[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 147 (Thursday, November 14, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11066-S11067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            FY 2003 DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. SNOWE. Madam President, I rise today to speak briefly about my 
support for the fiscal year 2003 National Defense Authorization 
Conference Report and would like to particularly endorse its name as 
the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 
in recognition of the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's 
25 years of distinguished service to that Committee.
  I also acknowledge the senior Senator from Michigan, Mr. Carl Levin, 
the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, for the leadership he 
provided in support of the authorization bill, and, of course, the 
ranking member, Senator John Warner of Virginia, whose tireless efforts 
on behalf of veterans led to the final agreements that brought this 
bill to the floor.
  Let me recognize the efforts of every Senator on the Committee. As a 
former member of that committee, I well understand the long hours and 
persistent effort needed to move this vital bipartisan legislation.
  The conference report takes great strides toward improving the 
quality of service for our dedicated men and women of the military, 
modernizing our armed services, and making our homeland safe.
  Because we recognize that our service members are our most valuable 
asset, this legislation makes a solid investment in their quality of 
life by increasing pay and enhancing educational and health care 
opportunities for our active duty military members and their family 
members. And that is only right, for today we are asking a great deal 
of our gallant young men and women as they guard our Nation at home and 
abroad in this dangerous and deadly post-September 11 world.
  This legislation recognizes that we also owe a continuing debt to 
those who have served honorably by finally granting combat-wounded 
military retirees the same benefit available to every other retired 
Federal employee--the ability to collect full retirement pay and 
disability entitlements without offsets. There is much work to be done 
before we achieve the full equity of concurrent receipt for all 
disabled military retirees, but as Senator Warner has appropriately 
noted, we have established a ``beachhead'' for this issue.
  I do find it regrettable, however, that the conference report does 
not complete the job of overturning the ban on privately funded 
abortion services in overseas military hospitals for military women and 
dependents based overseas, which was reinstated in the Fiscal Year 1996 
authorization bill.
  This is a ban that, without merit or reason, puts the reproductive 
health of these women at risk . . . a ban that the Senate voted to 
overturn in June by a vote of 52-40. Sadly, this is the second time 
that this policy change, which has been supported by the majority of 
the Senate, has fallen victim to the conference committee process.
  This ban continues to be a threat to more than just the freedoms of 
American military women overseas, it's also a threat to their health 
because it places them at the mercy of the local health care 
infrastructure in whatever country that they are based. While I support 
this conference report, I remain deeply disappointed that the 
conference did not include this critical change of policy regarding 
this arbitrary ban.
  As for modernizing our forces, let me speak on an area that is 
critical to the security of the Nation--shipbuilding. We are learning 
that in order to effectively engage the forces of terror wherever they 
hide, we must have the ability to project our power immediately to any 
part of the globe. Today, we can do that by dispatching our forces in 
carrier battle groups or amphibious ready groups. However, as a former 
chair of the Seapower Subcommittee, I remained concerned, as I know the 
committee is, about the continuing decline in shipbuilding investments 
made by the Navy.
  I note the conferees included detailed language about the Navy's ship 
acquisition program and completely agree with their conclusion that, 
without a fully vetted long range ship-building program, we will be 
faced with a Navy that is unable to carry out the missions assigned to 
them in both the short-term and the long-term.
  To quote the report, ``Absent more immediate investment, DOD will 
have to reduce the number or scope of missions assigned to Navy ships. 
Witnesses have testified that, if neither course is incorporated in 
future Navy budget programs, the men and women of the Navy and the 
Marine Corps will bear the burden of these decisions through some 
combination of longer deployments and less time at home between 
deployments.''
  I find that very troubling indeed in these dangerous times.
  Therefore, I am encouraged this legislation mandates stronger 
shipbuilding funding and construction in the future years. Provisions 
such as section 1022 that requires the Navy to submit an annual 30 year 
shipbuilding plan with their budget request will not only assist us in 
understanding the Navy's ship recapitalization plan but will ensure 
that the Department of Defense and Navy are committed to buying the 
number and type of ships necessary to fulfill all of their missions.
  I am also pleased that this authorization provides $2.4 billion for 
the construction of two DDG-51 Arleigh-Burke class destroyers and 
extends through fiscal year 2007 the multi-year procurement authority 
for that class. For it is these ships, along with cruisers and 
frigates, that provide protection to the carriers and amphibious ships 
we are deploying to the Persian Gulf to prosecute the war on terrorism. 
Surface combatants are the backbone of our Navy and I support section 
1021 that requires the Secretary of the Navy to notify Congress should 
the number of active and reserve surface combatant ships drop below 
116.
  The legislation also looks to the future by authorizing almost $970 
million for the development of technologies to be incorporated into the 
next generation of surface combatant, the DD(X) land attack destroyer. 
Moreover, it adds $5 million for the DDG Destroyer Optimized Manning 
Initiative, a Navy effort to enhance the operational effectiveness of 
Aegis destroyers with new technologies, policies and procedures to 
significantly reduce crew workload and improve readiness.
  The legislation authorizes $10.4 billion, $376 million more than 
requested, for science and technology programs

[[Page S11067]]

including many that will be performed in Maine to protect our troops 
and our homeland such as the project designed to help identify and 
address the needs of military personnel in the event of a biowarfare 
attack.
  Of potentially significant value to the Navy, it authorizes $1 
million for research at the University of Maine aimed at developing a 
specialized structural reliability analysis process to optimize the use 
of polymers in future ship construction, and provides $5 million in 
funding for development of a Small Kill Vehicle Technology, aimed at 
improving the accuracy of missile and anti-missile technology.
  Furthermore, among the more critical provisions of this legislation 
are those aimed at protecting our homeland. It provides the President 
with $10 billion for the war against terrorism including $4.3 billion 
for military operations and $1 billion for equipment replacement and 
upgrades to military capabilities.
  And finally, the legislation includes almost $1 billion for Chem-Bio 
programs designed to provide advanced individual protection and 
equipment to detect and decontaminate chemical and biological agents, 
as well as an additional $480 million for DoD homeland security and 
consequence management.
  This authorization provides the men and women of our armed forces 
with the equipment they need to accomplish their mission, the quality 
of life they have earned and security for their families. I have been 
proud to support this legislation because in a year when our Nation is 
facing unprecedented security challenges and dangers, we can do no 
less.

                          ____________________