[House Report 108-613]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-613

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      DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT ACT OF 2004

                                _______
                                

 July 19, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4170]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 4170) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
recruit volunteers to assist with, or facilitate, the 
activities of various agencies and offices of the Department of 
the Interior, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as 
amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

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

SEC. 3. VOLUNTEER AUTHORITY.

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

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 4170 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to recruit volunteers to assist with, or 
facilitate, the activities of various agencies and offices of 
the Department of the Interior.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Department of the Interior has agencies with vibrant 
volunteer programs such as the National Park Service, the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land 
Management. However, there are a number of agencies and offices 
that have no authority or incomplete authority to recruit and 
use volunteer. H.R. 4170 would authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to recruit, train and accept, without regard to the 
civil service classification laws, rules, or regulations, the 
services of individuals, contributed without compensation as 
volunteers, for aiding in or facilitating the activities of the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Geological Survey, the 
Bureau of Reclamation, and the Office of the Secretary. For two 
of the agencies with current statutory authority to accept 
volunteers--the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological 
Survey--the existing authority is lacking in certain aspects.
    The legislation will not permit the use of volunteers in 
law enforcement positions, on private property, and performing 
hazardous duty (with limited exceptions). In addition, 
volunteers may not at any time replace a permanent employee. 
The Secretary of the Interior shall also ensure appropriate 
supervision of each volunteer. Finally, H.R. 4170 authorizes 
the Secretary to provide services and costs incidental to the 
utilization of volunteers.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 4170 was introduced on April 20, 2004, by Congressman 
Richard Pombo (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources. On July 14, 2004, the Full Resources Committee met 
to consider the bill. Congressman Pombo offered an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute that restricts the authorization to 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the United States Geological 
Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Office of the 
Secretary. It was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill as 
amended was then ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that Rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enactment of this could result in an increase in direct 
spending from the U.S. Treasury's Judgment Fund, but any such 
increase would be ``negligible.''
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 16, 2004.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4170, the 
Department of the Interior Volunteer Recruitment Act of 2004.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                       Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 4170--Department of the Interior Volunteer Recruitment Act of 2004

    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4170 would not 
significantly affect the federal budget. The bill could 
increase direct spending, but we estimate that any such effects 
would be negligible. Enacting H.R. 4170 would not affect 
revenues. H.R. 4170 contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    H.R. 4170 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
recruit and use volunteers to assist with programs carried out 
by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Reclamation, the 
U.S. Geological Survey, and the Office of the Secretary. The 
bill would authorize the Secretary to provide for services and 
expenses incidental to the use of those volunteers as well as 
coverage for tort claim liability and workers' compensation.
    Under current law, other agencies within the Department of 
the Interior (DOI) already have authority to recruit and use 
volunteers. Based on information from DOI about the cost of 
operating those agencies' volunteer programs, CBO estimates 
that extending that authority to other agencies under H.R. 4170 
would cost less than $500,000 a year, assuming the availability 
of appropriated funds. In some cases, payment to or on behalf 
of volunteers resulting from tort claims could be made from the 
U.S. Treasury's Judgment Fund; hence, H.R. 4170 could result in 
an increase in direct spending. Based on the amount of such 
claims paid under DOI's existing volunteer programs, however, 
CBO estimates that any increase in direct spending under H.R. 
4170 would be negligible.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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