Division B — Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021

During the current fiscal year, applicable appropriations and funds made available to the Department of Commerce by this Act shall be available for the activities specified in the Act of October 26, 1949 (15 U.S.C. 1514), to the extent and in the manner prescribed by the Act, and, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3324, may be used for advanced payments not otherwise authorized only upon the certification of officials designated by the Secretary of Commerce that such payments are in the public interest.

During the current fiscal year, appropriations made available to the Department of Commerce by this Act for salaries and expenses shall be available for hire of passenger motor vehicles as authorized by 31 U.S.C. 1343 and 1344; services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109; and uniforms or allowances therefor, as authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 5901–5902).

Not to exceed 5 percent of any appropriation made available for the current fiscal year for the Department of Commerce in this Act may be transferred between such appropriations, but no such appropriation shall be increased by more than 10 percent by any such transfers: Provided, That any transfer pursuant to this section shall be treated as a reprogramming of funds under section 505 of this Act and shall not be available for obligation or expenditure except in compliance with the procedures set forth in that section: Provided further, That the Secretary of Commerce shall notify the Committees on Appropriations at least 15 days in advance of the acquisition or disposal of any capital asset (including land, structures, and equipment) not specifically provided for in this Act or any other law appropriating funds for the Department of Commerce.

The requirements set forth by section 105 of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112–55), as amended by section 105 of title I of division B of Public Law 113–6, are hereby adopted by reference and made applicable with respect to fiscal year 2021: Provided, That the life cycle cost for the Joint Polar Satellite System is $11,322,125,000, the life cycle cost of the Polar Follow On Program is $6,837,900,000, the life cycle cost for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series Program is $11,700,100,000, and the life cycle cost for the Space Weather Follow On Program is $692,800,000.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Commerce may furnish services (including but not limited to utilities, telecommunications, and security services) necessary to support the operation, maintenance, and improvement of space that persons, firms, or organizations are authorized, pursuant to the Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act of 1976 or other authority, to use or occupy in the Herbert C. Hoover Building, Washington, DC, or other buildings, the maintenance, operation, and protection of which has been delegated to the Secretary from the Administrator of General Services pursuant to the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 on a reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis. Amounts received as reimbursement for services provided under this section or the authority under which the use or occupancy of the space is authorized, up to $200,000, shall be credited to the appropriation or fund which initially bears the costs of such services.

Nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent a grant recipient from deterring child pornography, copyright infringement, or any other unlawful activity over its networks.

The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is authorized to use, with their consent, with reimbursement and subject to the limits of available appropriations, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States, or of any State, local government, Indian Tribal government, Territory, or possession, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any foreign government or international organization, for purposes related to carrying out the responsibilities of any statute administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The National Technical Information Service shall not charge any customer for a copy of any report or document generated by the Legislative Branch unless the Service has provided information to the customer on how an electronic copy of such report or document may be accessed and downloaded for free online. Should a customer still require the Service to provide a printed or digital copy of the report or document, the charge shall be limited to recovering the Service's cost of processing, reproducing, and delivering such report or document.

To carry out the responsibilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Administrator of NOAA is authorized to: (1) enter into grants and cooperative agreements with; (2) use on a non-reimbursable basis land, services, equipment, personnel, and facilities provided by; and (3) receive and expend funds made available on a consensual basis from: a Federal agency, State or subdivision thereof, local government, Tribal government, Territory, or possession or any subdivisions thereof: Provided, That funds received for permitting and related regulatory activities pursuant to this section shall be deposited under the heading “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—Operations, Research, and Facilities” and shall remain available until September 30, 2022, for such purposes: Provided further, That all funds within this section and their corresponding uses are subject to section 505 of this Act.

Amounts provided by this Act or by any prior appropriations Act that remain available for obligation, for necessary expenses of the programs of the Economics and Statistics Administration of the Department of Commerce, including amounts provided for programs of the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of the Census, shall be available for expenses of cooperative agreements with appropriate entities, including any Federal, State, or local governmental unit, or institution of higher education, to aid and promote statistical, research, and methodology activities which further the purposes for which such amounts have been made available.

Amounts provided by this Act for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership under the heading “National Institute of Standards and Technology—Industrial Technology Services” shall not be subject to cost share requirements under 15 U.S.C. 278k(e)(2): Provided, That the authority made available pursuant to this section shall be elective for any Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center that also receives funding from a State that is conditioned upon the application of a Federal cost sharing requirement.

The Secretary of Commerce, or the designee of the Secretary, may waive the matching requirements under sections 306 and 306A, and the cost sharing requirements under section 315, of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455, 1455a, and 1461) as necessary for amounts made available under this Act under the heading “Operations, Research, and Facilities” under the heading “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration”.

Of unobligated balances of amounts provided to the Bureau of the Census under this or any prior appropriations Act, up to $208,000,000 may be transferred to the Bureau of the Census Working Capital Fund for information and business technology system modernization and facilities infrastructure improvements necessary for the operations of the Bureau: Provided, That the amounts previously provided by the Congress for the 2020 Census remain available only for the period of time as provided when initially enacted: Provided further, That this transfer authority is in addition to any other transfer authority in this Act: Provided further, That no amounts may be transferred that were previously designated by the Congress for the 2020 Census pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(G) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended: Provided further, That such amounts may be obligated only after the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate are notified at least 15 days in advance of the planned use of funds.

In addition to amounts otherwise made available in this title for official reception and representation expenses, a total of not to exceed $50,000 from funds appropriated to the Department of Justice in this title shall be available to the Attorney General for official reception and representation expenses.

None of the funds appropriated by this title shall be available to pay for an abortion, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or in the case of rape or incest: Provided, That should this prohibition be declared unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, this section shall be null and void.

None of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used to require any person to perform, or facilitate in any way the performance of, any abortion.

Nothing in the preceding section shall remove the obligation of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to provide escort services necessary for a female inmate to receive such service outside the Federal facility: Provided, That nothing in this section in any way diminishes the effect of section 203 intended to address the philosophical beliefs of individual employees of the Bureau of Prisons.

Not to exceed 5 percent of any appropriation made available for the current fiscal year for the Department of Justice in this Act may be transferred between such appropriations, but no such appropriation, except as otherwise specifically provided, shall be increased by more than 10 percent by any such transfers: Provided, That any transfer pursuant to this section shall be treated as a reprogramming of funds under section 505 of this Act and shall not be available for obligation except in compliance with the procedures set forth in that section.

None of the funds made available under this title may be used by the Federal Bureau of Prisons or the United States Marshals Service for the purpose of transporting an individual who is a prisoner pursuant to conviction for crime under State or Federal law and is classified as a maximum or high security prisoner, other than to a prison or other facility certified by the Federal Bureau of Prisons as appropriately secure for housing such a prisoner.

None of the funds made available under this title shall be obligated or expended for any new or enhanced information technology program having total estimated development costs in excess of $100,000,000, unless the Deputy Attorney General and the investment review board certify to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate that the information technology program has appropriate program management controls and contractor oversight mechanisms in place, and that the program is compatible with the enterprise architecture of the Department of Justice.

The notification thresholds and procedures set forth in section 505 of this Act shall apply to deviations from the amounts designated for specific activities in this Act and in the explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act), and to any use of deobligated balances of funds provided under this title in previous years.

None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used to plan for, begin, continue, finish, process, or approve a public-private competition under the Office of Management and Budget Circular A–76 or any successor administrative regulation, directive, or policy for work performed by employees of the Bureau of Prisons or of Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds shall be available for the salary, benefits, or expenses of any United States Attorney assigned dual or additional responsibilities by the Attorney General or his designee that exempt that United States Attorney from the residency requirements of section 545 of title 28, United States Code.

At the discretion of the Attorney General, and in addition to any amounts that otherwise may be available (or authorized to be made available) by law, with respect to funds appropriated by this title under the headings “Research, Evaluation and Statistics”, “State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance”, and “Juvenile Justice Programs”—

Upon request by a grantee for whom the Attorney General has determined there is a fiscal hardship, the Attorney General may, with respect to funds appropriated in this or any other Act making appropriations for fiscal years 2018 through 2021 for the following programs, waive the following requirements:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, section 20109(a) of subtitle A of title II of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12109(a)) shall not apply to amounts made available by this or any other Act.

None of the funds made available under this Act, other than for the national instant criminal background check system established under section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40901), may be used by a Federal law enforcement officer to facilitate the transfer of an operable firearm to an individual if the Federal law enforcement officer knows or suspects that the individual is an agent of a drug cartel, unless law enforcement personnel of the United States continuously monitor or control the firearm at all times.

Discretionary funds that are made available in this Act for the Office of Justice Programs may be used to participate in Performance Partnership Pilots authorized under such authorities as have been enacted for Performance Partnership Pilots in appropriations acts in prior fiscal years and the current fiscal year.

Section 1930(a)(6)(B) of title 28, United States Code, shall be applied for this fiscal year and next fiscal year by substituting “ $300,000,000” for “ $200,000,000”.

Section 527 of title 28, United States Code, is amended in the third sentence by inserting “: (1)” before “the Department” and by inserting “; and (2) federally recognized tribes for supplies, materials, and services related to access to Federal law enforcement databases;” after “and services”.

Section 1825 of title 28, United States Code, is amended:

Section 151 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 101–246; 5 U.S.C. 5928 note), is amended—

There is hereby appropriated $5,000,000, to remain available until expended, for an additional amount for “Department of Justice—General Administration”, for expenses associated with the development and operation of a database concerning substantiated instances of excessive use of force related to law enforcement matters and officer misconduct, as described by, and subject to the requirements of, section 3 of Executive Order 13929 (June 16, 2020), as such Executive Order was in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act: Provided, That the Attorney General may transfer the funds provided in this section to other appropriations accounts in the Department of Justice to use for expenses associated with the development and operation of such database: Provided further, That the transfer authority in the preceding proviso is in addition to any other transfer authority contained in this Act: Provided further, That any transfer pursuant to the first proviso shall be treated as a reprogramming under section 505 of this Act and shall not be available for obligation or expenditure except in compliance with the procedures set forth in that section.

No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall be used for publicity or propaganda purposes not authorized by the Congress.

No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein.

The expenditure of any appropriation under this Act for any consulting service through procurement contract, pursuant to section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, shall be limited to those contracts where such expenditures are a matter of public record and available for public inspection, except where otherwise provided under existing law, or under existing Executive order issued pursuant to existing law.

If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstances shall be held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of each provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid shall not be affected thereby.

None of the funds provided under this Act, or provided under previous appropriations Acts to the agencies funded by this Act that remain available for obligation or expenditure in fiscal year 2021, or provided from any accounts in the Treasury of the United States derived by the collection of fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall be available for obligation or expenditure through a reprogramming of funds that: (1) creates or initiates a new program, project, or activity; (2) eliminates a program, project, or activity; (3) increases funds or personnel by any means for any project or activity for which funds have been denied or restricted; (4) relocates an office or employees; (5) reorganizes or renames offices, programs, or activities; (6) contracts out or privatizes any functions or activities presently performed by Federal employees; (7) augments existing programs, projects, or activities in excess of $500,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less, or reduces by 10 percent funding for any program, project, or activity, or numbers of personnel by 10 percent; or (8) results from any general savings, including savings from a reduction in personnel, which would result in a change in existing programs, projects, or activities as approved by Congress; unless the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations are notified 15 days in advance of such reprogramming of funds.

Any costs incurred by a department or agency funded under this Act resulting from, or to prevent, personnel actions taken in response to funding reductions included in this Act shall be absorbed within the total budgetary resources available to such department or agency: Provided, That the authority to transfer funds between appropriations accounts as may be necessary to carry out this section is provided in addition to authorities included elsewhere in this Act: Provided further, That use of funds to carry out this section shall be treated as a reprogramming of funds under section 505 of this Act and shall not be available for obligation or expenditure except in compliance with the procedures set forth in that section: Provided further, That for the Department of Commerce, this section shall also apply to actions taken for the care and protection of loan collateral or grant property.

None of the funds provided by this Act shall be available to promote the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products, or to seek the reduction or removal by any foreign country of restrictions on the marketing of tobacco or tobacco products, except for restrictions which are not applied equally to all tobacco or tobacco products of the same type.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, amounts deposited or available in the Fund established by section 1402 of chapter XIV of title II of Public Law 98–473 (34 U.S.C. 20101) in any fiscal year in excess of $2,015,000,000 shall not be available for obligation until the following fiscal year: Provided, That notwithstanding section 1402(d) of such Act, of the amounts available from the Fund for obligation: (1) $10,000,000 shall be transferred to the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General and remain available until expended for oversight and auditing purposes associated with this section; and (2) 5 percent shall be available to the Office for Victims of Crime for grants, consistent with the requirements of the Victims of Crime Act, to Indian Tribes to improve services for victims of crime.

None of the funds made available to the Department of Justice in this Act may be used to discriminate against or denigrate the religious or moral beliefs of students who participate in programs for which financial assistance is provided from those funds, or of the parents or legal guardians of such students.

None of the funds made available in this Act may be transferred to any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government, except pursuant to a transfer made by, or transfer authority provided in, this Act or any other appropriations Act.

None of the funds made available in this Act shall be used in any way whatsoever to support or justify the use of torture by any official or contract employee of the United States Government.

None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to include in any new bilateral or multilateral trade agreement the text of—

None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to authorize or issue a national security letter in contravention of any of the following laws authorizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation to issue national security letters: The Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978; The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986; The Fair Credit Reporting Act; The National Security Act of 1947; USA PATRIOT Act; USA FREEDOM Act of 2015; and the laws amended by these Acts.

If at any time during any quarter, the program manager of a project within the jurisdiction of the Departments of Commerce or Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or the National Science Foundation totaling more than $75,000,000 has reasonable cause to believe that the total program cost has increased by 10 percent or more, the program manager shall immediately inform the respective Secretary, Administrator, or Director. The Secretary, Administrator, or Director shall notify the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations within 30 days in writing of such increase, and shall include in such notice: the date on which such determination was made; a statement of the reasons for such increases; the action taken and proposed to be taken to control future cost growth of the project; changes made in the performance or schedule milestones and the degree to which such changes have contributed to the increase in total program costs or procurement costs; new estimates of the total project or procurement costs; and a statement validating that the project's management structure is adequate to control total project or procurement costs.

Funds appropriated by this Act, or made available by the transfer of funds in this Act, for intelligence or intelligence related activities are deemed to be specifically authorized by the Congress for purposes of section 504 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3094) during fiscal year 2021 until the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021.

None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to enter into a contract in an amount greater than $5,000,000 or to award a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective contractor or grantee certifies in writing to the agency awarding the contract or grant that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, the contractor or grantee has filed all Federal tax returns required during the three years preceding the certification, has not been convicted of a criminal offense under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and has not, more than 90 days prior to certification, been notified of any unpaid Federal tax assessment for which the liability remains unsatisfied, unless the assessment is the subject of an installment agreement or offer in compromise that has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service and is not in default, or the assessment is the subject of a non-frivolous administrative or judicial proceeding.

None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to purchase first class or premium airline travel in contravention of sections 301–10.122 through 301–10.124 of title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to send or otherwise pay for the attendance of more than 50 employees from a Federal department or agency, who are stationed in the United States, at any single conference occurring outside the United States unless—

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall instruct any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States receiving funds appropriated under this Act to track undisbursed balances in expired grant accounts and include in its annual performance plan and performance and accountability reports the following:

To the extent practicable, funds made available in this Act should be used to purchase light bulbs that are “Energy Star” qualified or have the “Federal Energy Management Program” designation.

The Departments of Commerce and Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Commission on Civil Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the International Trade Commission, the Legal Services Corporation, the Marine Mammal Commission, the Offices of Science and Technology Policy and the United States Trade Representative, the National Space Council, and the State Justice Institute shall submit spending plans, signed by the respective department or agency head, to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate not later than 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to pay award or incentive fees for contractor performance that has been judged to be below satisfactory performance or for performance that does not meet the basic requirements of a contract.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used in contravention of section 7606 (“Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research”) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–79) by the Department of Justice or the Drug Enforcement Administration.

None of the funds made available under this Act to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to any of the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, or with respect to the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, or Puerto Rico, to prevent any of them from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.

The Department of Commerce, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation shall provide a quarterly report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate on any official travel to China by any employee of such Department or agency, including the purpose of such travel.

None of the funds provided in this Act shall be available for obligation for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) after December 31, 2021, if the individual identified under subsection (c)(2)(E) of section 30104 of title 51, United States Code, as responsible for JWST determines that the formulation and development costs (with development cost as defined under section 30104 of title 51, United States Code) are likely to exceed $8,802,700,000, unless the program is modified so that the costs do not exceed $8,802,700,000.

Of the amounts made available by this Act, not less than 10 percent of each total amount provided, respectively, for Public Works grants authorized by the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 and grants authorized by section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3722) shall be allocated for assistance in persistent poverty counties: Provided, That for purposes of this section, the term persistent poverty counties means any county that has had 20 percent or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses and the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, or any Territory or possession of the United States.

None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this or any other Act may be used to transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release to or within the United States, its territories, or possessions Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee who—

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States receiving appropriated funds under this Act or any other Act shall obligate or expend in any way such funds to pay administrative expenses or the compensation of any officer or employee of the United States to deny any application submitted pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 2778(b)(1)(B) and qualified pursuant to 27 CFR section 478.112 or .113, for a permit to import United States origin “curios or relics” firearms, parts, or ammunition.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to pay the salaries or expenses of personnel to deny, or fail to act on, an application for the importation of any model of shotgun if—

None of the funds made available by this Act may be obligated or expended to implement the Arms Trade Treaty until the Senate approves a resolution of ratification for the Treaty.

For an additional amount for “United States Marshals Service, Federal Prisoner Detention”, $125,000,000, to remain available until expended, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally, including for necessary expenses related to United States prisoners in the custody of the United States Marshals Service, to be used only as authorized by section 4013 of title 18, United States Code: Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

For an additional amount for “Federal Bureau of Investigation, Salaries and Expenses”, $179,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2022, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally, including the impact of coronavirus on the work of the Department of Justice, to make necessary improvements to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and to offset the loss resulting from the coronavirus pandemic of fees collected pursuant to section 41104 of title 34, United States Code: Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

For an additional amount for “Federal Prison System, Salaries and Expenses”, $300,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2022, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally, including the impact of coronavirus on the work of the Department of Justice: Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.