Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, and for other purposes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Title I: Department of the Interior
Title II: Related Agencies
Title III: General Provisions
Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for FY 1999.
Title I: Department of the Interior - Makes appropriations for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for: (1) land and resource management; (2) wildland fire management; (3) remedial action of hazardous waste substances; (4) construction; (5) payments in lieu of taxes to local governments; (6) land acquisition; (7) Oregon and California grant lands; (8) range improvements; (9) service charges, deposits, and forfeitures with respect to public lands; and (10) miscellaneous trust funds.
Amends Federal law to extend provisions regarding claim maintenance fees to be paid by holders of unpatented mining claims, mills, or tunnel sites and location fees to be paid by locators.
Appropriates funds for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for: (1) resource management; (2) construction; (3) land acquisition; (4) expenses related to carrying out the Endangered Species Act of 1973; (5) the National Wildlife Refuge Fund; (6) expenses related to carrying out the North American Wetlands Conservation Act; (7) the Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation Fund; and (8) expenses related to carrying out the African Elephant Conservation Act, the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997, and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994.
Mandates corrections to a map depicting a specified unit of the Coastal Barrier Resources System to exclude Pumpkin Key from the System.
Makes appropriations for the National Park Service (NPS) for: (1) the National Park System; (2) national recreation and preservation activities; (3) expenses related to carrying out the Historic Preservation Act of 1966; (4) construction; and (5) land acquisition and State assistance from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Rescinds specified contract authority to obligate funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for FY 1999.
Makes appropriations for: (1) the U.S. Geological Survey for surveys, investigations, and research; (2) the Minerals Management Service for royalty and offshore minerals management and oil spill research; (3) the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for regulation and technology and the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund; (4) the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for operation of Indian programs, construction, miscellaneous payments to Indians, and Indian guaranteed loans; (5) assistance to U.S. territories and for carrying out the Compacts of Free Association with respect to Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau; (6) departmental management and the Offices of the Solicitor and the Inspector General; (7) trust programs for Indians; and (8) natural resource damage assessment.
Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of specified funds.
(Sec. 107) Prohibits the use of funds provided in this title for specified offshore leasing and related activities.
(Sec. 112) Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-83) concerning employees of BLM's Helium Operations.
(Sec. 116) Sets forth provisions regarding voluntary separation incentives, severance pay, and continued health benefits for employees of the NPS Denver Service Center.
(Sec. 118) Designates the River Valley Trail from the town of Delaware Gap to the edge of the town of Milford, Pennsylvania, located within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area as the Joseph M. McDade Recreational Trail.
Title II: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service for: (1) forest and rangeland research; (2) State and private forestry; (3) the National Forest System; (4) wildland fire management; (5) construction and reconstruction; (6) land acquisition; (7) range rehabilitation and improvement; and (8) forest and rangeland research.
Makes appropriations for the Department of Energy for: (1) fossil energy research and development activities; (2) naval petroleum and oil shale reserve activities; (3) energy conservation; (4) economic regulation activities of the Office of Hearings and Appeals; (5) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and (6) the Energy Information Administration.
Makes appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service and Indian health facilities.
Makes appropriations for: (1) the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; (2) the Smithsonian Institution, including amounts for repair and restoration of buildings owned or occupied by the Smithsonian; (3) construction and improvements at the National Zoological Park; (4) construction; (5) the National Gallery of Art, including an amount for repair and restoration of facilities owned or occupied by the National Gallery; (6) operations, maintenance, and construction expenses of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; (7) carrying out the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968; (8) the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); (9) the National Endowment for the Humanities; (10) the Institute of Museum and Library Services; (11) the Commission of Fine Arts; (12) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (13) the National Capital Planning Commission; (14) the Holocaust Memorial Council; and (15) the Presidio trust.
Sets forth provisions regarding uses of, and limitations on, funds under this title.
Title III: General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act, including Buy American requirements.
Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-83) concerning: (1) the sale of timber from giant sequoias; (2) the underground lunchroom at Carlsbad Caverns National Park; (3) funding for the Americorps program; (4) the bridge between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Ellis Island; (5) patents for mining or mill site claims; (6) land acquisition for the Wayne National Forest; (7) competition for watershed restoration project contracts in the Pacific Northwest; (8) the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; (9) designation of Biosphere Reserves; (10) nudity in Canaveral National Seashore in Brevard County, Florida; (11) restrictions on NEA grants; and (12) watershed restoration and enhancement agreements.
(Sec. 326) Names the Auditors West Building (Annex 3) located at Raoul Wallenberg Place and Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C., the Sidney R. Yates Building.
(Sec. 327) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to grant Chugach Alaska Corporation an easement for the construction, use, and maintenance of public roads and facilities necessary for access to, and economic development of, land interests in the Carbon Mountain and Katalla vicinity conveyed to the Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
(Sec. 328) Amends Federal law to extend the authority of the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (acting through the BLM and the Forest Service, respectively) to collect fees to be used for operation and maintenance of recreation areas and habitat enhancement through FY 2001.
(Sec. 330) Prohibits, in the financing of any forest development road, amortization of road costs in any contract with, or the provision of credit for road construction to, any purchaser of national forest timber or products. Sets forth related provisions regarding the construction of roads by timber purchasers.
(Sec. 331) Amends the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965 to increase the number of Senators appointed by the Senate Majority Leader to serve on the National Council on the Arts from one to two.
(Sec. 332) Makes this section effective only if the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1999 does not appropriate at least $6 million in new funds for the management by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Requires the TVA to transfer, without reimbursement, the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture. Establishes the Area as a unit of the National Forest System upon such transfer. Directs the Secretary to manage the Area for multiple use. Directs the Secretary to conduct an inventory of and ensure access to all Area cemeteries for burial, visitation, and maintenance.
Authorizes the Secretary to charge reasonable fees for admission to and use of designated sites, or for activities, in the Area, with receipts to be deposited into the Land Between the Lakes Management Fund and used for management expenses.
Makes Federal lands within the Area subject to provisions for payments in lieu of taxes and requires the TVA to continue to be responsible for payments.
Calls for the transfer to be completed in an efficient and cost-effective manner to minimize disruption of the personal lives of TVA and Forest Service employees affected by such transfer. Directs the Secretary and the TVA to enter into a memorandum of agreement implementing the transfer.
Sets forth additional employee transition provisions.
Requires the Secretary to establish a citizen advisory board to advise the Secretary on environmental education in the Area and means of promoting public participation for the Area's land and resource management plan.
(Sec. 333) Sets forth reporting and other requirements with respect to the obligation of funds for the operation or implementation of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project.
(Sec. 335) Amends the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act to increase certain coverage limits for loss or damage of items covered by indemnity agreements under such Act. Adds new coverage provisions for loss or damage exceeding $3 million.
(Sec. 336) Validates all conveyances of specified real property made by the Southern Pacific Transportation Company or its successors to the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Tulare, California, to the extent that such conveyances would be legal or valid if all U.S. rights and interest (except minerals) were held by such Company.
Disclaims any and all U.S. right of surface entry to the mineral estate of such lands.
(Sec. 338) Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to extend a certain demonstration program for direct billing by Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Alaska Native health organizations of Medicare, Medicaid, and other third party payors through FY 2000.
(Sec. 339) Repeals provisions of the Petroleum Overcharge Distribution and Restitution Act of 1986 regarding: (1) restitution to persons injured by violations of certain petroleum pricing and allocation regulations; (2) excess amounts held in escrow accounts to be used for indirect restitution; and (3) disbursement of such excess amounts for energy conservation programs.
(Sec. 341) Extends, through FY 1999, a moratorium under the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 on the use of Department of the Interior or Agriculture funds for Federal management over certain navigable waters transferred to the State of Alaska. Repeals such moratorium on December 1, 1998, unless an amendment to the State of Alaska's constitution has been adopted which would enable the enactment of State laws that provide a preference for subsistence uses in the taking on public lands of fish and wildlife as required in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S10393-10415)
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
The Chair put the question on agreeing to the DeFazio amendment by voice vote and announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. DeFazio demanded a recorded vote. Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 504, the Chair postponed further proceedings on the amendment.
The Chair put the question on agreeing to the McDermott amendment by voice vote and announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. McDermott demanded a recorded vote. Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 504, the Chair postponed further proceedings on the amendment.
Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 4193 as unfinished business.
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H6125-6172)
The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.
The Chair put the question on agreeing to the Hinchey amendment by voice vote and announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Hinchey demanded a recorded vote. Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 504, the Chair postponed further proceedings on the amendment.
The Chair put the question on agreeing to the Miller of California amendment by voice vote and announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Miller demanded a recorded vote pending the absence of a quorum. Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 504, the Chair postponed further proceedings on the amendment and the point of no quorum was considered as withdrawn.
The Chair put the question on agreeing to the Pappas amendment by voice vote and announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Pappas demanded a recorded vote. Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 504, the Chair postponed further proceedings on the amendment.
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Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 4193 as unfinished business.
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H6213-6218)
The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS - The Chairman announced that the unfinished business was the requests for recorded votes which had been postponed from July 22, 1998.
The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 4193.
The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
Mr. Obey moved to recommit with instructions to Appropriations.
Motion to recommit with instructions withdrawn. (consideration: CR H6217-6218)
Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 245 - 181 (Roll No. 331).
Roll Call #331 (House)On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 245 - 181 (Roll No. 331).
Roll Call #331 (House)Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 496.