2904 . The military construction appropriations bill provides a large part of the funding to enhance andmaintain this infrastructure. The bill funds construction projects and real property maintenance ofthe active Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force, and their reserve components; additionaldefense-wide construction; U.S. contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program (formerlyknown as the NATO Infrastructure Program); and military family housing operations andconstruction. Other major appropriation legislation includes the defenseappropriations bill, which provides funds for all non-construction military activities of theDepartment of Defense and constitutes more than 90% of national security-related spending, and theenergy and water development appropriations bill, which provides funding for atomic energy defenseactivities of the Department of Energy and for civil projects carried out by the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers. The House passed the FY2002 Military Construction Appropriations Act( H.R. It also required an upward adjustment of 302(b) budget allocationfrom $10.2 billion to $10.5 billion. Aspassed by the Senate, the $10.500 billion bill exceeded the president's request by$528.7 million, allocating $5.5 billion to military construction, $163 million to theNATO Security Investment Program, $4.1 billion to family housing, and $682million to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). Conference Action. Key Policy Issues

Elective Quality of LifeConstruction. In recent years, quality of life,including the use of military construction funds, has been a focus of the defensedebate. An historical comparison shows that thedivergence between DOD budget requests and congressional appropriationenactments originated relatively recently and has mainly affected the less than 20 %of military construction funding dedicated to the National Guard and Reserves (see Table 5 at the end of this report). The Efficient Facilities Initiative (EFI). The Efficient Facilities Initiative (EFI) was announced by theDepartment of Defense on August 2, and the Department's General Counselsubmitted proposed legislation to Congress on August 3. In support of the first action, the Secretary of Defense has instructed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to undertake a thorough assessment of alloverseas military installations based on the results of the upcoming QuadrennialDefense Review (QDR). Congress has authorized the Secretary to "convert any military orcivil service appropriated or non-appropriated fund activity at Brooks Air Force Base,Texas, into a contracted activity or an exchange of services compensated for by thelease, sale, conveyance, or transfer of real or private property." Conflicting Priorities and Construction Funding. Major Funding Trends

Requested military construction funds declined steadily from a high of $7.2billion for FY1985 to a low of $1.6 billion for FY2000. Table 5 compares Administration militaryconstruction requests and enactments for Guard and Reserve projects fromFY1985-2002. Legislation

		Emergency Supplemental Appropriations

P.L. 107-38 , H.R. 2888 . Making appropriations for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the Departmentof Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes.The House Committee on Appropriations reported an original measure , H.Rept.107-207 , on September 21, 2001. S. 1460 (Fenstein). Military Construction Appropriations by Account: FY2001-2002 (new budget authority in thousandsof dollars)
Source: Data for FY2001-FY2002 from Amended FY2002 Budget Request. Table 4.
The military construction (MilCon) appropriations bill provides funding for (1) military construction projects in the United States and overseas; (2) military family housing operations andconstruction; (3) U.S. contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program; and (4) the bulk ofbase realignment and closure (BRAC) costs.
Funding for rebuilding parts of the Pentagon destroyed in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, is likely to be included in military construction appropriations. Preliminary estimates of thetotal cost vary from $100 million to $1 billion. Part of the emergency funding legislation, H.R. 2888 ( P.L. 107-38 ), passed by Congress Friday, September 14, will be allocatedfor this rebuilding. To date, $173.4 million in contracts have been awarded for emergency structuralassessment, repair, and restoration to the Pentagon, with provision for additional awards at 60-dayintervals.
On June 27, the Administration submitted a $343.5 billion amended FY2002 defense budget request. $10.0 billion of this is intended for military construction. Of that amount, $4.6 billion isintended for the active services and DOD; $0.6 billion for the National Guard and Reserves; $4.1billion for construction and operation of military family housing; $0.2 billion for the NATO SecurityInvestment Program, and $0.5 billion for BRAC. Separate versions of appropriations bills (bothgranting $10.5 billion in new budget authority) have been passed by Congress ( H.R. 2904 and S. 1460 ).
A key issue in Congress is funding for quality of life construction. Military work facilities, particularly those overseas and those by the National Guard and Reserves, are perceived by manyas being deteriorated and underfunded. Recently, Congress has often appropriated more inconstruction funds than the Administration has requested. Congress has similarly augmented budgetrequests for military family housing appropriations. The FY2002 military construction bill exceedsthe requested amount by 5.3%.
An additional key issue is the future of the Efficient Facilities Initiative (EFI). DOD recommended legislation on August 3 to initiate a worldwide assessment of military installationrequirements, based on the results of the current Quadrennial Defense Review, and a subsequentround of base closures and realignments. The legislation as submitted would permanently authorizethe service secretaries to convey base property to local or state government or private enterprise andlease back what is necessary for military use. This is modeled on a demonstration project begunduring FY2000 at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. If enacted, the EFI is likely to affect the future needfor military construction and operations and maintenance funding.
Other issues include the provision of construction contingency funds in budget requests (to enable uninterrupted construction), an understanding of the total costs of DOD real property (spreadacross several budget accounts), and recent conflicts between Administration and congressionalconstruction priorities and funding. Conference action on the bill is pending.
Key Policy Staff
* FDT = Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division of the Congressional Research Service