[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 159 (Wednesday, November 5, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H10373-H10374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2559, 
             MILITARY CONSTRUCTION APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004

  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 429 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 429

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider the conference report to accompany the 
     bill (H.R. 2559) making appropriations for military 
     construction, family housing, and base realignment and 
     closure for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2004, and for other purposes. All points 
     of order against the conference report and against its 
     consideration are waived. The conference report shall be 
     considered as read.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. 
Myrick) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
McGovern), 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.
  The rule waives all points of order against the conference report to 
accompany H.R. 2559, Military Construction Appropriations Act for 
Fiscal Year 2004, and against its consideration. The rule provides that 
the conference report shall be considered as read.
  This conference report provides funds for all types of construction 
projects on military installations here in the U.S. and abroad. The 
projects range from barracks and housing to training ranges and 
runways.
  Mr. Speaker, we are asking a lot of our military today, and our 
military personnel on active duty know they will be deployed overseas 
and perhaps on dangerous missions. So we want to provide them a quality 
of life for themselves and for their families that will allow them to 
serve, knowing their families will be taken care of with good health 
care and good housing.

                              {time}  1230

  We must honor the most basic commitments we have made to the men and 
women of our Armed Services. We must ensure a reasonable quality of 
life to recruit and retain the best and the brightest to America's 
fighting forces. Most importantly, we must do all in our power to 
ensure a strong, able, dedicated American military so that this Nation 
will be ever vigilant and ever prepared.
  I would like to take a moment to highlight some of the key areas of 
the bill. First, $1.2 billion is provided for troop barracks. This is a 
$58 million increase from last year's level. This sends a positive 
message to our unaccompanied personnel stationed all around the world 
that their quality of life is a priority. It also provides $2.7 billion 
to operate and maintain existing housing units and $1.1 billion for new 
housing units. Military families also have a tremendous need for 
quality child care, especially single parents and families in which one 
or both parents may face lengthy deployments. To help meet this need, 
the bill provides $16.5 million for child development centers.
  In conclusion, we have focused our efforts on programs that directly 
support the men and women in our Armed Forces. We would like to do 
more, of course. We always have and we will always try to do that. The 
bottom line is this: With this conference report, we meet the 
military's critical infrastructure needs and their efforts to improve 
the quality of life for our men and women in the Armed Forces.
  To that end, I urge my colleagues to support the rule and support the 
conference report.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from North 
Carolina (Mrs. Myrick) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I 
yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my appreciation for the 
bipartisan work of the conferees, and especially for the leadership of 
Chairman Knollenberg and ranking member Edwards, whose long service to 
meeting the needs of our uniformed men and women is well known to all 
the Members of this House.
  Mr. Speaker, in June when the House passed its version of H.R. 2559, 
it was $41 million less than the President's request and was a $1.5 
billion cut from fiscal year 2003 funding levels. The conference 
report, while an improvement somewhat over the House-passed bill, is 
still defective. While it is $199 million more than the amount 
requested by President Bush, it still reduces funding overall for 
military construction by $1.38 billion from the fiscal year 2003 
levels. Mr. Speaker, we simply cannot continue selling our military men 
and women short.
  We have all seen the pictures from Fort Stewart in Georgia where our 
Guard and Reserves, returning wounded and sick from Iraq, are 
warehoused in the most miserable conditions. How can we stand on the 
floor of this House day after day, week after week declaring how much 
we support our military men and women when the funding providing for 
family housing in this conference report is over $400 million less than 
last year? That total is even worse than what it was in the original 
House-passed bill. How can we stand on the floor of the House day after 
day and week after week and say that we are engaged in a long-term 
struggle against a global enemy and then cut military construction 
funds by $600 million from last year's level?
  Mr. Speaker, poor facility conditions are not only unsafe, they 
hamper readiness, contribute to low morale and decrease troop 
retention. According to the Pentagon, 180,000 of the 300,000 units of 
military housing are substandard. Sixty-eight percent of our military 
facilities have deficiencies so serious that they might impede mission 
readiness, or they are so deteriorated that they cannot support mission 
requirements. The current reductions in funding for construction in 
these facility categories means that the rate at which buildings are 
renovated or replaced has increased from 83 years to 150 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I said it in June, and I am going to say it again. This 
is a national scandal. I keep hearing that since the events of 
September 11, we live in a changed world. I keep hearing how much we 
appreciate our Armed Forces, how much we appreciate their sacrifice and 
their service. Then why do we keep cutting and cutting and cutting the 
military construction appropriations bill? If we truly appreciate our 
military men and women, should we not give them and their families 
decent housing? I keep being told, just wait for next year and the 
funding will get better. Only it never gets any better. It just keeps 
getting worse. ``Next year'' should be now.
  This conference report, while a small improvement overall from the 
House-passed bill, continues to be, in the

[[Page H10374]]

words of Chairman Knollenberg, woefully inadequate. This is what 
happens when our priorities are wrong. This is what happens when we 
deny our Nation the most basic revenue needed to adequately fund our 
national priorities. We rob our valiant military personnel of decent 
homes and facilities. We rob our veterans of their basic benefits. We 
cut back funding for schools and child care for military families, and 
we are faced with passing a bill like this.
  I call upon the President to include in his fiscal year 2005 budget 
request a budget figure that genuinely begins to meet the military 
construction and family housing needs of our Armed Forces. Mr. Speaker, 
I regret that this is the best that this Congress can do for our 
military and their families.
  Mr. Speaker, 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 on the table.

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