TheWeekInCongress.com
Week Ending June 18, 2004
S 2400 Department of Defense Appropriations for fiscal year 2005.
BRIEF
The bill would spend for the military functions of the Defense and Energy Departments and would increase troop strength by up to 30,000 for active duty and some reserve units.
Sponsor: Senator John Warner (R-VA)
Vote: Passed Senate 97 to 0. Not voting were Kerry (D-MA), Sununu (R-NH) and Brownback (R-KS)
Cost to the taxpayer: $419 billion.
MORE INFORMATION
AMENDMENTS-Missile Defense, Curious, Environmental, handling prisoners.
Over one hundred amendments were filed or threatened. Some germane and other’s not. Here are some of the amendment highlights:
Senator Trent Lott (R-TX) Military base closures should be limited only to overseas bases. Failed.
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) Reimburse families and others who purchased protective gear, safety or health equipment for their soldiers in Iraq. Passed.
Senator John Warner (R-VA) Authorize appropriations for the $25 million contingency President Bush requested for Iraq. Passed
Missile Defense
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) Eliminate money for developing new nuclear weapons and the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP is a nuclear bomb that would first penetrate the ground to get to underground targets and then explode). Failed.
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) Cut $500 million from the Ground-based Interceptor missile program and spend it to fight terrorism. Failed.
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) The ground-based midcourse defense element of the national ballistic missile defense system may not be deployed for initial defensive operations before the Secretary of Defense certifies to Congress that the capabilities of the system to perform its national ballistic missile defense missions have been confirmed by operationally realistic testing of the system. Failed but a similar amendment by Senator Warner Passed.
Non-Germane or just curious.
Senator Gordon Smith (D-OR) Send money to states to prosecute hate crimes. Passed.
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) Charge tobacco lawsuit lawyers an excise tax on any money they make over $20,000 per hour and use the money to pay for the US Army equipment. Failed.
Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) repeal some of the Bush tax cuts to pay for the Iraq war. Failed.
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) Direct the Federal Communication Commission to increase fines against media that broadcasts profanity, obscenity and indecency to $275,000 per incident per day with a $3 million cap. Passed 97 – 0.
Environmental
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Make sure there are enough funds to properly dispose of high level nuclear waste. (Reportedly the Dept. of Energy is redefining what is and is not high level waste thereby leaving some of it in place in Washington State and Georgia.) Failed.
Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) Accelerate removal or security of fissile materials, radiological materials and related equipment at vulnerable sites worldwide. Passed.
Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) To prohibit the storage of mercury from the National Defense Stockpile a certain facilities. Passed
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to provide for groundwater cleanup at some military bases.
Senators Orin Hatch (R-UT) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) to express the sense of the Senate concerning legislation requiring reports of serious adverse events related to dietary supplements and over-the-counter-drugs. Withdrawn
Since Abu Ghraib
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) affirm that the US may not engage in torture or cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Passed.
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) to clarify the protection of military personnel from retaliatory action for communicating through the chain of command. Passed.
Senator Chris Dodd (R- ) to prohibit the use of contractors for certain Department of Defense activities and to establish limitations on the transfer of custody to prisoners of the Defense department. Failed.
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) grant Federal charter to Korean War Veterans Association, Inc. Passed.
Spending breaks down as follows: (First # is estimated spending, 2nd is authorized level of spending. Some amounts rounded. Amounts from Congressional Budget Office.)
Military personnel---$102 billion to $104 billion.
Operations and Maintenance--- $102 billion to $139 billion.
Procurement---$24 billion to $78 billion.
Research and development---$36 billion to $68 billion.
Construction and family housing---$2 billion to $10 billion.
Management funds $1.9 billion to---$2.9 billion.
Transfer of funds authority Up to---$735 million.
Atomic Energy Defense activities---$11 billion to$16 billion.
Miscellaneous---$52 million to $61 million.
Extraneous info:
Under a multi-year contract the Navy would buy 223 howitzers for the Marines through 2007 and 233 for the Army through 2008 spending $841 million but saving $163 million using the multi-year contract procedure.
The Air Force would be prohibited from retiring any F117 fighter aircraft until 2005. Retiring ten aircraft would save $18 million per year for cost to operate and maintain them.
End Strength
Total reserve force would be 2, 244,000. Navy active duty total personnel (end strength) would be cut by 7,900 and Air Force would be increased by 400.. Selected reserve units (those who support active reserve units) would see a drop of 2,430, mostly from the Navy Reserves but the active duty reservists would be increased by 1,669 bringing a cost increase of $43 million in 2005 and $94 million yearly thereafter. right to maintain a single state of residence for purposes of state and local personal income taxes and the right to request a deferral in the payment of certain state and local taxes and fees. It also requires creditors to reduce the interest rate on service members' obligations to 6 percent when such obligations predate active-duty service and allows courts to temporarily stay certain civil proceedings, such as evictions, foreclosures, and repossessions.
Compensation and benefits would be increased. There would be a $6,000 bonus for a new reserve officer with particular skills or who is serving in an understaffed unit.
Reenlistment bonuses for active duty personnel would cost $329 million in 2005 and $186 million in 2006. Active duty enlistment bonuses would cost $82 million and $141 million respectively for the next tow years and reserve bonuses would cot up to $93 million. Special payments for aviators and nuclear-qualified personnel would cost to 95 million in 2006. Special payments and bonuses to healthcare professionals around $40 million. The average cost of providing healthcare for a single reservist is $2,200 per year and with dependents $7,700 per year.
The recent increase for family separation allowance (to $250 per year) and imminent danger pay (to $225 per year) would be made permanent and would total $1.4 billion through 2009.
The Telecommunication benefit that allows service men in Iraq and Afghanistan to call home for free is capped at $40 per month per person.
TRICARE, the DOD general healthcare program will be extended on a trial basis to non-active duty reservists lacking employer insurance or employment. Activated reservist would receive the health coverage up to 90 days in advance of reporting for duty.
A pilot scholarship program would be established to provide financial assistance to civilians to study science, math, engineering and technology if they graduate and go to work for DOD.
Disabled retirees and survivors would see an increase in 2005 benefits to $3,900 and $2,350 respectively. Retirement spending would increase from about $30 million in 2005 through 2009 or $100 million through 2013.
Selling excess materials
The Navy would be allowed to spend the money from selling obsolete boats to prepare the obsolete boats for sale. Might save $500,000 yearly. Not a money saver but the four companies that scrap Navy boats were paid to do so and the scrap payments went back to the Navy. Now the contractors keep the scrap money for doing the job. The Navy could charge fees for the use of trademarks.
Stuff in the stockpile could earn the DOD $100 million through 2009. .## All Rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without written permission from TheWeekInCongress.com