S.Amdt. 2503

SA 2503. Mr. THUNE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2996, making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Beginning on page 144, strike line 11 and all that follows through page 146, line 23, and insert the following: $2,334,322,000, to remain available until September 30, 2011 except as otherwise provided herein; of which not to exceed $8,500 may be for official reception and representation expenses; of which not to exceed $74,915,000 shall be for welfare assistance payments: Provided, That in cases of designated Federal disasters, the Secretary may exceed such cap, from the amounts provided herein, to provide for disaster relief to Indian communities affected by the disaster; of which, notwithstanding any other provision of law, including but not limited to the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975, as amended, not to exceed $154,794,000 shall be available for payments for contract support costs associated with ongoing contracts, grants, compacts, or annual funding agreements entered into with the Bureau prior to or during fiscal year 2010, as authorized by such Act, except that tribes and tribal organizations may use their tribal priority allocations for unmet contract support costs of ongoing contracts, grants, or compacts, or annual funding agreements and for unmet welfare assistance costs; of which not to exceed $566,702,000 for school operations costs of Bureau-funded schools and other education programs shall become available on July 1, 2010, and shall remain available until September 30, 2011; of which $50,000,000 is appropriated to the Emergency Fund for Indian Safety and Health, established by section 601 of Public Law 110-293 (25 U.S.C. 443c); and of which not to exceed $60,958,000 shall remain available until expended for housing improvement, road maintenance, attorney fees, litigation support, the Indian Self-Determination Fund, land records improvement, and the Navajo-Hopi Settlement Program: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, including but not limited to the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975, as amended, and 25 U.S.C. 2008, not to exceed $43,373,000 within and only from such amounts made available for school operations shall be available for administrative cost grants associated with ongoing grants entered into with the Bureau prior to or during fiscal year 2009 for the operation of Bureau-funded schools, and up to $500,000 within and only from such amounts made available for administrative cost grants shall be available for the transitional costs of initial administrative cost grants to grantees that assume operation on or after July 1, 2009, of Bureau-funded schools: Provided further, That any forestry funds allocated to a tribe which remain unobligated as of September 30, 2011, may be transferred during fiscal year 2012 to an Indian forest land assistance account established for the benefit of the holder of the funds within the holder's trust fund account: Provided further, That any such unobligated balances not so transferred shall expire on September 30, 2012: Provided further, That in order to enhance the safety of Bureau field employees, the Bureau may use funds to purchase uniforms or other identifying articles of clothing for personnel.

construction

(including transfer of funds) For construction, repair, improvement, and maintenance of irrigation and power systems, buildings, utilities, and other facilities, including architectural and engineering services by contract; acquisition of lands, and interests in lands; and preparation of lands for farming, and for construction of the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project pursuant to Public Law 87-483, $200,000,000, to remain available