In the Senate of the United States,

December 22, 1995.

Resolved, That the resolution from the House of Representatives (H.J. Res. 134) entitled ‘‘Joint resolution making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year

1996, and for other purposes.’’ do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert:

1 TITLE I

2 AID TO FAMILIES WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN

3 AND FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE

4 That the following sums are hereby appropriated, out of

5 any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,

6 and out of applicable corporate or other revenues, receipts,

7 and funds, for the several departments, agencies, corpora8 tions, and other organizational units of Government for the

9 fiscal year 1996, and for other purposes, namely:

10 SEC. 101. (a) Such amounts as may be necessary

11 under the authority and conditions provided in the applica-
2

HJ 134 EAS

1 ble appropriations Act for the fiscal year 1995 for continu2 ing the following projects or activities including the costs

3 of direct loans and loan guarantees (not otherwise specifi4 cally provided for in this joint resolution) which were con5 ducted in the fiscal year 1995:

6 All projects and activities funded under the ac7 count heading ‘‘Family support payments to States’’

8 under the Administration For Children and Families

9 in the Department of Health and Human Services;

10 All projects and activities funded under the ac11 count heading ‘‘Payments to States for foster care and

12 adoption assistance’’ under the Administration For

13 Children and Families in the Department of Health

14 and Human Services;

15 Such amounts as may be necessary for the med16 icaid program under title XIX of the Social Security

17 Act for the second quarter of fiscal year 1996; and

18 All administrative activities necessary to carry

19 out the projects and activities in the preceding three

20 paragraphs:

21 Provided, That whenever the amount which would be made

22 available or the authority which would be granted under

23 an Act which including funding for fiscal year 1996 for

24 the projects and activities listed in this section is greater

25 than that which would be available or granted under cur-
3

HJ 134 EAS

1 rent operations, the pertinent project or activity shall be

2 continued at a rate for operations not exceeding the current

3 rate.

4 (b) Whenever the amount which would be made avail5 able or the authority which would be granted under the Act

6 which included funding for fiscal year 1996 for the projects

7 and activities listed in this section as passed by the House

8 as of the date of enactment of this joint resolution, is dif9 ferent from that which would be available or granted under

10 such Act as passed by the Senate as of the date of enactment

11 of this joint resolution, the pertinent project or activity

12 shall be continued at a rate for operations not exceeding

13 the current rate or the rate permitted by the action of the

14 House or the Senate, whichever is lower, under the author15 ity and conditions provided in the applicable appropria16 tions Act for the fiscal year 1995.

17 (c) Whenever an Act which included funding for fiscal

18 year 1996 for the projects and activities listed in this sec19 tion has been passed by only the House or only the Senate

20 as of the date of enactment of this joint resolution, the perti21 nent project or activity shall be continued under the appro22 priation, fund, or authority granted by the one House at

23 a rate for operations not exceeding the current rate or the

24 rate permitted by the action of the one House, whichever

25 is lower, and under the authority and conditions provided
4

HJ 134 EAS

1 in the applicable appropriations Act for the fiscal year

2 1995.

3 SEC. 102. Appropriations made by section 101 shall

4 be available to the extent and in the manner which would

5 be provided by the pertinent appropriations Act.

6 SEC. 103. No appropriation or funds made available

7 or authority granted pursuant to section 101 shall be used

8 to initiate or resume any project or activity for which ap9 propriations, funds, or other authority were not available

10 during the fiscal year 1995.

11 SEC. 104. No provision which is included in the appro12 priations Act enumerated in section 101 but which was not

13 included in the applicable appropriations Act for fiscal

14 year 1995 and which by its terms is applicable to more

15 than one appropriation, fund, or authority shall be applica16 ble to any appropriation, fund, or authority provided in

17 this joint resolution.

18 SEC. 105. Appropriations made and authority granted

19 pursuant to this title of this joint resolution shall cover all

20 obligations or expenditures incurred for any program,

21 project, or activity during the period for which funds or

22 authority for such project or activity are available under

23 this joint resolution.

24 SEC. 106. Unless otherwise provided for in this title

25 of this joint resolution or in the applicable appropriations
5

HJ 134 EAS

1 Act, appropriations and funds made available and author2 ity granted pursuant to this title of this joint resolution

3 shall be available until (a) enactment into law of an appro4 priation for any project or activity provided for in this title

5 of this joint resolution, or (b) the enactment into law of

6 the applicable appropriations Act by both Houses without

7 any provision for such project or activity, or (c) January

8 3, 1996, whichever first occurs.

9 SEC. 107. Expenditures made pursuant to this title of

10 this joint resolution shall be charged to the applicable ap11 propriation, fund, or authorization whenever a bill in

12 which such applicable appropriation, fund, or authoriza13 tion is contained is enacted into law.

14 SEC. 108. No provision in the appropriations Act for

15 the fiscal year 1996 referred to in section 101 of this joint

16 resolution that makes the availability of any appropriation

17 provided therein dependent upon the enactment of addi18 tional authorizing or other legislation shall be effective be19 fore the date set forth in section 106(c) of this joint resolu20 tion.

21 SEC. 109. Appropriations and funds made available

22 by or authority granted pursuant to this title of this joint

23 resolution may be used without regard to the time limita24 tions for submission and approval of apportionments set

25 forth in section 1513 of title 31, United States Code, but
6

HJ 134 EAS

1 nothing herein shall be construed to waive any other provi2 sion of law governing the apportionment of funds.

3 TITLE II

4 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

5 That the following sums are hereby appropriated, out of the

6 general fund and enterprise funds of the District of Colum7 bia for the District of Columbia for the fiscal year 1996,

8 and for other purposes, namely:

9 SEC. 201. (a) Such amounts as may be necessary

10 under the authority and conditions provided in the applica11 ble appropriations Act for the fiscal year 1995 for continu12 ing projects or activities including the costs of direct loans

13 and loan guarantees (not otherwise specifically provided for

14 in this title of this joint resolution) which were conducted

15 in the fiscal year 1995 and for which appropriations, funds,

16 or other authority would be available in the following ap17 propriations Act:

18 The District of Columbia Appropriations Act,

19 1996;

20 Provided, That whenever the amount which would be made

21 available or the authority which would be granted in this

22 Act is greater than that which would be available or granted

23 under current operations, the pertinent project or activity

24 shall be continued at a rate for operations not exceeding

25 the current rate.
7

HJ 134 EAS

1 (b) Whenever the amount which would be made avail2 able or the authority which would be granted under the Act

3 listed in this section as passed by the House as of the date

4 of enactment of this joint resolution, is different from that

5 which would be available or granted under such Act as

6 passed by the Senate as of the date of enactment of this

7 joint resolution, the pertinent project or activity shall be

8 continued at a rate for operations not exceeding the current

9 rate or the rate permitted by the action of the House or

10 the Senate, whichever is lower, under the authority and con11 ditions provided in the applicable appropriations Act for

12 the fiscal year 1995: Provided, That where an item is not

13 included in either version or where an item is included in

14 only one version of the Act as passed by both Houses as

15 of the date of enactment of this joint resolution, the perti16 nent project or activity shall not be continued except as pro17 vided for in section 211 or 212 under the appropriation,

18 fund, or authority granted by the applicable appropriations

19 Act for the fiscal year 1995 and under the authority and

20 conditions provided in the applicable appropriations Act

21 for the fiscal year 1995.

22 SEC. 202. Appropriations made by section 201 shall

23 be available to the extent and in the manner which would

24 be provided by the pertinent appropriations Act.
8

HJ 134 EAS

1 SEC. 203. No appropriation or funds made available

2 or authority granted pursuant to section 201 shall be used

3 to initiate or resume any project or activity for which ap4 propriations, funds, or other authority were not available

5 during the fiscal year 1995.

6 SEC. 204. No provision which is included in the appro7 priations Act enumerated in section 201 but which was not

8 included in the applicable appropriations Act for fiscal

9 year 1995 and which by its terms is applicable to more

10 than one appropriation, fund, or authority shall be applica11 ble to any appropriation, fund, or authority provided in

12 this title of this joint resolution.

13 SEC. 205. Appropriations made and authority granted

14 pursuant to this title of this joint resolution shall cover all

15 obligations or expenditures incurred for any program,

16 project, or activity during the period for which funds or

17 authority for such project or activity are available under

18 this title of this joint resolution.

19 SEC. 206. Unless otherwise provided for in this title

20 of this joint resolution or in the applicable appropriations

21 Act, appropriations and funds made available and author22 ity granted pursuant to this title of this joint resolution

23 shall be available until (a) enactment into law of an appro24 priation for any project or activity provided for in this title

25 of this joint resolution, or (b) the enactment into law of
9

HJ 134 EAS

1 the applicable appropriations Act by both Houses without

2 any provision for such project or activity, or (c) January

3 3, 1996, whichever first occurs.

4 SEC. 207. Notwithstanding any other provision of this

5 title of this joint resolution, except section 206, none of the

6 funds appropriated under this title of this joint resolution

7 shall be expended for any abortion except where the life of

8 the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried

9 to term or where the pregnancy is the result of an act of

10 rape or incest.

11 SEC. 208. Expenditures made pursuant to this title of

12 this joint resolution shall be charged to the applicable ap13 propriation, fund, or authorization whenever a bill in

14 which such applicable appropriation, fund, or authoriza15 tion is contained is enacted into law.

16 SEC. 209. No provision in the appropriations Act for

17 the fiscal year 1996 referred to in section 201 of this title

18 of this joint resolution that makes the availability of any

19 appropriation provided therein dependent upon the enact20 ment of additional authorizing or other legislation shall be

21 effective before the date set forth in section 206(c) of this

22 joint resolution.

23 SEC. 210. Appropriations and funds made available

24 by or authority granted pursuant to this title of this joint

25 resolution may be used without regard to the time limita-
10

HJ 134 EAS

1 tions for submission and approval of apportionments set

2 forth in section 1513 of title 31, United States Code, but

3 nothing herein shall be construed to waive any other provi4 sion of law governing the apportionment of funds.

5 SEC. 211. Notwithstanding any other provision of this

6 title of this joint resolution, except section 206, whenever

7 the Act listed in section 201 as passed by both the House

8 and Senate as of the date of enactment of this joint resolu9 tion, does not include funding for an ongoing project or ac10 tivity for which there is a budget request, or whenever the

11 rate for operations for an ongoing project or activity pro12 vided by section 201 for which there is a budget request

13 would result in the project or activity being significantly

14 reduced, the pertinent project or activity may be continued

15 under the authority and conditions provided in the applica16 ble appropriations Act for the fiscal year 1995 by increas17 ing the rate for operations provided by section 201 to a

18 rate for operations not to exceed one that provides the mini19 mal level that would enable existing activities to continue.

20 No new contracts or grants shall be awarded in excess of

21 an amount that bears the same ratio to the rate for oper22 ations provided by this section as the number of days cov23 ered by this resolution bears to 366. For the purposes of

24 this title of this joint resolution, the minimal level means
11

HJ 134 EAS

1 a rate for operations that is reduced from the current rate

2 by 25 percent.

3 SEC. 212. Notwithstanding any other provision of this

4 title of this joint resolution, except section 206, whenever

5 the rate for operations for any continuing project or activ6 ity provided by section 201 or section 211 for which there

7 is a budget request would result in a furlough of Govern8 ment employees, that rate for operations may be increased

9 to the minimum level that would enable the furlough to be

10 avoided. No new contracts or grants shall be awarded in

11 excess of an amount that bears the same ratio to the rate

12 for operations provided by this section as the number of

13 days covered by this resolution bears to 366.

14 SEC. 213. Notwithstanding any other provision of this

15 title of this joint resolution, except sections 206, 211, and

16 212, for those programs that had high initial rates of oper17 ation or complete distribution of funding at the beginning

18 of the fiscal year in fiscal year 1995 because of distributions

19 of funding to States, foreign countries, grantees, or others,

20 similar distributions of funds for fiscal year 1996 shall not

21 be made and no grants shall be awarded for such programs

22 funded by this title of this resolution that would impinge

23 on final funding prerogatives.

24 SEC. 214. This title of this joint resolution shall be

25 implemented so that only the most limited funding action
12

HJ 134 EAS

1 of that permitted in this title of this resolution shall be

2 taken in order to provide for continuation of projects and

3 activities.

4 SEC. 215. The provisions of section 132 of the District

5 of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1988, Public Law 100–

6 202, shall not apply for this title of this joint resolution.

7 SEC. 216. Notwithstanding any other provision of this

8 title of this joint resolution, except section 206, none of the

9 funds appropriated under this title of this joint resolution

10 shall be used to implement or enforce any system of reg11 istration of unmarried, cohabiting couples whether they are

12 homosexual, lesbian, heterosexual, including but not limited

13 to registration for the purpose of extending employment,

14 health, or governmental benefits to such couples on the same

15 basis that such benefits are extended to legally married cou16 ples; nor shall any funds made available pursuant to any

17 provision of this title of this joint resolution otherwise be

18 used to implement or enforce D.C. Act 9–188, signed by the

19 Mayor of the District of Columbia on April 15, 1992.

20 TITLE III

21 VETERANS’ BENEFITS

22 That the following sums are hereby appropriated, out of

23 any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,

24 and out of applicable corporate or other revenues, receipts,

25 and funds, for the several departments, agencies, corpora-
13

HJ 134 EAS

1 tions, and other organizational units of Government for the

2 fiscal year 1996, and for other purposes, namely:

3 SEC. 301. ENSURED PAYMENT DURING FISCAL YEAR 1996 OF

4 VETERANS’ BENEFITS IN EVENT OF LACK OF

5 APPROPRIATIONS.

6 (a) PAYMENTS REQUIRED.—In any case during fiscal

7 year 1996 in which appropriations are not otherwise avail8 able for programs, projects, and activities of the Depart9 ment of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

10 shall nevertheless ensure that—

11 (1) payments of existing veterans benefits are

12 made in accordance with regular procedures and

13 schedules and in accordance with eligibility require14 ments for such benefits; and

15 (2) payments to contractors of the Veterans

16 Health Administration of the Department of Veterans

17 Affairs are made when due in the case of services pro18 vided that directly relate to patient health and safety.

19 (b) FUNDING.—There is hereby appropriated such

20 sums as may be necessary for the payments pursuant to

21 subsection (a), including such amounts as may be necessary

22 for the costs of administration of such payments.

23 (c) CHARGING OF ACCOUNTS WHEN APPROPRIATIONS

24 MADE.—In any case in which the Secretary uses the au25 thority of subsection (a) to make payments, applicable ac-
14

HJ 134 EAS

1 counts shall be charged for amounts so paid, and for the

2 costs of administration of such payments, when regular ap3 propriations become available for those purposes.

4 (d) EXISTING BENEFITS SPECIFIED.—For purposes of

5 this section, existing veterans benefits are benefits under

6 laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs that

7 have been adjudicated and authorized for payment as of—

8 (1) December 15, 1995; or

9 (2) if appropriations for such benefits are avail10 able (other than pursuant to subsection (b)) after De11 cember 15, 1995, the last day on which appropria12 tions for payment of such benefits are available (other

13 than pursuant to subsection (b)).

14 SEC. 302. EXPIRATION DATE.

15 Section 301 shall expire on January 3, 1996.

Attest:

Secretary.
104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. J. Res. 134

AMENDMENT