[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4170 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. R. 4170
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 20, 2004
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to recruit volunteers to
assist with, or facilitate, the activities of various agencies and
offices of the Department of the Interior.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Department of the Interior Volunteer
Recruitment Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to recruit and use volunteers to assist with, or facilitate,
the programs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the United States
Geological Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Office of the
Secretary.
SEC. 3. VOLUNTEER AUTHORITY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior may recruit, train,
and accept, without regard to the civil service classification laws,
rules, or regulations, the services of individuals, contributed without
compensation as volunteers, for aiding in or facilitating the
activities administered by the Secretary through the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, the United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of
Reclamation, and the Office of the Secretary.
(b) Restrictions on Activities of Volunteers.--
(1) In general.--In accepting such services of individuals
as volunteers, the Secretary shall not permit the use of
volunteers in law enforcement work, in regulatory and
enforcement work, in policymaking processes, or to displace any
employee.
(2) Private property.--No volunteer services authorized by
this Act may be conducted on private property unless the
officer or employee charged with supervising the volunteer
obtains appropriate consent to enter the property from the
property owner.
(3) Hazardous duty.--The Secretary may accept the services
of individuals in hazardous duty only upon a determination by
the Secretary that such individuals are skilled in performing
hazardous duty activities.
(4) Supervision.--The Secretary shall ensure that an
appropriate officer or employee of the United States provides
adequate and appropriate supervision of each volunteer whose
services the Secretary accepts.
(c) Provision of Services and Costs.--The Secretary may provide for
services and costs incidental to the utilization of volunteers,
including transportation, supplies, uniforms, lodging, subsistence
(without regard to place of residence), recruiting, training,
supervision, and awards and recognition (including nominal cash
awards).
(d) Federal Employment Status of Volunteers.--
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a
volunteer shall not be deemed a Federal employee and shall not
be subject to the provisions of law relating to Federal
employment, including those provisions relating to hours of
work, rates of compensation, leave, unemployment compensation,
and Federal employee benefits.
(2) Volunteers shall be deemed employees of the United
States for the purposes of--
(A) the tort claims provisions of title 28, United
States Code;
(B) subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, United
States Code; and
(C) claims relating to damage to, or loss of,
personal property of a volunteer incident to volunteer
service, in which case the provisions of section 3721
of title 31, United States Code, shall apply.
(3) Volunteers under this Act shall be subject to chapter
11 of title 18, United States Code, unless the Secretary, with
the concurrence of the Director of the Office of Government
Ethics, determines in writing published in the Federal Register
that the provisions of that chapter, except section 201, shall
not apply to the actions of a class or classes of volunteers
who carry out only those duties or functions specified in the
determination.
Passed the House of Representatives July 19, 2004.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.