[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.