Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/18-1023_m64o.pdf
Page Number: 19.0

Cite as:  590 U. S. ____ (2020) 

15 

Opinion of the Court 

its obligation here is “subject to the availability of appropri-
ations.”  Brief for United States 41.  But that language ap-
pears nowhere in §1342, even though Congress could have
expressly limited an obligation to available appropriations 
or specific dollar amounts.  Indeed, Congress did so explic-
itly in other provisions of the Affordable Care Act.7 

—————— 

7 See, e.g., 42 U. S. C. §280k(a) (“The Secretary . . . shall, subject to the 
availability of appropriations, establish a 5-year national, public educa-
tion campaign”); §293k(c) (“Fifteen percent of the amount appropriated 
. . . in each . . . fiscal year shall be allocated to [certain] physician assis-
tant training programs”); §293k–1(e) (“There is authorized to be appro-
priated  to  carry  out  this  section,  $10,000,000”);  §293k–2(e)  (payments 
“made to an entity from an award of a grant or contract under [§293k– 
2(a)] shall be . . . subject to the availability of appropriations for the fiscal 
year  involved  to  make  the  payments”);  §300hh–31(a)  (“Subject  to  the 
availability  of  appropriations,  the  Secretary  . . .  shall  establish  [an 
epidemiology-laboratory  program]  to  award  grants”);  note  following
§1396a (“In no case may . . . the aggregate amount of payments made by 
the Secretary to eligible States under this section exceed $75,000,000”);
§1397m–1(b)(2)(A) (“Subject to the availability of appropriations . . . the 
amount paid to a State for a fiscal year under [an adult protective ser-
vices program] shall equal . . . ”).

This kind of limiting language is not unique to the Affordable Care 
Act.  When Congress has restricted “shall pay” language to an appropri-
ation  or  available  funds,  it  has  done  so  expressly.    See, e.g.,  2  U. S. C. 
§2064;  5  U. S. C.  §8334;  7  U. S. C.  §§2013,  2031,  3243,  6523,  7717;  10
U. S. C. §§1175, 1413a, 1598, 2031, 2410j, 2774, 9780; 12 U. S. C. §3337; 
15  U. S. C.  §4723;  16  U. S. C.  §§45f,  410aa–1,  426n,  459e–1,  460m–16,
698f, 1852; 20 U. S. C. §§80q–5, 1070a, 1134b, 1161g; 22 U. S. C. §2906;
25 U. S. C. §1912; 30 U. S. C. §1314; 32 U. S. C. §716; 34 U. S. C. §12573;
38 U. S. C. §5317A; 42 U. S. C. §§303, 624, 655, 677, 1203, 1353, 1396b,
8623, 12622, 16014, 16512; 46 U. S. C. §§51504, 53106, 53206; 47 U. S. C.
§395; 49 U. S. C. §5312; 50 U. S. C. §§4236, 4237; 52 U. S. C. §21061. 

Congress has also been explicit when it has capped payments, often
setting  a  dollar  amount  or  designating  a  specific  fund  from  which  the 
Government  shall  pay.    See,  e.g.,  5  U. S. C.  §§8102a,  8134,  8461;
7 U. S. C. §§26, 6523; 10 U. S. C. §1413a; 16 U. S. C. §§450e–1, 460kk; 19
U. S. C.  §2296;  20  U. S. C.  §§1070g–1,  1078,  3988,  5607;  22  U. S. C. 
§3681;  30 U. S. C.  §1240a;  31  U. S. C.  §3343;  38  U. S. C.  §1542;  42
U. S. C. §§290bb–38, 295h, 618, 5318a, 15093; 43 U. S. C. §§1356a, 1619;
46 U. S. C. §53106; 50 U. S. C. §4114.