[Senate Report 112-79]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 171
112th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 112-79
======================================================================
FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2012
_______
September 15, 2011.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Durbin, from the Committee on Appropriations,
submitted the following
REPORT
[To accompany S. 1573]
The Committee on Appropriations reports the bill (S. 1573)
making appropriations for financial services and general
government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and
for other purposes, reports favorably thereon and recommends
that the bill do pass.
Amounts of new budget (obligational) authority for fiscal year 2012
Total of bill as reported to the Senate................. $44,640,384,000
Amount of 2011 appropriations........................... 44,688,058,000
Amount of 2012 budget estimate.......................... 48,726,741,000
Bill as recommended to Senate compared to--
2011 appropriations................................. -47,674,000
2012 budget estimate................................ -4,086,357,000
CONTENTS
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Page
Overview and Summary of Bill..................................... 5
Program, Project, and Activity................................... 5
Reprogramming Guidelines......................................... 5
Relationship With Budget Offices................................. 6
Congressional Budget Justifications.............................. 7
Agency Reports................................................... 7
Title I: Department of the Treasury:
Departmental Offices......................................... 8
Department-wide Systems and Capital Investments Programs. 12
Office of Inspector General.............................. 12
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration........ 13
Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief
Program................................................ 15
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network......................... 15
Treasury Forfeiture Fund..................................... 17
Financial Management Service................................. 17
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau..................... 18
United States Mint........................................... 19
Bureau of the Public Debt.................................... 19
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund............ 20
Bureau of Engraving and Printing............................. 21
Internal Revenue Service..................................... 22
Taxpayer Services........................................ 23
Enforcement.............................................. 27
Operations Support....................................... 28
Business Systems Modernization........................... 29
Health Insurance Tax Credit Administration............... 31
Administrative Provisions--Internal Revenue Service...... 31
Administrative Provisions--Department of the Treasury........ 31
Title II: Executive Office of the President and Funds
Appropriated to the President:
Compensation of the President................................ 33
The White House.............................................. 33
Executive Residence at the White House....................... 34
White House Repair and Restoration........................... 34
Council of Economic Advisers................................. 34
National Security Council and Homeland Security Council...... 35
Office of Administration..................................... 35
Office of Management and Budget.............................. 36
Government-wide Management Councils.......................... 37
Office of National Drug Control Policy....................... 37
Funds Appropriated to the President:
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.................... 39
Other Federal Drug Control Programs...................... 39
Unanticipated Needs.......................................... 41
Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation............ 41
Integrated, Efficient, and Effective Uses of Information
Technology................................................. 42
Special Assistance to the President.......................... 43
Official Residence of the Vice President..................... 43
Administrative Provisions--Executive Office of the President
and Funds Appropriated to the President.................... 44
Title III: The Judiciary:
Supreme Court of the United States........................... 45
Care of the Building and Grounds............................. 46
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit....... 46
United States Court of International Trade................... 47
Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and Other Judicial
Services................................................... 47
Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund....................... 48
Defender Services............................................ 49
Fees of Jurors and Commissioners............................. 49
Court Security............................................... 50
Administrative Office of the United States Courts............ 50
Federal Judicial Center...................................... 51
Judicial Retirement Funds.................................... 51
United States Sentencing Commission.......................... 52
Administrative Provisions--The Judiciary..................... 52
Title IV--District of Columbia:
Federal Funds:
Federal Payment for Resident Tuition Support............. 53
Federal Payment for Emergency Planning and Security Costs
in the District of Columbia............................ 54
Federal Payment to the District of Columbia Courts....... 55
Federal Payment for Defender Services in District of
Columbia Courts........................................ 56
Federal Payment to the Court Services and Offender
Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia........ 57
Federal Payment to the Public Defender Service for the
District of Columbia................................... 58
Federal Payment to the District of Columbia Water and
Sewer Authority........................................ 59
Federal Payment to the Criminal Justice Coordinating
Council................................................ 59
Federal Payment for Judicial Commissions................. 60
Federal Payment for School Improvement................... 61
Federal Payment for the D.C. National Guard.............. 63
Federal Payment for Housing for the Homeless............. 64
Federal Payment for Redevelopment of the St. Elizabeths
Hospital Campus........................................ 64
Federal Payment for HIV/AIDS Prevention.................. 65
Federal Payment for D.C. Commission on the Arts and
Humanities Grants...................................... 65
District of Columbia Funds................................... 65
Title V--Independent Agencies:
Administrative Conference of the United States............... 67
Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation................... 67
Civilian Property Realignment Board.......................... 68
Commodity Futures Trading Commission......................... 68
Consumer Product Safety Commission........................... 70
Election Assistance Commission............................... 73
Federal Communications Commission............................ 74
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: Office of Inspector
General.................................................... 75
Federal Election Commission.................................. 75
Federal Labor Relations Authority............................ 76
Federal Trade Commission..................................... 76
General Services Administration.............................. 79
Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation........................ 90
Merit Systems Protection Board............................... 91
Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation.............. 91
National Archives and Records Administration................. 92
National Credit Union Administration......................... 96
Office of Government Ethics.................................. 98
Office of Personnel Management............................... 99
Office of Special Counsel.................................... 104
Postal Regulatory Commission................................. 105
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.................. 106
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board............... 107
Securities and Exchange Commission........................... 108
Selective Service System..................................... 111
Small Business Administration................................ 112
United States Postal Service................................. 116
Office of Inspector General.............................. 119
United States Tax Court...................................... 120
Title VI--General Provisions--This Act........................... 122
Title VII--General Provisions--Government-wide................... 124
Title VIII--General Provisions--District of Columbia............. 128
Compliance With Paragraph 7, Rule XVI of the Standing Rules of
the Sen-
ate............................................................ 130
Compliance With Paragraph 7(c), Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules
of the Senate.................................................. 131
Compliance With Paragraph 12, Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of
the Senate..................................................... 131
Budgetary Impact of Bill......................................... 141
Comparative Statement of New Budget Authority.................... 142
OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY OF THE BILL
The Financial Services and General Government
appropriations bill provides funding for the Department of the
Treasury, including the Internal Revenue Service; the Executive
Office of the President; the Judiciary; the District of
Columbia; and more than two dozen independent Federal agencies.
The Committee recommends $44,640,384,000 in discretionary
and mandatory appropriations. This represents a decrease of
$47,674,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level, and a
decrease of $4,086,357,000 below the budget request. Of the
total, $21,898,300,000 is provided in discretionary
appropriations, including $167,300,000 for the Small Business
Administration Disaster Loans Program Account designated by
Congress as disaster relief pursuant to Public Law 111-25. This
discretionary amount is $4,092,357,000 below the budget request
of $25,990,657,000. Mandatory appropriations total
$22,742,084,000. The Committee has made difficult but necessary
decisions to craft a bill that is within strict fiscal
limitations.
PROGRAM, PROJECT, AND ACTIVITY
During fiscal year 2012, for the purposes of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Public Law
99-177), as amended, with respect to appropriations contained
in the accompanying bill, the terms ``program, project, and
activity'' [PPA] shall mean any item for which a dollar amount
is contained in appropriations acts (including joint
resolutions providing continuing appropriations) or
accompanying reports of the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations, or accompanying conference reports and joint
explanatory statements of the committee of conference.
REPROGRAMMING GUIDELINES
The Committee includes a provision (sec. 608) establishing
the authority of agencies to reprogram funds and the limitation
on that authority. The provision specifically requires the
advance approval of the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations of any proposal to reprogram funds that: (1)
creates a new program; (2) eliminates a program, project, or
activity [PPA]; (3) increases funds or personnel for any PPA
for which funds have been denied or restricted by the Congress;
(4) proposes to redirect funds that were directed in such
reports for a specific activity to a different purpose; (5)
augments an existing PPA in excess of $5,000,000 or 10 percent,
whichever is less; (6) reduces an existing PPA by $5,000,000 or
10 percent, whichever is less; or (7) creates, reorganizes, or
restructures offices differently than the congressional budget
justifications or the table at the end of the Committee report,
whichever is more detailed.
The Committee retains the requirement that each agency
submit an operating plan to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations not later than 60 days after enactment of this
act to establish the baseline for application of reprogramming
and transfer authorities provided in this act. Specifically,
each agency should provide a table for each appropriation with
columns displaying the budget request; adjustments made by
Congress; adjustments for rescissions, if appropriate; and the
fiscal year enacted level. The table shall delineate the
appropriation both by object class and by PPA. The report must
also identify items of special congressional interest.
The Committee expects the agencies and bureaus to submit
reprogramming requests in a timely manner and to provide a
thorough explanation of the proposed reallocations, including a
detailed justification of increases and reductions and the
specific impact the proposed changes will have on the budget
request for the following fiscal year. Except in emergency
situations, reprogramming requests should be submitted no later
than June 30.
The Committee expects each agency to manage its programs
and activities within the amounts appropriated by Congress. The
Committee reminds agencies that reprogramming requests should
be submitted only in the case of an unforeseeable emergency or
a situation that could not have been anticipated when
formulating the budget request for the current fiscal year.
Further, the Committee notes that when a Department or agency
submits a reprogramming or transfer request to the Committees
on Appropriations and does not receive identical responses from
the House and the Senate, it is the responsibility of the
Department or agency to reconcile the House and the Senate
differences before proceeding, and if reconciliation is not
possible, to consider the request to reprogram funds
unapproved.
RELATIONSHIP WITH BUDGET OFFICES
Through the years, the Committee has channeled most of its
inquiries and requests for information and assistance through
the budget offices of the various departments, agencies,
offices, and commissions. The Committee has often pointed to
the natural affinity and relationship between the budget
offices and the Committee which makes such a relationship
workable. The Committee reiterates its longstanding position
that while the Committee reserves the right to call upon any
office or officer in the departments, agencies, and
commissions, the primary conjunction between the Committee and
these entities must be through the budget offices. To help
ensure the Committee's ability to perform its responsibilities,
the Committee insists on having direct, unobstructed, and
timely access to the budget offices and expects to be able to
receive forthright and complete responses from those offices
and their employees.
The Committee has encountered growing difficulties in
securing timely agency compliance with mandated reporting
requirements and has experienced several situations in which
deadlines for submission of reports were disregarded entirely.
The Committee expects and directs all agencies from which
reports are required to allow sufficient time to secure any
necessary internal and external clearances of reports in order
to satisfy congressional deadlines. The Committee strongly
urges agencies to alert the Committee as far as possible in
advance of any expected slippage in meeting a report delivery
due date.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET JUSTIFICATIONS
Budget justifications are prepared not for the use of the
agency, but instead are the primary tool used by the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations to evaluate the resource
requirements and fiscal needs of agencies. The Committee is
aware that the format and presentation of budget materials is
largely left to the agency within presentation objectives set
forth by OMB. In fact, OMB Circular A-11, part 6 specifically
states that the ``agency should consult with your congressional
committees beforehand to ensure their awareness of your plans
to modify the format of agency budget documents.'' The
Committee expects all the budget justifications to adhere to
this directive and provide the data needed to make appropriate
and meaningful funding decisions.
The Committee directs that justifications submitted with
the fiscal year 2013 budget requests by agencies funded under
this act must contain the customary level of detailed data and
explanatory statements to support the appropriations requests
at the level of detail contained in the funding table included
at the end of the report. Among other items, agencies shall
provide a detailed discussion of proposed new initiatives,
proposed changes in the agency's financial plan from prior year
enactment, and detailed data on all programs and comprehensive
information on any office or agency restructurings. At a
minimum, each agency must also provide adequate justification
for funding and staffing changes for each individual office and
materials that compare programs, projects, and activities that
are proposed for fiscal year 2013 to the fiscal year 2012
enacted level.
The Committee is aware that the analytical materials
required for review by the Committee are unique to each agency
in this act. Therefore, the Committee expects that each agency
will coordinate with the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations in advance on its planned presentation for its
budget justification materials in support of the fiscal year
2013 budget request.
AGENCY REPORTS
Hereafter, as a measure to reduce costs and conserve paper,
agencies funded by this act that currently provide separate
copies of periodic reports (such as Performance and
Accountability Reports) and correspondence to the chairs of the
House and Senate Appropriations Committees and Subcommittees on
Financial Services and General Government, and also to the
ranking members of the committees and subcommittees, should
send only one copy jointly addressed to the chairs of the
Committee and subcommittee and one copy jointly addressed to
the ranking members of the Committee and subcommittee (separate
copies should be sent to the House and the Senate). This will
reduce by one-half (from eight to four) the copies of periodic
reports agencies send to the committees.
TITLE I
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Departmental Offices
salaries and expenses
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $306,388,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 324,889,000
Committee recommendation................................ 306,388,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Departmental Offices consist of the Office of the
Secretary and Deputy Secretary, the Office of International
Affairs, the Office of Domestic Finance, the Office of
Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, the Office of Tax Policy,
the Office of Economic Policy, the Office of the General
Counsel, the Office of Legislative Affairs, the Office of
Public Affairs, the Office of the Treasurer, and the Office of
Management. The Secretary of the Treasury has the primary role
in formulating and managing the domestic and international tax
and financial policies of the Federal Government. The
Secretary's responsibilities funded by the Salaries and
Expenses appropriation include: recommending and implementing
U.S. domestic and international economic and tax policy;
formulating fiscal policy; governing the fiscal operations of
the Government; executing the Nation's financial sanction
policies; disrupting and dismantling terrorist financial
infrastructure; protecting the United States and the
international financial system from terrorist financing, money
laundering, and other financial crimes; managing the public
debt; managing international development policy; representing
the United States on international monetary, trade, and
investment issues; overseeing Department of the Treasury
overseas operations; and directing the administrative
operations of the Department of the Treasury. The majority of
the Salaries and Expenses appropriation provides resources for
policy formulation and implementation in the areas of domestic
and international finance, terrorist financing and financial
crimes, tax, economic, trade, financial operations and general
fiscal policy. This appropriation also provides resources to
support the Secretary, policy components, and departmental
administrative policies in financial and personnel management,
procurement operations, and information systems and
telecommunications.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $306,388,000 for the Salaries and
Expenses appropriation of the Departmental Offices account of
the Department of the Treasury for fiscal year 2012. This
amount is $18,501,000 below the budget request and the same as
the fiscal year 2011 enacted level. The funding recommendations
are made based on information included in the budget
justification. The Committee recommends that the budget
activity previously named ``economic policies and programs'' be
renamed ``international affairs and economic policy'' and the
budget activity previously named ``financial policies and
programs'' be renamed ``domestic finance and tax policy'' as
proposed in the budget request.
The Committee directs the Department to prioritize
resources within the Departmental Offices account for the
Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in order to
support safeguarding financial systems against illicit use and
combating rogue nations, terrorist facilitators, money
launderers, proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, and
other national security threats. The Committee also notes the
importance of the Office of Domestic Finance and the Office of
Tax Policy in developing and implementing policies for
stabilizing the economy and creating jobs. The Committee
supports the Department in expanding the capacity of these
offices.
The Committee makes the following findings:
Office of Financial Education (Domestic Finance and Tax
Policy).--The Committee is concerned about the low level of
literacy and numeracy skills among the adult population of the
United States, as one in seven adults do not have basic
literacy skills to succeed in all but the most rudimentary
literacy tasks. The Department's Office of Financial Education
administers the National Financial Literacy Challenge and
develops strategies to combat predatory lending. The Office of
Financial Education also coordinates the efforts of the
Financial Literacy and Education Commission, a group chaired by
the Secretary of the Treasury and composed of representatives
from 20 Federal departments, agencies, and commissions. The
Commission works to improve financial literacy and education
for people throughout the United States. The Committee
encourages the Department to explore the degree to which
current financial literacy programs benefit those individuals
with less than basic literacy skills and to focus resources on
financial education efforts, including to support the revision
of the national strategy on financial literacy and the
development of measurable goals and objectives for the
Financial Literacy and Education Commission. Finally, the
Committee urges the Department to explore opportunities to work
with community-based adult and family literacy organizations to
promote and implement future financial literacy initiatives.
Foreclosure Crisis.--The Committee continues to be
concerned that the Department's strategy to reduce mortgage
foreclosures and keep American families in their homes has
fallen far short of the goal of modifying 3 to 4 million
mortgages. The Committee notes that the Home Affordable
Modification Program [HAMP] June 2011 report shows that 657,044
homeowners are in active permanent modification and have been
able to remain in their homes because of HAMP. The Committee
also notes that approximately 200,000 additional homeowners are
in the process of obtaining assistance through HAMP. The
Committee directs the Department to focus on how to induce
servicers to consider and implement principal reductions to
allow homeowners to remain in the home with a reduced monthly
mortgage payment in order to avoid foreclosure which often
results in vacant real-estate owned property that may
negatively affect an entire neighborhood. The Committee also
directs the Department to ensure mortgage servicers are
properly complying with HAMP agreements and to provide ample
technical assistance and outreach to properly educate servicers
about their responsibilities under the program.
The Committee supports the administration's goal of
disposing of Real-Estate Owned [REO] properties held by Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac, including the objectives of returning
often vacant REO properties to productive use to reduce
taxpayer costs and stabilize neighborhoods and home prices. The
Committee also supports disposition strategies that increase
rental housing and affordable housing stock. The Committee
notes that to truly reduce the number of REO properties held by
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it is necessary to prevent homes
from foreclosure. The Committee urges the Department to better
utilize programs like HAMP and the Hardest Hit Fund to reduce
the foreclosure rate among homes financed through Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac.
Economic Sanctions and Divestments.--The Committee
recommendation includes resources for Terrorism and Financial
Intelligence programs. With these funds, the Department will
continue to issue and enforce economic and trade sanctions
consistent with national security and foreign policy goals.
These sanctions are a key tool for asserting U.S. policy toward
countries and entities under sanction. The Committee directs
the Department to fully implement all sanctions and divestment
measures, particularly those applicable to North Korea,
Belarus, Burma, Iran, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. The Committee
directs the Department to promptly notify the Committee of any
resource constraints that adversely impact the implementation
of any sanctions program.
Proceeds of Corruption.--Corrupt politicians, terrorists,
and those involved in organized crime are often able to hide
their identity behind a corporate veil, allowing them to enjoy
the proceeds of corruption and bribery, including on U.S. soil.
The Committee directs the Department to use its rulemaking
authority to strengthen customer due diligence requirements for
U.S. financial institutions, consistent with applicable
statutory authorities and international standards, including by
identifying the beneficial owner of corporate vehicles, where
appropriate.
The Committee also directs the Department, in consultation
with the other members of the United States delegation to the
Financial Action Task Force [FATF], to take a leadership role
in prioritizing prevention of the illicit flow of corrupt
funds, including by strengthening FATF anti-corruption
requirements and by conducting an extensive typology exercise
on foreign corruption. The typology exercise will inform
financial institutions on how to recognize the proceeds of
corruption and therefore help prevent the flow of illicit funds
into the United States. The Committee also urges the U.S.
delegation to work with other member states to assess the
implementation of the FATF's 40+9 Recommendations in practice,
as well as in law, to ensure that the task force's
recommendations are being effectively implemented and enforced
by all countries.
The Committee directs the Department to provide a written
report to the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs within 180 days of
enactment on activities related to preventing the flow of
proceeds of corruption into the United States, specifically
including activities related to identifying the beneficial
ownership of corporate vehicles, where appropriate, and
participation in FATF activities and initiatives.
Stored Value Cards.--The Committee notes that the
Department recently issued final regulations establishing a
regulatory framework for prepaid access payment methods,
including stored value cards [SVCs], as mandated by the Credit
Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009
(Public Law 111-24). The Committee is aware that a final rule
has been promulgated that defines prepaid access in the context
of funds transmission, rather than monetary instruments,
allowing the Bank Secrecy Act to evolve with technology. This
regulation addresses regulatory gaps that have resulted from
the proliferation of prepaid access innovations over the last
12 years and their increasing use as an accepted payment
method. The Committee is disappointed, however, that the final
regulation was issued more than a year after the deadline.
The Committee is also aware that a separate notice of
proposed rulemaking to redefine SVCs as monetary instruments
for the purposes of international transport reporting is
currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget
but is concerned that it is unlikely to be finalized this year.
The Committee is frustrated about the slow pace of this
rulemaking. The Committee stresses the importance of finalizing
this regulation in order to stop drug cartels and other
criminal actors from smuggling ill-gotten gains across the
border and encourages the administration to prioritize this
critical regulation. The Committee directs the Department, in
coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, to
submit a written report to the Committee on the status of the
regulation on the international transportation of stored value
devices not later than 30 days after enactment of this act.
Management of Capital Investments and Information
Security.--The Treasury Office of Inspector General continues
to cite the Department's management of capital investments and
information security as a top management challenge. Treasury is
currently planning and managing several capital investments,
including the transition to a new telecommunications contract,
the implementation of enhanced information security
requirements, and a modernization of systems supporting the
implementation of the Bank Secrecy Act. The Committee
recognizes efforts the Department has made to emphasize capital
investment management Department-wide.
The Committee directs the Department to continue improving
the management of capital investments, specifically focusing on
integrating all of the Department's bureaus into improvement
efforts and institutionalizing improvements so that taxpayers
will benefit from better management of future capital projects.
The Committee notes that section 117 of the bill requires the
Secretary of the Treasury to develop an annual Capital
Investment Plan, to be submitted to the Committees on
Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives
within 30 days following submission of the President's annual
budget request. The Committee directs the Office of the Chief
Information Officer to ensure that adequate resources are
devoted both to projects in the capital phase and to proper
maintenance and modernization of existing systems and to ensure
that all projects are tracked properly and described completely
in the annual Capital Investment Plan.
DEPARTMENT-WIDE SYSTEMS AND CAPITAL INVESTMENTS PROGRAMS
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $3,992,000
Budget estimate, 2012...................................................
Committee recommendation................................................
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The 1997 Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act
established this account, which is authorized to be used by or
on behalf of Treasury bureaus at the Secretary's discretion to
modernize business processes and increase efficiency through
technology investments, as well as other activities that
involve more than one Treasury bureau or Treasury's interface
with other Government agencies.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee does not recommend any new funding for
Department-wide systems and capital investments programs
[DSCIP] for fiscal year 2012 in accordance with the budget
request. The recommendation is $3,992,000 below the fiscal year
2011 enacted level.
The Committee notes that the DSCIP account has been
utilized to fund a wide variety of multi-year initiatives, many
of which are ongoing despite the lack of need for new resources
for fiscal year 2012. Given the complexity of these
initiatives, the bill includes language in section 117
directing the Department of the Treasury to submit an annual
Capital Investment Plan to the Committees on Appropriations
within 30 days after the President's budget submission.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $29,641,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 29,855,000
Committee recommendation................................ 29,641,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
As a result of the 1988 amendments to the Inspector General
[IG] Act, the Secretary of the Treasury established the Office
of Inspector General [OIG] in 1989.
The OIG conducts and supervises audits, evaluations, and
investigations designed to: (1) promote economy, efficiency,
and effectiveness and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in
departmental programs and operations; and (2) keep the
Secretary and Congress fully and currently informed of problems
and deficiencies in the administration of departmental programs
and operations. The audit function provides program audit,
contract audit, and financial statement audit services.
Contract audits provide professional advice to agency
contracting officials on accounting and financial matters
relative to negotiation, award, administration, repricing, and
settlement of contracts. Program audits review and audit all
facets of agency operations. Financial statement audits assess
whether financial statements fairly present the agency's
financial condition and results of operations, the adequacy of
accounting controls, and compliance with laws and regulations.
These audits contribute significantly to improved financial
management by helping Treasury managers identify improvements
needed in their accounting and internal control systems. The
evaluations function reviews program performance and issues
critical to the mission of the Department. The investigative
function provides for the detection and investigation of
improper and illegal activities involving programs, personnel,
and operations.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $29,641,000
for salaries and expenses of the Office of Inspector General.
This amount is a decrease of $214,000 to the budget request and
equal to the fiscal year 2011 enacted level. The Committee
directs that the office shall focus resources, when practical,
on audits of the Bank Secrecy Act Information Technology
Modernization project currently being planned and implemented
by Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The
Committee directs that the Inspector General shall submit a
written report to the Committee regarding this project,
including contractor oversight and progress regarding budget
and schedule, on March 31, 2012 and semiannually thereafter. In
addition, the Committee directs the Inspector General to
perform audits, when resources allow, on Treasury's anti-money
laundering and terrorist financing activities, capital
investment spending and planning, the Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund, and areas identified by the
Inspector General as presenting a high risk to taxpayer-funded
spending.
TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $151,696,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 157,831,000
Committee recommendation................................ 151,696,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
[TIGTA] was established by the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act
of 1998 (Public Law 105-206). TIGTA was created to provide
independent audit and investigative services necessary to
improve the quality and credibility of oversight of the
Internal Revenue Service [IRS].
TIGTA conducts audits, investigations, and evaluations to
assess the operations and programs of the IRS and related
entities, the IRS Oversight Board and the Office of Chief
Counsel to (1) promote the economic, efficient and effective
administration of the Nation's tax laws and to detect and deter
fraud and abuse in IRS programs and operations; and (2)
recommend actions to resolve fraud and other serious problems,
abuses, and deficiencies in these programs and operations, and
keep the Secretary and Congress fully and currently informed of
these issues and the progress made in resolving them. TIGTA
reviews existing and proposed legislation and regulations
relating to the programs and operations of the IRS and related
entities and makes recommendations concerning the impact of
such legislation and regulations on the economy and efficiency
in the administration of programs and operations of the IRS and
related entities. The audit function provides program audit,
limited contract audit, and financial audit services. Program
audits review and audit all facets of the IRS and related
entities in an effort to improve IRS systems and operations,
while ensuring fair and equitable treatment of taxpayers.
Contract audits focus on invoices/vouchers submitted to the IRS
to determine whether charges are valid and to identify
erroneous and improper payments. The investigative function
provides for the detection and investigation of improper and
illegal activities involving IRS programs and operations and
protects the IRS and related entities against external attempts
to corrupt or threaten the administration of the tax laws.
During fiscal year 2010, TIGTA's combined audit and
investigative efforts recovered, protected, and identified
monetary benefits totaling more than $8,600,000,000 and
identified cost savings of $2,820,000,000. TIGTA's Office of
Audit completed 129 reports and its Office of Investigations
closed 3,743 investigations.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $151,696,000
for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. This
amount is the same as the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
$6,135,000 below the budget request. The Committee appreciates
the challenges TIGTA faces in adapting its oversight activities
to address increasingly complex and high-risk issues associated
with IRS operations, including detection and investigation of
fraud and electronic crime, review of procurement activities,
and safeguarding of taxpayer privacy. The Committee recognizes
that growth in the size and workload of the IRS generates
concomitant increased work for TIGTA.
The Committee commends TIGTA for its ongoing review of the
IRS's business systems modernization program and other
information technology projects. The Committee shares TIGTA's
ongoing concern that the IRS is developing and launching its
modernized systems without adequately contemplating the
security implications. The Committee also acknowledges the
critical importance of the priorities TIGTA has identified in
its strategic plan, including adapting to the IRS's
continuously evolving operations and mitigating intensified
risks associated with modernization, security, addressing the
tax gap, and human capital challenges facing the IRS. In
addition, TIGTA plays a pivotal role in responding to threats
and attacks against IRS employees, property, and sensitive
information.
The Committee appreciates and expects TIGTA's continued
vigilance in monitoring IRS efforts to implement the 56 tax
provisions of the Recovery Act. The Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) represents the largest
set of tax law changes in more than two decades with more than
40 provisions that amend the tax code. Despite resource
constraints, the Committee strongly urges TIGTA's vigilant
oversight of the IRS's effective implementation and
administration of the myriad new requirements involving
taxpayer education and outreach, deliverance of tax credits,
and development of information technology infrastructure to
support all of these areas.
The Committee would welcome future TIGTA work to evaluate
the Return Preparer Program; examine ``phishing'' schemes and
other external and electronic attempts that expose taxpayers to
surrendering private information that could be used for
identity theft and undermine tax administration; and identify
best practices and safeguards to reduce and mitigate threats to
the security of IRS employees and its data infrastructure and
facilities.
SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR THE TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $36,227,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 47,374,000
Committee recommendation................................ 41,800,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (Public Law 110-
343) established the Office of the Special Inspector General
for the Troubled Asset Relief Program [SIGTARP] to perform
audits and investigations of the Troubled Asset Relief Program
[TARP].
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $41,800,000 for the SIGTARP for
fiscal year 2012. The recommendation is $5,574,000 below the
budget request because the SIGTARP will be able to utilize
carryover balances to fund a portion of fiscal year 2012. This
recommendation is $5,573,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted
level because carryover balances are dwindling. The Committee
is pleased with the quality of the audits and investigations
conducted by the SIGTARP, particularly with regard to written
materials provided to the Congress and the public.
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $110,788,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 84,297,000
Committee recommendation................................ 110,788,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network [FinCEN], a bureau
within the Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and
Financial Intelligence, is the largest overt collector of
financial intelligence in the United States. FinCEN's mission
is to safeguard the financial system from the abuses of
financial crime, including terrorist financing, money
laundering, and other illicit activity. FinCEN accomplishes its
mission by administering the Bank Secrecy Act, a collection of
statutes that form the Nation's anti-money laundering/counter-
terrorist financing regulatory regime. As the delegated
administrator of the Bank Secrecy Act, FinCEN is responsible
for the development and implementation of regulations, rules,
and guidance issued under the Bank Secrecy Act. FinCEN also
oversees the work of eight Federal agencies that have been
delegated responsibility to examine various sectors of the
financial industry for compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act's
requirements. FinCEN is responsible for collecting,
maintaining, and disseminating the information reported by
financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act through a
Government-wide access service. FinCEN is the United States'
Financial Intelligence Unit [FIU] and a founding member of the
Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units. As the United
States' FIU, FinCEN routinely shares information and cooperates
with other FIUs around the world to address the global problems
of terrorist financing, money laundering, and other illicit
activity.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $110,788,000 for the Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network [FinCEN]. This amount is equal to
the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $26,491,000 above the
budget request. The Committee rejects the proposal to fund a
portion of FinCEN's needs in fiscal year 2012 using proceeds
from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund. The amount recommended above
the request reflects the Committee's recommendation to fund
FinCEN exclusively through the account designated for FinCEN
Salaries and Expenses.
State and Local Access to Bank Secrecy Act [BSA] Data and
Intelligence Support to External Agencies.--The Committee
rejects the administration's proposal to decrease FinCEN's
funding by $2,319,000 by reducing State and local and
intelligence community access to BSA information. The data
compiled and analyzed by FinCEN is a critical tool for
investigating serious financial crimes, including money
laundering, mortgage fraud, drug trafficking, and terrorist
financing. Law enforcement agencies at all levels of government
use the database not only in identifying, investigating, and
ultimately prosecuting criminals, but also in preventing and
deterring crime. FinCEN's support of State and local law
enforcement and the intelligence community multiplies the
strength of force of all levels of government in fighting such
crimes. The Committee's recommended funding level is intended
to ensure that BSA data is accessible to the appropriate State
and local law enforcement personnel, field representatives, and
the intelligence community.
Information Technology Modernization.--The Committee
recommendation supports FinCEN's efforts to modernize the
technical environment for implementation of the Bank Secrecy
Act [BSA]. The modernization will re-engineer the BSA data
architecture, update antiquated infrastructure required to
support data capture and dissemination, implement innovative
Web services and enhanced electronic filing, and provide
enhanced analytical tools. This system is used by banks,
Federal law enforcement, State and local law enforcement, and
other Federal intelligence agencies to report, gather, and
analyze data to identify money laundering, terrorist financing,
tax evasion, and vulnerabilities in the financial industry. The
previous infrastructure is outdated and limits the capabilities
of these users, which ultimately limits the capability of the
Treasury and its partners to pursue money laundering, terrorist
financing, and tax evasion.
The Committee is pleased with the steps FinCEN has taken to
strengthen its acquisition and project management competencies
and directs the agency to continue to pursue employee education
and training efforts in this area, including training on proper
budget execution practices. The Committee also directs FinCEN
to place a top priority on contractor oversight and on
involving its wide variety of stakeholders in the development
of the modernized system. FinCEN is directed to continue to
submit a semiannual report to the Committee on Appropriations
summarizing the agency's progress regarding the modernization
effort, including milestones planned and achieved, progress on
cost and schedule, management of contractor oversight,
strategies to involve stakeholders, and acquisition management
efforts.
The Committee also directs FinCEN to focus efforts on
improving the completeness and reliability of BSA data in
accordance with recommendations by the Treasury Inspector
General and the Government Accountability Office. The Committee
notes that while a new BSA infrastructure will improve the
capabilities of processing and analyzing BSA data, the
accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of the data itself will
ultimately determine the effectiveness of the system and
related processes.
Treasury Forfeiture Fund
(RESCISSION)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $750,000,000 of
unobligated balances in the Treasury Forfeiture Fund.
Financial Management Service
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $232,786,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 218,805,000
Committee recommendation................................ 217,805,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
In 1940, the Department of the Treasury established the
Fiscal Service, which consisted of the Bureau of Accounts, the
Bureau of the Public Debt, and the Office of the Treasurer. A
1974 reorganization of the Fiscal Service created the Bureau of
Government Financial Operations, which was formed from a merger
of the Bureau of Accounts and most functions of the Office of
the Treasurer. In 1984, the Bureau of Government Financial
Operations was renamed the Financial Management Service [FMS].
FMS implements payment policy and procedures for Federal
agencies, issues and distributes payments, promotes the use of
electronics in the payment process, and assists agencies in
converting payments from paper checks to electronic funds
transfer [EFT]. FMS provides debt collection operational
services to client agencies, implements collections policy,
regulations, standards, and procedures for the Federal
Government, and assists agencies in converting collections from
paper to electronic media.
FMS provides financial accounting, reporting, and financing
services to the Federal Government and the Government's agents
who participate in the payments and collections process by
generating a series of daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual
Government-wide reports. FMS also works directly with agencies
to help reconcile reporting differences.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $217,805,000 for salaries and
expenses for FMS. This amount is $1,000,000 below the budget
request and $14,981,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted
level. An additional amount of $97,052,000 is also estimated to
be available to FMS from reimbursable resources for debt
collection activities.
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $100,798,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 97,878,000
Committee recommendation................................ 99,878,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Homeland Security Act created the Alcohol and Tobacco
Tax and Trade Bureau [TTB] within the Department of the
Treasury and charged TTB with collecting revenue and protecting
the public.
TTB enforces certain Federal laws and regulations relating
to alcohol and tobacco. TTB works directly and in cooperation
with others to maintain a sound revenue management and
collection system that continues to reduce the regulatory
burden, improve service, collect the revenue due, and prevent
tax evasion and other criminal conduct. TTB is also responsible
for preventing consumer deception, ensuring that regulated
products comply with Federal commodity, safety, and
distribution requirements, and providing customer service.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $99,878,000 for TTB for fiscal
year 2012. This amount is $2,000,000 above the budget request
and $920,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level.
The Committee recommendation includes $2,000,000 for the
costs of special law enforcement agents to target tobacco
smuggling and other criminal diversion activities. The
Committee directs the Department and TTB to place a high
priority on conducting robust criminal enforcement activities
at TTB.
United States Mint
UNITED STATES MINT PUBLIC ENTERPRISE FUND
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The United States Mint manufactures coins, sells numismatic
and investment products, and provides for security and asset
protection. Public Law 104-52 established the U.S. Mint Public
Enterprise Fund (the Fund). The Fund encompasses the previous
Salaries and Expenses, Coinage Profit Fund, Coinage Metal Fund,
and the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund. The Mint submits
annual audited business-type financial statements to the
Secretary of the Treasury and to Congress in support of the
operations of the revolving fund.
The operations of the Mint are divided into two major
activities: Manufacturing and sales (including circulating
coinage and numismatic and investment products); and
protection. The Mint is credited with receipts from its
circulating coinage operations, equal to the full cost of
producing and distributing coins that are put into circulation,
including depreciation of the Mint's plant and equipment on the
basis of current replacement value. Those receipts pay for the
costs of the Mint's operations, which include the costs of
production and distribution. The difference between the face
value of the coins and these costs is a profit, which is
deposited as seigniorage to the general fund. In fiscal year
2010, the Mint transferred $388,000,000 to the general fund.
Any seigniorage used to finance the Mint's capital acquisitions
is recorded as budget authority in the year that funds are
obligated for this purpose and as receipts over the life of the
asset.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a spending level of $20,000,000
for circulating coinage and protective service capital
investments for the Mint. This amount is a decrease of
$6,700,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and is
equal to the budget request.
Bureau of the Public Debt
ADMINISTERING THE PUBLIC DEBT
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $174,635,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 165,635,000
Committee recommendation................................ 165,635,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Public Debt Service was formed in 1919 with the
appointment of the first Commissioner of the Public Debt. The
Public Debt Service took general charge of debt operations
including debt accounting and securities issue and retirement,
which had been conducted by several independent divisions
within the Treasury. Acting under the authorization of the
Reorganization Act of 1939, the President created the Bureau of
the Public Debt, which was established as part of the Fiscal
Service in the Department of the Treasury effective June 30,
1940 (31 U.S.C. 306). In 1993, the Savings Bonds Division, a
separate organization, was made part of the Bureau.
This appropriation provides funds for the conduct of all
public debt operations and the promotion of the sale of U.S.
savings-type securities.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $165,635,000 for the Bureau of the
Public Debt for fiscal year 2012. This amount is a decrease of
$9,000,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and is
equal to the budget request.
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FUND PROGRAM ACCOUNT
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $226,546,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 227,259,000
Committee recommendation................................ 200,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund makes
investments in the form of grants, loans, equity investments,
deposits, and technical assistance grants to new and existing
community development financial institutions [CDFIs] through
the CDFI program. CDFIs include community development banks,
credit unions, venture capital funds, revolving loan funds, and
microloan funds, among others. Recipient institutions engage in
lending and investment for affordable housing, small business,
and community development within underserved communities. The
CDFI Fund administers the Bank Enterprise Award [BEA] Program,
which provides a financial incentive to insured depository
institutions to undertake community development financing
activities.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $200,000,000 for the CDFI Fund,
which is $26,546,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level
and $27,259,000 below the budget request.
The Committee supports funding for the CDFI Fund because of
the program's unique ability to leverage private sector
investment in community development projects such as affordable
housing, retail development, and community centers, as well as
lending to small businesses. Funding for the CDFI Fund expands
the power of CDFIs to improve urban and rural communities
through sound, but patient investment. With just a small amount
of seed financing from the CDFI Fund, CDFIs can transform
communities. CDFIs often provide the ``last mile'' of financing
to our Nation's most challenged areas. CDFIs also provide
banking services to the un-banked and others targeted by
predatory lenders. Nationwide in 2010, CDFIs leveraged an
average of $13 for every Federal dollar invested and Federal
grants helped create or maintain over 80,000 jobs.
Bank on USA.--The Committee recommends $36,000,000 for the
Bank on USA program to promote access to affordable financial
services and basic consumer credit products for households
without access to such products and services. These households
face a number of problems, including high fees for alternative
financial services such as check-cashing, barriers to saving
and building credit, and increased exposure to risks such as
fraud and theft. Many of these households also lack access to
reasonably priced short-term consumer credit to meet emergency
or regular needs, often turning to payday loans, refund
anticipation loans, pawn shops and other high-priced
alternatives for credit needs. The Committee directs the CDFI
Fund to submit a detailed spending plan on the Bank on USA
program to the Committee within 120 days of enactment.
Healthy Food Financing Initiative.--The Committee
recommends $22,000,000 for the Healthy Food Financing
Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to increase the
availability of affordable, healthy foods in underserved urban
and rural communities. Many of these communities are only
served by fast food restaurants and convenience stores that
offer few healthy food options. Recommended funding will
increase the availability of affordable financing for grocery
store development, supplies and equipment to improve food
production technology, and improvements and modernization of
food distribution mechanisms and infrastructure.
Native Programs.--The Committee recommends a set-aside of
$12,000,000 for grants, loans, and technical assistance and
training programs to benefit Native American, Alaskan Natives,
and Native Hawaiian communities in the coordination of
development strategies, increased access to equity investments,
and loans for development activities.
The Committee understands that many CDFIs are experiencing
difficulty obtaining non-Federal funding due to the economic
downturn. The Committee recommends continuing the temporary
waiver of matching fund requirements for CDFI programs so that
CDFIs can continue to invest in and assist underserved
communities during the economic crisis. The Committee intends
to reinstate matching fund requirements when capital markets
return to normal function.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing [BEP] has been the
sole manufacturer of U.S. paper currency for almost 150 years.
The origin of the BEP is traced to an act of Congress passed on
February 25, 1862, 12 Stat. 345, authorizing the Secretary of
the Treasury to issue a new currency--United States notes.
While this law was the cornerstone authority for the operations
of the engraving and printing division of the Treasury for many
years, it was not until an Act of June 20, 1874, 18 Stat. 100,
that the Congress first referred to this division as the
``Bureau of Engraving and Printing.'' The Bureau's status as a
distinct bureau within the Department of the Treasury was
solidified by section 1 of the Act of June 4, 1897, 30 Stat.
18, which placed all of the business of the BEP under the
immediate control of a director, subject to the direction of
the Secretary of the Treasury. The 1897 law is now codified in
31 U.S.C. 303.
The BEP designs, manufactures, and supplies Federal Reserve
notes and other security documents issued by the Federal
Government.
The operations of the BEP are currently financed by means
of a revolving fund established in accordance with the
provisions of Public Law 656, August 4, 1950 (31 U.S.C. 181),
which requires the BEP to be reimbursed by customer agencies
for all costs of manufacturing products and services performed.
The BEP is also authorized to assess amounts to acquire capital
equipment and provide for working capital needs.
No direct appropriation is required to cover the activities
of the BEP.
Internal Revenue Service
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Internal Revenue Service [IRS] administers the Nation's
tax laws and collects the revenue that funds more than 96
percent of the Federal Government's operations and public
services. The IRS's mission is to provide taxpayers with
quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax
responsibilities and by applying the tax law with integrity and
fairness to all. The IRS focuses its enforcement programs
toward increasing voluntary tax compliance by deterring
taxpayers inclined to evade their tax obligations while
vigorously pursuing those who violate the law. Each year, IRS
employees deal directly with more American taxpayers than any
other institution, public or private.
During fiscal year 2010, the IRS processed more than 230
million returns, provided over 109 million refunds, and
collected over $2,345,000,000,000 for the Federal Government.
Of the 141 million individual income tax returns processed,
over 69 percent were filed electronically. This marks a
significant increase in electronically filed returns compared
to the 31 percent in fiscal year 2001. The IRS provided
taxpayer assistance through more than 305 million visits to the
IRS.gov Web site, over 35 million automated telephone calls,
and 6.4 million walk-in Taxpayer Assistance Center contacts and
through nearly 36.7 million telephone calls. The IRS employed a
total work force of 95,425, including seasonal and part-time
employees. In fiscal year 2010, the average cost of collecting
$100 in tax revenue was 53 cents. An important focus for the
IRS in recent years has been to undertake a major modernization
of its systems, including expanding its Internet services, and
business operations to better serve taxpayers and enforce the
law.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a total of $11,663,042,000 for the
Internal Revenue Service for fiscal year 2012. This is a
decrease of $458,788,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted
level and $1,620,865,000 below the budget request.
Tax Gap.--The vast majority of Americans pay their fair
share of taxes, yet there is still a ``tax gap.'' The tax gap
is the difference between what taxpayers are supposed to pay
and what they actually do pay.
To reduce the $345,000,000,000 gross tax gap, experts
recommend a number of approaches. These include improving
information reporting, improving taxpayer services, increasing
research on noncompliance, improving the partnership between
the IRS and the tax administration community, and leveraging
technology to improve IRS's systems. The Committee supports all
of these approaches in combination.
Tax Compliance.--The Committee remains concerned that
absent a better understanding of the current sources of
noncompliance, efforts to improve compliance may be hampered,
misdirected, and difficult to measure. To gain meaningful
insights into taxpayer behavior, the Committee strongly
supports the work of the National Research Program.
Operating Plan and Notification.--In addition to the normal
operating plan requirements detailed in the introduction in
this report, the Committee directs the IRS to include details
on any planned reorganization, job reductions or increases to
offices or activities within the agency, and modifications to
any service or enforcement activity. The Committee also directs
the IRS to obtain and include comments of the IRS Oversight
Board as part of its operating plan submission to the
Committee. Further, the IRS should promptly notify the
Committee and the IRS Oversight Board of any substantial
changes to these plans.
Taxpayer Services in Alaska and Hawaii.--Given the remote
distance of Alaska and Hawaii from the U.S. mainland and the
difficulty experienced by Alaska and Hawaii taxpayers in
receiving needed tax assistance by the national toll-free line,
it is imperative that the Taxpayer Advocate Service Centers in
these States are fully staffed and capable of resolving
taxpayer problems of the most complex nature. The Committee
directs the IRS to continue to staff each Taxpayer Advocate
Service Center in each of these States with a Collection
Technical Advisor and an Examination Technical Advisor in
addition to the current complement of office staff. Staffing
should be increased if, as the result of the IRS Restructuring
and Reform Act of 1998, subsequent legislation, or other
factors, the volume of cases or their complexity increases.
TAXPAYER SERVICES
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $2,274,272,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 2,345,133,000
Committee recommendation................................ 2,195,522,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Taxpayer Services appropriation provides for taxpayer
services, including forms and publications; processing tax
returns and related documents; filing and account services;
taxpayer advocacy services; and assisting taxpayers to
understand their tax obligations, correctly file their returns,
and pay taxes due in a timely manner.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $2,195,522,000 for Taxpayer
Services, which is $78,750,000 below the fiscal year 2011
enacted level, and $149,611,000 below the budget request. Bill
language is included providing not less than $6,100,000 for the
tax counseling for the elderly program, not less than
$10,000,000 for low-income taxpayer clinic [LITC] grants, not
less than $12,000,000, to be available for 2 years, for a
community volunteer income tax assistance [VITA] matching grant
program for tax return preparation assistance and $207,738,000
for the Taxpayer Advocate Service.
The Committee recognizes the significant service challenges
requiring rapid implementation that the IRS has faced as a
result of recent tax law provisions designed to assist
taxpayers in difficult economic times.
The Committee acknowledges that telephonic access to the
IRS is critical to promoting voluntary compliance. In recent
years, the IRS has experienced a decline in its level of
service on its toll-free taxpayer service line due to increased
volume. In the 2005 to 2007 span, about 57 million calls were
received each year, and the level of service stood at 82
percent. When the call volume spiked in 2008 as a result of
inquiries about the economic stimulus payments, the level of
service slipped to 53 percent. As a result of IRS initiatives,
the level of service rebounded to around 72 percent in the last
2 years. Call volume in these past 2 years has been around 77.5
million per year, representing an over 35 percent uptick from 5
years ago. The average waiting time for call response has been
longer--11 minutes on hold in fiscal year 2010 compared to 4.5
minutes in fiscal year 2007.
The Committee encourages the IRS to continue to make steady
progress in its telephonic response performance and work to
sustain taxpayer service delivery in an atmosphere of fiscal
austerity and budgetary rollbacks.
E-Filing.--The Committee is heartened by the IRS's improved
performance in increasing the number of tax filers who submit
their returns electronically and without additional cost.
Electronic filing benefits taxpayers and promotes effective tax
administration because it decreases processing errors,
expedites processing and payment of refunds, and allows the IRS
to efficiently maintain up-to-date records. It costs the IRS 17
cents to process an electronically filed return, compared to
$3.66 to process a paper filed return.
The Committee acknowledges that in the 2011 filing season,
IRS achieved a major milestone as it passed the 1 billion mark
for individual electronically filed tax returns processed
safely and securely since the program was launched as a pilot
test in 1986 and expanded nationwide in 1990. Prior to the
April 18 deadline, IRS e-file surpassed another record with
more than 100 million individual tax returns e-filed during the
2011 filing season. Currently, more than 79 percent of
taxpayers have used e-file to submit their tax returns so far
this year.
In 2009, Congress mandated use of e-filing by all tax
preparers who file 10 or more tax returns. IRS is phasing in
the requirement, with tax preparers who filed 100 or more
returns in 2011 obligated to e-file, and for 2012, tax
preparers who file 11 or more returns required to e-file.
Impact on IRS of Healthcare Implementation.--As a prime
example of the expanding tasks tied to legislative enactments,
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-
148) includes several provisions that will significantly impact
the workload of the IRS over the course of the next several
years. IRS's new responsibilities include implementing a
Medicare payroll tax on investment income, collecting an excise
tax on high-cost insurance plans, and delivering hundreds of
billions in subsidies for low-income Americans to buy
insurance.
The Committee strongly urges the administration, the
Secretary of the Treasury, and the IRS Commissioner to evaluate
the impact of healthcare mandates on the IRS's overall mission
and take all appropriate actions to prevent decline in the
quality and effectiveness of service or taxpayer perception.
The Committee directs the IRS to specifically identify in its
fiscal year 2013 budget submission and operating plan any
proposed increases in spending to be designated to implement
the healthcare mandates, as well as any proposed changes in
spending or prioritization in other mission-critical IRS
programs as a result of the healthcare responsibilities.
The Committee directs the IRS to submit to the Committee,
within 30 days of enactment, a detailed table and explanatory
information reflecting the amounts, dates of receipt, and use
of funds made available to the IRS by transfer from the
Department of Health and Human Services for purposes of
carrying out the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(Public Law 111-148) and the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152).
Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint.--In response to the
Committee's directive in the fiscal year 2006 Treasury
Appropriations Act, the IRS, in consultation with the IRS
Oversight Board and the National Taxpayer Advocate, developed a
``Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint'' to institute a 5-year
strategic plan for taxpayer services. The Committee expects the
Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint to be an integral and guiding
component of delivering services. The Committee supports
ongoing efforts to conduct research on taxpayer needs and
taxpayer service performance.
The Committee directs the IRS, the IRS Oversight Board, and
the National Taxpayer Advocate to continue to submit to
Congress annual updates to the Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint
identifying any changes to its strategic plan for taxpayer
service, including the results of any new research and relevant
findings, and any open issues requiring additional research.
Benefits of National Research Program.--The Committee
believes that the IRS will deliver better taxpayer service,
achieve improved compliance, and reduce the tax gap if taxpayer
behavior is better understood and applied research is
integrated into the development of taxpayer service and
enforcement initiatives. Toward that end, the Committee
supports the work of the National Taxpayer Advocate and the IRS
Office of Research to examine factors that influence taxpayer
compliance behavior, including how and the extent to which
various factors influence such behavior, and how the
establishment of a cognitive learning and applied research
laboratory might facilitate continued evaluation.
Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.--The Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance [VITA] program is an important aspect of
IRS efforts to provide income tax preparation assistance
programs for low-income taxpayers.
A grant program established in 2008 provides direct funds
to enable VITA programs to extend services to underserved
populations and hardest-to-reach areas, both urban and
nonurban, as well as to increase the capacity to file returns
electronically, heighten quality control, enhance training of
volunteers, and significantly improve the accuracy rate of
returns prepared by VITA sites.
The Committee notes that of 321 eligible applicants in
2011, 179 organizations were awarded VITA grants to serve 3,454
sites across the country at which 964,297 returns were
prepared. The Committee recognizes that the applications for
these grants far exceed the available resources.
The Committee provides that, within funds provided,
$12,000,000 shall be available for 2 years for exclusive use as
part of continuing a matching grant program established and
administered by the IRS, in consultation with the Taxpayer
Advocate Service, for not for profit organizations which
provide volunteer income tax return preparation services for
lower income individual taxpayers.
The Committee strongly urges the IRS to make every effort
to expand the quantity and funding level of VITA grants focused
on serving persons with disabilities proportional to the
growing disability population requiring tax assistance. The
Committee understands that entities that are currently
increasing their outreach efforts to better serve the needs of
the disability population have experienced difficulty in
applying for Federal grant assistance due to a lack of
resources at the local level needed to complete the
application. The Committee urges the IRS to allow national
coalitions responsible for the coordination of local community
partnerships focused specifically on the expanded provision of
tax services for individuals with disabilities to compete in
the VITA community matching grant processes.
Fraudulent Abuse of Tax Credits.--Congress has enacted a
series of legislative provisions that have enabled first-time
homebuyers to claim a refundable credit on their 2008, 2009, or
2010 individual Federal tax returns. In addition, the
Residential Energy Tax Credit program rewards homeowners for
making eligible energy-saving improvements to a principal
residence.
TIGTA has released a series of disturbing investigative
reports describing a significant amount of fraudulent and
erroneous payments in both the First-Time Homebuyer and the
Residential Energy tax credit programs, including claims from
ineligible incarcerated persons. The Committee directs the IRS
to intensify its scrutiny of questionable claims for these and
other credits, continue to improve the documentation
requirements to substantiate eligibility, institute effective
filters to screen-out ineligible claimants, and employ
verification methods for distributing tax credits to diminish
the incidence of fraud and erroneous payments in these
beneficial programs.
ENFORCEMENT
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $5,492,992,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 5,966,619,000
Committee recommendation................................ 5,228,613,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Enforcement appropriation provides for the examination
of tax returns, both domestic and international; the
administrative and judicial settlement of taxpayer appeals of
examination findings; technical rulings; monitoring employee
pension plans; determining qualifications of organizations
seeking tax-exempt status; examining tax returns of exempt
organizations; enforcing statutes relating to detection and
investigation of criminal violations of the internal revenue
laws; identifying underreporting of tax obligations; securing
unfiled tax returns; and collecting unpaid accounts.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $5,228,613,000 for enforcement
activities for fiscal year 2012. This amount is $264,379,000
below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $738,006,000 below
the budget request. Bill language is included to transfer not
less than $60,257,000 to the Interagency Crime and Drug
Enforcement [ICDE] program.
The Committee supports the use and prioritization of
enforcement resources to address business and individual
international tax compliance by building upon steady multi-year
investments in initiatives and activities to reduce offshore
tax evasion, including the new special voluntary disclosure
program. The Committee further endorses proposals to reduce the
reporting compliance tax gap through increased examinations of
business and high-income individual returns, increased coverage
of the Automated Underreporter [AUR] Program, and increased
audits involving flow-through entities.
National Research Program.--As noted previously, the
Committee strongly supports the work of the National Research
Program [NRP] to increase understanding of the tax gap. The
Committee acknowledges that the IRS and others have expressed
concerns with the certainty of the overall tax gap estimate in
part because some aspects of the estimate rely on data from the
1970s and 1980s and in other areas, no estimates are available.
The Committee agrees with GAO, TIGTA, the National Taxpayer
Advocate, and the IRS Oversight Board, which have all
recommended greater and more frequent data collection and
studies of the tax gap including the portion of the tax gap
attributable to international transactions.
Misclassification of Contractors.--The Committee continues
to be highly concerned with the misclassification of workers as
independent contractors rather than as employees. This
misclassification leads to the underreporting and underpayment
of employment and payroll taxes by employers and individuals,
which accounts for a substantial portion of the gross tax gap.
The Committee is encouraged by IRS actions to develop an
agency-wide plan and a worker classification team to assist
external stakeholders. The Committee understands that the IRS
has begun the random sampling selection to study worker
classification and other employment tax issues, including the
safe harbor provision. The Committee looks forward to reviewing
the findings once the 3 years of examinations are complete.
The Committee is concerned that staffing within the IRS's
SS-8 program, responsible for making determinations as to a
worker's Federal employment tax status, has not kept pace with
the record and sustained SS-8 filings during the past three
filing seasons. The Committee believes that the IRS SS-8
program is critical to ensuring that workers are classified
correctly, identifying leads for employment tax exams and
criminal investigations, and combating the underreporting of
employment taxes that contributes significantly to the tax gap.
The Committee believes it is crucial, given the growing
workload, that the IRS maintain sufficient staffing at SS-8
processing locations. Prior to making any staffing reductions
at the SS-8 processing locations, the Committee directs the IRS
to provide a report to the Committee that details the past 5
years of staffing levels and employee productivity, SS-8
receipt volumes, and rationale for the proposed workforce
changes.
OPERATIONS SUPPORT
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $4,075,716,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 4,620,526,000
Committee recommendation................................ 3,893,216,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Operations Support appropriation provides for overall
planning and direction of the IRS including shared service
support related to facilities services, rent payments,
printing, postage, and security; other support functions that
are considered overhead but essential to the successful
operation of IRS programs including resources for headquarters
management activities, including IRS-wide support for strategic
planning, communications and liaison, finance, human resources,
EEO and diversity; research and statistics of income; and
necessary expenses for information systems and
telecommunication support, including developmental information
systems and operational information systems.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $3,893,216,000 for Operations
Support for fiscal year 2012. This amount is $182,500,000 below
the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $727,310,000 below the
budget request. Bill language is included allowing up to
$250,000,000 of these funds to remain available until September
30, 2013, for information technology support and not to exceed
$1,000,000 to remain available until September 30, 2014, for
research; not less than $2,000,000 for the Internal Revenue
Oversight Board; and $25,000 for official reception and
representation expenses.
Information Technology [IT] Management and Oversight.--The
IRS has made significant strides in improving the management
and oversight of its business systems modernization [BSM]
program. The IRS needs to vigilantly address major systemic
problems with its non-BSM portfolio of information technology
projects. TIGTA has identified problems in several areas of IT
management and oversight including, but not limited to, such
areas as classification of investment projects, oversight and
governance structure, risk management, contingency planning,
and contractor performance and accountability. The IRS funds
155 IT systems. Of these, 31 are major systems each having an
overall life-cycle cost of greater than $50,000,000 or an
annual budget of greater than $5,000,000.
The Committee shares the concerns, cited by TIGTA and GAO,
that the IRS lacks a comprehensive integrated system to provide
accurate, relevant, and timely financial and operating data
that can be used to evaluate performance measures,
productivity, and the associated costs of IRS programs. This
deficiency hinders IRS management decisionmaking as well as
Congressional oversight of progress in achieving program goals.
Although some progress has been made, the Committee is
particularly concerned about chronic material weaknesses in
IRS's internal controls over information security that expose
systems to serious risk. The Committee expects the IRS to
improve its efforts to fully address information security
vulnerabilities, including promptly instituting corrective
action in response to recommendations of TIGTA and GAO in this
area.
The Committee expects the IRS to monitor its entire non-BSM
IT portfolio (regardless of tier classification) and make any
changes as necessary to ensure that each project has--
--been properly classified for investment decision and
management purposes;
-- the appropriate governance structure in place (such as an
executive steering committee);
--a risk management plan;
--a contingency plan in case of breakdowns or failures in
scheduled deliverables;
--adequate provisions in the contracts to ensure penalties
and repayment to the agency if performance is not met;
--adequate contractor staffing and management in place to
fulfill the contract terms and deliverables; and
--been certified by the head of the relevant IRS business
unit that the project is deemed necessary for its
operations and meets its requirements.
The Committee directs the administration and the IRS to
include within the fiscal year 2013 budget request a proposed
long-term multiyear funding strategy and timetable within the
Operations Support account to upgrade and modernize the aging
legacy IRS information technology infrastructure. The Committee
further directs the IRS to incorporate in its 2013 budget
justification materials submitted to the Committee up-to-date
cost and schedule performance measures for all major systems
funded within the Operations Support account, as it has
traditionally done for the Business Systems Modernization
components.
BUSINESS SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $263,369,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 333,600,000
Committee recommendation................................ 330,210,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Business Systems Modernization account provides
resources for revamping business practices and acquiring new
technology. The IRS has undertaken a multi-year, multi-billion
dollar effort to migrate from its antiquated legacy system to
bring the IRS tax administration system to a level of public
and private sector best practices. The IRS is using a formal
methodology to prioritize, approve, fund, and evaluate its
portfolio of business systems modernization investments. This
methodology is designed to enforce a documented, repeatable,
and measurable process for managing investments throughout
their life cycle. The process is reviewed by the Government
Accountability Office on a regular basis as part of the
submission requirements for expenditure plans to the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations. The expenditure plan
approval process prior to the use of appropriated funds
continues for fiscal year 2012.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $330,210,000 for Business Systems
Modernization [BSM] for fiscal year 2012. This amount is
$66,841,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
$3,390,000 below the budget request. The Committee encourages
the IRS to tap resources available through user fee revenues to
augment the direct discretionary appropriation for the BSM
program.
The Committee continues to believe that BSM is the IRS's
highest management and administrative priority. As one of the
Federal Government's largest, most visible, and sensitive
modernization efforts, managing the risks inherent in BSM
require vigilant management attention. To the IRS's credit, the
program has made steady progress over the past few years. The
replacement of the aging, vintage 1969 individual master file
will permit daily, rather than weekly, updating of individual
tax accounts.
Completion of the core taxpayer account database, with
anticipated deployment for the 2012 filing season is the
cornerstone of modernization and a foundational prerequisite
upon which the success of other major initiatives depends. The
daily processing cycle is expected to generate more timely,
accurate, and complete data resulting in more rapid direct
deposit of refunds for electronic filers, faster account
adjustments, and expedited resolution of taxpayer account
issues and transactions. It will fundamentally transform the
IRS's relationship with its accounts, and promote opportunities
for both taxpayer service delivery and enforcement.
The Committee remains concerned that IRS systems
modernization, by its nature, is a high-risk endeavor, and
appreciates that the IRS has, in recent years, satisfied the
majority of developmental milestones planned for completion
early, under budget, or within 10 percent of cost and schedule
estimates. Because of the tendency for certain projects or
components to exceed schedule and cost estimates, the Committee
urges IRS management to maintain close routine scrutiny of cost
and schedule factors.
HEALTH INSURANCE TAX CREDIT ADMINISTRATION
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $15,481,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 18,029,000
Committee recommendation................................ 15,481,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This appropriation provides operating funds to administer
the advance payment feature of a refundable trade adjustment
assistance health insurance tax credit program to assist
dislocated workers with their health insurance premiums. The
tax credit program was enacted by the Trade Act of 2002 (Public
Law 107-210) and became effective in August 2003.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommendation provides $15,481,000 for the
Health Insurance Tax Credit Administration in fiscal year 2012.
This amount is the same as the fiscal year 2011 enacted level
and $2,548,000 below the budget request.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS--INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
The Committee has included five administrative provisions
carried in prior appropriations acts as follows:
Section 101 continues a provision allowing the IRS to
transfer up to 5 percent of any appropriation made available to
the agency in fiscal year 2012 to any other IRS account, with
the exception of the Enforcement account, which is limited to 3
percent. The IRS is directed to follow the Committee's
reprogramming procedures outlined earlier in this report.
Section 102 continues a provision maintaining a training
program in taxpayers' rights and cross-cultural relations.
Section 103 continues a provision requiring the IRS to
institute and enforce policies and procedures, which will
safeguard the confidentiality of taxpayer information.
Section 104 continues a provision directing that funds
shall be available for improved facilities and increased
staffing to support a 1-800 help line service for taxpayers.
Section 105 continues a provision that prohibits the use of
funds in this act to enter into, renew, extend, administer,
implement, enforce, provide oversight of, or make any payment
related to any qualified tax collection contract.
Administrative Provisions--Department of the Treasury
The Committee includes 12 administrative provisions carried
over from prior appropriations acts. The administrative
provisions are as follows:
Section 106 authorizes certain basic services within the
Treasury Department in fiscal year 2012, including purchase of
uniforms; maintenance, repairs, and cleaning; purchase of
insurance for official motor vehicles operated in foreign
countries; and contracts with the Department of State for
health and medical services to employees and their dependents
serving in foreign countries.
Section 107 authorizes transfers, up to 2 percent, between
Departmental Offices, Office of Inspector General, Special
Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program,
Financial Management Service, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the Bureau of
the Public Debt appropriations under certain circumstances.
Section 108 authorizes transfers, up to 2 percent, between
the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General
for Tax Administration under certain circumstances.
Section 109 requires that the purchase of law enforcement
vehicles be consistent with departmental vehicle management
principles.
Section 110 prohibits the Department of the Treasury and
the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from redesigning the $1
Federal Reserve Note.
Section 111 authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to
transfer funds from Salaries and Expenses, Financial Management
Service, to the Debt Collection Fund as necessary to cover the
costs of debt collection. Such amounts shall be reimbursed to
the Salaries and Expenses account from debt collections
received in the Debt Collection Fund.
Section 112 extends the authority to conduct a personnel
management demonstration project.
Section 113 requires prior approval for the construction
and operation of a museum by the United States Mint.
Section 114 prohibits the merger of the United States Mint
and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing without prior approval
of the committees of jurisdiction.
Section 115 authorizes the Department's intelligence
activities.
Section 116 permits the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to
use $5,000 from the Industrial Revolving Fund for reception and
representation expenses.
Section 117 requires the Secretary of the Treasury to
develop an annual Capital Investment Plan.
TITLE II
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO THE
PRESIDENT
Compensation of the President
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $450,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 450,000
Committee recommendation................................ 450,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This account provides for the compensation of the
President, including an expense allowance as authorized by 3
U.S.C. 102.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $450,000 for
compensation of the President, including an expense allowance
of $50,000. This is the same as the fiscal year 2011 enacted
level and the same as the budget request. The expense account
is for official use as authorized by title 3, United States
Code, and is not considered taxable to the President. The bill
specifies that any unused amount shall revert to the Treasury
consistent with 31 U.S.C. 1552.
The White House
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $58,435,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 58,374,000
Committee recommendation................................ 57,851,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The ``Salaries and Expenses'' account of The White House
provides staff assistance and administrative services for the
direct support of the President. The office also serves as the
President's representative before the media. In accordance with
3 U.S.C. 105, the office also supports and assists the
activities of the spouse of the President.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $57,851,000
for The White House, Salaries and Expenses. The recommendation
is $584,000 less than the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and is
$523,000 less than the budget request.
The Committee directs the Executive Office of the President
to allocate sufficient resources to continue the robust
operation of the Office of National AIDS Policy. The Committee
directs the administration to continue to coordinate a
Government-wide effort to develop and implement a domestic AIDS
strategy, including the development of targets for improved
prevention and treatment outcomes.
Executive Residence at the White House
OPERATING EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $13,673,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 13,658,000
Committee recommendation................................ 13,536,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
These funds provide for the care, maintenance, repair,
alteration, refurnishing, improvement, air-conditioning,
heating, and lighting of the White House and the official and
ceremonial functions of the President.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $13,536,000
for the Executive Residence at the White House. The Committee
recommendation is $137,000 less than the fiscal year 2011
enacted level and $122,000 less than the budget request. The
bill also continues certain restrictions on reimbursable
expenses for use of the Executive Residence.
White House Repair and Restoration
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $2,001,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 1,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 990,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This account funds the repair, alteration, and improvement
of the Executive Residence at the White House. A separate
account was established in fiscal year 1996 to program and
track expenditures for the capital improvement projects at the
Executive Residence at the White House.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $990,000 for
White House Repair and Restoration, $10,000 less than the
budget request and $1,011,000 below the fiscal year 2011
enacted level.
Council of Economic Advisers
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $4,192,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 4,403,000
Committee recommendation................................ 4,192,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Council of Economic Advisers analyzes the national
economy and its various segments, advises the President on
economic developments, recommends policies for economic growth
and stability, appraises economic programs and policies of the
Federal Government, and assists in the preparation of the
annual Economic Report of the President to Congress.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $4,192,000 for
salaries and expenses of the Council of Economic Advisers. This
amount is $211,000 less than the budget request and is equal to
the fiscal year 2011 enacted level.
National Security Council and Homeland Security Council
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $13,048,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 13,074,000
Committee recommendation................................ 13,048,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The National Security Council advises the President in
integrating domestic, foreign, and military policies related to
national security and the Homeland Security Council advises the
President in coordinating homeland security-related policies
across the Government.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $13,048,000
for the salaries and expenses of the National Security Council
and the Homeland Security Council. This amount is $26,000 less
than the budget request and equal to the fiscal year 2011
enacted level.
The budget requests that funding for the Homeland Security
Council, previously funded within The White House Office
account, be combined with funding for the National Security
Council. The Committee does not oppose the proposed
reorganization and recommends funding for the Homeland Security
Council together with the National Security Council within a
new account titled ``National Security Council and Homeland
Security Council.''
Office of Administration
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $115,049,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 115,848,000
Committee recommendation................................ 114,908,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Office of Administration's mission is to provide high-
quality, cost-effective administrative services to the
Executive Office of the President. These services, defined by
Executive Order 12028 of 1977, include financial, personnel,
library and records services, information management systems
support, and general office services.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $114,908,000
for the Office of Administration for fiscal year 2012, a
decrease of $141,000 to the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
$940,000 less than the budget request.
The Committee's recommendation includes $10,670,000 to
stabilize and modernize the information technology
infrastructure within the Executive Office of the President.
This funding supports the continuation of a major initiative
that will refresh the aging information technology
infrastructure, strengthen disaster recovery and information
security capabilities, and transition the Executive Office of
the President's communications architecture to integrate mobile
devices while complying with security and records management
requirements.
The Committee directs the Office of Administration to place
a top priority on the implementation of comprehensive policies
and procedures for the preservation of all records, including
electronic records such as e-mails, videos, and social
networking communication, consistent with the requirements of
the Presidential Records Act, the Federal Records Act, and
other pertinent laws. The Office of Administration shall work
closely with the National Archives and Records Administration
[NARA] to ensure the full and complete maintenance and
formatting of electronic records that will eventually be turned
over to NARA. The Committee expects the Office of
Administration to keep the Committee fully apprised of funding
needs related to record preservation and retention.
Office of Management and Budget
salaries and expenses
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $91,750,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 91,660,000
Committee recommendation................................ 90,833,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Office of Management and Budget [OMB] assists the
President in the discharge of his budgetary, management, and
other executive responsibilities.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $90,833,000
for the Office of Management and Budget which is $917,000 below
the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $827,000 below the
budget request.
The Committee relies on all entities receiving Federal
funds, including OMB, to provide detailed information about
budget requests and activities conducted using previously
appropriated funds. The Committee expects OMB to provide timely
and complete responses to the Committee to all requests for
information, including requests related to the budget request
for OMB and the Executive Office of the President.
The Committee directs OMB to submit a written report to the
Committee within 120 days of enactment detailing the current
capabilities of and deficiencies in the Federal Government's
core budgeting system. This system is used Government-wide by
all Federal agencies for documenting and estimating budget
activities, ensuring data integrity with other financial and
accounting systems, and transmitting a detailed budget request
to the Congress. A robust system is an essential resource for
providing data needed to support thorough budget analysis by
both the administration and the Congress.
Government-wide Management Councils
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... ($17,000,000)
Budget estimate, 2012................................... (20,000,000)
Committee recommendation................................ (17,000,000)
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Government-wide Management Councils provide forums for
improving government performance by facilitating experience
exchange and identification of best practices among leaders in
Federal agencies. Interagency groups funded under this account
include the President's Management Council for overall
management improvement initiatives, the Chief Financial
Officers Council for financial management initiatives, the
Chief Information Officers Council for information technology
initiatives, the Chief Human Capital Officers Council for human
capital initiatives, the Chief Acquisition Officers Council for
procurement initiatives, and the Performance Improvement
Council for performance improvement initiatives. Funding is
derived via transfer from the head of each executive department
and agency.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $17,000,000 for Government-wide
Management Councils, by transfer, which is equal to the fiscal
year 2011 enacted level and $3,000,000 below the budget
request. The Committee supports the activities of the
Government-wide Management Councils and recognizes that regular
communication among agency leaders can lead to improved
performance. The Committee directs the Executive Office of the
President to continue to include a budgetary justification for
each council in the annual budget request and to clearly note
in the budget justification any items requested in the budget
for Government-wide initiatives led or coordinated through the
councils.
Office of National Drug Control Policy
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $27,084,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 23,413,000
Committee recommendation................................ 26,125,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Office of National Drug Control Policy [ONDCP],
established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, and
reauthorized by Public Law 109-469, is charged with developing
policies, objectives, and priorities for the National Drug
Control Program. In addition, ONDCP administers the High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, the Drug-Free
Communities Support Program, and several other related
initiatives.
This account provides funding for personnel compensation,
travel, and other basic operations of the Office, and for
general policy research to support the formulation of the
National Drug Control Strategy.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $26,125,000
for ONDCP's salaries and expenses. This amount is $959,000
below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $2,712,000 above
the budget request. The funding level prevents a reduction-in-
force of 20 FTE and maintains critical positions. Due to budget
constraints, no funding is provided for policy research.
The Committee remains interested in ONDCP's implementation
of the study conducted by the National Academy of Public
Administration [NAPA], in particular, fostering openness and
participation by staff at ONDCP and ensuring that qualified
individuals hold leadership positions at ONDCP. The Committee
applauds efforts by top leadership to listen to stakeholders
and applauds efforts with interagency working groups and their
task forces. The Committee directs ONDCP to provide an updated
report on further actions and improvements taken since the last
ONDCP report on this topic, which shall be due 30 days after
enactment of this act.
The administration's new drug control strategy places an
increased emphasis on demand reduction, therefore, staffing
allocations within the Office of Supply Reduction and the
Office of Demand Reduction should reflect that strategy. The
Committee urges ONDCP to ensure that Office of Demand Reduction
staff--both current and new--have expertise in prevention and
making comprehensive community action a focal point.
The Committee notes that often a lengthy clearance process
at the Executive Office of the President [EOP] delays
submission of information required by Congress in a timely
manner and urges EOP to improve ONDCP's responsiveness and
ability to provide information critical to the Committee's
ability to make informed budgetary decisions. Language has also
been included in this topic under the White House Office
account.
The Committee supports the goals of the Office of National
Drug Control Policy's national action plan, ``Epidemic:
Responding to America's Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis'', and
encourages the Director to coordinate interagency efforts and
partnerships with law enforcement to implement recommendations
contained within the plan. The Committee requests quarterly
reports on the Office's continued efforts to address
prescription drug abuse and diversion based upon the plan's
recommendations.
Funds Appropriated to the President
FEDERAL DRUG CONTROL PROGRAMS
HIGH INTENSITY DRUG TRAFFICKING AREAS
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $238,522,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 200,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 238,522,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas [HIDTA] program
was established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (Public Law
100-690) and the Office of National Drug Control Policy's
reauthorization (Public Law 109-469) to provide assistance to
Federal, State, and local law enforcement entities operating in
those areas most adversely affected by drug trafficking.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $238,522,000
for the HIDTA program, the same as the fiscal year 2011 level
and $38,522,000 above the budget request. The Committee directs
that funding shall be provided for the existing HIDTAs at no
less than the fiscal year 2011 level.
ONDCP is directed to consult with the HIDTAs in advance of
deciding programmatic spending allocations for discretionary
(supplemental) funding.
The Committee recommendation specifies that up to
$2,700,000 may be used for auditing services and associated
activities, and up to $500,000 shall be used to ensure the
continued operation and maintenance of the Performance
Management System.
The Committee directs that the HIDTA funds be transferred
to the appropriate drug control agencies expeditiously and
includes provisions in the bill to help prevent delay.
The Committee recognizes the National HIDTA Assistance
Center for providing programmatic support to the HIDTA program
to include training, financial management/audit review, and
other essential services.
The Committee retains a provision allowing unexpended funds
obligated prior to 2 years ago for programs addressing the
treatment or prevention of drug use to be used for other
approved HIDTA activities.
The HIDTA funds should not be used to supplant existing
support for ongoing Federal, State, or local drug control
operations normally funded out of the operating budgets of each
agency. ONDCP is directed to withhold all HIDTA funds from a
State until such time as a State or locality has met its
financial obligation.
OTHER FEDERAL DRUG CONTROL PROGRAMS
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $140,618,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 143,600,000
Committee recommendation................................ 105,950,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-690), and
the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act
(Public Law 109-469) established this account to be
administered by the Director of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy. The funds appropriated to the program support
high-priority drug control programs and may be transferred to
drug control agencies.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $105,950,000
for Other Federal Drug Control Programs, which is $34,668,000
below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $37,650,000 below
the budget request. Within this amount, the Committee provides
the following funding levels:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign................. ..............
Drug-Free Communities Support Program................... 92,600,000
National Community Anti-Drug Coalition training..... 2,000,000
Drug court training and technical assistance............ 1,400,000
Anti-doping activities.................................. 8,900,000
World Anti-Doping Agency [WADA]......................... 1,900,000
Activities as authorized by Public Law 109-469, section 1,150,000
1105...................................................
Performance Measures Development........................ ..............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Youth Anti-drug Media Campaign.--The Committee has
believed in the importance of maintaining anti-drug messaging
to the Nation's youth. However, during the course of the Media
Campaign, it has received mixed reviews from independent
sources. During times of fiscal austerity such as the Nation is
currently experiencing, funding even the best-performing
programs is difficult. Therefore, the Committee reluctantly
provides no funding for the Media Campaign.
Drug-free Communities Support Program.--ONDCP directs the
Drug-Free Communities Support Program [DFCSP] in partnership
with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. DFCSP provides dollar for dollar matching
grants of up to $125,000 to local coalitions that mobilize
their communities to prevent youth alcohol, tobacco, illicit
drug, and inhalant abuse. Such grants support coalitions of
youth; parents; media; law enforcement; school officials;
faith-based organizations; fraternal organizations; State,
local, and tribal government agencies; healthcare
professionals; and other community representatives. The DFCSP
enables these coalitions to strengthen their coordination and
prevention efforts, encourage citizen participation in
substance abuse reduction efforts, and disseminate information
about effective programs. The Committee provides $92,600,000
for the continuation of the DFCSP.
The Committee includes a provision in the bill directing
ONDCP to provide $2,000,000 of DFCSP funds for training and
related purposes as authorized by section 4 of Public Law 107-
82, as amended by Public Law 109-469.
United States Anti-Doping Agency.--The United States Anti-
Doping Agency [USADA] is the independent anti-doping agency for
Olympic sports in the United States, and is responsible for
managing the testing and adjudication process for U.S. Olympic,
Pan Am and Paralympic athletes. As a nonprofit corporation
under the leadership of an independent Board of Directors,
USADA has the authority to set forth guiding principles in
anti-doping policy and to enforce any doping violations. In
addition to managing collection and testing procedures, USADA
is also responsible for enhancing research efforts and
promoting educational programs to inform athletes of the rules
governing the use of performance enhancing substances, as well
as the ethics of doping and its harmful health effects. The
Committee provides $8,900,000 for USADA.
Unanticipated Needs
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $998,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 1,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 988,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
These funds enable the President to meet unanticipated
exigencies in support of the national interest, security, or
defense.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $988,000, which is $10,000 less
than the amount appropriated in fiscal year 2011 and $12,000
below the budget request.
Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011....................................................
Budget estimate, 2012................................... $20,000
Committee recommendation................................................
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation
(Partnership Fund) was initiated in fiscal year 2010. The
Partnership Fund supports pilot programs designed to reduce
errors and improve efficiency and service of Federal programs
administered by States. The pilot programs focus on
coordinating State-administered Federal programs both within
States and between State and Federal officials and on
technology solutions that may serve as best practices in the
future. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget
[OMB] chairs an interagency council consisting of
representatives of appropriate Federal agencies, States, and
other stakeholders. The council analyzes and selects pilot
programs for funding, develops strategies and goals for the
overall program as well as for each pilot program, and develops
methodologies for assessing the performance of the overall
program and the pilot programs.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee does not recommend additional funding for the
Partnership Fund in fiscal year 2012. The Committee directs the
administration to continue to leverage funds provided in fiscal
year 2010 to continue the initiative during fiscal year 2012.
The Committee is pleased with the proposed initiative to
improve the operations of State-administered Federal programs.
Efficiencies can be gained by better coordinating Federal
programs, and technology may play a significant role in such
improvements. The Committee reminds the interagency council of
the semiannual progress reports that are required to be
submitted to the Committees on Appropriations.
The Committee notes that OMB does not administer or execute
Federal programs. While the Committee expects OMB to continue
to play a coordinating role in designing pilot programs,
developing performance measures, and allocating funds, the
Committee directs that the interagency council be the exclusive
decisionmaking body for such activities. As Chair of the
Interagency Council, the Committee directs the Director of OMB
to seek consensus and input to the maximum extent possible from
council members and participating Federal and State agencies.
Integrated, Efficient, and Effective Uses of Information Technology
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011....................................................
Budget estimate, 2012................................... $60,000,000
Committee recommendation................................................
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The fiscal year 2012 budget request seeks $60,000,000 in
dedicated funding for the Integrated, Efficient, and Effective
Uses of Information Technology [IEEUIT] program. The goal of
the IEEUIT is to turn around poorly performing information
technology projects and to centralize key information
technology [IT] services for Government agencies, saving
taxpayer dollars in the future that would otherwise be spent on
inefficient and duplicative IT services. The Executive Office
of the President began a major IT reform effort in fiscal year
2009 by leveraging existing resources provided for management
improvements.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee lauds the administration's comprehensive and
innovative approach to improving IT development processes and
maximizing efficiencies across the Federal IT portfolio. The
Federal Government invests $80,000,000,000 a year in IT
development for a wide variety of capabilities, spanning, for
example, from basic desktop computing to a searchable database
for investigating terrorist financing activity.
Using resources provided for general management
improvements, in 2009 the administration began a major IT
reform effort focused on improving poorly performing IT
projects, consolidating costly data centers, and consolidating
common IT functions across Federal agencies. The administration
estimates that taxpayer savings realized to date under the
current IT reform initiative totals approximately
$3,000,000,000.
The Committee is unable to recommend additional dedicated
funding for the IEEUIT at this time. The Committee directs the
administration to continue current IT reform efforts during
fiscal year 2012 using resources provided for the Executive
Office of the President and other funding sources where
appropriate. The Committee directs the administration to keep
the Committee apprised of the results of such efforts.
The Committee reminds the Executive Office of the President
that the Committee expects to be regularly apprised of how
Government-wide IT reform efforts affect agency-specific
projects and missions on a case-by-case basis. The Committee
directs that IT reform initiatives shall not be a substitute
for the Committee's routine consideration of agency needs in
accordance with the regular budget process. Finally, the
Committee directs the Executive Office of the President to
notify the Committee immediately upon any change in an agency
spending plan pursuant to any efforts to modernize, streamline,
or improve Federal IT projects.
Special Assistance to the President
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $4,549,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 4,328,000
Committee recommendation................................ 4,328,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This appropriation provides for staff and expenses to
enable the Vice President to provide assistance to the
President in connection with the performance of executive
duties and responsibilities. These funds also support the
official activities of the spouse of the Vice President. The
Vice President also has a staff funded by the Senate to assist
him in the performance of his legislative duties.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $4,328,000 for
special assistance to the President. This amount is the same as
the budget request and $221,000 below the fiscal year 2011
enacted level.
Official Residence of the Vice President
OPERATING EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $326,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 307,000
Committee recommendation................................ 307,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This account supports the care and operation of the Vice
President's residence on the grounds of the Naval Observatory.
These funds specifically support equipment, furnishings, dining
facilities, and services required to perform and discharge the
Vice President's official duties, functions, and obligations.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $307,000 for
the official residence of the Vice President. This amount is
the same as the budget request and $19,000 below the fiscal
year 2011 enacted level.
Administrative Provisions--Executive Office of the President and Funds
Appropriated to the President
Section 201 continues a provision that provides flexibility
in the use of funds in accounts under the Executive Office of
the President.
Section 202 requires a detailed financial plan by the
Director of ONDCP prior to the obligation of funds in fiscal
year 2012.
Section 203 allows for the transfer of up to 2 percent
among programs within ONDCP.
Section 204 establishes reprogramming requirements for
ONDCP.
Section 205 rescinds unobligated balances from the
Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center program.
TITLE III
THE JUDICIARY
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Established under Article III of the Constitution, the
judicial branch of Government is a separate but equal branch.
The Federal judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, United
States Courts of Appeals, District Courts, Bankruptcy Courts,
Court of International Trade, Court of Federal Claims, and
several other entities and programs. The organization of the
judiciary, the district and circuit boundaries, the places of
holding court, and the number of Federal judges are legislated
by the Congress and signed into law by the President.
The Committee's recommended funding levels support the
Federal judiciary's role of providing equal justice under the
law and include sufficient funds to support this critical
mission. The recommended funding level includes the salaries of
judges and support staff and the operation and security of our
Nation's courts.
The judicial branch is subject to the same funding
constraints facing the executive and legislative branches. It
is imperative that the Federal judiciary devote its resources
primarily to the retention of staff. Further, it is also
important that the judiciary contain controllable costs such as
travel, construction, and other expenses.
Supreme Court of the United States
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $73,921,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 75,551,000
Committee recommendation................................ 74,819,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The United States Supreme Court consists of nine justices
appointed under Article III of the Constitution of the United
States, one of whom is appointed as Chief Justice of the United
States. The Supreme Court acts as the final arbiter in the
Federal court system.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $74,819,000
for the Justices, their supporting personnel, and the costs of
operating the Supreme Court, excluding the care of the building
and grounds. The recommendation is $898,000 above the fiscal
year 2011 funding level and consistent with the budget re-
estimate. As requested, funding is provided for 12 new police
officers.
CARE OF THE BUILDING AND GROUNDS
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $8,159,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 8,504,000
Committee recommendation................................ 8,159,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Care of the Building and Grounds, for expenditure by the
Architect of the Capitol, provides for the structural and
mechanical care of the United States Supreme Court Building and
Grounds, including maintenance and operation of mechanical,
electrical, and electronic equipment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $8,159,000 for
personnel and other services related to the Supreme Court
building and grounds, which is supervised by the Architect of
the Capitol. The recommendation is the same as the fiscal year
2011 funding level and $345,000 below the budget request.
The Court shall continue to provide to the Committee
detailed single-spaced quarterly reports on the Supreme Court
modernization project, including descriptions; timeliness;
milestones; and funding committed, obligated, and expended, as
well as any unobligated balances of each major capital project.
In addition, the report should include the identification,
descriptions, and status of any contract claims.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
salaries and expenses
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $32,511,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 35,139,000
Committee recommendation................................ 31,913,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
was established on October 1, 1982 under Article III of the
Constitution. The court was formed by the merger of the United
States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and the appellate
division of the United States Court of Claims. The court
consists of 12 judges who are appointed by the President, with
the advice and consent of the Senate. Judges are appointed to
the court under Article III of the Constitution of the United
States.
The Federal Circuit has nationwide jurisdiction in a
variety of subjects, including international trade, Government
contracts, patents, certain claims for money from the United
States Government, Federal personnel, and veterans' benefits.
Appeals to the court come from all Federal district courts, the
United States Court of Federal Claims, the United States Court
of International Trade, and the United States Court of Veterans
Appeals. The court also takes appeals of certain administrative
agencies' decisions, including the Merit Systems Protection
Board, the Board of Contract Appeals, the Board of Patent
Appeals and Interferences, and the Trademark Trial and Appeals
Board. Decisions of the United States International Trade
Commission, the Office of Compliance of the United States
Congress, and the Government Accountability Office Personnel
Appeals Board are also reviewable by the court.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $31,913,000.
The recommendation is $598,000 below the fiscal year 2011
funding level, and $3,226,000 below the budget request.
United States Court of International Trade
salaries and expenses
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $21,447,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 22,891,000
Committee recommendation................................ 20,968,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The United States Court of International Trade, located in
New York City, consists of nine Article III judges. The court
has exclusive nationwide jurisdiction over civil actions
brought against the United States, its agencies and officers,
and certain civil actions brought by the United States, arising
out of import transactions and the administration and
enforcement of the Federal customs and international trade
laws.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $20,968,000.
The recommendation is $479,000 below the fiscal year 2011
funding level and $1,923,000 below the budget request.
Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and Other Judicial Services
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $5,004,221,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 5,236,166,000
Committee recommendation................................ 4,970,646,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Salaries and Expenses is one of four accounts that provide
total funding for the Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and
Other Judicial Services. In addition to funding the salaries of
judges and support staff, this account also funds the operating
costs of appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts, the Court
of Federal Claims, and probation and pretrial services offices.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $4,970,646,000
for salaries and expenses. The recommendation is $33,575,000
below the fiscal year 2011 funding level and $265,520,000 below
the budget request.
The Committee is aware that the Judicial Conference has
communicated to judges and court staff the need to identify
ways to reduce operational and administrative costs, given the
current fiscal climate. The Committee endorses these efforts
and urges all courts to review all options in order to help
contain costs. The Committee applauds the Court of
International Trade, which historically has managed its budget
well as evidenced by its minimal funding requests year after
year. On the other hand, the budget for Defender Services,
currently funded at more than $1,000,000,000, has grown
significantly in recent years. While the services provided by
this program are essential, this trend is not sustainable,
given fiscal realities.
Perimeter Security Pilot Project.--The Judiciary submitted
its report evaluating the Judicial Perimeter Security Pilot
Program on October 20, 2010, and a follow-up report on
execution of the Judicial Perimeter Security Pilot Program on
August 8, 2011. The evaluation report concluded that having
unity of command, CSO guards at all posts, and national
standards for security coverage resulted in significant
security improvements at the pilot sites. The follow-up report
described how a Judicial Perimeter Security Program could be
implemented at additional primary courthouses. While a
meritorious program, given budget constraints, further
implementation would be feasible only if cost neutral. The
Judiciary is encouraged to identify such opportunities. Section
306 authorizing the pilot is continued in order to allow the
Judiciary to maintain the pilot at the seven existing locations
and to allow for expansion of the pilot to new locations, if it
can be done in a cost neutral manner.
Capital Security Program.--Recognizing the impact of the
Judiciary's rental expenses on its ability to maintain support
of critical court requirements, the Committee supports the work
of the Judiciary in revising its long-range planning process
for facility needs. Budgetary realities, as well as new space
design criteria for courtroom sharing, will result in fewer new
courthouses recommended by the Judicial Conference for funding
in the future.
Security deficiencies in existing courthouses still must be
addressed and can be accomplished in most instances with
considerably less funding than would be required for a new
facility. Therefore, funding is included within the General
Services Administration's Federal Buildings Fund to establish a
Judiciary Capital Security Program, which will address security
deficiencies in existing buildings where physical, interior
alterations are viable. The Judiciary and the GSA shall work
collaboratively to assess the building conditions, viability of
long-term use, and structural capacity for these stand-alone
architectural solutions which may include: building additional
corridors; adding or reconfiguring elevators; building visual
barriers; moving air-intakes; and enlarging security screening
areas.
VACCINE INJURY COMPENSATION TRUST FUND
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $4,775,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 5,011,000
Committee recommendation................................ 4,775,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Enacted by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of
1986 (Public Law 99-660), the Vaccine Injury Compensation
Program is a Federal no-fault program designed to resolve a
perceived crisis in vaccine tort liability claims that
threatened the continued availability of childhood vaccines
nationwide. The statute's primary intention is the creation of
a more efficient adjudicatory mechanism that ensures a no-fault
compensation result for those allegedly injured or killed by
certain covered vaccines. This program protects the
availability of vaccines in the United States by diverting a
substantial number of claims from the tort arena.
Not only did this act create a special fund to pay
judgments awarded under the act, but it also created the Office
of Special Masters within the United States Court of Federal
Claims to hear vaccine injury cases. The act stipulates that up
to eight special masters may be appointed for this purpose. The
special masters expenditures are reimbursed to the judiciary
for vaccine injury cases from a special fund set up under the
Vaccine Act.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $4,775,000.
The recommendation is the same as the fiscal year 2011 funding
level and $236,000 below the budget request.
DEFENDER SERVICES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $1,025,693,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 1,098,745,000
Committee recommendation................................ 1,034,182,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Defender Services program ensures the right to counsel
guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, the Criminal Justice Act (18
U.S.C. 3006A(e)) and other congressional mandates for those who
cannot afford to retain counsel and other necessary defense
services. The Criminal Justice Act provides that courts appoint
counsel from Federal public and community defender
organizations or from a panel of private attorneys established
by the court. The Defender Services program helps to maintain
public confidence in the Nation's commitment to equal justice
under the law and ensures the successful operation of the
constitutionally based adversary system of justice by which
Federal criminal laws and federally guaranteed rights are
enforced.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of
$1,034,182,000. The recommendation is $8,489,000 above the
fiscal year 2011 funding level and $64,563,000 below the budget
request. This program is urged to scrutinize its costs and
reduce expenses in the future.
FEES OF JURORS AND COMMISSIONERS
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $52,305,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 59,727,000
Committee recommendation................................ 59,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This account provides for the statutory fees and allowances
of grand and petit jurors and for the compensation of jury and
land commissioners. Budgetary requirements depend primarily
upon the volume and the length of jury trials demanded by
parties to both civil and criminal actions and the number of
grand juries being convened by the courts at the request of the
United States Attorneys.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $59,000,000.
The recommendation is $6,695,000 above the fiscal year 2011
funding level and $727,000 below the budget request.
COURT SECURITY
(INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $466,672,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 513,058,000
Committee recommendation................................ 500,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Court Security appropriation was established in 1983
and funds the necessary expenses incident to the provision of
protective guard services, and the procurement, installation,
and maintenance of security systems and equipment for United
States courthouses and other facilities housing Federal court
operations, including building access control, inspection of
mail and packages, directed security patrols, perimeter
security provided by the Federal Protective Service, and other
similar activities as authorized by section 1010 of the
Judicial Improvement and Access to Justice Act (Public Law 100-
702).
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $500,000,000.
The recommendation is $33,328,000 above the fiscal year 2011
funding level and $13,058,000 below the budget request.
Administrative Office of the United States Courts
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $82,909,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 88,455,000
Committee recommendation................................ 82,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Administrative Office [AO] of the United States Courts
was created in 1939 by an act of Congress. It serves the
Federal judiciary in carrying out its constitutional mission to
provide equal justice under the law. Beyond providing numerous
services to the Federal courts, the AO provides support and
staff counsel to the Judicial Conference of the United States
and its committees, and implements Judicial Conference policies
as well as applicable Federal statutes and regulations. The AO
is the focal point for communication and coordination within
the Federal judiciary and with Congress, the executive branch,
and the public on behalf of the judiciary.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $82,000,000.
This recommendation is $909,000 below the fiscal year 2011
funding level and $6,455,000 below the budget request.
Federal Judicial Center
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $27,273,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 29,029,000
Committee recommendation................................ 27,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Federal Judicial Center, located in Washington, DC,
improves the management of Federal judicial dockets and court
administration through education for judges and staff, and
research, evaluation, and planning assistance for the courts
and the Judicial Conference. The Center's responsibilities
include educating judges and other judicial branch personnel
about legal developments and efficient litigation management
and court administration. Additionally, the Center also
analyzes the efficacy of case and court management procedures
and ensures the Federal judiciary is aware of the methods of
best practice.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $27,000,000.
The recommendation is $273,000 below the fiscal year 2011
funding level and $2,029,000 below the budget request.
Judicial Retirement Funds
PAYMENT TO JUDICIARY TRUST FUNDS
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $90,361,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 103,768,000
Committee recommendation................................ 103,768,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The funds in this account cover the estimated future
benefit payments to be made to retired bankruptcy judges and
magistrate judges, claims court judges, and spouses and
dependent children of deceased judicial officers.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $103,768,000
for payments to the Judicial Officers' Retirement Fund and the
Claims Court Judges Retirement Fund. The recommendation is
$13,407,000 above the fiscal year 2011 funding level and
consistent with the budget request.
United States Sentencing Commission
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $16,803,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 17,906,000
Committee recommendation................................ 16,500,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The United States Sentencing Commission establishes,
reviews, and revises sentencing guidelines, policies, and
practices for the Federal criminal justice system. The
Commission is also required to monitor the operation of the
guidelines and to identify and report necessary changes to the
Congress.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $16,500,000.
The recommendation is $303,000 below the fiscal year 2011
funding level and $1,406,000 below the budget request.
Administrative Provisions--The Judiciary
The Committee recommends the following administrative
provisions for the judiciary.
Section 301 allows the judiciary to expend funds for the
employment of experts and consultative services.
Section 302 allows the judiciary, subject to the
Committee's reprogramming procedures, to transfer up to 5
percent between appropriations, but limits to 10 percent the
amount that may be transferred into any one appropriation.
Section 303 limits official reception and representation
expenses incurred by the Judicial Conference of the United
States to no more than $11,000.
Section 304 requires the Administrative Office to submit an
annual financial plan for the judiciary within 90 days of
enactment of this act.
Section 305 grants the judicial branch the same tenant
alteration authorities as the executive branch.
Section 306 provides continued authority for a court
security pilot program.
Section 307 extends for 1 year the authorization of a
temporary judgeship in Hawaii and a temporary judgeship in
Kansas.
TITLE IV
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Federal Payments
FEDERAL FUNDS
A total of $658,118,000 in Federal funds are estimated to
be available to the District of Columbia government, the
District of Columbia Courts, the District of Columbia Court
Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and other D.C.
entities. This is $40,600,000 below the fiscal year 2011
enacted level and $58,582,000 below the budget request. A total
of $1,015,449,000 in Federal funds will be received by the
District government from the various Federal grant programs,
including Federal reimbursements from such programs as Medicaid
and Medicare.
FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR RESIDENT TUITION SUPPORT
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $35,030,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 35,100,000
Committee recommendation................................ 30,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Resident Tuition Support program was created by the
District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999 (Public Law
106-98), expanded through the District of Columbia College
Access Improvement Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-157), and
amended and reauthorized through Public Law 110-97. This
program provides eligible college-bound District residents the
opportunity to expand their higher education choices.
Under the program, financial assistance is available to
qualified District residents who attend public colleges outside
of the District of Columbia, private postsecondary institutions
in the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or any
historically black college or university. The private-school
tuition grants are restricted to nonprofit institutions.
Students who attend public schools receive assistance equal to
the difference between the tuition paid by residents of the
State in which the institution is located and the tuition
charged to nonresident students, with an annual limit of
$10,000 and a lifetime limit of $50,000. Private-school
students receive a $2,500 maximum annual grant, with a lifetime
limit of $12,500.
Since its inception over a decade ago, the program has
disbursed more than $265,000,000 through December 31, 2010 for
the benefit of more than 16,265 District of Columbia residents,
with grants averaging $6,449 per year. Sixty percent of the
program grantees are the first in their families to attend
college. Program participants have enrolled in more than 300
colleges and universities in 48 States. This has brought an
infusion of the District's students as well as Federal dollars
to State university systems nationwide.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a Federal payment of $30,000,000
for the resident tuition support [DC TAG] program, $5,030,000
below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $5,100,000 below
the budget request. The Committee understands that the program
will have an estimated $12,819,000 in carryforward funds
available in fiscal year 2012.
The Committee urges the Office of the State Superintendent
of Education to continue its efforts to improve the student
retention, persistence, and college graduation rate of program
participants. The Committee acknowledges the challenges facing
the students who do enroll in college to reach graduation. Data
reveal that among program grantees, many students interrupt
their enrollment or drop out entirely on their path to a
degree, and just 47 percent graduate from college in 6 years.
The Committee directs that the State Superintendent shall
include, as a component of the fiscal year 2013 budget
justification submission, an annual update of its efforts,
including research findings, to enhance the retention,
persistence, and graduation rates, including early awareness
and readiness initiatives to promote academic college
preparation, guidance, and other support mechanisms and
partnerships. The Committee expects the program to work to
improve its ability to meet its core premise of a full return
on investment wherein every program participant earns a college
degree.
FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR EMERGENCY PLANNING AND SECURITY COSTS IN THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $14,970,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 14,900,000
Committee recommendation................................ 14,900,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Due to the fact that the District of Columbia is the seat
of the Federal Government and headquarters of many
international organizations, District police, fire, and
emergency personnel have had to provide security for a number
of events. As the need for the District of Columbia to provide
security increases, overtime costs for personnel escalate and
divert local police from neighborhood patrols. The complexity
and costs associated with these events, including unique needs
for crowd control, surveillance, and protection against unusual
threats, are high and growing, and demand effective and
efficient coordinated operations. The President has supported
reimbursing the District for these costs.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a Federal payment of $14,900,000,
for the District of Columbia for the costs of providing public
safety at events related to the presence of the national
capital in the District of Columbia, for the costs of providing
support requested by the United States Secret Service Division
in carrying out their protective duties under the direction of
the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for the costs of
providing support to respond to immediate and specific
terrorist threats or attacks in the District of Columbia or
surrounding jurisdictions. This is $70,000 below the fiscal
year 2011 enacted level and the same as the budget request.
In addition, the District may use any funds remaining from
prior year appropriations under this heading. The District may
use the payment to cover the costs of Executive transportation
support including motorcades and helicopter landings. The
Committee directs the District of Columbia to submit a detailed
budget justification with its funding request for fiscal year
2013, including specific information about the anticipated
costs related to the January 2013 Presidential Inauguration.
The Committee further directs the District of Columbia to
submit, within 60 days of the end of fiscal year 2012, a report
to the House and the Senate Committees on Appropriations
detailing the purposes and amounts expended using the funds,
particularly noting any deviation from the original proposed
spending.
FEDERAL PAYMENT TO THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $242,933,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 229,068,000
Committee recommendation................................ 230,319,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-
Government Improvement Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33, title
XI), the Federal Government is required to finance the District
of Columbia Courts. This Federal payment to the District of
Columbia Courts funds the operations of the District of
Columbia Court of Appeals, Superior Court, the Court System,
and the Capital Improvement Program. Capital improvement
projects include implementation of the updated Facilities
Master Plan, with particular focus on expansion of the Moultrie
Courthouse to address space shortfalls. By law, the annual
budget includes estimates of the expenditures for the
operations of the Courts prepared by the Joint Committee on
Judicial Administration as well as the President's
recommendation for funding the Courts' operations.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a Federal payment to the District
of Columbia Courts of $230,319,000, which is $12,614,000 below
the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $1,251,000 above the
President's budget request. This amount includes $12,830,000
for the Court of Appeals, $111,687,000 for the Superior Court,
$66,712,000 for the Court System, and $39,090,000 for capital
improvements to courthouse facilities.
The Committee recommendation for the District of Columbia
Superior Court is $74,000 above the President's recommended
funding of $111,613,000 in order to address a top priority of
the Court. This increase will support the Fathering Court
Initiative to help fathers, particularly those reentering the
community following incarceration, to sustain employment in
order to meet their financial obligations to and establish
healthy parental relationships with their children.
The Committee recommendation for the District of Columbia
Court System is $192,000 above the President's recommended
funding of $66,520,000 and will permit the Court System to
support the enforcement of court orders by enhancing the
collection of fines and fees.
The Committee recommendation for capital improvements
provides $985,000 above the President's recommendation of
$38,105,000 to support continued implementation of the
Facilities Master Plan, particularly the Moultrie Courthouse
Addition (C Street Expansion), improved physical safety through
perimeter security enhancements and lighting and signage
upgrades, and infrastructure upgrades and maintenance. The
Committee acknowledges that steady progress on the Facilities
Master Plan should provide a cost-effective path to address
deficiencies in the Courts' space needs. In addition to the
recommended funding, the Committee includes new language as
requested by the Courts under the Defender Services in the
District of Columbia Courts account to permit transfer of funds
for capital improvements to courthouse facilities.
The Committee supports the Courts' request to maintain the
current level of funds available for its official reception and
representation purposes. These resources enable the Courts to
meet various community outreach responsibilities including
supporting legal education in the District of Columbia as the
home of six law schools; work with the D.C. Bar committees; and
host the significant number of international guests who visit
the D.C. Courts to learn about legal systems in democratic
societies. The Committee acknowledges that the current amount
of the Courts' reception and representation funds is
commensurate with small Federal agencies and considerably less
than the comparative representation funds available to other
District officials.
FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR DEFENDER SERVICES IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $54,890,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 55,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 55,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The District of Columbia Courts appoint and compensate
attorneys to represent persons who are financially unable to
obtain such representation. The Defender Services programs
provide counsel for indigent persons who are charged with
criminal offenses, for family proceedings involving child
abuse, neglect, and termination of parental rights, and for
guardianship proceedings for protection of mentally
incapacitated individuals and minors whose parents are
deceased.
In addition to legal representation, these programs provide
indigent persons with services such as transcripts of court
proceedings, expert witness testimony, foreign and sign
language interpretation, and investigations and genetic
testing.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a Federal payment of $55,000,000
for Defender Services in the District of Columbia Courts. This
is $110,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and the
same as the budget request.
The Committee includes new language permitting the transfer
of up to $10,000,000 to the District of Columbia Courts for
capital improvements of courthouse facilities.
To promote access to justice and ensure that high-quality
legal representation is available to the indigent in the
District of Columbia Courts, in fiscal year 2009, Congress
financed an hourly rate increase for attorneys to $90 per hour.
Increased funding provided in fiscal year 2010 permitted the
adjusted compensation rate to be fully instituted.
FEDERAL PAYMENT TO THE COURT SERVICES AND OFFENDER SUPERVISION AGENCY
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $211,983,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 216,846,000
Committee recommendation................................ 212,983,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency [CSOSA]
for the District of Columbia is an independent Federal agency
created by the National Capital Revitalization and Self-
Government Improvement Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33, title
XI). CSOSA acquired the operational responsibilities for the
former District agencies in charge of probation and parole, and
houses the Pretrial Services Agency within its framework. The
mission of CSOSA is to increase public safety, prevent crime,
reduce recidivism, and support the fair administration of
justice in close collaboration with the community. The CSOSA
appropriation supports the Community Supervision Program which
monitors or supervises approximately 16,200 offenders on a
daily basis and the Pretrial Services Agency [PSA] which
supervised 17,077 defendants during fiscal year 2010 and
monitors approximately 7,000 defendants at any given time. In
fiscal year 2010, the PSA placed more than 1,607 defendants
into sanctions-based substance abuse treatment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a Federal payment of $212,983,000,
which is $1,000,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level
and $3,863,000 below the budget request. Of this amount,
$59,435,000 is designated for the Pretrial Services Agency and
$153,548,000 is designated for the Community Supervision
Program. The Committee notes that $1,000,000 of the resources
recommended for the Pretrial Services Agency will support
planning, design, and relocation of the Pretrial Services
Agency Forensic Toxicology and Drug Testing Laboratory.
The Committee is supportive of CSOSA's efforts to
successfully return ex-offenders to their communities. For a
number of years, CSOSA has worked with grassroots, nonprofit
providers of transitional housing, including faith-based
organizations, that offer counseling, mentoring, and life
skills training to men and women returning home from prison.
The Committee notes that this is a model program for the
Nation.
The Committee is encouraged that the Community Supervision
Program reduced caseloads in the general supervision unit from
44 per officer in fiscal year 2009 to 40 to per officer in
fiscal year 2010, a significant improvement over the 100:1
average ratios prior to the Agency's inception. The Committee
acknowledges that funding for CSOSA for offender contract
treatment, including substance abuse, halfway-back residential
sanctions, mental health and sex offender assessments, and
transitional housing is constrained.
The Committee appreciates the efforts of CSOSA management
to identify savings and other efficiencies through targeted
cutbacks and strategic reorganization as the agency fulfills
its critical mission and addresses high priority public safety
needs amid Government-wide fiscal constraints.
The Committee commends the collaborative efforts of the
Community Supervision Program to continue to partner with the
District of Columbia Government, the United States Parole
Commission, and the Bureau of Prisons to implement the Secure
Residential Treatment Program pilot. This program aims to
provide a secure, residential substance abuse treatment
intervention/sanction alternative to high-risk, chronic
substance abusing and criminally involved male D.C. code
offenders in lieu of revoking them to Bureau of Prisons
custody. The Committee encourages CSOSA to keep the Committee
regularly informed of how well this program is meeting its
goals of increasing offenders' chances of successful community
reintegration and breaking the cycle of recidivism.
FEDERAL PAYMENT TO THE PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICE FOR THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $37,241,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 41,486,000
Committee recommendation................................ 37,241,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Public Defender Service [PDS] for the District of
Columbia, an independent organization established by a District
of Columbia statute (16 D.C. Code 2-1601-1608), has a distinct
mission to provide and promote quality legal representation
services within the District of Columbia justice system. PDS
provides legal representation to indigent adults and children
facing loss of liberty and provides support in the form of
training, consultation, and legal reference services to members
of the local bar appointed as counsel in criminal, juvenile,
and mental health cases involving indigent individuals.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a Federal payment to the Public
Defender Service for the District of Columbia of $37,241,000,
which is the same as the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
$4,245,000 below the budget request.
The Committee provides authority in section 818 of the bill
for the PDS to obtain professional liability insurance for its
attorneys, staff, and board members. The Committee understands
that the cost for such coverage can be met within the funding
provided.
FEDERAL PAYMENT TO THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $11,476,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 25,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 15,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Approximately one-third of the District is served by a
combined sewer system, constructed by the Federal Government in
1890, in which both sanitary waste and storm water flow through
the same pipes. When the collection system or the Blue Plains
treatment plant reach capacity, typically during periods of
heavy rainfall, the system is designed to overflow the excess
water. This mixture of sewage and storm water runoff is
discharged to the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, Rock Creek, and
tributary waters between 60 and 75 times each year. Under a
judicial consent decree entered on March 23, 2005, the Water
and Sewer Authority is undertaking a 20-year, $2,200,000,000
sewer construction program to reduce combined sewer overflows
[CSO]. The Clean Rivers Project includes deep underground
storage tunnels, side tunnels to reduce flooding, pump station
rehabilitation, and the elimination of over a dozen CSO
outfalls along the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers and Rock Creek.
When completed in 2025, this project is expected to vastly
improve water quality and significantly reduce debris in our
Nation's capital waterways as well as improve the health of the
Chesapeake Bay.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a Federal payment of $15,000,000,
to be matched by at least $15,000,000 provided by the Water and
Sewer Authority, to continue implementation of the Long-Term
Combined Sewer Overflow Control Plan. This is an increase of
$3,524,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
$10,000,000 below the budget request.
FEDERAL PAYMENT TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COORDINATING COUNCIL
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $1,796,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 1,800,000
Committee recommendation................................ 1,800,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for the District
of Columbia [CJCC] is the primary forum in which District of
Columbia criminal justice agencies can identify and address
interagency coordination issues. Its mission is to address
coordination difficulties among District of Columbia criminal
justice agencies and address criminal justice issues, such as
illegal drugs, juvenile justice, halfway houses, information
technology, and identification of arrestees.
The CJCC was originally established pursuant to a
memorandum of agreement in May 1998 and operates as an
independent working group to foster cooperation among the more
than a dozen Federal and local governmental agencies which have
law enforcement responsibility in our Nation's capital. As part
of a local enactment in August 2001, the CJCC was established
as an independent agency within the District of Columbia.
The CJCC maintains the Justice Integrated Information
System [JUSTIS] using technology that allows for the seamless
sharing of information at critical decision points throughout
the justice system. JUSTIS connects Federal agencies, the
District government, and court information systems, so that
criminal activity can be easily monitored across an array of
participating agencies. Agencies currently using JUSTIS include
the Metropolitan Police Department, the D.C. Department of
Corrections, D.C. Superior Court, the U.S. Park Police, the
U.S. Capitol Police, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives, the Pretrial Services Agency, CSOSA,
the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, and
the D.C. and Maryland Public Defenders Service. No other system
provides this range of access to Federal and local information
in the District.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a Federal payment of $1,800,000 to
the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council [CJCC]. This is
$4,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and the same as
the budget request.
Among the array of activities that the recommended Federal
payment will support during fiscal year 2012 are enhancing the
JUSTIS information system's report development, review, and
approval capabilities; supporting the GunStat initiative;
improved sharing of information on mental health and substance
abuse to redirect persons to necessary support services;
supporting record management, court-based release, court
processing and papering reforms; developing clear business
processes to help reduce the number of outstanding warrants;
and providing a comprehensive approach to truancy prevention.
The Committee directs the CJCC to submit annual performance
measures in an annual report to accompany the fiscal year 2013
budget justification, which should also describe progress made
on individual CJCC initiatives.
FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR JUDICIAL COMMISSIONS
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $499,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 500,000
Committee recommendation................................ 500,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure provides
support to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and
Superior Court through reviewing and investigating allegations
of judicial misconduct. The Judicial Nomination Commission
recommends candidates to the President of the United States for
nomination to judicial vacancies in these courts. In accordance
with the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government
Improvement Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33), the Federal
Government is responsible for financing of the District of
Columbia Courts, including the operations of the District of
Columbia Court of Appeals, Superior Court, the Court System,
and the Capital Improvement Program. Although independent of
the Courts by design, these two Commissions provide important
functions within the judicial branch of local government in the
District of Columbia.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee provides $500,000 as a Federal payment for
the judicial commissions, of which $295,000 is designated for
the Judicial Nomination Commission and $205,000 is designated
for the Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure. This
amount is $1,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
the same as the budget request. The Committee continues to
support the rationale of recognizing these commissions as local
judicial branch agencies for which Federal support for the
operations is necessary.
FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $77,545,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 67,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 60,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Committee continues its commitment to improving
educational opportunities for the children of the District of
Columbia. For the past 7 fiscal years, Congress has supported a
three-sector funding arrangement to provide Federal resources
for the District of Columbia Public Schools, public charter
schools, and for a scholarship program for low-income students
to attend private schools.
For the last 4 years the District has charted a new
management course for the District's troubled public school
system in response to Public Law 110-33, which vested authority
over the school superintendent, operating budget, and capital
program in the Mayor beginning in 2007. The Committee
acknowledges the daunting challenges this undertaking presents,
given that District of Columbia public school students have
chronically performed well below national averages in reading
and mathematics. The Committee commends the progress that has
been made to streamline bureaucracy, recruit new principals,
expand course offerings available to students, expand pre-K
classrooms, complete major renovations, and raise math and
reading test scores. Last year marked the first time in 41
years that enrollment increased in District of Columbia public
schools. For the ensuing school year, 47,000 students are
enrolled.
Public charter schools in the District of Columbia have
grown considerably since the first two opened in 1996 and
served 160 students. In school year 2010-2011, 52 tuition-free,
autonomous public charter schools on 93 campuses operated in
the District, enrolling 29,366 students in every ward of the
city, and serving nearly 40 percent of all District of Columbia
public school students. The District of Columbia School Reform
Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-134), one of the strongest charter
school laws in the Nation, guarantees charter school autonomy
from the District of Columbia Public Schools and from the
District government and mandates uniform per student funding of
all public school students, both traditional and charter.
Congress established the private school scholarship
(voucher) program as a 5-year pilot in 2003. In April 2011, the
Opportunity Scholarship Program was reauthorized for 5 years
through enactment of Public Law 112-10, division C. The intent
of this program is to help increase the District of Columbia's
capacity to provide parents, particularly low-income parents
whose children attend low-performing schools, more options for
quality education. In school year 2010-2011, 1,017 students
participated in the program and were enrolled at 41 nonpublic
schools.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a Federal payment of $60,000,000,
which is $17,545,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level
and $7,000,000 below the budget request. These funds are
allocated as follows: $20,000,000 for the District of Columbia
Public Schools to improve public school education, $20,000,000
to expand quality charter schools and $20,000,000 for the
Secretary of Education for private school scholarships under
Public Law 112-10, division C.
The Committee directs the District of Columbia Public
Schools to submit a detailed spending plan outlining specific
activities no later than 60 days after enactment of this act
and that this spending plan should contain a particular
emphasis on initiatives to improve the recruitment and
retention of a high-quality teacher and principal workforce in
District public schools.
The District has 11,000 special needs students for whom the
District must provide or secure educational services. As part
of the increased Federal funds provided for the District of
Columbia Public Schools for fiscal year 2012, the Committee
expects the District to make substantial progress in achieving
compliance with the 2006 Federal court-ordered consent decree,
eliminating inadequacies in treatment and support for special
needs students, and establishing more inclusive learning
environments for these students within the District of Columbia
Public Schools system.
With respect to the recommended Federal payment for fiscal
year 2012 for public charter schools, the Committee directs the
District of Columbia Public Charter School Board to submit to
Congress, through the Office of the State Superintendent of
Education [OSSE], a detailed spending plan outlining specific
activities no later than 60 days after enactment of this act.
This spending plan should particularly emphasize enhancing the
academic quality of existing charter schools, expanding the
capacity of high-performing charter schools, and executing a
robust performance management system to help identify low-
performing schools and close them. The Committee expects that
funding provided for charter schools will be used in accordance
with the plan submitted.
Over the years, public charter schools have moved into and
revitalized former DCPS school buildings that otherwise would
have been developed into condominiums or used for other
commercial purposes. These buildings, including several
historic structures, often long-abandoned and severely
blighting neighborhoods, have been converted to public charter
schools.
The Committee directs the Mayor of the District of Columbia
to submit to the Committees on Appropriations, as part of the
fiscal year 2013 Federal payment budget justification
materials, a detailed fiscal year 2013-2017 public education
facilities plan that will ensure public charter school access
to surplus or underutilized DCPS space.
Finally, the Committee reminds the government of the
District of Columbia that students in public charter schools
are to have access to the same publicly funded services that
are offered to students in traditional public schools. These
include school nurses, School Resource Officers, crossing
guards, and mental health and other wrap-around services.
The Committee believes that any school enrolling a
scholarship participant under the Opportunity Scholarship
Program should satisfy certain minimum reasonable expectations
as an educational setting. The Committee directs the Secretary
of Education to independently assess on an annual basis that
participating schools are in full compliance with the statutory
requirements of section 3007(a)(4) of Public Law 112-10,
division C relating to valid certificates of occupancy, school
accreditation, site inspections, financial stability, fiscal
management controls, and teacher qualifications. The Committee
directs the Secretary to take prompt action to remedy any
determination of noncompliance, and to submit to the Committee
an annual report summarizing the results of the assessment.
FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR THE D.C. NATIONAL GUARD
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $375,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 2,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 375,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The fiscal 2012 budget request seeks a Federal payment of
$2,000,000 for the D.C. National Guard's D.C. Government
Operations. The D.C. National Guard is a Federal, rather than a
local, entity and responds to orders of the President of the
United States who is the Commander-in-Chief of the D.C.
National Guard pursuant to law [District of Columbia Official
Code Sec. 49-409 and Executive Order No. 11485 (October 1,
1969)]. Unlike a Governor of a State, the Mayor is not
authorized to deploy the National Guard under any
circumstances. The District of Columbia National Guard is
specifically trained to support law enforcement during critical
missions, such as demonstrations, Presidential inaugurations
and funerals, and emergency services for weather-related
contingencies. The D.C. Air Guard patrols the skies over the
District on round-the-clock alert. However, residency
restrictions preclude a significant number of Guard members
from eligibility for tuition assistance programs, which has
severely hampered recruitment and retention efforts.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a Federal payment of $375,000 for
the D.C. National Guard designated for the Major General David
F. Wherley, Jr. District of Columbia National Guard Retention
and College Access Program, a tuition assistance program for
nonresident District of Columbia National Guard members. This
amount is the same as the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
$1,625,000 below the budget request.
FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR HOUSING FOR THE HOMELESS
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $9,980,000
Budget estimate, 2012...................................................
Committee recommendation................................................
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Under the Housing First Initiative, the District of
Columbia has begun to transform the delivery of homeless
services from an approach that simply meets the survival needs
of individuals with blankets and shelter to a system designed
to move chronically homeless individuals to permanent
supportive housing with tightly linked support services. In the
two most recent fiscal years, Congress provided special Federal
payments totaling $26,980,000 to help boost the local intensive
case management and scattered-site housing program through
support for the costs of rent, utilities, and case management
and respond to the particularly acute incidence of homelessness
among veterans.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The fiscal year 2012 budget did not request and the
Committee does not recommend a Federal payment for this
program.
FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR REDEVELOPMENT OF THE ST. ELIZABETHS HOSPITAL CAMPUS
Appropriations, 2011....................................................
Budget estimate, 2012................................... $18,000,000
Committee recommendation................................................
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
St. Elizabeths, established by Congress in 1855 as the
Government Hospital for the Insane and officially renamed as
St. Elizabeths Hospital in 1916, is presently divided into two
campuses. The West Campus, owned by the Federal Government and
under the custody and control of the General Services
Administration, will be the new headquarters for the Department
of Homeland Security. The East Campus, owned by the District of
Columbia, is still in use as a mental health facility. The
fiscal year 2012 budget request seeks a new Federal payment of
$18,000,000 to support various redevelopment planning
activities on the East Campus to stimulate economic and
community revitalization in tandem with the transformation of
the West Campus property.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee acknowledges the importance of this
development effort, but is unable to support the request for a
new special Federal payment at this time.
FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR HIV/AIDS PREVENTION
Appropriations, 2011....................................................
Budget estimate, 2012................................... $5,000,000
Committee recommendation................................................
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The District of Columbia is facing a daunting HIV epidemic.
Based on the national HIV/AIDS case based reporting system, the
District currently has the highest AIDS rate in the country,
nearly twice as high as New York City and five times as high as
Detroit. Estimates based on surveillance numbers suggest that
between 3 and 5 percent of the adult residents in the District
are currently living with HIV or AIDS, and HIV/AIDS is the
leading cause of premature mortality in the city. The fiscal
year 2012 budget request seeks a new Federal payment to bolster
existing prevention, care, and support services on a city-wide
basis to reduce the incidence of HIV and AIDS in the District
of Columbia.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee acknowledges the serious situation but is
unable to support a new special Federal payment at this time,
and urges the District of Columbia to explore and exhaust other
Federal grant options and private sources to augment local
investments to support this program in fiscal year 2012.
FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR D.C. COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES GRANTS
Appropriations, 2011....................................................
Budget estimate, 2012................................... $5,000,000
Committee recommendation................................................
The budget requests a special Federal payment of $5,000,000
to fund competitively-awarded grants for non-profit fine and
performing arts organizations based in and primarily serving
the District of Columbia. This request relates to a proposal to
significantly reduce funding for the National Capital Arts and
Cultural Affairs [NCACA] grants program and transfer
administration of that program from the Commission on Fine
Arts, a Federal entity funded under the Interior appropriation,
to the District of Columbia Commission on Arts and the
Humanities.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee is unable to support the request for a new
special Federal payment to the District of Columbia for grants
for non-profit fine and performing arts organizations in fiscal
year 2012.
District of Columbia Funds
The Committee recommends a total of $10,911,966,000 for the
operating expenses of the District of Columbia as contained in
the fiscal year 2011 budget submitted to the Congress by the
government of the District of Columbia. Of the total,
$6,208,646,000 is from local funds, $1,015,449,000 is from
Federal grant funds, $2,040,504,000 is from other funds, and
$25,677,000 is from private funds. The Committee further
recommends an additional $122,575,000 in appropriated Federal
payments as set forth under this title. The Committee directs
that any changes to the financial plan as submitted by the
District must follow the reprogramming guidelines.
TITLE V
INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
Administrative Conference of the United States
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $2,744,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 3,200,000
Committee recommendation................................ 2,900,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Administrative Conference of the United States [ACUS]
is an independent agency and advisory committee created to
study administrative processes in order to recommend
improvements to Congress and agencies.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $2,900,000 for ACUS, $300,000
below the budget request and $156,000 above the fiscal year
2011 enacted level.
Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $499,000
Budget estimate, 2012...................................................
Committee recommendation................................ 450,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is an
independent agency established by Congress in 1992 (Public Law
102-281) to encourage and support research, study, and labor
designed to produce new discoveries in all fields of endeavor
for the benefit of mankind. Its mission is accomplished through
the sponsorship of national competitions designed to promote
innovation in the fields of homeland security, life sciences,
and education. Through its Frontiers of Discovery--Work in
Progress and Discover the Future programs, the agency
recognizes cutting edge innovations of worthy American
scientists, student inventors, and exemplary teachers who
inspire despite especially challenging educational environments
or personal physical disabilities.
Initial funding for the Christopher Columbus Fellowship
Foundation was derived from the sale of three denominations of
specially minted coins sold by the United States Mint from
August 1992 through June 1993. Revenues from the coin sales
surcharges were deposited in the Christopher Columbus
Fellowship Fund at the Department of the Treasury, and made
available to the Foundation. To address the fact that the coin
sales revenues had been depleted, Congress authorized funding
for the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation in the
Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (Public Law 111-8).
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $450,000 for
the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation. This is $49,000
below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $450,000 above the
budget request.
CIVILIAN PROPERTY REALIGNMENT BOARD
Appropriations, 2011....................................................
Budget estimate, 2012................................... $88,000,000
Committee recommendation................................................
The Civilian Property Realignment Board, as proposed by
section 735 of Government-wide General Provisions of the fiscal
year 2012 Budget Appendix, would be an independent agency that
assists the President and Congress in identifying ways the
Government can eliminate unneeded assets and downsize its real
property inventory. The purpose of the Board would be to create
a fair process that will result in the timely disposal and
realignment of Federal real property. The goals of the Board
would be to sell unneeded property, reduce the operating costs
of the Government, support and incentivize agency co-location,
and improve the sustainability of the Government's operations.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
Neither the Civilian Property Realignment Board nor the
Civilian Property Realignment Act have been authorized by
Congress. While certain elements of the Federal real property
proposal may be appealing, other parts may have drawbacks,
which Congress is in the process of reviewing. The Committee is
unable to fund this proposed new Board at this time, noting the
significant funding required, particularly at a time when the
Committee's ability to adequately fund existing agencies and
long-standing programs--which have been vetted and which
receive overwhelming support--is severely constrained.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $202,270,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 308,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 240,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission [CFTC] was
established as an independent agency by the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 1389; 7 U.S.C. 4a).
The Commission administers the Commodity Exchange Act, 7
U.S.C. section 1, et seq. The 1974 Act brought under Federal
regulation futures trading in all goods, articles, services,
rights, and interests; commodity options trading; and leverage
trading in gold and silver bullion and coins; and otherwise
strengthened the regulation of the commodity futures trading
industry. It established a comprehensive regulatory structure
to oversee the volatile futures trading complex.
The CFTC is the sole Federal regulator responsible for
overseeing the futures markets by encouraging competitiveness
and efficiency, ensuring market integrity, and protecting
market participants against manipulation, abusive trading
practices, fraud, and other unscrupulous activities. Effective
oversight by the CFTC enables the markets to better serve their
designated functions of providing a price discovery mechanism
and a means to offset price risk.
Programs in support of the overall mission include market
surveillance analysis and research; registration, audits, and
contract markets; enforcement; reparations; proceedings; legal
counsel; agency direction; and administrative support services.
CFTC activities are carried out in Washington, DC and in
regional offices located in Chicago, New York City, and Kansas
City.
The enacted 2008 farm bill (Public Law 110-246)
reauthorized the CFTC and made several amendments to the
Commodity Exchange Act to:
--clarify the CFTC's jurisdiction over retail financial
contracts based on foreign currencies;
--make the CFTC's anti-fraud authority applicable to certain
off-exchange or over-the-counter derivatives contracts;
--increase civil monetary and criminal penalties for
violations;
--permit cross-margining of accounts in security futures and
options; and
--establish CFTC regulation over certain exchange-like
trading facilities that are currently exempt from most
regulation.
Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection
Act (Public Law 111-203), the CFTC faces the daunting added
responsibility of comprehensive oversight of the once-
unregulated $300,000,000,000,000 over-the-counter U.S.
derivatives market to protect and benefit end-users and the
broader American public. This complex swaps market has a
notional value of nearly eight times the size of that of the
futures markets.
New mandates for the CFTC include reviewing all swaps to
determine whether the swap is exempt from the mandatory
clearance requirement; requiring real-time reporting for all
swaps; adopting rules for imposing capital and margin
requirements on all non-cleared swaps; exercising dual
regulatory authority, in conjunction with the SEC, over mixed
swaps; promulgating rules defining the universe of swaps that
can be executed on a swap execution facility; and exercising
backstop enforcement authority if prudential regulators do not
act after notification of a perceived violation.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $240,000,000
for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. This is
$37,730,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
$68,000,000 below the budget request. The Committee supports
the need for increased resources for the CFTC above the fiscal
year 2011 enacted level to satisfy its substantially broadened
regulatory workload and to ensure appropriate oversight of the
futures markets, which are growing steadily in volume and new
users, and rapidly evolving in their complexity and diversity.
In addition to this recommended funding, the Committee directs
the CFTC to use funds available within the Customer Protection
Fund to establish an office and hire personnel for the
necessary and incidental expenses of carrying out whistleblower
incentive claims management and administering a customer
education program.
The Committee directs the CFTC to submit, within 30 days of
enactment, a detailed spending plan for the allocation of the
funds made available, displayed by discrete program, project,
and activity, including staffing projections, specifying both
FTEs and contractors, and planned investments in information
technology.
The Committee underscores the crucial need for the CFTC to
make mission-critical investments in technology to sort through
the millions of pieces of information generated daily by
markets. The CFTC's responsibilities to integrate both swap and
futures markets and perform required analysis and oversight
requires a complete overhaul of the current systems and a
greater attention to automating surveillance and market risk
analysis. The amount and detail of trade data collected and
analyzed at the CFTC is expanding with its new authority over
swaps markets and can only be managed by completely automating
the collection and analysis of market data.
The Committee is pleased that the CFTC is taking steps to
improve the transparency of market data to better inform market
participants and the public.
The Committee acknowledges the significant progress that
the CFTC has achieved in the past year in publishing and
eliciting important public comment on proposed rules. The
Committee is concerned that until the CFTC completes its
rulemaking process to bring the over-the-counter derivatives
markets onto transparent exchanges or swap execution facilities
and under agency oversight, the public remains unprotected from
a risk of another financial crisis.
The Committee stresses that with the enactment of Public
Law 111-203, it is all the more critical for the CFTC, in
collaboration with the SEC, to ensure optimum harmonization in
executing the respective oversight responsibilities of each
agency with respect to over-the-counter derivative products.
The Committee expects the CFTC and the SEC to limit, to the
greatest extent possible, inconsistent regulation of similar
products and entities that could lead to opportunities for
regulatory arbitrage. The Committee continues to support the
use of funds to support the Joint SEC-CFTC Advisory Committee.
Consumer Product Safety Commission
salaries and expenses
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $114,788,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 122,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 114,500,000
program description
The Consumer Product Safety Commission [CPSC] is an
independent regulatory agency that was established on May 14,
1973, and is responsible for protecting the public against
unreasonable risks of injury from consumer products; assisting
consumers to evaluate the comparative safety of consumer
products; developing uniform safety standards for consumer
products and minimizing conflicting State and local
regulations; and promoting research and investigation into the
causes and prevention of product-related deaths, illnesses, and
injuries.
In carrying out its mandate, the CPSC establishes mandatory
product safety standards, where appropriate, to reduce the
unreasonable risk of injury to consumers from consumer
products; helps industry develop voluntary safety standards;
bans unsafe products if it finds that a safety standard is not
feasible; monitors recalls of defective products; informs and
educates consumers about product hazards; conducts research and
develops test methods; collects and publishes injury and hazard
data; and promotes uniform product regulations by governmental
units.
On August 14, 2008, Congress reauthorized the Commission by
enacting the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008
[CPSIA] (Public Law 110-314). CPSIA represents the most
substantial change in the Consumer Product Safety Commission's
authorities since the creation of the Commission. Among other
things, it enhances the Commission's recall authority,
streamlines the rulemaking process, provides for the creation
of a new searchable database of consumer product complaints,
and requires product certification.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $114,500,000 for the Consumer
Product Safety Commission, which is $288,000 below the fiscal
year 2011 funding level and $7,500,000 below the budget
request.
The Committee is encouraged by the implementation of the
Consumer Product Safety Information Database as authorized by
the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act [CPSIA] which will
aid in more quickly detecting hazardous or potentially
hazardous or unsafe products. Since its launch in March of this
year, the database has provided consumers with the type of
transparency envisioned in CPSIA. SaferProducts.gov has posted
more than 2,700 searchable reports, many of which include
incidents of injury and even death. The concerns that industry
has been predicting, such as the idea that the database would
result in widespread misinformation that would needlessly
malign innocent companies, have not materialized. Moreover, the
recent enactment of a new law (Public Law 112-28) revising
provisions in CPSIA has provided industry with additional
safeguards that maximize the database's accuracy. Every effort
will be made by CPSC to include in all incident reports either
a model number, serial number, or photograph of the consumer
product in question, and the Commission will have additional
time to verify the accuracy of those reports that are
contested. With a bipartisan majority's approval of this
legislation, industry's concerns have been addressed and
opposition to the database should be negligible. Moreover, the
Government Accountability Office [GAO] is currently reviewing
the database as required in Public Law 112-10 and a longer GAO
study as required by CPSIA is underway, and those reports
should be completed prior to further legislative action
regarding the database. In sum, SaferProducts.gov has been
shown to be quite successful in its first 6 months, even
resulting so far in a recall of a children's product in July
that was demonstrated to have caused serious laceration
injuries to children.
The Committee is appreciative of the monthly drywall
reports provided by the Commission during the past year and for
fiscal year 2012 requires that these reports be provided on a
quarterly basis instead, although the Commission should update
the Committee of notable developments immediately, should they
occur outside the quarterly reporting schedule.
From 2001-2008, 2,691 incidents associated with playground
equipment were reported to the CPSC, 40 of which were deaths
investigated by CPSC. The most recent report is from October
2009. CPSC is encouraged to collect and report statistics
pertaining to playground injuries and deaths annually, if
possible.
CPSC estimates that table saws used by hobbyists, shop
class students, and other consumers amputate an average of 10
fingers per day. The Committee is supportive of CPSC's actions
and progress with regard to table saws, including the
possibility of issuing a standard relating to table saw safety.
Currently, CPSC has no means to compel the production of
information relating to a product defect from a foreign
manufacturer. The Commission must rely on the manufacturer to
provide this information voluntarily--or on the Commission's
ability to compel it from an importer or retailer located in,
or with sufficient contacts to, the United States. This has
been a major problem in some cases, such as the investigation
of problem drywall imported from China, where manufacturers
have openly refused to comply with Commission information
requests. Therefore, a provision is included allowing CPSC to
require foreign manufacturers, or a subset thereof, after
notice and hearing, to register a U.S. agent for service of
process involving Commission (but not private) information or
document requests. This authority mirrors that of other
consumer agencies.
The Committee is aware that small, round, coin-shaped
batteries, known as ``button cell batteries'' are increasingly
present in consumer products, and pose a hazard--potentially
fatal--to small children who ingest them. Between 2007 and
2009, more than 3,400 button battery ingestion cases were
reported to U.S. poison centers annually. The number of
ingestions that result in serious injury or death have
increased sevenfold since 1985 due to the higher voltage of
newer batteries. Hundreds of children have been severely
injured and six have died from these ingestions in the last 2
years alone. If these batteries were securely enclosed in
products (like the existing Federal safety rules that require
toys that use batteries to have such compartments), with
accompanying warning labels, this hazard could be greatly
diminished. Accordingly, a provision has been included
requiring CPSC to promulgate such a safety standard.
CPSC has identified window coverings with cords as one of
the top five hidden hazards in the home. CPSC is aware of 120
fatalities and 113 serious injuries related to corded window
blinds since 1999. About once a month, a child between 7 months
and 10 years old dies from window cord strangulation and
another child suffers a near strangulation. In recent years,
CPSC has recalled tens of millions of window coverings,
including Roman shades, roller and roll-up blinds, vertical and
horizontal blinds. A voluntary standard exists for window
blinds but it has proven to be inadequate to eliminate the
strangulation risk posed by corded window coverings. After a
year of working on a voluntary standard, even with consumer
participation, the draft standard is unacceptably weak and
fails to eliminate the strangulation hazards posed by corded
window coverings. Accordingly, a provision has been included
requiring CPSC to promulgate a rule that eliminates the
strangulation hazard caused by cords on window coverings.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS--CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
Section 501 is a provision permitting Consumer Product
Safety Commission staff serving abroad to be eligible for
travel, leave, and other benefits similar to those authorized
for foreign service officers.
Section 502 provides authority for the Consumer Product
Safety Commission [CPSC] to compel the production of
information relating to a product defect from a foreign
manufacturer.
Section 503 requires CPSC to promulgate a safety standard
for button cell batteries.
Section 504 requires a GAO study of the potential risks
associated with new and emerging consumer products.
Section 505 requires a GAO study on compliance of voluntary
industry standards for consumer products.
Section 506 is a provision requires CPSC to promulgate a
rule eliminating the strangulation hazard caused by cords on
window coverings.
Election Assistance Commission
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $16,267,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 13,716,000
Committee recommendation................................ 14,750,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Election Assistance Commission [EAC] was created by the
Help America Vote Act of 2002 [HAVA] (Public Law 107-252).
Under HAVA, the EAC's role is to promulgate voluntary State
guidelines for election systems, develop a national
certification program for voting equipment, and provide related
guidance. The EAC is also charged with awarding grants to
improve election administration and to enhance election
equipment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee provides $14,750,000 for EAC's administrative
expenses, which is $1,517,000 less than the fiscal year 2011
enacted level and $1,034,000 above the budget request. The
Committee bill requires that $3,250,000 of these funds be
transferred to the National Institute for Standards and
Technology for technical assistance related to the development
of voluntary State voting systems guidelines.
Federal Communications Commission
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $335,794,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... \1\354,181,000
Committee recommendation................................ 354,181,000
\1\The formal budget request specified an estimate of $358,801,000. The
Federal Communications Commission subsequently notified the Committee
that this estimate was erroneous and that the correct estimate is
$354,181,000.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Federal Communications Commission [FCC] is charged with
regulating interstate and international communications by
radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The FCC is also
charged with promoting the safety of life and property through
wire and radio communications. The mandate of the FCC under the
Communications Act is to make available to all people of the
United States a rapid, efficient, nationwide, and worldwide
wire and radio communication service. The FCC performs five
major functions to fulfill this charge: (1) spectrum
allocation; (2) creating rules to promote fair competition and
protect consumers where required by market conditions; (3)
authorization of service; (4) enhancing public safety and
homeland security; and (5) enforcement.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommendation provides $354,181,000 for the
salaries and expenses of the Federal Communications Commission
[FCC], of which $354,181,000 is to be derived from the
collection of fees. The recommendation is $18,387,000 above the
fiscal year 2011 enacted level and equal to the budget request.
The Committee understands the FCC is promulgating a rule to
address compensation rates from the Universal Service Fund
[USF]. The Committee recognizes the important service that
local exchange carriers provide to rural America and encourages
the Commission to maintain a reasonable intercarrier
compensation system for rural local exchange carriers.
The Committee has included language (sec. 510) to extend
FCC's exemption from the Anti-deficiency Act [ADA] until
December 31, 2013.
The Committee has included language (sec. 511) that
prohibits the FCC from enacting certain recommendations
regarding universal service that were made to it by the Joint
Board of FCC members and State utility commissioners. The
recommendation would limit universal support to one line. This
would be harmful to small businesses, especially in rural
areas, which need a second line for a fax or for other business
purposes.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $42,942,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 45,261,000
Committee recommendation................................ 45,261,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [FDIC] Office of
Inspector General [OIG] conducts audits, investigations, and
other reviews to assist and augment the FDIC's contribution to
the stability of, and public confidence in, the Nation's
financial system. A separate appropriation more effectively
ensures the OIG's independence consistent with the Inspector
General Act of 1978 and other legislation.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $45,261,000 for the FDIC inspector
general, the same as the budget request and $2,319,000 more
than the fiscal year 2011 enacted level. Funds are to be
derived by transfer from the Deposit Insurance Fund and the
Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation [FSLIC]
resolution fund.
Federal Election Commission
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $66,367,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 67,014,000
Committee recommendation................................ 66,367,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Federal Election Commission [FEC] was created through
the 1974 Amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act of
1971 (Public Law 93-443). Consistent with its duty of executing
our Nation's Federal campaign finance laws, and in pursuit of
its mission of maintaining public faith in the integrity of the
Federal campaign finance system, FEC conducts three major
regulatory programs: (1) providing public disclosure of funds
raised and spent to influence Federal elections; (2) enforcing
compliance with restrictions on contributions and expenditures
made to influence Federal elections; and (3) administering
public financing of Presidential campaigns.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $66,367,000 for the Federal
Election Commission, $647,000 less than the budget request and
equal to the fiscal year 2011 enacted level.
Federal Labor Relations Authority
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $24,723,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 26,440,000
Committee recommendation................................ 24,723,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Federal Labor Relations Authority [FLRA] is an
independent administrative Federal agency created by title VII
of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-454)
with a mission to carry out five statutory responsibilities in
relation to the Federal workforce: (1) determining the
appropriateness of units for labor organization representation;
(2) resolving complaints of unfair labor practices; (3)
adjudicating exceptions to arbitrator's awards; (4)
adjudicating legal issues relating to the duty to bargain; and
(5) resolving impasses during negotiations.
The FLRA's authority is divided by law and by delegation
among a three-member authority and an Office of General
Counsel, appointed by the President and subject to Senate
confirmation; and the Federal Service Impasses Panel, which
consists of seven part-time members appointed by the President.
In addition, the FLRA is engaged in case-related
interventions, training and facilitation of labor-management
partnerships, and resolving disputes. FLRA promotes labor-
management cooperation by providing training and assistance to
labor organizations and agencies on resolving disputes,
facilitates the creation of partnerships, and trains the
parties on rights and responsibilities under the Federal Labor
Relations Management statute.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $24,723,000
for the Federal Labor Relations Authority. This amount is
$1,717,000 below the budget request and equal to the fiscal
year 2011 enacted level.
Federal Trade Commission
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $291,363,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 326,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 311,563,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Federal Trade Commission [FTC] administers a variety of
Federal antitrust and consumer protection laws. Activities in
the antitrust area include detection and elimination of illegal
collusion, anticompetitive mergers, unlawful single-firm
conduct, and injurious vertical agreements. The FTC enforces
consumer protection laws involving advertising, marketing, and
financial practices; fights consumer fraud; and addresses
privacy and identity protection concerns.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommendation provides $311,563,000. The
recommendation is $20,200,000 above the fiscal year 2011
enacted level and $14,437,000 below the budget request.
Of the amounts provided, $21,000,000 is derived from Do-
Not-Call fees and $149,000,000 is derived from Hart-Scott-
Rodino per-merger filing fees. Section 623 of the bill adjusts,
for inflation, pre-merger filing fees. These fees have not been
adjusted for inflation since 2001. Section 623 also establishes
a new tier for merger transactions valued at over
$1,000,000,000. The total amount of direct appropriations for
this account is therefore $141,563,000.
In addition to its headquarters building, the FTC is
located in two satellite office buildings in Washington, DC.
The recommendation includes $20,200,000 for the replacement of
those satellite offices because the majority of the current
space will no longer be available for occupancy after August
2012.
The Committee continues to place a high priority on the
FTC's mission to protect consumers and preserve competition in
the marketplace. The Committee is pleased that the FTC has
effectively utilized resources provided in previous fiscal
years to investigate fraud and misleading practices related to
mortgage lending and other financial services, identity theft,
data security, and healthcare and to preserve competition in
the marketplace through education and enforcement of Federal
laws related to anticompetitive practices. Over the past 3
years, the FTC saved consumers more than $1,700,000,000 in
economic injury by stopping illegal practices in the
marketplace, and, in 2010 alone, the FTC took action against
mergers likely to harm competition in markets with a total of
$22,500,000,000 in sales. The Committee directs the FTC to
robustly continue such activities and has approved the
following significant program increases in accordance with the
budget request:
The Committee makes the following findings:
Do-Not-Call Initiative.--The recommendation includes
funding for the FTC Do-Not-Call initiative and implementation
of the Telemarketing Sales Rule [TSR], of which the entire
amount is to be derived from the collection of fees. The Do-
Not-Call initiative was launched pursuant to the FTC's amended
TSR to establish a national database of telephone numbers of
consumers who choose not to receive telephone solicitations
from telemarketers. The Do-Not-Call initiative has received
broad support from, and will provide significant benefits to,
consumers from all corners of the United States.
Gas and Diesel Prices.--The Committee continues to be
concerned with the potential for market manipulation and
anticompetitive behavior in the oil and natural gas industries.
The FTC is encouraged to continue its investigations and other
activities related to these concerns. The Committee directs the
FTC to keep the Committee apprised of findings made regarding
fuel prices, as well as other planned activities and
investigations regarding the oil and gas industries.
Payment Card Networks.--The Committee notes the important
role that FTC has been assigned in enforcing the provisions of
section 1075 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act as they relate to payment card network
companies. The FTC's enforcement role is critical to ensuring
that payment card network companies do not take steps to
undermine the small issuer exemption or the pro-consumer
benefits contained in section 1075. The Committee directs FTC
to provide a report 1 year after enactment of this act on steps
that FTC has taken over the previous year to ensure compliance
by payment card network companies with section 1075 of Dodd-
Frank and regulations promulgated thereunder. This report
should explain whether FTC has identified any evidence that
payment card network companies have taken steps to diminish the
ability of small banks and credit unions to successfully
compete with large financial institutions in the debit card
issuance market, and if any such steps have been taken by the
card network companies in coordination or collusion with large
financial institutions.
Childhood Obesity.--The Committee remains concerned about
childhood obesity and emphasizes that while a number of factors
contribute to children's poor diets and obesity, studies show
that food marketing affects children's food choices, food
preferences, diets, and health. While food and marketing
companies have begun to reformulate some foods and amend some
marketing practices, the majority of child-targeted marketing
continues to be for products of poor nutritional value. In
2009, consistent with the explanatory statement accompanying
the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (Public Law 111-8), an
Interagency Working Group [IWG] was established to develop
voluntary nutrition standards and marketing definitions for
foods marketed to children.
The Committee recognizes the IWG's careful review of
existing science, nutrition, and marketing standards as it
developed the proposed voluntary marketing principles. The
Committee encourages the IWG to thoroughly consider the
comments submitted by stakeholders. The Committee further
directs the IWG to submit the voluntary marketing principles in
a final report to the Committee by December 15, 2011.
FTC Headquarters Building.--The Committee is concerned
about the cost to implement proposed legislation to transfer
the FTC's headquarters building to the National Gallery of Art
[NGA]. The proposal would provide the NGA with additional space
to expand its exhibitions, education, and administrative
offices. The Committee is concerned that this transaction will
result in taxpayers surrendering a valuable asset without any
compensation. The building would have significant value if sold
on the market due to its prime location and good working
condition. The Committee is concerned that this transaction
would be unprecedented; other NGA buildings were constructed
with private funds, not paid for by the taxpayer. Furthermore,
while the NGA has indicated it would raise private funds to
renovate the building, Federal spending would continue to be
required for maintenance and repair of the building. The
Congressional Budget Office [CBO] reports, ``Since the original
buildings were donated to the NGA, all renovations and repairs
to those facilities have been completed with appropriated
funds.''
The Committee is concerned that such a proposal also would
require the Federal Government to buy or lease replacement
space for a new FTC headquarters, which would require
additional Federal spending. The CBO reports that the most
cost-effective approach to acquiring additional real estate for
permanent Federal use is purchasing or constructing new
buildings rather than entering into long-term leases. The CBO
estimates that constructing a large enough facility to
accommodate the entirety of the FTC would cost roughly
$300,000,000. The Committee expects that a smaller space to
accommodate only the current headquarters staff could cost the
taxpayers a smaller but still significant amount of money. The
Committee finds these costs difficult to contemplate,
especially at a time when existing top priority projects have
been deferred due to severely limited funds. The Committee is
also concerned about the significant costs associated with this
proposal. Among these costs are: (1) the significantly greater
cost of commerciallyleased space for the FTC should a new space
not be built for its use; (2) the cost of moving the FTC (which
would recur every 10 to 15 years if the FTC is moved into
commercially-leased space); and (3) the ongoing Federal costs
associated with the NGA's occupancy of the FTC headquarters
building. Further, moving the FTC into existing Federal space
(leased or owned) would require the Federal Government to find
space for another Federal agency which could also impose
significant additional costs on the Federal Government.
Given the Committee's concerns, section 623 of the bill
precludes the conveyance of the FTC headquarters building
unless the Federal Government receives fair market value for
the property. The Committee also directs the FTC and the
General Services Administration to keep the Committee fully and
regularly apprised of the cost of proposals related to the
headquarters building.
General Services Administration
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The General Services Administration [GSA] was established
by the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949
(Public Law 81-152) when Congress mandated the consolidation of
the Federal Government's real property and administrative
services. GSA is organized into the Public Buildings Service,
the Federal Acquisition Service, the Office of Government-wide
Policy, and the Office of Citizen Services.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
National Antenna Program.--In light of the need to promote
small business access to broadband technologies, particularly
in rural and other underserved areas, the Committee expects
that the General Services Administration, not later than 90
days after enactment of this act, in consultation with the
Federal Communications Commission, shall submit to the House
and Senate Committees on Appropriations, a report detailing
agency participation in the National Antenna Program, including
the location and number of wireless towers deployed on Federal
facilities. The Committee also expects the report to outline
progress made in implementing recommendations from the Federal
Communications Commission March 2010 National Broadband Plan on
fee structures for access to Federal rights-of-way, as well as
developing one or more master contracts for all Federal
property and buildings covering the placement of wireless
towers. The report should contain recommendations on
opportunities for the Federal Government to improve broadband
or wireless technology on Federal buildings in rural or
underserved areas.
Automated External Defibrillators [AEDs] in Federal
Facilities.--GSA shall submit a report on the GSA's compliance
with the most recent Guidelines for Public Access
Defibrillation Programs in Federal Facilities as published in
FMR Bulletin 2009-B2 regarding the deployment of AEDs in
Federal facilities within 90 days of the enactment of this act.
Use of Stairs.--Obesity levels have been increasing at
alarming rates, with one-third of the population obese, and
another one-third overweight and at risk of obesity. Lifestyle
activities, such as choosing stairs over elevators, are
increasingly being urged by public health experts to address
this problem. These experts point to mounting evidence that
small amounts of exercise accumulated throughout the day can
provide significant health benefits. Research has found that
men who climbed at least 20 floors per week had about a 20
percent lower risk of stroke and of death from all causes
during the study period. Benefits for women are also likely to
be significant. Even two flights of stairs climbed per day can
lead to 6 pounds of weight loss over 1 year. Studies in
shopping centers and train stations have shown that poster-
prompts, placed between adjacent escalators and stairs, can
significantly increase stair use. Such interventions have
typically resulted in a 15 percent increase in the use of
stairs. Encouraging employees to take the stairs is becoming a
popular strategy at worksite wellness programs around the
country. The Committee believes that the Federal Government
should be a leader in encouraging workplace wellness. In
addition, lessening the use of elevators by all will speed
their movement for those who depend on them.
The Committee believes that GSA has made some progress
since the first effort to promote the use of stairs was
initiated in the fiscal year 2006 appropriation bill; however,
further effort is needed. The Committee directs that, to the
greatest extent possible, GSA include in future GSA-owned and -
leased buildings signage displayed: (1) next to all banks of
elevators or on elevator doors in GSA buildings; (2) at the
entrance to all nonemergency use public stairwells; and (3) at
the base of escalators, indicating the location of and
encouraging use of the stairs. In addition, the Committee
directs the GSA to ensure that design of new buildings promote
the use of stairs. In order to ascertain precisely how much
progress has been made and how much remains, GSA is directed to
provide quarterly reports on the percentage of Federal
buildings with such signage as well as on actions undertaken
with regard to the design of new facilities, with a view to
increasing the likely use of stairs.
Cloud Computing.--The Committee supports GSA's cloud
computing and data center consolidation activities and
encourages the GSA to continue to assess and address the
escalating costs, inefficiencies, and stove-piping related to
the management of Federal data. The Committee urges GSA to
administer funding for the Office of Citizen Services and
Innovative Technologies in joint consultation with OMB, in a
manner that enables agencies to consolidate at least 800 data
centers by 2015. The Committee expects GSA to use any funds for
related data center consolidation to enhance ongoing Government
best-practices in infrastructure migration activities,
including the consolidation, standardization, and optimization
of data centers. For instance, the Department of Homeland
Security has testified to the Committee that it expects to save
approximately $5,000,000,000 in taxpayer funds over the next 20
years due to recent data center consolidation efforts. Building
on current successes across the Government will allow GSA to
better demonstrate and measure the cost-savings potential of
such activities and thus encourage other agencies to adopt such
best practices.
FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND--LIMITATIONS ON AVAILABILITY OF REVENUE
Limitation on availability of revenue:
Limitation on availability, 2011.................... $7,597,540,000
Limitation on availability, budget estimate, 2012... 9,508,511,000
Committee recommendation................................ 8,144,967,000
The Federal Buildings Fund program consists of the
following activities financed from rent charges:
Construction and Acquisition of Facilities.--Space is
acquired through the construction or purchase of facilities and
prospectus-level extensions to existing buildings. All costs
directly attributable to site acquisition, construction, and
the full range of design and construction services, and
management and inspection of construction projects are funded
under this activity.
Repairs and Alterations.--Repairs and alterations of public
buildings as well as associated design and construction
services are funded under this activity. Protection of the
Government's investment, health and safety of building
occupants, transfer of agencies from leased space, and cost
effectiveness are the principal criteria used in establishing
priorities. Primary consideration is given to repairs to
prevent deterioration and damage to buildings, their support
systems, and operating equipment. This activity also provides
for conversion of existing facilities and nonprospectus
extensions.
Installment Acquisition Payments.--Payments are made for
liabilities incurred under purchase contract authority and
lease purchase arrangements. The periodic payments cover
principal, interest, and other requirements on the debt
incurred for construction of Federal buildings.
Rental of Space.--Space is acquired through the leasing of
buildings including space occupied by Federal agencies in U.S.
Postal Service facilities. GSA provided 191 million square feet
of rental space in fiscal year 2010. GSA expects to provide 198
million square feet of rental space in fiscal year 2011 and 201
million in fiscal year 2012.
Building Operations.--Services are provided for Government-
owned and -leased facilities, including cleaning, utilities and
fuel, maintenance, miscellaneous services (such as moving,
evaluation of new materials and equipment, and field
supervision), and general management and administration of all
real property related programs including salaries and benefits
paid from the Federal Buildings Fund.
Other Programs.--When requested by Federal agencies, the
Public Buildings Service provides building services, such as
tenant alterations, cleaning and other operations, and
protection services which are in excess of those services
provided under the commercial rental charge. For presentation
purposes, the balances of the Unconditional Gifts of Real,
Personal, or Other Property Trust Fund have been combined with
the Federal Buildings Fund.
In fiscal year 2011, the Committee was forced to reduce
Federal Building Fund program funding dramatically in order to
help meet reduced spending targets. The Committee recognizes
that this level cannot be sustained over time since Federal
agencies and the Courts require adequate, safe, and appropriate
space to conduct their important missions. Moreover, projects
in the midst of construction and repair are especially
adversely impacted when those efforts are disrupted, rendering
these projects more expensive over time than necessary.
The Committee is aware that the design-build project
delivery method, which is conducted under one guaranteed
contract, offers fast track aspects, cost savings, and
decreased litigation claims. A study done by the Construction
Industry Institute and Penn State University found that design-
build is 6 percent lower in cost, 12 percent faster in
construction time, 33 percent faster in project completion, and
higher quality in all measured categories. Therefore, the
Committee encourages use of this method, when appropriate, in
order to provide greater efficiency, lower life cycle costs,
and expedite construction, repairs and alterations of Federal
buildings.
CONSTRUCTION AND ACQUISITION
Limitation on availability, 2011........................ $82,000,000
Limitation on availability, budget estimate, 2012....... 839,642,000
Committee recommendation................................ 65,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The construction and acquisition fund shall be available
for site, design, construction, management, and inspection
costs for the construction of new Federal facilities.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a limitation of $65,000,000 for
construction and acquisition of facilities in fiscal year 2012.
REPAIRS AND ALTERATIONS
Limitation on availability, 2011........................ $280,000,000
Limitation on availability, budget estimate, 2012....... 868,902,000
Committee recommendation................................ 280,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Under this activity, the General Services Administration
[GSA] executes its responsibility for repairs and alterations
[R&A] of both Government-owned and -leased facilities under the
control of GSA. The primary goal of this activity is to provide
commercially equivalent space to tenant agencies. Safety,
quality, and operating efficiency of facilities are given
primary consideration in carrying out this responsibility.
R&A workload requirements originate with scheduled onsite
inspections of buildings by qualified regional engineers and
building managers. The work identified through these
inspections is programmed in order of priority into the
Inventory Reporting Information System and incorporated into a
5-year plan for accomplishment, based upon funding
availability, urgency, and the volume of R&A work that GSA has
the capability to execute annually. Since fiscal year 1995,
design and construction services activities associated with
repair and alteration projects have been funded in this
account.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a limitation of $280,000,000 for
repairs and alterations in fiscal year 2012.
The Committee has included $20,000,000 for a new judiciary
capital security special emphasis program. This program is
dedicated to improving physical security in buildings occupied
by the judiciary in lieu of construction of brand new
facilities, thereby providing cost savings and expedited
delivery. Project priorities would be established
collaboratively by the judiciary and the GSA. Funding provided
through the judiciary capital security program will address the
security deficiencies in existing buildings where physical,
interior alterations are viable. The Committee expects the
judiciary and the GSA to work collaboratively to assess the
building conditions, viability of long-term use, and structural
capacity for these stand-alone architectural solutions. Such
solutions could include: constructing additional corridors,
adding or reconfiguring elevators, building visual barriers,
moving air-intakes, and enlarging security screening areas. A
spending plan from GSA and the Judiciary is due to the
Committee 90 days after enactment of this act. The plan shall
also convey GSA's intentions for funding of any other special
emphasis programs.
INSTALLMENT ACQUISITION PAYMENTS
Limitation on availability, 2011........................ $135,540,000
Limitation on availability, budget estimate, 2012....... 126,801,000
Committee recommendation................................ 126,801,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Public Buildings Amendments of 1972 enable GSA to enter
into contractual arrangements for the construction of a backlog
of approved but unfunded projects. This activity provides for
the payment of interest to the Federal Financing Bank related
to facilities acquired pursuant to the Public Buildings
Amendments of 1972 (40 U.S.C. 592).
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a limitation of $126,801,000 for
installment acquisition payments consistent with the budget
request.
RENTAL OF SPACE
Limitation on availability, 2011........................ $4,830,000,000
Limitation on availability, budget estimate, 2012....... 5,285,198,000
Committee recommendation................................ 5,285,198,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
GSA is responsible for leasing general purpose space and
land incident thereto for Federal agencies, except in cases
where GSA has delegated its leasing authority. GSA's policy is
to lease privately owned buildings and land only when: (1)
Federal space needs cannot be otherwise accommodated
satisfactorily in existing Government-owned or -leased space;
(2) leasing proves to be more efficient than the construction
or alteration of a Federal building; (3) construction or
alteration is not warranted because requirements in the
community are insufficient or are indefinite in scope or
duration; or (4) completion of a new Federal building within a
reasonable time cannot be assured.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a limitation of $5,285,198,000 for
rental of space. The Committee recommendation is $455,198,000
above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and the same as the
budget request.
BUILDING OPERATIONS
Limitation on availability, 2011........................ $2,270,000,000
Limitation on availability, budget estimate, 2012....... 2,387,968,000
Committee recommendation................................ 2,387,968,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This activity provides for the operation of all Government-
owned facilities under the jurisdiction of GSA and building
services in GSA-leased space where the terms of the lease do
not require the lessor to furnish such services. Services
included in building operations are cleaning, protection,
maintenance, payments for utilities and fuel, grounds
maintenance, and elevator operations. Other related supporting
services include various real property management and staff
support activities such as space acquisition and assignment;
the moving of Federal agencies as a result of space alterations
in order to provide better space utilization in existing
buildings; onsite inspection of building services and
operations accomplished by private contractors; and various
highly specialized contract administration support functions.
The space, operations, and services referred to above are
furnished by GSA to its tenant agencies in return for payment
of rent. Due to considerations unique to their operation, GSA
also provides varying levels of above-standard services in
agency headquarters facilities, including those occupied by the
Executive Office of the President, such as the east and west
wings of the White House.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a limitation of $2,387,968,000 for
building operations. This amount is $117,968,000 above the
fiscal year 2011 enacted level and the same as the budget
request.
GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLICY
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $66,488,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 105,140,000
Committee recommendation................................ 61,750,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Office of Government-wide Policy [OGP], working
cooperatively with other agencies, provides the leadership
needed to develop and evaluate policies associated with high
performance green buildings and real property, acquisition
policy, personal property, travel and transportation
management, vehicles and aircraft, committee and regulations
management, and management of Federal spending data. OGP
collaborates with partner agencies and other stakeholders to
improve public access to policy information and support data,
and improve transparency in Government.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $61,750,000
for Government-wide Policy. This amount is $4,738,000 below the
fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $43,390,000 below the budget
request.
OPERATING EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $69,882,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 70,022,000
Committee recommendation................................ 70,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Operating Expenses supports a variety of operational
activities which are not feasible or appropriate for a user fee
arrangement. Major programs include the personal property
utilization and donation activities of the Federal Acquisition
Service; the real property utilization and disposal activities
of the Public Buildings Service; the activities of the Civilian
Board of Contract Appeals; and the Management and
Administration activities, including support of Government-wide
emergency response and recovery activities, and top-level
agency-wide management, administration, and communications
activities.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $70,000,000
for Operating Expenses. This amount is $118,000 above the
fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $22,000 below the budget
request.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $58,882,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 62,358,000
Committee recommendation................................ 58,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This appropriation provides agency-wide audit and
investigative functions to identify and correct management and
administrative deficiencies within the General Services
Administration [GSA], which create conditions for existing or
potential instances of fraud, waste, and mismanagement. The
audit function provides internal audit and contract audit
services. Contract audits provide professional advice to GSA
contracting officials on accounting and financial matters
relative to the negotiation, award, administration, repricing,
and settlement of contracts. Internal audits review and
evaluate all facets of GSA operations and programs, test
internal control systems, and develop information to improve
operating efficiencies and enhance customer services. The
investigative function provides for the detection and
investigation of improper and illegal activities involving GSA
programs, personnel, and operations.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $58,000,000
for the Office of Inspector General. This amount is $882,000
below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $4,358,000 below
the budget request.
Of the requested increases, funding is provided for the IT
workflow management tool and the IT server system replacement.
INFORMATION AND ENGAGEMENT FOR CITIZENS
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011\1\.................................................
Budget estimate, 2012\2\................................................
Committee recommendation................................ $39,084,000
\1\In fiscal year 2011, $7,984,000 was provided for the Electronic
Government Fund and $34,116,000 for the Federal Citizen Services Fund.
\2\The budget proposed funding separately with a request of $34,000,000
for the Electronic Government Fund and $39,933,000 for the Federal
Citizen Services Fund.
The bill creates a new ``Information and Engagement for
Citizens'' account by combining the ``Electronic Government
Fund'' and ``Federal Citizen Services Fund''. While these funds
were created at different periods of time and developed
different programs, they share a common objective--making it
easier for citizens to understand and interact with their
Government. The purpose of this new office is to provide
electronic or other methods of providing access and
understanding of Federal information, benefits, and services to
citizens, businesses, other governments, and the media.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $39,084,000,
which is $39,084,000 more than fiscal year 2011 and $39,084,000
more than the budget request. In fiscal year 2011, the
``Electronic Government Fund'' was appropriated $7,984,000 and
the ``Federal Citizen Services Fund'' was appropriated
$34,116,000. While all program funding is provided to the
Federal Citizen Services Fund, funding is intended for those
purposes as well as for electronic government activities. The
Committee expects the funds provided for these activities,
combined with efficiency gains and resource prioritization,
will result in increased delivery of information to the public
and in the ease of transaction with the Government.
All the income collected by the Office of Citizen Services
and Innovative Technologies [OCSIT] in the form of
reimbursements from Federal agencies, user fees for
publications ordered by the public, payments from private
entities for services rendered, and gifts from the public is
available to the OCSIT without regard to fiscal year
limitations, but is subject to an annual limitation of
$90,000,000. Any revenues accruing in excess of this amount
shall remain in the fund and are not available for expenditure
except as authorized in appropriation acts.
The Committee expects the Office of Management and Budget
to submit a detailed expenditure plan prior to obligation of
funds under this account. The plan should describe the projects
selected, budget, timeline, objectives, and expected benefits
and savings realized for each project.
ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT [E-GOV] FUND
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $7,984,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 34,000,000
Committee recommendation\1\.............................................
\1\Funding is included under the Information and Engagement for Citizens
account.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This program supports interagency ``electronic government''
or ``e-gov'' initiatives and projects that use the Internet or
other electronic methods to provide individuals, businesses,
and government agencies with simpler and more timely access to
Federal information, benefits, services, and business
opportunities. The program would also further the
administration's implementation of the Government Paperwork
Elimination Act [GPEA] of 1998, which calls upon agencies to
provide the public with optional use and acceptance of
electronic information, services, and signatures, when
practicable.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
Funding for this program has been subsumed into the new
Information and Engagement for Citizens program.
ALLOWANCES AND OFFICE STAFF FOR FORMER PRESIDENTS
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $3,792,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 3,671,000
Committee recommendation................................ 3,671,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This appropriation provides pensions for office staffs, and
related expenses for former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George
H.W. Bush, William Clinton, and George W. Bush, and for the
postal franking privileges for the widows of former Presidents
Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $3,671,000 for allowances and
office staff for former Presidents, $121,000 below the fiscal
year 2011 funding level and the same as the budget request.
Below is listed a detailed analysis of the Committee's
recommendation for fiscal year 2012 funding:
FISCAL YEAR 2012 BUDGET ALLOWANCES AND OFFICE STAFF FOR FORMER PRESIDENTS
[In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carter G.H. Bush Clinton G.W. Bush Widows Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personnel Compensation........................ 96 96 96 112 ......... 400
Personnel Benefits............................ 2 64 109 102 ......... 277
Benefits for Former Presidents (pensions)..... 205 205 217 217 ......... 844
Travel........................................ 2 56 5 60 ......... 123
Rental Payments to GSA........................ 106 171 440 392 ......... 1,109
Communications:
Telephone................................. 10 17 7 85 ......... 119
Postage................................... 15 13 14 20 14 76
Printing...................................... 5 14 18 26 ......... 63
Other Services................................ 65 130 34 177 ......... 406
Supplies...................................... 5 15 2 40 ......... 62
Equipment..................................... 7 63 36 86 ......... 192
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Obligations....................... 518 844 978 1,317 14 3,671
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL ACQUISITION WORKFORCE INITIATIVES FUND
Appropriations, 2011....................................................
Budget estimate, 2012................................... $16,900,000
Committee recommendation................................................
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This appropriation provides support for inter-agency
initiatives and projects that will improve: (1) the ability of
civilian agencies to assess the capacity and capability of the
acquisition workforce necessary to develop and appropriately
manage acquisitions; (2) the capacity, capability, and
effectiveness of the civilian agency acquisition workforce to
improve acquisition management; and (3) agencies' abilities to
achieve the optimal mix of public and private sector resources
to support agency operations. The activities supported through
this fund are intended to foster and promote the development of
the acquisition workforce and support the responsibilities
provided for in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
While the Committee recognizes the important goals of the
initiative, due to funding constraints, the Committee is unable
to fund this initiative.
FEDERAL CITIZEN SERVICES FUND
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $34,116,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 39,933,000
Committee recommendation\1\.............................................
\1\Funding is included under the Information and Engagement for Citizens
account.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
program description
The Federal Citizen Services Fund provides for the salaries
and expenses of the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative
Technologies [OCSIT]. OCSIT develops new ways for citizens,
businesses, other governments, and the media to easily obtain
information and services from the Government on the Web, via
email, in print, and over the telephone. OCSIT leads several
interagency groups to share best practices and develop
strategies for improving the way Government provides services
to the American public.
OCSIT provides information and services to the public
primarily through USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov, the official Web
portal of the U.S. Government. OCSIT also operates
pueblo.gsa.gov, consumeraction.gov and consumidor.gov,
webcontent.gov, and kids.gov Web sites. OCSIT provides direct
telephone (1-800-FED-INFO), e-mail and online assistance to
citizens through the National Contact Center, and offers
comprehensive and cost-effective contact center solutions to
customer Federal agencies through the USA Services program.
OCSIT also coordinates the publication and distribution of
information through the Government Printing Office's Public
Documents Distribution Center in Pueblo, Colorado.
The Federal Citizen Services [FCS] Fund is financed from
annual appropriations to pay for the salaries and expenses of
OCSIT staff. Reimbursements from Federal agencies pay for the
direct costs of information services OCSIT provides on their
behalf. The FCS Fund also receives funding from user fees for
publications ordered by the public, payments from private
entities for services rendered, and gifts from the public. All
income is available without regard to fiscal year limitations,
but is subject to an annual aggregate expenditure limit as set
forth in appropriation acts.
committee recommendation
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
(RESCISSION)
Funding for this program has been subsumed into new
Information and Engagement for Citizens office.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS--GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
Section 520 authorizes GSA to use funds for the hire of
passenger motor vehicles.
Section 521 authorizes GSA to transfer funds within the
Federal buildings fund to meet program requirements.
Section 522 requires that the fiscal year 2012 budget
request meet certain standards.
Section 523 provides that no funds may be used to increase
the amount of occupiable square feet, provide cleaning
services, security enhancements, or any other service usually
provided, to any agency which does not pay the requested rate.
Section 524 continues the provision that permits GSA to pay
small claims less than $250,000 made against the Government.
Section 525 provides that certain lease agreements must
conform to an approved prospectus.
Section 526 clarifies the authorized purposes of the
Acquisition Workforce Training Fund.
Section 527 provides for a land conveyance in San Joaquin
County, California.
Section 528 rescinds $4,600,000 in unobligated balances
from Policy and Operations.
Section 529 requires a report from the Administrator about
programs, projects, or activities that are funded by
appropriations to GSA but are not under the control or
direction of the Administrator. Examples include, but are not
limited to: the GSA Regulatory Information Service Center, the
Federal Real Property Profile database, and various current and
former Electronic Government projects. The report shall provide
a description of each program, identify the organization
approving management decisions and allocating funds, and the
amount of GSA funds obligated by each program in fiscal years
2005 through 2011 by GSA appropriation account.
Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $748,000
Budget estimate, 2012...................................................
Committee recommendation................................ 700,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation is an independent
agency established by Congress in 1975 (Public Law 93-642) to
encourage exceptional college students to pursue careers in
public service through the Truman Scholarship program. The
Truman Scholarship is a merit-based award available to college
juniors who plan to pursue careers in Government or elsewhere
in public service. Truman Scholars receive up to $30,000 for
graduate or professional school, participate in leadership
development activities, and have special opportunities for
internships and employment with the Federal Government.
The Foundation Trust Fund was established with a one-time
$30,000,000 appropriation in 1976. The authorizing legislation
directed that this endowment be invested solely in U.S.
Treasury Securities, the interest from which has funded the
Foundation's operating budget. With the decline in interest
rates, the Foundation has experienced a significant decline in
Federal financial support. From fiscal year 2002 to fiscal year
2010, despite having cut expenditures by 27 percent, annual
trust fund revenue has declined 68 percent. The Foundation
anticipates a budget deficit of $1,400,000 without the
requested appropriations.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $700,000 for
the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation. This amount is
$48,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $700,000
above the budget request. The appropriation is provided to
offset the decline in trust fund revenues, to increase direct
financial support to scholars, to ensure compliance with
Government audit reporting requirements, and to invest in
technology and financial development activities.
Merit Systems Protection Board
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $40,258,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 42,116,000
Committee recommendation................................ 40,258,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Merit Systems Protection Board [MSPB] was established
by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. MSPB is an independent
quasi-judicial agency manifested to protect Federal merit
systems against partisan political and other prohibited
personnel practices and to ensure adequate protection for
employees against abuses by agency management.
MSPB assists Federal agencies in running a merit-based
civil service system. This is accomplished on a case-by-case
basis through hearing and deciding employee appeals and on a
systemic basis by reviewing significant actions and regulations
of the Office of Personnel Management [OPM] and conducting
studies of the civil service and other merit systems. The
intended results of MSPB's efforts are to assure that personnel
actions taken against employees are processed within the law
and that actions taken by OPM and other agencies support and
enhance Federal merit principles.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $40,258,000
for the Merit Systems Protection Board. This is equal to the
fiscal year 2011 enacted level and a decrease of $1,858,000 to
the budget request. The Committee makes available not more than
$2,345,000 for adjudicating retirement appeals through an
appropriation from the trust fund consistent with past
practice.
Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation
MORRIS K. UDALL AND STEWART L. UDALL TRUST FUND
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $2,495,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 2,200,000
Committee recommendation................................ 2,200,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The General Fund payment to the Morris K. Udall and Stewart
L. Udall Trust Fund is invested in Treasury securities with
maturities suitable to the needs of the Fund. Interest earnings
from the investments are used to carry out the activities of
the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation. The
Foundation awards scholarships, fellowships, and grants, and
funds activities of the Udall Center.
The Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation also
supports training programs for professionals in health care
policy and public policy, such as the Native Nations Institute
[NNI]. NNI, based at the University of Arizona, provides Native
Americans with leadership and management training, and analyzes
policies relevant to tribes.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $2,200,000 for
the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Trust Fund. This
amount is $295,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
equal to the budget request. The Committee includes language to
allow up to 60 percent of the appropriation to be used for the
expenses of the Native Nations Institute.
ENVIRONMENTAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION FUND
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $3,792,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 3,800,000
Committee recommendation................................ 3,792,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution is
a Federal program established by Public Law 105-156 to assist
parties in resolving environmental, natural resource, and
public lands conflicts. The Institute is part of the Morris K.
Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation and serves as an
impartial, nonpartisan institution providing professional
expertise, services, and resources to all parties involved in
such disputes. The Institute helps parties determine whether
collaborative problem solving is appropriate for specific
environmental conflicts, how and when to bring all the parties
together for discussion, and whether a third-party facilitator
or mediator might be helpful in assisting the parties in their
efforts to reach consensus or to resolve the conflict. In
addition, the Institute maintains a roster of qualified
facilitators and mediators with substantial experience in
environmental conflict resolution and can help parties in
selecting an appropriate neutral professional.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $3,792,000 for
the Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund. This amount is equal
to the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and is a decrease of
$8,000 to the budget request.
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration [NARA] is
the national recordkeeper, managing the Government's archives
and records, and operating the Presidential libraries. NARA is
an independent agency created by statute in 1934 and tasked
with the unique mission to identify, access, protect, preserve,
and make available for use the important documents and records
of all three branches of the Federal Government. NARA
administers the Information Security Oversight Office, is the
publisher of the Federal Register, and makes grants for
historical documentation through the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission [NHPRC]. In addition, NARA
is charged with additional responsibilities including mediating
Freedom of Information Act disputes and coordinating controlled
unclassified information.
OPERATING EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $339,090,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 403,742,000
Committee recommendation................................ 378,845,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This account provides for basic operations dealing with
management of the Federal Government's archives and records,
operation of Presidential libraries, review for
declassification of classified security information, and other
duties.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $378,845,000 for operating
expenses of the National Archives and Records Administration
for fiscal year 2012. This amount is $39,755,000 above the
fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $24,897,000 below the budget
request.
The Committee's recommendation supports initiatives to
strengthen NARA's record management leadership role; address
archival storage needs; continue to develop, build, and expand
the IT infrastructure to conduct the business of the National
Declassification Center established in Executive Order 13526;
and improve research room holdings protection.
As requested, beginning in fiscal year 2012, the Operating
Expenses account will also include resources for the operations
and maintenance of the Electronic Records Archive, previously
funded as a segregated account for purposes of the system
development phase designated to cease as of the end of fiscal
year 2011.
The Committee notes that security of NARA's collections and
holdings has been identified as a material weakness by the
Archivist and cited as a management challenge by the Inspector
General. The Committee directs and expects NARA to institute
and enforce effective inventory controls and adequate levels of
security within its facilities to reduce the risk of loss,
damage, or destruction of irreplaceable historic documents and
artifacts.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $4,241,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 4,100,000
Committee recommendation................................ 4,100,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The mission of the Office of Inspector General [OIG] is to
ensure that NARA safeguards and preserves the records of our
Government while providing the American people with access to
the essential documentation of their rights and the actions of
their Government. The OIG accomplishes this by combating fraud,
waste, and abuse through high-quality objective audits and
investigations covering all aspects of agency operations at 45
facilities nationwide. The OIG also serves as an independent,
internal advocate for the economy, efficiency, and
effectiveness of NARA and its operations.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $4,100,000 for the Office of
Inspector General [OIG]. This amount is $141,000 below the
fiscal year 2011 enacted level and the same as the budget
request. The Committee supports a distinct account for the OIG
in order to clearly identify the resources necessary to staff
and operate the expanding mission-critical oversight and
accountability functions performed by the OIG to ensure
responsible NARA stewardship over public records. The Committee
acknowledges that as the missions of NARA expand, including the
establishment of the George W. Bush Presidential Library, the
implementation of the Office of Government Information
Services, and the start-up of the Controlled Unclassified
Information Office, the OIG's audit and investigative
responsibilities respectively grow.
ELECTRONIC RECORDS ARCHIVES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $71,856,000
Budget estimate, 2012...................................................
Committee recommendation................................................
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Since 2001, NARA has been developing an Electronic Records
Archives [ERA] that will permit management of records
electronically and ensure the preservation of and access to
Government electronic records. With the rapid changes in
technology today, the formats in which records are stored
become obsolete within a few years, making records inaccessible
even if they are preserved intact with the most modern
technology. ERA will preserve electronic records generated in a
manner that enables requesters to access them on computer
systems now and in the future.
In August 2010, OMB placed the ERA program on its list of
26 high-risk Federal IT projects citing lack of detailed plans
for the final two increments, low usage of the system, and a
need for improved strategic planning, among other concerns.
This ultimately led to a decision to halt further systems
development at the end of fiscal year 2011. As a result, NARA
will transition the ERA to ongoing operations and maintenance
activities, incorporated within the Operating Expenses account.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee supports the budget request that incorporates
ERA into the NARA Operating Expenses account and authorizes the
transfer to the Operating Expenses account of all remaining
unobligated balances of funds made available for ERA
development in prior fiscal years under the Electronic Records
Archive heading.
The Committee appreciates the complexity of building a
system to accommodate the extensive and rapidly expanding
volume of electronic records of the Government in past,
present, and future formats and maintaining that system to
preserve and provide reliable access to records of historic and
intrinsic value.
Over the past several years, the Committee has articulated
its serious concerns, consistent with independent findings of
the NARA Inspector General and the Government Accountability
Office, about the sufficiency of ERA expenditure plans which
hampered the Committee's ability to assess how particular
investments would achieve specific system functionality and
advance attainment of developmental milestones toward an
operational system.
The ERA project was scrutinized in an intensive TechStat
session led by the Federal Chief Information Officer last year
to evaluate at-risk IT projects to identify ways to fix
performance, accelerate deliverables, and maximize efficiency
and accountability. As a result, NARA and OMB mutually decided
to discontinue the contractual developmental component at the
close of fiscal year 2011. This will allow NARA to focus its
attention on promoting Federal agency use of the current
system's functionalities rather than making further investments
in building a system that encountered cost increases, schedule
slippage, and strategic management challenges.
The Committee believes that providing reliable access to
electronic records far into the future, regardless of
advancements in technology, is of utmost importance. The
Committee strongly urges NARA, as it operates and maintains the
ERA, to ensure effective and efficient preservation, appraisal,
scheduling, and routine transfer of electronic records by
Federal agencies and to make efforts to accelerate user
adoption of the ERA system a top priority.
REPAIRS AND RESTORATION
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $11,824,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 9,659,000
Committee recommendation................................ 9,659,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This account provides for the repair, alteration, and
improvement of Archives facilities and Presidential libraries
nationwide, and provides adequate storage for holdings. It will
better enable NARA to maintain its facilities in proper
condition for public visitors, researchers, and NARA employees,
and also maintain the structural integrity of the buildings.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $9,659,000 for the repairs and
restoration account. This amount is $2,165,000 below the fiscal
year 2011 enacted level and the same as the budget request. The
Committee is pleased to fully support the request, which
restores funds for base requirements.
The Committee supports removal of the restrictions on
$6,000,000 provided under Public Law 111-8 and $341,000
provided under Public Law 108-199 to fully fund base Repairs
and Restoration requirements. This will permit NARA to devote
unobligated balances remaining from the now-completed
construction of John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
improvements to other capital endeavors, particularly the top
priority National Archives Experience Phase II project. It will
also allow NARA to apply cost savings remaining from the
Military Personnel Records Center requirements study funded in
fiscal year 2004 to advancing critical facility repair,
alteration, and improvement projects as outlined in the NARA
Capital Improvements Plan.
The Committee appreciates NARA's submission of an update of
its comprehensive capital needs assessment for its entire
infrastructure of Presidential libraries and records
facilities, as part of the fiscal year 2012 budget submission
and urges NARA to include an appropriate level of funding for
repair of valuable historic Presidential libraries in the
fiscal year 2013 budget request.
NATIONAL HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS AND RECORDS COMMISSION
GRANTS PROGRAM
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $6,986,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 5,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 5,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission
[NHPRC] provides grants nationwide to preserve and publish
records that document American history. Administered within the
National Archives, which preserves Federal records, NHPRC helps
State, local, and private institutions preserve non-Federal
records, helps publish the papers of major figures in American
history, and helps archivists and records managers improve
their techniques, training, and ability to serve a range of
information users. Since 1964, the NHPRC has awarded
$207,000,000 to fund over 4,900 projects in all 50 States to
connect Americans with the primary source materials of our
history, culture, and democracy.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $5,000,000 for the National
Historical Publications and Records Commission [NHPRC]. This
amount is $1,986,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level
and the same as the budget request.
The Committee supports the central role the NHPRC program
plays in the preservation and dissemination of the Nation's
documentary heritage and its success in leveraging private
sector contributions.
The Committee notes that the funding provided will enable
NARA, through the NHPRC, to undertake a variety of initiatives,
including advancing archives preservation, access, and
digitization projects within the interlocking repositories of
historic records and hidden collections; ensuring public access
to some of the most important historical resources that are
maintained outside of Federal repositories; and digitizing
nationally significant historic records collections to
facilitate round-the-clock Internet availability.
National Credit Union Administration
central liquidity facility
program description
The National Credit Union Administration [NCUA] Central
Liquidity Facility [CLF] was created by the National Credit
Union Central Liquidity Facility Act (Public Law 95-630). The
CLF is a mixed-ownership Government corporation managed by the
National Credit Union Administration Board and owned by its
member credit unions.
The purpose of the CLF is to improve the general financial
stability of credit unions by meeting their seasonal and
emergency liquidity needs and thereby encourage savings,
support consumer and mortgage lending, and provide basic
financial resources to all segments of the economy. To become
eligible for CLF services, credit unions invest in the capital
stock of the CLF, and the facility uses the proceeds of such
investments and the proceeds of borrowed funds to meet the
liquidity needs of credit unions. The primary sources of funds
for the CLF are stock subscriptions from credit unions and
borrowings.
The CLF may borrow funds from any source, with the amount
of borrowing limited to 12 times the amount of subscribed
capital stock and surplus.
Loans are available to meet short-term requirements for
funds attributable to emergency outflows from managerial
difficulties or local economic downturns. Seasonal credit is
also provided to accommodate fluctuations caused by cyclical
changes in such areas as agriculture, education, and retail
business. Loans can also be made to offset protracted credit
problems caused by factors such as regional economic decline.
committee recommendation
The Committee recommends that lending through the CLF be
limited to the maximum level provided for by section
307(a)(4)(A) of the Federal Credit Union Act. This limitation
provides the NCUA maximum flexibility to assist with credit
unions' financial liquidity during the economic downturn. The
Committee also recommends the budget request of limiting
administrative expenses for the CLF to $1,250,000 in fiscal
year 2012.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REVOLVING LOAN FUND
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $1,247,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 2,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 1,247,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Community Development Revolving Loan Fund Program
[CDRLF] was established in 1979 to assist officially designated
``low-income'' credit unions in providing basic financial
services to low-income communities. Low-interest loans and
deposits are made available to assist these credit unions.
Loans or deposits are normally repaid in 5 years, although
shorter repayment periods may be considered. Technical
assistance grants [TAGs] are also available to low-income
credit unions for improving operations as well as addressing
safety and soundness issues. Credit unions use TAG funds for
specific initiatives, including taxpayer assistance, financial
education, home ownership initiatives, and training assistance.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $1,247,000 for technical
assistance grants to community development credit unions. This
funding level is $753,000 below the budget request and equal to
the fiscal year 2011 enacted level. The Committee expects the
CDRLF to continue making loans from available funds derived
from repaid loans and interest earned on previous loans to
designated credit unions.
The Committee supports NCUA's outreach efforts to
underserved rural and urban communities across America through
technical assistance grants provided within CDRLF. The
Committee encourages NCUA to continue its efforts to provide
financial education, particularly regarding consumer credit and
home mortgages, and to provide alternatives to predatory
lending services through targeted technical assistance grants
and support.
Office of Government Ethics
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $13,972,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 13,664,000
Committee recommendation................................ 13,664,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Office of Government Ethics [OGE], a separate agency
within the executive branch, was established by the Ethics in
Government Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-521). The OGE is charged
by law to provide overall direction of executive branch
policies designed to prevent conflicts of interest and ensure
high ethical standards for executive branch employers. The OGE
carries out these responsibilities by promulgating and
maintaining enforceable standards of ethical conduct for nearly
4 million civilian employees and uniformed service members in
more than 130 executive branch agencies and the White House;
overseeing a financial disclosure system that reaches 28,000
public and over 325,000 confidential filers; providing direct
education and training products to 5,700 ethics officials;
conducting outreach to the general public, the private sector,
and civil society; and sharing good practices with and
providing technical assistance to State, local, and foreign
governments and international organizations.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $13,664,000
for salaries and expenses of the OGE in fiscal year 2012. This
amount is $308,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
the same as the budget request.
Funds provided will enable the OGE to fulfill its core
mission programs and its lead role in strengthening ethical
culture within the executive branch, preventing conflicts of
interest, and promoting good governance. The OGE has designed
three budget priorities to support these goals.
First, the OGE is advancing initiatives to modernize
Government ethics laws, regulations, and programs, including
fully implementing Executive Order 13490 and enhancing
oversight of contractor ethics.
Second, the OGE is harnessing technology to promote
transparency, training, and oversight, of agency ethics
programs, including initiating an electronic financial
disclosure system for the more than 1,400 public and
confidential financial disclosure filers whose reports OGE
reviews and certifies, planning for and procuring a new agency
Web site, replacing its deteriorating financial disclosure
tracking system, and developing an information management
system to manage requests for advice from executive branch
ethics officials.
Third, the OGE is working to promote continuity and
succession planning in ethics programs, through four specific
leadership initiatives, including preparing the executive
branch ethics community for an anticipated increase in volume
of financial disclosure filings by presidential nominees
incident to the 2012 election; acquainting senior Government
employees with the importance and scope of the executive branch
ethics program; emphasizing continuity and succession planning
as a major national training theme; and developing curriculum
leading to an ethics official certification program. Experience
has shown that public financial disclosure by nominees to
Senate-confirmed Presidential appointments is a steady and
uninterrupted process throughout an administration and that the
OGE's transition workload responsibilities are ongoing.
Office of Personnel Management
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $97,774,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 100,027,000
Committee recommendation................................ 97,774,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Office of Personnel Management [OPM] was established by
Public Law 95-454, the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978,
enacted on October 13, 1978. OPM is responsible for management
of Federal human resources policy and oversight of the merit
civil service system. Although individual agencies are largely
responsible for personnel operations, OPM provides a
Government-wide framework for human resources policy, advises
and assists agencies (often on a reimbursable basis) with
workforce planning and personnel matters, and ensures that
agency operations are consistent with requirements of law on
issues such as veterans preference and merit system compliance.
OPM oversees examination of applicants for employment in the
competitive service; issues regulations and policies on
recruitment, hiring, classification and pay, training, and
other aspects of personnel management; and manages the process
for personnel security and background checks for suitability
and national security clearances. OPM is also responsible for
administering the retirement, health benefits, and life
insurance programs affecting most Federal employees, retired
Federal employees, and their families and survivors.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a general fund appropriation of
$97,774,000 for the salaries and expenses of the Office of
Personnel Management. This amount is the same as the fiscal
year 2011 level and $2,253,000 below the budget request.
The recommendation includes the requested funding for the
Enterprise Human Resources Integration project, the Human
Resources Line of Business project, and the workforce
acquisition initiative.
The Committee understands the importance of timely and
effective implementation of the Office of Personnel
Management's responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act,
including the development of the multi-state health plans,
support of the Federal Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan,
and the implementation of the requirement to allow tribal
governments to participate in the Federal Employee Health
Benefits and the Federal Employee Group Life Insurance
programs.
Retirement Processing.--The Committee is aware of efforts
to address the backlog of retirement claims at OPM, including
the hiring of 40 FTE during fiscal year 2011. As of May 2011,
an employee filing for retirement receives an interim payment
of 95 percent of the estimated annuity. The average case is
processed fully in 117 days, with the maximum length of
processing at 141 days for those cases involving a disability,
court order, service credit, or survivor benefit. The Committee
is supportive of efforts to expedite the backlog of claims and
requests that OPM inform the Committee of developments as they
occur.
Retirement Modernization.--Modernization of the retirement
records of Federal employees remains a high priority for the
Committee. The Committee understands that work planned for
fiscal year 2011 includes: modernizing critical calculator and
retirement systems; automating manual paper-based retirement
system through electronic data collection and applications;
implementing automated tools to improve retirement case
processing; and imaging incoming paper retirement records. The
Committee appreciates receiving the quarterly reports and notes
the importance of receiving status update briefings from OPM as
developments and milestones occur and future plans are
determined.
Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program and
Nursing Shortage.--In April 2010, OPM provided a report to
Congress on nursing faculty and the Intergovernmental Personnel
Act [IPA] Mobility Program, along with findings and
recommendations. The Committee is pleased with OPM's initial
efforts regarding the nurse and nurse faculty shortage,
including the research conducted, the forum held, the
recommendations provided, and the recognition that these
efforts are a first step of a larger effort which OPM is
leading. The Committee endorses the recommendations in the
report and anticipates regular, 6-month updates on next steps,
such as conducting additional forums, increasing program
awareness, implementing efforts to use IPA to address the
shortage, developing partnerships with accredited schools of
nursing, and conducting outreach to academic institutions and
key stakeholders on possible solutions, collecting and tracking
data, as well as other specific recommendations outlined in the
report.
Inappropriate Use of Temporary Hiring Authority.--The
Committee is aware that continuous and sustained inappropriate
use of temporary hiring authority by Federal agencies occurs
and that this remains unresolved. These problems date back to
the early 1990s and were reported on by the Office of Personnel
Management and the Merit Systems Protection Board (``Temporary
Federal Employment: In Search of Flexibility and Fairness,''
Sept. 1994) and again in 2002 by the Government Accountability
Office (GAO-02-296). The Committee directs OPM to report on
options and recommendations to remedy the inequity no later
than 90 days after enactment of this act. The report should
include identification of agencies and types of positions where
continuous and sustained inappropriate use of temporary hiring
authority is occurring. Options to provide competitive status
to employees performing regular and recurring work of a
permanent nature under a series of temporary appointments
should be explored and actions that can be taken to ensure that
Federal agencies use appropriate hiring authorities in the
future should be outlined in the report.
Wellness.--In fiscal year 2010, the Committee provided
$5,000,000 as requested in the budget, to conduct pilot
programs which would serve as evaluation mechanisms for
effective strategies to improve Federal employee health through
targeted interventions in areas such as smoking cessation,
disease management, prevention, and risk assessment. The
purpose was to design a comprehensive policy to improve the
health and wellness of Federal employees, leading to cost
savings for all healthcare. OPM has been participating in the
first pilot program, along with its neighbors, the General
Services Administration and the Department of the Interior. The
Committee directs OPM to report on the progress of this
demonstration project, including measurements and outcomes
within 90 days of enactment of this act.
Consolidated Business Information System [CBIS].--The
Committee is aware that the effort to replace the legacy
financial system and manage OPM's trust funds has encountered
defects in the hardware and software. This multi-year
initiative began with an initial estimate of $141,000,000, now
revised downward to $97,000,000. The Committee directs that OPM
provide quarterly updates, reporting on milestone developments
as well as any further problems, until the CBIS project is
fully operational and problem-free.
limitation
(TRANSFER OF TRUST FUNDS)
Limitation, 2011........................................ $112,516,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 132,523,000
Committee recommendation................................ 112,516,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
These funds will be transferred from the appropriate trust
funds of the Office of Personnel Management to cover
administrative expenses for the retirement and insurance
programs, including the cost of automating the retirement
recordkeeping systems.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a limitation of $112,516,000,
which is the same as the fiscal year 2011 level and $20,007,000
less than the budget request.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
salaries and expenses
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $3,142,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 3,804,000
Committee recommendation................................ 3,142,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Office of Inspector General is charged with
establishing policies for conducting and coordinating efforts
which promote economy, efficiency, and integrity in the Office
of Personnel Management's activities which prevent and detect
fraud, waste, and mismanagement in the agency's programs.
Contract audits provide professional advice to agency
contracting officials on accounting and financial matters
regarding the negotiation, award, administration, repricing,
and settlement of contracts. Internal agency audits review and
evaluate all facets of agency operations, including financial
statements. Evaluation and inspection services provide detailed
technical evaluations of agency operations. Insurance audits
review the operations of health and life insurance carriers,
healthcare providers, and insurance subscribers. The
investigative function provides for the detection and
investigation of improper and illegal activities involving
programs, personnel, and operations. Administrative sanctions
debar from participation in the health insurance program those
healthcare providers whose conduct may pose a threat to the
financial integrity of the program itself or to the well-being
of insurance program enrollees.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $3,142,000 for
salaries and expenses of the Office of Inspector General in
fiscal year 2012. This amount is the same as the fiscal year
2011 enacted level and $662,000 less than the budget request.
(LIMITATION ON TRANSFER FROM TRUST FUNDS)
Limitation, 2011........................................ $21,174,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 21,559,000
Committee recommendation................................ 21,174,000
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a limitation on transfers from the
trust funds in support of the Office of Inspector General
activities totaling $21,174,000 for fiscal year 2012. This
amount is the same as the fiscal year 2011 enacted level, and
$385,000 below the budget request.
government payment for annuitants, employees health benefits
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $10,467,000,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 10,862,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 10,862,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This appropriation covers the Government's share of the
cost of health insurance for annuitants covered by the Federal
Employees Health Benefits Program and the Retired Federal
Employees Health Benefits Act of 1960, as well as
administrative expenses incurred by OPM for these programs.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a mandatory appropriation of
$10,862,000,000 for Government payments for annuitants,
employees health benefits.
government payment for annuitants, employee life insurance
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $50,000,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 52,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 52,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Public Law 96-427, the Federal Employees' Group Life
Insurance Act of 1980, requires that all employees under the
age of 65 who separate from the Federal Government for purposes
of retirement on or after January 1, 1990, continue to make
contributions toward their basic life insurance coverage after
retirement until they reach the age of 65. These retirees will
contribute two-thirds of the cost of the basic life insurance
premium, identical to the amount contributed by active Federal
employees for basic life insurance coverage. As with the active
Federal employees, the Government is required to contribute
one-third of the cost of the premium for retirees' basic
coverage. OPM, acting as the payroll office on behalf of
Federal retirees, has requested, and the Committee has
provided, the funding necessary to make the required Government
contribution associated with annuitants' post-retirement life
insurance coverage.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a mandatory appropriation of
$52,000,000 for the Government payment for annuitants, employee
life insurance.
payment to civil service retirement and disability fund
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $10,076,000,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 9,979,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 9,979,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The civil service retirement and disability fund was
established in 1920 to administer the financing and payment of
annuities to retired Federal employees and their survivors. The
fund covers the operation of the Civil Service Retirement
System and the Federal Employees' Retirement System.
This appropriation provides for the Government's share of
retirement costs, transfers of interest on the unfunded
liability and annuity disbursements attributable to military
service, and survivor annuities to eligible former spouses of
some annuitants who did not elect survivor coverage.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a mandatory appropriation of
$9,979,000,000 for payment to the civil service retirement and
disability fund.
Office of Special Counsel
salaries and expenses
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $18,458,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 19,486,000
Committee recommendation................................ 18,972,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel [OSC] provides a safe
channel for Federal employees to report waste, fraud, abuse,
and threats to public health and safety.
The OSC was first established on January 1, 1979. From 1979
until 1989, it operated as an autonomous investigative and
prosecutorial arm of the Merit Systems Protection Board [MSPB].
In 1989, Congress enacted the Whistleblower Protection Act
(Public Law 101-12), which made OSC an independent agency
within the executive branch. In 1994, the Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act [USERRA] (Public Law
103-353) became law. It defined employment-related rights of
persons in connection with military service, prohibited
discrimination against them because of that service, and gave
OSC new authority to pursue remedies for violations by Federal
agencies.
The OSC continues to experience significant increases in
its caseload. Overall, in fiscal year 2010, the OSC saw more
than 8,270 instances of requests for assistance or action
sought by Federal employees or other persons, marking an
increase of 11 percent over the prior year. In fiscal year
2010, the OSC's intake of cases totaled 3,950 new matters. This
was an increase of 6 percent over the number of cases received
in fiscal year 2009. Of the new matters received by OSC in
2010, 66 percent of the cases were prohibited personnel
practice complaints.
The OSC also received 526 new Hatch Act complaints in 2010,
representing a 6 percent increase from 2009. The OSC issued
4,320 Hatch Act advisory opinions (including verbal and written
advisory opinions) to persons who sought advice in 2010, an
uptick of 15 percent over the number issued in 2009. In
addition, the OSC's Disclosure Unit's whistleblower caseload
increased to 961 cases in 2010, up over 32 percent from the 724
cases in 2009 which itself was a 37 percent boost over 2008.
During fiscal year 2010, the Disclosure Unit referred matters
to agency heads for their review a total of 24 times.
The OSC is also tasked with new USERRA case
responsibilities pursuant to the Veterans' Benefits Act of 2010
(Public Law 111-275) that directed a 3-year demonstration
project involving the OSC and the Department of Labor designed
to assess and compare agencies' performance in investigating
and resolving claims against Federal executive agencies.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $18,972,000
for the OSC. This amount is $514,000 above the fiscal year 2011
enacted level and $514,000 below the budget request.
The Committee acknowledges that the OSC continues to
experience dramatic growth in its caseload, as a result of
heightened awareness of the Hatch Act, a more vigorous focus on
complaints under the Uniformed Services Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act, and actions under the Whistleblower
Protection Act.
Moreover, the Committee is concerned that the OSC needs an
increase of two additional staff in the USERRA Unit in order to
ensure that the new pilot demonstration program authorized in
2010 can be minimally viable. The Committee notes that the OSC
budget request seeks only one new FTE for the USERRA
Enforcement and Prosecution Program in addition to the three
FTE currently on board. During the first Demonstration Project
from 2005-2007, the OSC had 8-10 attorneys and investigators in
the USERRA Unit, and staffing is now at 4. The Committee
believes it is vital that the OSC have sufficient resources,
and provides an additional amount above the fiscal year 2011
enacted level to help the OSC succeed in its work to ensure
high-corrective action rates for impacted veterans, prevent
serious delays and backlogs in case processing, and
expeditiously remedy USERRA violations.
Postal Regulatory Commission
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $14,304,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 14,450,000
Committee recommendation................................ 14,304,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Postal Regulatory Commission is an independent agency
that has exercised regulatory oversight over the United States
Postal Service since its creation by the Postal Reorganization
Act of 1970. For over three decades, that oversight consisted
primarily of conducting public, on-the-record hearings
concerning proposed rates, mail classification, and major
service changes, and recommended decisions for action to the
Postal Service Board of Governors.
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (Public Law
109-435) assigned significant new responsibilities to the
Commission. These enhanced authorities include providing
regulatory oversight of the pricing of Postal Service products
and services, ensuring Postal Service transparency and
accountability, consulting on delivery service standards and
performance measures, consulting on international postal
policies, preventing cross-subsidization or other
anticompetitive postal practices, and serving as a forum to act
on complaints with postal products and services. The Commission
provides leadership and recommends policies that foster a
robust and viable postal system.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation, out of the
Postal Fund, of $14,304,000 for the Postal Regulatory
Commission. This amount is the same as the fiscal year 2011
enacted level and $146,000 below the budget request. The funds
will support 74 FTEs and enable the Commission to meet its
mission of ensuring transparency and accountability in postal
operations, services, and finances.
The Committee notes that in fiscal year 2012, the
Commission will be engaged in assessing the value of the
universal service obligation to the Nation and the Postal
Service's ability to continue to provide this service given its
declining revenue; issuing an Annual Compliance Determination
report assessing the Postal Service's compliance with the
ratemaking regulations and applicable laws; conducting a 5-year
review of the contribution share of Competitive Products,
conducting a 5-year review and making recommendations on the
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act; continuing its
active involvement in the Universal Postal Union [UPU],
particularly in developing a modernized terminal dues system
and promoting greater transparency and accountability; and
pursuing special studies requested by the Postal Service,
Congress, and as a result of Commission-initiated inquiries.
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $998,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 1,683,000
Committee recommendation................................ 1,000,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Recommended by the July 22, 2004 report of the National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/
11 Commission), the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
[PCLOB] was originally established through the Intelligence
Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-
458). The PCLOB was made a component of the White House Office
within the Executive Office of the President.
Under the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11
Commission Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-53), the PCLOB was
reconstituted as an independent agency within the executive
branch. The dual mission of the PCLOB is to:
--analyze and review actions the executive branch takes to
protect the Nation from terrorism, ensuring that the
need for such actions is balanced with the need to
protect privacy and civil liberties; and
--ensure that liberty concerns are appropriately considered
in the development and implementation of laws,
regulations, and policies related to efforts to protect
the Nation against terrorism.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $1,000,000 for
the PCLOB. This amount is $2,000 above the fiscal year 2011
enacted level and $683,000 below the budget request.
The Committee strongly supports the mission of the PCLOB.
The Committee notes that the former Board ceased operations on
January 30, 2008 with the intention that a new, more
independent Board would be instituted in its place. The
Committee is seriously concerned that now, nearly 4 years
later, the new PCLOB has not yet been reconstituted and staffed
as required by Public Law 110-53. The Committee urges the
administration to nominate qualified persons to the PCLOB as
expeditiously as possible. The Committee urges the PCLOB, once
it is reconstituted, to promptly provide a detailed budget
justification to the Committee.
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011....................................................
Budget estimate, 2012................................... $31,543,000
Committee recommendation................................ 28,400,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
(Recovery Board) was established by the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to ensure
accountability and transparency in the expenditure of Recovery
Act funds and to minimize fraud, waste, and mismanagement. The
Recovery Board analyzes Recovery Act projects for further in-
depth investigation or referral to Federal Inspectors General
and operates a fraud hotline to allow individuals to report
possible fraud, waste, and abuse. The Recovery Board also
collects information from recipients of Recovery Act funds,
compiles the information in a user-friendly format, and posts
the information on its public Web site, Recovery.gov.
Through fiscal year 2011, the expenses of the Recovery
Board were funded by a Recovery Act appropriation. These funds
are exhausted and new funding is required to continue the
Recovery Board's responsibilities.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $28,400,000. The recommendation is
$28,400,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level because
the Recovery Board was operating using prior year balances
during that year. The recommendation is $3,143,000 below the
budget request due to the availability of unspent balances.
Securities and Exchange Commission
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $1,185,000,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 1,407,483,130
Committee recommendation................................ 1,407,483,130
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] is an
independent agency responsible for administering many of the
Nation's laws regulating the areas of securities and finance.
The mission of the SEC is to administer and enforce Federal
securities laws in order to protect investors, maintain fair,
honest, and efficient markets, and promote capital formation.
This includes ensuring full disclosure of financial
information, regulating the Nation's securities markets, and
preventing and policing fraud and malpractice in the securities
and financial markets. The strength of the American economy and
our Nation's financial markets is dependent upon investors'
confidence in the financial disclosures and statements released
by publicly traded companies.
The SEC, as the investor's advocate, is responsible for
overseeing approximately 35,000 entities, including 11,800
investment advisers, 9,500 public companies, 4,200 mutual
funds, and 5,400 broker-dealers with 175,000 branch offices.
The SEC also oversees 600 transfer agents, 12 national
securities exchanges, 10 clearing agencies, 10 nationally
recognized statistical ratings organizations, as well as the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities
Rulemaking Board, and other self-regulatory organizations.
The enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) (Public Law 111-203)
added significantly to SEC's responsibilities, including
bringing transparency and accountability to over-the-counter
derivatives market; registering and overseeing hedge fund and
private equity advisers; enhanced supervision of nationally
recognized statistical rating organizations and clearing
agencies; heightened regulation of asset-backed securities; and
creation of a new whistleblower program.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a total budget (obligational)
authority of $1,407,483,130 for the salaries and expenses of
the SEC, to be fully derived from $1,407,483,130 in new fee
collections. This total funding level is $222,483,130 above the
fiscal year 2011 enacted level and the same as the budget
request.
Enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act altered the budgetary
treatment of SEC fee receipts. For fiscal year 2012 and beyond,
transaction fees receipts are to be treated as offsetting
collections equal to the amount of the appropriation. This
represents a wholesale transformation of how fee receipts have
been historically available. In addition, the law established a
``SEC Reserve Fund'' designated for necessary functions as
determined by the SEC and drawn from registration fee receipts
permitting the SEC to draw up to $50,000,000 per year, not to
exceed a cumulative balance of $100,000,000 in a single year or
annual spending in excess of $100,000,000. The Committee
reminds the SEC of its obligation to notify Congress of the
date, amount, and purpose of any obligation from the Fund
within 10 days of such obligation.
The Committee directs the SEC to submit, within 30 days of
enactment, a detailed spending plan for the allocation of
appropriated funds displayed by discrete program, project and
activity, including staffing projections, specifying both FTEs
and contractors, and planned investments in information
technology.
The Committee's recommended funding increase is expected to
allow the SEC to more aggressively police the securities
markets through examinations and enforcement actions,
strengthen SEC's examination responsibilities, enhance risk-
based oversight of the investment management industry, expand
inspections of credit rating agencies and permit SEC to conduct
more comprehensive examinations, reach a broader universe of
the entities it regulates, and improve its ability to uncover
and prosecute fraud.
In addition, the recommended increase supports urgent,
critical investments in information technology upgrades so that
SEC staff are equipped with cutting edge automation support
tools to enhance their ability to promptly handle tips,
complaints, and referrals as well as to better identify
emerging risks using improved surveillance tools. The Committee
expects the SEC to implement key controls to effectively
safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of
its financial and sensitive information and systems.
The Committee strongly believes that fair and orderly
markets are essential to restore public confidence in and
bolster the integrity of our capital markets. The Committee
emphasizes that with this significant recommended funding
increase comes a concomitant responsibility on the part of the
SEC to aggressively safeguard the investing public. The SEC
must be vigilant in its enforcement of securities laws, and
failures to properly investigate and take appropriate action
will not be condoned.
The Committee is highly concerned about a spate of audit
and investigative reports issued by the SEC Inspector General
in recent years revealing significant disturbing findings of
waste or misuse of Government funds, inadequate management
oversight of contracts and procurement, excessive costs and
inefficiencies in real estate leasing and configuration of
staff offices, and incidents of employee misconduct.
Furthermore, the Committee notes with concern emerging reports
concerning a serious lapse in preservation and retention of
archival materials. It is imperative that the SEC use scarce
Government resources wisely. These situations distract the SEC
management from devoting full attention to its mission of
protecting investors and maintaining fair, orderly, and
efficient markets, particularly in tumultuous economic times.
The Committee expects SEC management to continue to place a
high priority on and invest sufficient resources in
implementing and promptly completing corrective actions
identified by the inspector general to ameliorate the problems
identified to prevent recurrence.
As required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the findings and
recommendations of a comprehensive independent study of the
SEC's organizational structure, personnel and resources,
technology and resources, and the agency's relationship with
self-regulatory organizations were released in March 2011. The
Committee understands that in response to the issuance of the
Boston Consulting Group's report, the SEC has instituted
several internal working groups to address the recommendations.
The Committee directs the SEC to submit to the Committee,
within 90 days of enactment, a report summarizing the status of
the internal assessments, describing actions taken and planned
to institute administrative reforms, and identifying particular
changes necessitating legislative action.
The Committee stresses that with the enactment of the Dodd-
Frank Act, it is all the more critical for the SEC, in
collaboration with the CFTC, to ensure optimum harmonization in
executing the respective oversight responsibilities of each
agency with respect to over-the-counter derivative products.
The Committee expects the SEC and the CFTC to limit, to the
greatest extent possible, inconsistent regulation of similar
products and entities that could lead to opportunities for
regulatory arbitrage. The Committee continues to support the
use of funds to support the Joint SEC-CFTC Advisory Committee.
The Committee remains concerned that American investors may
be unwittingly investing in companies or organizations with
ties to countries that sponsor terrorism or are linked to human
rights violations. The Committee believes that a company's
association with sponsors of terrorism and human rights abuses,
no matter how large or small, can have a materially adverse
result on a public company's operations, financial condition,
earnings, and stock prices, all of which can negatively affect
the value of an investment. Investors and consumers also have a
reasonable right to know what activities their investments or
purchases may be directly or indirectly supporting.
In order to protect American investors' savings and to
disclose these business relationships to investors, an Office
of Global Security Risk was established within the Division of
Corporation Finance. The Committee notes that under the Dodd-
Frank Act, public companies are required to provide disclosure
to the SEC in matters involving conflict minerals, extractive
industries, and mining safety matters. The Committee
understands that the SEC will be implementing the requirements,
as directed, in the coming months. The Committee expects the
work of the Office to remain a high priority during fiscal year
2012 and directs the SEC to continue to submit quarterly
reports on its activities.
The Committee is concerned that current SEC regulations
leave broad discretion to companies to decide if disclosure of
their activities is required with respect to business interests
in or with a state sponsor of terrorism. Companies are only
required to make disclosures in cases where the companies
judges the information is ``material'' to investors or is
necessary to ensure a required statement is not misleading. In
November 2007, the SEC issued a concept release seeking comment
about whether to develop a new mechanism to facilitate greater
access to companies' disclosures concerning their business
activities in or with state sponsors of terrorism. The comment
period ended on January 22, 2008 and the SEC has taken no
action since that time.
The Committee believes that business conducted by a
publicly traded company that could subject such company to
sanctions should be considered material and disclosed.
Therefore, the Committee directs the Commission to issue final
rules that require each issuer to disclose activities that may
subject it to sanctions under section 5 of the Iran Sanctions
Act of 1996.
Similarly, the human rights and sexual violence problems
plaguing mineral rich Democratic Republic of Congo are long
standing and well known. Industries using key minerals from
this region have been aware of the problem and a number have
already taken laudable steps to ensure their sourcing of
minerals avoids fueling further violence. The Committee expects
the clear congressional intent of section 1502 of the Dodd-
Frank Act to be implemented in a timely manner.
The Committee directs the SEC to submit a report to the
Committee, within 90 days of enactment, documenting the quality
of public company reporting, under the February 8, 2010
interpretive guidance on climate change disclosure obligations
under Federal securities laws and regulations, on material
physical and infrastructural risks, compliance with State,
regional, Federal and international laws and policies
addressing emissions, and business opportunities. The SEC is
directed to include in the report a full description of its own
initiatives to carry out the guidance, their efficacy, and the
efforts it will implement in fiscal year 2012.
Access to financial education, resources, services, and
protections promotes better informed decisionmaking about
investing and saving for long-term financial security. The
Committee applauds the Office of Investor Education and
Advocacy [OEIA] for its attention to and consideration of the
views and interests of retail investors. The Committee
encourages the OEIA to continue efforts, including financial
literacy and education initiatives, to protect and advance the
interests of retail investors.
Selective Service System
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $24,226,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 24,500,000
Committee recommendation................................ 23,984,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Selective Service System is an independent Federal
agency, operating with permanent authorization under the
Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 451 et seq.).
The agency is not part of the Department of Defense, but its
basic mission is to be prepared to supply manpower to the Armed
Forces adequate to ensure the security of the United States
during a time of national emergency. Since 1973, the Armed
Forces have relied on volunteers to fill military manpower
requirements. However, the Selective Service System remains the
primary vehicle by which personnel will be brought into the
military if Congress and the President should authorize a
return to the draft.
In December 1987, Selective Service was tasked by law
(Public Law 100-180) to develop plans for a post-mobilization
healthcare personnel delivery system capable of providing the
necessary critically skilled healthcare personnel to the Armed
Forces in time of emergency. An automated system capable of
handling mass registration and inductions is now complete,
together with necessary draft legislation, a draft Presidential
proclamation, prototype forms and letters, and other products.
These products will be available should the need arise. The
development of supplemental standby products, such as a
compliance system for healthcare personnel, continues using
very limited existing resources.
committee recommendation
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $23,984,000
for the Selective Service System. This amount is $242,000 below
the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $516,000 below the
budget request.
Small Business Administration
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $729,738,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 985,439,000
Committee recommendation................................ 955,387,000
The Committee recommendation provides $955,387,000 for the
Small Business Administration [SBA]. The recommendation is
$225,649,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and
$30,052,000 below the budget request. The recommendation
includes $167,300,000 for the Disaster Loans Program Account
designated by Congress as disaster relief pursuant to Public
Law 111-25. Funding is distributed among the SBA appropriation
accounts as described below.
The Committee has been frustrated that recent SBA
congressional justifications have been unnecessarily
complicated. The Committee directs SBA to revise the format of
the congressional justification for fiscal year 2013 so that
the budget detail provided ties directly to enacted and
requested appropriated amounts and information on SBA programs
is accessible via an index.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $432,571,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 427,296,000
Committee recommendation................................ 404,202,000
The Committee recommendation provides $404,202,000 for
salaries and expenses of the SBA. The recommendation is
$28,369,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and is
$23,094,000 below the budget request.
Noncredit Business Assistance Programs.--Within the amounts
made available under this heading, the Committee recommendation
provides $165,730,000 for the SBA non-credit business
assistance programs. The recommendation is $5,480,000 above the
budget request and $19,249,000 below the 2011 enacted level.
The Committee recommendations for non-credit business
assistance, by program, are displayed in the following table:
NON-CREDIT BUSINESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
[In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal year
Fiscal year 2012 budget Committee
2011 enacted estimate recommendation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Business Development Centers.............................. 112,774 103,000 112,774
Drug-free Workplace Grants...................................... 998 .............. ..............
SCORE........................................................... 6,986 7,000 6,986
Women's Business Centers........................................ 13,972 14,000 13,972
Women's Business Council........................................ 998 1,900 998
Microloan Technical Assistance.................................. 21,956 10,000 21,956
Veterans Programs............................................... 2,495 2,500 2,500
PRIME........................................................... 7,984 .............. ..............
Native American Outreach........................................ 1,248 1,250 1,248
7(j) Technical Assistance....................................... 3,393 3,100 3,100
HUBZone......................................................... 2,196 2,500 2,196
Entrepreneurial Development Initiative.......................... 9,980 12,000 ..............
Emerging Leaders................................................ .............. 3,000 ..............
-----------------------------------------------
Total, Non-credit Business Assistance Programs............ 184,979 160,250 165,730
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Committee directs that the amounts provided for SBA's
Non-Credit Business Assistance Programs, as specified in the
table above, shall be administered in the same manner as
previous years and shall not be reduced, reallocated, or
reprogrammed to provide additional funds for other programs,
initiatives, or activities.
The Committee continues to support the Small Business
Development Center [SBDC] Program and recommends $112,774,000
for fiscal year 2012, equal to the fiscal year 2011 enacted
level and $9,774,000 above the budget request. The SBDC
network--which encompasses over 900 service centers across the
Nation--provides management and technical assistance to an
estimated 1.2 million small business owners and aspiring
entrepreneurs each year. As the economy struggles, SBDCs have
reported a significant increase in demand for their expertise
as businesses seek guidance on how to weather the economic
downturn and as newly unemployed Americans look for advice on
starting a small business as a new career path. Providing
support for SBDCs is more critical than ever as our economy
works to recover and grow.
The Committee recommends $21,956,000 for grants to
Microloan intermediaries under the Microloan program for
marketing, management, and technical assistance provided to
borrowers. An additional $3,678,000 is recommended under the
heading ``Business Loans Program Account'' to support lending
under the Microloan program. The Committee includes a provision
that, for funding provided for fiscal year 2012, temporarily
increases the maximum amount of grant funding eligibility for
qualified Microloan intermediaries. This temporary condition
will provide relief to Microloan intermediaries that are
providing increased assistance to Microloan borrowers during
the economic downturn.
The Committee supports funding for veterans programs and
veterans business outreach centers and provides $2,500,000 for
veterans programs. When determining the allocation of the
funding, the Committee strongly encourages SBA to consider
centers with significant experience in conducting outreach to
veterans.
Operating Expenses.--Within the amounts made available
under this heading, the Committee recommendation provides
$238,472,000 for SBA's operating expenses. The recommendation
is $9,120,000 below the 2011 enacted level to reflect the
creation of a separate account for the Office of Advocacy;
excluding that office, funding for operating expenses is equal
to the 2011 enacted level. The recommendation is $28,574,000
below the budget request.
Within the amounts recommended for SBA's operating
expenses, the Committee recommends $7,100,000 to continue the
agency-wide effort to modernize SBA's loan management and
accounting systems. The Committee commends SBA's decision to
reformulate the planned modernization to reduce costs, shorten
the time to completion, and reduce the risks associated with a
long-term acquisition. SBA estimates that the costs under the
new approach will total $43,000,000, a savings of $113,000,000
from the original budget of $156,000,000. The Committee is
concerned, however, about continued risks related to the
acquisition and directs SBA to identify an executive-level
staffer who shall be dedicated to agency-wide management,
coordination, and implementation of the new system. The
Committee directs SBA to continue to report quarterly to the
Committees on Appropriations summarizing the agency's progress
regarding the modernization effort and emphasizes the need for
such reports to include plain language descriptions of the
project in place of technical jargon.
The Committee notes that section 1322 of the Small Business
Jobs Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-240) requires prime
contractors to utilize small business subcontractors included
on Federal procurement bids unless such subcontractors are no
longer in business or can no longer reasonably meet the
requirements of the contract. The Committee directs SBA to
submit a report within 180 days of enactment detailing the
implementation of section 1322 and identifying further steps
that can be taken to ensure that subcontractors listed on
Federal procurement bids are included in work performed when
appropriate.
The Committee is concerned about instances where certain
businesses are awarded small business prime contracts or
subcontracts but a small business does not ultimately perform
the work. The Committee urges SBA to work to ensure that only
legitimate small business interests receive small business
awards. The Committee directs SBA to submit a report within 180
days of enactment identifying administrative, legislative, and
regulatory steps that could be taken to address the practice of
pass-throughs as it relates to Federal small business
contracting.
The Committee notes that the small business timber sale
set-aside program is designed to serve many small rural
communities and small timber mills. The Committee directs the
Administrator to coordinate with the Forest Service and the
Bureau of Land Management and provide a written report to the
Committee within 60 days of enactment detailing SBA's current
and planned activities related to communication with timber
businesses in small rural communities.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $16,267,400
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 18,400,000
Committee recommendation................................ 16,267,400
The Committee recommendation provides $16,267,400 for the
Office of Inspector General. The recommendation is equal to the
fiscal year 2011 enacted level and is $2,132,600 below the
budget request.
The Committee directs the Inspector General to continue
routine analysis and reporting on SBA's modernization of its
loan management and accounting systems, including acquisition,
contractor oversight, implementation, and progress regarding
budget and schedule.
OFFICE OF ADVOCACY
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011\1\.................................................
Budget estimate, 2012................................... $9,120,000
Committee recommendation................................ 9,120,000
\1\Funding for the Office of Advocacy was included within funds provided
under the heading ``Small Business Administration, Salaries and
Expenses'' for fiscal year 2011.
The Committee recommendation provides $9,120,000 for the
Office of Advocacy. In fiscal year 2011 and prior years,
funding for the Office of Advocacy was provided within SBA's
Salaries and Expenses account. The Small Business Jobs Act of
2010 (Public Law 111-240) required that the Office of Advocacy
be funded through a separate appropriation. The Office of
Advocacy, an independent office within SBA, solicits and
represents the views, concerns, and interests of small
businesses before Congress the White House, Federal agencies,
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal courts, and State policymakers.
BUSINESS LOANS PROGRAM ACCOUNT
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $235,528,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 363,323,000
Committee recommendation................................ 358,498,000
The Committee recommendation provides $358,498,000. The
recommendation is $122,970,000 above the fiscal year 2011
enacted level and is $4,825,000 below the budget request due to
carryover balances.
The recommendation provides $147,958,000 for administrative
expenses, which may be transferred to and merged with SBA
salaries and expenses to cover the common overhead expenses
associated with the business loans programs.
The recommendation provides $3,678,000 for the Microloan
direct loan program. An additional amount of $21,956,000 is
recommended under the heading ``Salaries and Expenses'' for
technical assistance grants to Microlending intermediaries. The
Committee directs SBA to continue to conduct outreach to
existing financial entities that may be well-suited to
participate in the Microloan program so that the program can
grow and expand access to microcapital across the country. SBA
shall submit a written report to the Committee on
Appropriations within 90 days of enactment summarizing the
agency's plans for expanding the reach of the Microloan
program.
The recommendation provides $206,862,000 to subsidize the
7(a) and 504 guaranteed loan programs. For a typical year,
estimated fees collected from lenders and borrowers fully
offset estimated Government payments on losses under the 7(a)
and 504 loan programs. However, the budget requests additional
funding for fiscal year 2012 because fee collections are not
expected to offset the cost to the Government for that year due
to changes in assumptions related to the economic downturn. The
recommended funding will allow SBA to continue operating the
7(a) and 504 loan programs in fiscal year 2012. The Committee
expects both programs to return to typical operation when the
economy recovers.
Data Collection on Small Business Lending.--The Committee
is concerned that limited collection of timely, relevant data
on small business lending has made it difficult to quantify the
impact of the economic crisis, and the impact of various
responses to the crisis, on small business access to credit.
Sources of information are often limited to anecdotal evidence
and survey data, particularly with regard to the demand for
credit. Additionally, with regard to the supply of credit, the
majority of current business lending data reflects bank
inventory but not new loan originations.
The need for timely, robust data to reflect both credit
supply and demand has been widely noted, including in the May
2010 Congressional Oversight Panel report titled ``The Small
Business Credit Crunch and the Impact of the TARP.'' The
Committee directs SBA, in coordination with the Federal
Reserve, to submit a written report to the Committee within 90
days of enactment on the feasibility and benefits of enhanced
data collection on small business lending, including but not
limited to data on loan origination and loan size.
DISASTER LOANS PROGRAM ACCOUNT
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $45,372,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 167,300,000
Committee recommendation................................ 167,300,000
The Committee recommends $167,300,000 for the
administrative costs of the Disaster Loans program,
$121,928,000 above the fiscal year 2011 enacted level. The
recommendation is equal to the budget request. As always, SBA
is urged to promptly notify the Committee of the status of
disasters requiring loan assistance.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS--SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Section 520 continues a provision concerning transfer
authority and availability of funds.
United States Postal Service
PAYMENT TO THE POSTAL SERVICE FUND
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $86,681,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 78,153,000
Committee recommendation................................ 78,153,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Post Office dates back to 1775. It became the Postal
Service in 1971 as an independent establishment of the
executive branch of the United States Government. The Postal
Service's basic function and obligation is to provide postal
services to bind the Nation together through the personal,
educational, literary, and business correspondence of the
people. Its mission is to provide prompt, reliable, and
efficient services to patrons in all areas and render postal
services to all communities. The Postal Service does not depend
upon taxpayer subsidies through discretionary appropriations
for its operations but generates nearly all of its more than
$67,000,000,000 in annual gross revenue by charging users of
the mail for the costs of postage, products, and services.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends appropriations totaling
$78,153,000 for payment to the Postal Service Fund, a decrease
of $8,528,000 below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and the
same as the budget request.
This amount constitutes an advance appropriation for fiscal
year 2013 to compensate for revenue forgone on free mail for
the blind and for overseas voters. The Postal Service will have
$74,905,000 available for fiscal year 2012 pursuant to section
1569 of Public Law 112-10, division B.
The Committee includes provisions in the bill that would
ensure that mail for overseas voting and mail for the blind
shall continue to be free; that 6-day delivery and rural
delivery of mail shall continue without reduction; and that
none of the funds provided be used to consolidate or close
small rural and other small post offices in fiscal year 2012.
Fiscal Health.--The Committee remains concerned about the
poor fiscal health of the Postal Service. Decline in mail
volume as a result of the economic recession and the diversion
of letters and bill remittances to electronic modes of
transmission continue to have a staggering impact on the Postal
Service, which released its most recent financial data on
August 8, 2011. The Postal Service experienced net losses for
the 9 months ending June 30, 2011, of $5,700,000,000 in 2011
compared to $5,400,000,000 in the same three quarter span of
2010. The Committee recognizes the need for aggressive actions
to reduce costs and better align the Postal Service
infrastructure in the face of reduced customer demand.
Mail Delivery.--The Committee believes that 6-day mail
delivery is one of the most important services provided by the
Federal Government to its citizens. Especially in rural and
small-town America, this critical postal service is the
linchpin that serves to bind the Nation together.
Since fiscal year 1981, annual appropriations bills have
each included language requiring 6-day per week postal
delivery. The Postal Service has sought removal of this mandate
to afford maximum delivery flexibility as an internal fiscal
management tool.
In response to the proposal, the Postal Regulatory
Commission [PRC] conducted a fact-gathering evaluation,
including hosting at least seven public field hearings, to
solicit public input on the prospect of ending carrier street
address delivery, collection at blue collection boxes, and most
originating mail processing on Saturdays. In its advisory
opinion issued in March 2011, the PRC opined that the Postal
Service overestimated the annual net savings that might be
realized from eliminating a delivery day. The PRC determined
that eliminating one day's delivery would cause approximately
25 percent of First-Class and Priority mail to be delayed by 2
days and that the Postal Service did not evaluate the impact on
customers who reside or conduct business in rural, remote, and
non-contiguous areas.
Postal Retail Network.--The Committee acknowledges that the
Postal Service is undertaking significant reductions to its
overhead, including the closure of postal retail facilities.
Congress has given the Postal Service considerable discretion
to decide how many post offices to erect and where to place
them. The Committee notes that in fiscal year 2010, the Postal
Service operated 31,871 retail facilities, nearly 26 percent
fewer than the 43,112 operated in fiscal year 1970.
Beginning in March 2011, the Postal Service began the
process of closing as many as 2,000 post offices, in addition
to nearly 500 others slated to be closed starting at the end of
last year. In addition, the Postal Service is reviewing another
16,000, effectively half of the Nation's existing post offices,
which are operating at a deficit. In July 2011, the Postal
Service announced a proposal to review whether to continue to
service at over 3,650 under-utilized post offices across the
country. Because of the implications for nationwide mail
service, the PRC is evaluating the overall process of the
Postal Service on the July proposal and will issue an advisory
opinion when it concludes its work. The Committee appreciates
the Postal Service's critical need to adjust its
infrastructure, but emphasizes that it is imperative that the
Postal Service strictly follow its discontinuance procedures
and ensure open public participation for each facility under
review.
The Committee understands that the Postal Service has
partnered with more than 63,000 locations such as supermarkets,
drug stores, ATMs, and other retailers to sell postage and
selected postal services. The online alternative at usps.com
allows customers to conveniently access and obtain a diverse
array of postal services, including tracking and confirmation,
address changes, reservation and renewal of Post Office boxes,
holding of mail, locating zip codes, obtaining shipping
information, and purchasing and printing postage around the
clock. In 2009, nearly 30 percent of postal retail transactions
were conducted in locations other than a Post Office. The
Committee strongly urges the Postal Service to continue to
expand the co-location of postal services and other innovative
approaches to serving communities, significantly grow its
inventory of Automated Postal Centers for self-service access
particularly in currently underserved areas, and widely
disseminate information through national advertising promoting
the benefits to postal customers of on-line and self-service
options.
Consolidating Area Mail Processing Facilities.--The
Committee understands that as a way to reduce overhead expenses
and achieve efficiency savings, the Postal Service is studying
the economic feasibility of consolidating several area mail
processing [AMP] facilities where mail is canceled and sorted
across the country. While the Committee acknowledges that it
may be costly for the Postal Service to continue to operate all
of these large plants in its network given declining mail
volume, the Committee has serious concerns about the potential
impact on mail delivery service, jobs, and the local economy of
the affected communities of the proposed shuttering of these
facilities. The Committee directs the Postal Service to suspend
any consolidations, closings, or job reductions at area mail
processing facilities that have not had the benefit of a full
AMP study and those where previous Postal Service analyses have
found that no significant cost savings or efficiencies would be
gained by such action. The Committee directs the Postal Service
to include an economic impact assessment in its analyses.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
(SALARIES AND EXPENSES)
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $243,908,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 244,397,000
Committee recommendation................................ 241,468,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The United States Postal Service Office of Inspector
General [OIG] is an independent organization established in
1996 and charged with reporting to Congress on the overall
efficiency, effectiveness, and economy of Postal Service
programs and operations. The OIG plays a key role in
maintaining the integrity and accountability of America's
postal service, its revenue and assets, and its employees. The
OIG meets this responsibility by conducting and supervising
objective and independent audits, investigations, and other
reviews. In fiscal year 2010, the OIG efforts resulted in 378
audits and evaluations being completed identifying potential
monetary benefits of nearly $71,200,000,000, 3,983 completed
investigative cases, 1,196 arrests and indictments, and 2,477
administrative actions referred. These actions resulted in
about $2,000,000,000 in monetary recoveries and cost avoidance
in workers' compensation and contract fraud cost programs. As a
result, the return-on-investment was $312.48, up from $46.41 in
fiscal year 2009.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation, out of the
Postal Fund, of $241,468,000 for the United States Postal
Service Office of Inspector General. This amount is $2,440,000
below the fiscal year 2011 funding level and $2,929,000 below
the budget request. The Committee appreciates the efforts of
the Inspector General to perform its exemplary audit and
investigative work under severe spending constraints.
United States Tax Court
salaries and expenses
Appropriations, 2011.................................... $51,989,000
Budget estimate, 2012................................... 59,996,000
Committee recommendation................................ 51,469,000
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The U.S. Tax Court is an independent judicial body in the
legislative branch established in 1969 under Article I of the
Constitution of the United States. The Court was created to
provide a national forum for the resolution of disputes between
taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service, resolve cases
expeditiously while giving careful consideration to the merits
of each matter, and ensure the uniform interpretation of the
Internal Revenue Code. The matters over which the Court has
jurisdiction are set forth in various sections of title 26 of
the United States Code.
The Court is composed of 19 judges, one of whom the judges
elect as chief judge. Tax Court judges are appointed to 15-year
terms by the President with the advice and consent of the
Senate. In their judicial duties the judges are assisted by
senior judges, who participate in the adjudication of regular
cases, and by special trial judges, who hear small tax cases
and certain regular cases assigned to them by the chief judge.
The Court conducts trial sessions throughout the United
States, including Hawaii and Alaska. Decisions by the Court are
reviewable by the U.S. Courts of Appeals and, if certiorari is
granted, by the Supreme Court.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $51,469,000
for the U.S. Tax Court. This amount is $520,000 below the
fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $8,527,000 below the budget
request. The Committee notes that the additional funding of
$2,852,000 provided in section 1570 of Public Law 112-10,
division B, was intended to help the Tax Court continue to
comply with the Court Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-177)
notably to address the costs for perimeter security
improvements to the U.S. Tax Court headquarters.
STATEMENT CONCERNING GENERAL PROVISIONS
The Financial Services and General Government appropriation
bill includes general provisions which govern both the
activities of the agencies covered by the bill, and, in some
cases, activities of agencies, programs, and general government
activities that are not specifically covered by the bill.
The bill contains a number of general provisions that have
been carried in this bill for many years and which are routine
in nature and scope. General provisions in the bill are
explained under this section of the report. Those general
provisions that deal with a single agency only are shown as
administrative provisions immediately following that particular
agency's or department's appropriation accounts in the bill.
Those provisions that address activities or directives
affecting all of the agencies covered in this bill are
contained in title VI. General provisions that are Government-
wide in scope are contained in title VII of this bill. General
provisions applicable to the District of Columbia are contained
in title VIII of this bill.
TITLE VI
GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS ACT
Section 601 continues the provision prohibiting pay and
other expenses of non-Federal parties intervening in regulatory
or adjudicatory proceedings funded in this act.
Section 602 continues the provision prohibiting obligations
beyond the current fiscal year and prohibits transfers of funds
unless expressly provided.
Section 603 continues the provision limiting expenditures
for any consulting service through procurement contracts where
such expenditures are a matter of public record and available
for public inspection.
Section 604 continues the provision prohibiting funds in
this act from being transferred without express authority.
Section 605 continues the provision prohibiting the use of
funds to engage in activities that would prohibit the
enforcement of section 307 of the 1930 Tariff Act (46 Stat.
590).
Section 606 continues the provision prohibiting the use of
funds unless the recipient agrees to comply with the Buy
American Act.
Section 607 continues the provision prohibiting funding for
any person or entity convicted of violating the Buy American
Act.
Section 608 continues the provision authorizing the
reprogramming of funds and specifies the reprogramming
procedures for agencies funded by this act.
Section 609 continues the provision ensuring that 50
percent of unobligated balances may remain available for
certain purposes.
Section 610 continues the provision restricting the use of
funds for the Executive Office of the President to request
official background reports from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation without the written consent of the individual who
is the subject of the report.
Section 611 continues the provision ensuring that the cost
accounting standards shall not apply with respect to a contract
under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Section 612 continues the provision referencing nonforeign
area cost of living allowances.
Section 613 continues the provision waiving restrictions on
the purchase of nondomestic articles, materials, and supplies
in the case of acquisition by the Federal Government of
information technology.
Section 614 continues a provision on the acceptance by
agencies or commissions funded by this act, or by their
officers or employees, of payment or reimbursement for travel,
subsistence, or related expenses from any person or entity (or
their representative) that engages in activities regulated by
such agencies or commissions.
Section 615 continues a provision allowing the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board to obligate amounts
collected from monetary penalties for the purpose of funding
scholarships for accounting students, as authorized by the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-204).
Section 616 is a provision rescinding $998,000 from
unobligated balances of prior year appropriations made
available for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
Section 617 continues a provision permitting the Securities
and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission to fund a joint advisory committee to advise on
emerging regulatory issues, notwithstanding section 708 of this
act.
Section 618 is a provision requiring the President to
transmit proposed deficiency and supplemental appropriations
requests to Congress on behalf of the judicial and legislative
branches as is presently done for the executive branch.
Section 619 is a provision permitting the Abraham Lincoln
Bicentennial Foundation to be a recipient of matching funds
distributed by the Treasury from revenue from the sale of the
Lincoln bicentennial coin.
Section 620 continues a provision related to agricultural
trade with Cuba.
Section 621 is a provision relating to publication in the
Federal Register of Help America Vote Act State plans. The
provision allows publication of a reference to the State plans,
rather than publication of the complete State plans, thereby,
creating a significant cost savings.
Section 622 is a provision that adjusts, for inflation,
fees related to mergers.
Section 623 is a new provision that would prohibit the
conveyance of the headquarters building of the Federal Trade
Commission (located at 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, in
the District of Columbia) to any entity unless it is in the
best interest of the taxpayer.
Section 624 is a new provision related to sales of
agricultural and medical goods to Cuba.
TITLE VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS--GOVERNMENT-WIDE
Departments, Agencies, and Corporations
Section 701 continues the provision requiring agencies to
administer a policy designed to ensure that all of its
workplaces are free from the illegal use of controlled
substances.
Section 702 modifies the provision setting specific limits
on the cost of passenger vehicles purchased by the Federal
Government with exceptions for police, heavy duty, electric
hybrid, and clean fuels vehicles adding a new exception for
commercial vehicles that operate on emerging motor vehicle
technology.
Section 703 continues the provision allowing funds made
available to agencies for travel to also be used for quarters
allowances and cost-of-living allowances.
Section 704 continues the provision prohibiting the
government, with certain specified exceptions, from employing
non-U.S. citizens whose posts of duty would be in the
continental United States.
Section 705 continues the provision ensuring that agencies
will have authority to pay the General Services Administration
for space renovation and other services.
Section 706 continues the provision allowing agencies to
use receipts from the sale of materials for acquisition, waste
reduction and prevention, environmental management programs,
and other Federal employee programs.
Section 707 continues the provision providing that funds
for administrative expenses may be used to pay rent and other
service costs in the District of Columbia.
Section 708 continues the provision precluding interagency
financing of groups absent prior statutory approval.
Section 709 continues the provision prohibiting the use of
appropriated funds for enforcing regulations disapproved in
accordance with the applicable law of the United States.
Section 710 continues the provision limiting the pay
increases of certain prevailing rate employees.
Section 711 continues the provision limiting the amount
that can be used for redecoration of offices under certain
circumstances.
Section 712 continues the provision that permits
interagency funding of national security and emergency
preparedness telecommunications initiatives, which benefit
multiple Federal departments, agencies, and entities.
Section 713 continues the provision requiring agencies to
certify that a schedule C appointment was not created solely or
primarily to detail the employee to the White House.
Section 714 continues the provision prohibiting the use of
funds to prevent Federal employees from communicating with
Congress or to take disciplinary or personnel actions against
employees for such communication.
Section 715 continues the provision prohibiting Federal
training not directly related to the performance of official
duties.
Section 716 continues and updates the provision prohibiting
the expenditure of funds for the implementation of agreements
in certain nondisclosure policies unless certain provisions are
included in the policies.
Section 717 continues the provision prohibiting the use of
appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda designed to
support or defeat legislation pending before Congress.
Section 718 continues the provision prohibiting the use of
appropriated funds by an agency to provide home addresses of
Federal employees to labor organizations, absent employee
authorization or court order.
Section 719 continues the provision prohibiting the use of
appropriated funds to provide nonpublic information such as
mailing or telephone lists to any person or organization
outside of the Government without approval of the Committees on
Appropriations.
Section 720 continues the provision prohibiting the use of
appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda purposes within
the United States not authorized by Congress.
Section 721 continues the provision directing agencies'
employees to use official time in an honest effort to perform
official duties.
Section 722 continues the provision authorizing the use of
current fiscal year funds to finance an appropriate share of
the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board administrative
costs.
Section 723 continues the provision authorizing
breastfeeding at any location in a Federal building or on
Federal property.
Section 724 continues the provision permitting interagency
funding of the National Science and Technology Council, and
requiring an OMB report on the budget and resources of the
Council.
Section 725 continues the provision requiring
identification of the Federal agencies providing Federal funds
and the amount provided for all proposals, solicitations, grant
applications, forms, notifications, press releases, or other
publications related to the distribution of funding to a State.
Section 726 continues the provision prohibiting the use of
funds to monitor personal information relating to the use of
Federal Internet sites.
Section 727 continues the provision regarding contraceptive
coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan.
Section 728 continues the provision recognizing the U.S.
Anti-Doping Agency as the official anti-doping agency for
Olympic, Pan American, and Paralympic sports in the United
States.
Section 729 continues the provision allowing departments
and agencies to use official travel funds to participate in the
fractional aircraft ownership pilot programs.
Section 730 continues the provision prohibiting funds for
implementation of OPM regulations limiting detailees to the
legislative branch and placing certain limitations on the Coast
Guard Congressional Fellowship program.
Section 731 continues the provision prohibiting the
expenditure of funds for the acquisition of certain additional
Federal law enforcement training facilities.
Section 732 continues a provision prohibiting funds for E-
Government initiatives sponsored by OMB prior to 15 days
following submission of a report to the House and Senate
Committees on Appropriations and receipt of the Committees'
approval to transfer funds. The section also prohibits funds
for new e-government initiatives without the explicit approval
of the Committees.
Section 733 continues with modification the provision
providing funding for the Midway Atoll Airfield.
Section 734 continues a provision that prohibits the use of
funds to begin or announce a study or a public-private
competition regarding the conversion to contractor performance
of any function performed by civilian Federal employees
pursuant to Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 or
any other administrative regulation, directive, or policy.
Section 735 continues a provision that prohibits executive
branch agencies from creating or funding prepackaged news
stories that are broadcast or distributed in the United States
unless specific notification conditions are met.
Section 736 continues the provision prohibiting funds used
in contravention of the Privacy Act, section 552a of title 5,
United States Code or section 522.224 of title 48 of the Code
of Federal Regulations.
Section 737 continues the provision requiring agencies to
evaluate the creditworthiness of an individual before issuing a
Government travel charge card and prohibits agencies from
issuing a Government travel charge card to individuals with an
unsatisfactory credit history.
Section 738 continues a provision requiring OMB to submit a
crosscut budget report on Great Lakes restoration activities
not later than 45 days after the submission of the budget of
the President to Congress.
Section 739 continues a provision prohibiting funds in this
or any other act from being used for a Federal contract with
inverted corporations, unless the contract preceded this act or
the Secretary grants a waiver in the interest of national
security.
Section 740 prohibits the Office of Personnel Management or
any other agency from using funds to implement regulations
changing the competitive areas under reductions-in-force for
Federal employees.
Section 741 makes technical modifications to a provision
enacted in fiscal year 2010 requiring agency compilation of
inventories of service contracts.
Section 742 directs OMB to issue guidance relating to the
ban on direct conversion to contract performance of work
performed by Federal employees, absent public-private
competition.
Section 743 requires agencies to remit to the Civil Service
Retirement and Disability Fund an amount equal to the Office of
Personnel Management's average unit cost of processing a
retirement claim for the preceding fiscal year ($101.23 per
retirement in fiscal year 2011) to be available to the Office
of Personnel Management for the cost of processing retirements
of employees who separate under Voluntary Early Retirement
Authority or who receive Voluntary Separation Incentive
Payments.
Section 744 prohibits certain personnel management
constraints.
Section 745 declares the inapplicability of these general
provisions to title IV and title VIII.
TITLE VIII
GENERAL PROVISIONS--DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Section 801 continues the provision that specifies that an
appropriation for a particular purpose or object shall be
considered as the maximum amount that may be expended for said
purpose or object.
Section 802 continues the provision that permits funds for
travel and payment of dues.
Section 803 continues the provision that appropriates funds
for refunding overpayments of taxes collected and for paying
settlements and judgments against the District of Columbia
government.
Section 804 continues the provision that prohibits the use
of the appropriation for publicity or propaganda purposes, and
permits the use of local funds for carrying out lobbying
activity.
Section 805 continues the provision that establishes
notification requirements for certain reprogramming and
transfer requirements with respect to funds and specifies a
timeframe for approval and execution of requests to reprogram
and transfer local funds.
Section 806 continues the provision that restricts the use
of funds only for the objects for which the appropriations were
made.
Section 807 continues the provision that prohibits the use
of Federal funds for salaries, expenses, or other costs
associated with the offices of U.S. Senator or Representative
under section 4(d) of the D.C. Statehood Constitutional
Convention Initiatives of 1979.
Section 808 continues the provision that restricts the use
of official vehicles to official duties and not between a
residence and workplace, except under certain circumstances.
Section 809 continues the provision that prohibits the use
of appropriated funds by the District of Columbia Attorney
General or any other officer or entity of the District
government to provide assistance for any petition drive or
civil action which seeks to require Congress to provide for
voting representation in Congress for the District of Columbia.
Section 810 continues the provision that prohibits the use
of Federal funds in this act to distribute, for the purpose of
preventing the spread of blood borne pathogens, sterile needles
or syringes in any location that has been determined by local
public health officials or local law enforcement authorities to
be inappropriate for such distribution.
Section 811 continues the provision that includes a
``conscience clause'' on legislation that pertains to
contraceptive coverage by health insurance plans.
Section 812 modifies and makes permanent a provision that
requires the Mayor of the District of Columbia to submit annual
reports on various indicators pertaining to the District of
Columbia.
Section 813 continues the provision prohibiting use of
Federal funds to change the legality of marijuana use.
Section 814 restricts the use of Federal funds for
abortion, with certain exceptions.
Section 815 continues a provision requiring the submittal
of a revised appropriated funds budget that reflects the total
amount of the approved appropriation and realigns all budget
data for personal services and other-than-personal-services
with anticipated actual expenditures.
Section 816 continues a provision requiring the submittal
of a revised appropriated funds budget for the District of
Columbia Schools that aligns the schools' budgets to actual
enrollment.
Section 817 continues a provision authorizing the transfer
of local funds to capital and enterprise funds.
Section 818 is a new provision that permits the Public
Defender Service for the District of Columbia to purchase
professional liability insurance for its attorneys, staff, and
board members.
Section 819 is a new provision that modifies the frequency
of management evaluations by the Government Accountability
Office of the District of Columbia's chartering authority for
public charter schools.
Section 820 continues the provision which limits references
to ``this Act'' as referring to only this title.
COMPLIANCE WITH PARAGRAPH 7, RULE XVI OF THE STANDING RULES OF THE
SENATE
Paragraph 7 of rule XVI requires that Committee reports on
general appropriations bills identify each Committee amendment
to the House bill ``which proposes an item of appropriation
which is not made to carry out the provisions of an existing
law, a treaty stipulation, or an act or resolution previously
passed by the Senate during that session.''
Items providing funding for fiscal year 2012 which lack
authorization are as follows:
Department of the Treasury
Departmental Offices
Department-wide Systems and Capital Investments
Office of the Inspector General
Inspector General for Tax Administration
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Financial Management Service
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Bureau of the Public Debt
Community Development and Financial Institutions Fund
Internal Revenue Service:
Taxpayer Services
Enforcement
Operations Support
Business Systems Modernization
Health Insurance Tax Credit Administration
Executive Office of the President
Office of Management and Budget
ONDCP: Training for drug court professionals
District of Columbia
Federal Payment for the District of Columbia Water and
Sewer Authority
Federal Payment for Judicial Commissions
Federal Payment for the D.C. National Guard
Independent Agencies
Adminsitrative Conference of the United States
Election Assistance Commission
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Election Commission
Federal Trade Commission
General Services Administration:
Federal Buildings Fund\1\
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\1\Deposits into the Federal Buldings Fund are avilable for real
property management and related activities in the amounts specified in
annual appropriations laws, as provided by 40 U.S.C. 592.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merit Systems Protection Board
National Archives and Records Administration, National
Historical Publications and Records Commission
National Credit Union Administration: Community Development
Revolving Loan Fund
Office of Government Ethics
Office of Special Counsel
COMPLIANCE WITH PARAGRAPH 7(c), RULE XXVI OF THE STANDING RULES OF THE
SENATE
Pursuant to paragraph 7(c) of rule XXVI, on September 15,
2011, the Committee ordered favorably reported an original bill
(S. 1573) making appropriations for financial services and
general government for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2012, and for other purposes, provided that the bill be subject
to amendment and that the bill be consistent with its spending
allocations, by a recorded vote of 16-14, a quorum being
present. The vote was as follows:
Yeas Nays
Chairman Inouye Mr. Cochran
Mr. Leahy Mr. McConnell
Mr. Harkin Mr. Shelby
Ms. Mikulski Mrs. Hutchison
Mr. Kohl Mr. Alexander
Mrs. Murray Ms. Collins
Mrs. Feinstein Ms. Murkowski
Mr. Durbin Mr. Graham
Mr. Johnson (SD) Mr. Kirk
Ms. Landrieu Mr. Coats
Mr. Reed Mr. Blunt
Mr. Lautenberg Mr. Moran
Mr. Nelson Mr. Hoeven
Mr. Pryor Mr. Johnson (WI)
Mr. Tester
Mr. Brown
COMPLIANCE WITH PARAGRAPH 12, RULE XXVI OF THE STANDING RULES OF THE
SENATE
Paragraph 12 of rule XXVI requires that Committee reports
on a bill or joint resolution repealing or amending any statute
or part of any statute include ``(a) the text of the statute or
part thereof which is proposed to be repealed; and (b) a
comparative print of that part of the bill or joint resolution
making the amendment and of the statute or part thereof
proposed to be amended, showing by stricken-through type and
italics, parallel columns, or other appropriate typographical
devices the omissions and insertions which would be made by the
bill or joint resolution if enacted in the form recommended by
the Committee.''
In compliance with this rule, the following changes in
existing law proposed to be made by this bill are shown as
follows: existing law to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets; new matter is printed in italic; and existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman.
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
Chapter 1--Monopolies and Combinations in Restraint of Trade
Sec. 18a. Premerger notification and waiting period
(a) Filing
* * * * * * *
Assessment and Collection of Filing Fees
Pub. L. 101-162, title VI, Sec. 605, Nov. 21, 1989, 103
Stat. 1031, as amended by Pub. L. 101-302, title II, May 25,
1990, 104 Stat. 217; Pub. L. 102-395, title I, Oct. 6, 1992,
106 Stat. 1847; Pub. L. 103-317, title I, Aug. 26, 1994, 108
Stat. 1739; Pub. L. 106-553, Sec. (a)(2) [title VI,
Sec. 630(b)], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2762, 2762A-109,
provided that:
``(a) Five working days after enactment of this Act [Nov.
21, 1989] and thereafter, the Federal Trade Commission shall
assess and collect filing fees established in subsection (b)
which shall be paid by persons acquiring voting securities or
assets who are required to file premerger notifications by the
[sic] section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a) and the
regulations promulgated thereunder. For purposes of said Act,
no notification shall be considered filed until payment of the
fee required by this section. Fees collected pursuant to this
section shall be divided evenly between and credited to the
appropriations, Federal Trade Commission, ``Salaries and
Expenses'' and Department of Justice, ``Salaries and Expenses,
Antitrust Division'': Provided, That fees in excess of
$40,000,000 in fiscal year 1990 shall be deposited to the
credit of the Treasury of the United States: Provided further,
That fees made available to the Federal Trade Commission and
the Antitrust Division herein shall remain available until
expended.
``(b) [The filing fees] Subject to subsection (c), the
filing fees referred to in subsection (a) are--
``(1) [$45,000] $60,000 if the aggregate total
amount determined under section 7A(a)(2) of the Clayton
Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(a)(2)) is less than $100,000,000 (as
adjusted and published for each fiscal year beginning
after September 30, 2004, in the same manner as
provided in section 8(a)(5) of the Clayton Act (15
U.S.C. 19(a)(5)) to reflect the percentage change in
the gross national product for such fiscal year
compared to the gross national product for the year
ending September 30, 2003);
``(2) [$125,000] $160,000 if the aggregate total
amount determined under section 7A(a)(2) of the Clayton
Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(a)(2)) is not less than $100,000,000
(as so adjusted and published) but less than
$500,000,000 (as so adjusted and published); [and]
``(3) [$280,000] $360,000 if the aggregate total
amount determined under section 7A(a)(2) of the Clayton
Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(a)(2)) is not less than $500,000,000
(as so adjusted and published)[.] but less than
$1,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published); and''
``(4) $500,000 if the aggregate total amount
determined under section 7A(a)(2) of the Clayton Act
(15 U.S.C. 18a(a)(2)) is not less than $1,000,000,000
(as so adjusted and published).
``(c) For fiscal year 2013, and each fiscal year
thereafter, the Federal Trade Commission shall publish in the
Federal Register and increase the amount of each filing fee
under subsection (b) in the same manner and on the same dates
as provided under section 8(a)(5) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C.
19(a)(5)) to reflect the percentage change in the gross
national product for the fiscal year as compared to the gross
national product for fiscal year 2011, except that the Federal
Trade Commission--
``(1) shall round any increase in a filing fee
under this subsection to the nearest $5,000;
``(2) shall not increase filing fees under this
subsection if the increase in the gross national
product is less than 1 percent; and
``(3) shall not decrease filing fees under this
subsection.''
------
Sec. 2053. Consumer Product Safety Commission
(a) Establishment; Chairman
* * * * * * *
(g) Executive Director; officers and employees
(1)(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(4) The appointment of any officer (other than a
Commissioner) or employee of the Commission shall not be
subject, directly or indirectly, to review or approval by any
officer or entity within the Executive Office of the President.
(5) The Chairman may provide to officers and employees of
the Commission who are appointed or assigned by the Commission
to serve abroad (as defined in section 102 of the Foreign
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3902)) travel, leave, and other
benefits similar to those authorized for members of the Foreign
Service of the United Service under chapter 9 of such Act (22
U.S.C. 4081 et seq.).
------
TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE
SUBTITLE II--THE BUDGET PROCESS
Chapter 11--The Budget and Fiscal, Budget, and Program Information
Sec. 1107. Deficiency and supplemental appropriations
The President may submit to Congress proposed deficiency
and supplemental appropriations the President decides are
necessary because of laws enacted after the submission of the
budget or that are in the public interest. The President shall
include the reasons for the submission of the proposed
appropriations and the reasons the proposed appropriations were
not included in the budget. When the total proposed
appropriations would have required the President to make a
recommendation under section 1105(c) of this title if they had
been included in the budget, the President shall make a
recommendation under that section. The President shall transmit
promptly to Congress without change, proposed deficiency and
supplemental appropriations submitted to the President by the
legislative branch and the judicial branch.
------
TO ENACT CERTAIN LAWS RELATING TO PUBLIC CONTRACTS AS TITLE 41, UNITED
STATES CODE, ``PUBLIC CONTRACTS'', 2011, PUBLIC LAW 111-350
SEC. 3. ENACTMENT OF TITLE 41, UNITED STATES CODE.
Certain general and permanent laws of the United States,
related to public contracts, are revised, codified, and enacted
as title 41, United States Code, ``Public Contracts'', as
follows:
TITLE 41--PUBLIC CONTRACTS
Subtitle I--Federal Procurement Policy
Division B--Office of Federal Procurement Policy
Chapter 17--Agency Responsibilities and Procedures
Sec. 1703. Acquisition workforce
(a) Description.--
* * * * * * *
(i) Training Fund.--
(1) Purposes.--
* * * * * * *
(6) Amounts not to be used for other purposes.--The
Administrator of General Services, through the Office
of Federal Procurememt Policy, shall ensure that
amounts collected [for training] under this subsection
are not used for a purpose other than the purpose
specified in [paragraph (2)] subparagraphs (A) and (C)
to (J) of section 1122(a)(5) of this title.
------
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT
(Codified at 15 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 2051-2089) (Public Law 92-573; 86
Stat. 1207, Oct. 27, 1972)
SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Act may be cited as the ``Consumer Product Safety
Act.''
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 17. Imported products.
Sec. 17A. Service of process.
SEC. 17. IMPORTED PRODUCTS
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(h)(1) The Commission shall establish and maintain a
permanent product surveillance program, in cooperation with
other appropriate Federal agencies, for the purpose of carrying
out the Commission's responsibilities under this Act and the
other Acts administered by the Commission and preventing the
entry of unsafe consumer products into the commerce of the
United States.
(2) The Commission may provide to the agencies with which
it is cooperating under paragraph (1) such information, data,
violator lists, test results, and other support, guidance, and
documents as may be necessary or helpful for such agencies to
cooperate with the Commission to carry out the product
surveillance program under paragraph (1).
(3) The Commission shall periodically report to the
appropriate Congressional committees the results of the
surveillance program under paragraph (1).
SEC. 17A. SERVICE OF PROCESS.
(a) Designating Agents.--
(1) In general.--The Commission may require a
manufacturer, or class of manufacturers, offering a
consumer product for import to designate an agent in
the United States on whom service of notices and
process in administrative and judicial proceedings may
be made.
(2) Filing.--The designation shall be in writing
and filed with the Commission.
(3) Modification.--The designation may be changed
in the same way originally made.
(b) Service.--
(1) Place of service.--An agent may be served at
the agent's office or usual place of residence.
(2) Service on agent is service on manufacturer.--
Service on the agent is deemed to be service on the
manufacturer.
(3) No designated agent.--If a manufacturer does
not designate an agent, service may be made by posting
the notice or process in the office of the Commission.
------
JUDICIAL IMPROVEMENTS ACT, 1990, PUBLIC LAW 101-650
TITLE II--FEDERAL JUDGESHIPS
SEC. 203. DISTRICT JUDGES FOR THE DISTRICT COURTS.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Temporary Judgeships.--The President shall appoint, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate--
* * * * * * *
Except with respect to the district of Kansas, the western
district of Michigan, the eastern district of Pennsylvania, the
district of Hawaii, and the northern district of Ohio, the
first vacancy in the office of district judge in each of the
judicial districts named in this subsection, occurring 10 years
or more after the confirmation date of the judge named to fill
the temporary judgeship created by this subsection, shall not
be filled. The first vacancy in the office of district judge in
the district of Kansas occurring [20 years] 21 years or more
after the confirmation date of the judge named to fill the
temporary judgeship created for such district under this
subsection, shall not be filled. The first vacancy in the
office of district judge in the western district of Michigan,
occurring after December 1, 1995, shall not be filled. The
first vacancy in the office of district judge in the eastern
district of Pennsylvania, occurring 5 years or more after the
confirmation date of the judge named to fill the temporary
judgeship created for such district under this subsection,
shall not be filled. The first vacancy in the office of
district judge in the northern district of Ohio occurring 19
years or more after the confirmation date of the judge named to
fill the temporary judgeship created under this subsection
shall not be filled. The first vacancy in the office of the
district judge in the district of Hawaii occurring [17 years]
18 years or more after the confirmation date of the judge named
to fill the temporary judgeship created under this subsection
shall not be filled. For districts named in this subsection for
which multiple judgeships are created by this Act, the last of
those judgeships filled shall be the judgeships created under
this section.
------
DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED
AGENCICES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998, PUBLIC LAW 105-119
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
General Provisions--Department of Justice
Sec. 122. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(g)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject
to paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized
to establish, for a period of [12 years] 14 years from date of
enactment of this provision, a personnel management
demonstration project providing for the compensation and
performance management of not more than a combined total of 950
employees who fill critical scientific, technical, engineering,
intelligence analyst, language translator, and medical
positions in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
------
HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT, 2002, PUBLIC LAW 107-252
TITLE II--COMMISSION
Subtitle D--Election Assistance
PART 1--REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS
SEC. 253. CONDITION FOR RECEIPT OF FUNDS.
(a) In General.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(d) Timing for Filing of Certification.--A State may not
file a statement of certification under subsection (a) until
the expiration of the 45-day period (or, in the case of a
fiscal year other than the first fiscal year for which a
requirements payment is made to the State under this subtitle,
the 30-day period) which begins on the date notice of the State
plan under this subtitle is published in the Federal Register
pursuant to section 255(b).
* * * * * * *
SEC. 254. STATE PLAN.
(a) In General.-- * * *
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(11) How the State will conduct ongoing management
of the plan, except that the State may not make any
material change in the administration of the plan
unless notice of the change--
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(C) takes effect only after the expiration
of the 30-day period which begins on the date
notice of the change is published in the
Federal Register in accordance with
subparagraph (A).
* * * * * * *
SEC. 255. PROCESS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND FILING OF PLAN; PUBLICATION BY
COMMISSION.
(a) In General.-- * * *
(b) Publication of Plan by Commission.--After receiving the
State plan of a State under this subtitle, the Commission shall
cause to have the plan posted on the Commission's website with
a notice published in the Federal Register.
------
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005, PUBLIC LAW 108-335
TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 346. [Biennial] Evaluation of Charter School
Authorizing Boards. (a) [Biennial management] Management
evaluation of the District of Columbia Chartering Authorities
for the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools shall be
conducted by the Comptroller General of the United [States.]
States every five years.
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(6) Actual budget expenditures for the preceding
[2] 5 fiscal years;
------
ENSURING NEEDED HELP ARRIVES NEAR CALLERS EMPLOYING 911 ACT, 2004,
PUBLIC LAW 108-494
TITLE III--UNIVERSAL SERVICE
SEC. 302. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN TITLE 31 PROVISIONS TO UNIVERSAL
SERVICE FUND.
(a) In General.--During the period beginning on the dateof
enactment of this Act and ending on [December 31, 2011]
December 31, 2013, section 1341 and subchapter II of chapter 15
of title 31, United States Code, do not apply--
* * * * * * *
(b) Post-2005 Fulfillment of Protected Obligations.--
Section 1341 and subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31,
United States Code, do not apply after [December 31, 2011]
December 31, 2013, to an expenditure or obligation described in
subsection (a)(2) made or authorized during the period
described in subsection (a).
------
ABRAHAM LINCOLN COMMEMORATIVE COIN ACT, PUBLIC LAW 109-285
SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.
(a) In General.--All sales of coins issued under this Act
shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin.
(b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f)(1), title 31,
United States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary
from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly
paid by the Secretary to the [Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial
Commission to further the work of the Commission] Abraham
Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation for the purposes of
commemorating the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln,
and fostering and promoting the awareness and study of the life
of Abraham Lincoln.
(c) Audits.--The [Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission]
Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation shall be subject to the
audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United
States Code.
------
CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010, PUBLIC LAW 111-117
Sec. 743. (a) Service Contract Inventory Requirement.--(1)
Guidance.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) Inventory contents.--Not later than December 31, 2010,
and annually thereafter, the head of each executive agency
required to submit an inventory in accordance with the Federal
Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-270; 31
U.S.C. 501 note), other than the Department of Defense, shall
submit to the Office of Management and Budget an annual
inventory of service contracts awarded or extended through the
exercise of an option, and task orders issued under any such
contract, on or after April 1, 2010, for or on behalf of such
agency. For each service contract, the entry for an inventory
under this section shall include, for the preceding fiscal
year, the following:
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(G) The number and work location of contractor and
subcontractor employees, expressed as full-time
equivalents for direct labor, compensated under the
contract, using direct labor hours and associated cost
date collected from contractors.
* * * * * * *
(e) Review and Planning Requirements.-- * * *
(1) * * *
(2) ensure that--
(A) * * *
(B) [the agency is giving special
management attention to functions that are
closely associated with inherently governmental
functions] the contracts exclude to the maximum
extent practicable functions that are closely
associated with inherently governmental
functions;
* * * * * * *
(g) Submission of Service Contract Inventory Before Public-
Private Competition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, beginning in fiscal year 2011, if an executive agency has
not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget the
inventory required under subsection (a)(3) for the prior fiscal
year, the agency may not begin, plan for, or announce a study
or public private competition regarding the conversion to
contractor performance of any function performed by Federal
employees pursuant to Office of Management and Budget Circular
A-76 or any other administrative regulation or directive until
such time as the inventory is submitted for the prior fiscal
year.
(h) Submission of Report on Actions Taken Before Public-
Private Competition May Occur.--An executive agency may not
begin, plan for, or announce a study or public-private
competition regarding the conversion to contractor performance
of any function performed by Federal employees pursuant to
Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 or any other
administrative regulation or directive until after that agency
has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a report,
pursuant to subsection (f), that includes actions taken to
convert from contractor to Federal employee performance
functions that are not inherently governmental, closely
associated with governmental functions, critical, or should not
otherwise be reserved for performance by Federal employees.
This subsection shall take effect beginning with the report
required under subsection (f) that is included as an attachment
to the annual inventory due by December 31, 2011.
[(h)] (i) GAO Reports on Implementation.--
(1) Report on guidance.--Not later than 120 days
after submission of the report by the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget required under
subsection (a)(2), the Comptroller General of the
United States shall report on the guidance issued and
actions taken by the Director. The report shall be
submitted to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2) Reports on inventories.--
(A) Initial inventory.--Not later than
September 30, 2011, the Comptroller General of
the United States shall submit a report to the
Committees named in the preceding paragraph on
the initial implementation by executive
agencies of the inventory requirement in
subsection (a)(3) with respect to inventories
required to be submitted by December 31, 2010.
(B) Second inventory.--Not later than
September 30, 2012, the Comptroller General
shall submit a report to the same Committees on
annual inventories required to be submitted by
December 31, 2011.
(3) Periodic briefings.--The Comptroller General
shall provide periodic briefings, as may be requested
by the Committees, on matters related to implementation
of this section.
[(i)] (j) Executive Agency Defined.--In this section, the
term ``executive agency'' has the meaning given the term in
section 4 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41
U.S.C. 403).
BUDGETARY IMPACT OF BILL
PREPARED IN CONSULTATION WITH THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE PURSUANT TO SEC. 308(a), PUBLIC LAW 93-344, AS
AMENDED
[In millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget authority Outlays
---------------------------------------------------
Committee Amount in Committee Amount in
allocation bill allocation bill
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comparison of amounts in the bill with Committee allocations
to its subcommittees of amounts in the budget resolution
for 2012: Subcommittee on Financial Services and General
Government:
Mandatory............................................... 21,455 21,455 21,450 \1\21,450
Discretionary........................................... 21,731 21,898 25,920 \1\25,890
Security............................................ ........... ........... NA NA
Nonsecurity......................................... 21,731 21,898 NA NA
Projections of outlays associated with the recommendation:
2012.................................................... ........... ........... ........... \2\39,695
2013.................................................... ........... ........... ........... 3,373
2014.................................................... ........... ........... ........... 459
2015.................................................... ........... ........... ........... 68
2016 and future years................................... ........... ........... ........... 26
Financial assistance to State and local governments for NA 659 NA 451
2012.......................................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Includes outlays from prior-year budget authority.
\2\Excludes outlays from prior-year budget authority.
NA: Not applicable.
Consistent with the funding recommended in the bill for disaster funding and in accordance with section
251(b)(2)(D) of the BBEDCA and section 106 of the Deficit Control Act of 2011, the Committee anticipates that
the Budget Committee will file a revised section 302(a) allocation for the Committee on Appropriations
reflecting an upward adjustment of $167,000,000 in budget authority plus associated outlays.
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF NEW BUDGET (OBLIGATIONAL) AUTHORITY FOR FISCAL YEAR 2011 AND BUDGET ESTIMATES AND AMOUNTS RECOMMENDED IN THE BILL FOR FISCAL
YEAR 2012
[In thousands of dollars]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senate Committee recommendation
compared with (+ or -)
Item 2011 Budget estimate Committee ---------------------------------
appropriation recommendation 2012
appropriation Budget estimate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Departmental Offices
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 306,388 324,889 306,388 ............... -18,501
Terrorism and financial intelligence............................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............
Department-wide systems and capital investments programs........... 3,992 ............... ............... -3,992 ...............
Office of Inspector General........................................ 29,641 29,855 29,641 ............... -214
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.................. 151,696 157,831 151,696 ............... -6,135
Special Inspector General for TARP................................. 36,227 47,374 41,800 +5,573 -5,574
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network............................... 110,788 84,297 110,788 ............... +26,491
Treasury forfeiture fund (rescission).............................. -400,000 -600,000 -750,000 -350,000 -150,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, Departmental Offices.................................. 238,732 44,246 -109,687 -348,419 -153,933
Financial Management Service....................................... 232,786 218,805 217,805 -14,981 -1,000
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau........................... 100,798 97,878 99,878 -920 +2,000
Bureau of the Public Debt.......................................... 174,635 165,635 165,635 -9,000 ...............
Community development financial institutions fund program account.. 226,546 227,259 200,000 -26,546 -27,259
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal..................................................... 226,546 227,259 200,000 -26,546 -27,259
Payment of government losses in shipment........................... 2,000 2,000 2,000 ............... ...............
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, Department of the Treasury, non-IRS................... 975,497 755,823 575,631 -399,866 -180,192
Internal Revenue Service
Taxpayer services.................................................. 2,274,272 2,345,133 2,195,522 -78,750 -149,611
Enforcement........................................................ 5,492,992 5,030,619 5,228,613 -264,379 +197,994
Enhanced tax enforcement activities............................ ............... 936,000 ............... ............... -936,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal................................................... 5,492,992 5,966,619 5,228,613 -264,379 -738,006
Operations support................................................. 4,075,716 4,299,526 3,893,216 -182,500 -406,310
Enhanced tax enforcement activities............................ ............... 321,000 ............... ............... -321,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal................................................... 4,075,716 4,620,526 3,893,216 -182,500 -727,310
Business systems modernization..................................... 263,369 333,600 330,210 +66,841 -3,390
Health Insurance Tax Credit Administration......................... 15,481 18,029 15,481 ............... -2,548
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, Internal Revenue Service.............................. 12,121,830 13,283,907 11,663,042 -458,788 -1,620,865
====================================================================================
Total, title I, Department of the Treasury................... 13,097,327 14,039,730 12,238,673 -858,654 -1,801,057
Appropriations........................................... (13,497,327) (14,639,730) (12,988,673) (-508,654) (-1,651,057)
Rescissions.............................................. (-400,000) (-600,000) (-750,000) (-350,000) (-150,000)
(Mandatory).................................................. (2,000) (2,000) (2,000) ............... ...............
(Discretionary).............................................. (13,095,327) (14,037,730) (12,236,673) (-858,654) (-1,801,057)
====================================================================================
TITLE II--EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND FUNDS APPROPRIATED
TO THE PRESIDENT
The White House
Salaries and expenses (including Office of Policy Development)..... 58,435 58,374 57,851 -584 -523
Compensation of the President.................................. 450 450 450 ............... ...............
Sec. 628................................................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal................................................. 58,885 58,824 58,301 -584 -523
Executive Residence at the White House:
Operating expenses............................................. 13,673 13,658 13,536 -137 -122
White House repair and restoration............................. 2,001 1,000 990 -1,011 -10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal..................................................... 15,674 14,658 14,526 -1,148 -132
Council of Economic Advisers....................................... 4,192 4,403 4,192 ............... -211
National Security Counciland Homeland Security Council............. 13,048 13,074 13,048 ............... -26
Office of Administration........................................... 115,049 115,848 114,908 -141 -940
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, The White House....................................... 206,848 206,807 204,975 -1,873 -1,832
Office of Management and Budget.................................... 91,750 91,660 90,833 -917 -827
Government-wide management Councils................................ (17,000) (20,000) (17,000) ............... (-3,000)
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 27,084 23,413 26,125 -959 +2,712
Rescission..................................................... ............... -11,328 -11,328 -11,328 ...............
High intensity drug trafficking areas program...................... 238,522 200,000 238,522 ............... +38,522
Other Federal drug control programs................................ 140,618 143,600 105,950 -34,668 -37,650
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, Office of National Drug Control Policy................ 406,224 355,685 359,269 -46,955 +3,584
Unanticipated needs................................................ 998 1,000 988 -10 -12
Partnership fund for program integrity innovation.................. ............... 20,000 ............... ............... -20,000
Rescission..................................................... -5,000 ............... ............... +5,000 ...............
Integrated, efficient and effective uses of information technology. ............... 60,000 ............... ............... -60,000
Special Assistance to the President and Official Residence of the
Vice President:
Salaries and expenses.......................................... 4,549 4,328 4,328 -221 ...............
Operating expenses............................................. 326 307 307 -19 ...............
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal..................................................... 4,875 4,635 4,635 -240 ...............
====================================================================================
Total, title II, Executive Office of the President and Funds 705,695 739,787 660,700 -44,995 -79,087
Appropriated to the President...............................
(Mandatory).............................................. (450) (450) (450) ............... ...............
(Discretionary).......................................... (705,245) (739,337) (660,250) (-44,995) (-79,087)
====================================================================================
TITLE III--THE JUDICIARY
Supreme Court of the United States
Salaries and expenses:
Salaries of justices........................................... 2,197 2,197 2,197 ............... ...............
Other salaries and expenses.................................... 71,724 73,354 72,622 +898 -732
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal..................................................... 73,921 75,551 74,819 +898 -732
Care of the building and grounds................................... 8,159 8,504 8,159 ............... -345
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, Supreme Court of the United States.................... 82,080 84,055 82,978 +898 -1,077
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Salaries and expenses:
Salaries of judges............................................. 2,502 2,513 2,513 +11 ...............
Other salaries and expenses.................................... 30,009 32,626 29,400 -609 -3,226
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 32,511 35,139 31,913 -598 -3,226
United States Court of International Trade
Salaries and expenses:
Salaries of judges............................................. 1,851 1,718 1,718 -133 ...............
Other salaries and expenses.................................... 19,596 21,173 19,250 -346 -1,923
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, U.S. Court of International Trade..................... 21,447 22,891 20,968 -479 -1,923
Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and Other Judicial Services
Salaries and expenses:
Salaries of judges and bankruptcy judges....................... 332,565 327,707 327,707 -4,858 ...............
Other salaries and expenses.................................... 4,671,656 4,908,459 4,642,939 -28,717 -265,520
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal..................................................... 5,004,221 5,236,166 4,970,646 -33,575 -265,520
Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund............................. 4,775 5,011 4,775 ............... -236
Defender services.................................................. 1,025,693 1,098,745 1,034,182 +8,489 -64,563
Fees of jurors and commissioners................................... 52,305 59,727 59,000 +6,695 -727
Court security..................................................... 466,672 513,058 500,000 +33,328 -13,058
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and Other Judicial 6,553,666 6,912,707 6,568,603 +14,937 -344,104
Services....................................................
Administrative Office of the United States Courts
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 82,909 88,455 82,000 -909 -6,455
Federal Judicial Center
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 27,273 29,029 27,000 -273 -2,029
Judicial Retirement Funds
Payment to judiciary trust funds................................... 90,361 103,768 103,768 +13,407 ...............
Sec. 628....................................................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............
United States Sentencing Commission
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 16,803 17,906 16,500 -303 -1,406
Rescission..................................................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............
====================================================================================
Total, title III, the Judiciary.............................. 6,907,050 7,293,950 6,933,730 +26,680 -360,220
(Mandatory).............................................. (429,476) (437,903) (437,903) (+8,427) ...............
(Discretionary).......................................... (6,477,574) (6,856,047) (6,495,827) (+18,253) (-360,220)
====================================================================================
TITLE IV--DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
FEDERAL FUNDS
Federal payment for resident tuition support....................... 35,030 35,100 30,000 -5,030 -5,100
Federal payment for emergency planning and security costs in the 14,970 14,900 14,900 -70 ...............
District of Columbia..............................................
Federal payment to the District of Columbia Courts................. 242,933 229,068 230,319 -12,614 +1,251
Federal payment for defender services in the in District of 54,890 55,000 55,000 +110 ...............
Columbia Courts...................................................
Federal payment to the Court Services and Offender Supervision 211,983 216,846 212,983 +1,000 -3,863
Agency for the District of Columbia...............................
Federal payment to the District of Columbia Public Defender Service 37,241 41,486 37,241 ............... -4,245
Federal payment to the District of Columbia Water and Sewer 11,476 25,000 15,000 +3,524 -10,000
Authority.........................................................
Federal payment to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council....... 1,796 1,800 1,800 +4 ...............
Federal payment for judicial commissions........................... 499 500 500 +1 ...............
Federal payment for school improvement............................. 77,545 67,000 60,000 -17,545 -7,000
Federal payment for the D.C. National Guard........................ 375 2,000 375 ............... -1,625
Federal payment for housing for the homeless....................... 9,980 ............... ............... -9,980 ...............
Federal payment for redevelopment of the St. Elizabeth's Hospital ............... 18,000 ............... ............... -18,000
campus............................................................
Federal payment for HIV/AIDS prevention............................ ............... 5,000 ............... ............... -5,000
Federal payment for D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities ............... 5,000 ............... ............... -5,000
grants............................................................
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Total, Title IV, District of Columbia........................ 698,718 716,700 658,118 -40,600 -58,582
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TITLE V--OTHER INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
Administrative Conference of the United States..................... 2,744 3,200 2,900 +156 -300
Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation......................... 499 ............... 450 -49 +450
Civilian Property Realignment Board
Salaries and expenses.............................................. ............... 23,000 ............... ............... -23,000
Asset Proceeds and Space Management Fund........................... ............... 65,000 ............... ............... -65,000
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Total, Civilian Property Realignment Board................... ............... 88,000 ............... ............... -88,000
Commodity Futures Trading Commission............................... 202,270 308,000 240,000 +37,730 -68,000
Financial regulatory reform contingent appropriations.......... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............
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Total, Commodity Futures Trading Commission.................. 202,270 308,000 240,000 +37,730 -68,000
Consumer Product Safety Commission................................. 114,788 122,000 114,500 -288 -7,500
Election Assistance Commission
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 16,267 13,716 14,750 -1,517 +1,034
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Total, Election Assistance Commission........................ 16,267 13,716 14,750 -1,517 +1,034
Federal Communications Commission
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 335,794 358,801 354,181 +18,387 -4,620
Offsetting fee collections--current year........................... -335,794 -358,801 -354,181 -18,387 +4,620
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Direct appropriation......................................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: Office of Inspector General (42,942) (45,261) (45,261) (+2,319) ...............
(by transfer).....................................................
Federal Election Commission........................................ 66,367 67,014 66,367 ............... -647
Federal Labor Relations Authority.................................. 24,723 26,440 24,723 ............... -1,717
Federal Trade Commission
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 291,363 326,000 311,563 +20,200 -14,437
Offsetting fee collections--current year........................... -96,000 -108,000 -149,000 -53,000 -41,000
Offsetting fee collections, telephone database..................... -21,000 -19,000 -21,000 ............... -2,000
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Direct appropriation........................................... 174,363 199,000 141,563 -32,800 -57,437
General Services Administration
Federal Buildings Fund
Limitations on availability of revenue:
Construction and acquisition of facilities..................... 82,000 839,642 65,000 -17,000 -774,642
Repairs and alterations........................................ 280,000 868,902 280,000 ............... -588,902
Installment acquisition payments............................... 135,540 126,801 126,801 -8,739 ...............
Rental of space................................................ 4,830,000 5,285,198 5,285,198 +455,198 ...............
Building operations............................................ 2,270,000 2,387,968 2,387,968 +117,968 ...............
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Subtotal, Limitations on availability of revenue............. 7,597,540 9,508,511 8,144,967 +547,427 -1,363,544
Repayment of debt.................................................. 71,270 80,000 80,000 +8,730 ...............
Rental income to fund.............................................. -8,871,000 -9,303,000 -9,303,000 -432,000 ...............
Rescission......................................................... -25,000 ............... ............... +25,000 ...............
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Total, Federal Buildings Fund................................ -1,227,190 285,511 -1,078,033 +149,157 -1,363,544
Government-wide policy............................................. 66,488 105,140 61,750 -4,738 -43,390
Operating expenses................................................. 69,882 70,022 70,000 +118 -22
Office of Inspector General........................................ 58,882 62,358 58,000 -882 -4,358
Electronic Government Fund......................................... 7,984 34,000 ............... -7,984 -34,000
Sources of information and engagement for citizens................. ............... ............... 39,084 +39,084 +39,084
Allowances and Office Staff for Former Presidents.................. 3,792 3,671 3,671 -121 ...............
Federal acquisition workforce initiatives fund..................... ............... 16,900 ............... ............... -16,900
Federal Citizen Information Center Fund............................ 34,116 39,933 ............... -34,116 -39,933
Policy and operations (rescission)................................. ............... ............... -4,600 -4,600 -4,600
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Total, General Services Administration....................... -986,046 617,535 -850,128 +135,918 -1,467,663
Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation.............................. 748 ............... 700 -48 +700
Merit Systems Protection Board
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 40,258 42,116 40,258 ............... -1,858
Limitation on administrative expenses.............................. 2,574 2,345 2,345 -229 ...............
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Total, Merit Systems Protection Board........................ 42,832 44,461 42,603 -229 -1,858
Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation
Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Trust Fund.................... 2,495 2,200 2,200 -295 ...............
Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund.............................. 3,792 3,800 3,792 ............... -8
Morris K Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation..................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............
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Total, Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation....... 6,287 6,000 5,992 -295 -8
National Archives and Records Administration
Operating expenses................................................. 339,090 403,742 378,845 +39,755 -24,897
Reduction of debt.............................................. -14,000 -15,000 -15,000 -1,000 ...............
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Subtotal..................................................... 325,090 388,742 363,845 +38,755 -24,897
Office of the Inspector General.................................... 4,241 4,100 4,100 -141 ...............
Electronic records archive......................................... 71,856 ............... ............... -71,856 ...............
Repairs and restoration............................................ 11,824 9,659 9,659 -2,165 ...............
Rescission..................................................... -3,198 ............... ............... +3,198 ...............
National Historical Publications and Records Commission: Grants 6,986 5,000 5,000 -1,986 ...............
program...........................................................
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Total, National Archives and Records Admin................... 416,799 407,501 382,604 -34,195 -24,897
National Credit Union Administration
Central liquidity facility:
(Limitation on admin expenses, corporate funds)................ (1,250) (1,250) (1,250) ............... ...............
Community development credit union revolving loan fund............. 1,247 2,000 1,247 ............... -753
Office of Government Ethics........................................ 13,972 13,664 13,664 -308 ...............
Office of Personnel Management
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 97,774 100,027 97,774 ............... -2,253
Limitation on administrative expenses.......................... 112,516 132,523 112,516 ............... -20,007
Office of Inspector General........................................ 3,142 3,804 3,142 ............... -662
Limitation on administrative expenses.......................... 21,174 21,559 21,174 ............... -385
Govt Payment for Annuitants, Employees Health Benefits............. 10,467,000 10,862,000 10,862,000 +395,000 ...............
Govt Payment for Annuitants, Employee Life Insurance............... 50,000 52,000 52,000 +2,000 ...............
Payment to Civil Svc Retirement and Disability Fund................ 10,076,000 9,979,000 9,979,000 -97,000 ...............
Sec. 628........................................................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............
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Total, Office of Personnel Management........................ 20,827,606 21,150,913 21,127,606 +300,000 -23,307
Mandatory................................................ (20,593,000) (20,893,000) (20,893,000) (+300,000) ...............
Discretionary............................................ (234,606) (257,913) (234,606) ............... (-23,307)
Office of Special Counsel.......................................... 18,458 19,486 18,972 +514 -514
Postal Regulatory Commission....................................... 14,304 14,450 14,304 ............... -146
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board........................ 998 1,683 1,000 +2 -683
Rescission..................................................... -1,500 ............... -998 +502 -998
Recovery and Accountability Transparency Board..................... ............... 31,543 28,400 +28,400 -3,143
Securities and Exchange Commission................................. 1,185,000 1,407,483 1,407,483 +222,483 ...............
Selective Service System........................................... 24,226 24,500 23,984 -242 -516
Small Business Administration
Salaries and expenses.............................................. 432,571 427,296 404,202 -28,369 -23,094
Office of Inspector General........................................ 16,267 18,400 16,267 ............... -2,133
Office of Advocacy................................................. ............... 9,120 9,120 +9,120 ...............
Business Loans Program Account:
Direct loans subsidy........................................... 2,994 3,765 3,678 +684 -87
Guaranteed loans subsidy....................................... 79,840 211,600 206,862 +127,022 -4,738
Administrative expenses........................................ 152,694 147,958 147,958 -4,736 ...............
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Total, Business loans program account........................ 235,528 363,323 358,498 +122,970 -4,825
Disaster Loans Program Account:
Administrative expenses........................................ 45,372 167,300 ............... -45,372 -167,300
Disaster relief category....................................... ............... ............... 167,300 +167,300 +167,300
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Total, Small Business Administration......................... 729,738 985,439 955,387 +225,649 -30,052
United States Postal Service
Payment to the Postal Service Fund................................. 11,776 ............... ............... -11,776 ...............
Advance appropriations......................................... 74,905 78,153 78,153 +3,248 ...............
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Total, Payment to the Postal Service Fund.................... 86,681 78,153 78,153 -8,528 ...............
Office of Inspector General........................................ 243,908 244,397 241,468 -2,440 -2,929
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Total, United States Postal Service.......................... 330,589 322,550 319,621 -10,968 -2,929
United States Tax Court............................................ 51,989 59,996 51,469 -520 -8,527
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Total, title V, Independent Agencies......................... 23,279,268 25,936,574 24,149,163 +869,895 -1,787,411
Appropriations........................................... (23,234,061) (25,858,421) (23,909,308) (+675,247) (-1,949,113)
Rescissions.............................................. (-29,698) ............... (-5,598) (+24,100) (-5,598)
Disaster relief category................................. ............... ............... (167,300) (+167,300) (+167,300)
Advances................................................. (74,905) (78,153) (78,153) (+3,248) ...............
(by transfer)............................................ (42,942) (45,261) (45,261) (+2,319) ...............
(Mandatory).................................................. (20,593,000) (20,893,000) (20,893,000) (+300,000) ...............
(Discretionary).............................................. (2,686,268) (5,043,574) (3,256,163) (+569,895) (-1,787,411)
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TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Mandatory appropriations (Sec. 628)................................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............
Grand total........................................................ 44,688,058 48,726,741 44,640,384 -47,674 -4,086,357
Appropriations................................................. (45,047,851) (49,259,916) (45,161,857) (+114,006) (-4,098,059)
Rescissions.................................................... (-434,698) (-611,328) (-766,926) (-332,228) (-155,598)
Disaster relief category....................................... ............... ............... (167,300) (+167,300) (+167,300)
Advances....................................................... (74,905) (78,153) (78,153) (+3,248) ...............
(by transfer).................................................. (42,942) (45,261) (45,261) (+2,319) ...............
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