[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 95 (Tuesday, July 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H4874-H4876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2016, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998

  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 178 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 178

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule 
     XXIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 2016) making appropriations for military 
     construction, family housing, and base realignment and 
     closure for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes. The first 
     reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. General debate 
     shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour 
     equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. After 
     general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment 
     under the five-minute rule. Points of order against 
     provisions in the bill for failure to comply with clause 2 or

[[Page H4875]]

     6 of rule XXI are waived. During consideration of the bill 
     for amendment, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may 
     accord priority in recognition on the basis of whether the 
     Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in 
     the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that 
     purpose in clause 6 of rule XXIII. Amendments so printed 
     shall be considered as read. The Chairman of the Committee of 
     the Whole may: (1) postpone until a time during further 
     consideration in the Committee of the Whole a request for a 
     recorded vote on any amendment; and (2) reduce to five 
     minutes the minimum time for electronic voting on any 
     postponed question that follows another electronic vote 
     without intervening business, provided that the minimum time 
     for electronic voting on the first in any series of questions 
     shall be fifteen minutes. At the conclusion of consideration 
     of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report 
     the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been 
     adopted. The previous question shall be considered as ordered 
     on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without 
     intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or 
     without instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. 
Myrick] is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Hall] pending 
which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration 
of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, June 26, the Committee on Rules granted, by 
voice vote, an open rule providing 1 hour of general debate equally 
divided between the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on Appropriations for the consideration of H.R. 2016, the 
military construction appropriations bill for fiscal year 1998. The 
rule waives points of order against provisions in the bill which do not 
comply with clause 2 of rule XXI prohibiting unauthorized 
appropriations and legislation on general appropriations bills, and 
clause 6 of rule XXI prohibiting transfers of unobligated funds.
  The rule provides for priority recognition to those amendments that 
are preprinted in the Congressional Record. The rule also provides that 
the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may postpone recorded votes 
on any amendment and that the Chairman may reduce voting time on 
postponed questions to 5 minutes, provided that the votes take place 
immediately following another recorded vote and that the voting time on 
the first series of questions is not less than 15 minutes.
  Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit with or without 
instructions.
  Today we will consider the first bill in the annual appropriations 
process. Because the other body and conference action on the National 
Defense Authorization Act has not been completed, the Committee on 
Appropriations considered only projects recommended for authorization 
when crafting H.R. 2016. All projects included in H.R. 2016 are 
approved subject to authorization.
  This is a product of a bipartisan effort to ensure that the needs of 
our service men and women are effectively addressed. The committee 
chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Military 
Construction both testified that debate on the measure was very short 
in both the subcommittee and full Committee on Appropriations where it 
passed with a voice vote.
  The living conditions of our Nation's fighting men and women have 
been the focus of much attention and grave concern. Currently, 62 
percent of troop housing spaces and 64 percent of housing family units 
are unsuitable. It is imperative we work to improve their living 
conditions, which are directly linked to readiness, morale, and 
retention.
  I am proud of our continued efforts to improve the housing for the 
Armed Forces, those brave Americans that protect our freedoms. In 
particular, the need for improved family housing has increased 
dramatically. Since the 1950's the all-volunteer structure of the Armed 
Forces has resulted in the steady rise of married service members. More 
than 60 percent of those serving today are married. It is important 
that we have a sustained, flexible approach to meet their needs.
  H.R. 2016 addresses the severe backlog in readiness, revitalization 
and quality of life projects. To address this problem, the committee 
included funding above the administration's request to fund the 
planning and construction of several barracks, family housing and 
operational facilities. Included in the additional funding is:
  Ten additional unaccompanied housing projects; new construction and 
improvements to family housing units, benefiting approximately 2,438 
military families; four child development centers; operational and 
training facilities for the active service; and operational, training, 
environmental compliance and safety related activities for the 
Reserves.
  Good infrastructure is key to military installations operating 
effectively and achieving their mission. They need good transportation 
networks, rail lines, roads, airports and seaport facilities, 
communication systems, telephone lines and satellite uplinks and 
downlinks, and mundane but vital support like water and sewer systems, 
and electrical generation and distribution systems.
  There have been reports that aging installations are suffering from 
crumbling infrastructure and support facilities. It is crucial we give 
the revitalization of these facilities sufficient priority so that they 
are able to meet their mission requirements. This bill dedicates 
funding to continue to address these problems.
  Other commitments addressed in the bill include funding for the 
continued implementation for the base realignment and closure program. 
The funds are necessary so that the base closure schedules can be met 
and the savings realized. The bill gives the Department of Defense the 
flexibility to carry out this complex task in the most efficient manner 
possible.
  This is a good bill that honors the commitment we have to our Armed 
Forces. It helps ensure that the housing and infrastructure needs of 
the military are given proper recognition so that our Armed Forces can 
continue to defend the freedoms we all cherish.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the open rule on this 
important bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume, and thank my colleague from North Carolina, Mrs. Myrick, for 
yielding me this time.
  This resolution is an open rule. It will allow for full and fair 
debate on H.R. 2016, which is the military construction appropriation 
bill for fiscal year 1998.
  Under this rule, germane amendments will be allowed under the 5-
minute rule, which is the normal amending process in the House. All 
Members on both sides of the aisle will have the opportunity to offer 
amendments. The Committee on Rules reported this rule without 
opposition in a voice vote and I certainly plan to support it.
  This bill appropriates $9.2 billion for military construction, family 
housing and base closure construction projects. And though the bill 
provides $800 million more than the administration's request, the 
funding level still represents a reduction of $610 million, or 6 
percent below last year's appropriation.
  The bill funds necessary capital improvements to our Nation's 
military facilities. And continuing the trend of recent years, the 
Committee on Appropriations paid special attention to facilities that 
improved the quality of life for our service men and women. This 
includes an emphasis on family housing, barracks, and child development 
centers.
  The bill contains funding for four projects at Wright-Patterson Air 
Force Base, which is partially located in my district.
  One of the four is a new building to consolidate the Aeronautical 
Systems Center's acquisition support functions, and this will result in 
cost reductions and improved efficiency. The new building will help 
enhance current weapon systems as well as developing new ones, such as 
the Joint Strike Fighter.
  Another project is a child development center, which will assist Air 
Force parents stationed at Wright-Patterson.

                              {time}  1645

  Mr. Speaker, passage of this bill is important to our national 
defense and

[[Page H4876]]

to the welfare of our fighting men and women; and I certainly would 
urge the adoption of this open rule and the bill.
  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I 
move the previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid upon the table.

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