[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 130 (Tuesday, October 2, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H6099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     APPOINTMENT OF CONFEREES ON H.R. 2904, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002

  Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 2904) making appropriations for military 
construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the 
Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, 
and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment thereto, disagree to 
the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.


                Motion To Instruct Offered by Mr. Olver

  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Olver moves that the managers on the part of the House 
     at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses 
     on the bill, H.R. 2904 insist on the House position regarding 
     all items included in the House passed bill for overseas 
     military construction.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver) 
will be recognized for 30 minutes, and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Hobson) will be recognized for 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver).
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I offer this motion to instruct as a bipartisan effort 
to help the men and women serving overseas in the defense of our 
country.
  The motion is simple. It tells the House conferees to hold the line 
and support the overseas requests made by the President and those added 
in the House.
  Mr. Speaker, September 11 has taught us that our men and women must 
be ready, wherever in the world they are stationed. The President 
requested almost $900 million in military construction projects 
overseas. The committee carefully reviewed those projects, and we have 
supported them. It meets needs for barracks, for maintenance 
facilities, for runways for our air forces, for warehousing, family 
housing, barracks, all of those. It all will make substantial 
contributions to our readiness.
  But the House has added, in addition, several items. Through the 
leadership of the chairman, he and I have had an opportunity to visit 
several of the bases that are involved in this. Members of the 
subcommittee joined us, and other Members of the House joined us in 
that. We have directly visited and can bear witness to the severe 
inadequacy of some of these facilities. The total of that is less than 
1 percent of this military construction budget as it was passed through 
the House. They are all very badly needed projects, as both the 
chairman and I can attest.
  Let me just give a couple of examples.
  In Japan, actually in Okinawa, which is where most of our forces in 
Japan are, there is a what-was-never-adequate facility for the training 
of our Army Special Forces in urban warfare. It is now utterly worn out 
and virtually unusable. That is additionally in this legislation.
  In Korea, there is a barracks replacement for singles in Korea. The 
conditions of housing in Korea up and down the line are well known as 
being abysmal. Families avoid, if at all possible, deployment in Korea, 
so the vast majority of our deployments are in fact singles, and their 
housing is anywhere from rundown to positively disgusting. So that has 
been funded in our bill.
  Then, as another example, we have a modernization of the base 
engineering complex for engineering and maintenance, and all of the 
operational facilities at our largest Air Force base. In the process of 
that modernization, which is in Korea at our main air base, which is at 
the front line of protection for our substantial forces in Korea, that 
will allow hundreds of housing units to then be brought within the 
perimeter of the protection of that base.
  Those are all extremely important things to be done, and they need to 
be done in this legislation. Mr. Speaker, they are badly needed. They 
are in direct support of the missions that we know will come, even if 
September 11 had not happened.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote in favor of this motion to 
instruct.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my ranking member for working 
with me on this bill, and working with me and the other members of the 
Committee on this issue.
  We have seen what we ask our troops to do. We have asked them to do a 
lot of things for us, especially at this time. Today, the U.S. is 
blessed with the most well-trained military forces in our history. 
Soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen are ready and willing to accept 
any challenge presented by our adversaries.
  Yet, for all their training, many of these facilities they work in 
are decrepit and falling apart. There is an increasing concern that the 
performance of our troops could be jeopardized by the conditions of the 
buildings in which they work.
  As the Quadrennial Defense Review points out, the defense 
infrastructure has suffered from underfunding and neglect. Facility 
sustainment has been funded at only 75 to 80 percent of the 
requirement, resulting in a backlog of repair bills estimated at almost 
$60 billion. Likewise, the average rate of replacing existing 
facilities is 192 years, at a rate that is unacceptable, particularly 
with the technological changes needed to deal with today's security 
threats.
  The result of neglecting the facilities is the decaying 
infrastructure that is less and less capable of supporting our troops, 
sailors, Marines, and airmen. The infrastructure needs of the 
facilities in the U.S. are important, but no less important than the 
infrastructure needs in bases located overseas.
  Like bases in the U.S., there are antiterrorism and force protection 
measures we must take at all bases overseas. Similarly, housing must be 
decent, safe, and working conditions must not jeopardize the troops' 
performance.
  One of the things that happened in our committee, for the first time 
that I can remember, is that three of the CINCs, General Ralston, 
General Blair, and General Schwartz, all came in and testified that 
overseas MILCON, and especially housing, was their number one priority 
on their list of priorities for their troops.
  This is a time when we ask young people to go out and put their lives 
on the line. They should do that, and they will do that, with great 
honor and dignity for this country. This country owes them the same 
dignity in the places where they work every day and where they live.
  So I want to thank my ranking member for putting up this motion, and 
I hope every Member of this House supports this motion.
  Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is 
ordered on the motion to instruct.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct 
offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver).
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed until 6 p.m.

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