I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 491 

To amend title 37, United States Code, to provide for the continuance 

of pay and allowances for members of the Armed Forces, including 

reserve components thereof, during lapses in appropriations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 11, 2019 

Mr. GOHMERT (for himself, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. 

JONES, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. ZELDIN, Mr. POSEY, Mr. COLE, Mr. TIPTON, 

Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. HUIZENGA, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. HIGGINS of 

Louisiana, Mr. HARRIS, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. GIANFORTE, Mr. BERGMAN, 

and Mr. OLSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 37, United States Code, to provide for the 

continuance of pay and allowances for members of the 

Armed Forces, including reserve components thereof, 

during lapses in appropriations. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Armed Services Always 

5 Paid Act’’ or the ‘‘ASAP Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONTINUANCE OF MILITARY PAY AND ALLOW2 ANCES DURING PERIODS OF LAPSED APPRO3 PRIATIONS. 

4 (a) CONTINUANCE OF PAY.—Chapter 19 of title 37, 

5 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 1016. Continuance of pay and allowances during 

8 periods of lapsed appropriations 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) The term ‘military personnel accounts’ 

11 mean the military personnel, reserve personnel, and 

12 National Guard personnel accounts of the Depart13 ment of Defense, generally title I of an annual De14 partment of Defense appropriations Act, and the 

15 corresponding accounts for the Department of 

16 Homeland Security used to provide pay and allow17 ances for members of the Coast Guard. 

18 ‘‘(2) The term ‘pay and allowances’ means 

19 basic pay, bonuses and special pay, allowances and 

20 any other forms of compensation available for mem21 bers of the armed forces under this title or otherwise 

22 paid from the military personnel accounts. 

23 ‘‘(3) The term ‘period of lapsed appropriations’, 

24 when used with respect to members of the armed 

25 forces, means any period during which appropria26 tions are not available due to the absence of the 


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1 timely enactment of any Act or joint resolution (in2 cluding any Act or joint resolution making con3 tinuing appropriations) appropriating funds for the 

4 payment of the pay and allowances of members of 

5 the armed forces. 

6 ‘‘(b) APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS TO CONTINUE PAY7 MENT OF PAY AND ALLOWANCES.—For any period of 

8 lapsed appropriations, there are appropriated, out of any 

9 moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the 

10 Secretary of Defense (and the Secretary of Homeland Se11 curity in the case of the Coast Guard) to allow the Sec12 retary of Defense (and the Secretary of Homeland Secu13 rity in the case of the Coast Guard) to continue to provide 

14 pay and allowances (without interruption) to members of 

15 the United States armed forces. 

16 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON AMOUNTS PAID.—This section 

17 only authorizes the expenditure of funds during a period 

18 of lapsed appropriations for the pay and allowances of a 

19 member of the armed forces at a rate that is equal to the 

20 rate in effect for that member immediately before the start 

21 of the period of lapsed appropriations. The rate for a 

22 member may neither exceed the rate in effect immediately 

23 before the start of the period of lapsed appropriations nor 

24 be less than that rate, unless reduced by disciplinary ac25 tion under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. 


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1 ‘‘(d) RELATION TO OTHER PAY AUTHORITIES.—This 

2 section shall not be construed to affect the entitlement of 

3 a member of the armed forces to an amount of pay and 

4 allowances that exceeds the amount of pay and allowances 

5 authorized to be paid under this section and to which the 

6 member becomes entitled under other applicable provisions 

7 of law. 

8 ‘‘(e) EFFECT OF END OF PERIOD OF LAPSED AP9 PROPRIATIONS.—Expenditures made for any fiscal year 

10 pursuant to this section shall be charged to the applicable 

11 appropriation, fund, or authorization whenever the regular 

12 appropriation bill (or other bill or joint resolution making 

13 continuing appropriations through the end of the fiscal 

14 year) becomes law.’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

16 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘1016. Continuance of pay and allowances during periods of lapsed appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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