In the Senate of the United States,

September 6, 2007.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 2642) entitled ‘‘An Act making appropriations for

military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs,

and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30,

2008, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 That the following sums are appropriated, out of any

2 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for

3 military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs,

4 and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September

5 30, 2008, and for other purposes, namely:
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1 TITLE I

2 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

3 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, ARMY

4 For acquisition, construction, installation, and equip5 ment of temporary or permanent public works, military in6 stallations, facilities, and real property for the Army as

7 currently authorized by law, including personnel in the

8 Army Corps of Engineers and other personal services nec9 essary for the purposes of this appropriation, and for con10 struction and operation of facilities in support of the func11 tions of the Commander in Chief, $3,928,149,000, to remain

12 available until September 30, 2012: Provided, That of this

13 amount, not to exceed $317,149,000 shall be available for

14 study, planning, design, architect and engineer services,

15 and host nation support, as authorized by law, unless the

16 Secretary of Defense determines that additional obligations

17 are necessary for such purposes and notifies the Committees

18 on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of the deter19 mination and the reasons therefor.

20 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, NAVY AND MARINE CORPS

21 For acquisition, construction, installation, and equip22 ment of temporary or permanent public works, naval in23 stallations, facilities, and real property for the Navy and

24 Marine Corps as currently authorized by law, including

25 personnel in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command
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1 and other personal services necessary for the purposes of this

2 appropriation, $2,168,315,000, to remain available until

3 September 30, 2012: Provided, That of this amount, not to

4 exceed $115,258,000 shall be available for study, planning,

5 design, and architect and engineer services, as authorized

6 by law, unless the Secretary of Defense determines that ad7 ditional obligations are necessary for such purposes and no8 tifies the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of

9 Congress of the determination and the reasons therefor.

10 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, AIR FORCE

11 For acquisition, construction, installation, and equip12 ment of temporary or permanent public works, military in13 stallations, facilities, and real property for the Air Force

14 as currently authorized by law, $1,048,518,000, to remain

15 available until September 30, 2012: Provided, That of this

16 amount, not to exceed $64,958,000 shall be available for

17 study, planning, design, and architect and engineer serv18 ices, as authorized by law, unless the Secretary of Defense

19 determines that additional obligations are necessary for

20 such purposes and notifies the Committees on Appropria21 tions of both Houses of Congress of the determination and

22 the reasons therefor.
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1 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, DEFENSE-WIDE

2 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

3 For acquisition, construction, installation, and equip4 ment of temporary or permanent public works, installa5 tions, facilities, and real property for activities and agen6 cies of the Department of Defense (other than the military

7 departments), as currently authorized by law,

8 $1,758,755,000, to remain available until September 30,

9 2012: Provided, That such amounts of this appropriation

10 as may be determined by the Secretary of Defense may be

11 transferred to such appropriations of the Department of De12 fense available for military construction or family housing

13 as the Secretary may designate, to be merged with and to

14 be available for the same purposes, and for the same time

15 period, as the appropriation or fund to which transferred:

16 Provided further, That of the amount appropriated, not to

17 exceed $154,728,000 shall be available for study, planning,

18 design, and architect and engineer services, as authorized

19 by law, unless the Secretary of Defense determines that ad20 ditional obligations are necessary for such purposes and no21 tifies the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of

22 Congress of the determination and the reasons therefor.

23 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

24 For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilita25 tion, and conversion of facilities for the training and ad-
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1 ministration of the Army National Guard, and contribu2 tions therefor, as authorized by chapter 1803 of title 10,

3 United States Code, and Military Construction Authoriza4 tion Acts, $478,836,000, to remain available until Sep5 tember 30, 2012.

6 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, AIR NATIONAL GUARD

7 For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilita8 tion, and conversion of facilities for the training and ad9 ministration of the Air National Guard, and contributions

10 therefor, as authorized by chapter 1803 of title 10, United

11 States Code, and Military Construction Authorization Acts,

12 $228,995,000, to remain available until September 30,

13 2012.

14 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, ARMY RESERVE

15 For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilita16 tion, and conversion of facilities for the training and ad17 ministration of the Army Reserve as authorized by chapter

18 1803 of title 10, United States Code, and Military Con19 struction Authorization Acts, $138,424,000, to remain

20 available until September 30, 2012.

21 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, NAVY RESERVE

22 For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilita23 tion, and conversion of facilities for the training and ad24 ministration of the reserve components of the Navy and Ma25 rine Corps as authorized by chapter 1803 of title 10, United
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1 States Code, and Military Construction Authorization Acts,

2 $59,150,000, to remain available until September 30, 2012.

3 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, AIR FORCE RESERVE

4 (INCLUDING RESCISSION OF FUNDS)

5 For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilita6 tion, and conversion of facilities for the training and ad7 ministration of the Air Force Reserve as authorized by

8 chapter 1803 of title 10, United States Code, and Military

9 Construction Authorization Acts, $27,559,000, to remain

10 available until September 30, 2012: Provided, That of the

11 funds appropriated for ‘‘Military Construction, Air Force

12 Reserve’’ under Public Law 109–114, $3,100,000 are hereby

13 rescinded.

14 NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION

15 SECURITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM

16 For the United States share of the cost of the North

17 Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Pro18 gram for the acquisition and construction of military facili19 ties and installations (including international military

20 headquarters) and for related expenses for the collective de21 fense of the North Atlantic Treaty Area as authorized by

22 section 2806 of title 10, United States Code, and Military

23 Construction Authorization Acts, $201,400,000, to remain

24 available until expended.
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1 FAMILY HOUSING CONSTRUCTION, ARMY

2 For expenses of family housing for the Army for con3 struction, including acquisition, replacement, addition, ex4 pansion, extension, and alteration, as authorized by law,

5 $419,400,000, to remain available until September 30,

6 2012.

7 FAMILY HOUSING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE, ARMY

8 For expenses of family housing for the Army for oper9 ation and maintenance, including debt payment, leasing,

10 minor construction, principal and interest charges, and in11 surance premiums, as authorized by law, $742,920,000.

12 FAMILY HOUSING CONSTRUCTION, NAVY AND MARINE

13 CORPS

14 For expenses of family housing for the Navy and Ma15 rine Corps for construction, including acquisition, replace16 ment, addition, expansion, extension, and alteration, as au17 thorized by law, $288,329,000, to remain available until

18 September 30, 2012.

19 FAMILY HOUSING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE, NAVY

20 AND MARINE CORPS

21 For expenses of family housing for the Navy and Ma22 rine Corps for operation and maintenance, including debt

23 payment, leasing, minor construction, principal and inter24 est charges, and insurance premiums, as authorized by law,

25 $371,404,000.
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1 FAMILY HOUSING CONSTRUCTION, AIR FORCE

2 For expenses of family housing for the Air Force for

3 construction, including acquisition, replacement, addition,

4 expansion, extension, and alteration, as authorized by law,

5 $362,747,000, to remain available until September 30,

6 2012.

7 FAMILY HOUSING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE, AIR

8 FORCE

9 For expenses of family housing for the Air Force for

10 operation and maintenance, including debt payment, leas11 ing, minor construction, principal and interest charges,

12 and insurance premiums, as authorized by law,

13 $688,335,000.

14 FAMILY HOUSING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE,

15 DEFENSE-WIDE

16 For expenses of family housing for the activities and

17 agencies of the Department of Defense (other than the mili18 tary departments) for operation and maintenance, leasing,

19 and minor construction, as authorized by law, $48,848,000.

20 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FAMILY HOUSING

21 IMPROVEMENT FUND

22 For the Department of Defense Family Housing Im23 provement Fund, $500,000, to remain available until ex24 pended, for family housing initiatives undertaken pursuant

25 to section 2883 of title 10, United States Code, providing
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1 alternative means of acquiring and improving military

2 family housing and supporting facilities.

3 CHEMICAL DEMILITARIZATION CONSTRUCTION, DEFENSE4 WIDE

5 For expenses of construction, not otherwise provided

6 for, necessary for the destruction of the United States stock7 pile of lethal chemical agents and munitions in accordance

8 with section 1412 of the Department of Defense Authoriza9 tion Act, 1986 (50 U.S.C. 1521), and for the destruction

10 of other chemical warfare materials that are not in the

11 chemical weapon stockpile, as currently authorized by law,

12 $104,176,000, to remain available until September 30,

13 2012, which shall be only for the Assembled Chemical Weap14 ons Alternatives program.

15 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BASE CLOSURE ACCOUNT 1990

16 For deposit into the Department of Defense Base Clo17 sure Account 1990, established by section 2906(a)(1) of the

18 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (10

19 U.S.C. 2687 note), $320,689,000, to remain available until

20 expended.

21 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BASE CLOSURE ACCOUNT 2005

22 For deposit into the Department of Defense Base Clo23 sure Account 2005, established by section 2906A(a)(1) of the

24 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (10

25 U.S.C. 2687 note), $8,174,315,000, to remain available
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1 until expended: Provided, That funds made available under

2 this heading for the construction of facilities are subject to

3 the notification and reprogramming requirements applica4 ble to military construction projects under section 2853 of

5 title 10, United States Code, and section 0703 of the De6 partment of Defense Financial Management Regulation of

7 December 1996, including the requirement to obtain the ap8 proval of the congressional defense committees prior to exe9 cuting certain reprogramming actions.

10 ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

11 SEC. 101. None of the funds made available in this

12 title shall be expended for payments under a cost-plus-a13 fixed-fee contract for construction, where cost estimates ex14 ceed $25,000, to be performed within the United States, ex15 cept Alaska, without the specific approval in writing of the

16 Secretary of Defense setting forth the reasons therefor.

17 SEC. 102. Funds made available in this title for con18 struction shall be available for hire of passenger motor vehi19 cles.

20 SEC. 103. Funds made available in this title for con21 struction may be used for advances to the Federal Highway

22 Administration, Department of Transportation, for the con23 struction of access roads as authorized by section 210 of

24 title 23, United States Code, when projects authorized there-
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1 in are certified as important to the national defense by the

2 Secretary of Defense.

3 SEC. 104. None of the funds made available in this

4 title may be used to begin construction of new bases in the

5 United States for which specific appropriations have not

6 been made.

7 SEC. 105. None of the funds made available in this

8 title shall be used for purchase of land or land easements

9 in excess of 100 percent of the value as determined by the

10 Army Corps of Engineers or the Naval Facilities Engineer11 ing Command, except: (1) where there is a determination

12 of value by a Federal court; (2) purchases negotiated by

13 the Attorney General or the designee of the Attorney Gen14 eral; (3) where the estimated value is less than $25,000; or

15 (4) as otherwise determined by the Secretary of Defense to

16 be in the public interest.

17 SEC. 106. None of the funds made available in this

18 title shall be used to: (1) acquire land; (2) provide for site

19 preparation; or (3) install utilities for any family housing,

20 except housing for which funds have been made available

21 in annual Acts making appropriations for military con22 struction.

23 SEC. 107. None of the funds made available in this

24 title for minor construction may be used to transfer or relo25 cate any activity from one base or installation to another,
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1 without prior notification to the Committees on Appropria2 tions of both Houses of Congress.

3 SEC. 108. None of the funds made available in this

4 title may be used for the procurement of steel for any con5 struction project or activity for which American steel pro6 ducers, fabricators, and manufacturers have been denied the

7 opportunity to compete for such steel procurement.

8 SEC. 109. None of the funds available to the Depart9 ment of Defense for military construction or family housing

10 during the current fiscal year may be used to pay real prop11 erty taxes in any foreign nation.

12 SEC. 110. None of the funds made available in this

13 title may be used to initiate a new installation overseas

14 without prior notification to the Committees on Appropria15 tions of both Houses of Congress.

16 SEC. 111. None of the funds made available in this

17 title may be obligated for architect and engineer contracts

18 estimated by the Government to exceed $500,000 for projects

19 to be accomplished in Japan, in any North Atlantic Treaty

20 Organization member country, or in countries bordering the

21 Arabian Sea if that country has not increased its defense

22 spending by at least 3 percent in calendar year 2005, unless

23 such contracts are awarded to United States firms or

24 United States firms in joint venture with host nation firms.
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1 SEC. 112. None of the funds made available in this

2 title for military construction in the United States terri3 tories and possessions in the Pacific and on Kwajalein

4 Atoll, or in countries bordering the Arabian Sea, may be

5 used to award any contract estimated by the Government

6 to exceed $1,000,000 to a foreign contractor: Provided, That

7 this section shall not be applicable to contract awards for

8 which the lowest responsive and responsible bid of a United

9 States contractor exceeds the lowest responsive and respon10 sible bid of a foreign contractor by greater than 20 percent:

11 Provided further, That this section shall not apply to con12 tract awards for military construction on Kwajalein Atoll

13 for which the lowest responsive and responsible bid is sub14 mitted by a Marshallese contractor.

15 SEC. 113. The Secretary of Defense is to inform the

16 appropriate committees of both Houses of Congress, includ17 ing the Committees on Appropriations, of the plans and

18 scope of any proposed military exercise involving United

19 States personnel 30 days prior to its occurring, if amounts

20 expended for construction, either temporary or permanent,

21 are anticipated to exceed $750,000.

22 SEC. 114. Not more than 20 percent of the funds made

23 available in this title which are limited for obligation dur24 ing the current fiscal year shall be obligated during the last

25 two months of the fiscal year.
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1 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

2 SEC. 115. Funds appropriated to the Department of

3 Defense for construction in prior years shall be available

4 for construction authorized for each such military depart5 ment by the authorizations enacted into law during the cur6 rent session of Congress.

7 SEC. 116. For military construction or family housing

8 projects that are being completed with funds otherwise ex9 pired or lapsed for obligation, expired or lapsed funds may

10 be used to pay the cost of associated supervision, inspection,

11 overhead, engineering and design on those projects and on

12 subsequent claims, if any.

13 SEC. 117. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

14 any funds made available to a military department or de15 fense agency for the construction of military projects may

16 be obligated for a military construction project or contract,

17 or for any portion of such a project or contract, at any

18 time before the end of the fourth fiscal year after the fiscal

19 year for which funds for such project were made available,

20 if the funds obligated for such project: (1) are obligated from

21 funds available for military construction projects; and (2)

22 do not exceed the amount appropriated for such project,

23 plus any amount by which the cost of such project is in24 creased pursuant to law.
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1 SEC. 118. (a) The Secretary of Defense, in consultation

2 with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the Committees

3 on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress, by February

4 15 of each year, an annual report on actions taken by the

5 Department of Defense and the Department of State during

6 the previous fiscal year to encourage host countries to as7 sume a greater share of the common defense burden of such

8 countries and the United States.

9 (b) The report under subsection (a) shall include a de10 scription of—

11 (1) attempts to secure cash and in-kind contribu12 tions from host countries for military construction

13 projects;

14 (2) attempts to achieve economic incentives of15 fered by host countries to encourage private invest16 ment for the benefit of the United States Armed

17 Forces;

18 (3) attempts to recover funds due to be paid to

19 the United States by host countries for assets deeded

20 or otherwise imparted to host countries upon the ces21 sation of United States operations at military instal22 lations;

23 (4) the amount spent by host countries on de24 fense, in dollars and in terms of the percent of gross

25 domestic product (GDP) of the host country; and
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1 (5) for host countries that are members of the

2 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the

3 amount contributed to NATO by host countries, in

4 dollars and in terms of the percent of the total NATO

5 budget.

6 (c) In this section, the term ‘‘host country’’ means

7 other member countries of NATO, Japan, South Korea, and

8 United States allies bordering the Arabian Sea.

9 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

10 SEC. 119. In addition to any other transfer authority

11 available to the Department of Defense, proceeds deposited

12 to the Department of Defense Base Closure Account estab13 lished by section 207(a)(1) of the Defense Authorization

14 Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act (10

15 U.S.C. 2687 note) pursuant to section 207(a)(2)(C) of such

16 Act, may be transferred to the account established by section

17 2906(a)(1) of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment

18 Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. 2687 note), to be merged with, and

19 to be available for the same purposes and the same time

20 period as that account.

21 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

22 SEC. 120. Subject to 30 days prior notification to the

23 Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress,

24 such additional amounts as may be determined by the Sec25 retary of Defense may be transferred to: (1) the Department

26 of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund from
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1 amounts appropriated for construction in ‘‘Family Hous2 ing’’ accounts, to be merged with and to be available for

3 the same purposes and for the same period of time as

4 amounts appropriated directly to the Fund; or (2) the De5 partment of Defense Military Unaccompanied Housing Im6 provement Fund from amounts appropriated for construc7 tion of military unaccompanied housing in ‘‘Military Con8 struction’’ accounts, to be merged with and to be available

9 for the same purposes and for the same period of time as

10 amounts appropriated directly to the Fund: Provided, That

11 appropriations made available to the Funds shall be avail12 able to cover the costs, as defined in section 502(5) of the

13 Congressional Budget Act of 1974, of direct loans or loan

14 guarantees issued by the Department of Defense pursuant

15 to the provisions of subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title

16 10, United States Code, pertaining to alternative means of

17 acquiring and improving military family housing, military

18 unaccompanied housing, and supporting facilities.

19 SEC. 121. (a) Not later than 60 days before issuing

20 any solicitation for a contract with the private sector for

21 military family housing the Secretary of the military de22 partment concerned shall submit to the Committees on Ap23 propriations of both Houses of Congress the notice described

24 in subsection (b).
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1 (b)(1) A notice referred to in subsection (a) is a notice

2 of any guarantee (including the making of mortgage or

3 rental payments) proposed to be made by the Secretary to

4 the private party under the contract involved in the event

5 of—

6 (A) the closure or realignment of the installation

7 for which housing is provided under the contract;

8 (B) a reduction in force of units stationed at

9 such installation; or

10 (C) the extended deployment overseas of units

11 stationed at such installation.

12 (2) Each notice under this subsection shall specify the

13 nature of the guarantee involved and assess the extent and

14 likelihood, if any, of the liability of the Federal Government

15 with respect to the guarantee.

16 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

17 SEC. 122. In addition to any other transfer authority

18 available to the Department of Defense, amounts may be

19 transferred from the accounts established by sections

20 2906(a)(1) and 2906A(a)(1) of the Defense Base Closure

21 and Realignment Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. 2687 note), to the

22 fund established by section 1013(d) of the Demonstration

23 Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 (42

24 U.S.C. 3374) to pay for expenses associated with the Home25 owners Assistance Program. Any amounts transferred shall
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1 be merged with and be available for the same purposes and

2 for the same time period as the fund to which transferred.

3 SEC. 123. Notwithstanding this or any other provision

4 of law, funds made available in this title for operation and

5 maintenance of family housing shall be the exclusive source

6 of funds for repair and maintenance of all family housing

7 units, including general or flag officer quarters: Provided,

8 That not more than $35,000 per unit may be spent annu9 ally for the maintenance and repair of any general or flag

10 officer quarters without 30 days prior notification to the

11 Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress,

12 except that an after-the-fact notification shall be submitted

13 if the limitation is exceeded solely due to costs associated

14 with environmental remediation that could not be reason15 ably anticipated at the time of the budget submission: Pro16 vided further, That the Under Secretary of Defense (Comp17 troller) is to report annually to the Committees on Appro18 priations of both Houses of Congress all operation and

19 maintenance expenditures for each individual general or

20 flag officer quarters for the prior fiscal year: Provided fur21 ther, That nothing in this section precludes the Secretary

22 of a military department, after notifying the congressional

23 defense committees and waiting 21 days, from using funds

24 derived under section 2601, chapter 403, chapter 603, or

25 chapter 903 of title 10, United States Code, for the mainte-
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1 nance or repair of general and flag officer quarters at the

2 military service academy under the jurisdiction of that Sec3 retary: Provided further, That each Secretary of a military

4 department shall provide an annual report by February 15

5 to the congressional defense committees on the amount of

6 funds that were derived under section 2601, chapter 403,

7 chapter 603, or chapter 903 of title 10, United States Code,

8 in the previous year and were obligated for the construction,

9 improvement, repair, or maintenance of any military facil10 ity or infrastructure.

11 SEC. 124. Amounts contained in the Ford Island Im12 provement Account established by subsection (h) of section

13 2814 of title 10, United States Code, are appropriated and

14 shall be available until expended for the purposes specified

15 in subsection (i)(1) of such section or until transferred pur16 suant to subsection (i)(3) of such section.

17 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

18 SEC. 125. None of the funds made available in this

19 title, or in any Act making appropriations for military

20 construction which remain available for obligation, may be

21 obligated or expended to carry out a military construction,

22 land acquisition, or family housing project at or for a mili23 tary installation approved for closure, or at a military in24 stallation for the purposes of supporting a function that has

25 been approved for realignment to another installation, in

26 2005 under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act
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1 of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101–510; 10

2 U.S.C. 2687 note), unless such a project at a military in3 stallation approved for realignment will support a con4 tinuing mission or function at that installation or a new

5 mission or function that is planned for that installation,

6 or unless the Secretary of Defense certifies that the cost to

7 the United States of carrying out such project would be less

8 than the cost to the United States of cancelling such project,

9 or if the project is at an active component base that shall

10 be established as an enclave or in the case of projects having

11 multi-agency use, that another Government agency has in12 dicated it will assume ownership of the completed project.

13 The Secretary of Defense may not transfer funds made

14 available as a result of this limitation from any military

15 construction project, land acquisition, or family housing

16 project to another account or use such funds for another

17 purpose or project without the prior approval of the Com18 mittees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress. This

19 section shall not apply to military construction projects,

20 land acquisition, or family housing projects for which the

21 project is vital to the national security or the protection

22 of health, safety, or environmental quality: Provided, That

23 the Secretary of Defense shall notify the congressional de24 fense committees within seven days of a decision to carry

25 out such a military construction project.
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1 SEC. 126. Funds made available by this title for the

2 construction of facilities identified in the State table of the

3 report accompanying this Act as ‘‘Grow the Force’’ projects

4 are subject to the notification and reprogramming require5 ments applicable to military construction projects under

6 section 2853 of title 10, United States Code, and section

7 0703 of the Department of Defense Financial Management

8 Regulation of December 1996, including the requirement to

9 obtain the approval of the congressional defense committees

10 prior to executing certain reprogramming actions.

11 TITLE II

12 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

13 VETERANS BENEFITS PROGRAMS

14 COMPENSATION ANDPENSIONS

15 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

16 For the payment of compensation benefits to or on be17 half of veterans and a pilot program for disability examina18 tions as authorized by law (38 U.S.C. 107, chapters 11, 13,

19 18, 51, 53, 55, and 61); pension benefits to or on behalf

20 of veterans as authorized by law (38 U.S.C. chapters 15,

21 51, 53, 55, and 61; 92 Stat. 2508); and burial benefits, the

22 Reinstated Entitlement Program for Survivors, emergency

23 and other officers’ retirement pay, adjusted-service credits

24 and certificates, payment of premiums due on commercial

25 life insurance policies guaranteed under the provisions of

26 title IV of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C.
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1 App. 540 et seq.) and for other benefits as authorized by

2 law (38 U.S.C. 107, 1312, 1977, and 2106, chapters 23,

3 51, 53, 55, and 61; 43 Stat. 122, 123; 45 Stat. 735; 76

4 Stat. 1198), $41,236,322,000, to remain available until ex5 pended: Provided, That not to exceed $28,583,000 of the

6 amount appropriated under this heading shall be reim7 bursed to ‘‘General operating expenses’’ and ‘‘Medical ad8 ministration’’ for necessary expenses in implementing the

9 provisions of chapters 51, 53, and 55 of title 38, United

10 States Code, the funding source for which is specifically

11 provided as the ‘‘Compensation and pensions’’ appropria12 tion: Provided further, That such sums as may be earned

13 on an actual qualifying patient basis, shall be reimbursed

14 to ‘‘Medical care collections fund’’ to augment the funding

15 of individual medical facilities for nursing home care pro16 vided to pensioners as authorized.

17 READJUSTMENT BENEFITS

18 For the payment of readjustment and rehabilitation

19 benefits to or on behalf of veterans as authorized by law

20 (38 U.S.C. chapters 21, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 39, 51, 53, 55,

21 and 61), $3,300,289,000, to remain available until ex22 pended: Provided, That expenses for rehabilitation program

23 services and assistance which the Secretary is authorized

24 to provide under section 3104(a) of title 38, United States

25 Code, other than under subsection (a)(1), (2), (5), and (11)

26 of that section, shall be charged to this account.
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1 VETERANS INSURANCE ANDINDEMNITIES

2 For military and naval insurance, national service life

3 insurance, servicemen’s indemnities, service-disabled vet4 erans insurance, and veterans mortgage life insurance as

5 authorized by title 38, United States Code, chapter 19; 70

6 Stat. 887; 72 Stat. 487, $41,250,000, to remain available

7 until expended.

8 VETERANS HOUSING BENEFIT PROGRAM FUNDPROGRAM

9 ACCOUNT

10 For the cost of direct and guaranteed loans, such sums

11 as may be necessary to carry out the program, as authorized

12 by subchapters I through III of chapter 37 of title 38,

13 United States Code: Provided, That such costs, including

14 the cost of modifying such loans, shall be as defined in sec15 tion 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: Provided

16 further, That during fiscal year 2008, within the resources

17 available, not to exceed $500,000 in gross obligations for

18 direct loans are authorized for specially adapted housing

19 loans.

20 In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out

21 the direct and guaranteed loan programs, $154,562,000.

22 VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION LOANS PROGRAM ACCOUNT

23 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

24 For the cost of direct loans, $71,000, as authorized by

25 chapter 31 of title 38, United States Code: Provided, That

26 such costs, including the cost of modifying such loans, shall
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1 be as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget

2 Act of 1974: Provided further, That funds made available

3 under this heading are available to subsidize gross obliga4 tions for the principal amount of direct loans not to exceed

5 $3,287,000.

6 In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to

7 carry out the direct loan program, $311,000, which may

8 be transferred to and merged with the appropriation for

9 ‘‘General operating expenses’’.

10 NATIVE AMERICAN VETERAN HOUSING LOAN PROGRAM

11 ACCOUNT

12 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

13 For administrative expenses to carry out the direct

14 loan program authorized by subchapter V of chapter 37 of

15 title 38, United States Code, $628,000.

16 GUARANTEEDTRANSITIONAL HOUSING LOANS FOR

17 HOMELESS VETERANS PROGRAM ACCOUNT

18 For the administrative expenses to carry out the guar19 anteed transitional housing loan program authorized by

20 subchapter VI of chapter 37 of title 38, United States Code,

21 not to exceed $750,000 of the amounts appropriated by this

22 Act for ‘‘General operating expenses’’ and ‘‘Medical serv23 ices’’ may be expended.
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1 VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

2 MEDICAL SERVICES

3 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

4 For necessary expenses for furnishing, as authorized

5 by law, inpatient and outpatient care and treatment to

6 beneficiaries of the Department of Veterans Affairs and vet7 erans described in section 1705(a) of title 38, United States

8 Code, including care and treatment in facilities not under

9 the jurisdiction of the Department, and including medical

10 supplies and equipment, food services, and salaries and ex11 penses of health-care employees hired under title 38, United

12 States Code, and aid to State homes as authorized by sec13 tion 1741 of title 38, United States Code; $28,979,220,000,

14 plus reimbursements: Provided, That of the funds made

15 available under this heading, not to exceed $1,350,000,000

16 shall remain available until September 30, 2009: Provided

17 further, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law,

18 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a priority

19 for treatment for veterans who are service-connected dis20 abled, lower income, or have special needs: Provided further,

21 That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec22 retary of Veterans Affairs shall give priority funding for

23 the provision of basic medical benefits to veterans in enroll24 ment priority groups 1 through 6: Provided further, That,

25 notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary

26 of Veterans Affairs may authorize the dispensing of pre-
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HR 2642 EAS

1 scription drugs from Veterans Health Administration fa2 cilities to enrolled veterans with privately written prescrip3 tions based on requirements established by the Secretary:

4 Provided further, That the implementation of the program

5 described in the previous proviso shall incur no additional

6 cost to the Department of Veterans Affairs: Provided fur7 ther, That for the Department of Defense/Department of

8 Veterans Affairs Health Care Sharing Incentive Fund, as

9 authorized by section 8111(d) of title 38, United States

10 Code, a minimum of $15,000,000, to remain available until

11 expended, for any purpose authorized by section 8111 of

12 title 38, United States Code.

13 MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION

14 For necessary expenses in the administration of the

15 medical, hospital, nursing home, domiciliary, construction,

16 supply, and research activities, as authorized by law; ad17 ministrative expenses in support of capital policy activities;

18 and administrative and legal expenses of the Department

19 for collecting and recovering amounts owed the Department

20 as authorized under chapter 17 of title 38, United States

21 Code, and Federal Medical Care Recovery Act (42 U.S.C.

22 2651 et seq.): $3,642,000,000, plus reimbursements, of

23 which $250,000,000 shall remain available until September

24 30, 2009.
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1 MEDICAL FACILITIES

2 For necessary expenses for the maintenance and oper3 ation of hospitals, nursing homes, and domiciliary facilities

4 and other necessary facilities for the Veterans Health Ad5 ministration; for administrative expenses in support of

6 planning, design, project management, real property acqui7 sition and disposition, construction and renovation of any

8 facility under the jurisdiction or for the use of the Depart9 ment; for oversight, engineering and architectural activities

10 not charged to project costs; for repairing, altering, improv11 ing or providing facilities in the several hospitals and

12 homes under the jurisdiction of the Department, not other13 wise provided for, either by contract or by the hire of tem14 porary employees and purchase of materials; for leases of

15 facilities; and for laundry services, $4,092,000,000, plus re16 imbursements, of which $350,000,000 shall remain avail17 able until September 30, 2009: Provided, That not less than

18 $350,000,000 for non-recurring maintenance provided

19 under this heading shall be allocated in a manner not sub20 ject to the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation.

21 MEDICAL AND PROSTHETIC RESEARCH

22 For necessary expenses in carrying out programs of

23 medical and prosthetic research and development as author24 ized by chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code,

25 $500,000,000, plus reimbursements, to remain available

26 until September 30, 2009.
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1 NATIONAL CEMETERY ADMINISTRATION

2 For necessary expenses of the National Cemetery Ad3 ministration for operations and maintenance, not otherwise

4 provided for, including uniforms or allowances therefor;

5 cemeterial expenses as authorized by law; purchase of one

6 passenger motor vehicle for use in cemeterial operations;

7 and hire of passenger motor vehicles, $217,709,000, of which

8 not to exceed $25,000,000 shall remain available until Sep9 tember 30, 2009.

10 DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATION

11 GENERAL OPERATING EXPENSES

12 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

13 For necessary operating expenses of the Department of

14 Veterans Affairs, not otherwise provided for, including ad15 ministrative expenses in support of Department-wide cap16 ital planning, management and policy activities, uniforms

17 or allowances therefor; not to exceed $25,000 for official re18 ception and representation expenses; hire of passenger

19 motor vehicles; and reimbursement of the General Services

20 Administration for security guard services, and the Depart21 ment of Defense for the cost of overseas employee mail,

22 $1,612,031,000: Provided, That expenses for services and as23 sistance authorized under paragraphs (1), (2), (5), and (11)

24 of section 3104(a) of title 38, United States Code, that the

25 Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines are necessary to

26 enable entitled veterans: (1) to the maximum extent feasible,
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1 to become employable and to obtain and maintain suitable

2 employment; or (2) to achieve maximum independence in

3 daily living, shall be charged to this account: Provided fur4 ther, That the Veterans Benefits Administration shall be

5 funded at not less than $1,329,044,000: Provided further,

6 That of the funds made available under this heading, not

7 to exceed $75,000,000 shall be available for obligation until

8 September 30, 2009: Provided further, That from the funds

9 made available under this heading, the Veterans Benefits

10 Administration may purchase up to two passenger motor

11 vehicles for use in operations of that Administration in Ma12 nila, Philippines.

13 OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

14 For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector Gen15 eral, to include information technology, in carrying out the

16 provisions of the Inspector General Act of 1978,

17 $88,700,000, of which $3,630,000 shall remain available

18 until September 30, 2009.

19 CONSTRUCTION, MAJOR PROJECTS

20 For constructing, altering, extending and improving

21 any of the facilities including parking projects under the

22 jurisdiction or for the use of the Department of Veterans

23 Affairs, or for any of the purposes set forth in sections 316,

24 2404, 2406, 8102, 8103, 8106, 8108, 8109, 8110, and 8122

25 of title 38, United States Code, including planning, archi26 tectural and engineering services, construction management
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1 services, maintenance or guarantee period services costs as2 sociated with equipment guarantees provided under the

3 project, services of claims analysts, offsite utility and storm

4 drainage system construction costs, and site acquisition,

5 where the estimated cost of a project is more than the

6 amount set forth in section 8104(a)(3)(A) of title 38, United

7 States Code, or where funds for a project were made avail8 able in a previous major project appropriation,

9 $727,400,000, to remain available until expended, of which

10 $2,000,000 shall be to make reimbursements as provided in

11 section 13 of the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C.

12 612) for claims paid for contract disputes: Provided, That

13 except for advance planning activities, including needs as14 sessments which may or may not lead to capital invest15 ments, and other capital asset management related activi16 ties, such as portfolio development and management activi17 ties, and investment strategy studies funded through the ad18 vance planning fund and the planning and design activities

19 funded through the design fund and CARES funds, includ20 ing needs assessments which may or may not lead to capital

21 investments, none of the funds appropriated under this

22 heading shall be used for any project which has not been

23 approved by the Congress in the budgetary process: Pro24 vided further, That funds provided in this appropriation

25 for fiscal year 2008, for each approved project (except those
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1 for CARES activities referenced above) shall be obligated:

2 (1) by the awarding of a construction documents contract

3 by September 30, 2008; and (2) by the awarding of a con4 struction contract by September 30, 2009: Provided further,

5 That the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall promptly report

6 in writing to the Committees on Appropriations of both

7 Houses of Congress any approved major construction

8 project in which obligations are not incurred within the

9 time limitations established above.

10 CONSTRUCTION, MINOR PROJECTS

11 For constructing, altering, extending, and improving

12 any of the facilities including parking projects under the

13 jurisdiction or for the use of the Department of Veterans

14 Affairs, including planning and assessments of needs which

15 may lead to capital investments, architectural and engi16 neering services, maintenance or guarantee period services

17 costs associated with equipment guarantees provided under

18 the project, services of claims analysts, offsite utility and

19 storm drainage system construction costs, and site acquisi20 tion, or for any of the purposes set forth in sections 316,

21 2404, 2406, 8102, 8103, 8106, 8108, 8109, 8110, 8122, and

22 8162 of title 38, United States Code, where the estimated

23 cost of a project is equal to or less than the amount set

24 forth in section 8104(a)(3)(A) of title 38, United States

25 Code, $751,398,000, to remain available until expended,

26 along with unobligated balances of previous ‘‘Construction,
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1 minor projects’’ appropriations which are hereby made

2 available for any project where the estimated cost is equal

3 to or less than the amount set forth in such section for: (1)

4 repairs to any of the nonmedical facilities under the juris5 diction or for the use of the Department which are necessary

6 because of loss or damage caused by any natural disaster

7 or catastrophe; and (2) temporary measures necessary to

8 prevent or to minimize further loss by such causes.

9 GRANTS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF STATE EXTENDED CARE

10 FACILITIES

11 For grants to assist States to acquire or construct

12 State nursing home and domiciliary facilities and to re13 model, modify or alter existing hospital, nursing home and

14 domiciliary facilities in State homes, for furnishing care

15 to veterans as authorized by sections 8131–8137 of title 38,

16 United States Code, $250,000,000, to remain available

17 until expended.

18 GRANTS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF STATE VETERANS

19 CEMETERIES

20 For grants to aid States in establishing, expanding,

21 or improving State veterans cemeteries as authorized by sec22 tion 2408 of title 38, United States Code, $100,000,000, to

23 remain available until expended.

24 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS

25 For necessary expenses for information technology sys26 tems and telecommunications support, including develop-
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1 mental information systems and operational information

2 systems; including pay and associated cost for operations

3 and maintenance associated staff; for the capital asset ac4 quisition of information technology systems, including

5 management and related contractual costs of said acquisi6 tions, including contractual costs associated with operations

7 authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code,

8 $1,898,000,000, to remain available until September 30,

9 2009: Provided, That none of these funds may be obligated

10 until the Department of Veterans Affairs submits to the

11 Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress,

12 and such Committees approve, a plan for expenditure that:

13 (1) meets the capital planning and investment control re14 view requirements established by the Office of Management

15 and Budget; (2) complies with the Department of Veterans

16 Affairs enterprise architecture; (3) conforms with an estab17 lished enterprise life cycle methodology; and (4) complies

18 with the acquisition rules, requirements, guidelines, and

19 systems acquisition management practices of the Federal

20 Government: Provided further, That within 60 days of en21 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall

22 submit to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses

23 of Congress a reprogramming base letter which provides,

24 by project, the costs included in this appropriation.
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1 ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

2 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

3 SEC. 201. Any appropriation for fiscal year 2008, in

4 this Act or any other Act, for ‘‘Compensation and pen5 sions’’, ‘‘Readjustment benefits’’, and ‘‘Veterans insurance

6 and indemnities’’ may be transferred as necessary to any

7 other of the mentioned appropriations: Provided, That be8 fore a transfer may take place, the Secretary of Veterans

9 Affairs shall request from the Committees on Appropria10 tions of both Houses of Congress the authority to make the

11 transfer and an approval is issued, or absent a response,

12 a period of 30 days has elapsed.

13 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

14 SEC. 202. Amounts made available for fiscal year

15 2008, in this Act or any other Act, under the ‘‘Medical serv16 ices’’, ‘‘Medical Administration’’, and ‘‘Medical facilities’’

17 accounts may be transferred between the accounts to the ex18 tent necessary to implement the restructuring of the Vet19 erans Health Administration accounts: Provided, That be20 fore a transfer may take place, the Secretary of Veterans

21 Affairs shall request from the Committees on Appropria22 tions of both Houses of Congress the authority to make the

23 transfer and an approval is issued.

24 SEC. 203. Appropriations available in this title for sal25 aries and expenses shall be available for services authorized

26 by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, hire of pas-
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1 senger motor vehicles; lease of a facility or land or both;

2 and uniforms or allowances therefor, as authorized by sec3 tions 5901–5902 of title 5, United States Code.

4 SEC. 204. No appropriations in this title (except the

5 appropriations for ‘‘Construction, major projects’’, and

6 ‘‘Construction, minor projects’’) shall be available for the

7 purchase of any site for the construction of any new hos8 pital or home.

9 SEC. 205. No appropriations in this title shall be

10 available for hospitalization or examination of any persons

11 (except beneficiaries entitled under the laws bestowing such

12 benefits to veterans, and persons receiving such treatment

13 under sections 7901–7904 of title 5, United States Code or

14 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As15 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)), unless reimbursement

16 of cost is made to the ‘‘Medical services’’ account at such

17 rates as may be fixed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

18 SEC. 206. Appropriations available in this title for

19 ‘‘Compensation and pensions’’, ‘‘Readjustment benefits’’,

20 and ‘‘Veterans insurance and indemnities’’ shall be avail21 able for payment of prior year accrued obligations required

22 to be recorded by law against the corresponding prior year

23 accounts within the last quarter of fiscal year 2007.

24 SEC. 207. Appropriations available in this title shall

25 be available to pay prior year obligations of corresponding
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1 prior year appropriations accounts resulting from sections

2 3328(a), 3334, and 3712(a) of title 31, United States Code,

3 except that if such obligations are from trust fund accounts

4 they shall be payable from ‘‘Compensation and pensions’’.

5 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

6 SEC. 208. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

7 during fiscal year 2008, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

8 shall, from the National Service Life Insurance Fund (38

9 U.S.C. 1920), the Veterans’ Special Life Insurance Fund

10 (38 U.S.C. 1923), and the United States Government Life

11 Insurance Fund (38 U.S.C. 1955), reimburse the ‘‘General

12 operating expenses’’ account for the cost of administration

13 of the insurance programs financed through those accounts:

14 Provided, That reimbursement shall be made only from the

15 surplus earnings accumulated in an insurance program in

16 fiscal year 2008 that are available for dividends in that

17 program after claims have been paid and actuarially deter18 mined reserves have been set aside: Provided further, That

19 if the cost of administration of an insurance program ex20 ceeds the amount of surplus earnings accumulated in that

21 program, reimbursement shall be made only to the extent

22 of such surplus earnings: Provided further, That the Sec23 retary shall determine the cost of administration for fiscal

24 year 2008 which is properly allocable to the provision of

25 each insurance program and to the provision of any total
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1 disability income insurance included in such insurance

2 program.

3 SEC. 209. Amounts deducted from enhanced-use lease

4 proceeds to reimburse an account for expenses incurred by

5 that account during a prior fiscal year for providing en6 hanced-use lease services, may be obligated during the fiscal

7 year in which the proceeds are received.

8 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

9 SEC. 210. Funds available in this title or funds for

10 salaries and other administrative expenses shall also be

11 available to reimburse the Office of Resolution Management

12 and the Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint

13 Adjudication for all services provided at rates which will

14 recover actual costs but not exceed $32,067,000 for the Office

15 of Resolution Management and $3,148,000 for the Office of

16 Employment and Discrimination Complaint Adjudication:

17 Provided, That payments may be made in advance for serv18 ices to be furnished based on estimated costs: Provided fur19 ther, That amounts received shall be credited to ‘‘General

20 operating expenses’’ for use by the office that provided the

21 service.

22 SEC. 211. No appropriations in this title shall be

23 available to enter into any new lease of real property if

24 the estimated annual rental is more than $300,000 unless

25 the Secretary submits a report which the Committees on
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1 Appropriations of both Houses of Congress approve within

2 30 days following the date on which the report is received.

3 SEC. 212. No funds of the Department of Veterans Af4 fairs shall be available for hospital care, nursing home care,

5 or medical services provided to any person under chapter

6 17 of title 38, United States Code, for a non-service-con7 nected disability described in section 1729(a)(2) of such

8 title, unless that person has disclosed to the Secretary of

9 Veterans Affairs, in such form as the Secretary may require,

10 current, accurate third-party reimbursement information

11 for purposes of section 1729 of such title: Provided, That

12 the Secretary may recover, in the same manner as any other

13 debt due the United States, the reasonable charges for such

14 care or services from any person who does not make such

15 disclosure as required: Provided further, That any amounts

16 so recovered for care or services provided in a prior fiscal

17 year may be obligated by the Secretary during the fiscal

18 year in which amounts are received.

19 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

20 SEC. 213. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

21 at the discretion of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, pro22 ceeds or revenues derived from enhanced-use leasing activi23 ties (including disposal) may be deposited into the ‘‘Con24 struction, major projects’’ and ‘‘Construction, minor

25 projects’’ accounts and be used for construction (including

26 site acquisition and disposition), alterations and improve-
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HR 2642 EAS

1 ments of any medical facility under the jurisdiction or for

2 the use of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Such sums

3 as realized are in addition to the amount provided for in

4 ‘‘Construction, major projects’’ and ‘‘Construction, minor

5 projects’’.

6 SEC. 214. Amounts made available under ‘‘Medical

7 services’’ are available—

8 (1) for furnishing recreational facilities, sup9 plies, and equipment; and

10 (2) for funeral expenses, burial expenses, and

11 other expenses incidental to funerals and burials for

12 beneficiaries receiving care in the Department.

13 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

14 SEC. 215. Such sums as may be deposited to the Med15 ical Care Collections Fund pursuant to section 1729A of

16 title 38, United States Code, may be transferred to ‘‘Medical

17 services’’, to remain available until expended for the pur18 poses of this account.

19 SEC. 216. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

20 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall allow veterans eligi21 ble under existing Department of Veterans Affairs medical

22 care requirements and who reside in Alaska to obtain med23 ical care services from medical facilities supported by the

24 Indian Health Service or tribal organizations. The Sec25 retary shall: (1) limit the application of this provision to

26 rural Alaskan veterans in areas where an existing Depart-
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HR 2642 EAS

1 ment of Veterans Affairs facility or Veterans Affairs-con2 tracted service is unavailable; (2) require participating vet3 erans and facilities to comply with all appropriate rules

4 and regulations, as established by the Secretary; (3) require

5 this provision to be consistent with Capital Asset Realign6 ment for Enhanced Services activities; and (4) result in no

7 additional cost to the Department of Veterans Affairs or

8 the Indian Health Service.

9 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

10 SEC. 217. Such sums as may be deposited to the De11 partment of Veterans Affairs Capital Asset Fund pursuant

12 to section 8118 of title 38, United States Code, may be

13 transferred to the ‘‘Construction, major projects’’ and ‘‘Con14 struction, minor projects’’ accounts, to remain available

15 until expended for the purposes of these accounts.

16 SEC. 218. None of the funds made available in this

17 Act may be used to implement any policy prohibiting the

18 Directors of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks from

19 conducting outreach or marketing to enroll new veterans

20 within their respective Networks.

21 SEC. 219. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall sub22 mit to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses

23 of Congress a quarterly report on the financial status of

24 the Veterans Health Administration.
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1 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

2 SEC. 220. Amounts made available under the ‘‘Medical

3 services’’, ‘‘Medical Administration’’, ‘‘Medical facilities’’,

4 ‘‘General operating expenses’’, and ‘‘National Cemetery Ad5 ministration’’ accounts for fiscal year 2008, may be trans6 ferred to or from the ‘‘Information technology systems’’ ac7 count: Provided, That before a transfer may take place, the

8 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall request from the Com9 mittees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress the

10 authority to make the transfer and an approval is issued.

11 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

12 SEC. 221. For purposes of perfecting the funding

13 sources of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ new ‘‘Infor14 mation technology systems’’ account, funds made available

15 for fiscal year 2008, in this or any other Act, may be trans16 ferred from the ‘‘General operating expenses’’, ‘‘National

17 Cemetery Administration’’, and ‘‘Office of Inspector Gen18 eral’’ accounts to the ‘‘Medical services’’ account: Provided,

19 That before a transfer may take place, the Secretary of Vet20 erans Affairs shall request from the Committees on Appro21 priations of both Houses of Congress the authority to make

22 the transfer and an approval is issued.

23 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

24 SEC. 222. Amounts made available for the ‘‘Informa25 tion technology systems’’ account may be transferred be26 tween projects: Provided, That no project may be increased
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HR 2642 EAS

1 or decreased by more than $1,000,000 of cost prior to sub2 mitting a request to the Committees on Appropriations of

3 both Houses of Congress to make the transfer and an ap4 proval is issued, or absent a response, a period of 30 days

5 has elapsed.

6 SEC. 223. None of the funds available to the Depart7 ment of Veterans Affairs, in this Act, or any other Act, may

8 be used to replace the current system by which the Veterans

9 Integrated Services Networks select and contract for diabetes

10 monitoring supplies and equipment.

11 SEC. 224. Of the amounts made available for fiscal

12 year 2008, in this Act or any other Act, under the ‘‘Medical

13 Facilities’’ account for non-recurring maintenance, not

14 more than 20 percent of the funds made available shall be

15 obligated during the last two months of the fiscal year.

16 SEC. 225. PROHIBITION ON DISPOSAL OF DEPART17 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS LANDS AND IMPROVEMENTS

18 AT WEST LOS ANGELES MEDICAL CENTER, CALIFORNIA.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may

20 not declare as excess to the needs of the Department of Vet21 erans Affairs, or otherwise take any action to exchange,

22 trade, auction, transfer, or otherwise dispose of, or reduce

23 the acreage of, Federal land and improvements at the De24 partment of Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles Medical Cen25 ter, California, encompassing approximately 388 acres on
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1 the north and south sides of Wilshire Boulevard and west

2 of the 405 Freeway.

3 (b) SPECIAL PROVISION REGARDING LEASE WITH

4 REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HOMELESS.—Notwithstanding

5 any provision of this Act, section 7 of the Homeless Veterans

6 Comprehensive Services Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–590)

7 shall remain in effect.

8 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 8162(c)(1) of

9 title 38, United States Code, is amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘or section 225(a) of the Mili11 tary Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related

12 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008’’ after ‘‘section

13 421(b)(2) of the Veterans’ Benefits and Services Act

14 of 1988 (Public Law 100–322; 102 Stat. 553)’’; and

15 (2) by striking ‘‘that section’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘such sections’’.

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, including the

18 amendment made by this section, shall apply with respect

19 to fiscal year 2008 and each fiscal year thereafter.

20 SEC. 226. The Department shall continue research into

21 Gulf War Illness at levels not less than those made available

22 in fiscal year 2007, within available funds contained in

23 this Act.

24 SEC. 227. (a) ANONYMOUS REPORTING OF WASTE,

25 FRAUD, OR ABUSE.—Not later than 30 days after the date
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1 of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the

2 Department of Veterans Affairs shall establish and main3 tain on the homepage of the Internet website of the Office

4 of Inspector General a mechanism by which individuals can

5 anonymously report cases of waste, fraud, or abuse with

6 respect to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

7 (b) LINK TO OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL FROM

8 HOMEPAGE OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.—Not

9 later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this

10 Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish and

11 maintain on the homepage of the Internet website of the

12 Department of Veterans Affairs a direct link to the Internet

13 website of the Office of Inspector General of the Department

14 of Veterans Affairs.

15 SEC. 228. (a) AUTHORITY FOR TRANSFER OF FUNDS

16 TO SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO

17 TRAIN PSYCHOLOGISTS.—Upon a determination by the

18 Secretary of Veterans Affairs that such action is in the na19 tional interest, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may trans20 fer not more than $5,000,000 to the Secretary of Health

21 and Human Services for the Graduate Psychology Edu22 cation Program to support increased training of psycholo23 gists skilled in the treatment of post-traumatic stress dis24 order, traumatic brain injury, and related disorders.
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1 (b) LIMITATION ON USE OF TRANSFERRED FUNDS.—

2 The Secretary of Health and Human Services may only

3 use funds transferred under this section for the purposes de4 scribed in subsection (a).

5 (c) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs

6 shall notify Congress of any such transfer of funds under

7 this section.

8 SEC. 229. (a) REPORTS ON RECONSTRUCTION OF DE9 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER IN

10 NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.—(1) Not later than October 1

11 and April 1 each year, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

12 shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations a report

13 on the current status of the reconstruction of the Depart14 ment of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New Orleans,

15 Louisiana. Each report shall include the following:

16 (A) The current status of the reconstruction of

17 the Medical Center, including the status of any ongo18 ing environmental assessments, the status of any cur19 rent construction, and an assessment of the adequacy

20 of funding necessary to complete the reconstruction.

21 (B) If reconstruction of the Medical Center is

22 subject to any major delay—

23 (i) a description of each such delay;

24 (ii) an explanation for each such delay; and
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HR 2642 EAS

1 (iii) a description of the action being taken

2 or planned to address the delay.

3 (C) A description of current and anticipated

4 funding for the reconstruction of the Medical Center,

5 including an estimate of any additional funding re6 quired for the reconstruction.

7 (2) The requirement in paragraph (1) shall cease on

8 the day that the reconstruction of the Medical Center re9 ferred to in that paragraph is completed.

10 (b) REPORT ON DESIGNATION OF DEPARTMENT OF

11 VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER IN NEW ORLEANS

12 AS POLYTRAUMA REHABILITATION CENTER OR

13 POLYTRAUMA NETWORK SITE.—Not later than 60 days

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary

15 shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations a report

16 setting forth the recommendation of the Secretary as to

17 whether or not the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical

18 Center being reconstructed in new Orleans, Louisiana,

19 should be designated as a tier I polytrauma rehabilitation

20 center or a polytrauma network site.

21 SEC. 230. (a) ADDITIONAL AMOUNT FOR MEDICAL

22 SERVICES.—The amount appropriated or otherwise made

23 available by this title under the heading ‘‘MEDICAL SERV24 ICES’’ is hereby increased by $125,000,000.
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1 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Of the amount appropriated or

2 otherwise made available by this title under the heading

3 ‘‘MEDICAL SERVICES’’, as increased by subsection (a),

4 $125,000,000 shall be available for the Veterans Beneficiary

5 Travel Program. The amount available for the Veterans

6 Beneficiary Travel Program under this subsection is in ad7 dition to any other amounts available for that program

8 under this title.

9 (c) OFFSET.—The amount appropriated or otherwise

10 made available by this title for the Veterans Health Admin11 istration under the heading ‘‘MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION’’ is

12 hereby decreased by $125,000,000.

13 SEC. 231. (a) REPORT ON ACCESS TO MEDICAL SERV14 ICES PROVIDED BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

15 TO VETERANS IN REMOTE RURAL AREAS.—Not later than

16 six months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

17 Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of

18 Congress a report setting forth the following:

19 (1) A description of the following:

20 (A) The unique challenges and costs faced

21 by veterans in remote rural areas of contiguous

22 and non-contiguous States when obtaining med23 ical services from the Department of Veterans Af24 fairs.
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1 (B) The need to improve access to locally2 administered care for veterans who reside in re3 mote rural areas.

4 (C) The need to fund alternative sources of

5 medical services—

6 (i) in areas where facilities of the De7 partment of Veterans Affairs are not acces8 sible to veterans without leaving such areas;

9 and

10 (ii) in cases in which receipt of med11 ical services by a veteran in a facility of the

12 Department requires transportation of such

13 veteran by air due to geographic and

14 infrastructural constraints.

15 (2) An assessment of the potential for increasing

16 local access to medical services for veterans in remote

17 rural areas of contiguous and non-contiguous States

18 through strategic partnerships with other government

19 and local private health care providers.

20 (b) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE21 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate committees

22 of Congress’’ means—

23 (1) the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the

24 Senate and the House of Representatives; and

25 (2) the Subcommittees referred to in section 407.
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1 SEC. 232. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise

2 made available by this Act may be used during fiscal year

3 2008 to round down dollar amounts to the next lower whole

4 dollar for payments of the following:

5 (1) Disability compensation under section 1114

6 of 38, United States Code.

7 (2) Additional compensation for dependents

8 under section 1115(1) of such title.

9 (3) Clothing allowance under section 1162 of

10 such title.

11 (4) Dependency and indemnity compensation to

12 surviving spouse under subsections (a) through (d) of

13 section 1311 of such title.

14 (5) Dependency and indemnity compensation to

15 children under sections 1313(a) and 1314 of such

16 title.

17 SEC. 233. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise

18 made available by this Act or any other Act for the Depart19 ment of Veterans Affairs may be used in a manner that

20 is inconsistent with—

21 (1) section 842 of the Transportation, Treasury,

22 Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and

23 Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 (Pub24 lic Law 109–115; 119 Stat. 2506); or
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1 (2) section 8110(a)(5) of title 38, United States

2 Code.

3 SEC. 234. LIEUTENANT COLONEL CLEMENT C. VAN

4 WAGONER DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CLINIC.

5 (a) DESIGNATION.—The Department of Veterans Affairs

6 clinic located in Alpena, Michigan, shall be known and des7 ignated as the ‘‘Lieutenant Colonel Clement C. Van Wag8 oner Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic’’.

9 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, regu10 lation, document, paper, or other record of the United

11 States to the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic referred

12 to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to

13 the ‘‘Lieutenant Colonel Clement C. Van Wagoner Depart14 ment of Veterans Affairs Clinic’’.

15 SEC. 235. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may carry

16 out a major medical facility lease in fiscal year 2008 in

17 an amount not to exceed $12,000,000 to implement the rec18 ommendations outlined in the August, 2007 Study of South

19 Texas Veterans’ Inpatient and Specialty Outpatient Health

20 Care Needs.
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1 TITLE III

2 RELATED AGENCIES

3 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION

4 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

5 For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, of

6 the American Battle Monuments Commission, including the

7 acquisition of land or interest in land in foreign countries;

8 purchases and repair of uniforms for caretakers of national

9 cemeteries and monuments outside of the United States and

10 its territories and possessions; rent of office and garage

11 space in foreign countries; purchase (one-for-one replace12 ment only) and hire of passenger motor vehicles; not to ex13 ceed $7,500 for official reception and representation ex14 penses; and insurance of official motor vehicles in foreign

15 countries, when required by law of such countries,

16 $45,600,000, to remain available until expended.

17 FOREIGN CURRENCY FLUCTUATIONS

18 For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, of

19 the American Battle Monuments Commission, $11,000,000,

20 to remain available until expended, for purposes authorized

21 by section 2109 of title 36, United States Code.
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1 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR

2 VETERANS CLAIMS

3 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

4 For necessary expenses for the operation of the United

5 States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims as authorized

6 by sections 7251–7298 of title 38, United States Code,

7 $24,217,000: Provided, That $1,120,000 shall be available

8 for the purpose of providing financial assistance as de9 scribed, and in accordance with the process and reporting

10 procedures set forth, under this heading in Public Law 102–

11 229.

12 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE—CIVIL

13 CEMETERIAL EXPENSES, ARMY

14 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

15 For necessary expenses, as authorized by law, for

16 maintenance, operation, and improvement of Arlington Na17 tional Cemetery and Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home Na18 tional Cemetery, including the purchase of two passenger

19 motor vehicles for replacement only, and not to exceed

20 $1,000 for official reception and representation expenses,

21 $31,865,000, to remain available until expended. In addi22 tion, such sums as may be necessary for parking mainte23 nance, repairs and replacement, to be derived from the

24 Lease of Department of Defense Real Property for Defense

25 Agencies account.
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1 Funds appropriated under this Act may be provided

2 to Arlington County, Virginia, for the relocation of the fed3 erally-owned watermain at Arlington National Cemetery

4 making additional land available for ground burials.

5 ARMED FORCES RETIREMENT HOME

6 TRUST FUND

7 For expenses necessary for the Armed Forces Retire8 ment Home to operate and maintain the Armed Forces Re9 tirement Home—Washington, District of Columbia and the

10 Armed Forces Retirement Home—Gulfport, Mississippi, to

11 be paid from funds available in the Armed Forces Retire12 ment Home Trust Fund, $55,724,000.

13 GENERAL FUND PAYMENT, ARMED FORCES RETIREMENT

14 HOME

15 For payment to the ‘‘Armed Forces Retirement Home’’,

16 $5,900,000, to remain available until expended.

17 ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION

18 SEC. 301. None of the funds in this title under the

19 heading ‘‘American Battle Monuments Commission’’ shall

20 be available for the Capital Security Costs Sharing pro21 gram.
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1 TITLE IV

2 GENERAL PROVISIONS

3 SEC. 401. No part of any appropriation contained in

4 this Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the

5 current fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein.

6 SEC. 402. Such sums as may be necessary for fiscal

7 year 2008 pay raises for programs funded by this Act shall

8 be absorbed within the levels appropriated in this Act.

9 SEC. 403. None of the funds made available in this

10 Act may be used for any program, project, or activity, when

11 it is made known to the Federal entity or official to which

12 the funds are made available that the program, project, or

13 activity is not in compliance with any Federal law relating

14 to risk assessment, the protection of private property rights,

15 or unfunded mandates.

16 SEC. 404. No part of any funds appropriated in this

17 Act shall be used by an agency of the executive branch, other

18 than for normal and recognized executive-legislative rela19 tionships, for publicity or propaganda purposes, and for

20 the preparation, distribution or use of any kit, pamphlet,

21 booklet, publication, radio, television or film presentation

22 designed to support or defeat legislation pending before

23 Congress, except in presentation to Congress itself.

24 SEC. 405. All departments and agencies funded under

25 this Act are encouraged, within the limits of the existing
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1 statutory authorities and funding, to expand their use of

2 ‘‘E-Commerce’’ technologies and procedures in the conduct

3 of their business practices and public service activities.

4 SEC. 406. None of the funds made available in this

5 Act may be transferred to any department, agency, or in6 strumentality of the United States Government except pur7 suant to a transfer made by, or transfer authority provided

8 in, this Act or any other appropriations Act.

9 SEC. 407. Unless stated otherwise, all reports and noti10 fications required by this Act shall be submitted to the Sub11 committee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and

12 Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the

13 House of Representatives and the Subcommittee on Military

14 Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies of the

15 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

16 SEC. 408. (a) ASSESSMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE

17 SERVICES FOR FEMALE SERVICEMEMBERS AND VET18 ERANS.—The Comptroller General of the United States

19 shall conduct an assessment of the adequacy of the mental

20 health care services provided by the Department of Veterans

21 Affairs and the Department of Defense to female members

22 of the Armed Forces and female veterans to meet the mental

23 health care needs of such members and veterans.

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than September 1, 2008, the

25 Comptroller General shall submit to the Subcommittees re-
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1 ferred to in section 407 a report on the assessment required

2 by subsection (a).

3 SEC. 409. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise

4 made available by this Act may be used to enter into a

5 contract in an amount greater than $5,000,000 or to award

6 a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective con7 tractor or grantee certifies in writing to the agency award8 ing the contract or grant that the contractor or grantee has

9 filed all Federal tax returns required during the three years

10 preceding the certification, has not been convicted of a

11 criminal offense under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,

12 and has not been notified of any unpaid Federal tax assess13 ment for which the liability remains unsatisfied unless the

14 assessment is the subject of an installment agreement or

15 offer in compromise that has been approved by the Internal

16 Revenue Service and is not in default or the assessment is

17 the subject of a non-frivolous administrative or judicial ap18 peal.

19 SEC. 410. (a) In this section:

20 (1) The term ‘‘City’’ means the City of Aurora,

21 Colorado.

22 (2) The term ‘‘deed’’ means the quitclaim deed—

23 (A) conveyed by the Secretary to the City;

24 and

25 (B) dated May 24, 1999.
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1 (3) The term ‘‘non-Federal land’’ means—

2 (A) parcel I of the Fitzsimons Army Med3 ical Center, Colorado; and

4 (B) the parcel of land described in the deed.

5 (4) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

6 the Interior.

7 (b)(1) In accordance with paragraph (2), and subject

8 to each term and condition required under paragraph (3),

9 to allow the City to convey to the United States the non10 Federal land to be used by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

11 for the construction of a veterans medical facility, the Sec12 retary may execute such instruments as determined by the

13 Secretary to be necessary to modify or release any condition

14 under which the non-Federal land would revert to the

15 United States.

16 (2) In carrying out paragraph (1), with respect to the

17 non-Federal land, the Secretary shall alter—

18 (A) each provision of the deed relating to a re19 versionary interest of the United States; and

20 (B) any other reversionary interest of the United

21 States.

22 To authorize the use of the property to include use as a

23 veteran’s facility in addition to use for recreational pur24 poses.
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1 (3) The Secretary shall carry out paragraph (1) sub2 ject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary deter3 mines to be necessary to protect the interests of the United

4 States.

5 SEC. 411. For an additional amount $100,000,000,

6 with $50,000,000 each to the Cities of Denver, Colorado,

7 and St. Paul, Minnesota, shall be available to the Depart8 ment of Homeland Security for State and local law enforce9 ment entities for security and related costs, including over10 time, associated with the Democratic National Convention

11 and Republican National Convention in 2008. The Depart12 ment of Homeland Security shall provide for an audit of

13 all amounts made available under this section, including

14 expenditures by State and local law enforcement entities.

15 Amounts provided by this section are designated as an

16 emergency requirement pursuant to section 204 of S. Con.

17 Res. 21 (110th Congress).

18 SEC. 412. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise

19 made available by this Act may be used for any action that

20 is related to or promotes the expansion of the boundaries

21 or size of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado.
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1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Construction

2 and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations

3 Act, 2008’’.

Attest:

Secretary.
110TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2642

AMENDMENT