[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.

                          ____________________