President Signs Defense Spending Bills

President George W. Bush signed into law the fiscal year (FY) 2006 defense appropriations and authorization bills on December 30 and January 6, respectively, after the U.S. Senate completed its work on December 21. The bills had been delayed after disagreements on efforts to include a prisoner treatment amendment and to attach unrelated bills to the legislation.

The appropriations bill, H.R. 2863, will provide funds for the following:
• Department of Defense active, Guard and Reserve military end strength.
• A 3.1 percent across-the-board pay raise for military personnel.
• An increase in basic allowance for housing to maintain last year’s initiative to eliminate out-of-pocket housing expenses for military personnel.

Operation and Maintenance
• Sustain key readiness programs critical to the global war on terrorism: optempo flying hours and ship steaming days, depot maintenance, training, spare parts, base operations and facility maintenance.
• $35 million more for environmental cleanup at formerly used defense sites.

Procurement
• Army Stryker procurement and $22 million for Bradley reactive armor tiles.
• $180 million more for equipment for the National Guard and Reserve.

Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation
• $473 million more for Army medical research.
• $3.1 billion for the Future Combat System.
• $30 million more to continue joint common missile development.

Revolving and Management Funds
• $1.2 billion for military commissaries in the Defense Working Capital Funds.

Army Vehicles/Force Protection
• $130 million for Stryker vehicles and sufficient funds to replace Stryker vehicle combat losses.
• $50 million for Bradleys.
• $75 million for common remote operated weapons system.
• M1 Abrams engine upgrades.
• $170 million for up-armored Humvees and $464 million for Humvee recapitalization.
• $50 million for tactical wheeled vehicle armoring.
• $41 million for armored security vehicles.
• $1.03 billion for Army radio systems.
• $293 million for Army night vision equipment.

Additional Appropriations
• $1 billion to address immediate equipment shortfalls for the Guard and Reserve.
• Funds for incremental wartime costs for military personnel.
• Funding for pay and allowances for reserve component military personnel mobilized in support of the global war on terrorism.
• $681.5 million to support additional recruiting and retention incentives.
• Funding for continued military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• $142.8 million for body armor and personal protection equipment.
• $174 million for medical supplies and support to tactical units.
• $609.8 million for recruiting and retention support for the active and reserve components.

The authorization bill, H.R. 1815, authorizes:
• A 3.1 percent military pay raise.
• Increases in reenlistment bonuses for active duty members from $60,000 to $90,000 and for new recruits from $20,000 to $40,000.
• Increases in the maximum amounts for reserve component enlistments and affiliations with selected reserve units from $10,000 to $20,000.
• Increases in the maximum amount of hardship pay from $300 to $750 per month.
• A death benefit payment of $100,000 to all line of duty deaths, not just those related to combat.
• Supplemental funding of $50 billion for the war on terrorism’s operational costs.
• More funding for up-armored Humvees, tactical wheeled vehicle recapitalization and modernization, night vision devices and other force protection needs.
• An increase in Army active duty end strength by 10,000 and for the Secretary of Defense to further increase it to 532,400 during FY 2007-09.
• Full locality-based housing allowances for Guard and Reserve members mobilized for more than 30 days.
• Eligibility for servicemembers hospitalized with combat wounds to receive a special pay of $430 per month for the duration of their hospitalization or until they start receiving the new traumatic injury benefits.
• Civilian income replacement for Reservists on extended or frequent mobilization beyond 180 days.
• TRICARE access to all Reservists and their families, not just those deployed.