S.Amdt. 1546

SA 1546. Mr. PAUL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities
of the Department of Defense and for military construction, 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, insert the following:

SEC. ___. TRANSFER AUTHORITY FOR DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FUNDS
TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS ON THE DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE OF A SEQUESTRATION OF FUNDS.

(a) Authority To Transfer Authorizations.--
(1) Authority.--The Secretary of Defense may transfer
amounts of authorizations made available to the Department of
Defense for a fiscal year between any such authorizations for
that fiscal year (or any subdivisions

[[Page S3707]]

thereof) if the Secretary determines that the transfer--
(A) is necessary to mitigate the effects on the Department
of Defense of a reduction in the discretionary spending limit
or the sequestration of direct spending under section 251A of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
(2 U.S.C. 901a) or a sequestration under section 251(a)(1) of
such Act (2 U.S.C. 901(a)(1)); and
(B) is necessary in the national interest.
(2) Limitation.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), the
total amount of authorizations that the Secretary may
transfer under the authority of this section in a fiscal year
may not exceed $50,000,000,000.
(3) Exception for transfers between military personnel
authorizations.--A transfer of funds between military
personnel authorizations shall not be counted toward the
dollar limitation in paragraph (2).
(4) Treatment of amounts transferred.--Amounts of
authorizations transferred pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
merged with and be available for the same purposes as the
authorization to which transferred.
(b) Limitations.--The authority provided by subsection (a)
to transfer authorizations--
(1) may only be used to provide authority for items that
have a higher priority than the items from which authority is
transferred;
(2) may not be used to provide authority for an item that
has been denied authorization by Congress; and
(3) may not reduce the amount authorized for the fiscal
year concerned for an item by an amount in excess of the
amount equal to 50 percent of the amount otherwise authorized
to be appropriated for that fiscal year for that item.
(c) Notice to Congress.--The Secretary of Defense shall
notify Congress of each proposed use of the transfer
authority in subsection (a).
(d) Congressional Disapproval.--A transfer may not occur
under the authority in subsection (a) if Congress enacts a
joint resolution disapproving the transfer within the 30-day
period beginning on the notice to Congress of the transfer
pursuant to subsection (c).
(e) Effect on Authorization Amounts.--A transfer made from
one account to another under the authority of this section
shall be deemed to increase the amount authorized for the
account to which the amount is transferred by an amount equal
to the amount transferred.
(f) Construction of Authority.--The authority to transfer
funds under this section in addition to any other authority
available to the Secretary of Defense to transfer funds for
the Department of Defense under any other provision of law.
(g) Sunset.--The authority to transfer funds under this
section shall expire on September 30, 2023.
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