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

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.

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

August 18, 2016 (R44596)
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Contents

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.


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.

Table 1. Summary of Military Construction Budget Authority for FY2016-FY2017

(thousands of dollars)

Account

FY2016
Enacteda

FY2017
Request

FY2017
House

FY2017
Senatea

FY2017
Conference

Title I, Military Construction and Family Housing

Military Construction

6,515,205

5,741,035

5,621,104

5,911,373

5,724,205

NATO Security Investment Program

135,000

177,932

177,932

177,932

177,932

Family Housing

1,404,281

1,319,852

1,319,852

1,319,852

1,276,289

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)

266,334

205,237

230,237

205,237

240,237

Administrative Provisionsb

-149,820

344,875

315,606

307,337

Total New Budget Authority, Title I, DODc

8,171,000

7,444,056

7,694,000

7,930,000

7,726,000

Title IV, Overseas Contingency Operations

New Budget Authority, Title IV, OCO

172,449

172,000

172,000

Total New Budget Authority, Titles I and IV

8,171,000

7,616,505

7,866,000

7,930,000

7,898,000

Source: Adapted from H.Rept. 114-640.

a. OCO funding in these bills was not segregated in a Title IV.

b. Rescissions, or the cancellation of previously appropriated funds, and additional unrequested funding are usually found within the Administrative Provisions of a military construction appropriations bill. For more information on rescissions, see CRS Report R43234, Across-the-Board Rescissions in Appropriations Acts: Overview and Recent Practices, by [author name scrubbed].

c. New Budget Authority is the amount of funding to be added to the various appropriation accounts upon enactment of H.R. 2577.

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.

Table 2. Status of FY2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

(H.R. 4974, S. 2806, H.R. 2577)

Committee
Markup
(H.R. 4974, S. 2806)

House
Report
H.R. 4974

House
Passage
H.R. 2577

Senate
Report
S. 2806

Senate
Passage
H.R. 2577

Conf.
Report

Conference Report Approval

Public
Law

House

Senate

 

 

 

 

 

House

Senate

 

04/13/2016

04/14/2016

H.Rept. 114-497

05/26/2016

S.Rept. 114-237

05/19/2016

H.Rept. 114-640

06/23/16

Source: CRS Appropriations Status Table (http://www.crs.gov/Pages/AppropriationsStatusTable.aspx).

Note: H.R. 2577 was amended by the Senate by inserting the provisions of S. 2806 into the bill. The Senate amendment was subsequently amended by the House.

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-1. Title I, Department of Defense Military Construction Budget Authority, FY2016-FY2017

(thousands of dollars)

Account

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Request

FY2017 House

FY2017 Senate

FY2017 Conference

Active Components

Military Construction, Army

663,245

503,459

503,459

532,359

513,459

Military Construction, Navy and Marine Corps

1,669,239

1,027,763

1,021,580

1,087,572

1,021,580

Military Construction, Air Force

1,389,185

1,481,058

1,398,758

1,579,798

1,491,058

Military Construction, Defense-Wide

2,242,867

2,056,091

2,024,643

2,038,980

2,025,444

Total, Active Components

5,964,536

5,068,371

4,948,440

5,238,709

5,051,541

Reserve Components

Military Construction, Army National Guard

197,237

232,930

232,930

232,930

232,930

Military Construction, Air National Guard

138,738

143,957

143,957

143,957

143,957

Military Construction, Army Reserve

113,595

68,230

68,230

68,230

68,230

Military Construction, Navy Reserve

36,078

38,597

38,597

38,597

38,597

Military Construction, Air Force Reserve

65,021

188,950

188,950

188,950

188,950

Total, Reserve Components

550,669

672,664

672,664

672,664

672,664

Total, Military Construction

6,515,205

5,741,035

5,621,104

5,911,373

5,724,205

NSIP

NATO Security Investment Program

135,000

177,932

177,932

177,932

177,932

Family Housing

Family Housing Construction, Army

108,695

200,735

200,735

200,735

157,172

Family Housing Ops and Maint, Army

375,611

325,995

325,995

325,995

325,995

Family Housing Construction, Navy and Marine Corps

16,541

94,011

94,011

94,011

94,011

Family Housing Ops and Maint, Navy and Marine Corps

353,036

300,915

300,915

300,915

300,915

Family Housing Construction, Air Force

160,498

61,352

61,352

61,352

61,352

Family Housing Ops and Maint, Air Force

331,232

274,429

274,429

274,429

274,429

Family Housing Ops and Maint, Defense-Wide

58,668

59,157

59,157

59,157

59,157

DOD Family Housing Improvement Funda

3,258

3,258

3,258

3,258

Total, Family Housing

1,404,281

1,319,852

1,319,852

1,319,852

1,276,289

BRAC

Base Realignment and Closureb

266,334

205,237

230,237

205,237

240,237

Administrative Provisions

Military Construction, Army (H §125, S §126, Conf §127)c

-86,420

-25,000

-30,000

-29,602

Military Construction, Navy and Marine Corps (H §126)c

-51,848

Defense Access Roads (§132)

30,000

Military Construction, Air Force (S §126, Conf §127)c

-46,400

-22,340

-51,460

Military Construction, Defense-Wide (H §127, S §126, Conf §127)c

-134,000

-37,377

-132,283

-141,600

Military Construction, Defense-Wide – Planning and Design (Conf §127)c

-30,000

NATO Security Investment Program (H §135, S §126, Conf §127)c

-30,000

-15,000

-30,000

Housing Assistance Program (42 USC 3374) (H §132, Conf §128)d

-105,000

-25,000

-25,000

Total, Administrative Provisions

-341,820

-169,225

-199,623

-307,662

Unfunded Priority Listse

Military Construction, Army (H §128, S §125, Conf §125)

34,500

40,500

40,500

40,500

Military Construction, Navy and Marine Corps (H §129, S §125, Conf §125)

34,500

293,600

143,000

227,099

Military Construction, Army National Guard (H §130, S §125, Conf §125)

51,300

67,500

16,500

67,500

Military Construction, Army Reserve (H §131, S §125, Conf §125)

34,200

86,500

30,000

30,000

Military Construction, Air Force (H §132, S §125, Conf §125)

21,000

26,000

195,465

149,500

Military Construction, Defense-Wide (S §125)

64,364

Military Construction, Air National Guard (S §125, Conf §125)

6,100

11,000

11,000

Military Construction, Air Force Reserve

10,400

Military Construction, Navy and Marine Corps (Conf §126)

89,400

Family Housing, Army (S §125)

14,400

Total, Unfunded Priority Lists, FY2016 and FY2017

192,000

514,100

515,229

614,999

Total New Budget Authority, Title I, Department of Defensef

8,171,000

7,444,056

7,694,000

7,930,000

7,726,000

Total Appropriations, Title I, Department of Defenseg

8,542,820

7,444,056

7,863,225

8,129,623

8,033,662

Source: Adapted from H.Rept. 114-640.

a. The DOD Housing Improvement Fund is the principal source of appropriated funds to support the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (privatized military housing). The rescission would be taken from unobligated prior-year budget authority.

b. Since the completion in 2011 of the 2005 round of military base closures and realignments, virtually all funding in the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) account has been devoted to environmental remediation efforts on surplus DOD property.

c. Section (§) numbers refer to provisions in either the House (H) or Senate (S) amendments to or the conference (Conf) agreement on H.R. 2577. This provision would rescind unobligated budget authority appropriated in prior years.

d. The Housing Assistance Program authorizes the Secretary of Defense to provide financial aid to eligible military, civilian, and certain overseas and non-appropriated fund employee homeowners where defense installations have been closed or where operations have been significantly reduced and real property values have subsequently declined. Several years ago, eligibility for the program was expanded to include certain wounded, injured, or ill service members and surviving spouses.

e. For a number of years, at the request of the House Committee on Armed Services, the military departments have submitted a list of their highest-priority projects that were not included in the President's annual budget submission. These are commonly referred to as Unfunded Priority Lists (UPL). In the various versions of the bill, UPL appropriations are included within the more general Administrative Provisions section. They are separated in this table for clarity. The military department's general Unfunded Priorities Lists is available at http://www.cq.com/pdf/4847609.pdf, http://www.cq.com/pdf/4847607.pdf, http://www.cq.com/pdf/4847611.pdf, and http://www.cq.com/pdf/4847603.pdf.

f. The figures shown for Total, New Budget Authority, Title I, Department of Defense reflect the new budget authority that would be appropriated by the act.

g. The figures shown for Total Appropriations, Title I, Department of Defense, represent the budget authority that would be made available for Title I military construction combining the new budget authority granted and the already appropriated budget authority rescinded from prior appropriations acts.

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

Table A-2. Title IV, Overseas Contingency Construction Budget Authority, FY2016-FY2017

(thousands of dollars)

Account

FY2016 Enacteda

FY2017 Request

FY2017 House

FY2017 Senateb

FY2017 Conference

Overseas Contingency Operations

Military Construction, Navy

38,409

38,409

38,409

Military Construction, Air Force

11,440

11,440

11,440

OCO Total

49,849

49,849

49,849

European Reassurance Initiative

Military Construction, Army

18,900

18,900

18,900

Military Construction, Navy

21,400

21,400

21,400

Military Construction, Air Force

68,300

68,300

68,280

Military Construction, Defense-Wide

5,000

5,000

5,000

ERI Total

113,600

113,600

113,580

Counter Terrorism Support

Military Construction, Air Force

9,000

8,551

8,571

CTS Total

9,000

8,551

8,571

Total, Title IV, Overseas Contingency Construction

172,449

172,000

172,000

Source: Adapted from H.Rept. 114-640.

a. The House version of the FY2016 MILCON/VA appropriations bill (H.R. 2029) would have segregated OCO construction funding into a Title IV. The Senate amendment to the bill did not contain a separate OCO construction Title IV. The enacted appropriation, Division J of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113), followed the Senate outline.

b. The Senate amendment to H.R. 2577 did not separate OCO construction funding in a separate title.

Author Contact Information

[author name scrubbed], Specialist in National Defense ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Footnotes

1.

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