107th Congress

Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2003

H.R. 5120 and S. 2740

Background

This legislation contained personnel and other administrative provisions that pertain to all agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Most of these provisions are the same each year; provisions marked with an asterisk are new from the last fiscal year (FY).

Provisions of the Legislation/Impact on NIH

• Title V-General Provisions (H.R. 5120 only)
  • Prohibition of Coverage for Abortions Under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP): Section 509 would have prohibited the use of Federal funds to pay for an abortion, or for related administrative expenses, in connection with any health plan under FEHBP..
  • Exception for Prohibition of Coverage for Abortions Under FEHBP: Section 510 would have covered abortions for Federal employees in the FEHBP in the event that the life of the mother is endangered or in cases of rape or incest.
• Title VI-General Provisions
  • Drug-Free Workplace: Section 602 would have required that Federal agencies administer policies to ensure that its workplaces are free from the illegal use, possession, or distribution of controlled substances by agency employees.
  • Government Motor Vehicles: Section 603 would have set (unless otherwise specifically provided) a maximum amount for the purchase of a passenger motor vehicle at $8,100. (Buses, ambulances, law enforcement vehicles, and undercover surveillance vehicles would have been excluded.) The purchase of station wagons could not have exceeded $9,100. Electric or hybrid vehicles purchased for demonstration under the provisions of the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1976 would have been able to exceed these limits by 5 percent. Limits in this section would also have been able to exceed the incremental cost of clean alternative fuel vehicles acquired pursuant to the Clean Air Act (P.L. 101-549) over the cost of comparable, conventionally fueled vehicles.
  • Prohibition of Hiring Noncitizens: Section 605 would have prohibited the compensation of officers and employees of the Federal Government in the continental United States unless the person 1) is a citizen of the United States, 2) has filed a declaration of intention to become a citizen, 3) is a person who owes allegiance to the United States, 4) is an alien from Cuba, Poland, South Vietnam, the countries of the former Soviet Union, or the Baltic countries lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence, 5) is a South Vietnamese, Cambodian, or Laotian refugee paroled in the United States, or 6) is a national of the People's Republic of China who qualifies for adjustment of status pursuant to the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992.
  • Renovation and Alteration of Buildings and Facilities: Section 606 would have authorized agencies to pay the General Services Administration for space renovation and alteration of buildings and facilities that constitute public improvements.
  • Authorization To Receive and Use Funds To Finance the Cost of Recycling and Waste Prevention Programs:Section 607 would have authorized Federal agencies to finance the costs of recycling and waste prevention programs with proceeds from the sale of materials recovered through such programs. However, the funds could have been spent for the following purposes only: 1) acquisition, waste reduction and prevention, and recycling programs as described in Executive Order 12873, 2) other Federal agency environmental management programs, including the development and implementation of hazardous waste management and pollution prevention programs, or 3) other employee programs as authorized by law or deemed appropriate by the head of the Federal agency.
  • Prohibition of Hiring Nominees Not Approved by the Senate: Section 609 would have prohibited agencies from paying employees requiring Senate confirmation if the Senate voted to disapprove the nomination.
  • Prohibition of Contributing to Commissions, Councils, Committees, or Similar Groups: Section 610 would have prohibited interagency financing of commissions, councils, committees, or similar groups. Before FY 1999, there was an exception provided for the National Bioethics Advisory Commission.
  • Adjustment in Salaries for Prevailing Rate Employees: Section 613 would have ensured that increases to the Federal Wage System Pay Schedules in FY 2003 would not occur at a faster pace or higher rate of increase than increases to the General Schedule. Because the methods used to determine the yearly increase for Federal Wage Grade and General Schedule employees are based on different factors, this provision would have ensured equity between the two pay systems.
  • Limits on Expenditures for Furniture or Redecoration of Offices of Presidential Appointees: Section 614 would have limited the amounts presidential appointees may spend for the purchase of furniture or the redecoration of their offices to $5,000, unless approved by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
  • Schedule C Appointees and White House Details: Section 617 would have prohibited agencies from hiring anyone under a Schedule C appointment mechanism without certification to the Office of Personnel Management from the head of the Federal department, agency, or instrumentality that the Schedule C position was not created solely or primarily to detail the employee to the White House.
  • Discrimination-Free Workplace: Section 618 would have required Federal agencies to administer policies to ensure that its workplaces are free from discrimination and sexual harassment.
  • Communication With Congress: Section 620 would have prohibited Federal employees from forbidding other Federal employees from testifying before or communicating with Congress. It also would have prohibited Federal employees from taking disciplinary or personnel action against other Federal employees who testify before or communicate with Congress.
  • Sensitivity Training: Section 621 would have prohibited training that would have induced high levels of emotional or psychological stress, contained any content associated with religious beliefs, or attempted to change participants' personal values or lifestyles outside the workplace.
  • Nondisclosure Policies: Section 622 would have ensured that any agreement made with the Government does not prevent or discourage full disclosure and cooperation in testimonies before Congress.
  • Federal Government Anti-Lobbying Provision: Section 623 would have prohibited the use of appropriated funds for the purpose of providing information to support or defeat legislation pending before Congress.
  • Agency Prohibition of Providing Nonpublic Information to Labor Organizations:Section 624 would have prohibited agencies from providing home addresses to any labor organization, except when the employee has authorized such disclosure or when such disclosure has been ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
  • Agency Prohibition of Providing Nonpublic Information to Non-Government Entities:Section 625 would have prohibited agencies from providing any nonpublic information, such as mailing or telephone lists, to any person or organization outside the Federal Government without the approval of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
  • Agency Prohibition of Nonapproved Publicity: Section 626 would have prohibited agencies from using appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States unless authorized by Congress.
  • Official Time Regulations: Section 627 would have directed employees to use official time in an honest effort to perform official duties. This section would not have affected the rights and responsibilities of Chapter 71 of Title 5, U.S.C.
  • Agency Prohibition of Providing a Federal Employee's Home Address to Labor Organizations: Section 629 would have prohibited agencies from providing a Federal employee's home address to any labor organization unless the disclosure has been authorized by the employee or ordered by a court.
  • Breastfeeding in Government Buildings: Section 630 would have allowed women to breastfeed at any location in a Federal building or on Federal property.
  • Federal Funds Identified: Section 632 would have required the identification of the Federal agencies providing Federal funds and the amount provided for all proposals, solicitations, grant applications, forms, notifications, press releases, or other publications related to the distribution of funding to a State.
  • Prohibition of Federal Agency Monitoring of Personal Information on Use of Internet: Section 634 would have prohibited the use of funds to monitor personal information relating to the use of Federal Internet sites in order to collect, review, or create any aggregate list that includes personally identifiable information relating to access to or use of any Internet site of a Federal agency.
  • Contraceptive Coverage in Federal Health Plans: Section 635 would have prohibited the establishment or renewal of a contract with a Federal health insurance carrier that has a provision for coverage of prescription drugs yet does not have a provision for the coverage of contraceptives. There were exceptions for plans with religious objections to contraceptives, and nothing in this section was meant to imply coverage of abortion-related services.
  • *Official Time Report: Section 638 of H.R. 5120 was a new provision that would have required each agency to submit a report, at the time the President's Budget is submitted, on the use of official time during the previous fiscal year.
  • *Annual Identification of Susceptible Programs and Activities Susceptible to Improper Payments: Section 639 of H.R. 5120 was a new provision that would have required each agency to submit annually a list of programs and activities that it administered and areas that may have been susceptible to significant improper payments.
  • *Extension of the Government Information Security Reform Act (GISRA): Section 639 of S. 2740 was a new provision that would have extended the provisions of GISRA, which was otherwise set to expire in November 2002. GISRA requires Federal agencies to implement risk-based computer security management programs and requires annual independent evaluations of each agency's information security program.
  • *Contracting-Out Methodology: Section 650 of H.R. 5120 and Section 640 of S. 2740 were new provisions that would have prohibited Federal agencies from using numerical goals, targets, or quotas when determining how many Federal positions should be cost compared with the private sector in an effort to determine who can do the job more cheaply and should, therefore, get the job. This provision was in response to an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directive requiring agencies to conduct cost comparisons, based on OMB Circular A-76, of their "commercial inventory" and cost compare 5 percent of their positions by 2002, 10 percent in 2003, and 10 to 15 percent in 2004
  • *Federal Pay Raise: Section 643 of H.R. 5120 and Section 637 of S. 2740 designated a 4.1-percent pay raise for Federal employees. Not included in this year's bill was a provision blocking an automatic cost-of-living increase for Members of Congress, which is tied to the salary of members of the Senior Executive Service (SES). Because this provision was not included, those in the SES who have reached their pay caps would have received an increase in FY 2003.

Status and Outlook

Although there was no further action on this legislation, it will be re-introduced in the 108th Congress. Agencies funded and other provisions authorized under the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act have been continued for FY 2003 through a series of continuing resolutions, the most recent of which provides funding through January 11, 2003, at the current rate of spending for FY 2002.

H.R. 5120 was reported out of the House Committee on Appropriations on July 16, 2002, and passed the House on July 24.

S. 2740 was reported out of the Senate Committee on Appropriations on July 17, 2002, and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders.