EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.

SEC. 5423. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY. (a) Grant of Authority.— Section 1303 (22 U.S.C. 3713) is amended to read as follows: “Sec. 1303. If authorizing legislation described in section 1302(c)(1) has not been enacted for a fiscal year, then the Commission may withdraw funds from the Panama Canal Revolving Fund in order to defray emergency expenses and to ensure the continuous, efficient, and safe operation of the Panama Canal, including expenses for capital projects. The authority of this section may not be used for administrative expenses. The authority of this section may be exercised only until authorizing legislation described in section 1302(c)(1) is enacted, or for a period of 24 months after the end of the fiscal year for which such authorizing legislation was last enacted, whichever occurs first. Within 60 days after the end of any calendar quarter in which expenditures are made under this section, the Commission shall report such expenditures to the appropriate committees of the Congress.”. (b) Conforming Amendments.— (1) The section heading for section 1303 is amended by striking out “Fund” and inserting in lieu thereof “Authority”. (2) The item relating to section 1303 in the table of contents of the Panama Canal Act of 1979 is amended by striking out “fund” and inserting in lieu thereof “authority”.