[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 89 (Thursday, June 24, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7357-S7359]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005
Mr. STEVENS. I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to
the consideration of Calendar No. 594, H.R. 4613, the Defense
Appropriations Committee bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Graham of South Carolina). Is there
objection?
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I shall
not unduly delay the distinguished chairman, let me also thank our
ranking member of that subcommittee, Mr. Inouye. I thank again Senator
Stevens. He has been a great chairman of that committee, and he has
always been fair with me. So once this bill is brought up before the
Senate--and it will be up before the Senate very soon, within the next
few minutes--I shall do everything I can to help to get action on this
bill today.
But let me say to the Senate and to the Senate leaders and to the
Republican leaders in the House, this matter of extending and
increasing the debt limit is a matter which should be brought before
the American people. It should be debated; it should be voted upon. I
shall do my best to see to it, if it is on any appropriations bill or
any other bill, that we get a freestanding vote, and we are going to
try to debate this issue. The American people are entitled to hear the
debate on this bill.
When I came to the Congress almost 52 years ago, they did not sneak
the debt limit into an appropriations bill as the attempt might have
been made here but for the good judgment of Senator Stevens and Senator
Frist. They didn't sneak it into the bill. The Republicans controlled
the House when I first came to the House of Representatives. They
didn't do a thing like that. They laid everything on the table and they
debated it. I hope we will get back to that point of debating the debt
limit so the House Republicans will not be let off the hook. They have
a responsibility to the American people to lay it on the table and to
debate it.
I thank the distinguished Senator from Alaska, the chairman of the
Appropriations Committee, for yielding to me. I do not object. I remove
my reservation.
Mr. STEVENS. I thank the Senator and renew my request.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report.
The senior assistant bill clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 4613) making appropriations for the Department
of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and
for other purposes.
Mr. STEVENS. I ask unanimous consent all after the enacting clause be
stricken, the text of Calendar No. 593, S. 2559, the Senate committee-
reported bill, be inserted in the Record in lieu thereof, and that
bill, as amended, be considered as original text for the purpose of
further amendment, provided no points of order be waived by reason of
this agreement.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is
so ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I just filed this report. It is the
report that
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previously was intended to accompany the Senate bill. I ask it now be
labeled as accompanying the House bill as amended by the previous
motion.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I do not
object, but I say this so the Republican leadership in the House, in
particular, understands that sneaking the debt limit in an
appropriations bill is not going to get by.
I thank the Senator. I no longer reserve.
Mr. STEVENS. I am happy to yield to the Senator from Nevada.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, through the Chair to the distinguished
chairman of the committee, we have come so far in the last 12 hours. It
would not have happened but for the Senator from Alaska and his
advocacy, which is unparalleled. His advocacy is in a category all its
own. The working relationship that the Senator has with Senator Inouye,
of course, is legend. We look forward to doing what the Democratic
leader said and finish this bill today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I am pleased to present this report and
this bill to the Senate today. It reflects the bipartisan approach that
my cochairman, Senator Inouye, and I have always maintained regarding
the Department of Defense. It is a pleasure to work with him and other
members of the committee. I thank our distinguished ranking member and
former chairman, the Senator from West Virginia, for his cooperation in
helping us to get to the point we are now.
This bill was reported out of our full Appropriations Committee on
June 22 by a unanimous vote of 29 members. No member voted against it.
As we debate this bill today there are thousands of men and women in
uniform deployed and serving our country in over 120 countries and
throughout these United States. Their bravery and dedication to our
country is extraordinary. Their sacrifices must not go unrecognized.
They must be recognized here today.
Each year, the Department of Defense faces the critical challenge of
balancing the cost of maintaining high levels of readiness, being ready
to respond to the call wherever and whenever it is necessary to defend
the interests of this country. The costs associated with simultaneously
and adequately investing in transforming our Department of Defense to
be ready to meet the threats of tomorrow are also concomitant with this
critical challenge of balancing the costs of maintaining high levels of
readiness.
I believe the bill Senator Inouye and I present today reflects a
prudent balance among these challenges. It recommends $416.2 billion in
budget authority for the Department of Defense, including $25 billion
of contingent emergency funding for costs associated with operations in
Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terror. This amount is $1.7 billion
below the President's amended fiscal year 2005 request but, in our
judgment, meets the Defense Subcommittee's allocation for both budget
authority and outlays.
The measure we present is consistent with both the objectives of the
administration and the Senate National Defense authorization bill for
2005, which we passed last evening.
We sought to recommend a balanced approach, and we do recommend a
balanced bill to the Senate. We believe it addresses the key
requirements for readiness, quality of life, and transformation of our
total force. It honors the commitment we have to our Armed Forces. It
helps ensure that they will continue to have first-rate training,
modernized equipment and quality infrastructure, and maintain their
quality of life. It fully funds key readiness programs critical to the
global war on terrorism. It makes continued progress in supporting our
military personnel and their families.
Key initiatives included in this bill are these: First, an average
military pay increase of 3.5 percent and full funding for benefit and
medical programs; additional funding to pay for the increase of 20,000
to our Army end strength and TRICARE for Guard and Reserves. Both of
these initiatives were included in the Senate version of the 2005
Defense authorization bill, and this bill funds both programs: For the
Army, $3 billion for their ongoing transformation initiative, the
future combat system, and the Stryker Brigade combat teams; for the
Navy, $10.2 billion for shipbuilding, providing additional funding for
the DD(X) destroyer and the Marine Corps' amphibious assault ship,
LHA(R); for the Air Force, full funding for the acquisition of 14 C-17
aircraft and 24 F-22 Raptor aircraft; $10.2 billion is included for
missile defense programs.
In light of the contributions of the Guard and Reserve, this bill
adds $500 million in nondesignated equipment funding for modernization
shortfall.
Again, I thank my cochairman Senator Inouye for support, and for the
support of the whole committee and the invaluable counsel we have
received on this bill.
I yield for any statements he may wish to make.
I point out the contingent reserve in this bill funds a 5-month
period. We fully anticipate there will be a supplemental again next
year. We are talking about the last quarter of this calendar year which
is the first quarter of fiscal year 2005 and an additional month beyond
that after we are back in session and ready to receive the supplemental
for that, if necessary.
Mr. President, we have a conflict because of Senator Inouye's noon
event, which I wish to also attend. It is my hope we will be back on
the floor and start considering amendments at 2 p.m. today.
Does the Senator wish to comment?
Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I fully support the measure before us. I
would like to say how proud I am to serve with my colleague from
Alaska.
Once again, he has demonstrated to all of us his extraordinary
legislative skill in pressing his case. I can assure my colleagues in
the Senate, as I assure my chairman, that I will do my very best to see
that his decision is carried out.
This bill provides $383.8 billion in new discretionary budget
authority, consistent with the subcommittee's target, and another $25
billion in emergency budget authority to cover a portion of the
anticipated costs for the on-going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The bill provides the necessary funds to support our men and women
in uniform and their families--to include our Guard and Reserves. It
recommends funding for a 3.5 percent pay raise for all service members
and a 20,000 increase in army end strength as authorized by the Senate.
The bill supports the critical modernization programs requested by
the Defense Department including the Navy's DDX Destroyer, the Army's
Stryker vehicles and the Air Force's F-22 fighter. It scales back those
programs that DoD is trying to advance before the technology is mature
and those that are experiencing delays or technical problems.
The bill increases spending on research and development by nearly $1
billion with significant growth in medical programs, particularly those
that directly impact warfighters in the current conflict. These include
increased spending on amputee care, new technology bandages, and
leishmaniasis.
Health care programs are fully funded in this measure. In addition,
the committee recommends increases for Walter Reed, Madigan, Tripler,
and other military hospitals and research facilities.
The Committee has made a significant effort to see that this bill is
consistent with the decisions which have been made by the Senate on the
Defense authorization bill. Many of my colleagues' amendments that have
been adopted on the floor receive funding in this bill, such as the end
strength increase which I already addressed. The committee has also
included enhanced Guard and Reserve benefits as authorized and other
proposals approved by the Senate.
This bill provides the support essential for the coming year and
also provides $25 billion which DoD will require to cover its costs
next fall and winter for its on-going efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I am pleased to report to the Senate that the committee has very
carefully earmarked the funding for Iraq and Afghanistan to direct
funding for the priorities of the military departments. We have also
restricted the authorities sought by the administration to ensure
proper congressional oversight of executive actions.
In recent years, the executive Branch has often argued that, as
Commander
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in Chief, the President has almost unlimited powers in the conduct of
day-to-day defense matters. It is clear that the Constitution provided
the Congress the power of the purse. In drafting this measure the
Committee has safeguarded its responsibilities and expects that the
Defense Department will recognize the constitutional authority of the
Congress to determine how funding will be utilized in executing this
budget. We fully expect that the Defense Department will only fund
activities that have been approved by the Congress, and in no case will
funding be used to support programs which have been rejected by the
legislative branch.
I am pleased to have worked with my good friend, our Chairman,
Senator Stevens on crafting this legislation. It is a very good bill
and I would encourage all my colleagues to support it.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, does the Senator wish the floor?
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I will not take the floor if the Senator
from Alaska has more to say. I was going to speak about one of the
nominations which is coming up this afternoon.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, it is my understanding there will be
other matters considered.
I ask unanimous consent that our bill be set aside until the hour of
2 p.m.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from
Alaska and the distinguished Senator from Hawaii.
I am going to shortly speak for about 20 minutes on one of these
nominees. First, if I might, I am going to ask that we go into a quorum
call. It will be a matter of a minute or two. When we come out of the
quorum call, I ask unanimous consent that I be recognized to speak
regarding the nomination of Peter Hall.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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