PL109-54
H.R.2361
One Hundred
Ninth Congress
of the
AT THE FIRST
SESSION
Begun and held at the City of
the fourth day of January, two thousand and five
An Act
Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and
related agencies for the fiscal year ending
SEC. 422. (a) LIMITATION ON COMPETITIVE SOURCING STUDIES-
(1) Of the funds made available by this or any other Act to the Department of the Interior for fiscal year 2006, not more than $3,450,000 may be used by the Secretary of the Interior to initiate or continue competitive sourcing studies in fiscal year 2006 for programs, projects, and activities for which funds are appropriated by this Act until such time as the Secretary concerned submits a reprogramming proposal to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and such proposal has been processed consistent with the reprogramming guidelines included in the report accompanying this Act.
(2) Of the funds appropriated by this Act, not more than $3,000,000 may be used in fiscal year 2006 for competitive sourcing studies and related activities by the Forest Service.
(b) COMPETITIVE SOURCING STUDY DEFINED- In this section, the term `competitive sourcing study' means a study on subjecting work performed by Federal Government employees or private contractors to public-private competition or on converting the Federal Government employees or the work performed by such employees to private contractor performance under the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 or any other administrative regulation, directive, or policy.
(c) Competitive Sourcing Exemption for Forest Service Studies Conducted Prior to Fiscal Year 2006- The Forest Service is hereby exempted from implementing the Letter of Obligation and post-competition accountability guidelines where a competitive sourcing study involved 65 or fewer full-time equivalents, the performance decision was made in favor of the agency provider; no net savings was achieved by conducting the study, and the study was completed prior to the date of this Act.
(d) In preparing any reports to the Committees on Appropriations on competitive sourcing activities, agencies funded in this Act shall include the incremental cost directly attributable to conducting the competitive sourcing competitions, including costs attributable to paying outside consultants and contractors and, in accordance with full cost accounting principles, all costs attributable to developing, implementing, supporting, managing, monitoring, and reporting on competitive sourcing, including personnel, consultant, travel, and training costs associated with program management.
(e) In carrying out any competitive sourcing study involving Forest Service employees, the Secretary of Agriculture shall--
(1) determine whether any of the employees concerned are also qualified to participate in wildland fire management activities; and
(2) take into consideration the effect that contracting with a private sector source would have on the ability of the Forest Service to effectively and efficiently fight and manage wildfires.
CONFERENCE
REPORT ON H.R. 2361 -- (House of Representatives -
[C.R. Page: H6562]
---
Mr. TAYLOR of
(H.R. 2361) making appropriations for the Department of
the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending
Conference Report (H. Rept. 109-188)
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SEC. 422. (a) LIMITATION ON COMPETITIVE SOURCING STUDIES.--
(1) Of the funds made available by this or any other Act to the Department of the Interior for fiscal year 2006, not more than $3,450,000 may be used by the Secretary of the Interior to initiate or continue competitive sourcing studies in fiscal year 2006 for programs, projects, and activities for which funds are appropriated by this Act until such time as the Secretary concerned submits a reprogramming proposal to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and such proposal has been processed consistent with the reprogramming guidelines included in the report accompanying this Act.
(2) Of the funds appropriated by this Act, not more than $3,000,000 may be used in fiscal year 2006 for competitive sourcing studies and related activities by the Forest Service.
(b) COMPETITIVE SOURCING STUDY DEFINED.--In this section, the term ``competitive sourcing study'' means a study on subjecting work performed by Federal Government employees or private contractors to public-private competition or on converting the Federal Government employees or the work performed by such employees to private contractor performance under the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 or any other administrative regulation, directive, or policy.
(c) Competitive Sourcing Exemption for Forest Service Studies Conducted Prior to Fiscal Year 2006.--The Forest Service is hereby exempted from implementing the Letter of Obligation and post-competition accountability guidelines where a competitive sourcing study involved 65 or fewer full-time equivalents, the performance decision was made in favor of the agency provider; no net savings was achieved by conducting the study, and the study was completed prior to the date of this Act.
(d) In preparing any reports to the Committees on Appropriations on competitive sourcing activities, agencies funded in this Act shall include the incremental cost directly attributable to conducting the competitive sourcing competitions, including costs attributable to paying outside consultants and contractors and, in accordance with full cost accounting principles, all costs attributable to developing, implementing, supporting, managing, monitoring, and reporting on competitive sourcing, including personnel, consultant, travel, and training costs associated with program management.
(e) In carrying out any competitive sourcing study involving Forest Service employees, the Secretary of Agriculture shall--
(1) determine whether any of the employees concerned are also qualified to participate in wildland fire management activities; and
(2) take into consideration the effect that contracting with a private sector source would have on the ability of the Forest Service to effectively and efficiently fight and manage wildfires.
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TITLE IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 422. The conference agreement retains the Senate recommended language, which was in Senate section 421, limiting competitive sourcing studies by the Secretary of the Interior and the Forest Service. The House had a similar provision in section 422 of the House bill. The conference agreement now allows the Secretary of the Interior up to $3,450,000 and the Forest Service up to $3,000,000 for this work. In addition, the Secretary of Agriculture should consider the impact on wildland fire management activities when conducting competitive sourcing studies.