Authorization and Appropriations for FY2004 (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Dec. 9, 2003 |
| Report Number |
RL31805 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Amy Belasco and Stephen Daggett, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
With passage of the FY2004 DOD Authorization Act by the House on November 7 and by the
Senate on November 12, 2003, Congress completed action on this year's defense authorization
( H.R. 1588 / H.Rept. 108-384 ). The President signed the bill on November 24, 2003
( P.L. 108-384 ). On September 30, just in time for the new fiscal year, the President signed
H.R. 2658 , the FY2004 DOD Appropriations Act ( P.L. 108-87 ), completing action on
FY2004 defense appropriations.
The recently enacted FY2004 DOD authorization bill provides a total of $401.3 billion for
defense programs, including funds in the DOD and military construction appropriations as well as
several other defense-related programs funded in other appropriations measures. The total
authorized for these defense and defense-related programs that make up the national defense function
is $1.5 billion above the Administration's request and $9.3 billion above the FY2003 enacted level.
The conference version of the FY2004 DOD authorization is the culmination of months of
negotiation about several contentious issues: Buy American provisions, the Air Force's
controversial tanker lease proposal, a new concurrent receipt benefit for military retirees, a new
National Security Personnel System, a new health benefit for reservists, and special exemptions for
DOD to certain environmental regulations. Substantial differences about these issues between the
houses and with the Administration had stymied completion of the authorization bill.
In conference, Buy American restrictions mandating that DOD rely exclusively on U.S.
suppliers for certain items were dropped in favor of provisions that require DOD to assess the U.S.
industrial base and possibly provide incentives to certain U.S. producers. In the case of the Boeing
767 tanker aircraft, DOD accepted a Senate-proposed compromise allowing them to lease 20 and buy
80 rather than lease100 aircraft.
After the Administration dropped its veto threat, Congress passed a new concurrent receipt
benefit that is expected to provide about 200,000 military retirees with both their military retirement
and disability benefits, reversing a prohibition in effect for over 100 years. DOD also received new
authority to design and implement its own civilian personnel system and new exemptions to certain
environmental rules. The bill also provides access to DOD's TRICARE health care to unemployed,
non-deployed reservists and maintains current higher levels of imminent danger pay and family
separation allowance for eligible military personnel through December 2004.
The FY2004 DOD Appropriations Act provides appropriations totaling $368.7 billion for the
defense programs it covers. That total is $3.5 billion below the Administration's request and $4.0
billion above last year's enacted level. The programmatic impact of the cut is cushioned, however,
because the bill receives credit for $3.5 billion rescinded from funds provided in the $62.6 billion
FY2003 supplemental appropriations bill that Congress approved in April 2003.
