Labor Department FY2006 Appropriations bill

(This measure has not been amended since the Conference Report was filed in the House on December 13, 2005. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 - Makes appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for FY2006.

Title I: Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2006 - Makes appropriations for FY2006 to the Department of Labor for: (1) the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Employee Benefits Security Administration; (8) the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (9) the Employment Standards Administration; (10) certain special benefits, including ones for disabled coal miners; (11) the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Fund; (12) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (13) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (14) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (15) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (16) the Office of Disability Employment Policy; (17) departmental management; (18) veterans employment and training; (19) the Office of Inspector General; and (20) a working capital fund for a new core accounting system. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds and transfers of funds appropriated under this title.

Rescinds certain amounts under specified federal laws for: (1) workers compensation programs; and (2) ETA training and employment services.

(Sec. 101) Prohibits use of Job Corps funds under this title to pay individual compensation at a rate in excess of Executive Level I.

(Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish an Office of Job Corps within the Office on the Secretary in the Department of Labor.

(Sec. 103) Allows not more than 1% of discretionary funds for the current fiscal year for the Department of Labor in this Act to be transferred between appropriations. Prohibits any increase of any such appropriation by more than 3% by any such transfer, but allows that appropriation to be increased by an additional 2% subject to approval by the congressional committees on Appropriations.

(Sec. 104) Prohibits funds under this Act from being obligated or expended to procure goods mined, produced, manufactured, or harvested or services rendered, in whole or in part, by forced or indentured child labor in industries and host countries already identified by the Department of Labor prior to enactment of this Act, in accordance with a specified executive order.

(Sec. 105) Authorizes appropriations to the Denali Commission through the Department of Labor to conduct job training of the local workforce where Denali Commission projects will be constructed.

(Sec. 106) Provides that payments made by the New York Workers' Compensation Board to the New York Crime Victims Board and the New York State Insurance Fund before the date of the enactment of this Act shall be deemed to have been made for workers compensation programs, for purposes of chapter 8 of division B of the Department of Defense and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States Act, 2002.

(Sec. 107) Directs the Department of Labor to submit its FY2007 congressional budget justifications to the congressional committees on Appropriations in the format and level of detail used by the Department of Education in its FY2006 congressional budget justifications.

(Sec. 108) Directs the Secretary of Labor to prepare and submit, by July 1, 2006 to specified congressional committees, an operating plan that outlines the planned allocation by major project and activity of FY2006 funds made available for demonstration, pilot, multiservice, research, and multistate projects under specified provisions of the Workforce Investment Act.

Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 2006 - Makes appropriations for FY2006 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for: (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration, for health resources and services, health education assistance loans, and the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (2) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), for disease control, research, and training; (3) the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, and the Office of the Director; (4) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (5) the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; (6) the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for grants to states for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (7) the Administration for Children and Families, for payments to states for child support enforcement and family support programs, low-income home energy assistance, refugee and entrant assistance, payments to states for the child care and development block grant, the social services block grant, children and families services programs, promoting safe and stable families through family preservation and support, payments to states for foster care and adoption assistance; (8) the Administration on Aging, for aging services programs; and (9) the Office of the Secretary, for general departmental management, administrative law judges for Medicare hearings and appeals, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Office of Inspector General, the Office for Civil Rights, retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers, and medical care of dependents and retired personnel, and the public health and social services emergency fund (for activities related to countering potential biological, disease, and chemical threats to civilian populations, and to developing and implementing rapidly expandable influenza vaccine production technologies and purchasing influenza vaccine as necessary).

Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title.

(Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary of HHS to make available through assignment not more than 60 employees of the Public Health Service to assist in child survival activities and to work in AIDS programs through and with funds provided by the Agency for International Development, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, or the World Health Organization.

(Sec. 203) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to implement a certain mandatory breast cancer study under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) or to construct regional centers for primate research under the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993.

(Sec. 204) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act for the NIH, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to pay an individual's salary, through a grant or other extramural mechanism, at a rate in excess of Executive Level I.

(Sec. 205) Prohibits the use of funds under this title for Head Start to pay an individual, either as direct costs or any proration as an indirect cost, at a rate in excess of Executive Level II.

(Sec. 206) Prohibits the expenditure of funds under this Act pursuant to specified evaluation provisions of PHSA, except for funds specifically provided for in this Act, or for other taps and assessments made by any office located in the Department of HHS, prior to a report by the Secretary of HHS to the congressional committees on Appropriations detailing the planned uses of such funds.

(Sec. 207) Directs the Secretary of HHS to determine a portion, up to 2.4%, of appropriations for PHSA programs to be made available for evaluation of implementation and effectiveness of such programs.

(Sec. 208) Allows the transfer between appropriations of not more than 1% of discretionary funds in this Act for the current fiscal year for the Department of HHS. Prohibits any increase of any such appropriation by more than 3% by any such transfer, but allows that appropriation to be increased by an additional 2% subject to approval by the congressional committees on Appropriations.

(Sec. 209) Authorizes the Directors of the NIH and of the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) jointly to transfer up to 3% among institutes, centers, and divisions from the total amounts identified by these two Directors as funding for research pertaining to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

(Sec. 210) Requires the amount for research related to HIV (of amounts made available for NIH in this Act), as jointly determined by the Directors of NIH and of OAR, to be made available to the OAR account. Requires the Director of OAR to transfer from such account amounts necessary to carry out certain provisions of PHSA.

(Sec. 211) Prohibits funds under this Act from being made available under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of PHSA, unless the award applicant certifies to the Secretary of HHS that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and provides counseling to minors on resisting attempts to coerce them into engaging in sexual activities.

(Sec. 212) Prohibits use of funds under this Act to carry out the Medicare Advantage program if the Secretary of HHS denies participation in such program to an otherwise eligible entity (including a Provider Sponsored Organization) because the entity informs the Secretary that it will not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for abortions.

(Sec. 213) Declares that no provider of services under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of PHSA shall be exempt from any state law requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest.

(Sec. 214) Prohibits funds under by this Act from being used to withhold substance abuse funding from a state pursuant to specified PHSA provisions, if such state certifies to the Secretary of HHS that the state will commit additional state funds to ensure compliance with state laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to individuals under 18 years of age.

(Sec. 215) Authorizes the Secretary of HHS, in order for the CDCP to carry out international health activities, including those relating to HIV/AIDS and other infectious disease, chronic and environmental disease, and other health activities abroad during FY2006, to utilize specified authorities under: (1) the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956; and (2) other federal laws to lease, alter, or renovate facilities in foreign countries to carry out such programs.

(Sec. 216) Authorizes the Division of Federal Occupational Health to use personal services contracting to employ occupational health professionals and professionals in management and administration.

(Sec. 217) Authorizes the NIH Director to use certain available funds to enter into transactions (other than contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants) to carry out research in support of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Authorizes the Director, in entering such transactions, to determine and use appropriate peer review procedures in lieu of the peer review and advisory council review procedures that would otherwise be required under PHSA.

(Sec. 218) Allows funds available for Individual Learning Accounts for employees of CDCP and and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to be transferred to the category of Disease Control, Research, and Training and to be available only for Individual Learning Accounts for full-time equivalent employees while they employed either by CDCP or ATSDR.

(Sec. 219) Allows funds under this Act to be used to continue operating the Council on Graduate Medical Education.

(Sec. 220) Rescinds a specified amount of the unobligated balance under the heading of Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund appropriated by the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003.

(Sec. 221) Renames the following at CDCP: (1) Headquarters and Emergency Operations Center Building (Building 21) as the Arlen Specter Headquarters and Emergency Operations Center; and (2) Global Communications Center Building (Building 19) as the Thomas R. Harkin Global Communications Center.

(Sec. 222) Prohibits the use of any funds under this Act to implement or enforce the interim final rule (relating to motorized or powered wheelchairs) published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on August 26, 2005, before April 1, 2006.

(Sec. 223) Authorizes the Secretary of HHS, for FY2006, to waive transportation safety requirements pertaining to child restraint systems and bus monitors, for one or more vehicles used by a Head Start agency or its designee in transporting children enrolled in a Head Start or Early Head Start program, if the agency demonstrates that compliance will result in a significant disruption to the program, and if the waiver is in the best interest of the child. Prohibits issuance of such a waiver after the earlier of: (1) the end of FY2006; or (2) the enactment of a statute that authorizes appropriations for FY2006 to carry out the Head Start Act.

(Sec. 224) Delays until June 30, 2006, applicability of certain federal transportation safety regulations to any Head Start agency or its designee that provides transportation services for children enrolled in a Head Start or Early Head Start program, if that agency or designee places such children in child restraint systems.

(Sec. 225) Rescinds a specified amount of the unobligated balance of the Health Professions Student Loan program under PHSA.

(Sec. 226) Rescinds a specified amount of the unobligated balance of the Nursing Student Loan program under PHSA.

(Sec. 227) Authorizes the Secretary of HHS and the CDC Director to use for their travel certain amounts available for purchase, hire, maintenance, or operation of aircraft by CDC.

Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2006 - Makes appropriations for FY2006 to the Department of Education for: (1) education for the disadvantaged; (2) impact aid; (3) school improvement programs; (4) Indian education; (5) innovation and improvement activities; (6) safe schools and citizenship education; (7) English language acquisition and language enhancement; (8) special education; (9) rehabilitation services and disability research; (10) special institutions for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the Blind, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University; (11) vocational and adult education; (12) certain student financial assistance programs, as well as federal administrative expenses for such programs (setting a maximum individual Pell Grant amount); (13) specified higher education programs; (14) Howard University; (15) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (16) the historically Black college and university capital financing program account; (17) the Institute of Education Sciences; and (18) departmental management, including program administration, the Office for Civil Rights, and the Office of the Inspector General.

Sets the maximum individual Pell Grant amount at $4,050 during award year 2006-2007.

Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title.

(Sec. 301) Prohibits the use of funds to transport teachers or students in order to: (1) overcome racial imbalance in any school; or (2) carry out a racial desegregation plan.

(Sec. 302) Prohibits the use of funds to require, directly or indirectly, the transportation of any student to a school other than the school nearest the student's home, except, for a student requiring special education, to the school offering such special education, in order to comply with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Declares that such a prohibited indirect requirement of transportation of students includes the transportation of students to carry out a plan involving the reorganization of the grade structure of schools, the pairing of schools, or the clustering of schools, or any combination of grade restructuring, pairing or clustering. Exempts the establishment of magnet schools from such prohibition.

(Sec. 303) Prohibits funds under in this Act from being used to prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools.

(Sec. 304) Allows the transfer between appropriations of not more than 1% of discretionary funds for the current fiscal year for the Department of Education in this Act. Prohibits any increase of any such appropriation by more than 3% by any such transfer.

(Sec. 305) Provides an additional specified amount to carry out the Federal Pell Grant Program under the Higher Education Act of 1965, for the purpose of eliminating the estimated accumulated shortfall of budget authority for such program for Pell Grant awards made through the award year 2005-2006 (pursuant to section 303 of H. Con. Res. 95 in the 109th Congress, the concurrent resolution on the budget for FY2006).

(Sec. 306) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise provisions for certain programs under the Fund for the Improvement of Education to add provisions for cultural and educational programs relating to any federally-recognized Indian tribe in Mississippi, through grants and contracts to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in Choctaw, Mississippi.

Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY2006 to the: (1) Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service, for domestic volunteer service programs and operating expenses, administrative expenses and salaries, and the Office of Inspector General; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6) Institute of Museum and Library Services; (7) Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (8) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (9) National Council on Disability; (10) National Labor Relations Board; (11) National Mediation Board; (12) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (13) Railroad Retirement Board, for the dual benefits payments account, federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; and (14) Social Security Administration, for payments to the Social Security trust funds, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General.

Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title.

Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act.

(Sec. 503) Prohibits any part of an appropriation in this Act from being used: (1) other than for normal and recognized executive-legislative relationships, for publicity or propaganda purposes, for the preparation, distribution, or use of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, radio, television, or video presentation designed to support or defeat legislation pending before Congress or a state legislature, except in presentation to Congress or a state legislature itself; or (2) to pay the salary or expenses of any grant or contract recipient, or agent acting for such recipient, related to any activity designed to influence legislation or appropriations pending before Congress or a state legislature.

(Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act for programs to distribute sterile needles or syringes for the injection of illegal drugs, unless the Secretary of HHS determines that such programs are effective in preventing the spread of HIV and do not encourage the use of illegal drugs.

(Sec. 507) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act, or in any trust fund to which funds are appropriated under this Act, for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion, with exceptions specified in section 508 of this Act.

(Sec. 508) Provides that the prohibition in section 507 shall not apply to an abortion: (1) if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or (2) in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. Provides that nothing in section 507 shall be construed as: (1) prohibiting the expenditure by a state, locality, entity, or private person of state, local, or private funds (other than a state's or locality's contribution of Medicaid matching funds); or (2) restricting the ability of any managed care provider from offering abortion coverage or the ability of a state or locality to contract separately with such a provider for such coverage with state funds (other than a state's or locality's contribution of Medicaid matching funds).

(Sec. 509) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under specified federal regulations and the PHSA. Defines "human embryo or embryos" to include any organism, not protected as a human subject under specified federal regulations as of the date of the enactment of this Act, that is derived by fertilization, parthenogenesis, cloning, or any other means from one or more human gametes or human diploid cells.

(Sec. 510) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage.

(Sec. 511) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to promulgate a final standard under the Social Security Act providing for a unique health identifier for an individual (except in an individual's capacity as an employer or health care provider) until legislation is enacted specifically approving the standard.

(Sec. 514) Prohibits the availability of funds under the Library Services and Technology Act for assistance to purchase computers or Internet access for any covered library (under specified provisions of such Act as amended by the Children's Internet Protections Act) unless the library has certified its compliance with certain requirements for Internet safety.

(Sec. 515) Prohibits the availability of funds under the Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001 (part D of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Children's Internet Protections Act and the No Child Left Behind Act) to any covered elementary or secondary school, unless its local educational agency has certified the school's compliance with certain requirements for Internet safety.

(Sec. 516) Prohibits the use of funds to enter into an arrangement under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 with a nongovernmental financial institution to serve as disbursing agent for benefits payable under such Act.

(Sec. 517) Requires a 15-day advance notice of specified types of reprogramming of funds to be given the Appropriations Committees of both Houses of Congress.

(Sec. 518) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow the continuous residency requirement to be reduced to three years for an applicant for naturalization if: (1) applicant is the beneficiary of an approved petition for classification; (2) applicant has been approved for adjustment of status; and (3) such reduction is necessary for the applicant to represent the United States at an international event. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to adjudicate such an application within 30 days after submission, upon an applicant's request and demonstration of necessity, unless the Secretary determines that such expedited adjudication poses a national security risk. Requires collection of a $1,000 premium processing fee to offset additional costs incurred to expedite processing of such applications. Repeals the amendment made by this section on January 1, 2006.

(Sec. 519) Prohibits funds under this Act from being used to request that a candidate for appointment to a federal scientific advisory committee disclose his or her political affiliation or voting history or the position that the candidate holds with respect to political issues not directly related to and necessary for the work of the committee involved. Prohibits funds under this Act from being used to disseminate scientific information that is deliberately false or misleading.

(Sec. 520) Reduces by a specified amount funds made available to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the heading of Program Management. Prohibits such reduction from being taken from research, demonstration, and evaluation activities or from state survey and certification activities. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to reduce the amounts specified under such heading for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services System Revitalization Plan and for contract costs for the Healthcare Integrated General Ledger Accounting System.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov