[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17387]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               AMENDMENTS

  Under clause 8 of rule XVIII, proposed amendments were submitted as 
follows:

                               H.R. 6599

                         Offered By: Mr. Buyer

       Amendment No. 28: Page 41, line 14, before the period 
     insert ``: Provided further: That $7,000,000 of the amount 
     appropriated in this paragraph shall be for the installation 
     of alternative fueling stations at 35 medical facility 
     campuses''.

                               H.R. 6599

                         Offered By: Mr. Buyer

       Amendment No. 29: Page 41, line 14, before the period 
     insert ``: Provided further: That $150,000,000 of the amount 
     appropriated in this paragraph shall be for the installation 
     of appropriate solar electric energy roof applications''.

                               H.R. 6599

                         Offered By: Mr. Taylor

       Amendment No. 30: At the end of title IV of the bill, 
     before the short title, insert the following:
       Sec. 408.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be used to implement section 2703 of Public Law 109-234.

                               H.R. 6599

                       Offered By: Mr. Jefferson

       Amendment No. 31: At the end of title II (page 51, after 
     line 11), insert the following:
       Sec. 226.  In making amounts available under ``General 
     operating expenses'' and ``Medical support and compliance'' 
     to carry out the guaranteed transitional housing loan program 
     authorized by subchapter VI of chapter 20 of title 38, United 
     States Code, priority shall be given for funding to any area 
     in the Gulf Opportunity Zone.

                               H.R. 6599

                         Offered By: Mr. Terry

       Amendment No. 32: At the end of title II (page 51, after 
     line 11), insert the following:


                   establishment of national cemetery

       Sec. 226.  (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs shall establish, in accordance with chapter 24 of 
     title 38, United States Code, a national cemetery in the 
     Sarpy County region to serve the needs of veterans and their 
     families.
       (b) Consultation in Selection of Site.--Before selecting 
     the site for the national cemetery established under 
     subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with--
       (1) appropriate officials of the State of Nebraska and 
     local officials in the Sarpy County region; and
       (2) appropriate officials of the United States, including 
     the Administrator of General Services, with respect to land 
     belonging to the United States in that area that would be 
     suitable to establish the national cemetery under subsection 
     (a).
       (c) Authority To Accept Donation of Parcel of Land.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may 
     accept on behalf of the United States the gift of an 
     appropriate parcel of real property. The Secretary shall have 
     administrative jurisdiction over such parcel of real 
     property, and shall use such parcel to establish the national 
     cemetery under subsection (a).
       (2) Income tax treatment of gift.--For purposes of Federal 
     income, estate, and gift taxes, the real property accepted 
     under paragraph (1) shall be considered as a gift to the 
     United States.
       (d) Report.--As soon as practicable after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 
     a report on the establishment of the national cemetery under 
     subsection (a). The report shall set forth a schedule for 
     such establishment and an estimate of the costs associated 
     with such establishment.
       (e) Sarpy County Region Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``Sarpy County region'' means the geographic area consisting 
     of--
       (1) the following counties in Nebraska: Knox, Antelope, 
     Boone, Nance, Merrick, Hamilton, Clay, Nuckolls, Thayer, 
     Fillmore, York, Polk, Platte, Madison, Pierce, Cedar, Wayne, 
     Stanton, Colfax, Butler, Seward, Saline, Jefferson, Gage, 
     Lancaster, Saunders, Dodge, Cuming, Thurston, Dixon, Dakota, 
     Burt, Washington, Douglas, Sarpy, Cass, Otoe, Johnson, 
     Nemaha, Pawnee, Richardson, and the following counties in 
     Iowa; Lyon, Sioux, Plymouth, Woodbury, Monona, Harrison, 
     Pottawatomie, Mills, Fremont, Osceola, Dickinson, O'Brien, 
     Clay, Cherokee, Buena Vista, Ida, Sac, Crawford, Carroll, 
     Shelby, Audubon, Guthrie, Cass, Adair, Montgomery, Adams, 
     Union, Page, Taylor, and Ringgold; and
       (2) the following counties in Missouri: Atchison, Holt, 
     Buchanan, Platte, Clay, Clinton, Dekalb, Andrew, Nodaway, 
     Worth, and Gentry.

                               H.R. 6599

                         Offered By: Mr. Terry

       Amendment No. 33: At the end of the bill (before the short 
     title), insert the following:
       Sec. ___.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be used to carry out the construction of any new national 
     veterans' cemetery, unless the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     provides to Congress, within 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, a list of the six new locations for 
     establishment of national cemeteries that includes Omaha, 
     Nebraska, notwithstanding the current veteran population 
     threshold for the appropriate service area standard of the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs

                               H.R. 6599

           Offered By: Mr. Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania

       Amendment No. 34: At the end of the bill (before the short 
     title), insert the following:
       Sec. __.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be expended by the Veterans Administration to prevent 
     nonpartisan voter organizations, including veterans service 
     organizations, from conducting voluntary and nonintrusive 
     voter registration drives at facilities of the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs.

                               H.R. 6599

                        Offered By: Mr. Burgess

       Amendment No. 35: Page 2, line 14, insert after the dollar 
     amount ``(increased by $100,000,000)''.
       Page 3, line 8, insert before the period the following: 
     ``Provided further, That of the amount appropriated in this 
     paragraph, $100,000,000 shall be available for the design and 
     construction of one petroleum refinery for the Army''.
       Page 3, line 16, insert after the dollar amount 
     ``(increased by $200,000,000)''.
       Page 4, line 4, insert before the period the following: 
     ``Provided further, That of the amount appropriated in this 
     paragraph, $200,000,000 shall be available for the design and 
     construction of one petroleum refinery each for the Navy and 
     Marine Corps''.
       Page 4, line 10, insert after the dollar amount 
     ``(increased by $100,000,000)''.
       Page 5, line 7, insert before the period the following: 
     ``Provided further, That of the amount appropriated in this 
     paragraph, $100,000,000 shall be available for the design and 
     construction of one petroleum refinery for the Air Force''.
       Page 15, line 17, insert after the dollar amount ``(reduced 
     by $400,000,000)''.

                               H.R. 6599

                          Offered By: Mr. Wamp

       Amendment No. 36: At the end of the bill (before the short 
     title), insert the following:
       Sec. __.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be used to modify the standards applicable to the 
     determination of the entitlement of veterans to special 
     monthly pensions under sections 1513(a) and 1521(e) of title 
     38, United States Code, as in effect pursuant to the opinion 
     of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in 
     the case of Hartness v. Nicholson (No. 04-0888, July 21, 
     2006).

                               H.R. 6599

                 Offered By: Mr. Murphy of Connecticut

       Amendment No. 37: Add at the end of the bill (before the 
     short title) the following:
       Sec. __.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be used to enforce section 3, Policy of VHA Directive 2008-
     25.