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| Wilson To Help Finalize Defense Bill |
July 17, 2003 |
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Lawmaker Focuses on BRAC and Job-Creating Construction Projects
Washington, DC- Congresswoman Heather Wilson was named today as a conferee to the FY04 Defense Authorization bill that provides military pay raises, funds New Mexicodefense-related projects, and protects funding for Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories.
This marks the first time that Wilson, whose stature on the Hill has steadily increased, has been named a conferee. Wilson is the only member of New Mexico`s delegation who serves on a defense-authorizing committee. The Armed Services Committee, where Wilsonserves, has jurisdiction over the military and the nation`s national laboratories.
Wilson says BRAC is a big focus as the Defense bill is authorized. She supports two important limitations on the 2005 BRAC round, added in Wilson`s Armed Services Committee. First, the committee approved adding a step to the BRAC process that would require DOD to announce bases that are not subject to closure up front - no later than April 1, 2005. Second, the committee set some limits on the force structure we should build down to as no less than that needed for the 1991 force structure.
"No one believes they are going to close the Pentagon or West Point. The Defense Department should take some bases off the table so that communities can avoid the expense and anxiety that comes with BRAC," Wilsonsaid. "In my view, Kirtland should be taken off the table. It is a national base and they made a mistake proposing to realign it in 1995."
Wilson priorities during conference negotiations will likely include:
Military Construction Funding: The House version of the bill authorizes five military construction projects in New Mexico. Wilson originally added the projects at the subcommittee level and says they`re important to New Mexico because of their job-creating potential.
$2.533 million to add or alter an Army National Guard readiness center in Albuquerque
$6.957 million for an Arsenic Treatment plant at Kirtland Air Force Base
$4.15 million for an electrical power main switching station at Kirtland Air Force Base
$14.6 million for replacing military family housing at White Sands Missile Range
$3.6 million to upgrade the radar test facility at Tularosa
Lab Funding: The Defense Authorization bill includes $8.8 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration, which funds stockpile stewardship at the nation`s laboratories. That includes Albuquerque`s Sandia National Laboratories, and Los Alamos National Laboratories in Northern New Mexico. Funding for Laboratory Directed Research and Development, a program that has come under fire in years past, should be maintained at 6 percent of laboratory budget.
BRAC: Both bills retain the FY05 round of BRAC. Wilson, who generally opposes BRAC, supports House provisions to exempt bases up front and to state a minimum force structure for planning purposes.
Health Benefits for Inactive Reservists: The Senate bill provides for new health benefits for non-active reservists. There is no such House provision. Wilson strongly supports a provision that would cover health care of people between their commissioning and when they report for duty at their first assignment. This provision was inspired by a New Mexico reservist whose personal tragedy could help close a loophole. A day after receiving his college diploma and commission, Spiri was diagnosed with brain cancer. Because his commission cast his military status as "inactive reservist," Spiri was ineligible for the defense Department`s TRICARE health care program. The inability to access TRICARE or personally afford the burden of huge medical bills led to Spiri`s death in July 2001.
Concurrent Receipt: The Senate bill provides full concurrent bill does not include VA disability and retirement, but that could trigger a Presidential veto. The House bill does not include full concurrent receipt. Wilson wants to eliminate the unfairness of the current rules.
Citizenship for Relatives of Servicemen in Combat: The Senate bill provides continued immigration benefits for immediate non-American relatives of servicemen killed in combat. While the House has passed separate legislation doing the same, there is no equivalent provision in the House Defense bill. Wilson supports the Senate provision.
National Security Personnel Management: House bill provides for the Secretary of Defense to reinvent the civilian personnel system. The Senate does not have an equivalent provision. National Federal Employee organizations have expressed concern with the House position. Wilson has listened to their concerns and agreed to bring specific concerns to the table.
A conference committee is composed of a House and a Senate delegation appointed to reconcile the differences between the versions of a measure passed by the two chambers. Congress usually uses a conference committee to resolve such disagreements on the more important, controversial, or complex measures. The members of each chamber`s delegation are known as its conferees or, more formally, "managers."
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