House Report 105-609 - DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 1999

[House Report 105-609]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

105th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

2d Session 105-609
_______________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL,
1999

_______

July 8, 1998.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______

Mr. Regula, from the Committee on Appropriations, submitted the
following

R E P O R T

together with

ADDITIONAL VIEWS

[To accompany H.R. 4193]

The Committee on Appropriations submits the following
report in explanation of the accompanying bill making
appropriations for the Department of the Interior and Related
Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999. The
bill provides regular annual appropriations for the Department
of the Interior (except the Bureau of Reclamation) and for
other related agencies, including the Forest Service, the
Department of Energy, the Indian Health Service, the
Smithsonian Institution, and the National Foundation on the
Arts and the Humanities.

CONTENTS

_______________________________________________________________________

Page number

Bill Report
Department of the Interior:
Bureau of Land Management......................... 2
11
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service..................... 10
20
National Park Service.............................. 16
28
U.S. Geological Survey............................. 21
46
Minerals Management Service........................ 24
50
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement.................................... 25
53
Bureau of Indian Affairs........................... 29
55
Departmental Offices............................... 37
63
General Provisions................................. 43
68
Related Agencies:
Forest Service, USDA............................... 55
69
Department of Energy............................... 69
91
Clean Coal Technology..............................
91
Fossil Energy Research and Development............. 69
91
Alternative Fuels Production....................... 69
94
Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves............. 70
95
Energy Conservation................................ 70
95
Economic Regulation................................ 71
102
Strategic Petroleum Reserve........................ 71
102
Energy Information Administration.................. 71
102
Indian Health Service, DHHS................................ 75
104
Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation................ 82
111
Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and
Arts Development.......................................
111
Smithsonian Institution.................................... 83
112
National Gallery of Art.................................... 86
115
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts............. 87
116
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars........... 88
117
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities......... 88
118
Commission of Fine Arts.................................... 90
121
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.................. 91
122
National Capital Planning Commission....................... 91
122
United States Holocaust Memorial Council................... 91
123
Presidio Trust............................................. 92
123
Title III--General Provisions.............................. 92
124

Comparison With Budget Resolution

Section 308(a)(1)(A) of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344), as
amended, requires that the report accompanying a bill providing
new budget authority contain a Statement detailing how the
authority compares with the reports submitted under section 302
of the Act for the most recently agreed to concurrent
resolution on the budget for the fiscal year. This information
follows:

[In millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sec. 302(b) This bill--
---------------------------------------------------
Discretionary Mandatory Discretionary Mandatory
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget authority............................................ 13,370 58 13,370 59
Outlays..................................................... 14,029 58 14,023 58
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary of the Bill

The Committee has conducted extensive hearings on the
programs and projects provided for in the Interior and Related
Agencies Appropriations bill for 1999. The hearings are
contained in 11 published volumes totaling nearly 11,000 pages.
During the course of the hearings, testimony was taken at
21 hearings on 18 days from more than 500 witnesses, not only
from agencies which come under the jurisdiction of the Interior
Subcommittee, but also from Members of Congress, State and
local government officials, and private citizens.
The bill that is recommended for fiscal year 1999 has been
developed after careful consideration of all the facts and
details available to the Committee.

BUDGET AUTHORITY RECOMMENDED IN BILL BY TITLE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee bill
Activity Budget estimates, Committee bill, compared with
fiscal year 1999 fiscal year 1999 budget estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title I, Department of the Interior: New Budget
(obligational) authority.............................. $7,122,163,000 $6,644,961,000 -$477,202,000
Title II, related agencies: New Budget (obligational)
authority............................................. 7,146,181,000 6,774,553,000 -371,541,000
--------------------------------------------------------
Grand total, New Budget (obligational) authority. 14,268,344,000 13,419,514,000 -848,743,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total Appropriations for the Department of the Interior and Related
Agencies

In addition to the amounts in the accompanying bill, which
are reflected in the table above, permanent legislation
authorizes the continuation of certain government activities
without consideration by the Congress during the annual
appropriations process.
Details of these activities are listed in tables at the end
of this report. In fiscal year 1998, these activities are
estimated to total $3,071,817,000. The estimate for fiscal year
1999 is $3,058,254,000.
The following table reflects the total budget
(obligational) authority contained both in this bill and in
permanent appropriations for fiscal years 1998 and 1999.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES TOTAL BUDGET AUTHORITY FOR FISCAL YEARS 1998-99
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Fiscal year 1998 Fiscal year 1999 Change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interior and related agencies appropriations bill...... $14,109,493,000 $13,419,514,000 -$689,979,000
Permanent appropriations, Federal funds................ 2,113,780,000 2,147,503,000 +33,723,000
Permanent appropriations, trust funds.................. 958,037,000 910,751,000 -47,286,000
--------------------------------------------------------
Total budget authority........................... 17,181,310,000 16,477,768,000 -703,542,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Revenue Generated by Agencies in Bill

The following tabulation indicates total new obligational
authority to date for fiscal years 1997 and 1998, and the
amount recommended in the bill for fiscal year 1999. It
compares receipts generated by activities in this bill on an
actual basis for fiscal year 1997 and on an estimated basis for
fiscal years 1998 and 1999. The programs in this bill are
estimated to generate $8.0 billion in revenues for the Federal
Government in fiscal year 1999. Therefore, the expenditures in
this bill will contribute to economic stability rather than
inflation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal year--
Item --------------------------------------------------------
1997 1998 1999
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New obligational authority............................. $13,514,435,000 $14,109,493,000 $13,419,514,000
Receipts:
Department of the Interior......................... 7,786,883,000 8,831,687,000 7,260,624,000
Forest Service..................................... 689,207,000 768,210,000 738,743,000
Naval Petroleum Reserves........................... 516,000,000 175,000,000 7,000,000
--------------------------------------------------------
Total receipts................................... 8,992,040,000 9,774,897,000 8,006,367,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Application of General Reductions

The level at which sequestration reductions shall be taken
pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
Act of 1985, if such reductions are required in fiscal year
1999, is defined by the Committee as follows:
As provided for by section 256(l)(2) of Public Law 99-177,
as amended, and for the purpose of a Presidential Order issued
pursuant to section 254 of said Act, the term ``program,
project, and activity'' for items under the jurisdiction of the
Appropriations Subcommittees on the Department of the Interior
and Related Agencies of the House of Representatives and the
Senate is defined as (1) any item specifically identified in
tables or written material set forth in the Interior and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, or accompanying committee
reports or the conference report and accompanying joint
explanatory Statement of the managers of the committee of
conference; (2) any Government-owned or Government-operated
facility; and (3) management units, such as National parks,
National forests, fish hatcheries, wildlife refuges, research
units, regional, State and other administrative units and the
like, for which funds are provided in fiscal year 1999.
The Committee emphasizes that any item for which a specific
dollar amount is mentioned in any accompanying report,
including all increases over the budget estimate approved by
the Committee, shall be subject to a percentage reduction no
greater or less than the percentage reduction applied to all
domestic discretionary accounts.

Land and Water Conservation Fund

Following is a comparison of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund by agency. More specific information can be
found in each agency's land acquisition account.

LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND
[In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enacted fiscal Estimated fiscal
year 1998 year 1999 Recommended
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assistance to States:
Matching grants.................................... 0 0 0
Administrative expenses............................ $1,000 $1,000 $500
--------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, assistance to States................... 1,000 1,000 500
========================================================
Federal programs:
Bureau of Land Management.......................... 11,200 15,000 10,000
Fish and Wildlife Service.......................... 62,632 60,500 30,000
National Park Service.............................. 142,290 137,087 68,500
Forest Service..................................... 52,976 56,057 30,000
--------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, Federal programs....................... 269,098 268,644 138,500
========================================================
Total LWCF....................................... 270,098 269,644 139,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Committee has included $139,000,000 to cover the land
acquisition needs of the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and the Forest
Service.

Indian Programs

Spending for Indian services by the Federal Government in
total is included in the following table:

FEDERAL FUNDING OF INDIAN PROGRAMS
[In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal year 1997, Fiscal year 1998, Fiscal year 1999,
Budget authority actual enacted budget estimate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Agriculture.............................. $150,564 $161,352 $170,937
Department of Commerce................................. 7,579 4,602 4,605
Department of Defense.................................. 8,000 8,000 0
Department of Justice.................................. 105,600 94,829 253,335
Department of Education................................ 1,256,900 1,379,200 1,388,200
Department of HHS...................................... 2,610,735 2,749,696 2,828,822
Department of HUD...................................... 547,050 672,000 678,000
Department of Veterans Affairs......................... 205 515 515
Department of the Interior............................. 1,884,968 1,973,883 2,112,725
Department of Labor.................................... 68,342 69,655 69,655
Department of Transportation........................... 164,286 164,286 164,286
Environmental Protection Agency........................ 107,892 139,336 161,192
Smithsonian Institution................................ 22,000 49,000 46,000
Army Corps of Engineers................................ 21,273 15,723 9,617
Other Independent Agencies............................. 24,845 19,250 18,188
--------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................ 6,980,239 7,501,327 7,906,077
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Constitutional Authority

Clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the House of Representatives
states that:

Each report of a committee on a bill or joint
resolution of a public character, shall include a
Statement citing the specific powers granted to the
Congress in the Constitution to enact the law proposed
by the bill or joint resolution.

The Committee on Appropriations bases its authority to
report this legislation from Clause 7 of Section 9 of Article I
of the Constitution of the United States of America which
States: ``No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in
consequence of Appropriations made by law . . . .''
Appropriations contained in this Act are made pursuant to
this specific power granted by the Constitution.

Committee Recommendations Compared With the Administration's Budget
Request

The Committee has carefully examined the needs of the many
agencies covered by this bill in the context of the budget
allocation. Unfortunately, the Administration ignored the
budget agreement in submitting its fiscal year 1999 budget
request. For the Interior bill alone, the request exceeded the
fiscal year 1998 allocation by $1.1 billion. The Administration
proposed to fund much of this increase by spending money we
don't have--namely, tax increases that are not in law and not
even under serious consideration. The Administration has not
submitted legislative proposals that would yield the additional
revenues that it proposes to spend in the fiscal year 1999
budget request.
The Committee has applied the ``fairness'' principle in
allocating funding in this bill. The Administration's emphasis
was on many new and expanded programs rather than adequately
funding current ongoing programs. One egregious example is the
Indian Health Service. The American Indian and Alaska Native
people are the most disadvantaged in this Nation when it comes
to health care. For example, only 25% of the Indian population
receives dental care and the rates of suicide, alcoholism and
diabetes are far in excess of the population as a whole. Yet,
despite all its proposed increases, the Administration's budget
request did not address this basic health crisis. No funds were
included for pay increases for health professionals. No funds
were requested for inflationary costs. No funds were requested
for new tribes recognized by the Administration. No funds were
requested for staffing and operating newly constructed
hospitals and clinics. Funds for maintenance of health
facilities were reduced. Funds for water and sewer facilities
in Indian homes were reduced. No funds were requested to
address the deficit in contract support costs for those tribes
that manage their own health programs and no funds were
requested for new or expanded Indian self-determination
contracts or self-governance compacts. The Committee has
attempted, in this bill, to rectify the IHS funding inequity in
the Administration's budget request.
The Administration focused much of its proposed budget
increase on the Department of Energy programs in this bill,
including global warming/climate change programs. The Committee
has not agreed to fund those programs in the absence of any
international agreements. Also, the Committee believes that the
Department of Energy needs to focus and streamline its programs
and to work with the States and industry in doing so. More
programs need to be eliminated or consolidated so that the
research we do conduct yields timely and meaningful results.
The Department of Energy's attitude toward research has been
that almost everything that has been done in the past should be
continued or expanded, and funding for new research programs
should be added on top of that. This attitude is clearly
evident in the fiscal year 1999 budget request. The Committee
expects the Administration and the Department of Energy to
submit a more reasoned and focused budget request for fiscal
year 2000 that recognizes both fiscal constraints and the need
to leverage State and private industry money for the most
essential research needs.
Finally, the Administration requested large increases for
Endangered Species Act programs. The Committee believes the
Administration should submit a legislative proposal for
reauthorizing that Act. The proposal should address needed
reforms in ESA.

Backlog Maintenance and Improvements

In its fiscal year 1999 recommendations for the various
programs in the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations
bill, the Committee has continued its emphasis on ``taking care
of what we have in the public trust''. The budget submitted by
the Administration focused on new and expanded programs and did
not adequately address maintenance and operational shortfalls
in many cases. The Committee understands that new initiatives
and new land acquisition and construction projects make for
``good press'', and most of these proposals are worthy of
consideration. However, in a constrained budget climate,
funding for day-to-day operations and maintenance requirements
must take higher precedence.
The Committee held oversight hearings on the maintenance
backlog and construction programs in the land management
agencies over the past year. Participants at those hearings
included officials from the General Accounting Office (GAO),
the Inspectors General (IG) of the Departments of the Interior
and Agriculture, the Bureau of Land Management, the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service,
and the Forest Service. Those hearings demonstrated that none
of the land management agencies had an adequate program for
categorizing and addressing maintenance and construction needs.
The GAO and IG officials all testified that the maintenance
backlog lists lacked credibility and, in some cases, were
totally unacceptable. Neither the National Park Service nor the
Forest Service were able to demonstrate that they had any
definitive idea of what their backlog maintenance needs were.
The systems in use did not have standardized definitions of
what constitutes backlog and what constitutes routine
maintenance. Nor did they have acceptable methodologies for
establishing priorities or estimating costs. The National Park
Service system included major construction and land acquisition
projects in the maintenance backlog. The National Park
Service's Denver Service Center is entirely too large and too
expensive for the services provided. The Committee has
addressed this issue in more detail under the National Park
Service account.
The Committee expects the Secretaries of the Interior and
Agriculture and the four land management agencies to
demonstrate dramatic improvements in this area in fiscal year
1999. They also should attempt to standardize across agencies
to the maximum extent practicable. This is an issue that cries
out for management attention at the highest levels of the
Departments and the agencies. The Committee will continue to
monitor progress in this area and expects to see accurate,
clear, complete and consistent explanations of needs in the
fiscal year 2000 budget submissions. The Departments of the
Interior and Agriculture need to demonstrate that they are
spending the taxpayers dollars wisely and that they are
exercising appropriate fiscal constraint in carrying out
programs for, and financed by, the American public.

Federal Land Highway Program Funding Support to Agencies

The Committee is aware of the vast needs of the land
management agencies under its jurisdiction. The Committee has
placed strong emphasis on managing these resources and has
consistently provided significant increases for backlog and
other maintenance needs. The Committee notes that, in addition
to the major increases provided by the Committee in this bill,
the Congress has recently passed the Transportation Equity Act
for the 21st Century. This Act will provide over $4 billion in
additional funds for road construction and repair in the
National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, Indian Reservations, and
other public lands through the year 2003.

Recreational Fee Demonstration Program

The Committee continues to monitor closely the Recreational
Fee Demonstration Program authorized in fiscal year 1996 and
now fully operational. The Committee has recommended extending
the period for an additional two years to accumulate more data
and experience that will prove invaluable in constructing
permanent fee reform legislation. An important lesson learned
to date is that public acceptance changes over time, so
extending the demonstration period is essential for gaining
experience needed to construct permanent legislation. The
Committee is pleased with the progress to date and the
improving trend of agency performance and inter-agency
collaboration. The program has already made a major impact on
the ability of the National Park Service to tackle backlog
maintenance needs and it offers promise for the other agencies
in many locations. The Committee remains committed to using the
new funds, in addition to continued annual appropriations, for
backlog maintenance and other special needs. The Committee
remains enthusiastic about experimentation with new approaches,
especially the entrepreneurship displayed by the Forest
Service. The demonstration projects have not all been
successful, but we are learning that public acceptance of
individual projects changes over time, so that additional time
is needed to test the various methods of fee collections
employed by the four agencies. In general, the public seems
willing to pay fees when they know, and see, the on-the-ground
results at the site where the fees are collected. Various
benefits are being realized, as well documented in the January
31, 1998 report to Congress by the Secretaries of the Interior
and Agriculture. In addition to addressing deferred maintenance
items, we are seeing substantial reductions in vandalism,
increased public safety, wildfire reduction, and enhanced
visitor experiences through a variety of visitor services that
are now possible. The Committee encourages the agencies to
increase interagency projects and to develop additional
mechanisms to make the fee collection more ``seamless'' to the
public.
Each of the four agencies has had a slightly different
experience. The program has had greatest fiscal impact on the
National Park Service because of the preexisting infrastructure
and design of park units for fee collecting. The National Park
Service collected $45 million in fiscal year 1997 and
anticipates revenue collections of $60 million during fiscal
year 1998. Many deferred maintenance projects have already been
accomplished and major parks have a reasonable expectation that
they may finally be able to catch up with unmet needs
accumulated over decades. The Forest Service has 89 fee
demonstration projects as of June 1, 1998. During fiscal year
1997, the Forest Service had 40 projects, which collected $8.7
million; fiscal year 1998 collections are expected to approach
$20 million. The fact that the collecting unit retains the
majority of the funds collected is the single largest selling
point with the public. Public acceptance also has improved as
visible improvements are made with fee dollars and the public
is becoming accustomed to paying for quality experiences on the
National forests and grasslands. Fee dollars are being focused
on long-term backlog maintenance problems and local
enhancements, such as improved toilets, increased safety and
fire patrols, interpretation, and road maintenance. Fiscal year
1998 is the first full year when the Forest Service has a
significant number of operating projects and will prove very
enlightening in terms of the amounts of income generated,
compliance levels, fee collection costs, fee expenditures, and
public acceptance. The Bureau of Land Management approved 17
fee sites and collected fees of $419,000 during fiscal year
1997. In fiscal year 1998, BLM is approving an additional 19
sites, for a total of 36, and expects to collect $2 million.
The BLM is primarily allocating these additional funds to high
priority backlog-maintenance needs. The principal lesson
learned to date by the BLM is to work with local communities
and users when determining the kinds of services desired and
the corresponding fee charged. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service collected $622,000 at 61 sites in fiscal year 1997. In
fiscal year 1998 the Service estimates collections totalling
$3,300,000 at 71 sites.

Recreation on the Public Lands

Public participation in recreation programs funded in this
bill is an important and growing aspect of the land management
agencies under the jurisdiction of this Committee. These
agencies are responsible for the National Parks managed by the
National Park Service, the National Wildlife Refuge System
managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the
Nation's public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management,
and our National Forests and Grasslands managed by the Forest
Service. It is a little known fact that recreation in the
National Forests exceeds that of the National Parks. The Forest
Service manages over 190 million acres, has over 850 million
visitors a year, and attracts 112 thousand volunteers. In
fiscal year 1999, $211 million is recommend for the Forest
Service's recreation programs. By contrast the National Park
Service manages over 77 million acres, has about 278 million
visitors, attracts 94 thousand volunteers, and uses $300
million for recreation programs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service manages 94 million acres, has 30 million visitors
annually, attracts 28 thousand volunteers, and has a recreation
budget of $49 million. The Bureau of Land Management is the
largest of the land management agencies with a land base of 264
million acres. BLM has about 65 million visitors annually,
attracts 17 thousand volunteers and has a recreation budget of
$49 million. The Committee continues to place a high priority
on maintaining these recreation programs, ensuring that the
American public has safe and uplifting experiences on the
Nation's public lands. The Committee is grateful to all the
volunteers who are helping to make the public lands better
places for the visiting public and for generations to come.

Women and Minority Hiring

The Committee continues to support equal employment hiring
practices in all the agencies covered by this bill. The
Committee included sizable increases in the Department of the
Interior budget several years ago to encourage greater
sensitivity to the need for a diverse workforce. Those funds
have remained in the base budget ever since. The Committee is
concerned about the Department of the Interior's request for
additional funds in fiscal year 1999 for a ``diversity
initiative''. The Committee reminds the Department that the law
prohibits discrimination and additional funding should not be
required to enforce that law. The Committee is concerned that,
too often, the emphasis on hiring minorities and women is
placed on the equal employment opportunity, civil rights, and
other administrative offices and not on other program offices.
The Committee expects the Department to ensure that diversity
extends to all offices and, just as program offices should be
sensitive to hiring qualified women and minorities at all
levels of program operations and management, administrative
offices should also implement a balanced staffing strategy.
Qualifications and demonstrated ability should always be the
determining factors for any position. Management training
should stress EEO responsibilities and every manager should be
held accountable for complying with EEO policies. This should
be an integral part of agency operations and not the subject of
a special initiative.

American Heritage Rivers

The Committee is aware that the Administration will soon
designate ten rivers under the American Heritage Rivers
initiative. The Appropriations Committee and the Resources
Committee in the House have expressed concern that this
initiative was established without proper authorization and
oversight by the Congress.
The Administration has informed the committee that this
initiative has two purposes, (1) to formally recognize existing
community grassroots river revitalization efforts, and (2) to
coordinate and make available information on all existing
Federal programs which currently offer assistance to these
types of efforts. The Committee understands that projects will
not be considered for designation if there is opposition from
either private citizens, local, State or Federal elected
officials.
The Committee cautions the agencies, most particularly the
National Park Service and the Forest Service, that these rivers
must compete with all other areas requesting funds from
existing programs which the Committee does not traditionally
earmark, such as the River and Trails Conservation Assistance
Program and Urban and the Community Forestry Program. The
Committee understands that staff assigned as ``River
Navigator'' will perform their normal duties in addition to
this new function.
The Committee directs each Federal agency funded in this
bill that participates in this new initiative to report to the
Committee by April 30, 1999 and September 1, 1999 on
specifically what funds have been made available to each
designated river and from which specific programs. The report
should also include the specific staff assigned to be a ``River
Navigator'' and what other duties they perform in addition to
this new assignment.

Year 2000 Computer Conversion

The Committee has become increasingly concerned with the
cost and timing of ensuring that the Interior and Related
Agencies information technology systems will be Year 2000 (Y2K)
compliant. It is clear that the Federal cost of Year 2000
compliance remains unknown. Except in a limited number of
cases, the Committee is not convinced that agencies have been
given the serious direction and management support needed to
address fully the urgency of the Year 2000 issues. The
Committee also is convinced that the Y2K issues are a
management and not a technical problem. The Committee directs
the agencies to ensure that the Year 2000 conversion efforts
include the full inventory of both information technology and
non-information systems in day-to-day agency operations. The
non-information systems include mechanical systems in
buildings, telephones, radios, and scientific instruments. Non-
information systems should be treated with as much urgency as
the information systems.
The Committee should be kept fully informed of the progress
that each agency is making to solve the Y2K issues. A plan, for
information technology and non-information systems, must be
submitted by each agency on the GAO schedule. This plan and
other relevant information can be the same information
presented to GAO on a quarterly basis, unless a problem is
identified in the interim that would be of interest to the
Committee. If management has in fact underestimated the extent
of the Y2K problem in its agency, the Committee must be
informed immediately of the problem including a recommended
solution.

TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for the
multiple use management, protection, and development of a full
range of natural resources, including minerals, timber,
rangeland, fish and wildlife habitat, and wilderness on about
264 million acres of the Nation's public lands and for
management of 300 million additional acres of Federally-owned
subsurface mineral rights. The Bureau is the second largest
supplier of public outdoor recreation in the Western United
States, with an estimated 65 million visits totaling 570
million visitor hours of recreation use on the public lands
under the Bureau's management.
Under the multiple-use and ecosystem management concept the
Bureau administers the grazing of approximately 4.3 million
head of livestock on some 164 million acres of public land
ranges, and manages over 43,000 wild horses and burros, some
264 million acres of wildlife habitat, and over 150,000 miles
of fisheries habitat. Grazing receipts are estimated to be
about $15.2 million in fiscal year 1999, compared to an
estimated $15.1 million in fiscal year 1998 and actual receipts
of $15.0 million in fiscal year 1997. The Bureau also
administers about 4 million acres of commercial forest lands
through the ``Management of lands and resources'' and ``Oregon
and California grant lands'' appropriations. Timber receipts
(including salvage) are estimated to be $86.3 million in fiscal
year 1999 compared to estimated receipts of $86.9 million in
fiscal year 1998 and actual receipts of $87.0 million in fiscal
year 1997. The Bureau has an active program of soil and
watershed management on 175 million acres in the lower 48
States and 92 million acres in Alaska. Practices such as
revegetation, protective fencing, and water developments are
designed to conserve, enhance, and develop public land, soil,
and watershed resources. The Bureau is also responsible for
fire protection on the public lands and on all Department of
the Interior managed lands in Alaska, and for the suppression
of wildfires on the public lands in Alaska and the western
States.

management of lands and resources

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $582,082,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 660,310,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 596,425,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +14,343,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -63,885,000

The Committee recommends $596,425,000 for management of
lands and resources, an increase of $14,343,000 above the
fiscal year 1998 level and a decrease of $63,885,000 below the
budget request. As a result of significant budgetary
constraints arising from the balanced budget agreement, no new
funds have been provided for implementation of the Interior
Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project. Funding for the
Escalante National Monument is maintained at the fiscal year
1998 enacted level, the same as the request. Within the
recommended amount the Committee has provided $1,500,000 for
wildlife and fisheries, watershed, and other activities
affecting Bureau lands for the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation to leverage funding with non-Federal partners for
innovative on-the-ground projects. This funding level is the
same as the 1998 level and the budget request. The Committee
also has clarified the Foundation's bill language as requested
by the Bureau.
The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

Land resources.--The Committee recommends $134,837,000 for
land resources, a decrease of $18,118,000 below the budget
request and an increase of $7,431,000 above the 1998 level,
including increases above 1998 of $2,431,000 for fixed costs,
$2,000,000 for the abandoned mine land program, $1,000,000 for
riparian management, and $2,000,000 for the wild horse and
burro program.
The Committee remains concerned over the continued
criticism associated with the operation of the wild horse and
burro program. In response to this criticism, the Bureau has
established a number of programmatic reviews designed to
address operational shortcomings. The Committee has provided
additional funds to allow the Bureau to begin implementing the
various recommendations that
have been made to fix this program, and to ensure that the
Bureau will no longer need to come to the Committee with
reprogramming requests that take scarce dollars away from other
high priority programs and projects.
Wildlife and fisheries.--The Committee recommends
$30,788,000 for wildlife and fisheries, a decrease of
$2,360,000 below the budget request and an increase of
$1,760,000 above the 1998 level, including increases above 1998
of $310,000 for fixed costs, $950,000 for wildlife management,
and $500,000 for fisheries management.
Within the funds provided for wildlife the Committee
recommends that $100,000 be provided to hire an onsite manager
to coordinate management at Otay Mountain with the Border
Patrol, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection,
San Diego, and other partners to help ensure all appropriate
public safety and natural resource protection needs are met.
Threatened and endangered species.--The Committee
recommends $17,167,000 for threatened and endangered species
including a decrease of $1,171,000 below the budget request and
an increase of $172,000 above the 1998 level for fixed costs.
Recreation management.--The Committee recommends
$49,829,000 for recreation management, a decrease of $469,000
below the budget request and an increase of $971,000 above the
1998 level for fixed costs.
The Committee is pleased with BLM's progress to date in
implementing the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program. As noted
in the beginning of this report, the Committee believes that
more information is needed before this program is made
permanent, and therefore, the program is being extended for an
additional two years.
The Committee recognizes the significance of the National
trails managed by the BLM, and within the funds provided for
recreation resource management, $100,000 is provided for the
Iditarod National Historic Trail and $400,000 for the Anza,
California, Lewis and Clark, Mormon Pioneer, Nez Perce, Oregon,
and Pony Express National Historic Trails and the Pacific Crest
and Continental Divide National Scenic Trails for their
protection, management, and activities commemorating the
sesquicentennial of the California Trail and bicentennial of
the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Energy and minerals (including Alaska minerals).--The
Committee recommends $70,976,000 for energy and minerals
including Alaska minerals, which is a decrease of $670,000
below the budget request and $2,130,000 below the 1998 level,
including an increase above 1998 of $670,000 for fixed costs,
and decreases of $2,100,000 which reflects completion of the
Environmental Impact Statement for the National Petroleum
Reserve-Alaska and $700,000 for the Alaska Mineral Resources
Library Information Consortium.
Realty and ownership management.--The Committee recommends
$69,542,000 for realty and ownership management, a decrease of
$3,389,000 below the budget request and a decrease of
$1,537,000 below the 1998 level, including an increase above
1998 of $797,000 for fixed costs and a decrease of $2,334,000
for Alaska conveyance as proposed by the Bureau.
Resource protection and maintenance.--The Committee
recommends $71,036,000 for resources protection and
maintenance, a decrease of $3,326,000 below the budget request
and an increase of $3,780,000 above the 1998 level, including
increases above 1998 of $780,000 for fixed costs and $3,000,000
for facilities maintenance.
Because the Committee places such a high priority on
Federal agencies maintaining their infrastructure, the
Department of the Interior and its bureaus have begun to focus
their attention on addressing the serious problems associated
with the growing backlog of maintenance projects. The Committee
feels so strongly about this issue, that even in the face of
declining budgetary resources, the Committee recommends an
increase that will allow the Bureau to begin to address its
backlog maintenance needs.
Automated land and mineral records system.--The Committee
recommends $34,608,000 for the automated land and mineral
records system, the same as the request and $1,647,000 above
the 1998 level.
Mining law administration.--The Committee recommends
$32,650,000 for mining law administration, which is the same as
the 1998 level. This activity is supported by offsetting fees
equal to the amount made available in this bill. Language is
included under the Bureau's administrative provisions
reauthorizing the hard rock mining holding fee.
In Title III--General Provisions, the Committee has
continued a limitation on accepting and processing applications
for patents and on the patenting of Federal land to claimants
until mining law reform legislation is enacted. This language
is identical to that carried in fiscal years 1997 and 1998.
Workforce and organizational support.--The Committee
recommends $117,642,000 for workforce and organizational
support, a decrease of $1,110,000 below the budget request and
an increase of $1,061,000 above the 1998 level including an
increase above 1998 of $1,111,000 for fixed costs and a
decrease of $50,000 for a program transfer proposed by the
Bureau.
The Committee continues to support and encourage the land
management agencies to work with each other to consolidate
activities at the field level as a means of achieving savings
and providing improved services to the public. With this in
mind, the Committee commends BLM and the Forest Service in
Oregon for progress they have made in interagency cooperation.
This includes the Central Oregon ``Trading Post'' initiative
between the Prineville BLM district and the Ochoco and
Deschutes National Forests. The Committee supports the proposed
joint planning effort between the Fremont National Forest and
the Lakeview BLM district. The Committee understands this
cooperative effort would improve government planning
efficiencies and would result in management plans for both
agencies that better address common resource issues.
The Committee commends the Bureau's efforts to leverage its
funds with non-Federal partners through its challenge cost
share (CCS) program. The Committee concurs with BLM's current
policy of not using CCS funds for purposes other than
establishing joint activities with tribal, State, and private
partners. Because each Federal dollar available for cost
sharing results in two or more dollars available for on-the-
ground activities, the Committee directs that a cap of 10
percent be placed on allowable BLM internal charges against CCS
funds. As a result, at least 90 percent of the funds
appropriated for CCS shall be available for matching partners
at the field level.
The Committee recognizes the importance of the Kneeling Nun
rock monolith in Grant County, New Mexico. The Committee also
recognizes the economic importance of Grant County's largest
employer, Chino Mines Company, and its adjacent mining
operations. The Committee supports the ongoing Bureau of Land
Management NEPA process that provides for regulatory and public
review of the operating plans of Chino Mines Company, the land
exchange between Chino Mines Company and the BLM, and the
related measures proposed by Chino Mines Co., all intended to
protect the Kneeling Nun.
Other.--Language has been continued under General
Provisions, Department of the Interior to provide lump sum
payment severance pay and continued health benefits to
separated Federal Helium Operation employees. These special
benefits will help mitigate the effect of the planned
reduction-in-force. In accordance with the Helium Privatization
Act, any added costs associated with providing these benefits
will be paid from available balances in the Helium Fund.

wildland fire management

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $280,103,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 298,353,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 286,895,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +6,792,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -11,458,000

The Committee recommends an appropriation of $286,895,000
for wildland fire management, which is an increase of
$6,792,000 above the 1998 level and a decrease of $11,458,000
below the budget request.
The appropriation includes $156,895,000 for preparedness
and fire use including $2,000,000 for fixed costs and a program
increase of $792,000, and $130,000,000 for suppression
activities. The Committee's recommendation funds Department of
the Interior firefighting at approximately 80 percent of the
Most Efficient Level (MEL) for preparedness. Bill language is
included allowing for the transfer of unobligated balances from
the old fire accounts to be merged into the current wildland
fire account.
The Committee was pleased to receive the Joint Fire Science
Plan prepared by the Department of the Interior and the USDA-
Forest Service in response to the Committee's request in last
year's report. The Plan accurately reflects the focus and
priority the Committee has placed on developing scientific
information and capabilities to support the fuels management
programs in the two Departments. The Committee has included
funding at the 1998 level for the Joint Fire Science Program in
both the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service and
looks forward to receiving progress reports from the Governing
Board and program managers.
The 1999 request for wildland fire reflects increased
coordination and cooperation between the Department of the
Interior and the Forest Service on several budget and program
matters. The Committee urges the two Departments to continue to
work closely together to develop common budget and program
management approaches to wildland fire. In particular, the
Committee expects that the requests for both preparedness and
operations in the fiscal year 2000 budget will reflect common
assumptions and budget strategies (such as percentage of MEL
and percentage of ten-year average) for the two Departments.

central hazardous materials fund

The Central Hazardous Materials Fund was established to
include funding for remedial investigations/feasibility studies
and cleanup of hazardous waste sites for which the Department
of the Interior is liable pursuant to the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act and
includes sums recovered from or paid by a party as
reimbursement for remedial action or response activities.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $12,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 10,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 10,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -2,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $10,000,000 for the central
hazardous materials fund, which is the same as the budget
request and $2,000,000 below the fiscal year 1998 level.

construction

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $5,091,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 4,175,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 6,975,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +1,884,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +2,800,000

The Committee recommends $6,975,000 for construction, an
increase of $1,884,000 above the 1998 level and $2,800,000
above the budget request.
The Committee has provided an increase of $2,600,000 to
initiate first year funding for construction of the National
Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming. The
total cost to the Federal government will be $5,000,000 with
the State and local government contributing an equal amount.
The Committee has provided an increase of $100,000 for
repair and rehabilitation of the Amboy Creator campground,
$100,000 for repair and rehabilitation of the Eastern Sierra
Interagency Visitor Center both in California.

payments in lieu of taxes

Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) provides for payments to
local units of government containing certain Federally-owned
lands. These payments are designed to supplement other Federal
land receipt sharing payments local governments may be
receiving. Payments received may be used by the recipients for
any governmental purpose.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $120,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 120,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 120,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $120,000,000 for PILT, the same as
the budget request and the 1998 level.

land acquisition

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $11,200,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 15,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 10,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -1,200,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -5,000,000

The Committee recommends $10,000,000 for land acquisition,
a decrease of $1,200,000 below the enacted level and $5,000,000
below the fiscal year 1999 request. This amount includes
$6,200,000 for line item projects, $800,000 for emergencies and
hardships and $3,000,000 for acquisition management.
The Committee recommends the following distribution of
funds:

oregon and california grant lands

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $98,906,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 98,966,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 98,407,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -499,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -559,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $98,407,000 for the Oregon and
California grant lands, which is a decrease of $2,999,000 from
the 1998 level excluding the 1998 rescission and a decrease of
$559,000 from the budget request, including increases above
1998 of $1,340,000 for fixed costs and $600,000 for facilities
maintenance, and decreases of $1,939,000 in western Oregon
resource management and $3,000,000 for jobs in the woods as
proposed by the Administration. These funds are provided for
construction and acquisition, operation and maintenance, and
management activities on the revested lands in the 18 Oregon
and California land grant counties of western Oregon.

forest ecosystem health and recovery fund

(revolving fund, special account)

The Committee has clarified language changes made in fiscal
year 1998 that expanded BLM's flexibility to complete forest
ecosystem health projects. This clarification notes that the
Federal share of salvage receipts is that portion remaining
after payments to counties.

range improvements

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $9,113,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 10,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 10,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +887,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends an indefinite appropriation of not
less than $10,000,000 to be derived from public lands receipts
and Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act lands grazing receipts.
Receipts are used for construction, purchase, and maintenance
of range improvements, such as seeding, fence construction,
weed control, water development, fish and wildlife habitat
improvement, and planning and design of these projects.

service charges, deposits, and forfeitures

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $8,706,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 8,055,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 8,055,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -651,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends an indefinite appropriation of
$8,055,000, the budget request, for service charges, deposits,
and forfeitures. This account uses the revenues collected under
specified sections of the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 and other Acts to pay for reasonable administrative
and other costs in connection with rights-of-way applications
from the private sector, miscellaneous cost-recoverable realty
cases, timber contract expenses, repair of damaged lands, the
adopt-a-horse program, and the provision of copies of official
public land documents.
The Committee believes that funds received for the repair
of damaged lands as provided for and described in this
appropriation account includes funds collected for
administrative, reclamation, resource value, liability and
penalty costs. If the Department's Office of the Solicitor
holds a different opinion regarding the collection and use of
such funds, it should provide a formal written opinion
summarizing the Department's position to the Committee by March
1, 1999.

miscellaneous trust funds

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $8,800,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 8,800,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 8,800,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends an indefinite appropriation of
$8,800,000, the budget request, for miscellaneous trust funds.
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 provides for
the receipt and expenditure of moneys received as donations or
gifts (section 307). Funds in this trust fund are derived from
the administrative and survey costs paid by applicants for
conveyance of omitted lands (lands fraudulently or erroneously
omitted from original cadastral surveys), from advances for
other types of surveys requested by individuals, and from
contributions made by users of Federal rangelands. Amounts
received from the sale of Alaska town lots are also available
for expenses of sale and maintenance of townsites. Revenue from
unsurveyed lands, and surveys of omitted lands, administrative
costs of conveyance, and gifts and donations must be
appropriated before it can be used.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is to
conserve, protect and enhance fish and wildlife and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of people. The Service has
responsibility for migratory birds, threatened and endangered
species, certain marine mammals, and land under Service
control.
The Service manages nearly 94 million acres across the
United States, encompassing a 514 unit National Wildlife Refuge
System, additional wildlife and wetlands areas, and 65 National
Fish Hatcheries. A network of law enforcement agents and port
inspectors enforce Federal laws for the protection of fish and
wildlife.

resource management

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $594,592,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 675,828,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 607,106,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +12,514,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -68,722,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $607,106,000 for resource
management, a decrease of $68,722,000 below the budget request
and an increase of $12,514,000 above the fiscal year 1998
level. The Committee has provided full funding for fixed cost
increases and has continued to provide increases above current
year levels to address the Service's large operations and
maintenance backlogs. As discussed in the front of this report,
the Administration submitted a totally unrealistic budget
proposal that exceeded the budget agreement by many billions of
dollars. The Committee's recommendations for the Service
provide several increases above the 1998 funding level and
focus on taking care of Service property rather than on
instituting many new programs. Changes to the budget request
include decreases of $32,260,000 in ecological services,
$9,622,000 for refuges and wildlife, $3,390,000 for fisheries,
$1,450,000 for general administration and $22,000,000 which is
transferred to the construction account to consolidate major
bridge and road safety maintenance in that account.
Ecological Services.--The Committee recommends $156,028,000
for ecological services, a decrease of $32,260,000 below the
budget request and an increase of $10,475,000 above the fiscal
year 1998 level. Decreases to the budget request include
$1,406,000 for candidate conservation, $1,215,000 for listing,
$9,286,000 for consultation, $9,892,000 for recovery,
$5,000,000 for the Endangered Species Act landowner incentive
program (no new starts), $4,345,000
for habitat conservation and $1,116,000 for environmental
contaminants.
Refuges and Wildlife.--The Committee recommends
$292,803,000 for refuges and wildlife, a decrease of $9,622,000
below the budget request and $18,203,000 above the fiscal year
1998 level. Decreases to the budget request include $8,142,000
for refuge operations and maintenance (of which $4,742,000 is
from the operations request and $3,400,000 is from the
maintenance request), $430,000 for law enforcement and
$1,050,000 for migratory bird management. A total of $1,000,000
is included to continue the Salton Sea recovery program at the
1998 level, contingent on matching funds from the State of
California.
Fisheries.--The Committee recommends $71,912,000 for
fisheries, a decrease of $3,390,000 below the budget request
and an increase of $962,000 above the fiscal year 1998 level.
The decrease is for fish and wildlife management.
Major Maintenance of Bridges and Roads.--The Committee
recommends the transfer of $22,000,000 to the construction
account to consolidate Service-wide major maintenance of
bridges and roads in that account. Major maintenance includes
projects which cost over $100,000.
General Administration.--The Committee recommends
$108,363,000 for general administration, a decrease of
$1,450,000 below the budget request and an increase of
$4,624,000 above the fiscal year 1998 level. Decreases to the
budget request include $300,000 for central office
administration, $650,000 for regional office administration and
$500,000 for international affairs.
The Committee agrees to the following:
1. The Administration should submit a legislative
reauthorization proposal for the Endangered Species Act, which
realistically addresses needed reforms.
2. The Service should proceed apace with delistings and
downlistings of species in the ESA program and should consider
the concerns of the Resources Committee in the House when
determining the distribution of ESA funding.
3. The Service should make maximum use of the recreational
fee demonstration program. In Title III--General Provisions,
the Committee has recommended bill language to extend this
pilot program for an additional two years--through the year
2001.
4. Within the increase provided for habitat conservation,
$250,000 is to continue the coastal program at the 1998 level
and is to be used for high priority restoration projects. These
funds should remain in the base budget for fiscal year 2000 and
beyond.
5. Within the increase provided for habitat conservation,
$100,000 is for population surveys of alligator snapping
turtles and the Service should use the expertise of the
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to conduct these
surveys and to map turtles in Louisiana and other States.
6. The increase above the base for refuge operations and
maintenance is to be split equally between the refuge
operations backlog and the refuge maintenance backlog.
Operational increases should stress direct on-the-ground
improvements.
7. Reorganizations are subject to Committee approval
through the reprogramming process. This includes
reorganizations at the regional office level as well as at the
headquarters or field levels.
8. The Service should consider funding the Mississippi
Alluvial Valley Habitat Project in the fiscal year 2000 budget.
9. The Service should continue funding, at least at the
fiscal year 1998 level, the Upper Colorado River Basin program,
the Peregrine Fund, the Washington State ecosystem project and
the regional fisheries enhancement program, Prebles Meadow
Jumping Mouse work, the Caddo Lake Scholars Program, and the
Chicago Wetlands Office. The Long Live the Kings salmon program
should be funded at $300,000, of which $200,000 is for work on
the Hamma Hamma River (Liliwaup facility) and for support for
off-channel rearing habitat on the Wishkah River, and $100,000
is for the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group for continuing
wild salmon conservancy site activities.
10. No funds are provided for the Southwest Initiative, the
Clean Water Initiative, the Diversity Initiative or for a
Pacific Southwest Regional Office. The Committee refers the
Service to the discussion of Committee priorities as compared
with the Administration's budget request and the discussion of
women and minority hiring in the front of this report.
11. The Pacific Northwest Forest Plan and the jobs in the
woods program are to be continued at the fiscal year 1998
funding level.
12. The apparent population decline of the American eel
(Anguilla rostrata) has resulted in growing concern by numerous
State and Federal fishery resource agencies, conservation
organizations and fisheries interests. Possible reasons for the
decline of this species are over-harvesting, habitat
modification, migration barriers and contamination.
Unfortunately, the characteristics and life history of this
species are not well documented or studied and, consequently,
the American eel population along the Atlantic seaboard is
poorly understood and may be heading for significant crisis.
The Committee believes the Department of the Interior and the
Service need to recognize the growing importance of this issue
and place a higher priority on funding research in this area.
The Committee encourages the Service, in coordination, as
appropriate, with the Biological Resources Division of the USGS
and other Federal, State and private partners, to conduct a
comprehensive study of the status of the American eel and the
causes of the apparent decline of the species, and to propose
workable solutions to reverse this trend.
13. The Committee expects the Service to coordinate to the
maximum extent practicable with the Klamath Drainage District
and the Tule Lake Irrigation District regarding operation of
Service projects related to the irrigation and drainage
functions of the districts. Funds for the Unit 13 project
should be used to develop additional water storage within Unit
13 for refuge purposes under new water rights. Funds for the
Sump 1b project should be used to restore wetlands for refuge
purposes and, in addition to any limitations under water rights
that may exist or be acquired for Sump 1b, the project should
not result in injury to water rights with a priority date prior
to April 10, 1936. The Committee understands that these
projects will not result in the imposition of additional costs
on the Klamath Project water users.
14. The Committee understands that substantial progress has
been made in recovering the native greenback cutthroat trout in
Colorado and elsewhere, and urges the Fish and Wildlife Service
to place a priority on restoring the remaining populations
needed to support delisting this species, using a portion of
the funds provided for the ESA recovery program.
15. The Committee is familiar with a collaborative program
in Region 2 with other agencies, industry and the public to
reduce mortality rates among migratory birds and other wildlife
through increased compliance activities. This program has been
implemented with great success on a small scale and the
Committee urges the Service to consider expanding it to a
larger area.
16. The Service should provide law enforcement port of
entry inspection services at Dulles International Airport in
Virginia one day per week and should work with importers of
wildlife and wildlife products to fund a full-time inspector at
Dulles if the workload supports a full-time position.
17. The Committee understands that the Service and the
Colorado Department of Natural Resources are attempting to
resolve shortcomings identified in a recent Inspector General
report regarding properties acquired, in part, with Federal aid
funds. The Committee urges the Service to continue to work with
the State on this matter and to consider seriously the State's
proposals for management of affected properties.
Bill Language.--The Committee has included bill language,
as requested by the Administration, capping the amount of
funding available for certain ESA listing programs. The amount
for fiscal year 1999 is $6,256,000.

construction

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $76,636,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 37,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 66,100,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -10,536,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +29,100,000

The Committee recommends $66,100,000 for construction, an
increase of $29,100,000 above the fiscal year 1999 budget
request and a decrease of $10,536,000 below the fiscal year
1998 level.
The Committee agrees to the following distribution of
funds:

[in thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Committee
Project Description request recommendation Difference
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alligator River NWR, NC................... Milltail Bridge............. 498 498 ...........
Atchafalaya NWR, LA....................... Big Al #2 Bridge............ 500 500 ...........
Bear River NWR, UT........................ Dikes, grassland habitat, ......... 2,000 +2,000
education center.
Bitter Lake NWR, NM....................... Replace 2 bridges........... 253 253 ...........
Carolina Sandhills NWR, SC................ Replace 2 bridges........... 536 536 ...........
Catahoula NWR, LA......................... Shop building............... 300 300 ...........
Columbia NWR, WA.......................... Potholes Canal Bridge....... 450 450 ...........
Craig Brook NFH, ME....................... Rehabilitation.............. 3,300 3,300 ...........
Creston NFH, MT........................... Jessup Mill Dam............. 2,200 2,200 ...........
Dexter NFH, NM............................ Phase III construction...... ......... 2,000 +2,000
Erie NWR, PA.............................. Erie Dam No. 9.............. 1,100 1,100 ...........
Hatchie NWR, TN........................... Log Landing Slough Bridge... 66 66 ...........
Hatchie NWR, TN........................... Windrow Loop/Bear Creek 83 83 ...........
Bridge.
Iron River NFH, WI........................ Storage building............ 825 825 ...........
Kenai NWR, AK............................. Roads/intersections......... 250 250 ...........
Klamath Basin NWR, CA..................... Water facilities............ 3,600 2,500 -1,100
Lacassine NWR, LA......................... Shop building............... 750 750 ...........
Laguna Atascosa NWR, TX................... Bridge rehabilitation....... 55 55 ...........
Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR, TX........... Bridge rehab. & replacement. 270 270 ...........
Madison WMD, SD........................... Heating system, office 500 500 ...........
rehabilitation.
Makah NFH, WA............................. Salmon spawning structure... 2,570 2,570 ...........
Mammoth Spring NFH, AR.................... Pond structures............. 450 450 ...........
McKinney Lake NFH, NC..................... McKinney Lake Dam........... 700 700 ...........
Mingo NWR, MO............................. Replace bridges............. 702 702 ...........
National Blackfooted Ferret Conservation Construction................ 1,800 1,000 -800
Center, CO.
Okefenokee NWR, GA........................ Visitor's center renovation. ......... 1,000 +1,000
Orangeburg NFH, SC........................ Orangeburg Substation Dam... 700 700 ...........
Ridgefield NWR, WA........................ Shop building............... 450 450 ...........
Sabine NWR, LA............................ Boathouse................... 550 550 ...........
Sequoyah NWR, OK.......................... Bridge rehabilitation....... 160 160 ...........
Sequoyah NWR, OK.......................... Repairs and roads........... 575 575 ...........
Sherburne NWR, MN......................... Shop buildings.............. 945 945 ...........
Southeast Louisiana Refuges............... Critical resource needs..... ......... 1,000 +1,000
Togiak NWR, AK............................ Fourplex residence.......... 1,216 1,216 ...........
Welaka NFH, FL............................ Ponds & cache basins........ 530 530 ...........
Wichita Mountains NWR, OK................. Bridge rehab. & replacement. 220 220 ...........
Wichita Mountains NWR, OK................. Grama Lake & Comanche Dams.. 1,100 1,100 ...........
Wichita Mountains WR, OK.................. Roads....................... 1,564 1,564 ...........
Servicewide bridge & road safety repairs.. ............................ ......... 25,000 +25,000
Servicewide bridge safety inspections..... ............................ 495 495 ...........
Servicewide dam safety inspections........ ............................ 495 495 ...........
Construction management................... ............................ 6,242 6,242 ...........
---------------------------------------
Totals.............................. ............................ 37,000 66,100 +29,100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Committee agrees to the following:
1. Funds for major (over $100,000) safety repairs to
bridges and roads have been transferred from the resource
management account to the construction account to consolidate
those activities in the construction account. Also within this
line item are funds to repair the seawall at Tern Island. The
Service should work with the Department of Defense to minimize
the supply and transportation costs of this project.
2. Funds provided for Bear River NWR, UT include $1.5
million for an education center, contingent on matching non-
Federal funds, and $500,000 for dike construction and grassland
habitat restoration. Any future construction funding for the
education center will be contingent on matching funds.
3. The Service should provide the Committee with an
explanation of the methodology it will use to distribute refuge
road funding from the recently enacted Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century. The Committee also asks that the
Service provide a list each year of those projects to be funded
through that authority. The Committee understands that the
Bitter Lake NWR, NM loop road is the type of project that could
qualify for the program.

land acquisition

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $62,632,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 60,500,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 30,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -32,632,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -30,500,000

The Committee recommends $30,000,000 for land acquisition,
a decrease of $32,632,000 below the enacted level and
$30,500,000 below the fiscal year 1999 budget request. This
amount includes $18,650,000 for line item projects, $1,000,000
for inholdings, $1,000,000 for emergencies and hardships,
$1,000,000 for exchanges and $8,350,000 for acquisition
management.
The Committee recommends the following distribution of
funds:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee
Area and State recommendation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atchafalaya River Basin (LA Black Bear) (LA)......... $1,000,000
Back Bay NWR (VA).................................... 1,000,000
Bon Secour NWR (AL).................................. 1,000,000
Cypress Creek NWR (IL)............................... 1,000,000
Don Edwards NWR (Bair Island) (CA)................... 1,000,000
E.B. Forsythe NWR (NJ)............................... 1,000,000
Emiquon NWR (IL)..................................... 1,000,000
Great Meadows NWR (MA)............................... 1,000,000
Lake Umbagog NWR (NH)................................ 1,000,000
Lower Rio Grande NWR (TX)............................ 1,000,000
Nisqually NWR (Black River) (WA)..................... 1,000,000
Rappahannock River Valley NWR (VA)................... 1,000,000
San Diego NWR (CA)................................... 1,000,000
SE Louisiana Refuges (LA)............................ 1,000,000
Silvio O. Conte NWR (MA)............................. 1,000,000
Stewart McKinney NWR (CT)............................ 1,000,000
Waccamaw NWR (SC).................................... 1,000,000
Wallkill NWR (NJ).................................... 1,000,000
Whittlesey Creek, NWR, WI............................ 650,000
Emergencies/hardships................................ 1,000,000
Inholdings........................................... 1,000,000
Exchanges............................................ 1,000,000
Acquisition Management............................... 8,350,000
------------------
Total.......................................... 30,000,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within available funds, $200,000 is provided for the
development of an environmental assessment and supporting
management plan for the proposed Darby National Wildlife Refuge
in Ohio. In implementing the planning process, the Service
should consider all available options and methods within its
authority to cooperate with traditional agriculture interests
in the area and minimize the long term loss or transition of
agricultural land to other uses. Acquisition would be on a
willing seller or donor basis and will not include the use of
eminent domain unless requested by the property owner to
determine land value. The Service's management plan should
recognize the protection and management of agricultural lands
as a component of watershed biodiversity.

cooperative endangered species conservation fund

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $14,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 17,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 15,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +1,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -2,000,000

The Committee recommends $15,000,000 for the cooperative
endangered species conservation fund, a decrease of $2,000,000
below the budget request and an increase of $1,000,000 above
the fiscal year 1998 level. The decrease is for habitat
conservation plan land acquisition. The recommended amount
provides a total of $7,000,000 for HCP land acquisition, which
is $1,000,000 more than the current funding level.

National wildlife refuge fund

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $10,779,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 10,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 10,779,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +779,000

Committee recommends $10,779,000 for the National wildlife
refuge fund, an increase of $779,000 above the budget request
and equal to the fiscal year 1998 funding level.
Through this program the Service makes payments to counties
in which Service lands are located based on their fair market
value. Payments to counties will be $17,714,000 in fiscal year
1999 with $10,779,000 derived from this appropriation and
$6,935,000 from net refuge receipts estimated to be collected
in fiscal year 1998.

north american wetlands conservation fund

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $11,700,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 14,700,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 12,700,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +1,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -2,000,000

The Committee recommends $12,700,000 for the North American
wetlands conservation fund, a decrease of $2,000,000 below the
budget request and an increase of $1,000,000 above the fiscal
year 1998 level. Decreases include $1,962,000 in habitat
management and $38,000 in administration.
The Committee encourages the Service to enter into
agreements with private landowners in South Louisiana to
provide technical assistance in managing lands for migratory
waterfowl and shorebird habitat protection. Such partnerships
would be cost-shared by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife
and Fisheries and other entities.

wildlife conservation and appreciation fund

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $800,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 800,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 800,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $800,000 for the wildlife
conservation and appreciation fund, equal to the budget request
and the fiscal year 1998 level.

multinational species conservation fund

This new account combines funding for the former rewards
and operations (African elephant) account, the former
rhinoceros and tiger conservation account and a new Asian
elephant program.
The African Elephant Act of 1988 established a fund for
assisting nations and organizations involved with conservation
of African elephants. The Service provides grants to African
Nations and to qualified organizations and individuals to
protect and manage critical populations of these elephants.
The Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994
authorized programs to enhance compliance with the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species and U.S. or
foreign laws prohibiting the taking or trade of rhinoceros,
tigers or their habitat.
The Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997 authorized a
grant program, similar to the African elephant program, to
enable cooperators from regional and range country agencies and
organizations to address Asian elephant conservation problems.
The world's surviving populations of wild Asian elephants are
found in 13 south and southeastern Asian countries.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999................................. $2,400,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 2,400,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +2,400,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $2,400,000 for the multinational
species conservation fund, equal to the budget request and an
increase of $1,000,000 above the amounts provided in fiscal
year 1998 for the rewards and operations account (African
elephant) and the rhinoceros and tiger conservation fund
account. The recommended funding includes $1,000,000 for
African elephant conservation, $500,000 for rhinoceros and
tiger conservation and $900,000 for Asian elephant
conservation. The Committee expects these funds to be matched
by non-Federal funding to leverage private contributions to the
maximum extent possible.

National Park Service

operation of the National park system

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $1,234,004,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 1,320,828,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 1,333,328,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +99,324,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +12,500,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $1,333,328,000 for operation of
the National Park system for fiscal year 1999, an increase of
$99,324,000 above the enacted level and $12,500,000 above the
Administration's request. The Committee continues to consider
operational shortfalls and backlog maintenance to be its
highest priorities and has focused the increases in these two
areas.
The bill provides $12,149,000, an increase of $5,359,000
above the budget request for the special park need program.
These funds are provided for both new and existing units that
have an immediate need for operational increases for high
priority resources protection, visitor service shortfalls,
health and safety maintenance and providing staff for newly
created units. The Committee also has provided an additional
$60,000,000 above the enacted level for maintenance repair and
rehabilitation projects. Also included is $24,503,000 for all
fixed costs, including pay increases for fiscal year 1999.
Details regarding these and other changes to the fiscal year
1998 level are described later in this section.
The Committee continues to provide increases for the South
Florida Restoration effort. Included in the bill is $20,903,000
for operations, $12,000,000 for research, $14,000,000 for the
modified delivery water project and $20,000,000 to purchase
land in the Everglades National Park. Nearly $350,000,000 has
been provided for land acquisition by the Congress over the
past three years. Additional funds will be considered when the
unobligated balances are reduced. The Secretary is directed to
submit a comprehensive acquisition plan for non-Federal lands
by March 31, 1999, which clearly identifies priority parcels
and a rationale as to why those parcels are critical to the
restoration effort. The Committee expects these priorities to
represent a consensus of opinion among the primary partners.
The Committee strongly supports a matching requirement for
Federal grants to the State on a one-to-one basis.
The Committee has also provided increases for collections
cataloging, technical communications upgrades, air quality
monitoring, inventory and monitoring and historic structures
stabilization work. It is imperative that the National Park
Service commit itself to establishing current baseline data
including sound scientific information which is not only
required under the Government Performance and Results Act but
essential in order to protect its natural, cultural and
historic resources.
Establishing and maintaining records of park resources and
their condition has never been a priority for the Service. This
was evident from the fiscal year 1999 budget's performance
standards, which state the need to establish baselines of
information for nearly every category. The Committee does not
feel that this is an issue of lack of funding but a lack of
commitment by the National Park Service leadership to make this
a high priority for superintendents. Baseline data are critical
to ensure the protection of the resources and to ensure that
policy is consistently applied. An example of the need for
current scientific data is the situation that has been
developing in Yellowstone National Park concerning the
potential threat that increased snowmobile use is having on the
air quality and wildlife. Having the ability to demonstrate
scientifically a threat to the resource hopefully will lead to
speedier, more environmentally sensitive, resolutions to these
problems.
The Committee did not fund many of the new initiatives and
program expansions contained in the President's budget for the
National Park Service. The Committee will continue to focus all
increases on operational shortfalls and backlog maintenance
needs until significant progress has been made. The increases
provided since fiscal year 1996 and those contained in this
bill coupled with the projected $400 million in fees collected
through the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program initiated by
the Committee will have a dramatic affect on these shortfalls
over the next few years.
The Congress has recently passed the Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century which more than doubles the yearly
amount available to the National Park Service under the Federal
Lands Highway Program to repair roads throughout the System.
Under this bill, $940 million will be available through fiscal
year 2003. This amount will allow the National Park Service to
make a sizable reduction in the estimated $2 billion road
maintenance backlog. The Committee directs the Service to
provide the remaining balance in fiscal year 1999 to complete
the U.S. Highway 27 bypass around the Chickamauga-Chattanooga
National Military Park and has provided $600,000 for needed
road repairs within the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Construction Reform.--The Committee has for many years
expressed serious concern over the management of the National
Park Service line item construction program, and in particular,
about the poor performance of the Denver Service Center (DSC)
in achieving cost effective results in the planning, design,
and execution of park construction projects. In fiscal year
1994, the Committee requested a review of the Service
construction program with the objective of improving the
management control, prioritization and accountability for the
line item projects. The report elaborated on the deficiencies
of the National Park Service construction program, including
the lack of full consideration of alternative design solutions,
lack of independent review to validate project justifications,
lack of cost benefit and value engineering analyses to support
design cost trade-offs and lack of a clear accountability
mechanism resulting from the division of responsibilities
during different phases of the projects. Recent studies by the
General Accounting Office and the Inspector General of the
Department of the Interior also have been critical of Service
construction practices that lead to excessive project costs,
such as the $797,000 restrooms at the Delaware Water Gap NRA
and employee housing units that ranged in cost from $390,000 to
$584,000, which were considerably above local market rates for
single family homes. The fiscal year 1998 Interior
Appropriations Conference Report directed the Secretary of the
Interior to appoint an independent review committee, a majority
of whose members should come from outside the NPS, to review
the construction practices of the Service with primary emphasis
on the role of the Denver Service Center. The Committee has
received an interim report from the National Academy of Public
Administration (NAPA) which is conducting this review, which
confirms the findings of the cited prior studies on the
management inadequacies of the NPS construction program. The
NAPA report explicitly identified construction practices such
as: custom designs as opposed to the use of standard designs;
use of expensive equipment and materials in an attempt to
achieve ``maintenance-free'' facilities; and extensive use of
civil service employees in construction supervision and
inspection as major causes of the excessive costs. The findings
also criticized the NPS for weak management controls and lack
of personal accountability on projects.
Consistent with these findings, the Committee feels
compelled to take significant actions to improve the management
and implementation of the NPS line item construction program by
realigning the appropriation accounts to eliminate the
construction appropriation as the funding source for the
operation of the Denver Service Center. The Committee has long
felt that reliance on the ``line item'' account to support the
Denver personnel assigned to plan, design and supervise
construction projects does not provide incentives to reduce
costs and save money. The Committee is shifting the funding
source for the Denver Service Center personnel to the
appropriation for Operation of the National Park System
consistent with the normal funding practice for the rest of the
Service. Specifically, the Committee has provided a line item
total of $12.5 million to fund the salaries and related
expenses of the Denver Service Center personnel. This funding
is required to accomplish pre-design activities in support of
the line item construction projects and the design efforts
related to a limited number of projects designated specifically
by the Director of NPS in order to retain in-house design
competence (not to exceed ten percent of total project funding
provided in the annual appropriation), and the effort necessary
to support General Management Plans. The Committee anticipates
that the above amounts combined with the funding the DSC
typically receives from other sources will enable the DSC to
maintain a staffing level of 50 percent of the current FTE
levels. In addition, the Committee directs the Service to
continue to identify separately the Denver Service Center
budget requirements in the operations account in future budget
submissions.
This action, together with budget reductions applied to the
planning and line-item construction accounts, reflect the
Committee's intent that the design, construction management and
project construction will be performed largely by the private
sector. This will reduce substantially the funding requirements
for planning, construction supervision and contingency compared
to past budgets. In the fiscal year 1999 NPS construction
appropriation, the Committee has provided funds based on
application of the construction cost factors presented in the
NAPA analysis. These factors as used generally by other
government agencies in contracting for construction projects
are: design: ten percent of net construction cost; Construction
Supervision and Inspection: eight percent of net construction
costs; and Contingency: ten percent of net construction costs.
The implementation of these charges will result in reductions
in the personnel requirements at Denver Service Center due to
reorientation of its primary role from design and construction
supervision to project formulation, pre-design activities and
management of outside firms providing professional services.
In order to improve the Headquarters' general management
and oversight of the construction program, the Committee urges
the Director of the NPS to fill expeditiously the now vacant
position of Associate Director of Professional Services in
which he has placed responsibility for coordination of the line
item construction program. In addition, the Committee urges the
Director to augment the Associate Director's staff with a small
staff of experienced construction professionals to provide the
capability to monitor and evaluate the conduct of the line item
construction programs. As part of this management emphasis, the
NPS should implement fully a formal project management and
control system that will provide status on each line item
project scope, funds, and schedule with mandatory monthly
reports to Headquarters and the responsible Regional Director.
To clarify further the responsibility for each line item
construction project, the ``Project Agreement Document'' should
clearly identify the specific park superintendent at the unit
as the individual with sole accountability for successful
execution of the project. The Regional Director should be
responsible for approving projects within the jurisdiction of
the region and for ensuring that the superintendent has
adequate capability and support to carry out the project and
that the project is implemented consistent with new
construction cost factors. In addition, the Director of the
National park service shall make cost-effective construction,
as specified in this report, a key element of the individual
park superintendent's performance evaluation.
In order to provide a further safeguard against overdesign
and excessive costs, the Secretary of the Interior, together
with the NPS Director, should establish a special review group
consisting of five knowledgeable and experienced persons from
outside the NPS and the Federal government to examine the
proposed line item projects at the end of the preliminary
design phase and report on their functional suitability and
cost effectiveness.
Within sixty days following House passage of the fiscal
year 1999 appropriations bill, the Department of the Interior
shall report to the Committee on the detailed implementation of
the changes in the NPS line item construction program as set
forth in this report and the recommendations of the NAPA study.
The implementation plan should include an assessment of all
projects currently underway related to the support requirements
of the Denver Service Center. The implementation plan should
provide justification of the size of the personnel complement
at Denver related to the planned workload by project and DSC
functional organization. This plan should display the phase-
down necessary to reach the core level required to support a
line item construction program conforming to the goal of
contracting with the private sector for project design and
construction management. The Committee expects that the NPS
will apply funds available from the current unobligated
balances to cover transition expenses, including those
associated with completion of projects underway and any special
one-time personnel costs.
The plan also should address the significant shortfalls in
planning expertise in certain regions. As downsizing occurs at
the Denver Service Center, serious consideration should be
given to filling current vacancies in these regions.
For fiscal year 1999, the workload assumptions for the DSC
should be correlated with the planned allocation by fund
source. In addition, the plan should contain a detailed
description of a service-wide formal project management control
system with the targeted effective date. The Committee
anticipates that the Service will need to initiate immediately
special training for superintendents and other line managers
involved in the construction program to improve their knowledge
and capability to manage construction contracts. This training
should focus upon the various phases of projects and the park
superintendent's role and responsibilities during these phases.
The Committee directs that this training be considered a top
priority for fiscal 1999 funding and that some of the other
training as specified in the fiscal year 1999 budget
justification be delayed in order to accommodate this need. The
Committee directs the NPS to submit a new list of fiscal year
1999 training by September 1, 1998, for congressional review
and approval. In addition, the Denver Service Center should
focus special attention on improving its cost estimating and
overall contract services capabilities, in particular, its
ability to assess market conditions and the conduct of pre-
award surveys.
To help facilitate this plan, the Committee has provided
the authority in Title I, Sec. 116 of the bill for the
Department to offer buy-outs through December 31, 1998, lump
sum employee severance pay and payment of the Federal
Government's share of health insurance premiums. Bill language
also is included under this account which clearly states that
no funds other than the specific new line item under operations
of the National Park system for the Denver Service Center may
be used to pay salaries and expenses for the Center.
The Committee is concerned that general management plans
and statements for management have become unrealistic documents
which tend to include expensive ``wish list'' projects which
may not be essential to the central mission of the unit. The
Service, as part of the reforms being instituted for the Denver
Service Center, should give careful thought to the contents of
these documents as new plans are created and existing plans are
updated. The Committee discourages expensive, overdesigned
visitor centers or non-essential structures and cautions the
Service about costly partnership projects which may serve the
non-Federal partner's desires to a greater extent than the
park's needs. The Committee directs the Service to develop a
new National policy regarding general management plans as part
of the Denver Service Center reform implementation.
Employee Housing.--The Committee has expressed concern in
the past about the cost of employee housing, which is being
addressed with the reforms mandated for the Denver Service
Center in fiscal year 1999. A related issue which deserves as
much attention is the lack of a National strategy for dealing
with the park housing problem. As a result of direction from
the Resources and the Appropriations Committees last year, the
Service has hired a consultant to conduct a comprehensive
condition and needs assessment at all units. The Committee
understands that the housing component of the study will be
completed by October 1, 1998. An inventory and condition
assessment of existing structures is also underway.
These reports should lead to a clear and manageable
National housing policy which includes a complete inventory of
existing housing and new requirements in priority order of
need. It should incorporate value analysis, the adoption of
standardized designs and a clear commitment to locate and use
private sector housing whenever possible. The Committee
strongly encourages the Service to avoid building housing
inside the park when afforable housing is located within a
reasonable distance from the park unit. The Committee expects
detailed status reports in December 1998 and April 1999 on the
progress of this effort.
The Committee does not intend to provide funds for new
housing until the Service has complied fully with these
directives. At that time, prior approval from the House and
Senate Appropriations Committees will be required for any new
housing built in National Park units.
The Committee has provided the Service with over $160
million for new housing in the last ten years. Because the
Service had no assessement of housing needs by park, no policy
that was enforced and no cost effective construction program to
ensure that funds were managed effectively, little progress has
been made to solve a very serious problem. The Committee
encourages the Service to respond as quickly as possible to
develop and implement a reasonable, cost effective program.
Year 2000 Conversion.--The Committee has left the base
funding but has not provided the increase contained in the
budget request which deals with the year 2000 computer
conversion problem. However, the Congress has included
$2,250,000,000 in the fiscal year 1999 Treasury, Postal
Appropriations Bill to deal with this problem on a government-
wide basis. These funds are contingent on the transmission of a
budget request by the President to Congress and the entire
amount is designated as an emergency requirement under the
provisions of section 251 (b)(A) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended. The
Committee will consider the additional needs of the Service at
the time this additional request is submitted.
Other.--The Committee held an oversight hearing on the
existing backlog maintenance system used by the Federal land
management agencies. The testimony by the General Accounting
Office and the Inspector General for the Interior Department
disclosed that the Service's estimates were not reliable, that
the lists not only contained legitimate backlog repair and
rehabilitation projects but $1.2 billion for new facilities
construction. The Committee directs the Service to submit a
report by January 15, 1999 on the status of the Service's
efforts to address these problems.
The Committee is very supportive of the Service's business
plan initiative, begun last year in four units of the system.
This effort, which is being bolstered by funding from the
National Parks and Conservation Association, the Kendall
Foundation and other private sources, hopefully will result in
a standardized business plan document that all parks will use
to demonstrate more accurately how appropriated and other funds
are used by the parks. The Committee expects the Service to
make this a high priority and directs the Service to provide a
report to the Committee by April 1, 1999 on the progress that
has been made to date and on plans to expand this effort to
more units by the end of fiscal year 1999.
The Committee directs the Park Service to provide $200,000
from within available funds to support the German-American
Cultural Center including full-time staff support and support
services. This is the last year that funds will be provided for
this purpose.
The Committee continues to be concerned about the number of
days that the Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park is closed to vehicular traffic. This road is a
vital link between North Carolina and Tennessee and the two
most heavily visited areas within the park. The Committee
provided this park with a $943,000 increase in fiscal year
1997, and further provided an additional $400,000 in fiscal
year 1998. This total increase of $1,343,000 was in addition to
fixed cost increases provided to the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park for such expenses as employee cost-of-living
adjustments and utility costs. According to park officials,
however, only $70,000 was expended on Newfound Gap Road winter
road operations in fiscal year 1998. The Committee expects the
Service to provide a higher level of maintenance for this road
with an ultimate goal of keeping it open 365 days per year. The
Committee will seriously consider any reprogramming request to
provide additional funds for this purpose.
The Committee is concerned that non-native species are
causing serious damage to native plants and soils within the
boundaries of the White Sands National Monument. The National
Park Service needs to move expeditiously to come up with an
environmentally sound plan to prevent further damage to the
monument. Every available method should be considered to remove
the non-native species from the monument site. The Committee
requests that the National Park Service present Congress with a
progress report on the establishment of a National Cave and
Karst Research Institute at Carlsbad, New Mexico no later than
February 15, 1999. This report should identify a working
partner in the Institute, a timetable, budget requirements and
commitments made by the non-Federal partner.
The Committee directs that within available funds the
Service shall provide funding to initiate a General Management
Plan for the newly established Washita Battlefield National
Historic Site in western Oklahoma as well as a Special Resource
Study for the Battle of Homestead and Carrie Furnace sites in
Pennsylvania.
The Committee is aware of a community based proposal to
recognize and commemorate the heroic achievements and
significant contributions of the Appalachian coal miners in
Harlan County, Kentucky. The Committee directs the Service to
assist local government and private sector efforts, in
cooperation with regional, State and Federal officials, to
identify and implement a full-range of public and private
alternatives which can be used permanently to recognize,
commemorate, restore and interpret the cultural and historical
significance of coal mining in Kentucky. The Service is to
provide the necessary funds and technical assistance through
the River, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, the
Special Resource Studies Program, or other appropriate existing
recreation, historic and cultural programs. The Service should
provide an interim report to the Committee on the status of
this effort by June 1, 1999.
The C.A. Thayer is one of the two remaining examples of the
historic ships which were involved in West Coast lumber trade
at the turn of the century. The 1895 wooden sailing ship has
reached a point of almost irreversible decline in recent years
and has not been given priority attention by the Park Service.
The Service should provide the Committee with a report by April
30, 1999 which details the exact condition of the historic
ship, its ranking in the line item construction program, the
estimated amount needed to stabilize the vessel and the
potential for private cost sharing.
Within the Interpretation and Education Program, a one-time
amount of $65,000 is provided, within available funds, for the
Claude Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run Park to support and
stimulate educational programs which foster public
understanding and appreciation of the importance of agriculture
in the development of American society. These programs involve
active public participation in the rudimentary operation and
life style of an 18th century farm.
The Committee encourages the Service to conclude its
negotiations with the Fairfax County Park Authority regarding
the operation of the Belle Haven Marina. In the event that
these negotiations do not yield a final agreement, the Service
shall provide to the Committee, no later than December 1, 1998,
a plan for correcting marina health and safety deficiencies. If
the Service contemplates converting the site to day use, the
Committee would expect continuation of the sailing school as
well as improvements to the boat ramp and parking. No funds may
be used to alter the marina use without appropriate public
involvement as defined by the National Environmental Policy
Act.
The Committee recognizes the importance of increasing
recreational access to the Potomac River, particularly for non-
motorized uses, including rowing. Arlington County has long
been interested in constructing a boathouse for use by high
school students and local residents. This interest is evidenced
by citizens in Arlington County approving a bond referendum
authorizing $1 million for construction of a boathouse to serve
area residents. The National Park Service, National Capital
Region is the lead federal agency involved in the location of
the proposed boathouse. In order to narrow the remaining site
options for a proposed boathouse in Arlington County, the
committee directs the National Park Service to complete a study
of sites in Arlington County, including Columbia Island and
Theodore Roosevelt Island, to determine the feasibility of
constructing a boathouse at either of these locations, and to
recommend which site is the preferred alternative. The Park
Service should work in collaboration with interested parties,
including Arlington County officials and the Arlington
Boathouse Foundation, in preparing this report which should be
submitted to the Committee by January 1999.
In light of the continued reports of excessive construction
costs incurred by the National Park Service, and specifically
the Denver Service Center, the managers direct the Department
of the Interior to proceed with funds appropriated in fiscal
year 1998 for the Fisher Peak Music Center on the Blue Ridge
Parkway without the administration of the Denver Service
Center. These funds are to be administered directly by the Blue
Ridge Parkway or a responsible third party such as the National
Council for the Traditional Arts. None of these funds may be
used to construct or operate a visitors center.
Bill Language.--The Committee has included bill language
under Operation of the National Park System that directs that
$600,000 become immediately available to the Mojave National
Preserve to hire mineral examiners. The Committee is concerned
that the directive contained in report language in the fiscal
year 1998 bill has been largely ignored.
Language also is included in Section 115 of Title I, which
States that the Park Service is prohibited from implementing
any reduced entrance fee program to accommodate non-local
recreational passage through units in the System. Current
authority permits the Service to provide for local non-
recreational passage through the units of the system.
Section 328 in Title III contains language that extends the
Recreational Fee Demonstration Program another two years,
expiring on September 30, 2001.
The Committee has included bill language in section 118 of
Title I which permanently designates the 37 mile River Valley
Trail that spans the entire Pennsylvania side of the Delaware
Water Gap National Recreation Area from the town of Delaware
Gap to the edge of Milford, Pennsylvania as the Joseph M.
McDade Trail. The Committee directs the National Park Service
to install new signs as soon as the bill becomes law.
Resource stewardship.--The Committee recommends
$228,790,000, an increase of $7,678,000 above the enacted level
and $863,000 above the fiscal year 1999 budget request.
Included in this amount are increases above 1998 of $3,110,000
for the special need parks initiative, $2,000,000 for inventory
and monitoring and $2,968,000 for uncontrollable expenses. The
Committee accepts the proposed reduction of $400,000 for the
Presidio Trust transfer. The following increases were not
provided: $249,000 for the South Florida Task Force and
$500,000 for the Museum Property Program. Within available
funds, $400,000 has been allocated for continued support of
heritage preservation public education and training.
Visitor services.--The Committee recommends $301,663,000,
an increase of $10,243,000 above the enacted level and a
decrease of $11,000 below the fiscal year 1999 request. The
references to the fiscal year 1998 level do not include
$12,000,000 provided in the D.C. Appropriations Act for the
Park Police.
Included in this amount are increases above 1998 of
$3,832,000 for the special need parks initiative, $400,000 for
overflight management, $2,000,000 for Risk Management, $500,000
for law enforcement background checks and $6,028,000 for
uncontrollable expenses. The recommendation also includes the
base adjustments for employee safety and workers compensation
from park support ($320,000) and maintenance ($103,000). The
Committee accepts the proposed reduction of $2,600,000 for the
Presidio Trust transfer and a reduction of $340,000 for one-
time lease costs at Katmai NP & P from the fiscal year 1998
supplemental appropriations. The $1,500,000 for Concessions was
not provided.
Maintenance.--The Committee recommends $447,159,000, an
increase of $63,571,000 above the enacted level and $1,543,000
above the fiscal year 1999 request. Included in this amount are
increases above 1998 of $4,376,000 for the special need parks
initiative, $60,000,000 for repair and rehabilitation projects
and $6,298,000 for uncontrollable expenses. The Committee
accepts the proposed reduction of $7,000,000 for the Presidio
Trust transfer as well as the base adjustment ($103,000) to
visitor services.
Within the $60,000,000 increase for maintenance, repair and
rehabilitation, $400,000 is for safety and accessibility needs
at the Lincoln Home, $50,000 is for rehabilitation work at the
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and $425,000 is provided to
Stones River Battlefield for debris removal, repairs to
exhibits and to complete the trail project, and $300,000 for
emergency repairs to the Wolpack and Pahaquarry Bridges in the
Delaware Water Gap NRA.
Park Support.--The Committee recommends $238,128,000, a
decrease of $2,213,000 below the enacted level and a decrease
of $2,395,000 below the fiscal year 1999 request. Included in
this amount are increases above 1998 of $831,000 for the
special need parks initiative, $150,000 for the AFS II Windows
conversion, $375,000 for the Accountability Management
Information System, $100,000 for the GPRA study and $3,634,000
for uncontrollable expenses. The Committee accepts the proposed
reductions of $1,250,000 from the Workforce Restructuring Act,
$625,000 from the Property System Conversion, $95,000 for the
Year 2000 Conversion Accounting System, $4,913,000 for the
Presidio Trust, and $100,000 for the German-American Center
Rehabilitation. The Committee agrees to the base adjustment of
$320,000 to visitor services. The following increases were not
provided: $760,000 for the Year 2000 Conversion, $450,000 for
Employee Database and Cultural Diversity Recruitment and
$900,000 for Electronic Records Management.
Denver Service Center.--The Committee recommends base
funding of $12,500,000 to support the Denver Service Center.
This is a new line item, which the Committee expects to see in
future budget submissions. Specific details on this item are
found in the section entitled ``Construction Reform'' under
Operations of the National Park system.
External Administrative Costs.--The Committee recommends
$105,088,000, an increase of $7,545,000 above the enacted and
the same as the fiscal year 1999 budget request. Included in
this amount are increases above 1998 of $200,000 for the
Acquisition System Implementation (IDEAS), $1,000,000 for GSA
space, $770,000 for the FTS-2000 telephone charges and
$5,575,000 for uncontrollable expenses. There were no proposed
decreases.

National recreation and preservation

The National recreation and preservation appropriation
provides for the outdoor recreation planning, preservation of
cultural and National heritage resources, technical assistance
to Federal, State and local agencies, administration of
Historic Preservation Fund grants and statutory and contractual
aid.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $44,259,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 46,575,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 41,939,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -2,320,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -4,636,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

Recreation programs.--The Committee recommends $506,000,
the same as the enacted level and a $9,000 decrease below the
fiscal year 1999 request.
Natural programs.--The Committee recommends $8,984,000, the
same as the enacted level and a $3,104,000 reduction below the
fiscal year 1999 request. The Committee has not provided the
$3,000,000 request for an urban park and open space initiative.
The Committee has included specific guidance on the American
Heritage Rivers program in the front of the report.
Cultural programs.--The Committee recommends $18,899,000,
the same as the enacted level and a $157,000 reduction below
the fiscal year 1999 request.
International Park Affairs.--The Committee recommends
$1,658,000, the same as the enacted level and a $13,000
reduction below the fiscal year 1999 request.
Environmental and compliance review.--The Committee
recommends $350,000, the same as the enacted level and a $8,000
reduction below the fiscal year 1999 request.
Grant Administration.--The Committee recommends $1,715,000,
the same as the enacted level and a $36,000 reduction below the
fiscal year 1999 request.
Heritage Partnership Programs.--The Committee recommends
$5,350,000 for fiscal year 1999. Included in this amount is
$4,500,000 for Commissions, and $850,000 for technical
assistance. Information received by the Committee indicates
that three of these areas have progressed further in their
planning and are, therefore, ready to receive and match the
highest annual authorized amount. Accordingly, the Essex
National Heritage Area, the Ohio and Erie Canal National
Heritage Corridor, and the Steel Industry Heritage project are
to receive the maximum allowable authorized amount in fiscal
year 1999. The Service is to distribute the balance to the
remaining six heritage areas based on an assessment of the
proposals received from the areas. The Committee directs the
Service to provide an assessment report in April and September
of 1999 which describes the status of each project and the
allocation of funds. The Service is reminded that it only has
Congressional authorization to work on the areas specified in
the Omnibus Parks Act of 1996 and funded by Congress.
Statutory or contractual aid.--The Committee recommends
$4,477,000 for this account, a decrease of $2,320,000 below the
enacted level and $300,000 below the fiscal year 1999 budget
request. The Committee has provided an additional $264,000 to
fund planning activities associated with the development of a
new structure at Independence NHP in accordance with National
Park Service pre-construction guidelines.
Urban Parks and Recreation Fund.--The Committee has not
provided the $2,000,000 to restart the Urban Park program. All
available increases are being focused on reducing the
operational shortfalls and backlog maintenance of the Park
units.

historic preservation fund

The Historic Preservation Fund supports the State historic
preservation offices to perform a variety of functions,
including: State management and administration of existing
grant obligations, review and advice on Federal projects and
actions, determinations, and nominations to the National
Register, Tax Act certifications and technical preservation
services. The States also review properties within States to
develop data for planning use.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $40,812,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 100,612,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 40,812,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -59,800,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $40,812,000, the same as the
enacted level and a reduction of $59,800,000 below the fiscal
year 1999 budget request. This amount includes funding for
grants-in-aid to the States and Indian tribes as well as
support for historically black colleges and universities. The
Committee provided funds in fiscal year 1998 and directed the
Service to conduct an onsite inspection and assessment of all
the historically black college and university buildings
authorized in the 1996 Omnibus Parks Act. This assessment has
been recently completed and ranks the buildings according to
actual need. The Committee is providing an additional
$3,500,000 to the existing base, and recommends that the
Service allocate these funds solely on the results of the new
assessment. As in the past, the funds will require a 50 percent
match of non-Federal funds.
Although funding has not been provided at this time for the
Millennium Initiative, the Committee feels that there is
substantial merit in funding cultural backlog projects of the
National Park Service and it is particularly timely to consider
this on the eve of the new millennium. The Committee will
continue to keep this priority in mind as the bill progresses
through the fiscal year 1999 process.
The Committee is aware that there has been much discussion
in recent months over the city of Cape May's status as a
National Historical Landmark, as designated by the National
Park Service in 1976. It is the clear understanding of the
Committee that no basis for de-designation of this status
currently exists. The Committee commends the efforts of
property owners and municipal leaders in Cape May for
preserving the town's rich historical legacy. The Service is
presently undertaking an evaluation of historic district
boundaries within the town itself, in full consultation with
Cape May municipal and historic preservation officials. The
Committee encourages this cooperative effort between the NPS
and the city of Cape May in the interest of preventing any
future loss of historic sites.
Bill language is included under this account that permits
the Service to recover and retain all costs of providing
services associated with the historic preservation tax
certification.

construction

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $222,769,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 175,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 149,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -73,769,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -26,000,000

The Committee recommends the following distribution of
funds:

Project Amount
Accokeek Foundation, MD (rehabilitation environmental
facilities)......................................... $300,000
Adams NHS, MA (repair/rehab. inadequate work space--
Carriage House)..................................... 1,724,000
Blackstone River Valley NHC, MA, RI, CN (exhibits)...... 750,000
Blue Ridge Parkway, VA (repair Peaks of Otter Dam)...... 200,000
Boston African-American NHS, MD (rehabilitate African
Meeting House)...................................... 1,398,000
Brown v. Board of Education, KS (rehabilitation)........ 6,200,000
Canaveral NS, FL (Seminole Rest)........................ 800,000
Cuyahoga Valley NRA, OH (repair & rehabilitation)....... 4,470,000
Dayton Aviation NHP, OH (complete Hoover Block)......... 1,600,000
Delaware Water Gap NRA, PA (repair Egypt Mill & Pickerel
Dams)............................................... 840,000
Delaware Water Gap NRA, PA (trail)...................... 3,500,000
Delaware Water Gap NRA, PA (Zimmermann House)........... 1,000,000
Eisenhower NHS, PA (fire protection for historic
structures)......................................... 1,310,000
Ellis Island, NY (stabilization)........................ 3,000,000
Everglades NP, FL (modify water delivery system)........ 14,000,000
FDR Home/Vanderbilt NHS, NY (rehabilitation)............ 3,000,000
Fort McHenry NM&HS, MD (rehabilitate historic fort
walls).............................................. 600,000
Fort Point NHS, CA (repair earthquake damage & repoint
brickwork).......................................... 2,158,000
Gateway NRA, NY (rehabilitate failing utilities--Floyd
Bennett Field)...................................... 5,690,000
Gateway NRA, NY (rehabilitate Sandy Hook Lighthouse).... 884,000
George Washington Memorial Parkway, VA (bike trail)..... 300,000
Gettysburg NMP, PA (water and sewer).................... 1,700,000
Glacier Bay NP&P, AK (rehabilitate inadequate utilities
at Bartlett Cove)................................... 3,988,000
Glen Canyon NRA, AZ (improve Lake Powell water quality &
visitor facilities)................................. 2,040,000
Golden Gate NRA, CA (structure rehabilitation of
Alcatraz Cell House)................................ 5,580,000
Guadalupe Mts. NP, TX (replace water tanks)............. 900,000
Independence NHP, PA (redevelopment of Independence
Mall)............................................... 3,500,000
Jean Lafitte NHP&P, LA (rehabilitation)................. 2,000,000
Jimmy Carter NHS, GA (restore boyhood home site)........ 1,435,000
Lake Mead NRA, NV (replace inadequate water treatment--
Nevada sites)....................................... 8,550,000
Lake Mead NRA, NV (replace inadequate water treatment-
Boulder Beach)...................................... 1,342,000
Minute Man NHP, MA (provide safe visitor access along
Battle Road Trail).................................. 1,200,000
Minute Man NHP, MA (rehabilitate unsafe historic
residences)......................................... 1,619,000
Perry's Victory & IPM, OH (rehabilitation).............. 1,700,000
Sequoia NP, CA (remove facilities and restore Giant
Forest)............................................. 6,000,000
Shenandoah NP, VA (rehabilitate inadequate utility
systems)............................................ 4,980,000
Shiloh NMP, TN (stop riverbank erosion)................. 2,000,000
Sotterley Plantation , MD (restoration)................. 600,000
Southwest Pennsylvania Heritage Comm., PA
(rehabilitation).................................... 1,700,000
Stones River NB, TN (exhibits).......................... 300,000
Ulysses S. Grant Historic Site, MO (rehabilitation)..... 1,000,000
Women's Right NHP, NY (trail study)..................... 100,000
Yellowstone NP, WY (sewer replacement).................. 500,000
Zion NP, UT (implement Visitor Transportation System)... 3,640,000
Project Total..................................... 110,098,000
Emergency/unscheduled housing........................... 15,000,000
Planning................................................ 8,500,000
Equipment Replacement................................... 15,402,000
--------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________
Grand Total....................................... 149,000,000

The Committee recommends $149,000,000 for construction
activities, a decrease of $73,769,000 below the enacted level
and $26,000,000 below the fiscal year 1999 request. The
reduction of $12,800,000 for construction planning reflects the
major reforms recommended under NPS operations including a 50%
downsizing of the Denver Service Center staff and shifting to
line item budgeting for the remaining FTEs. Previously, the
staff salaries were paid out of a portion of each construction
project as well as funds provided for planning and general
management plans. The Committee has provided funds in this bill
solely for these purposes. General Management Plans will now be
funded under the operations account from the line item amount
provided for the Service Center. A more comprehensive
description of these reforms can be found in the section
entitled Construction Reform under park operations.
The Committee commends the Service on its recent budget
submission for construction. The Service has recognized the
priority this Committee has placed on serious backlog
maintenance by prioritizing its request into separate
categories for health and safety, on-going projects and
resource protection. The Committee has responded by funding all
of the critical health and safety and most of the other
projects. This funding, coupled with the estimated $400 million
to be collected over the next several years through the
Recreational Fee Demonstration program should allow the Service
to reduce greatly the backlog maintenance needs of the parks.
The Committee has also extended the life of the Fee Program for
another two years as specified in Title III, Section 328 of
this bill.
Although not included in the President's request, the
Committee has provided $6,200,000 for rehabilitation of the
Brown vs. Board of Education site so that the project will be
complete in time to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic
U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The Committee has provided $300,000
to the Accokeek Foundation, which provides many interpretive
educational programs at Piscataway Park. These funds will be
matched with State funds to help upgrade the existing
infrastructure and install new signage and exhibits. This
amount completes the Federal commitment.
Included in the bill is $750,000 to continue projects
associated with the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage
Area and $800,000 for initial site work at Canaveral National
Seashore (Seminole Rest). These funds are for limited
interpretive trails, exhibits, visitor parking and modest
restroom facilities only.
The Committee recommends $4,470,000 for repair and
rehabilitation projects at the Cuyahoga Valley National
Recreation Area and $1,600,000 to complete work on the Dayton
Aviation National Historical Park's Hoover Block project. A
total of $3,500,000 is provided to continue work on a trail
through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area,
$1,000,000 for the Zimmerman House and $3,000,000 is available
to continue rehabilitation work at the FDR National Historic
Site.
The Committee has provided $3,000,000 for emergency
stabilization work at Ellis Island in response to a recent Park
Service report. Also included is $300,000 for ongoing repairs
on the George Washington Memorial Parkway bike path, $1,700,000
for water and sewer repairs at the Gettysburg National Military
Park and $900,000 to replace water tanks at the Guadalupe
Mountains National Park which has been cited for health and
safety problems. Additional funds of $2,000,000 are for the
Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve to complete
rehabilitation work on a visitor building damaged by Formosan
termite infestation.
The Committee has provided $1,700,000 for rehabilitation
work at Perry's Victory and $600,000 to be matched with State
funding for Sotterley Plantation. This amount completes the
project. Additional funds of $1,700,000 are provided to the
Southwest Pennsylvania Heritage Commission for rehabilitation
projects, $300,000 for new exhibits and signage at Stones River
National Battlefield and $100,000 is to initiate a trail study
at Women's Rights National Park. Also provided is $500,000 to
initiate a sewer replacement project at Yellowstone National
Park that has been cited for health and safety violations. The
Committee expects further funding for this project to be
included in the fiscal year 2000 budget.
In light of the additional funds provided to the Service
through the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, the
Committee expects the Park Service to provide the funding to
complete the bypass around the Chickamauga and Chattanooga
National Military Park in fiscal year 1999, provide $600,000
for road repairs in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and
fund the Staple Bend Tunnel in Pennsylvania.
Within available planning funds, the Service is directed to
provide $215,000 to the Apostle Island National Seashore for
the rehabilitation of historic lighthouses.
Bill language is included in this account which prohibits
the Denver Service Center from levying an assessment against
any specific construction project to pay for salaries and
expenses. Section 316 of Title III of the bill continues the
limitation for the planning, design and construction of any
visitor center or other permanent structure in excess of
$500,000, using recreational fee collections, without prior
approval of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.

Land and Water Conservation Fund

(Rescission)

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... -$30,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. -30,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... -30,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends the rescission of $30,000,000 in
annual contract authority provided by 16 U.S.C. 460l-10a. This
authority has not been used in years and there are no plans to
use it in fiscal year 1999.

land acquisition and state assistance

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $143,290,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 138,087,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 69,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -74,290,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -69,087,000

The Committee recommends $69,000,000 for land acquisition,
a decrease of $74,290,000 below the enacted level and
$69,087,000 below the fiscal year 1999 budget request. This
amount includes $55,875,000 for line item projects, $3,000,000
for emergencies and hardships, $1,125,000 for inholdings and
exchanges and $8,500,000 for acquisition management.
The Committee recommends the following distribution of
funds:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee
Area and State recommendation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acadia NP (ME)....................................... $1,000,000
Antietam NB (MD)..................................... 1,000,000
Appalachian Trail (multi)............................ 8,100,000
Chattahoochee River NRA (GA)......................... 15,000,000
Cuyahoga Valley NRA (OH)............................. 1,000,000
Everglades NP (FL)................................... 20,000,000
Gettysburg NMP (PA).................................. 1,000,000
Indiana Dunes NL (IN)................................ 1,000,000
Jean Lafitte NHP (LA)................................ 1,000,000
Morristown NHP (NJ).................................. 925,000
Palo Alto Battlefield NHS (CA)....................... 1,000,000
Rocky Mountain NP (Kemp Property) (CO)............... 250,000
Saguaro NP (AZ)...................................... 1,000,000
Santa Monica Mountains NRA (CA)...................... 1,000,000
Sleeping Bear Dunes NL (MI).......................... 1,000,000
Stones River NB (TN)................................. 1,100,000
Voyageurs NP (MN).................................... 500,000
Emergencies/hardships................................ 3,000,000
Inholdings and Exchanges............................. 1,125,000
Land Acquisition Administration...................... 8,500,000
State Grants Administration.......................... 500,000
------------------
Total.......................................... 69,000,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The $8,100,000 provided in addition to the $7,000,000
provided under the Forest Service acquisition account,
completes the 2,118 mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail. The
Committee has provided $15,000,000 for the Chattahoochee River
National Recreation Area and expects to provide the balance of
$10,000,000 by the end of fiscal year 1998. These funds are
being matched with $65,000,000 in private funds and other non-
federal funds to enhance recreational use and improve water
quality.
The Committee has provided $1,000,000 to help complete the
Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains National
Recreation Area, contingent on an equal match from non-Federal
sources specifically for acquisition for the Backbone Trail.
The Committee has provided $20,000,000 to be used exclusively
for the purchase of Federal lands within the boundary of the
Everglades National Park.
The Committee directs the National Park Service to give
priority to acquiring inholdings within Rocky Mountain National
Park from willing sellers and to continue to work toward
acquisition of inholdings in Dinosaur National Monument.

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey was established by an
Act of Congress on March 3, 1879 to provide a permanent Federal
agency to conduct the systematic and scientific
``classification of the public lands, and examination of the
geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the
National domain''. The USGS is the Federal Government's largest
earth-science research agency, the Nation's largest civilian
mapmaking agency, and the primary source of data on the
Nation's surface and ground water resources. Its activities
include conducting detailed assessments of the energy and
mineral potential of the Nation's land and offshore areas;
investigating and issuing warnings of earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, landslides, and other geologic and hydrologic
hazards; research on the geologic structure of the Nation;
studies of the geologic features, structure, processes, and
history of other planets of our solar system; topographic
surveys of the Nation and preparation of topographic and
thematic maps and related cartographic products; development
and production of digital cartographic data bases and products;
collection on a routine basis of data on the quantity, quality,
and use of surface and ground water; research in hydraulics and
hydrology; the coordination of all Federal water data
acquisition; the scientific understanding and technologies
needed to support the sound management and conservation of our
Nation's biological resources; and the application of remotely
sensed data to the development of new cartographic, geologic,
and hydrologic research techniques for natural resources
planning and management.

surveys, investigations, and research

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $760,358,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 806,883,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 774,838,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +14,480,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -32,045,000

The Committee recommends $774,838,000 for surveys,
investigations, and research, an increase of $14,480,000 above
the 1998 level and $32,045,000 below the budget request.
The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

National mapping program.--The Committee recommends
$138,998,000 for the National mapping program, a decrease of
$12,791,000 below the budget request and an increase of
$3,213,000 above the 1998 level, including increases above 1998
of $1,213,000 for fixed costs and $2,000,000 for satellite data
archiving. Within the recommendation the Committee has provided
$3,000,000 for the Gateway to the Future--Ohio pilot.
The Committee recognizes and commends the significant
progress made by USGS in increasing its contracting of map and
digital data production. As a result of the Committee's
direction, the contracting for map and digital data production
now exceeds 50 percent of the funding available for these
functions.
In its report accompanying the fiscal year 1996
appropriations bill for the U.S. Geological Survey, the
Committee directed the Survey to ``. . . work within the
Department to identify options for consolidating Federal
mapping functions at the Department of the Interior and work
with the Office of Management and Budget on consolidating these
functions government-wide.'' The Department, with the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) acting as executive agent for the BLM,
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS),
and the National Ocean Service (NOS), commissioned a study to
be undertaken by the National Academy of Public Administration
to provide recommendations on how best to implement the
direction of the Congress. With the approval of the Committee,
the study by the Academy addressed the broader concerns about
the existence, structure, and funding levels for Federal
surveying and mapping functions under the umbrella of
Geographic Information (GI) Services, thereby covering the
entire range of services that have evolved in the geospatial
arena. USGS is clearly the lead agency both within the
Department, and among Federal,
State and local agencies and the private sector. The Committee
endorses the idea of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure
(NSDI) and expects the Survey to expand the partnerships and
cooperation with State and local governments and the private
sector to create an NSDI. USGS should also continue to work
within the Federal Geographic Data Committee to define better
Federal agency roles and responsibilities for NSDI, including
coordinated goals, performance measures, strategies, and
budgets. Resources should be identified detailing how to meet
these goals to ensure that the NSDI is developed and
maintained. The Survey is to provide periodic reports to the
Committee on the status of GI activities and the implementation
of NSDI, including issues related to resource needs and
availability
Geologic hazards, resources and processes.--The Committee
recommends $235,604,000 for geologic hazards resources, an
increase $1,811,000 above the budget request and an increase of
$429,000 above the 1998 level, including an increase above 1998
of $2,429,000 for fixed costs and a decrease of $2,000,000 for
the minerals at risk program. Within the recommendation, the
Committee directs the USGS to continue the National cooperative
geologic mapping program and the coastal and marine geology
program at the 1998 level, and does not agree to the proposed
general reduction of $1,000,000 in energy resources.
The Committee believes that the Administration's proposed
Disaster Information Network (DIN) shows some merit in that it
would help create a single source of disaster information
readily available to a wide range of users. The Survey has a
critical role in providing disaster related information for
specific hazards, such as earthquakes, landslides, and floods.
However, the government-wide integration of disaster
information is not the Survey's primary role. The Federal
Emergency Management Agency, with direct responsibility over
disaster response, is the more appropriate umbrella agency for
this proposal, not the Survey. The Committee believes that the
Survey's highest hazards-related priority should be to continue
to upgrade its various hazards monitoring networks to acquire
quality hazards information. In this light, the Committee urges
the Survey to refine its proposal for a real time hazards
initiative. By March 31, 1999, the Survey should provide a
comprehensive report to the Committee detailing the resource
requirements for a Survey-wide real time hazards initiative.
The Committee is aware that the U.S. Geological Survey is
jointly involved with the Washington State Department of
Ecology in an ongoing five-year coastal erosion study of the
Southwest coast of Washington State, the primary objective of
which is to develop an increased understanding of the coastal
processes, geological forces, and human impacts which have
contributed to shoreline changes along the specified coastal
area of the State. The Committee is concerned that the Survey
needs to better inform the affected local coastal communities
on the progress and objectives of the ongoing study, and should
make every effort possible to seek local participation in
planning matters related to the Southwest Washington Coastal
Erosion Study.
Water resources investigations.--The Committee recommends
$200,707,000 for water resources assessments and research, a
decrease of $13,480,000 below the budget request and an
increase of $5,825,000 above the 1998 level, including
increases above 1998 of $2,525,000 for fixed costs, $1,500,000
for the National water quality assessment program, $1,000,000
for the Federal/State cooperative program, $300,000 for hypoxia
in the Gulf of Mexico and subsidence in Louisiana, and $500,000
for the Water Resources Research Institutes.
The Committee has not provided any funds for the
Administration's so called clean water initiative, which from
the Committee's perspective is mostly a repackaging of existing
programs that have been funded and supported by the Congress.
The increased funding level for the National Water Quality
Assessment (NAWQA) program is to put this high-priority program
back on track in terms of study units. Once again, the
Committee instructs the Survey that in the future no
significant departure from the original design of NAWQA be
presented unless a National Academy review is available to
substantiate the need for such a modification.
The Committee notes that funding for the ground water
research program has declined from more than $15,000,000 in the
mid-eighties to $3,100,000 in the Administration's fiscal year
1999 budget request, yet ground water issues for water managers
continue to grow in importance in many parts of the country.
The Committee directs that by November 30, 1998, the Survey
provide a report on the current status of ground water
activities and on any plans for addressing the future needs of
water management agencies for USGS ground water data and
scientific assessments.
The Committee has noted the steady decline in the number of
streamgaging stations in the past decade, while the need for
streamflow data for flood forecasting and long-term water
management uses continues to grow. The Committee requests that
by November 30, 1998 the Survey provide a report describing the
goals and current status of the streamgaging network and an
evaluation of the ability of the network to meet its goals.
The Committee has provided $5,057,000 for the Water
Resources Research Institutes. The Committee directs that
$1,000,000 of these funds will be used to support 1:1 matching
grants to be awarded competitively for research addressing
regional problems and for which research priorities are to be
developed jointly by the Institutes and the Survey. The
remainder of the grant funds are to be allocated among the
Institutes. The Survey shall ensure that funds allocated to
each institute support a State-wide competitive program of
research, education, and information and technology transfer,
and that the program be developed in close collaboration with
the Institute's State advisory panel. The amount recommended by
the Committee is about the same as in fiscal year 1998 and the
division between grants and program administration should be
the same as in fiscal year 1998.
The Committee recommends a total of $500,000 for high-
priority research to address the serious problems of hypoxia in
the Gulf of Mexico and subsidence in Louisiana.
Biological research.--The Committee recommends $150,871,000
for biological research, a decrease of $7,441,000 below the
budget request and an increase of $5,712,000 above the 1998
level, including increases above 1998 of $1,712,000 for fixed
costs, $1,000,000 for the cooperative research units,
$2,000,000 for Federal lands research, and $1,000,000 for
incinerator replacement at the National Wildlife Health Center.
The Committee recognizes the growing need for high priority
on-the-ground research for the National Park Service, Fish and
Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management. The Committee
has provided additional resources to meet the growing demand
for sound science on which to base resource management
decisions. The Committee is concerned that the bureaus in the
Department have not been working with the Biological Research
Division to address their scientific needs. The Committee
strongly encourages all of the bureaus to use the Biological
Resources Division in carrying out the scientific
responsibilities within their jurisdiction.
It has come to the attention of the Committee that a large
number of vacancies exist at many of the cooperative research
units, and that the lack of adequate staffing is having a
serious impact on the cooperative units ability to provide
timely and quality research. Therefore, the Committee directs
the Survey to use the additional resources provided to the
cooperative research units to fill as many positions as
possible, and should consider filling the position at the New
Mexico State University Wildlife Research unit.
The Committee understands that the Survey is considering a
cooperative agreement between the Lime Hollow Nature Center and
the Tunison Laboratory. The Committee expects the Survey to
cooperate with the Lime Hollow Nature Center that has been
providing year-round environment, education, and recreation
opportunities to the public.
The Committee is concerned about the lack of available
resources at the Center for Coastal Geology to address high-
priority interdisciplinary research efforts. The Committee
supports the team approach that integrates all of the Survey's
programs into one interdisciplinary science program designed to
address major societal problems. This approach should reduce
costs and allow the Survey to devote a greater proportion of
its budget to the Center. The Survey should report back to the
Committee by January 31, 1999 on what actions it will take to
address this resource allocation issue within the context of
the fiscal year 2000 budget submission.
General administration.--The Committee recommends
$27,174,000 for general administration, a decrease of $119,000
below the budget request and an increase of $1,590,000 above
the 1998 level for fixed costs.
Facilities.--The Committee recommends $21,484,000 for
facilities, a decrease of $25,000 below the budget request and
a decrease of $1,091,000 below the 1998 level, including an
increase above 1998 of $26,000 for fixed costs and a decrease
of $1,117,000 as proposed by the Survey.

Minerals Management Service

The Minerals Management Service is responsible for
collecting, distributing, accounting and auditing revenues from
mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands. In fiscal year
1999, MMS expects to collect and distribute about $5.5 billion
from more than 72,000 active Federal and Indian leases. In
addition, about $75 million in unpaid and underpaid royalties
are expected to be collected through the MMS audit and
negotiated settlement programs.
The MMS also manages the offshore energy and mineral
resources on the Nation's Outer Continental Shelf. To date, the
OCS program has been focused primarily on oil and gas leasing.
Over the past few years, MMS has begun exploring the possible
development of other marine mineral resources, especially sand
and gravel.
With the passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, MMS
assumed increased responsibility for oil spill research,
including the promotion of increased oil spill response
capabilities, and for oil spill financial responsibility
certifications of offshore platforms and pipelines.

royalty and offshore minerals management

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $144,196,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 122,402,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 116,402,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -27,794,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -6,000,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $116,402,000 for royalty and
offshore minerals management, a decrease of $6,000,000 below
the budget request and $27,794,000 below the 1998 level. The
Committee recommendation includes increases above 1998 in
royalty management of $4,155,000 and $8,131,000 in OCS lands.
These increases are more than offset by the use of an
additional $35,000,000 in excess receipts in the OCS lands
activity which decreases the appropriation for that program.
The Committee recommends $5,000,000 to begin implementation
of the Royalty Management Program reengineering project. This
is
the first phase of a multi-year effort that will provide
benefits to the Federal government, States, and Indian tribes
through reduced program costs and improved program operations.
In addition, the simplified reporting schemes envisioned in the
reengineering effort are expected to save the minerals industry
millions of dollars through reduced reporting burden.
The current 5-Year Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Program
is the most limited leasing program ever approved by the
Secretary. Given this narrowing of the acreage offered for
lease and the fact that U.S. oil imports now exceed 50 percent
of domestic consumption, it is even more important that the MMS
conduct the lease sales proposed in the program on schedule.
The MMS should also minimize any further block deletions to the
maximum extent practicable, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico
which is undergoing a renaissance and offers the best hope the
Nation has to stem the decline in domestic oil production. The
entire Central and Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas are
highly prospective hydrocarbon basins, and any further block
deletions in these two planning areas should be based on sound
science.
The Committee continues to have reservations regarding the
Minerals Management Service's (MMS) proposed crude oil
valuation rulemaking. Because of these concerns, the Committee
expects to receive a written report no later than August 30,
1998, detailing how MMS is dealing with the following issues:
(1) how it might permit a lessee selling oil at arm's length at
the lease to continue to base its royalties on its gross
proceeds; (2) how the use of so-called tendering programs,
arm's length sales and arm's length purchases at the lease of a
portion of the lessee's production in a given field can be
valued on its remaining production; and, (3) how it will
address the issue of deductions for value added to oil moved
downstream from the lease in order to derive a value of
production at the lease.
The Committee continues to note the success of the past
four lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and that sales since
enactment of the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act have netted
revenues from deepwater tracts of more than $1.2 billion more
than predicted. It has come to the attention of the Committee
that MMS is proposing a public workshop to look at whether
modifications to deep water leases are warranted. The Committee
expects that existing financial terms for these lease sales
will be maintained until this workshop is completed, public
comments fully analyzed, and a report provided to the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations.
By March 31, 1999, MMS should report to the Committee
regarding the status of product valuation covering the past 10
years. This report should detail the number of individual
disputes with producers, the number of lawsuits resulting from
such disputes, and a summary of rulemaking activities dealing
with this issue and associated costs.
Bill Language.--Bill language has been included under
General Provisions, Department of the Interior to prohibit the
use of funds for Outer Continental Shelf leasing activities in
several areas. The leasing restrictions included for fiscal
year 1999 are similar to those in previous fiscal years. The
Administration has supported continuing these provisions for
another year. The areas covered by the Committee's
recommendation include Northern, Central and Southern
California, the North Atlantic, Washington-Oregon, Florida, the
Mid and South Atlantic, and the North Aleutian Basin in Alaska.

Oil Spill Research

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $6,118,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 6,118,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 6,118,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $6,118,000, to be derived from the
Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, to conduct oil spill research
and financial responsibility and inspection activities
associated with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Public Law 101-
380. The Committee recommendation is equal to the budget
request.

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSM), through its regulation and technology account, regulates
surface coal mining operations to ensure that the environment
is protected during those operations and that the land is
adequately reclaimed once mining is completed. The OSM
accomplishes this mission by providing grants to those States
that maintain their own regulatory and reclamation programs and
by conducting oversight of State programs. Further, the OSM
administers the regulatory programs in the States that do not
have their own programs and on Federal and tribal lands.
Through its abandoned mine reclamation fund account, the
OSM provides environmental restoration at abandoned coal mines
using tonnage-based fees collected from current coal production
operations. In their unreclaimed condition these abandoned
sites may endanger public health and safety or prevent the
beneficial use of land and water resources.

regulation and technology

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $95,437,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 93,540,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 93,349,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -2,088,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -191,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $93,349,000 for regulation and
technology, $191,000 below the request and $2,088,000 below the
1998 level. The Committee is concerned with the impact of
mountain-top removal surface coal mining operations in certain
areas of the Appalachians and encourages the Office of Surface
Mining to carefully examine this issue. The OSM should report
back to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations by
March 1, 1999 on the overall situation, the role of the OSM,
other Federal agencies and the States in regulating
environmental effects, and suggestions to improve the
situation.

abandoned mine reclamation fund

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $177,624,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 183,416,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 185,416,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +7,792,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +2,000,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $185,416,000 for the Abandoned
Mine Reclamation fund, an increase of $2,000,000 above the
request and an increase of $7,792,000 above the 1998 level. The
Committee recognizes the great amount of reclamation work that
remains to be done, as well as some of the terrible health,
safety and environmental problems caused by this situation. The
Committee has provided a substantial increase to this program,
and has increased the authority for the Appalachian Clean
Streams Initiative by $2,000,000 to total of $7,000,000. The
Committee has not made the change to bill language suggested by
the Administration of
dropping ``Appalachian'' from the initiative title. It is
premature to dilute this effort by making it a nationwide
program.

Bureau of Indian Affairs

operation of indian programs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs was created in 1824; its
mission is founded on a government-to-government relationship
and trust responsibility that results from treaties with Native
groups. The Bureau delivers services to over one million Native
Americans through 12 area offices and 83 agency offices. In
addition, the Bureau provides education programs to Native
Americans through the operation of 118 day schools, 48 boarding
schools, and 14 dormitories. Lastly, the Bureau administers
more than 46 million acres of tribally owned land.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $1,529,638,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 1,638,681,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 1,558,425,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +28,787,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -80,256,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $1,558,425,000 for the operation
of Indian programs, an increase of $28,787,000 above the fiscal
year 1998 level and a decrease of $80,256,000 below the budget
request. The Committee agrees to all internal transfers and
budget structure changes proposed by the BIA in the budget
request.
The Committee has made a number of changes to the Operation
of Indian Programs bill language. These changes are not meant
to signal a reduction in the number of programs in OIP, nor is
it meant to limit the types of programs within OIP. The
Committee's intent is simply to condense the language.
The Committee is concerned about the Ramah Navajo Chapter
v. Lujan settlement concerning contract support and the
expectation that the settlement payments from the Claims and
Judgment Fund be reimbursed from agency appropriations. The
Committee believes that the court in this case made an
erroneous decision and that the Administration erred by failing
to appeal. It is not the intention of the Committee to use any
of the funds in this bill to pay for the flawed settlement. The
Committee expects the Department of the Interior, in
consultation with the Department of Justice and the Office of
Management and Budget, to resolve the issues of how repayment
should be made and develop a legislative proposal for
addressing these issues.
It has come to the attention of the Committee that certain
tribes have significant tribal income and may not need Federal
funds to support their tribal government and tribal activities.
These tribes recognize that other tribes have greater needs and
are not able to generate significant tribal income. However,
the more economically successful tribes are concerned that if
they refuse Federal funds, it may in some way affect the
Federal trust responsibility and their relationship with the
Federal government. With the limited funds available to this
Committee and the need for services throughout Indian country,
this Committee wants to do whatever is necessary to encourage
successful tribes to assist those tribes that are less
fortunate. It is the intent of the language included in the
Bureau's administrative provisions to alleviate tribal concerns
about Federal responsibilities while encouraging economically
successful tribes to return their appropriations to the Bureau
to aid the less fortunate tribes.
The Committee has continued the limitation on contract
support for both the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian
Health Service. Since fiscal year 1994, the Congress has
enacted annual appropriations language limiting the amount of
funding provided for contract support costs under the Indian
Self-Determination Act, as amended. Without a ceiling on
contract support, the Bureau could be required to reprogram
from other tribal programs in the Operation of Indian Programs
to fund 100 percent of tribal contract support costs. It has
always been the Committee's intent that this language would
supersede the requirements of the Indian Self-Determination Act
and the Committee has included the language for fiscal year
1999 to reinforce that intent. The Committee has also added
language that limits the Department of the Interior's liability
for payment of contract support costs to only those contracts
entered into with Interior bureaus.
In Title III--General Provisions, the Committee has
recommended language placing a one-year moratorium on new or
expanded self-determination and self-governance compacts for
both the BIA and the Indian Health Service. The Committee urges
the agencies and the tribes to address the contract support
cost problem in a timely manner so that an acceptable solution
can be found for addressing contract support cost funding
within the Committee's allocation without adversely affecting
funding for other BIA/IHS and tribal programs.
The BIA and the IHS needs to work closely with the tribes
and with the legislative committees of jurisdiction to find a
solution to contract support cost shortfalls that ensures they
are not paid at the expense of agency operated programs or
adversely affect non-compacting/contracting tribes. The BIA and
IHS should work with the tribes to develop an acceptable
methodology for determining level of need calculations for
services and for contract support costs. A ``minimum level of
need funded'' should be established for all the various
services and for contract support costs and a plan for
increasing the level of need funded in all the various areas
should be developed with priorities identified within and
across programs.
The Committee has provided $250,000, requested by the
Bureau, to establish a workgroup in response to a
recommendation by the Task Force to implement section 118 of
the fiscal year 1998 Interior and Related Agencies
Appropriation bill. It is the Committee's understanding that
this workgroup is to recommend to the Bureau consistent
criteria and methods for measuring needs on a program-by-
program basis. The Committee is also concerned about the
perceived inequities in the distribution of Tribal Priority
Allocations in Indian Country and expects the Bureau to develop
consistent criteria for the allocation of Tribal Priority
Allocations that address the equity issue among the tribes. The
Committee feels strongly that this workgroup is advisory only
and does not relieve the Bureau of the responsibility to
recommend reasonable policy proposals to the Congress. The
Committee expects the Bureau to address and define clearly what
is appropriate full funding for tribes and it is the Bureau's
responsibility to report to this Committee when the effort is
complete.
Changes to 26 USC paragraph 168(j)(6) of the Internal
Revenue Code as adopted in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997,
were based on the understanding that any lands within any
former Indian reservation in Oklahoma were eligible for trust
land status under 25 CFR part 151. It was also the
understanding that the phrase ``lands in Oklahoma within the
jurisdictional area of an Oklahoma Indian tribe'' excludes
those former Seminole/Creek domain lands in central Indian
territory that were deemed to be ``unassigned lands'' and
therefore opened to white settlement in 1889.
Tribal priority allocations.--The Committee recommends
$771,505,000 for tribal priority allocations, a decrease of
$19,705,000 below the budget request and an increase of
14,157,000 above the 1998 level, including increases above 1998
of $3,812,000 for fixed costs, $4,330,000 from internal
transfers and budget structure changes, $4,015,000 for contract
support, and $2,000,000 for welfare assistance.
The Committee understands that within the road maintenance
budget the Bureau will continue to fund the Inchelium Public
Ferry on the Colville reservation as proposed by the
Administration.
Other recurring programs.--The Committee recommends
$535,087,000 for other recurring programs, a decrease of
$23,675,000 below the budget request and a decrease of
$14,209,000 below the 1998 level, including increases above
1998 of $4,196,000 for fixed costs, $5,600,000 for Indian
School Equalization Program (ISEP) funds, $400,000 for the
Tribally Controlled Community Colleges, $250,000 for fishing
access sites, and a decrease of $24,655,000 resulting from
internal transfers and budget structure changes.
Within resources management $800,000 is included for the
Bering Sea Fisherman's Association. Funding for the Native
American Fish and Wildlife Society (NAFWS) is continued at the
fiscal year 1998 level. This funding level will ensure that
NAFWS will be able to support development and protection of
tribal fish and wildlife resources.
Non-recurring programs.--The Committee recommends
$61,251,000 for non-recurring programs a decrease of
$14,446,000 below the budget request and an increase of $72,000
above the 1998 level, including increases above 1998 of
$201,000 for fixed costs, $122,000 for internal transfers and
budget structure changes, $100,000 for the St. Augustine
Center, $100,000 for Alaska Legal Services, $427,000 for Gila
River Farms, $1,000,000 for probate backlog, and $1,727,000 for
environmental cleanup, and decreases of $2,125,000 for self-
governance grants and $1,000,000 for welfare assistance in
South Dakota, and $480,000 from minerals and mining as proposed
by the Bureau.
Within non-recurring programs, the Committee has provided
an increase of $100,000 for the St. Augustine Center. The
Center provides comprehensive social services to Chicago's
Native American Community, and is the only agency in Chicago to
implement the Child Welfare Act. In addition, the Committee has
provided a total of $300,000 for Alaska Legal Services.
It has come to the attention of this Committee that the
Bureau's requests for funding have fallen far short of BIA's
actual funding needs for meeting its environmental compliance
responsibilities. As a result, the Environmental Protection
Agency has recently begun assessing heavy penalties against BIA
for noncompliance with environmental requirements, including
fines for violations of the underground storage tank
regulations and for RCRA reporting violations. The Committee
understands that BIA is planning to initiate an environmental
audit program over the next four years, which is expected to
bring further remediation projects to light. In order to assist
BIA, and the tribes, in meeting their environmental compliance
responsibilities, the Committee recommends an increase of
$1,727,000 for environmental cleanup. This increase will allow
BIA to begin to conduct activities aimed at achieving
compliance with a December 1998 deadline for upgrading
underground storage tanks, to close open dumps, and to begin
the environmental audit program.
The Committee has provided additional resources to the
Bureau to begin to address the probate backlog which is an
important component in addressing trust reform and implementing
certain portions of the Special Trustee's Strategic Plan. In
addition, these funds should help Native Americans in securing
mortgage loans in Indian Country. The delay that results from
this backlog means that even as mortgage opportunities become
available, the Bureau is not in a position to allow these loans
to be completed because lenders require evidence of title
before finalizing a loan.
Within the $3,000,000 provided for the ``jobs in the
woods'' initiative, $400,000 should continue to be used by the
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for the Wildstock
Restoration Initiative.
Central office operations.--The Committee recommends
$43,104,000 for central office operations, a decrease of
$4,238,000 below the budget request and a decrease of
$4,235,000 below the 1998 level, including an increase above
1998 of $248,000 for fixed costs and decreases of $1,983,000
for internal transfers and budget structure changes and
$2,500,000 for the year 2000 computer compliance. Funding for
year 2000 computer issues is being funded centrally through the
Treasury-Postal Appropriations bill.
Area office operations.--The Committee recommends
$42,154,000 for area office operations a decrease of $1,023,000
below the budget request and an increase of $1,268,000 above
the 1998 level, including increases above 1998 of $332,000 for
fixed costs and $1,500,000 for land records improvement, and a
decrease of $564,000 for internal transfers and budget
structure changes.
Special programs and pooled overhead.--The Committee
recommends $105,324,000 for special programs and pooled
overhead, a decrease of $17,169,000 below the budget request
and an increase of $32,784,000 above the 1998 level, including
increases above 1998 of $2,250,000 for fixed costs and
$10,000,000 for the joint BIA/Department of Justice law
enforcement initiative, $108,000 for the United Sioux Tribe
Development Corporation, $100,000 for the distance learning
project, and $21,304,000 for internal transfers and budget
structure changes, and a decrease of $978,000 for the United
Tribes Technical College as proposed by the Bureau.
The Committee is concerned about the deplorable crime on
Indian reservations in this country. While the Committee is
concerned about the underlying causes of crime such as economic
conditions, alcohol and drug abuse, and the outside influence
of gangs, the Committee is supporting the request for increased
funding for law enforcement in the amount of $10,000,000. The
Committee has noted in the Administration budget that several
program elements that include law enforcement funding remain in
the Tribal Priority Allocation activity and that those funds
will be placed under the control of centralized line authority
and managed by law enforcement professionals. The Committee
directs the Bureau to ensure that this control over funding
takes place beginning in fiscal year 1999 to ensure that the
maximum amount of funding is provided to meet law enforcement
needs. The Committee further directs that law enforcement funds
are not available for reprogramming to other purposes without
Committee approval and that law enforcement funds are not
available for tribal shares.
Within the funds provided for post secondary schools the
Committee has provided an additional $100,000 for the
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute to participate in the
cooperative Distance Learning Telecommunications project
designed to provide information to a broad segment of the
Native American community in water management and precision
agriculture. The Committee understands that Lockheed Martin
Corporation will commit $100,000 in philanthropic education
funds to this project.
The Committee is concerned with the level of services that
are currently being provided to the Canoncito Band of Navajos.
The Bureau is directed to report back to the Committee on the
feasibility of transferring responsibility of BIA programs for
the Canoncito Band to the jurisdiction of the Albuquerque Area.
In fiscal year 1999, the Bureau should continue to provide
the current levels of service to the Office of Special Trustee
(OST) for Information Resource Management systems and other
contractual costs to support existing mainframe computers,
licenses, and other costs similar to 1998. The Committee
recognizes that BIA's IRM resources are limited and that system
enhancements may be needed by both BIA and OST trust systems.
The Committee expects that investments in information
technology will be implemented in a coordinated and cost
effective manner that ensures no duplication of resources
between BIA and OST, particularly in the area of
telecommunications.

construction

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $125,279,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 152,054,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 121,695,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -3,584,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -30,359,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

Education.--The Committee recommends $58,579,000 for
education construction, including $17,400,000 to finish
construction of the Sac and Fox and Pyramid Lake schools,
$3,000,000 for employee housing, and $38,179,000 for FI&R which
is an increase of $6,000,000 over the 1998 level to begin to
address the significant backlog maintenance problems that exist
in the school system.
The Committee encourages the Bureau to consider adding
additional portable classrooms for the Ramah Band of Navajo
school
system. It has come to the Committee's attention that over 160
children are bused each day to Albuquerque schools because
there is no room in the overcrowded BIA school.
The Committee has continued the fiscal year 1995 bill
language related to implementing the process to award grants
for construction of new schools or facilities improvement and
repair projects in excess of $100,000. The language ensures
that the Department can continue to implement the grant process
while the permanent implementation process is under development
in fiscal year 1998. The Committee expects the Department and
the Bureau of Indian Affairs to continue to work cooperatively
with the tribes in the development of a final implementation
process. Given that the language is clear concerning
negotiating the schedule of payments, the Committee has not
continued the language limiting payments to two per year.
Public safety and justice.--The Committee recommends
$5,550,000 for public safety and justice, including $1,400,000
for FI&R, $150,000 for fire safety coordination, and $4,000,000
for the fire program.
Resources management.--The Committee recommends $49,621,000
for resources management, including $25,500,000 the Navajo
irrigation project, $1,806,000 for engineering supervision,
$304,000 for central office support staff, $20,011,000 for the
safety of dams program, and $2,000,000 for dam maintenance.
General administration and construction management.--The
Committee recommends $7,945,000 for general administration and
construction management, including an increase above 1998 of
$94,000 for fixed costs.

indian land and water claim settlements and miscellaneous payments to
indians

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $43,352,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 38,396,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 28,396,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -14,956,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -10,000,000

The Committee recommends $28,396,000 for Indian land and
water claim settlements and miscellaneous payments to Indians,
including $623,000 for White Earth, $243,000 for Hoopa-Yurok,
$25,000,000 for the Ute settlement, and $2,530,000 for the
Pyramid Lake settlement.

indian guaranteed loan program account

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $5,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 5,005,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 5,001,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +1,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -4,000

The Committee recommends $5,001,000 for the Indian
guaranteed loan program.

Departmental Offices

Insular Affairs

assistance to territories

The Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) was established on
August 4, 1995 through Secretarial Order No. 3191 which also
abolished the former Office of Territorial and International
Affairs. The OIA has important responsibilities to help the
United States government fulfill its responsibilities to the
four U.S. territories--Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin
Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands
(CNMI)--and the three freely associated States: the Federated
States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall
Islands (RMA) and the Republic of Palau. The permanent and
trust fund payments to the territories and the compact nations
provide substantial financial resources to these governments.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $67,514,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 66,275,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 66,175,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -1,339,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -100,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

Territorial Assistance.--The Committee recommends
$15,401,000, $100,000 below the request and $1,339,000 below
the 1998 level. The Committee has provided a substantial
increase for the brown tree snake program, but not as large as
that requested by the Administration. Rather, most of the
increase requested for the brown tree snake program has been
allocated to priority technical assistance projects which may
benefit all territories.
CNMI/Covenant grants.--The Committee recommends the
mandatory grants, as requested, $27,720,000. This includes the
budget request of $11,000,000 for CNMI construction, $4,580,000
for impact aid to Guam, $10,140,000 for American Samoa
construction, and $2,000,000 for the CNMI labor and law
enforcement initiative. The Committee has included bill
language which requires that a
minimum of $5,000,000 for construction in the CNMI be set aside
for a new prison facility and $500,000 for a crime lab: both
are vital for the labor, immigration and law enforcement needs
in the territory. The Committee is concerned about the labor
and immigration situation in the CNMI and expects the new
administration in the CNMI to work diligently to improve the
situation.
American Samoa.--The committee recommends $23,054,000 as
requested for operations grants. The Committee remains very
concerned about continuing fiscal problems in American Samoa
and reiterates that it is essential that cost recovery
mechanisms be implemented for some government services and that
the government strive for fiscal balance.
Guam.--The Committee notes the $4,580,000 payment to Guam
using Covenant grant funds is to address the impact resulting
from the implementation of the Compact of Free Association Act.

compact of free association

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $20,545,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 20,445,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 20,545,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +100,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $20,545,000, $100,000 above the
request and equal to the 1998 level, for the Compact of Free
Association. The Committee has not reduced the Enewetak support
payment as requested by the Administration.

Departmental Management

salaries and expenses

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $58,286,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 60,871,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 58,286,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -2,585,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $58,286,000 for fiscal year 1999,
the same as the enacted level and $2,585,000 below the fiscal
year 1999 request. The Committee has urged the Department to
reduce unnecessary administrative practices that consume a
large amount of staff time. For example, chain of review,
concurrence and sign-offs for correspondence and for
programmatic documents. The Committee understands that many of
these old and cumbersome practices continue.
The Committee expects that, as levels of review are reduced
and employees are empowered to do their jobs, many positions
will be eliminated. These positions should not be converted
into additional program staff but should truly result in a
reduction of FTEs. This reduction should be a direct result of
improved management decisions. The Committee is aware that the
Departmental Management staff is augmented with personnel
details from other bureau offices both in the Department and
elsewhere in the Federal Government.
The Committee has included bill language in section 118 of
Title I which gives the Secretary the authority in fiscal year
1999 to rent temporary space and charge a fee to non-Federal
persons, firms or organizations engaged in commercial,
cultural, educational or recreational activities as defined in
section 612a of Title 40, United States Code. The Secretary may
without further appropriation use these proceeds within the
Departmental Management Working Capital Fund to help offset the
operation of the buildings under his jurisdiction.
The Committee directs the Secretary to report no later than
September 1, 1999 on the status of this directive and include
the total amount collected, the source and purpose for which
the space was used and how those funds were expended within the
Working Capital Fund. This authority should not be used to
displace any Interior employee carrying out their official
duties for the Department.

Office of the Solicitor

salaries and expenses

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $35,443,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 37,304,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 37,304,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +1,861,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $37,304,000 for fiscal year 1999,
which is $1,861,000 above the enacted level. The Committee has
expressed concern for several years about the dramatic increase
in workload, the diminishing staffing levels and programmatic
needs of this office. In response to questions for the record,
the Solicitor's
office cites a backlog need of $4,600,000 above the budget
request for fiscal year 1999.
The Committee has supported the Administration's request
for the past three years including fiscal year 1999. The
Committee recognizes the programmatic need and will keep this
deficiency in mind as the bill progresses to conference. In any
case, the Committee strongly urges the Secretary and the
Administration to consider additional increases for this office
in the fiscal year 2000 budget.

Office of Inspector General

salaries and expenses

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $24,500,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 25,684,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 24,499,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -1,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -1,185,000

The Committee recommends $24,499,000, $1,000 below the
enacted level and $1,185,000 below the fiscal year 1999
request.

National Indian Gaming Commission

salaries and expenses

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $1,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 0
Recommended, 1999..................................... 0
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -1,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends zero funding which is the same as
the budget request. Last year, language was enacted allowing
the National Indian Gaming Commission to collect additional
funds from the gaming tribes to offset the Commission's
activities; therefore no appropriation is required.

Office of Special Trustee for American Indians

federal trust programs

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $38,557,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 42,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 39,499,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +942,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -2,501,000

The Committee recommends $39,499,000 for the office of
special trustee for American Indians, an increase of $5,542,000
above the 1998 level excluding the 1998 supplemental that
provided for litigation support, and a decrease of $2,501,000
below the budget request. The Committee has provided $1,626,000
for Executive Direction and $37,873,000 for program operations,
support and improvements.
The changes from the 1998 level, excluding the 1998
supplemental, include increases of $506,000 for uncontrollable
costs, $3,289,000 for improvement initiatives and $1,827,000
for settlement and litigation activities related to tribal
settlement and IIM litigation, and a decrease of $80,000 for
Advisory Board activities.
Since the Special Trustee has submitted the Strategic Plan,
and the Secretary has determined which of the recommendations
contained in the plan should currently be implemented, the
Committee believes that six Advisory Board meetings per year
are too frequent and these meetings should be reduced to no
more than quarterly. The Committee also suggests that the
Special Trustee, in selecting sites for Advisory Board
meetings, avoid the appearance that the Advisory Board is
conducting its meetings at resorts. A reduction of $80,000 from
the funds requested for Advisory Board activities is
reallocated as follows: $28,000 for uncontrollable costs in
executive direction and $52,000 for uncontrollable costs in
program operations, support and improvements.
The Committee is encouraged by the progress made to date by
the Special Trustee to implement the various elements of the
Trust Management Improvement Project. The Committee is aware of
the significant costs required to improve the systems and other
requirements. The Committee has provided a total of $16,639,000
for Improvement Initiatives. These funds are to implement the
Trust Management Improvements Project as outlined in the budget
and to implement the agreement between the Secretary and the
Special Trustee on Trust Management Reform. Based on the budget
estimates, with this level of funds, it is estimated that the
Special Trustee can: implement the trust fund accounting system
as scheduled; implement the TAAMS pilot efforts; complete the
IIM data clean-up contract efforts; continue work to identify
missing documentation in IIM accounts, such as locating missing
social security numbers, addresses and other necessary
documentation. In addition, these funds will provide the needed
contract research to address various accounting deficiencies
for records management activities, including imaging which is
being done in concert with the BIA to address the
implementation of the joint records management solutions for
trust records; and provide for training of users of the new
systems.
The Committee has provided an additional $1,827,000 for
settlement and litigation activities, to help ensure that
reform efforts are not hampered by litigation and settlement
demands. This amount is in addition to the current funding
level of $2,197,000, a significant amount. While this
represents a reduction of $1,071,000 from the President's
request, the Committee was not presented with adequate
justification that existing base funding cannot cover a portion
of the costs to implement the tribal settlement legislation and
meet litigation demands. The Committee expects the full request
amount to be justified completely in future budget or
reprogramming requests.
The Committee has provided additional resources to the
Bureau of Indian Affairs to begin to address the probate and
land records backlogs which are important components in
addressing trust reform and implementing certain portions of
the Special Trustee's Strategic Plan.
Bill language is included to exempt certain small accounts
from two requirements of the American Indian Trust Fund
Management Reform Act of 1994. There are approximately 17,000
Indian trust accounts which have a balance of less than $1.00
and have not had activity for over 18 months; an average of 30
cents in each account. These accounts are too small to earn
interest. Attempts to disburse these amounts to the
accountholders have been unsuccessful, as the checks are not
cashed, and the amounts are subsequently restored to OST's
account in Treasury. Without such an exemption, it would cost
in excess of $600,000 annually to comply with the requirements
of the Act.

Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration

natural resource damage assessment fund

The purpose of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Fund
is to provide the basis for claims against responsible parties
for the restoration of injured natural resources. Assessments
ultimately will lead to the restoration of injured resources
and reimbursement for reasonable assessment costs from
responsible parties through negotiated settlements or other
legal actions.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $4,228,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 8,100,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 4,492,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +264,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -3,608,000

This account previously was included under the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service appropriation. The Committee
has recommended moving the account to the Departmental Offices
appropriation because its functions relate to several different
bureaus within the Department of the Interior.
The Committee recommends $4,492,000 for the natural
resource damage assessment fund, a decrease of $3,608,000 below
the budget request and an increase of $264,000 above the fiscal
year 1998 level. Decreases below the budget request include
$3,252,000 in damage assessments and $356,000 in program
management. At the recommended funding level, increases above
the 1998 level include $64,000 for fixed cost increases and
$200,000 for damage assessments.
Bill language is recommended to merge available prior year
funds in this account, appropriated to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, with the funds recommended for appropriation
herein.

general provisions, department of the interior

The Committee recommends continuing several provisions
carried in previous bills as follows. Sections 101 and 102
provide for emergency transfer authority with the approval of
the Secretary. Section 103 provides for warehouse and garage
operations and for reimbursement for those services. Section
104 provides for vehicle and other services. Section 105
provides for uniform allowances. Section 106 provides for
twelve month contracts.
Sections 107 through 110 prohibit the expenditure of funds
for Outer Continental Shelf leasing activities in certain areas
as proposed in the budget. These provisions are addressed under
the Minerals Management Service in this report.
Section 111 limits the investment of Federal funds by
tribes and tribal organizations to obligations of the United
States or obligations insured by the United States.
Section 112 provides authority for lump sum payments of
severance pay and continued health benefits to Federal Helium
Operations employees who have been separated as a result of the
closure of the helium program.
Section 113 permits the Secretary of the Interior to accept
and use donations for the Department's Natural Resources
Library.
Section 114 limits the payment of contract support costs,
using funding in this title, to contracts under the
jurisdiction of agencies of the Department of the Interior.
Section 115 prohibits the National Park Service from
reducing recreation fees for non-local travel through any park
unit.
Section 116 provides benefits, including limited ``buy-
out'' authority for employees separated from the Denver Service
Center of the National Park Service.
Section 117 provides authority to the Secretary to lease
space to non-Federal entities and to collect and retain fees
for the Working Capital Fund.
Section 118 designates the 37 mile River Valley Trail
within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area as the
Joseph M. McDade Trail.

TITLE II--RELATED AGENCIES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

The U.S. Forest Service manages 192 million acres of public
lands for multiple use Nationwide, including lands in 44
States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The Forest Service
administers a wide variety of programs, including forest and
rangeland research, State and private forestry assistance,
wildfire suppression and fuels reduction, cooperative forest
health programs, and human resource programs. The National
Forest System (NFS) includes 156 National forests, 20 National
grasslands, a National tallgrass prairie, 4 National monuments,
and 9 land utilization projects. The NFS is managed for
multiple use, including timber production, recreation,
wilderness, minerals, grazing, fish and wildlife habitat
management, and soil and water conservation.
The Committee is extremely concerned about the fiscal and
management accountability and credibility of the Forest
Service. The Committee has made several changes to enhance
accountability, and the Committee, with the assistance of the
GAO and IG, will be monitoring closely the efforts underway to
bring the agency business management performance up to
standard. There continue to be too many opportunities for
managers to sideline funds away from on-the-ground activities.
The Committee continues to be extremely concerned about the
problem of forest and rangeland health and especially the
condition of the wildland-urban interface. There is a great
need for a comprehensive approach that enhances the condition
of the forests, watersheds and habitats and produces goods and
services needed by society. The Committee has made several
changes which will enhance efforts to restore and maintain
forest and rangeland conditions, including: full funding for
insect and disease suppression and science, and hazardous fuels
and fire management; increasing the authority of the Secretary
to use the 10% receipts fund for watershed and forest
management as well as for roads and trails repair; directing
the use of the reforestation fund for priority activities in
the wildland-urban interface and other areas at risk to
catastrophic fire; and increased funding for forest vegetation,
watershed restoration, fish and wildlife habitat restoration,
and range management.
The Committee has provided a comprehensive approach to
dealing with the forest roads issue: (1) the $50 million
purchaser road credit authority is terminated; (2) funds are
increased for road maintenance and road decommissioning; (3)
funds are provided to plan, design, manage, provide careful
environmental review and clearance, and oversee road
construction by timber purchasers; (4) fiscal accountability
and efficiency are increased by cutting the program management
and overhead activity by 10% and transferring the road
maintenance activity to the road reconstruction account; and
(5) only $1 million is provided for direct construction of new
roads.
Finally, the Committee has provided for forest recreation
by increasing funding for recreation management and trails and
by extending the recreation fee demonstration for 2 years. The
Committee also has separated out the trail and recreation
facilities maintenance activities from the recreation use and
wilderness management activities to increase attention to
deferred maintenance. The Committee also has provided new funds
for small, backlog maintenance projects within the construction
account.

forest and rangeland research

Forest and rangeland research conducts research through a
network of six regional research and/or experiment stations, a
National forest products laboratory, and the International
Institute for Tropical Forestry. The Committee stresses that
this research and development should support all of the
Nation's forests and rangelands and that technology transfer
and practical applications are vital.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $187,796,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 198,122,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 197,444,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +9,648,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -678,000

The Committee recommends $197,444,000 for forest and
rangeland research, $678,000 below the budget request and
$9,500,000 above the 1998 funding level, excepting the 1998
rescission. The funding increase above the 1998 level,
excluding rescissions, includes $2,500,000 for uncontrollable
costs and $7,000,000 to enhance the forest inventory and
analysis (FIA) program. No funds are provided for the global
climate change project. The Committee recommendation includes,
as described in the budget request, $200,000 to continue the
``CROP'' project on stagnated forest lands within the Colville
National Forest, $300,000 for the landscape management project
at the University of Washington, $250,000 to support research
activities at the Olympic Natural Resources Center, and
$1,350,000 to support the Evanston Research Office, including
$500,000 for the ongoing Lincoln Park ecosystem restoration
project. The Committee recommends $700,000 for the Rocky
Mountain Research Station wildland/urban interface research
program and $300,000 to support the Rocky Mountain Station
forest health restoration program in the Southwest. Funding for
the Bent Creek Experimental Forest, the Coweeta Hydrologic Lab,
and the Syracuse research unit should be maintained at the 1998
levels. The Committee urges the Forest Service to enhance
State, industry and citizen partnerships for the FIA program.
The increased funds provided for FIA should be used to leverage
cost-share contributions from FIA partners who choose to
collaborate with and enhance the FIA and Forest Health
Monitoring program in a State or group of States. Cost-share
contributions can be in cash or in-kind services. The available
cost-share funds should be allocated among all contributing
partners. This cost share program should be displayed in future
budget justifications along with NFS and construction challenge
cost share efforts. The Committee supports the increase to the
FIA program in a manner consistent with the agriculture
research authorizing bill and the Blue Ribbon Panel II, but has
insufficient funds this year to fund fully a program providing
5-year inventory cycles Nationwide.

State and private forestry

Through cooperative programs with State and local
governments, forest industry and private landowners, the Forest
Service helps to protect and manage 805 million acres of forest
and associated watershed land. Technical and financial
assistance is offered to improve fire management, insect and
disease control; improve harvesting, processing and monitoring
of forest products; and stimulate reforestation and timber
stand improvement. The Forest Service provides special
expertise and disease suppression for all Federal and tribal
lands, as well as cooperative assistance with the States for
State and private lands.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $209,178,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 162,900,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 156,167,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -53,011,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -6,733,000

The Committee recommends $156,167,000 for State and private
forestry, $6,733,000 below the budget request and $53,011,000
below the 1998 funding level which includes $47,941,000 in
emergency supplemental funds provided in P.L. 105-174.
The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

Forest health management.--The Committee recommends
$54,375,000 for forest health management, $1,155,000 above the
request and $885,000 above the 1998 funding level for the same
activities. The Committee concurs with the Forest Service
request to move the State fire assistance activity into a new
category. The Committee remains very concerned with forest
health in the broad sense; the funding level for Federal lands
forest health management maintains the increases provided in
1998 and adds $635,000 for fixed cost increases. Funding for
the cooperative lands forest health management activity
includes a $1,000,000 increase to the budget request to assist
the slow-the-spread gypsy moth program. The Committee urges the
Forest Service to take a comprehensive forest health view and
include substantial efforts to manage and control noxious,
exotic and alien plants on NFS lands. The Committee urges the
Forest Service to integrate fully forest health inventories and
management actions into National forest land management plans
and make such information consistent with Forest Inventory and
Analysis for all land ownerships.
Cooperative Fire Protection.--The Committee recommends
$23,510,000 for cooperative fire protection, a new category:
this is equal to the budget request and $1,358,000 above the
1998 funding level for these activities. The Committee supports
the volunteer fire assistance program at $2,000,000, the
request; this subactivity was previously funded in the
Agriculture appropriations bill at this same level. The
Committee recommends $21,510,000 for State fire assistance, the
budget request, which is $1,358,000 above the 1998 funding
level.
Cooperative forestry.--The Committee recommends $78,282,000
for cooperative forestry, $7,888,000 below the budget request
and $9,313,000 below the 1998 funding level, not including the
emergency supplemental funding. Given the limited resources
available, the Committee has focused resources on Federal
technical assistance programs rather than on direct payments
for private, structural improvements as previously provided by
the stewardship incentives program. No funds from any Forest
Service appropriation should be used for the American Heritage
Rivers Program absent
an approved reprogramming request. The Committee recommends
$28,730,000 for forest stewardship; this provides full funding
for the budget request and increases above the request of
$200,000 for the Northeast Pennsylvania community forestry
program, $150,000 for the Chesapeake Bay program, $700,000 for
erosion control grants, as authorized, near Lake Tahoe, and
$50,000 for the National Agroforestry Center. The Committee
recommends $2,012,000 for the forest legacy program. The
Committee recommends $30,040,000 for the urban and community
forestry activity, equal to the request and $3,290,000 above
the 1998 level. This recommendation includes $1,500,000 to
support the Northeastern Pennsylvania community forestry
program and includes $11,700,000 for the northeast and midwest.
The urban and community forestry activity also includes funding
for the Chicago area programs and the urban resources
partnership program at the 1998 level. The Committee is
concerned about the distribution of funds within the urban and
community forestry program and requests that the Forest
Service, in consultation with the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees and the State foresters, provide a
new allocation system in the FY 2000 budget request and
document it in a report by January 15, 1999. The improved
allocation system should include increased reference to program
performance and program need in the States and the needs of
non-governmental cooperators, and it should not provide base
State funding allocations for territories. The Committee
recommends $10,000,000 for economic action programs, $1,000,000
above the request and $1,465,000 below the 1998 level. Within
the economic action program the Committee recommends $3,925,000
for economic recovery, of which $500,000 is for the Four
Corners Sustainable Forestry Initiative, $4,000,000 to continue
the rural development through forestry program, of which
$2,000,000 is included for the northeast and midwest, $950,000
for the wood in transportation program and $1,125,000 for the
forest products conservation and recycling program. The
Committee recommends $7,500,000 for the Pacific Northwest
Assistance programs, $2,500,000 above the request and
$7,500,000 below the 1998 level.
International Forestry.--The Committee has not provided
specific funding for international forestry activities. The
Committee recommends that the Forest Service may spend up to
$3,500,000, the same as in 1998, to cover vital international
forestry activities as authorized. The House and Senate
Committees on Appropriations should be notified of the funding
mix used.

National Forest System

The National Forest System (NFS) covers 192 million acres
and includes 156 National forests, 20 National grasslands, 4
National monuments, 1 National tallgrass prairie and other
lands, managed for a multiple use mission. The NFS includes a
substantial amount of the Nation's softwood inventory. More
than 9,000 farmers and ranchers pay for permits to graze
cattle, horses, sheep and goats on 74 million acres of
grassland, open forests, and other forage-producing acres of
the National Forest System. Recreational use of National forest
land amounted to approximately 859 million visits in 1997. The
NFS includes over 125,000 miles of trails and 23,000 developed
facilities, including 4,389 campgrounds, 58 major visitor
centers, and about one-half of the Nation's ski-lift capacity.
There are 51 Congressionally designated areas, including 19
National recreation areas, and 7 National scenic areas.
Wilderness areas cover 35 million acres, nearly two-thirds of
the wilderness in the contiguous 48 States. The Forest Service
also has major habitat management responsibilities for more
than 3,000 species of wildlife and fish, and 10,000 plant
species and provides important habitat and open space for over
300 threatened or endangered species. Half of the big game and
coldwater fish habitat in the Nation is located on National
Forest System lands and waters. In addition, in the 16 western
States, where the water supply is sometimes critically short,
about 55 percent of the total annual yield of water is from
National Forest System lands.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $1,357,744,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 1,417,708,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 1,298,421,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -59,323,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -119,287,000

The Committee recommends $1,298,421,000 for the National
Forest System, $119,287,000 below the budget request and
$59,323,000 below the 1998 funding level. The Committee has
moved the road maintenance activity out of the National forest
system account in order to increase program oversight and
efficiency. This transfer accounts for most of the apparent
funding reduction.
The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

Land Management Planning.--The Committee recommends
$40,000,000 for land management planning, $3,826,000 above the
1998 level and equal to the planning portion of the land
management planning, inventory and monitoring activity
requested by the Administration plus an additional $2,000,000
for Region 5 to complete the science synthesis and EIS for
conservation of the California spotted owl. This funding is
provided for National forest and grassland planning, including
plan amendments, revisions, and updates. The Committee is
retaining this as a separate activity because this offers the
best means of achieving some cost accountability and control
for the endless planning efforts engaged in by the Forest
Service. The Forest Service should not use other program
funding for forest planning absent approved reprogramming
requests. New forest planning regulations should be implemented
rapidly and should include guidance linking plans to budget
realities. The updated forest plans should incorporate
realistic budgetary projections and should include a realistic
outline of the program of work, and resulting costs, that are
being projected and
planned. Region 5 should use the additional $2,000,000 to fund
scientists through the Pacific Southwest Research station to
complete any needed synthesis of information contained in
existing science documents and reports and use this
information, along with public comments and other information,
to complete a final record of decision and EIS for conservation
of the California spotted owl by July 31, 1999. Region 5 should
make the revised draft EIS, which was previously completed,
available for public examination. The Committee has also
provided language in Title III governing the Interior Columbia
Basin Ecosystem Management Project and forest planning.
Inventory and monitoring.--The Committee recommends
$80,650,000 for inventory and monitoring, $11,314,000 below the
1998 level but equal to the Administration request for these
activities. The Committee has reviewed closely the
implementation of the ecosystem management budget line item and
its successors and found that the Forest Service has done a
terrible job of managing this program. Funds have been used for
a broad variety of projects that reflect individual unit needs
that are not necessarily related to proposals in the budget
justification nor Congressional intent. Performance measures
have been slowly implemented and poorly understood in the
field. Absent greater accountability for the future use of
these funds, the Committee will restructure this account. Even
after three years of budget restructuring, there remains too
little evidence that the Forest Service is using these funds
for vitally needed inventory and monitoring activities.
Recreation Use.--The Committee recommends $191,418,000 for
recreation use, $48,000,000 below the budget request and
$26,875,000 below the 1998 level; however, the Committee has
moved the facilities and trails maintenance responsibilities
out of this account to enhance attention to deferred
maintenance. The transfer accounts for the apparent decrease in
this budget line item. The recreation management subactivity
included $17,800,000 in recreation facility maintenance and
$9,500,000 in trail maintenance in 1998 and the 1999 budget
request included $27,800,000 and $13,500,000 for these portions
of the recreation management activity which now are transferred
to the infrastructure maintenance budget line item. The
Committee has included $148,018,000 for the recreation
management subactivity, $5,000,000 above the 1998 level and
$1,000,000 below the request for the same activities. The
Committee commends the Cradle of Forestry in America in the
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina for its plans to
establish a demonstration forest at its facility to educate the
public on the variety of disciplines involved in modern forest
management. Within available funds, the Forest Service should
use $150,000 to continue planning and site review for the
demonstration forest and report back to the Committee by
September 30, 1999 on progress in evaluating potential exhibit
sites for the demonstration forest and performing inventory of
the natural and heritage resources present at the Cradle.
The Committee is encouraged by the creative efforts of the
Forest Service in implementing the recreation fee
demonstration. The Committee recognizes the recent GAO report
that the Forest Service is not using its authority to obtain
fair market value for goods or to recover costs for services.
The Forest Service should report to the House and Senate
Committees on Appropriations by January 31, 1999 on its
existing and planned programs for obtaining fair market value
and recovering costs related to recreational special use
permits and other land use permits. The report should examine
carefully past performance and describe barriers and obstacles
to enhancing future revenue generation.
The Committee has provided $30,100,000 for wilderness
management, equal to the budget request for these
responsibilities, but has moved the wilderness trail
maintenance responsibility out of this activity into a single
trail maintenance subactivity described below. The wilderness
trail maintenance portion of the wilderness extended budget
line item was $4,700,000 in 1998 and $5,700,000 in the 1999
request.
The Challenge Cost Share (CCS) program funding for
recreation use should follow the budget justification. The
Committee recognizes the National significance of the Pacific
Crest, Continental Divide, and Florida National Scenic Trails
and the Nez Perce National Historic Trail and provides no less
than $1,000,000 within available funds for their administration
and an additional $350,000 for those parts of the Appalachian,
North Country and Ice Age National Scenic Trails and the Lewis
& Clark, Santa Fe, Iditarod, Oregon, California, and Pony
Express and Overmountain Victory National Historic trails
managed by the Forest Service.
Wildlife, fish and rare plant management habitat.--The
Committee recommends $103,778,000 for wildlife, fish and rare
plant habitat management, a decrease of $7,942,000 below the
request and $6,944,000 above the 1998 level. The National
forest system provides much of the Nation's fishing, hunting
and nature enjoyment as well as habitats needed for long-term
maintenance of much of the Nation's natural heritage; under the
benefiting function concept employed in Forest Service
budgeting, these program funds should be used as described in
the budget justification and not to provide environmental
clearances of other specific program projects. The challenge
cost share program is an excellent way to leverage private
funds for enhancing habitats and increasing public experiences
on the National forests and grasslands; the CCS program funding
should adhere to the budget justification and should not be
subordinated to other internal overhead or program management
uses.
Rangeland management.--The Committee recommends $49,421,000
for rangeland management, $16,226,000 below the budget request
but an increase of $4,074,000 above the 1998 funding level. The
Committee does not have the resources to fund any of the
$16,000,000 increase requested as part of the President's clean
water initiative. The Committee also notes the progress being
made regarding noxious and exotic plants, and has included
$5,000,000 within the rangeland vegetation management activity
for on-the-ground actions. These activities should be done in
an integrated, interdisciplinary fashion consistent with forest
plans that should be updated to indicate management priorities
and desired future conditions. The Committee directs that
$400,000 in available funds be used to assist ranchers in New
Mexico at constructing water and fence improvements required by
recent settlements negotiated by the Forest Service concerning
livestock grazing. The Committee remains concerned at the high
level of confusion regarding court cases and other
environmental issues in the Southwest Region. To avoid
additional confrontations and lawsuits, the Forest Service
should develop a standard notification document outlining
potential actions, time frames, reasons for such management
actions, the identity of the court case or the policy which has
triggered the action, and appeal options open to livestock
permittees. This notification should be presented to the
permittees in a timely fashion. The Committee expresses strong
reservations over the process used to obtain a stipulated
agreement entered into between the Southwest Center for
Biological Diversity and the Forest Service regarding
endangered species management issues in the Southwest Region.
The Committee recommends that any future agreements that are
negotiated independent of any court action should include
consultation with all affected parties. The Committee is
concerned about the use of unverified computer models to help
determine grazing capacity during allotment management planning
and encourages the Forest Service to use independent parties to
help verify the methods. The Committee directs the Forest
Service to ensure that the Gila National Forest Range Allotment
capacity model for determining grazing levels in New Mexico is
groundtruthed; its documentation is made available fully for
public review; and it is peer reviewed by an independent,
professional panel. The rangeland vegetation management
activity should strive to include $500,000 in CCS projects.
Forestland management.--The Committee recommends
$274,395,000 for forestland management, an increase of
$17,095,000 above the budget request and $370,000 below the
1998 funding level. The Committee is very concerned about the
health of forests on National forest system lands and
accordingly has provided a variety of mechanisms to enhance
vegetation management activities, including increasing the
authority to use the 10% receipt fund, using the reforestation
fund for high priority forest health projects, and increasing
the hazardous fuels management funds to help thin dangerously
overstocked stands. The Forest Service should use these funds
to manage forests with appropriate commercial or non-commercial
methods to result in healthier, well-stocked stands that will
be more resistant to fires and disease problems but will still
have valuable watershed and habitat value. Selection of
priority stands for treatment should consider the resulting
forest conditions, including the potential for fuels reduction,
the potential for enhanced habitat values, as well as the
potential for increased timber growth. The Forest Service
should use the reforestation fund, as authorized last year, to
treat high priority areas that are either susceptible to
catastrophic fire or are in need of thinning or other
management to enhance watershed health and improve overall
forest conditions. The Committee once again suggests that the
Forest Service should use at least $500,000 of the vegetation
management funds within the challenge cost share program so as
to maximize the impact of these Federal funds. The Committee
suggests that up to $5,000,000 in forestland management funds
may be allocated for the Quincy Library Group project,
California, if authorized. The Committee has included $300,000
to continue the CROP program to treat stagnated stands on the
Colville National Forest.
Timber sales.--The Committee recommends $210,676,000 for
timber sales, $11,676,000 above the budget request and
$1,676,000 above the 1998 level. By maintaining the 1998
funding, plus fixed costs, the Committee expects to see no
diminution in results. The Committee is aware of the widespread
forest health problems in the National forests across the
country. In this regard, the Committee understands that the
agency can use the timber sale program as a cost-efficient tool
to thin and restructure forest stands. Funds within the timber
sales management account should be used for this purpose, and
the agency is encouraged to make every effort to include
preventive forest health treatments as part of timber salvage
efforts. To facilitate the fiscal year 1999 timber sale program
and to ensure the most efficient expenditure of Federal
appropriations, the Committee has funded the program to produce
a total sale offer of about 3.6 BBF, consisting of 2.4 BBF of
``green'' sales. The Committee notes that this harvest level is
greatly reduced from recent times and that local economies can
not withstand further reductions to this program. The Committee
expects the Forest Service to allocate funding in a manner
which will optimize forest plan outputs, taking full advantage
of green and salvage sale preparation capacity agency-wide.
Funding should be allocated to those forests that have the
highest likelihood of attaining current forest plan goals,
objectives, and targets.
To ensure that Congress is adequately informed and notified
of progress or delays in implementing the fiscal year 1999
program, the Committee requests that the agency continue its
regular, quarterly reporting of timber sale preparation, offer,
sale and harvest accomplishments--including a region by region
status report. The Committee expects the reports to include
detailed information on the status of the timber sales pipeline
and an identification of the volumes offered, sold, and
harvested categorized as net merchantable sawtimber. Timber
program accomplishments should report timber actually sold and
transferred to purchasers, and the volume offered. The reports
are to be as comprehensive as possible and provide information
on both green and salvage sales. Any additional salvage
opportunities that may arise during fiscal year 1999 should not
impact green sale targets.
Soil, water and air management.--The Committee recommends
$53,374,000 for soil, water and air management, $11,030,000
below the budget request but an increase of $2,145,000 above
the 1998 funding level. The Committee does not have the
resources to fund the President's clean water initiative for
this activity. The funding level for the CCS program should be
maintained at the 1998 level.
Minerals and geology management.--The Committee recommends
$38,100,000 for minerals and geology management, equal to the
budget request and $2,100,000 above the 1998 funding level. The
Committee recommended funding level should cover fixed cost
increases.
Land ownership management.--The Committee recommends
$63,304,000 for land ownership management, $4,078,000 above the
request and $1,251,000 above the 1998 funding level. The
Committee is concerned by the recent GAO report that the Forest
Service is not using its authority to obtain fair market value
for goods or recover costs for services, nor has the Service
acted to contain costs. The Committee feels that it is
imperative that a method be established and implemented that
accurately determines fair market value for use of Federal
lands for hydropower development. The Committee also recognizes
that the Forest Service administration of hydropower projects
involves a significant commitment of time and resources in
meeting its statutory obligations and therefore the
Administration should use fully the authority provided under
the Federal Power Act to collect funds from licensees to
reimburse the Forest Service for its important contributions to
the relicensing effort. This cost recovery mechanism would
allow the Forest Service to participate fully in the
relicensing process and ultimately provide significant benefits
to forest users and the environment.
Infrastructure management.--The Committee has restructured
the infrastructure management budget line item in order to
increase efficiency and oversight for facility and trail
maintenance. The road maintenance subactivity has been
transferred to the road reconstruction account to facilitate a
unified road reconstruction, maintenance and decommissioning
approach. The Committee has transferred funding for recreation
facility and trail maintenance from the recreation use
activity, as described under that heading. Funding for trail
maintenance is now in one activity rather than split between
non-wilderness and wilderness components as previously. The
Committee recommends $69,577,000 for infrastructure management,
an increase of $13,400,000 above the 1998 funding level for
these same responsibilities and $7,053,000 less than the budget
request for these items. The Committee expects the Forest
Service to use this substantial increase in funds, as well as
the extension of the recreation fee demonstration program, to
help reduce the backlog in deferred maintenance. Future budget
justifications should include clear presentation of the
deferred maintenance backlog problem and program, including
accomplishments and needs; this should use similar methodology
and definitions as the Department of the Interior so the
Committee can best evaluate priorities among the bureaus funded
by this Act.
Law enforcement operations.--The Committee recommends
$66,004,000 for law enforcement operations, $1,369,000 less
than the budget request and $2,037,000 above the 1998 funding
level. The Committee remains concerned about the use of Forest
Service law enforcement resources in activities more
appropriately handled by other law enforcement agencies.
Furthermore, the Forest Service should investigate fully the
opportunities to use available funding for collaborative
agreements and cooperation with State and local agencies. The
Committee remains concerned about special law enforcement
problems on the National forest system associated with border
patrol activities near Mexico and with drug enforcement in
Kentucky and Tennessee; $500,000 within available funds should
be added to the 1998 base program for each of these two
efforts.
Land Between the Lakes.--The Committee is concerned that
the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL) in
Kentucky and Tennessee, managed by the Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA), needs to be managed carefully as the
transition occurs in which TVA reduces its non-power related
activities. Accordingly, the Committee has included bill
language in Title III that transfers responsibility for this
facility to the Secretary of Agriculture if less than
$6,000,000 in new appropriations are provided for its
management in the fiscal year 1999 Energy and Water Development
Appropriations Act. If the transfer occurs, the Committee
expects that it will be managed as part of the National forest
system for recreation in a manner consistent with the multiple
use mandate of the Forest Service and the original LBL mission.
The Forest Service is well equipped to manage the property for
considerably less expense to the Treasury than occurred under
its recent TVA management. The Committee has included
$5,400,000 in the national forest system (NFS) account,
$300,000 in fire management, and $1,300,000 in the
reconstruction and maintenance account to ensure full funding
during the transition year. The Committee expects the Forest
Service to determine the best program mix within these accounts
but no new construction, other than incidental, may be funded
absent an approved reprogramming request. The Committee directs
the Forest Service to develop an integrated budget proposal
that is contained within existing programs for future budget
requests, but to clearly display this in the fiscal year 2000
request. Future budget requests should set as a goal the
reduction of $1,000,000 per year for the next three years. The
Forest Service should report back to the House and Senate
Committees on Appropriations on progress and continued plans
for the transition as well as future plans for the Land Between
the Lakes NRA by March 31, 1999.
LBL was first established in the early 1960's by executive
directive. However, no statute was ever enacted governing land
management policies at LBL. Therefore, this bill codifies the
1972 mission statement requiring the Forest Service to manage
LBL for optimum yield of outdoor recreation and environmental
education for the American people. Codifying the mission will
guarantee no disruption in the current level of recreational
activities including, but not limited to, hunting and fishing.
It is the Committee's view that all fees collected for the
use of designated sites and activities at LBL should be
retained by the Forest Service to help offset operating
expenses. However, the bill prohibits the Forest Service from
charging a general entrance fee. This is identical to existing
TVA policy.
The Committee wants to ensure that there will be no
disruption of, or reduction in, the current payments the
counties which comprise Land Between the Lakes currently
receive from TVA resulting from the sale of power in Kentucky
and Tennessee. The bill contains explicit language guaranteeing
these payments at the current calculation. It also makes these
counties eligible for funds under the payment-in-lieu of taxes
program administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
There are over 220 cemeteries at LBL, many of which are the
burial plots of some of the 800 families who were forcibly
removed from their property when LBL was first created. The
bill guarantees a complete inventory and access to those
cemeteries.
Should the transfer occur, it is vital that the two
institutions work cooperatively to lessen the impact to
employees, the public, and to the resources in the NRA. The
Committee encourages the TVA to avoid moving equipment and
facilities out of the NRA that are vital for its management and
to work with the Forest Service to see that an orderly
transition occurs if it is required.
Currently, law enforcement actions taken by Tennessee
Valley Authority Police Officers operating within the
boundaries of the Recreation Area are authorized under peace
officer commissions granted by both the States of Kentucky and
Tennessee. While existing Federal laws and regulations do apply
to the NRA lands, it will take approximately six months to one
year to establish Forest Service law enforcement procedures in
the two Federal judicial districts which cover these lands if
the transfer takes place. The bill language recommended by the
Committee provides that during this interim, not to exceed one
year, cross-designation of law enforcement authority between
the agencies to ensure that there will be no interruption in
public safety services during the transition.
Finally, the Committee is extremely concerned about the
impact of the transition on the 106 permanent employees at LBL.
The bill guarantees a minimum of five-months employment by TVA
following enactment. It is the intent of the Committee that all
LBL permanent employees be given first notice of, and first
consideration, for any jobs available with the Forest Service.
Those employees who remain at LBL as employees of the Forest
Service would experience no interruption in coverage for any
retirement, health, leave or other employee benefit. For those
persons not retained by TVA or hired by the Forest Service, the
Committee supports providing a compensation/severance package,
including buy-out packages, similar to those provided to other
TVA employees in previous downsizing situations. TVA shall
finance the costs associated with the severance/compensation
packages and the Director of the TVA shall report on the
funding sources to be used to finance these activities.
General administration.--The Committee recommends
$263,000,000 for general administration, $3,780,000 above the
budget request and $500,000 above the 1998 funding level. The
Committee has huge concerns about use of administrative funds
by the Forest Service and has examined carefully their use
through both hearings and investigations. The Committee expects
the Forest Service to enhance its attention to basic business
management and control functions and understands that strategic
use and reallocation of resources will be required. Careful
monitoring of funds in this activity will facilitate
Congressional oversight as well as provide a means to regulate
and track internal expenditures for administrative functions.
The Forest Service should consult with the Committee and keep
it informed of the status of new efforts to improve financial
management and accountability and see that changes are
implemented which are responsive to the recent analysis
conducted by the Coopers and Lybrand consulting firm. The
Committee directs the Forest Service to contract with the
National Academy of Public Administration to provide an
independent, professional assessment of the Forest Service
efforts to revitalize its business and fiscal functions and
restructure budgets and planning processes.
The Committee is concerned that the Forest Service is not
adequately limiting nor managing funds which constitute
overhead. Accordingly, in general provisions the Committee has
added bill language that limits the amount of indirect costs
that may be charged to the KV reforestation fund and the
salvage sale fund. The Committee expects the Forest Service to
work with the Committee to develop definitions of Forest
Service overhead, indirect costs, common services, and
assessments that are applicable to both appropriated funds and
off-budget accounts. The Forest Service should report to the
House and Senate Committees on Appropriations by December 31,
1998 on these definitions, how they will be captured in the new
financial management systems, reported to Congress, and reduced
in the future. The Committee is especially concerned about the
amount of funding provided to the Department of Agriculture in
support of Forest Service activities. The Committee is
concerned that these costs (known as Greenbook) may be
excessive; these costs must be displayed clearly in future
budget justifications and explained. The explanation should
include a 3-year display of the total costs of these services
and the Forest Service share of these costs, as well as a
clear, fair rationale documenting the Forest Service share and
why these funds are needed to supplement Agriculture department
appropriations.
The Committee has investigated the large investment in new
computer equipment and information management and remains
concerned with the costs, transitions, and training for the IBM
system procurement and installation. The Committee directs the
Forest Service to include detailed explanations of costs and
funding sources for this project in all future budget
justifications. In addition, the Committee directs the Forest
Service to report to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations by January 31, 1999 on the overall project
costs, timeline, management controls and responsibility, and
life cycle costs. The Committee feels that the Forest Service
should focus on the core GIS needs that were, and remain, the
main reason for undertaking this expensive, but needed,
upgrade.
General.--The Committee remains concerned about
accountability for funds. As discussed in last year's Committee
report, the Forest Service is to maintain all specific
Congressional designations, in any amount, or to submit a
reprogramming request if any such designation is proposed for a
change. The Committee is also concerned about ``National
commitments'' and ``Washington Office external'' charges. These
items should be clearly displayed and explained in the budget
justification and efforts should be made to reduce these
expenses.
The Committee is concerned that the Forest Service
allocation of funds does not provide equitable treatment to all
regions. The Service should reexamine its funding allocation
criteria and demonstrate in the budget justification greater
equity that reflects the program of work and the potential
benefits.
The Committee continues to support and encourage the land
management agencies to work with each other to consolidate
activities at the field level as a means of achieving savings
and providing improved services to the public. The Committee
recognizes the Trading Post pilot program of the BLM and the
Forest Service as a means to promote customer service and
efficiency in the management of public lands and National
forests and commends recent interagency cooperation. This
includes the Central Oregon ``Trading Post'' initiative between
the Prineville BLM district and the Ochoco and Deschutes
National Forests. The Committee supports the proposed joint
planning effort between the Fremont National Forest and the
Lakeview BLM district, expecting this joint effort to increase
government planning efficiency and better serve the public.
The Committee commends the Forest Service efforts to
leverage its funds with non-Federal partners through its
challenge cost share (CCS) program. The Committee expects that
the Forest Service will comply with the suggested CCS funding
levels in the budget justification special exhibit unless
otherwise noted in this report. The Committee expects that
there should be a policy of not using CCS funds for purposes
other than establishing joint activities with tribal, State,
and private partners. Because each Federal dollar available for
cost sharing results in two or more dollars available for on-
the-ground activities, the Committee directs that a cap of 10
percent be placed on allowable Forest Service internal charges
against CCS funds. As a result, at least 90 percent of the
funds appropriated for CCS would be available for matching
partners at the field level.
The Committee is aware of the temporary suspension of a
permit issued by the Forest Service in the Coronado National
Forest regarding the Sabino Canyon target range operated by the
Tucson Rod and Gun Club on March 10, 1997. The Committee
supports the Secretary's directive to the Chief to expedite
identifying potentially suitable alternatives and have studies
done and a decision made by November 1998, and it is the
Committee's expectation that there will be a relocation of the
target range to an alternative site shortly thereafter.
Administrative provisions.--The Committee has included the
requested language changes regarding use of excess military
aircraft and parts and transfer of funds for emergency
firefighting. Bill language is included which prevents
reprogramming without the advance approval of the House and
Senate Committees on appropriations in compliance with the
reprogramming procedures contained in House Report 105-163. The
Committee expects the Forest Service to obey this law and to
seek approval for desired changes to Congressionally designated
allocations to accounts, activities, and projects. The
Committee has continued language limiting clearcutting in the
Wayne NF, OH and the Shawnee NF, IL and continued language
regarding ``Jobs in the Woods'' grants in the State of
Washington.
The Committee has retained language requiring advance
submission of proposals to change regional boundaries or close
or move a regional headquarters office. The Committee includes
language allowing the Forest Service to transfer up to
$2,250,000 each of available funds to the National Forest
Foundation and to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,
which are to be used for matching funds as authorized, thereby
leveraging additional private funding and furthering the
multiple use and public service mission of the Forest Service.

Wildland fire management

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $586,559,000
Budget estimate, 1999 (excluding emergency)........... 554,437,000
Budget estimate, 1999 contingent emergency............ 102,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 564,737,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -21,822,000
Budget estimate, 1999 (excluding emergency)....... +10,300,000

The Committee recommends $564,737,000 for wildland fire
management, $10,300,000 above the budget request and
$21,822,000 below the 1998 funding level. The Committee has not
included the requested emergency contingent funds for fire
operations but notes, once again, that the previously
appropriated $250,000,000 in fire emergency funds are still
available and should be released by the Administration to pay
back funds advanced from the KV trust fund during previous
emergency situations. Under the administrative provisions
section the Committee has recommended minor legislative
language changes, as requested, in order to manage more
efficiently excess military aircraft and aircraft parts, and to
allow emergency transfer of funds to cover increased fire
preparedness costs during periods of extreme fire danger. The
Committee has also included $300,000 for Land Between the Lakes
NRA fire and fuels management.
The Committee recommendation includes $329,437,000 for
preparedness and fire use, $10,000,000 above both the budget
request and the 1998 funding level excluding rescissions. This
is 77% of the most efficient level (MEL) as determined by
Forest Service models. The Committee recommends $235,000,000
for fire operations, the request, and $30,392,000 below the
1998 level. The recommendation includes, as requested, a
$15,000,000 increase for fuel reduction beyond the substantial
increases provided in 1998; fuel reduction is now funded at
$65,000,000. The fuel reduction funding includes at least
$15,000,000 for California and the Toiyabe National Forest;
this includes at least $2,000,000 for priority work in the
urban interface areas around Lake Tahoe and $6,000,000 for work
in support of the Quincy Library Group project in northern
California, if authorized.
The Committee notes that the Forest Service has reported
that at least 40,000,000 acres are in danger of catastrophic
fire and that much of this area is in the wildland-urban
interface area where there are substantial life, health,
property and environmental concerns. The Committee is concerned
about reports that valuable forest products have been included
in prescribed burns without realizing the commercial potential
and therefore encourages the Forest Service to avoid destroying
commercial products. The Committee encourages use of fuels
reduction funds in the wildland-urban interface and expects
that mechanical treatments will frequently be employed,
including the capture of commercial value of trees thinned for
fuels reduction and forestry purposes. The Committee is
encouraged by increased integration of the fuels program into
National forest system management, but there remains much room
for improvement. The hazardous fuels program should be
thoroughly integrated with related programs, such as forest
vegetation management, habitat and watershed improvement funds,
the reforestation fund, and the ten percent road and trail
receipts fund, to maximize multiple benefits to society by
reducing fire danger, improving watershed and habitat
conditions, and increasing forest health. The Forest Service
should report to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations within 90 days of enactment of this Act on its
efforts to integrate wildland fire and hazardous fuels
management into National forest system management, planning and
budgeting, as well as efforts to take an integrated approach to
using the funds mentioned above.
The Committee was pleased to receive the Joint Fire Science
Plan prepared by the Forest Service and the Department of the
Interior in response to the Committee's request in last year's
report. The plan accurately reflects the focus and priority the
Committee has placed on developing scientific information and
capabilities to support the fuels management programs in the
two Departments. The Committee has included funding at the 1998
level for the Joint Fire Science Program in both the Forest
Service and the Department of the Interior and looks forward to
receiving progress reports from the Governing Board and program
managers.
The 1999 request for wildland fire reflects increased
coordination and cooperation between the Forest Service and
Department of the Interior on several budget and program
matters. The Committee urges the two Departments to continue to
work closely together to develop common budget and program
management approaches to wildland fire management. In
particular, the Committee expects that future budget
justifications and requests for both preparedness and
operations will reflect common assumptions and budget
strategies (such as percent of MEL and percent of ten-year
average) for the two Departments.

reconstruction and construction

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $166,015,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 160,914,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 271,444,000
Comparison:...........................................
Appropriation, 1998............................... +105,429,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +110,530,000

The Committee recommends $271,444,000 for reconstruction
and construction, an increase of $110,530,000 above the budget
request and an increase of $105,429,000 above the 1998 funding
level for this appropriation account. The recommendation
reflects the Committee's decision to transfer $91,141,000 for
road maintenance which was previously in the NFS account. In
order to enhance program oversight and accountability, the
Committee has moved the road maintenance activity from the
National forest system budget line item to the reconstruction
and construction line item. This will enhance a more careful
use and prioritization of road reconstruction, maintenance, and
decommissioning activities. The Committee has also increased
the authority for road decommissioning by $5,000,000 over the
1998 level. The Committee has also included $1,300,000 for Land
Between the Lakes NRA facilities, road and trail maintenance.
The Committee agrees to the following distribution of
funds:

Reconstruction and Construction

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee
Facilities: Project 1998 Enacted 1999 Request Recommendation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research:
Other admin request projects........................... $2,737,000 $5,010,000 $5,010,000
--------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Research................................. 2,737,000 5,010,000 5,010,000
Fire, admin, other:
Grey Towers Nat historic landmark (PA)................. 2,300,000 100,000 4,900,000
Other admin request projects........................... 13,796,000 20,790,000 20,790,000
--------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: FAO...................................... 16,096,000 20,890,000 25,690,000
Recreation:
Cradle of Forestry sewer rehab. & cmpgrd design (NC)... ................. 0 559,000
Midewin NTP plan & design (IL)......................... ................. 0 600,000
Pisgah RD safety & rest room repairs (NC).............. ................. 0 505,000
Pikes Peak Summit House (CO)........................... 1,000,000 0 200,000
Other admin request.................................... 30,823,000 20,720,000 20,720,000
Presidential initiative................................ ................. 5,000,000 0
Backlog maintenance & minor projects................... ................. 0 4,500,000
--------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Recreation............................... 31,823,000 25,720,000 27,084,000
========================================================
Total facilities construction.................... 50,656,000 51,620,000 57,784,000
Trail reconstruction and construction:
Continental Divide trail (MT,WY,CO,NM)................. 750,000 0 500,000
Florida National Scenic Trail.......................... ................. ................. 250,000
Bonneville Shoreline Trail (UT)........................ ................. 0 300,000
Sawtooth NRA Harriman trail (ID)....................... 300,000 0 270,000
Other Admin. Request projects.......................... 26,245,000 13,200,000 13,200,000
Backlog trail reconstruction........................... ................. 0 13,231,000
========================================================
Total trails construction........................ 27,295,000 13,200,000 27,751,000
Road reconstruction and construction:
Midewin NTP parking & roads (IL)....................... ................. 0 500,000
Admin. Request projects................................ 88,094,000 96,094,000 92,968,000
Subtotal Roads..................................... 88,094,000 96,094,000 93,468,000
========================================================
Road Maintenance & decommissioning:
Road maintenance....................................... ................. ................. 91,141,000
========================================================
Land Between the Lakes NRA, maint. & repairs........... 0 0 1,300,000
Total (excluding 1998 rescission)...................... 166,045,000 160,914,000 271,444,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Facilities construction and reconstruction.--The Committee
recommends $57,784,000 for facilities construction and
reconstruction, $6,164,000 above the budget request and
$7,128,000 above the 1998 funding level. The challenge cost
share funding levels should follow the budget justification.
Research.--The Committee recommends $5,010,000, equal to
the budget request and $2,273,000 above the 1998 level, for
research facility construction.
Fire, Administrative, Other (FAO).--The Committee
recommendation for FAO facilities construction and
reconstruction includes the budget request and additional funds
for the Grey Towers National Historic Site, PA restoration. The
Committee recommends that private funds should be raised to
help complete the restoration. The Committee defers, without
prejudice, funds for relocating the R9 regional office.
Recreation Facilities Construction.--The Committee
recommends $27,084,000 for recreation facilities construction
and reconstruction, $1,364,000 above the budget request and
$4,739,000 below the 1998 enacted level. The Committee has not
included funding for the Presidential initiative on recreation
construction. Rather, the Committee has provided $4,500,000 for
small, deferred maintenance and repair needs and minor
construction projects costing less than $250,000 each. These
projects may be for any Forest Service facility, including
research, FAO, and recreation. The Committee expects the Forest
Service to request miscellaneous small project needs in future
budget justifications rather than pursuing authority to use
operations funding for small construction projects. The
Committee has also provided bill language to facilitate cost
sharing of the Pikes Peak Summit House with the City of
Colorado Springs: a total of $1,000,000, including $800,000
from last year's appropriation and $200,000 from this Act will
be transferred to the city. The Forest Service may retain up to
$200,000 for overall program oversight and environmental
coordination. The Committee expects that State, local and other
sources will be able to raise all additional funds needed to
construct the Pikes Peak Summit House.
Trails.--The Committee recommends $27,751,000 for trail
construction, $456,000 above the 1998 level but an increase of
$14,551,000 from the budget request. The Committee does not
concur with the Administration request to use the road and
trails receipts fund to replace basic trail needs. Challenge
cost share funding should adhere to the budget justification.
Road Reconstruction and Construction.--The Committee
recommends $93,468,000 for road reconstruction and
construction, a decrease of $2,626,000 below the
Administration's budget request and an increase of $5,374,000
above the 1998 funding level. The Committee is very concerned
that the vast NFS lands have sufficient roads to provide public
access and access for management activities, and that these
roads be maintained and built to standards that do not cause
adverse impacts to watersheds. The Committee recommendation
includes only $1,009,000 to directly build new roads. The
Committee is alarmed at the high costs of engineering overhead
and program management and so provides a reduction of 10% for
this subactivity, so that no more than $28,070,000 may be so
allocated. The Forest Service should include a clear plan for
downsizing the engineering infrastructure and for achieving
much greater cost efficiency when it submits its next budget
justification. In Title III the Committee has recommended bill
language which ends the timber purchaser road credit program
but allows existing, previously earned credits to be used and
States not to lose revenue due to this change. Although future
timber roads will be built by purchasers, the Forest Service
must still provide all road planning, design, National
Environmental Policy Act and other environmental coordination
and clearances, and construction oversight and contract
administration while the private companies actually build the
roads. The Committee recognizes the Administration estimates
that this work will require $21,461,000. The Committee expects
that road decommissioning and closures will considerably exceed
the extent of new road construction. The Committee recommends
that transportation planning be done at the local National
forest level and be closely coordinated with the forest
planning process so that decisions affecting rural America are
made with the best data in hand and with full knowledge of
local impacts to communities and the environment. The Committee
has provided substantial resources to manage the road system,
recognizing how important this is for Americans to access and
enjoy their National forests and grasslands.
Road Maintenance and Decommissioning.--The Committee has
transferred this activity to the reconstruction account to
enable better cost accounting and program oversight:
$91,141,000 has been provided, which is $6,167,000 above the
1998 funding level and $15,879,000 less than the request. The
Committee has increased the road decommissioning authority in
bill language from $10,000,000 in 1998 to $15,000,000 in fiscal
year 1999: this is triple the 1997 level. Future budget
justifications should clearly explain and justify the
engineering workforce and provide a detailed explanation of the
``Washington Office external'' units as well as carefully
examine opportunities for outsourcing these technical
specialties.

land acquisition

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $52,976,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 56,057,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 30,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -22,976,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -26,057,000

The Committee recommends $30,000,000 for land acquisition,
a decrease of $22,976,000 below the enacted level and
$26,057,000 below the fiscal year 1999 budget request. This
amount includes $18,600,000 for line item projects, $7,500,000
for acquisition management, $1,525,000 for cash equalization,
$1,500,000 for emergencies and hardships and $875,000 for
wilderness protection.
The Committee recommends the following distribution of
funds:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee
Area and State recommendation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angeles NF (CA)...................................... $1,000,000
Appalachian Trail (multi)............................ 7,000,000
Bar T Bar Ranch (AZ)................................. 1,000,000
Big Sur Ecosystem (CA)............................... 1,000,000
Cherokee NF (TN)..................................... 500,000
Cimarron & Comanche NG (CO).......................... 475,000
Daniel Boone NF (KY)................................. 1,000,000
Gunnison NF (Poverty Gulch) (CO)..................... 125,000
Hoosier NF (IN)...................................... 500,000
Lake Jocassee (Sumter NF) (SC)....................... 1,000,000
Lindbergh Lake (MT).................................. 1,000,000
Nantahala NF (Thompson River) (NC)................... 1,000,000
Rutherford Ranch (Cleveland NF) (CA)................. 1,000,000
San Bernardino NF (CA)............................... 1,000,000
Coconino NF (AZ)..................................... 1,000,000
Acquisition Management............................... 7,500,000
Cash Equalization.................................... 1,525,000
Emergency Acquisitions............................... 1,500,000
Wilderness Protection................................ 875,000
------------------
Total.......................................... 30,000,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Committee has provided $7,000,000 in the Forest Service
and $8,100,000 under the National Park Service acquisition
account to complete the 2,118 mile Appalachian National Scenic
Trail.
The Committee understands that the Forest Service's option
to acquire the Conundrum Creek property, in Colorado, expires
on January 13, 1999. The Committee agrees that acquisition of
this property, located within the Maroon Bells Wilderness,
should be a priority matter and is committed to providing funds
for that purpose on a timely basis.

acquisition of lands for National forests, special acts

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $1,069,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 1,069,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 1,069,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $1,069,000 for acquisition of
lands for National forests, special acts, the same as the
budget request and the same as in 1998. These funds are used
pursuant to several special acts which authorize appropriations
from the receipts of specified National Forests for the
purchase of lands to minimize erosion and flood damage to
critical watersheds needing soil stabilization and vegetative
cover.

acquisition of lands to complete land exchanges

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $210,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 210,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 210,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $210,000 for acquisition of lands
to complete land exchanges under the Act of December 4, 1967
(16 U.S.C. 484a). Under the Act, deposits made by public school
districts or public school authorities to provide for cash
equalization of certain land exchanges can be appropriated to
acquire similar lands suitable for National Forest System
purposes in the same State as the National Forest lands
conveyed in the exchanges.

range betterment fund

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $3,811,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 3,300,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 3,300,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -511,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $3,300,000, the budget request,
for the range betterment fund, to be derived from grazing
receipts from the National Forests (Public Law 94-579, as
amended) and to be used for range rehabilitation, protection,
and improvements including seeding, reseeding, fence
construction, weed control, water development, and fish and
wildlife habitat enhancement in 16 western States.

gifts, donations and bequests for forest and rangeland research

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $92,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 92,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 92,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $92,000, the budget estimate, for
gifts, donations and bequests for forest and rangeland
research. Authority for the program is contained in Public Law
95-307 (16 U.S.C. 1643, section 4(b)). Amounts appropriated and
not needed for current operations may be invested in public
debt securities. Both the principal and earnings from the
receipts are available to the Forest Service.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Clean Coal Technology

The Committee has not agreed to the deferral of Clean Coal
authority proposed by the Administration. To the extent funds
are not needed because of premature project terminations, the
Committee will continue its practice of rescinding excess
funds.
The Committee agrees to the following:
1. Up to $14 million may be used for administration of the
clean coal technology program.
2. The Committee does not object to the use of $500,000 to
continue to support the U.S./China Energy and Environmental
Center which promotes the use of American energy technology
that will greatly reduce emissions and improve energy
efficiency.

fossil energy research and development

The fossil energy programs of the Department of Energy make
prudent investments in long-range research and development that
help protect the environment through higher efficiency power
generation, advanced production technologies and improved
compliance and stewardship operations. These activities
safeguard our domestic energy security. This country will
continue to rely on fossil fuels for the majority of its energy
requirements for the foreseeable future, and the activities
funded through the fossil energy research and development
account ensure that fossil energy technologies continue to
improve with respect to emissions reduction and control and
energy efficiency.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $362,403,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 383,408,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 320,558,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -41,845,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -62,850,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $320,558,000 for fossil energy
research and development, a decrease of $62,850,000 below the
budget request and $41,845,000 below the fiscal year 1998
level. The decrease is largely due to the transfer and
consolidation of all the advanced turbine system programs in
the energy conservation account.
Coal.--The Committee recommends $113,845,000 for coal
research, a decrease of $16,200,000 below the budget request.
Changes to the budget request are shown in the following table:

Advanced Clean Fuels Research:
coal preparation/coal cleaning...................... -$500,000

Advanced Clean/Efficient Power Systems:
high efficiency IGCC/vision 21...................... -3,000,000
advanced research and environmental technology/
CO2 sequestration...................... -10,000,000
--------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________
Subtotal, Advanced Clean/Efficient Power Systems.. -13,000,000

Advanced Research & Technology Development:
bioprocessing of coal............................... -900,000
university coal research............................ -900,000
technical and economic analysis..................... -300,000
international program support....................... -500,000
HBCU research activities............................ -100,000
--------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________
Subtotal, Advanced Research & Technology
Development....................................... -2,700,000

Natural Gas.--The Committee recommends $24,357,000 for
natural gas research, a decrease of $43,000,000 below the
budget request. Changes to the budget request are shown in the
following table:

Advanced Turbine Systems:
transfer and consolidate in energy conservation
account........................................... -43,000,000
Emerging Processing Technology:
gas upgrading/coal mine methane..................... -500,000
Effective Environmental Protection:
technology development/National lab-industry
partnership....................................... +500,000

Fuel Cells.--The Committee recommends $39,200,000 for fuel
cell research, a decrease of $3,000,000 below the budget
request. Changes to the budget request are shown in the
following table:

Fuel Cell Systems Development/downselect from 3 to 2
contracts............................................ -5,000,000
Multilayer ceramic technology for fuel cells.......... +2,000,000

Oil Technology.--The Committee recommends $48,066,000 for
oil technology research, a decrease of $2,100,000 below the
budget request. Changes to the budget request are shown in the
following table:

Exploration & Production Supporting Research:
analysis and planning............................... -500,000
recovery efficiency processes....................... -500,000
--------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________
Subtotal, Exploration & Production................ -1,000,000
Effective Environmental Protection:
State/tribal/Federal regulations.................... -1,100,000

Cooperative Research and Development.--The Committee
recommends $5,836,000, the budget request, for cooperative
research and development.
Environmental Restoration.--The Committee recommends
$11,000,000, the budget request, for environmental restoration.
Fuels Program.--The Committee recommends $2,173,000, the
budget request, for the fuels conversion, natural gas and
electricity program.
Headquarters Program Direction.--The Committee recommends
$15,049,000 for headquarters program direction, a decrease of
$50,000 below the budget request. The decrease is to be applied
to travel expenses.
Energy Technology Center Program Direction.--The Committee
recommends $53,432,000 for energy technology center program
direction, an increase of $1,500,000 above the budget request.
The increase includes $1,000,000 in salaries and benefits to
offset partially fixed cost increases and $500,000 for contract
services.
General Plant Projects.--The Committee recommends
$2,600,000, the budget request for general plant projects.
Mining.--The Committee recommends $5,000,000, the budget
request, for the mining/advanced metallurgical processes
program.
The Committee agrees to the following:
1. Within the funds provided for direct liquefaction, the
Department should make every effort to work with the major
contractor on the distribution of these funds.
2. Existing fuel cell contracts should be downselected in
fiscal year 1999 from 3 to 2 contractors.
3. The increase of $2,000,000 in the fuel cell program for
multilayer ceramic technology is contingent on its being used
to work with McDermott Technology, Inc. on the development of
this technology; provided the company provides matching funds.
4. The Committee expects the Department to issue a single
solicitation covering all three classes in the oil technology/
recovery field demonstrations program and to require a minimum
cost share of 65%.
5. The Committee expects the Department to address the
House Science Committee's recommendation with respect to peer-
reviewed, cost-shared research in the fiscal year 2000 budget
request.
6. The Committee is informed of industry development of a
low-cost, energy-efficient prototype which applies well-
established ramjet technology from the aerospace industry to
electric power generation. The Committee is advised that this
energy source is expected to burn a wide variety of fuels
(including coal mine methane and landfill gases) and promises
to do so with greater efficiency and with substantially lower
levels of harmful emissions than competing power systems. The
compact, simple design of the prototype also promises to be
less expensive to build and operate than other forms of power
generation. The Committee encourages the Department to continue
its dialogue with industry on the development of this prototype
which is scheduled to be completed and tested prior to fiscal
year 1999.
7. The turbine program funding is consolidated in Energy
Conservation but Fossil Energy should continue to manage its
portions of the program.
8. The Committee strongly encourages continued coordination
with States and industry to ensure research is meaningful and
not duplicative. Further direction on working with the States
is included under Administrative Provisions, Department of
Energy.
9. No funds are to be used to implement the Kyoto agreement
on global warming/climate change.

alternative fuels production

(including transfer of funds)

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... -$1,500,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. -1,300,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... -1,300,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +200,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends the deposit of investment income
earned as of October 1, 1998, on principal amounts in a trust
fund established as part of the sale of the Great Plains
Gasification Plant in Beulah, ND, into this account and
immediate transfer of the funds to the General Fund of the
Treasury. The amount available as of October 1, 1998, is
estimated to be $1,300,000.

naval petroleum and oil shale reserves

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $107,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 22,500,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 14,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -93,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -8,500,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $14,000,000 for the operation of
the naval petroleum and oil shale reserves, a decrease of
$8,500,000 below the budget request and $93,000,000 below the
fiscal year 1998 level. The large decrease from the fiscal year
1998 level reflects the operational savings achieved through
the sale of the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve. The
decreases to the budget request will be offset through the use
of prior year unobligated balances under the Committee's
recommendation. The Committee has recommended bill language
which gives the Department the authority to use unobligated
balances in the oil shale revolving fund for the operation of
the Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves.
The Department should notify the Committee of its plans to
use prior year balances for NPR operations. Under no
circumstances should the use of those balances result in
funding in excess of that justified in the budget request and
approved by the Committee.

energy conservation

The energy conservation program of the Department of Energy
funds cooperative research and development projects aimed at
sustaining economic growth through more efficient energy use.
Activities financed through this program focus on markedly
improving existing technologies as well as developing new
technologies, which ultimately will displace some of our
reliance on traditional fossil fuels.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $611,723,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 808,500,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 630,250,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +18,527,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -178,250,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $630,250,000 for energy
conservation, a decrease of $178,250,000 below the budget
request and an increase of $18,527,000 above the fiscal year
1998 level. Changes to the budget request are detailed below
and include decreases of $94,600,000 in building technology,
$10,700,000 in the Federal energy management program,
$72,900,000 in transportation programs, and $6,750,000 in
policy and management, and an increase of $6,700,000 in
industry programs.
Buildings.--The Committee recommends $222,945,000 for the
building technology program, a decrease of $94,600,000 below
the budget request. Changes to the budget request are shown in
the following table:

Buildings System Design:
Residential buildings:
building America.............................. -$4,200,000
industrialized housing........................ -500,000
design strategies............................. -900,000
residential energy efficiency................. -300,000
affordable housing............................ -800,000
home energy rating systems.................... -500,000
Commercial buildings:
building performance.......................... -2,000,000
design strategies............................. -1,800,000
rebuild America............................... -3,600,000
outreach...................................... -400,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Building Systems Design........... -15,000,000
=================
Building Equipment & Materials:
Technology roadmaps............................... -4,000,000
Space conditioning and cogeneration:
heat pumps.................................... -1,300,000
refrigeration................................. -200,000
fuel cells for buildings...................... -2,000,000
Lighting and appliances:
long-term research............................ -300,000
distribution and control...................... -500,000
impacts of lighting........................... -200,000
emerging technology demonstrations............ -1,500,000
volume purchases.............................. -1,000,000
consumer education............................ -1,500,000
Building envelope:
thermal insulation & building materials....... -800,000
electrochromic research....................... -800,000
advanced glazing.............................. -700,000
highly reflective surfaces.................... -450,000
superwindow collaborative..................... -200,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Building Equipment & Materials.... -15,450,000
=================
Codes & Standards:
Building standards & guidelines:
update State codes............................ -500,000
training...................................... -200,000
assistance.................................... -3,100,000
analysis...................................... -100,000
energy codes.................................. -600,000
Lighting & appliance standards.................... -3,900,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Codes & Standards................. -8,400,000
=================
Use of Prior Year Funds............................... -6,400,000
=================
Weatherization Assistance Program:
Training and technical assistance................. -400,000
Grants............................................ -33,700,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Weatherization Assistance Program..... -34,100,000
=================
State Energy Program.................................. -7,000,000
=================
Municipal Energy Management:
Competitive energy partnerships (no new starts)... -5,000,000
=================
Management & Planning/Evaluation & planning:
technology & sector data.......................... -250,000
analytical studies & planning..................... -900,000
State & local program support..................... -600,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Management & Planning................. -1,750,000
Transfer of Crosscutting Offsets to Policy &
Management........................................... -1,500,000

Federal Energy Management Program.--The Committee
recommends $23,168,000 for the Federal energy management
program. Changes to the budget request are shown in the
following table:

Program Activities:
project financing................................. -$5,000,000
technical guidance and assistance................. -3,000,000
planning, reporting & evaluation.................. -2,000,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Program Activities.................... -10,000,000
Program Direction..................................... -700,000

Industry.--The Committee recommends $173,259,000 for
industry sector programs, an increase of $6,700,000 above the
budget request. Changes to the budget request are shown in the
following table:

Industries of the Future (Specific):
aluminum/mining vision (no new starts)............ -$1,000,000
chemicals/agriculture vision (no new starts)...... -2,000,000
industry-wide solicitation (no new starts)........ -19,000,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Industries of the Future (Specific)... -22,000,000
=================
Industries of the Future (Crosscutting):
Cogeneration:
combined heat and power....................... -1,000,000
advanced turbine systems...................... +1,000,000
Fossil Energy turbine program................. +43,000,000
Advanced Materials/ceramics for industry
applications..................................... +3,000,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Industries of the Future
(Crosscutting)................................. +46,000,000
=================
Technology Access:
motor challenge................................... -4,000,000
NICE \3\.......................................... -1,500,000
climate wise...................................... -1,000,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Technology Access..................... -6,500,000
=================
Management & Planning:
evaluation and planning........................... -200,000
program direction................................. -800,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Management & Planning................. -1,000,000
=================
Transfer of Crosscutting Offsets to Policy and
Management........................................... -1,500,000
Use of Prior Year Funds............................... -8,300,000

Transportation.--The Committee recommends $173,196,000 for
transportation research, a decrease of $72,900,000 below the
budget request. Changes to the budget request are shown in the
following table:

Advanced Automotive Technologies:
Automotive alternative fuels R&D:
fuels for advanced engines.................... -1,300,000
technology competitions....................... -150,000
Electric vehicle R&D:
long-term battery R&D......................... -1,000,000
exploratory technology........................ -1,000,000
Vehicle systems R&D:
heat engine R&D............................... -6,000,000
high power energy storage..................... -2,000,000
Fuel cell R&D:
systems development........................... -2,500,000
component R&D................................. -5,000,000
fuel processor & storage...................... -7,500,000
Advanced combustion engine R&D -6,000,000
Cooperative auto research for advanced
technologies -6,000,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Advanced Automotive Technologies...... -38,450,000
=================
Advanced Heavy Vehicle Technologies/Heavy vehicle
systems R&D:
high efficiency engine R&D........................ -7,000,000
advanced transportation technology consortia...... -10,000,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Advanced Heavy Vehicles............... -17,000,000
=================
Transportation Materials Technologies/Heavy vehicle
materials technology:
propulsion system materials....................... -1,000,000
high strength weight reduction materials (cost
shared with NTRC & NATT)......................... +2,000,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Transportation Materials.............. +1,000,000
=================
Technology Deployment:
clean cities voluntary deployment................. -3,200,000
infrastructure systems, and safety/fueling........ +500,000
infrastructure for natural gas vehicles, field
test/evaluation.................................. -1,000,000
technical information development................. -1,000,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Technology Deployment................... -4,700,000
=================
Implementation and Program Management:
evaluation, planning & analysis................... -800,000
program direction................................. -550,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Implementation & Program Management... -1,350,000
=================
Transfer of Crosscutting Offsets to Policy and
Management........................................... -2,300,000
Use of Prior Year Funds
PNGV prior year funds............................. -7,000,000
non-PNGV prior year funds......................... -3,100,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Use of Prior Year Funds............... -10,100,000

Policy and Management.--The Committee recommends
$37,682,000 for policy and management, a decrease of $6,750,000
below the budget request. Changes to the budget request are
shown in the following table:

Policy and Management:
Headquarters contract support..................... -1,000,000
Regional support offices contract services........ -1,000,000
International market development.................. -300,000
Information and communication program............. -450,000
Centers of excellence............................. -2,000,000
Initiatives....................................... +500,000
Strategic policy initiatives...................... -2,500,000
-----------------
Subtotal, Policy and Management................. -6,750,000

The Committee agrees to the following:
1. None of the funds provided herein are for the million
solar roofs initiative. This program is under the purview of
the Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee.
2. In measuring energy for efficiency standards, for
Federal facilities and buildings and for dealings with standard
setting organizations, the Department should consider the total
energy consumed over the full fuel cycle, emissions and energy
costs. This applies to all programs funded under the energy
conservation appropriation.
3. The Department needs to continue and intensify its
efforts to consolidate and streamline the buildings research
program. The fiscal year 2000 budget should clearly demonstrate
savings in this area and present a strategic plan for the
future.
4. Within the funds provided for near-term lighting
research, the Committee expects the Department to continue to
support cost-shared research with industry on compact
fluorescent lighting cost reduction.
5. The increase above the fiscal year 1998 level in the
long-term lighting program is to be used to initiate a hybrid
lighting cooperative program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
6. As part of the buildings program consolidation, the
Committee urges the Department to consider issuing 2 or 3
broad-based R&D solicitations annually which cut across the
various project areas--lighting, appliances, windows, building
equipment, etc.
7. The weatherization assistance program, under the
Committee's recommendations, will not be cut disproportionately
to other energy conservation programs. The 3 research areas--
buildings, industry and transportation--are required to offset
some of their new budget authority through the use of prior
year funds and the weatherization program is exempt from this
requirement.
8. The increase in funding for the Federal Energy
Management Program is provided with the expectation that a
portion of those funds will be used to hire at least 6
additional staff at the Regional Support Offices to administer
the FEMP program and that the balance will be distributed to
the National Laboratories for technical assistance. Bill
language is recommended in Administrative Provisions,
Department of Energy, continuing and making permanent the
Department's authority to receive reimbursements from other
Federal agencies and to use those funds to pursue Federal
agency energy savings contracts through the Federal energy
management program. The Department should ensure that standard
``boilerplate'' contracts are used to the maximum extent
possible to streamline the bureaucratic process. The Committee
reminds the Department and the Administration that this program
will work only if there are technical experts in energy
management in other Federal agencies and the Administration
should ensure that such experts are in place government-wide.
9. The Committee strongly encourages the Department to
grant staffing relief from the Strategic Alignment Initiative
staffing targets for FEMP program support at the Regional
Support Offices.
10. The funding provided for the industry/combined heat &
power program is to be used for activities focused on removing
barriers and not for demonstration projects.
11. Argonne National Laboratory should not be reduced
disproportionately to other National laboratories.
12. Funding for advanced turbine research is consolidated
in the industry program but Fossil Energy should continue to
manage its portions of the program.
13. The industry program should involve the National
Laboratories and, to the extent possible, encourage industry-
laboratory partnerships.
14. None of the funds provided for management and planning
in the industry program are for joint efforts with the
Department's Policy Office and EPA on carbon credits.
15. The increase provided for technology deployment/fueling
infrastructure for natural gas vehicles is to be used for
programs determined in coordination with industry.
16. Of the funds provided for alternative fuels/systems
optimization, $2,000,000 is for natural gas vehicle research,
consistent with the budget justification, as is $2,000,000 in
engine R&D for heavy vehicles.
17. The Committee strongly encourages the Department to use
FETC expertise in the alternative fuels R&D area.
18. The Northwest Alliance for Transportation Technologies
should be funded at least at the $3,000,000 level in fiscal
year 1999.
19. The Committee has earmarked $7,000,000 of the offset
attributable to the use of carryover balances within the
transportation program for PNGV programs.
20. Grants to States within the 3 different sector programs
should be clearly delineated in the budget justification for
fiscal year 2000.
21. The Committee strongly encourages continued
coordination with States and industry to ensure research is
meaningful and not duplicative. Further direction on working
with the States is included under Administrative Provisions,
Department of Energy.
22. No funding has been provided for centers of excellence.
The Committee does not object to the use, within available
funds, of no more than $400,000 to maintain the existing
website (including staffing costs) as a delivery mechanism to
showcase EERE technologies. Staffing for this function should
not exceed 3 FTE. The funding provided in policy and management
under ``initiatives'' is for this and other crosscutting
programs.
23. The Committee supports expanded use of the Regional
Support Offices to provide liaison with the States and industry
for program implementation and review. These offices must be
accorded a reasonable amount of direct decision making
authority. Otherwise, they will serve as an unnecessary
bureaucratic layer.
24. In the fiscal year 2000 budget, crosscutting policy and
management activities should be clearly funded in the policy
and management line item and should not be included in any
program key activities.
25. The Department needs to do a better job of managing
unobligated and uncosted balances. The fiscal year 2000 budget
should address this issue clearly.
26. The Committee expects the Department to address the
House Science Committee's recommendation with respect to peer-
reviewed cost-shared research in the fiscal year 2000 budget
request.
27. The Committee is very concerned by reports from the
General Accounting Office on the excessive unobligated and
uncosted balances in the energy conservation account. The
Committee has assumed the use of a small portion of these
balances to offset fiscal year 1999 requirements. The
Department should notify the Committee, through the
reprogramming process, by December 31, 1998, on the recovery
and use of prior year funds to meet 1999 requirements. This
notification should include details by project, budget
subactivity and activity; should explain why the funds are
available in each instance; and should note, in each instance,
the participating contractors, National laboratories or other
cooperators. To the maximum extent possible, these funds should
be recovered from projects that have been completed, terminated
or downsized.
28. No funds are to be used to implement the Kyoto
agreement on global warming/climate change.

economic regulation

The economic regulation account funds the independent
Office of Hearings and Appeals which is responsible for all of
the Department's adjudication processes except those that are
the responsibility of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The amount funded by this Committee is for those activities
specific to this bill: mainly those related to petroleum
overcharge cases. All other activities are funded on a
reimbursable basis from the other elements of the Department of
Energy. Prior to fiscal year 1997, this account also funded the
Economic Regulatory Administration.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $2,725,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 1,801,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 1,801,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -924,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $1,801,000 for economic
regulation, equal to the budget request and a decrease of
$924,000 below the fiscal year 1998 level.

strategic petroleum reserve

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $207,500,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 160,120,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 160,120,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -47,380,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $160,120,000 for operation of the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve which is equal to the budget
request and a decrease of $47,380,000 below the fiscal year
1998 level.

energy information administration

The Energy Information Administration is a quasi-
independent agency within the Department of Energy established
to provide timely, objective, and accurate energy-related
information to the Congress, executive branch, State
governments, industry, and the public. The information and
analysis prepared by the EIA is widely disseminated and the
agency is recognized as an unbiased source of energy
information by government organizations, industry, professional
statistical organizations and the public.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $66,800,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 70,500,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 68,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +1,200,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -2,500,000

The Committee recommends $68,000,000 for the Energy
Information Administration, a decrease of $2,500,000 below the
budget request and $1,200,000 above the fiscal year 1998 level.
The decrease recommended by the Committee includes $360,000 for
carbon emissions accounting and $2,140,000 for carbon emissions
analysis.
The Committee understands that EIA's staffing targets have
been changed to 382 in 1998, 375 in 1999 and 368 in 2000. The
Committee urges the Department and EIA to give priority
consideration to personnel actions to ensure that EIA maintains
those FTE utilization levels. The Committee expects EIA to
consider attrition rates and the lag time required to fill
positions, and to staff above target levels to allow for the
effects of attrition and hiring delays.

elk hills school lands fund

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999................................. $36,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 0
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -36,000,000

The Committee has not recommended funding for the Elk Hills
school lands fund. The Defense Authorization bill, as passed by
the House of Representatives, includes a provision that makes
the payment of this California school lands claim payable
directly from the proceeds of the sale of the Elk Hills Naval
Petroleum Reserve. An account has been established in the
Treasury for that purpose and, should the aforementioned
provision be included in the final Defense Authorization Act,
payment of the claim will no longer be subject to
appropriations.

administrative provisions, department of energy

Bill language is recommended in Administrative Provisions,
Department of Energy, continuing and making permanent the
Department's authority to receive reimbursements from other
Federal agencies and to use those funds to pursue Federal
agency energy savings contracts through the Federal energy
management program.
The Committee expects the Department to move quickly to
implement its MOUs with the States of New York and California
and to report to the Committee by October 15, 1998 on the
collaborative research projects it has funded pursuant to those
MOUs in fiscal year 1998. A report should also be submitted by
December 31, 1998 on cooperative projects planned for fiscal
year 1999.
The Committee also expects the Department to work actively
with other States to develop MOUs for cooperative research
including regional MOUs, as appropriate, with groups of States.
The Committee should be kept apprised of progress in this area.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Indian Health Service

indian health services

The provision of Federal health services to Indians is
based on a special relationship between Indian tribes and the
U.S. Government first set forth in the 1830's by the U.S.
Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall. Numerous
treaties, statutes, constitutional provisions, and
international law have reconfirmed this relationship. Principal
among these is the Snyder Act of 1921 which provides the basic
authority for most Indian health services provided by the
Federal Government to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The
Indian Health Service (IHS) provides direct health care
services in 37 hospitals, 61 health centers, 4 school health
centers, and 48 health stations. Tribes and tribal groups,
through contracts with the IHS, operate 12 hospitals, 134
health centers, 4 school health centers, and 241 health
stations (including 168 Alaska village clinics). The IHS,
tribes and tribal groups also operate 7 regional youth
substance abuse treatment centers and more than 2,000 units of
staff quarters.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $1,841,174,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 1,843,873,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 1,932,953,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +91,779,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +89,080,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $1,932,953,000 for Indian health
services, an increase of $89,080,000 above the budget request
and $91,779,000 above the fiscal year 1998 level. Increases to
the budget request include $53,142,000 for clinical services,
$4,931,000 for preventive health, $986,000 for urban health,
$1,117,000 for Indian health professions, $51,000 for tribal
management, $2,423,000 for direct management, $351,000 for
self-governance, and $26,079,000 for contract support costs.
The Administration, in its budget request for fiscal year
1999, fell far short of fulfilling its responsibility to the
Indian people for health services. No funds were included for
pay increases for health professionals. No funds were requested
for inflationary costs. No funds were requested for new tribes.
No funds were requested for staffing and operating newly
constructed facilities. Funds for maintenance of health
facilities were reduced. Funds for water and sewer facilities
in Indian homes were reduced. No funds were requested to
address the deficit in contract support costs for those tribes
that manage their own health programs and no funds were
requested for new or expanded Indian self-determination or
self-governance compacts.
The Committee has recommended full funding for fixed cost
increases and attempted to begin to address the problem of
contract support cost shortfalls. The Committee also recommends
the restoration of the cuts to the base program proposed by the
Administration.
Hospitals and Clinics.--The Committee recommends
$932,984,000 for hospitals and clinics, an increase of
$32,679,000 above the budget request and $26,183,000 above the
fiscal year 1998 level. Increases to the budget request include
$36,392,000 for pay and inflation, $9,963,000 to restore the
cuts to the base programs and $10,324,000 for staffing and
operating new facilities of which $292,000 is for the Kotzebue,
AK hospital, $435,000 is for the White Earth, MN health center,
$1,579,000 is for the Lame Deer, MT health center, $7,875,000
is for the Anchorage, AK hospital and $143,000 is for the
Harlem, MT health center. Decreases include $5,000,000 for a
cervical and breast cancer initiative and $19,000,000 that is
transferred to the facilities account to consolidate all
facilities management in that program.
Dental Health.--The Committee recommends $72,380,000 for
dental health, an increase of $6,863,000 above both the budget
request and the fiscal year 1998 level. Increases include
$5,192,000 for pay and inflation and $1,671,000 for staffing
and operating new facilities of which $261,000 is for the Lame
Deer, MT health center, $177,000 is for the Kotzebue, AK
hospital, $185,000 is for the White Earth, NM health center and
$1,048,000 is for the Anchorage, AK hospital. The Committee
also has provided $1,000,000 in the facilities account for
additional modular dental units.
Mental Health.--The Committee recommends $42,352,000 for
mental health services, an increase of $3,073,000 above both
the budget request and the fiscal year 1998 level. Increases
include $1,571,000 for pay and inflation, $1,000,000 to
continue the suicide prevention program started in the fiscal
year 1998 supplemental appropriation, and $502,000 for staffing
and operating new facilities of which $51,000 is for the White
Earth, MN health center, $94,000 is for the Lame Deer, MT
health center and $357,000 is for the Anchorage, AK hospital.
The Committee has funded a suicide prevention program in
the Indian Health Service rather than a similar proposal in the
BIA. The Committee believes the IHS is the appropriate agency
to provide these services. The Committee expects the Indian
Health Service to distribute these funds based on greatest need
and to fund no more than 10 programs, and preferably less than
10, to ensure that the funds are not diluted to such an extent
as to result in ineffective programs. The Service should report
to the Committee, no later than January 15, 1999, on how it
proposes to distribute these funds.
Alcohol and Substance Abuse.--The Committee recommends
$95,321,000 for alcohol and substance abuse treatment and
prevention programs, a decrease of $5,461,000 below the budget
request and an increase of $3,539,000 above the fiscal year
1998 level. Changes to the budget request include an increase
of $3,539,000 for pay and inflation and a decrease of
$9,000,000 for an alcohol and substance abuse initiative.
The Committee has not agreed to a new alcohol and substance
abuse initiative, as proposed in the budget request. This
program was to be funded at the expense of basic health
programs and the Committee believes such an approach is
irresponsible. The Committee notes that a great deal of the
funding in the hospital and clinics area is used to treat
alcohol and substance abuse-related health problems.
Contract Health Care.--The Committee recommends
$389,363,000 for contract care, an increase of $15,988,000
above both the budget request and the fiscal year 1998 level.
Increases include $14,308,000 for pay and inflation and
$1,680,000 for unmet need/new tribes funding.
Public Health Nursing.--The Committee recommends
$30,578,000 for public health nursing, an increase of
$2,380,000 above both the budget request and the fiscal year
1998 level. Increases include $1,139,000 for pay and inflation
and $1,241,000 for staffing and operating new facilities of
which $4,000 is for the Kotzebue, AK hospital, $298,000 is for
the White Earth, MN health center, $323,000 is for the Lame
Deer, MT health center, $504,000 is for the Anchorage, AK
hospital and $112,000 is for the Harlem, MT health center.
Health Education.--The Committee recommends $9,480,000 for
health education, an increase of $548,000 above both the budget
request and the fiscal year 1998 level. Increases include
$293,000 for pay and inflation and $255,000 for staffing and
operating new facilities of which $47,000 is for the White
Earth, MN health center, $87,000 is for the Lame Deer, MT
health center and $121,000 is for the Anchorage, AK hospital.
Community Health Representatives.--The Committee recommends
$46,267,000 for community health representatives, an increase
of $1,955,000 above both the budget request and the fiscal year
1998 level. Increases include $1,727,000 for pay and inflation
and $228,000 for staffing and operating the new White Earth, MN
health center.
Immunization.--The Committee recommends $1,376,000 for the
immunization program in Alaska, an increase of $48,000 above
both the budget request and the fiscal year 1998 level. The
increase is for pay and inflation costs.
Urban Health.--The Committee recommends $26,569,000 for
urban health projects, an increase of $986,000 above the
request and $1,281,000 above the fiscal year 1998 level. The
increase above the budget request is for pay and inflation
costs.
Indian Health Professions.--The committee recommends
$29,837,000 for Indian health professions, an increase of
$1,117,000 above both the budget request and the fiscal year
1998 level for pay and inflation costs.
Tribal Management.--The Committee recommends $2,399,000 for
tribal management, an increase of $51,000 above both the budget
request and the fiscal year 1998 level for inflation costs.
Direct Operations.--The Committee recommends $49,809,000
for direct operations, an increase of $2,423,000 above both the
budget request and the fiscal year 1998 level. The increase is
for pay and inflation costs.
Self-Governance.--The Committee recommends $9,457,000 for
self-governance, an increase of $351,000 above both the budget
request and the fiscal year 1998 level. The increase is for pay
and inflation costs.
Contract Support Costs.--The Committee recommends
$194,781,000 for contract support costs, an increase of
$26,079,000 above both the budget request and the fiscal year
1998 level. Increases include $14,079,000 for pay and inflation
and $12,000,000 for unmet need.
The Committee has recommended bill language earmarking the
amount of funding for contract support costs and requiring a
proportional distribution of contract support cost funding. The
increases recommended for pay and inflation and for unmet need
in this area are to minimize any decreases to ongoing contracts
and compacts.
The Committee agrees to the following:
1. Future budget requests should focus on funding fixed
costs, including staffing of new facilities and new tribes
funding, and base programs before considering new initiatives.
2. The IHS needs to work closely with the tribes and with
the legislative committees of jurisdiction to find a solution
to contract support cost shortfalls that ensures they are not
paid at the expense of other health care programs. This issue
is discussed in more detail in Title III of this report.
3. The IHS should work with the tribes to develop an
acceptable methodology for determining level of need
calculations for services and for contract support costs. A
``minimum level of need funded'' should be established for all
the various services and for contract support costs and a plan
for increasing the level of need funded in all the various
areas should be developed with priorities identified within and
across programs.
4. The IHS should expand its National diabetes surveillance
activities by obtaining pertinent data from the Special
Diabetes Program for American Indian grantees to measure
diabetes prevalence, rates of amputation, blindness, and kidney
disease, and to take measures related to prevention of
diabetes, such as addressing obesity in children. The IHS
should work with the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National
Institutes of Health on the development and maintenance of
innovative approaches to dealing with diabetes detection and
treatment.
5. The Committee is very concerned about the unmet need in
the area of dental services and, encourages the IHS and the
Administration to address this problem in the fiscal year 2000
budget.
Bill Language.--The Committee has recommended bill language
earmarking the maximum amount that may be spent on contract
support costs and language requiring a proportional
distribution of contract support cost funding across all self-
determination and self-governance contracts and compacts.
Language also is recommended under Administrative Provisions,
Indian Health Service, specifying that IHS funding may not be
used to pay for non-IHS contract support costs. In Title III--
General Provisions, the Committee has recommended language
placing a one-year moratorium on new or expanded self-
determination and self-governance compacts. The Committee urges
the IHS and the tribes to address the contract support cost
problem in a timely manner so that an acceptable solution can
be found for addressing contract support cost funding within
the Committee's allocation and without adversely affecting
funding for other IHS and tribal health programs.
Bill language also is recommended to permit up to
$17,000,000 to be used for the loan repayment program. This
program is essential for the recruitment of health care
professionals and the Committee's recommendation allows for
flexibility in using that program, if the IHS and the tribes
determine that additional funds should be diverted to the
program.

indian health facilities

The need for new Indian health care facilities has not been
fully quantified but it is safe to say that many billions of
dollars would be required to renovate existing facilities and
construct all the needed new hospitals and clinics. In 1994,
IHS conducted a review of facility needs to determine what
would be required to provide adequate and safe health care
delivery. The conclusions of the review were that IHS would
need to replace, renovate or modernize 41 hospitals, 153 full
service health centers, and 289 part-time health stations, and
that 12 new health centers and 21 new health stations would
need to be constructed. Safe and sanitary water and sewer
systems for existing homes and solid waste disposal needs
currently are estimated to amount to over $600 million for
those projects that are considered to be economically feasible.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $257,538,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 274,476,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 313,175,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +55,637,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +38,699,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $313,175,000 for Indian health
facilities, an increase of $38,699,000 above the budget request
and $55,637,000 above the fiscal year 1998 level. Increases to
the budget request include $6,180,000 for maintenance and
improvement, $5,318,000 for sanitation facilities, $2,187,000
for construction, $5,713,000 for facilities and environmental
health support, $301,000 for equipment and $19,000,000 for
facilities management.
Maintenance and Improvement.--The Committee recommends
$41,814,000 for maintenance and improvement, an increase of
$6,180,000 above the budget request and $2,380,000 above the
fiscal year 1998 level. Increases to the budget request include
$880,000 for pay and inflation, $3,800,000 to restore base
funding to the 1998 level, $1,000,000 for unmet need and
$500,000 for a cost-shared renovation program on the Spokane
Reservation.
Sanitation Facilities.--The Committee recommends
$89,400,000 for sanitation facilities, an increase of
$5,318,000 above the budget request and $318,000 above the
fiscal year 1998 level. Increases to the budget request include
$318,000 for pay and fixed costs and $5,000,000 to restore base
funding to the 1998 level.
Construction.--The Committee recommends $41,087,000 for
construction, an increase of $2,187,000 above the budget
request and $26,687,000 above the fiscal year 1998 level.
Changes to the budget request include increases of $4,200,000
to complete construction of the Polacca (Hopi), AZ health
center, $1,000,000 for modular dental units, $950,000 to
complete the design of the Winnebago, NE hospital, $1,037,000
to complete the design of the Pinon, AZ health center and
$5,000,000 for construction of the Parker, AZ health center,
and a decrease of $10,000,000 for the Fort Defiance, AZ
hospital construction project.
Facilities and Environmental Health Support.--The Committee
recommends $108,568,000 for facilities and environmental health
support, an increase of $5,713,000 above the budget request and
$6,951,000 above the fiscal year 1998 level. Increases to the
budget request include $3,545,000 for pay and inflation and
$2,168,000 for staffing and operating new facilities of which
$26,000 is for the Kotzebue, AK hospital, $305,000 is for the
White Earth, MN health center, $395,000 is for the Lame Deer,
MT health center, $1,161,000 is for the Anchorage, AK hospital
and $281,000 is for the Harlem, MT health center.
Equipment.--The Committee recommends $13,306,000 for
equipment, an increase of $301,000 above both the budget
request and the fiscal year 1998 level for inflation costs.
Facilities Management.--The Committee recommends the
transfer of $19,000,000 from the services account to the
facilities account for facilities management. The facilities
program is responsible for this activity and funds are being
consolidated in the facilities account to reflect accurately
that responsibility.
The Committee agrees to the following:
1. The funding provided for a pilot project on the Spokane
reservation at the Wellpinit, WA facility is contingent on non-
Federal matching funds from the tribe. There will be no
operational increase associated with this project.
2. The Committee continues to stress the need for
addressing the maintenance backlog at all the agencies in the
bill. The Committee believes that ``taking care of what we
have'' in the public trust is critically important. The IHS and
the Administration are encouraged to give a higher priority to
funding in this area in the fiscal year 2000 budget.
3. Funding to complete the Hopi clinic includes staff
quarters renovation.
4. The fiscal year 2000 budget should address the
advisability of reinstituting a joint venture facilities
construction program in the context of overall priorities. Any
such proposal should in no way interfere with the commitment to
those tribes that have been waiting for years to have
facilities constructed through the construction priority
system.
5. The methodology used to distribute facilities funding
should address the fluctuating annual workload and maintain
parity among IHS areas and tribes as the workload shifts.
6. Funds for sanitation facilities for new and renovated
housing should be used to serve housing provided by the Bureau
of Indian Affairs Housing Improvement Program, new houses and
homes renovated to like-new condition. Onsite sanitation
facilities may also be provided for homes occupied by the
disabled or sick who have physician referrals indicating an
immediate medical need for adequate sanitation facilities at
home.
7. Sanitation funds should not be used to provide
sanitation facilities for new homes funded by the housing
programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The HUD should provided any needed funds to the IHS for that
purpose.
8. The IHS may use up to $5,000,000 in sanitation funding
for projects to clean up and replace open dumps on Indian lands
pursuant to the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act of 1994.
9. The IHS should continue to support tribes in identifying
and implementing alternative and innovative approaches to
funding construction and repair and replacement of health care
facilities throughout Indian country, including cost-sharing
arrangements and the enhanced use of third-party collections
for improving aging facilities. These alternative approaches
should not result in increased operational funding requirements
for IHS.

Administrative Provisions, Indian Health Service

The Committee has recommended bill language specifying that
Indian Health Service funding may not be used to pay contract
support costs for any entity other than the Indian Health
Service.

OTHER RELATED AGENCIES

Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation

salaries and expenses

The dispute between the Hopi and Navajo tribes is
centuries-old. The Hopi were the original occupants of the land
with their origin tracing back to the Anasazi race whose
presence is recorded back to 1150 A.D. Later in the 16th
century the Navajo tribe began settling in this area. The
continuous occupation of this land by the Navajo led to the
isolation of the Hopi Reservation as an island within the area
occupied by the Navajo. In 1882, President Arthur issued an
Executive Order, which granted the Hopi a 2.5 million acre
reservation to be occupied by the Hopi and such other Indians
as the Secretary of the Interior saw fit to resettle there.
Intertribal problems arose between the larger Navajo tribe and
the smaller Hopi tribe revolving around the question of the
ownership of the land as well as cultural differences between
the two tribes. Efforts to resolve these conflicts were not
successful and led Congress to pass legislation in 1958 which
authorized a lawsuit to determine ownership of the land. When
attempts at mediation of the dispute as specified in an Act
passed in 1974 failed, the district court in Arizona
partitioned the Joint Use Area equally between the Navajo and
Hopi tribes under a decree that has required the relocation of
members of both tribes. Most of those to be relocated are
Navajo living on the Hopi Partitioned Land.
At this time approximately 510 households remain be
relocated, of which 71 are full-time residents on the Hopi
Partitioned Land. A total of 2,958 Navajo families have been
relocated from the Hopi Partitioned Land.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $15,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 15,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 13,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -2,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -2,000,000

The Committee recommends an appropriation of $13,000,000
for salaries and expenses of the Office of Navajo and Hopi
Indian Relocation, which is a decrease of $2,000,000 from both
the 1998 level and the budget estimate.

Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts
Development

payment to the institute

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $4,250,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 3,188,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 0
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -4,250,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -3,188,000

The Committee recommends zero funding for the Institute of
American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development.
It was the understanding of the House that fiscal year 1998
would be the last year Federal funding would be provided.

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is unique in the Federal
establishment. Established by the Congress in 1846 to carry out
the trust included in James Smithson's will, it has been
engaged for 150 years in the ``increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men'' in accordance with the donor's
instructions. For some years, it used only the funds made
available by the trust. Then, before the turn of the century,
it began to receive Federal appropriations to conduct some of
its activities. With the expenditure of both private and
Federal funds over the years, it has grown into one of the
world's great scientific, cultural, and intellectual
organizations. It operates magnificent museums, outstanding art
galleries, and important research centers. Its collections are
among the best in the world. Its traveling exhibits bring
beauty and information throughout the country.
It attracted approximately 30,000,000 visitors in 1997 to
its museums, galleries, and zoological park. Additional
millions also view Smithsonian traveling exhibitions, which
appear across the United States and abroad, and the annual
Folklife Festival. As custodian of the National Collections,
the Smithsonian is responsible for more than 140 million art
objects, natural history specimens, and artifacts. These
collections are displayed for the enjoyment and education of
visitors and are available for research by the staff of the
Institution and by hundreds of visiting students, scientists,
and historians each year. Other significant study efforts draw
their data and results directly from terrestrial, marine, and
astrophysical observations at various Smithsonian
installations.
The Smithsonian complex presently consists of 15 exhibition
buildings in Washington, DC and New York City in the fields of
science, history, technology and art; a zoological park in
Washington, DC and an animal conservation and research center
at Front Royal, Virginia; the Anacostia Museum, which performs
research and exhibit activities in the District of Columbia; a
preservation, storage and air and spacecraft display facility
in Suitland, Maryland; a natural preserve in Panama and one on
the Chesapeake Bay; an oceanographic research facility in Fort
Pierce, Florida; astrophysical stations in Cambridge,
Massachusetts and Mt. Hopkins, Arizona and elsewhere; and
supporting administrative, laboratory, and storage areas.

salaries and expenses

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $333,408,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 357,300,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 346,449,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +13,041,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -10,851,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $346,449,000, an increase of
$13,041,000 above the enacted level and a decrease of
$10,851,000 below the fiscal year 1999 request. This amount
provides an increase of $6,530,000 for mandatory pay increases,
$1,055,000 for changes to CSRS contributions, $356,000 for
workers' compensation, $138,000 for East Court positions
annualization, $1,886,000 for utilities, communications, and
postage, $389,000 for rental space and $30,000 for National
Finance Center payroll processing. The Committee accepts the
reduction of $1,050,000 in non-recurring costs for utility,
communications and postage. The Committee has not included
$425,000 for accessibility improvements, $150,000 for the
Panama Canal Treaty Implementation and $365,000 for inflation
for library materials.
The Committee has included several program increases
related to the collections move for the National Museum of the
American Indian (NMAI) and to complete the ongoing renovations
of the Natural History East and West Court projects. Included
in the NMAI costs are $1,973,000 for the actual move,
$1,195,000 for the Office of Physical Plant, $800,000 Office of
Protection Services and $121,000 for the Smithsonian
Institution Libraries. Also included is $1,500,000 for the East
Court move and relocation and $500,000 for West Court
operations. These increases are offset by one-time funding of
$2,382,000 that was provided in fiscal year 1998 for East Court
communications, equipment and other related move costs. No
increases have been provided for the digitization of
collections. The Committee urges the Smithsonian to use Trust
Funds or other private funding for this purpose until the above
mentioned projects are completed.
Within available funds, $250,000 has been allocated for
continued support for heritage preservation efforts to promote
the conservation of public sculpture and other art through
private-public partnerships and education programs.
The Committee remains concerned that the Smithsonian
Institution continues to have a difficult time setting
priorities for spending. The Committee is providing funding for
several expensive ongoing construction projects that were
committed to several years ago. These include the three NMAI
facilities as well as the East and West Court projects at the
National Museum of Natural History. In addition to these
commitments the Committee has just completed major expansions
at the Tropical Research facility in Panama, the Museum Support
Center in Suitland and the submillimeter array telescope in
Hawaii. Despite the Committee's urging in recent years to delay
new construction projects until the maintenance backlog is
reduced and ongoing construction is completed, the fiscal year
1999 budget details plans to begin another $105 million support
center in Suitland, Maryland in fiscal year 2000.
The Committee was informed by the Smithsonian Institution
three years ago that there was a serious maintenance backlog
totaling $250 million. This was represented as a total for all
museum buildings. The Smithsonian testified that the problem
was so serious that if adequate funding was not made available
over the next several years, there was a strong possibility
that certain museum buildings would have to be closed to the
public. The Committee responded by providing $123 million over
the last three years to address this need.
The Committee is disturbed to recently learn that there is
a considerable backlog of serious maintenance at the National
Zoological Park and the Front Royal facility that has not been
included in the $250 million backlog figure. In addition, the
Committee has just discovered that there is also an urgent need
to replace the entire central security system for all
Institution museums and storage facilities. This $12 million
project was excluded from the $250 million backlog. It was not
included in the President's budget nor was it brought to the
attention of the Committee. The Committee has learned that this
system is so antiquated that software and hardware components
are no longer available in the industry, repair parts are
nearly exhausted, and the system is subject to year 2000
computer problems. The Committee has included $4,500,000 for
fiscal year 1999 under the Repair and Restoration of Buildings
account to initiate this project.
As a result of these concerns, the Committee has included a
provision under a new Administrative Provisions account that
states that no Federal funds may be used to initiate the
planning or design of any expansion of current space or any new
facility without advance approval of both the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees. The Committee would assume that the
spirit of the law would also preclude the use of private funds,
which could lead to the expenditure of Federal funds.

construction and improvements, National zoological park

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $3,850,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 4,500,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 4,500,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +650,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $4,500,000 for fiscal year 1999,
the same as the budget request and $650,000 above the enacted
level. The Committee has included a provision under
Administrative Provisions which prohibits the use of any funds
being used to continue work on the Holt House. The Committee
strongly feels that the Zoo should focus all its funding on the
serious backlog maintenance, research and other operational
needs of the National Zoological Park. No Trust Fund moneys
should be used which eventually could lead to the need for
Federal operational or construction funds.

repair and restoration of buildings

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $32,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 40,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 44,500,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +12,500,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +4,500,000

The Committee recommends $44,500,000 for fiscal year 1999,
an increase of $12,500,000 above the enacted level and
$4,500,000 above the fiscal year 1999 budget request. The
Committee has provided $4,500,000 to initiate the security
system modernization program. The Committee continues to
recognize that backlog maintenance needs to be the highest
priority for the Smithsonian.

construction

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $33,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 18,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 2,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -31,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -16,000,000

The Committee recommends $2,000,000 for minor construction,
alterations and modifications for fiscal year 1999, a decrease
of $31,000,000 below the enacted level and $16,000,000 below
the fiscal year 1999 request.
The Committee has not included line item funding of
$16,000,000 for the continuation of the National Museum of the
American Indian Mall facility for two reasons. First, very
little of the $33,000,000 previously appropriated for this
purpose has been expended. In addition, the Committee assumes
that due to the problems associated with the termination of its
contract with the project's principal architectural team for
failure to meet contractual performance requirements and the
ongoing lawsuit filed by the firm, the project cannot possibly
meet the original timetable. The Committee has also denied the
request for an advance appropriation of $19,000,000.
Two provisions have been included under the Administrative
Provisions account. The first states that no funds may be used
to pay any judgment resulting from the complaint filed by
Geddes, Brecher, Qualls and Cunningham in the United States
Court of Federal Claims concerning the National Museum of the
American Indian. The second provision limits the total Federal
expenditure for the National Museum of the American Indian Mall
facility to the Federal total specified in Public Law 101-185.

National Gallery of Art

salaries and expenses

The National Gallery of Art is one of the world's great
galleries. Its magnificent works of art are displayed for the
benefit of millions of visitors from across this Nation and
from other nations. The National Gallery of Art serves as an
example of a successful cooperative endeavor between private
individuals and institutions and the Federal Government. The
many special exhibitions shown in the Gallery and then
throughout the country bring great art treasures to Washington
and the Nation.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $55,837,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 57,938,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 57,938,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +2,101,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $57,938,000 for salaries and
expenses of the National Gallery of Art. This amount is equal
to the budget request and an increase of $2,101,000 above the
fiscal year 1998 level.
Bill Language.--The Committee has recommended bill language
specifying that the National Gallery of Art is subject to the
requirements for a Federal entity under the Inspector General
Act of 1978. As such, the Gallery is required to conduct
regular audits and to report annually on these audits to the
House and Senate. Under this designation, the Gallery is not
required to have an Inspector General.
The Committee has recommended bill language in Title III--
General Provisions, amending the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity
Act to increase the statutory limits for insuring international
exhibitions.

repair, restoration and renovation of buildings

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $6,192,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 6,311,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 6,311,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +119,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $6,311,000 for repair, restoration
and renovation of buildings at the National Gallery of Art.
This amount is equal to the budget request and an increase of
$119,000 above the fiscal year 1998 level.

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a
living memorial to the late President Kennedy and the National
Center for the Performing Arts. The Center consists of over 1.5
million square feet of usable floor space with visitation
averaging 10,000 on a daily basis.

operations and maintenance

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $11,375,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 13,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 12,187,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... + 812,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -813,000

The Committee recommends $12,187,000, an increase of
$812,000 above the enacted level and a decrease of $813,000
below the fiscal year 1999 request.

construction

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $9,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 20,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 9,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................ -11,000,000

The Committee recommends $9,000,000 for construction, the
same as the enacted level and a decrease of $11,000,000 below
the fiscal year 1999 request.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

salaries and expenses

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is a
unique institution with a special mission to serve as a living
memorial to the late Woodrow Wilson. The Center performs this
mandate through its role as an international institute for
advanced study as well as a facilitator for discussions among
scholars, public officials, journalists and business leaders
from across the country on major long-term issues facing
America and the world.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $5,840,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 6,040,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 5,840,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -200,000

The Committee recommends $5,840,000 for salaries and
expenses, the same as the 1998 level and a decrease of $200,000
below the budget request.
In the Center's early years it appears it was more
successful in bringing the worlds of scholarship and public
policy together. At that time the work of the scholars appeared
to have some relevance to current public policy issues. The
Committee became concerned over the last few years that the
objective was not being met and that the Center seemed to have
lost its public policy function.
A review last year of the Center by the National Academy of
Public Administration was critical of the Center on a number of
fronts. While the Academy cited some accomplishments, the
Academy pointed out that the Center lacked a clear mission
statement; did not have a process for choosing scholars which
would ensure a connection between the scholars work and
relevant public policy issues; and demonstrated little or no
connection between the Center's programs and the fellows. In
fact the Academy review noted that the Center currently
emphasizes scholarly pursuits over its public policy
objectives. The original goal of the Center, to link these two
worlds, has effectively been lost. The Academy also raised
concerns about the Center's management.
The Committee is concerned over the continuing disagreement
between the leadership of the Center and the Inspector General
regarding which of the 25 recommendations by the National
Academy of Public Administration have been implemented. The
Inspector General contends that while progress is being made,
only 13 of 25 have been implemented fully. The Center insists
that all 25 have been implemented. Therefore, the Committee
directs the Center to contract with the National Academy of
Public Administration so that NAPA can report to the Committee
by January 15, 1999 on which recommendations have actually been
implemented.
The Committee has included bill language in section 325,
Title III which prohibits the Woodrow Wilson Center from moving
from the Smithsonian to the new Ronald Reagan Building.

National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities

National Endowment for the Arts

grants and administration

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $81,240,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 120,500,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 81,240,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -39,260,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with
estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $81,240,000 for grants and
administration, equal to the 1998 level and $39,260,000 below
the budget request.

matching grants

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $16,760,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 15,500,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 16,760,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. +1,260,000

The Committee recommends $16,760,000 for matching grants,
equal to the 1998 level and $1,260,000 above the budget
request.

National Endowment for the Humanities

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was created
in 1965 to encourage and support National progress in the
humanities. The NEH provides, through a merit-based review
process, grants in support of education, research, document and
artifact preservation, and public service in the humanities.

grants and administration

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $96,800,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 122,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 96,800,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -25,200,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $96,800,000 for grants and
administration, equal to the 1998 level and $25,200,000 less
than requested. The Committee is aware that the NEH has
proposed a new initiative establishing regional humanities
centers for the purpose of facilitating a greater understanding
of our common cultural heritage, however the Committee has
insufficient resources to fund this effort. The Committee
recommendation maintains core programs, such as the teacher
training institutes, the Presidential papers, scholarship, and
preservation of humanities materials, including the brittle
books program. The Committee is concerned about the unequal
distribution of grants to the various States and therefore
encourages the NEH to consider changes that would increase
fairness; this should clarify grants that are national in
scope, such as Presidential papers and television
documentaries, and suggest methods to increase equity.

matching grants

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $13,900,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 14,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 13,900,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -100,000

The Committee recommends $13,900,000 for matching grants,
equal to the 1998 funding level and $100,000 less than
requested. The Committee directs that the matching grants
program should not be used as an alternative funding source for
the ``Rediscovering America'' special initiative which was not
funded this year.

Institute of Museum and Library Services

office of museum services

grants and administration

The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was
created in the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996 (Public
Law 104-208) which merged library services functions of the
Department of Education into the Institute of Museum Services.
These functions now come under the Office of Museum Services
(OMS) portion of the IMLS. The OMS appropriation remains in the
Interior and related agencies bill and the Office of Library
Services appropriation remains in the Labor, Health and Human
Services appropriations bill. The OMS provides operating
support, conservation support and professional services to
assist museums. General operating support awards assist museums
with essential operating expenditures.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $23,280,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 26,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 23,405,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +125,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -2,595,000

The amounts recommended by the Committee compared with the
budget estimates by activity are shown in the following table:

The Committee recommends $23,405,000 for the Office of
Museum Services, $2,595,000 less than requested and $125,000
above the 1998 level. The increased funding is intended to
offset partially fixed cost increases.

Commission of Fine Arts

The Commission of Fine Arts was established in 1910 to meet
the need for a permanent body to advise the government on
matters pertaining to the arts, and particularly, to guide the
architectural development of Washington, DC. Over the years the
Commission's scope has been expanded to include advice on areas
such as plans for parks, public buildings, location of National
monuments and development of public squares. As a result, the
Commission annually reviews approximately 500 projects. In
fiscal year 1988 the Commission was given responsibility for
the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs program.

salaries and expenses

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $907,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 898,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 898,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... -9,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee recommends $898,000 for the Commission of
Fine Arts, equal to the request and $9,000 below the 1998
funding level.

National capital arts and cultural affairs

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $7,000,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 7,500,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 7,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -500,000

The National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs program was
established in Public Law 99-190 to support artistic and
cultural programs in the Nation's Capital. The Committee
recommends $7,000,000 for this program, which is $500,000 below
the request and equal to the 1998 level. Beginning in fiscal
year 1999 and thereafter, the Committee directs the review
panel to take into consideration the following revised criteria
when reviewing new applicants for the National Capital Arts and
Cultural Affairs program: (1) eligible organizations must
devote at least 51 percent of their annual budgets to
performing, exhibiting and/or presenting the arts at the
professional level in the District of Columbia, and must have
been located in the District of Columbia for at least ten
years; and (2) organizations which receive more than 50 percent
of their annual budgets from direct line-item Federal
appropriations and/or other government funding shall not be
eligible for grants under this program, nor shall organizations
be eligible which are affiliated with institutions which
receive more than 50 percent of their annual budgets from
direct line-item Federal appropriations and/or other government
funding.

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

salaries and expenses

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 established
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The Advisory
Council was reauthorized as part of the Omnibus Parks and
Public Lands Management Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-333). The
Council's mandate is to further the National policy of
preserving historic and cultural resources for the benefit of
present and future generations. The Council advises the
President and Congress on preservation matters and provides
consultation on historic properties threatened by Federal
action.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $2,745,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 3,000,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 2,800,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +55,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -200,000

The Committee recommends $2,800,000 for the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation, $200,000 below the request
and $55,000 above the 1998 level. The increased funding is to
offset fixed cost increases.

National Capital Planning Commission

salaries and expenses

The National Capital Planning Act of 1952 designated the
National Capital Planning Commission as the central planning
agency for the Federal government in the National Capital
Region. The three major functions of the Commission are to
prepare and adopt the Federal elements of the National Capital
Comprehensive Plan, prepare an annual report on a five-year
projection of the Federal Capital Improvement Program, and
review plans and proposals submitted to the Commission.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $5,740,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 6,212,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 5,954,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +214,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -258,000

The Committee recommends $5,954,000, $258,000 below the
budget request and $214,000 above the 1998 funding level. The
Committee suggests that the Commission and its staff focus on
the core elements under its authority and not try to take on
civic responsibilities for the District of Columbia despite
shortfalls in certain District government performance. The
Committee suggests that the Commission redo the strategic and
performance plans required by the Government Performance and
Results Act so that they focus more on core responsibilities.

United States Holocaust Memorial Council

holocaust memorial council

In 1980 Congress passed legislation creating a 65 member
Holocaust Memorial Council with the mandate to create and
oversee a living memorial/museum to victims of holocausts. The
museum opened in April 1993. Construction costs for the museum
have come solely from donated funds raised by the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum Campaign and appropriated funds have
been used for planning and development of programmatic
components, overall administrative support and annual
commemorative observances. Since the opening of the museum,
appropriated funds have been provided to pay for the ongoing
operating costs of the museum as authorized by Public Law 102-
529.

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... $31,707,000
Budget estimate, 1999................................. 32,607,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 31,707,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999............................. -900,000

The Committee recommends level funding of $31,707,000 for
fiscal year 1999, the same as the enacted level and $900,000
below the fiscal year 1999 request. The Committee has provided
over $10,000,000 in increases since the museum's opening in
April of 1993. This represents a greater percentage increase
than any other agency funded in this bill.
The Committee notes that the Holocaust budget proposes
$409,000 in programmatic reductions in order to offset proposed
increases totaling $1.3 million over its fiscal year 1998
appropriation. Since the Committee has not agreed to the budget
request, including $500,000 for backlog maintenance, the Museum
is urged to submit a reprogramming request to use available
funds in fiscal year 1999 for the backlog.
The Committee has been generous in providing program,
staffing, maintenance and security increases since 1994 and
applauds the Museum's plans to increase private fundraising for
future program and exhibit enhancements.
Bill language is contained in Title III, Section 327 which
permanently designates the Auditors West Building (Annex 3)
located a Raoul Wallenberg Place and Independence Avenue
Southwest, Washington, DC as the Sidney R. Yates Building. The
Committee directs the Museum to provide the appropriate signage
as soon as the bill is signed into law.

Presidio Trust

Presidio Trust Fund

Appropriation enacted, 1998........................... 0
Budget estimate, 1999................................. $39,913,000
Recommended, 1999..................................... 39,913,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 1998............................... +39,913,000
Budget estimate, 1999............................. 0

The Committee has included a new Presidio Trust account as
requested in the President's fiscal year 1999 budget. The
Presidio Trust is a wholly-owned government corporation
established by the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management
Act of 1996 to maintain and lease property in the Presidio of
San Francisco. This appropriations account funds the operation
of the Trust and authorizes the Trust to borrow up to
$25,000,000 from the U.S. Treasury in fiscal year 1999 to
rehabilitate and prepare facilities for leasing.
The Committee recommends $39,913,000 for the Presidio
Trust, the same as the fiscal year 1999 budget request.

TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS

The Committee recommends continuing several provisions
carried in previous bills as follows:
Section 301 provides for public availability of information
on consulting services contracts.
Section 302 limits non-competitive leasing of oil and
natural gas on the Shawnee National Forest, Illinois.
Section 303 prohibits activities to promote public support
or opposition to legislative proposals.
Section 304 provides for annual appropriations unless
expressly provided otherwise in this Act.
Section 305 limits the use of personal cooks, chauffeurs or
servants.
Section 306 limits assessments against programs without
Committee approval.
Section 307 contains Buy American procedures and
requirements.
Section 308 limits the sale of giant sequoia trees by the
Forest Service.
Section 309 prohibits the use of funds by the National Park
Service to enter into a contract requiring the removal of the
underground lunchroom at Carlsbad Caverns NP, NM.
Section 310 provides that no funds can be used for
Americorps unless it is funded in the VA, HUD and Independent
Agencies fiscal year 1999 appropriations, and makes use of such
funds subject to reprogramming.
Section 311 continues a limitation of funding relating to a
pedestrian bridge between New Jersey and Ellis Island.
Section 312 continues a limitation on accepting and
processing applications for patents and on the patenting of
Federal lands; permits processing of grandfathered
applications; and permits third-party contractors to process
grandfathered applications.
Section 313 provides that no funds can be used for the
purposes of acquiring lands in the counties of Gallia,
Lawrence, Monroe, or Washington, Ohio, for the Wayne National
Forest.
Section 314 limits payments for contract support costs in
past years to the funds available in law and accompanying
report language in those years for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and the Indian Health Service.
Section 315 limits Jobs in the Woods programs to timber
dependent areas in Washington, Oregon, and northern California.
Section 316 prohibits the use of recreational fees in
excess of $500,000 for the construction of any permanent
structure without advance Committee approval.
Section 317 prohibits the use of funds to evict landowners
under certain conditions at Sleeping Bear Dunes NL, MI.
Section 318 prohibits the use of funds for Biosphere
Reserves as part of the Man and Biosphere Program.
Section 319 prohibits the use of funds for posting clothing
optional signs at Cape Canaveral NS, FL.
Section 320 contains reforms and limitations dealing with
the National Endowment for the Arts.
Section 321 permits the collection and use of private funds
by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National
Endowments for the Humanities.
Section 322 permits the use of funds by the Forest Service
for cooperative projects for watershed restoration and
improvements.
Section 323 continues direction to the National Endowment
for the Arts on funding distribution. This language expands the
1998 language to encourage community music grants.
Section 324 prohibits the use of funds to make improvements
to Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House without
Committee approval.
Section 325 prohibits the use of funds to move the Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars to the Ronald Reagan
Building in Washington, D. C.
Section 326 renames the Auditors West Building (Annex III)
in Washington, D. C. as the Sidney R. Yates Building.
Section 327 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to grant
an easement for road construction in the Chugach NF, AK.
Section 328 extends the recreation fee demonstration
program for an additional two years (through fiscal year 2001).
Section 329 places a one-year moratorium on new and
expanded Indian self-determination and self-governance
contracts and compacts.
The Committee continues to support self-determination and
self-governance programs. These programs have enabled the
tribes to have greater control and greater involvement in many
different programs formerly managed by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs and the Indian Health Service. In the early years of
the self-determination and self-governance programs, funds were
shifted from Federal programs to offset partially the
administrative costs of those tribes that elected to take over
management of BIA and IHS programs. These administrative costs
of the tribes are known as contract support costs. The
Committee also added additional funds to the BIA and IHS
budgets to pay the balance of contract support costs. Over
time, the contract support costs associated with self-
determination contracts and self-governance compacts have
outpaced available funding. We have reached a point at which we
can no longer offset these costs to any great extent by
continuing to downsize the Federal bureaucracies in BIA and
IHS. To do so would be unfair to the many tribes who choose not
to manage their own programs and rely on the BIA and the IHS
for program management.
Unfortunately, implementation of the self-determination and
self-governance programs does not result in economies of scale
in program management since each participating tribe is
responsible for its own management. For Federal programs, the
BIA and the IHS are able to achieve savings by grouping program
management responsibilities and funding for a number of tribes.
Over the past few years, the amount of funding required to pay
contract support costs has exceeded the total amount of
management funding that would have been required under the old
Federal system. The Committee understands that this is a
necessary consequence of turning programs over to the tribes.
However, the Committee cannot afford to pay 100% of contract
support costs at the expense of basic program funding for
tribes; whether individual tribes elect to contract or compact
or choose not to do so. For example, dental health services in
the IHS are funded at less than 25% of current need. As
contract support costs continue to increase, and overall
funding remains relatively constant, direct program funding
becomes a smaller proportion of overall funding.
The Committee expects the BIA and the IHS to work with the
tribes and the legislative committees of jurisdiction over the
next several months to find an acceptable solution to the
contract support cost funding problem so that we can move
forward with the self-determination and self-governance
programs. In the meantime, the Committee believes that a
moratorium on new and expanded contracts and compacts is the
fiscally responsible course of action. The Committee notes that
the Administration requested no funding for new and expanded
contracts and compacts in IHS and provided no funding to pay
for inflation or for shortfalls in existing IHS contracts and
compacts. The Committee has attempted to rectify that situation
by funding fully fixed cost increases for IHS, including
contract support costs, and by providing funding needed to
address some of the contract support cost shortfalls.
The Committee believes the basic ``fairness'' question
needs to be addressed with respect to how to distribute limited
funds between and among the various programs and the management
of those programs in BIA and IHS. The current contract support
cost funding situation clearly illustrates that problem and the
Committee looks forward to working with the tribes and the BIA
and the IHS to find an acceptable solution to the problem.
Section 330 eliminates the Forest Service purchaser road
credits program; provides for payments to States; and details
transition requirements for the new program.
Section 331 corrects the 1998 Act to specify that the
Senate appointed membership to the National Council for the
Arts is the same as that for the House.
Section 332 provides for the transfer of the Land Between
the Lakes National Recreation Area from the Tennessee Valley
Authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to be managed for
continued recreation as a part of the national forest system
and provides for this transition.
Section 333 limits the use of Forest Service and Interior
Department funds for the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem
Management Project and provides direction for amending
management plans for the area.
This section is intended to incorporate the work of the
Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Project into Federal land
management decision making in as timely a manner as possible.
When the project was established, the agencies announced that
it would be completed in 9 months and cost $5 million. It now
has consumed 4 years and $40 million, and is still not
finished. It is the intent of the Committee to establish a
mechanism so that the work of the project is incorporated into
the only documents that are legally required for Federal land
management activities: the land and resource management plans
of the Forest Service and the resource management plans of the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In addition, the Committee has
set a deadline of 4 months in which the agencies are required
to accomplish the following tasks: 1) prepare the report
required by section 323 of last year's Interior appropriations
bill; 2) distribute, for advisory purposes, within the project
area the scientific findings which are relevant to the planning
units of the Forest Service and BLM; and 3) close project
offices. The scientific findings developed by the project
should then be integrated into the resource management plans of
all planning units in accordance with the planning procedures
of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 and the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
Section 334 provides additional authority to the Secretary
of Agriculture to use the ten percent roads and trails fund for
additional purposes.
Section 335 amends the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act to
increase the statutory limits for insuring international
exhibitions.
Section 336 facilitates a land transfer in California from
the Southern Pacific Transportation Company to the City of
Tulare by negating the Federal reversionary interest in the
property. The Administration has endorsed the transfer.
Section 337 excludes a net of 36 acres in Florida from the
Coastal Barrier Resources System. This provision originally was
included in the Omnibus Parks Act of 1996 but was never
implemented because of a technicality. This amendment makes the
needed technical correction so that the provision can be
implemented.

Rescissions

Pursuant to clause 1(b), rule X of the House of
Representatives, the following table is submitted describing
the rescissions recommended in the accompanying bill:

rescission recommended in the bill

Department and activity Amounts recommended for rescission
Department of the Interior: Land and Water Conservation
Fund (contract authority)........................... $30,000,000

Transfer of Funds

Pursuant to clause 1(b), rule X of the House of
Representatives, the following table is submitted describing
the transfer of funds provided in the accompanying bill.
The table shows the appropriations affected by such
transfers.

APPROPRIATION TRANSFERS RECOMMENDED IN THE BILL
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Account to which transfer is to
Account from which transfer is to be made Amount be made Amount
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels $1,300,000 General Fund of the Treasury.... $1,300,000
Production.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Changes in Application of Existing Law

Pursuant to clause 3, rule XXI of the rules of the House of
Representatives, the following Statements are submitted
describing the effect of provisions in the accompanying bill
which directly or indirectly change the application of existing
law. In most instances these provisions have been included in
prior appropriations Acts.
The bill provides that certain appropriations items remain
available until expended or extends the availability of funds
beyond the fiscal year where programs or projects are
continuing in nature under the provisions of authorizing
legislation but for which that legislation does not
specifically authorize such extended availability. Most of
these items have been carried in previous appropriations Acts.
This authority tends to result in savings by preventing the
practice of committing funds at the end of the fiscal year.
The bill includes, in certain instances, limitations on the
obligation of funds for particular functions or programs. These
limitations include restrictions on the obligation of funds for
administrative expenses, travel expenses, the use of
consultants, and programmatic areas within the overall
jurisdiction of a particular agency.
The Committee has included limitations for official
entertainment or reception and representation expenses for
selected agencies in the bill.
Language is included in the various parts of the bill to
continue ongoing activities of those Federal agencies, which
require annual authorization or additional legislation which to
date, has not been enacted.
Language is included under Bureau of Land Management,
Management of lands and resources, prohibiting the destruction
of healthy, unadopted, wild horses and burros.
Language is included under Bureau of Land Management,
Management of lands and resources, permitting the collection of
fees for processing applications and for certain public land
uses, and permitting the use of these fees for program
operations.
Language is included under Bureau of Land Management,
Wildland fire management, to permit the use of funds from other
accounts for firefighting; to permit the use of funds for
lodging and subsistence of firefighters; and to permit the
acceptance and use of funds for firefighting.
Language is included under Bureau of Land Management,
Central hazardous materials fund, providing that sums received
from a party for remedial actions shall be credited to the
account, and defining non-monetary payments.
Language is included under Bureau of Land Management,
Payments in lieu of taxes, to exclude any payment that is less
than $100.
Language is included under Bureau of Land Management,
Service charges, deposits, and forfeitures, to allow use of
funds on any damaged public lands.
Language is included under Bureau of Land Management,
Administrative provisions, providing for cost-sharing
arrangements for printing services.
Language is included under United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, Resource management, allowing for the maintenance of
the herd of long-horned cattle on the Wichita Mountains
Wildlife Refuge. Without this language, the long-horned cattle
would have to be removed from the refuge. Language also is
included providing for a Youth Conservation Corps; limiting
funding for the Endangered Species Act listing program;
permitting payment for information or rewards in the law
enforcement program; permitting the use of fees in the
migratory bird program; permitting fees to be charged for
vessels; and earmarking funds for contaminant analysis.
Language is included under United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, Multinational species conservation fund, limiting
administrative expenses to three percent of available funds;
and merging prior year funds from previous appropriations
accounts for the same activities.
Language is included under United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, Administrative provisions, providing for repair of
damage to public roads; options for the purchase of land not to
exceed $1; installation of certain recreation facilities; the
maintenance and improvement of aquaria; the acceptance of
donated aircraft; cost-shared arrangements for printing
services. Language also is included to limit the use of funds
for establishing new refuges; to allow the Secretary to sell
land and interests in land and deposit the receipts in the
Lahontan Valley and Pyramid Lake Fish and Wildlife Fund; and to
make certain funds available until expended.
Language is included under National Park Service, Operation
of the National Park System to allow road maintenance service
to trucking permittees on a reimbursable basis. This provision
has been included in annual appropriations Acts since 1954.
Language is included under National Park Service, Operation
of the National Park System, providing for a Youth Conservation
Corps program.
Language is included under National Park Service,
Construction, prohibiting assessments by the Denver Service
Center.
Language is included under National Park Service, Land
acquisition and State assistance, to permit the use of funds to
assist the State of Florida with Everglades restoration.
Language is included under National Park Service,
Administrative provisions, preventing the implementation of an
agreement for the redevelopment of the southern end of Ellis
Island limiting the use of funds for the United Nation's
Biodiversity convention; and permitting the use of funds for
workplace safety needs.
Language is included under United States Geological Survey,
Surveys, investigations and research, providing for two-year
availability of funds for biological research and for the
operations of cooperative research units; prohibiting the
conduct of new surveys on private property; and requiring cost
sharing cooperative topographic mapping activities.
Language is included under Minerals Management Service,
Royalty and offshore minerals management, providing for
reasonable expenses related to volunteer beach and marine
clean-up activities; providing for refunds for overpayments on
Indian allottee leases and providing for collecting royalties
and late payment interest on amounts received in settlements
associated with Federal and Indian leases.
Language is included under Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, Regulation and Technology, to
allow the use of performance bond forfeitures by the regulatory
authority to conduct reclamation activities; to permit the use
of moneys collected pursuant to assessment of civil penalties
to reclaim lands affected by coal mining after August 3, 1977;
to permit payment to State and tribal personnel for travel and
per diem expenses for training; and to permit the collection
and use of fees for a mine map repository.
Language is included under Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, Abandoned mine reclamation fund,
to earmark specific amounts in the account for emergency
reclamation projects and to allow use of debt recovery to pay
for debt collection. Language also is included to allow the
State of Maryland to set aside funds for acid mine abatement.
Language also is included to permit donations and provide for
supplemental grants to States for remediating acid mine
drainage.
Language is included under Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Operation of Indian programs, to permit advance payments to
Indian schools and business enterprises; and to permit the use
of tribal priority allocations for general assistance payments
to individuals, for contract support costs, and for repair and
replacement of schools.
Language is included under Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Operation of Indian programs, allowing reprogramming of Self-
Governance funds, allowing changes to certain eligibility
criteria by tribal governments, allowing the transfer of
certain forestry funds, providing for an Indian self-
determination fund.
Language is included under Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Construction, providing that 6 percent of Federal Highway Trust
Fund contract authority may be used for management costs;
providing for the transfer of Navajo irrigation project funds
to the Bureau of Reclamation; providing Safety of Dams funds on
a non-reimbursable basis; and requiring conformance with
building codes and health and safety standards.
Language is included under Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian
land and water claim settlements and miscellaneous payments to
Indians, to allow the Secretary to sell land and interests in
land and deposit the receipts in the Lahontan Valley and
Pyramid Lake Fish and Wildlife Fund.
Language is included under Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Administrative provisions, to prohibit funding of Alaska
schools; to limit the number of schools and the expansion of
grade levels in individual schools; and to limit the use of
funds for contracts, grants and cooperative agreements.
Language is included under Departmental Offices, Insular
Affairs, Assistance to Territories, requiring audits of the
financial transactions of the Territorial governments by the
General Accounting Office, providing grant funding under
certain terms of the Agreement of the Special Representatives
on Future United States Financial Assistance for the Northern
Mariana Islands, providing a grant to the Close-Up foundation,
and allowing appropriations for disaster assistance to be used
as non-Federal matching funds for hazard mitigation grants
provided pursuant to other law.
Language is included under Departmental offices, Office of
Special Trustee for American Indians, specifying that the
statute of limitations shall not commence on any claim
resulting from trust funds losses.
Language is included under Departmental offices, Natural
Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration, permitting the
merger of prior year funds from the previous account for this
activity under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Language is included under Departmental Offices,
Administrative provisions, prohibiting the use of working
capital or consolidated working funds to augment certain
offices; allowing the sale of existing aircraft with proceeds
used to offset the purchase price of replacement aircraft; and
exempting the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians
from issuing checks less than $1.
Language is included under General provisions, Department
of the Interior, to allow transfer of funds in certain
emergency situations, requiring replacement with a supplemental
appropriation request, and designating certain transferred
funds as ``emergency requirements'' under the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Language is included under General provisions, Department
of the Interior, to permit the Department to consolidate
services and receive reimbursement for said services. Language
also is included providing for uniform allowances.
Language is included under General provisions, Department
of the Interior, to allow for obligations in connection with
contracts issued for services or rentals for periods not in
excess of 12 months beginning at any time during the fiscal
year.
Language is included under General Provisions, Department
of the Interior, restricting various oil and gas preleasing,
leasing, exploration and drilling activities within the Outer
Continental Shelf in the Georges Bank-North Atlantic planning
area, Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic planning area, Eastern
Gulf of Mexico planning area, North Aleutian Basin planning
area, Northern, Southern and Central California planning areas,
and Washington/Oregon planning area.
Language is included under General provisions, Department
of the Interior, limiting the investment of Federal funds by
Indian tribes.
Language is included under General provisions, Department
of the Interior, providing for expanded employee benefits to
compensate for the closure of the helium program.
Language is included under General Provisions, Department
of the Interior, to permit donations for the Department's
Natural Resource Library; to limit the use of funds for
contract support costs; to prohibit fee exemptions for non-
local traffic through National Parks; to specify the employee
benefits associated with down-sizing the Denver Service Center;
to permit the leasing of space in the Interior South Building;
and to name a trail in the Delaware Water Gap NRA as the Joseph
M. McDade Trail.
Language is included under Forest Service, Wildland fire
management, allowing the use of funds to repay advances from
other accounts.
Language is included under Forest Service, Reconstruction
and construction, earmarking funds for road obliteration and
allowing transfer of funds to the city of Colorado Springs for
design and reconstruction of the Pikes Peak Summit House.
Language is included under Forest Service, Acquisition of
lands to complete exchanges, and Acquisition of lands for
National forest special acts, to provide that revenues and
funds deposited are made available for appropriation.
Language is included under Forest Service, Range Betterment
Fund, to provide that 6 percent of the funds may be used for
administrative expenses.
Language is included under Forest Service, Administrative
provisions, limiting the availability of funds to change the
boundaries of or abolish any region or to move or close any
regional office. Language is also provided to allow for
advances for firefighting and emergency rehabilitation of
damaged lands; to provide for the use of funds for fire
management; and to provide that proceeds from the sale of
aircraft may be used to purchase replacement aircraft.
Language is included under Forest Service, Administrative
provisions, to provide for a Youth Conservation Corps program;
to allow funds to be used through the Agency for International
Development and the Foreign Agricultural Service for work in
foreign countries, and to support forestry activities outside
of the United States; and to provide that money collected from
States for fire suppression may be used for authorized
programs.
Language is included under Forest Service, Administrative
provisions, to prohibit transfer of funds among appropriations
without advance approval of the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations, and to prohibit transfer of funds to the
working capital fund of the Department of Agriculture without
approval of the Chief of the Forest Service.
Language is included under Forest Service, Administrative
provisions, providing for nonmonetary awards, and allowing
payment for emergency work.
Language is included under Forest Service, Administrative
provisions, allowing reimbursement of certain pipeline rights-
of-way costs; allowing payments in emergency situations at
regular rates of pay; limiting clearcutting in the Wayne
National Forest, Ohio; prohibiting preparation of certain
timber sales in the Shawnee National Forest, Illinois,
permitting the transfer of certain funds to the State of
Washington fish and wildlife department for planned projects;
allowing technical assistance to rural communities; providing
for matching funds and administrative expenses for the National
Forest Foundation and also matching funds for the National Fish
and Wildlife Foundation; providing that funds shall be
available for payment to counties within the Columbia River
Gorge National Scenic Area pursuant to Public Law 99-663,
providing authority to the Pinchot Institute for activities at
Grey Towers National Historic Landmark; allowing payments to
Del Norte County, CA pursuant to Public Law 101-612;
prohibiting the use of the Southeast Alaska Economic Disaster
Fund moneys for lobbying; limiting employee details; making
permanent the purchaser elect program; limiting the obligation
of the KV Fund for indirect charges to 25 percent of the amount
obligated for the year; and limiting the obligation of the
salvage sale fund for indirect charges to 25 percent of the
amount obligated for year.
Language is included under Department of Energy, Fossil
energy research and development, which places a limitation on
the field testing of nuclear explosives for the recovery of oil
and gas.
Language is included under Department of Energy, Naval
Petroleum and oil shale reserves waiving sales requirements
based on Strategic Petroleum Reserves oil purchases.
Language is included under Department of Energy, Energy
conservation, providing allocations of grants to State and
local programs.
Language is included under Administrative provisions,
Department of Energy, providing for vehicle and guard services
and uniform allowance; limiting programs of price supports and
loan guarantees to what is provided in appropriations Acts;
providing for the transfer of funds to other agencies of the
Government; providing for retention of revenues by the
Secretary of Energy on certain projects; requiring certain
contracts be submitted to Congress prior to implementation;
prohibiting issuance of procurement documents without
appropriations; permitting the use of contributions and fees
for cooperative projects; and permitting the Federal Energy
Management Program to accept funds from other Federal agencies
for energy saving performance contracts.
Language is included under Indian Health Service, Indian
health services, providing that contracts and grants may be
performed in two fiscal years; and capping contract support
cost spending providing for use of collections under Title IV
of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act; and capping contract
support cost spending.
Language is included under Indian Health Service, Indian
health facilities, providing that funds may be used to purchase
land, modular buildings and trailers.
Language is included under Indian Health Service,
Administrative provisions, providing for payments for telephone
service in private residences in the field, purchase of
reprints, and purchase and erection of portable buildings; and
allowing deobligation and reobligation of funds applied to
self-governance funding agreements.
Language is included under Indian Health Service,
Administrative provisions, providing that health care may be
extended to nonIndians at Indian Health Service facilities; and
providing for expenditure of funds transferred to IHS from the
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Language is included under Indian Health Service,
Administrative provisions, to prevent the Indian Health Service
from billing Indians in order to collect from third-party
payers until Congress has agreed to implement a specific
policy; to limit contract support cost expenditures to IHS
contracts and compacts; and to require a proportional
distribution of contract support costs.
Language is included under Indian Health Service,
Administrative provisions, allowing payment of expenses for
meeting attendance; specifying that certain funds shall not be
subject to certain travel limitations; prohibiting the
expenditure of funds to implement new eligibility regulations;
providing that funds be apportioned only in the appropriation
structure in this Act; and prohibiting changing the
appropriations structure without approval of the Appropriations
Committees.
Language is included under Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian
Relocation, salaries and expenses, defining eligible
relocatees; prohibiting movement of any single Navajo or Navajo
family unless a new or replacement home is available; limiting
relocatees to one new or replacement home; and establishing a
priority for relocation of Navajos to those certified eligible
who have selected and received homesites on the Navajo
reservation or selected a replacement residence off the Navajo
reservation.
Language is included under Smithsonian Institution,
Salaries and expenses, to allow for advance payments to
independent contractors performing research services or
participating in official Smithsonian presentations; and
providing that funds may be used to support American overseas
research centers.
Language is included under Smithsonian Institution,
Construction and improvements, National Zoological Park, and
Repair and restoration of buildings, to construct facilities by
contract or otherwise.
Language is included under Smithsonian Institution, Repair
and restoration of buildings, to permit the Smithsonian
Institution to select contractors for certain purposes on the
basis of contractor qualifications as well as price.
Language is included under Administrative Provisions,
Smithsonian Institution, to limit planning, design or expansion
of facilities without Committee approval; and to limit the use
of funds for the Holt House at the zoo, for any judgment with
respect to a claim against the National Museum of the American
Indian (NMAI) and for the constructuion of the NMAI.
Language is included under National Gallery of Art,
Salaries and expenses, for payment in advance for membership in
library, museum, and art associations or societies and for
restoration and repair of works of art by contract without
advertising. Language also is included specifying that the
Gallery is a Federal entity for purposes of the Inspector
General Act of 1978.
Language is included under National Gallery of Art, Repair,
restoration and renovation of buildings, to perform work by
contract or otherwise and to select contractors for certain
purposes on the basis of contractor qualifications as well as
price.
Language is included under National Foundation on the Arts
and the Humanities, Matching grants, to allow for the
obligation of current and prior year funds of gifts, bequests,
and devises of money for which equal amounts have not
previously been appropriated.
Language is included under Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation to restrict hiring anyone at Executive Level V or
higher positions.
Language is included under National Capital Planning
Commission, salaries and expenses, to provide for a pay level
at the rate of Executive Level IV for all appointed members.
Language is included under Title III--General provisions
to limit the use of funds for the leasing of oil and natural
gas by noncompetitive leasing within the boundaries of the
Shawnee National Forest; and to prohibit the use of funds to
distribute literature either to promote or oppose legislative
proposals on which Congressional action is incomplete.
Language is included under Title III--General provisions,
to prohibit the use of funds to provide personal cooks,
chauffeurs or other personal servants to any office or
employee; to limit use of consulting services; to specify that
funds are for one year unless provided otherwise.
Language is included under Title III--General provisions,
prohibiting assessments against programs funded in this bill,
and providing Buy American requirements.
Language is included under Title III--General provisions,
prohibiting the sale of giant sequoia trees in a manner
different from 1995.
Language is included under Title III--General provisions,
prohibiting the use of funds by the National Park Service to
enter into a concession contract requiring the removal of the
underground lunchroom at Carlsbad Caverns NP.
Language is included under Title III--General provisions,
regarding the use of excess funds from contracts with Indian
tribes; allowing payments to tribes on the first business day
of a fiscal quarter; limiting use of funds for the AmeriCorps
program; and limiting use of funds relating to a bridge between
New Jersey and Ellis Island.
Language is included under Title III--General provisions,
continuing a limitation on accepting and processing
applications for patents and on the patenting of Federal lands;
permitting processing of grandfathered applications; and
permitting third-party contractors to process grandfathered
applications.
Language is included under Title III--General provisions,
limiting the use of funds for the Wayne National Forest and for
the Shawnee National Forest.
Language is included under Title III--General provisions,
limiting the use of funds for enforcing certain timber
policies; amending the pilot recreational fee demonstration
program for the land management agencies to extend it through
2001; requiring Committee approval prior to using recreational
fees for constructing permanent buildings; providing greater
flexibility for use of the reforestation trust fund by the
Forest Service; and requiring certain actions with respect to
the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management project.
Language is included under Title III--General provisions,
limiting evictions from certain properties within Sleeping Bear
Dunes NL; limiting funds for nominations for Biosphere programs
of the United Nations; limiting funds for posting clothing
optional signs at Cape Canaveral NS; making reforms in the
National Endowment for the Arts; permitting the National
Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities to collect, invest
and use private donations; permitting the Secretary of
Agriculture to enter into watershed restoration agreements with
outside parties; limiting funds for improvements to
Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House without
Committee approval; prohibiting the relocation of the Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars from the Smithsonian
Institution to the Ronald Reagan Building; renaming the
Auditors West Building in Washington, DC as the Sidney R. Yates
Building; permitting an easement in the Chugach National Forest
for road construction; placing a moratorium on new and expanded
self-determination contracts and self-governance compacts;
eliminating the purchaser road credit program while retaining
payments to States and providing for program transition;
allowing the Senate appointed membership to the National
Council for the Arts to be the same as that for the House;
providing for the transfer of the Land Between the Lakes
National Recreation Area from the Tennessee Valley Authority to
the Secretary of Agriculture to be managed for continued
recreation as a part of the national forest system; limiting
the use of Forest Service and Interior Department funds for the
Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project and
providing direction for amending management plans for the area;
providing additional authority to the Secretary of Agriculture
to use the ten percent roads and trails fund for additional
purposes; amending the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act to
increase the statutory limits for insuring international
exhibitions; providing for a land transfer to the city of
Tulare, CA; and excluding certain lands in Florida from the
Coastal Barrier Resources System.

Appropriations Not Authorized by Law

Pursuant to clause 3 of rule XXI of the House of
Representatives, the following table lists the appropriations
in the accompanying bill which, in whole or in part, are not
authorized by law:
Department of the Interior:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Resource Management
National Park Service, National Recreation and
Preservation
Department of Energy:
Fossil Energy Research and Development
Energy Conservation
Economic Regulation
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Energy Information Administration
Other Related Agencies:
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities:
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Committee notes that authorizing legislation for many
of these programs is in various stages of the legislative
process and these authorizations are expected to be enacted
into law later this year.

Compliance With Rule XIII--Clause 3

In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
Section 28f(a) of title 30 U.S.C. is amended as follows:
(a) Claim Maintenance Fee.--[The holder of each unpatented
mining claim, mill or tunnel site located pursuant to the
Mining Laws of the United States, whether located before or
after August 10, 1993 shall pay the Secretary of the Interior,
on or before August 31, of each year, for years 1994 through
1998, a claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim. Such claim
maintenance fee shall be in lieu of assessment work requirement
contained in the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28-28e) and the
related filing requirements contained in section 1744(a) and
(c) of title 43.] The holder of each unpatented mining claim,
mill or tunnel site, located pursuant to the Mining Laws of the
United States, whether located before October, 1 1998 shall pay
the Secretary of the Interior, on or before September 1, 1999,
a claim fee of $100 per claim site.
Section 28g of title 30 U.S.C. is amended as follows:
Location fee.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
for every unpatented mining claim, mill or tunnel site located
after August 10, 1993, and before September 30, [1998] 1999,
pursuant to the Mining Laws of the United States, the locator
shall, at the time the location notice is recorded with the
Bureau of Land Management, pay to the Secretary of the Interior
a location fee, in addition to the claim maintenance fee
required by section 28f of this title, of $25.00 per claim.
Section 315(f) under the heading ``Title III--General
Provisions'' in section 101(c) of Public Law 101-134 is amended
as follows:
(f) The authority to collect fees under this section shall
commence on October 1, 1995 and end on [September 30, 1999]
September 30, 2001. Funds in accounts established shall remain
available through [September 30, 2002] September 30, 2004.
Section 5 of the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act,
subsections (b) through (d) (20 U.S.C. 974), is amended as
follows:
(b) Maximum Limits of Coverage.--The aggregate of loss or
damage covered by indemnity agreements made under this chapter
shall not exceed [$3,000,000,000] $5,000,000,000 at any one
time.
(c) Limit for Single Exhibition.--No indemnity agreement
for a single exhibition shall cover loss or damage in excess of
[$300,000,000] $500,000,000.
(d) Deductible Limit.--If the estimated value of the items
covered by an indemnity agreement for a single exhibition is--
(1) $2,000,000 or less, then coverage under this
chapter shall extend only to loss or damage in excess
of the first $15,000 of loss or damage to items
covered;
(2) more than $2,000,000 but less than $10,000,000
then coverage under this chapter shall extend only to
loss or damage in excess of the first $25,000 of loss
or damage to items covered;
(3) not less than $10,000,000 but less than
$125,000,000 then coverage under this chapter shall
extend only to loss or damage in excess of the first
$50,000 of loss or damage to items covered;
(4) not less than $125,000,000 but less than
$200,000,000, then coverage under this chapter shall
extend only to loss or damage in excess of the first
$100,000 of loss or damage to items covered; [or]
(5) [$200,000,000 or more] not less than $200,000,000
but less than $300,000,000, then coverage under this
chapter shall extend only to loss or damage in excess
of the first $200,000 of loss or damage to items
covered;
(6) not less than $300,000,000 but less than
$400,000,000, then coverage under this chapter shall
extend only to loss or damage in excess of the first
$300,000 of loss or damage to items covered; or
(7) $400,000,000 or more, then coverage under this
chapter shall extend only to loss or damage in excess
of the first $400,000 of loss or damage to items
covered.

Five-Year Projection of Outlays

In compliance with section 308(a)(1)(B) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344), as
amended, the following table contains five-year projections
associated with the budget authority provided in the
accompanying bill:

[In millions]

Budget authority...................................... $13,429
Outlays:
Fiscal year 1999.................................. 8,795
Fiscal year 2000.................................. 3,500
Fiscal year 2001.................................. 768
Fiscal year 2002.................................. 315
Fiscal year 2003 and future years................. 75

Assistance to State and Local Governments

In accordance with section 308(a)(1)(C) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344), as
amended, the financial assistance to State and local
governments is as follows:

[In millions]

New budget authority.................................. $973
Fiscal year 1999 outlays resulting therefrom.......... 486

Pursuant to the provisions of clause 2(l)(2)(b) of rule XI
of the House of Representatives, the results of each rollcall
vote on an amendment or on the motion to report, together with
the names of those voting for and those voting against, are
printed below:

Full Committee Votes

Pursuant to the provisions of clause 2(l)(2)(b) of rule XI
of the House of Representatives, the results of each roll call
vote on an amendment or on the motion to report, together with
the names of those voting for and those voting against, are
printed below:

ROLL CALL No. 1

Date: June 25, 1998.
Measure: Interior Appropriations Bill, FY 1999.
Motion by: Mr. Obey.
Description of motion: To provide funding for the National
Endowment for the Arts in the amount of $98,000,000 and reduce
funding for Forest Service fire suppression activities by
$88,000,000.
Results: Adopted 31 yeas to 27 nays.
Members Voting Yea Members Voting Nay
Mr. Cramer Mr. Aderholt
Ms. DeLauro Mr. Bonilla
Mr. Dicks Mr. Callahan
Mr. Dixon Mr. Cunningham
Mr. Edwards Mr. Dickey
Mr. Fazio Mr. Hobson
Mr. Forbes Mr. Istook
Mr. Frelinghuysen Mr. Kingston
Mr. Hefner Mr. Knollenberg
Mr. Hoyer Mr. Latham
Ms. Kaptur Mr. Lewis
Mr. Kolbe Mr. Livingston
Mrs. Lowey Mr. Miller
Mrs. Meek Mr. Nethercutt
Mr. Mollohan Mr. Neumann
Mr. Moran Mrs. Northup
Mr. Murtha Mr. Packard
Mr. Obey Mr. Parker
Mr. Olver Mr. Regula
Mr. Pastor Mr. Rogers
Ms. Pelosi Mr. Skeen
Mr. Porter Mr. Taylor
Mr. Price Mr. Tiahrt
Mr. Sabo Mr. Wamp
Mr. Serrano Mr. Wicker
Mr. Skaggs Mr. Wolf
Mr. Stokes Mr. Young
Mr. Torres
Mr. Visclosky
Mr. Walsh
Mr. Yates

ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF HON. DAVID R. OBEY

Although the bill reported by the Committee is an
improvement compared with the recommendations of the Interior
and Related Agencies Subcommittee, there is still much to be
done to make this measure acceptable.
The most notable change made by the Committee is the
inclusion of $98 million, the 1998 level, for the National
Endowment for the Arts. This year, supporters of the NEA were
repeatedly told they would be given a chance for an up-or-down
vote on the agency during House Floor consideration. The action
of the Committee should not change a potential House vote on
the NEA. If the Committee had reported a bill without NEA
funding, the rule would have had to make an amendment in order
to honor the commitment for a Floor vote. Since the bill
already includes the funding, all that is required now is for
the rule to protect the NEA funding from points of order. This
will permit an amendment to strike NEA funding, which will
allow proponents and opponents alike the chance to debate and
vote on the merits. Failure to protect recommended NEA funding
from potential points of order will be a most serious breach of
the implied promise of the Republican leadership to allow a
House vote this year on funding for the National Endowment for
the Arts.
Unfortunately, the bill still contains several
objectionable riders and does not provide sufficient funding
for a number of worthwhile initiatives:
Only approximately one-half of the requested $270
million for land acquisition projects derived from the land and
water conservation fund has been provided. Compounding the
shortfall, the undesignated amounts remaining from the one-time
special LWCF funding increase provided last year still have not
been made available to the Department of the Interior and the
Forest Service for individual projects. Contrary to the
underlying assumptions last year when that funding was
appropriated, it appears the bill managers are trying to get
two years of credit for the one-time add-on. In addition, the
non-release of the extra funds apparently is at least partially
behind the drastic cuts in this year's LWCF funding. Supporters
of projects denied funding or receiving less than desired
amounts are being comforted with the possibility of receiving
some of the additional 1998 funds. Paradoxically, while the
Committee has provided only $69 million of the $128.6 million
requested for National Park Service land acquisition projects,
it has provided $15 million, or nearly 22 percent of the total,
for one project. That project is the Chattahoochee River
National Recreational Area in Georgia. While the budget request
included $1 million for the Chattahoochee project, those funds
ranked 26th in the Park Service's priority list. Put another
way, all but $8.6 million of the Park Service's request was
considered a higher priority. Furthermore, elsewhere in this
report the Committee makes a commitment to using $10 million of
last year's one-time add-on for this same project! It appears
the project's boundaries will have to be expanded to
accommodate the additional $10 million. According to NPS budget
justification documents, $15 million would complete existing
known requirements within the current boundaries. It should
also be noted that the average cost per acre for the $15
million is $42,600. It was stated during Committee action on
this bill that the primary reason for including the funding is
to protect local drinking water sources. While this may be a
worthwhile project, one must question whether it deserves so
much additional funding when other, truly national projects
receive little or nothing.
Many other funding levels in the bill are woefully
inadequate. The Department of the Interior in total receives
$55 million less than last year. Virtually none of the
Administration's Clean Water Action Plan and Climate Change
Technology Initiative was funded. The Millennium project,
designed to protect and preserve priceless national cultural
and historical items, received no funding. The Department of
Energy's weatherization program also is funded below the 1998
amount.
Yet another agency in the bill funded below the 1998 level
is the U.S. Forest Service. In the past, this bill has been a
vehicle for highly contentious debates about the manner in
which the U.S. Forest Service conducts its operations in terms
of roads policy, timber harvesting and habitat protection.
Unfortunately, these debates are often framed around the
situation in large national forests in the western United
States. As a result, for many years the national debate has
almost solely focused on activities in those western forests,
and the funds allocated to the Forest Service have to a great
extent followed that focus.
This represents a real problem for national forests in the
eastern United States. These forests are fundamentally
different from those in the west and often have a different
perspective on key issues. Western forests are ``public domain
forests'' that were established by setting aside federal land
with forest resources to be protected and managed--they did not
need extensive rehabilitation for the most part. The story was
much different in the east.
The eastern forests are ``acquired forests,'' established
with whatever private land could be purchased, often tax-
delinquent land that had already been stripped of trees. The
story of the establishment of these national forests is a story
of resuscitating land nobody wanted and restoring its natural
beauty and value.
One of the two Forest Service Regions that includes these
forests is the Eastern Region, or Region 9. Region 9 covers a
geographic area that includes 43% of the entire population of
the United States, and while the national forests only cover 6%
of the area, they represent 50% of the public lands in the
region. These islands of green are vital environmental
resources, economic factors, and recreational areas. However,
if we don't start paying more attention to their needs, they
will no longer be able to fulfill these roles and the result of
a near-century of hard work will be lost.
Despite the fact that Region 9's forests provide essential
timber for local industries, despite the fact that they are
struggling to preserve wildlife habitat, and despite the fact
that they face backlogs in maintenance of recreational
facilities, the budget for the Eastern Region received a cut
over FY 1994 to FY 1997 that was double the cut the Forest
Service received nationally on a percentage basis.
In FY 1998, the Southern Region has 41% of the nation's
forest plans that were able to proceed with revisions--a
process that is vital to ensuring that a national forest is
acting in its own best interest and in the best interests of
its many users. Without sustained adequate funding, these
efforts can stall and break the continuity in a process that
often depends on the momentum of the process and familiarity
between the parties. In important tasks such as species
conservation and habitat restoration, much of the success in
these forests has been a result of the forests' ability to work
cooperatively with their public and private neighbors to meet
their goals--the loss of adequate planning funding strikes at
the heart of the ability of the forest to work cooperatively
and avoid the confrontations we have seen in the west.
The need in the Southern Region was clear, yet the Forest
Service spent 38% of its funding for revisions of forest plans
in regions that could not legally proceed with plan revisions.
We have worked so hard over the years to establish these
forests--we should not let all that work go to waste.
Without adequate funding, eastern forests will be unable to
properly manage themselves. Recreation facilities will
deteriorate, forest health will suffer, and responsible timber
harvesting will not be possible. The missions of the forests
will go unfulfilled, and as the forests attempt to do at least
part of their job at the expense of other roles, the
confrontations we have seen that have paralyzed the western
forests will move east.
This bill does not prescribe how the Forest Service divides
its resources between regions. Although budgeting for the
forest system is difficult, I believe that the Forest Service
should take the needs of acquired forests and the Eastern and
Southern regions under more consideration in allocating the
funds that we are providing in this bill. While public
attention and political heat is generated by confrontations
over policy in public domain forests out west, we are going to
face more complex problems in the acquired forests back east if
the Forest Service continues to neglect this part of the
National Forest system.

Why Is the Federal Budget Balanced?

Fiscal Year 1998 will mark the first balanced budget in 29
years. On May 5, 1998 the Congressional Budget Office revised
its surplus estimate once again predicting that the 1998
surplus will be between $43 billion and $63 billion. The OMB's
Mid-Session Review issued on May 26, 1998 predicts a 1998
surplus of $39 billion. This is a remarkable turnabout given
that as recently as FY 1992, the federal deficit was $290
billion. This surplus--
is the culmination of six years in a row of
successively improved fiscal balances, the longest such
period of improvement in history;
will cause the debt burden to shrink for the fourth
year in a row (i.e., debt held by the public as a share
of GDP); and
will cause mandatory net interest payments to start
shrinking as a share of the budget and as a share of
the economy--leaving more room in the budget for
productive activities.
Soon after these new surplus projections were released, the
Majority Party issued a flurry of press releases making the
claim that so-called ``Balanced Budget'' legislation and other
bills enacted by Congress last year are responsible for this
turnabout. Such claims are simply not credible. Just as it took
years of fiscal imprudence in the 1980s' and early 1990's to
build up a $290 billion deficit by 1992, it took years of
adhering to disciplined and responsible fiscal and monetary
policies since 1992 to dig out of this deficit position.

what caused the 1998 surplus?--cbo's explanation

So what are the precise reasons for this dramatic
turnaround since President Bush left office with a $290 billion
deficit? The CBO has issued data that answers this question
objectively and decisively.
According to the CBO data, the remarkable fiscal turnabout
has been due to three primary factors:
An improved economy with six years of sustained
growth;
Legislation passed by the 103rd Democratic Congress
in 1993 and 1994; and
A slower rise in the cost of medical care (e.g.,
Medicare/Medicaid) than projected.
Conspicuously absent from CBO's analysis of reasons for the
1998 surplus is the fiscal effect of laws enacted by Republican
congresses between 1995 and the present date. The reason for
this is that the CBO actually totes up legislation enacted in
the period that Republicans have been in control of Congress as
raising the deficit by more than it cut in 1998. The sum total
of laws passed by the 104th and 105th Republican congresses
will cost the Treasury roughly $11,000,000,000 more in FY 1998
than they saved.
In January 1993 when President Clinton took office, CBO
made the alarming prediction that the federal deficit for the
next five years would go through the roof--to $357 billion by
fiscal 1998. This was despite the fact that the economy was
expected to improve over that five-year timeframe. Since then,
we have been able to wipe out this $357 billion deficit and
build a surplus of $43 billion--a net change of $400 billion.
The CBO attributes this astounding turnaround to the
following major reasons:

Major reasons for the FY 1998 surplus

[In billions of dollars]

CBO estimate
Projected FY 1998 Deficit (Jan. 1993 CBO forecast)............ 357
Major Factors for Fiscal Change Since 1992:
Improved economy (revenues higher/entitlement costs lower
than 1993 forecast (min)................................ -210
Democratic Congress (budgetary effect of legislation
passed in 1993 & 1994).................................. 141
Health care costs (lower cost increases for Medicare/other
health care programs than 1993 forecast................. -60
--------------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________

Total Deficit Reduction................................. -411
Republican Congresses (budgetary effect of legislation passed
1995-present)............................................. +11
--------------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________

Total Fiscal Change..................................... -400

Despite claims to the contrary, CBO data show that the
combined fiscal effect of the laws enacted by the 104th and
105th Republican Congresses is to add $11,000,000,000 more to
the deficit than it cut in Fiscal Year 1998.
Clearly the CBO numbers confirm that the major credit for
creating the 1998 surplus must go to actions of the 103rd
Democratic Congress, which not only produced real net savings
of $141 billion, but created the conditions necessary to adopt
pro-growth monetary policies that have been very successful.
The centerpiece of this effort, the deficit reduction bill
passed in 1993, was described as follows by Federal Reserve
Chairman Greenspan:

There's no question that the impact of bringing the
deficit down [through the 1993 budget bill] set in
place a series of events--a virtuous cycle, if I may
put it that way--which has led us to where we are. (In
testimony before the House Budget Committee, March 4,
1998.)

The facts show that the 1998 budget is balanced despite
Republican legislative efforts, not because of them.

Dave Obey.