Summary
H.R. 2642, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
Appropriations Act, 2008, would provide $109.2 billion ($64.7 billion in
discretionary funds) in appropriations for military construction, military
family housing, and veterans affairs programs.
This amount is $18.2 billion more than last year’s funding levels for these
programs, excluding emergency supplemental funding, and $4 billion more than
President Bush’s budget request.
The majority of the
increased funding provided in the bill – $3.6 billion – would be allocated to
veterans’ health care initiatives, including critical programs for the research
and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain
injury. The bill would provide a total of $87.5 billion for the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to ensure that the VA is able to meet the
current needs of veterans and also provide for the long-term needs of veterans
of the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars.
In addition, H.R. 2642
would provide $21.557 billion for military construction, with more than half of
the funding allocated for base realignment and closure activities (BRAC) and
the President’s proposed “Grow the Force” initiative,” to increase the end
strength of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 over five years. The
rest of the proposed funding would support existing construction and
maintenance requirements, including critical renovations and repairs to
military facilities and military family housing.
Major Provisions
Title
I: Military Construction
Military Construction:
Active Duty. The bill would
provide a total of $8.904 billion for Active Duty construction, including the
following:
- $3.9 billion for Army construction, which is
$111 million below the requested amount and $1.9 billion above Fiscal Year
2007 levels (excluding supplemental funding);
- $2.168 billion for Navy and Marine Corps
construction, which is $64 million above the requested amount and $1.066
billion above last year’s funding levels (excluding supplemental funding);
- $1.048 billion for Air Force construction, which
is $136.4 million above the President’s request and $37.2 million below
Fiscal Year 2007 levels (excluding supplemental funding); and
- $1.759 billion for defense-wide construction
projects, which is $40.6 million below the budget request and $741.9
million above Fiscal Year 2007 funding.
Military Construction:
National Guard and Reserve. H.R.
2642 would provide $929.9 million for National Guard and Reserve construction,
including:
- $478.8 million for Army National Guard projects,
which is $74.5 million above the requested amount;
- $229 million for Air National Guard
construction, which is $143.5 million above the President’s budget;
- $138.4 million for Army Reserve construction,
which is $18.7 million above the requested amount;
- $59.2 million for Naval Reserve projects, which
is equal to the requested amount; and
- $24.5 million for Air Force Reserve projects,
which is $2.1 million below the President’s request.
Military Construction:
Family Housing. The bill would
appropriate $2.922 billion for family housing. This amount is $1.115
billion below the amount appropriated for Fiscal Year 2007, and $10 million
below the President’s request. Specifically, H.R. 2642 would
appropriate:
- to the Army, $419.4 million for construction and
$742.9 million for operations and maintenance, which are equal to the
President’s request;
- to the Navy and Marine Corps, $288.3 million for
construction ($10 million below the requested amount) and $371.4 million
for operations and maintenance (equal to the requested amount);
- to the Air Force, $362.7 million for
construction and $688.3 million for operations and maintenance, which are
equal to the President’s request;
- for defense-wide housing operation and
maintenance $48.8 million, which is equal to the requested amount; and
- to the Department of Defense Family Housing
Improvement Fund, $500,000, which is equal to the President’s budget
request.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security
Investment Program. H.R.
2642 would provide $201.4 million for the U.S. share of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) security investment program, including acquisition
and construction of facilities and other expenses related to the defense of the
North Atlantic Treaty Area. This amount is equal to the President’s
budget request and $3.4 million below Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations.
Chemical
Demilitarization. The bill would provide $104.2 million for chemical
demilitarization construction projects, which is $18 million above the
President’s request.
Base
Realignment and Closure Account. The bill would deposit $320.7 million into the 1990 Base
Realignment and Closure (BRAC) account (which is $100 million above the
requested amount) and $8.17 billion into the 2005 BRAC account (equal to the
President’s request), to remain available until expended.
Title
II: Department of Veterans Affairs
Title II of H.R. 2642 would
appropriate $87.5 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Of
this amount, $44.487 billion, roughly 51 percent of the total, is for mandatory
programs, and $43.014 billion is for discretionary appropriations. This
amount represents an increase of $3.597 billion above the President’s request
and $6.534 above Fiscal Year 2007 levels (excluding supplemental funding).
Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA).
The bill would provide $44.642 billion for the VBA, which is equal to the
President’s request and is $3.2 billion above Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations.
This amount includes funding as follows for mandatory programs:
- $41.236 billion for compensation and pensions;
- $3.3 billion for readjustment benefits; and
- $41.25 million for veterans insurance and
indemnities.
Veterans
Health Administration (VHA).
The bill would provide $37.2 billion for the VHA, which is $2.6 billion more
than the President’s request and $4.5 billion more than Fiscal Year 2007
funding levels (excluding supplemental funding). This allocation includes
funding for the following programs:
- Medical services. The bill would provide $28.979 billion
for VHA medical services, which is $1.8 billion above the requested amount
and represents an increase of $3.46 billion over Fiscal Year 2007 funding
(excluding supplemental funding). Medical services funding includes
allocations for investments in polytrauma
rehabilitation programs, mental health services, post-traumatic stress
disorder treatments, traumatic brain injury programs, readjustment
counseling, among other programs.
- Medical Administration. H.R. 2642 includes $3.642 billion for VHA medical
administration, which is $200 million above the President’s request and
$464 million over Fiscal Year 2007 funding (excluding supplemental
funding).
- Medical facilities. The bill would provide $4.092 billion for
the operation and maintenance of the VA healthcare system’s infrastructure
to ensure that VA medical facilities are maintained at the highest level
possible. This amount is $500 million above the President’s request
and $522.4 million above Fiscal Year 2007 levels (excluding supplemental
funding).
- Medical and prosthetic research. H.R. 2642 would provide $500
million for medical and prosthetic research, including $15 million for
research related to Gulf War Illness. This amount represents an $89
million increase over the President’s proposal and is $86 million above
Fiscal Year 2007 levels (excluding supplemental funding).
- Medical Care Collection Fund. The bill includes authority to retain
co-payments and third-party collections, estimated at $2.414 billion for
Fiscal Year 2008. This would effectively provide VHA with a total of
$39.627 billion in resources.
National Cemetery Administration. The bill would provide $217.7 million for the
National Cemetery Administration, which is $50.9
million above the requested amount and $56.96 million above Fiscal Year 2007
levels.
Departmental
Administration. H.R.
2642 would provide $5.427 billion for Departmental Administration.
This includes:
- $1.612 billion for general operating expenses,
which is $130.5 million above Fiscal Year 2007 levels (excluding
supplemental funding) and $140.2 million above the President’s
request. The increased funding would be provided to support efforts
to improve the claims process.
- $88.7 million for the Office of the Inspector
General to ensure effective oversight of VA programs and operations.
This amount is $16.1 million above the requested amount and $15.6 billion
above Fiscal Year 2007 levels.
- $727.4 million for major construction projects,
which is equal to the President’s request and $328.4 million above Fiscal
Year 2007 funding.
- $751.4 million for minor construction projects,
which is $518 million above the requested amount and $552.5 million above
Fiscal Year 2007 (excluding supplemental funding).
- $250 million for grants for the construction of
state extended care facilities, which is $165 million above the
President’s requested amount and the Fiscal Year 2007 level.
- $100 million for grants for the construction of
state veterans’ cemeteries, which is $68 million more than the requested
amount and Fiscal Year 2007 funding.
- $1.898 billion for information and technology
systems, which is $38.8 million above the President’s request and $684
million above the Fiscal Year 2007 level (excluding supplemental
funding). These funds would support initiatives to improve VA claims
processing and ensure electronic interoperability between the VA and
Department of Defense for sharing medical records and processing benefits
claims.
Title
III: Related Agencies
American
Battle Monuments Commission.
H.R. 2642 would provide $56.6
million for the ABMC for the maintenance and construction of U.S. monuments
and memorials commemorating the achievements of the Armed Forces, including
$45.6 million for salaries and expenses and $11 million for foreign currency
fluctuation. This amount is $3.5 million above the budget request and
$14.6 million above Fiscal Year 2007 funding.
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans
Claims. The bill would
allocate $24.2 million for salaries and expenses for the U.S. Court of Appeals
for Veterans Claims, to review decisions of the Board of Veterans’
appeals. This amount is $3 million above the President’s request and $4
million above last year’s funding level.
Department
of Defense – Civil.
H.R. 2642 would provide $31.8
million for Army cemeterial expenses, to fund the
administration, operation, and maintenance of Arlington National
Cemetery. This
amount is $4.9 million above the requested amount and $1.86 million above
Fiscal Year 2007 funding.
Armed
Services Retirement Home.
The bill would provide $61.6 million to operate and maintain the Armed Forces
Retirement Home in Washington, D.C.
and Gulfport, MS, which is equal to the budget request.
Legislative History
On June 14, 2007, the Senate
Appropriations Committee voted 28 to 1 to favorably report H.R. 2642,
the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2008.
On June 16, 2007 the House
of Representatives voted 409-2 to pass its version of H.R. 2642.
Previous Votes
The Senate passed H.R.
5385, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2007, on November 15, 2006 by a voice
vote. The Senate did not act on a conference report to H.R. 5385
before the 109th Congress ended.
The Senate passed H.R.
2528, the Fiscal Year 2006 Military Construction Appropriations Act,
on September 22, 2005, by a vote of 98-0. It passed the conference report
for H.R. 2528 on November 18, 2005 by unanimous consent.
The Senate passed H.R.
4837, the Fiscal Year 2005 Military Construction Appropriations Act,
on September 20, 2004, by a vote of 91-0. It passed the conference report
for H.R. 4837 on October 11, 2004 by voice vote.
On November 20, 2004, the
Senate passed the conference report to H.R. 4818, the Fiscal Year
2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act, by a 65-30 vote. H.R. 4818 included
appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Statement of Administration Policy
No Statement of Administration
Policy (SAP) has been issued by the White House regarding the Senate version of
H.R. 2642. On June 13, 2007, the White House issued a SAP citing
major objections to the House of Representatives’ version of H.R. 2642.
The SAP can be viewed at the White House Office of Management and Budget
website (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/110-1/hr2642sap-h.pdf).
Amendments
Information
on amendments to H.R. 2642 will be distributed by the DPC as it becomes
available.
