Division L — Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021

None of the funds made available by this Act to the Department of Transportation may be obligated for the Office of the Secretary of Transportation to approve assessments or reimbursable agreements pertaining to funds appropriated to the operating administrations in this Act, except for activities underway on the date of enactment of this Act, unless such assessments or agreements have completed the normal reprogramming process for congressional notification.

The Secretary shall post on the web site of the Department of Transportation a schedule of all meetings of the Council on Credit and Finance, including the agenda for each meeting, and require the Council on Credit and Finance to record the decisions and actions of each meeting.

In addition to authority provided by section 327 of title 49, United States Code, the Department’s Working Capital Fund is authorized to provide partial or full payments in advance and accept subsequent reimbursements from all Federal agencies from available funds for transit benefit distribution services that are necessary to carry out the Federal transit pass transportation fringe benefit program under Executive Order No. 13150 and section 3049 of SAFETEA–LU (5 U.S.C. 7905 note): Provided, That the Department shall maintain a reasonable operating reserve in the Working Capital Fund, to be expended in advance to provide uninterrupted transit benefits to Government employees: Provided further, That such reserve shall not exceed 1 month of benefits payable and may be used only for the purpose of providing for the continuation of transit benefits: Provided further, That the Working Capital Fund shall be fully reimbursed by each customer agency from available funds for the actual cost of the transit benefit.

Receipts collected in the Department’s Working Capital Fund, as authorized by section 327 of title 49, United States Code, for unused van pool benefits, in an amount not to exceed 10 percent of fiscal year 2021 collections, shall be available until expended in the Department’s Working Capital Fund to provide contractual services in support of section 199A of this Act: Provided, That obligations in fiscal year 2021 of such collections shall not exceed $1,000,000.

The remaining unobligated balances, as of September 30, 2021, from amounts made available for the “Department of Transportation—Office of the Secretary—National Infrastructure Investments” in division G of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 116–6) are hereby permanently rescinded, and an amount of additional new budget authority equivalent to the amount rescinded is hereby appropriated on September 30, 2021, to remain available until September 30, 2022, and shall be available, without additional competition, for completing the funding of awards made pursuant to the fiscal year 2019 national infrastructure investments program.

None of the funds in this Act may be obligated or expended for retention or senior executive bonuses for an employee of the Department of Transportation without the prior written approval of the Assistant Secretary for Administration.

In addition to authority provided by section 327 of title 49, United States Code, the Department's Administrative Working Capital Fund is hereby authorized to transfer information technology equipment, software, and systems from Departmental sources or other entities and collect and maintain a reserve at rates which will return full cost of transferred assets.

None of the funds provided in this Act to the Department of Transportation may be used to provide credit assistance unless not less than 3 days before any application approval to provide credit assistance under sections 603 and 604 of title 23, United States Code, the Secretary provides notification in writing to the following committees: the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations; the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives: Provided, That such notification shall include, but not be limited to, the name of the project sponsor; a description of the project; whether credit assistance will be provided as a direct loan, loan guarantee, or line of credit; and the amount of credit assistance.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to compensate in excess of 600 technical staff-years under the federally funded research and development center contract between the Federal Aviation Administration and the Center for Advanced Aviation Systems Development during fiscal year 2021.

None of the funds made available by this Act shall be used to pursue or adopt guidelines or regulations requiring airport sponsors to provide to the Federal Aviation Administration without cost building construction, maintenance, utilities and expenses, or space in airport sponsor-owned buildings for services relating to air traffic control, air navigation, or weather reporting: Provided, That the prohibition on the use of funds in this section does not apply to negotiations between the agency and airport sponsors to achieve agreement on “below-market” rates for these items or to grant assurances that require airport sponsors to provide land without cost to the Federal Aviation Administration for air traffic control facilities.

The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may reimburse amounts made available to satisfy section 41742(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, from fees credited under section 45303 of title 49, United States Code, and any amount remaining in such account at the close of any fiscal year may be made available to satisfy section 41742(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, for the subsequent fiscal year.

Amounts collected under section 40113(e) of title 49, United States Code, shall be credited to the appropriation current at the time of collection, to be merged with and available for the same purposes as such appropriation.

None of the funds made available by this Act shall be available for paying premium pay under subsection 5546(a) of title 5, United States Code, to any Federal Aviation Administration employee unless such employee actually performed work during the time corresponding to such premium pay.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be obligated or expended for an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration to purchase a store gift card or gift certificate through use of a Government-issued credit card.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available under this Act or any prior Act may be used to implement or to continue to implement any limitation on the ability of any owner or operator of a private aircraft to obtain, upon a request to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, a blocking of that owner's or operator's aircraft registration number, Mode S transponder code, flight identification, call sign, or similar identifying information from any ground based display to the public that would allow the real-time or near real-time flight tracking of that aircraft’s movements, except data made available to a Government agency, for the noncommercial flights of that owner or operator.

None of the funds made available by this Act shall be available for salaries and expenses of more than nine political and Presidential appointees in the Federal Aviation Administration.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to increase fees pursuant to section 44721 of title 49, United States Code, until the Federal Aviation Administration provides to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations a report that justifies all fees related to aeronautical navigation products and explains how such fees are consistent with Executive Order No. 13642.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to close a regional operations center of the Federal Aviation Administration or reduce its services unless the Administrator notifies the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations not less than 90 full business days in advance.

None of the funds made available by or limited by this Act may be used to change weight restrictions or prior permission rules at Teterboro airport in Teterboro, New Jersey.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to withhold from consideration and approval any new application for participation in the Contract Tower Program, or for reevaluation of Cost-share Program participants so long as the Federal Aviation Administration has received an application from the airport, and so long as the Administrator determines such tower is eligible using the factors set forth in Federal Aviation Administration published establishment criteria.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to open, close, redesignate as a lesser office, or reorganize a regional office, the aeronautical center, or the technical center unless the Administrator submits a request for the reprogramming of funds under section 405 of this Act.

Notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, funds received by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics from the sale of data products, for necessary expenses incurred pursuant to chapter 63 of title 49, United States Code, may be credited to the Federal-aid highways account for the purpose of reimbursing the Bureau for such expenses: Provided, That such funds shall be subject to the obligation limitation for Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs.

Not less than 15 days prior to waiving, under his or her statutory authority, any Buy America requirement for Federal-aid highways projects, the Secretary of Transportation shall make an informal public notice and comment opportunity on the intent to issue such waiver and the reasons therefor: Provided, That the Secretary shall provide an annual report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on any waivers granted under the Buy America requirements.

None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to make a grant for a project under section 117 of title 23, United States Code, unless the Secretary, at least 60 days before making a grant under that section, provides written notification to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations of the proposed grant, including an evaluation and justification for the project and the amount of the proposed grant award: Provided, That the written notification required in the preceding proviso shall be made not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

Until final guidance is published, the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration shall adjudicate requests for Buy America waivers under the criteria that were in effect prior to April 17, 2018.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall send notice of section 385.308 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, violations by certified mail, registered mail, or another manner of delivery, which records the receipt of the notice by the persons responsible for the violations.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall update annual inspection regulations under Appendix G to subchapter B of chapter III of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, as recommended by GAO–19–264.

None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Transportation by this Act or any other Act may be obligated or expended to implement, administer, or enforce the requirements of section 31137 of title 49, United States Code, or any regulation issued by the Secretary pursuant to such section, with respect to the use of electronic logging devices by operators of commercial motor vehicles, as defined in section 31132(1) of such title, transporting livestock as defined in section 602 of the Emergency Livestock Feed Assistance Act of 1988 (7 U.S.C. 1471) or insects.

An additional $130,000 shall be made available to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, out of the amount limited for section 402 of title 23, United States Code, to pay for travel and related expenses for State management reviews and to pay for core competency development training and related expenses for highway safety staff.

The limitations on obligations for the programs of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration set in this Act shall not apply to obligations for which obligation authority was made available in previous public laws but only to the extent that the obligation authority has not lapsed or been used.

In addition to the amounts made available under the heading, “Operations and Research (Liquidation of Contract Authorization) (Limitation on Obligations) (Highway Trust Fund)” for carrying out the provisions of section 403 of title 23, United States Code, $17,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2022, shall be made available to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from the general fund: Provided, That of the sums provided under this provision—

None of the funds in this Act or any other Act shall be used to enforce the requirements of section 405(a)(9) of title 23, United States Code.

None of the funds made available to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation may be used to fund any overtime costs in excess of $35,000 for any individual employee: Provided, That the President of Amtrak may waive the cap set in the preceding proviso for specific employees when the President of Amtrak determines such a cap poses a risk to the safety and operational efficiency of the system: Provided further, That the President of Amtrak shall report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations no later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, a summary of all overtime payments incurred by Amtrak for 2020 and the 3 prior calendar years: Provided further, That such summary shall include the total number of employees that received waivers and the total overtime payments Amtrak paid to employees receiving waivers for each month for 2020 and for the 3 prior calendar years.

None of the funds made available to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation under the headings “Northeast Corridor Grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation” and “National Network Grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation” may be used to reduce the total number of Amtrak Police Department uniformed officers patrolling on board passenger trains or at stations, facilities or rights-of-way below the staffing level on May 1, 2019.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation in contravention of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.).

The matter under the heading “Department of Transportation—Federal Railroad Administration—Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements”—

Of the unobligated balances of funds remaining from—

It is the sense of Congress that—

The limitations on obligations for the programs of the Federal Transit Administration shall not apply to any authority under 49 U.S.C. 5338, previously made available for obligation, or to any other authority previously made available for obligation.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds appropriated or limited by this Act under the heading “Capital Investment Grants” of the Federal Transit Administration for projects specified in this Act or identified in the explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act) not obligated by September 30, 2024, and other recoveries, shall be directed to projects eligible to use the funds for the purposes for which they were originally provided.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any funds appropriated before October 1, 2020, under any section of chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, that remain available for expenditure, may be transferred to and administered under the most recent appropriation heading for any such section.

None of the funds made available by this Act or any other Act shall be used to adjust apportionments or withhold funds from apportionments pursuant to section 9503(e)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9503(e)(4)).

An eligible recipient of a grant under section 5339(c) may submit an application in partnership with other entities, including a transit vehicle manufacturer, that intend to participate in the implementation of a project under section 5339(c) of title 49, United States Code, and a project awarded with such partnership shall be treated as satisfying the requirement for a competitive procurement under section 5325(a) of title 49, United States Code, for the named entity.

None of the funds made available by this Act or any other Act shall be used to impede or hinder project advancement or approval for any project seeking a Federal contribution from the capital investment grant program of greater than 40 percent of project costs as authorized under section 5309 of title 49, United States Code.

None of the funds made available in this Act may be used by the Department of Transportation to implement any policy that requires a capital investment grant project to receive a medium or higher project rating before taking actions to finalize an environmental impact statement.

Of the unobligated amounts made available for prior fiscal years to Formula Grants in Treasury Account 69–X–1129, a total of $1,606,849 are hereby permanently rescinded: Provided, That no amounts may be rescinded from amounts that were designated by the Congress as an emergency or disaster relief requirement pursuant to a concurrent resolution on the budget or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Of the unobligated amounts made available for the Job Access and Reverse Commute program, as authorized by Public Law 105–178, as amended, a total of $320,230 are hereby permanently rescinded.

Of the unobligated amounts made available for Research, Training, and Human Resources, as authorized by Public Law 95–599, as amended, a total of $31,634 are hereby permanently rescinded.

Any unexpended balances from amounts previously appropriated for low or no emission vehicle component assessment under 49 U.S.C. 5312(h) under the headings “Transit Formula Grants” and “Transit Infrastructure Grants” in fiscal years 2016 through 2020 may be used by the facilities selected for such vehicle component assessment for capital projects in order to build new infrastructure and enhance existing facilities in order to expand bus and component testing capability, in accordance with the industry stakeholder testing objectives and capabilities as outlined through the work of the Federal Transit Administration Transit Vehicle Innovation and Deployment Centers program and included in the Center for Transportation and the Environment report submitted to the Federal Transit Administration for review.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in addition to any existing authority, the Maritime Administration is authorized to furnish utilities and services and make necessary repairs in connection with any lease, contract, or occupancy involving Government property under control of the Maritime Administration: Provided, That payments received therefor shall be credited to the appropriation charged with the cost thereof and shall remain available until expended: Provided further, That rental payments under any such lease, contract, or occupancy for items other than such utilities, services, or repairs shall be deposited into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

In addition to the amounts made available under the heading, “Emergency Preparedness Grants”, $1,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2023, shall be made available to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration from the general fund of the Treasury, in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes, to develop and deliver hazardous materials emergency response training for emergency responders, including response activities for the transportation of crude oil, ethanol, flammable liquids, and other hazardous commodities by rail, consistent with National Fire Protection Association standards, and to make such training available through an electronic format.

Appropriations contained in this Act for the Department of Transportation shall be available for services as authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the per diem rate equivalent to the rate for an Executive Level IV.

None of the funds made available by this Act shall be available for salaries and expenses of more than 125 political and Presidential appointees in the Department of Transportation: Provided, That none of the personnel covered by this provision may be assigned on temporary detail outside the Department of Transportation.

Funds received by the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Railroad Administration from States, counties, municipalities, other public authorities, and private sources for expenses incurred for training may be credited respectively to the Federal Highway Administration's “Federal-Aid Highways” account and to the Federal Railroad Administration's “Safety and Operations” account, except for State rail safety inspectors participating in training pursuant to section 20105 of title 49, United States Code.

None of the funds made available by this Act to the Department of Transportation may be used to make a loan, loan guarantee, line of credit, letter of intent, federally funded cooperative agreement, full funding grant agreement, or discretionary grant unless the Secretary of Transportation notifies the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations not less than 3 full business days before any project competitively selected to receive any discretionary grant award, letter of intent, loan commitment, loan guarantee commitment, line of credit commitment, federally funded cooperative agreement, or full funding grant agreement is announced by the Department or its operating administrations: Provided, That the Secretary of Transportation shall provide the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations with a comprehensive list of all such loans, loan guarantees, lines of credit, letters of intent, federally funded cooperative agreements, full funding grant agreements, and discretionary grants prior to the notification required under the previous proviso: Provided further, That the Secretary gives concurrent notification to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations for any “quick release” of funds from the emergency relief program: Provided further, That no notification shall involve funds that are not available for obligation.

Rebates, refunds, incentive payments, minor fees, and other funds received by the Department of Transportation from travel management centers, charge card programs, the subleasing of building space, and miscellaneous sources are to be credited to appropriations of the Department of Transportation and allocated to elements of the Department of Transportation using fair and equitable criteria and such funds shall be available until expended.

Amounts made available by this Act or any prior Act that the Secretary determines represent improper payments by the Department of Transportation to a third-party contractor under a financial assistance award, which are recovered pursuant to law, shall be available—

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if any funds provided by or limited by this Act are subject to a reprogramming action that requires notice to be provided to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, transmission of such reprogramming notice shall be provided solely to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, and such reprogramming action shall be approved or denied solely by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations: Provided, That the Secretary of Transportation may provide notice to other congressional committees of the action of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on such reprogramming but not sooner than 30 days after the date on which the reprogramming action has been approved or denied by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.

Funds appropriated by this Act to the operating administrations may be obligated for the Office of the Secretary for the costs related to assessments or reimbursable agreements only when such amounts are for the costs of goods and services that are purchased to provide a direct benefit to the applicable operating administration or administrations.

The Secretary of Transportation is authorized to carry out a program that establishes uniform standards for developing and supporting agency transit pass and transit benefits authorized under section 7905 of title 5, United States Code, including distribution of transit benefits by various paper and electronic media.

The Department of Transportation may use funds provided by this Act, or any other Act, to assist a contract under title 49 U.S.C. or title 23 U.S.C. utilizing geographic, economic, or any other hiring preference not otherwise authorized by law, or to amend a rule, regulation, policy or other measure that forbids a recipient of a Federal Highway Administration or Federal Transit Administration grant from imposing such hiring preference on a contract or construction project with which the Department of Transportation is assisting, only if the grant recipient certifies the following:

The Secretary of Transportation shall coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that best practices for Industrial Control Systems Procurement are up-to-date and shall ensure that systems procured with funds provided under this title were procured using such practices.

None of the funds made available by this Act to the Department of Transportation may be used in contravention of section 306108 of title 54, United States Code.

Fifty percent of the amounts of budget authority, or in lieu thereof 50 percent of the cash amounts associated with such budget authority, that are recaptured from projects described in section 1012(a) of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note) shall be rescinded or in the case of cash, shall be remitted to the Treasury, and such amounts of budget authority or cash recaptured and not rescinded or remitted to the Treasury shall be used by State housing finance agencies or local governments or local housing agencies with projects approved by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for which settlement occurred after January 1, 1992, in accordance with such section. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, the Secretary may award up to 15 percent of the budget authority or cash recaptured and not rescinded or remitted to the Treasury to provide project owners with incentives to refinance their project at a lower interest rate.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used during fiscal year 2021 to investigate or prosecute under the Fair Housing Act any otherwise lawful activity engaged in by one or more persons, including the filing or maintaining of a nonfrivolous legal action, that is engaged in solely for the purpose of achieving or preventing action by a Government official or entity, or a court of competent jurisdiction.

Except as explicitly provided in law, any grant, cooperative agreement or other assistance made pursuant to title II of this Act shall be made on a competitive basis and in accordance with section 102 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545).

Funds of the Department of Housing and Urban Development subject to the Government Corporation Control Act or section 402 of the Housing Act of 1950 shall be available, without regard to the limitations on administrative expenses, for legal services on a contract or fee basis, and for utilizing and making payment for services and facilities of the Federal National Mortgage Association, Government National Mortgage Association, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, Federal Financing Bank, Federal Reserve banks or any member thereof, Federal Home Loan banks, and any insured bank within the meaning of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Act, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1811–1).

Unless otherwise provided for in this Act or through a reprogramming of funds, no part of any appropriation for the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be available for any program, project or activity in excess of amounts set forth in the budget estimates submitted to Congress.

Corporations and agencies of the Department of Housing and Urban Development which are subject to the Government Corporation Control Act are hereby authorized to make such expenditures, within the limits of funds and borrowing authority available to each such corporation or agency and in accordance with law, and to make such contracts and commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as provided by section 104 of such Act as may be necessary in carrying out the programs set forth in the budget for 2021 for such corporation or agency except as hereinafter provided: Provided, That collections of these corporations and agencies may be used for new loan or mortgage purchase commitments only to the extent expressly provided for in this Act (unless such loans are in support of other forms of assistance provided for in this or prior appropriations Acts), except that this proviso shall not apply to the mortgage insurance or guaranty operations of these corporations, or where loans or mortgage purchases are necessary to protect the financial interest of the United States Government.

The Secretary shall provide quarterly reports to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations regarding all uncommitted, unobligated, recaptured and excess funds in each program and activity within the jurisdiction of the Department and shall submit additional, updated budget information to these Committees upon request.

None of the funds made available by this title may be used for an audit of the Government National Mortgage Association that makes applicable requirements under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.).

The funds made available for Native Alaskans under paragraph (1) under the heading “Native American Programs” in title II of this Act shall be allocated to the same Native Alaskan housing block grant recipients that received funds in fiscal year 2005, and only such recipients shall be eligible to apply for funds made available under paragraph (2) of such heading.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in fiscal year 2021, in managing and disposing of any multifamily property that is owned or has a mortgage held by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and during the process of foreclosure on any property with a contract for rental assistance payments under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) or any other Federal programs, the Secretary shall maintain any rental assistance payments under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 and other programs that are attached to any dwelling units in the property. To the extent the Secretary determines, in consultation with the tenants and the local government that such a multifamily property owned or having a mortgage held by the Secretary is not feasible for continued rental assistance payments under such section 8 or other programs, based on consideration of (1) the costs of rehabilitating and operating the property and all available Federal, State, and local resources, including rent adjustments under section 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (“MAHRAA”) (42 U.S.C. 1437f note), and (2) environmental conditions that cannot be remedied in a cost-effective fashion, the Secretary may, in consultation with the tenants of that property, contract for project-based rental assistance payments with an owner or owners of other existing housing properties, or provide other rental assistance. The Secretary shall also take appropriate steps to ensure that project-based contracts remain in effect prior to foreclosure, subject to the exercise of contractual abatement remedies to assist relocation of tenants for imminent major threats to health and safety after written notice to and informed consent of the affected tenants and use of other available remedies, such as partial abatements or receivership. After disposition of any multifamily property described in this section, the contract and allowable rent levels on such properties shall be subject to the requirements under section 524 of MAHRAA.

Public housing agencies that own and operate 400 or fewer public housing units may elect to be exempt from any asset management requirement imposed by the Secretary in connection with the operating fund rule: Provided, That an agency seeking a discontinuance of a reduction of subsidy under the operating fund formula shall not be exempt from asset management requirements.

With respect to the use of amounts provided in this Act and in future Acts for the operation, capital improvement, and management of public housing as authorized by sections 9(d) and 9(e) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(d),(e)), the Secretary shall not impose any requirement or guideline relating to asset management that restricts or limits in any way the use of capital funds for central office costs pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of section 9(g) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(g)(1), (2)): Provided, That a public housing agency may not use capital funds authorized under section 9(d) for activities that are eligible under section 9(e) for assistance with amounts from the operating fund in excess of the amounts permitted under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 9(g).

No official or employee of the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be designated as an allotment holder unless the Office of the Chief Financial Officer has determined that such allotment holder has implemented an adequate system of funds control and has received training in funds control procedures and directives. The Chief Financial Officer shall ensure that there is a trained allotment holder for each HUD appropriation under the accounts “Executive Offices”, “Administrative Support Offices”, “Program Offices”, “Government National Mortgage Association—Guarantees of Mortgage-Backed Securities Loan Guarantee Program Account”, and “Office of Inspector General” within the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Secretary shall, for fiscal year 2021, notify the public through the Federal Register and other means, as determined appropriate, of the issuance of a notice of the availability of assistance or notice of funding availability (NOFA) for any program or discretionary fund administered by the Secretary that is to be competitively awarded. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for fiscal year 2021, the Secretary may make the NOFA available only on the Internet at the appropriate Government website or through other electronic media, as determined by the Secretary.

Payment of attorney fees in program-related litigation shall be paid from the individual program office and Office of General Counsel salaries and expenses appropriations. The annual budget submission for the program offices and the Office of General Counsel shall include any such projected litigation costs for attorney fees as a separate line item request.

The Secretary is authorized to transfer up to 10 percent or $5,000,000, whichever is less, of funds appropriated for any office under the headings “Administrative Support Offices” or “Program Offices” to any other such office under such headings: Provided, That no appropriation for any such office under such headings shall be increased or decreased by more than 10 percent or $5,000,000, whichever is less, without prior written approval of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations: Provided further, That the Secretary shall provide notification to such Committees 3 business days in advance of any such transfers under this section up to 10 percent or $5,000,000, whichever is less.

None of the funds made available by this Act, or any other Act, for purposes authorized under section 8 (only with respect to the tenant-based rental assistance program) and section 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.), may be used by any public housing agency for any amount of salary, including bonuses, for the chief executive officer of which, or any other official or employee of which, that exceeds the annual rate of basic pay payable for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule at any time during any public housing agency fiscal year 2021.

None of the funds made available by this Act and provided to the Department of Housing and Urban Development may be used to make a grant award unless the Secretary notifies the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations not less than 3 full business days before any project, State, locality, housing authority, Tribe, nonprofit organization, or other entity selected to receive a grant award is announced by the Department or its offices.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to require or enforce the Physical Needs Assessment (PNA).

None of the funds made available in this Act shall be used by the Federal Housing Administration, the Government National Mortgage Association, or the Department of Housing and Urban Development to insure, securitize, or establish a Federal guarantee of any mortgage or mortgage backed security that refinances or otherwise replaces a mortgage that has been subject to eminent domain condemnation or seizure, by a State, municipality, or any other political subdivision of a State.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to terminate the status of a unit of general local government as a metropolitan city (as defined in section 102 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302)) with respect to grants under section 106 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5306).

Amounts made available by this Act that are appropriated, allocated, advanced on a reimbursable basis, or transferred to the Office of Policy Development and Research of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and functions thereof, for research, evaluation, or statistical purposes, and that are unexpended at the time of completion of a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement, may be deobligated and shall immediately become available and may be reobligated in that fiscal year or the subsequent fiscal year for the research, evaluation, or statistical purposes for which the amounts are made available to that Office subject to reprogramming requirements in section 405 of this Act.

None of the funds provided in this Act or any other Act may be used for awards, including performance, special act, or spot, for any employee of the Department of Housing and Urban Development subject to administrative discipline (including suspension from work), in this fiscal year, but this prohibition shall not be effective prior to the effective date of any such administrative discipline or after any final decision over-turning such discipline.

With respect to grant amounts awarded under the heading “Homeless Assistance Grants” for fiscal years 2015 through 2021 for the Continuum of Care (CoC) program as authorized under subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, costs paid by program income of grant recipients may count toward meeting the recipient’s matching requirements, provided the costs are eligible CoC costs that supplement the recipient's CoC program.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to direct a grantee to undertake specific changes to existing zoning laws as part of carrying out the final rule entitled “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (80 Fed. Reg. 42272 (July 16, 2015)) or the notice entitled “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Tool” (79 Fed. Reg. 57949 (September 26, 2014)).

The Promise Zone designations and Promise Zone Designation Agreements entered into pursuant to such designations, made by the Secretary in prior fiscal years, shall remain in effect in accordance with the terms and conditions of such agreements.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to establish and apply review criteria, including rating factors or preference points, for participation in or coordination with EnVision Centers, in the evaluation, selection, and award of any funds made available and requiring competitive selection under this Act, except with respect to any such funds otherwise authorized for EnVision Center purposes under this Act.

None of the funds made available by this or any prior Act may be used to require or enforce any changes to the terms and conditions of the public housing annual contributions contract between the Secretary and any public housing agency, as such contract was in effect as of December 31, 2017, unless such changes are mutually agreed upon by the Secretary and such agency: Provided, That such agreement by an agency may be indicated only by a written amendment to the terms and conditions containing the duly authorized signature of its chief executive: Provided further, That the Secretary may not withhold funds to compel such agreement by an agency which certifies to its compliance with its contract.

None of the amounts made available in this Act may be used to consider Family Self-Sufficiency performance measures or performance scores in determining funding awards for programs receiving Family Self-Sufficiency program coordinator funding provided in this Act.

Any public housing agency designated as a Moving to Work agency pursuant to section 239 of division L of Public Law 114–113 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note; 129 Stat. 2897) may, upon such designation, use funds (except for special purpose funding, including special purpose vouchers) previously allocated to any such public housing agency under section 8 or 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, including any reserve funds held by the public housing agency or funds held by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, pursuant to the authority for use of section 8 or 9 funding provided under such section and section 204 of title II of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (Public Law 104–134; 110 Stat. 1321–28), notwithstanding the purposes for which such funds were appropriated.

None of the amounts made available by this Act may be used to prohibit any public housing agency under receivership or the direction of a Federal monitor from applying for, receiving, or using funds made available under the heading “Public Housing Fund” for competitive grants to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards in this Act or that remain available and not awarded from prior Acts, or be used to prohibit a public housing agency from using such funds to carry out any required work pursuant to a settlement agreement, consent decree, voluntary agreement, or similar document for a violation of the Lead Safe Housing or Lead Disclosure Rules.

There are hereby rescinded, from funds appropriated under the heading “Department of Housing and Urban Development—Housing Programs—Rental Housing Assistance”—

None of the funds made available by this title may be used to issue rules or guidance in contravention of section 210 of Public Law 115–254 (132 Stat. 3442) or section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155).

No later than September 30, 2021, the remaining unobligated balances of funds made available for the youth homelessness demonstration under the heading “Department of Housing and Urban Development—Community Planning and Development—Homeless Assistance Grants” in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 116–6) are hereby permanently rescinded, and an amount of additional new budget authority equivalent to the amount rescinded is hereby appropriated, to remain available until September 30, 2022, in addition to other funds as may be available for such purposes, and shall be available, without additional competition, for completing the funding of awards made pursuant to the fiscal year 2019 youth homelessness demonstration.

None of the funds in this Act shall be used for the planning or execution of any program to pay the expenses of, or otherwise compensate, non-Federal parties intervening in regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings funded in this Act.

None of the funds appropriated in this Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year, nor may any be transferred to other appropriations, unless expressly so provided herein.

The expenditure of any appropriation under this Act for any consulting service through a 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.

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, none of the funds provided in this Act, provided by previous appropriations Acts to the agencies or entities funded in this Act that remain available for obligation or expenditure in fiscal year 2021, or provided from any accounts in the Treasury derived by the collection of fees and available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall be available for obligation or expenditure through a reprogramming of funds that—

Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, not to exceed 50 percent of unobligated balances remaining available at the end of fiscal year 2021 from appropriations made available for salaries and expenses for fiscal year 2021 in this Act, shall remain available through September 30, 2022, for each such account for the purposes authorized: Provided, That a request shall be submitted to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations for approval prior to the expenditure of such funds: Provided further, That these requests shall be made in compliance with reprogramming guidelines under section 405 of this Act.

No funds in this Act may be used to support any Federal, State, or local projects that seek to use the power of eminent domain, unless eminent domain is employed only for a public use: Provided, That for purposes of this section, public use shall not be construed to include economic development that primarily benefits private entities: Provided further, That any use of funds for mass transit, railroad, airport, seaport or highway projects, as well as utility projects which benefit or serve the general public (including energy-related, communication-related, water-related and wastewater-related infrastructure), other structures designated for use by the general public or which have other common-carrier or public-utility functions that serve the general public and are subject to regulation and oversight by the government, and projects for the removal of an immediate threat to public health and safety or brownfields as defined in the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (Public Law 107–118) shall be considered a public use for purposes of eminent domain.

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.

No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall be available to pay the salary for any person filling a position, other than a temporary position, formerly held by an employee who has left to enter the Armed Forces of the United States and has satisfactorily completed his or her period of active military or naval service, and has within 90 days after his or her release from such service or from hospitalization continuing after discharge for a period of not more than 1 year, made application for restoration to his or her former position and has been certified by the Office of Personnel Management as still qualified to perform the duties of his or her former position and has not been restored thereto.

No funds appropriated pursuant to this Act may be expended by an entity unless the entity agrees that in expending the assistance the entity will comply with sections 2 through 4 of the Act of March 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 8301–8305, popularly known as the “Buy American Act”).

No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act shall be made available to any person or entity that has been convicted of violating the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 8301–8305).

None of the funds made available in this Act may be used for first-class airline accommodations in contravention of sections 301–10.122 and 301–10.123 of title 41, 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 of a single agency or department of the United States Government, who are stationed in the United States, at any single international conference unless the relevant Secretary reports to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations at least 5 days in advance that such attendance is important to the national interest: Provided, That for purposes of this section the term international conference shall mean a conference occurring outside of the United States attended by representatives of the United States Government and of foreign governments, international organizations, or nongovernmental organizations.

None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act may be used by the Surface Transportation Board to charge or collect any filing fee for rate or practice complaints filed with the Board in an amount in excess of the amount authorized for district court civil suit filing fees under section 1914 of title 28, United States Code.

None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to pay award or incentive fees for contractors whose performance has been judged to be below satisfactory, behind schedule, over budget, or has failed to meet the basic requirements of a contract, unless the Agency determines that any such deviations are due to unforeseeable events, government-driven scope changes, or are not significant within the overall scope of the project and/or program unless such awards or incentive fees are consistent with 16.401(e)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

In allocating and awarding available amounts provided under the heading “Homeless Assistance Grants” in the Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116–94), the same heading for fiscal year 2019 (Public Law 116–6), and section 231 of Public Law 116–94 for the Continuum of Care program, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall renew for one 12-month period, without additional competition, all projects with existing grants expiring during calendar year 2021, including youth homeless demonstration projects and shelter plus care projects expiring during calendar year 2021, notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions in such Acts or in subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended: Provided, That Continuum of Care planning and Unified Funding Agency awards expiring in calendar year 2021 may also be renewed and that the Continuum of Care may designate a new collaborative applicant to receive the award in accordance with the existing process established by the Secretary: Provided further, That the Secretary shall publish a Notice that identifies and lists all projects and awards eligible for such noncompetitive renewal, prescribes the format and process by which the projects and awards from the list will be renewed, makes adjustments to the renewal amount based on changes to the Fair Market Rent, and establishes a maximum amount for the renewal of planning and Unified Funding Agency awards notwithstanding the requirement that such maximum amount be established in a Notice of Funding Availability.

Of the amounts made available by this Act for fiscal year 2021 under the heading “Department of Housing and Urban Development—Public and Indian Housing—Tenant-Based Rental Assistance” and specified in the first paragraph of such heading, $695,000,000 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.

In addition to funds provided to the “Payments to Air Carriers” program in Public Law 116–94, Public Law 116–136, and this Act to carry out the essential air service program under section 41731 through 41742 of title 49, United States Code, $23,332,000 to be derived from the Treasury, and to be made available to the Essential Air Service and Rural Improvement Fund, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including to offset the loss resulting from the coronavirus pandemic of the mandatory overflight fees collected pursuant to section 45301 of title 49, United States Code: Provided, That, notwithstanding section 41733 of title 49, United States Code, for each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021, the requirements established under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 41731(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, and the subsidy cap established by section 332 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000, shall not apply to maintain eligibility under section 417831 of title 49, United States Code: Provided further, 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.

Section 47114(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

Notwithstanding section 47124(d)(1)(B) of title 49, United States Code, the Secretary of Transportation shall not calculate a benefit-to-cost ratio with respect to an air traffic control tower participating in the Contract Tower Program on the basis of an annual aircraft traffic decrease in fiscal years 2020 and 2021.