Bill orders Interior agency to lower administrative costs

The House Resources Committee Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that overhauls the way the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages its money.

The bill (H.R. 3671), sponsored by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, the committee chairman, grew out of raucous hearings in which Young and committee Republicans accused Fish and Wildlife officials of maintaining slush funds, misusing federal money and misleading investigators. At one point, several Republicans called for the resignation of the agency's director, Jamie Rappaport Clark.

A substitute amendment offered by Young was approved Wednesday on a unanimous voice vote, and the resulting bill won passage on a unanimous roll call vote.

But a future of legislative wrangling awaits Young's bill, which sets strict limits on how much the Fish and Wildlife Service may spend on administering funds for state programs and what it may do with them. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the committee's ranking Democrat, has been negotiating with Young for a month on the bill in talks that also have included the Clinton administration and Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., an original co-sponsor of the bill.

Young's measure would overhaul the agency's handling of funds under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, adopted in 1937, and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration, enacted in 1950. Under the two laws, federal excise taxes are collected on all purchases of guns, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing supplies and other goods. The money generates more than $400 million a year to return to state programs to provide programs that benefit sporting enthusiasts.

The laws allow up to 8 percent of the funds collected to be used for administration and execution of the laws. In the past, dating to prior administrations, agency heads have collected the full amount allowed, even if it exceeds the costs of administering the pass-through to the states. The excess has been used to begin grant programs, spur educational activities and promote joint activities with other nations.

But a General Accounting Office investigation criticized the agency's spending and record keeping and led to a committee probe that Democrats said Wednesday produced "exaggerated" charges of wrongdoing. Young, however, insisted some of the money was spent on improper "travel, booze, parties" and other unauthorized activities.

He complained that until 1990, just 1 percent of the funds went to administration, but that, now, 14 percent of the excise taxes are used for administration and execution, or more than $30 million in fiscal 1998.

The substitute amendment proposed by Young would cap the amount that may be used for administration at $10 million, would narrowly define administrative activities allowed, would reqire careful annual reporting and certification and impose other financial controls.

"This is not picking at the administration," Young said, responding to past criticism of the investigation and reform bill. "This was actually started under a previous administration."

The Clinton Administration has issued a list of concerns, but has refrained from suggesting the possibility of a veto. Miller and Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., also said they had concerns about the bill's over-restrictive provisions.

Miller said the bill requires annual financial audits from four different top Fish and Wildlife officials, an unnecessary duplication. And he said the amount allowed by the bill for administration activities may not allow for emergencies, contingencies or changes in other federal laws.

"Some amount of administration is necessary and adequate administration is needed to prevent the risk" of fraud and abuse, Udall said.

Young said the administrative cap could change, but that he wanted the administration to suggest its own number-something he said the agency has not done yet.

Democrats were prepared to offer a series of amendments to the bill at Wednesday's markup, but held off on doing so at the request of Dingell, who plans further talks with Young. If necessary-and if the bill gets that far-the amendments could be brought up in the House, Miller said.