Defense Department FY98-99 Authorization bill

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Procurement

Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation

Title III: Operation and Maintenance

Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations

Subtitle B: Environmental Provisions

Subtitle C: Other Matters

Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations

Subtitle A: Active Forces

Subtitle B: Reserve Forces

Title V: Military Personnel Policy

Subtitle A: Officer Personnel Policy

Subtitle B: Enlisted Personnel Policy

Subtitle C: Reserve Personnel Policy

Subtitle D: Education Policy

Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits

Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances

Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special Pays

Subtitle C: Allowances

Subtitle D: Other Matters

Title VII: Health Care Provisions

Title VIII: Repeal of Certain Acquisition Reports and

Acquisition Policy

Subtitle A: Repeal of Certain Acquisition Reports

Subtitle B: Acquisition Policy

Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management

Title X: General Provisions

Subtitle A: Financial Matters

Subtitle B: Naval Vessels

Subtitle C: Other Matters

Subtitle D: Military Construction Provisions

Title XI: Department of Defense Civilian Personnel

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 - Title I: Procurement - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 to the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, and other procurement.

(Sec. 104) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for: (1) defense-wide procurement; (2) the Defense Inspector General; (3) the Defense Health Program; and (4) the chemical demilitarization program.

(Sec. 108) Authorizes the transfer of up to $400 million from the National Defense Stockpile Transaction (NDST) Fund to specified aircraft procurement accounts for FY 1998.

Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for the armed forces for research, development, test, and evaluation.

(Sec. 202) Extends permanently (currently terminates on September 30, 1998) the authority of the Secretary of Defense to contract with commercial entities to conduct commercial test and evaluation activities at a major range and test facility installation.

Title III: Operation and Maintenance - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for operation and maintenance (O&M) for the armed forces and specified activities and agencies of the Department of Defense (DOD).

(Sec. 302) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for: (1) working capital and revolving funds; (2) the Armed Forces Retirement Home; and (3) O&M of Fisher houses, to be derived from the Fisher House Trust Fund.

(Sec. 305) Authorizes the transfer of up to $150 million from the NDST Fund to specified O&M accounts.

(Sec. 306) Repeals the Defense Business Operations Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to award contracts for capital assets of a working capital fund in advance of the availability of such funds.

Subtitle B: Environmental Provisions - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 to authorize the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with an Indian tribe to obtain assistance in certifying environmental technologies.

(Sec. 312) Allows the use of a DOD facility for the storage and disposal of nondefense toxic and hazardous materials when such materials will or have been used in connection with a DOD activity or a service to be performed for the benefit of DOD. Provides as exceptions to the general prohibition against the use of DOD facilities for such storage and disposal the use of: (1) a space launch facility; and (2) DOD facilities for testing materials or training personnel.

Subtitle C: Other Matters - Directs the Secretary to conduct programs to commemorate the 50th anniversaries of the Marshall Plan and the Korean War, using Army O&M funds. Establishes in the Treasury the Department of Defense 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan and Korean War Commemoration Account. Requires a report from the Secretary to the congressional defense committees on the use of Account funds.

(Sec. 322) Authorizes the Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School (currently, the Secretary of the Navy) to enter into an agreement with an accredited higher educational institution for an exchange of students.

Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations - Subtitle A: Active Forces - Sets forth the authorized end strengths for active- duty forces as of the end of FY 1998 and 1999.

Subtitle B: Reserve Forces - Sets forth the authorized end strengths as of the end of FY 1998 and 1999 for members of the Selected Reserve and reserve personnel on active duty in support of the reserves.

Title V: Military Personnel Policy - Subtitle A: Officer Personnel Policy - Authorizes the Secretary of the military department concerned to allow military personnel of that department, or the Department of Transportation when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy, to serve in the management of a military welfare society and other designated entities.

(Sec. 504) Revises generally the authority for the promotion of officers through promotion boards.

(Sec. 505) Excludes chaplains, health care professionals, and officers assigned to duty with the American Battle Monuments Commission from current limitations on the period of recall to active duty.

Subtitle B: Enlisted Personnel Policy - Authorizes the Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School to permit enlisted members of the armed forces and Coast Guard who are assigned to such School to receive instruction there on a space-available basis.

(Sec. 512) Directs the Community College of the Air Force to prescribe programs for enlisted members of the armed forces, other than the Air Force, whose jobs are closely related to Air Force jobs and for enlisted personnel who are serving as instructors at Air Force training schools.

Subtitle C: Reserve Personnel Policy - Allows lieutenant colonels (currently, only grades above lieutenant colonel) to serve on boards of inquiry for the involuntary separation of military personnel.

Subtitle D: Education Policy - Protects educational assistance entitlements for those members of the Selected Reserve who are ordered to serve on active duty (current law) or in support of a contingency operation. Removes references to the entitlement period for such personnel who served on active duty during the Persian Gulf War.

Title VI: 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 by 2.8 percent, effective on January 1, 1998, the rates of basic pay and basic allowance for quarters.

(Sec. 602) Allows the Ready Reserve muster duty allowance to be paid before such duty is actually performed, while requiring such payment within 30 days after such duty.

Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special Pays - Increases and extends through FY 2002 certain bonuses and special pay provided to nuclear-qualified officers.

(Sec. 612) Provides a special pay incentive for enlisted personnel who enter into an agreement with the Secretary concerned to extend their tour of duty overseas.

(Sec. 613) Increases the special pay for Selected Reserve personnel who: (1) extend their enlistments for either three or six years; and (2) reenlist in a critical military skill position after completing their initial service obligation.

Subtitle C: Allowances - Authorizes the Secretary concerned to pay a variable housing allowance to military personnel without dependents who make a close-proximity move within the United States.

Subtitle D: Other Matters - Authorizes the Secretary to use amounts appropriated for FY 1997 and thereafter for payments to participants in the F. Edward Hebert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program. Authorizes the payment of supplemental stipends to such participants.

Title VII: Health Care Provisions - Repeals a Federal provision which prohibits DOD funds from being used to perform abortions except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.

(Sec. 702) Authorizes the provision of prosthetic devices to military health care beneficiaries when determined necessary due to significant conditions resulting from trauma, congenital anomalies, or disease.

Title VIII: Repeal of Acquisition Reports and Acquisition Policy - Subtitle A: Repeal of Certain Acquisition Reports - Amends prior defense authorization Acts to repeal various defense acquisition reporting requirements.

Subtitle B: Acquisition Policy - Authorizes the use of a single payment due date for mixed invoices of a defense contractor.

(Sec. 812) Authorizes the retention of amounts collected from a contractor under the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 during the pendency of any further litigation or appeals.

(Sec. 813) Authorizes the Secretary or the Secretary concerned to contract for the procurement of severable services for periods which overlap fiscal years.

(Sec. 814) Revises the quantity requirements for certain small arms weapons procurement objectives of the Secretary of the Army under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995.

(Sec. 816) Eliminates certain time and qualifying requirements concerning acquisition unit cost reports.

(Sec. 817) Repeals: (1) an additional competition documentation requirement with respect to international agreements; and (2) a certification requirement under the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988.

(Sec. 819) Requires, under a contract in which property vests to the United States, that such title vest regardless of any prior or subsequently asserted security interest in the property.

(Sec. 820) Authorizes the head of an agency to enter into an undefinitized contract action with respect to: (1) contingency operations; (2) peacekeeping or peace enforcement operations; (3) disaster relief operations; and (4) humanitarian assistance.

(Sec. 821) Authorizes a defense agency director, when considered advantageous, to lease personal property that is under the control of the defense agency, not needed for public use, and not excess property.

Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management - Reduces from annually to every two years or as needed the required frequency of written policy guidance from the Secretary to defense agency heads concerning contingency plans.

(Sec. 902) Changes from three to no less than two or more than four years the term for members of the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program Scientific Advisory Board.

(Sec. 903) Directs the Secretary to phase out the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, beginning in FY 1998 and ending with its closure no later than September 30, 2001. Prohibits the entry of any new class of students there after September 30, 1997, and the awarding of degrees after September 30, 2001.

(Sec. 904) Amends the Military Construction Authorization Act, 1968 to repeal the requirement to operate the Naval Academy Dairy Farm in Gambrills, Maryland.

(Sec. 905) Includes the Information Resources Management College within the National Defense University.

Title X: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Financial Matters - Amends the Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1992 to extend through FY 1999 the authority of the Secretary to provide assistance in support of international nonproliferation activities.

Subtitle B: Other Matters (sic) - Sets forth procedures for the sale of naval vessels stricken from the Naval Register and not subject to disposal under any other laws.

(Sec. 1011) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to charter a vessel in support of the Surveillance Towed Array Sensor Program.

(Sec. 1012) Repeals Federal provisions providing shipbuilding contract adjustment limitations.

Subtitle C: Other Matters - Authorizes a special agent of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service to: (1) carry firearms; (2) execute and serve warrants or other Federal process; and (3) make arrests without warrant for any offense against the United States committed in the officer's presence or for any Federal felony if such agent has probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is committing such felony.

(Sec. 1022) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 to extend through FY 1998 the authority of the Secretary to provide Mexico with specified support in connection with counter-drug activities.

(Sec. 1023) Authorizes the Secretary to accept foreign gifts or donations in order to defray the costs of, or enhance the operation of, the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. Requires the Secretary to notify the Congress if total contributions exceed $2 million in any fiscal year. Requires a report identifying the foreign governments permitted to participate in Center programs during the preceding year.

(Sec. 1024) Includes imagery, imagery intelligence, or geospatial information among the geodetic data authorized to be sold by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.

(Sec. 1025) Extends through FY 1999 the authority to carry out the National Guard civilian youth opportunities pilot program as authorized under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993.

(Sec. 1026) Repeals requirements for: (1) an annual DOD conventional standoff weapons master plan and report on standoff munitions under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991; and (2) annual reports concerning special operations training conducted with friendly foreign forces.

(Sec. 1027) Revises general policy objectives and goals under the Ballistic Missile Defense Act of 1995.

Subtitle D: Military Construction Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to construct a heliport at Fort Irwin, California, using prior authorized and appropriated funds.

(Sec. 1032) Amends prior military construction authorization Acts to repeal report requirements concerning: (1) the procurement of overseas family housing from a U.S. contractor; (2) funding for naval strategic homeporting; and (3) a proposed contract for the sale of Gregg Circle Area, Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

(Sec. 1033) Provides for the crediting of financial incentives received by military departments or defense agencies for energy savings or water conservation.

(Sec. 1035) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to convey any U.S. interest in a utility system under the control of that department to another utility company or other entity, under specified conditions and requirements, including congressional notification.

Title XI: Department of Defense Civilian Personnel - Extends through FY 2001 the authority of the Secretary to provide voluntary separation incentive pay to DOD civilian personnel.

(Sec. 1104) Amends the Intelligence Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1990 to state that no prior admission for permanent U.S. residence shall be required of staff and faculty of the George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies.

(Sec. 1105) Preserves certain civil service benefits and protections for certain former employees of the Defense Mapping Agency who became employees of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.