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: Department of Defense-Military Construction

Title II: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations

Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture

Chapter 2: United States Information Agency

Chapter 3: Department of Defense-Civil

Chapter 4: Department of the Interior

Chapter 5: Department of Transportation

Chapter 6: Department of Housing and Urban Development

Chapter 7: Rescissions

Title III: Supplemental Appropriations

Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture

Chapter 2: Department of Energy

Chapter 3: Department of the Interior

Chapter 4: Department of Health and Human Services

Chapter 5: Legislative Branch

Chapter 6: Department of Transportation

Chapter 7: Department of the Treasury

Chapter 8: Department of Veterans Affairs

Chapter 9: Rescissions and Offset

1998 Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act - Makes supplemental appropriations and rescissions for FY 1998.

Title I: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense - Chapter 1: Department of Defense-Military - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for the Department of Defense (DOD) for: (1) military personnel, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and reserve personnel, Navy; (2) operation and maintenance (O&M), Army, Navy, Air Force, Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Army National Guard as well as defense-wide O&M; (3) the Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund; (4) the Navy Working Capital Fund; (5) the Defense-Wide Working Capital Fund; and (6) the Defense Health Program.

Makes additional funds available for overseas humanitarian, disaster, and civic aid.

(Sec. 3) Appropriates an additional amount for DOD for the Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Fund.

(Sec. 4) Urges the President to: (1) encourage other nations to contribute to preventing Iraq from using weapons of mass destruction; and (2) seek contributions to help defray the costs being incurred in this operation.

Provides for the establishment of a special account in the Treasury to receive such contributions.

Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on the status of such effort and the results obtained in sharing the burden of common defense. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report to the Congress on the establishment of the burden-sharing account.

(Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Defense to appoint an independent panel of experts to evaluate recent measures taken to improve the quality of care provided by the Military Health Services System. Requires the panel to: (1) review the DOD Access and Quality Improvement Initiative to assess whether all measures have been taken to ensure that the System delivers services in accordance with high professional standards; and (2) report findings and recommendations to the Secretary, to be forwarded to the Congress. Makes specified funds available for the panel and for any activity identified by the panel that will improve System health care.

(Sec. 7) Urges the President to seek concurrence among the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on arrangements that set forth, and establish estimated target dates for achieving, specified benchmarks for achieving a sustainable peace process. Requires the President to report to the Congress on efforts to obtain such agreement and on progress in achieving such benchmarks as long as U.S. ground combat forces continue to participate in the Stabilization Force for Bosnia.

(Sec. 9) Makes additional funds available for enhancements to selected theater missile defense programs to counter enhanced ballistic missile threats.

(Sec. 10) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to acquire interest in specified lands adjacent to the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Massachusetts. Makes funds available for such purpose.

(Sec. 11) Appropriates additional funds for the procurement of eight F-A-18 aircraft for the Marine Corps.

(Sec. 16) Makes additional funds available for deposit in the International Trust Fund of the Republic of Slovenia, Mine Clearance, and Assistance to Mine Victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina and for other land mine-affected countries in the region, subject to a specified presidential certification.

(Sec. 17) Expresses the sense of the Congress that none of the funds made available by this Act may be made available for offensive operations by the armed forces against Iraq for purposes of obtaining compliance with United Nations Security Council resolutions relating to inspection and destruction of weapons of mass destruction unless such operations are authorized by a law enacted after this Act's enactment.

(Sec. 18) Extends sympathy to the families of the victims of the incident involving Marine Corps aircraft near Cavalese, Italy, on February 3, 1998.

Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) make available all legal and technical assistance necessary to facilitate the processing and resolution of claims for wrongful death, loss of business and profits, and property damage under the NATO Status of Forces Agreement; and (2) ensure that any claim to replace the destroyed funicular system before the upcoming winter tourist season be considered on a priority basis.

Chapter 2: Department of Defense-Military Construction - Makes additional funds available for DOD for: (1) military construction, Army National Guard to cover costs arising from storm related damage; (2) family housing, Navy and Marine Corps and Air Force for costs arising from Typhoon Paka and El Nino damage; and (3) the Base Realignment and Closure Account, Part III for costs arising from El Nino damage.

(Sec. 20) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to carry out beach replenishment in connection with the military construction project for North Island Naval Air Station, California.

Title II: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations - Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for: (1) the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for emergency insured loans; (2) the Emergency Conservation Program; (3) the tree assistance program; (4) the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund for the implementation of dairy and livestock disaster assistance programs; and (5) the Natural Resources Conservation Service for watershed and flood prevention operations.

Chapter 2: United States Information Agency - Makes additional appropriations for the U.S. Information Agency for surrogate radio broadcasting to the Iraqi people. Designates such broadcasting as Radio Free Iraq. Requires the Broadcasting Board of Governors to report to the appropriate congressional committees on plans to establish such service.

Chapter 3: Department of Defense-Civil - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for DOD for the Army Corps of Engineers for general O&M for emergency repairs.

Makes additional funds available for the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation for water and related resources to repair damage caused by natural disasters.

Chapter 4: Department of the Interior - Makes additional funds available to the Department of the Interior for: (1) the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service (NPS) for construction expenses related to repair of damage caused by floods and other natural disasters; (2) the U.S. Geological Survey for surveys, investigations, and research related to emergency expenses resulting from floods and other natural disasters; and (3) the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for construction expenses related to repair of damage caused by floods and other natural disasters and for replacement of fixtures and testing for and remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls in BIA schools and administrative facilities.

Makes additional funds available to the Forest Service for State and private forestry and the National Forest System for emergency expenses resulting from natural disaster damages and for wildland fire management.

Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 to prohibit the drawdown and sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the extent that such actions are determined by the President to be imprudent in light of current market conditions and the President makes a specified submission to the Congress.

Chapter 5: Department of Transportation - Makes additional funds available to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for: (1) Federal aid highways for the emergency relief program; and (2) the Federal Railroad Administration for emergency railroad rehabilitation and repair.

Chapter 6: Department of Housing and Urban Development - Makes additional funds available for: (1) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for community development block grants for disaster relief purposes; and (2) the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster relief.

Chapter 7: Rescissions - Rescinds specified amounts of funds for: (1) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grants-in-aid for airports; and (2) HUD Section 8 reserves.

Title III: Supplemental Appropriations - Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to compensate for economic losses of persons who had wheat stored in a storage facility that was subject to an emergency action notice relating to the presence of Karnal bunt.

Makes supplemental appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for: (1) departmental administration; (2) the Office of the General Counsel; (3) the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration for recapitalizing a specified fund in connection with inspection and weighing services; and (3) the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for specified loans.

Makes additional funds available for salaries and expenses of the Food and Drug Administration.

Chapter 2: Department of Energy - Makes an additional amount available for Department of Energy (DOE) departmental administration to cover increases in the cost of Work for Others, provided such costs are offset by revenue increases derived from specified fees under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

(Sec. 2001) Sets forth limitations on specified DOE projects.

(Sec. 2003) Amends the Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1996 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to extend the period for repayment by the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Nueces River Authority relating to the Nueces River reclamation project, Texas, until: (1) August 1, 2029, for repayment of the municipal and industrial water supply benefits of the project; and (2) August 1, 2044, for repayment of the fish, wildlife, and recreation benefits of the project.

Requires the Secretary to extend the period for repayment by the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority relating to the Canadian River reclamation project, Texas, until October 1, 2021.

Chapter 3: Department of the Interior - Makes additional funds available for the Department of the Interior for: (1) operation of the National Park System to provide for public access at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska and for litigation costs related to the disposition of an allotment within the Park; (2) the Minerals Management Service for royalty and offshore minerals management for increased demand and workload requirements stemming from leasing activity in the Gulf of Mexico; (3) the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, to be derived from a transfer of funds; (4) the BIA for operation of Indian programs related to litigation support involving individual Indian trust fund accounts; and (5) the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians for Federal trust programs to support such litigation.

Makes an additional amount available for the Indian Health Service for suicide prevention counseling.

(Sec. 3005) Petroglyph National Monument Boundary Adjustment Act - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the NPS, and the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to enter into negotiations for the management of storm water runoff and drainage within the Petroglyph National Monument.

Directs the city of Albuquerque to notify the Director prior to initiation of road construction within the area excluded from the Monument pursuant to this Act. Authorizes the Director to submit suggested modifications to design specifications of the road construction project.

Amends the Petroglyph National Monument Establishment Act of 1990 to remove a requirement that lands within the Monument boundary owned by the State of New Mexico or a political subdivision be acquired only by donation or exchange.

Bars any land owned by New Mexico or a political subdivision from being acquired by purchase before: (1) the land is identified by New Mexico or the political subdivision for disposal; or (2) two years have elapsed after the date on which the Secretary has made a final offer to acquire all remaining private land at fair market value.

Adjusts the boundary of the Monument to exclude the Paseo Del Norte corridor in the Piedras Marcadas Unit. Provides that the inclusion of such corridor within the Monument boundary before this Act's enactment shall have no effect on any future ownership, use, or management of the corridor.

(Sec. 3006) Permits the Chief of the Forest Service to offer any timber sales that were scheduled in or after FY 1998, to be offered in FY 1998 or 1999, even if such sales would have been delayed or halted as a result of any moratorium on road construction in roadless areas within the National Forest System. Provides funding to States for any previously scheduled sales.

Directs the Chief, during such moratorium, to report to the Appropriations Committees on: (1) whether standards and guidelines in existing land and resource management plans compel or encourage entry into roadless areas within the National Forest System for purposes of constructing roads or undertaking any other ground-disturbing activities; (2) all roads within the System and the uses which they serve; and (3) the economic and social effects of the moratorium.

(Sec. 3007) Amends the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act to revise provisions relating to health care services for Indians and Alaska Natives in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.

(Sec. 3009) Prohibits funds in any Act from being used to issue a notice of final rulemaking prior to October 1, 1998, with respect to the valuation of crude oil for royalty purposes.

Chapter 4: Department of Health and Human Services - Makes additional funds available to the Department of Health and Human Services for: (1) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for disease control, research, and training; and (2) Health Care Financing Administration program management.

Chapter 5: Legislative Branch - Makes supplemental appropriations for the legislative branch for: (1) payments to widows of specified Members of Congress; and (2) the Architect of the Capitol for Capitol buildings, salaries and expenses and for the Capitol Square perimeter security plan.

Chapter 6: Department of Transportation - Makes additional funds available to DOT for: (1) the Amtrak Reform Council; (2) FAA facilities and equipment for expenses relating to the year 2000 computer hardware and software problems; (3) the Research and Special Programs Administration for emergency transportation activities in Alabama; and (4) salaries and expenses for the National Transportation Safety Board for expenses resulting from the crash of TWA Flight 800.

(Sec. 6001) Makes funds available for a transportation investment analysis of the primary urban corridor from Ewa to East Honolulu, Hawaii, from amounts available for the Federal Transit Administration in previous appropriations Acts.

Chapter 7: Department of the Treasury - Makes additional funds available to the Department of the Treasury for: (1) year 2000 century date change conversion requirements; and (2) the Financial Management Service for salaries and expenses related to such requirements.

(Sec. 7001) Amends Federal civil service provisions to apply, through FY 1999, certain additional conditions for eligibility for voluntary early retirement under the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees' Retirement System.

Chapter 8: Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes additional funds available to the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions.

Prohibits requirements set forth in any carbon monoxide Federal implementation plan based on the Clean Air Act as in effect prior to the 1990 amendments from being imposed in Arizona.

Directs the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to transfer specified funds to the account for human space flight for Space Station activities.

(Sec. 8002) Directs the Secretary of HUD, for purposes of allocating amounts under the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act, to allocate to the State of New Jersey the portion of funds based on the number of AIDS cases reported in the New Jersey portion of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-New Jersey primary metropolitan statistical area.

(Sec. 8003) Ratifies a specified portion of an Internet intellectual infrastructure fee charged by Network Solutions, Inc.

Authorizes and directs the National Science Foundation to deposit all money remaining in the Internet Intellectual Infrastructure Fund into the Treasury and credit such amount to its FY 1998 research and related activities appropriation to be available for networking activities.

Chapter 9: Rescissions and Offset - Rescinds specified amounts of Department of Agriculture funds for: (1) the Agricultural Research Service; (2) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service salaries and expenses; (3) the Agricultural Marketing Service; (4) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration salaries and expenses; (5) the Food Safety and Inspection Service; (6) Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses; (7) unsubsidized guaranteed operating loans from the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund; (8) Natural Resources Conservation Service operations; (9) Rural Housing Service salaries and expenses; and (10) food program administration.

Rescinds specified amounts of funds for the Department of the Interior for: (1) Bureau of Reclamation management of lands and resources; (2) Oregon and California grant lands; (3) Fish and Wildlife Service resource management and construction; (4) NPS and BIA construction; and (5) the Bureau of Mines.

Rescinds specified amounts of Forest Service funds for: (1) forest and rangeland research; (2) State and private forestry; (3) the National Forest System; (4) wildland fire management; and (5) reconstruction and construction.

Rescinds a specified amount of funds for the Department of Health and Human Services for the Health Professions Education Fund.

Rescinds specified amounts of DOT funds for: (1) payments to air carriers and small community air service; (2) the FAA for facilities, engineering, and development and grants-in-aid for airports; and (3) the Federal Railroad Administration for Conrail labor protection.

Rescinds specified amounts of Department of the Treasury funds for: (1) Customs Service salaries and expenses and O&M for the P-3 drug interdiction program; and (2) Internal Revenue Service information technology investments.

Limits specified funds available for salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out a conservation farm options program.

(Sec. 10003) Amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to remove a provision that includes Lake Champlain in the definition of "Great Lakes." Includes within the term "ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources" resources of Lake Champlain, to the extent such resources have certain characteristics and problems similar or related to those of the Great Lakes.

(Sec. 10004) Authorizes certain Federal agencies to transfer funds to the Department of State.

(Sec. 10005) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 to extend and revise eligibility for the (Vietnamese refugee) Orderly Departure Program to include unmarried adult children of Vietnamese re-education camp internees.

(Sec. 10006) Requires the President to instruct the U.S. Representatives to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to seek the adoption of procedures that will ensure broader transparency and openness in WTO activities.

(Sec. 10007) Makes any law affecting the employment of the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia inapplicable to the extent such law is inconsistent with the terms of an employment agreement entered into between the Chief, the District Mayor, and the District Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority.

Subjects the appointment or removal of the Chief, during a control year, to the approval of the Authority. (A control year is any year in which a financial plan and budget approved by the Authority is in effect for periods in which the District is unable to meet certain financial obligations.)

(Sec. 10008) Makes specified funds from the Economic Support Fund available for assistance to the Iraqi democratic opposition. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the appropriate congressional committees on plans to establish a program to support such opposition.