S. 3681

119 S3681 IS: Keep Our Border Agents Paid Act
 U.S. Senate
 2026-01-15
 text/xml
 EN
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 II  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  S. 3681  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.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Keep Our Border Agents Paid Act  .
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:
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.
  .