H. R. 2691—20
employees for purposes of chapter 171 of title 28, United States
Code.
DEPARTMENTAL OFFICES
INSULAR AFFAIRS
ASSISTANCE TO TERRITORIES
For expenses necessary for assistance to territories under the
jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, $76,343,000, of which:
(1) $70,022,000 shall be available until expended for technical
assistance, including maintenance assistance, disaster assistance,
insular management controls, coral reef initiative activities, and
brown tree snake control and research; grants to the judiciary
in American Samoa for compensation and expenses, as authorized
by law (48 U.S.C. 1661(c)); grants to the Government of American
Samoa, in addition to current local revenues, for construction and
support of governmental functions; grants to the Government of
the Virgin Islands as authorized by law; grants to the Government
of Guam, as authorized by law; and grants to the Government
of the Northern Mariana Islands as authorized by law (Public
Law 94–241; 90 Stat. 272); and (2) $6,321,000 shall be available
for salaries and expenses of the Office of Insular Affairs: Provided,
That all financial transactions of the territorial and local govern-
ments herein provided for, including such transactions of all agen-
cies or instrumentalities established or used by such governments,
may be audited by the General Accounting Office, at its discretion,
in accordance with chapter 35 of title 31, United States Code:
Provided further, That Northern Mariana Islands Covenant grant
funding shall be provided according to those terms of the Agreement
of the Special Representatives on Future United States Financial
Assistance for the Northern Mariana Islands approved by Public
Law 104–134: Provided further, That of the amounts provided for
technical assistance, sufficient funds shall be made available for
a grant to the Pacific Basin Development Council: Provided further,
That of the amounts provided for technical assistance, sufficient
funding shall be made available for a grant to the Close Up Founda-
tion: Provided further, That the funds for the program of operations
and maintenance improvement are appropriated to institutionalize
routine operations and maintenance improvement of capital infra-
structure with territorial participation and cost sharing to be deter-
mined by the Secretary based on the grantee’s commitment to
timely maintenance of its capital assets: Provided further, That
any appropriation for disaster assistance under this heading in
this Act or previous appropriations Acts may be used as non-
Federal matching funds for the purpose of hazard mitigation grants
provided pursuant to section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c).
COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATION
For grants and necessary expenses, $6,434,000, as provided
for in sections 221(a)(2), 221(b), and 233 of the Compact of Free
Association for the Republic of Palau as authorized by Public Law
99–658; section 103(f)(2) of title I of H.J. Res. 63 or S.J. Res.
16, (as introduced July 8, 2003, and July 14, 2003, respectively);
and section 221(a)(2) of the Compacts of Free Association and
H. R. 2691—21
their related agreements between the Government of the United
States and the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
(signed April 30, 2003), and between the Government of the United
States and the Federated States of Micronesia (signed May 14,
2003); to remain available until expended. Further, $142,400,000
shall be available until expended, of which $76,700,000 shall be
provided for the Federated States of Micronesia and shall be used
for grants and necessary expenses as provided for (and in accord-
ance with and subject to the terms, conditions, procedures, and
requirements set forth in) sections 211, 212, 213, 214, and 216
of the Compact of Free Association and its related agreements
between the Government of the United States and the Government
of the Federated States of Micronesia (signed May 14, 2003);
$50,700,000 shall be provided for the Republic of the Marshall
Islands and shall be used for grants and necessary expenses as
provided for (and in accordance with, and subject to the terms,
conditions, procedures, and requirements set forth in) sections 211,
212, 213, 214, 215, and 217 of the Compact of Free Association
and its related agreements between the Government of the United
States and the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
(signed April 30, 2003); and $15,000,000 shall be made available
for the effect of U.S.-FSM Compact and U.S.-RMI Compact, in
accordance with, and subject to the terms, conditions, procedures,
and requirements set forth in section 104(e) of title I of H.J. Res.
63, or S.J. Res. 16 (as introduced July 8, 2003, and July 14,
2003, respectively). The funding made available in this paragraph
shall not be used to fund the Trust Funds of the Compacts of
Free Association, however measures necessary to set up the Trust
Funds in accordance with the agreement between the Government
of the United States and the Government of the Federated States
of Micronesia (signed May 14, 2003) and the agreement between
the Government of the United States and the Government of the
Republic of the Marshall Islands (signed April 30, 2003) imple-
menting section 215 and section 216, respectively, of the Compacts
regarding a Trust Fund are authorized and may commence. If
the aforementioned H.J. Res. 63, S.J. Res. 16, or similar legislation
as identified in the President’s fiscal year 2004 budget to approve
the Compacts of Free Association (dated April 30, 2003, and May
14, 2003) and their related agreements is enacted, any funding
made available under this paragraph shall be considered to have
been made available and expended for and under that enacted
legislation purposes of funding for fiscal year 2004.
Section 231 of Public Law 99–239 is amended by striking
‘‘If these negotiations’’ and all that follows through the final period
and inserting the following: ‘‘The period for the enactment of legisla-
tion approving the agreements resulting from such negotiations
shall extend through the earlier of the date of the enactment
of such legislation or September 30, 2004, during which time the
provisions of this Compact, including title three, shall remain in
full force and effect.’’.
DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
For necessary expenses for management of the Department
of the Interior, $78,933,000, of which not to exceed $8,500 may
H. R. 2691—22
be for official reception and representation expenses, and of which
up to $1,000,000 shall be available for workers compensation pay-
ments and unemployment compensation payments associated with
the orderly closure of the United States Bureau of Mines: Provided,
That of this amount, sufficient funds shall be available for the
Secretary of the Interior, not later than 60 days after the last
day of the fiscal year, to submit to Congress a report on the
amount of acquisitions made by the Department of the Interior
during such fiscal year of articles, materials, or supplies that were
manufactured outside the United States. Such report shall sepa-
rately indicate the dollar value of any articles, materials, or supplies
purchased by the Department of the Interior that were manufac-
tured outside the United States, an itemized list of all waivers
under the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a et seq.) that were
granted with respect to such articles, materials, or supplies, and
a summary of total procurement funds spent on goods manufactured
in the United States versus funds spent on goods manufactured
outside of the United States. The Secretary of the Interior shall
make the report publicly available by posting the report on an
Internet website: Provided further, That none of the funds in this
or previous appropriations Acts may be used to establish any addi-
tional reserves in the Working Capital Fund account other than
the two authorized reserves without prior approval of the House
and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
Of the unobligated balances in the Special Foreign Currency
account, $1,400,000 are hereby canceled.
WORKING CAPITAL FUND
For the acquisition of a departmental financial and business
management system, $11,700,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That from unobligated balances under this
heading, $20,000,000 are hereby canceled.
PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES
For expenses necessary to implement the Act of October 20,
1976, as amended (31 U.S.C. 6901–6907), $227,500,000, of which
not to exceed $400,000 shall be available for administrative
expenses: Provided, That no payment shall be made to otherwise
eligible units of local government if the computed amount of the
payment is less than $100.
OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Solicitor,
$50,374,000.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General,
$38,749,000, of which $3,812,000 shall be for procurement by con-
tract of independent auditing services to audit the consolidated
Department of the Interior annual financial statement and the
H. R. 2691—23
annual financial statement of the Department of the Interior
bureaus and offices funded in this Act.
OFFICE OF SPECIAL TRUSTEE FOR AMERICAN INDIANS
FEDERAL TRUST PROGRAMS
For the operation of trust programs for Indians by direct
expenditure, contracts, cooperative agreements, compacts, and
grants, $189,641,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That of the amounts available under this heading not to exceed
$45,000,000 shall be available for records collection and indexing,
imaging and coding, accounting for per capita and judgment
accounts, accounting for tribal accounts, reviewing and distributing
funds from special deposit accounts, and program management
of the Office of Historical Trust Accounting, including litigation
support: Provided further, That nothing in the American Indian
Trust Management Reform Act of 1994, Public Law 103–412, or
in any other statute, and no principle of common law, shall be
construed or applied to require the Department of the Interior
to commence or continue historical accounting activities with respect
to the Individual Indian Money Trust until the earlier of the fol-
lowing shall have occurred: (a) Congress shall have amended the
American Indian Trust Management Reform Act of 1994 to delin-
eate the specific historical accounting obligations of the Department
of the Interior with respect to the Individual Indian Money Trust;
or (b) December 31, 2004: Provided further, That funds for trust
management improvements and litigation support may, as needed,
be transferred to or merged with the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
‘‘Operation of Indian Programs’’ account; the Office of the Solicitor,
‘‘Salaries and Expenses’’ account; and the Departmental Manage-
ment, ‘‘Salaries and Expenses’’ account: Provided further, That
funds made available to Tribes and Tribal organizations through
contracts or grants obligated during fiscal year 2004, as authorized
by the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 (25 U.S.C. 450 et
seq.), shall remain available until expended by the contractor or
grantee: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the statute of limitations shall not commence to run on
any claim, including any claim in litigation pending on the date
of the enactment of this Act, concerning losses to or mismanagement
of trust funds, until the affected tribe or individual Indian has
been furnished with an accounting of such funds from which the
beneficiary can determine whether there has been a loss: Provided
further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec-
retary shall not be required to provide a quarterly statement of
performance for any Indian trust account that has not had activity
for at least 18 months and has a balance of $1.00 or less: Provided
further, That the Secretary shall issue an annual account statement
and maintain a record of any such accounts and shall permit
the balance in each such account to be withdrawn upon the express
written request of the account holder: Provided further, That not
to exceed $50,000 is available for the Secretary to make payments
to correct administrative errors of either disbursements from or
deposits to Individual Indian Money or Tribal accounts after Sep-
tember 30, 2002: Provided further, That erroneous payments that
are recovered shall be credited to and remain available in this
account for this purpose.