[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 156 (Tuesday, September 27, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5068-S5069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5677. Mr. LANKFORD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place in title X, insert the following:
SEC. ___. IMPROVING PILOT PROGRAM ON ACCEPTANCE BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF DONATED
FACILITIES AND RELATED IMPROVEMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 2 of the Communities Helping
Invest through Property and Improvements Needed for Veterans
Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-294; 38 U.S.C. 8103 note) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting ``or for which
funds are available from the Construction, Minor Projects, or
Construction, Major Projects appropriations accounts'';
(2) in subsection (e)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting ``Except as
otherwise provided in this paragraph, the Secretary''; and
(ii) by inserting ``or funds already generally available in
the Construction, Minor Projects, or Construction, Major
Projects appropriations accounts'' after ``that are in
addition to the funds appropriated for the facility'';
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``subparagraph (A)''
and inserting ``this paragraph'';
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (F);
and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new
subparagraphs:
``(B) Unobligated amounts.--The Secretary may provide
additional funds to help an entity described in subsection
(a)(2) finance, design, or construct a facility in connection
with real property and improvements to be donated under the
pilot program and proposed to be accepted by the Secretary
under subsection (b)(1)(B) if--
[[Page S5069]]
``(i) the Secretary determines that doing so is in the best
interest of the Department and consistent with the mission of
the Department; and
``(ii) funding provided under this subparagraph--
``(I) is in addition to amounts that have been appropriated
for the facility before the date on which the Secretary and
the entity enter into a formal agreement under subsection (c)
for the construction and donation of the real property and
improvements; and
``(II) is derived only from amounts that--
``(aa) are unobligated balances available in the
Construction, Minor Projects, or Construction, Major Projects
appropriations accounts of the Department that--
``(AA) are not associated with a specific project; or
``(BB) are amounts that are associated with a specific
project, but are unobligated because they are the result of
bid savings; and
``(bb) were appropriated to such an account before the date
described in subclause (I).
``(C) Escalation clauses.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary may include an escalation
clause in a formal agreement under subsection (c) that
authorizes an escalation of not more than an annual amount
based on a rate established in the formal agreement and
mutually agreed upon by the Secretary and an entity to
account for inflation for an area if the Secretary
determines, after consultation with the head of an
appropriate Federal entity that is not part of the
Department, that such escalation is necessary and in the best
interest of the Department.
``(ii) Use of existing amounts.--The Secretary may obligate
funds pursuant to clause (i) in connection with a formal
agreement under subsection (c) using amounts that--
``(I) are unobligated balances available in the
Construction, Minor Projects, or Construction, Major Projects
appropriations accounts of the Department that--
``(aa) are not associated with a specific project; or
``(bb) are amounts that are associated with a specific
project, but are unobligated because they are the result of
bid savings; and
``(II) were appropriated to such an account before the date
on which the Secretary and the entity entered into the formal
agreement.
``(D) Availability.--Unobligated amounts shall be available
pursuant to subparagraphs (B) and (C) only to the extent and
in such amounts as provided in advance in appropriations Acts
subsequent to date of the enactment of the CHIP-IN
Improvement Act of 2022, subject to subparagraph (E).
``(E) Limitation.--Unobligated amounts made available
pursuant to subparagraphs (B) and (C) may not exceed 40
percent of the amount appropriated for the facility before
the date on which the Secretary and the entity entered into a
formal agreement under subsection (c).''; and
(3) in subsection (j)--
(A) by striking ``Rule'' and inserting ``Rules'';
(B) by striking ``Nothing in'' and inserting the following:
``(1) Entering arrangements and agreements.--Nothing in'';
and
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(2) Treatment of assistance.--Nothing provided under this
section shall be treated as Federal financial assistance as
defined in section 200.40 of title 2, Code of Federal
Regulations, as in effect on February 21, 2021.''.
(b) Amendments to Existing Agreements.--Each agreement
entered into under section (2)(c) of such Act before the date
of the enactment of this Act that was in effect on the date
of the enactment of this Act may be amended to incorporate
terms authorized by subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section
2(e)(1) of such Act, as added by subsection (a)(2)(D) of this
section.
______