[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 756 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 756

 To authorize appropriations for the Department of Defense to address 
 the equipment reset and other equipment needs of the National Guard, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2007

   Mr. Dodd introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize appropriations for the Department of Defense to address 
 the equipment reset and other equipment needs of the National Guard, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FUNDING FOR EQUIPMENT RESET AND OTHER EQUIPMENT NEEDS OF THE 
              NATIONAL GUARD.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In his testimony before the Commission on the National 
        Guard and Reserves, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, 
        Lieutenant General Blum, warned about equipment shortfalls for 
        the Army National Guard and Air National Guard stating that 
        ``88 percent of the forces that are back here in the United 
        States are very poorly equipped today in the Army National 
        Guard. And in the Air National Guard for the last three 
        decades, they have never had a unit below C2 in equipment 
        readiness''.
            (2) In the March 1, 2007, report of the Commission on the 
        National Guard and Reserves, the Commission observes that--
                    (A) while the operational tempo of the reserve 
                components of the Armed Forces has increased 
                substantially, resourcing has not kept pace;
                    (B) the lack of sufficient and ready equipment is a 
                problem common to both the active and reserve 
                components of the Armed Forces;
                    (C) the equipment readiness of the Army National 
                Guard is unacceptable and has reduced the capability of 
                the United States to respond to current and additional 
                major contingencies, whether foreign and domestic; and
                    (D) while the budget of the President for fiscal 
                year 2008 includes large increases in funds for 
                equipment for the National Guard, historical practice 
                in the Department of Defense indicates that Army plans 
                for projected funding increases for equipment for the 
                Army National Guard are not reliably carried through.
            (3) According to the Commission on the National Guard and 
        Reserves, procurement for the Army National Guard during the 
        period from 1999 through 2005 has been reduced significantly 
        from amounts proposed for such procurement before that period. 
        The budget for fiscal year 2001 indicated that the Army planned 
        to expend $1,346,000,000 in fiscal year 2004 for procurement 
        for the Army National Guard, but the budget for fiscal year 
        2006 revealed that the Army expended only $578,400,000 for 
        procurement for the Army National Guard in fiscal year 2004. 
        Similarly, the budget for fiscal year 2001 indicated that the 
        Army planned to expend $1,625,000,000 in fiscal year 2005 for 
        procurement for the Army National Guard, but the budget for 
        fiscal year 2006 revealed that the Army planned to expend only 
        $660,900,000 for procurement for the Army National Guard in 
        fiscal year 2005.
            (4) According to the Commission on the National Guard and 
        Reserves, the difference between the amounts proposed for 
        procurement for the Army National Guard for fiscal years 2003 
        through 2005 and the amounts actually expended for such 
        procurement in such fiscal years was atypical and extreme.
            (5) According to a January 2007 report of the Government 
        Accountability Office, inventories of equipment for the 
        National Guard in the United States have decreased because of 
        overseas operations, particularly inventories of the Army 
        National Guard. The Comptroller General found that State 
        officials expressed concerns about having enough equipment to 
        respond to large scale natural or man made disasters such as 
        Hurricane Katrina.
            (6) The Comptroller General found that before current 
        overseas operations began, the majority of the combat forces of 
        the Army National Guard were supplied with approximately 65 to 
        79 percent of their required equipment. As of November 2006, 
        nondeployed Army National Guard forces nationwide still had 
        approximately 64 percent of the total amount of authorized 
        dual-use equipment, including authorized substitute items, 
        based on their warfighting missions even as overseas and 
        domestic missions have expanded.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There is hereby authorized to be 
        appropriated for the Department of Defense for the Army 
        National Guard and the Air National Guard for equipment reset 
        requirements of the Army National Guard and the Air National 
        Guard, and to otherwise remedy other equipment shortfalls of 
        the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, in order to 
        bring the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard to 
        full equipment readiness, amounts as follows:
                    (A) For fiscal year 2008:
                            (i) For procurement of National Guard and 
                        Reserve Equipment, $2,100,000,000, with such 
                        amount to be available for the Army National 
                        Guard.
                            (ii) For Operation and Maintenance, Army 
                        National Guard, $1,300,000,000.
                            (iii) For other equipment procurement and 
                        reset, $4,360,000,000, of which--
                                    (I) $2,600,000,000 shall be 
                                available for the Army National Guard; 
                                and
                                    (II) $1,760,000,000 shall be 
                                available for the Air National Guard.
                            (iv) For National Guard Personnel, Air 
                        Force, $280,000,000.
                            (v) For Operation and Maintenance, Air 
                        National Guard, $720,000,000.
                    (B) For each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013:
                            (i) For procurement of National Guard and 
                        Reserve Equipment, $575,000,000, with such 
                        amount to be available for the Army National 
                        Guard.
                            (ii) For Operation and Maintenance, Army 
                        National Guard, $1,300,000,000.
                            (iii) For other equipment procurement and 
                        reset, $4,360,000,000, of which--
                                    (I) $2,600,000,000 shall be 
                                available for the Army National Guard; 
                                and
                                    (II) $1,760,000,000 shall be 
                                available for the Air National Guard.
                            (iv) For National Guard Personnel, Air 
                        Force, $280,000,000.
                            (v) For Operation and Maintenance, Air 
                        National Guard, $720,000,000.
            (2) Supplement not supplant.--The amounts authorized to be 
        appropriated by paragraph (1) for a fiscal year and account 
        specified in that paragraph is in addition to any other amounts 
        authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Defense for 
        such fiscal year for such account.
    (c) Report on Defense Industrial Base.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 
        submit to Congress a report assessing the capability, during 
        the 5-year period beginning on October 1, 2007, of the defense 
        industrial base of the United States to produce the equipment 
        to be procured using amounts applicable amounts authorized to 
        be appropriated by subsection (b).
            (2) Recommendations.--If the assessment in the report under 
        paragraph (1) includes a determination that the defense 
        industrial base does not have the capability to produce 
        equipment as described in that paragraph, the report shall also 
        include such recommendations as the Secretary considers 
        appropriate for actions, including investments, necessary to 
        develop that capability.
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