Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of the FY2017 Military Construction Appropriations Bills

Contents

• Introduction
• Military Construction Appropriations for FY2017
• The Legislative Path for Military Construction Appropriations
• Military Construction Funding Trends
• Additional Resources
• Appropriations
• Defense Appropriations
• Veterans Issues
• Zika-Related Issues
• Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations

Summary

This fact sheet summarizes selected highlights of the military construction and military family housing portions of the FY2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The act is associated with three separate bill numbers: H.R. 4974, S. 2806, and H.R. 2577.

Congressional action on FY2017 military construction appropriations legislation has been heavily influenced by the statutorily mandated discretionary spending caps established by P.L. 114-74, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA). A significant issue before Congress is the extent to which Congress and the President will agree on budgetary authority that (1) exceeds the established BBA limit, and (2) is exempt under 2 U.S.C. §901 from being counted toward that limit by virtue of categorization as Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds. The 2015 BBA temporarily increased statutory funding limits on defense and non-defense appropriations for FY2016 and FY2017 above those established by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 (P.L. 112-25).

New budget authority (funding not previously appropriated) for military construction and military family housing totaled $8,171.0 million for FY2016. For FY2017, the House authorized $7,616.5 million, and the Senate authorized $7,866.0 million. The conference committee recommended $7,898.0 million.

The FY2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act originated in the House as H.R. 4974, introduced on April 15, 2016. A similar bill, S. 2806, was introduced in the Senate on April 18, 2016. On May 19, 2016, the Senate combined the versions of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD), Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MILCON/VA), and Zika Response and Preparedness appropriations bills into H.R. 2577 (a T-HUD appropriations bill for FY2016 that the House had passed in June, 2015), passed the amended bill, and sent it to the House. The House substituted its own amendment in three divisions (Division A: MILCON/VA, Division B: Zika Response Appropriations, and Division C: Zika Vector Control), removing the T-HUD portion for H.R. 2577, passed the bill, and requested a conference.

The conference met on June 15, 2016, and filed its report (H.Rept. 114-640) the next day. The conference bill contained four divisions: (1) Division A: MILCON/VA, (2) Division B: Zika Response and Preparedness Appropriations, (3) Division C: Zika Vector Control, and (4) Division D: Rescission of Funds ($750.0 million from three sources). The House agreed to the report on June 23, 2016. Further action in the Senate is pending.

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Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of the FY2017 Military Construction Appropriations Bills

Introduction

This fact sheet highlights selected provisions found in the military construction portions of proposed appropriations bills for FY2017. These include H.R. 4974, introduced to the House on April 15, 2016; S. 2806, introduced to the Senate on April 18; and H.R. 2577, originally introduced to the House on May 27, 2015, as the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (T-HUD) Appropriations Act for FY2016. As reported by the conference committee (H.Rept. 114-640), Division A of H.R. 2577 would be referred to as the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (MILCON/VA), 2017.

This fact sheet addresses only those portions of the various bills that concern military construction. CRS products devoted to Department of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs appropriations, the Zika virus, and T-HUD are listed in the "Additional Resources" section at the end of this report.

Table 1 condenses the more detailed budget authority presented in the Appendix tables.

Table 2 follows the status of MILCON/VA, 2017.

Table A-1 compiles the amounts of budget authority that would be provided by the various bills to the individual military construction appropriations accounts, adjustments made through the rescission of unobligated prior-year appropriations, and additions made to accommodate a portion of the Unfunded Priority Lists (UPL) for FY2016 and FY2017 submitted by the military departments' secretaries at the request of Congress. These appropriations are incorporated into Title I of Division A of H.R. 2577.

Table A-2 outlines Overseas Contingency Operations military construction funding, grouped into Title IV of Division A of the bill.

This fact sheet is designed to offer Members and congressional staff the best available information pending publication of a more lengthy and permanent report on FY2017 military construction appropriations.

Military Construction Appropriations for FY2017

The Legislative Path for Military Construction Appropriations

H.R. 2577 in its original form, the T-HUD appropriations bill for FY2016, was passed by the House on June 9, 2015. Its provisions were eventually incorporated into the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2016 (P.L. 114-113). The bill was reintroduced to the Senate in May 2016 with amendments that eventually encompassed what had been three separate appropriations bills. Division A of the amended bill would have provided FY2017 T-HUD appropriations. Division B would have provided FY2017 MILCON/VA appropriations. An additional Title V of the Senate-proposed act would fund the Department of Health and Human Services for Zika virus response and preparedness. The amended bill was passed by the Senate on May 19, 2016, and sent to the House.

Upon receipt of the amended bill, the House proposed an additional amendment. H.R. 2577, as engrossed by the House, would establish Division A as the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017; Division B as the Zika Response Appropriations Act, 2016; and Division C as the Zika Vector Control Act. The House passed the amended bill on May 26, 2016, and requested a conference.

The conference was held on June 15, 2016, and the conferees filed their report, H.Rept. 114-640, on June 22, 2016. The House agreed to the report on June 23, 2016, by the Yeas and Nays. The bill awaits Senate action.

Military Construction Funding Trends

The President has requested new budget authority in the amounts of $7.44 billion (base budget) and $172.4 million (Overseas Contingency Operations, OCO) for a total of $7.62 billion for military construction and military family housing for FY2017. This compares with $7.72 billion made available for FY2015 and $8.54 billion enacted for FY2016. This continues a downward trend in military construction appropriations begun in FY2010, when construction activity associated with the 2005 Base Closure (BRAC) round began to subside.¹

The President has requested significantly less military construction funding for FY2017 than was the norm during the early years of the 2000s. Figure 1 illustrates the amounts of new budget authority enacted FY2000-FY2016 and projected by DOD through FY2021.

Figure 1. Military Construction and Family Housing New Budget Authority (FY2000-FY2021)

Source: National Defense Budget Estimates for FY2017 (Green Book), Table 6-8. Notes: FY2018-FY2021 represent Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP) projections. Figures include base budget and OCO funding.

The OCO portion of the request continues a shift in emphasis that has become apparent in recent years. OCO construction has shifted from the CENTCOM (Middle East and Southwest Asia) and AFRICOM (Africa, less Egypt) Areas of Responsibility (AOR) to EUCOM (Europe). OCO military construction through FY2011 was directed to the CENTCOM AOR in Southwest Asia. For example, in FY2011, $1.22 billion in OCO construction was devoted to Afghanistan, Qatar, and Bahrain. This began to be redirected in FY2012, when $269.7 million in OCO construction went to projects in Afghanistan, Bahrain, and Djibouti. The FY2013 OCO appropriation included $355.6 million for construction in Djibouti, Bahrain, and Diego Garcia (a British Protectorate in the Indian Ocean), plus funds to construct the ballistic missile defense AEGIS Ashore complex in Romania. No construction funding was identified as OCO for FY2014, but the FY2015 appropriation included $151.9 million that encompassed some OCO construction in Djibouti and Bahrain but devoted most of its emphasis to improving airfields in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. The FY2016 appropriation of $428.9 million was devoted largely to an AEGIS Ashore Missile Defense Complex in Poland, with the remainder going to ship-related construction in Bahrain and airfield improvements in Oman, Niger, and Djibouti. Nearly two-thirds of the FY2017 request of $172.4 million is designated as part of the European Reassurance Initiative and is dedicated to airfield improvements in Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland, plus additional facilities in Iceland and Germany to accommodate the Navy's P-8A Poseidon and the Air Force's F/A-22 Raptor aircraft. The remainder of the FY2017 request is intended for projects in Djibouti.

Additional Resources

Appropriations

CRS Report R44582, Overview of Funding Mechanisms in the Federal Budget Process, and Selected Examples, by [author name scrubbed]

Defense Appropriations

CRS Report R44531, FY2017 Defense Appropriations Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of H.R. 5293 and S. 3000, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44497, Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4909, S. 2943), by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44454, Defense: FY2017 Budget Request, Authorization, and Appropriations, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44519, Overseas Contingency Operations Funding: Background and Status, coordinated by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44039, Defense Spending and the Budget Control Act Limits, by [author name scrubbed].

Veterans Issues

CRS Report R42747, Health Care for Veterans: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, by [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R43704, Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (H.R. 3230; P.L. 113-146), by [author name scrubbed] et al.

CRS In Focus IF10396, Caregiver Support to Veterans, by [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R43547, Veterans' Medical Care: FY2015 Appropriations, by [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report RL34024, Veterans and Homelessness, by [author name scrubbed].

Zika-Related Issues

CRS In Focus IF10401, Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes: A Vector Control Technology for Reducing Zika Virus Transmission, by [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44545, Zika Virus in Latin America and the Caribbean: U.S. Policy Considerations, coordinated by [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44460, Zika Response Funding: Request and Congressional Action, coordinated by [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44549, Supplemental Appropriations for Zika Response: The FY2016 Conference Agreement in Brief, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44385, Zika Virus: CRS Experts, by [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44368, Zika Virus: Basics About the Disease, by [author name scrubbed].

CRS In Focus IF10353, Mosquitoes, Zika Virus, and Transmission Ecology, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed].

CRS Insight IN10544, Zika Poses New Challenges for Blood Centers, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].

Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations

CRS Report R44500, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD): FY2017 Appropriations, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44499, Department of Transportation (DOT): FY2017 Appropriations, by [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44495, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): FY2017 Appropriations, coordinated by [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report R44380, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): FY2017 Budget Request Overview and Resources, by [author name scrubbed].

Appendix. Detailed Appropriations Tables

Table A-1 shows the amounts of budget authority granted to the various military construction and family housing appropriations accounts as enacted for FY2016 and as requested by the President, passed by the two chambers and reported by the conference committee.

The table is grouped into seven separate clusters similar to those present in the bills. Nevertheless, the bill's Administrative Provisions section, which includes both rescissions of funds and new funding for the military departments' Unfunded Priorities List, has been broken into two clusters for clarity:

• Active Components (Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force, and Defense-Wide, which includes defense agencies and Special Operations Command [SOCOM]);
• Reserve Components (National Guard and Reserves);
• NATO Security Investment Program (NSIP);
• Family Housing (including the Family Housing Improvement Fund, the principal DOD support for the military housing privatization initiative);
• BRAC (military base realignment and closure);
• Administrative Provisions (the normal location for rescission of prior-year appropriated budget authority); and
• Unfunded Priority Lists (budget authority not requested by the President in his annual budget request but planned for future years).

Table A-2 presents the military construction funding requested and recommended for Overseas Contingency Operations construction.

Author Contact Information

Footnotes

1.	Some numbers may not appear to add precisely due to rounding.