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Pub. L.
Notes

Division B — Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018

115th Congress · Approved Mar 23, 2018 · 132 Stat. 348

DIVISION B Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018

This division may be cited as the “Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018”.

TITLE I Department of Commerce

International Trade Administration

Bureau of Industry and Security

Economic Development Administration

Minority Business Development Agency

Economic and Statistical Analysis

Bureau of the Census

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

United States Patent and Trademark Office

National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Departmental Management

General Provisions—Department of Commerce

This title may be cited as the “Department of Commerce Appropriations Act, 2018”.

TITLE II Department of Justice

General Administration

United States Parole Commission

Legal Activities

United States Marshals Service

National Security Division

Interagency Law Enforcement

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Drug Enforcement Administration

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Federal Prison System

State and Local Law Enforcement Activities

Office of Justice Programs

Community Oriented Policing Services

General Provisions—Department of Justice

This title may be cited as the “Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2018”.

TITLE III Science

Office of Science and Technology Policy

For necessary expenses of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in carrying out the purposes of the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.), hire of passenger motor vehicles, and services as authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, not to exceed $2,250 for official reception and representation expenses, and rental of conference rooms in the District of Columbia, $5,544,000.

National Space Council

For necessary expenses of the National Space Council, in carrying out the purposes of Title V of Public Law 100-685 and Executive Order 13803, hire of passenger motor vehicles, and services as authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, not to exceed $2,250 for official reception and representation expenses, $1,965,000: Provided, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, the National Space Council may accept personnel support from Federal agencies, departments, and offices, and such Federal agencies, departments, and offices may detail staff without reimbursement to the National Space Council for purposes provided herein.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Science Foundation

This title may be cited as the “Science Appropriations Act, 2018”.

TITLE IV Related Agencies

Commission on Civil Rights

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

International Trade Commission

Legal Services Corporation

Marine Mammal Commission

Office of the United States Trade Representative

State Justice Institute

TITLE V General Provisions

Sec. 501.

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

Sec. 502.

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

Sec. 503.

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.

Sec. 504.

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.

Sec. 505.

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 2018, 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.

Sec. 506.

(a)
If it has been finally determined by a court or Federal agency that any person intentionally affixed a label bearing a “Made in America” inscription, or any inscription with the same meaning, to any product sold in or shipped to the United States that is not made in the United States, the person shall be ineligible to receive any contract or subcontract made with funds made available in this Act, pursuant to the debarment, suspension, and ineligibility procedures described in sections 9.400 through 9.409 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations.
(b)
(1)
To the extent practicable, with respect to authorized purchases of promotional items, funds made available by this Act shall be used to purchase items that are manufactured, produced, or assembled in the United States, its territories or possessions.
(2)
The term “promotional items” has the meaning given the term in OMB Circular A–87, Attachment B, Item (1)(f)(3).

Sec. 507.

(a)
The Departments of Commerce and Justice, the National Science Foundation, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a quarterly report on the status of balances of appropriations at the account level. For unobligated, uncommitted balances and unobligated, committed balances the quarterly reports shall separately identify the amounts attributable to each source year of appropriation from which the balances were derived. For balances that are obligated, but unexpended, the quarterly reports shall separately identify amounts by the year of obligation.
(b)
The report described in subsection (a) shall be submitted within 30 days of the end of each quarter.
(c)
If a department or agency is unable to fulfill any aspect of a reporting requirement described in subsection (a) due to a limitation of a current accounting system, the department or agency shall fulfill such aspect to the maximum extent practicable under such accounting system and shall identify and describe in each quarterly report the extent to which such aspect is not fulfilled.

Sec. 508.

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.

Sec. 509.

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.

Sec. 510.

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 $4,436,000,000 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 remain available until expended to the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General for oversight and auditing purposes; and (2) 3 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.

Sec. 511.

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.

Sec. 512.

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.

Sec. 513.

(a)
The Inspectors General of the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Legal Services Corporation shall conduct audits, pursuant to the Inspector General Act (5 U.S.C. App.), of grants or contracts for which funds are appropriated by this Act, and shall submit reports to Congress on the progress of such audits, which may include preliminary findings and a description of areas of particular interest, within 180 days after initiating such an audit and every 180 days thereafter until any such audit is completed.
(b)
Within 60 days after the date on which an audit described in subsection (a) by an Inspector General is completed, the Secretary, Attorney General, Administrator, Director, or President, as appropriate, shall make the results of the audit available to the public on the Internet website maintained by the Department, Administration, Foundation, or Corporation, respectively. The results shall be made available in redacted form to exclude—
(1)
any matter described in section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code; and
(2)
sensitive personal information for any individual, the public access to which could be used to commit identity theft or for other inappropriate or unlawful purposes.
(c)
Any person awarded a grant or contract funded by amounts appropriated by this Act shall submit a statement to the Secretary of Commerce, the Attorney General, the Administrator, Director, or President, as appropriate, certifying that no funds derived from the grant or contract will be made available through a subcontract or in any other manner to another person who has a financial interest in the person awarded the grant or contract.
(d)
The provisions of the preceding subsections of this section shall take effect 30 days after the date on which the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, determines that a uniform set of rules and requirements, substantially similar to the requirements in such subsections, consistently apply under the executive branch ethics program to all Federal departments, agencies, and entities.

Sec. 514.

(a)
None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act may be used by the Departments of Commerce and Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or the National Science Foundation to acquire a high-impact or moderate-impact information system, as defined for security categorization in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 199, “Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems” unless the agency has—
(1)
reviewed the supply chain risk for the information systems against criteria developed by NIST and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to inform acquisition decisions for high-impact and moderate-impact information systems within the Federal Government;
(2)
reviewed the supply chain risk from the presumptive awardee against available and relevant threat information provided by the FBI and other appropriate agencies; and
(3)
in consultation with the FBI or other appropriate Federal entity, conducted an assessment of any risk of cyber-espionage or sabotage associated with the acquisition of such system, including any risk associated with such system being produced, manufactured, or assembled by one or more entities identified by the United States Government as posing a cyber threat, including but not limited to, those that may be owned, directed, or subsidized by the People’s Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or the Russian Federation.
(b)
None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act may be used to acquire a high-impact or moderate-impact information system reviewed and assessed under subsection (a) unless the head of the assessing entity described in subsection (a) has—
(1)
developed, in consultation with NIST, the FBI, and supply chain risk management experts, a mitigation strategy for any identified risks;
(2)
determined, in consultation with NIST and the FBI, that the acquisition of such system is in the national interest of the United States; and
(3)
reported that determination to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate and the agency Inspector General.

Sec. 515.

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.

Sec. 516.

(a)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law or treaty, none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act or any other Act may be expended or obligated by a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States to pay administrative expenses or to compensate an officer or employee of the United States in connection with requiring an export license for the export to Canada of components, parts, accessories or attachments for firearms listed in Category I, section 121.1 of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations (International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR), part 121, as it existed on April 1, 2005) with a total value not exceeding $500 wholesale in any transaction, provided that the conditions of subsection (b) of this section are met by the exporting party for such articles.
(b)
The foregoing exemption from obtaining an export license—
(1)
does not exempt an exporter from filing any Shipper’s Export Declaration or notification letter required by law, or from being otherwise eligible under the laws of the United States to possess, ship, transport, or export the articles enumerated in subsection (a); and
(2)
does not permit the export without a license of—
(A)
fully automatic firearms and components and parts for such firearms, other than for end use by the Federal Government, or a Provincial or Municipal Government of Canada;
(B)
barrels, cylinders, receivers (frames) or complete breech mechanisms for any firearm listed in Category I, other than for end use by the Federal Government, or a Provincial or Municipal Government of Canada; or
(C)
articles for export from Canada to another foreign destination.
(c)
In accordance with this section, the District Directors of Customs and postmasters shall permit the permanent or temporary export without a license of any unclassified articles specified in subsection (a) to Canada for end use in Canada or return to the United States, or temporary import of Canadian-origin items from Canada for end use in the United States or return to Canada for a Canadian citizen.
(d)
The President may require export licenses under this section on a temporary basis if the President determines, upon publication first in the Federal Register, that the Government of Canada has implemented or maintained inadequate import controls for the articles specified in subsection (a), such that a significant diversion of such articles has and continues to take place for use in international terrorism or in the escalation of a conflict in another nation. The President shall terminate the requirements of a license when reasons for the temporary requirements have ceased.

Sec. 517.

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.

Sec. 518.

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—
(1)
paragraph 2 of article 16.7 of the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement;
(2)
paragraph 4 of article 17.9 of the United States–Australia Free Trade Agreement; or
(3)
paragraph 4 of article 15.9 of the United States–Morocco Free Trade Agreement.

Sec. 519.

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.

Sec. 520.

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.

Sec. 521.

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 2018 until the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 2018.

Sec. 522.

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.

(rescissions)