IB 
Union Calendar No. 372 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4170 
[Report No. 108–613] 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to recruit volunteers to assist 
with, or facilitate, the activities of various agencies and offices of the 
Department of the Interior. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 20, 2004 
Mr. POMBO (by request) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Resources 
JULY 19, 2004 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 20, 2004] 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to recruit volun-
teers to assist with, or facilitate, the activities of various 
agencies and offices of the Department of the Interior. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of the Inte-
rior Volunteer Recruitment Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to authorize the Secretary 
of the Interior to recruit and use volunteers to assist with, 
or facilitate, the programs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
the United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Rec-
lamation, and the Office of the Secretary. 
SEC. 3. VOLUNTEER AUTHORITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior may 
recruit, train, and accept, without regard to the civil service 
classification laws, rules, or regulations, the services of indi-
viduals, contributed without compensation as volunteers, 
for aiding in or facilitating the activities administered by 
the Secretary through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the 
United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Reclama-
tion, and the Office of the Secretary. 
(b) RESTRICTIONS ON ACTIVITIES OF VOLUNTEERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In accepting such services of 
individuals as volunteers, the Secretary shall not per-
mit the use of volunteers in law enforcement work, in 
regulatory and enforcement work, in policymaking 
processes, or to displace any employee. 
(2) PRIVATE PROPERTY.—No volunteer services 
authorized by this Act may be conducted on private
property unless the officer or employee charged with 
supervising the volunteer obtains appropriate consent 
to enter the property from the property owner. 
(3) HAZARDOUS DUTY.—The Secretary may ac-
cept the services of individuals in hazardous duty 
only upon a determination by the Secretary that such 
individuals are skilled in performing hazardous duty 
activities. 
(4) SUPERVISION.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that an appropriate officer or employee of the United 
States provides adequate and appropriate supervision 
of each volunteer whose services the Secretary accepts. 
(c) PROVISION OF SERVICES AND COSTS.—The Sec-
retary may provide for services and costs incidental to the 
utilization of volunteers, including transportation, supplies, 
uniforms, lodging, subsistence (without regard to place of 
residence), recruiting, training, supervision, and awards 
and recognition (including nominal cash awards). 
(d) FEDERAL
EMPLOYMENT
STATUS
OF
VOLUN-
TEERS.— 
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this sub-
section, a volunteer shall not be deemed a Federal em-
ployee and shall not be subject to the provisions of 
law relating to Federal employment, including those 
provisions relating to hours of work, rates of com-
pensation, leave, unemployment compensation, and 
Federal employee benefits. 
(2) Volunteers shall be deemed employees of the 
United States for the purposes of— 
(A) the tort claims provisions of title 28, 
United States Code; 
(B) subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, 
United States Code; and 
(C) claims relating to damage to, or loss of, 
personal property of a volunteer incident to vol-
unteer service, in which case the provisions of 
section 3721 of title 31, United States Code, shall 
apply. 
(3) Volunteers under this Act shall be subject to 
chapter 11 of title 18, United States Code, unless the 
Secretary, with the concurrence of the Director of the 
Office of Government Ethics, determines in writing 
published in the Federal Register that the provisions 
of that chapter, except section 201, shall not apply to 
the actions of a class or classes of volunteers who 
carry out only those duties or functions specified in 
the determination.
Union Calendar No. 372 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4170 
[Report No. 108–613] 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to recruit 
volunteers to assist with, or facilitate, the activi-
ties of various agencies and offices of the Depart-
ment of the Interior. 
JULY 19, 2004 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed