The $459.3 billion defense appropriations bill for fiscal 2008 cleared Congress last week and is headed to President Bush for signature. 
 
The bill:
 
--fully funds a 3.5 percent increase in basic pay for all service members;
 
--funds an active duty end strength of 1,371,400 and a reserve component end strength of 837,900;
 
--supports requested end strength increases of 13,000 for the Army, 9,000 for the Marine Corps, 5,000 for the Army Reserve, and 1,300 for the Army Guard;
 
--fully funds key readiness programs critical to prepare forces for combat operations and other peace time missions:  depot maintenance, training, spare parts, and base operations;
 
--fully funds four Joint Cargo Aircraft for the Army;
 
--provides $175.8 million for 12 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters;
 
--fully funds 52 UH-60 Blackhawk, 44 UH-72 Lakota, and 29 CH-47 Chinook helicopters;
 
--provides an additional $80 million for Army aircraft survivability equipment;
 
--supports Army and Marine Corps “Grow the Force” initiatives;
 
--funds Army HMMWV and Tactical Vehicles;
 
--funds Army Stryker program;
 
--increases funding for body armor and other protective equipment for Special Operations Command;
 
--adds $980 million for National Guard and Reserve equipment; and;
 
--provides $23.5 billion for Defense Health Programs.
 
The Army’s $3.66 billion request for the Future Combat System was reduced by $206 million, about half of the $406 million cut proposed by the House.
 
The bill also contains a continuing resolution that will fund federal government programs through Dec. 14.
 
Temporary War Fund
 
Missing from the defense appropriations bill is a $50 billion “bridge fund” that would pay for war operations until the President’s $196.4 billion request for supplemental funding is considered next year.
 
Instead, Democratic congressional leaders decided to bring to the floor a separate “bridge fund” measure for war operations.  They said that they do not want to provide any more funding for the war unless it leads directly to the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
 
Their approach angered Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, ranking member of the defense appropriations subcommittee.  “This is not a question of war or no war at all.  This is a question of whether you support the forces in the field,” said Sen. Stevens.
 
He had threatened to invoke a new Senate rule that would have allowed the chamber to remove the continuing resolution provision from the conference report, but relented when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said that a vote on the President’s nominee to head the Justice Department would depend on the GOP’s cooperation on the defense bill. 
 
The House is expected to take up the bridge fund this week.  The measure will contain several provisions the House has tried to enact in the past including a requirement that U.S. troops begin to withdraw from Iraq immediately with a goal of removing most troops by December 2008.  It also includes provisions that mandate home stays for troops equal to the length of their deployment and prohibits the deployment of troops who are not properly trained or equipped. 
 
Even if the bill passes the House, its future in the Senate is not very good because the Senate lacks the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster.
 
Not all Democrats agree with the tact being taken by their leadership.  Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., said he was concerned that a greater strain would be placed on the military while Congress bickers over war funding.  “My initial reaction is, gee, I wish they wouldn’t do this,” said Rep. Taylor, adding that planners and suppliers need to know where their funding is coming from. 
 
AUSA strongly agrees with Rep. Taylor.
 
 
Space and Missile Defense Topic at AUSA Breakfast
 
Several key congressional staff members joined the Army and defense industry leadership at the Institute of Land Warfare Breakfast last week to hear LTG Kevin Campbell provide an overview of his command's wide-ranging operations -- from Army astronaut Col. Doug Wheelock returning to earth on the Space Shuttle Discovery to National Guard troops manning Ground-Based Missile Defense systems at Fort Greely, Alaska.  LTG Campbell is the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
 
"Space is important for what the Army does,” said LTG Campbell, who also heads up the U.S. Army Forces Strategic Command "and it's going to be even more important."
 
LTG Campbell said America's adversaries are developing better space-based capabilities, and predicted this could cause dramatic changes.   "Until now, we've had the luxury to do whatever we wanted (in space)," he said. "but I think that's going to change."
 
 
AUSA 2008 Resolutions Adopted
 
The Association of the United States Army approved its 2008 resolutions noting that “after more than six years of war, our soldiers have proven that it takes boots on the ground to achieve success on today’s battlefields,” but “the Army in which they serve is out of balance.”
 
AUSA is calling for a “fully-manned, well-resourced Army.”  That translates into an active force of at least 700,000, an Army National Guard of at least 358,000 and an Army Reserve of at least 206,000, the resolutions’ preamble states.
 
AUSA sees the Army as “an investment-starved institution that is forced to trade long-term modernization for near term requirements” and wants to increase the Army’s share of the Defense Department’s budget from 24 percent to 28 percent. 
 
The Association also calls for a more consistent funding stream.  “Unpredictable funding degrades readiness, creates inefficiencies and places enormous stress on an Army at war.”
 
The resolutions “support the Army’s covenant with the Army family” and stresses that “Congress must remain mindful of this human dimension as resources are allocated.”
 
In addition, the resolutions call for closing the gap between military and civilian pay, and revising and enhancing the reserve component compensation package.  At the same time, the “erosion of benefits, especially in health care, must be prevented.”
 
Adding, “The care of injured and disabled soldiers must be enhanced and the administrative process and procedure link between the Departments of Defense and Veterans’ Affairs must become seamless.”
 
One-hundred and twenty-one of AUSA’s 123 chapters voted on the resolutions that were drafted during October’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.
 
The resolutions set AUSA’s legislative agenda for the coming year.  They can be viewed on AUSA’s website, www.ausa.org.  Click on the Government Affairs link.