1998 provided in P.L. 104-121.
      The conference agreement includes a provision proposed by 
the Senate designating $10 million for grants to rural and 
Native American projects. The House bill contained no similar 
provision.
      The conference agreement includes a provision proposed by 
the Senate which requires that each State receive the same 
allotments under the mental health and substance abuse block 
grant programs in fiscal year 1998 as it did in fiscal year 
1997. The conferees do not intend to consider future increases 
for the substance abuse or mental health block grants until the 
authorizing committees of jurisdiction, SAMHSA, and the 
substance abuse and mental health services communities have 
implemented a consensus policy regarding block grant formulas 
whether through legislation or existing administrative 
authority.
      The conference agreement provides $28,000,000 for the 
data initiative requested by the Administration. Of this 
amount, $18,000,000 is provided through new appropriations, and 
$10,000,000 is available through the 5 percent set-aside within 
the substance abuse block grant for administrative activities. 
The conferees understand that the annual out-year costs of this 
proposal may exceed the $28,000,000 currently proposed and 
intend that all future funding for the initiative will be 
provided through the 5 percent administrative set-aside within 
the substance abuse block grant.
      The conferees provide funding for this new initiative 
with the understanding that it must be used by the agency to 
improve the provision of treatment and prevention services in 
States with high incidence of substance abuse. Accordingly, the 
conferees direct SAMHSA to report to the Appropriations 
Committees no later than January 15, 1998 regarding its plans 
to require changes in service delivery to improve treatment and 
prevention services in such States through the State 
Improvement Grant and substance abuse block grant application 
processes. In addition, the conferees direct that the results 
of the data initiative be distributed to each State and that 
all States shall analyze their relative performance in 
preventing substance abuse as a component of the substance 
abuse block grant application. The conferees direct SAMHSA to 
require States with ratesof substance abuse above the median 
for all States to provide a plan to improve their performance in 
preventing substance abuse as part of the block grant application.
      The conferees intend that SAMHSA comply fully with the 
House report directive regarding monitoring of youth access to 
tobacco and enforcement of the Synar amendment.
      The conferees concur with the Senate report directive 
regarding allocation of funds set aside for rural and Native 
American grants.
      The conferees have included funds to continue and expand 
the supplemental demonstration and evaluation of enhanced 
children's services as part of the Residential Women and 
Children and Pregnant and Postpartum Women programs.
      The conferees intend that SAMHSA comply with the Senate 
report directive regarding the State Incentive Grant program.
      The conferees direct SAMHSA to comply with House report 
instructions regarding St. Elizabeth's Hospital.
      The conferees have included sufficient funds for 
planning, implementation, and evaluation of a model initiative 
in San Francisco for comprehensive and community-based 
treatment on demand and substance abuse prevention, which has 
significant implications for other urban areas.
      The conference agreement includes funding for the budget 
request to expand the Marijuana Treatment Initiative for 
Adolescents.
      The conferees are aware of a successful public service 
crime prevention advertising campaign sponsored by the National 
Crime Prevention Council and encourage SAMHSA to give full 
consideration to this organization's experience during 
implementation of the agency's public service advertising 
campaign regarding youth substance abuse.
      The conferees concur that SAMHSA should give priority 
consideration to successful community schools grantees that 
have been effective in providing substance abuse prevention 
services to at-risk youth. The agency shall provide the 
Committees with ninety days notice prior to terminating any 
Community Schools grantee funded in fiscal year 1997.
      The conferees intend that SAMHSA comply with the Senate 
report directive regarding the submission of operational and 
allocation plans for fiscal year 1998.
      The conference report provides $6,000,000 for high risk 
youth grants instead of $10,000,000 proposed by the Senate. The 
House bill contained no similar provision.

               Agency for Health Care Policy and Research

                    health care policy and research

      The conference agreement includes $90,229,000 instead of 
$101,588,000 as proposed by the House and $77,587,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.
      The conference agreement designates $56,206,000 to be 
available to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research 
under the Public Health Service one percent evaluation set-
aside instead of $47,412,000 as proposed by the House and 
$65,000,000 as proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees concur with language in the House report 
indicating that the agency's administrative costs as defined in 
the budget justification should not increase by more than one 
percent from 1997 to 1998.

                  Health Care Financing Administration

                     grants to states for medicaid

      The conference agreement provides $71,602,429,000 for 
current year funding as proposed by the Senate instead of 
$71,530,429,000 as proposed by the House. This funding level 
reflects the current law estimate of the cost of the Medicaid 
program.

                payments to the health care trust funds

      The conference agreement provides $60,904,000,000 instead 
of $63,581,000,000 as proposed by both the House and the 
Senate. This funding level reflects the most recent estimates 
of the cost of this entitlement program.

                           program management

      The conference agreement makes available $1,743,066,000 
instead of $1,679,435,000 as proposed by the House and 
$1,719,241,000 as proposed by the Senate. An additional 
appropriation of $500,000,000 has been provided for this 
activity in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability 
Act of 1996.
      The conference agreement includes bill language proposed 
by the Senate making available to the Health Care Financing 
Administration (HCFA) administrative fees collected related to 
Medicare overpayment recovery activities. The House bill had no 
similar provision.
      The conference agreement includes with slight 
modification bill language proposed by the Senate identifying 
$900,000 of the funds provided for the costs of the National 
Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. The language 
also directs the Commission to examine the impact health 
research has on Medicare costs as well as the potential for 
coordinating Medicare with cost-effective long-term care 
services. The House bill had no similar provision.
      The conference agreement includes bill language 
identifying $40,000,000 for the transition to a single Part A 
and Part B processing system and makes that funding available 
until expended. The Senate bill contained similar language 
providing $54,100,000 for the Medicare Transaction System. The 
House bill did not provide funding for this activity. The 
conferees expect HCFA to refrain from obligating any additional 
funding for the Medicare Transaction System aside from the 
$40,000,000 and contract closeout activities until they have 
notified the Committees on Appropriations of their plan to 
redesign the system.
      The conference agreement adds language not contained in 
either the House or Senate bill establishing the authority for 
HCFA to collect $95,000,000 in user fees for the costs of 
beneficiary enrollment and dissemination of information for the 
managed care activities now permitted under the Medicare 
program. This provision fulfills the intent of the Balanced 
Budget Act of 1997. The conferees understand that there are 
several activities specified in the statute and believe that 
HCFA's first priority for these funds should be to publish a 
comparative booklet to be mailed to beneficiaries describing 
Medicare+Choice options and comparing these options to fee-for-
service Medicare and Medigap policies. The agency should 
determine whether it is more cost-effective to mail the booklet 
to each individual Medicare beneficiary or to identify shared 
dwellings and mail one to each household. The conferees believe 
that HCFA's second priority should be to contract for a toll-
free number and to implement and maintain an internet site 
forinquiries regarding Medicare+Choice options. As a third priority, 
the conferees encourage the agency to operate Medicare+Choice health 
information fairs and to fund the future dissemination of information 
regarding Medicare+Choice options through local beneficiary information 
centers and other forms of public relations.
      While the agreement provides authority to collect 
$95,000,000 in user fees for the Medicare+Choice Program, the 
conferees direct the Secretary to utilize these resources on a 
pro-rata basis, with the understanding that the amount may be 
reduced after the Appropriations Committees have the 
opportunity to conduct hearings to review the need for 
resources to implement this program.
      The conference agreement does not include language 
contained in the Senate bill earmarking $2,000,000 of research 
funding for demonstration projects of Medicaid coverage of 
community-based attendant care services for people with 
disabilities which ensures maximum control by consumers to 
select and manage their attendant care services. The conferees 
are agreed, however, that $2,000,000 is included for this 
purpose within funds provided.
      The conference agreement does not include language 
contained in the Senate bill directing that $50,000,000 of 1997 
appropriated funds be obligated in 1997 to increase Medicare 
provider audits and to implement the corrective action plan to 
the HCFA Chief Financial Officer's audit. The House bill 
contained no similar provision. The Senate language could not 
be implemented because 1997 funds had been obligated by the 
time of the 1998 conference agreement. The conferees have 
instead included bill language allowing HCFA to use Program 
Management funds to increase Medicare provider audits and to 
implement the Department's corrective action plan to the Chief 
Financial Officer's audit.
      The conferees are concerned about the findings of the 
1996 Chief Financial Officer's audit, most specifically the 
reported payment error rate. In response to this concern, it is 
the conferees' understanding that HCFA will reallocate funds 
within the Peer Review Organization funding for medical and 
utilization review activities. Peer review organizations 
determine whether medical services and items provided under the 
Medicare program are reasonable and medically necessary and 
meet professionally-recognized standards of care.
      The conferees concur in the language contained in the 
Senate report relating to continuing the telemedicine pilot 
sites.
      The conferees strongly urge HCFA to extend the chronic 
ventilator-dependent unit demonstration projects that are 
currently operating and which have consistently produced 
superior clinical outcomes according to independent evaluation.
      The conferees concur with Senate report language 
indicating that sufficient funds are included to demonstrate 
and evaluate model programs developed by nonprofit community 
and family services organizations which help vulnerable 
populations understand how to use managed care.
      The conference agreement includes $1,000,000 within 
research to conduct a demonstration of residential treatment 
facilities at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles.
      The conferees concur with House report language 
indicating that funds have been included above the 
Administration's request for research and demonstrations to 
supportthe costs of studies and demonstration projects that are 
mandated in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
      The conferees recognize that the forthcoming study by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding coverage of 
medical nutrition therapy by registered dietitians in the part 
B portion of Medicare needs to be comprehensive in documenting 
the value of this service for all applicable diseases or 
medical conditions. Separate cost estimates should be prepared 
for conditions for which the Secretary expects significant 
utilization of such services, and these costs should be 
prepared separately for therapy in individual as well as group 
settings. The conferees recommended that the Secretary take 
care not to exclude medical conditions such as malnutrition and 
obesity from the study, recognizing that obesity is the second 
leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
      The conferees note that coronary artery disease is a 
leading cause of morbidity and mortality among the Medicare 
population and urges the agency to initiate cost-effectiveness 
evaluations of advanced non-invasive imaging technologies, such 
as coronary artery scanning by ultrafast computerized 
tomography, and their potential impact on lowering Medicare 
expenditures.
      The conferees encourage HCFA to provide grants to those 
rural health hospitals or equivalent consortia which to date 
have received only first or second year grants under the rural 
health transition grant program.
      The conferees concur with Senate report language 
indicating that the agreement includes $824,200,000 for 
Medicare contractors in 1998 as requested by the 
Administration. Any modification of this funding level is 
subject to normal reprogramming procedures.
      The conferees encourage HCFA to utilize commercially 
available software to detect and stop Medicare billing abuse.
      The conferees encourage HCFA to issue a directive to 
Medicare contractors regarding the extension of claims 
considered timely filed stating that Medicare will consider 
claims timely filed if received within one year from the date 
of the contractor's response to the request for status change 
to Medicare as primary payer or completion of enrollment in 
Part B by the Social Security Administration.
      The conferees are concerned that HCFA's new Medicare 
payment policy for erythropoietin may negatively impact the 
quality of care received by patients with end-stage renal 
disease (ESRD), and may increase overall health care costs. The 
conferees urge the Secretary to carefully expedite review of 
the policy to ensure continued quality care for ESRD patients.
      The conference agreement includes increases in Federal 
administration for the costs of converting computer systems to 
accommodate the millennium date change and the administrative 
burdens associated with the new agency activities mandated by 
the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

                Administration for Children and Families

                   family support payments to states

      The conference agreement includes a provision as proposed 
by the Senate and not included in the House bill to correct an 
error in the allocation of certain child care funds in fiscal 
year 1997.

                   LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE

      The conference agreement includes $1,100,000,000 in 
advance funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance 
Program (LIHEAP) for fiscal year 1999 instead of $1,000,000,000 
as proposed by the House and $1,200,000,000 as proposed by the 
Senate. The conferees agree that up to $27,500,000 may be used 
for the leveraging incentive program.

                     REFUGEE AND ENTRANT ASSISTANCE

      The conference agreement provides $415,000,000 for 
Refugee and Entrant Assistance programs as proposed by the 
House instead of $392,332,000 as proposed by the Senate. The 
conferees intend that ORR comply with the directives in the 
House report regarding communities with large concentrations of 
refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation 
especially difficult, refugees and communities impacted by 
recent changes in Federal assistance programs relating to 
welfare reform, and Cuban and Haitian entrants and refugees. 
The conferees intend that ORR comply with the directive in the 
Senate report regarding the Voluntary Agency Grant program.

                 CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT

                     (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

      The conference agreement appropriates $65,672,000 as a 
supplement to the fiscal year 1998 appropriation that was 
enacted last year, instead of $26,120,000 as proposed by the 
Senate and no additional funding as proposed by the House. In 
addition, the agreement appropriates $1,000,000,000 as an 
advance appropriation for fiscal year 1999 as proposed in both 
the House and Senate bills. The agreement further provides that 
of the $19,120,000 that became available on October 1, 1997 for 
child care resource and referral and school-aged child care 
activities, $3,000,000 shall be derived by transfer from funds 
appropriated in the welfare reform act, instead of $6,120,000 
as proposed by the Senate. The House had no similar transfer 
provision. Lastly, the conferees are concerned about the 
inadequate supply of quality child care for infants. Therefore, 
the agreement includes language that was not in either bill 
that requires the States to utilize $50,000,000 above the 
amount required by the basic law for activities that improve 
the quality of child care. These new funds should supplement, 
not supplant, current and planned activities to increase the 
supply of quality child care for infants and toddlers.
      The basic law requires that not less than four percent of 
the appropriation be used for such activities.

                      social services block grant

      The conference agreement includes $2,299,000,000 for the 
Social Services Block Grant program instead of $2,245,000,000 
provided in the House and Senate bills. The conference 
agreement also includes a provision setting the amount 
specified for allocation under section 2003(c) of the Social 
Security Act at $2,299,000,000 instead of $2,245,000,000 as 
proposed by the Senate. The House bill included no similar 
provision. The conferees intended that ACF comply with the 
reporting directive in the House report.

                children and families services programs

                        (including rescissions)

      The conference agreement appropriates $5,682,916,000, 
instead of $5,598,052,000 as proposed by the House and 
$5,611,094,000 as proposed by the Senate. In addition, the 
agreement rescinds $21,000,000 from permanent appropriations as 
proposed by the House and Senate.
      The agreement includes a parenthetical legal citation to 
section 105(a)(2) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
Act as proposed by the Senate. The conferees agree that within 
the amount provided for child abuse discretionary activities, 
$1,000,000 is available for carrying out activities authorized 
by that section.
      The agreement includes an earmark of $279,250,000 for the 
Early Head Start program for children under the age of three, 
instead of Senate bill language that would have required that 
10 percent of any additional Head Start funds over the fiscal 
year 1997 amount be used for this purpose. The House bill had 
no separate provision.
      The agreement appropriates $93,000,000 from the Violent 
Crime Reduction Trust Fund as proposed by the Senate instead of 
$99,000,000 as proposed by the House.
      The conferees concur in the Senate Report language 
concerning the job creation demonstration authorized under 
section 505 of the Family Support Act of 1988 and the language 
concerning the Alaska Federation of Natives, the donations of 
surplus property and the prekindergarten initiative for start-
up costs and renovation. The conferees support continuing 
efforts to address the needs of families in public housing, 
such as American Samoans, who are in danger of becoming 
homeless.
      The conferees strongly recommend that the Department 
provide sufficient resources to allow for implementation and 
oversight of the tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 
(TANF) and Native Employment Works (NEW) programs.
      Within the amount provided for Runaway and Homeless 
Youth, the conference agreement includes the fiscal year 1997 
funding level for Center County Youth Services of State College 
and Three Rivers Youth of Pittsburgh.

                        Administration on Aging

                        aging services programs

      The conference agreement appropriates $865,050,000, 
instead of $815,270,000 as proposed by the House and 
$894,074,000 as proposed by the Senate. The agreement includes 
statutory earmarks of $4,449,000 for the State ombudsman 
program and $4,732,000 for prevention of elder abuse proposed 
by the Senate; the House bill included no earmarks. The 
agreement includes a legislative provision as proposed by the 
Senate that requires the Assistant Secretary for Aging when 
considering grant applications for nutrition services for elder 
Indian recipients to provide maximum flexibility to applicants 
who seek to take into account certain factors that are 
appropriate to the unique cultural, regional and geographic 
needs of the American Indian, Alaskan and Hawaiian native 
communities to be served. The House had no similar provision.
      The conferees concur in Senate Report language concerning 
aging research and training activities; however, the conference 
agreement includes $2,000,000 for social research into 
Alzheimer's disease, as described in the Senate Report.
      The conferees expect the Administration on Aging to 
ensure that States that have previously received or are 
currently receiving grant funding for senior legal hotlines are 
not disqualified from competing for future grant funding.
      The conferees recognize the Council of Senior Centers and 
Services of New York City, Inc. for its grassroots model 
program to detect and report inaccurate Medicare billings and 
strongly urge the Department to continue to work with CSCS on 
this effort.
      In view of the regional office consolidation, the 
conferees expect the Administration on Aging to ensure that 
States will experience no decline in policy and procedural 
direction or technical assistance and support so that the needs 
of the elderly continue to be met in a timely and comprehensive 
fashion.

                        Office of the Secretary

                    general departmental management

      The conference agreement appropriates $177,482,000, 
instead of $165,487,000 as proposed by the House and 
$180,439,000 as proposed by the Senate. The agreement includes 
a legal citation proposed by the Senate for the United States-
Mexico Border Health Commission but does not include a legal 
citation proposed by the Senate for research studies under 
section 1110 of the Social Security Act.
      The conferees concur with the Senate Report language 
concerning the human services transportation technical 
assistance program.
      The conference agreement contains an increase of 
$3,712,000 over the President's budget request for traditional 
departmental management activities. These funds are not 
intended to be used for any other activity. Should the 
Secretary decide to use any part of these funds for a different 
purpose, she must first submit a reprogramming request to the 
Appropriations Committees.
      The conference agreement includes $800,000 to conduct 
research into the possible links between chemical and 
biological exposures and the illnesses suffered by tens of 
thousands of Persian Gulf War veterans. The conferees concur in 
the House Report language with respect to the conduct of this 
research.
      The conference agreement includes $800,000 to support the 
activities of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission 
as authorized by Public Law 103-400. The Commission will assist 
in assessing and resolving current and potential health 
problems that affect the general population of the United 
States-Mexico border area. The conferees understand that the 
Secretary may utilize funds provided to the agencies of the 
Public Health Service to support the activities of the 
Commission. The conferees strongly urge the Commission to focus 
upon the identification, evaluation, and potential resolution 
of current and possible health problems affecting the 
population of the area. The conferees expect the Department to 
expend funds appropriated for this purpose for needed health 
assessments, research and studies conducted along and across 
the United States-Mexico border. The Commission should use a 
multidisciplinary approach in identifying and assessing health 
problems in the area so that a variety of viewpoints, including 
those from the scientific, social, consumer and patient 
communities, may be included. The conferees emphasize the 
importance of cultural sensitivity in the conduct of the 
Commission's activities.
      The conference agreement includes $500,000 for the costs 
of the National Health Museum Commission. This commission is 
authorized in title VII of this Act.
      The conference agreement includes $1,500,000 in the 
Office of Minority Health for an extramural construction grant 
for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, an historically 
black institution, for the purpose of upgrading health-related 
facilities and equipment. In addition, funds are included in 
the Office of Minority Health for the Cook County/Rush Health 
Center (CORE Center) in Chicago and the north Philadelphia 
Cancer Awareness and Prevention Program. The funds for the CORE 
Center will be usedfor the implementation of an information 
technology infrastructure. The conferees instruct the Department to 
maintain the current level of support for Meharry Medical College to 
continue a cooperative agreement to support the development of an 
integrated health delivery system in a historically underserved 
community. The conferees expect the Office of Minority Health to 
provide no more than $1,000,000 of the total amount provided by the 
Department to Meharry.
      The conferees intend that the minority male initiative 
described in the House Report be funded as a cooperative 
agreement and not as a consortium.
      The conferees are aware of the work being carried out by 
the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and 
Quality. The conferees are concerned that the various proposals 
developed by the Commission may not include sufficient analysis 
of the potential impact of each proposal. Consequently, the 
conferees strongly urge the Commission to include in its report 
a thorough cost analysis of the Commission's recommendations.
      The conferees concur with the Senate Report language 
concerning the need for a national public education campaign on 
osteoporosis.
      The conferees encourage the Secretary to consider a 
transagency initiative that might incorporate promising 
telecommunications and computing technologies into a national 
health information infrastructure serving not only providers, 
payors, researchers and policymakers, but also patients, 
consumers and caregivers.
      The conferees request that the following information 
regarding the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health 
Service be provided to the Committees on Appropriations in the 
Congressional budget justification on an annual basis: 
aggregate staffing levels by grade, rank and agency of 
assignment; the number of officers on detail outside the 
Department by their agency of assignment, including those 
detailed to international organizations; and total salaries 
paid to corps officers, including special or incentive pays.

                      office of inspector general

      The conference agreement appropriates $31,921,000 as 
proposed by the Senate instead of $30,921,000 as proposed by 
the House.

                            policy research

      The conference agreement appropriates $14,000,000 as 
proposed by the House instead of $9,500,000 as proposed by the 
Senate.
      The conference agreement includes $5,000,000 for a study 
on the outcomes of welfare reform. The conferees recommend that 
this study involve state-specific surveys and data sets, survey 
data on the impacts of state waiver programs, and 
administrative data such as Food Stamp, Social Security and 
Internal Revenue Service records. The study should measure 
outcomes in both low and high economic growth areas of the 
country. The conferees strongly urge the Department to submit 
its research plan to the National Academy of Sciences to 
provide guidance on research design and recommend further 
research. The conferees further expect an interim report to be 
submitted to the Appropriations Committees within six months.
      In addition, the agreement includes $500,000 for carrying 
out the HELP DESK initiative described in the Senate Report.

                           General Provisions

                 transfer of hansen's disease facility

      The conference agreement includes a provision in the 
House bill transferring the Gillis W. Long Hansen's disease 
facility in Carville, Louisiana to the State of Louisiana. The 
Senate bill had no similar provision.

           parental participation in family planning services

      The conference agreement includes a provision in the 
House bill prohibiting the funding of family planning grantees 
unless the grantee certifies that it encourages family 
participation in the decision of a minor to seek family 
planning services and that it provides counseling to minors on 
resisting attempts to coerce them into engaging in sexual 
activities. The Senate bill had no similar provision.

          institute of medicine study of nih priority setting

      The conference agreement includes in modified form 
language contained in the Senate bill directing the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services to contract with the Institute of 
Medicine to conduct a comprehensive study of the policies and 
processes used by the National Institutes of Health to 
determine funding allocations for biomedical research. The 
conference agreement drops the $300,000 earmark for the study 
contained in the Senate language. The House bill contained no 
similar provision.

            parkinson's disease research reauthorization act

      The conference agreement includes in modified form 
(section 603) language contained in the Senate bill authorizing 
funding for Parkinson's disease research at the National 
Institutes of Health (NIH). The agreement drops Senate language 
directing NIH to support particular research mechanisms and 
authorizes up to $100,000,000 in fiscal year 1998 and such sums 
thereafter for these research activities. The House bill 
contained no similar provision. The conferees acknowledge the 
importance of Parkinson's disease research, but are concerned 
that inclusion of this language may set an unfortunate 
precedent for using the appropriations bill as a vehicle 
whenever the authorizing committees fail to act.
      While currently there is no cure for Parkinson's disease, 
the conferees are encouraged by recent scientific advances. 
Scientists have for the first time identified a gene 
abnormality that causes some cases of Parkinson's disease and 
which suggests an important new link between Parkinson's and 
Alzheimer's. This may ultimately help prevent or delay the cell 
death that is responsible for degenerative brain disease. Due 
to these promising research discoveries and the threat of more 
individuals being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in future 
years, the conferees urge NIH to place stronger emphasis on 
research in this area.

                  fetal alcohol syndrome authorization

      The conference agreement does not include a provision in 
the Senate bill authorizing a program of research, public 
awareness, and education to help prevent fetal alcohol 
syndrome. The House bill contained no similar provision. This 
matter is one that is more appropriately considered by the 
authorizing committees; those committees have objected to the 
inclusion of the provision in the conference agreement.

                       refugee program extension

      The conference agreement includes a provision (section 
604) proposed by the Senate extending the authorization for the 
Refugee and Entrant Assistance programs for two years, through 
fiscal year 1999. The House bill contained no similar 
provision.

                           perchlorate study

      The conferees have deleted without prejudice a provision 
in the Senate bill requiring the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to conduct a study of the health effects of 
perchlorate on humans and to report the findings within nine 
months after enactment of the appropriations bill. The House 
bill contained no similar provision. The conferees believe that 
this is an important health issue and urge the Department to 
conduct such a study.

                          pebes employer study

      The conference agreement includes a provision (section 
605) proposed by the Senate to require the Social Security 
Administration to provide information regarding employer 
contributions on all Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimates 
Statements (PEBESs). The conferees note that the SSA is 
currently redesigning the PEBES and direct the agency to 
expeditiously revise the PEBES to add information regarding 
employer contributions.This initiative should be fully 
implemented prior to the first mailing to all workers age 25 and over 
scheduled for fiscal year 2000. The House bill contained no similar 
provision.

         medicaid and ssi eligibility for viet namese commandos

      The conference agreement includes (section 606) language 
contained in the Senate bill clarifying that payments made by 
the United States to Viet Namese commandos imprisoned by North 
Viet Nam are not considered income or resources for the 
Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid programs for those 
commandos now in the United States. The House bill contained no 
similar provision.

                          organ donation study

      The conference agreement deletes without prejudice the 
provision included in the Senate bill directing the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the General 
Accounting Office, to conduct a comprehensive study of efforts 
underway at hospitals to improve organ and tissue procurement. 
The House bill contained no similar provision. The conferees 
encourage the Secretary to conduct such a study and to report 
to the Committees on best practices for identifying donors and 
communicating with relatives of potential donors.

                sense of the senate on organ procurement

      The conference agreement does not include language 
contained in the Senate bill expressing the sense of the Senate 
urging hospitals through education, establishment of protocols, 
and assignment of staff teams to ensure that a skilled and 
sensitive request for organ donation is provided to eligible 
families. The House bill contained no similar provision. The 
conferees concur in the sentiment expressed by this sense of 
the Senate resolution.

              family violence waiver under welfare reform

      The conference agreement deletes without prejudice a 
provision included in the Senate bill amending the Social 
Security Act to clarify that the welfare reform statute does 
not limit the provision of waivers to victims of domestic 
violence. The House bill contained no similar provision.

                 e. coli research and public education

      The conference agreement has deleted without prejudice 
language included in the Senate bill earmarking $5,000,000 for 
research, public education and evaluation relating to the E. 
coli health threat. The House bill had no similar provision. 
The conferees have included in the statement of the managers 
for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention language expressing their 
concern about the E. coli health threat and urging these 
agencies to strengthen their research and surveillance in this 
area.

                medicaid disproportionate share payments

      The conference agreement includes (sections 601 and 602) 
bill language not contained in either the House or Senate bill 
correcting an error in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 which 
displayed incorrect information about the level of Medicaid 
disproportionate share hospital payments for the States of 
Minnesota and Wyoming. The bill corrects these errors only for 
fiscal year 1998. The conferees expect the authorizing 
committees to enact the correction on a permanent basis.

                   TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

                            Education Reform

      The conference agreement includes $1,275,035,000 for 
Education Reform, instead of the $1,107,165,000 proposed by the 
House and $1,310,035,000 as proposed by the Senate. For Goals 
2000, the conference provides $491,000,000 instead of the 
$530,000,000 provided by the Senate and $387,165,000 provided 
by the House.
      The conference agreement also provides $25,000,000 for 
parental assistance instead of $15,000,000 as proposed by the 
House and $30,000,000 as proposed by the Senate. The conferees 
agree that the increase provided will permit expansion of 
voluntary parent centers to additional States bringing the 
total number of States and Territories participating in the 
program to at least 52. It has been brought to the conferees' 
attention that many of the grantees currently receiving funding 
under the parental assistance program are making only minimal 
efforts to implement Parents as Teachers (PAT) or Home 
Instruction for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) programs. The 
conferees urge the Department to provide at least 50 percent of 
each grant award for PAT or HIPPY and to report to the House 
and Senate Appropriations Committees by April 1, 1998, on steps 
being taken to assure that the dollars are being spent in 
accordance with PAT and HIPPY program requirements.
      For education technology, the agreement provides 
$584,035,000 instead of $520,000,000 as proposed by the House 
and $580,035,000 as proposed by the Senate.
      The President's fiscal year 1998 budget requested funding 
for the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund in the Education 
Reform account and, as in previous years, proposed to fund all 
other educational technology programs within the Office of 
Education Research and Improvement (OERI). The House bill 
followed this structure. The Senate bill included both the 
Technology Literacy Challenge Fund and the Technology 
Innovation Challenge Grants within the Education Reform Account 
with other programs being funded within OERI. The conference 
agreement includes all educational technology funds within the 
Education Reform Account including the Challenge Fund and 
Challenge Grants, Star Schools, Ready to Learn TV and the 
Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics. In 
funding these programs within the Education Reform account, the 
conferees make no determination as to the offices within the 
Department best suited to administer these programs, believing 
that this decision is best left to the Secretary.
      Under the Star Schools program, the conferees have 
included $8,000,000 to continue and expand the Iowa 
Communications Network state-wide fiber optics demonstration 
project.
      The conferees continue to be concerned by the rapid 
increase in funding for technology programs and the ability of 
LEAs to absorb these funds and spend them wisely. The conferees 
therefore instruct the Department of Education to continue to 
provide the reports relating to educational technology outlined 
in the Conference Report on the fiscal year 1997 Departments of 
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act.
      For Technology Innovation Challenge Grants, the 
conference agreement includes $116,000,000, instead of 
$85,000,000 as proposed by the House. Included within the funds 
provided is $30,000,000, as proposed by the Senate, for a new 
competitive grants program to consortia that have developed 
exemplary programs to train new and current teachers, 
administrators and other educators to use advanced technology 
and to integrate education technology into teaching methods 
that improve instruction. The House bill contained no similar 
provision.
      The conference agreement includes $5,000,000 for a 
demonstration project for hospitals, universities, businesses 
and schools for the Delaware Valley Region of Pennsylvania. 
Funds would be used for a demonstration project to develop a 
supercomputer infrastructure with broad-based networking 
applications for elementary and secondary schools, colleges, 
and universities with access to science and medical technology.
      The conference agreement also includes $7,300,000 to 
allow the Secretary of Education to fund an effort to integrate 
technology into eighth grade algebra classrooms. The conferees 
believe that this level of funding will support three years of 
funding for the ``I Can Learn'' project.
      The conference agreement includes $800,000 to allow the 
Secretary of Education to fund an initiative to provide 
technology training to teachers through a distance education 
network involving nine school districts and Nicolet Area 
Technical College. This level of funding will support three 
years of funding to support a three-tiered training program in 
the use of technology for all teachers in grades K through 
eight in the nine participating school districts.

                    Education for the Disadvantaged

      The conference agreement includes $8,021,827,000 for 
Education for the Disadvantaged, instead of the $8,204,217,000 
included in the House and $7,807,349,000 as proposed by the 
Senate. Of the funds made available for basic grants, 
$1,448,386,000 becomes available on October 1, 1998 for the 
academic year 1998-99.
      The agreement includes $6,273,212,000 for basic state 
grants and $1,102,020,000 for concentration grants.
      The conferees have provided no funding for the targeted 
grants program. The House bill provided $400,000,000 for this 
purpose. The Senate bill contained no similar provision.
      The conferees have included a provision proposed by the 
Senate which provides that in allocating the fiscal year 1998 
appropriation for basic and concentration grants under title I, 
part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as 
amended, the Secretary shall apply a 100 percent hold harmless 
based on total 1997 grants, including supplemental 
appropriations provided under Public Law 105-18. The conferees 
concur with the language outlined in the Senate report 
regarding this issue. The House bill contained no similar 
provision.
      The conference agreement provides $150,000,000 for 
comprehensive school reform, including $120,000,000 under the 
title I program, $26,000,000 under the fund for the improvement 
of education, and $4,000,000 under the regional educational 
laboratories. The House bill included $205,000,000 for 
comprehensive school reform, including $150,000,000 under the 
title I program, $50,000,000 under the fund for the improvement 
of education, and $5,000,000 under the regional educational 
laboratories. The Senate bill included no comparable 
provisions.
      The conferees agree that the purpose of this initiative 
is to provide financial incentives for schools to develop 
comprehensive school reforms, based on reliable research and 
effective practices and including an emphasis on basic 
academics and parental involvement, so that all children can 
meet challenging state content and performance goals. The 
conference agreement establishes a floor of 83% of the total 
funds provided for local educational agencies (LEAs) eligible 
for title I basic grants; all LEAs may compete for the 
remaining funds provide under the fund for the improvement of 
education. The conferees believe that focusing the bulk of the 
incentive funding on schools eligible for title I funds will 
leverage systemic improvements in student achievement 
throughout the $8 billion title I program.
      The conferees are impressed by gains in student 
performance in a number of schools across the country that are 
using new comprehensive models for school-wide change covering 
virtually all aspects of school operations, rather than a 
piecemeal, fragmented approach to reform. Examples of such 
comprehensive school reform models including Accelerated 
Schools, ATLAS Communities, Audrey Cohen College, Coalition of 
Essential Schools, Community for Learning, Co-NECT, Direct 
Instruction, Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound, High Schools 
That Work, Modern Red Schoolhouse, National Alliance for 
Restructuring Education, Paideia, Roots and Wings, School 
Development Program, Success for All, Talent Development High 
School and Urban Learning Center.
      While no single school improvement plan can be best for 
every school, the conferees believe that more schools should be 
encouraged to examine successful, externally developed 
comprehensive school reform approaches that can be adapted in 
their own communities. The conference agreement includes 
funding under the fund for the improvement of education to 
enable the Department, in consultation with outside experts, to 
identify and disseminate information to schools about such 
approaches. Such approaches must be based on rigorous research 
and effective practices. However, schools are not restricted to 
using only those approaches identified by the Department are 
free to develop their own school-wide reform programs that are 
based on rigorous research and meet the criteria listed below. 
Further, the conferees direct that funds made available to 
schools under this initiative shall be used only for 
comprehensive school reform programs that:
            (a) employ innovative strategies and proven methods 
        for student learning, teaching, and school management 
        that are based on reliable research and effective 
        practices, and have been replicated successfully in 
        schools with diverse characteristics,
            (b) have a comprehensive design for effective 
        school functioning, including instruction, assessment, 
        classroom management, professional development, 
        parental involvement, and school management, that 
        aligns the school's curriculum, technology, 
        professional development into a school-wide reform plan 
        designed to enable all students to meet challenging 
        state content and performance standards and addresses 
        needs identified through a school needs assessment,
            (c) provide high-quality and continuous teacher and 
        staff professional development and training,
            (d) have measurable goals for student performance 
        and benchmarks for meeting those goals,
            (e) are supported by school faculty, administrators 
        and staff,
            (f) provide for the meaningful involvement of 
        parents and the local community in planning and 
        implementing school improvement activities,
            (g) utilize high-quality external technical support 
        and assistance from a comprehensive school reform 
        entity (which may be a university) with experience or 
        expertise in school-wide reform and improvement,
            (h) include a plan for the evaluation of the 
        implementation of school reforms and the student 
        results achieved, and
            (i) identify how other resources (federal/state/
        local/private) available to the school will be utilized 
        to coordinate services to support and sustain the 
        school reform effort.
      The conferees direct that the Secretary of Education 
allocate title I comprehensive school reform funds based on 
each state's relative share of prior-year title I grants under 
section 1124 to state educational agencies (SEAs), upon 
application to the Secretary. In cases where a SEA declines to 
apply for its formula-based allocation, the Secretary shall 
reallocate the funds to other states that have a need for 
additional funds to implement comprehensive school reform 
programs. The Secretary may reserve up to one percent of the 
funds for grants to schools supported by the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs and in the territories, and up to one percent of the 
funds to conduct national evaluation activities to assess 
results achieved by the implementation of comprehensive school 
reform in title I schools. The conferees anticipate that 
initial evaluation activities will include development of a 
plan for a third-year national evaluation, collection of 
baseline data, and assessment of the first-year implementation 
activities. The plan for a national evaluation should focus on 
the results achieved by schools undertaking comprehensive 
school reform and assess the effectiveness of various school 
reform initiatives in schools with diverse characteristics 
(urban/rural, title I/non-title I, elementary/middle school/
high school, etc.). Prior to the completion of the third-year 
national evaluation, the Secretary shall submit an interim 
report to the House and Senate appropriations and authorizing 
committees.
      The conferees direct that each SEA receiving funds under 
this initiative use such funds to award grants, on a 
competitive basis, to enable LEAs within the state to implement 
comprehensive school reform programs. Each SEA application to 
the Secretary shall describe (1) the process and selection 
criteria by which the SEA, using expert review, will make 
competitive grants to eligible LEAs, (2) how the SEA will 
ensure that only high quality, well-defined, and well-
documented comprehensive school reform programs meeting the 
criteria listed above are funded, (3) how the SEA will 
disseminate materials developed by the Department identifying 
research-based comprehensive school reform models and provide 
technical assistance to assist LEAs and schools in evaluating, 
selecting, developing and implementing comprehensive school 
reforms, (4) how the SEA will evaluate the implementation of 
comprehensive school reforms and measure the results achieved 
in improving student academic performance, and (5) such other 
criteria as the Secretary may reasonably require. The conferees 
direct that each SEA provide assurances that the financial 
assistance provided shall supplement, not supplant, federal, 
state and local funds the LEAs and schools would 
otherwisereceive. The conferees further direct that SEAs provide such 
information as the Secretary may require, including the names of the 
LEAs and the individual schools receiving allocations and the amount 
allocated to each school.
      In awarding competitive grants to LEAs using title I 
funds, the conferees direct SEAs to make awards that are of 
sufficient size and scope to support the initial start-up costs 
for particular comprehensive reform plan selected or designed 
by the schools identified in the LEA application, but that are 
not less than $50,000 per school and renewable for two 
additional years after the initial award. In allocating 
comprehensive school reform funds under this account, the 
conferees encourage SEAs to award grants to LEAs that will use 
these funds in schools in need of improvement under section 
1116(c) of part 1 of Title I of ESEA. The conferees also 
encourage SEAs to award grants to LEAs in different parts of 
the state, including urban and rural communities, to LEAs 
proposing to serve schools at different grade levels 
(elementary/middle/high school), and to LEAs that demonstrate a 
commitment to assisting schools with budget reallocation 
strategies necessary to ensure that comprehensive school 
reforms are properly implemented and sustained in the future. 
SEAs may reserve up to five percent of these funds for 
administrative, evaluation and technical assistance expenses, 
including expenses necessary to inform LEAs and schools about 
research-based comprehensive school reform approaches.
      The conferees direct that each LEA application to the SEA 
for comprehensive school reform funds (1) identify which 
schools eligible for title I funds within the LEA will 
implement a comprehensive school reform program and the level 
of funding requested, (2) describe the research-based 
comprehensive school reform programs that such schools will 
implement, (3) describe how the LEA will provide technical 
assistance and support for the effective implementation of the 
comprehensive school reform programs selected by such schools, 
and (4) describe how the LEA will evaluate the implementation 
of comprehensive school reforms in such schools and measure the 
results achieved in improving student academic performance.

                               Impact Aid

      The conference agreement provides $808,000,000 for the 
Impact Aid programs instead of $796,000,000 as proposed by the 
House and $794,500,000 as proposed by the Senate. The 
conference agreement includes legislative provisions regarding 
eligibility for assistance for heavily impacted districts, the 
distribution of funds for Federal Property, timely filing of 
applications, overpayments, and construction.

                      School Improvement Programs

      The conference agreement provides $1,538,188,000 for 
School Improvement Programs, instead of $1,507,388,000 as 
proposed by the House and $1,542,293,000 as proposed by the 
Senate. For the Eisenhower professional development activities, 
the agreement provides $335,000,000 instead of the $310,000,000 
provided in both the House and Senate bills. The conferees have 
included an additional $25,000,000 to improve professional 
development activities relating to literacy and expect that 
these funds be used for teacher training which is based on 
reliable, replicable research to improve student performance in 
reading. Within the overall amount for School Improvement, the 
conference agreement provides $556,000,000 for Safe and Drug 
Free Schools and Communities, as proposed by the House. The 
Senate provided $555,978,000 for this purpose.
      The conferees have provided sufficient funds within the 
safe and drug free schools and communities, national programs 
to permit the Secretary of Education to establish a program to 
protect student victims and witnesses of violence in school. 
The program would provide training and technical assistance to 
State and local educational agencies to assist them in 
establishing, and implementing programs designed to protect 
victims of, and witnesses to, violence in elementary and 
secondary schools.
      The conferees have also set aside $450,000 for student 
safety toll-free hotlines. The funds are to be provided for 
pilot programs to provide students in elementary and secondary 
schools with confidential assistance regarding school crime, 
violence, drug dealing, and threats to personal safety.
      Also within the Safe and Drug Free Schools National 
Programs, the conferees have set aside $350,000 for the Yonkers 
School System to allow the expansion of school safety and drug 
prevention activities in those schools with especially severe 
drug and violence problems. Funds will help to expand model 
programs providing peer mediation at the elementary and 
secondary school level, the training of school personnel and 
parents to prevent drug use and violent behavior and other 
activities.
      The conferees also encourage the Secretary of Education, 
working with the Department of Justice, to give consideration 
to funding comprehensive action plans that pool community, law 
enforcement and educational resources and stress rehabilitated 
role models, sustained self-sufficiency and reciprocal 
restitution to reduce juvenile delinquency.
      The conferees agree that of the $10,500,000 provided for 
Arts in Education, $1,000,000 has been included to support the 
International Very Special Arts Festival.
      The conference agreement includes $80,000,000 for Charter 
Schools, instead of $100,000,000 as proposed by the House and 
$50,987,000 as proposed by the Senate. The conferees agree that 
the Secretary should take appropriate steps, including issuing 
guidance to relevant State authorities, to enable charter 
schools to receive other federal funds in their first year 
operation. These funds include Title I and all other federal 
educational assistance monies, that they would otherwise 
receive notwithstanding the fact that the identity and 
characteristics of the students enrolling in the school will 
not be fully and completely determined until it actually opens. 
The conferees direct the Secretary to report to the Congress 
within six months on the steps taken to implement this 
directive. The report should also address the timing problem 
that accompanies the expansion of enrollment in a school's 
subsequent years of operation.
      The conference agreement deletes language proposed by the 
Senate earmarking $3,000,000 for continuation costs for 
innovative programs for magnet schools. The conferees 
understand that it is the Department's intent to provide 
continuation costs for this purpose.
      For training and advisory services the agreement provides 
$7,334,000, the same as the House and Senate bills. The funds 
are provided to continue the 10 regional desegregation centers. 
No funds are included for civil rights units in State education 
agencies.

                       child literacy initiative

                     (including transfer of funds)

      For fiscal year 1998, the conference agreement includes 
$85,000,000 for child literacy initiatives allocated under 
existing statutory authorities: Even Start Program, Eisenhower 
Professional Development, Fund for the Improvement of 
Education, and The Corporation for National and Community 
Service. The conferees agree that funds are to be used for 
child literacy initiatives consistent with applicable statutory 
authorities, and the goals and concepts of a child literacy 
initiative described in House Report 105-116. Where funds are 
used for training teachers how to teach reading, the conferees 
expect such activities to be based on reliable, replicable 
research.
      The conference agreement includes a fiscal year 1999 
advance appropriation of $210,000,000 for a child literacy 
initiative, instead of $260,000,000 proposed by the House and 
the Senate. The House proposed that if an authorization for 
child literacy is not enacted by April 1, 1998, funds are to be 
made available for Special Education for the 1999-2000 school 
year. The Senate bill provided funds only if specifically 
authorized by April 1, 1998. The conference agreement provides 
that if an authorization for child literacy is not enacted by 
July 1, 1998, funds are to be made available for Special 
Education State grant program for the 1999-2000 school year.

                           special education

      The conference agreement includes $4,810,646,000 for 
Special Education, instead of the $4,428,647,000 proposed by 
the House and $4,958,073,000 as proposed by the Senate. 
Included in these funds is $3,801,000,000 for Grants to the 
States, instead of $3,425,911,000 proposed by the House bill 
and $3,941,837,000 proposed by the Senate.
      The conferees are aware that the Department of Education 
supports an effective program of clearinghouses to collect and 
disseminate information for students with disabilities about 
education from preschool through college and graduate school. 
These clearinghouses, which provide valuable information to 
assist students with disabilities in planning successful 
education outcomes, reach millions of children, youth and 
adults with disabilities and their families and the 
professionals who work with them. The conferees encourage the 
Department to continue to support these activities.
      The conferees note that both the House and Senate reports 
identify funding for the Easter Seal Society's Early Childhood 
Development Project for the Mississippi River Delta Region. The 
conferees endorse this project and have set aside funds as 
outlined in the Senate report. Within the Research and 
Innovation to Improve Services account, the conferees agree 
that sufficient funds are included for a comprehensive study of 
the disproportionate number of students from minority 
backgrounds in special education programs. The conferees direct 
that the Department of Education contract with the National 
Academy of Sciences no later than 90 days after the enactment 
of this Act to conduct this study. The conferees further direct 
that the study be completed no later than 24 months after the 
date on which the contract is finalized. As part of this study, 
the National Academy of Sciences will convene a study panel 
including appropriate minority representatives. The National 
Academy of Sciences shall be directed, as part of the contract, 
to consult with the House and Senate Committees on 
Appropriations regarding appointments to the study panel.
      Included in the conference agreement is $32,523,000 for 
technology and media services, as proposed by the House, 
instead of the $32,023,000 as proposed by the Senate bill. The 
conferees have included within the amounts provided for this 
activity, $500,000 for a project to develop, refine, and 
disseminate information on adaptive technologies. Funds would 
be used to conduct research, develop state-of-the-art personnel 
preparation programs and for a pilot project using technology 
to link parents and their children with disabilities to public 
school districts and community service providers.
      The conference agreement includes $6,000,000 for 
Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic as described in the House 
and Senate Reports. The increase provided will finance services 
to an increasing number of visually impaired students and will 
allow the use of other funds to support the conversion of its 
analog tape system to a digital format.
      The conference agreement also provides $1,500,000 for the 
Readline Program as proposed by the Senate, and endorses the 
language included in the Senate report.

            rehabilitation services and disability research

      The conference agreement includes $2,591,195,000 for 
Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research, instead of 
$2,589,176,000 as proposed by the House and $2,591,286,000 
proposed by the Senate.
      For the National Institute for Disability and 
Rehabilitation Research (NIDR) the conference agreement 
includes $76,800,000 the same level as proposed by the House, 
instead of the $71,000,000 as proposed by the Senate.
      The conference agreement includes $5,000,000, as proposed 
by the House, within the funds provided for the National 
Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research to permit 
the establishment of 15 model systems and a national data 
center for traumatic brain injury. The Senate bill provided 
$2,500,000 for this purpose.
      The conferees also note that similar language was 
included in both the House and Senate reports concerning the 
establishment of a rehabilitation engineering research center 
focusing on the unique needs of landmine survivors. The 
conferees have included$850,000 within the amounts for the 
National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research for this 
purpose.
      The conferees specifically endorse the provisions of the 
Senate report urging the Secretary to set aside $1,000,000 to 
support new assisted living programs that develop state-of-the-
art electronic technology.
      Also included are sufficient funds within the National 
Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research for a 
demonstration designed to provide summer recreational and 
residential programs for orthopedically impaired, multiple 
handicapped and medically frail children and adults. Funds 
would be used to operate programs with progressive educational 
and therapeutic techniques that would maximize each 
individual's mobility and potential for independent living. The 
conferees note that the Hebrew Academy for Special Education in 
New York City would be especially suited for such a 
demonstration.

           Special Institutions for Persons with Disabilities

                 american printing house for the blind

      The conference agreement provides $8,186,000 for the 
American Printing House for the Blind as proposed by the House 
instead of $7,906,000 as proposed by the Senate.

               national technical institute for the deaf

      The conference agreement provides $44,141,000 for the 
National Technical Institute for the Deaf as proposed by the 
Senate instead of $43,841,000 as proposed by the House.

                          gallaudet university

      The conference agreement provides $81,000,000 for 
Gallaudet University as proposed by the Senate instead of 
$80,682,000 as proposed by the House.

                     Vocational and Adult Education

      The conference agreement includes $1,507,698,000 for 
Vocational and Adult Education instead of the $1,506,975,000 as 
proposed by the House and $1,487,698,000 as proposed by the 
Senate. Included in the agreement for Vocational Education 
basic state grants, is $1,027,550,000, instead of the 
$1,035,550,000 as proposed by the House and $1,015,550,000 
proposed by the Senate and for Adult Education the agreement 
provides $345,339,000, instead of the $340,339,000 provided in 
both the House and Senate bills.
      The conferees also endorse language contained in the 
Senate report under the national programs account regarding a 
demonstration project to develop work force skills for this 
nation's expanding audio-visual communications industry.

                      Student Financial Assistance

      The conference agreement provides $8,978,934,000 for 
Student Financial Assistance instead of $9,046,407,000 as 
proposed by the House and $8,591,641,000 as proposed by the 
Senate. The conference agreement sets the maximum Pell Grant at 
$3,000 and provides a program level of $7,154,000,000 for 
current law Pell Grants which includes $7,058,000,000 in new 
appropriations and $96,000,000 in carryover funds from the 
previous year as authorized by law. The agreement provides an 
additional $286,000,000 which may be used, if not needed to 
fund the maximum $3,000 Pell Grantaccording to the latest 
available estimates at the time the Pell Grant schedules are published, 
to increase the income protection allowances (IPAs) for independent and 
dependent students in the need analysis formula used for all need-based 
student financial assistance programs.
      To the extent that Pell Grant funds are available in 
excess of the amount needed to fund a $3,000 maximum award at 
the time the Pell Grant payment schedule is issued, the 
Secretary may increase the IPAs above the statutory amounts 
previously in effect, up to the amounts established in this 
conference agreement. The conferees expect the Secretary to 
provide a full $3,000 maximum Pell Grant. However, in the event 
that future estimates indicate that the amounts available are 
not sufficient to fully fund a $3,000 maximum Pell Grant at the 
IPA levels in effect prior to enactment of this Act, the 
conference agreement requires the Secretary to reduce Pell 
Grant awards in accord with the award reduction provisions in 
this Act. These provisions have been included in each 
appropriations Act beginning with fiscal year 1994. The 
conferees wish to emphasize that if Pell Grant funds are 
projected to be insufficient to support the higher IPA levels 
permitted by this Act at the time the Pell Grant payment 
schedules are published, the Secretary must first reduce the 
IPA levels, and then, if funds are estimated to be insufficient 
to support a maximum $3,000 Pell Grant at the IPA levels in 
effect prior to enactment of this Act, reduce Pell Grant award 
levels below $3,000.
      The conferees expect that the Secretary will use the most 
recent data available to update program and funding estimates 
and will not artificially alter such estimates for any purpose 
including masking a potential funding shortfall. While the 
conferees understand the difficulty of projecting Pell Grant 
costs several years in the future, they direct the Secretary to 
determine IPA adjustments based on the best program and funding 
estimates available, without regard to margins of error 
associated with statistical estimates. The conferees further 
direct the Secretary to notify the Appropriations Committees of 
the Pell Grant program and funding estimates, the related IPA 
levels to be established for award year 1998-1999, and the 
methodologies for calculating the above at least 15 days prior 
to issuing the Pell Grant payment schedule.
      The legislative changes described above are included in 
the conference report with the full concurrence of the 
authorizing committees of jurisdiction. The IPA changes 
authorized in this conference agreement are temporary, and the 
conferees expect the authorizing committees of jurisdiction to 
establish permanent IPAs in a reauthorization of the Higher 
Education Act.
      The conference agreement deletes two provisions proposed 
by the Senate and not included in the House bill making 
available funding for the State Student Incentive Grant program 
and the Education Infrastructure program from unobligated 
balances previously appropriated for Pell Grants. The State 
Student Incentive Grant program is separately funded in the 
conference agreement through new appropriations. The conferees 
have provided $135,000,000 for new capital contributions under 
the Perkins Loan program, the amount necessary to maintain the 
same new loan volume in fiscal year 1998 as was provided for 
fiscal year 1997.

             Federal Family Education Loan Program Account

      The conference agreement provides $46,482,000 for the 
Federal Family Education Loan Program Account as proposed by 
the Senate instead of $47,688,000 as proposed by the House.

                            higher education

      The conference agreement provides $946,738,000 for Higher 
Education instead of $909,893,000 as proposed by the House and 
$929,752,000 as proposed by the Senate. The conference 
agreement deletes a provision in the House bill and not 
included in the Senate bill which requires Byrd Scholarships to 
be prorated in order to fund the same number of new 
scholarships in fiscal year 1998 as was funded in fiscal year 
1997. The conference agreement includes a provision as proposed 
by the Senate to permit the Department to award new and 
continuing Javits Fellowships. The House bill permitted the 
award of continuing but not new scholarships. The conference 
agreement includes a provision not included in either the House 
or Senate bills providing $3,000,000 for an education 
technology and distance learning center at Empire State College 
in New York.
      The conferees have included $1,000,000 for the Advanced 
Technical Center at Mexico, Missouri, for the coordinated 
delivery of technical education in cooperation with community 
colleges and secondary education systems including State 
technical schools. Funds will be used to provide participants 
with high-capacity voice, video and data line connections to 
couple the facilities to each other and to satellite up-links. 
Funds will also be used for training of vocational school 
instructors, and community college faculty.
      The conferees encourage the Department to provide the 
amounts suggested and to provide full and fair consideration to 
the potential applicants designated in the Senate report under 
the heading ``Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary 
Education''.
      Regarding International Education and Foreign Language 
Studies domestic programs, the conferees are aware of the 
success of the American Overseas Research Center Program and 
commend the Department for its support of the Centers. However, 
the conferees are concerned that qualified applicants were 
denied awards due to the overall funding limits. To support 
more overseas centers, the conferees urge the Secretary to 
allocate $100,000 for grants to additional centers to be 
awarded on a competitive basis.
      It has been brought to the conferees' attention that a 
problem exists in the distribution of funds to Historically 
Black Graduate Institutions by the Department of Education. The 
conferees question the wisdom of removing funds from one 
institution to transfer them to another institution unless a 
particular institution is unable to meet the prior year 
matching requirement. The inequities in the distribution of 
these funds should be addressed in the reauthorization of the 
Higher Education Act.

                           howard university

      The conference agreement provides $210,000,000 for Howard 
University as proposed by the House instead of $198,000,000 as 
proposed by the Senate. The agreement includes a provision 
proposed by the House to permit Howard University to allocate 
funds for the endowment as authorized by law. The Senate bill 
designated for the endowment and made available until expended 
not less than $3,530,000. The conferees intend that Howard 
University and the Department comply with the House report 
directive regarding the endowment.

             education research, statistics and improvement

      The conference agreement includes $431,438,000 for 
Education Research, Statistics and Improvement, instead of the 
$423,252,000 as proposed by the House and $323,190,000 as 
proposed in the Senate. As noted in the section of this 
Statement on Education Reform, all of the separate technology 
activities formerly funded in this account are now funded as 
part of Education Reform.
      The conferees note that section 931 of P.L. 103-227 gives 
the Office of Research, Statistics and Improvement the 
authority to renew research center grants for five additional 
years after the first competitive award, based on 
recommendations of a 1992 National Academy of Sciences review 
of OERI. The conferees encourage OERI to consider renewal for 
centers performing high quality research as indicated by the 
third-year external review.
      For regional education laboratories, the conferees 
provide $56,000,000, instead of the $57,000,000 as proposed in 
the House bill, and $53,500,000 as proposed by the Senate. The 
conferees agree that $4,000,000 of this amount shall be used in 
accordance with the direction in House Report 105-205 regarding 
comprehensive school reform. Further, the conferees intend that 
the regional laboratory governing boards set the research and 
development priorities to guide the work funded and that the 
funds be obligated and distributed in accordance with the 
fiscal year 1997 allocations by December 1, 1997. The conferees 
further agree that $1,000,000, as proposed by the House, shall 
be for the third year evaluation of the laboratories instead of 
the $2,500,000 as proposed by the Senate.
      For the fund for the improvement of education (FIE), the 
conferees provide $108,100,000 instead of the $80,000,000 as 
proposed by the House and $50,000,000 as proposed by the 
Senate. Except as modified below, the conferees have reviewed 
and concur in the items identified in the House and Senate 
reports.
      Within the funds provided, the conferees encourage the 
Department to conduct a competition for a project to document 
the educational readiness of at-risk children from birth to age 
six which could identify at-risk pregnant mothers who would be 
especially suited to document how different types of support 
systems promote the development and learning of young children.
      Also within FIE, the conferees have included a provision 
which provides up to $1,000,000 to a State education agency to 
pay the cost of appraisals, resource studies and other expenses 
associated with the exchange of state trust land which lies 
within the boundaries of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National 
Monument for other lands outside of the monument. This 
provision would reimburse the state of Utah for certain costs 
associated with the exchange of this land.
      Within FIE, the conferees specifically endorse the 
language contained in the House report (105-205) relating to 
the Jump Start program and the Model Youth program and have 
provided $225,000 for the National Student and Parent Mock 
Elections.
      The conferees have included within the funding available 
for the fund for the improvement of education, $55,000 for 
community based projects to assist with the education and 
mentoring of children who are at-risk. The After School program 
of the St. Stephen Life Center in Louisville, Kentucky provides 
assistance to at-risk students with homework, tutoring, 
computer literacy, humanities instruction and personal finance 
skills, while stressing self-sufficiency, innovation, respect 
and quality of life for students.
      The conferees have also provided $350,000 for the White 
Plains City School District to expand the after-school program 
housed in the schools and run by the City's Youth Bureau. The 
current program provides child care and recreational activities 
to low-income families. These funds will be used to add an 
academic component to the program including computer 
instructions, literacy and parenting education to parents and 
expansion of the program to the summer months.
      The agreement includes $500,000 for a demonstration 
project to support public broadcasting of student performed 
classical music. The Young Performance series, which affords 
six to eighteen-year-old musicians the opportunity to air their 
talents, would be especially suited to carry out such a 
demonstration.
      The conferees have included $1,000,000 for the National 
Museum of Women in the Arts for activities associated with the 
archiving of works by women artists. The conferees have also 
included $5,000,000 for programs to provide at-risk children 
with innovative learning opportunities in safe learning 
environments. Monies have been provided to the Children's 
Museums in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and Children's 
Museums in Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry in 
Chicago to operate these programs which will include 
multidisciplinary cultural programming that integrates the arts 
and humanities with mathematics and science.
      Within the funds provided for FIE, the conferees have 
included $8,000,000 for a demonstration of public school 
facilities repair and construction to be awarded to the Iowa 
Department of Education. Also included within the funds 
provided for FIE is $100,000 for a project in Montgomery County 
Pennsylvania to develop and install computer networking and 
telecommunications.
      The conferees have included $500,000 for enhanced teacher 
training for a longitudinal project ``Early Interventions for 
Children and Reading Problems'' involving nine public 
elementary schools in the District of Columbia. Such a project 
will focus upon research-based components critical to success 
in learning to read and spell (phonemic awareness, alphabetic 
and orthographic knowledge, and comprehension strategy 
instruction) all within a literature-rich environment. The 
Teacher training component will involve five activities: 
general coordination/training, generic teacher training, 
comprehension training, teacher processes and curriculum-based 
assessments.
      The conference agreement includes $26,000,000 for 
comprehensive school reform, instead of $50,000,000 proposed 
the House and no funding proposed by the Senate. The agreement 
also provides for extended availability of $25,000,000.
      The conferees direct that the $25,000,000 be awarded by 
the Secretary of Education to SEAs for grants to LEAs, to be 
used in conjunction with $120,000,000 provided under title I. 
These funds shall be allocated based on each state's relative 
share of the school-age (ages 5-17) population to SEAs, upon 
application to the Secretary, except that the Secretary may 
utilize other reasonable criteria to determine state 
allocations. In cases where a SEA declines to apply for its 
formula-based allocation, the Secretary shall reallocate the 
funds to other states that have a need for additional funds to 
implement comprehensive school reform programs. The Secretary 
may reserve up to one percent of the funds for grants to Indian 
schools and the territories, and up to one percent of the 
funds, that combined with the title I evaluation set-aside, 
shall be used for national evaluation activities.
      The conferees intend that schools receiving financial 
assistance under this account select or develop comprehensive 
school reform approaches that meet the criteria outlinedunder 
title I--demonstration of innovative practices, and that requirements 
for state and LEA applications outlined under title I--demonstration of 
innovative practices also apply, except that any school within an LEA 
may be included in the LEA's application for financial assistance 
provided under this account. The conferees further agree that the 
Secretary shall administer the comprehensive school reform initiative 
as a unified program, and that each SEA and LEA may develop a 
consolidated application for funds provided under both this and the 
title I account.
      In awarding competitive grants to LEAs using FIE funds, 
the conferees direct SEAs to make awards that are of sufficient 
size and scope to support the initial start-up costs for the 
particular comprehensive reform plan selected or designed by 
the schools identified in the LEA application, but that are not 
less than $50,000 per school and renewable for two additional 
years after the initial award. The conferees encourage SEAs to 
award grants to LEAs in different parts of the state, including 
urban and rural communities, and to LEAs proposing to serve 
schools at different grade levels (elementary/middle/high 
school), and to LEAs that demonstrate a commitment to assisting 
schools with budget reallocation strategies necessary to ensure 
that comprehensive school reforms are properly implemented and 
sustained in the future. SEAs may reserve up to five percent of 
these funds for administrative, evaluation and technical 
assistance expenses, including expenses necessary to inform 
LEAs and schools about research-based comprehensive school 
reform approaches.
      The conference agreement also includes $1,000,000 that 
the Department shall use to identify research-based approaches 
to comprehensive school reforms that show the most promise of 
meeting the objectives of this initiative, and disseminate that 
information to SEAs, LEAs, and schools so that they can make 
informed choices about what strategies will work best in their 
communities. In identifying such approaches, the Department 
shall consult with outside experts in disciplines relevant to 
school-wide transformation, which may include effective 
teaching and learning methods, child development, assessment, 
school finance, school organization and management, and 
evaluation, on whether such approaches are based on reliable 
research and effective practices. The Department shall report 
to the appropriations and authorizing committees on the process 
and criteria used to determine whether such approaches are 
based on rigorous, reliable research and effective practices.
      The conference agreement includes $40,000,000 for 21st 
Century Community Learning Centers, instead of $50,000,000 as 
proposed by the House and $1,000,000 as proposed by the Senate. 
The conferees agree that the 21st Century Community Learning 
Centers program presents an excellent opportunity to engage at-
risk young people in productive and constructive activities 
during their non-school hours. The conferees urge the 
Department of Education and the Corporation for National and 
Community Service to seek ways to use volunteers to help in the 
process of identifying and developing a cadre of local 
community volunteers to maximize and leverage community 
resources to the fullest extent.
      For Eisenhower professional development national 
activities, the conferees provide $23,300,000 instead of the 
$21,000,000 as proposed by the House and the $25,000,000 
proposed by the Senate. Included within this amount is 
$18,500,000 for the Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 
of which $16,000,000 shall be for assessment development and 
$2,500,000 shall be for teacher subsidies.

                Institute of Museum and Library Services

      The conference agreement provides $146,340,000 for the 
Institute of Museum and Library Services instead of 
$142,000,000 as proposed by the House and $146,369,000 as 
proposed by the Senate. The agreement provides funding under 
the heading ``Institute of Museum and Library Services'' as 
proposed by the Senate instead of ``Libraries'' as proposed by 
the House. The conference agreement deletes a provision of the 
Senate bill not included in the House bill designating 
$15,455,000 for national leadership grants. The conferees 
concur in the provisions of the Senate report regarding a 
project to digitize a card catalog, a project regarding an 
historic medical library collection, a one-of-a-kind historical 
library in Pennsylvania, and a demonstration of interactive 
Internet connections.

                        Departmental Management

      The conference agreement includes $432,806,000 for 
Departmental Management, instead of the $415,270,000 as 
proposed by the House and $429,586,000 in the Senate.
      The conferees recognize that Public Service Recognition 
Week has educated America as to the value of the career 
workforce which carries out the day-to-day operations of 
government. This program, which has existed for over ten years, 
plays an important role in educating our nation's youth and 
providing them with timely information about their government. 
The conferees urge the Secretary to support the elementary and 
secondary education projects of Public Service Recognition 
Week.
      The conferees have deleted without prejudice a provision 
included in the Senate which provided $1,100,000 for the 
Millennium 2000 project.
      The conferees endorse the language outlined in the Senate 
report regarding research programs on reading development and 
disability, and also concur in the directive to the Secretary 
of Education to consult with the Director of the National 
Institute of Child Health and Human Development to convene a 
panel to assess the current status of research and effective 
approaches to teaching children to read.
      The conferees agree that sufficient funds are included to 
enable the Department to expand its Internet website in order 
to provide enhanced information to students on public and 
private student financial assistance programs pursuant to 
section 409(A)(1) of the Higher Education Act.

                           General Provisions

                  SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY BOARD

      The agreement does not include a provision in the House 
bill prohibiting the use of funds for the National Academy of 
Sciences, Space and Technology Advisory Board.

                 STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONS ENDOWMENTS

      The conference agreement includes a provision proposed by 
the House and not included in the Senate bill to permit 
grantees under Title III A and B of the Higher Education Act to 
use funds for the purposes of endowment as authorized under 
Part C of the Act.

                     DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE LENDERS

      The conference agreement deletes two provisions proposed 
by the House and not included in the Senate bill to clarify the 
definition of ``eligible lender'' for the purposes of the 
Federal Family Education Loan program.

             STUDENT LOAN GUARANTY AGENCY RESERVE RECAPTURE

      The conference agreement provides for the recapture of 
$282,000,000 in student loan guaranty agency reserves 
previously held by the Higher Education Assistance Foundation.

                            SCHOOL VIOLENCE

      The conferees have deleted Section 305 of the Senate bill 
without prejudice. The conferees have indicated in this 
Statement that funds for elementary and secondary school 
witnesses and victims of violence are included in Safe and Drug 
Free Schools and Communities National Programs.

                        SCHOOL VIOLENCE HOTLINES

      The agreement deletes Section 306 of the Senate bill 
without prejudice. The conferees have included funding for 
school violence hotlines in Safe and Drug Free Schools and 
Communities National Programs.

                  95 PERCENT OF FUNDS TO LOCAL SCHOOLS

      The conference agreement deletes section 307 as proposed 
by the Senate regarding certification from the Department of 
Education that 95 percent of the funds provided be used 
directly for teachers and students. The House bill contained no 
similar provision.
      The conferees direct the Secretary of Education to 
provide to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the House and 
Senate Committees on Appropriations by April 1, 1998, a 
certification that not less than 95 percent of the amount 
appropriated to the Department of Education is being used 
directly for teachers and students. If the Secretary determines 
that less than 95 percent of such amount is being used directly 
for teachers and students, the Secretary shall certify the 
percentage of such amount that is being used for this purpose.

                           SMALLER CLASS SIZE

      The conference agreement deletes section 308 as proposed 
by the Senate requiring the Secretary of Education to conduct a 
study regarding enrollments. The House bill contained no 
similar provision.
      The conferees direct the Secretary to conduct a study 
examining the economic, educational and societal costs of the 
increase in enrollment of secondary school students during the 
period 1998-2008; the creation of smaller class sizes for 
students enrolled in grades 1 through 3; and the increase in 
enrollments in relation to the creation of smaller class sizes. 
The study should also include the cost to state and local 
school districts. The conferees further direct the Secretary to 
report to the Congress within 9 months of enactment of this 
Act. This report should include recommendations regarding what 
local school districts, States and the Federal Government can 
do to address the issue of increased enrollments of secondary 
school students and the need for smaller class sizes in grades 
1 through 3.

                              PELL GRANTS

      The conference agreement deletes a provision proposed by 
the Senate and not included in the House bill expressing the 
sense of the Senate regarding Pell Grants.

                       TITLE IV--RELATED AGENCIES

                      Armed Forces Retirement Home

      The conference agreement provides $68,669,000 for the 
Armed Forces Retirement Home instead of $70,277,000 as proposed 
by the House and $65,452,000 as proposed by the Senate. The 
conference agreement includes a provision not contained in the 
House or Senate bills which permits the Armed Forces Retirement 
Home to contract for planned renovation activities specified in 
the budget request. Due to budgetary constraints, the conferees 
have not included the full amount requested for capital 
projects but have provided legislative authority to allow the 
Home to contract for the completion of the requested capital 
activities pending future appropriations.

             Corporation for National and Community Service

        domestic volunteer service programs, operating expenses

      The conference agreement provides $256,604,000 for the 
Domestic Volunteer Service programs instead of $227,547,000 as 
proposed by the House and $232,604,000 as proposed by the 
Senate.

               Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

                         salaries and expenses

      The conference agreement includes the citation for the 
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service proposed by the 
House.

                        National Mediation Board

                         salaries and expenses

      The conference agreement includes $8,600,000 as proposed 
by the Senate instead of $8,400,000 as proposed by the House.

            Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

                         salaries and expenses

      The conference agreement provides $7,900,000 for the 
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission as proposed by 
the House instead of $7,800,000 as proposed by the Senate.

                  Medicare Payment Advisory Commission

                         salaries and expenses

      The conference agreement provides $7,015,000 for the 
consolidated Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. The House 
bill provided $3,258,000 for the Physician Payment Review 
Commission and $3,257,000 for the Prospective Payment 
Assessment Commission. The Senate bill provided $3,508,000 for 
the Physician Payment Review Commission and $3,507,000 for the 
Prospective Payment Assessment Commission. The Prospective 
Payment Assessment Commission and the Physician Review 
Commission were consolidated into the Medicare Payment Advisory 
Commission pursuant to section 1805 of P.L. 105-33, the Budget 
Reconciliation Act for 1997.

                       Railroad Retirement Board

                     dual benefits payments account

      The conference agreement provides $193,500,000 for dual 
benefits payments as proposed by the Senate instead of 
$194,000,000 as proposed by the House.

                      limitation on administration

      The conference agreement includes a limitation on 
transfers from the railroad trust funds of $87,228,000 for 
administrative expenses instead of $85,728,000 as proposed by 
the House and $87,728,000 as proposed by the Senate.

             limitation on the office of inspector general

      The conference agreement includes a limitation on 
transfers from the railroad trust funds of $5,794,000 for the 
Office of Inspector General instead of $5,000,000 as proposed 
by the House and $5,394,000 as proposed by the Senate. The 
conference agreement includes a provision by the House 
prohibiting the use of funds other than those provided under 
this heading for the Office of Inspector General. The 
conference agreement includes a provision proposed by the House 
prohibiting the use of funds for any audit, investigation or 
review of the Medicare program.

                     Social Security Administration

                  supplemental security income program

      The conference agreement includes $16,370,000,000 for the 
Supplemental Security Income Program instead of $16,380,000,000 
as proposed by the House and $16,417,525,000 as proposed by the 
Senate. The agreement deletes without prejudice a provision 
proposed by the Senate and not included in the House bill 
designating $2,225,000 for a limb loss disability return to 
work demonstration project.

                 limitation on administrative expenses

      The conference agreement includes a limitation of 
$6,409,040,000 on transfers from the Social Security and 
Medicare trust funds and Supplemental Security Income program 
for administrative activities instead of $6,418,040,000 as 
proposed by the House and $6,462,708,000 as proposed by the 
Senate. The conference agreement includes the citation for 
section 10203 of Public Law 105-33 as proposed by the Senate. 
The conference agreement includes a provision not proposed in 
either the House or Senate bills allowing the Social Security 
Administration to use unexpended fiscal year 1997 funds for 
fiscal year 1998 activities.
      The conference agreement includes a provision proposed by 
the House and not included in the Senate bill requiring the 
Secretary of the Treasury to reimburse the trust funds from 
general revenues for expenditures related to union activities 
performed on official time. The conferees request that Social 
Security coordinate with the government-wide reporting effort 
which will be undertaken by the Office of Personnel Management 
in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget as 
required by Public Law 105-61.
      The conferees support the Social Security 
Administration's unique, cooperative training program for 
Administrative Law Judges which is recognized by State Bar 
Associations for continuing legal education credits. The 
conferees encourage the Office of Hearings and Appeals to 
continue this training program and to expand financial support 
to enable greater ALJ participation.

                      office of inspector general

                     (including transfer of funds)

      The conference agreement provides $48,424,000 for the 
Office of Inspector General through a combination of general 
revenues and limitations on trust fund transfers instead of 
$52,424,000 as proposed by the House and $37,354,000 as 
proposed by the Senate.

                      TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS

                    distribution of sterile needles

      Both the House and Senate bills contained restrictions on 
the use of federal funds for the distribution of sterile 
needles for the injection of any illegal drug (section 505). 
The Senate bill repeated language from previous appropriations 
bills allowing the Secretary to waive the prohibition if she 
determined that such programs are effective in preventing the 
spread of HIV and do not encourage the use of illegal drugs. 
The House bill removed the Secretary's authority over this 
issue.
      The conference agreement includes the House language 
prohibiting the use of federal funds for carrying out any 
program for the distribution of sterile needles or syringes for 
the injection of any illegal drug. This provision is consistent 
with the goal of discouraging illegal drug use and not 
increasing the number of needles and syringes in communities.
      The conference agreement also includes bill language 
limiting the use of federal funds for sterile needle and 
syringe exchange projects until March 31, 1998. After that date 
such projects may proceed if (1) the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services determines that exchange projects are effective 
in preventing the spread of HIV and do not encourage the use of 
illegal drugs; and (2) the project is operated in accordance 
with criteria established by the Secretary for preventing the 
spread of HIV and for ensuring that the project does not 
encourage the use of illegal drugs. This provision is 
consistent with the goal of allowing the Secretary maximum 
authority to protect public health while not increasing the 
overall number of needles and syringes in communities.
      With respect to the first criteria, the conferees expect 
the Secretary to make a determination based on a review of the 
relevant science. If the Secretary makes the necessary 
determination, then the conferees expect the Secretary to 
require the chief public health officer of the State or 
political subdivision proposing to use federal funds for 
exchange projects to notify the Secretary that, at a minimum, 
all of the following conditions are met: (1) a program for 
preventing HIV transmission is operating in the community; (2) 
the State or local health officer has determined that an 
exchange project is likely to be an effective component of such 
a prevention program; (3) the exchange project provides 
referrals for treatment of drug abuse and for other appropriate 
health and social services; (4) such project provides 
information on reducing the risk of transmission of HIV; (5) 
the project complies with established standards for the 
disposal of hazardous medical waste; and (6) the State or local 
health officer agrees that, as needs are identified by the 
Secretary, the officer will collaborate with federally 
supported programs of research and evaluation that relate to 
exchange projects.
      It is hoped that the delay in implementation of the 
provision with regard to exchange projects will allow the 
authorizing committees sufficient time to conduct a complete 
review and evaluation of the scientific evidence, as well as 
any conditions proposed by the Secretary, and consider the need 
for legislation with regard to these programs. It is the intent 
of the conferees that the Appropriations Committees refrain 
from further restrictions on the Secretary's authority over 
exchange after March 31, 1998.

                               technical

      The conference agreement inserts the word ``the'' before 
the word ``Departments'' in section 516 as proposed by the 
House.

                    salaries and expenses reduction

      The conference agreement deletes section 517 of the 
Senate bill that would have reduced salaries and expenses 
appropriations for all agencies in the bill by a total of 
$75,500,000 to be allocated by the Office of Management and 
Budget. The House had no similar provision.

                           teamsters election

      The conference agreement includes a general provision 
(section 518) proposed by the House that prohibits the use of 
funds in this Act for the election of officers of the 
International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The conference 
agreement deletes section 106 of the Senate bill which included 
a related provision. The conferees are aware that the U.S. 
District Court is currently supervising the election of IBT 
officers pursuant to a consent decree between the IBT and the 
Department of Justice. This consent decree provided, in part, a 
Federal government option to order supervision of the 1996 
election at government expense. While the Department of Labor 
contributed a portion of the funding to assist the Department 
of Justice in financing the 1996 election supervision expenses, 
it is the understanding of the conferees that the cost to rerun 
this election is expected to be significantly less than the 
original election and will be partially borne by the union. No 
Department of Labor contribution is provided in this bill.

                           tobacco provisions

      The conferees have deleted four provisions included by 
the Senate relating to a national tobacco settlement. The 
conferees concur that these matters should be debated and 
resolved during consideration of tobacco settlement 
implementing legislation. The conferees believe, however, that 
any national tobacco settlement should include a provision 
requiring public disclosure of all private attorneys' fees paid 
by all parties in connection with an action maintained by a 
State against one or more tobacco companies to recover tobacco-
related costs affected by any federal tobacco settlement. 
Furthermore, the conferees agree that the authorizing 
committees with jurisdiction over the implementing legislation 
should consider whether the legislation should limit the rate 
and/or total or private attorneys' fees paid on behalf of 
attorneys or the plaintiffs or defendants in connection with 
any action maintained by a State against one or more tobacco 
companies to recover tobacco-related expenses. Finally, the 
conferees believe that tobacco growers and tobacco growing 
communities should be fairly compensated as part of any 
settlement legislation.

                         education block grants

      The agreement deletes Section 523 of the Senate bill 
regarding education block grants. The House bill contained no 
similar provision. The conferees remain concerned by the 
paperwork and inefficiency associated with the need to apply 
for the many different federal education programs. The House 
and Senate Committees on Appropriations want to work with the 
Department of Education and the General Accounting Office to 
determine the true paperwork and dollar cost to localities 
associated with application and record keeping of these various 
programs.

               prohibition on voluntary national testing

      The House bill contained a prohibition on the use of 
federal funds for the development, planning or administration 
of any national program for testing in reading or mathematics. 
The provision exempts the National Assessment of Educational 
Progress and the Third International Math and Science Study.
      The House bill also contained a provision prohibiting the 
administration of any national tests in 4th grade and reading 
and 8th grade mathematics until the submission of a final 
report by the National Academy of Sciences.
      The Senate bill contained several provisions. The first 
required the Office of Educational Research and Improvement to 
submit to the Senate Appropriations Committee a spending plan 
for activities under the Education Research, Statistics, and 
Improvement account prior to obligation.
      The second gives the National Assessment Governing Board 
exclusive authority over the policies, direction and guidelines 
for implementing voluntary national tests for 4th grade reading 
and 8th grade mathematics. The provision also required that any 
such tests be voluntary and that within 90 days of enactment 
the Board shall review the contact for the national tests and, 
if necessary, modify or terminate and renegotiate any 
contracts. The provision lists the specific authorities of the 
board.
      The third provision also expressly prohibited any State 
or local educational agency from requiring any private, 
parochial school student or home-schooled student to take any 
national test without the written consent of the student.
      The fourth provision of the Senate bill changed the 
composition of the National Assessment Governing Board to add 
one governor, two mayors, and two business representatives and 
make technical changes to the make-up and process for 
appointment to the Board.
      The conferees and the Administration agree that it is 
important to have high, voluntary standards in the basic skills 
of reading and math, to measure whether students are meeting 
these standards, and to provide that information to students, 
parents and teachers. The Administration has proposed voluntary 
national tests in order to measure student achievement related 
to national standards. However, every state already administers 
a number of tests and many are concerned that an additional, 
national, test would be an unnecessary burden.
      To address this concern, the conference agreement (sec. 
305-311) states that the National Academy of Sciences will be 
commissioned to conduct a study of the feasibility of equating 
existing state and commercially available tests with each other 
and with the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The 
purpose of this study is to determine whether it will be 
possible to use existing tests administered by states and local 
school districts to compare individual student performance with 
existing, challenging national content and performance 
standards. The purpose is also to determine if the same tests 
can be used to compare the performance of students in different 
states and communities, on different tests, to each other. The 
NAS shall submit a report on this study to the Congress no 
later than June 15, 1998, and a final report no later than 
September 1, 1998.
      The NAS will conduct this study in consultation with the 
National Governors' Association (NGA), the National Conference 
of State Legislatures (NCSL), NAGB, the Congress and the White 
House. While the NAS study is being conducted, NAGB will have 
exclusive authority over contract RJ97153001, as stated in this 
Act, which will be based on the same content and performance 
standards as are used for NAEP, and which are linked to NAEP to 
the maximum extent possible.
      The conference agreement further provides that the 
National Academy of Sciences shall submit a written report by 
September 1, 1998 to the Committee on Education and Workforce 
in the House of Representatives, the Committee on Labor and 
Human Resources in the Senate, and the House and Senate 
Appropriations Committees that evaluates the technical quality, 
validity and reliability of developed test items on national 
4th grade reading and 8th grade mathematics tests; evaluates 
whether test items are free from racial, cultural or gender 
bias; evaluates whether the test items address the needs of 
disadvantaged, limited English proficient and disabled 
students; and evaluates whether the test items can be used for 
tracking, graduation or promotion of students.
      The conferees intend that the National Assessment 
Governing Board shall hold public hearings on these test 
development activities and on the recommendations submitted by 
the National Academy of Sciences. The National Assessment 
Governing Board shall ensure that such hearings are widely 
publicized, and that activities conducted to publicize such 
hearings communicate effectively with the broad and diverse 
populations that may be affected by such tests.
      The Administration and the authorizing Committees of the 
U.S. Congress will work together to incorporate the findings 
from the NAS study into the reauthorization of NAEP and NAGB. 
The conferees understand that the Administration agrees that, 
where it is feasible and practical to validly and reliably 
equate test scores and link performance levels on State 
assessments and commercially available standardized tests with 
the National Assessment of Education Progress, then these tests 
may serve the same purpose as the proposed national test. To 
the extent that NAS study demonstrates ways in which existing 
tests can be equated with each other and with NAEP, or ways in 
which existing tests can be modified in order to facilitate 
such equating, the Administration and the House Committee on 
Education and Workforce intend to work together to implement 
these recommendations through the reauthorization of NAEP.
      In order to inform future deliberations on the 
appropriate uses of tests measuring student academic 
performance and to prevent the misuse of such tests, 
particularly for minority and limited English proficient 
students, the conference agreement provides for a third study 
to be conducted by the National Academy of Sciences that makes 
recommendations on appropriate methods, practices, and 
safeguards to ensure that existing and new tests that may be 
used to measure student performance are not used in a 
discriminatory manner or inappropriately for tracking or other 
``high stakes'' purposes. The NAS is also directed to report on 
ways to ensure that such tests adequately assess student 
reading and mathematics comprehension in the form most likely 
to yield accurate information regarding student achievement in 
reading and mathematics. The conference agreement provides that 
this NAS report shall be submitted to the White House, National 
Assessment Governing Board, the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce in theHouse of Representatives and the Committee on 
Labor and Human Services in the Senate, and the Committees on 
Appropriations in the House of Representatives and Senate not later 
than September 1, 1998.
      The conferees encourage the National Assessment Governing 
Board and the National Academy of Sciences, in convening any 
advisory committees or expert panels needed to carry out the 
requirements of this Act, to take into account racial, ethnic 
and gender diversity and balance.
      The conference agreement further provides that the 
federal government shall not require any state, local 
educational agency or school district to administer or 
implement any pilot or field test in any subject or grade, or 
require any student to take any national test in any subject or 
grade. In addition, no federal, state or local educational 
agency may require any private or parochial school student, or 
home-schooled student, to take any pilot or field test 
developed under this Act without the written consent of the 
parents or legal guardians.
      The Conferees understand that the Administration will 
submit legislation for a revised school facilities initiative.

    Limitation on Penalties Under the Individuals With Disabilities 
                             Education Act

      The agreement deletes section 521 of the House bill 
limiting the penalties the Secretary of Education may impose on 
states not providing special education services to individuals 
18 years or older who are incarcerated in adult state prisons.

                      abortion funding restriction

      Both the House and Senate bills contain a revised version 
of the Hyde amendment. This updated version clarifies the 
intent of that amendment, approved annually since 1976 by 
Congress. Since 1993 the Hyde amendment has prohibited federal 
funding of abortions in Medicaid and other programs governed by 
the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill, except when 
the relevant federal agency is notified that the pregnancy is 
due to rape or incest or that the mother's life would be 
endangered if the fetus were carried to term.
      A technical clarification is deemed necessary because 
many states are now arranging for delivery of health benefits 
through managed care, using federal funds to help pay for 
premiums for health benefits packages instead of suing them to 
reimburse for specific procedures after the fact. The words 
``managed care'' in subsections 509(c) and 510(c) are intended 
to cover any arrangement that involves contracting for a 
package of health benefits, as opposed to providing 
reimbursement for specific procedures.
      The intent of section 509 is to ensure that no federal 
funds are used to pay for abortions, or to contract with a 
provider or insurer for a package of health benefits that 
includes abortions, beyond those abortions specified in 
subsection 510(a). The amendment does not affect or apply to 
the use of separate state, local, or private funds, other than 
Medicaid matching funds, to pay for abortions or to contract 
for abortion coverage, so long as such coverage is contracted 
for separately from the federally subsidized contract. It does 
not bar a state or locality from contracting separately with a 
managed care provider or insuring organization for abortions or 
abortion coverage for patients who use a federal program, so 
long as the State's or locality's contribution of Medicaid 
matching funds is not used for this purpose. Federal agencies 
or entities of the federal government may not separately 
provide or contract for such abortions or abortion coverage, 
because they are barred from funding abortions or including 
abortion coverage (beyond those abortions specified in 
subsection 510(a)) in health benefits packages paid for in 
whole or in part with funds appropriated under this Act. (The 
conferees note that Congress has also prohibited the use of 
federal funds to subsidize contracts including abortion 
coverage, while allowing states to contract separately for 
abortion coverage if they choose to do so, under the State 
Children's Health Insurance Program P.L. 105-33).
      This amendment also clarifies the intent of the Hyde 
amendment's ``life of the mother'' exception, restricting it to 
cases ``where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, 
physical injury, or physical illness'' that a physician has 
certified would ``place the woman in danger of death unless an 
abortion is performed.'' Similar language has been approved 
repeatedly by Congress as part of a proposed ban on partial-
birth abortion. The life-endangering physical condition may be 
one that is ``caused by or arising from the pregnancy 
itself''--that is, it may be a life-threatening physical 
illness that did not pre-exist the woman's pregnancy.
      This language is intended to prevent expansive 
interpretations of the ``life of the mother'' exception. The 
exception applies only if the individual woman herself suffers 
from ``a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical 
illness'' that would, ``as certified by a physician, place the 
woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed.''

                       TITLE VI--OTHER PROVISIONS

      The conference agreement includes a number of legislative 
provisions which the conferees have consolidated into a 
separate title of the bill. These provisions concern the 
following subjects: Parkinson's disease research, Minnesota and 
Wyoming Medicaid disproportionate share hospitals, refugee 
program authorization, Social Security personal earnings and 
benefit estimates, a technical correction to the Department of 
Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, a 
technical correction to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 related 
to the welfare-to-work program, and Medicaid eligibility for 
Vietnamese commandos imprisoned by North Vietnam. Most of them 
are discussed in this joint statement at the places where they 
originally appeared in the bill.

   h.r. 2169, the department of transportation and related agencies 
                 appropriations act technical amendment

      The conference agreement includes a provision (section 
607) that makes available an additional $50,000,000 in 
liquidating cash in fiscal year 1998 for trust fund share of 
expenses. This provision is necessary to provide sufficient 
liquidating cash in fiscal year 1998 to cover the contract 
authority made available for transit formula grants in the H.R. 
2169, the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act. This appropriation corrects an error in the 
fiscal year 1998 Department of Transportation and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act and is scored as a mandatory 
appropriation in the annual budget process.

                  welfare to work technical amendment

      The conference agreement includes a technical correction 
to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 with respect to the welfare-
to-work program. The provision corrects a drafting error with 
respect to the State matching requirement. This provision was 
not contained in either the House or the Senate bill.

                       student loan consolidation

      The conference agreement includes a new provision 
(section 609) of the bill which was not included in either the 
House or Senate bills. This provision amends the Higher 
Education Act to permit the consolidation of certain student 
loans and to clarify the treatment of education tax credits in 
determining the amount of Federal student financial assistance 
available to individual students.

                   TITLE VII--NATIONAL HEALTH MUSEUM

      The conference agreement includes a new title VII of the 
bill that inserts the National Health Museum Development Act. 
This Act specifies that the National Health Museum shall be 
located on or near the Mall on land owned by the Federal 
government or the District of Columbia in the District of 
Columbia. It also establishes a commission to conduct a study 
of the appropriate Federal role in the planning and operation 
of the National Health Museum. The Commission will submit the 
study within one year of its first meeting and then terminate. 
The Museum would be the nation's central public resource for 
education in the health sciences. This provision was not in 
either the House or Senate bills.

                          Conference Agreement

      The following table displays the amounts agreed to for 
each program, project or activity with appropriate comparisons:





                                   John Edward Porter,
                                   Bill Young,
                                   Henry Bonilla,
                                   Dan Miller,
                                   Jay Dickey,
                                   Roger F. Wicker,
                                   Anne M. Northup,
                                   Bob Livingston,
                                   David Obey,
                                   Louis Stokes,
                                   Steny H. Hoyer,
                                   Nancy Pelosi,
                                   Nita M. Lowey,
                                   Rosa L. DeLauro,
                                 Managers on the Part of the House.
                                   Arlen Specter,
                                   Thad Cochran,
                                   Slade Gorton,
                                   Kit Bond,
                                   Judd Gregg,
                                   Larry E. Craig,
                                   Lauch Faircloth,
                                   Kay Bailey Hutchison,
                                   Ted Stevens,
                                   Fritz Hollings,
                                   Tom Harkin,
                                   Daniel K. Inouye,
                                   Dale Bumpers,
                                   Harry Reid,
                                   Herb Kohl,
                                   Patty Murray,
                                   Robert C. Byrd,
                                Managers on the Part of the Senate.

                                
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