[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 26, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7059-S7065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1997
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, turning to the military construction
appropriations bill, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now turn
to the consideration of calendar 448, H.R. 3517, the
[[Page S7060]]
military construction appropriations bill and the committee amendments
be agreed to en bloc and considered original text for the purpose of
further amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 3517) making appropriations for military
construction, family housing, and base realignment and
closure for the Department of Defense for fiscal year ending
September 30, 1997, and for other purposes.
The Senate proceeded to consider the bill which had been reported
from the Committee on Appropriations, with amendments; as follows:
(The parts of the bill intended to be stricken are shown in bold face
brackets and the parts of the bill intended to be inserted are shown in
italic.)
H.R. 3517
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 1997, for military construction, family
housing, and base realignment and closure functions
administered by the Department of Defense, and for other
purposes, namely:
Military Construction, Army
(including rescissions)
For acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment
of temporary or permanent public works, military
installations, facilities, and real property for the Army as
currently authorized by law, including personnel in the Army
Corps of Engineers and other personal services necessary for
the purposes of this appropriation, and for construction and
operation of facilities in support of the functions of the
Commander in Chief, [$603,584,000] $448,973,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2001: Provided, That of this
amount, not to exceed [$54,384,000] $37,323,000 shall be
available for study, planning, design, architect and engineer
services, and host nation support, as authorized by law,
unless the Secretary of Defense determines that additional
obligations are necessary for such purposes and notifies the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of
his determination and the reasons therefor: Provided further,
That of the funds appropriated for ``Military Construction,
Army'' under Public Law 103-110, $2,028,000 is hereby
rescinded.
Military Construction, Navy
(including rescissions)
For acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment
of temporary or permanent public works, naval installations,
facilities, and real property for the Navy as currently
authorized by law, including personnel in the Naval
Facilities Engineering Command and other personal services
necessary for the purposes of this appropriation,
[$724,476,000] $642,484,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2001: Provided, That of this amount, not to
exceed [$50,959,000] $53,709,000 shall be available for
study, planning, design, architect and engineer services, as
authorized by law, unless the Secretary of Defense determines
that additional obligations are necessary for such purposes
and notifies the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses
of Congress of his determination and the reasons therefor:
[Provided further, That of the funds appropriated for
``Military Construction, Navy'' under Public Law 102-136,
$6,900,000 is hereby rescinded:] Provided further, That of
the funds appropriated for ``Military Construction, Navy''
under Public Law 102-380, [$2,800,000] $9,000,000 is hereby
rescinded: Provided further, That of the funds appropriated
for ``Military Construction, Navy'' under Public Law 103-110,
$2,300,000 is hereby rescinded.
Military Construction, Air Force
(including rescissions)
For acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment
of temporary or permanent public works, military
installations, facilities, and real property for the Air
Force as currently authorized by law, [$678,914,000]
$704,689,000, to remain available until September 30, 2001:
Provided, That of this amount, not to exceed [$47,387,000]
$29,797,000 shall be available for study, planning, design,
architect and engineer services, as authorized by law, unless
the Secretary of Defense determines that additional
obligations are necessary for such purposes and notifies the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of
his determination and the reasons therefor: Provided further,
That of the funds appropriated for ``Military Construction,
Air Force'' under Public Law 103-307, $2,100,000 is hereby
rescinded.
Military Construction, Defense-wide
(including transfer of funds and rescissions)
For acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment
of temporary or permanent public works, installations,
facilities, and real property for activities and agencies of
the Department of Defense (other than the military
departments), as currently authorized by law, [$772,345,000]
$771,758,000, to remain available until September 30, 2001:
Provided, That such amounts of this appropriation as may be
determined by the Secretary of Defense may be transferred to
such appropriations of the Department of Defense available
for military construction or family housing as he may
designate, to be merged with and to be available for the same
purposes, and for the same time period, as the appropriation
or fund to which transferred: Provided further, That of the
amount appropriated, not to exceed [$12,239,000] $17,139,000
shall be available for study, planning, design, architect and
engineer services, as authorized by law, unless the Secretary
of Defense determines that additional obligations are
necessary for such purposes and notifies the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of his
determination and the reasons therefor: Provided further,
That of the funds appropriated for ``Military Construction,
Defense-wide'' under Public Law 104-32, $7,000,000 is hereby
rescinded.
[Department of Defense Military Unaccompanied Housing Improvement Fund
[(Including Transfer of Funds)
[For the Department of Defense Military Unaccompanied
Housing Improvement Fund, $10,000,000, to remain available
until expended: Provided, That subject to thirty days prior
notification to the Committees on Appropriations, such
additional amounts as may be determined by the Secretary of
Defense may be transferred to the Fund from amounts
appropriated in this Act for the acquisition or construction
of military unaccompanied housing in ``Military
Construction'' accounts, to be merged with and to be made
available for the same purposes and for the same period of
time as amounts appropriated directly to the Fund: Provided
further, That appropriations made available for the Fund in
this Act shall be available to cover the costs, as defined in
section 502(5) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, of
direct loans and loan guarantees issued by the Department of
Defense pursuant to the provisions of subchapter IV of
chapter 169 of title 10, United States Code, pertaining to
alternative means of acquiring and improving military
unaccompanied housing and ancillary supporting facilities.]
Military Construction, Army National Guard
For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilitation,
and conversion of facilities for the training and
administration of the Army National Guard, and contributions
therefor, as authorized by chapter 133 of title 10, United
States Code, and military construction authorization Acts,
[$41,316,000] $142,948,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2001.
Military Construction, Air National Guard
For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilitation,
and conversion of facilities for the training and
administration of the Air National Guard, and contributions
therefor, as authorized by chapter 133 of title 10, United
States Code, and military construction authorization Acts,
[$118,394,000] $224,444,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2001.
Military Construction, Army Reserve
For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilitation,
and conversion of facilities for the training and
administration of the Army Reserve as authorized by chapter
133 of title 10, United States Code, and military
construction authorization Acts, [$50,159,000] $75,474,000,
to remain available until September 30, 2001.
Military Construction, Naval Reserve
For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilitation,
and conversion of facilities for the training and
administration of the reserve components of the Navy and
Marine Corps as authorized by chapter 133 of title 10, United
States Code, and military construction authorization Acts,
[$33,169,000] $49,883,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2001.
Military Construction, Air Force Reserve
For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilitation,
and conversion of facilities for the training and
administration of the Air Force Reserve as authorized by
chapter 133 of title 10, United States Code, and military
construction authorization Acts, [$51,655,000] $67,805,000,
to remain available until September 30, 2001.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Security Investment Program
For the United States share of the cost of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program for
the acquisition and construction of military facilities and
installations (including international military headquarters)
and for related expenses for the collective defense of the
North Atlantic Treaty Area as authorized in military
construction authorization Acts and section 2806 of title 10,
United States Code, [$177,000,000] $172,000,000, to remain
available until expended.
Family Housing, Army
For expenses of family housing for the Army for
constrution, including acquisition, replacement, addition,
expansion, extension and alteration and for operation and
maintenance, including debt payment, leasing, minor
construction, principal and interest charges, and insurance
premiums, as authorized by law, as follows: for Construction,
[$176,603,000] $189,319,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2001; for Operation and Maintenance, and for
debt payment, [$1,257,466,000] $1,212,466,000; in all
[$1,434,069,000] $1,401,785,000.
[[Page S7061]]
Family Housing, Navy and Marine Corps
For expenses of family housing for the Navy and Marine
Corps for construction, including acquisition, replacement,
addition, expansion, extension and alteration and for
operation and maintenance, including debt payment, leasing,
minor construction, principal and interest charges, and
insurance premiums, as authorized by law, as follows: for
Construction, [$532,456,000] $418,326,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2001; for Operation and
Maintenance, and for debt payment, [$1,058,241,000]
$1,014,241,000; in all [$1,590,697,000] $1,432,567,000.
Family Housing, Air Force
For expenses of family housing for the Air Force for
construction, including acquisition, replacement, addition,
expansion, extension and alteration and for operation and
maintenance, including debt payment, leasing, minor
construction, principal and interest charges, and insurance
premiums, as authorized by law, as follows: for Construction,
[$304,068,000] $291,464,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2001; for Operation and Maintenance, and for
debt payment, [$840,474,000] $829,474,000; in all
[$1,144,542,000] $1,120,938,000.
Family Housing, Defense-wide
For expenses of family housing for the activities and
agencies of the Department of Defense (other than the
military departments) for construction, including
acquisition, replacement, addition, expansion, extension and
alteration, and for operation and maintenance, leasing, and
minor construction, as authorized by law, as follows: for
Construction, $4,371,000, to remain available until September
30, 2001; for Operation and Maintenance, $30,963,000; in all
$35,334,000.
Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund
(including transfer of funds)
For the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement
Fund, [$35,000,000] $20,000,000, to remain available until
[expended] September 30, 2001: Provided, That, subject to
thirty days prior notification to the Committees on
Appropriations, such additional amounts as may be determined
by the Secretary of Defense may be transferred to the Fund
from amounts appropriated [in this Act] for construction in
``Family Housing'' accounts, to be merged with and to be
available for the same purposes and for the same period of
time as amounts appropriated directly to the Fund: Provided
further, That appropriations made available to the Fund in
this Act shall be available to cover the costs, as defined in
section 502(5) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, of
direct loans or loan guarantees issued by the Department of
Defense pursuant to the provisions of subchapter IV of
Chapter 169, title 10, United States Code, pertaining to
alternative means of acquiring and improving military family
housing and supporting facilities.
Homeowners Assistance Fund, Defense
For use in the Homeowners Assistance Fund established by
section 1013(d) of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan
Development Act of 1966, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3374),
$36,181,000, to remain available until expended.
Base Realignment and Closure Account, Part II
For deposit into the Department of Defense Base Closure
Account 1990 established by section 2906(a)(1) of the
Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1991 (Public Law
101-510), $352,800,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That not more than $223,789,000 of the funds
appropriated herein shall be available solely for
environmental restoration, unless the Secretary of Defense
determines that additional obligations are necessary for such
purposes and notifies the Committees on Appropriations of
both Houses of Congress of his determination and the reasons
therefor.
Base Realignment and Closure Account, Part III
For deposit into the Department of Defense Base Closure
Account 1990 established by section 2906(a)(1) of the
Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1991 (Public Law
101-510), $971,925,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That not more than $351,967,000 of the funds
appropriated herein shall be available solely for
environmental restoration, unless the Secretary of Defense
determines that additional obligations are necessary for such
purposes and notifies the Committees on Appropriations of
both Houses of Congress of his determination and the reasons
therefor.
Base Realignment and Closure Account, Part IV
For deposit into the Department of Defense Base Closure
Account 1990 established by section 2906(a)(1) of the
Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1991 (Public Law
101-510), $1,182,749,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That not more than $200,841,000 of the funds
appropriated herein shall be available solely for
environmental restoration, unless the Secretary of Defense
determines that additional obligations are necessary for such
purposes and notifies the Committees on Appropriations of
both Houses of Congress of his determination and the reasons
therefor.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 101. None of the funds appropriated in Military
Construction Appropriations Acts shall be expended for
payments under a cost-plus-a-fixed-fee contract for work,
where cost estimates exceed $25,000, to be performed within
the United States, except Alaska, without the specific
approval in writing of the Secretary of Defense setting forth
the reasons therefor: Provided, That the foregoing shall not
apply in the case of contracts for environmental restoration
at an installation that is being closed or realigned where
payments are made from a Base Realignment and Closure
Account.
Sec. 102. Funds appropriated to the Department of Defense
for construction shall be available for hire of passenger
motor vehicles.
Sec. 103. Funds appropriated to the Department of Defense
for construction may be used for advances to the Federal
Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, for the
construction of access roads as authorized by section 210 of
title 23, United States Code, when projects authorized
therein are certified as important to the national defense by
the Secretary of Defense.
Sec. 104. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may be
used to begin construction of new bases inside the
continental United States for which specific appropriations
have not been made.
Sec. 105. No part of the funds provided in Military
Construction Appropriations Acts shall be used for purchase
of land or land easements in excess of 100 per centum of the
value as determined by the Army Corps of Engineers or the
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, except (a) where there
is a determination of value by a Federal court, or (b)
purchases negotiated by the Attorney General or his designee,
or (c) where the estimated value is less than $25,000, or (d)
as otherwise determined by the Secretary of Defense to be in
the public interest.
Sec. 106. None of the funds appropriated in Military
Construction Appropriations Acts shall be used to (1) acquire
land, (2) provide for site preparation, or (3) install
utilities for any family housing, except housing for which
funds have been made available in annual Military
Construction Appropriations Acts.
Sec. 107. None of the funds appropriated in Military
Construction Appropriations Acts for minor construction may
be used to transfer or relocate any activity from one base or
installation to another, without prior notification to the
Committees on Appropriations.
Sec. 108. No part of the funds appropriated in Military
Construction Appropriations Acts may be used for the
procurement of steel for any construction project or activity
for which American steel producers, fabricators, and
manufacturers have been denied the opportunity to compete for
such steel procurement.
Sec. 109. None of the funds available to the Department of
Defense for military construction or family housing during
the current fiscal year may be used to pay real property
taxes in any foreign nation.
Sec. 110. None of the funds appropriated in Military
Construction Appropriations Acts may be used to initiate a
new installation overseas without prior notification to the
Committees on Appropriations.
Sec. 111. None of the funds appropriated in Military
Construction Appropriations Acts may be obligated for
architect and engineer contracts estimated by the Government
to exceed $500,000 for projects to be accomplished in Japan,
in any NATO member country, or in countries bordering the
Arabian Gulf, unless such contracts are awarded to United
States firms or United States firms in joint venture with
host nation firms.
Sec. 112. None of the funds appropriated in Military
Construction Appropriations Acts for military construction in
the United States territories and possessions in the Pacific
and on Kwajalein Atoll, or in countries bordering the Arabian
Gulf, may be used to award any contract estimated by the
Government to exceed $1,000,000 to a foreign contractor:
Provided, That this section shall not be applicable to
contract awards for which the lowest responsive and
responsible bid of a United States contractor exceeds the
lowest responsive and responsible bid of a foreign contractor
by greater than 20 per centum.
Sec. 113. The Secretary of Defense is to inform the
appropriate Committees of Congress, including the Committees
on Appropriations, of the plans and scope of any proposed
military exercise involving United States personnel thirty
days prior to its occurring, if amounts expended for
construction, either temporary or permanent, are anticipated
to exceed $100,000.
Sec. 114. Not more than 20 per centum of the appropriations
in Military Construction Appropriations Acts which are
limited for obligation during the current fiscal year shall
be obligated during the last two months of the fiscal year.
(transfer of funds)
Sec. 115. Funds appropriated to the Department of Defense
for construction in prior years shall be available for
construction authorized for each such military department by
the authorizations enacted into law during the current
session of Congress.
Sec. 116. For military construction or family housing
projects that are being completed with funds otherwise
expired or lapsed for obligation, expired or lapsed funds may
be used to pay the cost of associated supervision,
inspection, overhead, engineering and design on those
projects and on subsequent claims, if any.
Sec. 117. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
funds appropriated to a military department or defense agency
for the
[[Page S7062]]
construction of military projects may be obligated for a
military construction project or contract, or for any portion
of such a project or contract, at any time before the end of
the fourth fiscal year after the fiscal year for which funds
for such project were appropriated if the funds obligated for
such project (1) are obligated from funds available for
military construction projects, and (2) do not exceed the
amount appropriated for such project, plus any amount by
which the cost of such project is increased pursuant to law.
(transfer of funds)
Sec. 118. During the five-year period after appropriations
available to the Department of Defense for military
construction and family housing operation and maintenance and
construction have expired for obligation, upon a
determination that such appropriations will not be necessary
for the liquidation of obligations or for making authorized
adjustments to such appropriations for obligations incurred
during the period of availability of such appropriations,
unobligated balances of such appropriations may be
transferred into the appropriation ``Foreign Currency
Fluctuations, Construction, Defense'' to be merged with and
to be available for the same time period and for the same
purposes as the appropriation to which transferred.
Sec. 119. The Secretary of Defense is to provide the
Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of
Representatives with an annual report by February 15,
containing details of the specific actions proposed to be
taken by the Department of Defense during the current fiscal
year to encourage other member nations of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, Japan, Korea, and United States allies
bordering the Arabian Gulf to assume a greater share of the
common defense burden of such nations and the United States.
(transfer of funds)
Sec. 120. During the current fiscal year, in addition to
any other transfer authority available to the Department of
Defense, proceeds deposited to the Department of Defense Base
Closure Account established by section 207(a)(1) of the
Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and
Realignment Act (Public Law 100-526) pursuant to section
207(a)(2)(C) of such Act, may be transferred to the account
established by section 2906(a)(1) of the Department of
Defense Authorization Act, 1991, to be merged with, and to be
available for the same purposes and the same time period as
that account.
[Sec. 121. No funds appropriated pursuant to this Act may
be expended by an entity unless the entity agrees that in
expending the assistance the entity will comply with sections
2 through 4 of the Act of March 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10a-10c,
popularly known as the ``Buy American Act'').
[Sec. 122. (a) In the case of any equipment or products
that may be authorized to be purchased with financial
assistance provided under this Act, 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) In providing financial assistance under this Act, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall provide to each recipient of
the assistance a notice describing the statement made in
subsection (a) by the Congress.]
Sec. 121. The National Guard Bureau shall annually prepare
a future years defense plan based on the requirement and
priorities of the National Guard: Provided, That this plan
shall be presented to the committees of Congress concurrent
with the President's budget submission for each fiscal year.
Sec. 122. No funds from the Base Realignment and Closure
accounts shall be used to pay for fines or penalties
resulting from violations of any law pertaining to the
environment.
(transfer of funds)
Sec. 123. During the current fiscal year, in addition to
any other transfer authority available to the Department of
Defense, amounts may be transferred from the account
established by section 2906(a)(1) of the Department of
Defense Authorization Act, 1991, to the fund established by
section 1013(d) of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan
Development Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 3374) to pay for expenses
associated with the Homeowners Assistance Program. Any
amounts transferred shall be merged with and be available for
the same purposes and for the same time period as the fund to
which transferred.
This Act may be cited as the ``Military Construction
Appropriations Act, 1997''.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I am pleased to bring before the Senate the
military construction appropriation bill and report for fiscal year
1997.
Mr. President, this bill was reported out of the full Appropriations
Committee last Thursday. The bill recommended by the full committee on
appropriations is for $9,832,000,000. This is $700 million over the
budget request, $200 million under the House bill, and $1,344,000,000
under the level enacted last year.
Also, I am pleased to report to the Senate that the bill is within
the committee's 602(b) budget allocation for both budget authority and
outlays.
My colleagues should know that the Committee on Appropriations in the
House approved an appropriations bill that was $900 million over the
budget request. Once again we will be faced with a difficult conference
with the House. We have over $1 billion in differences.
The addition of projects to the Defense authorization while it was on
the floor has even further strained the process.
Mr. President, this bill has some points I want to mention. The bill
funds the base closure and realignment accounts. The base realignment
and closure account comprises 26 percent of our appropriation. It
includes $353 million for round two of the BRAC process, $972 million
for round three and $1,183,000,000 for the final round. We made sure
that there would be no impediments to moving forward with the decisions
that the President approved.
Last year, I was concerned with the growth of this program. The base
closure program should not replace the regular military construction
program. I am pleased to see that this account has been reduced below
last year's level. It has come down by over $1.3 billion. The program
has been reduced by a third.
We supported the Secretary's initiative to provide more housing to
our military members. This is part of the $4 billion included in this
bill for family housing.
We did not, however, support the Army and Air Force's request to
build new general officer quarters. We will not support building new
homes for generals when there are enlisted people with families on
waiting lists unable to get a home.
We also addressed the shortfalls that continue to plague our Reserve
components. The Department continues to walk away from the total force
concept. Recognizing this, we have again lent support by adding $366
million to the Guard and Reserve accounts. In each case the funds
either are for quality of life or readiness.
Mr. President, the administration has available to it the same
information used by the subcommittee to develop this bill. The
administration knows that the construction backlog of the Army and Air
Guard, and the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force Reserves is
billions of dollars and that this backlog is growing, even as the force
levels have been reduced.
Instead of increasing the funding, the Office of the Secretary of
Defense deleted every project that we added last year which was in the
future years Defense plan for many of our Reserve components. This left
the Reserve components with very little in the future years Defense
plan. Afterwards the Senate Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee used
a criteria which required projects to be in the future years Defense
plan. The Department was pleased to walk away from the Reserve
component. The Armed Services Committee only funded projects within the
future years Defense plan. We now have a situation where we have
unilaterally given up our duty to check and balance the President's
request. We have also given up our option to represent our States which
each have their own military department.
So against this construction requirement, the administration budgeted
only $194 million for all the Reserve components of the Department of
Defense. We could not allow this to happen.
The $194 million is not adequate. We cannot expect the National Guard
to continue to be capable of performing their mission. Mr. President,
that mission is not one to be taken lightly. It is defending this
country.
We have only reduced the administration request of $197 million for
the NATO Security Investment Program by 13 percent. We believe this is
a responsible reduction considering the requirements that NATO may
incur in the near future.
We recommended $36 million for the Homeowners Assistance Program
which provides partial compensation to homeowners for their financial
losses incurred in the sale of their homes at closed or realigned
bases. We also recommended $20 million for the family housing
improvement fund which will be used to build or renovate family housing
by utilizing private capital and know how.
Mr. President, before I close I want to thank the ranking minority
member for his participation and his contributions to the subcommittee
this year. I
[[Page S7063]]
also want to thank Dick D'Amato and B.G. Wright of his staff as well
and Warren Johnson and Jim Morhard on my staff. We would not have
gotten here without their effort and expertise.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I fully support the recommendations in this
bill that is now before the Senate. I compliment the chairman of the
subcommittee, the distinguished Senator from Montana [Mr. Burns], for
his excellent work and that of his staff.
The chairman of the subcommittee and I have again this year, enjoyed
an open and productive working relationship in bringing the
recommendations in this bill to the Senate.
This bill, reported here today is $1.345 billion lower than last
year's appropriated amount, and is also $200 million lower than the
construction bill proposed by the House of Representatives.
Again this year, our bill strives to improve the quality of life for
the Nation's military service members. This military construction bill
emphasizes housing initiatives, both for families and improved housing
for single service members. It provides $4 billion for the
construction, operation and maintenance of family housing, and to the
Homeowner's Assistance Program.
The Committee continues to support the NATO Security Investment
program, however it is concerned that member nations are not properly
helping to defray construction program costs. The Committee therefore
urges the Secretary to seek increased contributions from our allies.
The report includes language that supports preposition of Brigade
material in Southwest Asia, but only following treaty relationships
with our allies there. It allows the military to proceed with such
projects, but encourages secure long term bilateral agreements and full
cost sharing arrangements prior to the initiation of any construction
projects in the region.
The subcommittee has added certain needy projects to the
administrations request--$700 million was added to the budget that
would include $50 million for minor construction, $368 million for
Guard and Reserve projects, and over $189 million in badly needed
family housing.
I commend the chairman for taking the many requests from Senators to
include projects in this bill. This is necessitated, annually, in large
part, because the Department of Defense has again, as it has in the
past, refused to adequately fund the construction projects for the
National Guard, requiring the subcommittee to review many worthy
projects suggested by Senators and the National Guard and to come up
with a fair and equitable solution to the problem.
I add, Mr. President, in time of crisis, we rely heavily on the Guard
and Reserve. During the gulf war crisis, we called upon the Guard and
Reserve to bear more than their share of the burden, especially based
on how we have funded them in the past. This year's administration
request included NO, I repeat, NO major construction projects for the
Army National Guard. This practice is completely unacceptable.
Administration requests including no major construction projects for
the Army Guard mandates that we seriously review any Member request for
its worthiness, and there are many worthy and badly needed projects,
without which, our reserve forces could not continue to function. It
simply would be unfair to not give them some consideration simply
because they have been ignored by the Pentagon.
The administration requested only $7 million for Army National Guard
construction, compared to $137 million appropriated in fiscal year
1996, and that amount was well below the previous year's $188 million
appropriation. This is a 95 percent reduction in only 1 year. This type
of request is incomprehensible and irresponsible. To help try to
balance the scale, the subcommittee used strict criteria to evaluate
many worthy projects suggested by Members, and a strong effort was made
to take all Members' interest into consideration.
I think the result is as fair and equitable as possible, given the
significant budget constraints that we are working under.
Mr. President, I believe that this is a good product, and I hope that
the Senate will support it. I thank at this time the majority staff
director, Jim Morhard and his assistant Warren Johnson, for their work
and cooperation with my staff, Dick D'Amato, a member of the
Appropriations Committee assigned to me to work on this and other
appropriations matters, and B.G. Wright, also of the Appropriations
Committee, and also Peter Arapis and Jerry Reed of my personal staff
who have dedicated many hours to the completion of this bill.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I commend the leadership of the Military
Appropriations Subcommittee, the distinguished chairman, Mr. Conrad
Burns of Montana, and the ranking member, Mr. Harry Reid of Nevada, for
their work on this bill. It is within its 602(b) allocation, and
conforms very closely to the provisions of the Department of Defense
Authorization bill which is pending before the Senate. I know the
subcommittee has worked hard to ensure that its provisions are
authorized, and at the same time that the budget request of the
President has been given full consideration.
Mr. President, the bill, at $9.8 billion, is some $1.3 billion below
last year. In addition, it is some $200 million below the level as
passed by the House. At the same time, it is about $700 million above
the President's request, but $368 million of that amount is for
additional National Guard and Reserve accounts which have been badly
underfunded by the Administration, and $189 million of that is for
badly needed additional family housing for our troops. The committee
has taken the right step by adding needed funds for the Guard and
Reserve, in that the Administration traditionally underfunds these
accounts, in the expectation that the Congress will add the money. I
hope that the Administration will, in next year's request, adequately
fund the Guard and Reserve, and relieve the Committee of the
responsibility of completely rewriting that part of the budget as it is
now forced to do.
Again, this year, as last year, the military appropriations bill is
the first of all the appropriations bills to be passed by the Senate.
The subcommittee is to be commended, and, as usual, the bill has wide
support in the Senate. I believe all Senators' interests and requests
have been considered fairly and impartially by the Committee. I commend
the staff of the subcommittee, the staff director for the Chairman, Mr.
Jim Morhard, and his assistant, Warren Johnson; the minority staff
director, who is also the counsel to the full Committee, and on loan to
the subcommittee; Mr. Dick D'Amato, and his assistant, Mr. B.G. Wright,
as well as Peter Arapis and Jerry Reed of Senator Reid's staff, all of
whom have done excellent work in delivering this measure in a timely
manner to the full Senate.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, the Senate is now considering the first
of the fiscal year 1997 appropriations bills.
The pending military construction appropriations bill provides a
total of $9.8 billion in new budget authority and $3.1 billion in new
outlays for the military construction and family housing programs of
the Department of Defense for fiscal year 1997.
When outlays from prior-year budget authority and other completed
actions are taken into account, the bill totals $9.8 billion in budget
authority and $10.3 billion in outlays for fiscal year 1997.
Mr. President, the bill provides for readiness and quality of life
programs for our service men and women. the bill falls within the
subcommittee's 602 (b) allocation.
I want to convey my thanks to the committee for the support given to
several priority projects in New Mexico.
I commend the distinguished subcommittee chairman, the Senator from
Montana, for bringing this bill to the floor within the subcommittee's
section 602(b) allocation.
I urge its adoption.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a table showing the
relationship of the reported bill to the subcommittee's 602(b)
allocation be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[[Page S7064]]
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION SUBCOMMITTEE SPENDING TOTALS--SENATE-REPORTED BILL
[Fiscal year 1997, in millions of dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget
Category authority Outlays
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Defense discretionary:
Outlays from prior-year BA and other
actions completed........................ ........... 7,204
H.R. 3517, as reported to the Senate...... 9,832 3,115
Scorekeeping adjustment................... ........... ...........
-------------------------
Adjusted bill total..................... 9,832 10,319
=========================
Senate subcommittee 602(b) allocation: Defense
discretionary................................ 9,833 10,375
Adjusted bill total compared to Senate
subcommittee 602(b) allocation: Defense
discretionary................................ -1 -56
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Details may not add to totals due to rounding. Totals adjusted for
consistency with current scorekeeping conventions.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I will not delay the Senate in its efforts
to proceed to a vote on the fiscal year 1997 military construction
appropriations bill, and I do not plan to offer any amendments to the
legislation. I want to be on record, however, in strong opposition to
the $600 million added in this bill for unrequested, low-priority
military construction projects.
A few days ago, I offered an amendment to the fiscal year 1997
Defense authorization bill to strike $600 million in authorizations for
these same projects. Not surprisingly, only 12 of my colleagues voted
with me, and the amendment failed. I will not waste the time of the
Senate in revisiting that vote.
But, Mr. President, I cannot stand aside and allow this bill, laden
with $600 million in pork-barrel spending, to pass the Senate without
objection.
Let me remind my colleagues of the magnitude of the wasteful spending
for unrequested building projects.
Since 1990, the Congress has added more than $6 billion to the
military construction accounts. This bill increases the amount of waste
by another $600 million. That's almost $1 billion in pork-barrel
spending every year.
I listened to the comments of my colleagues in just the last few days
about the inadequacy of the administration's Defense budget request.
Many of my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, cited the $60
billion target set by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for
procurement funding, contrasted with the $39 billion requested by the
administration. These sentiments reflected my own views and repeated
what has been expressed here in the Senate many times over the past
several months.
Therefore, I am somewhat puzzled at the increase in this military
construction bill. While the Defense authorization and appropriations
bills include an additional $6 or $7 billion for procurement, this
amount is only about one-third of the $21 billion needed to meet
General Shalikashvili's target. We still have a $14 or $15 billion
shortfall in urgently needed modernization funding, yet we are wasting
$600 million on unrequested, low-priority military construction
projects. It just doesn't make sense to me.
Mr. President, I am somewhat gratified to learn that the close
scrutiny focused on military construction projects has at least forced
a degree of control on the process. Most of the projects in this bill
meet four of the five criteria established 2 years ago for Senate
consideration of unrequested military construction projects. The
projects are: mission essential, not inconsistent with BRAC, in the
FYDP, and executable in fiscal year 1997.
And all of the projects in this bill are included in the
authorization bill or are authorized in other legislation. In any
event, the bill specifically requires an authorization for each project
before the money can be spent.
But none of the projects meet the fifth criterion, which requires the
added funding to offset by a reduction in some other defense account.
All of these projects are funded because the Appropriations Committee
allocated additional funding for this bill to accommodate Members'
requests for add-ons.
Mr. President, I am tired of seeing us acquiesce to a practice which
only feeds on itself. We must instill some discipline in our budget
review process--by resisting the temptation to add money simply because
it serves our constituents.
We have made progress in reducing the total amount of pork-barrelling
in the defense budget. Last year, about $4 billion was wasted on pork-
barrel projects; this year, we are wasting only $2 billion. But in
military construction, we will probably end up adding $900 million, the
House level, or more again this year to fund the special interests of
Members of both the Senate and the House; $900 million is a lot of
taxpayer dollars to waste. How do we explain to the American people why
we need $11 billion more for Defense this year, when we spend nearly a
billion dollars for projects that do little or nothing to contribute to
our Nation's security?
Mr. President, again, I plead with my colleagues. For the sake of
ensuring public support for adequate defense spending now and in the
future, let's stop the pork-barrelling now.
governor o'callaghan hospital
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I should like to discuss a matter of some
importance to me in the State of Nevada, and to many Nevadans. We had
an outstanding two-term Governor in Mike O'Callaghan. He is only one of
five two-term governors in Nevada's history. He has been an exemplary
public servant. More than that, he is a role model for the younger
generation, having serviced his country valiantly in one of the ugliest
of the wars that America has been involved in, Korea. At the age of 16,
he enlisted in the Marine Corps to serve during the closing months of
World War II. During the Korean war he served in combat, sustaining
injuries which resulted in the amputation of part of his left leg. He
has served in three branches of the armed services: the Air Force, the
Army and the Marine Corps. He served with great courage and was
decorated for valor. To recognize his achievements, I have felt it
appropriate to name the hospital at Nellis Air Force Base after him,
and my fellow Nevadans in our delegation agree with me. In fact, the
Nellis hospital has been named for him in the Defense authorization
measures in both the House and the Senate for fiscal year 1997.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I understand the Senator's interest in this
matter and I share his admiration for Governor O'Callaghan. What he
suggests is entirely appropriate and fitting. I would point out, to my
ranking member, that there is no precedent in a military appropriations
bill for naming a facility after an individual. My fear is that there
would be many requests, legitimate requests, for the committee to do so
in the event that we were to take this action on this bill.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I appreciate the Senator's concern. I would
not be concerned about further legislative action on this matter, given
the action taken by the authorization committees. Obviously if the
authorization bill became law, this action to name the hospital would
have been taken. My problem is that we are not certain what the
administration's attitude will be about the funding levels and the
content of the authorization measure, nor do we know, of course, what
it will look like after emerging from their conference committee.
Therefore, I would seek the chairman's assurance that if the
authorization bill is vetoed, or appears very likely headed for a veto,
that he and I will revisit this issue in our own conference committee
on this measure, the military construction appropriations bill, and
take action to name the facility in our conference report in the event
that the authorization bill does not become law.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, that is a fair solution, and agree that
revisiting the issue in the conference committee is entirely
appropriate if the circumstances that he describes occur or appear
likely.
Amendment No. 4362
(Purpose: To make available $6,600,000 for construction of a
consolidated education center in Kentucky; $10,800,000 for
construction, phase III, at the Western Kentucky Training Site,
Kentucky; $10,000,000 for construction of phase I of the National Range
Control Center at White Sands Missile Range, NM; and $8,900,000 for
construction of the Undersea Weapons Systems Laboratory at the Naval
Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI; and to provide offsets for such
amounts)
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf
of Senator Burns and ask for its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Virginia [Mr. Warner], for Mr. Burns,
proposes amendment numbered 4362.
[[Page S7065]]
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
On page 2, line 13, strike out ``$37,323,000'' and insert
in lieu thereof ``$20,723,000''.
On page 3, line 11, strike out ``$53,709,000'' and insert
in lieu thereof ``$44,809,000''.
On page 6, line 24, strike out ``September 30, 2001.'' and
insert in lieu thereof ``September 30, 2001: Provided, That
of the amount made available under this heading, $10,800,000
shall be available for construction, phase III, at the
Western Kentucky Training Site, Kentucky, with the amount
made available for such construction to be derived from sums
otherwise available under this heading for minor
construction.''.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, the managers amendment includes projects
that were accepted by the Armed Services Committee while they were on
the floor. We have added the following projects.
First, a consolidated education center for the Army at Fort Campbell,
KY.
Second, phase III of the western Kentucky training site for the Army
National Guard at Greenville, KY.
Third, phase I of the National Range Control Center at White Sands
Missile Range in New Mexico.
Fourth, the Undersea Weapons Laboratory at the Naval Undersea Warfare
Center at Newport, RI.
The offsets for the Army and Navy projects will come from reductions
to the planning and design lines of that service. We are also taking
funds from the Army National Guard minor construction account to pay
for the one Guard project that is in this amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the amendment is agreed to.
The amendment (No. 4362) was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the bill is deemed read the
third time, and passed.
The bill (H.R. 3517), as amended, was deemed read the third time and
passed.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and move to
lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I move that the Senate insist on its
amendments and request a conference with the House on the disagreeing
votes of the two Houses, and that the Chair be authorized to appoint
conferees on the part of the Senate.
The motion was agreed to; and the Presiding Officer appointed Mr.
Burns, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Hatfield, Mr. Reid,
Mr. Inouye, Mr. Kohl, and Mr. Byrd conferees on the part of the Senate.
____________________