Title: Stopping Executive Overreach on Military Appropriations Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Stopping Executive Overreach on Military Appropriations Act
This bill requires congressional approval for military construction projects commenced pursuant to a declaration of a national emergency, prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from expending funds for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, requires the return of DOD funds shifted to wall construction, and requires an ethics review of private contracts related to such construction.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2705 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2705

   To amend title 10, United States Code, to modify the requirements 
    relating to the use of construction authority in the event of a 
   declaration of war or national emergency, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 24, 2019

Mrs. Murray (for herself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. 
Leahy) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
                   to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 10, United States Code, to modify the requirements 
    relating to the use of construction authority in the event of a 
   declaration of war or national emergency, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stopping Executive Overreach on 
Military Appropriations Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO USE OF CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY IN EVENT 
              OF DECLARATION OF WAR OR NATIONAL EMERGENCY.

    Section 2808 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``appropriate committees 
        of Congress of the decision'' and all that follows through the 
        period at the end and inserting ``appropriate committees of 
        Congress of--
            ``(1) the decision;
            ``(2) each existing project affected by the decision;
            ``(3) the amount of money to be redirected from each 
        existing project affected by the decision;
            ``(4) a description of the projects authorized by the 
        decision;
            ``(5) a justification for how each project authorized by 
        the decision directly and primarily contributes to supporting 
        the armed forces directly engaged in operations to address a 
        war or national emergency; and
            ``(6) the estimated cost of the projects authorized by the 
        decision, including the cost of any real estate action 
        pertaining to those projects.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection (c):
    ``(c)(1) In the case of a decision to undertake a military 
construction project authorized by this section pursuant to a 
declaration of a national emergency, no funds may be transferred, no 
existing project may be curtailed, and no new project may be undertaken 
unless the Secretary of Defense requests from Congress approval of the 
military construction project and a joint resolution is enacted 
approving that project.
    ``(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term `joint 
resolution' means only a joint resolution--
            ``(A) that does not have a preamble;
            ``(B) the title of which is as follows: `Joint resolution 
        relating to the approval of military construction projects in 
        the event of a declaration of national emergency.'; and
            ``(C) the matter after the resolving clause of which is as 
        follows: `That Congress approves the military construction 
        project requested on ____ pursuant to a declaration of a 
        national emergency, including any transfer of funds necessary 
        to carry out such project, as authorized under section 2808 of 
        title 10, United States Code.' with the blank space being 
        filled with the date of the request under paragraph (1).
    ``(3)(A) Upon receipt of a request under subsection (c)(1) in the 
House of Representatives, the Speaker, if the House would otherwise be 
adjourned, shall notify the Members of the House that, pursuant to this 
subsection, the House shall convene not later than the fifth calendar 
day after receipt of such request.
    ``(B) Any committee of the House of Representatives to which a 
joint resolution is referred shall report it to the House not later 
than 15 calendar days after the date of receipt of the request 
described in subsection (c)(1). If a committee fails to report the 
joint resolution within that period, the committee shall be discharged 
from further consideration of the joint resolution and the joint 
resolution shall be referred to the appropriate calendar.
    ``(C) After each committee authorized to consider a joint 
resolution reports it to the House or has been discharged from its 
consideration, it shall be in order, not later than the 16th day after 
Congress receives the request described in subsection (c)(1), to move 
to proceed to consider the joint resolution in the House. All points of 
order against the motion are waived. Such a motion shall not be in 
order after the House has disposed of a motion to proceed on the joint 
resolution. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the 
motion to its adoption without intervening motion. The motion shall not 
be debatable. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is 
disposed of shall not be in order.
    ``(D) The joint resolution shall be considered as read. All points 
of order against the joint resolution and against its consideration are 
waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the 
joint resolution to its passage without intervening motion except two 
hours of debate equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an 
opponent. A motion to reconsider the vote on passage of the joint 
resolution shall not be in order.
    ``(4)(A) Upon receipt of a request under subsection (c)(1) in the 
Senate, if the Senate has adjourned or recessed for more than 2 days, 
the majority leader of the Senate, after consultation with the minority 
leader of the Senate, shall notify the Members of the Senate that, 
pursuant to this subsection, the Senate shall convene not later than 
the fifth calendar day after receipt of such message.
    ``(B) Upon introduction in the Senate, a joint resolution shall be 
placed immediately on the calendar.
    ``(C)(i) Notwithstanding Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate, it is in order at any time on or after the seventh day after 
the date on which Congress receives a request described in subsection 
(c)(1) (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been 
disagreed to) to move to proceed to the consideration of the joint 
resolution, and all points of order against the joint resolution (and 
against consideration of the joint resolution) are waived. The motion 
to proceed is not debatable. The motion is not subject to a motion to 
postpone. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed 
to or disagreed to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed to the 
consideration of the resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution 
shall remain the unfinished business until disposed of.
    ``(ii) Debate on the joint resolution, and on all debatable motions 
and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 
20 hours, which shall be divided equally between the majority and 
minority leaders or their designees. A motion further to limit debate 
is in order and not debatable. An amendment to, or a motion to 
postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consideration of other 
business, or a motion to recommit the joint resolution is not in order.
    ``(iii) The vote on passage shall occur immediately following the 
conclusion of the debate on a joint resolution, and a single quorum 
call at the conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance with 
the rules of the Senate.
    ``(iv) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to the 
application of the rules of the Senate, as the case may be, to the 
procedure relating to a joint resolution shall be decided without 
debate.
    ``(5)(A) If, before the passage by one House of a joint resolution 
of that House, that House receives from the other House a joint 
resolution, then the following procedures shall apply:
            ``(i) The joint resolution of the other House shall not be 
        referred to a committee.
            ``(ii) With respect to a joint resolution of the House 
        receiving the resolution--
                    ``(I) the procedure in that House shall be the same 
                as if no joint resolution had been received from the 
                other House; but
                    ``(II) the vote on passage shall be on the joint 
                resolution of the other House.
    ``(B) If one House fails to introduce or consider a joint 
resolution under this section, the joint resolution of the other House 
shall be entitled to expedited floor procedures under this section.
    ``(C) If, following passage of the joint resolution in the Senate, 
the Senate then receives the companion measure from the House of 
Representatives, the companion measure shall not be debatable.
    ``(D) This subsection is enacted by Congress--
            ``(i) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
        and the House of Representatives, respectively, and as such it 
        is deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but 
        applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in 
        that House in the case of a joint resolution, and it supersedes 
        other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with 
        such rules; and
            ``(ii) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the 
        procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and 
        to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that 
        House.''.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO 
              ADDRESS NATIONAL EMERGENCY AT SOUTHERN BORDER.

    (a) Prohibition.--Unless specifically authorized by law after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, no funds made available to the 
Secretary of Defense by any provision of law may be used to construct, 
upgrade, maintain, or replace any wall, barrier, fence, or other 
obstacle along the border between the United States and Mexico.
    (b) Restoration of Funds.--All funds transferred pursuant to the 
memorandum of the Secretary of Defense dated September 3, 2019, 
entitled ``Military Construction Necessary to Support the Use of the 
Armed Forces in Addressing the National Emergency at the Southern 
Border'' and available for obligation as of the date of the enactment 
of this Act, shall be restored to the military construction accounts, 
and obligated for the original purposes, for which appropriations of 
those funds were made.

SEC. 4. REVIEW OF CONTRACTS TO CONSTRUCT, UPGRADE, MAINTAIN, OR REPLACE 
              ANY WALL, BARRIER, FENCE, OR OTHER OBSTACLE ALONG BORDER 
              BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND MEXICO.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Government Ethics 
shall review any contract entered into on or after October 1, 2016, 
between the Federal Government and a private entity to construct, 
upgrade, maintain, or replace any wall, barrier, fence, or other 
obstacle along the border between the United States and Mexico.
    (b) Elements.--Any review of a contract conducted under subsection 
(a) shall include a review of whether--
            (1) any conflict of interest exists with respect to the 
        contract and--
                    (A) the President or the immediate family of the 
                President;
                    (B) the Vice President or the immediate family of 
                the Vice President; or
                    (C) any employee of the Executive Office of the 
                President holding a title of Special Assistant to the 
                President or higher; or
            (2) any financial gain would accrue to any such individual 
        as a result of the contract.
    (c) Receipt of Full and Complete Information.--If the Director does 
not receive full and complete information related to any request for 
documents or information made in the course of reviewing a contract 
under subsection (a), the Director shall notify Congress of the issue.
    (d) Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than every 
        180 days thereafter, the Director shall submit to Congress a 
        report on the findings of the Director with respect to the 
        reviews conducted under subsection (a) during the 180-day 
        period preceding the report.
            (2) Conflicts of interest.--If, in a review conducted under 
        subsection (a) with respect to a contract, the Director finds a 
        conflict of interest exists under subsection (b)(1) or 
        financial gain would accrue under subsection (b)(2), the 
        Director shall submit to Congress a report describing the 
        conflict of interest or financial accrual.
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