This
Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views
on the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill, FY 2002, as reported
by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The
Administration has worked, and will continue to work, with the Congress
to ensure that FY 2002 discretionary spending is within the agreed
upon bipartisan level of $686 billion and that the emergency supplemental
funding total remains within the agreed upon level enacted in P.L.
107-38, the FY 2001 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for
Recovery from the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001. If
the final bill presented to the President exceeds either of the
agreed upon spending levels, the President will veto the bill.
In
the immediate aftermath of the September 11th tragedy, the President
established the Office of Homeland Security to develop and coordinate
a comprehensive national strategy for homeland security. As part
of that effort, the Office has begun a government-wide assessment
of the nation's current preparedness for terrorist attacks. In the
coming weeks and months the Office will be making specific recommendations
for changes and reforms that will increase our security against
the full range of potential terrorist attacks. The timing, content,
and level of any additional resources beyond the $20 billion requested
cannot be ascertained and should not be prejudged until after the
Administration has had time to complete this comprehensive analysis
of need, and share it with the Congress.
FY
2002 Emergency Supplemental
The
Administration urges the Senate to expeditiously enact supplemental
funding to respond to the September 11th attacks that totals no
more than the Administration-requested and House-passed $20 billion
level. The Committee bill exceeds this total by approximately $15
billion. This additional funding is not needed at this time and
should be removed from the bill. As of the end of November 2001,
the Administration estimated that it has spent less than 16 percent
of the $40 billion designated by Congress to respond to the September
11th attacks. In addition, many of the costs associated with the
response to and recovery from the attacks will not be known for
many months and, therefore, the agencies will be unable to target
additional funds to these needs.
The
President would veto any bill that includes amendments that would
add funding above the agreed upon level, including contingent emergency
funding and funding that would be advance appropriated into FY 2003.
The Homeland Security Director is conducting an intensive examination
of the nation's homeland security needs and, based on that examination,
the Administration will not hesitate to ask for additional funding
as needed. In addition to preempting the role of the Homeland Security
Director, this particular step would be at complete and ironic variance
with the notion that this extra money is needed immediately. We
will continue to work with the Congress to address the most immediate
and pressing needs that have arisen as a result of the September
11th terrorist attacks.
The
Committee bill provides the following amounts that were not requested
by the President, and are not needed at this time:
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$8.4 billion for Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's)
Disaster Relief program. The Administration has requested almost
$7 billion already, and given that the total cost of recovery
efforts in New York, Virginia, and elsewhere is not yet known,
and it is unclear how or where these additional funds will be
spent -- the request of such funds is premature;
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$2.0 billion over the Administration's request for the Department
of Health and Human Services to increase funding for bio-terrorism
and other activities. The Administration's request included $644
million to acquire medicines, supplies, and equipment for the
National Pharmaceutical Stockpile to treat an additional 10 million
persons exposed to Anthrax and other bacterial infections, and
to provide an enhanced ability to treat victims of chemical attacks,
including $65 million to prepare states to receive and distribute
pharmaceuticals and $509 million to acquire enough smallpox vaccine
for the country;
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$1.5 billion for the Department of Justice. The Administration
believes these additional funds cannot be effectively utilized
in FY 2002. The Administration also objects to the $237 million
in State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance funding -- this
funding is earmarked for unrequested projects that will have little
or no tangible impact on preventing or responding to terrorism;
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$875 million for the U.S. Postal Service to build and establish
a system for sanitizing and screening mail and other security
measures. It is not yet clear what type and mix of mail sanitization
and/or detection is most appropriate to safeguard the U.S. mail
system -- clearly an example of where we should wait for recommendations
from the Office of Homeland Security. Under these circumstances,
appropriations of this magnitude are unwarranted; and,
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$175 million for the District of Columbia. The Administration
believes that the amount requested ($25 million), in addition
to the amounts already provided ($19 million), is sufficient to
respond to the District's short-term needs, and that the Senate
level is excessive.
The
Administration strongly urges the Senate to provide $550 million
in funding for first responders to FEMA and not to the Department
of Justice, as the Committee has designated. FEMA has wide experience
working with the full spectrum of first responders, including fire,
police, and emergency medical technicians. FEMA's experience will
help ensure better coordination and delivery of assistance. The
Administration is also concerned that $78 million of the Justice
funding is earmarked for specific projects, which will seriously
hamper the Administration's flexibility in working with State and
local agencies to address unforeseen needs and vulnerabilities.
In
addition, the Administration urges the Senate to eliminate section
902, which would eliminate the Defense Secretary's authority provided
for in section 2808 of Title 10, to begin emergency military construction
projects that are not previously authorized but are necessary to
fight the war against terrorism. Secretary Rumsfeld has already
invoked this authority to begin such military construction projects.
Section 902 would tie the Secretary's hands at precisely the time
when he most needs the flexibility to support our armed forces in
the war on terrorism.
FY
2002 Defense Appropriations Bill
While
the Committee bill includes important funding for many of the Administration's
highest priorities, the bill provides approximately $2.0 billion
less for DoD programs in FY 2002 than requested by the President.
These reductions are largely achieved through unspecified management
savings of $1.65 billion that cannot be implemented within this
fiscal year. These reductions would make it more difficult for the
Department to carry out transformation of America's armed forces
and defense posture to counter 21st Century threats. The Administration
also strongly objects to provisions in the bill, including Section
902 discussed above, that will impinge upon the Defense Secretary's
ability and, ultimately, the President's ability, to prosecute the
war on terrorism and defend the homeland. The Administration urges
that these provisions be deleted.
The
Administration is pleased that the Senate chose to fund both the
basic and targeted pay raises fully for our service members as requested
in the President's budget. The Administration also appreciates the
inclusion of funding for changes to the military pay table and to
reduce the out-of-pocket housing expenditures of service members.
Likewise, we commend the Senate for ensuring that TRICARE for Life
is adequately funded. Additional concerns are discussed below.
Operation
and Maintenance
The
Committee has made reductions to Operation and Maintenance (O&M)
programs, based on unrealistic assumptions of how much savings could
be achieved through reductions in consultant services, foreign currency
fluctuation account balances, and travel. These reductions would
undermine DoD's ability to adequately fund training, operations,
maintenance, supplies, and other essentials. They would seriously
damage the readiness of our armed forces and undermine their ability
to execute current operations, including the war on terrorism. In
addition, the Committee reduction of $46 million to Cooperative
Threat Reduction programs would hamper the Administration's efforts
to increase nuclear warhead storage security in Russia and eliminate
Russian production of weapons-grade plutonium.
Missile
Defense
The
President is committed to the development and deployment of effective
missile defenses to protect the United States, our forces, and our
friends and allies as soon as possible. Missile defense remains
one of the Administration's highest priorities. As such, the Administration
urges the Senate to support funding missile defense programs as
requested in the President's budget.
Contingency
Funding
The
Administration believes that moving all contingency operation funding
from the Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund (OCOTF) to
the Service operation and maintenance accounts, is premature. A
separate account has been helpful to track and prudently fund the
incremental costs of such operations. The Administration moved the
long-running Southwest Asia operation portion of funding out of
OCOTF and into the Service accounts in FY 2001. However, before
totally eliminating this separate account, the Administration believes
it would be prudent to assess a full year of funding execution from
the Southwest Asia operation in order to weigh the pros and cons
of such an approach.
Additionally,
the Administration opposes the Committee's $600 million OCOTF cut,
which is based on unobligated balances and undefined project savings.
Unobligated balances, which are a normal aspect of no-year cash
accounts, are taken into consideration in planning the subsequent
year's operations. Without these funds, the Department may be unable
to meet emerging requirements in either the Balkans or for unforseen
costs in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Military
Personnel
The
Administration is very concerned about the $340 million reduction
in military personnel programs. In particular, the bill would significantly
reduce Permanent Change of Station funding. While the Administration
shares the Congress' concerns about the impact of frequent Permanent
Changes of Station on morale, at a time when deployments are at
a peak due to war, arbitrary reduction to force a policy change
is risky. Reductions to this program, which is integral to military
training and development, would adversely impact the Services' ability
to correctly rotate and fill military billets and training seats.
Unrequested
Program Adjustments
The
Committee provided funding for several procurement and research
and development programs that were not requested by the Administration.
Some of the programs that received unnecessary funding include National
Guard and Reserve Equipment, and Navy trainer aircraft. Increases
to these programs come at the expense of other high priority programs.
The Committee reduced funding for several high priority programs
including the Joint Strike Fighter, DD-21 destroyer, LPD-17 amphibious
ship, T-AKE auxiliary ship, and V-22 aircraft programs. The Administration
also opposes the earmarking of funds for un-reviewed science and
technology programs. In particular, the bill adds $470 million for
26 projects and diverts funding from medical management to a large
number of medical research programs unrelated to national security.
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