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| Wilson: Defense Bill Passes House |
May 20, 2004 |
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New Mexico Priorities Move On with House Stamp of Approval
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson today hailed House passage of a Defense Authorization bill that strengthens national security and promotes jobs in New Mexico.
New Mexico’s priorities in the bill cleared another legislative hurdle. The Fiscal Year 2005 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4200) passed 391-34 and the next step will be conference with the U.S. Senate, following Senate action.
Some of the highlights of the House bill include the Wilson-proposed improvements to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) criteria, the Wilson-backed increase in active troop levels by 39,000 over three years, a two-year delay of BRAC, and a string of Defense-related funding and projects in New Mexico totaling in the billions of dollars. The BRAC provisions are not in the Senate version of the Defense bill.
“This one bill sends billions of dollars directly to New Mexico,” Wilson said. “If enacted into law, it will put our bases in a better position and mean jobs for people.”
Wilson worked extensively on this bill, as the only member of New Mexico’s Congressional delegation who serves on an armed services committee with jurisdiction over the military and the national laboratories.
Wilson’s Improvements to BRAC Criteria Pass House
As approved today by the House, the bill will help protect New Mexico’s bases from closure. It contains Congresswoman Wilson’s proposal to include research, development and testing in the criteria that must be used in the next round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). It would also require DoD to calculate cost savings to the taxpayer, not just cost savings to the Department of Defense, an important provision for Kirtland Air Force Base with its large Department of Energy presence.
Wilson opposes BRAC, but introduced these measures to add priorities that were missing from the Defense Department’s criteria.
“These criteria are the lens through which bases will be evaluated,” Wilson said. “The DOD proposed to use Cold War criteria that valued current operations, logistics and training but completely ignored the need to have research, development and testing facilities for the next generation of weapons systems. Since the DO version wasn’t good enough, the House is telling them what to use.”
The bill passed today would require DoD to use the following additional BRAC criteria:
Recognize research development and testing as part of military value
Identify range testing facilities as part of military value
Make cost savings calculations for the federal budget, not just the DoD budget
Include the surge requirement as enacted by law
“If the Senate includes comparable language, the case for missions at Kirtland would be strengthened,” said Col. Charles Thomas, former Base Commander and former chairman of the Kirtland Partnership Committee.
Congress approved the 2005 round in 2001, when Wilson voted against the Defense Authorization legislation because it authorized another BRAC.
House Passes Wilson-Backed Increase in Active Strength
Just six months after Wilson gathered the signatures of more than one-fourth of U.S. House members for a letter to the President, the House authorized an increase to active forces over three years by 39,000 troops. The boost includes 10,000 yearly for the Army and another 3,000 each year for the Marines. While the Defense Department opposed a permanent increase, the House supported Wilson’s approach.
“The War on Terror will define this generation of military service, just as the Cold War defined my generation of service,” Wilson said. “We need to be able to sustain this effort over the long haul. Committing to more active troops in this next year will let our men and women in the military know that help is on the way.”
BRAC Delay Proposal Moves On
The House today also approved a delay of BRAC by two years. This would require DoD to conduct a six-month study on global basing needs for transformation and surge requirements. The results would then be delivered to Congress in 2005 for an 18-month review, after which Congress would recommend the future of BRAC.
“Our force size is increasing and it would be prudent to delay the 2005 round,” Wilson said.
Survivor Benefits Payments Boosted
An increase, cosponsored by Wilson, eliminates the Social Security offset under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) by increasing the annuities paid to survivors of military retirees who are 62 or older. The SBP provision was included in H.R. 4200, the Fiscal Year 2005 National Defense Authorization Act, which was passed by the Committee late last evening.
“We are making important progress for our veterans and their families,” Wilson said. “Fixing the inequity in the Survivor Benefit this year will build on last year’s improvements to concurrent receipt and increased funding for veterans’ health care.”
Currently, uniformed services survivor benefits do not match what was promised and provided to survivors of other federal retirees, based on premiums paid. Restoring equity requires an increase in the SBP annuity. SBP was enacted more than three decades ago in 1972. Under the current plan, survivors are faced with a 20% drop in their annuity once they reach age 62. The typical recipient experiences a reduction in their annuity from 55% of the retiree’s pay to 35%. Thousands of these survivors were never told about this annuity cut and the unexpected loss of income is often financially devastating.
The legislation would eliminate the social security offset under SBP and, over four years, increase the annuities paid to survivors of military retirees who are 62 or older.
Military Construction at Kirtland Air Force Base
A military construction project at Kirtland Air Force Base was approved, strengthening the facility’s value to the U.S. Air Force. The bill authorizes $9.2 million for military construction of a Corrosion Control Facility at KAFB, a project that was not in the President’s budget.
“Military construction at Kirtland Air Force Base creates jobs and keeps the base in good shape,” Wilson said.
KAFB’s new modern corrosion control/painting facility would include an aircraft paint bay, a support equipment preparation bay and paint booth, a paint mixing room, a composite repair room and a plastic media blasting room. The facility supports current operations and the bed-down of the CV-22 Osprey.
In the six years since she was elected to Congress, Wilson has made infrastructure improvements at Kirtland a priority to better prepare for base realignment and closure. Congress has added over $100 million in military construction projects at Kirtland in the past six years, in addition to authorizing $173 million of private investment in housing at the base.
“Combined with Sandia’s MESA project, Kirtland is one of the largest construction sites in the Air Force,” Wilson said. “When the Pentagon makes recommendations about what real estate to keep and what to close, we want Kirtland to be a ‘keeper.’”
Other funding of direct importance to New Mexico
The bill includes important funds for the New Mexico’s national labs and the defense of our nation. The bill creates jobs in New Mexico by funding key activities at the state’s National Labs, at Kirtland Air Force Base and the Air Force Research Laboratory, and work in private industry and universities.
The bill authorizes $3 billion for National Nuclear Security Administration activities at the Sandia and Los Alamos Laboratories alone. The activities at the labs are vitally important to sustaining the U.S. nuclear deterrent and to efforts to limit proliferation.
Department of Energy
Within the authorization for NNSA activities in New Mexico are:
A $20 million increase to the President’s requested budget of $48.7 Million to continue acceleration of the construction of the Microsystems and Engineering Sciences Application (MESA) Complex at Sandia National Labs. This will help ensure timely availability of the capabilities MESA will provide for stockpile stewardship. MESA will help modernize electrical, optical, and mechanical components of the U.S. nuclear deterrent using micro technologies, for future reliability, safety, and security.
A $13 million increase to maintain the delivery schedule for a complete Petawatt laser system at Sandia’s Z machine prior to 2007. This will add significant diagnostic capabilities to Z, a machine that uses pulsed electrical power to produce temperatures rivaling the sun.
$5 million will begin a ramp-up toward second-shift operations at Z to enable more experiments to be conducted.
The bill authorizes full funding of $27.6M for studies of a Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, and $9M for Advanced Concepts studies. It strongly reaffirms the importance of these initiatives for future national security. Any engineering development beyond the current RNEP study would require separate authorization and appropriation by Congress. The bill also authorizes funds for nuclear test readiness and for design and environmental studies toward a modern pit facility.
Space and Technology
Outside the DOE programs, the bill authorizes $10 million for the Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT) Consortium to conduct and exploit basic research on sensors that can enhance the intelligence capabilities of the U.S. This consortium includes UNM, Sandia, Los Alamos, and several other Federal laboratories, high-technology industries, and several Federal agencies. Other New Mexico universities can apply for grants under the program.
It also includes $4 million at the Air Force Research Lab for Integrated Control for Autonomous Space Systems (ICASS), to develop advanced satellite control and measurement technologies, enabling significant performance enhancements for Air Force space and air-breathing systems.
An increase of $5 million over the President’s budget request of $60.1 million for advanced spacecraft technology will fund a satellite simulation toolkit at $65.1 million.
An increase of $6 million over the President’s budget request of $35.4 million for operationally responsive launch capability will fund the Scorpius program to develop technology for sub-orbital launch.
The bill funds testing equipment for the war fighter at $28.8 million.
UNM photonics centers are funded at $3.09 million to develop future optoelectronics and related technologies that are critical for communications.
Microwave power research at Sandia for use with radar enhancement, communications and energy weapons is funded at $15 million.
The C-5 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) kits are funded at $120.6 million, including an additional $21 million at Wilson’s request, funding about six kits. Honeywell receives just over $1 million for each kit with about $700,000 for each going to Albuquerque.
Lasers
Within the area of missile defense, the bill authorizes the full $492 million requested for the Airborne Laser Program (ABL) headquartered at Kirtland Air Force Base and with $200M of activities in New Mexico at the Air Force Research Lab and local business.
An Aerospace Relay Mirror system that directs lasers onto targets is funded at $51.1 million. This work is done by Boeing-SVS in Albuquerque.
Equipping a gunship with a high-powered laser is funded at $28.6 million.
Advanced Laser Diode Arrays for ship self-defense are funded at $6 million.
White Sands Missile Range
The Committee authorized $64 million in military construction for White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), including $33 million to construct the Electromagnetic Vulnerability Assessment Facility, and $31 million to construct 156 units of family housing.
Also at White Sands, a high energy laser for shooting down incoming rockets is funded at $39 million. Another laser testing program for special operations is funded at $15.7 million.
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