§ 2808. Construction authority in the event of a declaration of war or national emergency

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(a)Construction Authorized.— In the event of a declaration of war or the declaration by the President of a national emergency in accordance with the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) that requires use of the armed forces, the Secretary of Defense, without regard to any other provision of law, may undertake military construction projects, and may authorize the Secretaries of the military departments to undertake military construction projects, not otherwise authorized by law that are necessary to support such use of the armed forces.

(b)Conditions on Sources of Funds.— A military construction project to be undertaken using the construction authority described in subsection

(a)may be undertaken only within the total amount of funds that have been appropriated for military construction, excluding funds appropriated for family housing, that—

(1)remain unobligated as of the date on which the first contract would be entered into in support of the national emergency declaration described in subsection (a); and

(2)are available because the military construction project for which the funds were appropriated—

(A)has been canceled; or

(B)has reduced costs as a result of project modifications or other cost savings.

(c)Limitation on Amount of Funds Available for National Emergency.—

(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), in the event of a declaration by the President of a national emergency in which the construction authority described in subsection

(a)is used, the total cost of all military construction projects undertaken using that authority during the national emergency may not exceed $500,000,000.

(2)In the event of a national emergency declaration in which the construction authority described in subsection

(a)will be used only within the United States, the total cost of all military construction projects undertaken using that authority during the national emergency may not exceed $100,000,000.

(d)Waiver of Other Provisions of Law in Event of National Emergency.— In the event of a declaration by the President of a national emergency in which the construction authority described in subsection

(a)is used, the authority provided by such subsection to waive or disregard another provision of law that would otherwise apply to a military construction project authorized by this section may be used only if—

(1)such other provision of law does not provide a means by which compliance with the requirements of the law may be waived, modified, or expedited; and

(2)the Secretary of Defense determines that the nature of the national emergency necessitates the noncompliance with the requirements of the law.

(e)Notification Requirement.—

(1)When a decision is made to undertake military construction projects authorized by this section, the Secretary of Defense shall notify, in an electronic medium pursuant to section 480 of this title, the appropriate committees of Congress of the following:

(A)The reasons for the decision to use the construction authority described in subsection (a), including, in the event of a declaration by the President of a national emergency, the reasons why use of the armed forces is required in response to the declared national emergency.

(B)The construction projects to be undertaken using the construction authority described in subsection (a), including, in the event of a declaration by the President of a national emergency, an explanation of how each construction project directly supports the immediate security, logistical, or short-term housing and ancillary supporting facility needs of the members of the armed forces used in the national emergency.

(C)The estimated cost of the construction projects to be undertaken using the construction authority described in subsection (a), including the cost of any real estate action pertaining to the construction projects, and certification of compliance with the funding conditions imposed by subsections

(b)and (c).

(D)Any determination made pursuant to subsection (d)(2) to waive or disregard another provision of law to undertake any construction project using the construction authority described in subsection (a).

(E)The military construction projects, including any ancillary supporting facility projects, whose cancellation, modification, or other cost savings result in funds being available to undertake construction projects using the construction authority described in subsection

(a)and the possible impact of the cancellation or modification of such military construction projects on military readiness and the quality of life of members of the armed forces and their dependents.

(2)In the event of a declaration by the President of a national emergency in which the construction authority described in subsection

(a)is used, a construction project to be undertaken using such construction authority may be carried out only after the end of the five-day period beginning on the date the notification required by paragraph

(1)is received by the congressional defense committees.

(f)Termination of Authority.— The authority described in subsection

(a)shall terminate with respect to any war or national emergency at the end of the war or national emergency.

(Added Pub. L. 97–214, § 2(a), July 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 157; amended Pub. L. 115–91, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2801(a)(6), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1841; Pub. L. 116–283, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2801(a)–(e), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4317–4319.)