[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.
                                 ______