131 
(c) CRITERIA.— 
(1) A reprogramming shall be submitted to the Com-
mittees in writing 30 days prior to implementation if— 
(A) it exceeds $1,000,000 individually or cumu-
latively or results in a cumulative increase or de-
crease of more than 10 percent of funds annually in 
any affected program, project, or activity; 
(B) it is a reorganization; or 
(C) it is an operating plan or any later modi-
fication thereof as submitted under subsection (i) of 
this section: Provided, That such plan or modifica-
tion thereof also meets any of the other criteria 
under subsection (c)(1) of this section. 
(2) No funds shall be available for obligation or ex-
penditure through a reprogramming until 30 days after 
the receipt by the Committees of a notice of proposed re-
programming. 
(3) A reprogramming shall be considered approved 30 
days after receipt if the Committees have posed no objec-
tion. However, agencies will be expected to extend the ap-
proval deadline if specifically requested by either Com-
mittee. 
(d) EXCEPTIONS.— 
(1) With regard to the tribal priority allocations of 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there is no restriction on 
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reprogrammings among these programs. However, the Bu-
reau shall report on all reprogrammings made during a 
given fiscal year no later than 60 days after the end of 
the fiscal year. 
(2) With regard to the Environmental Protection 
Agency, State and Tribal Assistance Grants account, the 
Committees do not require reprogramming requests asso-
ciated with States and Tribes Partnership Grants. 
(e) ASSESSMENTS.— 
(1) No assessment shall be levied or collected unless 
such assessment and the basis therefor are presented to 
the Committees in the budget justifications and are subse-
quently approved by the Committees. The explanation for 
any assessment in the budget justification shall show the 
amount of the assessment, the activities assessed, and the 
purpose of the funds. 
(2) Proposed changes to estimated assessments, as 
such estimates were presented in annual budget justifica-
tions, shall be submitted through the reprogramming proc-
ess set out in this section and shall be subject to the same 
dollar and reporting criteria as any other reprogramming. 
(3) Each department, agency or bureau that utilizes 
assessments shall submit an annual report to the Commit-
tees which provides details on the use of all funds assessed 
from any other program, project, or activity. 
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(4) In no case shall contingency funds or assessments 
be used to finance agency actions disapproved or limited 
by the Congress. 
(f) LAND ACQUISITIONS, EASEMENTS, AND 
FOREST LEGACY.—Lands shall not be acquired for 
more than the approved appraised value (as addressed in 
section 301(3) of Public Law 91–646), unless such acqui-
sitions are submitted to the Committees for approval in 
compliance with these procedures. 
(g) LAND EXCHANGES.—Land exchanges, where-
in the estimated value of the Federal lands to be ex-
changed is greater than $1,000,000, shall not be con-
summated until the Committees have had a 30-day period 
in which to examine the proposed exchange. In addition, 
the Committees shall be provided advance notification of 
exchanges valued between $500,000 and $1,000,000. 
(h) 
BUDGET 
STRUCTURE.—The 
program, 
project, and activity structure for any agency appropria-
tion account shall not be altered without advance approval 
of the Committees. 
(i) OPERATING PLANS.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, each department 
or agency funded by this Act shall submit an operating 
plan to the Committees to establish the baseline for appli-
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cation of reprogramming for the current fiscal year. The 
operating plan shall include— 
(1) a table for each appropriation with a separate col-
umn to display the President’s budget request, adjust-
ments made by the Congress, enacted rescissions, if appro-
priate, and the fiscal year enacted level; 
(2) a delineation in the table for each appropriation 
by program, project, and activity for the respective appro-
priation; and 
(3) an identification of items of special congressional 
interest. 
MINING APPLICATIONS 
SEC. 404. (a) LIMITATION OF FUNDS.—None of the 
funds appropriated or otherwise made available pursuant 
to this Act shall be obligated or expended to accept or 
process applications for a patent for any mining or mill 
site claim located under the general mining laws. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply if 
the Secretary of the Interior determines that, for the claim 
concerned (1) a patent application was filed with the Sec-
retary on or before September 30, 1994; and (2) all re-
quirements established under sections 2325 and 2326 of 
the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 29 and 30) for vein or 
lode claims, sections 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of the 
Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, and 37) for placer 
claims, and section 2337 of the Revised Statutes (30 
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U.S.C. 42) for mill site claims, as the case may be, were 
fully complied with by the applicant by that date. 
(c) REPORT.—On September 30, 2018, the Secretary 
of the Interior shall file with the House and Senate Com-
mittees on Appropriations and the Committee on Natural 
Resources of the House and the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate a report on actions taken 
by the Department under the plan submitted pursuant to 
section 314(c) of the Department of the Interior and Re-
lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 
104–208). 
(d) MINERAL EXAMINATIONS.—In order to process 
patent applications in a timely and responsible manner, 
upon the request of a patent applicant, the Secretary of 
the Interior shall allow the applicant to fund a qualified 
third-party contractor to be selected by the Director of the 
Bureau of Land Management to conduct a mineral exam-
ination of the mining claims or mill sites contained in a 
patent application as set forth in subsection (b). The Bu-
reau of Land Management shall have the sole responsi-
bility to choose and pay the third-party contractor in ac-
cordance with the standard procedures employed by the 
Bureau of Land Management in the retention of third- 
party contractors. 
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