IA

★

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 115

Making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1996, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 7, 1995

Mr. LIVINGSTON introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred

to the Committee on Appropriations, and in addition to the Committees

on House Oversight, Government Reform and Oversight, Ways and

Means, and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

JOINT RESOLUTION

Making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year

1996, and for other purposes.

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That the following sums are hereby appropriated, out of

4 any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,

5 and out of applicable corporate or other revenues, receipts,

6 and funds, for the several departments, agencies, corpora7 tions, and other organizational units of Government for

8 the fiscal year 1996, and for other purposes, namely:
2

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 TITLE I

2 CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS

3 SEC. 101. (a) Such amounts as may be necessary

4 under the authority and conditions provided in the appli5 cable appropriations Act for the fiscal year 1995 for con6 tinuing projects or activities including the costs of direct

7 loans and loan guarantees (not otherwise specifically pro8 vided for in this joint resolution) which were conducted

9 in the fiscal year 1995 and for which appropriations,

10 funds, or other authority would be available in the follow11 ing appropriations Acts:

12 The Departments of Commerce, Justice, and

13 State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appro14 priations Act, 1996, notwithstanding section 15 of

15 the State Department Basic Authorities Act of

16 1956, section 701 of the United States Information

17 and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, and section

18 53 of the Arms Control and Disarmament Act;

19 The Department of Defense Appropriations

20 Act, 1996, notwithstanding section 504(a)(1) of the

21 National Security Act of 1947;

22 The District of Columbia Appropriations Act,

23 1996;

24 The Energy and Water Development Appro25 priations Act, 1996;
3

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 The Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and

2 Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1996, not3 withstanding section 10 of Public Law 91–672 and

4 section 15(a) of the State Department Basic Au5 thorities Act of 1956;

6 The Department of the Interior and Related

7 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996;

8 The Departments of Labor, Health and Human

9 Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Ap10 propriations Act, 1996;

11 The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act,

12 1996, H.R. 2492;

13 The Department of Transportation Appropria14 tions Act, 1996;

15 The Treasury, Postal Service, and General Gov16 ernment Appropriations Act, 1996;

17 The Departments of Veterans Affairs and

18 Housing and Urban Development, and Independent

19 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996:

20 Provided, That whenever the amount which would be made

21 available or the authority which would be granted in these

22 Acts is greater than that which would be available or

23 granted under current operations, the pertinent project or

24 activity shall be continued at a rate for operations not ex25 ceeding the current rate.
4

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 (b) Whenever the amount which would be made avail2 able or the authority which would be granted under an

3 Act listed in this section as passed by the House as of

4 the date of enactment of this joint resolution, is different

5 from that which would be available or granted under such

6 Act as passed by the Senate as of the date of enactment

7 of this joint resolution, the pertinent project or activity

8 shall be continued at a rate for operations not exceeding

9 the current rate or the rate permitted by the action of

10 the House or the Senate, whichever is lower, under the

11 authority and conditions provided in the applicable appro12 priations Act for the fiscal year 1995: Provided, That

13 where an item is not included in either version or where

14 an item is included in only one version of the Act as passed

15 by both Houses as of the date of enactment of this joint

16 resolution, the pertinent project or activity shall not be

17 continued except as provided for in section 111 or 112

18 under the appropriation, fund, or authority granted by the

19 applicable appropriations Act for the fiscal year 1995 and

20 under the authority and conditions provided in the appli21 cable appropriations Act for the fiscal year 1995.

22 (c) Whenever an Act listed in this section has been

23 passed by only the House or only the Senate as of the

24 date of enactment of this joint resolution, the pertinent

25 project or activity shall be continued under the appropria-
5

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 tion, fund, or authority granted by the one House at a

2 rate for operations not exceeding the current rate or the

3 rate permitted by the action of the one House, whichever

4 is lower, and under the authority and conditions provided

5 in the applicable appropriations Act for the fiscal year

6 1995: Provided, That where an item is funded in the appli7 cable appropriations Act for the fiscal year 1995 and not

8 included in the version passed by the one House as of the

9 date of enactment of this joint resolution, the pertinent

10 project or activity shall not be continued except as pro11 vided for in section 111 or 112 under the appropriation,

12 fund, or authority granted by the applicable appropria13 tions Act for the fiscal year 1995 and under the authority

14 and conditions provided in the applicable appropriations

15 Act for the fiscal year 1995.

16 SEC. 102. No appropriation or funds made available

17 or authority granted pursuant to section 101 for the De18 partment of Defense shall be used for new production of

19 items not funded for production in fiscal year 1995 or

20 prior years, for the increase in production rates above

21 those sustained with fiscal year 1995 funds, or to initiate,

22 resume, or continue any project, activity, operation, or or23 ganization which are defined as any project, subproject,

24 activity, budget activity, program element, and

25 subprogram within a program element and for investment
6

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 items are further defined as a P–1 line item in a budget

2 activity within an appropriation account and an R–1 line

3 item which includes a program element and subprogram

4 element within an appropriation account, for which appro5 priations, funds, or other authority were not available dur6 ing the fiscal year 1995: Provided, That no appropriation

7 or funds made available or authority granted pursuant to

8 section 101 for the Department of Defense shall be used

9 to initiate multi-year procurements utilizing advance pro10 curement funding for economic order quantity procure11 ment unless specifically appropriated later.

12 SEC. 103. Appropriations made by section 101 shall

13 be available to the extent and in the manner which would

14 be provided by the pertinent appropriations Act.

15 SEC. 104. No appropriation or funds made available

16 or authority granted pursuant to section 101 shall be used

17 to initiate or resume any project or activity for which ap18 propriations, funds, or other authority were not available

19 during the fiscal year 1995.

20 SEC. 105. No provision which is included in an appro21 priations Act enumerated in section 101 but which was

22 not included in the applicable appropriations Act for fiscal

23 year 1995 and which by its terms is applicable to more

24 than one appropriation, fund, or authority shall be appli-
7

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 cable to any appropriation, fund, or authority provided in

2 this joint resolution.

3 SEC. 106. Unless otherwise provided for in this joint

4 resolution or in the applicable appropriations Act, appro5 priations and funds made available and authority granted

6 pursuant to this joint resolution shall be available until

7 (a) enactment into law of an appropriation for any project

8 or activity provided for in this joint resolution, or (b) the

9 enactment into law of the applicable appropriations Act

10 by both Houses without any provision for such project or

11 activity, or (c) December 1, 1995, whichever first occurs.

12 SEC. 107. Appropriations made and authority grant13 ed pursuant to this joint resolution shall cover all obliga14 tions or expenditures incurred for any program, project,

15 or activity during the period for which funds or authority

16 for such project or activity are available under this joint

17 resolution.

18 SEC. 108. Expenditures made pursuant to this joint

19 resolution shall be charged to the applicable appropriation,

20 fund, or authorization whenever a bill in which such appli21 cable appropriation, fund, or authorization is contained is

22 enacted into law.

23 SEC. 109. No provision in the appropriations Act for

24 the fiscal year 1996 referred to in section 101 of this joint

25 resolution that makes the availability of any appropriation
8

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 provided therein dependent upon the enactment of addi2 tional authorizing or other legislation shall be effective be3 fore the date set forth in section 106(c) of this joint reso4 lution.

5 SEC. 110. Appropriations and funds made available

6 by or authority granted pursuant to this joint resolution

7 may be used without regard to the time limitations for

8 submission and approval of apportionments set forth in

9 section 1513 of title 31, United States Code, but nothing

10 herein shall be construed to waive any other provision of

11 law governing the apportionment of funds.

12 SEC. 111. Notwithstanding any other provision of

13 this joint resolution, except section 106, whenever an Act

14 listed in section 101 as passed by both the House and

15 Senate as of the date of enactment of this joint resolution,

16 does not include funding for an ongoing project or activity

17 for which there is a budget request, or whenever an Act

18 listed in section 101 has been passed by only the House

19 or only the Senate as of the date of enactment of this

20 joint resolution, and an item funded in fiscal year 1995

21 is not included in the version passed by the one House,

22 or whenever the rate for operations for an ongoing project

23 or activity provided by section 101 for which there is a

24 budget request would result in the project or activity being

25 significantly reduced, the pertinent project or activity may
9

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 be continued under the authority and conditions provided

2 in the applicable appropriations Act for the fiscal year

3 1995 by increasing the rate for operations provided by sec4 tion 101 to a rate for operations not to exceed one that

5 provides the minimal level that would enable existing ac6 tivities to continue. No new contracts or grants shall be

7 awarded in excess of an amount that bears the same ratio

8 to the rate for operations provided by this section as the

9 number of days covered by this resolution bears to 366.

10 For the purposes of the Act, the minimal level means a

11 rate for operations that is reduced from the current rate

12 by 40 percent.

13 SEC. 112. Notwithstanding any other provision of

14 this joint resolution, except section 106, whenever the rate

15 for operations for any continuing project or activity pro16 vided by section 101 or section 111 for which there is a

17 budget request would result in a furlough of Government

18 employees, that rate for operations may be increased to

19 the minimum level that would enable the furlough to be

20 avoided. No new contracts or grants shall be awarded in

21 excess of an amount that bears the same ratio to the rate

22 for operations provided by this section as the number of

23 days covered by this resolution bears to 366.

24 SEC. 113. Notwithstanding any other provision of

25 this joint resolution, except sections 106, 111, and 112,
10

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 for those programs that had high initial rates of operation

2 or complete distribution of funding at the beginning of the

3 fiscal year in fiscal year 1995 because of distributions of

4 funding to States, foreign countries, grantees, or others,

5 similar distributions of funds for fiscal year 1996 shall

6 not be made and no grants shall be awarded for such pro7 grams funded by this resolution that would impinge on

8 final funding prerogatives.

9 SEC. 114. This joint resolution shall be implemented

10 so that only the most limited funding action of that per11 mitted in the resolution shall be taken in order to provide

12 for continuation of projects and activities.

13 SEC. 115. The provisions of section 132 of the Dis14 trict of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1988, Public Law

15 100–202, shall not apply for this joint resolution.

16 SEC. 116. Notwithstanding any other provision of

17 this joint resolution, except section 106, the authority and

18 conditions for the application of appropriations for the Of19 fice of Technology Assessment as contained in the Con20 ference Report on the Legislative Branch Appropriations

21 Act, 1996, House Report 104–212, shall be followed when

22 applying the funding made available by this joint resolu23 tion.

24 SEC. 117. Notwithstanding any other provision of

25 this joint resolution, except section 106, any distribution
11

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 of funding under the Rehabilitation Services and Disabil2 ity Research account in the Department of Education may

3 be made up to an amount that bears the same ratio to

4 the rate for operation for this account provided by this

5 joint resolution as the number of days covered by this res6 olution bears to 366.

7 SEC. 118. Notwithstanding any other provision of

8 this joint resolution, except section 106, the authorities

9 provided under subsection (a) of section 140 of the For10 eign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and

11 1995 (Public Law 103–236) shall remain in effect during

12 the period of this joint resolution, notwithstanding para13 graph (3) of said subsection.

14 SEC. 119. Notwithstanding any other provision of

15 this joint resolution, except section 106, the amount made

16 available to the Securities and Exchange Commission,

17 under the heading Salaries and Expenses, shall include,

18 in addition to direct appropriations, the amount it collects

19 under the fee rate and offsetting collection authority con20 tained in Public Law 103–352, which fee rate and offset21 ting collection authority shall remain in effect during the

22 period of this joint resolution.

23 SEC. 120. Until enactment of legislation providing

24 funding for the entire fiscal year ending September 30,

25 1996, for the Department of the Interior and Related
12

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 Agencies, funds available for necessary expenses of the

2 Bureau of Mines are for continuing limited health and

3 safety and related research, materials partnerships, and

4 minerals information activities; for mineral assessments in

5 Alaska; and for terminating all other activities of the Bu6 reau of Mines.

7 SEC. 121. Notwithstanding any other provision of

8 this joint resolution, except section 106, funds for the En9 vironmental Protection Agency shall be made available in

10 the appropriation accounts which are provided in H.R.

11 2099 as reported on September 13, 1995.

12 SEC. 122. Notwithstanding any other provision of

13 this joint resolution, except section 106, the rate for oper14 ations for projects and activities that would be funded

15 under the heading ‘‘International Organizations and Con16 ferences, Contributions to International Organizations’’ in

17 the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Ju18 diciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996,

19 shall be the amount provided by the provisions of sections

20 101, 111, and 112 multiplied by the ratio of the number

21 of days covered by this resolution to 366 and multiplied

22 further by 1.27.

23 SEC. 123. Notwithstanding any other provision of

24 this joint resolution, except section 106, the rate for oper-
13

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 ations of the following projects or activities shall be only

2 the minimum necessary to accomplish orderly termination:

3 Administrative Conference of the United States;

4 Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Re5 lations (except that activities to carry out the provi6 sions of Public Law 104–4 may continue);

7 Interstate Commerce Commission;

8 Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation;

9 Land and Water Conservation Fund, State As10 sistance; and

11 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and En12 forcement, Rural Abandoned Mine Program.

13 TITLE II

14 SEC. 201. WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT FOR PARCHMENT

15 PRINTING.

16 (a) WAIVER.—The provisions of sections 106 and

17 107 of title 1, United States Code, are waived with respect

18 to the printing (on parchment or otherwise) of the enroll19 ment of any of the following measures of the first session

20 of the One Hundred Fourth Congress presented to the

21 President after the enactment of this joint resolution:

22 (1) A continuing resolution.

23 (2) A debt limit extension measure.

24 (3) A reconciliation bill.
14

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 (b) CERTIFICATION BY COMMITTEE ON HOUSE

2 OVERSIGHT.—The enrollment of a measure to which sub3 section (a) applies shall be in such form as the Committee

4 on House Oversight of the House of Representatives cer5 tifies to be a true enrollment.

6 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

7 As used in this joint resolution:

8 (1) CONTINUING RESOLUTION.—The term

9 ‘‘continuing resolution’’ means a bill or joint resolu10 tion that includes provisions making further continu11 ing appropriations for fiscal year 1996.

12 (2) DEBT LIMIT EXTENSION MEASURE.—The

13 term ‘‘debt limit extension measure’’ means a bill or

14 joint resolution that includes provisions increasing or

15 waiving (for a temporary period or otherwise) the

16 public debt limit under section 3101(b) of title 31,

17 United States Code.

18 (3) RECONCILIATION BILL.—The term ‘‘rec19 onciliation bill’’ means a bill that is a reconciliation

20 bill within the meaning of section 310 of the Con21 gressional Budget Act of 1974.
15

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 TITLE III

2 TAXPAYER SUBSIDIZED POLITICAL ADVOCACY

3 PROHIBITION ON SUBSIDIZING POLITICAL ADVOCACY

4 WITH TAXPAYER FUNDS

5 SEC. 301. (a) LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding any

6 other provision of law, the following limitations shall apply

7 to any taxpayer subsidized grant that is made from funds

8 appropriated under this or any other Act or controlled

9 under any congressional authorization, until the enact10 ment of specific exceptions in subsequent Acts:

11 (1) No taxpayer subsidized grantee may use

12 funds from any taxpayer subsidized grant to engage

13 in political advocacy.

14 (2) No person or organization may transfer

15 funds from any taxpayer subsidized grant, in whole

16 or in part, in the form of a taxpayer subsidized

17 grant, to any person or organization that under this

18 subsection would not be eligible to receive such

19 funds directly from the Federal Government.

20 (3) No taxpayer subsidized grantee may use

21 funds from any taxpayer subsidized grant for any

22 purpose (including but not limited to extending sub23 sequent taxpayer subsidized grants to any other in24 dividual or organization) other than to purchase or

25 secure goods or services, except as permitted by
16

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 Congress in the law authorizing the taxpayer sub2 sidized grant.

3 (4) No restrictions are placed upon the use of

4 an individual’s non-Federal funds by this title.

5 (5) An organization described in section

6 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that

7 engaged in lobbying activities during the organiza8 tion’s previous taxable year shall not be eligible for

9 the receipt of Federal funds constituting a taxpayer

10 subsidized grant. This paragraph shall not apply to

11 organizations described in such section 501(c)(4)

12 with gross annual revenues of less than $3,000,000

13 in such previous taxable year, including the amounts

14 of Federal funds received as a taxpayer subsidized

15 grant.

16 (6) An organization shall not be eligible for the

17 receipt of Federal funds constituting a taxpayer sub18 sidized grant if, in the previous Federal fiscal year,

19 such organization—

20 (A) received more than one-third of its an21 nual revenue in the form of taxpayer subsidized

22 grants; and

23 (B) expended on lobbying activities an

24 amount equal to or exceeding whichever of the

25 following amounts is less:
17

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 (i) $100,000; or

2 (ii) the amount determined by the for3 mula set forth in paragraph (7)(B).

4 (7) No taxpayer subsidized grant applicant or

5 taxpayer subsidized grantee, except an individual

6 person, may receive any taxpayer subsidized grant if

7 its expenditures for political advocacy for any one of

8 the previous five Federal fiscal years exceeded its

9 substantial political advocacy threshold. For pur10 poses of the application of this paragraph in the

11 five-year period following the date of the enactment

12 of this Act, only the previous Federal fiscal years be13 ginning after September 30, 1995, shall be consid14 ered. For purposes of this title, the substantial polit15 ical advocacy threshold for a given Federal fiscal

16 year shall be whichever of the following amounts is

17 less:

18 (A) $1,000,000.

19 (B) The amount determined by the follow20 ing formula:

21 (i) Calculate the difference between

22 the taxpayer subsidized grant applicant’s

23 total expenditures made in a given Federal

24 fiscal year and the total taxpayer sub-
18

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 sidized grants it received in that Federal

2 fiscal year.

3 (ii) For the first $500,000 of the

4 amount calculated under clause (i), mul5 tiply by 0.20.

6 (iii) For the portion of the amount

7 calculated under clause (i) that is more

8 than $500,000, but not more than

9 $1,000,000, multiply by 0.15.

10 (iv) For the portion of the amount

11 calculated under clause (i) that is more

12 than $1,000,000, but not more than

13 $1,500,000, multiply by 0.10.

14 (v) For the portion of the amount cal15 culated under clause (i) that is more than

16 $1,500,000, but not more than

17 $17,000,000, multiply by 0.05.

18 (vi) Calculate the sum of the products

19 described in clauses (ii) through (v).

20 (8) During any one Federal fiscal year in which

21 a taxpayer subsidized grantee, except an individual

22 person, has possession, custody or control of tax23 payer subsidized grant funds, such taxpayer sub24 sidized grantee shall not use any funds (whether de25 rived from taxpayer subsidized grants or otherwise)
19

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 to engage in political advocacy in excess of its sub2 stantial political advocacy threshold for the prior

3 Federal fiscal year.

4 (9) No taxpayer subsidized grantee may use

5 funds from any taxpayer subsidized grant to pur6 chase or secure any goods or services (including dues

7 and membership fees) from any other organization

8 whose expenditures for political advocacy for the

9 previous Federal fiscal year exceeded whichever of

10 the following amounts is greater:

11 (A) $25,000.

12 (B) 15 percent of such other organization’s

13 total expenditures for such previous Federal fis14 cal year.

15 (10) The limitations imposed by paragraphs

16 (5), (7), and (8) shall not apply to any taxpayer sub17 sidized grant applicant or taxpayer subsidized grant18 ee for any Federal fiscal year if, during the preced19 ing Federal fiscal year, its total expenditures for po20 litical advocacy were less than $25,000.

21 (11) For purposes of applying the limitations

22 imposed by this subsection (other than paragraph

23 (4)), the members of an affiliated group of organiza24 tions (other than any member that does not receive
20

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 a taxpayer subsidized grant) shall be treated as one

2 organization.

3 (b) ENFORCEMENT OF TAXPAYER PROTECTIONS.—

4 The following enforcement provisions apply with respect

5 to the limitations imposed under subsection (a):

6 (1) Each taxpayer subsidized grantee shall be

7 subject to audit from time to time as follows:

8 (A) Audits may be requested and con9 ducted by the General Accounting Office or

10 other auditing entity authorized by Congress,

11 including the Inspector General of the Federal

12 entity awarding or administering the taxpayer

13 subsidized grant.

14 (B) Taxpayer subsidized grantees shall fol15 low generally accepted accounting principles in

16 keeping books and records relating to each tax17 payer subsidized grant and no Federal entity

18 may impose more burdensome accounting re19 quirements for purposes of enforcing this title.

20 (C) A taxpayer subsidized grantee that en21 gages in political advocacy shall have the bur22 den of proving, by clear and convincing evi23 dence, that it is in compliance with the limita24 tions of this title.
21

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 (D) Audits pursuant to this subsection

2 shall be limited to the utilization, transfer, and

3 expenditure of Federal funds and the utiliza4 tion, transfer, and expenditure of any funds for

5 political advocacy.

6 (2) Violations by a taxpayer subsidized grantee

7 of the limitations contained in subsection (a) may be

8 enforced and the taxpayer subsidized grant may be

9 recovered in the same manner and to the same ex10 tent as a false or fraudulent claim for payment or

11 approval made to the Federal Government pursuant

12 to sections 3729 through 3812 of title 31, United

13 States Code.

14 (3) Any officer or employee of the Federal Gov15 ernment who awards or administers funds from any

16 taxpayer subsidized grant to a taxpayer subsidized

17 grantee who is not in compliance with this section

18 shall—

19 (A) for knowing or negligent noncompli20 ance with this section, be subjected to appro21 priate administrative discipline, including, when

22 circumstances warrant, suspension from duty

23 without pay or removal from office; and

24 (B) for knowing noncompliance with this

25 section, pay a civil penalty of not more than
22

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 $5,000 for each improper disbursement of

2 funds.

3 (c) DUTIES OF TAXPAYER SUBSIDIZED GRANT4 EES.—Any individual or organization that awards or ad5 ministers a taxpayer subsidized grant shall take reason6 able steps to ensure that the taxpayer subsidized grantee

7 complies with the requirements of this title. Reasonable

8 steps to ensure compliance shall include written notice to

9 a taxpayer subsidized grantee that it is receiving a tax10 payer subsidized grant, and that the provisions of this title

11 apply to the taxpayer subsidized grantee.

12 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this title:

13 (1) AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS.—Any two or14 ganizations shall be considered to be members of an

15 affiliated group of organizations if the organizations

16 meet any one or more of the following criteria:

17 (A) The governing instrument of one such

18 organization requires it to be bound by deci19 sions of the other organization on legislative is20 sues.

21 (B) The governing board of one such orga22 nization includes persons who—

23 (i) are specifically designated rep24 resentatives of the other such organization

25 or are members of the governing board, of-
23

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 ficers, or paid executive staff members of

2 such other organization; and

3 (ii) by aggregating their votes, have

4 sufficient voting power to cause or prevent

5 action on political advocacy issues by the

6 other such organization.

7 (C) The organizations—

8 (i) either use the same name or trade9 mark, or represent themselves as being af10 filiated; and

11 (ii) coordinate their lobbying activities

12 or political advocacy.

13 (2) AGENCY ACTION.—The term ‘‘agency ac14 tion’’ includes the definition contained in section 551

15 of title 5, United States Code, and includes action

16 by State, local, or tribal government agencies. Such

17 term does not include any agency’s action that

18 grants an approval, license, permit, registration, or

19 similar authority, or that grants or recognizes an ex20 emption or relieves a restriction, on a case-by-case

21 basis.

22 (3) AGENCY PROCEEDING.—The term ‘‘agency

23 proceeding’’ includes the definition contained in sec24 tion 551 of title 5, United States Code, and includes
24

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 proceedings by State, local, or tribal government

2 agencies.

3 (4) INFLUENCE LEGISLATION OR AGENCY AC4 TION.—

5 (A) GENERAL RULE.—Except as otherwise

6 provided in subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘influ7 ence legislation or agency action’’ includes—

8 (i) any attempt to influence any legis9 lation or agency action through an attempt

10 to affect the opinions of the general public

11 or any segment thereof; and

12 (ii) any attempt to influence any legis13 lation or agency action through commu14 nication with any member or employee of

15 a legislative body or agency, or with any

16 government official or employee who may

17 participate in the formulation of the legis18 lation or agency action.

19 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘influence

20 legislation or agency action’’ does not include—

21 (i) making available the results of

22 nonpartisan analysis, study, research, or

23 debate;

24 (ii) providing technical advice or as25 sistance (where such advice would other-
25

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 wise constitute the influencing of legisla2 tion or agency action) to a governmental

3 body or to a committee or other subdivi4 sion thereof in response to a request by

5 such body or subdivision, as the case may

6 be;

7 (iii) communications between the tax8 payer subsidized grantee and its bona fide

9 members with respect to legislation, pro10 posed legislation, agency action, or pro11 posed agency action of direct interest to

12 the taxpayer subsidized grantee and such

13 members, other than communications de14 scribed in subparagraph (C);

15 (iv) any communication with a govern16 mental official or employee, including any

17 such communication required to apply for,

18 administer, or execute a taxpayer sub19 sidized grant; other than—

20 (I) a communication with a mem21 ber or employee of a legislative body

22 or agency (where such communication

23 would otherwise constitute the influ24 encing of legislation or agency action);

25 or
26

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 (II) a communication the prin2 cipal purpose of which is to influence

3 legislation or agency action;

4 (v) official communications by employ5 ees of State, local, or tribal governments,

6 or by organizations whose membership

7 consists exclusively of State, local, or tribal

8 governments; and

9 (vi) participating in a particular activ10 ity that is specifically and explicitly di11 rected and sanctioned by an Act of Con12 gress, and is specifically and explicitly ap13 proved in the contract or other agreement

14 under which the taxpayer subsidized grant

15 is made, except that such exception shall

16 not apply to any such contract or other

17 agreement that is first entered into after

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, is

19 renewed after such date, or is terminable

20 or amendable after such date at the option

21 of the government entity awarding or ad22 ministering such grant, unless such activity

23 is specifically and explicitly directed and

24 sanctioned by an Act of Congress enacted

25 after January 1, 1995.
27

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 (C) COMMUNICATIONS WITH MEMBERS.—

2 (i) A communication between a tax3 payer subsidized grantee and any bona fide

4 member of such organization to directly

5 encourage such member to communicate as

6 provided in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be

7 treated as a subparagraph (A)(ii) commu8 nication by the taxpayer subsidized grantee

9 itself.

10 (ii) A communication between a tax11 payer subsidized grantee and any bona fide

12 member of such organization to directly

13 encourage such member to urge persons

14 other than members to communicate as

15 provided in either clause (i) or (ii) of sub16 paragraph (A) shall be treated as a com17 munication described in subparagraph

18 (A)(i).

19 (5) LEGISLATION.—The term ‘‘legislation’’ in20 cludes the introduction, amendment, enactment, pas21 sage, defeat, ratification, or repeal of Acts, bills, res22 olutions, treaties, declarations, confirmations, arti23 cles of impeachment, or similar items by the Con24 gress, any State legislature, any local or tribal coun25 cil or similar governing body, or by the public in a
28

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 referendum, initiative, constitutional amendment, re2 call, confirmation, or similar procedure.

3 (6) LOBBYING ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘‘lobby4 ing activities’’ means political advocacy (as defined

5 in paragraph (8)), other than political advocacy re6 lating to any judicial litigation or agency proceeding

7 described in subparagraph (C) of such paragraph.

8 (7) ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘organization’’

9 means a legal entity, other than a government, es10 tablished or organized for any purpose, and includes

11 a corporation, company, association, firm, partner12 ship, joint stock company, foundation, institution,

13 society, union, or any other association of persons

14 that operates in or the activities of which affect

15 interstate or foreign commerce.

16 (8) POLITICAL ADVOCACY.—Except as other17 wise provided in paragraph (4)(B), the term ‘‘politi18 cal advocacy’’ includes—

19 (A) carrying on propaganda, or otherwise

20 attempting to influence legislation or agency ac21 tion, including, but not limited to, monetary or

22 in-kind contributions, preparation and planning

23 activities, research and other background work,

24 endorsements, publicity, coordination with such

25 activities of others, and similar activities;
29

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 (B) participating or intervening in (includ2 ing the publishing or distributing of statements)

3 any political campaign on behalf of (or in oppo4 sition to) any candidate for public office, includ5 ing, but not limited to, monetary or in-kind

6 contributions, preparation and planning activi7 ties, research and other background work, en8 dorsements, publicity, coordination with such

9 activities of others, and similar activities;

10 (C) participating in any judicial litigation

11 or agency proceeding (including as an amicus

12 curiae) in which agents or instrumentalities of

13 Federal, State, local, or tribal governments are

14 parties, other than litigation in which the tax15 payer subsidized grantee or taxpayer subsidized

16 grant applicant is a defendant appearing in its

17 own behalf; is defending its tax-exempt status;

18 or is challenging a government decision or ac19 tion directed specifically at the powers, rights,

20 or duties of that taxpayer subsidized grantee or

21 taxpayer subsidized grant applicant; and

22 (D) allocating, disbursing, or contributing

23 any monetary or in-kind support to any organi24 zation whose expenditures for political advocacy

25 for the previous Federal fiscal year exceeded 15
30

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 percent of its total expenditures for that Fed2 eral fiscal year.

3 (9) TAXPAYER SUBSIDIZED GRANT.—The term

4 ‘‘taxpayer subsidized grant’’ includes the provision

5 of any Federal funds, appropriated under this or

6 any other Act, or other thing of value to carry out

7 a public purpose of the United States, except the fol8 lowing: the provision of funds for acquisition (by

9 purchase, lease or barter) of property or services for

10 the direct benefit or use of the United States; the

11 payments of loans, debts, or entitlements; the provi12 sion of funds to or distribution of funds by an Arti13 cle I or III court; nonmonetary assistance provided

14 by the Department of Veterans Affairs to organiza15 tions approved or recognized under section 5902 of

16 title 38, United States Code; and the provision of

17 grant and scholarship funds to students for edu18 cational purposes.

19 (10) TAXPAYER SUBSIDIZED GRANTEE.—The

20 term ‘‘taxpayer subsidized grantee’’ includes any re21 cipient of any taxpayer subsidized grant. The term

22 shall not include any State, local, or tribal govern23 ment, but shall include any recipient receiving a tax24 payer subsidized grant from a State, local, or tribal

25 government.
31

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

2 SEC. 302. (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Decem3 ber 31 of each year, each taxpayer subsidized grantee, ex4 cept an individual person, shall provide (via either elec5 tronic or paper medium) to each Federal entity that

6 awarded or administered its taxpayer subsidized grant an

7 annual report for the prior Federal fiscal year, certified

8 by the taxpayer subsidized grantee’s chief executive officer

9 or equivalent person of authority, and setting forth—

10 (1) the taxpayer subsidized grantee’s name and

11 grantee identification number;

12 (2) a statement that the taxpayer subsidized

13 grantee agrees that it is, and shall continue to be,

14 contractually bound by the terms of this title as a

15 condition of the continued receipt and use of Federal

16 funds; and

17 (3) either—

18 (A) a statement that the taxpayer sub19 sidized grantee did not engage in political advo20 cacy; or

21 (B) a statement that the taxpayer sub22 sidized grantee did engage in political advocacy,

23 and setting forth for each taxpayer subsidized

24 grant—
32

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 (i) the taxpayer subsidized grant iden2 tification number;

3 (ii) the amount or value of the tax4 payer subsidized grant (including all ad5 ministrative and overhead costs awarded);

6 (iii) a brief description of the purpose

7 or purposes for which the taxpayer sub8 sidized grant was awarded;

9 (iv) the identity of each Federal,

10 State, local, and tribal government entity

11 awarding or administering the taxpayer

12 subsidized grant, and program thereunder;

13 (v) the name and taxpayer subsidized

14 grantee identification number of each indi15 vidual or organization to which the tax16 payer subsidized grantee made a taxpayer

17 subsidized grant;

18 (vi) a brief description of the taxpayer

19 subsidized grantee’s political advocacy, and

20 a good faith estimate of the taxpayer sub21 sidized grantee’s expenditures on political

22 advocacy; and

23 (vii) a good faith estimate of the tax24 payer subsidized grantee’s substantial po25 litical advocacy threshold.
33

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 (b) OMB COORDINATION.—The Office of Manage2 ment and Budget shall develop by regulation one stand3 ardized form for the annual report that shall be accepted

4 by every Federal entity, and a uniform procedure by which

5 each taxpayer subsidized grantee is assigned one perma6 nent and unique taxpayer subsidized grantee identification

7 number.

8 FEDERAL ENTITY REPORT

9 SEC. 303. Not later than May 1 of each calendar

10 year, each Federal entity awarding or administering a tax11 payer subsidized grant shall submit to the Bureau of the

12 Census a report (standardized by the Office of Manage13 ment and Budget) setting forth the information provided

14 to such Federal entity by each taxpayer subsidized grantee

15 during the preceding Federal fiscal year, and the name

16 and taxpayer subsidized grantee identification number of

17 each taxpayer subsidized grantee to which it provided writ18 ten notice under section 301(c). The Bureau of the Census

19 shall make this database available to the public through

20 the Internet.

21 PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

22 SEC. 304. (a) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF TAXPAYER

23 SUBSIDIZED GRANT DOCUMENTS.—Any Federal entity

24 awarding a taxpayer subsidized grant shall make publicly

25 available any taxpayer subsidized grant application, audit

26 of a taxpayer subsidized grantee, list of taxpayer sub-
34

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 sidized grantees to which notice was provided under sec2 tion 301(c), annual report of a taxpayer subsidized grant3 ee, and that Federal entity’s annual report to the Bureau

4 of the Census.

5 (b) ACCESSIBILITY TO PUBLIC.—The public’s access

6 to the documents identified in subsection (a) shall be fa7 cilitated by placement of such documents in the Federal

8 entity’s public document reading room and also by expe9 diting any requests under section 552 of title 5, United

10 States Code, the Freedom of Information Act as amended,

11 ahead of any requests for other information pending at

12 such Federal entity.

13 (c) WITHHOLDING PROHIBITED.—Records described

14 in subsection (a) shall not be subject to withholding, ex15 cept under the exemption set forth in subsection (b)(7)(A)

16 of section 552 of title 5, United States Code.

17 (d) FEES PROHIBITED.—No fees for searching for or

18 copying such documents shall be charged to the public.

19 SEVERABILITY

20 SEC. 305. If any provision of this title or the applica21 tion thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid,

22 the remainder of this title and the application of such pro23 vision to other persons and circumstances shall not be af24 fected thereby.
35

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS PRESERVED

2 SEC. 306. Nothing in this title shall be deemed to

3 abridge any rights guaranteed under the First Amend4 ment of the United States Constitution, including freedom

5 of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peace6 ably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a

7 redress of grievances.

8 EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION AND APPEAL OF CERTAIN

9 ACTIONS

10 SEC. 307. (a) DISTRICT COURT CONSIDERATION.—

11 Any action challenging the constitutionality of this title

12 shall be heard and determined by a panel of three judges

13 in accordance with section 2284 of title 28, United States

14 Code. The United States District Court for the District

15 of Columbia shall have exclusive jurisdiction over such ac16 tion, without regard to the sum or value of the matter

17 in controversy. It shall be the duty of the district court

18 to advance on the docket, and to expedite the disposition

19 of, any action brought under this subsection.

20 (b) APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT.—An appeal may

21 be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the United

22 States from any interlocutory or final judgment, decree,

23 or order entered in any action brought under subsection

24 (a). Any such appeal shall be taken by a notice of appeal

25 filed within 20 days after such judgment, decree, or order

26 is entered. The Supreme Court shall, if it has not pre-
36

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 viously ruled on the question presented by such appeal,

2 accept jurisdiction over the appeal, advance the appeal on

3 the docket, and expedite the appeal.

4 CONSTRUCTION AND EFFECT

5 SEC. 308. Nothing in this title shall be construed to

6 affect the application of the internal revenue laws of the

7 United States.

8 TITLE IV—MEDICARE

9 SEC. 401. DETERMINATION OF MEDICARE PART B PRE10 MIUM.

11 (a) Any percentage reference in subsection (e)(1)(A)

12 of section 1839 of the Social Security Act for months in

13 1996 is deemed a reference to the amount described in

14 subsection (e)(1)(B)(v) of such section, expressed as a per15 centage of the monthly actuarial rate under subsection

16 (a)(1) of such section for months in 1995.

17 SEC. 402. MEDICARE COVERAGE OF CERTAIN ANTI-CANCER

18 DRUG TREATMENTS.

19 (a) COVERAGE OF CERTAIN SELF-ADMINISTERED

20 ANTICANCER DRUGS.—Section 1861(s)(2)(Q) of the So21 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(2)(Q)) is amend22 ed—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘(Q)’’ and inserting ‘‘(Q)(i)’’;

24 and

25 (2) by striking the semicolon at the end and in26 serting ‘‘, and’’; and
37

•HJ 115 IH1S

1 (3) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(ii) an oral drug (which is approved by the Federal

3 Food and Drug Administration) prescribed for use as an

4 anticancer nonsteroidal antiestrogen or nonsteroidal

5 antiandrogen agent for a given indication;’’.

6 (b) UNIFORM COVERAGE OF ANTICANCER DRUGS IN

7 ALL SETTINGS.—Section 1861(t)(2)(A) of such Act (42

8 U.S.C. 1395x(t)(2)(A)) is amended by adding (including

9 a nonsteroidal antiestrogen or nonsteroidal antiandrogen

10 regimen)’’ after ‘‘regimen’’.

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1834

12 (j)(5)(F)(iv) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(j)(5)(F)(iv))

13 is amended by striking ‘‘prescribed for use’’ and all that

14 follows through ‘‘1861 (s)(2)(Q))’’ and inserting ‘‘de15 scribed in section 1861(s)(2)(Q)’’.

16 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

17 this section shall apply to drugs furnished on or after the

18 date of the enactment of this Act.

Æ

HJ 115 IH1S——2

HJ 115 IH1S——3

HJ 115 IH1S——4

HJ 115 IH1S——5