Murtha Summary of the FY09 Defense Appropriations Bill

Press Release

Murtha Summary of the FY09 Defense Appropriations Bill

Congressman John P. Murtha, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, announced today that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense has marked-up the Fiscal Year 2009 Defense Appropriations Bill.

The $487.7 billion bill is $4 billion below the President's budget request and $28.4 billion above the Fiscal Year 2008 Enacted Level.

"This Appropriations Bill represents a balance of priorities and needs that will ultimately strengthen our Armed Forces and the security of our great nation," commented Murtha.

"Our first and foremost priority is to ensure that our men and women in uniform, and their families, have every resource available to them. Quality personnel are our military's backbone, and the additional funding in this bill provides them with a larger pay increase, additional family advocacy programs, increased training and improved barracks and health care infrastructure."

"You've heard me say that we must ‘look beyond Iraq,' and to this degree the Committee has added and redistributed funds that will prepare our military for future threats and future conflicts. I'm proud of this bill and I'm proud of the direction it takes us."

The following is a summary of the FY09 Defense Appropriations Bill:

Supporting Our Troops and Their Families:

* - Provides a 3.9% military pay increase (0.5% above the President's budget
request).
* - Provides servicemembers affected by this Administration's Stop Loss policy with
an additional payment of $500 for each month their service was/is extended
from October 2001 to present.
* - Includes an additional $300 million, for a total of $608 million, for family
advocacy programs.
- Increases the budget request to provide $617 million for Traumatic Brain Injury
and Psychological Health, $150 million for peer-reviewed breast cancer research,
$100 million for orthopedic research and treatment, $80 million for prostate
* cancer research, $50 million for spinal cord research, $25 million for ovarian
* cancer research, $25 million for lung cancer research and $5 million for vision
* research. The Committee also includes $150 million above the President's
* request to supply equipment to both field hospitals and military medical
* treatment facilities.
- Increases funding for training by $1 billion over the FY08 enacted level.
* - Provides an increase of $1.4 billion for Facilities Sustainment, Restoration and
* Modernization. This includes $987 million for barracks and other DoD facilities
* and $450 million for military medical treatment facilities.

Preparing for the Future:

- Provides full funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but redistributes funds
within the program. The Committee reduces airframe production funding by a
total of $786 million, but increases funding by a total of $785 million for $430
million for development of an alternative engine, and $320 million for risk
mitigation in the test program (including the restoration of two test aircraft
eliminated by the DoD last year).
- Includes an additional $563.5 million for Intelligence Surveillance and
Reconnaissance (ISR) assets and operational costs as identified by the
Department of Defense.
- Provides an increase of $300 million to fully fund advance procurement for the
Fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite to
maintain protected satellite communication capabilities.

Air Force
- Provides full funding ($893 million) for the aerial refueling tanker program. The
Committee directs the DoD to comply with the GAO findings concerning the
tanker award protest, and directs that industrial base concerns be included in the
evaluation of the tanker contract award.
- Fully funds the President's budget request for 20 F-22 Raptors in addition to
providing $523 million for the advance procurement of 20 F-22 Raptors.

Army

- Includes $3.6 billion for the Future Combat Systems (FCS), an increase of $33
million to accelerate the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Unmanned Ground
Vehicle programs
- Provides an additional $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve Equipment.

Navy

- Redistributes the Shipbuilding account to include: $1.6 billion for an additional
LPD-17, $397.6 million for long lead items in the Virginia Class submarine
program, and $450 million in advance procurement for the DDG-1000. Also
provides an additional $941 million in the National Defense Sealift Fund for 2
T-AKE cargo ships. These increases are offset by a reduction of $2.5 billion for the third DDG-1000.

Accountability:

- Outsourcing: Includes a 5% reduction to contract services ($4.5 billion).
- Insourcing: Includes an increase of $943 million to hire civilian employees in
order to perform more work in-house.
- Presidential Helicopter: Reduces the program by $212 million due to uncertainty
associated with Increment II. This leaves the program a total of $835 million,
including $735 million in the program for Increment I aircraft (5) and $100
million for Increment II.
- Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter: Includes a reduction of $166 million (13
aircraft) from the ARH program due to schedule slippage and cost increases in
the program.
- Oversight: Increases the DoD Office of the Inspector General by $25 million to
fund additional personnel to provide oversight of DoD contractors; and an
increase of $5 million to update and maintain the industrial base analysis
conducted by the Cost Analysis Improvement Group.
- Intelligence Community Reprogramming Authority: Limits transfers within the
National Intelligence Program to $400 million, and requires the Intelligence
Community to establish a baseline for reprogramming similar to the baseline
established within the Department of Defense.

Policy Initiatives:

- Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay: Directs the Secretary of Defense to report
to the congressional defense committees within 45 days of enactment on plans to
close the detention facility at Guantanamo and relocate detainees to alternative
detention facilities in the Continental United States.
- AFRICOM: Includes a reduction of $308.4 million associated with U.S. Africa
Command (AFRICOM). The reduction is taken from the amount requested to
stand up a new headquarters due to the lack of a suitable location. The reduction
does not effect funding for the current headquarters, exercises,
counter-terrorism, or counter-drug programs.
- Budgeting the Cost of all Operations: Requires the Department of Defense to
submit a formal budget request for ongoing operations in Afghanistan and
Iraq with the annual budget request.

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