House Report 108-330
The managers have revised the reprogramming guidelines to address the issue of assessments and charges within departments and agencies or by other agencies, and to clarify other issues. Changes to the guidelines proposed by the House include a technical change to the definition section and a revised section 2(e).
The following are the revised procedures governing reprogramming actions for programs and activities funded in the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act:
1. Definition- `Reprogramming,' as defined in these procedures, includes the reallocation of funds from one budget activity to another. In cases where either Committee report displays an allocation of an appropriation below the activity level, that more detailed level shall be the basis for reprogramming. For construction accounts, a reprogramming constitutes the reallocation of funds from one construction project (identified in the justification or Committee report) to another. A reprogramming shall also consist of any significant departure from the program described in the agency's budget justifications. This includes proposed reorganizations even without a change in funding.
2. Guidelines for Reprogramming- (a) A reprogramming should be made only when an unforeseen situation arises; and then only if postponement of the project or the activity until the next appropriation year would result in actual loss or damage. Mere convenience or desire should not be factors for consideration.
(b) Any project or activity, which may be deferred through reprogramming, shall not later be accomplished by means of further reprogramming; but, instead, funds should again be sought for the deferred project or activity through the regular appropriations process.
(c) Reprogramming should not be employed to initiate new programs or to change allocations specifically denied, limited or increased by the Congress in the Act or the report. In cases where unforeseen events or conditions are deemed to require such changes, proposals shall be submitted in advance to the Committee, regardless of amounts involved, and be fully explained and justified.
(d) Reprogramming proposals submitted to the Committee for approval shall be considered approved 30 calendar days after receipt if the Committee has posed no objection. However, agencies will be expected to extend the approval deadline if specifically requested by either Committee.
(e) Proposed changes to estimated working capital fund bills and estimated overhead charges, deductions, reserves or holdbacks, as such estimates were presented in annual budget justifications, shall be submitted through the reprogramming process.
3. Criteria and Exception- Any proposed reprogramming must be submitted to the Committee in writing prior to implementation if it exceeds $500,000 annually or results in an increase or decrease of more than 10 percent annually in affected programs, with the following exception:
With regard to the tribal priority allocations activity of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Operations of Indian Programs account, there is no restriction on reprogrammings among the programs within this activity. However, the Bureau shall report on all reprogrammings made during the first six months of the fiscal year by no later than May 1 of each year, and shall provide a final report of all reprogrammings for the previous fiscal year by no later than November 1 of each year.
4. Quarterly Reports- (a) All reprogrammings shall be reported to the Committee quarterly and shall include cumulative totals. (b) Any significant shifts of funding among object classifications also should be reported to the Committee.
5. Administrative Overhead Accounts- For all appropriations where costs of overhead administrative expenses are funded in part from `assessments' of various budget activities within an appropriation, the assessments shall be shown in justifications under the discussion of administrative expenses.
6. Contingency Accounts- For all appropriations where assessments are made against various budget activities or allocations for contingencies, the Committee expects a full explanation, separate from the justifications. The explanation shall show the amount of the assessment, the activities assessed, and the purpose of the fund. The Committee expects reports each year detailing the use of these funds. In no case shall a fund be used to finance projects and activities disapproved or limited by Congress or to finance new permanent positions or to finance programs or activities that could be foreseen and included in the normal budget review process. Contingency funds shall not be used to initiate new programs.
7. Declarations of Taking- The Committee directs the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the Forest Service to seek Committee approval in advance of filing declarations of taking.
8. Report Language- Any limitation, directive, or earmarking contained in either the House or Senate report which is not contradicted by the other report nor specifically denied in the conference report shall be considered as having been approved by both Houses of Congress.
9. Forest Service- The following procedures shall apply to the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture:
(a) The Forest Service shall not change the boundaries of any region, abolish any region, move or close any regional office for research, State and private forestry, or National Forest System administration, without the consent of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations in compliance with these reprogramming procedures.
(b) Provisions of section 702(b) of the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2257) and of 7 U.S.C. 147b shall apply to appropriations available to the Forest Service only to the extent that the proposed transfer is approved by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations in compliance with these reprogramming procedures.
10. Assessments- No assessments shall be levied against any program, budget activity, subactivity, or project funded by the Interior Appropriations Act unless such assessments and the basis therefore are presented to the Committees on Appropriations and are approved by such Committees, in compliance with these procedures.
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13. The appropriation structure for any agency shall not be altered without advance approval of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.