This Statement of Administration Policy provides the
Administration's views on S. 2593, the Department of Defense
Appropriations Bill, FY 2001, as reported by the Senate Appropriations
Committee. Your consideration of the Administration's views would be
appreciated. While the Committee has developed a bill providing
requested funding for many of the President's defense priorities, S.
2593 raises several budget and policy concerns as outlined below. The
following highlights our specific concerns with the Committee bill. We
look forward to working with the Senate to resolve these issues as the
bill moves forward.
Funding Levels
The Senate Committee bill would provide $3.1 billion more for
Department of Defense programs in FY 2001 than requested by the
President. This increase is in contrast to the President's fiscal and
spending priorities, which provide a balanced approach that maintains
fiscal discipline, eliminates the national debt, and extends the
solvency of Social Security and Medicare. Providing additional funds for
Department of Defense activities in excess of the significant increases
sought by the President over FY 2000 levels would reduce resources for
non-defense programs that are critical to our Nation's future.
Health Care for Medicare-Eligible Military Retirees
The Committee bill includes $137 million for the new pharmacy benefit
for Medicare-eligible military retirees proposed by the Senate Armed
Services Committee. The Administration supports the Committee's
commitment to this new benefit and believes strongly that military
retirees must have access to comprehensive prescription drug coverage.
However, the Administration is concerned that this funding level will
not cover the cost of the program, which we estimate to be close to $200
million in FY 2001. The Defense Health Program already faces significant
challenges in managing expansive benefits in the face of fiscal
constraints, which would only be compounded by the need to fund a new
program. We urge the Senate to fully fund this proposal, especially in
the context of funds already provided in this bill.
LPD-17 Reductions
The Administration opposes the deletion of funds to procure two
LPD-17 Amphibious Transport Dock ships, an action the Committee has
based on cost growth and schedule delays. The budget request accounts
for schedule delays in the program and includes funds to cover cost
growth for the first several ships. The LPD-17 program is a critical
program in the Navy's effort to recapitalize an aging force of
amphibious ships. Deletion of these funds would add further cost to the
program. Moreover, the Committee's action would further delay the
operational availability of these two LPD-17s, forcing the Navy to
retain older, less capable ships in the fleet longer than anticipated
and risking an increase in maintenance costs. The Administration urges
the Senate to restore funding for these ships.
Joint Strike Fighter
The Administration opposes the deletion of the $596 million requested
to initiate engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) for the
Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and the addition of $392 million to extend
the demonstration and validation phase of the project -- a net reduction
of $204 million to the program. The Committee is apparently concerned
that the JSF will enter EMD before it is ready. The Department of
Defense intends to conduct a thorough evaluation and testing of the
program before starting the EMD phase. The Committee bill would remove
managerial flexibility from the Department, which would be potentially
disruptive to the program. We urge the Senate to fund the JSF as
requested by the President.
Deletion of Shipbuilding Prior-Year Completion Funds
The Administration objects to the Committee's deletion of $263
million for completion of prior-year shipbuilding programs. Instead, the
Committee has included authority for the Secretary of the Navy to
transfer up to $300 million to cover cost changes to ongoing ship
construction programs. The Administration opposes these actions. The
Administration has requested funds to cover cost increases for the
Virginia Class attack submarine, the CVN-76 nuclear aircraft carrier,
and DDG-51 destroyers. This funding is critical to maintaining
construction schedules. While the Committee provides the Secretary of
the Navy with the authority to transfer up to $300 million to cover
certain costs, such transfers would be disruptive, since they would have
to come at the expense of other ongoing Navy programs. The
Administration urges the Senate to restore funding in the Shipbuilding
and Conversion account for completion of prior-year programs.
Unrequested Funding for Procurement and R&D Programs
Much of the additional funding in the Committee bill is for
unrequested procurement and R&D programs, funding that comes at the
expense of more urgent needs. The President's FY 2001 request meets the
$60 billion procurement target established in the Quadrennial Defense
Review (QDR) and represents a balanced approach to modernization. The
Committee bill adds funding for several unrequested procurement items,
including: $150 million for National Guard and Reserve Equipment; $165
million for two variants of the C-130J aircraft; $110 million for two
C-40A Naval Reserve transport planes; $119 million for nine Blackhawk
helicopters for the Army and Navy; and, $460 million in advance
procurement funding for construction of the LHD-8 amphibious ship.
The Committee bill has likewise added funds to the request for
Research, Development, Test and Evaluation. This increase includes $81
million for Army Missile Defense Systems Integration, $92 million for
the Airborne Laser Program, $200 million for the Remotely Controlled
Combat Systems Initiative, and $93 million for ballistic missile defense
technologies. Of the increases proposed by the Committee, many are of
low military value as judged by the military services.
At the same time, the Committee bill fails to fully fund the
development of many new technologies of importance to DoD. For example,
the Committee has made a $50 million reduction to proposed projects
critical to two key information technology programs: Extensible
Information Systems and Computing Systems and Communications Technology.
The Committee bill would also cut the request for the chemical weapons
demilitarization program by $24 million and would eliminate all funding
for the coalition warfare program.
Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid
The Committee bill would cut the Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and
Civic Aid account by $9 million below the President's request, citing
concerns that the Department of Defense has been funding activities more
suitable to the Department of State. The Administration objects to this
reduction because it would constrain support for DoD's humanitarian
assistance and demining programs, which are critical to the Commanders
in Chief's (CINC's) regional engagement plans. These programs augment
the CINC's ability to shape the environment and to prepare to respond
rapidly and effectively to humanitarian crises. Also, the U.S. military
obtains substantial training and access benefits by participating in
Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid activities, enhancing
readiness across a wide range of operational areas. The Administration
assures the Committee that all of the programs are coordinated with the
Department of State to ensure appropriate execution and compliance with
national security and foreign policy interests.
National Missile Defense
Section 8116 of the Committee bill would require the Ballistic
Missile Defense Organization and all associated contractors to notify
Congress 30 days prior to issuing any type of information or proposal
solicitation under the National Missile Defense (NMD) program. We object
to this provision because it would create an overly burdensome and broad
reporting requirement that could cause NMD schedule delays and cost
increases.
Domestic Sourcing Restrictions
There are a number of provisions contained in the Committee bill
(sections 8016, 8064, and 8092) that would preclude the Department of
Defense from procuring certain foreign products. The Administration
opposes domestic source restrictions on defense acquisition because they
undermine DoD's ability to procure the best systems at the least cost;
frustrate initiatives to increase interoperability with our allies and
efforts to advance highly beneficial armaments cooperation with them;
and, may cause other countries to retaliate by refusing to purchase U.S.
products.
Critical Infrastructure Protection/Cyber Crime
The Administration urges the Senate to provide the President's
request of $1.46 billion for the national security community for
critical infrastructure protection/cyber crime. These funds are a
crucial component of the national, interagency effort to protect
infrastructure -- particularly information systems -- in both Government
and the private sector that is essential to the functioning of our
economy, national defense, and the safety of the population. The funds
requested for the national security community are necessary in order to
protect critical national security infrastructures against attack and
ensuring the integrity and security of both DoD and intelligence
community information systems.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
The Administration urges the Senate to provide the President's
request of $467 million for the national security community to counter
threats posed by terrorism and the use of biological and chemical
weapons of mass destruction. Adversaries are expected to rely
increasingly on these unconventional strategies to offset U.S. military
superiority. The funds requested for the security community would
improve our ability to provide support to the designated lead Federal
agencies for domestic preparedness based on the national security
community's long experience with defense against weapons of mass
destruction and its capability to respond with specially trained and
equipped personnel. |