Union Calendar No. 439

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2941

[Report No. 104–802, Part I]

A BILL

To improve the quantity and quality of the quarters

for other purposes.of land management agency field employees, and

SEPTEMBER 17, 1996

Reported from the Committee on Resources with an

amendment

SEPTEMBER 17, 1996

Referral to the Committee on Agriculture for a period

ending not later than September 17, 1996

SEPTEMBER 17, 1996

The Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to

Union and ordered to be printedthe Committee of the Whole House on the State of the
IB

Union Calendar No. 439

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2941

[Report No. 104–802, Part I]

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

SEPTEMBER 17, 1996

Reported from the Committee on Resources with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

SEPTEMBER 17, 1996

Referral to the Committee on Agriculture for a period ending not later than

September 17, 1996

SEPTEMBER 17, 1996

The Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 1, 1996]

A BILL

To improve the quantity and quality of the quarters of land

management agency field employees, and for other purposes.
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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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Na5 tional Park Service Administrative Reform Act of 1996’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. National Park Service Housing Improvement Act.

Sec. 3. Minor boundary revision authority.

Sec. 4. Authorization for certain park facilities to be located outside of units of

the National Park System.

Sec. 5. Elimination of unnecessary congressional reporting requirements.

Sec. 6. Senate confirmation of the Director of the National Park Service.

Sec. 7. National Park System Advisory Board authorization.

Sec. 8. Challenge cost-share agreement authority.

Sec. 9. Cost recovery for damage to national park resources.

8 SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HOUSING IMPROVEMENT

9 ACT.

10 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are—

11 (1) to develop where necessary an adequate sup12 ply of quality housing units for field employees of the

13 National Park Service within a reasonable time

14 frame;

15 (2) to expand the alternatives available for con16 struction and repair of essential government housing;

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

18 supply housing in carrying out this section, to the

19 maximum extent possible, in order to reduce the need

20 for Federal appropriations;
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1 (4) to provide increased opportunities for the

2 ownership of housing by field employees, together with

3 the equity and tax benefits associated with home own4 ership;

5 (5) to ensure that adequate funds are available

6 to provide for long-term maintenance needs of field

7 employee housing; and

8 (6) to eliminate unnecessary government housing

9 and locate such housing as is required in a manner

10 such that primary resource values are not impaired.

11 (b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—To enhance the ability of

12 the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in this section re13 ferred to as ‘‘the Secretary’’), acting through the Director

14 of the National Park Service, to effectively manage units

15 of the National Park System, and notwithstanding any pro16 vision of section 5536 of title 5, United States Code, the

17 Secretary is authorized where necessary and justified to

18 make available employee housing and essential amenities,

19 on or off the lands under the administrative jurisdiction

20 of the National Park Service, and to rent or lease such hous21 ing to field employees of the National Park Service at a

22 reasonable value commensurate with rent or leasing of hous23 ing of comparable value in the local community.

24 (c) REVIEW AND REVISION OF HOUSING CRITERIA.—

25 Upon the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall review
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1 and revise the existing criteria under which housing is pro2 vided to employees of the National Park Service. The review

3 and revision shall include consideration of the following cri4 teria:

5 (1) Required occupancy (whether and under

6 what circumstances the Park Service requires, as a

7 condition of employment, that an employee live at a

8 particular site or in a specific geographic area). For

9 each instance in which occupancy is required, full

10 consideration shall be given to the concept of adequate

11 response time.

12 (2) Availability and adequacy of non-Federal

13 housing in the geographic area, including consider14 ation of the degree of isolation (the time and distance

15 that separate other potential housing from the work16 place of a Park Service employee).

17 (3) Category of employment (seasonal or perma18 nent).

19 (4) Any other factor that the Secretary considers

20 appropriate.

21 (d) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—A report detailing the

22 results of the revisions required by subsection (c) shall be

23 submitted to the Committee on Resources of the House of

24 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural

25 Resources of the Senate not later than 180 days after the
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1 date of the enactment of this Act. The report shall include

2 justifications for keeping, or for changing, each of the cri3 teria or factors used by the Department of the Interior with

4 regard to the provision of housing to employees of the Na5 tional Park Service.

6 (e) REVIEW OF CONDITION OF AND COSTS RELATING

7 TO HOUSING.—Using the revised criteria developed under

8 subsection (c), the Secretary shall undertake a review, for

9 each unit of the National Park System, of existing govern10 ment-owned housing provided to employees of the National

11 Park Service. The review shall include an assessment of the

12 physical condition of such housing and the suitability of

13 such housing to effectively carry out the missions of the De14 partment of the Interior and the National Park Service.

15 For each unit of such housing, the Secretary shall determine

16 whether the unit is needed and justified. The review shall

17 include estimates of the cost of bringing each such unit that

18 is needed and justified into usable condition that meets all

19 applicable legal housing requirements or, if the unit is de20 termined to be obsolete but is still warranted to carry out

21 the missions of the Department of the Interior and the Na22 tional Park Service, the cost of replacing the unit.

23 (f) AUTHORIZATION FOR HOUSING AGREEMENTS.—

24 For those units of the National Park System for which the

25 review required by subsections (c) and (e) has been com-
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1 pleted, the Secretary is authorized pursuant to the authori2 ties contained in this Act, to enter into housing agreements

3 with housing entities under which such housing entities

4 may develop, construct, rehabilitate, or manage housing, lo5 cated on or off public lands, for rent or lease to National

6 Park Service employees who meet the housing eligibility cri7 teria developed by the Secretary pursuant to this Act.

8 (g) JOINT PUBLIC-PRIVATE SECTOR HOUSING PRO9 GRAMS.—

10 (1) LEASE TO BUILD PROGRAM.—The Secretary

11 may—

12 (A) lease Federal land and interests in land

13 to qualified persons for the construction of field

14 employee quarters and essential amenities for

15 any period not to exceed 50 years; and

16 (B) lease developed and undeveloped non17 Federal land for providing field employee quar18 ters.

19 (2) COMPETITIVE LEASING.—Each lease under

20 paragraph (1)(A) shall be awarded through the use of

21 publicly advertised, competitively bid, or competi22 tively negotiated contracting procedures, except that a

23 lease to a field employee housing cooperative may be

24 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 under

4 paragraph (1)(A)—

5 (A) shall stipulate whether operation and

6 maintenance of field employee quarters is to be

7 provided by the lessee, field employees or the Fed8 eral Government;

9 (B) shall require that the construction and

10 rehabilitation of field employee quarters be done

11 in accordance with the requirements of the Na12 tional Park Service and local applicable building

13 codes and industry standards;

14 (C) shall contain such additional terms and

15 conditions as may be appropriate to protect the

16 Federal interest, including limits on rents the

17 lessee may charge field employees for the occu18 pancy of quarters, conditions on maintenance

19 and repairs, and agreements on the provision of

20 charges for utilities and other infrastructure;

21 (D) may provide that, upon termination of

22 the lease, the contractor shall abandon the quar23 ters constructed on the property subject to such

24 lease and thereafter ownership shall vest in the
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1 United States or restore the property to its natu2 ral state; and

3 (E) may be granted at less than fair market

4 value if the Secretary determines that such lease

5 will improve the quality and availability of field

6 employee quarters available.

7 (4) CONTRIBUTIONS BY UNITED STATES.—The

8 Secretary may make payments or contributions in

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

10 rehabilitation of quarters under a lease under this

11 subsection.

12 (5) THIRD PARTY PARTICIPATION.—A lease

13 under this subsection may include provision for par14 ticipation by a third party, when third party pres15 ence is needed or required, and approved by the Sec16 retary concerned.

17 (h) RENTAL GUARANTEE PROGRAM.—

18 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may

19 enter into a lease to build arrangement as set forth

20 in subsection (c) with further agreement to guarantee,

21 the occupancy of field employee quarters constructed

22 or rehabilitated under such lease. A guarantee made

23 under this subsection shall be in writing.

24 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary may not guar25 antee—
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1 (A) the occupancy of more than 97 percent

2 of the units constructed or rehabilitated under

3 such lease; and

4 (B) a rental rate that exceeds the rates es5 tablished under subsection (j)(3).

6 (3) RENTAL TO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—A

7 guarantee may be made under this subsection only if

8 the lessee agrees to permit the Secretary concerned to

9 utilize for housing purposes any units for which the

10 guarantee is made.

11 (4) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A SATISFACTORY

12 LEVEL OF OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.—The lease

13 shall be null and void if the lessee fails to maintain

14 a satisfactory level of operation and maintenance.

15 (i) JOINT DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use au17 thorities granted by statute in combination with one

18 another in the furtherance of providing where nec19 essary and justified affordable field employee housing.

20 (2) CONDITION.—The Secretary may condition

21 private development upon provision and management

22 of field employee housing for the Federal Government

23 in the affected location.

24 (j) CONTRACTS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF FIELD EM25 PLOYEE QUARTERS.—
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1 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may

2 enter into contracts for the management, repair, and

3 maintenance of field employee quarters.

4 (2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Any such contract

5 shall contain such terms and conditions as the Sec6 retary deems necessary or appropriate to protect the

7 interests of the United States and assure that safe, af8 fordable quarters are available to that agency’s field

9 employees.

10 (3) RENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law, any such contract may provide for the

12 setting of rents at rates to be determined by the Sec13 retary in accordance with subsection (m)(2) of this

14 section and for their collection.

15 (k) JOINT EMPLOYEE-AGENCY HOUSING PROGRAMS.—

16 (1) SALE OF QUARTERS.—

17 (A) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Notwithstand18 ing any other provision of law, the Secretary

19 may sell field employee quarters to field employ20 ees of the agency or a cooperative whose member21 ship is made up exclusively of field employees of

22 the agency.

23 (B) INTEREST IN LANDS.—The Secretary

24 may only sell a leasehold interest in lands at-
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1 tendant to the sale of any quarters under sub2 paragraph (A).

3 (2) LEASE OF QUARTERS.—The Secretary may

4 lease Federal land to field employees of the National

5 Park Service or a cooperative made up of field em6 ployees of the National Park Service for purposes of

7 constructing employee housing and essential amen8 ities.

9 (3) RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.—The Secretary

10 shall have right of first refusal when any property

11 transferred under this subsection is for sale.

12 (4) COVENANTS.—The Secretary may establish

13 and enforce such covenants as may be appropriate to

14 the property, upon its sale by the Secretary under

15 this subsection.

16 (5) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The Secretary may

17 sell or transfer employee quarters under this sub18 section for less than fair market value if the Secretary

19 determines that such a sale or transfer will improve

20 the quality of field employee quarters available and

21 keep the quarters affordable at the salary ranges of

22 field employees normally occupying them.

23 (6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Disposal of em24 ployee quarters under this subsection to field employ25 ees and cooperatives whose membership is made up
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1 exclusively of field employees shall not be considered

2 disposal of excess Federal real property under the

3 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of

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

5 (7) NOTICE.—The Secretary may not take any

6 action authorized pursuant to this section until 180

7 days after the Secretary submits a report to the ap8 propriate congressional committees respecting the au9 thority of this subsection.

10 (l) LEASING OF SEASONAL EMPLOYEE QUARTERS.—

11 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to para12 graph (2), the Secretary may lease quarters at or

13 near a unit of the park system for use as seasonal

14 quarters for field employees. The rent charged to field

15 employees under such a lease shall be that amount

16 which is equal to reasonable value.

17 (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may only issue

18 a lease under paragraph (1) if the Secretary finds

19 that there is a shortage of adequate and affordable

20 seasonal quarters at or near such unit and that—

21 (A) the requirement for such seasonal field

22 employee quarters is temporary; or

23 (B) leasing would be more cost effective

24 than construction of new seasonal field employee

25 quarters.
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1 (3) UNRECOVERED COSTS.—The Secretary may

2 pay the unrecovered costs of leasing seasonal quarters

3 under this subsection from annual appropriations for

4 the year in which such lease is made.

5 (4) RENTAL TO NONGOVERNMENTAL PERSONS.—

6 The Secretary may rent seasonal quarters on Govern7 ment lands to nongovernment persons during those

8 times that such units are not required for seasonal

9 employees, except that the Secretary may only rent

10 such quarters if the Secretary determines the rent ex11 ceeds the cost of providing such quarters.

12 (m) SURVEY OF EXISTING FACILITIES.—The Sec13 retary shall—

14 (1) complete a condition assessment for all field

15 employee housing, including the physical condition of

16 such housing and the necessity and suitability of such

17 housing for the effective prosecution of the agency

18 mission, using existing information; and

19 (2) develop a agency-wide priority listing, by

20 structure, identifying those units in greatest need for

21 repair, rehabilitation, replacement, or initial con22 struction.

23 (n) USE OF HOUSING-RELATED FUNDS.—Expendi24 ture of any funds authorized and appropriated for new con25 struction, repair, or rehabilitation of housing under this
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1 section shall follow the housing priority listing established

2 by the agency under subsection (m), in sequential order,

3 to the maximum extent practicable.

4 (o) ANNUAL BUDGET SUBMITTAL.—The President’s

5 proposed budget to Congress for the first fiscal year begin6 ning after enactment of this Act, and for each subsequent

7 fiscal year, shall include for each agency under this section,

8 identification of nonconstruction funds to be spent for hous9 ing maintenance and operations which are in addition to

10 rental receipts collected.

11 (p) EMPLOYEE TRANSPORTATION.—The Secretary

12 may use applicable appropriations of the National Park

13 System for transportation to and from work, outside of reg14 ular working hours, of field employees, residing in or near

15 a national park system unit, such transportation to be be16 tween the unit and the city, or intervening points, at rea17 sonable rates to be determined by the Secretary taking into

18 consideration, among other factors, comparable rates

19 charged by transportation companies in the locality for

20 similar services, the amounts collected for such transpor21 tation to be credited to the current appropriation account

22 available for administration of the park system unit con23 cerned and shall be available to the Secretary for obligation

24 or expenditure, notwithstanding section 1341 of title 31,

25 United States Code, for administration of such unit. Any
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1 surplus proceeds shall be retained by the agency for those

2 purposes until expended. If adequate transportation facili3 ties are available, or shall be available by any common car4 rier, at reasonable rates, then and in that event the services

5 contemplated by this subsection shall not be offered.

6 (q) STUDY OF HOUSING ALLOWANCES.—Within 12

7 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

8 shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility of provid9 ing eligible employees of the National Park Service with

10 housing allowances rather than government housing. The

11 study shall specifically examine the feasibility of providing

12 rental subsidies to temporary and lower paid permanent

13 employees. Whenever the Secretary submits a copy of such

14 study to the Office of Management and Budget, he shall con15 currently transmit copies of the report to the Resources

16 Committee of the United States House of Representatives

17 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

18 the United States Senate.

19 (r) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—

20 (1) CONSTRUCTION LIMITATIONS ON FEDERAL

21 LANDS.—The Secretary may not utilize any lands for

22 the purposes of providing field employee housing

23 under this section which could impact primary re24 source values of the area or adversely affect the mis25 sion of the agency. Any construction carried out
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1 under this section shall be fully consistent with ap2 proved land management agency plans.

3 (2) RENTAL RATES.—

4 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall

5 establish reasonable value rental rates for all

6 quarters occupied by field employees of land

7 management agencies.

8 (B) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary

9 may annually make an adjustment for a cal10 endar year in the rental rates established under

11 paragraph (1). Such adjustment may not exceed

12 the Department of Labor’s then applicable

13 Consumer Price Index Residential Rent Series

14 annual adjustment factor except for increases at15 tributable to utility rates and other Government

16 provided services and improvements provided by

17 the United States.

18 (3) AVAILABILITY OF QUARTERS.—In carrying

19 out this section and section 5911 of title 5, United

20 States Code, with respect to land management agen21 cies, the Secretary shall determine the availability of

22 quarters on the basis of the existence, within reason23 able commuting range of well-constructed and main24 tained housing suitable to the individual and family

25 needs of the field employee at a reasonable value.
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1 (4) EXEMPTION FROM NPS LEASING REQUIRE2 MENTS.—The provisions of section 5 of the Act of

3 July 15, 1968 (82 Stat. 354, 356; 16 U.S.C. 460l-22)

4 shall not apply to the issuance by the Secretary of

5 leases under this section.

6 (s) PROCEEDS.—The proceeds from any lease under

7 subsection (g)(1)(A)(i), any sale or lease under subsection

8 (k)(1), and any lease of seasonal quarters under subsection

9 (l), may, notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, United

10 States Code, be retained by the land management agency

11 entering into such sale or lease. Such proceeds shall be cred12 ited to the current appropriation account available for pay13 ment of costs related to the housing program, including ad14 ministration, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and con15 struction activities. Such proceeds shall be available to the

16 agency, notwithstanding section 1341 of title 31, United

17 States Code, for obligation or expenditure by the agency for

18 such purposes and shall be retained by the agency for those

19 purposes until expended.

20 (t) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

21 (1) The term ‘‘essential amenities’’ means day

22 care, laundromats, and recreational facilities and

23 such other amenities as the Secretary deems appro24 priate.
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1 (2) The term ‘‘field employee’’ means an em2 ployee who is exclusively assigned to perform duties

3 at a field unit and does not include any person as4 signed to any regional or other central office. A field

5 employee shall include Government employees, volun6 teers, concession employees, school teachers, cooperat7 ing association personnel and other essential coopera8 tors.

9 (3) The term ‘‘land management agency’’ means

10 the National Park Service, Department of the Inte11 rior.

12 (4) The term ‘‘primary resource values’’ means

13 resources which are specifically mentioned in the ena14 bling legislation for that field unit or other resource

15 value recognized under Federal statute.

16 (5) The term ‘‘quarters’’ means quarters owned

17 or leased by the Government.

18 (6) The term ‘‘seasonal quarters’’ means quarters

19 typically occupied by field employees who are hired

20 on assignments of 180 days or less.

21 SEC. 3. MINOR BOUNDARY REVISION AUTHORITY.

22 Section 7(c) of the Land and Water Conservation

23 Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 4601–9(c)) is amended as fol24 lows:
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1 (1) In the first sentence, by striking ‘‘Committee

2 on Natural’’ and inserting ‘‘Committee on’’.

3 (2) By striking ‘‘: Provided, however,’’ and all

4 that follows through ‘‘1965’’ and inserting the follow5 ing after the first sentence: ‘‘In all cases except the

6 case of technical boundary revisions (resulting from

7 such causes as survey error or changed road align8 ments), the authority of the Secretary under clause (i)

9 shall apply only if each of the following conditions is

10 met:

11 ‘‘(1) The sum of the total acreage of lands, wa12 ters, and interests therein to be added to the area and

13 the total such acreage to be deleted from the area is

14 not more than 5 percent of the total Federal acreage

15 authorized to be included in the area and is less than

16 200 acres in size.

17 ‘‘(2) The acquisition, if any, is not a major Fed18 eral action significantly affecting the quality of the

19 human environment, as determined by the Secretary.

20 ‘‘(3) The sum of the total appraised value of the

21 lands, water, and interest therein to be added to the

22 area and the total appraised value of the lands, wa23 ters, and interests therein to be deleted from the area

24 does not exceed $750,000.
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1 ‘‘(4) The proposed boundary revision is not an

2 element of a more comprehensive boundary modifica3 tion proposal.

4 ‘‘(5) The proposed boundary has been subject to

5 a public review and comment period.

6 ‘‘(6) The Director of the National Park Service

7 obtains written support for the boundary modifica8 tion from all property owners whose lands, water, or

9 interests therein, or a portion of whose lands, water,

10 or interests therein, will be added to or deleted from

11 the area by the boundary modification.

12 Minor boundary revisions involving only deletions of

13 acreage owned by the Federal Government and ad14 ministered by the National Park Service may be

15 made only by Act of Congress.’’.

16 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION FOR CERTAIN PARK FACILITIES TO

17 BE LOCATED OUTSIDE OF UNITS OF THE NA18 TIONAL PARK SYSTEM.

19 Section 4 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to improve the

20 administration of the national park system by the Sec21 retary of the Interior, and to clarify the authorities applica22 ble to the system, and for other purposes’’ approved August

23 18, 1970 (16 U.S.C. 1a–1 et seq.), is amended to read as

24 follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION FOR PARK FACILITIES OUTSIDE

2 BOUNDARIES OF SYSTEM UNITS.

3 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—In order to facilitate the adminis4 tration of the national park system, the Secretary of the

5 Interior is authorized, under such terms and conditions as

6 he may deem advisable, to establish essential facilities for

7 park administration, visitor use, and park employee resi8 dential housing outside the boundaries, but within the vi9 cinity, of units of the national park system for purposes

10 of assuring conservation, visitor use, and proper manage11 ment of such units. Such facilities, and the use thereof, shall

12 be in conformity with approved plans for the unit con13 cerned. The Secretary shall use existing facilities wherever

14 feasible. Such facilities may only be constructed by the Sec15 retary upon finding that location of such facilities would—

16 ‘‘(1) avoid undue degradation of the primary

17 natural or cultural resources within the unit;

18 ‘‘(2) enhance service to the public; or

19 ‘‘(3) provide a cost saving to the Federal Govern20 ment.

21 ‘‘(b) AGREEMENTS, LEASES, GUIDELINES, AND CON22 STRUCTION.—For the purpose of establishing facilities

23 under subsection (a):

24 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may enter into agreements

25 permitting the Secretary to use for such purposes

26 those Federal lands that the head of a Federal agency
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1 having primary authority over the administration of

2 such land and the Secretary determine to be suitable

3 for such use.

4 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, under such terms and condi5 tions as the Secretary determines are reasonable, may

6 lease or acquire (from willing sellers only) by pur7 chase or donation, real property (other than Federal

8 land), for the purposes specified in this section.

9 ‘‘(3) For real property acquired pursuant to

10 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall establish written

11 guidelines setting forth criteria to be used in deter12 mining whether the acquisition would—

13 ‘‘(A) reflect unfavorably upon the ability of

14 the Department or an employee to carry out its

15 responsibilities or official duties in a fair and

16 objective manner; or

17 ‘‘(B) compromise the integrity, or the ap18 pearance of integrity, of the Department’s pro19 grams or of any official involved in those pro20 grams.

21 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may construct, operate, and

22 maintain such permanent and temporary buildings

23 and facilities as the Secretary deems appropriate on

24 land which is in the vicinity of any unit of the na25 tional park system for which the Secretary has ac-
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1 quired authority under this section, except that the

2 Secretary may not begin construction, operation, or

3 maintenance of buildings or facilities on land not

4 owned by the United States until the owner of such

5 lands has entered into a binding agreement with the

6 Secretary, the terms of which assure the continued use

7 of such buildings and facilities for a period of time

8 commensurate with the level of Federal investment.

9 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND JOINT VEN10 TURES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES.—The Secretary

11 is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements or joint

12 ventures with local or State governmental agencies, other

13 Federal agencies, Indian Tribes, and private entities either

14 on or off the lands subject to the jurisdiction of the Sec15 retary, to provide appropriate and necessary utility and

16 other infrastructure facilities in support of park adminis17 tration, visitor use, and park employee residential hous18 ing.’’.

19 SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY CONGRESSIONAL

20 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

21 (a) REPEALS.—The following provisions are hereby re22 pealed:

23 (1) Section 302(c) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to

24 authorize the establishment of the Chattahoochee River

25 National Recreation Area in the State of Georgia,
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1 and for other purposes (Public Law 95–344; 92 Stat.

2 478; 16 U.S.C. 2302(c)).

3 (2) Section 503 of the Act of December 19, 1980

4 (Public Law 96–550; 94 Stat. 3228; 16 U.S.C. 410ii–

5 2).

6 (3) Subsections (b) and (c) of section 4 of the Act

7 of October 15, 1982 (Public Law 97–335; 96 Stat.

8 1628; 16 U.S.C. 341 note).

9 (4) Section 7 of Public Law 89–671 (96 Stat.

10 1457; 16 U.S.C. 284f).

11 (5) Section 3(c) of the National Trails System

12 Act (Public Law 90–543; 82 Stat. 919; 16 U.S.C.

13 1242(c)).

14 (6) Section 4(b) of the Act of October 24, 1984

15 (Public Law 98–540; 98 Stat. 2720; 16 U.S.C. 1a–8).

16 (7) Section 106(b) of the National Visitor Center

17 Facilities Act of 1968 (Public Law 90–264; 82 Stat.

18 44; 40 U.S.C. 805(b)).

19 (8) Section 6(f)(7) of the Act of September 3,

20 1964 (Public Law 88–578; 78 Stat. 900; 16 U.S.C.

21 460l–8(f)(7)).

22 (9) Subsection (b) of section 8 of the Act of Au23 gust 18, 1970 (Public Law 91–383; 90 Stat. 1940; 16

24 U.S.C. 1a–5(b)).
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1 (10) The last sentence of section 10(a)(2) of the

2 National Trails System Act (Public Law 90–543; 82

3 Stat. 926; 16 U.S.C. 1249(a)(2)).

4 (11) Section 4 of the Act of October 31, 1988

5 (Public Law 100–573; 102 Stat. 2891; 16 U.S.C. 460o

6 note).

7 (12) Section 104(b) of the Act of November 19,

8 1988 (Public Law 100–698; 102 Stat. 4621).

9 (13) Section 1015(b) of the Urban Park and

10 Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–625;

11 92 Stat. 3544; 16 U.S.C. 2514(b)).

12 (14) Section 105 of the Act of August 13, 1970

13 (Public Law 91–378; 16 U.S.C. 1705).

14 (15) Section 307(b) of the National Historic

15 Preservation Act (Public Law 89–665; 16 U.S.C.

16 470w–6(b)).

17 (b) AMENDMENTS.—The following provisions are

18 amended:

19 (1) Section 10 of the Archaeological Resources

20 Protection Act of 1979, by striking the last sentence

21 of subsection (c) (Public Law 96–95; 16 U.S.C.

22 470ii(c)).

23 (2) Section 5(c) of the Act of June 27, 1960

24 (Public Law 86–523; 16 U.S.C. 469a–3(c); 74 Stat.
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1 220), by inserting a period after ‘‘Act’’ and striking

2 ‘‘and shall submit’’ and all that follows.

3 (3) Section 7(a)(3) of the Act of September 3,

4 1964 (Public Law 88–578; 78 Stat. 903; 16 U.S.C.

5 460l–9(a)(3)), by striking the last sentence.

6 (4) Section 111 of the Petroglyph National

7 Monument Establishment Act of 1990 (Public Law

8 101–313; 104 Stat. 278), by striking out the second

9 sentence.

10 (5) Section 307(a) of the National Historic Pres11 ervation Act (Public Law 89–665; 16 U.S.C. 470w–

12 6(a)) is amended by striking the first and second sen13 tences.

14 (6) Section 101(a)(1)(B) of the National Historic

15 Preservation Act (Public Law 89–665; 16 U.S.C.

16 470a) by inserting a period after ‘‘Register’’ the last

17 place such term appears and by striking ‘‘and sub18 mitted’’ and all that follows.

19 SEC. 6. SENATE CONFIRMATION OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE

20 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The first section of the Act entitled

22 ‘‘An Act to establish a National Park Service, and for other

23 purposes’’, approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16

24 U.S.C. 1; commonly referred to as the ‘‘National Park Serv25 ice Organic Act’’), is amended in the first sentence by strik-
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1 ing ‘‘who shall be appointed by the Secretary’’ and all that

2 follows and inserting ‘‘who shall be appointed by the Presi3 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

4 The Director shall have substantial experience and dem5 onstrated competence in land management and natural or

6 cultural resource conservation. The Director shall select two

7 Deputy Directors. The first Deputy Director shall have re8 sponsibility for National Park Service operations, and the

9 second Deputy Director shall have responsibility for other

10 programs assigned to the National Park Service.’’.

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION.—The amend12 ment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on February

13 1, 1997, and shall apply with respect to the individual (if

14 any) serving as the Director of the National Park Service

15 on that date.

16 SEC. 7. NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM ADVISORY BOARD AU17 THORIZATION.

18 (a) NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM ADVISORY BOARD.—Sec19 tion 3 of the Act of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 667; 16

20 U.S.C. 463) is amended as follows:

21 (1) In subsection (a) by striking the first 3 sen22 tences and inserting in lieu thereof: ‘‘There is hereby

23 established a National Park System Advisory Board,

24 whose purpose shall be to advise the Director of the

25 National Park Service on matters relating to the Na-
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1 tional Park Service, the National Park System, and

2 programs administered by the National Park Service.

3 The Board shall advise the Director on matters sub4 mitted to the Board by the Director as well as any

5 other issues identified by the Board. Members of the

6 Board shall be appointed on a staggered term basis

7 by the Secretary for a term not to exceed 4 years and

8 shall serve at the pleasure of the Secretary. The Board

9 shall be comprised of no more than 12 persons, ap10 pointed from among citizens of the United States hav11 ing a demonstrated commitment to the mission of the

12 National Park Service. Board members shall be se13 lected to represent various geographic regions, includ14 ing each of the administrative regions of the National

15 Park Service. At least 6 of the members shall have

16 outstanding expertise in 1 or more of the following

17 fields: history, archeology, anthropology, historical or

18 landscape architecture, biology, ecology, geology, ma19 rine science, or social science. At least 4 of the mem20 bers shall have outstanding expertise and prior expe21 rience in the management of national or State parks

22 or protected areas, or national or cultural resources

23 management. The remaining members shall have out24 standing expertise in 1 or more of the areas described

25 above or in another professional or scientific dis-
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1 cipline, such as financial management, recreation use

2 management, land use planning or business manage3 ment, important to the mission of the National Park

4 Service. At least 1 individual shall be a locally elected

5 official from an area adjacent to a park. The Board

6 shall hold its first meeting by no later than 60 days

7 after the date on which all members of the Advisory

8 Board who are to be appointed have been appointed.

9 Any vacancy in the Board shall not affect its powers,

10 but shall be filled in the same manner in which the

11 original appointment was made. The Board may

12 adopt such rules as may be necessary to establish its

13 procedures and to govern the manner of its oper14 ations, organization, and personnel. All members of

15 the Board shall be reimbursed for travel and per diem

16 in lieu of subsistence expenses during the performance

17 of duties of the Board while away from home or their

18 regular place of business, in accordance with sub19 chapter 1 of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.

20 With the exception of travel and per diem as noted

21 above, a member of the Board who is otherwise an

22 officer or employee of the United States Government

23 shall serve on the Board without additional com24 pensation.’’.
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1 (2) By redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as

2 (f) and (g) and by striking from the first sentence of

3 subsection (f), as so redesignated ‘‘1995’’ and insert4 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘2006’’.

5 (3) By adding the following new subsections

6 after subsection (a):

7 ‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary is authorized to hire 2 full-time

8 staffers to meet the needs of the Advisory Board.

9 ‘‘(2) Service of an individual as a member of the

10 Board shall not be considered as service or employment

11 bringing such individual within the provisions of any Fed12 eral law relating to conflicts of interest or otherwise impos13 ing restrictions, requirements, or penalties in relation to

14 the employment of persons, the performance of services, or

15 the payment or receipt of compensation in connection with

16 claims, proceedings, or matters involving the United States.

17 Service as a member of the Board, or as an employee of

18 the Board, shall not be considered service in an appointive

19 or elective position in the Government for purposes of sec20 tion 8344 of title 5, United States Code, or comparable pro21 visions of Federal law.

22 ‘‘(c)(1) Upon request of the Director, the Board is au23 thorized to—

24 ‘‘(A) hold such hearings and sit and act at such

25 times,
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1 ‘‘(B) take such testimony,

2 ‘‘(C) have such printing and binding done,

3 ‘‘(D) enter into such contracts and other ar4 rangements,

5 ‘‘(E) make such expenditures, and

6 ‘‘(F) take such other actions,

7 as the Board may deem advisable. Any member of the

8 Board may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses

9 appearing before the Board.

10 ‘‘(2) The Board may establish committees or sub11 committees. Any such subcommittees or committees shall be

12 chaired by a voting member of the Board.

13 ‘‘(d) The provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee

14 Act shall apply to the Board established under this section

15 with the exception of section 14(b).

16 ‘‘(e)(1) The Board is authorized to secure directly from

17 any office, department, agency, establishment, or instru18 mentality of the Federal Government such information as

19 the Board may require for the purpose of this section, and

20 each such officer, department, agency, establishment, or in21 strumentality is authorized and directed to furnish, to the

22 extent permitted by law, such information, suggestions, esti23 mates, and statistics directly to the Board, upon request

24 made by a member of the Board.
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1 ‘‘(2) Upon the request of the Board, the head of any

2 Federal department, agency, or instrumentality is author3 ized to make any of the facilities and services of such de4 partment, agency, or instrumentality to the Board, on a

5 nonreimbursable basis, to assist the Board in carrying out

6 its duties under this section.

7 ‘‘(3) The Board may use the United States mails in

8 the same manner and under the same conditions as other

9 departments and agencies in the United States.’’.

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

11 authorized to be appropriated to the National Park System

12 Advisory Board $200,000 per year to carry out the provi13 sions of section 3 of the Act of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat.

14 667; 16 U.S.C. 463).

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

16 on December 7, 1997.

17 SEC. 8. CHALLENGE COST-SHARE AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

19 (1) The term ‘‘challenge cost-share agreement’’

20 means any agreement entered into between the Sec21 retary and any cooperator for the purpose of sharing

22 costs or services in carrying out authorized functions

23 and responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior

24 with respect to any unit or program of the National

25 Park System (as defined in section 2(a) of the Act of
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1 August 8, 1953 (16 U.S.C. 1c(a))), any affiliated

2 area, or any designated National Scenic or Historic

3 Trail.

4 (2) The term ‘‘cooperator’’ means any State or

5 local government, public or private agency, organiza6 tion, institution, corporation, individual, or other en7 tity.

8 (b) CHALLENGE COST-SHARE AGREEMENTS.—The

9 Secretary of the Interior is authorized to negotiate and

10 enter into challenge cost-share agreements with cooperators.

11 (c) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—In carrying out chal12 lenge cost-share agreements, the Secretary of the Interior is

13 authorized to provide the Federal funding share from any

14 funds available to the National Park Service.

15 SEC. 9. COST RECOVERY FOR DAMAGE TO NATIONAL PARK

16 RESOURCES.

17 Public Law 101–337 is amended as follows:

18 (1) In section 1 (16 U.S.C. 19jj), by amending

19 subsection (d) to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(d) ‘Park system resource’ means any living or non21 living resource that is located within the boundaries of a

22 unit of the National Park System, except for resources

23 owned by a non-Federal entity.’’.

24 (2) In section 1 (16 U.S.C. 19jj) by adding at

25 the end thereof the following:
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1 ‘‘(g) ‘Marine or aquatic park system resource’ means

2 any living or non-living part of a marine or aquatic regi3 men within or is a living part of a marine or aquatic regi4 men within the boundaries of a unit of the National Park

5 System, except for resources owned by a non-Federal en6 tity.’’.

7 (3) In section 2(b) (16 U.S.C. 19jj–1(b)), by in8 serting ‘‘any marine or aquatic park resource’’ after

9 ‘‘any park system resource’’.