Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the

Department of Defense

Chapter 1: Department of Defense - Military

Chapter 2: Rescissions

Chapter 3: General Provisions - This Title

Title II: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery

from Natural Disasters

Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture

Chapter 2: Department of Commerce

Chapter 3: Department of Defense - Civil

Chapter 4: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and

Related Programs

Chapter 5: Department of the Interior

Chapter 6: Department of Health and Human Services

Chapter 7: Congressional Operations

Chapter 8: Department of Transportation

Chapter 9: Department of the Treasury

Chapter 10: Department of Veterans Affairs

Chapter 11: Offsets and Rescissions

Title III: General Provisions - This Act

Title IV: Cost of Higher Education Review

Title V: Depository Institution Disaster Relief

Title VI: Technical Amendments With Respect To Education

Title VII: Food Stamp Program

Title VIII: 2000 Decennial Census

1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from Natural Disasters, and for Overseas Peacekeeping Efforts, Including Those in Bosnia - Title I: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense - Chapter 1: Department of Defense - Military - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) - Military for: (1) military personnel, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) operation and maintenance (O&M), Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund; (3) OPLAN 34A-35 prisoner-of-war (P.O.W.) payments to individuals; and (4) the Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Fund.

(Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer specified funds to reimburse costs incurred for repairing damage caused by hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters during 1996 and 1997 to real property and facilities at Marine Corps facilities (including Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, North Carolina; and the Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California).

(Sec. 102) Makes additional appropriations for: (1) direct patient care at military treatment facilities; (2) force protection and counter-terrorism activities; and (3) a grant to the American Red Cross for armed forces emergency services.

(Sec. 105) Requires the President to submit to the Congress a report on the estimated cumulative cost of all U.S. activities relating to Bosnia after December 1, 1995, and a detailed accounting of the source of funds to meet such costs.

(Sec. 106) Makes additional appropriations to cover incremental O&M costs from hurricane damage to family housing units at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.

Chapter 2: Rescissions - Rescinds specified funds provided in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997 for: (1) military personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) O&M for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force as well as defense-wide O&M; (3) environmental restoration by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as defense-wide environmental restoration and environmental restoration of formerly used defense sites; (4) former Soviet Union threat reduction; (5) the National Defense Sealift Fund; (6) the Defense Health Program; and (7) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities.

Rescinds funds made available in such Act and certain other defense appropriations Acts for: (1) various types of procurement, including aircraft, missile, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, shipbuilding and conversion, and ammunition, by various branches of the armed forces; (2) National Guard and reserve equipment; (3) armed forces research, development, test and evaluation; and (4) chemical agents and munitions destruction.

(Sec. 201) Rescinds specified amounts of the funds appropriated in specified categories in: (1) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1996, including the Base Realignment and Closure Account; (2) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1997; and (3) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1995.

Chapter 3: General Provisions - This Title - Directs DOD to report to the congressional defense committees prior to transferring management, development, and acquisition authority over the National Missile Defense Program from the military services. Requires the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to submit recommendations to such committees on the future roles of the military services with respect to such program.

(Sec. 302) Authorizes the incumbent to continue to serve as the Secretary of Defense designee on the Board of the Panama Canal Commission if he retires as an officer of DOD, until and unless the Secretary designates another person to serve in this position.

(Sec. 303) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement, which meets certain requirements, for the lease of a specified building at the Lexington Blue Grass Station, Lexington, Kentucky, and any associated real property, for use by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.

(Sec. 304) Authorizes the continuing obligation and expenditure of certain funds appropriated for Navy weapons procurement that were obligated and expended to settle claims on the MK-50 torpedo program.

(Sec. 305) Prohibits the use of any DOD funds to pay the cost of operating a National Missile Defense Joint Program Office which includes more than 55 military and civilian personnel located in the National Capital Region.

(Sec. 306) Requires the merger of certain National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Air Force funds for obligation only on Titan IV vehicles and related activities.

Title II: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery From Natural Disasters - Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs to the Department of Agriculture for: (1) the Farm Service Agency's Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for the additional cost of certain emergency insured and operating loans (including loan modifications); (2) the Emergency Conservation Program for expenses, including carcass removal; (3) the Tree Assistance Program for assistance to small orchardists to replace or rehabilitate disaster-damaged trees and vineyards; and (4) the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund, Disaster Reserve Assistance Program, to implement a livestock indemnity program. Makes such appropriations to: (1) the Natural Resources Conservation Service, for watershed and flood prevention operations to repair damages to the waterways and watersheds; (2) the Rural Housing Service, Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account, for the cost of specified loans and domestic farm labor grants for emergency expenses; and (3) the Rural Utilities Service, Rural Utilities Assistance Program, for the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants for emergency expenses.

Bars the use of watershed and flood prevention funds for the salmon memorandum of understanding. Authorizes the use of certain community facility grants for the Rural Housing Assistance Program for expenses resulting from natural disasters.

Makes additional funds available for the Food and Consumer Service's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.

(Sec. 1001) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect and disseminate weekly statistically reliable information on bulk cheese prices.

Chapter 2: Department of Commerce - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of Commerce for: (1) the Economic Development Administration's economic development assistance programs for emergency infrastructure expenses; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for new grants for industrial technology services under the Advanced Technology Program; and (3) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for disaster assistance related to recent flooding and red tide and for emergency construction expenses resulting from flooding and other natural disasters. Makes additional amounts available to implement the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Makes additional appropriations for the Commission on the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement.

(Sec. 2001) Earmarks a specified amount from the Counterterrorism Fund of the Department of Justice for allocation to the appropriate unit or units of government in Ogden, Utah, for necessary expenses to counter any potential terrorism threat related to the 2002 Winter Olympic games.

(Sec. 2002) Amends the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to extend to the end of FY 1997 the authorization of the program for expanding small business participation in dredging.

(Sec. 2003) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to establish certain Good Samaritan exemptions from specified violations.

(Sec. 2004) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to reprogram a limited amount of funds provided for NOAA satellite observing systems for other NOAA programmatic and operational requirements, provided certain notification requirements are met.

Chapter 3: Department of Defense - Civil - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to emergency expenses due to flooding and other natural disasters, to DOD, Army Corps of Engineers - Civil for: (1) flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee; (2) general O&M (with earmarked funds for an interagency management plan and other activities related to water allocation in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basins, subject to certain restrictions); and (3) flood control and coastal emergencies. Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs, to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BLM) for O&M.

(Sec. 3001) Makes the U.S. members and the alternate members, appointed under the Susquehanna River Basin Compact and the Delaware River Basin Compact, officers of the Army Corps of Engineers, who hold presidential appointments as regular Army officers with Senate confirmation, and serve without additional compensation, and at the President's pleasure.

(Sec. 3002) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to obligate a limited amount of funds for carrying out construction for safety purposes to modify the Willow Creek Dam, Sun River Project, Montana.

(Sec. 3003) Defers specified consultation and conferencing requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 for certain emergency flood control projects.

Chapter 4: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs - Authorizes the President to waive certain minimum funding requirements under provisions of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 with respect to assistance for Ukraine if he reports to the Appropriations Committees that Ukraine: (1) has not made progress toward comprehensive economic reform; (2) is not taking steps to ensure that U.S. businesses and individuals are able to operate according to generally accepted business principles; or (3) is not taking steps to cease the illegal dumping of steel plate.

Chapter 5: Department of the Interior - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of the Interior for: (1) BLM flood damage repair and other activities for Oregon and California Grant Lands; (2) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resource management, construction, and land acquisition; (3) National Park Service emergency expenses and construction; (4) the U.S. Geological Survey; and (5) the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Makes such appropriations for emergency expenses of the Forest Service and the Indian Health Service.

(Sec. 5001) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (part of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996) to revise the formula for distribution of amounts collected under the recreational fee demonstration program.

(Sec. 5003) Amends the San Carlos Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992 to extend its expiration date from June 30, 1997, through March 31, 1999, or, if before that date a Settlement Agreement between the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Phelps Dodge Corporation is submitted for approval to the Superior Court of Arizona in and for Maricopa County, through December 31, 1999.

Extends the Tribe's Central Arizona Project water lease authority to Gila, Graham, and Greenlee Counties.

Makes the Gila Valley and Franklin Irrigation Districts parties to the Settlement Agreement.

Directs the United States, through the BLM, to operate and maintain the Black River facilities, and to contract for delivery of water at Eagle Creek to Phelps Dodge for a specified monthly fee in addition to a specified monthly power line right-of-way fee. Sets forth provisions for a final agreement between Phelps Dodge and the San Carlos Apache Tribe under which the Tribe will operate the facilities and receive payment for leased water. Ratifies the agreement between the Tribe, Phelps Dodge, and the Secretary of the Interior.

(Sec. 5004) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to modify requirements for the importation of polar bear parts from polar bears legally harvested in Canada before the date of enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994.

Chapter 6: Department of Health and Human Services - Amends specified Federal law relating to appropriations to provide for additional amounts for: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Health Resources and Services Administration's Health Education Assistance Loans Program; (2) the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for priority health research; and (3) the Department of Education, Education for the Disadvantaged programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Makes funds available for the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education.

(Sec. 6001) Extends through FY 1998 the availability, to recipients in presidentially-declared disaster areas declared during FY 1997, of certain funds awarded for State-administered programs of the Department of Education for FY 1995 (and for FY 1996, with respect to such programs under the Rehabilitation Act).

(Sec. 6002) Authorizes the Secretary of Education, with respect to student aid awards for award years 1996-1997 and 1997-1998, to waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial aid programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to assist individuals and other program participants who suffered financial harm from natural disasters.

(Sec. 6003) Prohibits the use of any funds to administer or implement in Denver, Colorado, a Medicare Competitive Pricing-Open Enrollment Demonstration program.

(Sec. 6004) Provides for emergency use of certain child care funds. Authorizes eligible State Governors, for a limited time period, to use amounts received for the provision of child care assistance or services under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to provide emergency child care services to eligible individuals. Bases State eligibility on the President's determination, pursuant to specified provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, that a major disaster exists, or that an area within the State is determined to be eligible for disaster relief under other Federal law by reason of damage related to flooding in 1997. Bases individual eligibility on: (1) residence within such an area where a major disaster exists, or which is so eligible for disaster relief; and (2) involvement in unpaid work activities (including the cleaning, repair, restoration, and rebuilding of homes, businesses, and schools) resulting from such flood emergency. Sets forth limitations and priorities with respect to such assistance.

(Sec. 6005) Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend certain redetermination provisions for the supplementary security income (SSI) program.

Chapter 7: Congressional Operations - Makes supplemental appropriations for an additional amount for expenses of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, to carry out specified provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1997.

Provides an amount for payment to the children of Frank Tejeda, the late Representative from the State of Texas.

Makes additional amounts available for salaries and expenses of the Botanic Garden for emergency repair and renovation of the conservatory.

(Sec. 7001) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1968 to make a specified limitation on the minimum rate of gross compensation inapplicable to any member or civilian employee of the Capitol Police whose compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate.

(Sec. 7002) Authorizes the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate, with the approval of the Committee on Rules and Administration, to provide additional facilities, services, equipment, and office space for use by a Senator in that Senator's State in connection with a presidentially-declared disaster or emergency.

(Sec. 7003) Allows the transfer of a limited amount of funds for the expense allowance of the Secretary of the Senate.

(Sec. 7004) Authorizes the Comptroller General to use available funds to enter into contracts for the acquisition of severable services for periods that begin in one fiscal year and end in another and to enter into specified multiyear contracts to the same extent as agencies under the authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act.

Chapter 8: Department of Transportation - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of Transportation for: (1) Coast Guard retired pay and for operating expenses directly related to support activities in the TWA Flight 800 crash investigation; (2) Federal Highway Administration, Federal-Aid Highways and for the Emergency Relief Program; and (3) the Federal Railroad Administration, to repair and rebuild freight rail lines of regional and short line railroads damaged by floods (with earmarks for West Virginia and the northern Plains States).

Makes such appropriations to the National Transportation Safety Board for: (1) emergency expenses resulting from the crashes of TWA Flight 800, ValuJet 592, and Comair Flight 3272; and (2) assistance to families of victims of aviation accidents.

(Sec. 8003) Authorizes additional appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY 1997 for grants to States for alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures.

(Sec. 8004) Extends through FY 1997 the authorization of appropriations for the National Driver Register.

Chapter 9: Department of the Treasury - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of the Treasury. Authorizes the Secretary of Treasury to use the law enforcement services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of the State of Colorado and of the county and city of Denver for security arrangements for the Denver Summit of Eight. Makes supplemental appropriations to: (1) the Customs Service for the automated targeting system with respect to counterterrorism and drug law enforcement; and (2) the Postal Service Fund, for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail for specified purposes.

(Sec. 9001) Authorizes the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to obligate specified appropriations for construction of the Montgomery, Alabama, courthouse.

(Sec. 9002) Prohibits the use of funds by GSA to implement certain cooperative purchasing provisions of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 prior to the adjournment of the first session of the 105th Congress.

(Sec. 9003) Prohibits the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from awarding a contract for the procurement of distinctive currency paper until the General Accounting Office has completed an analysis of the optimum circumstances for procuring such paper. Limits the term of the bridge contract with respect to such paper to 24 months and requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make certain certifications concerning the price and terms of the agreement.

(Sec. 9004) Amends specified Federal civil service law to authorize and establish a leave transfer program in disasters and emergencies.

Chapter 10: Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes additional amounts available for: (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions; and (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for preserving existing housing investment, capacity building for community development and affordable housing, and for community development block grants for activities in communities affected by disasters in the upper Midwest.

Authorizes appropriations for the construction of a parking garage at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Cleveland, Ohio.

Earmarks amounts of assisted housing special purpose grants for acquiring parking and restoring a theater in Ashland, Kentucky.

Requires the HUD Secretary to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Public Administration for an evaluation of HUD's management systems.

Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from previous appropriations for the Center for Ecology Research and Training (CERT), to obligate the maximum amount of funds necessary to settle all outstanding CERT-related claims against the EPA pursuant to the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Authorizes EPA, from any unobligated balances then remaining, to make grants to Bay City, Michigan, for the purpose of EPA-approved environmental remediation and rehabilitation of publicly owned real property included in the boundaries of the CERT project.

Authorizes the use of a specified amount of funds for grants to States and federally recognized tribes for multi-media or single media pollution prevention, control, and abatement for direct implementation by the Federal Government of programs required in absence of acceptable State or tribal programs.

Makes additional funds available to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster relief. Conditions the availability of a portion of such funds on the submission by the FEMA Director of a legislative proposal to control disaster relief expenditures, including the elimination of funding for certain revenue producing facilities.

Authorizes transfer of a specified amount of FEMA disaster relief funds to the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program for the cost of direct loans under certain provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, under specified conditions.

(Sec. 10001) Directs the HUD Secretary to submit semi-annually to the Appropriations Committees a list of all contracts and task orders in excess of $250,000 entered into by HUD, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in the preceding six months.

(Sec. 10002) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to revise certain time periods relating to notice requirements for terminating section 8 housing contracts.

(Sec. 10003) Amends the Multifamily Housing Finance Improvement Act, under specified provisions of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, to revise limitations on the Secretary of HUD's mortgage insurance authority to allow commitments with respect to a limited number of additional units during FY 1997.

(Sec. 10005) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize HUD mortgage insurance for condominiums in an amount up to 100 percent of appraised value where a mortgagor establishes that the home was destroyed or damaged as a result of a major disaster.

Chapter 11: Offsets and Rescissions - Sets forth offsets with respect to the Fund for Rural America and the Food and Consumer Service's emergency food assistance program.

Prohibits the use of Department of Agriculture funds under the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to pay the personnel salaries and expenses above specified levels to carry out: (1) a combined program for export credit guarantees, supplier credit guarantees, and emerging democracies facilities guarantees; and (2) an export enhancement program.

Rescinds specified funds available for: (1) the Department of Justice for the Working Capital Fund, the Assets Forfeiture Fund, and Immigration and Naturalization Service construction; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Advanced Technology Program; (3) the Federal Communications Commission; (4) the Ounce of Prevention Council; (5) the Department of Energy for energy supply and research and development activities, power marketing administrations, clean coal technology, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; (6) the Department of HHS for job opportunities and basic skills; (7) the Department of Transportation for grants-in-aid for airports, highway traffic safety grants, and other Highway Trust Fund monies; (8) GSA presidential transition expenses; (9) HUD assisted housing programs; and (10) NASA.

Title III: General Provisions - This Act - Provides that no appropriation made in this Act shall remain available beyond the current fiscal year unless otherwise provided.

(Sec. 30002) Sets forth Buy-American requirements.

Title IV: Cost of Higher Education Review - Cost of Higher Education Review Act of 1997 - Establishes a National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education to study and make recommendations regarding: (1) the increase in tuition compared with other commodities and services; (2) innovative methods of reducing or stabilizing tuition; (3) the impact on tuition of specified trends in college and university costs, student financial aid, and government mandates and fiscal policies; (4) mechanisms for a more timely and widespread distribution of data on tuition trends and other costs of operating colleges and universities; and (5) the adequacy of existing Federal and State financial aid programs in meeting the costs of attending colleges and universities.

(Sec. 40006) Authorizes appropriations for the Commission.

Title V: Depository Institution Disaster Relief - Depository Institutions Disaster Relief Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to make exceptions, during specified limited periods, to the Truth in Lending Act for transactions, and to the Expedited Funds Availability Act for depository institution offices, within a major disaster area or an area eligible for disaster relief because of the recent flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries.

(Sec. 50003) Authorizes the appropriate Federal banking agency to permit, for a specified time period, certain insured depository institutions, in or involved with such area, to subtract from the institution's total assets, in calculating compliance with the leverage limit prescribed under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, an amount not exceeding the qualifying amount attributable to insurance proceeds.

(Sec. 50004) Authorizes qualifying regulatory agencies to take specified actions with respect to depository institutions or other regulated entities whose principal place of business is within, or with respect to transactions or activities within such area.

(Sec. 50005) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration should encourage depository institutions to meet the financial services needs of their communities and customers located in areas affected by the 1997 flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries.

Expresses the sense of the Congress that each Federal financial institutions regulatory agency should make exceptions to the appraisal standards prescribed by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 for transactions involving institutions located in disaster areas if the exceptions can be expected to alleviate hardships to the public resulting from such disasters.

Title VI: Technical Amendments With Respect to Education - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make certain technical corrections relating to graduation rates data disclosures.

(Sec. 60002) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to extend from January 1, 1998, to January 1, 1999, the deadline for a final report by the Secretary of Education on a national assessment of programs assisted under ESEA title I, Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards.

(Sec. 60003) Directs the Secretary to deem Kansas and New Mexico as having timely submitted certain written notices of intent to consider specified impact aid payments under ESEA in providing State aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for school year 1997-1998. Authorizes the Secretary to require these States to submit appropriate additional information, which shall be considered part of such notice.

(Sec. 60004) Provides that no eligible LEA shall receive less than 85 percent of the FY 1996 amount in a specified hold-harmless impact aid payment for each of FY 1997 through 2000.

(Sec. 60005) Revises requirements for the Secretary's use of data in providing additional assistance for heavily impacted LEAs, to specify that the student and revenue data used be expenditure data. Repeals the requirement that the Secretary use the most recent data available adjusted to the fiscal year in question.

Title VII: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to grant States an option to issue food stamp benefits to certain individuals made ineligible by welfare reform.

Title VIII: 2000 Decennial Census - Directs the Department of Commerce to provide to the Congress a comprehensive plan outlining its proposed methodologies for conducting the 2000 decennial census and available methods for conducting an actual enumeration of the population.