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42 USC § 238f - Availability of appropriations

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t42/s238f"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "42 USC § 238f - Availability of appropriations"
title_number: 42
title_name: "THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE"
section_number: "238f"
section_name: "Availability of appropriations"
chapter_number: 6
chapter_name: "PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE"
subchapter_number: "I"
subchapter_name: "ADMINISTRATION AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS"
part_number: "B"
part_name: "Miscellaneous Provisions"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title II, § 237, formerly title V, § 509, 58 Stat. 711; June 16, 1948, ch. 481, § 6(b), 62 Stat. 469; June 25, 1948, ch. 654, § 7, 62 Stat. 1018; 1953 Reorg. Plan No. 1, §§ 5, 8, eff. Apr. 11, 1953, 18 F.R. 2053, 67 Stat. 631; renumbered title XXI, § 2109, Pub. L. 98–24, § 2(a)(1), Apr. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 176; renumbered title XXIII, § 2309, Pub. L. 99–660, title III, § 311(a), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3755; renumbered title XXV, § 2507, Pub. L. 100–607, title II, § 201(1), (3), Nov. 4, 1988, 102 Stat. 3062, 3063; renumbered title XXVI, § 2607, Pub. L. 100–690, title II, § 2620(a), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4244; renumbered title XXVII, § 2707, Pub. L. 101–381, title I, § 101(1), (2), Aug. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 576; renumbered title II, § 237, Pub. L. 103–43, title XX, § 2010(a)(1)–(3), June 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 213.)"
---

# § 238f. Availability of appropriations

Appropriations for carrying out the purposes of this chapter shall be available for expenditure for personal services and rent at the seat of Government; books of reference, periodicals, and exhibits; printing and binding; transporting in Government-owned automotive equipment, to and from school, children of personnel who have quarters for themselves and their families at stations determined by the Surgeon General to be isolated stations; expenses incurred in pursuing, identifying, and returning prisoners who escape from any hospital, institution, or station of the Service or from the custody of any officer or employee of the Service, including rewards for the capture of such prisoners; furnishing, repairing, and cleaning such wearing apparel as may be prescribed by the Surgeon General for use by employees in the performance of their official duties; reimbursing officers and employees, subject to regulations of the Secretary, for the cost of repairing or replacing their personal belongings damaged or destroyed by patients while such officers or employees are engaged in the performance of their official duties; and maintenance of buildings of the National Institutes of Health.

---

**Source Credit**: (July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title II, § 237, formerly title V, § 509, 58 Stat. 711; June 16, 1948, ch. 481, § 6(b), 62 Stat. 469; June 25, 1948, ch. 654, § 7, 62 Stat. 1018; 1953 Reorg. Plan No. 1, §§ 5, 8, eff. Apr. 11, 1953, 18 F.R. 2053, 67 Stat. 631; renumbered title XXI, § 2109, Pub. L. 98–24, § 2(a)(1), Apr. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 176; renumbered title XXIII, § 2309, Pub. L. 99–660, title III, § 311(a), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3755; renumbered title XXV, § 2507, Pub. L. 100–607, title II, § 201(1), (3), Nov. 4, 1988, 102 Stat. 3062, 3063; renumbered title XXVI, § 2607, Pub. L. 100–690, title II, § 2620(a), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4244; renumbered title XXVII, § 2707, Pub. L. 101–381, title I, § 101(1), (2), Aug. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 576; renumbered title II, § 237, Pub. L. 103–43, title XX, § 2010(a)(1)–(3), June 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 213.)

## Editorial Notes

### Codification

Section was formerly classified to  prior to renumbering by , to  prior to renumbering by , to  prior to renumbering by , and to  prior to renumbering by .

### Amendments

1948—Act , amended section generally to make it apply to all appropriations to carry out the purposes of the Service instead of merely to appropriations to carry out the research functions of the Service.

Act , substituted “National Institutes of Health” for “National Institute of Health”.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Change of Name

“Secretary of Health and Human Services” substituted in text for “Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare” pursuant to , which is classified to , Education.

### Prohibition

> “Notwithstanding any provision of this title [see Tables for classification] and the amendments made by this title, no funds made available to carry out this title or any amendment made by this title shall be used to purchase, procure, or distribute pipes or cylindrical objects intended to be used to smoke or inhale illegal scheduled substances.”

, , , provided that:

### Buy American Provisions

> **“(a)** **Sense of Congress Regarding Purchase of American-Made Equipment and Products.—** In the case of any equipment or product that may be authorized to be purchased with financial assistance provided pursuant to this Act for any of the fiscal years 1994 through 1996, it is the sense of the Congress that entities receiving such assistance should, in expending the assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and products.
> 
> **“(b)** **Notice to Recipients of Assistance.—** In providing financial assistance pursuant to this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide to each recipient of the assistance a notice describing the statement made in subsection (a) by the Congress.”

, , , as amended by , (b), , , provided that:

> “This section [amending
> 
> , set out above] is deemed to have taken effect immediately after the enactment of
> 
> [
> 
> ].”

[, , , provided that: 
]

### Availability of Appropriations for Active Commissioned Officers and Other Expenses

> “Appropriations in this or any other Act or subsequent Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Acts shall be available for expenses for active commissioned officers in the Public Health Service Reserve Corps [now Ready Reserve Corps] and for commissioned officers in the Regular Corps; expenses incident to the dissemination of health information in foreign countries through exhibits and other appropriate means; advances of funds for compensation, travel, and subsistence expenses (or per diem in lieu thereof) for persons coming from abroad to participate in health or scientific activities of the Department pursuant to law; expenses of primary and secondary schooling of dependents in foreign countries, of Public Health Service commissioned officers stationed in foreign countries, at costs for any given area not in excess of those of the Department of Defense for the same area, when it is determined by the Secretary that the schools available in the locality are unable to provide adequately for the education of such dependents, and for the transportation of such dependents, between such schools and their places of residence when the schools are not accessible to such dependents by regular means of transportation; expenses for medical care for civilian and commissioned employees of the Public Health Service and their dependents assigned abroad on a permanent basis in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may provide; rental or lease of living quarters (for periods not exceeding five years), and provision of heat, fuel, and light and maintenance, improvement, and repair of such quarters, and advance payments therefor, for civilian officers and employees of the Public Health Service who are United States citizens and who have a permanent station in a foreign country; purchase, erection, and maintenance of temporary or portable structures; and for the payment of compensation to consultants or individual scientists appointed for limited periods of time pursuant to section 207(f) or section 207(g) of the Public Health Service Act [
> 
> , (g)], at rates established by the Assistant Secretary for Health, or the Secretary where such action is required by statute, not to exceed the per diem rate equivalent to the maximum rate payable for senior-level positions under
> 
> .”

, , , as amended by , , ; , , , provided that:

[, which directed amendment of , set out above, by striking out “not to exceed 2,800”, was executed by striking out “not to exceed 4,000” before “commissioned officers in the Regular Corps”, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.]

[For reference to maximum rate under , Government Organization and Employees, see , set out as an Effective Date of 2008 Amendment note under .]

Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation acts:

, , .

, , .

, , .

, , , 1329–273.

, , , and , , .

, , .

, , .

, , .

, , , 1893.

### Crediting of Payments for Room and Board to Appropriation Accounts

> “Hereafter amounts received from employees of the Department in payment for room and board may be credited to the appropriation accounts which finance the activities of the Public Health Service.”

, , , provided that:

Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation acts:

, , .

, , .

, , .

## Executive Documents

### Transfer of Functions

Functions of Public Health Service, Surgeon General of Public Health Service, and all other officers and employees of Public Health Service, and functions of all agencies of or in Public Health Service transferred to Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare by Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1966, eff. , 31 F.R. 8855, , set out as a note under .

Functions of Federal Security Administrator transferred to Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and all agencies of Federal Security Agency transferred to Department of Health, Education, and Welfare by section 5 of Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1953, set out as a note under . Federal Security Agency and office of Administrator abolished by section 8 of Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1953.