Appropriations for FY2000: Defense (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Oct. 27, 1999 |
| Report Number |
RL30205 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Stephen Daggett, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
On October 6, conferees reached agreement on the FY2000 defense appropriations bill,
H.R. 2561 , and the conference report was filed on October 8. The House approved the
conference agreement by a vote of 372-55 on October 13, and the Senate approved it by a vote of
87 to 11 on October 14, and the President signed the bill into law, P.L. 106-79 , on October 25. The
key issue in the conference concerned funding for the F-22 fighter. The conference agreement
provides a total of $2.522 billion for the program, including $1.222 billion for R&D, $1 billion
for
acquisition of test aircraft, and $300 million in advance FY2001 appropriations for program
termination liability. The total amount is about $500 million below the request ($1.85 billion in
procurement and $1.2 billion in R&D). The conference agreement also prohibits award of an
initial
low-rate production contract unless certain testing is successfully completed.
Aside from the F-22, major issues in the FY2000 defense debate included whether to approve
a new round of military base closures, how much to provide for military pay and benefits, whether
to impose constraints on funding for U.S. military operations in Kosovo, how to fund theater missile
defense programs, and how to respond to security lapses at Department of Energy (DOE) weapons
labs. The conference agreement on the defense authorization bill does not approve a new round of
military base closures. It provides somewhat larger increases in pay and benefits than the
Administration had requested, including a 4.8% pay raise in 2000 and increased retirement benefits,
though it does not include a Senate-passed provision to expand Montgomery GI Bill benefits.
Although Congress approved supplemental FY1999 appropriations for Kosovo operations, the
Administration's policy remains controversial. The House removed a provision from the defense
authorization bill prohibiting funds to be used for future operations in Kosovo, but only after the
Administration agreed to seek supplemental appropriations to cover costs of a peacekeeping mission
in FY2000. Earlier in the year, both houses approved bills calling for deployment of a nationwide
missile defense, but funding for theater missile defense programs was a matter of dispute. The
authorization conference agreement establishes an independent organization within DOE to oversee
security, and the President objected to these provisions even as he signed the bill into law.
Finally, the level of defense spending was resolved only at the very end of the appropriations
process. The Senate-passed appropriations bill used about $4.9 billion of funds provided in the
Kosovo supplemental appropriations bill as an offset for defense increases and provided a net total
of $264.7 billion, $1.4 billion above the request. The House bill provided $268.7 billion in new
budget authority, $5.4 billion above the request and $4.0 billion above the Senate level. The
appropriations conference agreement provides $267.8 billion in FY2000, of which $7.2 billion is
designated as emergency appropriations.
