I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2941

To improve the quantity and quality of the quarters of land management

agency field employees, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 1, 1996

Mr. HEFLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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

A BILL

To improve the quantity and quality of the quarters of land

management agency field employees, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Housing Improvement

5 Act for Land Management Agencies’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) the provision of employee housing for Fed9 eral land management agencies is necessary for the
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1 effective management of Federal lands in many loca2 tions;

3 (2) current government housing does not meet

4 the needs of land management agencies at many lo5 cations, in terms of either quantity or quality, for

6 field employees whose duties require their residence

7 on Federal lands;

8 (3) current government housing rental rates are

9 based on local or regional comparability studies;

10 however, salaries for most government employees are

11 set nationally and are far behind comparable salaries

12 for similar work;

13 (4) current rental levels, which are based on av14 erage rents in the region for comparable housing,

15 are unrelated to the actual cost of providing the

16 housing;

17 (5) lack of acceptable quality, affordable hous18 ing both on and off Federal lands is resulting in sig19 nificant recruitment and retention problems at a

20 number of field units of the land management agen21 cies; and

22 (6) significant opportunities exist to better in23 volve the private sector in resolving the housing defi24 cit for land management agencies.

25 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
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1 (1) to develop an adequate supply of quality

2 housing units for field employees of Federal land

3 management agencies within a reasonable time

4 frame;

5 (2) to substantially expand the alternatives

6 available for construction and repair of essential

7 government housing;

8 (3) to rely on the private sector to finance or

9 supply housing in carrying out this Act, to the maxi10 mum extent possible, in order to reduce the need for

11 Federal appropriations;

12 (4) to ensure that housing is affordable to all

13 field employees of Federal land management agen14 cies;

15 (5) to provide increased opportunities for the

16 ownership of housing by field employees, together

17 with the equity and tax benefits associated with

18 home ownership; and

19 (6) to ensure that adequate funds are available

20 to provide for long-term maintenance needs of field

21 employee housing.

22 SEC. 3. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

23 To promote the recruitment and retention of qualified

24 personnel necessary for the effective management of public

25 lands, and notwithstanding any provision of section 5536
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1 of title 5, United States Code, to the contrary, the Sec2 retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior are

3 authorized to make available employee housing and essen4 tial amenities, on or off the lands under the administrative

5 jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned, and to rent or

6 lease such housing to field employees of the respective De7 partment at a reasonable value.

8 SEC. 4. JOINT PUBLIC-PRIVATE SECTOR HOUSING PRO9 GRAMS.

10 (a) LEASE TO BUILD PROGRAM.—

11 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary con12 cerned may—

13 (A) lease Federal land and interests in

14 land to qualified persons for the construction of

15 field employee quarters and essential amenities

16 for any period not to exceed 50 years; and

17 (B) lease developed and undeveloped non18 Federal land for providing field employee quar19 ters.

20 (2) COMPETITIVE LEASING.—Each lease under

21 paragraph (1)(A) shall be awarded through the use

22 of publicly advertised, competitively bid, or competi23 tively negotiated contracting procedures, except that

24 a lease to an employee housing cooperative may be

25 awarded noncompetitively if construction on the
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1 leased land is then competitively bid or competitively

2 negotiated.

3 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Each lease

4 under paragraph (1)(A)—

5 (A) may provide that the lessee operate

6 and maintain the field employee quarters dur7 ing the term of the lease;

8 (B) shall require that the construction and

9 rehabilitation of field employee quarters be done

10 in accordance with the requirements of the land

11 management agency and local applicable build12 ing codes and industry standards;

13 (C) shall contain such additional terms and

14 conditions as may be appropriate to protect the

15 Federal interest, including limits on rents the

16 lessee may charge field employees for the occu17 pancy of quarters, conditions on maintenance

18 and repairs, and agreements on the provision of

19 and charges for utilities and other infrastruc20 ture;

21 (D) may provide that, upon termination of

22 the lease, the contractor shall abandon the

23 quarters constructed on the property subject to

24 such lease vest in the United States or restore

25 the property to its natural state; and
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1 (E) may be granted at less than fair mar2 ket value if the Secretary determines that such

3 lease will improve the quality and quantity of

4 field quarters available.

5 (4) PROCEEDS.—Any proceeds from any lease

6 under paragraph (1)(A) may, notwithstanding any

7 other provision of law, be retained by the land man8 agement agency entering into such lease and shall be

9 used for payment of any costs related to the housing

10 program, including administration, maintenance, re11 pair, rehabilitation, and construction activities in12 curred by the agency with respect to such lease,

13 property subject to such lease, or any other em14 ployee housing project owned by, or under the juris15 diction or control of, such agency. Any surplus pro16 ceeds from such leases shall be retained by the agen17 cy for these purposes until expended.

18 (5) CONTRIBUTIONS BY UNITED STATES.—The

19 Secretary may make payments or contributions in

20 kind to reduce the costs of planning, construction, or

21 rehabilitation of quarters under a lease under this

22 subsection. The obligation of the United States to

23 make payments under a lease under this subsection

24 in any fiscal year is subject to the availability of ap25 propriations for that purpose.
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1 (6) THIRD PARTY PARTICIPATION.—A lease

2 under this subsection may include provision for par3 ticipation by a third party, when third party pres4 ence is needed or required, and approved by the Sec5 retary concerned.

6 (b) RENTAL GUARANTEE PROGRAM.—

7 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary con8 cerned may enter into a lease to build arrangement

9 as set forth in subsection (a) with further agreement

10 to guarantee, subject to the availability of appropria11 tions, the occupancy of field employee quarters units

12 constructed or rehabilitated under such lease. A

13 guarantee made under this subsection shall be in

14 writing.

15 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary concerned

16 may not guarantee—

17 (A) the occupancy of more than 97 percent

18 of the units constructed or rehabilitated under

19 such lease; and

20 (B) a rental rate that exceeds the rates es21 tablished under section 10(b).

22 (3) RENTAL TO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—A

23 guarantee may be made under this subsection only

24 if the lessee agrees to permit the Secretary con-
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1 cerned to utilize for housing purposes any units for

2 which the guarantee is made.

3 (4) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A SATISFACTORY

4 LEVEL OF OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.—A guar5 antee shall be null and void if the lessee fails to

6 maintain a satisfactory level of operation and main7 tenance.

8 (c) JOINT DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned

10 may use authorities granted by statute in combina11 tion with one another in the furtherance of providing

12 affordable field employee housing.

13 (2) CONDITION.—The Secretary concerned may

14 condition private development upon provision and

15 management of field employee housing for the Fed16 eral Government in the affected location.

17 (d) CONTRACTS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF FIELD

18 EMPLOYEE QUARTERS.—

19 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary con20 cerned may, subject to available appropriations,

21 enter into contracts for the management, repair, and

22 maintenance of field employee quarters.

23 (2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Any such con24 tract shall contain such terms and conditions as

25 such Secretary concerned deems necessary or appro-
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1 priate to protect the interests of the United States

2 and assure that safe, affordable quarters are avail3 able to that agency’s field employees.

4 (3) RENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, any such contract may provide for the

6 setting of rents at rates to be determined by the

7 Secretary concerned in accordance with this Act and

8 for their collection.

9 SEC. 5. JOINT EMPLOYEE-AGENCY HOUSING PROGRAMS.

10 (a) SALE OF QUARTERS.—

11 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary con12 cerned may sell field employee quarters to field em13 ployees of the agency or a cooperative whose mem14 bership is made up exclusively of field employees of

15 the agency.

16 (2) INTEREST IN LANDS.—The sale of quarters

17 under paragraph (1) shall be limited to a leasehold

18 interest in lands.

19 (b) LEASE OF QUARTERS.—The Secretary concerned

20 may lease Federal land to field employees of the agency

21 or a cooperative made up of field employees of the agency

22 for purposes of constructing employee housing and essen23 tial amenities.
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1 (c) RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.—The Secretary con2 cerned shall have right of first refusal when any property

3 transferred under this section is for sale.

4 (d) COVENANTS.—The Secretary concerned may es5 tablish such covenants as may be appropriate to the prop6 erty, upon its sale by the Secretary under this section.

7 (e) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The Secretary concerned

8 may sell or transfer employee quarters under this section

9 for less than fair market value if the Secretary determines

10 that such a sale or transfer will improve the quality of

11 field employee quarters available and keep the quarters

12 affordable at the salary ranges of field employees normally

13 occupying them.

14 (f) PROCEEDS.—The proceeds under this section

15 may, notwithstanding any other provision of law, be re16 tained by the land management agency and shall be used

17 for payment of any costs related to the housing program,

18 including rehabilitation and construction activities, in19 curred by the agency with respect to property subject to

20 this section or any other employee housing project owned

21 by, or under the jurisdiction or control of, such agency.

22 Any surplus proceeds under this section shall be retained

23 by the agency for those purposes until expended.

24 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Disposal of employee

25 quarters under this section to field employees and coopera-
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1 tives whose membership is made up exclusively of field em2 ployees is not disposal of excess Federal real property

3 under the Federal Property and Administrative Services

4 Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.).

5 SEC. 6. LEASING OF SEASONAL EMPLOYEE QUARTERS.

6 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to subsection

7 (b), the Secretary concerned may lease quarters at or near

8 an installation in the United States for use as seasonal

9 quarters. The rent charged to field employees under such

10 a lease shall be that amount which is equal to reasonable

11 value.

12 (b) LIMITATION.—The Secretary concerned may only

13 issue a lease under subsection (a) if the Secretary finds

14 that there is a shortage of adequate and affordable sea15 sonal quarters at or near such installation and that—

16 (1) the requirement for such seasonal field em17 ployee quarters is temporary; or

18 (2) leasing would be more cost effective than

19 construction of new seasonal field employee quarters.

20 (c) UNRECOVERED COSTS.—The Secretary concerned

21 may pay the unrecovered costs of leasing seasonal quarters

22 under this section from annual appropriations for the year

23 in which such lease is made.

24 (d) PROCEEDS.—Proceeds from the rental of sea25 sonal quarters under this section may, notwithstanding
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1 any other provision of law, be retained by the land man2 agement agency and shall be used for any costs related

3 to the housing program, including rehabilitation and con4 struction activities incurred by the agency with respect to

5 property subject to this section or any other employee

6 housing project owned by, or under the jurisdiction or con7 trol of, such agency. Any surplus proceeds under this sec8 tion shall be retained by the agency for those purposes

9 until expended.

10 (e) RENTAL TO NONGOVERNMENTAL PERSONS.—

11 The Secretary concerned may rent seasonal quarters on

12 Government lands to nongovernment persons during those

13 times that such units are not required for seasonal em14 ployees.

15 SEC. 7. SURVEY OF EXISTING FACILITIES.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 2 years after the date of

17 enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall—

18 (1) complete a condition assessment for all field

19 employee housing for land management agencies

20 under their respective jurisdictions, including the

21 physical condition of such housing and the necessity

22 and suitability of such housing for the effective pros23 ecution of the agency mission, using existing infor24 mation; and
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1 (2) develop an agency-wide priority listing, by

2 structure, identifying those units in greatest need

3 for repair, rehabilitation, replacement, or initial con4 struction.

5 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Each Secretary concerned shall

6 review the list to certify that Government housing is pro7 posed—

8 (1) only where reasonable value private sector

9 housing is not available; and

10 (2) where needed for the convenience of the

11 Government to carry out agency mandates.

12 (c) SUBMISSION.—Each Secretary shall submit a re13 port summarizing the study under this section to the Com14 mittees on Resources and Appropriations of the House of

15 Representatives and the Committees on Energy and Natu16 ral Resources and Appropriations of the Senate.

17 SEC. 8. USE OF HOUSING-RELATED FUNDS.

18 (a) APPROPRIATIONS.—Expenditure of any funds au19 thorized and appropriated for new construction, repair, or

20 rehabilitation of housing under this Act shall follow the

21 housing priority listing established by the agency under

22 section 7, in sequential order, to the maximum extent

23 practicable. No more than 20 percent of the funds appro24 priated for these purposes shall be spent on other than

25 actual construction activities.
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1 (b) RENTAL INCOME.—

2 (1) SPECIAL FUND.—Notwithstanding title 5,

3 United States Code, or any other provision of law,

4 rents and charges collected by payroll deduction or

5 otherwise for use or occupancy of quarters of agen6 cies identified in this Act shall, after the date of en7 actment of this Act, be deposited in a special fund

8 in each agency, to remain available until expended,

9 for the maintenance and operation of the quarters of

10 that agency.

11 (2) REIMBURSABLE ACCOUNT.—All funds gen12 erated from rental income shall be deposited to a re13 imbursable account at no lower than the agency re14 gional office level in order to ensure maximum effi15 ciency in fund utilization.

16 (c) SET-ASIDE REQUIREMENT.—For all units of

17 housing where the actual rent charged is less than the

18 amount of funding necessary to maintain all field em19 ployee housing in good condition or upgrade such housing

20 to good condition, the manager of that unit or subunit

21 shall set aside such additional funds from normal operat22 ing accounts as are necessary to maintain housing in good

23 condition or upgrade field employee housing to good condi24 tion over a reasonable period of time.
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1 (d) BUDGET LINE ITEM.—The Presidents’ proposed

2 budget to Congress for the first fiscal year beginning after

3 enactment of this Act, and for each subsequent fiscal year,

4 shall identify specifically, in a separate line item for each

5 land management agency, non-construction funds to be

6 spent for housing maintenance and operations which are

7 in addition to rental receipts collected.

8 SEC. 9. AUTHORITY FOR COOPERATIVE VENTURES FOR IN9 FRASTRUCTURE.

10 The Secretary is authorized to enter into cooperative

11 agreements or joint ventures with local and State govern12 mental agencies, other Federal agencies, Indian tribes,

13 and private entities either on or off the lands subject to

14 the jurisdiction of the Secretary, to provide appropriate

15 and necessary utility and other infrastructure facilities in

16 support of field employee housing facilities provided under

17 this Act.

18 SEC. 10. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

19 (a) CONSTRUCTION LIMITATIONS ON FEDERAL

20 LANDS.—The Secretary concerned may not utilize any

21 lands for the purposes of providing field employee housing

22 under this Act which could impact primary resource values

23 of the area or adversely affect the mission of the Depart24 ment. Further, any construction carried out under this
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1 Act shall be fully consistent with approved land manage2 ment agency plans.

3 (b) RENTAL RATES.—

4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary con5 cerned shall establish reasonable value rental rates

6 for all quarters occupied by field employees of land

7 management agencies.

8 (2) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary

9 concerned may make annually an adjustment for a

10 calendar year in the rental rates established under

11 paragraph (1). Such adjustment may not exceed the

12 Department of Labor’s then applicable Consumer

13 Price Index Residential Rent Series annual adjust14 ment factor.

15 (c) AVAILABILITY OF QUARTERS.—In carrying out

16 this Act and section 5911 of title 5, United States Code,

17 with respect to land management agencies, the Secretary

18 concerned shall determine the availability of quarters on

19 the basis of the existence, within reasonable commuting

20 range of well-constructed and maintained housing suitable

21 to the individual and family needs of the field employee

22 at a reasonable value.

23 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

24 For purposes of this Act—
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1 (1) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an employee of

2 an agency or an officially enrolled volunteer;

3 (2) the term ‘‘essential amenities’’ means day

4 care, laundromats, and recreational facilities and

5 such other amenities as the Secretary deems appro6 priate.

7 (3) the term ‘‘field employee’’ means an em8 ployee who is exclusively assigned to perform duties

9 at a field unit (including but not limited to a forest,

10 park, or refuge) and does not include any person as11 signed to any regional or other central office.

12 (4) the term ‘‘land management agency’’

13 means—

14 (A) the National Park Service, United

15 States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of

16 Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation,

17 and Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of

18 the Interior; and

19 (B) the Forest Service, Department of Ag20 riculture;

21 (5) the term ‘‘primary resource values’’ means

22 resources which are specifically mentioned in the en23 abling legislation for that field unit or other resource

24 value recognized under Federal statute;
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1 (6) the term ‘‘quarters’’ means quarters owned

2 or leased by the Government;

3 (7) the term ‘‘reasonable value’’ means—

4 (A) in the case of field employees whose

5 pay is not based on local comparability, a base

6 rental rate which is comparable to private rent7 al rates for comparable housing facilities and

8 associated amenities, but not more than the na9 tional average of rental rates for renters inclu10 sive of utilities, whether paid as part of rent or

11 paid directly to a third party, as determined by

12 the most recent survey of American housing

13 rental rates by the Bureau of the Census, De14 partment of Commerce; and

15 (B) in the case of field employees whose

16 pay is established on the basis of local com17 parability, the value which is established on the

18 basis of local or regional housing market sur19 veys conducted pursuant to regulations issued

20 under section 5911 of title 5, United States

21 Code;

22 (8) the term ‘‘seasonal quarters’’ means quar23 ters typically occupied by field employees who are

24 hired on assignments of 180 days or less; and
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1 (9) the term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means the

2 Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri3 culture, as appropriate.

4 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION.

5 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

6 may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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