# Appropriations for FY2002: Military Construction

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URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3ARL31010

## Record

- **Collection:** Congressional research report
- **Document type:** CRS Report
- **Published:** April 23, 2002
- **Citation:** RL31010

## Text

Order Code RL31010

CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web

Appropriations for FY2002:
Military Construction

Updated April 23, 2002

(name redacted)
Analyst in National Defense
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division

Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget
resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and
budget reconciliation bills. The process begins with the President’s budget request and is
bound by the rules of the House and Senate, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act of 1974 (as amended), the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, and current program
authorizations.
This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers
each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate
Defense Appropriations Subcommittees. It summarizes the current legislative status of the
bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related legislative activity. The report lists
the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related CRS products.
This report is updated as soon as possible after major legislative developments, especially
following legislative action in the committees and on the floor of the House and Senate.

NOTE: A Web version of this document with active links is
available to congressional staff at:
[http://www.crs.gov/products/appropriations/apppage.shtml].

Appropriations for FY2002: Military Construction
Summary
The military construction (MilCon) appropriations bill provides funding for (1)
military construction projects in the United States and overseas; (2) military family
housing operations and construction; (3) U.S. contributions to the NATO Security
Investment Program; and (4) the bulk of base 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 the total 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 allocated for this rebuilding. To date, $173.4 million in
contracts have been awarded for emergency structural assessment, repair, and
restoration to the Pentagon, with provision for additional awards at 60-day intervals.
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 is intended for the active services and DOD; $0.6 billion for
the National Guard and Reserves; $4.1 billion for construction and operation of
military family housing; $0.2 billion for the NATO Security Investment Program, and
$0.5 billion for BRAC. Separate versions of appropriations bills (both granting $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 many as being deteriorated and underfunded. Recently, Congress has
often appropriated more in construction funds than the Administration has requested.
Congress has similarly augmented budget requests for military family housing
appropriations. The FY2002 military construction bill exceeds the 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 installation requirements, based on the results of the current Quadrennial
Defense Review, and a subsequent round of base closures and realignments. The
legislation as submitted would permanently authorize the service secretaries to convey
base property to local or state government or private enterprise and lease back what
is necessary for military use. This is modeled on a demonstration project begun during
FY2000 at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. If enacted, the EFI is likely to affect the
future need for 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 (spread across several budget accounts), and recent conflicts
between Administration and congressional construction priorities and funding.
Conference action on the bill is pending.

Key Policy Staff
Area of Expertise

Name

CRS
Division

Tel.

Base Closure

David Lockwood

FDT*

7-....

Defense Acquisition

Valerie Grasso

FDT

7-....

Def. Budget, Mil. Con./Defense Industry

(name redacted)

FDT

7-....

Defense Budget

(name redacted)

FDT

7-....

Defense Reform

Gary Pagliano

FDT

7-....

Guard and Reserve Issues

(name redacted)

FDT

7-....

* FDT = Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division of the Congressional Research Service

Contents
Most Recent Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Background: Content of Military Construction Appropriations and
Defense Authorization Bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Appropriations Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
House Appropriations Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Senate Appropriations Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Conference Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Key Policy Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Elective Quality of Life Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Requested Congressional Additions to the Military Construction
Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Environmental Remediation on Closed Military Bases . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Efficient Facilities Initiative (EFI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Real Property Costs, the Broader Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Conflicting Priorities and Construction Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Major Funding Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Military Construction Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Defense Authorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
For Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Selected World Wide Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

List of Tables
Table 1. Status of Military Construction Appropriations, FY2002 . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 2. Military Construction Appropriations, FY1998-2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Table 3. Military Construction Appropriations by Account:
FY2001-2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Table 4. Military Construction FY2002 Appropriations by Account Congressional Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Table 5. Congressional Additions to Annual DOD Budget Requests for
National Guard and Reserve Military Construction, FY1985-2002 . . . . . . 17

Appropriations for FY2002:
Military Construction
Most Recent Developments
The House Appropriations Committee marked up the Military Construction
Appropriations bill for FY2002 (H.R. 2904) on September 20, 2001, with House
passage the next day on a 401-0 vote (vote no. 344). The Senate Appropriations
Committee marked up its version of the bill (S. 1460) on September 25 and passed
it the next day on a unanimous vote of 97-0 (vote no. 288). Although both bills
appropriated $10.5 billion, falling within adjusted 302(b) budget allocations, they
differed in how the funding was allocated. Conferees met on October 16, 2001, and
issued the conference report (H.Rept. 107-246) on H.R. 2904. The House approved
the report on October 17 with a vote of 409-1 (vote no. 394). The Senate approved
the report on October 18 with a vote of 96-1 (vote no. 305), clearing the measure for
the President. The President signed the bill on November 5, 2001, enacting it as P.L.
107-64 (115 Stat. 474).

Background: Content of Military Construction
Appropriations and Defense Authorization Bills
The Department of Defense (DOD) manages the world’s largest dedicated
infrastructure, covering more than 40,000 square miles of land and a physical plant
worth more than $500 billion. The military construction appropriations bill provides
a large part of the funding to enhance and maintain this infrastructure. The bill funds
construction projects and real property maintenance of the active Army, Navy and
Marine Corps, Air Force, and their reserve components; additional defense-wide
construction; U.S. contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program (formerly
known as the NATO Infrastructure Program); and military family housing operations
and construction.1 The bill also provides funding for the Base Realignment and
Closure (BRAC) account, which finances most base realignment and closure costs,

1

Real property maintenance includes the repair and maintenance of buildings, structures,
warehouses, roadways, runways, aprons, railway tracks, utility plants, and their associated
distribution systems, plus minor construction (cost not to exceed $500 thousand) to create new
facilities or expand, alter, or covert existing facilities. The NATO Security Investment
program is the U.S. contribution to Alliance funds for the construction of facilities and the
procurement of equipment essential to the wartime support of operational forces in the
common defense of the NATO area. Facilities funded by this program include airfields, naval
bases, signal and telecom installations, pipelines, war headquarters, as well as early warning
radar and missile installations.

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including construction of new facilities for transferred personnel and functions and
environmental cleanup at closing sites.
The military construction appropriations bill is one of several annual pieces of
legislation that provide funding for national defense. Other major appropriation
legislation includes the defense appropriations bill, which provides funds for all nonconstruction military activities of the Department of Defense and constitutes more
than 90% of national security-related spending, and the energy and water
development appropriations bill, which provides funding for atomic energy defense
activities of the Department of Energy and for civil projects carried out by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers. Two other appropriations bills, VA-HUD-Independent
Agencies and Commerce-Justice-State, also include small amounts for national
defense.2
The annual defense authorization bill authorizes all of the activities in the defense
appropriation measures described above. Therefore, major debates over defense
policy and funding issues, including military construction, can be also found in the
authorization bill. Since issues in the defense authorization and appropriations bills
intertwine, this report includes salient parts of the authorization bill in its discussion
of the military construction appropriation process.
The separate military construction appropriations bill dates to the late 1950s and
early 1960s when Congress funded a large defense infrastructure build-up precipitated
by the heightened security threat posed by the Soviet Union. Defense construction
spending soared as facilities were hardened against potential nuclear attack, missile
silos were constructed, and other infrastructure was built. The appropriations
committees established military construction subcommittees to deal with this new
level of activity, and the separate military construction bill was created. The first
stand-alone military construction bill was written for FY1959 (P.L. 85-852).
Previously, military construction funding was provided through annual defense
appropriations or supplemental appropriations bills.
Military construction appropriations are the major, but not the sole, source of
funds for facility investments by the military services and defense agencies. The
defense appropriations bill provides some funds for real property maintenance in
operation and maintenance and minor construction accounts. In addition, funds for
construction and maintenance of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation-related facilities are
partially provided through proceeds of commissaries, recreation user fees, and other
non-appropriated income.
Most funds appropriated by Congress each year must be obligated in that fiscal
year. Military construction appropriations, though, are an exception. Because of the
long-term nature of construction projects, these funds can generally be obligated for
up to five fiscal years, reflecting the long-term nature of capital building programs.

2

See CRS Report RL31005, Appropriations and Authorization for FY2002: Defense, by
(na me redacted),
Mary Tyszkiewicz, and (name r e d acted), for details on the defense
authorization and appropriation process.

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Consideration of the military construction budget starts when the President’s
budget is delivered to Congress each year, usually in early February. This year is
unusual, though, because the President did not submit his amended DOD FY2002
budget request until June 27, 2001.

Status
Table 1 shows the key legislative steps necessary for the enactment of the
FY2002 military construction appropriations. It will be updated as the appropriation
process moves forward.

Table 1. Status of Military Construction Appropriations, FY2002
Committee
Markup

Conference
House House Senate Senate Conf. Report Approval Public
Report Passage Report Passage Report
Law
House Senate
House Senate
9/20/01 9/25/01

S.Rept.
H.Rept.
P.L.
H.Rept.
9/21/01
9/26/01
10/17/01 10/18/01
107-207
107-68
107-246
107-64

Appropriations Action
House Appropriations Action. The House passed the FY2002 Military
Construction Appropriations Act (H.R. 2904, H.Rept. 107-207, CR H5868-5875)
without amendment on September 21, 2001, by a 401-0 vote. As passed by the
House, the $10.500 billion bill increased the military construction budget by $1.035
billion, or 11%, above the FY2001 enactment. It decreased the current “facility
replacement rate” of 192 years to 101 years and kept the Department of Defense on
track to bring barracks and family housing up to acceptable habitability standards by
2008 and 2010, respectively.3 This bill exceeded the president’s request by $528.7
million, allocating $5.6 billion to military construction, $163 million to the NATO
Security Investment Program, $4.1 billion to family housing, and $552 million to Base
Realignment and Closure (BRAC). It also required an upward adjustment of 302(b)
budget allocation from $10.2 billion to $10.5 billion.
Senate Appropriations Action. The Senate passed the FY2002 Military
Construction Appropriations Act (S. 1460, S.Rept. 107-68, CR S9828-9833) with
amendment in the nature of a substitute of the House bill on September 26, 2001, by
a 97-0 vote. As passed 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 the NATO Security Investment Program, $4.1 billion to family
housing, and $682 million to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). The bill was

3

The facility replacement rate measures the time required to replace all existing DOD
facilities if spending is maintained at the rate set in the bill.

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within the 302(b) allocation (see Table 4 for side-by-side comparisons by
appropriation account of the budget request, House and Senate bills).
Conference Action. Senate conferees were appointed on September 26.
House conferees were appointed on October 2. The conferees met on October 16 and
issued the conference report (H.Rept. 107-246). Their report was forwarded to the
House floor on October 17, where it was approved with a vote of 409-1. The report
was sent to the Senate floor, where it was approved with a vote of 96-1, clearing the
bill for the President.

Key Policy Issues
Elective Quality of Life Construction. Budget actions affect service
member perceptions of the quality of military life through its impact on matters such
as pay and benefits, health care, deployment schedules, and the like. In recent years,
quality of life, including the use of military construction funds, has been a focus of the
defense debate.
Recent committee attention has focused on improvements to housing,
workplaces, and installation infrastructure (such as water, sewer, and electricity
systems), through both new construction and improved operations and maintenance
of existing facilities. Subcommittee hearings have discussed at length the application
of military construction funds to housing and workplace improvements at bases
overseas and within the continental United States. Efforts to leverage appropriated
funds through the partial privatization of military housing and installation utility
services have also been subjected to protracted dialogue in committee hearings. For
an in-depth discussion of the privatization of housing see CRS Report RL31039,
Military Housing Privatization Initiative: Background and Issues, by (name redacted).
Requested Congressional Additions to the Military Construction
Budget. In recent years, some analysts have criticized the military construction
appropriations process for being prone to the insertion of unwanted and unnecessary
undertakings. Others, though, have supported the addition of construction projects
not requested by the Department of Defense as being necessary for military viability.
An historical comparison shows that the divergence between DOD budget requests
and congressional appropriation enactments 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).
Military construction funding since the mid 1980s can be broken into three
distinct periods: prior to fiscal year 1989; fiscal years 1989 – 1994; and fiscal year
1995 to the present. Before FY1989, the relationship between funding requested by
the Administration and budget authority enacted by Congress appeared stable.
Congress typically appropriated approximately 80 % of DOD requests for military
construction funds. Beginning with FY1989, Regular (i.e., active duty) component
funding continued in the established pattern, but Reserve component requests (which
include the federal reserves and the Army and Air National Guard) took a sudden and
sharp downturn (see Figures 1 and 2). Congress responded by adding more than

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35% to that year’s budget Reserve component submission. This gap between reserve
construction requests and appropriations has remained and widened. Finally, with
FY1995, the pattern of funding for the Regular forces inverted. Although presidential
requests reversed their downward direction and began to rise, Congress began to
appropriate more than was requested and has continued to do so to the present.
Figure 1
Regular Component Funding
FY1985-2001
7,000,000

6,000,000

Current Dollars (000)

5,000,000

4,000,000

3,000,000

Enacted

2,000,000

1,000,000

Requested

0
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Fiscal Year
Source: Department of Defense,Financial Summary Tables, successive years

Figure 2
Guard and Reserve Funding
FY1985-2001
800,000

Current Dollars (000)

600,000
Enacted

400,000

Requested
200,000

0
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Fiscal Year
Source: Department of Defense, Financial Summary Tables, successive years

Environmental Remediation on Closed Military Bases. The continuing
costs associated with the four completed BRAC rounds, funded through the military
construction appropriation, are now reduced to covering environmental and other

CRS-6
caretaker efforts. Funding requested and appropriated for BRAC fell sharply from a
high of $3,898 million for FY1996 to a low of $664 million for FY2000 as closure
and realignment wound down.4 The cost of environmental remediation contributed
to a $1,024 million FY2001 BRAC appropriation, of which $865 million was
dedicated to base environmental cleanup.
Members of the Senate Appropriations and Armed Services Committees, in
hearings held a few days after the submission of the President’s amended FY2002
budget request, noted that Department of Defense had requested only $532 million
in BRAC funds at a time when the Navy and Air Force had announced a combined
shortfall of between $140 million and $150 million in immediate BRAC cleanup
needs.5 DOD witnesses responded by indicating that the request would be sufficient
for upcoming requirements, explaining that the shortfall estimates had been based on
a set of assumptions that were no longer thought to be accurate.
The upturn in expenditures had come about through recent legal requirements
and agreements between the services and local communities. DOD expected the
insufficiency to be satisfied through transfers of unused funds from other accounts and
by adjustments in the end-use of some property that would significantly reduce the
cost of needed remediation. The passed bill added more than $100 million in BRAC
funds to the request, primarily for remediation of the environmental impact of the
1995 round of base realignments and closures.
The Efficient Facilities Initiative (EFI). The Efficient Facilities Initiative
(EFI) was announced by the Department of Defense on August 2, and the
Department’s General Counsel submitted proposed legislation to Congress on August
3. The EFI includes three major actions: the potential realignment and closure of U.S.
military installations overseas; the potential realignment and closure of installations
within the United States; and the permanent authorization of the Brooks Air Force
Base Development Demonstration Project, expanded to include all military services.
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 all
overseas military installations based on the results of the upcoming Quadrennial
Defense Review (QDR). His recommendations on the retention, realignment or
closing of bases are due to the Secretary six months after the completion of the QDR.
In support of the second action, the Secretary will likewise use the results of the
QDR to generate a list of recommended actions regarding the future of military
installations within the United States and its territories. The proposed legislation
suggests the establishment of a review commission and a process for endorsing the

4

Current dollars. Taken from Department of Defense Financial Summary Tables, successive
years.
5

Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Military Construction hearing, July 30,
2001, and Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Readiness and Management
Support hearing, August 2, 2001.

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Secretary’s recommendations for submission to the President and Congress. Both of
these differ somewhat from the BRAC process of the 1990s.6
For an understanding of the third action, one must look to recent activity at
Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. The Brooks Air Force Base Development
Demonstration Project (also known as the “Base Efficiency Project,” or the “Brooks
City-Base Project”) is a partnership between the Secretary of the Air Force and the
City of San Antonio, Texas, and represents an alternative to traditional base closings
or realignments. Congress has authorized the Secretary to “convert any military or
civil 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 the
lease, sale, conveyance, or transfer of real or private property.”7 This has empowered
the Secretary to convey, in exchange for appropriate compensation, the whole of
Federal real property at Brooks to the city and to lease back for military use those
parts which directly support the base’s military mission.8 The cost of maintaining and
operating the facility’s physical plant, including fire and police protection, upkeep, and
the like, is effectively transferred along with ownership from the Department of
Defense to the local community. Funds generated from the lease or sale of property,
reimbursements, and so on, is placed in a special Project Fund, which the Secretary
of the Air Force may employ for operations, leaseback, maintenance and repair of
Department facilities, and other uses at Brooks.9
EFI proponents have maintained that conducting a single definitive round of base
closures and realignments could relieve communities of uncertainty about their future.
Proponents further contend that a review commission with restricted ability to change
the Secretary of Defense’s recommendations might reduce the potential for politics
to influence its outcome; and that joining the military departments with local and state
governments and private enterprise could significantly reduce the need for military
construction and defense appropriations. Critics, though, have suggested that the
selection of the commission’s members and the method used for creating the list of
recommendations may actually repoliticize the BRAC process, and have asserted that
benefits to the defense budget accrued to date from the Brooks project are
hypothetical.
Real Property Costs, the Broader Picture. With military construction
comes maintenance. Plant maintenance, adequately funded and conscientiously
carried out, prevents deterioration and reduces the need for replacement. As a facility
ages, though, it tends to demand greater effort and expense to maintain it in usable

6

For an explanation of the BRAC history, process, and current status, see CRS Report
RL30051, Military Base Closures: Time for Another Round?, and CRS Report RL30440,
Military Base Closures: Where Do We Stand?, by (name redacted).

7

Defense Appropriation Act for FY2000 (P.L. 106-79) and Military Construction
Appropriations Act for FY2001 (P.L. 106-246).
8
9

This is often referred to as “sell and lease back.”

Brooks AFB is primarily devoted to medical research related to flight. More information on
Brooks, the 311th Human Systems Wing, and the Brooks City-Base Projects may be found at
[https://libra.brooks.af.mil/brooks/baseinfo_in.html] (sic).

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condition. Inadequate maintenance accelerates facility deterioration, requiring early
demolition and replacement. Construction and maintenance, therefore, are closely
related, and the effort expended on one will have a direct effect on the other.
Much of the funding for”real property maintenance” (RPM) is contained within
the Operations and Maintenance function of the Defense budget, which falls within
the jurisdiction of the Defense Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees.10
Figure 3 gives a graphic representation of the relative sizes of the Military
Construction and RPM appropriations for FY2001.
Figure 3
Construction & Maintenance Funds
FY 2001

Other Quality of Life (1.11%)

RPM (36.44%)

Military Construction (62.44%)

Total Appropriation: $14,246,416,000
Does not include $183,000,000 in DoD-wide recissions

Source: H.Rept. 106-710,

RPM funding includes not only repairs and maintenance for existing structures,
but also “minor construction” (projects whose costs do not exceed $500,000). The
FY2001 Defense budget request included $5,325.6 million for real property
maintenance and repair and $251.1 million for minor construction. Even that total
does not capture the full cost incurred in maintaining DOD real property. To gain a
more complete picture, one should add items not easily broken out from the general
budget submission, such as the pay and benefits of military personnel assigned to
RPM activities (installation maintenance, for example), projects financed through
DOD Working Capital Funds, and construction supported through DOD Research,
Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) appropriations.11 Therefore, the final
cost to the Department of Defense of building, maintaining, and operating its holdings
in real property is extremely difficult to capture in its entirety.

10

“Real Property Maintenance” (RPM) is being replaced as a term of art with “Sustainment,
Restoration, and Modernization” (SRM) in appropriations-related documents.
11

A broader discussion of the defense budget can be found in CRS Report RL30002, A
Defense Budget Primer, by (name redacted) and (name redacted).

CRS-9
Conflicting Priorities and Construction Funding. Overall Administration
proposals for military construction funding have fallen in nearly every year since the
mid-1980s. Nevertheless, until the mid-1990s, Congress consistently granted
significantly less budget authority to the Department of Defense than had been
requested by the Administration (see Figure 4).
Figure 4
Total Military Construction Funding
FY1985-2001
8,000,000
Requeste

Current Dollars (000)

6,000,000

Enacted
4,000,000

2,000,000

0
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Fiscal Year
Note: Does not include BRAC or Family Housing funding
Source: Department of Defense, Financial Summary Tables , successive years

This pattern of partial funding reversed with the FY1995 budget. The
Administration’s FY1994 Military Construction budget request was $4,007 million,
while Congress authorized $3,787.9 million.12 The FY1995 request fell to $2,240.2
million, to which Congress added $431.9 million.13 Every year since then, Congress
has added significant amounts to the Administration requests, countering what
Members have termed “inadequate” funding for military construction.
Three related explanations have been given for recent congressional actions.
First, some Members of the military construction subcommittees have argued that
military construction has been chronically underfunded. This viewpoint was reiterated
in hearings on the FY2001 and 2002 budgets and the reports from the House

12

These and subsequent quotations for military construction exclude appropriations for Base
Realignment and Closure (BRAC), because this is a temporary category where funds
requested and enacted have matched each other closely, and Family Housing, as this is a
separate budget account. Tables where these have been included are so marked.
13

This includes military construction requests for regular and reserve components of the
Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Army and Air National Guard, and Department of Defensewide projects.

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Appropriations Committee and the defense authorizing committees on bills for
FY1998-2000.
Second, Congress often has different priorities than the Administration, as
reflected in frequent congressional cuts to overseas construction requests and
contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program and its predecessor, the
NATO Infrastructure Program (see Figure 5).14
Figure 5
NATO Infrastructure / NSIP
FY1985-2001
600,000

500,000

Current Dollars (000)

Requested
400,000

300,000

200,000

Enacted
100,000

0
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Fiscal Year
Source: Department of Defense, Financial Summary Tables, successive years

Third, although Congress has found the President’s overall requests for military
construction insufficient, Members have deemed DOD treatment of the Army and Air
National Guard and the federal reserves particularly so.15 Until the late 1980s, the
amount of military construction funds appropriated by Congress for the Guard and
Reserve rose steadily, closely matching the amounts requested by DOD. For FY1989,
though, the Administration requested $472.9 million in military construction for the
Guard and Reserve, a decrease of $106.4 million from the previous year. Congress
responded by appropriating $605.1 million. Senator Bond commented during floor

14

The NATO Security Investment Program is a common fund to which all NATO members
contribute for the construction of facilities and the procurement of equipment essential to the
wartime support of operational forces in the common defense of the NATO area. Facilities
covered include airfields, naval bases, signal and telecom installations, pipelines, war
headquarters, and early warning radar and missile installations.
15

The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps Reserves are permanently under the control
of their respective services and the Department of Defense. The Army and Air National
Guards are state-controlled organizations until such time as they are called into federal
service.

CRS-11
debate on FY1996 military construction appropriations that Members believed that
the Pentagon artificially lowered the amount of budget authority requested, counting
on Congress to add money to Guard and Reserve programs. Since FY1989,
Congress has consistently appropriated more than the Administration request, and the
gap between request and enactment has grown considerably. (See Figure 1 and Table
5.)

Major Funding Trends
Requested military construction funds declined steadily from a high of $7.2
billion for FY1985 to a low of $1.6 billion for FY2000. Enacted funding similarly
declined, though at a slower rate, from a level of $5.5 billion to a low of $2.7 billion
for FY1995. Since then, though, enactments have risen steadily, reflecting the
divergence from presidential requests, reaching $5.4 billion for FY2001, well above
the Administration request of $4.6 billion. The amended Administration request for
FY2002 of $5.4 billion was increased by Congress to $5.9 billion.16
Table 2 shows overall military construction program funding since FY1998.
Table 3 breaks down the FY2002 request by appropriations account and compares
it to FY2000 and FY2001 levels. Table 4 shows congressional action on military
construction appropriations by account. Table 5 compares Administration military
construction requests and enactments for Guard and Reserve projects from FY19852002.

Legislation
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations
P.L. 107-38, H.R. 2888. Making emergency supplemental appropriations for
fiscal year 2001 for additional disaster assistance, for anti-terrorism initiatives, and for
assistance in the recovery from the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001, and
for other purposes. Mr. Young introduced an original bill on September 14, 2001,
which was referred to the Committees on Appropriations and Budget and reported
to the floor on the same day. Passed House 422-0 (Roll No. 341, text: CR H56195631). The bill was received in the Senate and passed without amendment by
Unanimous Consent (text: CR S9430). Presented to the President on September 14,
2001, and signed into law on September 18, 2001. The Act provides $40 billion in an
emergency response fund.

16

These figures do not include BRAC or Family Housing funds. BRAC funding began with
$0.5 billion for FY1990 and peaked at $3.9 billion for FY1996. The enactment for FY2000
was $0.6 billion. Family Housing funding, listed separately from Military Construction but
often included in overall totals of military construction funding, stood at $2.9 billion for
FY1985 and peaked at $4.3 billion for FY1995. Congress enacted $3.4 billion for family
housing for FY2001.

CRS-12

Military Construction Appropriations
P.L. 107-64. Making appropriations for military construction, family housing,
and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes. The Senate appointed conferees
on September 26, 2001 (CR S9833). On October 2, 2001, the House appointed
conferees and instructed the managers on the part of the House to insist on the House
position regarding all items included in the House-passed bill for overseas military
construction CR H6099, H6101-6102). The motion to instruct passed 417-1 (Roll
No. 362). The conference committee filed its report (H.Rept. 107-246) on October
16, 2001. The House agreed to the conference report on October 17, 2001 (CR
H7110-7111) 409-1 (Roll no. 394). The Senate considered the conference report (CR
S10807-10810) on October 18, 2001, and agreed 96-1 (Record Vote No. 305). The
bill was presented to the President on October 25, 2001, and signed into law on
November 5, 2001.
H.R. 2904 (Hobson). Making appropriations for military construction, family
housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of 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. Passed House 401-0 (Roll No. 344, text: CR H5868-5875) on September 21,
2001.
S. 1460 (Fenstein). Making appropriations for military construction, family
housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes. The Senate
Committee on Appropriations reported an original measure, S.Rept. 107-68, on
September 25, 2001. Passed Senate 97-0 (Record Vote No. 288, text: CR S98289833) on September 26, 2001. The text of S. 1460 was inserted in H.R. 2904 as an
amendment in the form of a substitution and submitted to the conference committee.

Defense Authorization
P.L. 107-107, S. 1438. An original bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2002 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe
personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
Introduced in the Senate on September 19, 2001, and was laid before the Senate on
September 21, 2001 (CR S9565-9580). A cloture motion was presented on
September 26, 2001 (CR 9937), cloture was invoked 100-0 (CR S10027-10055,
Record Vote No. 289), and the bill passed with amendments 99-0 (Record Vote No.
290) on October 2, 2001.
The message on Senate action was forwarded to the House on October 4, 2001.
It was received there on the same day and held at the desk until October 17, 2001,
when the text of H.R. 2586 was inserted after the enabling clause. The House insisted
on its amendment and requested a conference by voice vote (CR H7096). The House
appointed conferees and instructed them to agree to the provisions contained in
Section 652 of the Senate bill, relating to Survivor Benefit Plan eligibility of survivors

CRS-13
of retirement-ineligible members of the uniformed services who die on active duty
(CR 7096-7097). The House passed a motion to close portions of the conference
420-0 (CR H7098, Roll No. 391) and sent a message on its action to the Senate. The
Senate disagreed to the House amendment, agreed to the request for a conference,
and appointed conferees on October 17, 2001.
Conferences were held on October 31 and November 1, 2001. On December 11,
the conferees agreed to file a conference report. The conference report was filed on
December 12, 2001 (H.Rept. 107-333, text at CR H9333-9751). The House
considered the conference report on December 13, 2001 (CR H10073-10080), and
it was agreed to 96-2 (Roll No. 496). The Senate agreed to the conference report 962 on the same day (CR S13113, S13118-13138, Record Vote No. 369).
The bill was presented to the President on December 20, 2001, and was signed
on December 28, 2001.
H.R. 2586 (Stump). To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2002 for
military activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for fiscal year 2002, and for other purposes. Reported (amended) by the
Committee on Armed Services (H.Rept. 107-194), September 4, 2001. Considered
by the House, with the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
rising leaving H.R. 2586 as unfinished business. The House inserted the provisions
of H.R. 2586 into S. 1438 on October 17, 2001.

CRS-14

Table 2. Military Construction Appropriations, FY1998-2002
(new budget authority in millions of dollars)
Actual Actual Estimate Request Enacted Request
FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2001 FY2002

Passed
HR2904

Military
Construction

5,466

5,405

4,793

4,549

5,411

5,905

6,510

Family Housing

3,828

3,592

3,597

3,485

3,422

4,066

4,050

Total

9,849

8,997

8,390

8,034

8,833

9,971

10,560

Source: Actual FY1996-1999 data, Estimate FY2000 and Request 2001 from Department
of Defense (DOD), Financial Summary Tables, February 2000 and previous years’ reports.
Enacted FY2001 data from H.Rept. 106-710. Requested FY2002 data from DOD FY2002
Amended Budget Request. Passed H.R. 2904 data from H.Rept. 107-246 does not reflect the
$60 million Sec. 132 general recission.

CRS-15

Table 3. Military Construction Appropriations by Account:
FY2001-2002
(new budget authority in thousands of dollars)

Account

FY2001
Enacted

FY2002
Request

FY2002
H.R. 2904

MilCon, Army

934,184

1,760,541

1,721,812

MilCon, Navy

926,224

1,071,408

1,111,736

MilCon, Air Force

880,268

1,068,250

1,177,412

MilCon, Defense-wide

812,839

694,558

761,804

MilCon, Army National Guard

285,587

267,389

400,994

MilCon, Air National Guard

203,381

149,072

250,530

MilCon, Army Reserve

108,499

111,404

165,136

MilCon, Navy Reserve

61,931

33,641

51,676

MilCon, Air Force Reserve

36,510

53,732

74,013

1,022,115

532,200

632,713

NATO Security Investment Program

171,622

162,600

162,600

Foreign Curr. Fluct., Constr., Def.

(83,000)

–

–

Total: Military Construction
Family Housing Const., Army

5,360,160
235,437

5,904,795
291,542

6,510,426
309,217

Family Housing Operation & Maint., Army

949,655

1,108,991

1,077,292

Family Housing Const., Navy & Marine
Corps

417,235

304,400

328,040

Family Housing Operation & Maint., Navy
& Marine Corps

879,625

918,095

899,837

Family Housing Const., AF

251,413

518,237

544,496

Family Housing Operation & Maint., AF

819,061

869,121

835,194

–

250

247

44,787

43,762

43,269

Homeowners Assist. Fund, Def.

–

10,119

10,005

DOD Family Housing Improvement Fund

–

2,000

1,977

Total: Family Housing
Sec. 130 General Recission

3,597,213
–

4,066,517
–

4,049,574
60,000

GRAND TOTAL

8,957,373

9,971,312

10,500,000

BRAC Acct., Total

Family Housing Const., Def-wide
Family Housing Operation & Maint., Defwide

Source: Data for FY2001-FY2002 from Amended FY2002 Budget Request. Data for H.R. 2904
from H.Rept. 107-246, as amended by Sec. 130 and 132 of the bill.

CRS-16

Table 4. Military Construction FY2002 Appropriations by
Account - Congressional Action
(in thousands of dollars)
FY2002
Request

House
Bill

Senate
Bill

Conf.
Report

MilCon, Army

1,760,541

1,702,934

1,642,557

1,721,812

MilCon, Navy

1,071,408

1,134,660

1,129,045

1,111,736

MilCon, Air Force

1,068,250

1,185,220

1,144,269

1,177,412

MilCon, Defense-wide

694,558

852,808

811,778

761,804

MilCon, Army National
Guard

267,389

313,348

378,549

400,994

MilCon, Air National Guard

149,072

198,803

222,767

250,530

MilCon, Army Reserve

111,404

167,769

111,404

165,136

MilCon, Navy Reserve

33,641

61,426

32,716

51,676

MilCon, Air Force Reserve

53,732

81,882

53,732

74,013

BRAC Acct.

532,200

552,713

682,200

632,713

NATO Security Investment
Program

162,600

162,600

162,600

162,600

Total: Military Construction 5,904,795

6,414,163

6,371,617

6,510,426

Account

Family Housing Const., Army

291,542

294,042

312,742

309,217

Family Housing O&M, Army

1,108,991

1,096,431

1,108,991

1,077,292

Family Housing Const.,
Navy and Marine Corps

304,400

334,780

312,600

328,040

Family Housing O&M,
Navy and Marine Corps

918,095

910,095

918,095

899,837

Family Housing Const.,
Air Force

518,237

536,237

550,703

544,496

Family Housing O&M,
Air Force

869,121

858,121

869,121

835,194

Family Housing Const,
Defense-wide

250

250

250

247

Family Housing O&M,
Defense-wide

43,762

43,762

43,762

43,269

Homeowners Assist. Fund,
Def.

10,119

10,119

10,119

10,005

DOD Family Housing
Improvement Fund

2,000

2,000

2,000

1,977

Total: Family Housing

4,066,517

4,085,837

4,128,383

4,049,574

–

–

–

60,000

9,971,312

10,500,000

10,500,000

10,500,000

Sec. 130 General Recission
GRAND TOTAL

Source: H.Rept. 107-207, S.Rept. 107-68, H.Rept. 107-246.

CRS-17

Table 5. Congressional Additions to Annual DOD Budget
Requests for National Guard and Reserve Military Construction,
FY1985-2002
(current year dollars in thousands)

Fiscal
Year

Army
National
Guard

Air
National
Guard

Army
Reserve

1985 Req.

88,900

102,900

1985
Enacted

98,603

1986 Req.

Total
Change
from
Request

Naval
Reserve

Air
Force
Reserve

Total

70,400

60,800

67,800

390,800

–

111,200

69,306

60,800

67,800

407,709

+16,909

102,100

137,200

70,700

51,800

66,800

428,600

–

1986
Enacted

102,205

121,250

61,346

41,800

63,030

389,631

-38,969

1987 Req.

121,100

140,000

86,700

44,500

58,900

451,200

–

1987
Enacted

140,879

148,925

86,700

44,500

58,900

479,904

+28,704

1988 Req.

170,400

160,800

95,100

73,737

79,300

579,337

–

1988
Enacted

184,405

151,291

95,100

73,737

79,300

583,833

+4,496

1989 Req.

138,300

147,500

79,900

48,400

58,800

472,900

–

1989
Enacted

229,158

158,508

85,958

60,900

70,600

605,124 +132,224

1990 Req.

125,000

164,600

76,900

50,900

46,200

463,600

1990
Enacted

223,490

235,867

96,124

56,600

46,200

658,281 +194,681

1991 Req.

66,678

66,500

59,300

50,200

37,700

280,378

1991
Enacted

313,224

180,560

77,426

80,307

38,600

690,117 +409,739

1992 Req.

50,400

131,800

57,500

20,900

20,800

281,400

1992
Enacted

231,117

217,556

110,389

59,900

9,700

628,672 +347,272

1993 Req.

46,700

173,270

31,500

37,772

52,880

342,122

1993
Enacted

214,989

305,759

42,150

15,400

29,900

608,198 +266,076

1994 Req.

50,865

142,353

82,233

20,591

55,727

351,769

1994
Enacted

302,719

247,491

102,040

25,029

74,486

751,765 +399,996

1995 Req.

9,929

122,770

7,910

2,355

28,190

171,154

1995
Enacted

187,500

248,591

57,193

22,748

56,958

572,990 +401,836

1996 Req.

18,480

85,647

42,963

7,920

27,002

182,012

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

CRS-18
Total
Change
from
Request

Army
National
Guard

Air
National
Guard

Army
Reserve

Naval
Reserve

Air
Force
Reserve

1996
Enacted

137,110

171,272

72,728

19,055

36,482

436,647 +254,635

1997 Req.

7,600

75,394

48,459

10,983

51,655

194,091

1997
Enacted

78,086

189,855

55,543

37,579

52,805

413,868 +219,777

1998 Req.

45,098

60,225

39,112

13,921

14,530

172,886

1998
Enacted

102,499

190,444

55,453

26,659

15,030

390,085 +217,199

1999 Req.

47,675

34,761

71,287

15,271

10,535

179,529

1999
Enacted

144,903

185,701

102,119

31,621

34,371

498,715 +319,186

2000 Req.

57,402

73,300

77,626

14,953

27,320

250,601

2000
Enacted

236,228

262,360

110,764

28,310

64,071

701,733 +451,132

2001 Req.

59,130

50,179

81,713

16,103

14,851

221,976

2001
Enacted

285,587

203,381

108,499

61,931

36,510

695,908

2002 Req.

267,389

149,072

111,404

33,641

53,732

615,238

2002
Enacted

400,994

250,530

165,136

51,676

74,013

942,349 +327,112

Fiscal
Year

Total

Source: Department of Defense, Financial Summary Tables, successive years.

–

–

–

–

–
+473,932
–

CRS-19

For Additional Information
CRS Products
CRS Report RL31005. Appropriations and Authorization for FY2002: Defense, by
(name redacted), Mary Tyszkiewicz, and (name redacted).
CRS Issue Brief IB96022. Defense Acquisition Reform: Status and Current Issues,
by (name redacted).
CRS Report RL30002. A Defense Budget Primer, by (name redacted) and
(name redacted).
CRS Report RL30447. Defense Budget for FY2001: Data Summary, by (name r
edacted) and (name redacted).
CRS Report RL30995. Supplemental Appropriations for FY2001: Defense Readiness
and Other Programs by (name redacted)

Selected World Wide Web Sites
Legislative Branch Sites
House Committee on Appropriations
[http://www.house.gov/appropriations]
Senate Committee on Appropriations
[http://www.senate.gov/~appropriations/]
CRS Appropriations Products Guide
[http://www.loc.gov/crs/products/apppage.html#la]
Congressional Budget Office
[http://www.cbo.gov]
General Accounting Office
[http://www.gao.gov]
U.S. Department of Defense Sites
U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller),
FY2001 Budget Materials
[http://www.dtic.mil/comptroller/fy2001budget/]
U.S. Department of Defense, Installations Home Page
[http://www.acq.osd.mil/installation]

CRS-20
White House Sites
Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, FY2002
Budget Materials
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/index.html]
Office of Management & Budget
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/]

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3ARL31010. Public record. Not legal advice.