II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 855 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 14, 2011 Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mrs. Hutchison, and Mr. Casey) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To make available such funds as may be necessary to ensure that members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components thereof, continue to receive pay and allowances for active service performed when a funding gap caused by the failure to enact interim or full-year appropriations for the Armed Forces occurs, which results in the furlough of non-emergency personnel and the curtailment of Government activities and services.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Pay Our Troops Act.

2.

Emergency funding for pay and allowances for members of the Armed Forces during funding gap impacting the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security

(a)

Funds for military pay and allowances

During a funding gap impacting the Armed Forces, the Secretary of the Treasury shall make available to the Secretary of Defense (and the Secretary of Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard), out of any amounts in the general fund of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such amounts as the Secretary of Defense (and the Secretary of Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard) determines to be necessary to continue to provide pay and allowances (without interruption) to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including reserve components thereof, who perform active service during the funding gap. (b)

Funding gap defined

In this section, the term funding gap means any period of time after the beginning of a fiscal year for which interim or full-year appropriations for the personnel accounts of the Armed Forces for that fiscal year have not been enacted.