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basic pay and overtime pay for the firefighter’s regular
tour of duty while attending agency sanctioned training.’’.
(d) section 8331(3) of title 5, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after subparagraph (D);
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub-
paragraph (G);
(3) by inserting the following:
‘‘(E) with respect to a criminal investiga-
tor, availability pay under section 5545a of this
title;
‘‘(F) pay as provided in section 5545b
(b)(2) and (c)(2); and ’’; and
(4) by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (B), (C), (D),
and (E)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (B)–(G)’’.
(e) The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period
which begins on or after the later of October 1, 1998, or
the 180th day following the date of enactment of this sec-
tion.
(f) Under regulations prescribed by the Office of Per-
sonnel Management, a firefighter subject to section 5545b
of title 5, United States Code, as added by this section,
whose regular tours of duty average 60 hours or less per
workweek and do not include a basic 40-hour workweek,
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shall, upon implementation of this section, be granted an
increase in basic pay equal to 2 step-increases of the appli-
cable General Schedule grade, and such increase shall not
be an equivalent increase in pay. If such increase results
in a change to a longer waiting period for the firefighter’s
next step increase, the firefighter shall be credited with
an additional year of service for the purpose of such wait-
ing period. If such increase results in a rate of basic pay
which is above the maximum rate of the applicable grade,
such resulting pay rate shall be treated as a retained rate
of basic pay in accordance with section 5363 of title 5,
United States Code.
(g) Under regulations prescribed by the Office of Per-
sonnel Management, the regular pay (over the established
work scheduling cycle) of a firefighter subject to section
5545b of title 5, United States Code, as added by this
section, shall not be reduced as a result of the implementa-
tion of this section.
COORDINATION OF SOUTHWEST BORDER COUNTERDRUG
ACTIVITIES
SEC. 640.—(1) Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office
of National Drug Control Policy shall conduct a review
of Federal efforts and submit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees, including the Committees on Appro-
priations, a plan to improve coordination among the Fed-
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eral agencies with responsibility to protect the borders
against drug trafficking. The review shall also include con-
sideration of Federal agencies’ coordination with State
and local law enforcement agencies. The plan shall include
an assessment and action plan, including the activities of
the following departments and agencies:
(A) Department of the Treasury;
(B) Department of Justice;
(C) United States Coast Guard;
(D) Department of Defense;
(E) Department of Transportation;
(F) Department of State; and
(G) Department of Interior.
(2) The purpose of the plan under paragraph (1) is
to maximize the effectiveness of the border control efforts
in achieving the objectives of the national drug control
strategy in a manner that is also consistent with the goal
of facilitating trade. In order to maximize the effective-
ness, the plan shall:
(A) specify the methods used to enhance co-
operation, planning and accountability among the
Federal, State, and local agencies with responsibil-
ities along the Southwest border;
(B) specify mechanisms to ensure cooperation
among the agencies, including State and local agen-
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cies, with responsibilities along the Southwest bor-
der;
(C) identify new technologies that will be used
in protecting the borders including conclusions re-
garding appropriate deployment of technology;
(D) identify new initiatives for infrastructure
improvements;
(E) recommend reinforcements in terms of re-
sources, technology and personnel necessary to en-
sure capacity to maintain appropriate inspections;
(F) integrate findings of the White House Intel-
ligence Architecture Review into the plan; and
(G) make recommendations for strengthening
the HIDTA program along the Southwest border.
SEC. 641. (a) FLEXIPLACE WORK TELECOMMUTING
PROGRAMS.—For fiscal year 1999 and each fiscal year
thereafter, of the funds made available to each Executive
agency for salaries and expenses, at a minimum $50,000
shall be available only for the necessary expenses of the
Executive agency to carry out a flexiplace work tele-
commuting program.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
(1) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive
agency’’ means the following list of departments and
agencies: Department of State, Treasury, Defense,
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Justice, Interior, Labor, Health and Human Serv-
ices, Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban
Development, Transportation, Energy, Education,
Veterans’ Affairs, General Service Administration,
Office of Personnel Management, Small Business
Administration, Smithsonian, Social Security Ad-
ministration, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.
Postal Service.
(2) FLEXIPLACE WORK TELECOMMUTING PRO-
GRAM.—The term ‘‘flexiplace work telecommuting
program’’ means a program under which employees
of an Executive agency are permitted to perform all
or a portion of their duties at a flexiplace work tele-
commuting center established under section 210(l)
of the Federal Property and Administrative Services
Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 490(l)) or other Federal
law.
SEC. 642. (a) MERITORIOUS EXECUTIVE.—Section
4507(e)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘an amount equal to 20
percent of annual basic pay’’.
(b) 
DISTINGUISHED
EXECUTIVE.—Section
4507(e)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting ‘‘an amount equal to 35
percent of annual basic pay’’.
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect on October 1, 1998, or the
date of enactment of this Act, whichever is later.
SEC. 
643. 
(a) 
CAREER
SES 
PERFORMANCE
AWARDS.—Section 5384(b)(3) of title 5, United States
Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘3 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘10
percent’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘15 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘20
percent’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect on October 1, 1998, or the
date of enactment of this Act, whichever is later.
SEC. 644. (a)(1) Paragraph (1) of section 5303(b)
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘If,
because of national emergency or serious economic condi-
tions affecting the general welfare,’’ and inserting ‘‘If, be-
cause of a declared state of war or severe economic condi-
tions,’’.
(2) Section 5303(b) of title 5, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) For purposes of applying this subsection with
respect to any pay adjustment that is to take effect in
any calendar year, ‘severe economic conditions’ shall be
considered to exist if, during the 12-month period ending
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2 calendar quarters before the date as of which such ad-
justment is scheduled to take effect (as determined under
subsection (a)), there occur 2 consecutive quarters of neg-
ative growth in the real Gross Domestic Product.’’.
(3) Paragraph (2) of section 5303(b) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘an economic
condition affecting the general welfare under this sub-
section,’’ and inserting ‘‘economic conditions for purposes
of this subsection,’’.
(b)(1) Subsection (a) of section 5304a of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘If, because
of national emergency or serious economic conditions af-
fecting the general welfare,’’ and inserting ‘‘If, because of
a declared state of war or severe economic conditions,’’.
(2) Section 5304a of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c)
and by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
‘‘(b) For purposes of applying this section with re-
spect to any comparability payments that are to become
payable in any calendar year, ‘severe economic conditions’
shall be considered to exist if, during the 12-month period
ending 2 calendar quarters before the date as of which
such payments are scheduled to take effect (as determined
under section 5304(d)(2)), there occur 2 consecutive quar-
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ters of negative growth in the real Gross Domestic Prod-
uct.’’.
(c) The amendments made by this section shall apply
with respect to any alternative pay adjustments under sec-
tion 5303(b) of title 5, United States Code, and any alter-
native level of comparability payments under section
5304a of such title 5, scheduled to take effect after 1999.
(d) The adjustment in rates of basic pay for the stat-
utory pay systems that takes effect in fiscal year 1999
under section 5303 of title 5, United States Code, shall
be an increase of 3.1 percent, unless otherwise provided
for under such section.
SEC. 645. (a) None of the funds made available in
this or any other Act may be obligated or expended for
any employee training that—
(1) does not meet identified needs for knowl-
edge, skills, and abilities bearing directly upon the
performance of official duties;
(2) contains elements likely to induce high lev-
els of emotional response or psychological stress in
some participants;
(3) does not require prior employee notification
of the content and methods to be used in the train-
ing and written end of course evaluation;
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(4) contains any methods or content associated
with religious or quasi-religious belief systems or
‘‘new age’’ belief systems as defined in Equal Em-
ployment 
Opportunity 
Commission 
Notice 
N–
915.022, dated September 2, 1988;
(5) is offensive to, or designed to change, par-
ticipants’ personal values or lifestyle outside the
workplace; or
(6) includes content related to human immuno-
deficiency virus-acquired immune deficiency syn-
drome (HIV/AIDS) other than that necessary to
make employees more aware of the medical ramifica-
tions of HIV/AIDS and the workplace rights of
HIV-positive employees.
(b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit, restrict, or
otherwise preclude an agency from conducting training
bearing directly upon the performance of official duties.
SEC. 646. (a) INTERNATIONAL POSTAL ARRANGE-
MENTS.—Section 407 of title 39, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 407. International postal arrangements
‘‘(a) The United States Trade Representative shall
be responsible for the formulation, coordination, and over-
sight of foreign policy related to international postal serv-
ices and international delivery services, except that the
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Trade Representative may not negotiate or conclude any
treaty, convention, or other international agreement (in-
cluding those regulating international postal service) if
such treaty, convention, or agreement would, with respect
to any class of mail or type of mail service, grant an undue
or unreasonable preference to the Postal Service, a private
provider of international postal services, or any other per-
son.
‘‘(b) In carrying out the responsibilities set forth in
subsection (a), the Trade Representative—
‘‘(1) shall coordinate with and give full consid-
eration to the authority vested by law or Executive
order in the Postal Rate Commission and the De-
partment of Commerce; and
‘‘(2) shall consult with the Postal Service, pri-
vate providers of international postal services, users
of international postal services, the general public,
and such other persons as the Trade Representative
considers appropriate.
‘‘(c) The Postal Service may enter into such commer-
cial and operational contracts relating to international
postal services as it considers necessary, except that the
Postal Service may not enter into any contract with an
agency of a foreign government (whether under authority
of this subsection or otherwise) if it would grant an undue
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or unreasonable preference to the Postal Service with re-
spect to any class of mail or type of mail service.’’.
(b) TRADE-IN-SERVICES
PROGRAM.—The second
sentence of paragraph (5) of section 306(a) of the Trade
and Tariff Act of 1984 (19 U.S.C. 2114b(5)) is amended
by inserting ‘‘postal and delivery services,’’ after ‘‘trans-
portation,’’.
SEC. 647. (a) LIMITATION.—No funds appropriated
for the United States Postal Service under this or any
other Act may be expended by the Postal Service to initi-
ate new nonpostal commercial activities or pack and send
services.
(b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘‘nonpostal commercial activities’’ includes services
such as volume retail photocopying, notary public services,
and the sale of office supplies or novelty items.
(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be considered—
(1) to affect any governmental function or any
services in support of a governmental function;
(2) to be applicable to the extent contrary to
statute or any treaty or international agreement; or
(3) to have any force or effect before October
1, 1998, or after September 30, 1999.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Treasury and General
Government Appropriations Act, 1999’’.