Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2008

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2008 - Title I: Department of the Treasury - Department of the Treasury Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for FY2008 for the Department of the Treasury for: (1) departmental offices; (2) department-wide systems and capital investments programs; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; (5) the Air Transportation Stabilization Program Account; (6) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; (7) the Financial Management Service; (8) the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau; (9) the U.S. Mint for the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund; (10) the Bureau of the Public Debt; (11) the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund Program Account; and (12) the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Sets forth certain transfers of funds, including a certain rescission of funds.

(Sec. 102) Requires the IRS to maintain a training program for IRS employees to train such employees in taxpayers' rights, in dealing courteously with taxpayers, and in cross-cultural relations.

(Sec. 104) Makes funds for the IRS under any Act available for improved facilities and increased manpower to provide sufficient and effective 1-800 help line service for taxpayers.

(Sec. 105) Makes certain funds available only for tax enforcement and related support activities.

(Sec. 106) Limits to $1 million the use of funds to enter into, renew, extend, administer, implement, enforce, provide oversight of, or make any payment related to any qualified tax collection contract.

(Sec. 107) Extends through July 22, 2013, the Secretary of the Treasury's: (1) streamlined critical pay authority with respect to the IRS; (2) IRS recruitment, retention, and relocation incentive authority; and (3) authority to make performance awards to certain IRS senior executives.

(Sec. 109) Transfers from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the authority to fix the rate of basic pay whenever the Secretary of the Treasury seeks certain critical pay authority for IRS positions.

(Sec. 114) Bars the use of funds to the Department of the Treasury or the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to redesign the $1 Federal Reserve note.

(Sec. 116) Extends from eight to 10 years the authorization for the personnel management demonstration project for employees who fill critical scientific, technical, engineering, intelligence analyst, language translator, and medical positions in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).

(Sec. 118) Prohibits the use of funds to merge the U.S. Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing without the approval of specified congressional committees.

Title II: Executive Office of the President and Funds Appropriated to the President - Executive Office of the President Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for FY2008 for compensation of the President and designated White House agencies, including: (1) the Council of Economic Advisers; (2) the Office of Policy Development; (3) the National Security Council (NSC); (4) the Office of Administration; (5) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); (6) the Office of National Drug Control Policy; (7) the Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center; (8) various other specified federal drug control programs; and (9) special assistance to the President and the official residence of the Vice President.

Sets forth certain transfers of funds.

(Sec. 202) Requires the President, before the initial obligation of funds for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, to submit to the Committees on Appropriations a financial plan on their proposed uses on a project-by-project basis.

Title III: The Judiciary - The Judiciary Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations to the Judiciary for FY2008 for: (1) the U.S. Supreme Court; (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; (3) the U.S. Court of International Trade; (4) the courts of appeals, district courts, and other judicial services, including defender services; (5) fees of jurors and commissioners; (6) court security; (7) the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; (8) the Federal Judicial Center; (9) judicial retirement funds; and (10) the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Sets forth certain transfers of funds.

(Sec. 305) Amends the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990 to declare that the first vacancy in the office of district judge in the northern district of Ohio occurring 20 (currently 15) years or more after the confirmation date of the judge named to fill the temporary judgeship created by such Act shall not be filled.

Title IV: District of Columbia - District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations to the District of Columbia for FY2008, including amounts for the federal payments: (1) for District of Columbia Resident Tuition Support; (2) for emergency planning and security costs in the District; (3) to District of Columbia Courts; (4) for Defender Services in District of Columbia Courts; (5) to the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia; (6) to the District of Columbia Public Defender Service; (7) to the DC Water and Sewer Authority; (8) to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; (9) to the Chief Financial Officer of the District; (10) for school improvement; (11) for a consolidated laboratory facility; (12) for DC central library and branch locations; and (13) for reimbursement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Title V: Independent Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY2008 for independent agencies, including: (1) the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); (2) the Election Assistance Commission; (3) the Federal Communication Commission (FCC); (4) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for the Office of Inspector General; (5) the Federal Election Commission (FEC); (6) the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA); (7) the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (8) the General Services Administration (GSA); (9) the Merit Systems Protection Board; (10) Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation; (11) the National Archives and Records Administration; (12) the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA); (13) the Community Development Credit Union Revolving Loan Fund; (14) the Office of Government Ethics; (15) the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), including the Office of Inspector General; (16) the government payments for annuitants, employee health benefits, employee life insurance, and the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (17) the Office of Special Counsel; (18) the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); (19) the Selective Service System; (20) the Small Business Administration (SBA), including the Office of Inspector General; (21) the U.S. Postal Service; and (22) the U.S. Tax Court.

Sets forth certain transfers of funds.

Title VI: General Provisions (This Act) - Sets forth permissions for and restrictions upon the use of funds under this Act.

(Sec. 607) Prohibits payment of the salary from any appropriation under this Act for any person filling a position (other than temporary) formerly held by an employee who has: (1) left to enter the U.S. Armed Forces; (2) satisfactorily completed his or her period of active military or naval service; (3) within 90 days after release from such service, or from hospitalization continuing after discharge for up to one year, applied for restoration to his former position; and (4) been certified by OPM as still qualified to perform the duties of his or her former position, but not been restored to it.

(Sec. 608) Prohibits the expenditure of funds under this Act by an entity unless it agrees that such expenditure will comply with the Buy American Act.

(Sec. 609) Prohibits the availability of funds under this Act to any person or entity that has been convicted of violating the Buy American Act.

(Sec. 612) Prohibits the availability of funds under this Act for use by the Executive Office of the President to request from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) any official background investigation report on any individual, except when: (1) such individual has given his or her express written consent for such request within six months before the date of such request and during the same presidential administration; or (2) such request is required due to extraordinary circumstances involving national security.

(Sec. 613) Makes certain cost accounting standards promulgated under the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act inapplicable to a federal employees health benefits program contract.

(Sec. 614) Authorizes OPM to accept and utilize (without regard to any restriction on unanticipated travel expenses) funds made available to OPM pursuant to court approval for resolving litigation and implementing any settlement agreements regarding the nonforeign area cost-of-living allowance program.

(Sec. 615) Prohibits the availability of any funds appropriated by this Act to pay for an abortion, or the administrative expenses in connection with any health plan under the federal employees health benefits (FEHB) program which provides any benefits or coverage for abortions.

(Sec. 616) Declares that this prohibition shall not apply where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest.

(Sec. 617) Makes the restriction on purchasing nondomestic articles, materials, and supplies set forth in the Buy American Act inapplicable to the acquisition by the federal government of commercial information technology.

(Sec. 618) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce: (1) a proposed rule relating to the determination that real estate brokerage is a financial activity or incidental to such action published in the Federal Register on January 3, 2001 (66 Fed. Reg. 307 et seq.); or (2) the revision proposed in such rule to section 1501.2 of title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(Sec. 619) Provides that, at the request of the Board of Trustees of the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to invest in full the amounts appropriated and contributed to the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Trust Fund. Makes such requests binding on the Secretary.

(Sec. 620) Prohibits the use of any funds under this Act for any federal government contract with any foreign incorporated entity treated as an inverted domestic corporation under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, or any subsidiary of such an entity.

Allows waivers of this prohibition by any Cabinet Secretary in the interest of national security. Requires such Secretary issuing a waiver to report it to Congress.

Makes such prohibition inapplicable to: (1) federal government contracts entered into before the enactment of this Act; or (2) task orders issued pursuant to such contracts.

(Sec. 621) Earmarks additional funds to remain available through FY2009 for initiatives related to small business development and entrepreneurship, including programmatic and construction activities.

Title VII: General Provisions Government-Wide - Sets forth requirements for the use of appropriations by designated departments, agencies, and corporations.

(Sec. 716) Sets restrictions upon the use of appropriations by any federal department, agency, or instrumentality unless it has in place, and will continue to administer in good faith, a written policy designed to ensure that all workplaces are free from discrimination and sexual harassment and are not in violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

(Sec. 730) Repeals the termination of (thus making permanent) the authorization for the franchise fund pilot programs implemented in six executive agencies.

(Sec. 731) Prohibits the use of funds by federal agencies to collect, review, create or contract for any aggregation of data by any means of any personally identifiable information relating to an individual's access to or use of any federal government Internet site.

(Sec. 732) Prohibits the use of funds to enter into or renew a contract for a federal employee health plan which includes a provision providing prescription drug coverage, except where the contract also includes a provision for contraceptive coverage. Exempts specified religious plans from such prohibition. Prohibits a federal employee health plan, however, from discriminating against an individual on the basis that the individual refuses to prescribe or otherwise provide for contraceptives because such activities would be contrary to his or her religious beliefs or moral convictions.

(Sec. 733) Recognizes the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American, and Paralympic sport in the United States.

(Sec. 734) Allows the use of funds appropriated for official travel by federal departments and agencies, if consistent with OMB Circular A-126 regarding official travel for government personnel, to participate in the fractional aircraft ownership pilot program.

(Sec. 735) Bars the use of funds to implement or enforce restrictions or limitations on the Coast Guard Congressional Fellowship Program, or to implement the proposed OPM regulations to add sections 300.311 - 300.316 to part 300 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, published in the Federal Register, volume 68, number 174, on September 9, 2003 (relating to the detail of executive branch employees to the legislative branch).

(Sec. 736) Prohibits an executive branch agency from purchasing, constructing, and/or leasing any additional facilities, except within or contiguous to existing locations, to conduct federal law enforcement training without advance approval of congressional appropriations committees. Authorizes the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to obtain the temporary use of additional facilities by lease, contract, or other agreement for training which cannot be accommodated in existing Center facilities.

(Sec. 737) Bars the availability of funds for transfers or reimbursements to the E-Government Initiatives sponsored by OMB before 15 days following an OMB report to the congressional appropriations committees, or receipt of their approval to transfer funds.

(Sec. 738) Prohibits the use of funds for conversion to contractor performance of any activity or function of an executive agency performed by more than 10 federal employees, unless certain requirements are met for public-private competition, cost-effectiveness, and preservation of employer-sponsored health insurance plans meeting specified criteria.

Exempts from these requirements: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD); (2) the airport security screening opt-out program; (3) a commercial or industrial type function included on the procurement list established pursuant to the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (JWOA), or planned to be converted to performance by a qualified nonprofit agency for the blind or other severely handicapped individuals in accordance with JWOA; (4) DOD depot contracts or contracts for depot maintenance; or (5) activities that are the subject of an ongoing competition that was publicly announced before the enactment of this Act.

Redefines "interested party" to modify the eligibility of federal employees to protest procurement actions under OMB Circular A-76. Makes eligible to protest such action, with respect to a public-private competition, or a decision to convert a federal employee function to private sector performance without such competition: (1) any official who submitted the agency tender in such competition; and (2) one person designated as their agent by a majority of the federal agency employees engaged in the performance of such activity or function.

Directs the Comptroller General to administer matters in a manner best suited for expediting final resolution of such protests and final action in such competitions.

Grants an interested federal agency official or designated federal employee representative the right to intervene in a civil action commenced by a private sector interested party.

Prohibits the use of funds available in this Act by: (1) OMB to direct or require another agency to prepare, undertake, continue, or complete a public-private competition or direct conversion under OMB Circular A-76 or any other administrative regulation, directive, or policy; or (2) an agency to take such action as a result of OMB direction or requirement.

(Sec. 739) Requires a pay increase of 3.5% for federal employees, including civilian employees of DOD and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2008.

(Sec. 740) Bars the use of funds by an executive branch agency, unless otherwise authorized by existing law, to produce any prepackaged news story intended for broadcast or distribution in the United States, unless the story includes a clear notification within its text or audio that it was prepared or funded by that agency.

(Sec. 741) Bars the use of funds in contravention of the Privacy Act or regulations concerning protection of privacy and freedom of information.

(Sec. 742) Requires each executive department and agency to evaluate the creditworthiness of an individual before issuing him or her a government travel charge card. Prohibits issuance of such a card, except in specified circumstances, to individuals that either lack a credit history or are found to have an unsatisfactory credit history.

Requires such evaluation to include an assessment of the individual's consumer report from a consumer reporting agency.

Amends the Consumer Fair Credit Reporting Act to conform with this section.

(Sec. 743) Requires OMB to submit to the appropriate authorizing and appropriating congressional committees an interagency budget crosscut report displaying the budget proposed, including any planned interagency or intra-agency transfer, for each of the federal agencies that carries out Great Lakes restoration activities.

Title VIII: General Provisions (District of Columbia) - Sets forth authorized or prohibited uses of funds appropriated by this Act identical or similar to corresponding provisions of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2007.

(Sec. 804) Prohibits the use of federal funds provided in this Act for publicity or propaganda purposes or implementation of any policy including boycott designed to support or defeat legislation pending before Congress or any state legislature.

(Sec. 805) Authorizes the District of Columbia government to approve and execute reprogramming and transfer requests of local funds under this title through FY2008.

(Sec. 809) Authorizes the Mayor of the District to accept, obligate, and expend federal, private, and other grants received by the District government that are not reflected in the amounts appropriated in this Act, subject to reports by the Chief Financial Officer of the District (CFO) and review and approval by the DC Council.

(Sec. 811) Prohibits the use of federal funds by the District of Columbia Corporation Counsel or any other District government officer or entity to provide assistance for any petition drive or civil action which seeks to require Congress to provide for voting representation in Congress for the District.

Declares that nothing in this section bars the Counsel from reviewing or commenting on briefs in private lawsuits, or from consulting with officials of the District government regarding such lawsuits.

(Sec. 812) Prohibits the use of federal funds contained in this Act for any program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug.

(Sec. 813) ) Prohibits the use of funds contained in this Act 60 days after its enactment to pay the salary of any chief financial officer of any District government office or independent agency who has not filed a certification with the Mayor and CFO that the officer understands applicable duties and restrictions, including reports required as a result of this Act or its amendments.

(Sec. 814) Provides that nothing in this Act may be construed to prevent the Council or the Mayor from addressing the issue of the provision of contraceptive coverage by health insurance plans. Expresses the intent of Congress that any legislation enacted on such issue should include a "conscience clause" which provides exceptions for religious beliefs and moral convictions.

(Sec. 815) Requires the Mayor to report quarterly to specified congressional committees on the following District issues: (1) crime; (2) access to substance and alcohol abuse treatment; (3) management of parolees and pretrial violent offenders; and (4) education.

(Sec. 817) Prohibits the availability of funds to pay: (1) the fees in excess of $4,000 of an attorney who represents a party or defends an action, including an administrative proceeding, brought against the DC Public Schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); or (2) the fees of an attorney or firm whom the CFO determines to have a pecuniary interest, either through an attorney, officer, or employee of the firm, in any special education diagnostic services, schools, or other special education service providers.

(Sec. 818) Allows an increase in the amount appropriated by this Act, subject to CFO certification and certain restrictions, by up to $42 million from funds identified in the comprehensive annual financial report as the District's FY2007 unexpended general fund surplus.

(Sec. 819) Authorizes an increase in appropriations pursuant to this Act, up to specified amounts, and subject to certain restrictions, to account for an unanticipated growth of revenue collections.

(Sec. 820) Authorizes the CFO to conduct short-term borrowing from the emergency and contingency reserve funds, under specified conditions.

(Sec. 821) Prohibits the use of funds contained in this Act to enact or carry out any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act or any tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) derivative.

Provides that the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998, also known as Initiative 59, approved by the electors of the District on November 3, 1998, shall not take effect.

(Sec. 822) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act for abortions except where the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or in cases of rape or incest.

(Sec. 823) Amends the District of Columbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 to authorize appropriations directly to the Public Defenders Service (PDS) instead of, as currently, through the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia or an appointed trustee for the PDS.