H. R. 584
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America 
AT THE FIRST SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the fourth day of January, two thousand and five 
An Act 
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of the Interior 
Volunteer Recruitment Act of 2005’’. 
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 Reclamation, 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 individuals, 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 Reclamation, 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 permit the use of volun-
teers 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 accept the serv-
ices 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.
H. R. 584—2
(c) PROVISION OF SERVICES AND COSTS.—The Secretary may 
provide for services and costs incidental to the utilization of volun-
teers, including transportation, supplies, uniforms, lodging, subsist-
ence (without regard to place of residence), recruiting, training, 
supervision, and awards and recognition (including nominal cash 
awards). 
(d) FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF VOLUNTEERS.—
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a volun-
teer shall not be deemed a Federal employee and shall not 
be subject to the provisions of law relating to Federal employ-
ment, including those provisions relating to hours of work, 
rates of compensation, 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 volunteer 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.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.