LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN | October 1, 2007

H.R. 3222, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2008

Summary

H.R. 3222, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2008, would provide $459.3 billion in new discretionary funding for the Department of Defense (DoD), which is $3.5 billion below the President’s budget request, equal to the House, and $43.2 billion above the Fiscal Year 2007 enacted level. The bill also includes $263 million in mandatory spending.

 

Major Provisions

Title I: Military Personnel

H.R. 3222 would provide a total of $105.5 billion for military personnel, which is $118.6 million above the President’s request and $5.7 billion more than the previous year’s funding level. It funds an overall DoD end strength of 2,209,300 (1,371,400 for the Active component and 837,900 for the Reserve Component). Funding levels would be provided as follows:

 

	Committee Recommendation	Change from FY 2007 Level	Change from Budget Request
Military Personnel, Army	$31.73 billion	+ $1.92 billion	+ $110.2 million
Military Personnel, Navy	$23.34 billion	+ $562.5 million	+ $33.54 million
Military Personnel, Marine Corps	$10.29 billion	+ $1.117 billion	+ $13.8 million
Military Personnel, Air Force	$24.16 billion	+ $590.3 million	+ $57.7 million
Reserve Personnel, Army	$3.672 billion	+ $307.6 million	– $62.18 million
Reserve Personnel, Navy	$1.8 billion	+ $46 million	+ $4.3 million
Reserve Personnel, Marine Corps	$595.37 million	+ $53.6 million	+ $500,000
Reserve Personnel, Air Force	$1.37 billion	+ $33.1 million	– $1.58 million
National Guard Personnel, Army	$5.95 billion	+ $738.2 million	– $11.79 million
National Guard Personnel, Air Force	$2.62 billion	+ $290.8 million	– $28.85 million

 Troop Strength. H.R. 3222 would support the Active component and Reserve and National Guard end strength levels as recommended in S. 1547, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, which support the Defense Department plans to grow the Army and Marine Corps. This includes requested end strength increases of 13,000 for the Army, 9,000 for the Marine Corps, 5,000 for the Army Reserve, and 1,300 for the Army National Guard. It also would support the requested end strength reductions of 12,300 for the Navy, 5,600 for the Air Force, 3,500 for the Navy Reserve, and 7,400 for the Air Force Reserve, and 300 for the Air National Guard.

Pay raise.The bill would provide a 3.5 percent across-the-board pay raise for military personnel, which is .5 percent above the President’s request.

Title II: Operation and Maintenance

H.R. 3222 would provide $141.9 billion for operation and maintenance, which is $968.74 million less than the President’s budget request but $14.6 billion more than the Fiscal Year 2007 level. The bill would provide the following appropriations for the armed services: Army, $28.59 billion; Navy, $33.15 billion; Marine Corps, $5.06 billion; Air Force, $32.59 billion; Army Reserve, $2.51 billion; Navy Reserve, $1.18 billion; Marine Corps Reserve, $208.68 million; Air Force Reserve, $2.81 billion; Army National Guard, $5.8 billion; and Air Force National Guard, $5.47 billion. The bill would also provide $22.44 billion for Defense-Wide operation and maintenance.

Key readiness programs.The bill would provide full funding for key readiness programs that are critical to prepare forces for combat operations and other peace-time missions: flying hours, steaming days, depot maintenance, training, spare and repair parts, base operations, and facility maintenance.

Environmental clean up.H.R. 3222 would add $45 million to the President’s request for environmental clean up at Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS), for a total of $295.2 million.

Cooperative Threat Reduction.The bill would provide $448 million for Cooperative Threat Reduction activities, which is $100 million above the President’s request.

Title III: Procurement

H.R. 3222 would provide $98.2 billion for procurement, which is $1.4 billion less than the President’s budget request but $17.3 billion more than the Fiscal Year 2007 level.

Aircraft. The bill would:

·Fully fund four Joint Cargo Aircraft for the Army;

·Fully fund the President’s request for several aircraft programs, including acquisition of 52 UH-60 Blackhawk, 44-UH-72 Lakota, and 29 CH-47 Chinook helicopters; F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft; 20 F-22A aircraft; and nine C-130J aircraft;

·Fully fund the V-22 program;

·Fully fund the MH-60S and MH-60R helicopter program;

·Fund 23 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and provide advance procurement funding for 16 F-35 aircraft in Fiscal Year 2009;

·Fully fund 24 Predator Unmanned Air Vehicles for the Air Force and five Global Hawk Unmanned Air Vehicles;

·Provide an additional $100 million for Army aircraft survivability equipment;

·Reduce funding for eight H-1 aircraft due to production delays; and

·Reduce funding for the advance procurement of one E-2D Advanced Hawkeye low-rate initial production aircraft.

 

Weapons and missiles. The bill would fully fund the Patriot PAC-3 Purefleet program and the TRIDENT II D-5 LE program. It also would fully fund Tomahawk, Hellfire, Javelin, and Small Diameter Bomb procurement.

Shipbuilding. H.R. 3222 would provide a total of $13.2 billion for shipbuilding programs, which is $450 million below the requested amount, but $2.6 billion above last year’s enacted funding level. Specifically, the bill would:

·Fully fund the request for two lead DDG-1000 Zumwalt class destroyers;

·Fully fund one T-AKE Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ship;

·Fully fund the destroyer and cruiser modernization program;

·Add $470 million for Virginia class submarine economic order quantity (EOQ);

·Reduce funding for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program by $910.5 million; and

·Reduce funding for the Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules by $65.3 million, due to shipbuilding delays.

 

Vehicles and force protection. The bill would fully fund Army Humvee and Tactical Vehicles, Army Stryker procurement, and initial procurement of Future Combat Systems equipment. The bill would eliminate funding for the Abrams System Enhancement Program because the requirements of the programs have been met.

National Guard and Reserve Equipment. H.R. 3222 would provide an additional $1 billion in funding for equipping National Guard and Reserve forces to address the significant shortfalls facing these forces as a result of overseas deployments.

 

Title IV: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation

H.R. 3222 would provide $75.4 billion for research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E), which is $264.8 million above the President’s budget request but $339 million below than the Fiscal Year 2007 level.

Aircraft.The bill would:

·Fully fund the Air Force’s tanker replacement program, the VH-71 Executive Helicopter, the Navy Unmanned Combat Air System, and the restructured Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program;

·Support the Global Hawk and Predator unmanned aerial vehicle programs;

·Provide $611 million for F-22 modernization initiatives;

·Add $480 million to continue developing a second source for JSF aircraft engines; and

·Reduce funding for the Combat Search and Rescue helicopter program by $192 million, due to a delay in the contract award.

Space.H.R. 3222 support the following programs at the requested funding levels: the GPS II, Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite, Wideband Global Satellite, National Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite System, and the Space Based Infrared system (SBIRS). The bill also would provide additional funding for space situational awareness (SSA) activities, including Space Control Test Capabilities, RAIDRS Block 20, and basic SSA research activities.

Shipbuilding. The bill would fully fund the President’s request for the Littoral Combat Ships 1 and 2.

Missile defense. H.R. 3222 would provide $8.5 billion for missile defense programs, which is $310 million below the President’s budget request. The bill would

·Fully fund near-term missile defense programs, including ground-based missile defense, Aegis ballistic missile defense, Theater High Altitude Area Defense, and Airborne Laser;

·Provide an additional $100 million for test and training range upgrades and support and for ground-based missile defense upgrades and includes an additional $75 million for Arrow co-production, the Arrow System Improvement Program, and Short Range Ballistic Missile Defense; and

·Reduce funding for the European Third Site program by $85 million, the Kinetic Energy Interceptor by $30 million, and provide no funding for the Space Test Bed and the Space Experimentation Center.

Other provisions.The bill would fully fund the President’s request for the Future Combat System (FCS).

 

Title V: Revolving and Management Funds

H.R. 3222 would provide $1.35 billion for revolving and management funds, which is equal to the President’s budget request and $6.7 million more than the Fiscal Year 2007 level. It would provide $1.044 billion to the National Defense Sealift Fund, which is $34.9 million below the requested amount.

 

Title VI: Other Department of Defense Programs

H.R. 3222 would provide $23.5 billion for other DoD programs, which is $436 million more than the President’s budget request and $2.2 billionmore than the Fiscal Year 2007 level.

Defense Health Program. The bill would provide $23.5 billion for the Defense Health Program, which is $948.9 million above the requested amount and $2.3 billion above last year’s enacted amount. This includes:

Military hospitals.H.R. 3222 includes $486 million for military hospitals, to reverse planned cuts.

• Wounded warrior assistance.The bill would provide $73 million to fund medical needs of wounded service members, particularly those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injuries, as authorized by H.R. 1538, the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act.
• Cancer research.The bill includes $240 million for cancer research, allocated as follows: $150 million for the Breast Cancer Research Program; $80 million for the Prostate Cancer Research Program; and $10 million for the Ovarian Cancer Research Program.
• Peer reviewed medical research program.The bill would provide $50 million for this program.

Chemical agents and munitions destruction.H.R. 3222would provide $1.52 billion, which is $62 million above the requested amount, for the destruction of U.S. chemical agents and munitions as required under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Drug interdiction and counter-drug activities.The bill would provide $962.6 million for drug interdiction and counter-drug activities, which is $25.8 million above the President’s budget request. It would add $25 million to the President’s request for National Guard state counter-drug support programs.

Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. H.R. 3222would provide $120 million for first quarter operations of the Counter-IED Operations Integration Center (COIC), Joint Center of Excellence (JCOE), and staff and infrastructure, which is $380 million below the requested amount. The committee report (S.R. 155-110) states“strong concern over the lack of a formalized strategic plan that would clarify the roles of JIEDDO within the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. Without this guidance, the Committee can not validate the requested funding levels for these requirements.”

Office of the Inspector General (IG).The bill would provide $226 million for the Department of Defense IG, which is $10 million above the requested amount.

 

Title VII: Related Agencies

Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund. The bill provides $262.5 million for this fund.

Intelligence Community Management Account. H.R. 3222would allocate $709.4 million for this account.

 

Title VIII: General Provisions

Provides $3.7 billion in General Transfer Authority for the Department

 

Legislative History

On September 14, 2007, the Senate Appropriations Committee ordered H.R. 3222, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2008, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute to be reported to the full Senate.

On August 5, 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3222, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2008, by a vote of 395-13.

 

Previous Votes

The Senate passed H.R. 5631, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2007, on September 7, 2007, by a vote of 98-0. The Senate passed the conference report for the bill on September 29, 2006, by a vote of 100-0.

The Senate passed H.R. 2863, the Fiscal Year 2006 Department of Defense Appropriations bill, on October 7, 2005, by a vote of 97-0. The Senate passed the conference report for the bill on December 21, 2005, by a vote of 93-0.

The Senate passed H.R. 4613, the Fiscal Year 2005 Department of Defense Appropriations bill, on June 24, 2004, by a vote of 98-0. The Senate passed the conference report for the bill on July 22, 2004, by a vote of 96-0.

The Senate passed H.R. 2658, the Fiscal Year 2004 Department of Defense Appropriationsbill, on July 17, 2003, by a vote of 95-0. The Senate passed the conference report for the bill on September 25, 2003, by a vote of 95-0.

  

Statement of Administration Policy

On August 2, 2007, the Bush Administration issued a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) for the House version of H.R. 3222, citing concerns about funding levels for several programs. This SAP can be accessed on the Office of Management and Budget’s website (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/110-1/hr3222sap-r.pdf). No SAP has been issued yet for the Senate version of the bill.

 

Possible Amendments

The DPC will distribute information on possible amendments as it becomes available.

DPC