Topic: Government Operations — General
Subject: Economics and public finance
Date: 2014-05-15 00:00:00

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for FY2015 for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, for science-related programs, and related agencies.

Title I: Department of Commerce - Department of Commerce Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for FY2015 for:

 the International Trade Administration; the Bureau of Industry and Security; the Economic Development Administration; the Minority Business Development Agency; economic and statistical analysis programs; the Bureau of the Census; the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including expenses for restoration of Pacific salmon populations; and departmental management, including for the Office of Inspector General. (Sec. 104) Adopts by reference and makes applicable to FY2015 requirements of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012, that prohibit NOAA from entering into a contract for development of a major program (a program with an estimated life-cycle cost of more than $250 million) unless the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere makes specified determinations, including that: (1) the technical, cost, and schedule risks are clearly identified and the program has developed a plan to manage those risks; and (2) the technologies required for the program have been demonstrated in a relevant laboratory or test environment.

(Sec. 105) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to furnish services to facilitate the use or occupancy of the Herbert C. Hoover Building, Washington, D.C., or other buildings for which the Secretary is responsible.

(Sec. 106) Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent a grant recipient from deterring child pornography, copyright infringement, or any other unlawful activity over its networks.

(Sec. 107) Authorizes the Administrator of NOAA to use the resources of federal, state, local, or tribal agencies and other entities to carry out the responsibilities of any statute administered by NOAA.

(Sec. 108) Requires the Department of Commerce to provide a monthly report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on any official travel to China by any Department of Commerce employee.

Title II: Department of Justice - Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Justice (DOJ) for FY2015 for:

 general administration, including for information sharing technology, the administration of pardon and clemency petitions and immigration-related activities, and the Office of the Inspector General; the United States Parole Commission; legal activities, including for the antitrust division, the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys, the U.S. Trustee Program, the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, fees and expenses of witnesses, the Community Relations Service, and the Assets Forfeiture Fund; the United States Marshals Service; Federal Prisoner Detention; the National Security Division; interagency law enforcement activities relating to drug trafficking and money laundering; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); the Federal Prison System, including for the Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated; the Office on Violence Against Women; and the Office of Justice Programs, including for criminal justice statistics programs, state and local law enforcement assistance, juvenile justice programs, public safety officers benefits, and community-oriented policing services programs. (Sec. 202) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to: (1) pay for an abortion, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in the case of rape; or (2) require any person to perform or facilitate the performance of an abortion.

(Sec. 204) Reaffirms the obligation of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to provide escort services necessary for a female inmate to receive an abortion outside a federal facility.

Sec. 206) Authorizes the Attorney General to extend through FY2015 the Personnel Management Demonstration Project without limitation on the number of employees or the positions covered.

(Sec. 207) Prohibits the use of funds made available under this Act to: (1) transport a maximum or high security prisoner other than to a prison or facility certified by the Bureau of Prisons as appropriately secure; (2) purchase cable television services or rent equipment used primarily for recreational purposes in federal prisons, except for inmate training, religious, or educational purposes; (3) purchase a new or enhanced information technology program having estimated development costs in excess of $100 million without appropriate program management controls and oversight mechanisms in place; (4) begin, continue, finish, process, or approve a public-private competition under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76 for work performed by employees of the Bureau of Prisons or of Federal Prison Industries, Inc.; or (5) facilitate the transfer of an operable firearm to an individual known or suspected to be an agent of a drug cartel, unless U.S. law enforcement personnel continuously monitor or control the firearm at all times.

(Sec. 215) Prohibits income retained in the DOJ Working Capital Fund from being made available for obligation during FY2015.

Title III: Science - Science Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for FY2015 for: (1) the Office of Science and Technology Policy; and (2) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), including for the Office of the Inspector General; and (3) the National Science Foundation (NSF), including for the Office of the National Science Board and the Office of the Inspector General.

Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY2015 for: (1) the Commission on Civil Rights, (2) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), (3) the International Trade Commission, (4) the Legal Services Corporation, (5) the Marine Mammal Commission, (6) the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and (7) the State Justice Institute.

Title V: General Provisions - (Sec. 501) Sets forth restrictions and prohibitions on the use of funds under this Act, including prohibitions against the use of funds to:

 promote the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products or to seek the reduction or removal by any foreign country of restrictions on marketing of such products, except for restrictions which are not applied equally to all tobacco products of the same type; discriminate against or denigrate the religious or moral beliefs of students who participate in DOJ financial assistance programs or their parents or legal guardians; acquire a high-impact or moderate-impact information system by the Departments of Commerce and Justice, NASA, or NSF unless such agencies have conducted risk-related reviews; justify the use of torture by any U.S. official or contract employee; pay administrative expenses or compensate any U.S. officer or employee in connection with requiring licenses for exporting certain firearms components to Canada with a total value not exceeding $500 wholesale in any transaction; include in any new bilateral or multilateral trade agreement the text of certain provisions of the United States-Singapore, Australia, or Morocco Free Trade Agreements; authorize or issue a national security letter in contravention of specified laws authorizing the FBI to issue national security letters; purchase first class or premium airline travel in contravention of federal regulations; pay for the attendance of more than 50 federal agency employees at a conference outside the United States, unless such conference is for the training of law enforcement personnel; permit NASA or the Office of Science and Technology Policy to partner with China or any Chinese-owned company unless specifically authorized by law; pay salaries of personnel to deny, or fail to act on, an application for the importation of any model of shotgun if legal requirements for such importation are met and no application for the importation of such model of shotgun had been denied prior to January 1, 2011; maintain or establish a computer network unless such network blocks the viewing, downloading, and exchanging of pornography; award contracts, grants, or loan guarantees to any corporation that has been convicted of a felony under federal law within the preceding 24 months or that has unpaid federal tax liability; implement the Arms Trade Treaty until the Senate approves a resolution of ratification for such treaty; or require a licensed firearm dealer to report information to DOJ regarding the sale of multiple rifles or shotguns to the same person. (Sec. 506) Renders any person who mislabels a product sold in or shipped to the United States as "Made in America" ineligible to receive any contract or subcontract funded by this Act. Requires funds made available by this Act to be used for the purchase of items that are manufactured, produced, or assembled in the United States, its territories or possessions.

(Sec. 521) Requires program managers of projects of the Departments of Commerce or Justice, NASA, or the NSF totaling more than $75 million to notify such agencies if project costs have increased by 10%.

(Sec. 522) Authorizes funding for intelligence-related activities during FY2015 until the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY2015.

(Sec. 523) Prohibits contracting with or awarding grants in excess of $5 million to a contractor or grantee unless such contractor or grantor certifies compliance with tax return requirements and has not been convicted of a criminal tax offense.

(Sec. 524) Rescinds unobligated balances available for Department of Commerce, Departmental Management, Franchise Fund. Requires the rescission, not later than September 30, 2015, of specified unobligated balances available for certain DOJ programs.

(Sec. 527) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act in a manner that is inconsistent with the principal negotiating objective of the United States with respect to trade remedy laws to preserve the ability of the United States to: (1) enforce vigorously its trade laws, (2) avoid agreements that lessen the effectiveness of domestic and international disciplines on unfair trade or safeguards to protect competition, and (3) address and remedy market distortions that lead to dumping and subsidization.

(Sec. 528) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to: (1) transfer or release to or within the United States Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee who is not a U.S. citizen or a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and who is or was held on or after June 24, 2009, at the U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the Department of Defense (DOD); or (2) construct, acquire, or modify any facility in the United States, its territories, or possessions to detain or imprison such a detainee.

(Sec. 530) Directs that funds made available in this Act be used to purchase light bulbs that are "Energy Star" qualified or have the "Federal Energy Management Program" designation.

(Sec. 540) Provides that the amount by which the allocation of new budget authority under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 exceeds the amount of proposed new budget authority is $0 (increased by $866,000).

(Sec. 541) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act under the heading "Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery" for grant guidelines or requirements to establish minimum riparian buffers.

(Sec. 542) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for:

 leasing or purchasing new light duty vehicles for any executive fleet or for an agency's fleet inventory, except in accordance with the Presidential Memorandum dated May 24, 2011; entering into contracts with parties convicted in the preceding three years of fraud in connection with a public contract or of other related civil or criminal offenses or with parties having delinquent federal taxes exceeding $3,000 that remain unsatisfied; implementing Executive Order No. 13547, relating to the stewardship of oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes, including the National Ocean Policy developed under such Executive Order; enforcing fines for refusing to answer questions for the American Community Survey or for giving false answers; contravening functions performed by the Attorney General and delegations of authority by the Attorney General; assessing or collecting the fee for the trawl fishery cost recovery program; contravening the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, anti-discrimination provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, and prohibitions against unlawful police pattern or practices under the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994; NASA's Advanced Food Technology Project; loan guarantees for Innovative Technologies in Manufacturing (under Economic Development Administration, Economic Development Assistance Programs); negotiating a waiver of Buy American Act requirements; examining climate effects on tea quality and socioeconomic responses under award number 1313775-CNH; designing, implementing, administering, or carrying out the U.S. Global Climate Research Program National Climate Assessment, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report, the United Nation's Agenda 21 sustainable development plan, or the May 2013 Technical Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive Order No. 12866; carrying out Operation Choke Point; assisting a state or local government that has in effect any law, policy, or procedure in contravention of federal immigration laws; the Investigative and Public Affairs Unit of the FBI, except for the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, the Most Wanted Terrorists, and missing children programs; preventing a state from implementing its own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of industrial hemp; preventing specified states from implementing their own laws authorizing the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana; transferring or temporarily assigning employees to the Office of the Pardon Attorney for the purpose of screening clemency applications;contravening industrial hemp research provisions of the Agricultural Act of 2014 by DOD or DEA; compelling a journalist or reporter to testify about information or sources regarded as confidential; relinquishing the responsibility of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration with respect to Internet domain name system functions, including responsibility with respect to the authoritative root zone file and the Internet assigned numbers authority functions; enforcement of the Fair Housing Act by DOJ in a manner that relies upon an allegation of liability for discrimination; contravening provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act allowing communication between government agencies and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service; or negotiating or entering into a trade agreement that establishes a limit on greenhouse gas emissions, except with respect to the administration of a tax or tariff.