To provide for an increase in pay and allowances for members of the uniformed services for fiscal year 1998, to improve certain authorities relating to the pay and allowance and the health care of such members, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1998 for military construction, and for other purposes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits

Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances

Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays

Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances

Subtitle D: Retired Pay, Survivor Benefits, and Related

Matters

Subtitle E: Other Matters

Title II: Health Care Provisions

Subtitle A: Health Care Services

Subtitle B: Tricare Program

Subtitle C: Uniformed Services Treatment Facilities

Subtitle D: Other Changes to Existing Laws Regarding

Health Care Management

Subtitle E: Other Matters

Subtitle F: Persian Gulf Illness

Title III: Military Construction, Army

Title IV: Military Construction, Navy

Title V: Military Construction, Air Force

Title VI: Military Construction, Defense Agencies

Title VII: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security

Investment Program

Title VIII: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities

Title IX: Expiration and Extension of Certain Authorizations

Title X: General Military Construction Provisions

Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military

Family Housing Changes

Subtitle B: Real Property and Facilities Administration

Subtitle C: Defense Base Closure and Realignment

Subtitle D: Land Conveyances

Subtitle E: Other Matters

Title XI: Sikes Act Improvement

Military Readiness Act of 1997 - Title I: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits - Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances - Waives any FY 1998 military pay increases tied to increases in the General Schedule of Compensation for Government employees. Increases the rates of basic pay by 2.8 percent, effective January 1, 1998.

(Sec. 102) Entitles all enlisted personnel other than those in basic training to the basic allowance for subsistence (BAS). Provides a new BAS rate based on food costs. Allows BAS to be paid to enlisted personnel in advance for not more than three months. Directs the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to prescribe policies regarding the use of dining and field messing facilities of the military departments. Provides transitional provisions with respect to the current BAS, terminating such transitional authority on a specified conditional date.

(Sec. 103) Consolidates and revises generally Federal provisions concerning the basic allowance for quarters (BAQ), the variable housing allowance, and overseas housing allowances (which include a family separation housing allowance).

(Sec. 104) Requires the President to adjust the basic pay of military personnel whenever the General Schedule of Compensation is adjusted. Authorizes the President to allocate such increases among pay grade and years-of-service categories, requiring congressional notification of any such allocation. Requires quadrennial assessment of such allocations.

(Sec. 105) Prohibits the total pay and allowances of a member from being reduced when such member is assigned either to field duty at a home station or to temporary duty away from the member's permanent duty station.

Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays - Extends through FY 1999 specified authorities currently scheduled to expire at the end of FY 1998 with respect to certain special pay and bonus programs within the regular and reserve armed forces.

(Sec. 114) Increases the monthly hazardous duty incentive pay and the aviation career incentive pay, the latter effective as of January 1, 1999.

(Sec. 116) Increases the aviation officer retention bonus and authorizes bonus agreements to extend for a third year. (Currently, only one or two-year agreements are permitted.)

(Sec. 117) Authorizes the payment of an annual retention bonus for certain dental officers who execute a written agreement to remain on active duty for two, three, or four years after completion of their active-duty service commitment. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to extend such bonus authority to other dental officers not immediately qualifying for such bonus.

(Sec. 118) Increases the variable and additional special pays for dental officers with specified years of creditable service.

(Sec. 119) Authorizes the payment of special pay for members on duty at a location designated by the Secretary as a hardship duty location.

(Sec. 121) Makes eligible for the Selected Reserve reenlistment bonus those Reserve enlisted personnel with less than 14 (currently, ten) years of total military service. Authorizes the payment of bonuses for consecutive three-year reenlistments. Revises bonus amounts.

(Sec. 122) Provides eligibility for the Selected Reserve reenlistment bonus to an enlisted member of a reserve component who has completed less than 14 (currently, ten) years of total military service. Increases bonus amounts. Provides similar eligibility and amount revisions with respect to former enlisted personnel who become members of the Selected Reserve after completion of their enlisted service.

(Sec. 123) Extends to Coast Guard personnel eligibility for payment of a bonus when entering into a reserve affiliation agreement to serve in the reserves upon completion of an active-duty tour.

(Sec. 124) Increases the special pay and bonuses authorized for nuclear qualified officers.

(Sec. 125) Authorizes the Secretary of the military department concerned (Secretary concerned) to pay either a monthly special pay or an annual bonus for enlisted personnel with designated specialties who agree to extend their tours of duty at designated overseas locations. Requires pro rata repayment of an unearned bonus, with a waiver authorized. Prohibits the concurrent receipt by such personnel of the annual bonus and rest and recuperative absence or transportation.

(Sec. 126) Increases from $75 to $100 the monthly family separation allowance.

(Sec. 127) Allows for payment of the muster duty allowance within 30 days after such duty is performed. (Currently, such payment is required on or before the date of such duty.)

Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances - Removes certain restrictions on the payment of travel and transportation allowances to dependents of members who receive certain court-martial sentences.

(Sec. 132) Changes the authorized amount of the military dislocation allowance from two months of the BAQ to a rate based on the member's pay and dependency status.

Subtitle D: Retired Pay, Survivor Benefits, and Related Matters - Authorizes a participant in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to elect to discontinue participation at any time during the one-year period beginning on the second anniversary of the date on which payment of retired pay to the participant commences. Requires spousal concurrence, with an exception.

(Sec. 142) Allows at any time (currently, within one year after remarriage) a change of election in SBP coverage to provide an annuity to a spouse instead of a former spouse.

(Sec. 143) Directs the Secretary to review and report to the defense committees on the current Federal protections and benefits afforded to: (1) current and former military personnel and Federal employees; and (2) former spouses of such personnel and employees.

(Sec. 144) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay an annuity to the qualified surviving spouse of each member who: (1) died before March 21, 1974, and was entitled to retired or retainer pay at the time of death; or (2) was a reserve member between September 21, 1972, and October 1, 1978, and at the time of death would have been entitled to retired or retainer pay except for not having attained 60 years of age. Provides annuity amounts. Terminates annuity payment authority on September 30, 2001.

(Sec. 145) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1989 to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to consolidate into a single payment certain annuities currently paid by the Secretary of Defense to the survivors of military retirees.

Subtitle E: Other Matters - Authorizes the Secretary concerned to repay loans used to finance the education of commissioned officers who are qualified in the health professions. Requires the officer to serve an additional period of active duty in return for such repayment. Limits the repayment amount to $22,000 for each additional year that the officer agrees to extend his or her duty.

(Sec. 152) Amends the Coast and Geodetic Survey Commissioned Officers' Act of 1948 to bring the separation pay provisions of commissioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration into conformity with separation pay authorized for members of the armed forces.

(Sec. 153) Makes members of the Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration eligible for reimbursement of certain adoption expenses.

(Sec. 154) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay to World War II veterans who served as guerilla fighters in the Philippines an amount representing the quarters and subsistence allowance which accrued during the period of service between January 1942 and February 1945.

(Sec. 155) Directs the Secretary to study and report on military personnel and their families who subsist at, near, or below the poverty level. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make available to the Secretary the same payments and commodities for military personnel outside the United States as are made for the special supplemental food program in the United States under the Child Nutrition Act of 1996. Requires an implementation report.

Title II: Health Care Provisions - Subtitle A: Health Care Services - Amends the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to include under its military retiree dental insurance plan the surviving spouse and child dependents of military personnel who die while on active duty of 30 days or more and whose dependents are no longer eligible for dental benefits under the regular dental insurance plan.

(Sec. 202) Authorizes the provision of prosthetic devices necessary due to significant conditions resulting from trauma, congenital anomalies, or disease.

(Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary to conduct a study on the provision to TRICARE beneficiaries of comparative information on the medical assistance provided by a managed care entity.

Subtitle B: Tricare Program - Directs the Secretary to prepare and submit a plan for the expansion of the managed care option of the TRICARE Program known as TRICARE Prime into areas outside of the catchment areas of military medical treatment facilities in which such option is a cost-effective alternative.

Subtitle C: Uniformed Services Treatment Facilities - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 to authorize the Secretary to modify the effective date of the implementation of military health care designated provider agreements to permit a transition period of not more than six months between the date of agreement execution and the date on which the designated provider commences delivery of health care services. Provides for the temporary continuation during such period of existing health care participation agreements.

(Sec. 222) Requires a designated provider to be considered part of the Department of Defense (DOD) for purposes of the continued acquisition of reduced-cost drugs for enrollees under the agreement.

(Sec. 223) Directs the Secretary, in establishing the ceiling rate for designated provider enrollees who are also eligible for CHAMPUS services, to take into account the health status of such enrollees.

Subtitle D: Other Changes to Existing Law Regarding Health Care Management - Makes active-duty personnel assigned to certain remote duty locations eligible for health care under CHAMPUS. Directs the Secretary to waive any deductible, copayment, or annual CHAMPUS fee with respect to such personnel.

(Sec. 232) Authorizes the Secretary to waive or reduce the overseas dental plan copayments required of military dependents who accompany members overseas.

(Sec. 233) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish procedures for the collection of the member's share of premiums under the Selected Reserve dental insurance plan and the retiree dental insurance plan; (2) allow such members to pay such premiums through payroll deduction; and (3) submit an implementation program with respect to both plans. Extends through April 1, 1998, the deadline for implementation of the dental insurance plan for military retirees.

(Sec. 234) Makes the administering Secretaries (Secretaries of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard when not operating as a service of the Navy) (currently, only the Secretary of Defense) responsible for CHAMPUS dental plan coverage for certain military retirees and their dependents.

(Sec. 235) Revises CHAMPUS provisions to conform health care provider reimbursement rates with such rates under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.

(Sec. 236) Authorizes the Secretaries of Defense and Transportation to enter into personal services contracts to carry out certain health care responsibilities at locations outside of military medical treatment facilities. Includes the actions of service contract personnel under provisions concerning the defense of lawsuits arising out of medical malpractice. Requires a report from the Secretary on alternative means for performing medical screening examinations routinely performed at military entrance processing stations.

(Sec. 237) Authorizes any health-care professional holding a current medical, dental, or other health care license to practice within a DOD health care facility, a civilian facility affiliated with DOD, or any other location authorized by the Secretary.

(Sec. 238) Requires the Secretary to prescribe a standard form for the admission of claims for the payment of health care services provided under CHAMPUS.

(Sec. 239) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 to extend through FY 1999 the chiropractic health care demonstration program. Requires such program to be expanded to at least three other military health care facilities, including the National Naval Medical Center and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to the defense committees on the additional facilities participating in the program; and (2) modify the program to evaluate its effectiveness at all of the facilities.

Subtitle E: Other Matters - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to enter into an agreement with an accredited institution of higher education under which students may attend the physician assistant training program conducted by the Army Medical Department at the Academy of Health Sciences at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in return for the institution's agreeing to perform Academy support services.

(Sec. 242) Authorizes the Secretary to pay the costs of any overseas emergency health care provided to military and civilian personnel of the On-Site Inspection Agency. Provides funding.

(Sec. 243) Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force, after 90 days' notice to the defense and appropriations committees, to enter into an agreement with Gerald Champion Hospital, Alamagordo, New Mexico, for the provision of health care services to eligible individuals in a medical resource facility in Alamagordo that is constructed, in part, using funds provided by the Secretary under the agreement. Provides funding for such agreement from Air Force operation and maintenance (O&M) funds. Directs the Secretary to review the proposed agreement and provide comments to the Congress before the agreement may take effect.

(Sec. 244) Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations requiring each source dispensing a prescription medication under CHAMPUS to furnish to the recipient cautionary information on such medication.

(Sec. 245) Requires, by October 1, 1998, the competitive procurement outside DOD of all ophthalmic services related to the provision of eyeware for certain current and former military personnel and their beneficiaries, with an exception.

(Sec. 246) Directs the Comptroller General (CG) to conduct studies evaluating: (1) the adequacy of the maximum allowable charges for physicians under CHAMPUS and the effect of such charges on physician participation in CHAMPUS; (2) DOD pharmacy programs; and (3) the validity of recommendations made by the Navy's Medical Education Policy Council regarding restructuring the Navy's graduate medical education program (prohibits any restructuring until a required report is submitted).

(Sec. 249) Directs the Secretary to report on expanding the eligibility for participation in a demonstration project for the purchase of prescription pharmaceuticals by mail to include additional Medicare-eligible CHAMPUS beneficiaries.

(Sec. 250) Directs the CG to study and report to the Congress and the Secretary on current requirements for military medical facilities in the National Capital Region.

(Sec. 251) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees on the effectiveness of DOD policies and programs promoting healthy lifestyles among military personnel and their dependents.

(Sec. 252) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Congress and the President should address the problems associated with the provision of quality health care to military retirees.

Subtitle F: Persian Gulf Illness - Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to jointly prepare and submit a plan to provide appropriate health care to Persian Gulf veterans (and their dependents) who suffer from a Gulf War illness.

(Sec. 263) Directs the CG to submit a study evaluating revised DOD criteria used by physical evaluation boards to set disability ratings for military personnel who are no longer medically qualified for active duty so as to ensure the accuracy of such ratings with respect to the diagnosis of a Persian Gulf illness.

(Sec. 264) Entitles to medical care to the same extent as a member on active duty a member of the reserves who is: (1) a Persian Gulf War veteran with a qualifying symptom or illness; and (2) not otherwise entitled to medical and dental care under either CHAMPUS or veterans' medical care.

(Sec. 265) Directs the Secretary to establish a medical tracking system for military personnel deployed outside the United States as part of a contingency or combat operation.

(Sec. 266) Directs the Secretary to provide affected members with specified information with regard to the receipt of an investigational new drug, including new drug notification and information concerning possible side effects.

(Sec. 267) Directs the Secretary to submit a plan for tracking members and units serving in a theater of operations during a contingency or combat operation.

(Sec. 268) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should ensure that U.S. military units involved in a contingency or combat operation include specialized units to detect and monitor the presence of chemical, biological, and similar hazards.

(Sec. 269) Directs the Secretary to report on the effectiveness of medical research initiatives regarding Persian Gulf War illnesses.

(Sec. 270) Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to establish a program of cooperative clinical trials at multiple sites to address the effectiveness of protocols for treating Persian Gulf War veterans who suffer from ill-defined or undiagnosed conditions.

(Sec. 271) Expresses the sense of the Congress that all promising technologies and treatments relating to Persian Gulf War illnesses should be fully explored and tested to facilitate treatment to such veterans who are stricken with unexplainable illness.

Title III: Military Construction, Army - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to acquire real property and carry out military construction projects in specified amounts at specified installations and locations. Authorizes the Secretary to construct or acquire family housing units, to carry out architectural planning and design activities, and to improve existing military family housing in specified amounts. Authorizes appropriations to the Army for fiscal years after 1997 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of the Army. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title.

(Sec. 305) Authorizes the use of prior-year military construction funds to construct a heliport at Fort Irwin, California.

Title IV: Military Construction, Navy - Provides, with respect to the Navy, authorizations for purposes paralleling those for which authorizations are provided for the Army under the previous title.

(Sec. 405) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 to: (1) authorize a military construction project at the Naval Station in Pascagoula, Mississippi, using funds authorized under such Act; and (2) increase the amount authorized for a project at Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico.

Title V: Military Construction, Air Force - Provides, with respect to the Air Force, authorizations for purposes paralleling those for which authorizations are provided for the Army.

(Sec. 505) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 to authorize a military construction project at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, using funds authorized under such Act.

Title VI: Military Construction, Defense Agencies - Authorizes the Secretary to acquire real property and carry out military construction projects in specified amounts at specified installations and locations. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out architectural planning and design activities and to improve existing military family housing units, in specified amounts.

(Sec. 604) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out certain energy conservation projects.

(Sec. 605) Authorizes appropriations to DOD for fiscal years beginning after 1997 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of DOD. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title.

(Sec. 607) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out specified military construction projects, using amounts authorized under a prior military construction authorization Act, for a project at McClellan Air Force Base, California.

(Sec. 608) Increases the amounts authorized under a prior military construction authorization Act for projects at Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas, and Umatilla Army Depot, Oregon.

Title VII: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program - Authorizes the Secretary to make contributions for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program and authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 1997 for such contributions.

Title VIII: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities - Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 1997 for the Guard and Reserve forces for acquisition, architectural and engineering services, and construction of facilities.

(Sec. 802) Increases the amounts authorized under a prior military construction authorization Act for projects at the Army National Guard, Hilo, Hawaii, and the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve, New Orleans, Louisiana.

(Sec. 803) Directs the Secretary of the Army, with regard to a military construction project at Camp Williams, Utah, to enter into an agreement under which the State of Utah agrees to provide financial or in-kind contributions toward project land acquisition, site preparation, and relocation costs.

Title IX: Expiration and Extension of Certain Authorizations - Terminates all authorizations contained in titles III through VIII of this Act on October 1, 2000, or the date of enactment of an Act authorizing funds for military construction for FY 2001, whichever is later, with exceptions. Extends certain prior-year military construction projects.

(Sec. 906) Extends the availability of funds appropriated under a prior defense appropriations Act for construction of over-the-horizon radar at the Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico.

Title X: General Military Construction Provisions - Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military Family Housing Changes - Requires the Secretary concerned to provide congressional notification when carrying out unspecified minor construction projects even though the project will use funds made available to enhance the deployment and mobility of military forces and supplies.

(Sec. 1002) Requires congressional notification by the Secretary concerned when using O&M funds to carry out a repair project with an estimated cost in excess of $10 million.

(Sec. 1003) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to lease up to eight family housing units in the Miami, Florida area for key and essential personnel of the United States Southern Command for which unit rental expenditures exceed normal authorized amounts.

(Sec. 1004) Provides for the crediting of financial incentives received by DOD from gas, electric, and water utilities for energy and water cost savings.

(Sec. 1005) Requires congressional notification with respect to the use of DOD housing funds for investments in nongovernmental entities.

Subtitle B: Real Property and Facilities Administration - Increases from $200,000 to $500,000 the minor land acquisition threshold.

(Sec. 1012) Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to convey to a municipal, private, regional, district, or cooperative utility company or other entity part or all of a utility system under its jurisdiction. Requires 21-day prior congressional notification.

(Sec. 1013) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to accept amounts provided by a person or entity to cover administrative expenses incurred in entering into real property transactions.

(Sec. 1014) Prohibits the Secretary concerned from conveying any real property unless the Administrator of General Services has screened the property for further Federal use under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949. Requires notification to the Secretary concerned of screening results. Provides excepted conveyances.

(Sec. 1015) Provides for the disposition of proceeds from the sale of Air Force Plant No. 78 in Brigham City, Utah.

(Sec. 1016) Directs the Secretary of the Army to report to the defense and appropriations committees a plan to address the requirements for fire protection and hazardous materials protection services at Fort Meade, Maryland.

Subtitle C: Defense Base Closure and Realignment - Amends the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act to direct the head of the Federal agency acquiring non-federal property as a new or replacement Federal facility to consult with the Secretary concerning the feasibility and cost advantages of using Federal property or facilities at a closed military installation in lieu of such an acquisition. Requires the concurrence of the redevelopment authority for the area concerned.

(Sec. 1022) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, and supplement other Federal funds to assist a State or local government in enhancing that government's capability to support DOD efforts to privatize its military family support services.

(Sec. 1023) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to enter into an agreement with the local redevelopment authority for the Red River Army Depot, Texas, under which the Secretary shall provide security, fire protection, or hazardous material response services on property under the jurisdiction of such authority after realignment under the base closure laws.

(Sec. 1024) Directs the Secretary to prepare and submit to the defense and appropriations committees a report on costs and savings attributable to prior base closure rounds and on the need for additional base closure rounds. Requires the Congressional Budget Office and the CG to review such report. Prohibits the use of any funds for the closure or realignment of military installations until such report and reviews are completed. Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary should develop a system for determining actual costs and savings associated with base closures and apply such system to the 1995 base closure round.

(Sec. 1025) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the savings derived from the base closure process should be utilized by DOD solely for the modernization of new weapon systems.

(Sec. 1026) Prohibits the Secretary of the Navy, in disposing of real property in connection with the closure of Naval Station, Long Beach, California, from conveying any portion of such property to the China Ocean Shipping Company or any of its successors or subsidiaries. Provides a reversionary interest to the United States if such a transfer occurs. Requires the Secretary and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to separately submit to the President and the defense and appropriations committees a report on the national security implications of such a conveyance. Provides presidential waiver authority with respect to the prohibition.

Subtitle D: Land Conveyances - Part I: Army Conveyances - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey to: (1) Hale County, Alabama, specified real property at the Army Reserve Center, Greensboro; (2) Big Five Community Services Incorporated, an Oklahoma nonprofit corporation, the James T. Coker Army Reserve Center in Durant; (3) the Lawndale Business and Local Development Corporation in Illinois the Gibson Army Reserve Center, Chicago; (4) Caroline County, Virginia, specified real property at Fort A.P. Hill; (5) Wrightstown, New Jersey, and the New Hanover Board of Education specified portions of real property at Fort Dix; (6) Spring Lake and Harnett County, North Carolina, specified portions of real property at Fort Bragg; and (7) Mineral County, Nevada, the Schweer Driving House Area within the Hawthorne Army Ammunition Depot.

(Sec. 1038) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to convey to Indiana an additional parcel of real property at the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant.

(Sec. 1039) Modifies prior land conveyances with respect to: (1) Lompoc, California; (2) the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado; and (3) the Army Reserve Center, Andersen, South Carolina.

Part II: Navy Conveyances - Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to convey to: (1) the Maine School Administrative District No. 75, Topsham, a parcel of the Topsham Annex, Naval Air Station in Brunswick; and (2) Nassau County, New York, the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant No. 464 in Oyster Bay.

(Sec. 1053) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 to change from the State of Mississippi to Lauderdale County, Mississippi, the lessee designation with respect to a lease of the Naval Air Station in Meridian.

Part III: Air Force Conveyances - Transfers administrative jurisdiction over specified real property at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, from the Secretary of Transportation to the Secretary of the Air Force. Revokes a contrary executive order.

(Sec. 1062) Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to convey to: (1) Air Force Village West, Incorporated, in Riverside, California, specified real property at March Air Force Base; (2) the Greater Box Elder Area Economic Development Corporation in Box Elder, South Dakota, specified real property at Ellsworth Air Force Base; (3) Onondaga County, New York, specified real property at Hancock Field, Syracuse; (4) the Bear Paw Development Corporation, Havre, Montana, the Havre Air Force Station and the Havre Training Site; and (5) Bangor, Maine, the Charleston Family Housing Complex in Bangor.

(Sec. 1067) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to direct the Secretary of the Air Force to report on Air Force land exchange options in the vicinity of Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

Subtitle E: Other Matters - Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to terminate or reduce the operations of the Naval Academy Dairy Farm in Gambrills, Maryland. Authorizes such Secretary to lease the dairy farm property, as long as the rural and agricultural nature of the property is maintained.

(Sec. 1072) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to acquire by long-term lease structures and real property relating to a regional hospital complex in Naples, Italy, that are suitable for the Naples Improvement Initiative.

(Sec. 1073) Designates specified military family housing developments at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, in honor of Frank Tejeda, a late Member of the House of Representatives.

(Sec. 1074) Directs the Secretary, in at least one U.S. metropolitan area containing multiple military installations, to provide for the installation of fiber-optics based telecommunications technology to link as many of such installations as possible.

Title XI: Sikes Act Improvement - Sikes Act Improvement Act of 1997 - Amends an Act of September 15, 1960, commonly known as the Sikes Act, to officially designate such Act as the Sikes Act. Directs (current law authorizes) the Secretary to carry out a program for the conservation and rehabilitation of natural resources on military installations. Requires the Secretary of each military department to prepare and implement an integrated natural resources management plan (plan) for each military installation under his or her jurisdiction. Authorizes such Secretaries to provide for: (1) the conservation and rehabilitation of natural resources on such installations and the sustainable multipurpose use of such resources; and (2) public access to such installations to facilitate their use. Directs each Secretary to: (1) review military installations under his or her jurisdiction for which the preparation of a plan is appropriate; (2) submit such determinations to the Secretary; and (3) implement such plans within three years thereafter. Requires the Secretary to report such reviews to the Congress. Provides an opportunity for public comment on such plans.

(Sec. 1106) Allows wildlife conservation fees collected at military installations which are subsequently closed to be transferred to another military installation and used for the same purpose.

(Sec. 1107) Requires annual reviews and reports by the Secretaries of Defense and the Interior with respect to the implementation of such plans.

(Sec. 1108) Authorizes multiyear cooperative agreements for plan implementation.

(Sec. 1109) Provides for the enforcement on military installations of all Federal laws relating to natural resources conservation on Federal lands.

(Sec. 1110) Requires the Secretary of each military department to ensure that sufficient numbers of trained natural resource management and law enforcement personnel are available and assigned to perform necessary tasks for plan compliance.

(Sec. 1114) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for natural resources conservation programs on military installations, as well as equivalent programs on other public lands.