For Immediate Release

February 13, 2001

REP. NORM DICKS INTRODUCES
PENTAGON SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A senior member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee today introduced a $6.7 billion emergency supplemental appropriations bill to account for unanticipated defense costs in the current fiscal year.

        U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks [D-Wash] said he was introducing the bill to pay for increased costs of military pay and housing, fuel, maintenance and spare parts, among other expenditures that he said are customarily accounted for in mid-year defense supplemental spending bills.  Though it is the new Bush Administration's preference to delay action on this and other defense spending issues until Secretary Rumsfeld's strategic review has been completed, Rep. Dicks noted that "none of these routine expenditures will be in any way affected by the strategic review of U.S. defense programs."

        "The amounts included in this bill -- slightly more than two percent of the defense budget -- are only what is urgently needed to cover unexpected cost increases for the most basic needs of our service members through the end of this fiscal year.  This is an appropriate and an expected response to the kinds of unavoidable expenses –  fuel, power increases, housing and other operations costs -- that were not provided for in the regular appropriations bill for the Department of Defense,"  Rep. Dicks said in a statement Tuesday introducing the legislation.

        Dicks was joined in the effort by several other key Members of Congress from defense-related committees, including Armed Services Committee ranking Democrat Ike Skelton (D-MO), Rep. Norman Sisisky (D-VA), Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX), Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX) and Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA).

       Included in the $6.7 billion supplemental appropriations bill are:

• $1 billion for pay and housing allowances
• A total of $4.3 billion for critical readiness needs such as training and flying hours, force protection, aircraft and ship maintenance and fuel cost increases.  The total includes $181 million for recruiting and retention costs; $869 million for flying hour programs [$556m Navy, $303m AF]; $558 million for spare parts, $667 for urgent aircraft and ship maintenance needs, including fully funding the repairs on the U.S.S. Cole.
• $1 billion for unanticipated health care cost increases
• $110 million to offset the impact of energy price increases on military family housing.
• $405 million for pay increases mandated by the FY 2001 Defense Authorization bill
• $276 million for Basic Allowance for Housing to fully fund the 2001 rates
  

        "Passing this emergency supplemental bill is a routine and prudent action in Congress, and we must act expeditiously in order to avoid the cuts in each of the services that would be triggered soon – with nearly half the fiscal year over – if we were not to pass this bill," Rep. Dicks said.

Home >> Newsroom >> Press Releases