II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2999 

Making continuing appropriations for certain employees and contractors of 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement in the event of a Government shutdown. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. RISCH, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. SCOTT of 

South Carolina, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. JOHNSON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

Making continuing appropriations for certain employees and 

contractors of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the event 

of a Government shutdown. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keep Our Border 

5 Agents Paid Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR CERTAIN EM2 PLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS OF U.S. CUS3 TOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION AND U.S. 

4 IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCE5 MENT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title IV of the 

7 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 437. CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR CERTAIN 

10 EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS OF U.S. CUS11 TOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION AND U.S. 

12 IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCE13 MENT. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For any period in which there 

15 is a lapse in appropriations for the Department, there are 

16 appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not other17 wise appropriated, such sums as are necessary to pro18 vide— 

19 ‘‘(1) pay to excepted employees and covered 

20 contractors of covered components of the Depart21 ment; and 

22 ‘‘(2) benefits under chapters 55 and 81 of title 

23 5, United States Code, to such employees, includ24 ing— 

25 ‘‘(A) benefits for captives under section 

26 5569 of that title; 


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1 ‘‘(B) compensation for disability or death 

2 for missing employees under section 5570 of 

3 that title; 

4 ‘‘(C) compensation for disability or death 

5 of employees under section 8102 of that title; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(D) funeral expenses and transportation 

8 of bodies under section 8134 of that title. 

9 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION.—Appropriations and funds 

10 made available and authority granted for any fiscal year 

11 under subsection (a) shall be available until whichever of 

12 the following first occurs: 

13 ‘‘(1) The enactment into law of an appropria14 tion (including a continuing appropriation) for the 

15 purposes for which amounts are made available 

16 under subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(2) The enactment into law of a regular ap18 propriation Act, or a law making continuing appro19 priations until the end of the fiscal year, without any 

20 appropriation for such purposes. 

21 ‘‘(c) CHARGING OF EXPENDITURES.—Expenditures 

22 made for the purposes described in subsection (a) from 

23 amounts made available under that subsection shall be 

24 charged to the applicable appropriation, fund, or author25 ization whenever a regular appropriation Act, or a law 


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1 making continuing appropriations, for such purposes is 

2 enacted. 

3 ‘‘(d) APPORTIONMENT.—Appropriations and funds 

4 made available by or authority granted under this section 

5 may be used without regard to the time limitations for 

6 submission and approval of apportionments set forth in 

7 section 1513 of title 31, United States Code, but nothing 

8 in this section may be construed to waive any other provi9 sion of law governing the apportionment of funds. 

10 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) COVERED COMPONENT.—The term ‘cov12 ered component’ means any of the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Air and Marine Operations of U.S. 

14 Customs and Border Protection. 

15 ‘‘(B) The Office of Field Operations of 

16 U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

17 ‘‘(C) The U.S. Border Patrol of U.S. Cus18 toms and Border Protection. 

19 ‘‘(D) Homeland Security Investigations of 

20 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

21 ‘‘(E) Enforcement and Removal Oper22 ations of U.S. Immigration and Customs En23 forcement. 

24 ‘‘(2) COVERED CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘cov25 ered contractor’ means an individual— 


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1 ‘‘(A) performing work for a covered compo2 nent under a contract; and 

3 ‘‘(B) that the Secretary determines is— 

4 ‘‘(i) providing support to excepted em5 ployees of the covered component; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) required to perform work during 

7 a lapse in appropriations. 

8 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘ex9 cepted employee’ has the meaning given that term in 

10 section 1341(c) of title 31, United States Code.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

12 for the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by 

13 inserting after the item relating to section 436 the fol14 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 437. Continuing appropriations for certain employees and contractors of 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration 

and Customs Enforcement.’’. 

Æ 


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