FY2023 NDAA: Military Construction Authorizations

FY2023 NDAA: Military Construction Authorizations

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INSIGHTi

FY2023 NDAA: Military Construction
Authorizations
August 23, 2022

For the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (FY2023 NDAA), the President’s budget
requested $12.2 billion for Department of Defense (DOD) Military Construction (MILCON) accounts. As
deliberation over the FY2023 NDAA (H.R. 7900; S. 4543) continues, Congress may debate additional
funding authorizations for MILCON projects. The House-passed version of the bill would authorize $4.3
billion more than requested, while the Senate Armed Services Committee-reported version of the bill
would authorize $5.1 billion more than requested. Both measures also include provisions that would
address military housing issues, which have been of particular interest to Congress (see Table 1).
Congress typically authorizes funding for MILCON projects in Division B of the annual NDAA.
In general, DOD MILCON accounts fund military construction projects; major infrastructure
improvements; land acquisition; construction and operation of military family housing; privatized housing
through the Family Housing Improvement Fund and the Military Unaccompanied Housing Improvement
Fund; construction and environmental cleanup projects required by the Base Realignment and Closure
Commission (BRAC) process; and contributions to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Security Investment Program, which funds infrastructure projects and cost-sharing expenses for collective
defense.
President’s Budget Request
The President’s FY2023 budget requested $12.2 billion to fund military construction, family housing,
BRAC activities, and related discretionary funding—$1.1 billion (8%) less than the enacted FY2022 level
of $13.3 billion. The request included $9.9 billion in military construction authorities, $2.0 billion in
family housing accounts and $284.6 million for BRAC activities. In terms of dollar value, some of the
largest requested stand-alone projects included:
 $621 million to build a dry dock replacement at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI;
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 $503 million for a multimission dry dock extension at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in
Kittery, ME, which would support the maintenance and overhaul of the Navy's Virginia-
class fast-attack submarines;
 $329 million for unspecified energy conservation and improvement programs;
 $214 million to construct a nuclear maintenance facility at Naval Submarine Base Kings
Bay, GA; and
 $201 million to build a new maintenance hangar and airfield for F-35C aircraft at Naval
Air Station Lemoore, CA.
House-Passed FY2023 NDAA
The House-passed FY2023 NDAA (H.R. 7900) would authorize $16.5 billion for military construction
projects and related funding—$4.3 billion (35%) more than the President’s request. The bill includes a
total of $3.5 billion in combined budget line item increases for inflation in the Army, Navy, Air Force,
Defense-wide and reserve components’ budgets.
H.R. 7900 would authorize numerous projects not included in the President’s budget request, including
$108.6 million for new bachelor enlisted quarters at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, HI; $89.0 million
for a Secure Integration Support Lab at Kirtland Air Force Base’s remote experimental site located in
Maui, HI; and $61.0 million for a new Joint Operations Center at Fort Polk, LA.
The House legislation would also authorize $329 million to fund new power generation facilities,
microgrids and other energy improvements at 18 specific military installations, part of an effort to
improve energy resiliency gaps (H.Rept. 117-397).
The House version of the bill also includes 40 specific military construction projects listed among the
Community Project Funding Items, which were requested by individual lawmakers.
Congressional debate over military housing issues, in particular the privatization of transient lodging
facilities, is also expected during NDAA consideration. The House-passed bill would require the Navy
and Air Force to begin the process of privatizing all transient housing (i.e., housing occupied temporarily
by servicemembers on travel for temporary duty). The Army initiated a similar privatization effort in 2009
with the aim of improving the condition of Army lodging.
Senate Armed Services Committee-Reported FY 2023 NDAA
The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)-reported FY2023 NDAA (S. 4543) would authorize a
total of $17.3 billion for military construction, family housing and related funding—$5.1 billion (43%)
more than the President’s budget request. The bill would authorize $14.7 billion for military construction
accounts and $2.3 billion total for family housing.
S. 4543 would add several projects not included in the President’s budget request, including $421 million
for construction of a Joint Intelligence Analysis Complex at Royal Air Force Molesworth in the United
Kingdom. The bill would also authorize $235 million for Offutt Air Force Base, NE, to complete natural
disaster recovery efforts following the 2019 flood that damaged the installation.
The SASC-reported bill, similar to the House-passed version, would also authorize $329 million to fund
new energy conservation projects at 18 installations, according to CRS analysis of Section 2402 of the
legislation. The specific projects at the 18 installations listed in the SASC-reported bill are the same as the
list of projects authorized in the House-passed version of the bill.
S. 4543 would also authorize additional appropriations for military construction cost increases due to
inflation across numerous line items throughout the bill. The accompanying report (S.Rept. 117-130)

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includes dozens of increases for inflation throughout the funding tables but does not include—unlike the
House version of the bill—subtotals for the overall increase attributed to inflation.
Table 1. FY2023 Military Construction Authorizations
(in billions of current U.S. dollars of budget authority)
Enacted FY2022
House-passed
SASC-reported
NDAA
FY2023 President’s
FY2023 NDAA
FY2023 NDAA
MILCON Accounts
(P.L. 117-81)
Budget Request
(H.R. 7900)
(S. 4543)
Military Construction
11.48
9.91
14.13
14.73

Family Housing
1.48
1.95
1.95
2.3
BRAC
0.38
0.28
0.38
0.29

Total Military
13.35
12.15
16.47
17.33
Construction

Authorization
Source: Figures are from funding tables published in the House and Senate Armed Services Committees’ reports (H.Rept.
117-397 and S.Rept. 117-130) accompanying their versions of the FY2023 NDAA (H.R. 7900 and S. 4549). Figures in the
“Enacted FY2022 NDAA” column are from the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the FY2022 NDAA (P.L. 117-
81).

Author Information

Andrew Tilghman

Analyst in U.S. Defense Infrastructure Policy

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
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Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
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