50 U.S.C. § 98h — National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund

(a) The Treasury creates a separate fund called the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund (called “the fund” in this section). (b)(1) All money from selling stockpile materials under section 98e(a)(5) and (6) goes into the fund. (b)(2) Subject to section 98d(a)(1), and subject to any limits an appropriations law sets, money in the fund can pay for: (A) acquiring, maintaining, and disposing of strategic and critical materials under section 98e(a); (B) transportation, storage, and other related costs of those activities; (C) updating stockpile material specifications and upgrading existing materials to meet them (including related transportation when it's cost-effective); (D) encouraging conservation of strategic and critical materials; (E) testing and quality studies of stockpile materials; (F) studying future material and mobilization needs for the stockpile; (G) activities authorized under section 98h–6; (H) contracting, through competitive procedures, for materials development and research to improve stockpiled materials and develop new ones for the stockpile; (I) improving or rehabilitating facilities and infrastructure needed to keep stockpile materials intact; (J) disposing of hazardous materials stored in the stockpile that the law authorizes disposing of; (K) environmental cleanup, restoration, waste management, or compliance work at stockpile sites required by federal law or undertaken under a government decision or agreement; (L) paying National Defense Stockpile program employees; and (M) other expenses of the program. (b)(3) Money in the fund stays available until it's spent. (c) Money from selling materials that are being rotated under section 98e(a)(4), or disposed of under section 98f(a), also goes into the fund — but it can only be used to acquire replacement materials. (d) If, during a fiscal year, the Stockpile Manager barters stockpile materials to acquire, upgrade, refine, or process other materials (or for related services), the value of the bartered materials: (1) counts toward the total value of materials authorized for disposal that year; (2) counts as an acquisition for meeting any obligation requirement under subsection (b)(2) that year; and (3) does not change the fund's balance, up or down.