FY2016 Military Construction Appropriations: President's Request and House Markup Compared
This report briefly discusses the financing of military construction. Military construction is normally funded through Title I of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill and provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide.
CRS Insights
FY2016 Military Construction Appropriations: President's Request and House Markup Compared
Daniel H. Else, Acting Section Research Manager (delse@crs.loc.gov, 7-4996)
April 24, 2015 (IN10262)
The Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the military departments (Army, Navy, and Air Force) are
empowered by statute (10 U.S.C. §2802) to carry out military construction projects, land acquisitions, and defense
access road projects (as described under 23 U.S.C. §210) as are authorized by law. Such authorization is usually
given in the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Military construction projects are defined in statute as
including "surveys and site preparation; acquisition, conversion, rehabilitation, and installation of facilities;
acquisition and installation of equipment and appurtenances integral to the project; acquisition and installation of
supporting facilities (including utilities) and appurtenances incident to the project; and the planning, supervision,
administration, and overhead incident to the project."
Military construction is normally funded through Title I of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related
Agencies appropriations bill and provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and
improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide. It capitalizes military family
housing and the U.S. share of the NATO Security Investment Program and finances the implementation of
installation closures and realignments. Military construction appropriations have been joined with those for the
Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the Court of Veterans Appeals, the
Armed Forces Retirement Homes, and Arlington National Cemetery since the 108th Congress. Title IV of the bill
funds construction outside of the United States supporting Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO)/Global War
on Terrorism (GWOT) pursuant to Section 251(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 (for more information on the act, see CRS Report R41901, Statutory Budget Controls in
Effect Between 1985 and 2002, by Megan S. Lynch). This separate title was created by the congressional
committee to segregate construction supporting OCO and to designate those appropriations as emergency
spending, removing them from the budget caps imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25).
On February 2, 2015, President Barack Obama sent to Congress a proposed FY2016 Department of Defense
budget request of $585.3 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund both base budget programs and Overseas
Contingency Operations. A small portion of that request, $8.4 billion (1.4%), was requested for military
construction purposes. On April 21, 2015, the House Committee on Appropriations reported its markup of the
annual appropriations bill. Table 1 displays the new budget authority for military construction and OCO
construction that has been requested by the President and recommended by the House Committee on
Appropriations.
Table 1. FY2016 Military Construction Presidential Request and House Markup
Dollars in thousands
Appropriations Account
FY2015 Enacted FY2016 Request FY2016 House
Title I, Military Construction
Military Construction, Army
528,427
743,245
663,245
Military Construction, Navy and Marine
Corps
1,018,772
1,669,239
1,349,678
Military Construction, Air Force
811,774
1,389,185
1,237,055
Military Construction, Defense-Wide
1,991,690
2,300,767
1,931,456
Total, Active Components
4,350,663
6,102,436
5,181,434
Military Construction, Army National
Guard
128,920
197,237
167,437
Military Construction, Air National Guard
92,663
138,738
138,738
Military Construction, Army Reserve
103,946
113,595
104,295
Military Construction, Navy Reserve
51,528
36,078
36,078
Military Construction, Air Force Reserve
49,492
65,021
65,021
Total, Reserve Components
426,549
550,669
511,569
Total, Military Construction
4,777,212
6,653,105
5,693,003
NATO Security Investment Program
199,700
120,000
150,000
Family Housing Construction, Army
78,609
99,695
99,695
Family Housing Operation and
Maintenance, Army
350,976
393,511
393,511
Family Housing Construction, Navy
16,412
16,541
16,541
Family Housing Operation and
Maintenance, Navy and Marine Corps
354,029
353,036
353,036
Family Housing Construction, Air Force
—
160,498
160,498
Family Housing Operation and
Maintenance, Air Force
327,747
331,232
331,232
Family Housing Construction, Defense-
Wide
—
—
—
Family Housing Operation and
Maintenance, Defense-Wide
61,100
58,668
58,668
Family Housing Improvement Fund
1662
—
—
Total, Family Housing
1,190,535
1,413,181
1,413,181
Chemical Demilitarization
Construction, Defense-Wide
38,715
—
—
Department of Defense Base Closure
Account
315,085
251,334
251,334
Administrative Provisions
Military Construction, FY2014 (Section
127)
125,000
—
—
Military Construction, FY2015 (Section
128)
117,000
—
—
Military Construction, Army (Section 125)
-49,533
—
-96,000
Military Construction, Navy and Marine
Corps (Section 130)
-25,522
—
—
Defense Access Roads (Section 131)
—
—
30,000
Military Construction, Air Force (Section
126)
-41,392
—
-52,600
Military Construction, Defense-Wide
(Section 127)
—
—
-134,000
NATO Security Investment Program
(Section 132)
-25,000
—
—
42 U.S.C. 3374 (Section 128)
-63,800
—
-103,918
Total, Administrative Provisions
36,753
—
-356,518
Appropriations
(242,000)
—
(30,000)
Rescissions
(-205,247)
—
(-181,271)
Total, Title I, Department of Defense
6,558,000
8,437,620
7,151,000
Appropriations
(6,763,247)
(8,437,620)
(7,537,518)
Rescissions
(-205,247)
—
(-386,518)
Title IV, Overseas Contingency
Operations
Military Construction, Navy and Marine
Corps
—
—
244,004
Military Construction, Air Force
—
—
75,000
Military Construction, Defense-Wide
46,000
—
212,996
European Reassurance Initiative Military
Construction
175,000
—
—
Total, Title IV
221,000
—
532,000
Grand Total, Department of Defense New
Budget Authority
6,779,000
8,437,620
7,683,000
Source: Draft Full Appropriations Committee Report, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2016.
Notes: Numbers in parentheses represent subtotals. Negative numbers represent rescissions. The
President requested OCO construction as part of his regular, or "base," budget request. The House
Committee on Appropriations placed that construction into Title IV of the draft appropriations bill
and designated it as "emergency funding" under the 1985 act.
Since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947, the funding of military construction and military family
housing has experienced significant fluctuations. As expressed in FY2016 dollars, the annual appropriation of new
budget authority between FY1948 and FY2020 (including DOD projections) averages $12.7 billion (the median
lies at $12.0 billion). The minimum appropriation during that period was $1.1 billion for FY1949, while the
maximum of $34.3 billion was appropriated for FY2009, at the height of construction activity for the 2005
Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) round. If appropriations during FY1951-FY1953 (Korean War)
and FY2007-FY2011 (2005 BRAC round) are removed, the average military construction/family housing
appropriation falls to $11.4 billion. The FY2016 request of $8.4 billion and projected requests through FY2020
fall well below that average. Figure 1 illustrates the flow of these appropriations.
Figure 1. Military Construction New Budget Authority Appropriations, FY1948-FY2020
Constant FY2016 Dollars in Millions
Source: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), National Defense Budget Estimates for FY2016,
Table 6-8.
Notes: All enacted war and supplemental funding is included.
FY2016 Military Construction Appropriations: President's Request and House Markup Compared
Daniel H. Else, Acting Section Research Manager (delse@crs.loc.gov, 7-4996)
April 24, 2015 (IN10262)
The Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the military departments (Army, Navy, and Air Force) are
empowered by statute (10 U.S.C. §2802) to carry out military construction projects, land acquisitions, and defense
access road projects (as described under 23 U.S.C. §210) as are authorized by law. Such authorization is usually
given in the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Military construction projects are defined in statute as
including "surveys and site preparation; acquisition, conversion, rehabilitation, and installation of facilities;
acquisition and installation of equipment and appurtenances integral to the project; acquisition and installation of
supporting facilities (including utilities) and appurtenances incident to the project; and the planning, supervision,
administration, and overhead incident to the project."
Military construction is normally funded through Title I of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related
Agencies appropriations bill and provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and
improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide. It capitalizes military family
housing and the U.S. share of the NATO Security Investment Program and finances the implementation of
installation closures and realignments. Military construction appropriations have been joined with those for the
Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the Court of Veterans Appeals, the
Armed Forces Retirement Homes, and Arlington National Cemetery since the 108th Congress. Title IV of the bill
funds construction outside of the United States supporting Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO)/Global War
on Terrorism (GWOT) pursuant to Section 251(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 (for more information on the act, see CRS Report R41901, Statutory Budget Controls in
Effect Between 1985 and 2002, by Megan S. Lynch). This separate title was created by the congressional
committee to segregate construction supporting OCO and to designate those appropriations as emergency
spending, removing them from the budget caps imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25).
On February 2, 2015, President Barack Obama sent to Congress a proposed FY2016 Department of Defense
budget request of $585.3 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund both base budget programs and Overseas
Contingency Operations. A small portion of that request, $8.4 billion (1.4%), was requested for military
construction purposes. On April 21, 2015, the House Committee on Appropriations reported its markup of the
annual appropriations bill. Table 1 displays the new budget authority for military construction and OCO
construction that has been requested by the President and recommended by the House Committee on
Appropriations.
Table 1. FY2016 Military Construction Presidential Request and House Markup
Dollars in thousands
Appropriations Account
FY2015 Enacted FY2016 Request FY2016 House
Title I, Military Construction
Military Construction, Army
528,427
743,245
663,245
Military Construction, Navy and Marine
Corps
1,018,772
1,669,239
1,349,678
Military Construction, Air Force
811,774
1,389,185
1,237,055
Military Construction, Defense-Wide
1,991,690
2,300,767
1,931,456
Total, Active Components
4,350,663
6,102,436
5,181,434
Military Construction, Army National
Guard
128,920
197,237
167,437
Military Construction, Air National Guard
92,663
138,738
138,738
Military Construction, Army Reserve
103,946
113,595
104,295
Military Construction, Navy Reserve
51,528
36,078
36,078
Military Construction, Air Force Reserve
49,492
65,021
65,021
Total, Reserve Components
426,549
550,669
511,569
Total, Military Construction
4,777,212
6,653,105
5,693,003
NATO Security Investment Program
199,700
120,000
150,000
Family Housing Construction, Army
78,609
99,695
99,695
Family Housing Operation and
Maintenance, Army
350,976
393,511
393,511
Family Housing Construction, Navy
16,412
16,541
16,541
Family Housing Operation and
Maintenance, Navy and Marine Corps
354,029
353,036
353,036
Family Housing Construction, Air Force
—
160,498
160,498
Family Housing Operation and
Maintenance, Air Force
327,747
331,232
331,232
Family Housing Construction, Defense-
Wide
—
—
—
Family Housing Operation and
Maintenance, Defense-Wide
61,100
58,668
58,668
Family Housing Improvement Fund
1662
—
—
Total, Family Housing
1,190,535
1,413,181
1,413,181
Chemical Demilitarization
Construction, Defense-Wide
38,715
—
—
Department of Defense Base Closure
Account
315,085
251,334
251,334
Administrative Provisions
Military Construction, FY2014 (Section
127)
125,000
—
—
Military Construction, FY2015 (Section
128)
117,000
—
—
Military Construction, Army (Section 125)
-49,533
—
-96,000
Military Construction, Navy and Marine
Corps (Section 130)
-25,522
—
—
Defense Access Roads (Section 131)
—
—
30,000
Military Construction, Air Force (Section
126)
-41,392
—
-52,600
Military Construction, Defense-Wide
(Section 127)
—
—
-134,000
NATO Security Investment Program
(Section 132)
-25,000
—
—
42 U.S.C. 3374 (Section 128)
-63,800
—
-103,918
Total, Administrative Provisions
36,753
—
-356,518
Appropriations
(242,000)
—
(30,000)
Rescissions
(-205,247)
—
(-181,271)
Total, Title I, Department of Defense
6,558,000
8,437,620
7,151,000
Appropriations
(6,763,247)
(8,437,620)
(7,537,518)
Rescissions
(-205,247)
—
(-386,518)
Title IV, Overseas Contingency
Operations
Military Construction, Navy and Marine
Corps
—
—
244,004
Military Construction, Air Force
—
—
75,000
Military Construction, Defense-Wide
46,000
—
212,996
European Reassurance Initiative Military
Construction
175,000
—
—
Total, Title IV
221,000
—
532,000
Grand Total, Department of Defense New
Budget Authority
6,779,000
8,437,620
7,683,000
Source: Draft Full Appropriations Committee Report, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2016.
Notes: Numbers in parentheses represent subtotals. Negative numbers represent rescissions. The
President requested OCO construction as part of his regular, or "base," budget request. The House
Committee on Appropriations placed that construction into Title IV of the draft appropriations bill
and designated it as "emergency funding" under the 1985 act.
Since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947, the funding of military construction and military family
housing has experienced significant fluctuations. As expressed in FY2016 dollars, the annual appropriation of new
budget authority between FY1948 and FY2020 (including DOD projections) averages $12.7 billion (the median
lies at $12.0 billion). The minimum appropriation during that period was $1.1 billion for FY1949, while the
maximum of $34.3 billion was appropriated for FY2009, at the height of construction activity for the 2005
Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) round. If appropriations during FY1951-FY1953 (Korean War)
and FY2007-FY2011 (2005 BRAC round) are removed, the average military construction/family housing
appropriation falls to $11.4 billion. The FY2016 request of $8.4 billion and projected requests through FY2020
fall well below that average. Figure 1 illustrates the flow of these appropriations.
Figure 1. Military Construction New Budget Authority Appropriations, FY1948-FY2020
Constant FY2016 Dollars in Millions
Source: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), National Defense Budget Estimates for FY2016,
Table 6-8.
Notes: All enacted war and supplemental funding is included.