75-949
1st Session
107-272
| November 6, 2001- Ordered to be printed | |
| Mr. WALSH, from the committee of conference, submitted the following | |
| CONFERENCE REPORT | |
| [To accompany H.R. 2620] |
The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 2620) `making appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and for sundry independent agencies, boards, commissions, corporations, and offices for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes', having met, after full and free conference, have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows:
That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows:
In lieu of the matter stricken and inserted by said amendment, insert:
Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) activities: Provided further, That from amounts appropriated under this heading, additional amounts, as designated by the Secretary no later than September 30, 2002, may be used for CARES activities without fiscal year limitation: Provided further, That the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct by contract a program of recovery audits for the fee basis and other medical services contracts with respect to payments for hospital care; and, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302(b), amounts collected, by setoff or otherwise, as the result of such audits shall be available, without fiscal year limitation, for the purposes for which funds are appropriated under this heading and the purposes of paying a contractor a percent of the amount collected as a result of an audit carried out by the contractor: Provided further, That all amounts so collected under the preceding proviso with respect to a designated health care region (as that term is defined in 38 U.S.C. 1729A(d)(2)) shall be allocated, net of payments to the contractor, to that region.
not to exceed $20,000,000 shall be for costs associated with land acquisitions for national cemeteries in the vicinity of Sacramento, California; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Detroit, Michigan: Provided, That of the amount made available under this heading for CARES activities, up to $40,000,000 shall be for construction of a blind and spinal cord injury center at the Hines Veterans Affairs Medical Center pursuant to the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 12 CARES study, and construction of such center is hereby deemed authorized pursuant to title 38, United States Code: Provided further, That the amounts designated in the previous proviso shall be available for obligation only after the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has initiated all actions necessary to implement fully Option B of the July 19, 2001 VISN 12 Service Delivery Options after consulting with interested and affected parties, and has initiated Phase II of the CARES process: Provided further, That except for advance planning activities, including needs assessments which may or may not lead to capital investments, and other capital asset management related activities, such as portfolio development and management activities, and investment strategy studies funded through the advance planning fund and the planning and design activities funded through the design fund and CARES funds, including needs assessments which may or may not lead to capital investments, none of the funds appropriated under this heading shall be used for any project which has not been approved by the Congress in the budgetary process: Provided further, That funds provided in this appropriation for fiscal year 2002, for each approved project (except those for CARES activities and the three land acquisitions referenced above) shall be obligated: (1) by the awarding of a construction documents contract by September 30, 2002; and (2) by the awarding of a construction contract by September 30, 2003: Provided further, That the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall promptly report in writing to the Committees on Appropriations any approved major construction project in which obligations are not incurred within the time limitations established above: Provided further, That no funds from any other account except the `Parking revolving fund', may be obligated for constructing, altering, extending, or improving a project which was approved in the budget process and funded in this account until one year after substantial completion and beneficial occupancy by the Department of Veterans Affairs of the project or any part thereof with respect to that part only.
under the heading `Drug elimination grants for low-income housing' for activities related to the Operation Safe Home Program, $11,000,000 is hereby rescinded.
expenses', to be used only for the administrative costs of these guarantees.
capacity building activities administered by Habitat for Humanity International.
development and maintenance of information technology systems.
projects assisted under these programs, and may make provision for alternative conditions or terms where appropriate.
$144,000,000, of which no less than $41,000,000 shall be transferred to the Working Capital Fund for the development and maintenance of information technology systems: Provided, That to the extent guaranteed loan commitments exceed $8,426,000,000 on or before April 1, 2002, an additional $1,980 for administrative contract expenses shall be available for each $1,000,000 in additional guaranteed loan commitments over $8,426,000,000 (including a pro rata amount for any increment below $1,000,000), but in no case shall funds made available by this proviso exceed $14,400,000.
be transferred to the Working Capital Fund for the development and maintenance of information technology systems: Provided further, That the Secretary shall fill 7 out of 10 vacancies at the GS-14 and GS-15 levels until the total number of GS-14 and GS-15 positions in the Department has been reduced from the number of GS-14 and GS-15 positions on the date of enactment of Public Law 106-377 by two and one-half percent: Provided further, That the Secretary shall submit a staffing plan for the Department by January 15, 2002.
Act, the Secretary may terminate the approval of a mortgagee to originate or underwrite single family mortgages if the Secretary determines that the mortgage loans originated or underwritten by the mortgagee present an unacceptable risk to the insurance funds. The determination shall be based on the comparison required under subsection (b) and shall be made in accordance with regulations of the Secretary. The Secretary may rely on existing regulations published before this section takes effect.
288(b) of the HOME Investment Partnerships Act (42 U.S.C. 12838(b)), the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in this section referred to as the `Secretary') shall approve the release of funds under that section to the Arkansas Development Finance Authority (in this section referred to as the `ADFA') for projects, if--
Board shall utilize personnel of the Office of Inspector General of FEMA in performing the duties of the Inspector General of the Board, and shall not appoint any individuals to positions within the Board.
that is consistent with the recommendations of peer review panels in order to ensure that priority is given to programs that demonstrate quality, innovation, replicability, and sustainability: Provided further, That not more than $25,000,000 of the funds made available under this heading shall be available for the Civilian Community Corps authorized under subtitle E of title I of the Act (42 U.S.C. 12611 et seq.): Provided further, That not more than $43,000,000 shall be available for school-based and community-based service-learning programs authorized under subtitle B of title I of the Act (42 U.S.C. 12521 et seq.): Provided further, That not more than $28,488,000 shall be available for quality and innovation activities authorized under subtitle H of title I of the Act (42 U.S.C. 12853 et seq.): Provided further, That not more than $5,000,000 shall be available for audits and other evaluations authorized under section 179 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 12639): Provided further, That to the maximum extent practicable, the Corporation shall increase significantly the level of matching funds and in-kind contributions provided by the private sector, and shall reduce the total Federal costs per participant in all programs: Provided further, That not more than $7,500,000 of the funds made available under this heading shall be made available to America's Promise--The Alliance for Youth, Inc., only to support efforts to mobilize individuals, groups, and organizations to build and strengthen the character and competence of the Nation's youth: Provided further, That not more than $5,000,000 of the funds made available under this heading shall be made available to the Communities In Schools, Inc., to support dropout prevention activities: Provided further, That not more than $2,500,000 of the funds made available under this heading shall be made available to the YMCA of the USA to support school-based programs designed to strengthen collaborations and linkages between public schools and communities: Provided further, That not more than $1,000,000 of the funds made available under this heading shall be made available to Teach For America: Provided further, That not more than $1,500,000 of the funds made available under this heading shall be made available to Parents As Teachers National Center, Inc., to support literacy activities: Provided further, That not more than $1,500,000 of the funds made available under this heading shall be made available to the Youth Life Foundation to meet the needs of children living in insecure environments.
set forth in section 311(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, $70,228,000.
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, the Administrator is authorized to use the amounts appropriated for any fiscal year under section 319 of that Act to make grants to Indian tribes pursuant to section 319(h) and 518(e) of that Act: Provided further, That for fiscal year 2002, notwithstanding the limitation on amounts in section 518(c) of the Act, up to a total of 1 1/2 percent of the funds appropriated for State Revolving Funds under title VI of that Act may be reserved by the Administrator for grants under section 518(c) of such Act: Provided further, That no funds provided by this legislation to address the water, wastewater and other critical infrastructure needs of the colonias in the United States along the United States-Mexico border shall be made available to a county or municipal government unless that government has established an enforceable local ordinance, or other zoning rule, which prevents in that jurisdiction the development or construction of any additional colonia areas, or the development within an existing colonia the construction of any new home, business, or other structure which lacks water, wastewater, or other necessary infrastructure.
as authorized by law; space flight, spacecraft control and communications activities including operations, production, and services; program management; personnel and related costs, including uniforms or allowances therefor, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5901-5902; travel expenses; purchase and hire of passenger motor vehicles; not to exceed $20,000 for official reception and representation expenses; and purchase, lease, charter, maintenance and operation of mission and administrative aircraft, $6,912,400,000, to remain available until September 30, 2003, of which amounts as determined by the Administrator for salaries and benefits; training, travel and awards; facility and related costs; information technology services; science, engineering, fabricating and testing services; and other administrative services may be transferred to `Science, aeronautics and technology' in accordance with section 312(b) of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended by Public Law 106-377.
available until expended for technical assistance to low-income and community development credit unions.
notice describing the statement made in subsection (a) by the Congress.
conduct of their business practices and public service activities.
in section 502(a)(5) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5))).
Managers on the Part of the House.
Barbara A. Mikulski,
Patrick J. Leahy,
Tom Harkin,
Robert C. Byrd,
Herb Kohl,
Tim Johnson,
Ernest F. Hollings,
Daniel K. Inouye,
Christopher S. Bond,
Conrad Burns,
Richard C. Shelby,
Larry E. Craig,
(except for general provision on arsenic),
Pete V. Domenici,
(except for general provision on arsenic),
Mike DeWine,
Ted Stevens,
Managers on the Part of the Senate.
The managers on the part of the House and the Senate at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 2620) making appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and for sundry independent agencies, boards, commissions, corporations, and offices for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes, submit the following joint statement to the House and the Senate in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon by the managers and recommended in the accompanying report.
The language and allocations set forth in House Report 107-159 and Senate Report 107-43 should be complied with unless specifically addressed to the contrary in the conference report and statement of the managers. Report language included by the House which is not changed by the report of the Senate or the conference and Senate report language which is not changed by the conference is approved by the committee of the conference. The statement of the managers, while repeating some report language for emphasis, does not intend to negate the language referred to above unless expressly provided herein. In cases which the House or Senate have directed the submission of a report, such report is to be submitted to both House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
Unless specifically addressed in this statement of the managers or in the House or Senate reports accompanying H.R. 2620, the conferees agree to retain the reprogramming thresholds for each department or agency at the level established by the fiscal year 1999 reports.
Through the years, the Appropriations Committees have channeled most of their inquiries and requests for information and assistance through the budget offices of the various departments, agencies, and commissions. The Committees have often pointed out the natural affinity and relationship between these organizations and the Appropriations Committees which makes such a relationship workable. The conferees reiterate their position that while the Committees reserve the right to call upon all offices in the departments, agencies, and commissions, the primary conjunction between the Committees and these entities must normally be through the budget offices. The Committees appreciate all the assistance received from each of the departments, agencies, and commissions during this past year. The workload generated by the budget process is large and growing, and therefore, a positive, responsive relationship between the Committees and the budget offices is absolutely essential to the appropriations process.
Of the amounts approved in the appropriations accounts in this title, the Department must limit transfers of funds between objectives to not more than $500,000, except as specifically noted, without prior approval of the Committees. No changes may be made to any account or objective, except as approved by the Committees, if it is construed to be policy or change in policy. Any activity or program cited in the statement of the managers shall be construed as the position of the conferees and should not be subject to reductions or reprogramming without prior approval of the Committees. It is the intent of the conferees that all carryover funds in the various appropriations accounts are subject to the normal reprogramming requirements outlined above. The Department is expected to comply with all normal rules and regulations in carrying out these directives. Finally, the Department should continue to notify the Committees regarding reorganizations of offices, programs, or activities prior to the planned implementation of such reorganizations.
Appropriates $24,944,288,000 for compensation and pensions as proposed by both the House and the Senate, of which not more than $17,940,000 is to be transferred to general operating expenses and medical care.
Appropriates $2,135,000,000 for readjustment benefits as proposed by both the House and the Senate. Deletes bill language proposed by the Senate allowing funds to be payable for any court order, award or settlement.
Appropriates $26,200,000 for veterans insurance and indemnities as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
Appropriates such sums as may be necessary for costs associated with direct and guaranteed loans from the veterans housing benefit program fund program account as proposed by both the House and the Senate, plus $164,497,000 to be transferred to and merged with general operating expenses.
Appropriates $1,000 for the costs of direct loans from the education loan fund program account as proposed by both the House and the Senate, plus $64,000 to be transferred to and merged with general operating expenses.
Appropriates $72,000 for the costs of direct loans from the vocational rehabilitation loans program account as proposed by both the House and the Senate, plus $274,000 to be transferred to and merged with general operating expenses.
Appropriates $544,000 for administrative expenses of the Native American housing loan program account to be transferred to and merged with general operating expenses as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
Provides up to $750,000 of the funds available in medical care and general operating expenses to carry out the guaranteed transitional housing loans for homeless veterans program as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $21,331,164,000 for medical care instead of $21,282,587,000 as proposed by the House and $21,379,742,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Retains bill language proposed by the Senate delaying the availability of $675,000,000 for equipment and land and structures until August 1, 2002 remaining available until September 30, 2003. The House proposed delaying $900,000,000 for the same purposes.
Retains bill language making $900,000,000 available until September 30, 2003 as proposed by the Senate instead of $500,000,000 as proposed by the House.
Deletes bill language limiting $3,000,000,000 for maintenance and operations expenses as proposed by the House. The conferees strongly support the redirection of medical resources from the maintenance and operations of unneeded buildings to support direct patient care and encourage the efforts to reduce those expenditures as the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) process moves forward.
Provides $15,000,000 from medical funds for CARES projects instead of $30,000,000 as proposed by the Senate. The House did not identify any funds in this account for CARES.
Retains language proposed by the Senate transferring collected receipts in the medical care collections fund to the medical care account. The House provided transfer authority in a separate medical care collections fund appropriating paragraph.
For a number of years GAO and the Congress have been encouraging the VA and Department of Defense (DOD) to work together to find ways to share resources and provide better health care for our Nation's military, military retirees, and veterans. The conferees direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in cooperation with the Secretary of Defense, to submit to the Committees on Appropriations a credible plan by September 1, 2002 for no less than three demonstration sites where the VA and DOD will fully integrate operations, pharmacy services, billing and records, and treatment. Further, the conferees direct the VA to include in the plan VA-DOD sharing options that complement CARES principles. The conferees direct both Secretaries to consider the opportunity presented at the Tripler Army Medical Center for this demonstration program.
The conferees are dismayed by GAO reports outlining the dismal state of VHA's record on third party collections. The conferees direct the Secretary to undertake a demonstration project for a minimum of two years utilizing not less than $3,000,000 to obtain a private sector contractor to install and operate a total patient financial services system. In addition to the guidelines set forth in House Report 107-159, the demonstration should be developed in a manner that recognizes that this problem exists in all VISNs and any solution for a single VISN must be useable and exportable in an efficient manner to all VISNs. The conferees believe an essential element of this demonstration is the effective use of private sector business services in concert with VA employees.
The conferees are troubled by the abundance of conflicting information and lack of uniformity across VA's health system in regard to atypical anti-psychotic medications. Providing care for the seriously mentally ill is one of VA's top priorities and requires a special level of commitment, as this population is especially vulnerable and difficult to treat. Atypical anti-psychotic medication prescribing practices must not be used as performance indicators when evaluating a physician's work; nor should price, market share, and corporate interest factor into choosing the best drug to treat mental illness. To this end, the conferees direct the Secretary to communicate clearly to each doctor, facility director and pharmacy manager that atypical anti-psychotic pharmaceutical prescribing practices are not to be used as a measure of job performance and reiterate the Department's policy that physicians are to use their best clinical judgment when choosing atypical anti-psychotic medications. However, the conferees are aware that there is a wide price disparity between the currently available atypical anti-psychotic drugs and the Department should feel free to also communicate relative cost data for all atypical anti-psychotic drugs to its physicians.
The conferees direct the VA to keep an open policy with regard to formulating new schizophrenia and serious mental illness treatment protocols as new treatments become available, but those protocols should be based on scientific and clinical studies showing improvements in treatment efficacy or a decrease in side-effects, with cost savings as a subordinate goal to appropriate treatment options.
The conferees are aware of a proposal to establish a Center for Healthcare Information at the Office of Medical Information Security Service at the Martinsburg VAMC to improve the security of VA's computerized medical records. The conferees direct the VA to report to the Committees by March 1, 2002 on the feasibility of establishing this Center.
The conferees direct the VA to report to the Committees on Appropriations by August 2, 2002 on the VA's application of viscosupplementation as an alternative means of treating degenerative knee diseases in veterans. The report should include the potential costs and benefits of the procedure as a part of VA's health care delivery and VA's recommendations for future use of the procedure.
The conferees are aware of local concerns regarding the elements of the April 2001 report titled `Plan for the Development of a 25-Year General Use Plan for Department of Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles Healthcare Center.' The conferees
strongly urge the VA to work with the local community when formulating a plan to best use the campus for improving veterans' access to VA-provided services.
Deletes the medical care collections fund paragraph as proposed by the House and instead provides transfer authority in medical care as proposed by the Senate.
Appropriates $371,000,000 for medical and prosthetic research as proposed by the House instead of $390,000,000 as proposed by the Senate.
The conferees understand that the VA has developed an agreement for intellectual property sharing with university research institutions. Some universities have expressed concerns about a university's right to inventions that are developed from supported research. Further, there are concerns whether the VA's agreements are consistent with the Bayh-Dole Act and similar agreements utilized by other Federal agencies. Accordingly, the conferees direct the VA to report to the Committees on Appropriations by February 1, 2002 regarding these concerns. In responding to the Committees, the VA should consult with universities and university associations, including the American Association of Medical Colleges, the Association of University Technology Managers, and the Council on Government Relations.
The conferees direct the continued partnership with the National Technology Transfer Center at the current level of effort.
Appropriates $66,731,000 for medical administration and miscellaneous operating expenses as proposed by the House instead of $67,628,000 as proposed by the Senate. The conferees agree to retain language proposed by the Senate providing a limitation on the availability of funds from Management Field Service reimbursements of September 30, 2002.
The conferees agree that there is concern about the guidance and leadership provided by headquarters to guarantee quality healthcare and sound fiscal management across the system. The VA is directed to submit with the fiscal year 2002 operating plan the signed performance agreements of all 22 VISN directors, action plans for each VISN on how that VISN will improve collection rates, and financial reports from the three VISNs which received supplemental loans and funding for the second consecutive year summarizing how those VISNs have become financially sound.
Appropriates $1,195,728,000 for general operating expenses as proposed by the House instead of $1,194,831,000 as proposed by the Senate. Retains language proposed by the House allowing funds to be used for the administrative expenses of department-wide capital planning, management and policy activities.
The conferees agree to fund the Veterans Benefits Administration at not less than $955,352,000. The conferees are optimistic about the recommendations put forward by the Department of Veterans Affairs Compensations and Pensions Task Force and commend the Secretary for announcing his intentions to implement most of the recommendations. The conferees look forward to the fiscal year 2003 budget hearings in hopes that implementation of the short-term recommendations will yield improvements in claims processing times by spring 2003.
Appropriates $121,169,000 for the national cemetery administration as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $52,308,000 for the Office of Inspector General as proposed by the House instead of $48,308,000 as proposed by the Senate. The conferees have agreed to provide the higher funding level due to the nation-wide benefit payment review planned in response to the recent benefits fraud investigation in Atlanta, Georgia.
Appropriates $183,180,000 for construction, major projects as proposed by the House instead of $155,180,000 as proposed by the Senate.
The conferees agree to the projects included in the budget estimate plus $125,000 for planning a national cemetery in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area to be offset from the working reserve. The conferees have provided up to $125,000 to start initial cemetery planning activities in Albuquerque, but direct that further funding for cemetery construction activities must be considered in the greater context of funding the country's national veterans cemetery needs as presented in the Department's needs assessment report due December, 2001.
The conferees agree that the electrical fire at the Miami VAMC presents a unique situation compromising VA's ability to provide patient care in an environment safe for patients and employees and agree to provide $28,300,000 for the emergency repair project even though VISN 8 has not undergone a CARES review.
The conferees remain strongly supportive of CARES. This nation-wide review is critical to ensuring VA's capital assets can support current and long-term health care needs and are rehabilitated and aligned for optimal efficiency and access. The conferees agree to provide $60,000,000 from construction, major projects, for CARES initiatives, of which $10,000,000 is for Phase III studies. If less than $10,000,000 is required for Phase III, the balance may be used for construction.
The conferees are strongly encouraged by the recommendations from Phase I of CARES, which if implemented, could re-invest at least $270,000,000 over the next 20 years from capital costs to improving direct access and care for veterans in the region. In support of the Phase I recommendations, the conferees have identified $40,000,000 of the $60,000,000 provided in construction, major projects to move forward with the blind and spinal cord injury center at the Hines VAMC conditional upon the Secretary certifying that a full and open consultation process was conducted regarding the VISN 12 recommendations, implementing Option B of the CARES VISN 12 Service Delivery Options with a developed implementation plan including milestones, and initiating Phase II of CARES.
As a part of the CARES process in VISN 12, VA recently completed a formal comment process where VA solicited input from a large number of affected and interested parties. The conferees direct the Secretary to certify to the Congress that he has carried out a full and open consultation process with all affected stakeholders and
after submission of such certification, finalize decisions regarding CARES in VISN 12 not later than January 15, 2002.
The conferees strongly urge that the Secretary consider the needs for improvements and safety upgrades to the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton, West Virginia in the formulation of the Department's fiscal year 2003 budget requirements. The conferees are aware that initial planning documents have been prepared for this initiative and encourage the completion of design and architectural plans within available funds pending this review.
Deletes $300,000,000 for establishment of the facility rehabilitation fund as proposed by the House. The Senate did not include this account.
Appropriates $210,900,000 for construction, minor projects instead of $178,900,000 as proposed by both the House and the Senate. Retains language proposed by the House limiting additional CARES funds upon notification of and approval by the Committees on Appropriations.
Appropriates $4,000,000 for the parking revolving fund as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $100,000,000 for grants for construction of state extended care facilities as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $25,000,000 for grants for construction of state veterans cemeteries as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
Retains eight administrative provisions proposed by both the House and the Senate, seven of which were included in the fiscal year 2001 bill.
Deletes language proposed by the House eliminating the health services improvement fund.
Retains language proposed by the House allowing VA to deduct associated administrative expenses from enhanced use proceeds and use those receipts in the same fiscal year the receipts are received.
Retains language proposed by the House allowing the Department to reimburse from fiscal year 2002 salary and expenses accounts for services rendered to the Office of Resolution Management up to $28,555,000 and the Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication up to $2,383,000. The Senate proposed a similar provision with technical differences.
Deletes language proposed by the Senate directing the VA to conduct a cost and benefit study on viscosupplementation as a treatment option for knee replacements. The conferees have agreed to instead include report language in the medical care account directing the VA to complete such a study.
Retains language proposed by the Senate recognizing the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery as a state cemetery eligible under the Grants for State Veterans Cemeteries Program.
Deletes language proposed by the Senate establishing a 60-day wait period for any action related to VISN 12 realignment. The conferees have agreed to instead include report language in the construction, major projects account.
The conferees restate the reprogramming requirements with respect to amounts approved for each appropriations account within this title. The Department must limit the reprogramming of funds between the programs, projects, and activities within each account to not more than $500,000 without prior approval of the Committees on Appropriations. Unless otherwise identified in this statement of managers or committee reports, the most detailed allocation of funds presented in the budget justifications shall be considered to be approved, with any deviation from such approved allocation subject to the normal reprogramming requirements outlined above. Further, it is the intent of the conferees that all carryover funds in the various accounts, including recaptures and deobligations, are subject to the normal reprogramming requirements outlined above. Further, no changes may be made to any program, project, or activity if it is construed to be policy or a change in policy, without prior approval of the Committees. Finally, the conferees expect to be notified regarding reorganizations of offices, programs or activities prior to the planned implementation of such reorganizations, as well as be notified, on a monthly basis, of all ongoing litigation, including any negotiations or discussions, planned or ongoing, regarding a consent decree between the Department and any other entity.
Appropriates $15,640,975,000 instead of $15,694,242,000 as proposed by the House and $15,658,769,000 as proposed by the Senate.
The conference agreement assumes an additional $640,000,000 in prior year carryover is available to meet section 8 renewal requirements based upon a reduction in reserve funds available to public housing authorities (PHAs) as proposed by the House and the Senate. Language is included to implement the change in reserve funds as proposed by the House. The conferees understand that HUD has the authority to provide PHAs with the necessary funds to administer their section 8 contracts, nevertheless the conferees direct HUD to ensure that PHAs have the funds to administer all section 8 contracts in a normal manner, including vouchers that turn over during the year. In cases where PHAs require additional funds for approved uses and amounts, HUD shall provide to these PHAs the necessary section 8 funds. The conferees also direct HUD to make quarterly reports to the Committees on Appropriations on the status and availability of all section 8 reserves maintained by PHAs.
The conference agreement includes the following:
Contract Renewals.--$15,725,153,000, of which $640,000,000 is derived from prior year carryover, for expiring section 8 housing assistance contracts, section 8 amendments, enhanced vouchers, and contracts entered into pursuant to section 441 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Funds for the renewal of section 811 tenant-based assistance is provided under the housing for special populations account as proposed by the House.
The conferees reiterate the direction included in the Senate report requiring renewal costs for section 8 project-based programs to be discretely identified in the fiscal year 2003 budget justifications.
Incremental Vouchers.--$143,979,000 to provide `incremental' section 8 housing assistance vouchers to increase the number of low-income individuals and families receiving assistance. Of this amount, $103,979,000 is provided for 18,000 vouchers to be distributed on a fair share basis to PHAs having a voucher utilization rate of at least 97 percent, instead of $157,334,000 as proposed by the House and $98,623,000 as proposed by the Senate. HUD is expected to distribute these vouchers within 90 days of enactment of this Act, and to report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the Senate on compliance with this requirement no later than February 15, 2002. The remaining $40,000,000 is provided for 7,900 new vouchers for distribution to non-elderly, disabled residents who are affected by the designation of public and assisted housing as `elderly-only' developments, instead of $39,912,000 as proposed by the House. Bill language is included, as proposed by the House and the Senate, to earmark funds for this purpose in recognition of the fact that people with disabilities are often unable to find affordable housing absent section 8 tenant-based assistance.
The conferees reiterate the House reporting requirement related to identification and remediation of PHAs designated as troubled under the Section Eight Management Assessment Program (SEMAP).
Contract Administrators.--$195,601,000 for section 8 contract administrators as proposed by the House. Modified language is included, similar to language proposed by the House, to designate funds for this purpose. The Senate bill did not include a similar provision.
Tenant Protection.--$202,842,000 for tenant protection vouchers to replace lost project-based section 8 assistance. Funding for new vouchers under the HOPE VI program is provided within the revitalization of severely distressed public housing (HOPE VI) account as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Includes language transferring no less than $13,400,000 to the Working Capital Fund for development and maintenance of information technology systems as proposed by the Senate, instead of no less than $11,000,000 as proposed by the House.
Rescinds $1,200,000,000 from unobligated balances available from the recapture of excess section 8 funds, instead of $886,000,000 as proposed by the House and $615,000,000 as proposed by the Senate. Language is included requiring that the rescission be applied against available funds appropriated in fiscal year 2001 and prior years for any account under title II as proposed by the House, instead of requiring that the rescission be applied against available funds appropriated in fiscal year 2002 and prior years in this account as proposed by the Senate.
Includes language proposed by the House to prohibit the rescission of funds governed by statutory reallocation provisions. The Senate did not include a similar provision.
Does not include language proposed by the Senate requiring that the renewal of expiring section 8 contracts subject to the Emergency Low Income Housing Preservation Act of 1987 (ELIHPA) and the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990 (LIHPRHA) are to be capped at current rents. This means that the rents for these projects shall be renewed on a one-year basis consistent with the plans of action that were approved as part of the efforts to preserve these projects as low-income housing under ELIHPA and LIHPRHA. Nevertheless, the conferees remain concerned that many of these projects were over-subsidized through these preservation efforts. The conferees believe HUD needs to review all these preservation projects and look at restructuring the mortgages and contract requirements where appropriate. The conferees direct HUD to report to the Committees on Appropriations on this review and the status of these projects no later than June 15, 2002.
Does not include language proposed by the Senate requiring that additional unobligated balances from this account be rescinded and reallocated to other accounts in title II and title III of this Act. The House bill did not include a similar provision.
Appropriates $2,843,400,000 for the public housing capital fund instead of $2,943,400,000 as proposed by the Senate and $2,555,000,000 as proposed by the House.
Includes modified language designating $550,000,000 to be allocated only to those PHAs which utilized their funds in compliance with statutory timeliness requirements pursuant to the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (QHWRA), similar to language proposed by the House, to enable those PHAs to address their backlog of maintenance needs in addition to their annual maintenance requirements. The Senate did not include similar language.
Includes modified language making funds available for four years instead of two years as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Includes language restating the applicability of the QHWRA timeliness requirements to fiscal year 1999 funds as proposed by the House. The Senate did not include a similar provision.
Includes modified language allowing the Secretary or Deputy Secretary to waive QHWRA timeliness requirements similar to language proposed by the House. The Senate did not include a similar provision.
Includes modified language requiring the recapture of funds from PHAs not in compliance with QHWRA timeliness requirements similar to language proposed by the House. The Senate did not include a similar provision.
Includes language to define obligations as proposed by the House. The Senate did not include a similar provision.
The conferees reiterate the House direction requiring quarterly reports on PHA utilization of capital funds, delineated by PHA and fiscal year, with the first report due no later than February 1, 2002.
Includes $51,000,000 for technical assistance as proposed by the House, instead of $50,000,000 as proposed by the Senate. Of this amount, $10,000,000 is for remediation services to troubled PHAs as proposed by the House. The Senate did not include a similar provision.
Transfers no less than $52,700,000 from this account to the Working Capital Fund for the development and maintenance of information technology systems, instead of no less than $43,000,000 as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Includes new language designating $15,000,000 for the Neighborhood Networks Initiative. These funds are to be competitively awarded to PHAs for the establishment and initial operation of computer centers in and around public housing to enhance resident self-sufficiency, employability, and economic self-reliance. These amounts, combined with $5,000,000 provided for under the revitalization of severely distressed public housing (HOPE VI) account, as well as $5,000,000 in current on-going projects, will provide a total of $25,000,000 for the Neighborhood Networks Initiative in fiscal year 2002. The conferees support efforts to close the digital divide, and believe that the needs of public housing residents must be an important part of any initiative to achieve that goal and can help ameliorate drug and crime problems in public housing through new opportunities for education growth and employment opportunities. The conferees expect HUD to work with other Federal agencies to develop a comprehensive approach to address the digital divide, and encourages HUD to submit a proposal as part of the fiscal year 2003 budget to address comprehensively the needs of public and federally-assisted housing residents.
The conferees remain concerned over the long-term capital needs and viability of public housing projects. The conferees believe that reforms included in the public housing capital fund account will result in a more effective and targeted use of these capital funds and help preserve the investment that has been made in public housing over the years. In addition, the conferees continue to support funding for the HOPE VI program as a complementary program targeted to the revitalization of distressed public housing. The conferees direct HUD to provide by June 15, 2002, a report on the lessons learned from HOPE VI, including best practices and the impact of HOPE VI on surrounding communities as well as the extent to which HOPE VI projects have leveraged private investments and revitalized economic redevelopment in these communities. In addition, the conferees request that HUD provide an analysis of the extent to which the HOPE VI program can be a model for the replacement of the older and distressed section 8 housing stock.
Appropriates $3,494,868,000 for the public housing operating fund as proposed by the House instead of $3,384,868,000 as proposed by the Senate.
The conferees have provided an 8.1 percent increase over the fiscal year 2001 level for this account to reflect the merger of funds previously provided for drug elimination activities through the public housing drug elimination program (PHDEP) into this account. The conferees note that PHAs are authorized to use their operating and capital funds for anti-crime and anti-drug activities. It is the conferees understanding that two-thirds of all PHAs fund these activities from within their operating and capital funds, while the remaining one-third of PHAs receive supplemental funding through PHDEP in addition to their regular operating and capital fund allocations. In lieu of continuing to provide a supplementary funding source for selected PHAs, the conferees have instead increased funding for operating subsidies to be distributed to all PHAs. To the extent that additional assistance is required to combat issues and activities related to crime and drugs, the conferees have included modified language designating $10,000,000 to be allocated by the United States Attorney General through existing Department of Justice programs, such as the Weed and Seed program, to address those areas in public, Indian, and federally-assisted housing where additional resources are necessary to augment State and local efforts to effectively fight crime and drugs as proposed by the House. The Senate bill did not include similar language.
The conference agreement assumes the termination of the Operation Safe Home program as recommended by the Senate. Of the amount provided, $5,000,000 is available to the Office of Inspector General to support the closeout of this program and to transition personnel previously participating in Operation Safe Home to other investigative activities. The House bill proposed $10,000,000 for the Office of Inspector General exclusively for Operation Safe Home, while the Senate did not propose any funding for this activity. In addition, $6,500,000 from prior year funds appropriated under PHDEP for Operation Safe Home operational costs remain available for operational costs necessary to complete on-going activities. Includes new language rescinding $11,000,000 from prior year funds made available for Operation Safe Home which are in excess of amounts necessary to complete on-going activities.
The conferees do not concur with the language in the Senate report related to the June 7, 2000, settlement agreement with the Puerto Rico Public Housing Authority (PRPHA). However, the conferees expect HUD to ensure that PRPHA is treated in a manner consistent with similar PHAs as HUD develops a final rule implementing a new operating fund formula for all PHAs based upon the results of the public housing operating cost study mandated in Public Law 106-74.
The conferees expect HUD to provide the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) with maximum regulatory flexibility as provided for in the Moving to Work Demonstration agreement dated February 6, 2000, as amended, as proposed in the Senate
report. The conferees direct HUD to determine CHA's funding allocation in the same manner as all other PHAs.
The conferees have included direction under the public housing capital fund account in lieu of the direction included in the Senate report under this account related to the long-term capital needs for public housing.
The conferees do not provide funding for this account. The conferees have instead merged funding for these activities into the public housing operating fund account, and increased operating funds to accommodate this merger. All activities permissible under the public housing drug elimination program (PHDEP) are authorized activities under the operating and capital fund accounts. In addition, the conferees are aware that some PHAs currently have unspent PHDEP funds available. The conferees intend that PHAs be allowed to continue to spend their PHDEP funds as PHAs transition their anti-crime and anti-drug programs into their annual operating budgets, and encourage PHAs to continue to support such programs.
The conferees understand that PHDEP was created in 1989, to provide supplemental funding to address the gaps in services and programs available to combat serious crime and drug problems which existed in some areas of public housing, particularly severely distressed public housing. At the time PHDEP was created, Federal assistance to States and localities to address crime and drug problems in local communities, including public housing, was limited. The conferees note that since that time, however, Federal funding to States and localities for police, crime, and drug prevention programs has grown dramatically, particularly through the Department of Justice. Over the last six years, over $9,000,000,000 in new Federal assistance has been provided through the Department of Justice, including funds to deploy over 110,000 new police officers into local communities and funds to establish 1,000 new Boys and Girls Clubs exclusively in public housing.
The conferees further note that over the last six years, funds have been provided to demolish over 100,000 units of the most severely distressed public housing through the HOPE VI program and the capital fund program, resulting in the revitalization of entire neighborhoods previously adversely impacted by the presence of severely deteriorated housing.
To the extent that additional assistance is required, the conferees have also included $10,000,000 under the public housing operating fund account to be allocated by the United States Attorney General through existing Department of Justice programs, such as the Weed and Seed program, to address those areas in public, Indian, and federally-assisted housing where additional resources are necessary to augment State and local efforts to combat crime and drugs.
Appropriates $573,735,000 for the revitalization of severely distressed public housing program (HOPE VI) as proposed by the House and the Senate. Includes language designating $6,250,000 for technical assistance and contract expertise instead of $5,000,000 as proposed by the House and $7,500,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Includes new language designating $5,000,000 for the Neighborhood Networks Initiative. These funds are to be competitively awarded to PHAs for the establishment and initial operation of computer centers in conjunction with fiscal year 2002 HOPE VI applicants to enhance resident self-sufficiency, employability, and economic self-reliance. These funds are not intended to limit the Secretary's ability to award additional funds for these activities as part of the regular HOPE VI process. These amounts, combined with $15,000,000 provided under the public housing capital fund, as well as $5,000,000 in current on-going projects, will provide a total of $25,000,000 for the Neighborhood Networks Initiative in fiscal year 2002.
The conferees are aware of the valuable efforts made by the Housing Research Foundation to collect and disseminate objective information on the HOPE VI program. The conferees encourage HUD to continue this initiative.
Appropriates $648,570,000 as proposed by the House and the Senate. Transfers no less than $3,000,000 to the Working Capital Fund for the development and maintenance of information technology systems as proposed by the Senate instead of no less than $2,000,000 as proposed by the House.
Includes language to establish a total loan volume of not to exceed $52,726,000 for title VI loans as proposed by the House instead of $54,600,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Includes modified language, similar to language proposed by the Senate, to allow the Secretary to provide assistance to Indian tribes and tribally-designated housing entities to address the problem of black mold consistent with the terms of NAHASDA. The Secretary is directed to work with FEMA, the Indian Health Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other appropriate Federal agencies in developing a plan to maximize Federal resources to address emergency housing and related problems associated with black mold. The House did not include similar language.
Appropriates $5,987,000 for guaranteed loans for Native American housing on trust lands as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $1,000,000 for guaranteed loans for Native Hawaiian housing as proposed by the Senate. Includes language establishing a total loan volume of not to exceed $40,000,000 and provides $35,000 for administrative costs as proposed by the Senate. The House did not propose funding for this program.
Appropriates $277,432,000 for housing opportunities for persons with AIDS (HOPWA) as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Includes modified language similar to language proposed by the Senate requiring HUD to renew all expiring HOPWA contracts for permanent supportive housing funded under the non-formula component of the HOPWA program so long as the projects meet all other program requirements. The House did not include a similar provision.
Appropriates $25,000,000 for rural housing and economic development as proposed by the Senate. Includes language requiring funds to be awarded competitively by June 1, 2002 as proposed by the Senate. The House did not propose funding for this program.
Appropriates $45,000,000 for grants to the second round of empowerment zones instead of $75,000,000 as proposed by the Senate. Includes language designating $3,000,000 for each empowerment zone to be used in conjunction with economic development activities detailed in the strategic plans of each empowerment zone instead of $5,000,000 for each zone as proposed by the Senate. The House did not propose funding for this program. The conferees believe that this program should be funded as a mandatory program as originally contemplated.
The conferees direct the HUD Inspector General to review the use of empowerment zone funds and report the findings to the Committees on Appropriations no later than April 1, 2002.
Appropriates $5,000,000,000 for various activities funded in this account, instead of $4,811,993,000 as proposed by the House and $5,012,993,000 as proposed by the Senate. The conferees agree to the following:
--$4,341,000,000 for formula grants under the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG), instead of $4,339,300,000 as proposed by the House and the Senate;
--$70,000,000 for grants to Indian tribes instead of $69,000,000 as proposed by the House and $71,000,000 as proposed by the Senate;
--$42,500,000 for section 107 grants, instead of $34,434,000 as proposed by the House and $45,500,000 as proposed by the Senate. Within the amount provided for section 107 grants, the conference agreement provides the following earmarks:
--$3,300,000 for the Housing Assistance Council as proposed by the House instead of $3,000,000 as proposed by the Senate;
--$2,600,000 for the National American Indian Housing Council as proposed by the Senate instead of $2,794,000 as proposed by the House;
--$5,000,000 for the National Housing Development Corporation for continuation of its program of acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation of at-risk affordable housing, including $2,000,000 for operating expenses as proposed by the House. The Senate did not propose funding for this program;
--$5,000,000 for the National Council of La Raza HOPE Fund, of which $500,000 is for technical assistance and fund management and $4,500,000 is for investments and financing as proposed by the House. The Senate did not propose funding for this program;
--$9,600,000 for the Department of Hawaiian Homelands for assistance as authorized by title VIII of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996, with not more than five percent for administrative costs, as proposed by the Senate. The House did not propose funding for this program;
--$22,000,000 for grants to eligible grantees under section 11 of the Self-Help Housing Opportunity Program, instead of $21,956,000 as proposed by the House and $20,000,000 as proposed by the Senate;
--$29,000,000 for the Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing program, authorized by section 4 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Demonstration Act, as in effect before June 12, 1997, instead of $29,387,000 as proposed by the House and $28,450,000 as proposed by the Senate. Of the amount provided, at least $5,000,000 shall be for capacity building activities in rural areas as proposed by the Senate instead of $4,989,000 as proposed by the House. Additionally, $4,000,000 is for Habitat for Humanity International, instead of $4,442,000 as proposed by the House and $3,450,000 as proposed by the Senate;
--$55,000,000 for supportive services, congregate services and service coordinators for residents of public and Indian housing as proposed by the Senate, instead of $54,879,000 as proposed by the House;
--$65,000,000 for Youthbuild instead of $69,868,000 as proposed by the House and $70,000,000 as proposed by the Senate. This amount includes $2,000,000 for
capacity building activities as proposed by the House and the Senate, and $10,000,000 for underserved and rural areas as proposed by the Senate;
--$42,000,000 for the Neighborhood Initiatives program instead of $25,000,000 as proposed by the House and the Senate. Does not include language proposed by the House related to unobligated prior year balances. The Senate did not include a similar provision. Targeted grants shall be provided as follows:
--$294,200,000 for economic development initiatives. Targeted grants shall be made as follows:
Includes language transferring no less than $13,800,000 to the Working Capital Fund for development and maintenance of information technology systems, instead of $15,000,000 as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Includes language proposed by the Senate making funds available for three years instead of two years as proposed by the House. The conferees remain concerned by the delay in the obligation and expenditure of funds provided for the CDBG formula program. HUD is directed to review the matter and to provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations no later than April 1, 2002 which identifies the average length of time used by HUD to obligate CDBG funds to entitlement communities and States; the rate at which entitlement communities and States expend these funds, including an identification of those entities not in compliance with statutory timeliness requirements; and recommendations to accelerate the obligation and expenditure of these funds.
The conferees reiterate the direction included in the House report requiring HUD to inform State and local jurisdictions that people with disabilities must participate in developing the Consolidated Plan and to evaluate plans for such inclusion.
The conferees reiterate the direction included in the House report requiring HUD to conduct a detailed evaluation of HUD's administrative oversight of CDBG targeting requirements and to report the evaluation's findings to the Committees on Appropriations no later than February 1, 2002.
Appropriates $15,000,000 for costs associated with section 108 loan guarantees as proposed by the House and the Senate. Includes language making funds available for obligation for two years as proposed by the House, instead of one year as proposed by the Senate.
Appropriates $25,000,000 for brownfields redevelopment as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $1,846,040,000 for the HOME program instead of $1,996,040,000 as proposed by the House, and $1,796,040,000 as proposed by the Senate. Includes language making funds available for obligation for three years as proposed by the Senate, instead of two years as proposed by the House.
Includes language designating $50,000,000 for the Downpayment Assistance Initiative subject to the enactment of authorization legislation, instead of $200,000,000 as proposed by the House. Language is included allowing these funds to be used for any purpose authorized under the HOME program should such authorization legislation not be enacted by June 30, 2002. The Senate bill did not include funds for this initiative.
The conferees believe that housing counseling is a critical component of effective homeownership programs, including the HOME Downpayment Assistance Initiative. Not only is housing counseling important in assisting families and individuals to understand homeownership issues, it also helps ensure that first-time homebuyers are protected against predatory lending practices. The conferees expect HUD to ensure that housing counseling is available to all homebuyers participating in programs offered under the Downpayment Assistance Initiative.
Appropriates $1,122,525,000 for homeless assistance grants, instead of $1,027,745,000 as proposed by the House and $1,022,745,000 as proposed by the Senate.
The conferees have increased funding for this account above the amounts proposed by the House and the Senate to provide for full funding of Shelter Plus Care renewals within this account, instead of providing this funding in a separate account as proposed by the Senate. The House bill did not include funding for these costs. While funding for these renewals has been provided in this account consistent with the manner in which funding was provided prior to fiscal year 2001, new bill language is included requiring the annual renewal of all expiring Shelter Plus Care contracts if the program is determined to meet appropriate program requirements and is needed under the applicable continuum of care.
Includes modified language requiring not less than 30 percent of the funds provided under this account, exclusive of amounts for Shelter Plus Care renewals, be used for permanent housing as proposed by the Senate, instead of 35 percent as proposed by the House. Includes language requiring that all funds awarded for services shall be matched by 25 percent in funds from each grantee as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Includes language proposed by the Senate providing that funds under this account be made available for three years, instead of two years as proposed by the House. However, HUD is directed to review the obligation rates for funds provided under this account and provide a report to the Committees on steps being taken to accelerate the grant award and obligation process no later than April 1, 2002.
Includes language providing $2,000,000 for the national homeless data analysis project and $6,600,000 for technical assistance. Language is also included transferring $5,600,000 to the Working Capital Fund for the development and maintenance of information technology systems, instead of $14,200,000 as proposed by the House and the Senate.
The conferees agree that HUD should use the continuum of care process to give preference to communities that use funds for permanent housing to end homelessness for chronically homeless, disabled people and encourage communities to obtain funds for supportive services from non-HUD sources, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The conferees reiterate language included in the Senate report regarding the need for data and analysis on the extent of homelessness and the effectiveness of McKinney-Vento Act programs. Specifically, the conferees direct HUD to continue to work with local communities on a client reporting system, analyze the data within two years, and report to the Committees within 90 days of enactment of this Act on its progress.
In addition, the conferees are also providing $2,000,000 to continue the Department's national homeless data analysis project to document the demographics of homelessness, identify patterns in utilization of assistance, and document the effectiveness of the systems. The conferees believe that it is critical to develop an unduplicated count of the homeless population and direct HUD to contract with
experienced academic institutions to analyze the data and provide annual reports to the Committees on Appropriations.
The conferees expect that HUD field staff will oversee the implementation of homeless programs funded under this title. This oversight should include annual site visits and desk and field audits of a representative sample of programs in each jurisdiction. Using this information, HUD should analyze Annual Performance Reports and forward an annual plan for addressing problem areas.
The conferees reiterate and endorse language in the House report regarding the Secretary's joint task force with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify and target each agency's roles and responsibilities in addressing the needs of the homeless. Recognizing the fact that up to one-third of the homeless population are veterans, the conferees believe that increased coordination is necessary between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and HUD to ensure each agency is fulfilling its appropriate mission. Therefore, the conferees urge the Secretary to include the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in its task force discussions. The conferees request that the Department keep the Committees apprised of these efforts and provide a report, no later than February 15, 2002, on its findings and recommendations for changes in HUD programs.
Further, the conferees reiterate the language in the Senate report concerning the Interagency Council on the Homeless (ICH), including placing the Council under the Domestic Policy Office; rotating the Chairmanship among the Secretaries of HUD, HHS, Labor, and VA; requiring the members to meet at least semi-annually; and instructing the Council to quantify the number of their mainstream program participants who become homeless, preventing homelessness, and describing how they assist the homeless.
The conferees continue to have questions about out-year cost data on contract renewals for the permanent housing programs for the homeless. Accordingly, the conferees direct the Department to include in its fiscal year 2003 budget justifications five-year projections, delineated on an annual basis, of the costs of renewing the permanent housing component of the Supportive Housing Program and separately, the Shelter Plus Care program.
The conferees reiterate language in the Senate report directing HUD to ensure that State and local jurisdictions that receive homeless assistance funding pass on at least 50 percent of all administrative funds to the nonprofits administering the homeless assistance programs.
The conferees have included full funding for Shelter Plus Care renewals under the homeless assistance grants account instead of providing funds under this separate account as proposed by the Senate. The House did not include funding for this account.
Appropriates $1,024,151,000 for housing for special populations as proposed by the House instead of $1,001,009,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Includes $783,286,000 for section 202 housing for the elderly as proposed by the House and the Senate. Of this amount, $50,000,000 is for service coordinators and congregate services as proposed by the Senate instead of $49,890,000 as proposed by the House; $50,000,000 is for conversion of eligible section 202 projects to assisted living as proposed by the Senate instead of $49,890,000 as proposed by the House; and up to $3,000,000 is for the renewal of expiring project rental assistance for up to a one-year term, the same amount proposed by the House and the Senate. The conferees direct HUD to issue a new NOFA to provide for up to three grants for the conversion of unused or underutilized commercial properties into assisted living facilities for the elderly from funds provided for section 202 conversions.
Includes $240,865,000 for section 811 housing for the disabled as proposed by the House instead of $217,723,000 as proposed by the Senate. Of this amount, $23,142,000 is for the renewal of section 811 tenant-based rental assistance as proposed by the House. Bill language is included clarifying the authorization of funds under this account for this purpose as proposed by the House. The Senate did not propose similar language and assumed funds for this purpose would be provided under the housing certificate fund account. In addition, up to $1,300,000 is provided for the renewal of project rental assistance for up to a one-year term as proposed by the House and the Senate.
The conferees reiterate direction included in the House report requiring HUD to review and modify procedures to simplify the section 811 application and review process.
Includes modified language transferring no less than $1,200,000 to the Working Capital Fund for development and maintenance of information technology systems, instead of $1,000,000 as proposed by the House and $3,000,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Does not include bill language specifying amounts for project rental assistance renewals as proposed by the Senate. The House did not designate specific amounts for renewals in bill language.
Includes language regarding the transfer of excess rental charges to this fund as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $13,566,000 for authorized activities from fees collected in the fund as proposed by the House instead of $17,254,000 as proposed by the Senate.
The conferees expect HUD to place a priority on monitoring safety inspections of homes and the issuance of inspection labels when determining the funding requirements for this program during fiscal year 2002. The conferees also reiterate the direction included in the Senate report requiring the use of all program fees to be fully identified in the fiscal year 2003 budget justifications.
Includes language proposed by the House clarifying that fee collections shall fully offset the expenditures from the fund. The Senate did not propose similar language.
Appropriates $336,700,000 for administrative expenses as proposed by the Senate instead of $330,888,000 as proposed by the House. Transfers $332,678,000 of this
amount to the salaries and expenses account as proposed by the Senate, instead of $326,866,000 as proposed by the House.
Appropriates $160,000,000 for administrative contract expenses as proposed by the Senate instead of $145,000,000 as proposed by the House. Includes language allowing up to $16,000,000 in additional administrative contract expenses to be made available in certain circumstances as proposed by the Senate. The House did not propose similar language.
Transfers no less than $118,400,000 from administrative contract expenses under this account to the Working Capital Fund for the development and maintenance of information technology systems, instead of $96,500,000 as proposed by the House. The Senate proposed to transfer $160,000,000 from this account and the general and special risk program account but did not designate the amounts to be transferred from each account.
Appropriates $15,000,000 for subsidy costs to support certain multifamily and special purpose loan guarantee programs. The conferees agree that funding for subsidy costs is to be allocated as follows:
--$6,919,000 for the section 221(d)(3) program;
--$5,250,000 for the section 241(a) supplemental loans for apartments program;
--$377,000 for the section 242 operating loss loans for apartments program;
--$377,000 for the section 232 operating loss loans program; and
--$2,077,000 for the section 2 property improvements program.
The conferees remind HUD that funds provided are to be used only for the programs specified above. The conferees direct HUD to improve management and oversight of all programs within the general and special risk insurance fund to ensure these programs operate in a financially sound manner. HUD is reminded that any deviations from the amounts specified above for each of these programs is subject to reprogramming requirements.
The conferees are aware that concerns have been raised about the calculation of credit subsidy for multifamily programs. The conferees understand that pursuant to the Federal Credit Reform Act, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for developing the risk model used to estimate the subsidy costs of all Federal credit programs, including FHA programs. Therefore, in lieu of the language included in the Senate report addressing this matter, the conferees expect HUD to work with the industry to review the technical assumptions provided by HUD to OMB for inclusion in the risk model.
The conferees also expect HUD to upgrade its information technology systems for the mutual mortgage insurance program account and the general and special risk program account. HUD needs to be able to mark each account to market at the end of each business day, including the volume of loan business and the extent of financial risk and exposure under each FHA mortgage insurance program, including the cost of all defaults and foreclosures. The conferees remain disappointed that HUD has not made the collection of this information a priority since, as of January 2001, HUD was responsible for over $500 billion in insured mortgages. As demand for FHA single-family and multifamily mortgage insurance grows, it is imperative that HUD understand the magnitude of its financial exposure and the extent of risk for loss.
Appropriates $216,100,000 for administrative expenses as proposed by the Senate instead of $211,455,000 as proposed by the House. Transfers $197,779,000 of this amount to the salaries and expenses account as proposed by the Senate, instead of $193,124,000 as proposed by the House.
Appropriates $144,000,000 for administrative contract expenses as proposed by the Senate instead of $139,000,000 as proposed by the House. Includes language allowing up to $14,400,000 in additional administrative contract expenses to be made available in certain circumstances as proposed by the Senate. The House did not propose similar language.
Transfers no less than $41,000,000 from administrative contract expenses under this account to the Working Capital Fund for the development and maintenance of information technology systems, instead of $33,500,000 as proposed by the House. The Senate proposed to transfer $160,000,000 from this account and the mutual mortgage insurance fund program account but did not designate the amounts to be transferred from each account.
The conferees reiterate the direction included in the Senate report requiring HUD to immediately amend its Asset Control Area discount and appraisal structure so that local governments and non-profit purchasers can rehabilitate and resell these properties at rates affordable to low-income residents. The conferees also reiterate the guidance in the Senate report regarding timely demolition of dilapidated homes and the payment of demolition costs.
The conferees reiterate the recommendation in the Senate report encouraging HUD to bundle and sell defaulted loans through auction in non-Asset Control Areas.
Appropriates $9,383,000 for administrative expenses to be transferred to the salaries and expenses account as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $50,250,000 for research and technology instead of $46,900,000 as proposed by the House and $53,404,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Includes $1,500,000 for the Millennial Housing Commission as proposed by the House. New language is included to extend the reporting and termination dates for this commission. The Senate proposed $1,500,000 and similar extension language under the salaries and expenses account.
Includes $1,000,000 for the Commission on Affordable Housing and Health Facility Needs for Seniors in the 21st Century, and includes new language to extend the reporting and termination dates for this commission. The House and the Senate did not address this matter.
Includes $8,750,000 for the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing Initiative, instead of $7,500,000 as proposed by the House and $10,000,000 as proposed by the Senate.
The conferees assume $23,000,000 will be allocated to the Housing Survey in fiscal year 2002, the same level proposed by the House and Senate.
The conferees reiterate the direction included in the Senate report denying demonstration authority without prior congressional approval.
Language proposed by the Senate designating $3,000,000 for program evaluation activities is not included.
Appropriates $45,899,000 for the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) and the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) as proposed by the House and the Senate. Of this amount, $20,250,000 is for FHIP, instead of $19,449,000 as proposed by the House and $24,000,000 as proposed by the Senate.
While overall funding for this account is provided at the fiscal year 2001 level, funding is no longer required for the Housing Discrimination Survey which received $7,500,000 in fiscal year 2001. Rather than reduce the account to reflect this change, the conferees have instead agreed to allocate the $7,500,000 equally between FHAP and FHIP to augment their activities. The conferees expect the additional funds allocated to FHAP to be used to reduce the backlog in case processing.
In lieu of the direction included in the House report, the conferees direct HUD to expedite utilization of funds provided under this account and to report quarterly on the obligation and expenditure of funds provided, by program and activity, with the first report due no later than February 15, 2002.
Appropriates $109,758,000 for lead hazard reduction, as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Of the amount provided, $3,500,000 is for a one-time grant to the National Center for Lead-Safe Housing to develop a database coordination project to integrate Federal, State and local lead activities, instead of $1,000,000 as proposed by the Senate. The House did not propose a similar provision.
The conferees agree to allocate funds as follows:
--$6,500,000 for Operation LEAP, a new initiative to provide competitive awards to non-profit organizations and the private sector for activities which leverage private-sector resources for local lead hazard control programs. The conferees direct HUD to provide an implementation plan for this new initiative to the Committees on Appropriations prior to the expenditure of these funds;
--$80,000,000 for grants to State and local governments, and Native American tribes, for lead-based paint abatement in private low-income housing;
--$9,758,000 for technical assistance and support to State and local agencies and private property owners; and
--$10,000,000 for the Healthy Homes Initiative for competitive grants for research, standards development, and education and outreach activities to address lead-based paint poisoning and other housing-related diseases and hazards.
The conferees reiterate the House report language regarding consideration of a proposal by the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning to create a Community Environmental Health Resource Center (CEHRC) to provide technical support, training, and education and outreach to community-based organizations to evaluate and control housing-related and community-wide health hazards. While the conferees have not included an earmark for the new organization, the conferees encourage HUD to evaluate a proposal from the Alliance to create the CEHRC and provide a grant if warranted.
The conferees encourage HUD to work through the Healthy Homes Initiative with other appropriate Federal agencies to conduct research and public education on health hazards associated with mold, excess moisture, and dust.
The conferees also reiterate the direction included in the Senate report requiring HUD to develop a policy to link Federal education, outreach, and remediation efforts with State, local, non-profit, and private funding.
Language proposed by the Senate earmarking $750,000 for CLEARCorps is not included. The House did not propose a similar provision.
Does not include language proposed by the House making technical changes to the Healthy Homes Initiative. The Senate did not propose similar changes.
Appropriates $1,097,292,000 for salaries and expenses instead of $1,076,800,000 as proposed by the House and $1,087,257,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Of the total amount provided, $530,457,000 is transferred from various FHA administrative funds as proposed by the Senate, instead of $520,000,000 as proposed by the House.
Includes language transferring $35,000 from the Native Hawaiian housing loan guarantee fund account as proposed by the Senate. The House did not include a similar provision.
Includes language providing not to exceed $25,000 for representation expenses, instead of $7,000 as proposed by the House and Senate.
The conferees agree that funds under this account are to be allocated among object classes at the levels specified in the budget justifications. HUD is reminded that any deviations are subject to reprogramming requirements.
The conferees reiterate the concerns expressed in the House report regarding HUD's approach to utilizing staff resources and the continued excessive cost per HUD employee as compared to other Federal agencies. Therefore, modified bill language is included, similar to language proposed by the House, requiring the Secretary to submit a staffing plan to the Committees on Appropriations no later than January 15, 2002. The conferees expect this staffing plan to be formulated based on the Resource Estimation and Allocation Process to match staffing requirements with programmatic responsibilities. The plan should identify staffing levels for each program delineated by headquarters and field offices. The conferees also expect this plan to include strategies to reduce the average salary cost per employee while reallocating staffing to address core mission requirements.
The conferees reiterate the direction included in the House report regarding the annual budget justifications submission.
The conferees reiterate the direction included in the Senate report prohibiting HUD from employing more than 77 schedule C and 20 non-career senior executive service employees.
The conferees note that the inability of HUD to provide useful data on program expenditures and performance has been a deficiency perennially cited by the Inspector General and General Accounting Office (GAO). The conferees remain committed to improving HUD's capacity to disseminate useful information about the performance of HUD programs to improve the ability of HUD and the Congress to assess the effectiveness of programs and more accurately determine resource requirements. Therefore, the conferees expect that HUD's information technology (IT) strategy will prioritize those investments needed to remedy the deficiencies identified by the Inspector General and GAO. Language has been included in various accounts in title II transferring no less than $351,150,000 to the Working Capital Fund (WCF) for the development and maintenance of information technology systems, an increase of $16,850,000 above the fiscal year 2001 level. HUD is directed to provide the Committees on Appropriations a fiscal year 2002 spending plan for the WCF no later than January 15, 2002, consistent with the format of the multi-year IT plan submitted to the Committees on August 22, 2001.
The conferees understand that most of the WCF increase requested for fiscal year 2002 is for the planning and development activities related to the re-competition of the HUD Integrated Information Processing Service (HIIPS) contract. To this point little information has been provided to the Committees about HUD's plans for re-competition of HIIPS and the costs associated with implementation of the HIIPS re-competition. Therefore, HUD is directed to provide a comprehensive report on the strategy, status, and out-year funding requirements for HIIPS prior to the expenditure of any of the increase provided for fiscal year 2002.
The conferees also reiterate the direction included in the House report requiring HUD to submit a multi-year IT plan as part of its fiscal year 2003 budget submission. The conferees request that the Inspector General review this plan and provide its views to the Committees on the ability of this plan to improve oversight and management of HUD programs.
While the conferees do not adopt the language in the Senate report related to the Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring (OMHAR), the conferees are seriously concerned with the manner in which OMHAR is currently being managed. The conferees are deeply disturbed to learn that OMHAR, an office which has enjoyed a unique amount of autonomy in the management of its staffing and the allocation of its funds, has violated the Anti-Deficiency Act in two out of the three years of its existence. As troubling to the conferees is the fact that the Committees on Appropriations were not notified of these violations sooner. The conferees fully intend to investigate the circumstances that led to these violations, and will take action at the appropriate time. In the interim, the Department is directed to revoke OMHAR's funds allotment privileges and provide vigorous financial and management oversight of OMHAR.
Appropriates $93,898,000 for the Office of Inspector General as proposed by the House instead of $88,898,000 as proposed by the Senate. Of this amount, $5,000,000 is provided by transfer from the public housing operating fund account, instead of $10,000,000 as proposed by the House.
Of the amount provided, $5,000,000 is exclusively for anti-predatory lending and anti-flipping activities. These funds are to augment, not supplant, funds already being devoted to such activities. The conferees expect that staff previously engaged in Operation Safe Home activities will be redirected to support these efforts. The OIG is directed to submit a staffing plan to the Committees on Appropriations no later than January 15, 2002.
Includes a rescission of $6,700,000 from the Fund as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $27,000,000 for the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) to be derived from collections available in the Federal Housing Enterprises Oversight Fund as proposed by the Senate instead of $23,000,000 as proposed by the House. Of the amount provided, $4,000,000 is for a one-time increase to address information technology requirements.
Includes language requiring OFHEO to submit a staffing plan to the Committees on Appropriations by January 30, 2002. The conferees expect this staffing plan to prioritize OFHEO's activities relative to implementation of the new risk-based capital regulation. The conferees are aware that a one-year transition period has been provided for implementation of this rule. Should additional resources be required to implement this rule, the conferees will evaluate such requirements when developing the fiscal year 2003 budget.
Includes modified language related to the allocation of HOPWA funds for the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina metropolitan areas, similar to language proposed by the House and the Senate.
Does not include language proposed by the Senate extending section 236 excess income eligibility. The House did not include a similar provision.
Does not include language proposed by the Senate amending section 223(d) of the National Housing Act to authorize insurance for the purchase of existing hospital facilities. The House did not include a similar provision.
Includes language repealing the authorization sunset provisions for certain housing counseling assistance activities as proposed by the Senate. The House did not include a similar provision.
Includes language changing the premium structure for section 203(k) and section 234 single family loans as proposed by the House. The Senate proposed the same changes with minor technical language differences related to implementation.
Includes language authorizing the Secretary to waive the 40 percent rent ceiling under section 8 for an assisted living demonstration project in Michigan as proposed by the House. The Senate did not include a similar provision.
Does not include language proposed by the Senate expanding HUD's authority to establish and determine the appropriate use of certain mortgage insurance programs for hospital facilities. The House did not include a similar provision.
Does not include language proposed by the Senate expanding HUD's authority to establish and determine the appropriate use of certain mortgage insurance programs for nursing home facilities. The House did not include a similar provision.
Includes language authorizing HUD's Credit Watch program as proposed by the Senate. The House did not include a similar provision. This provision will clarify existing law to ensure that HUD has the authority to continue to implement the Credit Watch program. This program allows HUD to identify FHA lenders that originate a large number of loans that default quickly, which can be a key indicator of underwriting problems or fraud, and take corrective actions. By eliminating unqualified or unscrupulous lenders, the conferees hope HUD can reduce the number of foreclosed properties. The conferees also believe that further action may be necessary to protect homebuyers and communities, and expects HUD to consider additional steps that could be taken and report back to the appropriate committees with its recommendations.
Includes language requiring all title II programs to comply with the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 as proposed by the Senate. The House did not include a similar provision.
Includes modified language exempting Alaska, Mississippi, and Iowa from the statutory requirement of having a resident on the board of a PHA, similar to language proposed by the Senate. The House did not include a similar provision. The conferees are concerned that barriers continue to exist in some States which preclude full implementation of the statutory requirement that public housing residents be full participants on PHA boards. While language is again included providing exemptions to this requirement, the conferees believe that the States should take the appropriate actions necessary to remove barriers, rather than continuing to seek exemptions from the statute. The conferees direct HUD to review the status of implementation of this requirement, identify the factors precluding full implementation and actions being taken by the appropriate State or local entities to remove these barriers, and report its findings to the Committees on Appropriations no later than May 30, 2002.
Includes modified language requiring the Secretary to maintain section 8 rental assistance for any HUD-owned or HUD-held property occupied by an elderly or disabled resident, similar to language proposed by the Senate. The House did not include a similar provision.
Includes language proposed by the Senate amending the National Housing Act to increase the statutory loan limits on certain FHA multifamily and single-family programs. The House did not include a similar provision.
Does not include language proposed by the Senate related to the construction of a tribal student housing project. The House did not include a similar provision.
Includes language modifying the authorized purposes and availability of funds provided to the University of South Carolina in Public Law 106-554 as proposed by the Senate. The House did not include a similar provision.
Includes language amending section 247 of the National Housing Act to change the definitions and eligibility for single-family mortgage insurance on Hawaiian homelands as proposed by the Senate. The House did not include a similar provision.
Includes language waiving the environmental review procedures for certain HOME projects in Arkansas provided certain conditions are met as proposed by the Senate. The House did not include a similar provision.
Includes language proposed by the Senate providing flexible use of existing HOPE VI funds awarded for the Hollander Ridge project. The House did not include a similar provision.
Does not include language proposed by the Senate to change the Fair Housing Act's definition of discrimination based on sex from one based on gender to one based upon victimization from domestic violence. The House did not include a similar provision. The conferees direct HUD to work with PHAs to develop plans to protect victims of domestic violence from being discriminated against in receiving or maintaining public housing because of their victimization.
Appropriates $35,466,000 for salaries and expenses as proposed by the House instead of $28,466,000 as proposed by the Senate. Within the appropriated level, $2,000,000 has been provided to complete the backlogged maintenance work identified prior to fiscal year 1998. The conferees commend ABMC for its diligence in identifying, prioritizing, and completing this necessary maintenance, and expect the Commission to report to the Committees on Appropriations, prior to May 1st of each fiscal year, on the current state of maintenance requirements throughout the cemetery system.
The conferees have also provided an additional $5,000,000 above the budget request for the study, planning, and initial construction costs related to a new visitors center at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial near St. Laurent-sur-Mer, France. The conferees are cognizant of the unique circumstances at the Normandy Cemetery, which is both the solemn resting place for 9,387 servicemen and women and a tourist destination for in excess of 1,000,000 annual visitors. Current visitor facilities are entirely inadequate to properly serve those individuals in need of privacy and counseling, as well as those who wish to better understand the historical perspective of the battles that occurred nearby. The conferees intend that in the development of appropriate plans regarding the placement, scope, and character of such a new visitor center, the Commission consult with a variety of entities, including the National Park Service, which may have particular expertise with facilities of this nature.
Appropriates $7,850,000 for salaries and expenses instead of $8,000,000 as proposed by the House and $7,621,000 as proposed by the Senate. Of the amount appropriated, $2,500,000 is available until September 30, 2003 and $5,350,000 is available until September 20, 2002. Bill language has been included again this fiscal year which limits the number of career Senior Executive Service positions to three.
Appropriates $80,000,000 for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund as proposed by the House instead of $100,000,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Includes $5,000,000 for technical assistance designed to benefit Native American communities as proposed by the Senate instead of $500,000 as proposed by the House. The conferees agree that Native Hawaiian and Alaskan Native communities are eligible entities for this program.
Provides $9,500,000 for administrative expenses instead of $8,948,000 as proposed by the House and $9,850,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Provides for a limitation on the amount of direct loans of $51,800,000 as proposed by the Senate, instead of $15,000,000 as proposed by the House.
The conferees agree with the direction of the Senate calling for inclusion of a report on rural lending practices as part of the fiscal year 2003 budget submission.
Appropriates $55,200,000 for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, salaries and expenses, instead of $54,200,000 as proposed by the House and $56,200,000 as proposed by the Senate. The amount provided represents a $1,000,000 increase above the budget request to maintain the current level of staffing and operational expenses.
The conferees are aware of public concerns about the potential health and safety risks related to the use of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) to treat wood playground equipment. To this end, the conferees direct CPSC to report to the Committees on Appropriations by February 15, 2002, on the steps being taken to identify whether there are significant health and safety risks to children playing on and around CCA-treated wood playground equipment. Such report shall also include the actions CPSC is taking to keep state and local governments, as well as consumers, informed about their findings on the health effects associated with CCA-treated wood playground equipment.
Appropriates $401,980,000 for national and community service program operating expenses instead of $415,480,000 as proposed by the Senate. The House did not provide any new funds for fiscal year 2002 operations, but did not eliminate the agency.
Limits funds as proposed by the Senate to not more than: $31,000,000 for administrative expenses of which $2,000,000 is to be for a cost accounting system; $2,500 for official reception and representation expenses; $5,000,000 from the National Service Trust for national service scholarships for high school students performing community service; $240,492,000 for AmeriCorp grants, of which not to exceed $47,000,000 may be for national direct programs and $25,000,000 for E-Corps; $43,000,000 for school-based and community-based service learning programs; $28,488,000 for quality and innovation activities under subtitle H of title I; and $5,000,000 for audits and other evaluations.
The conferees have agreed to the Senate proposal of $25,000,000 for the National Civilian Community Corps, an increase of $4,000,000 over fiscal year 2001. Additional funds are provided to expand the number of AmeriCorps members serving at the five campuses currently in operation.
The conferees deleted without prejudice funding for the Veterans Mission for Youth Program as proposed by the Senate and agreed to not fund the Silver Scholarship program. The conferees believe the authorizing committees of jurisdiction should
evaluate and legislate these programs in the overall consideration of the Corporation's reauthorization.
The conferees direct the Corporation to provide quarterly status reports to the Committees, beginning in January 2002, on the implementation of the new cost accounting system and on the expenditure of awards under the Trust Fund. The Corporation should also provide a copy of the Trust Fund award report to the IG. The conferees agree to the Senate proposal to provide not more than $10,000,000 for the Points of Light Foundation of which $2,500,000 may be used for establishment of an endowment; authorizes the Points of Light Foundation to use up to $2,500,000 of previously appropriated funds for this endowment; $7,500,000 for America's Promise; $5,000,000 for Communities In Schools; $2,500,000 for the YMCA; $1,000,000 for Teach For America; and $1,500,000 for Parents As Teachers. In addition, the conferees provide $1,500,000 for the Youth Life Foundation (YLF) for the same purposes contained in the fiscal year 2001 Statement of Managers (House Report 106-988). The conferees also expect YLF to continue its effort in coordinating and collaborating its activities with America's Promise.
Appropriates $5,000,000 for Office of Inspector General as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $13,221,000 for salaries and expenses as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $22,537,000 for salaries and expenses as proposed by the House instead of $18,437,000 as proposed by the Senate. The conferees agreed to include funds over the request to complete construction of the proposed columbarium.
Appropriates $70,228,000 for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences as proposed by the House and the Senate. Of the appropriated amount, $45,824,000 is for research and $24,404,000 is for worker training activities.
Appropriates $78,235,000 for toxic substances and environmental public health as proposed by the House and the Senate. Bill language has again this year been included which permits the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to conduct other appropriate health studies and evaluations or activities in lieu of health assessments pursuant to section 104(i)(6) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA). The language further stipulates that in the conduct of such other health assessments, evaluations or activities, the ATSDR shall not be bound by the deadlines imposed in section 104(i)(6)(A) of CERCLA. Funds provided for fiscal year 2002 cannot be used by the ATSDR to conduct in excess of 40 toxicological profiles.
The conferees once again encourage ATSDR to provide adequate funds for minority health professions and for the ongoing health effects study on the consumption of Great Lakes fish.
Finally, the conferees have again agreed to cap administrative costs charged by the CDC at 7.5 percent of the amount appropriated herein for the ATSDR.
Appropriates $698,089,000 for science and technology instead of $680,410,000 as proposed by the House and $665,672,000 as proposed by the Senate.
The conferees have agreed to the following increases above the budget request:
1. $2,500,000 for EPSCoR;
2. $4,000,000 for the Water Environment Research Foundation;
3. $5,000,000 for the American Water Works Association Research Foundation;
4. $2,000,000 for the National Decentralized Water Resource Capacity Development Project, in coordination with EPA, for continued training and research and development program;
5. $750,000 for the Integrated Public/Private Energy and Environmental Consortium (IPEC) to develop cost-effective environmental technology, improved business practices, and technology transfer for the domestic petroleum industry;
6. $750,000 for the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium (GHP);
7. $500,000 for the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research;
8. $1,000,000 for the Center for the Study of Metals in the Environment;
9. $750,000 for the University of South Alabama, Center for Estuarine Research;
10. $500,000 to the University of California, Riverside for continued research of advanced vehicle design, advanced transportation systems, vehicle emissions, and atmospheric pollution at the CE-CERT facility;
11. $750,000 for the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District for research and design (cost evaluation and environmental studies) of a mitigation project addressing the city's contaminated high groundwater table and dangers presented by liquefaction;
12. $750,000 to the City of San Bernardino Municipal Water Department's Enhanced Reliability System of Improvements for water distribution and storage in San Bernardino, California;
13. $1,000,000 to improve the transmission, distribution, and storage of potable water in the City of Needles, California;
14. $750,000 for planning, design, and development of a groundwater storage system in the City of San Bernardino, California;
15. $750,000 to the City of Glendale, California working in conjunction with the Utah State University in Logan, Utah, the University of Colorado in Boulder, and UCLA for a research study and pilot treatment plant focused on the removal of chromium 6 from water;
16. $750,000 to the Central California Air Quality Coalition for a California Regional Sacramento and San Francisco Bay Air Quality study for ozone;
17. $1,300,000 for the National Jewish Medical and Research Center for research on the relationship between indoor and outdoor pollution and the development of respiratory diseases;
18. $1,500,000 for the Connecticut River Airshed-Watershed Consortium;
19. $1,250,000 to the University of Miami in Florida for the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science;
20. $500,000 for the creation of a Center for Environmental Science, a joint project of the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory;
21. $1,000,000 for environmental education and research at the Turtle Cove Research Station, Louisiana;
22. $1,000,000 for the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education at the University of Maryland Baltimore County;
23. $250,000 to the University of New England for the National Center for Marine Mammal Rehabilitation and Research in Biddeford, Maine;
24. $1,250,000 for the Great Lakes Hydrological Center of Excellence partnership by Western Michigan University and the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan;
25. $500,000 for the Missouri River Institute for research and outreach;
26. $3,900,000 for the Mine Waste Technology Program at the National Environmental Waste Technology, Testing, and Evaluation Center;
27. $500,000 to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for the Bioterrorism Water Quality Protection Program with the aim of developing highly automated and inexpensive testing protocols;
28. $1,500,000 to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the Schools of Public Health and Medicine to advance the `one atmosphere' approach to determining the health effects of air pollution;
29. $1,200,000 for the Center for Air Toxic Metals at the Energy and Environmental Research Center;
30. $500,000 to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Water Sciences Laboratory at the Water Center for field and laboratory equipment;
31. $500,000 to the University of New Hampshire for groundwater contamination research conducted at the Bedrock Bioremediation Center;
32. $750,000 for the Cancer Institute of New Jersey for research of the influence of environmental factors in cancer causation;
33. $1,000,000 for the National Environmental Respiratory Center at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute;
34. $100,000 for a study of air quality and noise pollution of the neighborhoods surrounding LaGuardia Airport;
35. $500,000 to Rockland County, New York for an assessment of environmental hazards in Rockland county and the east side of Manhattan;
36. $1,000,000 for continuation of the South Bronx Air Pollution Study being conducted by New York University;
37. $1,500,000 to Syracuse University, New York to develop alternative approaches to assessing the impact of pollutants on environmental systems;
38. $500,000 to the Syracuse Research Corporation in Syracuse, New York for the development of a Probability Risk Assessment Center;
39. $500,000 to the Rivers and Estuaries Center on the Hudson in New York for research on river and estuarine environments;
40. $1,257,000 to the Environmental Technology Commercialization Center in Cleveland, Ohio for the National Environmental Technology Incubator and technology commercialization activities;
41. $1,000,000 to Saint Vincent College in Pennsylvania for an environmental education and teacher preparation initiative;
42. $750,000 for a collaborative effort between the University of Tennessee, Western Carolina University and Emory University for the Air Quality Improvements for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Initiative;
43. $1,500,000 for the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center;
44. $1,000,000 for the Gulf Coast Hazardous Substance Research Center;
45. $350,000 to the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research at Tarleton State University;
46. $3,500,000 to the University of Houston, Texas for the Texas Learning Computation Center's Environmental Initiative;
47. $1,500,000 to the National Environmental Policy Institute for implementation of a pilot program to address air quality and pollution in a region through the use of telework;
48. $100,000 for the University of Vermont's Proctor Maple Research Center to continue mercury deposition monitoring effects;
49. $250,000 for acid rain research at the University of Vermont;
50. $1,300,000 for the Canaan Valley Institute to continue to develop a regional sustainability support center and coordinated information system in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands;
51. $970,000 for the Canaan Valley Institute in close coordination with the Regional Vulnerability and Assessment (ReVA) initiative to develop research and
educational tools using integrative technologies to predict future environmental risk and support informed, proactive decision-making to be undertaken in conjunction with the Highlands action program; and
52. $500,000 for the National Energy Technology Laboratory for continued activities of a comprehensive clean water initiative in cooperation with EPA Region III.
The conferees have provided an additional $68,200 for civil enforcement and capacity building activities, bringing the fiscal year 2002 funding level for those programs to no less than the fiscal year 2001 level.
The conferees have agreed to reduce funding for hazardous waste research $1,494,100 below the budget request level.
The conferees have agreed to provide $4,000,000 from within available funds throughout the Science and Technology account, for the research, development, and validation of non-animal, alternative chemical screening and prioritization methods, such as rapid, non-animal screens and Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (QSAR), for potential inclusion in EPA's current and future relevant chemical evaluation programs. Activities funded in this regard should be designed in consultation with the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxic Substances.
The conferees continue to support the partnership between the EPA and the National Technology Transfer Center and expect the Agency to continue the cooperative agreement at the fiscal year 2001 level.
Appropriates $2,054,511,000 for environmental programs and management instead of $2,004,599,000 as proposed by the House and $2,061,996,200 as proposed by the Senate.
The conferees have agreed to the following increases to the budget request:
1. $16,000,000 for rural water technical assistance activities and ground water protection with distribution as follows: $9,000,000 for the NRWA; $3,500,000 for RCAP; $750,000 for GWPC; $1,750,000 for Small Flows Clearinghouse; and $1,000,000 for the NETC;
2. $1,000,000 for implementation of the National Biosolids Partnership Program;
3. $2,000,000 for the source water protection program;
4. $5,000,000 to accelerate the development of new and update current IRIS values;
5. $1,750,000 for Chesapeake Bay small watershed grants, to be expended as specified in Senate Report 107-43. This increase, along with EPA's redirection of $698,700 in fiscal year 2001 EPM funds to the Chesapeake Bay Program for fiscal year 2002 will result in a total of $21,267,400 available in fiscal year 2002 for the Chesapeake Bay Program. This amount is $539,300 above the fiscal year 2001 level;
6. $537,600 for the Great Lakes National Program Office for a total program level of $15,500,000;
7. $5,500,000 for the National Estuary Program for a total program level of $22,553,200. The conferees recommend that a minimum of 65 percent of the funds provided for the National Estuary Program be reserved for programs in the estuaries of national significance for which the Administrator has convened a management conference by the date of enactment of this appropriation Act pursuant to section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, for the development and implementation of a comprehensive conservation and management plan;
8. $1,545,200 for the Lake Champlain Basin Program for a total program level of $2,500,000;
9. $2,022,600 for the Long Island Sound Program Office for a total program level of $2,500,000;
10. $2,500,000 for the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium;
11. $200,000 for the Northeast Waste Management Officials Association to continue solid waste, hazardous waste, cleanup and pollution prevention programs;
12. $500,000 for the Kenai River Center for continued research on watershed issues;
13. $1,000,000 for the Columbia Basin Groundwater Management Area;
14. $1,000,000 for the Frank M. Tejeda Center for Excellence in Environmental Operations;
15. $4,700,000 for America's Clean Water Foundation for implementation of on-farm environmental assessments for livestock operations;
16. $850,000 for the Southcoast Harbor education and monitoring project;
17. $2,500,000 for the Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy;
18. $250,000 for the Northwest Straits Commission;
19. $4,000,000 for the Small Public Water System Technology Centers at Western Kentucky University, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Alaska-Sitka; Pennsylvania State University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, Montana State University, the University of Illinois, and Mississippi State University, with each Center to receive $500,000;
20. $1,000,000 to the Gas Technology Institute for the Agricultural Mixed Waste Thermo-Depolymerization BioRefinery Project;
21. $700,000 for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management for the water and wastewater training program;
22. $500,000 to the Pima County Wastewater Management Department for a regional water quality research project in Arizona;
23. $300,000 to Riverside County, California for continued work on the Special Area Management Plan portion of the Riverside County Integrated Plan;
24. $500,000 to the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Authority for the development, planning and design of watershed restoration projects;
25. $750,000 to Ventura County, California for the completion and implementation of the Calleguas Creek Watershed Management Plan;
26. $250,000 to establish a Santa Ana River Watershed Research and Training Program at the Water Resources Institute of California State University, San Bernardino;
27. $500,000 to the Sacramento County, California Regional Sanitation District to continue the Sacramento River Toxic Pollutant Control Program and the Sacramento River Watershed Program;
28. $500,000 to the National Park Service/Golden Gate National Parks Association for the Crissy Field tidal marsh wetlands monitoring and restoration project;
29. $500,000 for MTBE remedial activities in Santa Monica, California;
30. $500,000 for cross-media and water quality monitoring in the Sweetwater River watershed, California;
31. $500,000 for Gateway Cities, California, diesel emissions reduction program;
32. $250,000 for the Central California ozone study;
33. $250,000 to Miami-Dade County, Florida for lead screening, testing, outreach education and abatement in the Liberty City neighborhood;
34. $200,000 to Miami-Dade County, Florida to expand the existing environmental education program;
35. $500,000 to the Southwest Water Management for fishery and habitat restoration in Lake Panasoffkee, Florida;
36. $850,000 for the University of West Florida to determine if a connection exists between elevated levels of illness in Northwest Florida and the levels of toxic pollutants in the area;
37. $1,500,000 to Columbus Water Works in Georgia for an Advanced Biosolids Flow-Through Thermophilic Treatment Process demonstration project;
38. $100,000 for the American Farmland Trust to continue support for the design for the environment for farms program in Hawaii and the American Pacific;
39. $400,000 for the County of Hawaii and the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board to establish and implement a community development model for renewable resource management by upgrading solid waste transfer stations into community recycling centers;
40. $500,000 for the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii to promote biotechnology to reduce pesticide use in tropical and subtropical agricultural production;
41. $250,000 for the County of Maui for the control of nuisance seaweed accumulations on the beaches of Kihei, Maui, Hawaii;
42. $1,000,000 to the Water Systems Council to assist in the effective delivery of water to rural citizens nationwide;
43. $750,000 for the painting and coating assistance initiative through the University of Northern Iowa;
44. $750,000 for the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University for the Resource and Agricultural Policy Systems program;
45. $500,000 for the Small Business Pollution Prevention Center at the University of Northern Iowa;
46. $1,000,000 for Boise State University for developing multipurpose sensors to detect and analyze environmental contaminants;
47. $900,000 for the Environmental Biotechnology Institute at the University of Idaho to develop selenium control technologies;
48. $2,000,000 for the Coeur d'Alene Basin Commission, established by the State of Idaho to carry out pilot program for environmental response, natural resource restoration and related activities;
49. $500,000 to the Lake County, Illinois Stormwater Management Commission for an assessment of natural resources in the Upper Des Plaines River watershed;
50. $500,000 to Raccoon Lake, Centralia, Illinois for implementation of a water supply plan including engineering and design costs;
51. $500,000 to Purdue University in Indiana for the Contaminant Remediation Optimization Program (CROP);
52. $200,000 to the City of Shreveport, Louisiana to provide technical support for the Mayor's Clean Air Citizens Advisory Committee;
53. $100,000 for a regional water and sewer consolidation study in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana;
54. $4,000,000 for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program;
55. $200,000 for a study of air quality in the Shreve-Bossier area of Louisiana;
56. $500,000 to the University of Maryland for the Regional Earth Sciences Center and mapping of wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
57. $750,000 for the Maryland Bureau of Mines for an acid mine drainage remediation project;
58. $1,000,000 for projects demonstrating the benefits of Low Impact Development along the Anacostia Watershed in Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties, Maryland;
59. $500,000 for the Michigan Biotechnology Institute for development and demonstration of environmental cleanup technologies;
60. $500,000 to the Cranbrook Education Community to implement a storm water management plan within the Upper Rouge River watershed;
61. $1,000,000 for the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute's Missouri watershed initiative project;
62. $500,000 for the City of Lake St. Louis, Missouri for a Water Quality study of Peruque Creek Watershed;
63. $300,000 to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina for the continuation and expansion of the Charlotte Surface Water Improvement and Management program;
64. $850,000 for continued activities of the North Carolina Central University research initiative;
65. $400,000 to Wake County, North Carolina for planning, environmental analysis and design of a watershed management plan;
66. $250,000 to the Crop Life Foundation for a North Carolina Environmental Stewardship Project;
67. $750,000 to the Town of Rosman, North Carolina for the development of engineering plans for addressing the Town's wastewater infrastructure needs;
68. $250,000 to Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey for the Environmental Community Revitalization and Research Initiative as a demonstration program;
69. $200,000 to the Borough of Rutherford, New Jersey for an engineering study of the area's sanitary sewer collection system;
70. $13,600 for the water quality monitoring program along the New Jersey-New York shoreline for a total of $300,000;
71. $1,500,000 to continue the sediment decontamination technology demonstration in the New York-New Jersey Harbor;
72. $100,000 for Fallon, Nevada, for arsenic removal technologies;
73. $750,000 to Alfred University of Alfred, New York for the Center for Environmental and Energy Research (CEER);
74. $250,000 to the Town of Babylon, New York for a feasibility study on expanding the Southwest Sewer District;
75. $500,000 for the development of an Environmental Leadership Institute at Niagara University, New York;
76. $250,000 to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to create a National Materials Recovery and Recycling Center of Excellence;
77. $1,500,000 for continued work on the water quality management plans for the Central New York watersheds in Onondaga and Cayuga counties;
78. $500,000 to Cornell University in New York for a demonstration project in Skaneateles, Otisco and Oneida Lake Watersheds to study the effectiveness of biological controls in addressing the environmental and ecological problems caused by milfoil, waterchestnuts and other aquatic weeds;
79. $150,000 to the State University of New York's Environmental School of Forestry for the Otisco Lake Watershed Evaluation Project;
80. $1,400,000 for the Ohio River Watershed Pollutant Reduction Program;
81. $500,000 for the Integrated Petroleum Environmental Consortium;
82. $100,000 to the City of Altus, Oklahoma to conduct environmental engineering studies for the expansion of water treatment facilities;
83. $130,000 to the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania for lead screening, testing, outreach, education and abatement;
84. $500,000 for the Brazos-Navasota watershed management project;
85. $250,000 for the Envision Utah Project;
86. $250,000 for the Vermont Department of Agriculture to work with conservation districts to reduce non-point source pollution run-off to the Poultney-Mettowee watershed;
87. $500,000 to King County, Washington for the Direct Carbonate Fuel Cell Demonstration Project;
88. $500,000 to Franklin, Grant, and Adams Counties to support the Groundwater Management Area in Washington State;
89. $50,000 to the Lake Washington Technical College--Redmond campus for the next phase of the environmental assessment of a DoD site;
90. $1,750,000 to the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District in Wisconsin for a biosolids treatment demonstration project;
91. $600,000 for a two year study of sewer system improvements for Superior, Wisconsin;
92. $1,230,000 for on-going activities at the Canaan Valley Institute, including activities relating to community sustainability;
93. $300,000 for the continued implementation of the Potomac River Visions Initiative through the Friends of the Potomac;
94. $200,000 to the Polymer Alliance Zone's MARCEE Initiative with oversight being provided by the Office of Solid Waste.
The conferees have also included an increase of $8,664,000 for enforcement activities conducted by the EPA through the Environmental Programs and Management account. Agency-wide, the conferees have restored $15,001,100 for enforcement programs and activities conducted through the Science and Technology, Hazardous Substance Superfund, and Environmental Programs and Management accounts, bringing the Agency funding total for enforcement to slightly more than the fiscal year 2001 level. The conferees expect the Agency to restore federal enforcement positions in accordance with the fiscal year 2001 Operating Plan. The conferees recognize that restoring these enforcement positions may result in the on-board personnel level at EPA to exceed 17,500 FTEs.
The conferees have agreed to the following reductions from the budget request:
1. $1,322,900 from Administrative Services;
2. $2,097,800 from Direct Public Information and Assistance;
3. $2,298,700 from Public Access programs;
4. $2,581,200 from Regional Management activities;
5. $2,896,400 from Reinvention programs;
6. $3,234,800 from Project XL; and
7. $11,260,200 as a general reduction.
The conferees direct the Agency to provide no less than the fiscal year 2001 funding level for continuing operation of the Environmental Education programs.
The conferees have, within available funds, provided $2,000,000 for the eight Environmental Finance Centers. This represents an increase of $751,000 over the budget request for this excellent program. Also within available funds, the Agency is directed to provide $3,000,000 above the budget request level for implementation of the High Production Volume Chemical Challenge Program; $200,000 for setting standards and to increase awareness of the benefits of ambient temperature glass technology; and $500,000 for the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies to provide information to the wastewater treatment industry regarding security measures, and to facilitate communication and coordination between the wastewater treatment industry and relevant governmental agencies in order to increase security at wastewater facilities throughout the nation.
Again this year, the Agency is directed to provide no less than the budget request levels for Pesticide Registration and Re-registration programs. Further, up to $9,000,000 requested to support 87 FTEs in the re-registration program may be used to support tolerance reassessment activities. Bill language has again been included in title IV, General Provisions, prohibiting funds for use to promulgate a final regulation to implement changes in the payment of pesticide tolerance processing fees as proposed at 64 Federal Register 31040, or any similar proposal. Finally, the conferees direct the Agency to use $1,500,000 from within available funds (other than those funds budgeted and provided specifically for registration, re-registration, and tolerance assessment activities) to further demonstrate the current, as well as the proposed expanded role of the Agency, regarding the expedited review and registration of reduced risk pesticides. The Agency is urged to provide for the Committees on Appropriations a detailed report on the results of this demonstration and any specific plans the Agency may have to expand the program.
The conferees have provided, also from within available funds, $2,000,000 for the Administrator to develop and carry out a lamp recycling outreach program. In order
to increase awareness of proper disposal methods among commercial and industrial users of energy efficient mercury-containing lamps, including fluorescent and high discharge lamps, this program should be used to promote lamp recycling, in compliance with the provisions of Federal and State Universal Waste Rules. The program is to be developed jointly with State environmental agencies, and with lamp manufacturers and lamp recyclers, either as individual companies, or collectively through their trade associations.
The conferees have provided the full budget request for the Endocrine Disrupter Screening Program and direct that no reductions be proposed in the operating plan submission for this important program. In addition, the conferees are encouraged that the Agency is establishing the Endocrine Disruptor Methods Validation Subcommittee (EDMVS) of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy (NACEPT). The EDMVS will provide a means by which interested parties can participate to express their concerns and work to ensure a scientifically sound validation process for the animal and non-animal based screens and tests in the developing program. The conferees urge EPA to develop validation processes that incorporate the advice of the EDMVS, and the Agency is requested to provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations on the status of the EDMVS by March 15, 2002.
The conferees are aware of the extraordinary success the military services have achieved in recent years by utilizing pulse technology in vehicles and equipment. This technology has contributed to significant cost savings in battery management programs and has enhanced the ability of the military services to increase the effectiveness of their environmental responsibilities through the extension of the service life of its batteries. In light of this success of the military, the conferees expect EPA to actively investigate the environmental and monetary benefits that could be realized by encouraging government-wide use of pulse technology in the maintenance of the federal vehicle fleet and other applicable equipment.
In August 2000, EPA published an assessment of the state of the streams of the Mid-Atlantic Highlands area. Because of the importance of the Mid-Atlantic Highlands and the success of the aforementioned assessment, the conferees direct the Agency to prepare a follow-up report on the state of the Mid-Atlantic Highlands as a whole by April 15, 2002. Further, consistent with the House Report accompanying H.R. 2620, the Administrator is expected to enter into an interagency agreement with other federal agencies and cooperative agreements with states, local governments and non-governmental organizations to carry out the goals of the Mid-Atlantic Highlands program.
The conferees note that EPA's August 1, 2001, draft report on `The National Costs of the Total Maximum Daily Load Program' does not provide any information on the cost of regulatory changes to the TMDL program on small businesses, notwithstanding specific language in the statement of managers accompanying the fiscal year 2001 appropriations Act directing EPA to conduct that analysis. The conferees intend EPA to estimate the cost to small businesses from implementation of that rule, whether those costs are imposed directly by EPA or indirectly by State programs implementing EPA regulations.
The conferees continue to support efforts being undertaken by state energy, environmental, utility and transportation agencies to integrate their programs, policies, and regulations. The conferees encourage the relevant federal agencies to actively support and participate in this effort.
The conferees are aware that controversy has surrounded adoption of EPA's mixture and derived-from rules. In its adoption of a final rule in May 2001, EPA expressed its intent to continue to pursue actions to provide exemptions for certain low-risk wastes as identified through public comments and scientific documentation. The conferees expect the Agency to expedite the review of any requests for exemptions that may result in the management of certain residues and mixtures as non-hazardous waste, and to finalize those exemptions only where science supports such a determination.
The conferees agree that unspent funds made available in prior year appropriation Acts for certain activities or projects in Cortland County, New York may be used to fund additional projects specifically in that county.
The conferees are aware of public concerns about the potential health and safety risks related to the use of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) to treat wood playground equipment. To this end, the conferees direct EPA to report to the Committees on Appropriations by February 15, 2002, on the steps being taken to identify whether there are significant health and safety risks to children playing on and around CCA-treated wood playground equipment. Such report shall also include the actions EPA is taking to keep state and local governments, as well as the public, informed about their findings on the health effects associated with CCA-treated wood playground equipment.
The conferees are aware of significant and increasing water quality and water quantity problems along the Fox River watershed in Kane, McHenry, Lake, Kendall, DeKalb, and LaSalle Counties, Illinois. The conferees urge that available funds to EPA be used to initiate the development of aggregated watershed data, a watershed-wide Geographic Information System (GIS), overall watershed water quality assessment and modeling, and a framework for facilitating a comprehensive watershed management plan. Any grants made by EPA for this project should be provided to the Illinois EPA.
Appropriates $34,019,000 for the Office of Inspector General as proposed by the House and the Senate. In addition to amounts appropriated directly to the OIG, $11,867,000 is also available by transfer from funds appropriated for Hazardous Substance Superfund.
Appropriates $25,318,000 for buildings and facilities as proposed by the House.
Appropriates $1,270,000,000 for hazardous substance superfund as proposed by the House instead of $1,274,645,560 as proposed by the Senate. Bill language provides that $635,000,000 of the appropriated amount is to be derived from the Superfund Trust Fund, while the remaining $635,000,000 is to be derived from General Revenues of the Treasury. Additional language provides for the transfer of $11,867,000 to the Office of Inspector General, and for the transfer of $36,891,000 to the Science and Technology account as proposed by the House instead of $36,890,500 as proposed by the Senate.
The conferees have agreed to the following fiscal year 2002 funding levels:
1. $910,070,000 for Superfund response and cleanup activities.
2. $139,346,000 for enforcement activities.
3. $133,000,000 for management and support.
4. $11,867,000 for transfer to the Office of Inspector General.
5. $36,891,000 for research and development activities, to be transferred to the Science and Technology account.
6. $38,826,000 for reimbursable interagency activities, including $28,150,000 for the Department of Justice and $10,676,000 for OSHA, FEMA, NOAA, the United States Coast Guard, and the Department of the Interior.
The conferees have agreed to provide the budget request level of $97,651,600 for the Brownfields program, which includes funding from various programs within the Hazardous Substance Superfund account (totaling $94,977,400) and the Environmental Programs and Management account. The conferees further agree that the fiscal year 2001 funding levels for the SITE program and for the hazardous substance research centers be maintained for fiscal year 2002.
Once again this year, the conferees support the national pilot worker training program which recruits and trains young persons who live near hazardous waste sites or in communities at risk of exposure to contaminated properties for work in the environmental field. The conferees direct EPA to continue funding this effort in cooperation and collaboration with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
The conferees agree that $100,000,000 of the appropriated amount shall not become available until September 1, 2002.
Appropriates $73,000,000 for the leaking underground storage tank program instead of $79,200,000 as proposed by the House and $71,947,400 as proposed by the Senate.
Appropriates $15,000,000 for oil spill response as proposed by the House instead of $14,986,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Appropriates $3,733,276,000 for state and tribal assistance grants instead of $3,436,899,000 as proposed by the House and $3,603,015,900 as proposed by the Senate. Bill language specifically provides $1,350,000,000 for Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) capitalization grants; $850,000,000 for Safe Drinking Water SRF capitalization grants; $75,000,000 for the United States-Mexico Border program; $40,000,000 for grants to address drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs in rural and Alaska Native communities; $1,074,376,000 for categorical grants to the states and tribes; $343,900,000 for cost-shared grants for construction of water and wastewater treatment facilities and infrastructure and for groundwater protection infrastructure; and $25,000,000 for a new Environmental Information Exchange Network grant program.
The conferees have included bill language which, for fiscal year 2002, authorizes the Administrator of the EPA to use funds appropriated pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) to make grants to Indian tribes pursuant to section 319(h) and 518(e) of FWPCA. In addition, bill language has been adopted which, (1) will permit the states to include as principal amounts considered to be the cost of administering SRF loans to eligible borrowers, with certain limitations; (2) permits the Administrator to reserve up to 1 1/2 percent of the funds appropriated for the SRF under title VI of the FWPCA for grants under section 518(c) of that Act; (3) for fiscal year 2002, authorizes the states to transfer funds between the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water SRF programs; and (4) stipulates that no funds provided in the Act to address water infrastructure needs of colonias within the United States along the United States-Mexico border shall be made available to a county or municipal government unless that governmental entity has established an enforceable ordinance or rule which prevents the development or construction of any additional colonia areas, or the development within an existing colonia of any new home, business, or other structure which lacks water, wastewater, or other necessary infrastructure.
As in previous years, the conferees have included bill language which stipulates that none of the funds provided in this or any previous years' Act for the Safe Drinking Water SRF may be reserved by the Administrator for health effects studies on drinking water contaminants. The conferees have instead provided significant resources for such studies within EPA's Science and Technology account.
The conferees have included bill language which will allow the Agency to use undesignated funds appropriated in prior years for specific water and wastewater grants approved for fiscal year 2002, but have not included a provision authorizing the expenditure of funds for a new State Enforcement Grant program. Although the conferees are generally supportive of state grant programs, it is believed that additional time is needed for the Agency to review and refine this proposal for inclusion in a future
budget submission. The conferees note that this action to disapprove inclusion of this new program has been taken without prejudice.
Of the funds provided for the United States-Mexico Border program, $7,000,000 is for the El Paso desalination and water supply project, and $2,000,000 is for the Brownsville, Texas water supply project.
Of the amount provided through categorical grants for air resource assistance grants under sections 103 and 105 of the Clean Air Act, as amended, $10,000,000, an increase of $5,000,000 above the budget request, is for section 103 grants to the states to develop regional haze programs under title I, part C of the Clean Air Act. It is the intention of the conferees that these funds be used to aid states in the development of emissions inventories, quantification of natural visibility conditions, monitoring and other data necessary to define reasonable progress and develop control strategies, and to support the states' participation in regional efforts to coordinate their strategies, where necessary, and at the election of the individual states. The conferees direct the Agency to disburse the funds for the regional haze program to the States' regional planning organizations within 30 days of receipt of completed grant applications.
In addition, the conferees have provided $8,000,000 above the budget request for section 105 air resource assistance grants, $22,593,600 above the budget submission for section 106 water pollution grants and $8,000,000 above the budget submission for the new Beach Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH) grant program. The conferees have agreed to provide the budget request level for section 319 non-point source pollution grants.
The conferees agree that the $343,900,000, together with unallocated funds made available in prior appropriations Acts for communities or other governmental entities for construction of water and wastewater treatment facilities and infrastructure and for groundwater protection infrastructure, shall be accompanied by a cost-share requirement whereby 45 percent of a project's cost is to be the responsibility of the community or entity consistent with long-standing guidelines of the Agency. These guidelines also offer flexibility in the application of the cost-share requirement for those few circumstances when meeting the 45 percent requirement is not financially possible. The Agency is commended for its past efforts in working with communities and other entities to resolve problems in this regard, and it is expected that this high level of effort and flexibility will continue throughout fiscal year 2002. In addition, the conferees agree that unspent water and wastewater infrastructure funds totaling approximately $164,000 provided in a prior appropriation Act for Franklin County, Pennsylvania may be spent for other such water and wastewater infrastructure projects in that county.
The distribution of funds under this program is as follows:
1. $1,800,000 of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska for sewer and water improvements;
2. $1,000,000 for Pelican, Alaska water and sewer improvements;
3. $1,800,000 for Petersburg, Alaska for water and sewer upgrades;
4. $3,000,000 for the Girdwood, Alaska water extension;
5. $3,000,000 for addressing above ground leaking fuel tanks in Alaska;
6. $1,500,000 for Wasilla, Alaska water and sewer improvements;
7. $900,000 to the City of Sitka, Alaska for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements for the Sawmill Cove Industrial Park;
8. $500,000 to Tuscaloosa County, Alabama for countywide water and sewer facilities;
9. $1,000,000 for the Southeast Alabama Regional Water Authority for a water facility project;
10. $600,000 for Grant, Alabama for wastewater collection and treatment facilities;
11. $1,000,000 for the City of Jackson, Alabama for water system improvements;
12. $450,000 to Blount County, Alabama for a wastewater treatment and collection systems;
13. $1,900,000 to Rainsville, Alabama for a wastewater treatment facility upgrade and expansion;
14. $500,000 to Arab, Alabama for sewer infrastructure improvements;
15. $300,000 to Guin, Alabama for sewer infrastructure improvements;
16. $250,000 to Franklin County, Alabama for water infrastructure improvements;
17. $300,000 to Sumiton, Alabama for water system infrastructure improvements;
18. $350,000 to Sardis City, Alabama for sewer infrastructure improvements;
19. $900,000 to Shelby County, Alabama for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
20. $2,500,000 to the Alabama Regional Water Authority for the Southwest Alabama Rural/Municipal Water System;
21. $1,000,000 to the Town of Citronelle, Alabama South Alabama Utilities for water infrastructure improvements in Mobile County;
22. $500,000 to the City of Jackson, Alabama for construction of a water treatment facility;
23. $250,000 to the Town of Fulton, Alabama for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
24. $500,000 to the Mobile County Water, Sewer and Fire Protection Authority for construction of new facilities and upgrades to existing facilities;
25. $750,000 to the City of Brewton, Alabama for drainage infrastructure improvements;
26. $1,000,000 to the City of Huntsville, Alabama for water system improvements;
27. $1,000,000 to Hartselle Utilities for wastewater infrastructure in the City of Hartselle, Alabama;
28. $1,000,000 to the City of Tuscumbia, Alabama for drinking water infrastructure improvements;
29. $500,000 to the Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority for drinking water infrastructure improvements;
30. $500,000 to the West Morgan-East Lawrence Water Authority for drinking water infrastructure improvements;
31. $115,000 to the City of Luverne, Alabama for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
32. $485,000 to the Clay County, Alabama Water Authority for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
33. $2,000,000 for Union County, Arkansas for a community drinking water system;
34. $250,000 to the City of Menifee, Arkansas for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
35. $1,000,000 for the State of Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority for making a loan to the City of Safford, Arizona to address the city's wastewater needs, which will be repaid by the city to the Arizona Clean Water Revolving Fund under title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended;
36. $500,000 for the Santa Rosa, California, drinking water infrastructure needs;
37. $500,000 for the Los Banos, California, wastewater and drinking water infrastructure project;
38. $500,000 for Compton, California, sewer infrastructure needs;
39. $1,175,000 for Sacramento, California, combined sewer system improvements;
40. $850,000 for the Placer County, California, wastewater treatment project;
41. $500,000 for Lake County, California, for the Clear Lake Basin 2000 project;
42. $2,800,000 for the Olivenhain, California drinking water project;
43. $500,000 for Oxnard, California, area drinking water infrastructure needs;
44. $400,000 to the City of Colton, California for storm drain improvements;
45. $900,000 to the Mission Springs Water District in California to protect groundwater in the City of Desert Hot Springs;
46. $250,000 to the City of Modesto, California for replacement of the 9th Street storm drain;
47. $900,000 to the City of Laguna Beach, Orange County, California for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
48. $100,000 to the Calaveras County Water District, California for water infrastructure improvements at the West Point Water System;
49. $150,000 to the Tuolumne Utilities District of Tuolumne County, California for water supply infrastructure improvements and a canal optimization study;
50. $1,800,000 to the Cities of Arcadia and Sierra Madre, California for seismic infrastructure upgrades to the drinking-water delivery system;
51. $485,000 to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for the Desalination Research and Innovation Partnership project;
52. $485,000 to the City of Redding, California for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements for the Stillwater Industrial Park;
53. $900,000 to the City of Bellflower, California for a water infrastructure project;
54. $500,000 for the continuation of water infrastructure improvements in Twentynine Palms, California;
55. $250,000 for the Warren Valley Basin Recharge/Reuse project in Yucca Valley, California;
56. $500,000 for the Lower Owens River Project in Inyo County, California;
57. $500,000 for the completion of water infrastructure improvements in the Yucaipa Valley Water District in Yucaipa, California;
58. $250,000 for the development of a water master plan to serve the water infrastructure needs of the City of Hesperia, California;
59. $500,000 for planning and design of a sewage treatment and water reclamation facility in Apple Valley, California;
60. $500,000 for environmental engineering and preliminary design of a regional water recycling facility in Victorville, California;
61. $485,000 to the City of Compton, California for the Willowbrook Water Main Infrastructure project;
62. $675,000 to the City of Brea, California for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
63. $250,000 to the City of Pico Rivera, California for repairs and upgrades of the sewage system;
64. $540,000 to the City of Lathrop, California to address contamination of the Sharp Depot well;
65. $250,000 to Mariposa County, California for infrastructure improvements to the Yosemite West wastewater treatment and disposal facility;
66. $900,000 to the City of Huntington Beach, California for the Huntington Beach Environmental Infrastructure Project;
67. $675,000 to the City of South Gate, California for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
68. $350,000 to the City of Garden Grove, California for construction of the Yockey/Newland Storm Drain;
69. $485,000 to the City of Santa Rosa, California for the Santa Rosa Geysers Reclaimed Water project;
70. $250,000 to the County of Ventura, California for wastewater infrastructure needs in El Rio;
71. $1,485,000 for the Towns of Naturita and Nucia, Colorado for drinking water infrastructure improvements;
72. $1,000,000 for the City of Montrose, Colorado for the Montrose Wastewater Inflow and Infiltration project;
73. $2,400,000 to the City of New Britain, Connecticut for water and sewer infrastructure needs;
74. $485,000 to the Central Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements in the towns of Waterbury, Wolcott, and Middlebury, Connecticut;
75. $1,800,000 to the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority to mitigate combined sewer overflows into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers;
76. $2,000,000 for the Town of Millsboro, Delaware, for wastewater infrastructure needs;
77. $2,000,000 for Eastern Orange and Seminole Counties, Florida, for wastewater treatment upgrades;
78. $900,000 to the City of Clearwater, Florida for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
79. $485,000 to St Johns County, Florida for septic tank replacement in the West Augustine community;
80. $250,000 to the City of Jacksonville, Florida for extension of public water hookups;
81. $485,000 to Hillsborough County, Florida for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
82. $4,000,000 to Miami-Dade County, Florida for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
83. $675,000 to the City of West Palm Beach, Florida for completion of the IPR/Renaissance project, a wetlands-based indirect potable water and wastewater reuse program;
84. $250,000 for the Central Florida Artificial Enhancement Program/Lake Marden Recharge Project;
85. $800,000 to the City of Opa-locka, Florida for drinking water, wastewater and sewer infrastructure improvements;
86. $500,000 to the City of North Miami, Florida for drinking water, wastewater and sewer infrastructure improvements;
87. $500,000 to the City of North Miami Beach, Florida for drinking water, wastewater and sewer infrastructure improvements in the Highland Village neighborhood;
88. $500,000 to the City of South Miami, Florida for drinking water, wastewater and sewer infrastructure improvements;
89. $900,000 to Sarasota County, Florida for the Phillippi Creek Septic Tank replacement project;
90. $900,000 to the City of Boca Raton, Florida for upgrades to the water treatment plant;
91. $485,000 to fund the Central Florida Aquifer Recharge Enhancement Program--Surface Water Recharge Projects;
92. $9,650,000 to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the Tampa Bay, Florida regional reservoir infrastructure project;
93. $2,000,000 for the City of Roswell, Georgia, Big Creek Watershed drinking water and sewer infrastructure needs;
94. $900,000 to Paulding County, Georgia for the Richland Creek Reservoir Project;
95. $500,000 to the Guam Waterworks Authority for upgrades to the ground water chlorination system;
96. $1,000,000 for the County of Hawaii to upgrade its drinking water system;
97. $1,985,000 for the City of Des Moines, Iowa for wastewater and stormwater infrastructure improvements;
98. $2,400,000 to the City of Mason City, Iowa for upgrades to its water treatment facilities;
99. $750,000 for the City of Bancroft, Idaho, for water system upgrades;
100. $750,000 for the City of Burley, Idaho, to continue work on a wastewater treatment system project;
101. $250,000 to the Bayview Water and Sewer District in Idaho for the Cape Horn Area Clean Water Compliance Project;
102. $250,000 to the City of Filner, Idaho for construction of a municipal water system;
103. $500,000 for Rock Falls, Illinois, wastewater treatment improvements;
104. $500,000 for Illinois' Clark-Edgar Rural Water District drinking water project;
105. $500,000 for the Monmouth, Illinois, storm sewer project;
106. $985,000 for Galena, Illinois, wastewater treatment improvements;
107. $500,000 for the City of Paris, Illinois, for drinking water infrastructure needs;
108. $500,000 for the City of Macomb, Illinois, for drinking water infrastructure needs;
109. $1,000,000 for the City of Lawrenceville, Illinois for a wastewater treatment facility;
110. $485,000 to the Village of Orland Park, Illinois for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
111. $485,000 to the City of Moline, Illinois for the City's Water Improvement Project;
112. $1,800,000 to the City of Aurora, Illinois for a combined sewer overflow project;
113. $250,000 to the City of Sandwich, Illinois for wastewater and stormwater infrastructure improvements;
114. $900,000 to the Village of Carol Stream, Illinois for expansion of the Carol Stream Reclamation Center;
115. $485,000 to the City of Chrisman, Illinois for construction of a new sewage treatment plant;
116. $900,000 to the Village of Metamora, Illinois for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
117. $250,000 to the Village of Justice, Illinois for a water infrastructure improvement project at the Wesley Fields water system;
118. $485,000 to the Village of Johnsburg, Illinois for construction of a wastewater conveyance and treatment system;
119. $900,000 for the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana for a model sewer improvement and stormwater retention project;
120. $630,000 to the Town of Westfield, Indiana for a sewer system improvement project;
121. $300,000 to the City of Carmel, Indiana for infrastructure improvements and an ultraviolet disinfection system;
122. $485,000 to Merrillville Conservancy District in Merrillville, Indiana for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
123. $1,000,000 for the City of Hays, Kansas for the South Russell County Water Project;
124. $485,000 to the City of Ottawa, Kansas for the engineering and design of a new wastewater treatment facility;
125. $500,000 to the City of Wichita, Kansas for wastewater infrastructure rehabilitation;
126. $1,000,000 for Daviess County, Kentucky, for drainage improvements;
127. $485,000 to Bluegrass PRIDE of Kentucky for cleanup of Bluegrass Rivers and Streams;
128. $300,000 to the City of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
129. $200,000 to the City of Irvine, Kentucky for the Irvine Sewer Rehabilitation in Estill County;
130. $600,000 to the City of Hodgenville, Kentucky for modernization of the sewer system;
131. $400,000 to the City of Mount Washington, Kentucky for extension of water and wastewater infrastructure for an industrial park;
132. $250,000 to the City of Owenton, Kentucky for extension of sanitary wastewater collection systems;
133. $3,600,000 to the City of Somerset, Kentucky for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
134. $1,400,000 to the City of London, Kentucky for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
135. $485,000 to Ohio County, Kentucky for the Regional Wastewater project;
136. $2,000,000 for the Orleans Parish, Louisiana, sanitary sewer inflow infiltration project;
137. $500,000 for East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, water and sewer infrastructure needs;
138. $485,000 to the City of Denham Springs, Louisiana for wastewater infrastructure upgrades at the Livingston Parish sewer districts Nos. 1 and 2;
139. $900,000 to St. Charles Parish, Louisiana to address noncompliance issues regarding Luling Oxidation Pond;
140. $200,000 to St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
141. $900,000 to St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
142. $300,000 to the City of New Iberia, Louisiana for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
143. $100,000 to St. James Parish, Louisiana for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
144. $200,000 to the Bayou Lafourche Freshwater District for drinking water improvements and saltwater intrusion prevention;
145. $100,000 to the City of Thibodaux, Louisiana for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
146. $2,000,000 for the Bristol County, Massachusetts, combined sewer overflow projects;
147. $350,000 to the City of Lowell, Massachusetts for combined sewer overflow infrastructure support;
148. $485,000 to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission for mitigation of combined sewer overflows along the Connecticut River;
149. $4,800,000 for biological nutrient removal upgrades at the City of Salisbury, Maryland, wastewater treatment plant;
150. $500,000 for biological nutrient removal upgrades at the Conococheague wastewater treatment plant, Washington County, Maryland;
151. $485,000 to the Hartford County, Maryland Division of Water and Sewer for a water and wastewater extension for the Oaklyn Manor and Manorville Road communities;
152. $900,000 to the City of Cambridge, Maryland for a Biological Nutrient Removal upgrade project and a combined sewer overflow project;
153. $2,000,000 for Vinalhaven, Maine for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
154. $500,000 for the City of Calais, Maine to develop a safe drinking water system;
155. $3,000,000 for the City of Negaunee, Michigan, for wastewater treatment upgrades;
156. $1,000,000 for the Genesee County, Michigan, wastewater treatment project;
157. $900,000 to the City of Bad Axe, Michigan for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
158. $1,800,000 for continuation of the Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project;
159. $900,000 to the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan for combined sewer overflow infrastructure improvements for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System;
160. $675,000 to the Village of Almont, Michigan for mitigation of combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overflows into the north branch of the Clinton River;
161. $485,000 to the Detroit, Michigan Water and Sewerage Department for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
162. $2,175,000 to Oakland County, Michigan for infrastructure improvements within the George W. Kuhn Drainage District;
163. $1,500,000 to the City of Farmington, Michigan to reline a wastewater pipeline;
164. $1,000,000 for wastewater infrastructure needs of Minnesota's Mille Lacs regional wastewater treatment plant;
165. $2,000,000 for West Bottoms, Missouri, stormwater improvements;
166. $250,000 for wastewater treatment planning for South Two-Mile Prairie, Missouri;
167. $1,500,000 for the City of Lebanon, Missouri, for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
168. $400,000 for Bates County Commission, Missouri, to coordinate and implement efforts to assist local municipalities address their drinking water needs;
169. $1,500,000 for Camden County Missouri Public Waste Water facility for sewer and water improvements;
170. $1,500,000 for the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri for waste water and sewer improvements;
171. $2,000,000 for the City of St Louis, Missouri Metropolitan Sewer District for ongoing improvements;
172. $2,000,000 for the City of Kansas City, Missouri for Phase II stormwater sewer system in the Central Industrial District;
173. $2,000,000 for the Table Rock Lake Wastewater Initiative in Missouri as a National Community Decentralized Demonstration Project;
174. $585,000 to the Clarence Cannon Wholesale Water Commission of Northeast Missouri for water infrastructure improvements;
175. $4,000,000 for Jefferson County, Mississippi for a water and sewer improvements project;
176. $3,000,000 for the City of Ocean Springs, Mississippi for wastewater improvements;
177. $900,000 to the City of Columbus, Mississippi for wastewater treatment infrastructure improvements;
178. $485,000 to the City of Jackson, Mississippi for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
179. $585,000 to the City of Picayune, Mississippi for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
180. $900,000 to the City of Tupelo, Mississippi for wastewater improvements;
181. $1,500,000 for Lewis and Clark County, Montana for a wastewater development project;
182. $200,000 for Deer Lodge, Montana, sewer infrastructure needs;
183. $500,000 for the Galen Campus sewer upgrade project in Anaconda, Montana;
184. $2,000,000 for the City of Florence, Montana, for wastewater treatment improvements;
185. $1,485,000 for Henderson, North Carolina for the second phase rehabilitation and expansion of the water treatment facilities of the Kerr Lake Regional Water System;
186. $485,000 to the Town of Mooresville, North Carolina Water Treatment Plant for infrastructure improvements;
187. $675,000 to the County of Union, North Carolina for water infrastructure improvements;
188. $1,000,000 to the Town of Pittsboro in Chatham County, North Carolina for a water reuse pumping station;
189. $1,300,000 to Cherokee County, North Carolina for the interconnection of the water distribution systems of the Towns of Andrews and Murphy;
190. $500,000 to the Town of Burnsville, North Carolina for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
191. $1,000,000 for the Grand Forks, North Dakota, water treatment plant;
192. $2,000,000 for the Williston, North Dakota, drinking water infrastructure project;
193. $1,000,000 for Lincoln, Nebraska for wastewater management;
194. $1,250,000 to the City of Omaha, Nebraska to upgrade sewer and sanitary water infrastructure;
195. $1,500,000 for the City of Berlin, New Hampshire for water infrastructure improvements;
196. $500,000 for Salem, New Hampshire to remediate the contamination of private wells;
197. $1,000,000 for Jaffrey, New Hampshire, for a wastewater treatment facility;
198. $900,000 to the City of Nashua, New Hampshire for a combined sewer overflow program;
199. $3,500,000 to the City of Manchester, New Hampshire for a combined sewer overflow project;
200. $1,000,000 for Vernon Township, New Jersey, for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
201. $1,000,000 for Camden, New Jersey, sewer infrastructure needs;
202. $400,000 to Fanwood Township, New Jersey for sewage system sanitary improvements;
203. $2,500,000 to the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission for continued work on wastewater treatment program;
204. $2,000,000 to the Musconetcong Sewerage Authority in New Jersey to assist the plant in accommodating sewage from Hopatcong and Jefferson Township;
205. $485,000 for wastewater infrastructure improvements for Strawbridge Lake in Moorestown, New Jersey;
206. $1,200,000 for the Dona Ana Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association of New Mexico to upgrade water systems;
207. $750,000 for the City of Gallup, New Mexico, to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant;
208. $3,800,000 for the North and South Valley of the City of Albuquerque and the County of Bernalillo, New Mexico for a regional and wastewater project;
209. $1,350,000 to the City of Bayard, Village of Santa Clara & Ft. Bayard State Hospital in New Mexico for the regional effluent re-use plan;
210. $1,350,000 to the Village of Ruidoso, New Mexico for the water infrastructure expansion plan;
211. $900,000 to the City of Belen, New Mexico for the wastewater facilities improvements program;
212. $300,000 to Santa Fe County, New Mexico to assist in the development of their Small Community Water Systems;
213. $300,000 to the Town of Bernalillo, New Mexico for a wastewater system improvement project;
214. $200,000 to the City of Moriarity, New Mexico for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
215. $100,000 to the Acequia Madre De Carnuel of New Mexico for the creation of a community water system in the Community of Carnuel, Tijeras, New Mexico;
216. $4,500,000 for the City of Fallon, Nevada for drinking water facility construction;
217. $485,000 to the City of Fallon, Nevada for construction of an arsenic treatment facility;
218. $300,000 to the City of Henderson, Nevada for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
219. $1,000,000 for drinking water infrastructure needs in the New York City watershed;
220. $485,000 to the Village of Whitney Point, New York for the Whitney Point Wastewater Collection and Treatment System Project;
221. $900,000 to Rockland County, New York for extension of water and wastewater infrastructure of the Western Ramapo Sewer District;
222. $35,000 to the Narrowsburg Water and Sewer District to replace two sand filter beds servicing the Town of Tusten, Sullivan County, New York;
223. $675,000 to the Town of East Fishkill, New York for drinking water infrastructure improvements;
224. $675,000 to the Town of New Windsor, New York for upgrades to the existing sewage treatment plant;
225. $900,000 to the Town and Village of Harrison, New York for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
226. $300,000 to the Village of Larchmont, New York for storm water regulation compliance as a member of the Long Island Sound Watershed Intermunicipal Council;
227. $250,000 to the Village of Hewlett Harbor, New York for drainage improvements;
228. $100,000 to the Village of Antwerp, New York to develop a municipal water system;
229. $200,000 to the Village of Sloan, New York for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
230. $1,350,000 to the City of Buffalo, New York Department of Public Works for replacement of water lines;
231. $1,800,000 to the Town of Clarence, New York for wastewater treatment infrastructure improvements in the area of Clarence Hollow;
232. $485,000 to Saratoga County, New York for additional sewer lines for the Town of Halfmoon, New York;
233. $10,000,000 for continued clean water improvements for Onondaga Lake, New York;
234. $1,500,000 to the Town of Owasco, New York for sewer wastewater improvements;
235. $2,000,000 for drinking water infrastructure needs in the New York City watershed;
236. $4,000,000 for water quality infrastructure improvements for Long Island Sound, New York;
237. $1,500,000 to the Cayuga County, New York Water and Sewer Authority for sewage and wastewater treatment facility improvements;
238. $500,000 for the Village of Akron, New York for expansion of the wastewater treatment plant;
239. $500,000 for Byesville, Ohio for the Byesville Water Treatment Plan;
240. $1,000,000 for the City of Akron, Ohio for its combined sewer overflow long-term plan;
241. $485,000 to the City of Akron, Ohio for the mitigation of combined sewer overflows through Cuyahoga Valley National Park;
242. $500,000 for the City of Port Clinton, Ohio for its wastewater treatment plan;
243. $480,000 to the City of Delphos, Ohio for construction of a regional reservoir;
244. $743,000 to the City of Lancaster, Ohio for a sewer infrastructure extension project;
245. $1,800,000 to Clark County, Ohio for water infrastructure upgrades;
246. $200,000 to the City of Urbana, Ohio for water infrastructure upgrades;
247. $1,300,000 to the City of Toledo, Ohio for ongoing efforts to upgrade its wastewater treatment infrastructure;
248. $700,000 to Fulton County, Ohio for the extension of public water and sewer lines to the Village of Tedrow from Wauseon, Ohio;
249. $750,000 to the Village of Luckey, Ohio for wastewater and combined sewer overflow infrastructure improvements;
250. $750,000 to Ottawa County, Ohio for sanitary sewer infrastructure improvements for the Village of Clay Center;
251. $500,000 to the City of Bowling Green, Ohio for sewer treatment plant infrastructure improvements;
252. $900,000 to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for the Doan Brook Watershed Area in Ohio for continued development of a storm water abatement system in the Doan Brook Watershed Area of Ohio;
253. $720,000 to the City of Martins Ferry, Ohio to provide a water pump to extend the water system;
254. $765,000 to Harrison County, Ohio for a water tank and lines in the county industrial park;
255. $387,625 to the Village of Laurelville, Ohio for improvements at the wastewater treatment facility;
256. $485,000 to Trumbell County, Ohio for wastewater infrastructure improvements to the Belmont Avenue Sanitary Sewer System;
257. $2,000,000 for the City of Lawton, Oklahoma for the rehabilitation of its wastewater infrastructure;
258. $900,000 to the City of Normon, Oklahoma for expansion of wastewater treatment facilities;
259. $1,000,000 for the Lower John Day Region in Oregon for a water and wastewater treatment facilities;
260. $1,250,000 for the City of Portland, Oregon wet weather demonstration project;
261. $485,000 to Clackamas County, Oregon for surface water infrastructure improvements;
262. $385,000 to the City of Medford, Oregon for construction of water and wastewater treatment facilities and groundwater protection infrastructure project program;
263. $1,000,000 for the Coudersport Borough, Eulalia Township and Sweden Township in Potter County, Pennsylvania for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
264. $2,900,000 for the Three Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration program in the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area;
265. $1,000,000 for the Upper Milford Township Sewer Project in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania;
266. $485,000 to Robinson Township, Pennsylvania for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
267. $900,000 to the City of Corry, Pennsylvania for mitigation of combined sewer overflows;
268. $485,000 to the Borough of Big Beaver, Pennsylvania for construction of a pump station and sewer lines;
269. $900,000 to the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority to address combined sewer overflow problems along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania;
270. $250,000 to the Authority of the Borough of Charleroi, Pennsylvania for water infrastructure improvements;
271. $900,000 to the City of Titusville, Pennsylvania to mitigate combined sewer overflows;
272. $485,000 to the York City Sewer Authority of Pennsylvania for a wastewater construction project and demonstration;
273. $485,000 to Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania for construction and repair of a centralized sewer system serving Jefferson Township;
274. $150,000 to Pocono Jackson Point Water Authority for extension and upgrade of the authority's drinking water system serving Monroe County, Pennsylvania;
275. $100,000 to Pike County, Pennsylvania for the engineering and design of a centralized sewer system in the Borough of Matamoras;
276. $500,000 to the Municipality of Guanica, Puerto Rico for wastewater infrastructure improvements;
277. $3,250,000 for the Narragansett Bay Commission, Rhode Island, for the combined sewer overflow project;
278. $500,000 for the Town of Warren, Rhode Island, for sewer infrastructure needs;
279. $485,000 to the Town of Cumberland, Rhode Island for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
280. $2,000,000 for West Georgetown, South Carolina, regional wastewater treatment system;
281. $1,000,000 for the Laurens, South Carolina, water and sewer commission;
282. $900,000 to the Laurens County, South Carolina Water and Sewer Commission for relocation of water lines as part of the SC Route 72 corridor multilane widening project;
283. $1,000,000 for a Gravity Wastewater Collection System in the Snowden and 6-Mile Communities in Charleston County, South Carolina;
284. $485,000 to Berkeley County, South Carolina for a water extension project to Cross Community Schools;
285. $900,000 to the City of Florence, South Carolina for the Pee Dee River surface water facility;
286. $2,000,000 to the Greenville Water System of South Carolina for infrastructure needs related to high levels of uranium in the water supply;
287. $900,000 for North Sioux City, South Dakota, water and sewer infrastructure needs;
288. $2,000,000 for Aberdeen, South Dakota, drinking water facility improvements;
289. $1,200,000 for Hill City, South Dakota, water and sewer infrastructure needs;
290. $535,000 to North Valley and Summer City Utility Districts for to extend water service to Bledsoe County, Tennessee;
291. $200,000 to Sequachie County, Tennessee for the City of Dunlap's continuing rural waterline infrastructure development;
292. $900,000 to the Watauga River Authority in Carter County, Tennessee for a water infrastructure project;
293. $250,000 to the Tamina Water Supply and Sewer Service Corporation in Montgomery County, Texas for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements in the community of Tamina;
294. $675,000 to Bosque County, Texas for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
295. $485,000 to the City of Beaumont, Texas for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
296. $700,000 for the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, Utah for a groundwater extraction treatment remedial project;
297. $1,000,000 for Sandy, Utah for water and sewer infrastructure improvements;
298. $1,000,000 for the Ogden, Utah for final phase of sewer improvements at the former Defense Depot Ogden;
299. $200,000 to the City of Ogden, Utah for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
300. $400,000 for Tooele City, Utah for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
301. $720,000 to Logan City, Utah for the wetlands development project;
302. $250,000 to Sandy City, Utah for infrastructure needs related to usable water lines and storm drainage;
303. $500,000 for the City of Norfolk, Virginia, to update wastewater pumping stations;
304. $700,000 for the Caroline County Dawn Sewer project in Bowling Green, Virginia;
305. $675,000 to Smyth County, Virginia for wastewater infrastructure improvements in the Allison's Gap community;
306. $1,800,000 to Prince William County, Virginia for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
307. $1,840,000 to the Town of South Boston, Virginia for the Sanitary Sewer Overflow Abatement project;
308. $200,000 to Franklin County, Virginia for preliminary engineering for a water project;
309. $1,743,000 to Virginia's Heartland Partnership for expansion of the wastewater treatment plant to the Virginia's Heartland Regional Industrial Park located in Keysville, Virginia;
310. $200,000 to Fluvanna County, Virginia for wastewater, drinking water and water distribution system infrastructure improvements;
311. $1,350,000 to Richmond, Virginia for continued development of combined sewer overflow improvements;
312. $1,350,000 to Lynchburg, Virginia for continued development of combined sewer overflow improvements;
313. $900,000 to the City of Alexandria, Virginia for the sanitary and stormwater sewer reconstruction and extension project to mitigate overflows polluting Four Mile Run Creek;
314. $485,000 to the County of Northampton, Virginia for wastewater treatment systems improvement and development;
315. $485,000 to the City of Norfolk, Virginia Utility Department for upgrades to the water distribution system in the Haynes Tract area;
316. $500,000 to the Government of the Virgin Islands for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;
317. $2,500,000 for the Pownal, Vermont, wastewater treatment project;
318. $1,000,000 for East St Johnsbury, Vermont, wastewater treatment project;
319. $2,000,000 for the City of Bremerton, Washington, combined sewer overflow project;
320. $1,500,000 for the Wahkiakum County Public Utility District, Washington, drinking water facility project;
321. $1,800,000 to the City of Bremerton, Washington for the combined sewer overflow treatment plant;
322. $485,000 to Dallesport Industrial Park in Klickitat County, Washington for construction of a wastewater treatment facility;
323. $250,000 to the City of Everett, Washington for pre-design and facilities planning of combined sewer overflow treatment sites;
324. $2,000,000 for the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Sewerage District for continued renovations and repairs to the sewer system;
325. $1,000,000 for the City of Racine, Wisconsin, drinking water treatment project;
326. $1,900,000 to the Village of Marathon City, Wisconsin for debt repayment on water and wastewater infrastructure;
327. $1,000,000 for the City of Brokaw, Wisconsin for the extension and expansion of the sewer and water system;
328. $675,000 to the Inwood Watershed Committee and the Eastern Panhandle Soil Conservation District of West Virginia for the Inwood Storm Water/Water Quality Management Project;
329. $1,000,000 to the Ohio County PSD, West Virginia for water and sewer infrastructure needs in the West Liberty, West Virginia area;
330. $2,500,000 to the City of Wheeling, West Virginia for water and sewer infrastructure needs;
331. $5,000,000 to the Hancock County Commission, West Virginia for water and sewer infrastructure needs;
332. $350,000 for the City of New Martinsville, West Virginia for water and sewer infrastructure needs;
333. $182,000 for the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center, Inc. (NCLETTC) for water and sewer infrastructure needs;
334. $317,000 for the Barbour County Development Authority in West Virginia for water and sewer infrastructure needs;
335. $1,041,000 for the Mid-Atlantic Aerospace Complex (MAAC) for water and sewer infrastructure needs;
336. $250,000 for the Jefferson County Sewer Authority, Missouri for ongoing sewer infrastructure modernization;
337. $235,000 for Dekalb, Illinois for drinking water infrastructure improvements.
The conferees expect the Agency to develop a broad working group to review and address the spectrum of wastewater issues as outlined in the House Report accompanying H.R. 2620, request that the Committees on Appropriations be kept apprised of all activities of the working group, and further request that the working group, with the assistance of the Agency, prepare and submit to the Committees on Appropriations by July 15, 2002 a report addressing all matters as outlined in the House Report as well as those additional issues determined appropriate by the working group.
The conferees have included an administrative provision proposed by the House and the Senate which permits the Administrator, in carrying out environmental programs required or authorized by law in the absence of an acceptable tribal program, to award cooperative agreements to federally authorized intertribal groups to assist the Administrator in implementing federal environmental programs for tribes. Funds designated for State financial assistance agreements may not be used for such cooperative agreements.
The conferees have also included an administrative provision proposed by the House and modified by the conferees which authorizes for fiscal year 2002 EPA's Pesticide Maintenance Program, including the collection of up to $17,000,000 for operation of the registration, re-registration, and tolerance assessment programs.
Appropriates $5,267,000 as proposed by both the House and Senate.
The conferees agree that the Office of Science and Technology Policy should make the clarification of the International Traffic in Arms Regulation a high priority for resolution. The conferees expect the President's Science Advisor to address and resolve the matter by February 1, 2002.
Appropriates $2,974,000 for the Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Environmental Quality as proposed by the House and the Senate. The conferees have again this year included language proposed by the House and the Senate which authorizes the Council to operate with one member, that member acting as chairman of the Council.
Language proposed by the Senate prohibiting CEQ and OEQ from using funds other than those appropriated under this heading has not been included. In lieu of this statutory prohibition, the conferees direct that the CEQ provide, on a quarterly basis beginning January 1, 2002, a brief report outlining the specific use of non-CEQ federal employees. Such report should include, at a minimum, the number of non-CEQ employees utilized for specific programs or projects by the CEQ, the home office of each such employee, the program or project for which the non-CEQ employee is being utilized by CEQ, and the duration each such employee is expected to be involved with such program or project.
Finally, language has been included which provides a representation allowance of up to $750 for the Chairman of the CEQ.
Appropriates $33,660,000 for the Office of Inspector General, the same amount as included in both the House and Senate bill. Funds for this account are derived from the Bank Insurance Fund, the Savings and Loan Insurance Fund, and the FSLIC Resolution Fund and are therefore not reflected in either the budget authority or budget outlay totals.
Appropriates $664,000,000 for disaster relief, instead of $1,369,399,000 as proposed by the House and $359,399,000 as proposed by the Senate. In addition, appropriates $1,500,000,000 in contingent emergency funding for disaster relief instead of $1,300,000,000 as proposed by the House and $2,000,000,000 as proposed by the Senate. Includes language proposed by both the House and Senate providing for the transfer of $2,900,000 to the emergency management planning and assistance account for the consolidated emergency management performance grants program. The conferees have included two new provisions, neither of which was included in either bill, to allow for the transfer of amounts from the disaster relief account to other program accounts. First, $25,000,000 is available for transfer to the emergency management planning and assistance account for pre-disaster mitigation activities. Second, $25,000,000 is available for transfer to the flood map modernization fund and available for expenditure in fiscal year 2002.
The conferees are aware that on March 1, 2001 FEMA issued its `Clarification on SHMPH `Immediate Occupancy' Requirement for using SHMPH Funding to Seismically Upgrade Existing Buildings.' This Clarification defined parameters for the determination of when the `immediate occupancy' requirement in the Seismic Hazard Mitigation Program for Hospitals (the SHMPH Program) would be met by a subgrantee. The conferees urge FEMA to recognize that prior to the announcement of the clarification, many subgrantees in the SHMPH program worked diligently to move forward with their designs and construction in the belief that their plans met the undefined immediate occupancy requirement in the SHMPH program. The
conferees urge FEMA to work closely with these subgrantees to ensure no disruption in their design or building schedule as a result of this program announcement.
The conferees agree to provide a limitation of $25,000,000 on direct loans, a cost of $405,000 for direct loans, and a limitation on administrative expenses of $543,000 for the disaster assistance direct loan program account. The foregoing are the same as provided by both the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $233,801,000 for salaries and expenses as proposed by the Senate instead of $227,900,000 as proposed by the House. The amount provided does not include the reduction to Preparedness, Training and Exercises as proposed by the House. The amount provided includes $11,000,000 for FEMA's role in consequence management associated with the 2002 Olympics and Paralympics as requested in the budget submission. The conferees have not included any funding for an Office of National Preparedness at FEMA. The conferees will entertain such funding in the future when it has had an opportunity to evaluate a comprehensive plan outlining FEMA's role in dealing with terrorism and its consequences.
Appropriates $10,303,000 for the Office of Inspector General, the same amount as included in both the House and the Senate bills.
Appropriates $404,623,000 for emergency management planning and assistance as proposed by the House instead of $429,623,000 as proposed by the Senate. The amount provided includes $150,000,000 to carry out the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, as amended by Public Law 106-398. The conferees have included bill language which provides that up to five percent of the funds may be transferred to Salaries and Expenses for administrative expenses associated with the program. The conferees are pleased that FEMA was able to implement expeditiously the provision of this program and meet the deadline of September 30, 2001 for completion of the first round of grants. The conferees believe that this success was due in no small part to the structure of the program and the decision to limit the program to only six categories of grants rather than the fourteen categories approved in the authorization legislation. The conferees believe that FEMA should consider making grants in the area of emergency medical services, but expansion into other categories should be considered only after substantial progress has been made in addressing the needs associated with fire prevention, firefighting equipment, personal protective equipment, training, vehicles, and wellness and fitness programs.
The conferees also expect states and localities to maintain their current level of funding support for local fire departments and companies and that any Federal grant funds are to be used solely to enhance local firefighting capacity, equipment needs, vehicles, and fire prevention programs as well as any other eligible uses.
FEMA is encouraged to undertake an on-going evaluation of the application process for the fire grant program to ensure the widest participation in the program. The conferees are particularly concerned that smaller entities with limited resources may not be able to participate fully and FEMA should consider their circumstances as it evaluates the effectiveness of the program.
The conferees urge FEMA to continue efforts to simplify and streamline the fire grant application process and direct FEMA to establish an independent advisory committee comprised of professional and volunteer firefighters to provide policy and technical guidance on implementation and administration of the fire grant program.
In addition, the conferees have agreed to provide $25,000,000 by transfer from the disaster relief account for pre-disaster mitigation activities.
The conferees are aware of the heightened importance of bringing technology applications to the local, state, and Federal levels of the emergency management community for the purpose of reducing the impact of both natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Therefore, the conferees continue to support the partnership between the National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC) and FEMA and direct continuation of the cooperative agreement at the current level of effort. Additionally, NTTC shall submit a report no later than July 1, 2002 that outlines the progress made on the commercialization endeavors and the cooperation between NTTC and FEMA.
The conferees direct FEMA to maintain the current level of support for the Administrative and Resource Planning Directorate efforts to archive key agency documents by digitization to optical disks.
The conferees believe that many of the nation's universities are vulnerable to disaster and urges FEMA to continue its Disaster Resistant University program and expand the scope to include safeguarding university assets from acts of terrorism.
The conferees direct FEMA to ensure the full and complete integration of the American Red Cross into all emergency preparedness planning, training and response activities. Further, during times of disaster, FEMA and agencies signatory to the Federal Response Plan are to support fully the work of the American Red Cross. Support shall include, but not be limited to the following, means of transportation; appropriate security clearances; access to disaster sites and threat information briefings; and planning for continuity of operations of the American Red Cross National Headquarters.
The conferees are concerned that accurate and timely information is not available to the general public and all relevant government officials during and following an act of terrorism. In an effort to improve communication, the conferees urge the Director of FEMA to work with the Nation's governors and the Mayor of the District of Columbia (DC) to designate a lead intergovernmental and public affairs official in each state and DC to serve as the central coordinator for information coming from Federal and local governments and the central source of information for the public regarding terrorism-related incidents.
Provides for the receipt and expenditure of fees collected as authorized by Public Law 106-377. Both the House and the Senate included this provision in their respective bills.
Appropriates $140,000,000 for the emergency food and shelter program as proposed by the House instead of $139,692,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Appropriates no new funding under this heading for flood map modernization. The conferees have included authority within the disaster relief account to transfer $25,000,000 to this account for flood map modernization activities.
The conferees agree to include bill language which authorizes the National Flood Insurance Program through December 31, 2002. Both the House and Senate had addressed this issue, but there were technical differences between the respective bills. In addition, the conferees agree to provide for salaries and expenses of up to $28,798,000, $76,381,000 for flood mitigation activities, a limitation of $55,000,000 for operating expenses, $536,750,000 for agents' commissions and taxes, and $30,000,000 for interest on Treasury borrowings. Finally, the conferees agree that up to $20,000,000 may be transferred for expenses under section 1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act.
The conferees agree to provide for the transfer of up to $20,000,000 from the National Flood Insurance Fund to the National Flood Mitigation Fund as proposed by both the House and the Senate. The conferees further agree that $2,500,000 of the funds provided in this program shall be used to buy-out flood prone properties in Austin, Minnesota.
Appropriates $7,276,000 as proposed by both the House and Senate.
The conferees are very supportive of the Federal Consumer Information Center (FCIC) and their efforts to provide the public with important information on government services and publications. The conferees are concerned that a change to the organization, administrative location, or the current function or mission mandate of FCIC could potentially compromise the outstanding services that FCIC currently provides. Therefore, the conferees direct that any such change be clearly outlined in a proposal submitted to the Committees on Appropriations for 30 days of review. Such a proposal shall include the justification for such action, a description of all planned organizational realignments, the anticipated staffing or personnel changes, an assessment of the effect on the current operations of FCIC, and estimates of the proposed changes on future funding needs.
Of the amounts approved by the conferees in this agreement, NASA must limit reprogramming of funds between programs and activities to not more than $500,000 without prior notification to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate. Any activity or program cited in this report shall be construed as the position of the conferees and should not be subject to reductions or reprogramming without prior approval. NASA shall provide outyear implications of all reprogrammings and operating plan changes should the Committees request the information.
The conferees agree to provide $6,912,400,000 for human space flight instead of $6,868,000,000 as proposed by the Senate and $7,047,400,000 as proposed by the House. The House had also proposed an additional $275,000,000 for development of a crew return vehicle for the international space station ISS. The funding provided includes a reduction of $50,000,000 associated with the cancellation of the Electric Auxiliary Power Unit upgrade which has experienced technical difficulties, an increase of $20,000,000 for high priority safety upgrades for a total of $207,000,000, an increase of $25,000,000 for the repair/replacement of doors on the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, a reduction of $20,000,000 from the Human Exploration and Development of Space program, and a general reduction of $75,000,000 from the ISS program. The conferees have not provided any additional funding for the Crew Return Vehicle, for which the House had proposed $275,000,000. The funding level also reflects the transfer of $283,600,000 for ISS research from the human space flight account to the science, aeronautics and technology account.
The conferees are in agreement with the ISS Management and Cost Evaluation report that in order to establish a credible ISS program that achieves maximum research potential, it is necessary to keep enhancements viable. for this reason, the conferees direct that NASA should provide no less than $40,000,000 for the X-38 vehicle.
The conferees direct that not less than $207,000,000 be made available for Space Shuttle Safety Upgrades, unless NASA outlines in a fiscal year 2002 Operating Plan adjustment, agreed to by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, reallocations from this level necessary to preserve balance in NASA's stated priority goals for the Shuttle Program, as follows: (1) fly safely; (2) meet the flight manifest; (3) improve supportability; and (4) improve the system. The conferees agree that further clarification on NASA's shuttle upgrade program is required, including how the program relates to future shuttle alternatives and infrastructure needs. NASA is directed to submit a report addressing these issues by March 15, 2002.
The conferees are in agreement that the ISS shall be funded at no more than $1,963,600,000 in fiscal year 2002, including civil service compensation.
When the House and the Senate drafted their respective bills, the Administration had recently proposed dramatic changes to the ISS program in light of a purported shortfall of over $4,000,000,000. The redesigned station was dubbed `U.S. Core Complete' and included elimination of the Crew Return Vehicle, the Habitation Module, the Propulsion Module, a 37 percent reduction in ISS science, and undefined `management efficiencies' and better cost estimating. It was the position of the House at that time that such changes could not be endorsed given the limited amount of information available to the Congress. It was this lack of information which led the House to conclude that termination of the Crew Return Vehicle was premature, that NASA should be encouraged to pursue an international barter arrangement for development and construction of a habitation module, and that a significant add-back to the ISS science program was warranted. In the hope of getting more information, the House initiated an investigation into the ISS program with the goal of answering basic questions with regard to the real cost of the program, the underlying cause of cost increases, lapses in oversight and the causes thereof, and the extent to which previously identified problems or concerns were not addressed.
The initial stages of the House investigation have been completed with the conclusion being that the concept of `U.S. Core Complete' is ill-defined, that the science program needs to be more rigorously evaluated, that all options for enhancing crew time for research need to be fully explored, and that international agreements need to be evaluated and compliance with such agreements needs to be clarified. It is also the initial conclusion of the House investigation that NASA's lack of an integrated financial management system impedes its ability to determine the status of contract execution and provide program managers with necessary financial information.
The conferees are in agreement that first and foremost the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Administrator of NASA shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the Senate which defines in specific detail the U.S. Core Complete configuration of the ISS and provides a ten-year total funding profile for that configuration; clearly defines the content and scope of the research science program; and provides costs and schedule to develop the Crew Return Vehicle. The conferees are aware of ongoing negotiations between NASA and the Italian Space Agency concerning a stretch version of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module as a substitute for the habitation module. The conferees see the utility of using a proven platform and encourage NASA to move with all deliberate speed, subject to an appropriate and cost-effective barter arrangement.
The conferees are in agreement that the Director of OMB shall certify and report such certification to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the Senate, that any proposal to enhance the ISS design above the content planned for U.S. Core Complete, is (1) necessary and of the highest priority to enhance the goal of world class research in space aboard the International Space Station; (2) within acceptable risk levels, having no major unresolved technical issues and a high confidence in independently validated cost and schedule estimates; and (3) affordable within the multi-year funding available to the ISS program as defined above or, if exceeds such amounts, the additional resources are not achieved through any funding reduction to programs contained in Space Science, Earth Science, and Aeronautics.
The conferees are aware of a study being conducted by the National Research Council per the direction of the House Committee on Science and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to address the station research program. If possible, the conferees would like the National Research Council to expand that study to compare and evaluate the research programs of the ISS which can be accomplished with a crew of three and a crew of six; and, an assessment of the probable cost-benefit ratios of those programs, compared with earthbound research which could be funded in lieu of research conducted on the ISS.
The conferees agree with the direction contained in the Senate report for NASA to empanel a task force to study all options, together with their costs, for enhancing crew research time on the U.S. Core Complete ISS.
The conferees are concerned that NASA lacks an integrated financial management system and therefore can not adequately manage its programs. NASA is directed to place the highest priority on correcting this fundamental management deficiency, a deficiency which should have been corrected many years ago.
Finally, the conferees direct the Secretary of State, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Administrator of NASA to submit a joint explanation of how the United States is fulfilling its written commitments to its ISS international partners. This report is due no later than July 15, 2002.
With regard to the decision by the conferees to reduce the ISS budget by $75,000,000 in fiscal year 2002, the conferees note that the Post-Assembly Operations Cost Estimates (November 1999) and a report on ISS Operations Architecture (August 2000) both called for significant reductions in personnel associated with the program. Yet NASA and the ISS program management refuse to implement the provisions of these two reports for no apparent reason other than the desire to maintain a standing army of personnel. The conferees have reached the conclusion that the only way management will actually manage the program, and thereby get its costs under control, is through being forced to live with less. The conferees are reluctant to take this approach, but find that the intransient management cannot be trusted to make the tough decisions on their own and must be forced to make decisions which are in the long-term interest of the program. NASA is directed to submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the Senate a report, concurrent with submission of the fiscal year 2003 budget, which describes its plans for managing and operating the ISS over the life of the station, to include specific manpower and financial needs for operation and support.
Space Science
The conferees have agreed to provide $2,848,937,000 for space science programs, an increase of $62,575,000 to the budget request.
The conferees agree with the House that by merging the budgets for aeronautics and space into a single `aerospace technology' program element several years ago, NASA has made it virtually impossible to account for the current investment in aeronautics. For this reason, the conferees direct NASA to reestablish a consolidated aeronautics line in the fiscal year 2003 budget submission that comprehensively covers all research base, focused, and advanced technology programs, and related test facilities and civil service costs. NASA should also provide a clear budget crosscut identifying all aeronautics programmatic activities in the current budget structure in its initial fiscal year 2002 operating plan.
The conferees recognize the need for maintaining core capabilities at NASA centers with responsibility for space science missions and operations. As a result, the conferees will support permitting the Europa Orbiter (EO) mission to be sole sourced intramurally, provided that the NASA Administrator certifies to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the Senate in the fiscal year 2002 operating plan that such action is essential to maintain said core capabilities. The conferees expect that in making any such determination, the Administrator will guarantee that there is a specific and demonstrable plan to ensure that sufficient core and focused program outer planetary Advanced Technology Development (ATD) funds will be available to extramural entities in industry and academia through full and open competition, with the five-year profile for this competition specified in the fiscal year 2003 budget submission. NASA should proceed with the selection of Europa science instruments as planned and shall cap the total EO program costs (ATD and execution of all phases A/E) at $1,000,000,000. No reduction for EO instrument support to the selected science teams should be made in fiscal year 2002.
The conferees have not accepted the Senate proposal to reduce NASA's space operations budget by $25,000,000 by transferring Telecommunication and Mission Operations Directorate (TMOD) functions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the Consolidated Space Operations Contract (CSOC). The conferees note that NASA has transferred some non-critical positions to the CSOC contract and direct NASA to continue this effort by transferring no less than five percent of the non-critical positions to CSOC and work toward increasing this percentage in future years if warranted. In addition, the conferees transfer TMOD to the Office of Space Science and direct that any savings resulting from the transfer of TMOD positions be reinvested in science missions.
The conferees agree to the following changes to the budget request:
1. An increase of $1,675,000 for the Center for Space Sciences at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.
2. An increase of $3,000,000 for space solar power.
3. An increase of $1,900,000 for the Mid-American Geospatial Information Center based at the University of Texas at Austin, Center for Space Research.
4. The conferees direct $22,000,000 be used to continue the construction of the Propulsion Research Laboratory at the Marshall Space Flight Center, of which $13,000,000 is derived from the Office of Space Science in-space propulsion augmentation and $9,000,000 is derived from the Office of Aerospace Technology in-space propulsion program. The funds remaining in the Office of Space Science in-space propulsion program are to be used for advanced technology development for planetary exploration and shall be competed on the same basis as other advanced technology development programs.
5. An increase of $3,000,000 for the Sun-Earth Connections program for Solar Probe. NASA should consolidate management for this mission with its existing SEC/Living With a Star program in lieu of the proposed termination.
6. An increase of $10,000,000 for the Sun-Earth Connections program for Living With a Star (LWS) program for a total of $50,200,000 in fiscal year 2002. The conferees believe that understanding solar variability and its effect on earth and mankind is of paramount importance as we strive to understand our galaxy. Increasing our knowledge of the effects of solar variability and disturbances on terrestrial climate change and being able to provide advanced warning of energetic particle events that affect the safety of humans and space flight are also of particular importance. The proposed funding restoration will allow LWS to proceed on the original NASA plan of Sun-Earth connected System Science whereby both the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Geospace Missions Network will proceed in a coordinated manner to attain the program objectives. All LWS and SEC program funds in 2002 should be used exclusively for relevant ATD, science support and spacecraft development activities. Any capital projects to support the program, apart from the standard de minimis facility renovations under $500,000 should be requested in subsequent years through the standard construction of facilities program element. This LWS funding augmentation is in addition to the $8,900,000 provided for future solar terrestrial probes as requested in the budget.
7. An increase of $3,000,000 for the Center on Life in Extreme Environments at Montana State University.
8. An increase of $1,000,000 for the development of advanced materials for batteries and fuel cells, to be conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University.
9. An increase of $30,000,000 for the Pluto Kuiper Belt (PKB) mission. The conferees direct NASA to proceed with its plan for source selection, but recognize the launch dates may be altered due to delays in the source selection process. Funds provided should be used to initiate appropriate spacecraft and science instrument development as well as launch vehicle procurement. The conferees direct NASA to consolidate PKB development funds within the Outer Planets line beginning in fiscal year 2003.
The conferees have provided the budget request of $92,100,000 for advanced technology development related to the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) and expect NASA to vigorously pursue the development of the NGST and submit an out-year budget plan, concurrent with the submission of the fiscal year 2003 budget, for soliciting development and management proposals with the goal of a launch in 2007. If technical and budgetary constraints preclude the
launch of NGST by 2007, the conferees wish to underscore their strong desire that there should be no gap between the end of the operations for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the onset of operations for NGST. As part of the out-year budget plan, NASA should outline its transition plan to guarantee uninterrupted continuity between HST and NGST.
The conferees agree to provide the full budget request for the Mars program. NASA is directed to prepare a detailed plan, to be submitted to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate concurrently with the submission of the President's fiscal year 2003 budget request, on future Mars missions beyond the proposed 2007 mission. The plan should have a detailed definition on the program's content, five-year budget forecast, and schedule, and shall include a five-year profile to make significant advanced technology funding available to extramural partners.
Biological and Physical Research
The conferees have agreed to provide $714,370,000 for biological and physical research programs, an increase of $353,450,000 to the budget request.
The conferees have agreed to transfer a total of $283,600,000 from the Human Space Flight account into this program for research activities associated with the International Space Station. The conferees have not included a transfer from Human Space Flight of civil service and other costs associated with these activities and directs NASA to make such a transfer as part of the operating plan to the extent such a transfer is needed.
The conferees agree to the following changes to the budget request:
1. An increase of $338,600,000 for space station research consisting of a transfer of $283,600,000 from Human Space Flight, and an increase of $55,000,000 for the Fluids and Combustion Facility and other priority space station research and equipment.
2. An increase of $2,750,000 for the Space Radiation program at Loma Linda University Hospital.
3. An increase of $1,750,000 for Earth University to research Chagas disease.
4. An increase of $1,450,000 for the development of machine/bio-interface devices to provide advanced diagnosis and countermeasures at the University of Louisville.
5. An increase of $400,000 for the Center for Research and Training in gravitational biology at North Carolina State University.
6. An increase of $1,000,000 for the New Jersey NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training. The conferees commend the work of this organization and its application not only to long-duration space missions but its impact on the agricultural and environmental business sectors. The conferees encourage NASA to continue funding these vital efforts and recommends the agency create a technology development and demonstration center in New Jersey focusing on life support issues in closed environments.
7. An increase of $1,000,000 for high definition telemedicine technology development at Florida Atlantic University.
8. An increase of $1,000,000 for Southern Methodist University's life sciences program.
9. An increase of $2,000,000 for multi-user scientific equipment for the Life Sciences Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
10. An increase of $1,500,000 to fund research at the University of Missouri's Center for Gender Physiology in the area of gender-related issues in space flight crews.
11. An increase of $2,000,000 to fund research at the University of Missouri-Columbia in physical, biological, and biomedical areas which address NASA strategic objectives.
Earth Science
The conferees have agreed to provide $1,573,413,000 for earth science programs, an increase of $58,435,000 to the budget request.
The conferees agree to the following changes to the budget request:
1. An increase of $1,200,000 for the Advanced Tropical Remote Sensing Center of the National Center for Tropical Remote Sensing Applications and resources at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
2. An increase of $428,000 for continuation of emerging research that applies remote sensing technologies to forest management practices at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry.
3. An increase of $1,425,000 for NASA's Regional Application Center for the Northeast.
4. An increase of $812,000 for operations of the applications center for remote sensing at Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Johnston, New York.
5. An increase of $14,350,000 for the Institute of Software Research for development and construction of research facilities.
6. An increase of $750,000 for on-going activities at the Goddard Institute for Systems, Software, and Technology Research, including UAV and remote sensing technology research.
7. An increase of $750,000 for the Clustering and Advanced Visual Environments initiative.
8. An increase of $4,750,000 for data storage back-up and recovery services at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
9. An increase of $1,000,000 for the Triana Science Team to continue its work in preparation for future launch. The conferees recognize that the Triana mission, as reviewed and
endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences, is complete and ready for launch. However, due to Shuttle manifest conflicts, Triana has been placed in storage until launch accommodations can be established. The conferees understand that NASA is exploring all launch possibilities for the Triana spacecraft, including potential options involving foreign launch vehicles. The conferees recognize the important scientific contributions to be made by Triana and, if NASA were to identify a suitable launch opportunity for Triana, the conferees would be receptive to NASA's reprogramming resources within available fiscal year 2002 Earth Science funding toward the costs of necessary spacecraft modification and launch integration efforts to accomplish such a launch.
10. An increase of $750,000 for next generation sensing equipment, to be operated by Ben Gurion University for use in correlating measurements taken by aircraft and satellites in support of programs under the auspices of the Goddard Space Flight Center.
11. An increase of $3,000,000 from the NASA Earth Science Enterprise to be transferred to the Air Force Research Laboratory (PE 602204F Aerospace Sensors) to develop dual-use lightweight space radar technology. The conferees expect the Air Force to work closely with NASA to identify mutually beneficial technologies.
12. An increase of $1,425,000 for the United States portion of a joint U.S./Italian satellite development program to remotely observe forest fires.
13. An increase of $23,500,000 for the Synergy program to develop additional end uses for EOS data.
14. An increase of $6,000,000 for the EOSDIS Core System to expand its data processing and distribution capacity.
15. An increase of $2,000,000 for weather and ocean research at the University of Alaska and the University of Massachusetts.
16. An increase of $3,500,000 for the University of Montana for an International Earth Observing System Natural Resource Training and Data Center.
17. An increase of $500,000 for the Morehead State University Space Science Center for the reconstruction of the ADAS satellite tracking system.
18. An increase of $2,000,000 for the University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center.
19. An increase of $1,500,000 for George Mason University Center for Earth Observing and Space Research.
20. An increase of $3,000,000 for the University of South Mississippi for research into remotely sensed data for coastal management.
21. An increase of $1,000,000 for the Mid-America Geospatial Information Center at the University of Texas.
22. An increase of $1,500,000 for Idaho State University for the Temporal Landscape Change Research program.
23. An increase of $500,000 for Utah State University to develop an Inter-mountain Region Digital Image Archive and Processing Center for Landscape Analysis, Planning and Monitoring.
24. A general reduction of $17,205,000.
The conferees expect NASA to continue to pursue options for commercial data purchase approaches on all Earth Science Enterprise program Announcements of Opportunity.
Aero-Space Technology
The conferees have agreed to provide $2,489,570,000 for aerospace programs, an increase of $113,830,000 to the budget request.
The conferees agree to the following changes to the budget request:
1. An increase of $10,000,000 for the Ultra Efficient Engine Technology for a total budget of $50,000,000 in fiscal year 2002.
2. An increase of $2,850,000 for the Earth Alert project at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
3. An increase of $2,375,000 for the NASA-Illinois Technology Commercialization Center at DuPage County Research Park.
4. An increase of $190,000 for the Rural Technology Transfer and Commercialization Center of Durant, Oklahoma.
5. An increase of $1,900,000 for the University of New Orleans Composites Research Center for Excellence at Michoud, Louisiana.
6. An increase of $522,000 for the fractional ownership test program.
7. An increase of $1,425,000 for the Glennan Microsystem Initiative.
8. An increase of $2,850,000 for the Polymer Energy Rechargeable System.
9. An increase of $475,000 for continued development of nickel metal hydride battery technology.
10. An increase of $1,900,000 for Wayne State University for its emerging technology and aerospace programs.
11. An increase of $950,000 for the University of Alabama, Huntsville, Aviation Safety Laboratory.
12. An increase of $950,000 to be used for continued development of an electric/diesel hybrid engine at Bowling Green University.
13. The following programs are to be funded within the Aviation System Capacity program: $4,200,000 for the HITS multilateration sensor and surveillance server for Airport Surface Detection and Management System, $1,200,000 for the development of the Dynamic Runway Occupancy Measurement System, $1,400,000 for development of a Runway Taxi Route Detection and Conformance Monitoring System, and $5,000,000 for Project SOCRATES.
14. An increase of $2,850,000 to expand the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program, including NASA business incubators, in Florida and New York.
15. An increase of $950,000 for the Advanced Interactive Discovery Environment engineering research program at Syracuse University.
16. An increase of $7,600,000 for the National Center of Excellence in Photonics and Microsystems in New York.
17. An increase of $2,375,000 for the Virtual Collaboration Center at the North Carolina GigaPop.
18. An increase of $1,900,000 for the Garrett Morgan Commercialization Initiative in Ohio.
19. An increase of $750,000 for research at Marshall Space Flight Center in the area of interstellar propulsion.
20. An increase of $1,693,000 for the Dryden Flight Research Center Intelligent Flight Control System research project.
21. An increase of $950,000 for development of advanced composite materials for a super lightweight prototype structure and a generic carrier for the space shuttle orbiter.
22. An increase of $8,125,000 for hydrogen research being conducted by the Florida State University System.
23. An increase of $4,750,000 for space biotechnology research and commercial applications to be conducted at the University of Florida.
24. An increase of $2,000,000 from the NASA Space Launch Initiative be transferred to the Air Force Research Laboratory (PE 602204F Aerospace Sensors) to install a baseline Silent Sentry System at Kennedy Space Center and for AFRL to conduct an evaluation of the ability for Silent Sentry to replace current range safety infrastructure.
25. An increase of $2,000,000 for the National Technology Transfer Center.
26. An increase of $500,000 for aerospace projects being accomplished by the Montana Aerospace Development Corporation.
27. An increase of $7,500,000 for subsonic transport technology research.
28. An increase of $7,500,000 for the advanced aircraft program, equally divided between flight research and propulsion and power research.
29. An increase of $12,500,000 for NASA's rotocraft program, including funding for the NASA-Army university centers component.
30. An increase of $2,500,000 for the Hubble Telescope Project, Composite Technology Institute at Bridgeport, West Virginia.
31. An increase of $15,000,000 for aviation safety. The conferees agree that NASA should evaluate the use of retinal scanning displays in the Synthetic Visual Project, which seeks to improve general aviation safety through incorporation of new technologies.
32. An increase of $2,000,000 for a study of NASA's aeronautical test and evaluation facilities.
33. An increase of $2,000,000 for advanced research in opto-electronics at Montana State University.
34. An increase of $2,500,000 for the Delaware Aerospace Education Foundation in Kent County, Delaware.
35. An increase of $1,500,000 for Tulane University Institute for Macromolecular Engineering and Sciences, New Orleans, Louisiana.
36. An increase of $6,500,000 for the Stennis Space Center E-complex propulsion test facilities, of which $1,500,000 is for completion of the Test Operations Building.
37. An increase of $3,500,000 for an addition to the main administration building at the Stennis Space Center. NASA is directed to work with the Department of Defense to ensure that the Department contributes to the construction of facilities unique to its requirements.
38. An increase of $1,700,000 for the Independent Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia.
39. An increase of $2,000,000 for non-destructive evaluation research at Iowa State University.
40. An increase of $1,000,000 for polymer research at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
41. An increase of $2,000,000 for photonics research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
42. An increase of $3,000,000 for nanotechnology programs at Purdue University.
43. An increase of $3,000,000 for the purchase of two upgraded jet engines which require limited configuration changes to the DP-2 vectored thrust testbed aircraft. The remaining funds shall be expended as appropriate for airflow analysis research, flight control research, and flight testing. NASA is directed to provide a long-range research and development plan for the DP-2 vectored thrust program to the Congress by April 15, 2002.
44. An increase of $1,500,000 for a visitor's center at Langley Flight Research Center.
45. The conferees agree that NASA needs to increase its investment in facilities at the Wallops Island Flight facility and therefore direct NASA to spend an additional $10,000,000 from within existing funds for infrastructure improvement and technology upgrades to ensure the Wallops facility remains a viable asset for NASA's use and report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate no later than March 1, 2002 on a strategic plan for Wallops future including NASA missions and other business opportunities.
46. A decrease of $6,200,000 from the Aviation System Capacity program. The goal of the Aviation System Capacity (ASC) program is to enable safe increases in the capacity of US and international airspace and airports. The conferees believe that Aviation System Technology Advanced Research (AvSTAR) will help develop new operational concepts and better understand the benefits of new technologies for reducing aviation system congestion and delays while improving safety. The conferees support the request for Virtual Airspace Modeling as a precursor to AvSTAR.
47. A decrease of $10,000,000 from the Space Launch Initiative.
48. A decrease of $10,000,000 from the in-space propulsion program.
Academic Programs
Within the Academic programs portion of this account, the conferees recommend a total funding level of $230,810,000, a net increase of $77,110,000 to the budget request. The conferees agree that Lincoln and Cheney Universities in Pennsylvania should be full participants in NASA's Minority University Research and Education Program. The Conferees recommend the following adjustments to the budget request:
1. An increase of $475,000 for the Richland School District One Aeronautics Education Laboratory, located in Columbia, South Carolina.
2. An increase of $475,000 for the NASA Educator Resource Center at South East Missouri State University.
3. An increase of $950,000 for the Carl Sagan Discovery Science Center at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center to implement the educational programming for this science learning project.
4. An increase of $2,375,000 for the JASON Foundation.
5. An increase of $3,500,000 for continuation of programs at the American Museum of Natural History.
6. An increase of $950,000 for the Sci-Port Discovery Center at Shreveport, Louisiana.
7. An increase of $1,900,000 for the NASA Glenn `Gateway to the Future: Ohio Pilot' project.
8. An increase of $475,000 for the Challenger Learning Center of Kansas.
9. An increase of $475,000 for Challenger Learning Centers in Illinois.
10. An increase of $475,000 for the Challenger Learning Center at Wheeling Jesuit University.
11. An increase of $1,900,000 for the Alan B. Shepard Discovery Center in New Hampshire.
12. An increase of $3,000,000 to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center for an Educational Training Center.
13. An increase of $570,000 for academic and infrastructure needs at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida.
14. An increase of $950,000 for the Ohio View Consortium.
15. An increase of $1,900,000 for the Von Braun Scholarship program.
16. An increase of $3,000,000 for the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology initiative.
17. An increase of $2,925,000 for the Sci-Quest Hands-on Science Center.
18. An increase of $1,650,000 for the Alabama Supercomputer Educational Outreach program.
19. An increase of $1,900,000 to the Educational Advancement Alliance to support the Alliance's math, science, and technology enrichment program.
20. An increase of $5,000,000 for the National Space Grant College and Fellowship program.
21. An increase of $475,000 for the Science, Engineering, Math and Aerospace Academy programs at Central Arizona College.
22. An increase of $340,000 to enhance K-12 science education through a program of the Middle Tennessee State University.
23. An increase of $5,400,000 for the EPSCoR program.
24. An increase of $5,000,000 for a planetarium at the Clay Center of Arts and Sciences in Charleston, West Virginia.
25. An increase of $2,000,000 for the Northern Great Plains Space Science and Technology Center at the University of North Dakota.
26. An increase of $1,500,000 for flight communications technology at the University of Connecticut.
27. An increase $1,500,000 for the Science Discovery Outreach Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
28. An increase of $1,000,000 for the Chabot Observatory and Science Center in Oakland, California.
29. An increase of $750,000 for the Des Moines Science Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
30. An increase of $4,000,000 for infrastructure needs at Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center at the University of Hawaii, Hilo.
31. An increase of $1,000,000 for the NASA/Bishop Museum partnership in Honolulu, Hawaii.
32. An increase of $1,500,000 for the Wisconsin Initiative for Math, Science, and Technology education at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.
33. An increase of $250,000 for St. Mary's County Public School Technology Center, St. Mary's County, Maryland.
34. An increase of $3,000,000 for construction of a life sciences facility at Brown University.
35. An increase of $2,000,000 for instrumentation and laboratory development at Rowan University in New Jersey.
36. An increase of $5,000,000 for infrastructure improvements at the School of Science and Mathematics at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
37. An increase of $1,500,000 for Muhlenberg College in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania to develop a national model for using NASA data and technologies in the k-12 and higher education classroom.
38. An increase of $750,000 for the Texas Engineering Experiment Center at Texas A&M; University to support the Space Engineering Institute.
39. An increase of $3,000,000 for the Challenger Learning Center in Kenai, Alaska for the final phase of dormitory construction.
40. An increase of $500,000 for the Southeast Missouri State University NASA Educator Resource Center.
41. An increase of $1,000,000 for a Challenger Learning Center in Ferguson/Florissant, Missouri.
42. An increase of $800,000 for the Science, Engineering, Math and Aerospace Academy programs in Dade County, Florida.
The conferees agree to appropriate $23,700,000 for the Office of Inspector General as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
The conferees have included three administrative provisions which have been carried in prior-year appropriations acts and were included by both the House and the Senate. A fourth provision, prohibiting establishment of a non-governmental organization for the International Space Station as proposed by the House, has been included in the conference agreement. The conferees look forward to receiving a comprehensive proposal for managing the ISS science program at which time it will re-evaluate the foregoing prohibition.
The conferees have allowed the cap on the Central Liquidity Facility (CLF) lending activities from borrowed funds to remain at the fiscal year 2001 level of $1,500,000,000. As part of the Committees' oversight function, the conferees direct that NCUA provide quarterly reports for fiscal year 2002 to the Committees on Appropriations detailing CLF lending activities.
The conferees have provided $1,000,000 to the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF) as proposed by both the House and Senate. The conferees have agreed to set aside $300,000 specifically for technical assistance grants for fiscal year 2002 as proposed by the Senate.
For the first time, $350,000 was provided in fiscal year 2001 specifically for technical assistance grants. Prior to fiscal year 2001, technical assistance grants were funded solely from interest collected from the revolving loan program. The conferees recognize that the technical assistance grant program is oversubscribed and have agreed to augment the available funds with appropriations again in fiscal year 2002. Additionally, the conferees support the revolving loan program and recognize that demand for loans to assist low-income credit unions remains strong. In order to provide the maximum benefit to both programs from available funds, the conferees have supported both programs by making available the majority of funds for the revolving loan program recognizing that interest accrued on these loans will increase the funds available for technical assistance for low-income credit unions in the future.
While the conferees are supportive of the CDRLF, the conferees find that the budget submission for the CDRLF lacks the appropriate information for the Committees to base future funding decisions. For fiscal year 2003, and thereafter, the conferees direct that the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) provide detailed budget justifications for the loan program and technical assistance grant program. The budget justification should include a description of the program including the allowable purposes of loans and grants, the expected number and average amount of loans and grants to be awarded during the fiscal year, an estimate for the balance of the CDRLF, and estimates of future funding needs.
Appropriates $3,598,340,000 for research and related activities instead of $3,642,340,000 as proposed by the House and $3,514,481,000 as proposed by the Senate. The conferees have included bill language which provides up to $300,000,000 for polar research and operations support and $75,000,000 for a comprehensive research initiative on plant genomes for economically significant crops.
The conference agreement provides specific funding levels for each of NSF's research activities as follows:
1. $508,980,000 for Biological Sciences. Of this amount, $75,000,000 has been provided for plant genome research on economically significant crops, including an initiative which invests in high-throughput sequencing (such as full-length cDNA sequencing) of economically important crops.
2. $515,800,000 for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. Up to $10,000,000 of the appropriated level may be used for operational support of the two terascale facilities.
3. $467,510,000 for Engineering.
4. $610,650,000 for Geosciences.
5. $922,190,000 for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Of the appropriated amount, $4,000,000 is provided for the Telescope Systems Instrumentation Program (TSIP) and $5,000,000 has been provided for astronomical sciences to augment individual investigator support. The conferees expect NSF to continue its program of upgrading, on a priority basis, its astronomical facilities and equipment, including the Greenbank Observatory and Robert C. Byrd Telescope in West Virginia, and the Very Large Array radio telescope in New Mexico. The conferees have also placed a high priority on mathematics research within the amounts provided for this activity.
6. $168,900,000 for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences.
7. $229,730,000 for U.S. Polar Research Programs.
8. $68,070,000 for U.S. Antarctic Logistical Support Activities.
9. $106,510,000 for Integrative Activities, including $4,000,000 for the Science and Technology Policy Institute, $26,610,000 for the Science and Technology Centers, and $75,900,000 for Major Research Instrumentation (MRI). NSF is expected to continue its ongoing MRI program with developing institutions.
The conference agreement increases the budget request level for all directorates, and provides specific increases of $25,000,000 for information technology research, $25,000,000 for nanotechnology, and $12,500,000 for increased energy and fuel costs in the polar and ocean sciences as well as national facilities in physics and materials. The conference agreement also directs NSF to undertake a study to determine its appropriate role in support of regional innovation activities.
The conferees have not included funds from within the NSF appropriation for maintaining the integrity of the Homestake Mine site in Lead, South Dakota and instead have provided funding from within the Community Development Fund under title II of this Act. While the conferees acknowledge the role NSF and the National Science Board will play in determining whether the mine is a suitable facility for proposed research, as
well as whether such proposed research should be a priority for the NSF, it is not appropriate for NSF to maintain the mine until such determinations are made.
In presenting the Budget Estimates and Justification Materials for fiscal year 2003 and beyond, the conferees direct the Foundation to provide five-year plans for all multi-disciplinary programs which specify, among other details, the funding level and justification for each program or project.
Appropriates $138,800,000 for major research equipment and facilities construction instead of $135,300,000 as proposed by the House and $108,832,000 as proposed by the Senate. Included within the appropriated amount is $16,900,000 for the Large Hadron Collider; $24,400,000 for the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation; $35,000,000 for continued development, production, and instrumentation of the High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER); $35,000,000 for Terascale Computing Systems; $15,000,000 for start-up costs of the IceCube Neutrino Detection project; and $12,500,000 for initial construction of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope.
The conferees note that the amount provided for Terascale Computing Systems represents the initial segment of a three-year program expected to cost no less than the budget request of $55,000,000. While the conferees remain committed to this program as outlined by the Foundation, it was determined that funding the program on an annual basis made it possible to provide adequate resources to other priority projects.
The conferees are aware that the NSF Inspector General has found that funds associated with the construction of large scale research facilities have also come from other NSF appropriation accounts. This obscures the full cost of these projects. The conferees agree that the renamed major research equipment and facilities construction (MREFC) account is to provide resources for the acquisition, construction and commissioning of large scale research facilities. Planning, design, operations, and maintenance costs are contained within the research and related activities account. The conferees also remain concerned about the implementation of NSF's Large Facility Projects Management & Oversight Plan, dated September 2001.
The conferees have directed NSF to provide a report regarding the full life-cycle cost of each of the projects or facilities funded through this account since its inception. The conferees have taken the unusual step of including this statutory requirement due to its continuing concerns for the expenditure of resources for major research equipment projects and current senior management's ability to adequately address this issue.
The report should identify, for each project and by fiscal year appropriation account used, the costs of planning, design, and development; acquisition, construction, and commissioning; and operations, management, and maintenance. This report, which should also demonstrate significant implementation of the large facility management and oversight plan, is to be provided to the Committees on Appropriations no later than February 28, 2002.
The conferees further direct the Foundation to provide, in its annual budget submission to the Congress, a detailed priority-based description, multi-year budget, and milestone plan for all projects funded or proposed to be funded through the MREFC account, including those projects currently in the formal planning and development phase prior to National Science Board approval.
The conferees have changed the name of the account to Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction to better reflect the mission to be accomplished with appropriations made available through this account.
Appropriates $875,000,000 for education and human resources instead of $885,720,000 as proposed by the House and $872,407,000 as proposed by the Senate. The conferees agree to the following funding levels within this account:
1. $80,000,000 for EPSCoR. In addition to funds provided through the EHR account for EPSCoR, the conferees expect the NSF to provide an additional $30,000,000 from within the Research and Related Activities account for research to be conducted at EPSCoR institutions, bringing the total NSF EPSCoR effort to $110,000,000.
2. $28,000,000 for the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program.
3. $17,000,000 for the HBCU Undergraduate Program.
4. $160,000,000 for the Math and Science Partnership program. The conferees have agreed to provide significant funding for this new program despite limited details provided through the budget submission. The Foundation is strongly urged to provide regular, detailed information to the Committees on Appropriations regarding the planning and execution of this new initiative.
5. $5,000,000 for Noyce Scholarships consistent with the provisions of H.R. 1858 as reported to the House of Representatives.
6. $11,000,000 for the Office of Innovation Partnerships.
7. $5,000,000 for a new undergraduate workforce initiative, which is to include a new, merit-based, competitive grants program for colleges and universities for increasing the number of undergraduate degree recipients in science and engineering, consistent with the provisions of S. 1549.
8. $105,500,000, an increase of $10,000,000 above the budget request, has been provided to increase graduate level stipends for the research and teaching fellowship programs and the trainee program administered by the Foundation through its Graduate Education subactivity. The conferees support increasing the graduate stipend level to $21,500 during fiscal year 2002 if funding permits.
9. $2,600,000 above the budget request for the Human Resource Development subactivity has been provided to establish an initiative that will stimulate the competitive research capacity of Historically Black Colleges and Universities which offer doctoral degrees in science and engineering.
Appropriates $170,040,000 for salaries and expenses as proposed by the House and the Senate.
Appropriates $6,760,000 for the Office of Inspector General as proposed by the House and the Senate.
The conferees agree to provide $105,000,000 for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation as proposed by the House instead of $100,000,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Language is included in the bill which designates $10,000,000 to support the Corporation's section 8 homeownership program, as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
The conferees remain concerned about the shortage of available, affordable rental housing across the Nation. The Corporation has been successfully producing mixed-income affordable rental housing through the use of `mutual housing', acquisition and preservation of existing units, and a focus on asset management. Accordingly, the conferees agree to provide $5,000,000 above the budget request to the Corporation to support additional mixed-income affordable rental developments. The conferees direct the Corporation to include details on how many additional affordable, rental housing units have been created through this set-aside in its fiscal year 2003 budget justifications. The Corporation should also include information on the number of families served that have incomes below 30 percent of the area median income. There is a substantial shortage of available, affordable housing for these extremely low-income families throughout the Nation, and the conferees urge the Corporation to continue its efforts to meet the housing needs of these families. The conferees also direct the Corporation to increase its efforts in smaller metropolitan areas and rural areas where very serious housing problems exist.
Appropriates $25,003,000 for salaries and expenses as proposed by both the House and the Senate. The conferees agree to limit reception and representation expenses to $750 instead of $500 as proposed by the House and $1,000 as proposed by the Senate.
Retains twenty general provisions proposed by both the House and the Senate and which were included in the fiscal year 2001 Act.
Modifies language proposed by the Senate prohibiting HUD from spending funds for any activity in excess of amounts described in the budget justification unless otherwise provided for in this Act or through a reprogramming of funds.
Retains language proposed by the House prohibiting EPA from using funds to implement the Registration Fee system codified in 40 CFR subpart U if the authority to collect fees authorized in FIFRA is extended for one year beyond September 30, 2001.
Retains language proposed by the House amending the Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Act to read `within 120 days after the Director issues the report required by subsection (n) in 2002 and 2003.'
Retains language proposed by the House prohibiting VA from using funds to implement the proposed requirement that military retirees must choose either VA's or TRICARE's health care system.
The conferees have included modified language related to a national primary drinking water standard for arsenic as published in the Federal Register on January 22, 2001, instead of language proposed by the House and the Senate. The language adopted by the conferees prohibits a delay in setting a new regulation other than that prescribed in the final rule of January 22, 2001, which includes an arsenic standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb).
In adopting this legislative provision, the conferees acknowledge that an arsenic standard of 10 ppb will likely pose significant financial costs on many small communities, and many of these communities may find it impossible, because of the financial burden, to be in compliance by 2006 as the rule requires. The conferees are concerned that, because of their complexity, the current waiver and exemption provisions found in sections 1415 and 1416 of the Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended, may not provide sufficient flexibility for the small communities to receive additional time to reach compliance. As a result, the conferees are very concerned that numerous small community water systems may not be in compliance by 2006, and that some very small communities may abandon their municipal systems in favor of untreated and unregulated private wells which could create significant other health risks for these communities. The conferees agree that the Congress and the Administration must act swiftly to provide both the time and the means for many small communities to meet the new 10 ppb standard.
To this end, the conferees direct the Administrator of EPA to begin immediately to review the Agency's affordability criteria and how small system variance and exemption programs should be implemented for arsenic. In addition, the Administrator should recommend procedures to grant an extension of time in meeting the compliance requirement for small communities when a community can show to the satisfaction of the Administrator that being in compliance by 2006 poses an undue economic hardship on that community. In developing these procedures, the Administrator should consider those actions which can be taken administratively by the Agency and those which will require the enactment of legislation. The conferees do not intend to create loopholes in the Safe Drinking Water Act for compliance to a national arsenic standard. Rather, the conferees wish to emphasize that they expect the Agency to adopt without delay all appropriate available administrative actions permitted under existing law to facilitate reasonable extensions of time for compliance of these communities.
The Agency is directed to report to the Congress by March 1, 2002 on its review of the affordability criteria and the administrative actions undertaken or planned to be undertaken by the Agency, as well as potential funding mechanisms for small community compliance and other legislative actions, which, if taken by the Congress, would best achieve appropriate extensions of time for small communities while also guaranteeing maximum compliance.
Retains language proposed by the House establishing the Minority Emergency Preparedness Demonstration Program at FEMA.
Deletes language proposed by the House prohibiting the VA from implementing the `Plan for the Development of a 25-Year General Use Plan for Department of Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles Health Care Center.' The conferees have instead included report language in medical care urging the development of a reasonable
development plan which is suitable for the community and improves access to VA services.
Modifies language proposed by the House prohibiting funds to be used to implement or enforce the community service requirement of the United States Housing Act of 1937 except for residents of projects funded under HOPE VI.
Deletes language proposed by the House prohibiting funding of any person or entity convicted of the Buy American Act.
Retains language proposed by the Senate requiring HUD to submit a report by January 8, 2002, detailing obligations and expenditures of title II funds for technical assistance, training or management improvement activities.
Deletes language proposed by the Senate amending section 70113(f) of title 49.
Deletes language proposed by the Senate regarding playground equipment. The conferees have instead included report language under EPA and CPSC directing those agencies to submit reports regarding chromated copper arsenate-treated wood playground equipment.
Deletes language proposed by the Senate providing $115,000,000 from NSF funds for EPSCoR, which includes $25,000,000 in co-funding.
Deletes language proposed by the Senate expressing the Sense of the Senate that the Committee on Environment and Public Works needs to address the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund.
Inserts language clarifying the use of funds available to NASA from timber sales.
New language is included to facilitate the use of funds provided through HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to aid in the recovery of New York City from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The conferees are aware funds appropriated to the President in Public Law 107-38 have been set aside to be provided to the State of New York for assistance to New York City for properties and businesses affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and to assist in the City's overall economic recovery. Given the extraordinary level of damage to New York City caused by the terrorist attacks and the unique circumstances affecting the economic recovery of the area, the conferees have included language authorizing the one-time waiver of requirements as the Secretary deems appropriate to facilitate this recovery.
Prior to the release of funds, the conferees expect the State of New York to submit and to secure approval from the Secretary of a plan that would allocate these funds to the highest priority economic development needs to address the emergency situation pursuant to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Language is also included requiring certain notification requirements on the use of these funds and relevant waivers being granted. The conferees request that HUD provide quarterly reports to the Committees on Appropriations on the obligation and expenditure of these funds.
The conferees do not expect these funds to be used to compensate or otherwise reimburse insurance companies for losses related to the terrorist attacks. The conferees understand that issues related to insurance costs and the terrorist attacks are currently under review by the relevant House and Senate authorization committees.
The total new budget (obligational) authority for the fiscal year 2002 recommended by the Committee of Conference, with comparisons to the fiscal year 2001 amount, the 2002 budget estimates, and the House and Senate bills for 2002 follow:
| [In thousands of dollars] | |
| New budget (obligational) authority, fiscal year 2001 | $108,346,441 |
| Budget estimates of new (obligational) authority, fiscal year 2002 | 110,671,650 |
| House bill, fiscal year 2002 | 112,742,553 |
| Senate bill, fiscal year 2002 | 113,351,308 |
| Conference agreement, fiscal year 2002 | 112,742,537 |
| Conference agreement compared with: | |
| New budget (obligational) authority, fiscal year 2001 | +4,396,096 |
| Budget estimates of new (obligational) authority, fiscal year 2002 | +2,070,887 |
| House bill, fiscal year 2002 | -16 |
| Senate bill, fiscal year 2002 | -608,771 |
Managers on the Part of the House.
Barbara A. Mikulski,
Patrick J. Leahy,
Tom Harkin,
Robert C. Byrd,
Herb Kohl,
Tim Johnson,
Ernest F. Hollings,
Daniel K. Inouye,
Christopher S. Bond,
Conrad Burns,
Richard C. Shelby,
Larry Craig,
(except for general provision on arsenic),
Pete V. Domenici,
(except for general provision on arsenic),
Mike DeWine,
Ted Stevens,
Managers on the Part of the Senate.