Keep Our Border Agents Paid Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3681 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3681

  To provide for 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

                            January 15, 2026

   Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself and Mr. Justice) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for 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.

    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 ``Keep Our Border Agents Paid Act''.

SEC. 2. CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS 
              OF U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION AND U.S. 
              IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of title IV of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 437. CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES AND 
              CONTRACTORS OF U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION AND 
              U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Covered component.--The term `covered component' 
        means--
                    ``(A) Air and Marine Operations of U.S. Customs and 
                Border Protection;
                    ``(B) the Office of Field Operations of U.S. 
                Customs and Border Protection;
                    ``(C) the U.S. Border Patrol of U.S. Customs and 
                Border Protection;
                    ``(D) Homeland Security Investigations of U.S. 
                Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and
                    ``(E) Enforcement and Removal Operations of U.S. 
                Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
            ``(2) Covered contractor.--The term `covered contractor' 
        means an individual--
                    ``(A) performing work for a covered component under 
                a contract; and
                    ``(B) who the Secretary determines is--
                            ``(i) providing support to excepted 
                        employees of the covered component; or
                            ``(ii) required to perform work during a 
                        lapse in appropriations.
            ``(3) Excepted employee.--The term `excepted employee' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 1341(c)(1)(D) of title 
        31, United States Code.
    ``(b) In General.--For any period in which there is a lapse in 
appropriations for the Department, there are appropriated, out of any 
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as are 
necessary to provide--
            ``(1) pay to excepted employees and covered contractors of 
        covered components of the Department; and
            ``(2) benefits under chapters 55 and 81 of title 5, United 
        States Code, to such employees, including--
                    ``(A) benefits for captives under section 5569 of 
                such title;
                    ``(B) compensation for disability or death for 
                missing employees under section 5570 of such title;
                    ``(C) compensation for disability or death of 
                employees under section 8102 of such title; and
                    ``(D) funeral expenses and transportation of bodies 
                under section 8134 of such title.
    ``(c) Termination.--Appropriations and funds made available and 
authority granted for any fiscal year under subsection (b) shall be 
available until the earlier of--
            ``(1) the date of the enactment of a law of making an 
        appropriation for the purposes for which amounts are made 
        available under subsection (b); or
            ``(2) the date of the enactment of a law of a regular 
        appropriations Act, or a law making continuing appropriations 
        until the end of the fiscal year, without any appropriation for 
        the purposes described in paragraph (1).
    ``(d) Charging of Expenditures.--Expenditures made for the purposes 
described in subsection (b) from amounts made available under 
subsection (b) shall be charged to the applicable appropriation, fund, 
or authorization whenever a regular appropriation Act, or a law making 
continuing appropriations, for such purposes is enacted.
    ``(e) Apportionment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Appropriations and any other funds made 
        available by, or authority granted under, this section may be 
        used without regard to the time limitations for submission and 
        approval of apportionments set forth in section 1513 of title 
        31, United States Code.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
        construed to waive any other provision of law governing the 
        apportionment of funds.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 436 the following:

``Sec. 437. Continuing appropriations for certain employees and 
                            contractors of U.S. Customs and Border 
                            Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs 
                            Enforcement.''.
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