Department of Defense Appropriations Act--Conference Report --

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT--CONFERENCE REPORT -- (Senate - December 14, 2007)

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Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I rise today to thank my colleagues, both in the House and Senate, for their tremendous bipartisan work on the fiscal year 2008 national defense authorization bill.

The Congress has passed the national defense authorization bill every year since 1959, and I have had the great privilege to have had a hand in this annual piece of legislation each of my 29 years in the Senate.

This bill accomplishes the following: supports our troops deployed in harm's way; bolsters the readiness of our Armed Forces; reforms the acquisition practices of the Department of Defense; addresses the problems in military medical care uncovered at Walter Reed and elsewhere; provides needed equipment to protect our deployed forces; and strengthens the quality of life of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, and their families.

To care for those who serve in uniform, their families, and retired veterans, this legislation authorizes $696.4 billion which includes the base budget for fiscal year 2008--$507 billion--and the President's emergency supplemental requests for Iraq, Afghanistan, and the global war on terrorism--$189 billion--made in February, July, and October.

It authorizes a 3.5 percent across-the-board pay raise for all uniformed service personnel.

It continues the authorization to pay over 25 separate bonuses and special pay critical to successful recruiting and retention.

It authorizes fiscal year 2008 end strengths for the Army and Marine Corps of 525,400 and 189,000 respectively, which is an increase of 13,000 for the Army and 9,000 for the Marine Corps.

It includes the Wounded Warrior Act, which will improve health care and benefits for recovering veterans, recovering servicemembers and their families, and begin the process of reform of the Department of Defense, DOD, and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, disability evaluation systems.

It requires DOD and Veterans Affairs to jointly develop a comprehensive policy on improvements to care, management, and transition of recovering servicemembers in an outpatient status.

It authorizes payment of combat-related special compensation to servicemembers medically retired for a combat-related disability. Payment is equal to the amount of retired pay forfeited because of the prohibition on concurrent receipt of military retired pay and VA disability compensation.

It reduces below age 60 the age at which a member of a Reserve component may draw retirement pay by 3 months for every aggregate 90 days' service on active duty under certain mobilization authorities.

It guarantees combat veterans mental health evaluations within 30 days of their request.

It includes several provisions to continue to provide best quality health care to servicemembers and their families and provisions that would enhance the ability of the services to attract health care personnel.

It guarantees combat veterans mental health evaluations within 30 days of their request.

To ensure that servicemembers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are properly equipped, this legislation adds over $17 billion for mine resistant ambush protected--MRAP--vehicles that improve protection for our troops exposed to the improvised explosive device, IED, threat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It funds over $4 billion for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Office, JIEDDO.

It authorizes funds to procure ammunition, modernize ammunition plants, and protect and enhance military training ranges.

To meet current and future threats to our country's national security, this bill requires the DOD to develop a competitive engine program for the Joint Strike Fighter and authorized $480 million for this purpose.

It authorizes more than $13 billion for Navy shipbuilding.

It provides mulltiyear procurement authority for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 Virginia-class submarines, and adding $588 million in advance procurement funding to support buying an additional submarine in 2010.

It adds $51 million to the budget request to provide increased space situational awareness capabilities to address concerns raised as a result of the recent Chinese kinetic antisatellite weapons test.

It authorizes $220.4 billion to meet the operation and maintenance requirements of the services to support combat operations and improve the readiness of deploying and nondeploying forces.

To ensure for the effective oversight of Department of Defense contracts, contractors, and acquisition workforce, this legislation requires private security contractors operating on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan to comply with DOD regulations and rules on the use of force, as well as orders and directives from combatant commanders regarding force protection, security, health, safety, and interaction with local nationals.

It establishes a Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan to study and investigate Federal agency contracting for reconstruction, logistics support, and security functions in those countries, and make recommendations as to how contracting processes could be improved in the future.

It strengthens oversight of reconstruction activities in Afghanistan by establishing a Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, modeled after the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

It includes the Acquisition Improvement and Accountability Act of 2007, which would improve the management and oversight of DOD acquisition programs.

It strengthens statutory protections for contractor employees who blow the whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse on DOD contracts by providing, for the first time, a private right of action in Federal court for contractor employees who are subject to reprisal for their efforts to protect the taxpayers' interests.

To recognize the responsibilities and enhance the role of the National Guard, this legislation includes the National Guard Empowerment Act which authorizes promotion of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to the rank of four-star general and recognizes the responsibilities and enhanced role of the National Guard.

Finally, to ensure the effective security and remediation of Department of Energy sites, this act supports enhanced security at Department of Energy, DOE, nuclear sites and the development of new technology to promote environmental cleanup of DOE sites.

Madam President, this important bill will maintain our readiness and support the military's transformation to meet the 21st century's threats. I urge my colleagues to support this crucial legislation.

Madam President, I direct persons to the committee report, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008. On page 334 there appears a provision, section 1079, entitled: ``Communications with the Committees On Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives.'' I will read a part of it to familiarize people:

The Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the director of a national intelligence center, or the head of any element of the intelligence community shall, not later than 45 days after receiving a written request from the Chair or ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate or the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives--

The Senate and the House provide certain information.

I worked with this provision at the time it was framed in our committee, and I want to say for the record that it was never intended, nor do I personally find any wording in this amendment, which would include the daily brief provided to the President of the United States. That is the exclusive property under executive privilege of the President.

Madam President, I wish to add on that list on the Wounded Warrior Senator Webb, who took a very active role in that.

Our respective leaders have asked us to keep this debate limited as best we can. I know of only one speaker on my side who is seeking 5 minutes. I think our distinguished chairman covered the matter very carefully as he always does.

It has been a privilege for me to participate in the preparation of this conference report and to work on the other committee matters throughout the year. As the chairman said, Senator McCain is on a mission, a mission I happen to support strongly. I am happy to work with Senator Levin instead of Senator McCain. His chief of staff, seated next to me, Mike Kostiw, and I were in constant contact with him, and in every way Senator McCain had hands on in the affairs of the committee this year as ranking member in the preparation of this report.

Senator McCain and I have known each other ever since I was Secretary of the Navy. He was then in the prison camps. Shortly thereafter, when he joyously returned home to a nation that welcomed him with open heart, we have been friends ever since. It was quite logical for him to ask me to work in his stead. This is the 29th year Senator Levin and I have occupied these two chairs. Particularly the last 17 years, either I have been chairman or he has been chairman or ranking member of the committee. Our partnership is rather extraordinary. I anticipate he will maintain and continue that strong effort to make this committee what it is, nonpartisan in its function, in large measure, with Senator McCain after my departure a year hence.

Again, I salute my good friend for his leadership as chairman this year. He is always open to me and other members of the Republican side of the committee to entertain their views very fairly and objectively, thoroughly. And together with our superb professional staff, we have managed to put together a very commendable bill for the Senate and now this conference report for the whole of the Congress.

Having said that, I join in his recognition of Ike Skelton and Duncan Hunter, the two partners we have worked with for many years on the House side. This was his first year as chairman for Congressman Skelton. We worked in the final stages of the preparation of this bill, the four of us, on many key issues to resolve differences between the House and Senate. Ike Skelton is an extraordinary leader. He has been on that committee many years and has been about as long as we have in the Congress. We are fortunate to have his services, as we do the services of Senator Levin.

I yield the floor. The chairman may wish to recognize a speaker on his side. Then I will recognize a speaker on our side.

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