Defense Department FY98 Appropriations bill

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Military Personnel

Title II: Operation and Maintenance

Title III: Procurement

Title IV: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation

Title V: Revolving and Management Funds

Title VI: Other Department of Defense Programs

Title VII: Related Agencies

Title VIII: General Provisions

Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1998 - Title I: Military Personnel - Appropriates funds for FY 1998 for active-duty and reserve personnel in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and for National Guard personnel in the Army and Air Force.

Title II: Operation and Maintenance - Appropriates funds for FY 1998 for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (including a transfer of funds in each case), the Marine Corps, the defense agencies (including a transfer of funds), the reserve components, and the Army and Air National Guards. Appropriates funds for: (1) overseas contingency operations (including a transfer of funds); (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; (3) environmental restoration for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and defense-wide (including a transfer of funds in each case); (4) environmental restoration at former defense sites (including a transfer of funds); (5) overseas humanitarian, disaster, and civic aid; (6) nuclear threat reduction programs with respect to republics of the former Soviet Union; and (7) quality of life enhancements, defense.

Title III: Procurement - Appropriates funds for FY 1998 for procurement by the armed forces and its reserve components of aircraft, missiles, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, and for other procurement. Earmarks specified Army procurement funds for the Information System Security Program and the procurement of Airterm KY-100 devices.

Appropriates funds for defense-wide procurement and for National Guard and reserve equipment.

Title IV: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Appropriates funds for FY 1998 for research, development, test and evaluation by the armed forces and defense agencies. Earmarks: (1) specified Army funds for a joint Department of Defense-Department of Veterans Affairs program of cooperative clinical trials at multiple sites to assess the effectiveness of protocols for treating Persian Gulf veterans who suffer from ill-defined or undiagnosed conditions; (2) Navy V-22 funds to meet unique requirements of the Special Operations Forces; (3) specified Defense-wide funds for a facial recognition technology program, a joint service core research project to develop a prototype hybrid integrated sensor array for chemical and biological point detection, and a conventional munitions demilitarization demonstration program.

Appropriates funds for the Directors of Test and Evaluation and Operational Test and Evaluation.

Title V: Revolving and Management Funds - Appropriates funds for: (1) the defense working capital funds; and (2) programs under the National Defense Sealift Fund.

Title VI: Other Department of Defense Programs - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) medical and health care programs; (2) the destruction of lethal chemical agents and munitions; (3) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities, defense (including a transfer of funds); and (4) expenses and activities of the Office of the Inspector General in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978.

Title VII: Related Agencies - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System Fund; (2) expenses of the Intelligence Community Management Account; (3) authorized payments to the Kaho'olawe Island Conveyance, Remediation, and Environmental Restoration Trust Fund; and (4) national security scholarships, fellowships, and grants (using funds derived from the National Security Education Trust Fund).

Title VIII: General Provisions - Specifies authorized, restricted, and prohibited uses of appropriated funds.

(Sec. 8009) Authorizes procurement funds appropriated under this Act to be used for multiyear procurement contracts for the Apache Longbow radar, T-45 aircraft, and AV-8B aircraft.

(Sec. 8011) Prohibits during FY 1998 the management by end strengths of DOD civilian personnel.

(Sec. 8020) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to establish with host governments of NATO-member countries an account for the deposit of residual value amounts negotiated in the return of U.S. military installations to such countries.

(Sec. 8035) Authorizes DOD to incur up to $350 million in obligations for DOD personnel compensation, military construction projects, and supplies and services in anticipation of receipts of contributions from the government of Kuwait.

(Sec. 8036) Earmarks funds from this Act for the Civil Air Patrol.

(Sec. 8037) Prohibits the use of funds from this Act to establish a new DOD federally funded research and development center (FFRDC). Limits the Federal compensation to be paid to DOD FFRDC members or consultants. Prohibits the use of FY 1998 DOD FFRDC funds for new building construction, cost-sharing payments for projects funded by Government grants, or absorption of cost overruns. Limits the staff years of technical effort that may be funded for DOD FFRDCs from FY 1998 funds. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees concerning such staff year allocations.

(Sec. 8042) Reduces by $300 million the total amounts appropriated in titles I through IV of this Act to reflect savings from the DOD use of advisory and assistance services.

(Sec. 8047) Directs the President to include within each fiscal year budget the amounts requested for administrative activities of DOD, the military departments, and the defense agencies.

(Sec. 8053) Prohibits the use of funds: (1) for the modification of an aircraft, weapon, ship, or other equipment that the military department concerned plans to retire or otherwise dispose of within five years after completion of the modification; (2) to transport chemical munitions to the Johnston Atoll for storage or demilitarization (with an exception and an authorized wartime waiver by the President); (3) by a DOD entity without compliance with the Buy American Act; (4) for assistance to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea unless specifically appropriated for such purpose; and (5) to reduce the civilian medical and medical support personnel assigned to military treatment facilities below the September 30, 1996, level.

(Sec. 8056) Earmarks funds appropriated under this Act for the mitigation of adverse environmental impacts on Indian lands resulting from DOD activities.

(Sec. 8063) Authorizes DOD to lease real and personal property at the Adak Naval Air Facility, Alaska.

(Sec. 8064) Rescinds specified funds from various accounts under prior defense appropriations Acts.

(Sec. 8076) Appropriates funds to DOD for transfer to the Coast Guard.

(Sec. 8078) Directs the Secretary to report quarterly to specified congressional committees setting forth all costs incurred by DOD in implementing or supporting United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.

(Sec. 8079) Prohibits FY 1997 DOD funds from being obligated or expended to transfer to another nation or international organization defense articles or services for use in any UN peacekeeping or peace enforcement operation, or for any other international peacekeeping, peace enforcement, or humanitarian assistance operation, unless specified congressional committees are given 15 days' advance notice.

(Sec. 8080) Directs the Secretary, to the extent authorized by law, to issue loan guarantees in support of U.S. defense exports not otherwise provided for, with a contingent liability limit of $15 billion. Requires quarterly reports to specified congressional committees on such loan guarantees.

(Sec. 8085) Authorizes the use of DOD O&M funds in support of U.S. missions and with eligible organizations and activities outside of DOD.

(Sec. 8087) Authorizes a specified amount for Air Force aircraft procurement from a prior-year defense appropriations Act to remain available for expenditure until the end of FY 2003.

(Sec. 8089) Directs the Secretary, upon the enactment of this Act, to make specified transfers between various DOD appropriation accounts.

(Sec. 8090) Prohibits DOD funds from being used to reimburse a defense contractor for restructuring costs associated with a business combination unless: (1) certain DOD cost savings are achieved as a result of such restructuring; and (2) a related report required under prior law is submitted to the Congress.

(Sec. 8091) Restricts the purchase of security locks used to protect critical national security information or other classified material.

(Sec. 8093) Authorizes the Secretary to waive reimbursement of certain educational costs of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies for military officers and civilian officials of foreign countries if determined to be in the national security interest.

(Sec. 8096) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to exchange or sell one Army C-20 aircraft and apply the proceeds to the acquisition of one C-37 aircraft.

(Sec. 8097) Earmarks funds from this Act to assist a pilot project that will facilitate the transfer of commercial cruise ship shipbuilding technology and expertise to U.S. shipbuilding yards, utilize the experience and expertise of existing U.S.-flag cruise ship operators, and enable the operation of one U.S.-flag foreign-built cruise ship and two newly-constructed U.S.-flag cruise ships. Prohibits the obligation of funds for the tooling to construct, or for the construction of, such vessels.

(Sec. 8099) Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997 to require, as of June 30, 1998, that each DOD disbursement in excess of $1 million (currently $3 million) be matched to a particular obligation before the disbursement is made.

(Sec. 8099A) Expresses the sense of the Senate calling for and supporting U.S. and international efforts to bring indicted war criminals to justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina consistent with the 1995 Dayton Accords.

(Sec. 8099B) Earmarks specified DOD funds for the payment of claims for loss and damage to personal property suffered by military personnel residing in the vicinity of Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, as a direct result of flooding in the Red River Basin during April and May of 1997.

(Sec. 8099C) Earmarks specified Navy funds for a program to demonstrate expanded use of multitechnology automated reader cards throughout the Navy and Marine Corps.

(Sec. 8099D) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees concerning U.S. costs for the admission of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary to NATO for FY 1998 through 2002, as well as any U.S. commitments for the admission of other new members.

(Sec. 8099E) Directs the Secretary to waive limitations concerning procurements from a foreign country if: (1) they would impede either cooperative agreements entered into between DOD and the foreign country or arrangements for the reciprocal procurement of defense items; and (2) the country does not discriminate against defense items produced in the United States any more than the United States discriminates against defense items produced in that country.

(Sec. 8099F) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Senate ratify NATO enlargement, that the proportional U.S. share of the NATO common budget should not increase, and that if any NATO member nation does not pay its share, the United States shall not pay either.

(Sec. 8099G) Finds that the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission directed the transfer of only ten electro-magnetic test environment systems from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

(Sec. 8099H) Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Secretary should ensure that printing costs of DOD and the military services are held to the lowest amount possible; (2) DOD should strictly comply with the Printing and Binding Regulations; and (3) the DOD budget submission for FY 1999 should reflect the savings that will result from such stricter printing guidelines.