H. R. 4818—530
(B) the expenditure of funds pursuant to such certifi-
cation, and without such a voucher or abstract, is specifi-
cally authorized by law; and
(2) unless such expenditure is subject to audit by the Gen-
eral Accounting Officer or is specifically exempt by law from
such audit.
SEC. 403. None of the funds provided in this Act to any depart-
ment or agency may be obligated or expended for: (1) the transpor-
tation of any officer or employee of such department or agency
between the domicile and the place of employment of the officer
or employee, with the exception of an officer or employee authorized
such transportation under 31 U.S.C. 1344 or 5 U.S.C. 7905; or
(2) to provide a cook, chauffeur, or other personal servants to
any officer or employee of such department or agency.
SEC. 404. None of the funds provided in this Act may be
used for payment, through grants or contracts, to recipients that
do not share in the cost of conducting research resulting from
proposals not specifically solicited by the Government: Provided,
That the extent of cost sharing by the recipient shall reflect the
mutuality of interest of the grantee or contractor and the Govern-
ment in the research.
SEC. 405. None of the funds provided in this Act may be
used, directly or through grants, to pay or to provide reimbursement
for payment of the salary of a consultant (whether retained by
the Federal Government or a grantee) at more than the daily
equivalent of the rate paid for level IV of the Executive Schedule,
unless specifically authorized by law.
SEC. 406. None of the funds provided in this Act may be
used to pay the expenses of, or otherwise compensate, non-Federal
parties intervening in regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings.
Nothing herein affects the authority of the Consumer Product Safety
Commission pursuant to section 7 of the Consumer Product Safety
Act (15 U.S.C. 2056 et seq.).
SEC. 407. Except as otherwise provided under existing law,
or under an existing Executive order issued pursuant to an existing
law, the obligation or expenditure of any appropriation under this
Act for contracts for any consulting service shall be limited to
contracts which are: (1) a matter of public record and available
for public inspection; and (2) thereafter included in a publicly avail-
able list of all contracts entered into within 24 months prior to
the date on which the list is made available to the public and
of all contracts on which performance has not been completed
by such date. The list required by the preceding sentence shall
be updated quarterly and shall include a narrative description
of the work to be performed under each such contract.
SEC. 408. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may
be used to implement any cap on reimbursements to grantees
for indirect costs, except as published in Office of Management
and Budget Circular A–21.
SEC. 409. Such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005
pay raises for programs funded by this Act shall be absorbed within
the levels appropriated in this Act.
SEC. 410. (a) It is the sense of the Congress that, to the
greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased
with funds made available in this Act should be American-made.
(b) In providing financial assistance to, or entering into any
contract with, any entity using funds made available in this Act,
H. R. 4818—531
the head of each Federal agency, to the greatest extent practicable,
shall provide to such entity a notice describing the statement made
in subsection (a) by Congress.
SEC. 411. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used for any program, project, or activity, when it is made
known to the Federal entity or official to which the funds are
made available that the program, project, or activity is not in
compliance with any Federal law relating to risk assessment, the
protection of private property rights, or unfunded mandates.
SEC. 412. Except in the case of entities that are funded solely
with Federal funds or any natural persons that are funded under
this Act, none of the funds in this Act shall be used for the
planning or execution of any program to pay the expenses of,
or otherwise compensate, non-Federal parties to lobby or litigate
in respect to adjudicatory proceedings funded in this Act. A chief
executive officer of any entity receiving funds under this Act shall
certify that none of these funds have been used to engage in
the lobbying of the Federal Government or in litigation against
the United States unless authorized under existing law.
SEC. 413. No part of any funds appropriated in this Act shall
be used by an agency of the executive branch, other than for
normal and recognized executive-legislative relationships, for pub-
licity or propaganda purposes, and for the preparation, distribution
or use of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, radio, television
or film presentation designed to support or defeat legislation
pending before Congress, except in presentation to Congress itself.
SEC. 414. All departments and agencies funded under this
Act are encouraged, within the limits of the existing statutory
authorities and funding, to expand their use of ‘‘E-Commerce’’ tech-
nologies and procedures in the conduct of their business practices
and public service activities.
SEC. 415. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be transferred to any department, agency, or instrumentality of
the United States Government except pursuant to a transfer made
by, or transfer authority provided in, this Act or any other appro-
priation Act.
SEC. 416. None of the funds provided in this Act to any depart-
ment or agency shall be obligated or expended to procure passenger
automobiles as defined in 15 U.S.C. 2001 with an EPA estimated
miles per gallon average of less than 22 miles per gallon.
SEC. 417. Section 313 of the National Aeronautics and Space
Act of 1958, as amended, is further amended in subsection (a)—
(1) by striking ‘‘2004’’ and inserting ‘‘2005’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘Space flight capabilities’’ and inserting
‘‘Exploration capabilities’’.
SEC. 418. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used to implement any policy prohibiting the Directors of the
Veterans Integrated Service Networks from conducting outreach
or marketing to enroll new veterans within their respective Net-
works.
SEC. 419. It is the sense of Congress that no veteran should
wait more than 30 days for an initial doctor’s appointment.
SEC. 420. None of the funds made available to NASA in this
Act may be used for voluntary separation incentive payments as
provided for in subchapter II of chapter 35 of title 5, United States
Code, unless the Administrator of NASA has first certified to Con-
gress that such payments would not result in the loss of skills
H. R. 4818—532
related to the safety of the Space Shuttle or the International
Space Station or to the conduct of independent safety oversight
in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
SEC. 421. (a) TREATMENT OF PIONEER HOMES IN ALASKA AS
STATE HOME FOR VETERANS.—For this fiscal year and each fiscal
year hereafter, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may—
(1) treat the Pioneer Homes in the State of Alaska collec-
tively as a single State home for veterans for purposes of
section 1741 of title 38, United States Code; and
(2) make per diem payments to the State of Alaska for
care provided to veterans in the Pioneer Homes in accordance
with the provisions of that section.
(b) TREATMENT NOTWITHSTANDING NON-VETERAN RESIDENCY.—
The Secretary may treat the Pioneer Homes as a State home
under subsection (a) notwithstanding the residency of non-veterans
in one or more of the Pioneer Homes.
(c) PIONEER HOMES DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘Pio-
neer Homes’’ means the six regional homes in the State of Alaska
known as Pioneer Homes, which are located in the following:
(1) Anchorage, Alaska.
(2) Fairbanks, Alaska.
(3) Juneau, Alaska.
(4) Ketchikan, Alaska.
(5) Palmer, Alaska.
(6) Sitka, Alaska.
(d) LIMITATION.—The number of beds occupied by veterans
collectively in the six Pioneer Homes listed under subsection (c)
for which per diem would be paid under this authority shall not
exceed the number of veterans in State beds that otherwise would
be permitted in Alaska under the Department of Veterans Affairs
State home regulations governing the number of beds per veteran
population.
SEC. 422. Of the amounts available to the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, such sums as may be necessary for
the benefit of the families of the astronauts who died on board
the Space Shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003, are available
under the terms of section 203(c)(13) of the National Aeronautics
and Space Act of 1958, as amended, independent of the limitations
established therein.
SEC. 423. Section 428 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs
and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2004 is amended—
(1) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘new’’ before ‘‘spark igni-
tion engines’’; and
(2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘The prohibition in sub-
section (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘The prohibition in subsection (c)’’.
SEC. 424. In addition to the amounts otherwise provided in
this or any other Act for fiscal year 2005, for ‘‘Department of
Housing and Urban Development, Community Development Fund’’,
$31,000,000 to remain available until expended for a grant to The
Hudson River Park Trust for planning, design and reconstruction
of Pier 86 in New York City.
SEC. 425. From within funds available to the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, $200,000 shall be made available until expended
to Eric and Brian Simon of Minneapolis, Minnesota, to be divided
evenly between the individuals.
H. R. 4818—533
SEC. 426. (a) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—Subject to subsection
(b), the limitation on the release of funds in section 104(g)(2) of
the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.
5304) shall not apply to the Village of Chickasaw Sewer Collection
and Treatment System, located in the Village of Chickasaw, Mercer
County, Ohio.
(b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) only applies to the grant
that was awarded to the Village of Chickasaw (Ohio Small Cities
CDBG Grant # C–W–03–283–1), for the period beginning September
1, 2003, and ending October 31, 2005, and in the amount of
$600,000.
(c) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.—Notwithstanding the provisions
of this section, the Village of Chickasaw must complete all appro-
priate environment reviews in a timely manner and to the satisfac-
tion of the State of Ohio.
This division may be cited as the ‘‘Departments of Veterans
Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005’’.
DIVISION J—OTHER MATTERS
TITLE I—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS AND OFFSETS
SEC. 101. For an additional amount for the Department of
Energy for the weatherization assistance program pursuant to 42
U.S.C. 6861 et seq. and notwithstanding section 3003(d)(2) of Public
Law 99–509, $230,000,000, to remain available until expended.
SEC. 102. Section 1201(a) of the Ronald W. Reagan National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108–
375) is amended by striking ‘‘$300,000,000’’ in the matter preceding
paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘$500,000,000’’.
SEC. 103. (a) The District of Columbia Appropriations Act,
2005 (Public Law 108–335) is amended as follows:
(1) The paragraph under the heading ‘‘CAPITAL OUTLAY’’
is amended by striking ‘‘For construction projects, an increase
of $1,087,649,000, of which $839,898,000 shall be from local
funds, $38,542,000 from Highway Trust funds, $37,000,000
from the Rights-of-way funds, $172,209,000 from Federal grant
funds, and a rescission of $361,763,000 from local funds appro-
priated under this heading in prior fiscal years, for a net
amount of $725,886,000, to remain available until expended;’’
and inserting ‘‘For construction projects, an increase of
$1,102,039,000, of which $839,898,000 shall be from local funds,
$38,542,000 from Highway Trust funds, $51,390,000 from the
Rights-of-way funds, $172,209,000 from Federal grant funds,
and a rescission of $361,763,000 from local funds appropriated
under this heading in prior fiscal years, for a net amount
of $740,276,000, to remain available until expended;’’.
(2) Section 340(a) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) Section 603(e)(3)(E) of the Student Loan Marketing Associa-
tion Reorganization Act of 1996 (20 U.S.C. 1155(e)(3)(E)) is
amended—
‘‘(1) by striking ‘and’ at the end of subclause (II);
‘‘(2) by striking the period at the end of subclause (III)
and inserting ‘; and’; and
‘‘(3) by adding at the end the following new subclause: