[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5753 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5753

   To reactivate and repurpose canceling funds to deter the Chinese 
Communist Party before such funds are extracted from the Department of 
                      Defense on October 1, 2023.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 2023

Mr. Gallagher introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Armed Services, 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 reactivate and repurpose canceling funds to deter the Chinese 
Communist Party before such funds are extracted from the Department of 
                      Defense on October 1, 2023.

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

SECTION 1. FUNDING INDO-PACIFIC READINESS AND ENHANCING STOCKPILES FUND 
              TO DETER THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury a fund to 
be known as the ``Funding Indo-Pacific Readiness and Enhancing 
Stockpiles Fund'' or the ``FIRES'' Fund (hereafter in this section 
referred to as the ``Fund''). There shall be deposited into the Fund 
amounts transferred under subsection (c), which shall be used only for 
the purposes specified in subsection (d).
    (b) Control of the Fund.--The Fund shall be under the control of 
the Secretary of Defense acting in consultation with the Under 
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.
    (c) Transfer of Expired Amounts.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of 
        Defense shall transfer into the Fund any amounts previously 
        appropriated for to the Department of Defense for procurement; 
        research, development, test, and evaluation; operation and 
        maintenance; or military personnel that are unobligated on the 
        last day of the fifth fiscal year after the period of 
        availability for obligation of such amounts ends pursuant to 
        section 1552 of title 31, United States Code.
            (2) Treatment of certain unobligated funds.--In carrying 
        out paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense may elect to use 
        all or a portion of unobligated amounts previously appropriated 
        for military personnel or operation and maintenance--
                    (A) for transfers to the Foreign Currency 
                Fluctuations Account in accordance with section 2779(d) 
                of title 10, United States Code; or
                    (B) for transfers to the Fund.
    (d) Use of Funds.--Subject to subsections (e) through (h), monies 
deposited into the Fund shall be available, without fiscal year 
limitation, for expenditure. Funds deposited into the account as 
designated in subsection (c) of this section shall be made available, 
without fiscal year limitation, for expenditures only for advancing the 
following purposes:
            (1) The production of munitions, the expansion of munitions 
        production capacity, and the construction of facilities for the 
        production, storage, and transport of munitions, including 
        government-owned munitions facilities specializing in solid 
        rocket motor production, prioritizing weapons platforms 
        identified in the reports submitted under section 1251(d)(1) of 
        the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization 
        Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 113 note), in concurrence 
        with the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command.
            (2) Shipbuilding and conversion, associated facilities, and 
        programs in support of section 1025 of the National Defense 
        Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (10 U.S.C. 7291 note).
            (3) Within the Indo-Pacific Theater, expeditionary air base 
        infrastructure, forward arming and refueling sites, facilities 
        enabling the pre-positioning of military stocks and logistics 
        capabilities, and installations to support Navy vessel 
        mobility.
    (e) Reservation.--Not less than 10 percent of amounts deposited 
into the Fund shall be used for loans or grants to, or contracts with 
nontraditional defense contractors and small- and medium-sized 
businesses.
    (f) Contract Authorities.--To carry out the purposes of this 
section, the Secretary may, in addition to any other authorities 
provided under law--
            (1) use other transactional authorities described in 
        sections 4021 and 4022 of title 10, United States Code; and
            (2) enter into multiyear contracts in accordance with 
        section 3501 of such title.
    (g) Congressional Notice and Approval of Contracts.--No contract 
may be entered into using amounts in the Fund until--
            (1) the Secretary of Defense submits to the congressional 
        defense committees written notice of the intent to enter into 
        such contract; and
            (2) a period of 15 days has elapsed following the date of 
        the submittal of such notice.
    (h) Return of Expired Amounts.--Any amounts transferred to the Fund 
under subsection (c) that are unobligated on the date that is 10 years 
after the date of such transfer shall be returned to the general fund 
of the Treasury.
    (i) Reports.--
            (1) Reports on transfers and expenditures.--Not later than 
        90 days after the first transfer of amounts to the Fund under 
        subsection (c), and not less frequently than once every 180 
        days thereafter, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition 
        and Sustainment shall submit to the congressional defense 
        committees a report on expenditures made from the Fund. Each 
        report shall identify--
                    (A) the amount and source of any appropriations 
                transferred to the Fund under subsection (c);
                    (B) the specific expenditures for which such 
                amounts were used after such transfer; and
                    (C) the balance of funds remaining in the Fund.
            (2) Reports on expired amounts.--On a quarterly basis, the 
        Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense 
        committees a report identifying any amounts described in 
        subsection (c)--
                    (A) that are available and have not yet been 
                transferred to the Fund; or
                    (B) that are expected to become available for 
                transfer to the fund, regardless of when such 
                availability is expected to occur.
            (3) GAO review and verification.--Not later than 30 days 
        after the submittal of each report described in paragraphs (1) 
        and (2), the Comptroller General of the United States shall--
                    (A) review and verify the information contained the 
                report; and
                    (B) submit to the congressional defense committees 
                a report on the results of such review and 
                verification.
    (j) Congressional Defense Committees Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``congressional defense committees'' has the meaning given such 
term in section 101 of title 10, United States Code.
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