[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 117 (Thursday, June 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S3397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1885. Mr. ROMNEY (for himself, Mr. Graham, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Coons,
Mr. Kaine, and Mrs. Shaheen) submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2021 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the end of subtitle D of title XII, add the following:
SEC. 1242. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS TO REDUCE TOTAL NUMBER
OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES SERVING ON
ACTIVE DUTY WHO ARE DEPLOYED TO THE FEDERAL
REPUBLIC OF GERMANY.
(a) In General.--None of the funds authorized to be
appropriated by this Act, or authorized to be appropriated to
the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2020, may be
obligated or expended to reduce the total number of members
of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who are deployed
to the Federal Republic of Germany below 34,500 until 60 days
after the date on which the Secretary of Defense certifies,
not less than 30 days after the submittal of the report
required by subsection (b), to the appropriate committees of
Congress, that--
(1) such a reduction--
(A) is in the national security interest of the United
States;
(B) will not undermine the security of United States allies
and partners in Europe;
(C) will not undermine the deterrence and defense posture
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
(D) will not pose an unacceptable risk to the ability of
the Armed Forces to execute contingency plans of the
Department of the Defense;
(E) will not adversely impact ongoing operations of the
Armed Forces, including operations in the areas of
responsibility of the United States Central Command and the
United States Africa Command;
(F) will not negatively impact military families; and
(G) will not result in significant additional costs for
redeployment and relocation and associated infrastructure;
and
(2) the Secretary has appropriately consulted with allies
of the United States, including the Federal Republic of
Germany and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization.
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days before the
submittal of a certification under subsection (a), the
Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report that includes the following:
(A) A description of any security factor that provides the
basis for the decision to reduce the total number of members
of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who are deployed
to the Federal Republic of Germany.
(B) A description of the reduction in such members of the
Armed Forces to be certified, including the number of active
duty members of the Armed Forces and support personnel to be
reduced and any other limitation on the number of active duty
or rotational members of the Armed Forces present in the
Federal Republic of Germany.
(C) A plan for the relocation and redeployment of members
of the Armed Forces from the Federal Republic of Germany, and
any associated relocation of military families, including the
proposed numbers and locations of relocated or redeployed
members of the Armed Forces and military families, and an
estimate of the costs of such redeployment and relocation and
associated infrastructure.
(D) An assessment of the impact of such reduction and
redeployment on military families, including--
(i) an assessment of the impact on the availability of
family support programs and services in new locations,
including options for military spouse employment and quality
of care for Exceptional Family Member Program enrollees;
(ii) an estimate of associated facilities costs necessary
to support military families in new locations, such as
housing, schools, childcare, direct or purchased medical
care, commissaries, and exchanges;
(iii) an estimate of the number of members of the Armed
Forces who would transition from accompanied tours in the
Federal Republic of Germany to unaccompanied tours in other
locations;
(iv) an assessment of the impact of family separation on
the mental health and stability of military spouses and
children; and
(v) an estimate of the number of resulting vacancies of
Department of Defense civil service positions, including such
positions presently filled by military spouses.
(E) An assessment of the impact of such reduction and
redeployment on the ability of the United States to meet its
commitments under the North Atlantic Treaty.
(F) An assessment of the impact of such reduction and
redeployment on the ability of the Armed Forces--
(i) to execute contingency plans of the Department of
Defense;
(ii) to conduct training and exercises with North Atlantic
Treaty Organization allies and to maintain a sufficient
standard of alliance interoperability; and
(iii) to perform assigned missions and support of ongoing
operations in the Middle East and Africa.
(2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be in
classified form and shall include an unclassified summary.
(c) Appropriate Committees of Congress.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives.
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