[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 857 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 857

  To amend section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
      Control Act of 1985 to eliminate the Department of Defense 
    sequestration for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 and sequester such 
    eliminated sums over a period of fiscal years 2015 through 2021.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 27, 2013

   Mr. Cook introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
     Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
      Control Act of 1985 to eliminate the Department of Defense 
    sequestration for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 and sequester such 
    eliminated sums over a period of fiscal years 2015 through 2021.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Troops at War Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) On August 2, 2011, the President signed into law S. 
        365, the Budget Control Act of 2011, which reduced defense 
        discretionary spending by $478 billion over ten years.
            (2) The Budget Control Act of 2011 also established a 
        sequestration in the event that a Joint Select Committee on 
        Deficit Reduction could not agree on an additional $1.2 
        trillion in savings by November 2011.
            (3) The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was 
        unable to reach an agreement, which triggered sequestration, 
        resulting in an additional $495 billion reduction in defense 
        spending over the same ten-year period.
            (4) If these reductions in defense spending remain intact, 
        the total portion of defense spending as a percentage of the 
        total U.S. budget will be at its lowest point since before 
        World War II.
            (5) Sequestration alone would reduce our military force to 
        its smallest level since 1940, resulting in the separation of 
        more than 100,000 soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen.
            (6) Since 2009, the number of troops has more than doubled 
        in Afghanistan from 30,000 to 66,000 today. During the same 
        period, Congress has actively reduced the budget for the 
        Department of Defense.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to:
            (1) Avoid deeper, irresponsible defense cuts in the face of 
        an increasingly dangerous world that unnecessarily threaten our 
        national security and will cost American lives in armed 
        conflict abroad.
            (2) Invest in advanced military technology in order to 
        equip the U.S. military with the best resources available to 
        defend our country.
            (3) Not allow the strategy of the U.S. military to be 
        driven by budget constraints, which is unacceptable. The 
        strategy should drive the budget. Avoiding cuts while our 
        troops are at war allows necessary time to adjust strategy for 
        the restructured force post-Afghanistan. Before the House Armed 
        Services Committee, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General 
        Dempsey testified ``If you want [your military] to be doing 
        what it's doing today, then we can't give you another 
        dollar.''.
            (4) Ensure that the U.S. military forces are adequately 
        prepared. Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Amos, in his 
        statement before the House Armed Services Committee remarked, 
        ``By the end of calendar year 2013, less than half of our 
        ground units will be trained to the minimum readiness level 
        required for deployment.''. Sequestration, if left unchecked, 
        will cost American lives. The hollow force experienced during 
        the Korean War would be today's reality.
            (5) Halt irresponsible budget cuts because no amount of 
        savings can justify the loss of one American service member.

SEC. 3. POSTPONEMENT OF FY 2013 AND 2014 DEFENSE SEQUESTRATION.

    Section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
Act of 1985 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(12) Notwithstanding paragraphs (5) and (8), there shall 
        be no reductions under this section to discretionary 
        appropriations or direct spending for fiscal year 2013 or 2014 
        for the defense function. The reduction that would otherwise 
        have occurred shall be added to and distributed equally among 
        the sequestration for the defense function for fiscal years 
        2015 through 2021.''.

SEC. 4. TRANSFER AUTHORITY FOR FUNDING OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE UNDER 
              CONTINUING RESOLUTION AND SEQUESTER CONSISTENT WITH 
              AMOUNTS AUTHORIZED BY NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT 
              FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013.

    (a) In General.--In accordance with subsection (b), the Secretary 
of Defense may transfer amounts appropriated for the Department of 
Defense by the Continuing Appropriations Resolution (Public Law 112-
175) among accounts of the Department of Defense.
    (b) Transfers Consistent With Amounts Appropriated or Authorized.--
In the event of any transfers under subsection (a), the total amount in 
any account of the Department of Defense that is available for 
obligation and expenditure in fiscal year 2013 shall be consistent 
with, and may not exceed--
            (1) if a regular appropriation Act making appropriations 
        for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2013 is enacted 
        before the date of the transfer, the level provided for that 
        account for that fiscal year by applicable provisions of such 
        Act; or
            (2) if no such Act is enacted before the date of the 
        transfer, the amount authorized to be appropriated for that 
        account for that fiscal year by applicable provisions of 
        division A of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
        Year 2013 (Public Law 112-239).
    (c) Notice to Congress.--Not later than 15 days before any transfer 
under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 
congressional defense committees a report setting forth a description 
of the transfer, including the amount of the transfer and the accounts 
from and to which the funds were transferred.
    (d) Transfer Subject to Notification Requirements.--In addition to 
the notice required under subsection (c), a transfer under subsection 
(a) shall be subject to the applicable notification requirements for 
reprogramming in division A of Public Law 112-74.
    (e) Transfer Authority.--The transfer authority provided by 
subsection (a) is in addition to any other transfer authority provided 
by law.
    (f) Definition.--In this section, the term ``congressional defense 
committees'' has the meaning given that term in section 101(a)(16) of 
title 10, United States Code.
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